Thanks everyone so much for your amazing comments! I'm personally not as happy with this chapter as some of the other ones, but I'll let you all judge. Besides... no matter how much I rewrote it, it never seemed to sound right. I hope you all enjoy!
Also, the next chapter will be the scene where Puck tries to recruit players for glee club. I don't know whether or not to do a short chapter where he and two other players slushie our gleeks on christmas. Tell me your opinion on the matter! Anything after that... depends on the next episode. Meaning - *inhales* - no new chapters until the beginning of February. At least not for this story. I'm sorry! Anyhoo... tell me what you guys think. Every single review makes me happier and happier! XD
Maybe He Likes Me
A parent conference? This was the torture Mr. Hummel had in store for me?
The guy knew how to hit you where it hurts.
Normally, I would consider this kind of meeting lame in the most epic sense of the word, but I was pretty terrified of what Kurt had told his dad and what either of them could say in the meeting. More than terrified. I was panicking.
Maybe I can still fake appendicitis.
I was sitting in Principal Sylvester's office with my dad, Kurt, and his dad. And I was seriously considering faking appendicitis. Not that I wasn't ecstatic to be in the same room as Kurt for a few minutes where I didn't have to ignore him or hurt him, but the situation wasn't exactly ideal.
I wasn't making eye contact with anyone; wondering desperately how I could deny everything I'd done without exactly… lying.
Principal Sylvester spoke up first after a few moments of awkward – for my father and I – and angry – for Kurt and his dad – silence. "So it seems this situation's reached a boiling point."
Mr. Hummel snapped out of his death glare towards me to face Ms. Sylvester. "You're damn right it has!" I was really confused. If this had to do with yesterday, I hadn't done anything too terrible, and it wasn't even directed at Kurt. If it didn't… well, I didn't know what I'd done. So I faced Ms. Sylvester, too. "Nothing happened." I insisted. And it was true, as far as I knew.
Kurt's dad faced me again. I have never been so afraid of someone as I was of him in that moment. You could literally feel his burning fury. Same as Kurt that day in the locker room – when I still thought I hated him. Huh. Must be a Hummel thing.
You could hear it in his voice, too. "I'll tell you what really happened." He turned towards my dad as Kurt stared at his hands on his lap. "Mr. Karofsky –" Dad interrupted. "My name's Paul." Mr. Hummel obliged, almost sarcastically. "Paul. Your kid threatened the life of my son."
Uh-oh! Damn! I guess Kurt had finally told someone. I immediately started panicking even more. Did he tell his dad why I had threatened him?
Dad slowly looked at me with a surprised and embarrassed look in his eyes. I was reluctant to look straight at him. Luckily, Principal Sylvester cut in, questioning Kurt. "Porcelain? Is that true?"
As serious as the situation was, I almost laughed out loud. Porcelain? That was her nickname for him? I had to admit; it totally fit him. I looked him over once, noticing how creamy pale he was and how perfectly smooth his skin was… He really did look like a delicate porcelain doll.
I noticed him nodding, answering the principal's question. He looked like he didn't actually want to answer. I felt a sudden rush of gratitude and affection as I realized that he didn't tell his dad – or anyone else – willingly. It sounded like it was probably dragged out of him.
I struggled to keep the amusement out of my voice – since I was still internally laughing at his nickname – as I weakly tried to backpedal my threat. "That's not true. I didn't say anything." Hmm. I was actually impressed at how innocent I sounded.
Unfortunately, Kurt cut me off. "That's what he said." I looked over and saw that he was finally looking straight at me. He had a look on his face that clearly said he was done with this, and it was going to end here one way or another.
He continued, glancing over at the principal. "He said he'd kill me if I told anyone." She was quick to pick up on that. "If you told anyone what?"
My blood ran cold.
This was it. My life was over. All Kurt had to do to get me suspended, or even expelled, was tell the truth about what I had done. Defeated, I looked over at him, expecting a quick answer.
He looked at me.
I didn't even question it at first. I just stared back at him, begging him with my eyes not to say anything. I honest-to-God thought he would completely ignore my silent pleading.
But he just stared into my eyes. And for once, it wasn't in anger or fear or determination. It was like we were having a silent conversation. It was... intimate. And before I could say anything - or breathe - he began to answer. His eyes never left mine as he said the seven words that saved my life.
"Just…"
(Argh! It was like he was messing with my head on purpose, licking his lips like that, just a couple feet away from me.)
"…that he was picking on me."
Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Did… Did Kurt Hummel just blatantly lie to three adults to help me? He did! I was saved! Hallelujah!
And I could tell from the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice that he would have done it whether I had threatened him or not. He had kept my secret of his own free will. He would have done it anyway…
If I had to name the exact moment I fell in love with Kurt Hummel, it was in that minute in Principal Sylvester's office. And you know what? I didn't even mind a little bit.
As much as I wanted to run over and kiss him and thank him over and over I struggled to remember the big picture and why I couldn't do just that. So as I laughed with relief and looked over at him with ardent gratefulness, I blurted out the first defense that popped into my head. "He's making all this stuff up." Well… That's not exactly a lie, actually.
But Mr. Hummel didn't know that. He was back to sarcastic mode. "Oh, is that right?" Then Dad piped up, finally recovering from way-too-much-information-to-take-in-in-too-little-time. "Hold on a second. You have been acting differently, David. You used to get A's and B's, you're talking back, you're acting out. And now we're sitting here." I could suddenly clearly feel everyone's eyes on me.
I couldn't help but glance around the group surrounding me. First from my dad to Kurt's dad to the principal to Kurt. Finally, I broke away from eye contact with anyone. Mostly because Kurt was still staring at me. And that was very distracting.
Dad was still talking. "So let me ask you." He pointed to the boy sitting across from us. "Why would Kurt make that up?"
I knew exactly why Kurt would make that up. And if I had one-sixteenth the courage he had, I would have just told everyonethe exact reason Kurt would make that up.
But I didn't have any of Kurt's courage. All I had were my ridiculous instincts of self-preservation. Without planning it, the next words out of my mouth turned out to be pure wishful thinking and seemed tohold up my mask, insulting Kurt at the same time.
"Maybe he likes me."
I didn't dare sneak a glance at Kurt after realizing how much I wanted that statement to be true; though in my peripheral vision, it looked like he rolled his eyes. Shoot...
Instead, I smiled and shrugged at my dad like the comment was a joke. He looked back at me with a face that clearly questioned my sanity. I almost felt bad for him. He just seemed so out of the loop. Poor guy.
Kurt's dad was back to glaring at me like he could burn my face off, now with an obvious undertone of impatience. "I think we are wasting our time here." He turned to glare at the principal with the look he had just nearly killed me with. "It's your job to protect the people."
She nodded at him. "Couldn't agree more." She looked over at Dad and me. "After hearing both sides of the story…you are hereby expelled." I looked at her, raising my eyebrows. It was more of a 'really, now?' type look than anything else. I'd been expecting something like this. And, I completely deserved it. She continued. "I will not have one student threatening the life of another. If you don't think this is fair, well, you can take it up with the school board." She paused, then added, "And you'll leave campus immediately."
Now that was hard to take.
I had already planned on the idea of getting expelled, once I knew why I was in trouble. But I thought I'd have more time. I had prepared myself and made plans for what I could say to Kurt in the hall before…
Before I never saw him again.
I hadn't fully understood the fact that if I were expelled, then I wouldn't see him anymore. Ever. I didn't get it until I saw him breath out in obvious relief. That relief broke my heart.
I looked over at him as Dad thanked the principal for her time or something. I couldn't care less. All I knew was that I had about ten more seconds of Kurt. Ten seconds to look at his face and remember it. Thank God he looked even more amazing than usual, somehow. The green of his shirt made his skin look creamier than ever and the cream of his sweater made his eyes look… amazing.
But, infuriatingly, he hid those eyes by looking down at his hands. It was like he was ashamed of what he had said in the meeting. Like he thought he betrayed me. I don't think so, Kurt. Eventually, he must have felt the intensity of my stare, or at least the fact that I walked past him, because he looked up just long enough to watch me leave.
I shook my head at him, realizing too late that he would probably misinterpret it as disappointment. I wasn't disappointed in the least. I was proud and grateful. I was shaking my head to tell them there was nothing to worry about. He didn't do anything wrong. I did. I was the jerk. I was the bully. I was the one with a problem.
And finally, I was the one who was going to pay for it.
In about three seconds, – Wait! Where the hell did my ten seconds go? – I was out the door.
And that was it. No big spectacle. But no more Kurt Hummel. No more knowing I'd see him every day. No more crystal clear memories at the simple sight of his face. No more Kurt Hummel…
No more Kurt…
No more…
No…
I was actually really thankful Dad was taking me straight home. I was exhausted. I needed a break from reality. I seriously needed a nap.
Maybe I won't remember.
Yeah. Right.
