7: Guilt, Guess, Great

Rachel inhales heavily when she sees Finn the next day. Go on, do it. He won't freak. You need to apologize.

It takes a few seconds of internal pep-talking until she approaches him at his locker. He doesn't notice until she clears her throat, and he looks startled.

"Hey," she says.

"...Hey?" he sounds confused. There's an awkward pause, and he's really not making this any easier.

"I just wanted to say... I am so sorry, about yesterday," she says. "I was insensitive and selfish, and thought I knew what was best for everyone when, really, I have no idea. This happened to you, not me. I did some research... and I understand; I was being disrespectful and pushy at the time when you needed to me to be supportive the most. And I'm sorry."

He smiles weakly. "It's okay," he says. "Although, you might take it as a bad sign that you have to google it when you're being kind of a bitch."

"I'm sorry," she repeats.

"And it's okay. Really. You're trying, and that counts for a lot. Most of this school won't even look me in the eye now..." he trails off, shifting uncomfortably. She reaches out to grasp his arm.

"They expect you to fall apart. Want it, even – people are addicted to drama like that. I think... whoever did this to you is watching too, and they're just waiting to see how they destroyed you. Do not give them the satisfaction, Finn," she says (it's not pushy there because she's trying to be inspirational).

He smiles and mockingly salutes her. "Aye aye sir!"

This Kodak moment is interrupted when she turns around when she sees Azimio on a path straight towards them. Oh god, no, don't. She knows Azimio and Karofsky and the like are savage brutes capable of enormous cruelty, and possessing little to no compassion for other human beings, but even they must have enough of a conscience not to use Finn's rape as an excuse to make fun.

As he gets closer, Rachel's dread becomes tinged with confusion. His eyes aren't full of the usual arrogant mockery, but instead a sort of rage he never knew he was capable of. What the hell?

Then he completely surprises her by turning hard left and slamming Karofsky into a locker.

"We need to talk. Now!" Azimio barks, little bits of spit landing on Karofsky's face. How unhygenic, Rachel thinks.

"What the hell, man?"

"Oh don't you even try that shit with me; you know exactly what this shit is about!"

Karofsky struggles to get away, but Azimio just slams him again and holds him more securely. By now, everyone is staring at them – they're not exactly quiet.

"Can we not talk about this here?"

"Nah. We're talking about it right here," Azimio answers. "Because okay, I think I'd wanna have some witnesses when I beat the truth out of ya. Because this? Was so no the plan."

"I didn't do anything, okay!" Karofsky yells. "You were there, man; I lost him when you did! Fuck knows what happened next..."

"Well ain't that just fine and dandy," says Azimio. "The night you fucking drug him, then 'lose' him, is the night before the morning he wakes up wondering where his ass-virginity is. What a fucking coincidence, huh?"

Rachel gasps. They're talking about Finn.

Who fell under that previous 'everyone'.

Karofsky shoves Azimio back. "We did this together, you fucking cocksucker! We drugged him together so we could fuck him over!"

"I did not mean it literally!"

"I didn't do anything!" Karofsky protests. "Fuck, I don't know what happened!"

Rachel notices that Kurt has wandered into view, and is watching the scene with growing horror. Unfortunately, Karofsky notices too.

"Hey, look over there!" Karofsky says, sensing an easy scapegoat. "Fucking fag twenty-ten. Not a guess he might have taken advantage of the situation then?"

Kurt gasps, and looks like he's about to burst into tears. Rachel clenches her fist – she still doesn't like Kurt much, but she's outraged by anyone trying to blame Finn's rape on Kurt's sexuality, and outraged that they're trivializing Finn's rape as some reason to further there prejudice.

Azimio shrugs it off. "Oh believe me, I know. I was just about to go beat the shit out of him for the truth, once I got done with you. But you still gave him the fucking drugs."

"You did that too!" points out Karofsky. "Explain to me why we aren't ganging up to kick that little perverts ass?"

Come on, Kurt, why aren't you standing up for yourself? Rachel thinks. He just looks down.

"Because I don't fucking trust you any more than I do him," Azimio says. Then he turns to Kurt. "What's a matter, homo? Cat got your tongue?"

"I – I–"

"See? He can't even bring himself to deny it," Karofsky says.

"Leave him alone!" Rachel blurts in. "Kurt Hummel is ten times the man either of you will ever be, and he would never..."

"Oh god, someone shut her up," says Azimio. Which seems slightly disconnected from the rest of his argument, really. "Princess of the Queers appealing for clemency. Mind your own fucking business, Berry."

She's caught between being offended and being shocked he knows what the word 'clemency' means.

"This is my business," she mumbles, but they don't hear her.

Karofsky sighs in irritation. "So are you done now? You over your psycho fit where you think I'm..."

Azimio slams into the locker again. "Hell no! I'm not done with you! You fucker, I still think Hudson's–"

"Well you're a fucking moron, and why do you care so much anyway?"

"I didn't do this to–"

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone turns around to stare at Finn, his face white as a ghost, clenching and unclenching his fist and looking like he might burst into tears at any moment. "All of you," he says, "Shut. The fuck. Up."

Then he stalks off, and a sense of calm is returned to the world. Azimio storms away, and Karofsky collapses against the locker in defeat. Rachel tries to send Kurt a comforting look.


Kurt didn't want to wind up alone in the McKinley High School hallways. He was just trying to avoid being alone with Finn as much as he could, now the accusation had been made by someone out loud. That meant avoiding going home with him.

"Yo, homo! Found any more straight boys to violate?"

Oh god. He's not alone. Karofsky's there with him. Fabulous.

"I thought you thought Finn was a 'fag' too?"

Karofsky just shrugs. "Whatever. You didn't answer the question."

Kurt falters for a second. "I..." then he reaffirms his posture, and looks Karofsky dead in the eyes. "I did not rape Finn, and I am horrified at what happened. You should be too."

"Why the fuck should I believe you?"

Kurt shrugs. "Why should Azimio believe you? But it was still true, and you still wanted him to buy it, right?"

Kurt vaguely wonders how he got this good at bullshitting people. For whatever reason, it seems to get to Karofsky.

"It is," he says. "Look, if you tell anyone I said this, faggot, I'll destroy you more than usual, but... Fuck it, this sucks. I never meant for this to happen, you know? I was just trying to fuck him over for a good time, then this shit happened, and I don't know what to do. I mean, fuck Hudson most of the time, I don't care, but this is different. He didn't fucking deserve that, and it happened because of me, so now I blame myself and I'm like, hang on, how's that fair? I never meant for this to happen and I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I have to deal with the guilt?"

Kurt inhales deeply. He never expected to identify with David Karofsky.

"Yeah," he says. "Goodbye."

He practically runs out of there, and hopes it's not too suspicious.