Chapter 10- The Problem: Part I

Kurt had secretly wanted a little bit more time to adjust to his new life before going on to reunite himself with Charlie. Although he did have Bella, Edward and Jacob to watch over him as Kurt explained about his fake infection that had caused Carlisle to keep him quarantined without visitation allowances.

Jacob's reassuring utterances and the feeling of his hands clamped around Kurt's made the latter a lot more comfortable as Charlie closed the door.

"Bella? You home?" He called up the stairs.

"In here, Dad," Bella replied. Kurt remembered all of Carlisle's 'acting human' tips and blinked, inhaled and fidgeted all at the same time. Edward shook his head slightly and Kurt pouted, not used to having to concentrate on blinking in time and breathing before.

Charlie walked into the room and Kurt's inhaled once more but he didn't release the breath.

"Kurt?" Charlie couldn't believe that Kurt was actually back. He hadn't seen him since he had left for Lima. He knew that his nephew was safe, but didn't know what was wrong exactly.

And Kurt definitely looked different.

He took in Kurt's new appearance and frowned, not really believing what he was seeing with his own two eyes. He still looked like the same Kurt, but fragments of his features were different. His eyes were a reddish colour, though his eyes did tend to change all of the time, so much that Charlie had a lot of trouble keeping up with it. Sometimes they were grey, then green, then blue, where was the consistency? Charlie rather thought that they depended on his mood, but he couldn't be too sure.

Then there was the skin. Kurt's skin had always closely resembled flawless porcelain, but there was a newfound glow that Charlie wasn't sure what to say about.

There was the posture. Kurt's rigorous ballet practises, according to Burt, had affected the way that he sat, but he was never this poised. Charlie thought he saw Edward nudge him slightly from his position on Kurt's right, but he could not have been sure.

Then there was the attachment on his hand. Jacob. He figured that something might have happened between them once Kurt arrived in Forks, but Charlie was surprised with how quickly things had progressed. As long as Kurt was happy, Charlie was happy. And Jacob, too. But something told Charlie that Jacob was more protective of Kurt than anybody realised. A lot of things could be said about Charlie Swan, but he was nothing if not observant. Though he didn't always verbally comment on his observations, he gleaned them all the same. And they helped. For when his contentment with his own company became too much, he could easily strike up conversation based on unspoken facts or relationships.

"Hey, Uncle Charlie," Kurt said softly. Charlie noticed how even his voice was different. It was richer and fuller. It was still high, but now in a way that wasn't completely ostentatious.

Kurt stiffened. Oh God. He knows that something is up. I can see it in his eyes.

Edward coughed. "Charlie, sir, my father asked me to go over some things with you regarding Kurt's illness. He would have come himself, of course, but he has been rather busy at the hospital of late so he delegated to me."

Charlie nodded. "Okay. I'm just glad I'm finally getting some answers about what the hell happened to my nephew."

Kurt smiled at Charlie but his head was swimming with doubts. He concentrated. Edward, you're going to have to come up with something really convincing.

"It wasn't publically announced," Edward began, "but there have been a number of strange outbreaks across Ohio. It was rather low key to begin with and the symptoms were not very noticeable to those who were not familiar with the disease. As soon as Kurt returned from Lima, my father noticed immediately. He had him tested and he tested positively. There was a course of treatments that my father used. Kurt is completely healthy now."

Charlie's eyes flickered to Kurt, who smiled. The former nodded shortly and wondered when the fragile boy that had come to Forks after having no other options had become…happy. Charlie wasn't fool enough to believe that he had anything to do with it. It was, probably, Bella along with Jacob and Edward that had pulled Kurt from the depths of his issues and helped him to see the light of day.

"You sure you're feeling okay, kid?"

Kurt nodded, his movements carefully controlled. He did not want to mess this up completely and then have to deal with the consequences. "I'm perfectly okay, Charlie. Honestly. You don't have to worry about me anymore. In fact, I was thinking of making a nice stew for later as a sort of welcome home meal for myself. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Charlie said, obviously enthused by the thought of Kurt being back in a state of normality. Kurt silently disagreed. Nothing was ever going to be Charlie's definition of normal now that he was a vampire and his soulmate was a werewolf.

"Yeah," Kurt tried to sound chirpy and upbeat, but he wasn't quite as relaxed as he needed to be in order to pull it off.

He guessed that he would just have to work on it.

Kurt's first day back at school was certainly an interesting one. Everyone was extremely curious as to why the new student had suddenly started to miss classes only weeks after joining the school. The Cullens would still attend but answer no questions as to their friend's absences.

Kurt's first class of the day was English, and he predicted that Mike Newton was barely speaking to him. Kurt wanted to roll his eyes but didn't want to cause any more drama during lunch with their friend group. He had enough of that at McKinley.

"Hello, Mike."

Mike looked up, grinning. "Hey, Kurt! You're back at school properly, then?"

Kurt nodded. "I'm back and free from illness."

"Have you done something different to your hair? Or your skin? You look..." Mike threw his hands up, slapping them on his thighs. There were no words.

"Nothing has changed," Kurt said, hoping that the double meaning to his words would be received. Edward had notified him via text that there was a rumour about him and Jacob already surfacing which explained his bout of missing classes.

Mike nodded. "I see."

"So, what have I missed in terms of the curriculum? Are we still on Gatsby?"

"Have you been sent the assignments?"

Kurt nodded. "I've done them, too. Actually, you have reminded me to hand them in. Mr Berty should be here in a minute."

Mike frowned. "Kurt, are you okay? Like you haven't blinked in a minute or two and I'm getting a little scared."

Kurt blinked. "I'm fine, Michael, thank you. I also hope that everything that happened before my absence is behind us."

"I guess. I asked around about this Jacob guy and nobody really has a bad word to say about him. As long as he makes you happy, there's not a lot I can do, is there? You should know that if you change your mind, I'll be waiting in the wings for you."

Kurt was a little touched, but mostly irritated. His new vampire hormones made him clench his fists tightly. "Mike, that's honestly very sweet of you. But I don't want you to spend your time waiting for me to become available. Not only would it be fruitless, but it's not fair to you. You deserve more than wasting your time on me."

"Not true. In fact, you're completely and utterly out of my league."

"Don't discredit yourself, Mike. You're more than what you value yourself. Just because I don't feel that way about you doesn't mean that you're not special. My word isn't law. I don't want to date Eric or Jasper or Edward, but that doesn't mean they're not amazing guys. I'm very happy to be friends with you. I'll even play wingman on occasion. I actually got my friends Sam and Quinn to date each other. If you want Jessica back, I could probably help you with that."

Mike laughed. "Everyone seems to think highly of everything you say. Alice pretty much worships you. As for Jess, I'm not too sure. She's cute and she's fun but I think that she's too high-maintenance for me."

"And you wanted to date me? I'm probably the most high-maintenance person alive. Seriously. Jess has nothing on me. I'm working on it, but I guess that's just my personality."

With a shrug, Kurt noticed Mr Berty walk through the door. Polished essays of different themes in The Great Gatsby in hand, he strode up to the front of the class, careful not to use his special vampire speed in front of his peers. Suddenly, his anxiety about being noticed took hold and he forced a smile as Mr Berty looked at him.

"Ah, Mr. Hummel. Dr. Cullen informed me of your condition. It's nice to have you back."

"Thank you, Mr. Berty. I have all of my assignments here for you."

"I look forward to grading them. We recently moved on to our Shakespeare module which encompasses Hamlet and Othello. Have you read them before?"

Kurt nodded enthusiastically. He was a Shakespeare nut. He read his plays again and again and again, loving them each time. He had never really identified with any of the characters, but every Shakespeare enthusiast actor craved the opportunity to play Hamlet. It was quite possibly the most complex male role in the canon. "Oh yes, I'm quite familiar with each. Back in Lima, I did a paper on the linguistic differences between Hamlet's First Quarto edition compared to the 1979 edition. It was quite enthralling carrying out the research. You never quite realise how much has changed over time until you put them side by side."

Mr. Berty looked impressed. "Well, I think you'll thrive with this unit. I trust I can count on you to take on Hamlet during any reading we might do? We don't exactly have too many Shakespeare enthusiasts in Forks. Your cousin has a real knack for the writing but she would never read aloud."

Kurt nodded. "Bella is much too timid to read aloud. Rest assured, I will be more than happy to read whenever it is required of me, Mr. Berty."

Mr. Berty. "Thank you, Kurt. I'll have your papers back to you when they're graded. Class, I'd like you to turn to your partners and discuss your current understanding of either of the two plays prior to having read them. If you've already read them, don't give away plot spoilers."

Kurt went back to his seat, where Mike was looking at him, open-mouthed. "I should have known that you'd be into Shakespeare."

"I fail to see how people aren't. I understand the perhaps too archaic status of the language, but the power of the story should overwhelm the actual words. If you see them live, the effect is much more prominent. Especially with Othello."

"I guess I'm lucky we're sitting together throughout all of this then. I'm shit at Shakespeare."

Kurt eyed him curiously before speaking. "I hope this is not a ruse to resume your flirtations with me, Mike."

Oh. Shit.

Mike's eyes bulged and his face paled.

Kurt cursed to himself. I just said that in his mind! I can't exactly lie my way out of this, can I? I can't tell him the truth, though. Fuck, what do I do?

"Kurt…what the fuck just happened?"

Kurt opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. "I…" He saw Alice at the door of the classroom and she jerked her head towards the corridor. Kurt got the message and silently excused himself, slipping off the chair lithely. "Mr. Berty, I just need to consult with Alice about my next doctor's visit if that's okay."

"Of course, Kurt."

Kurt thanked him and joined Alice at the door. "I know, you don't have to say it. I fucked everything up. Mike's going to know that something is weird and he might not figure it out but he'll know something and that's worse."

Alice grabbed Kurt's shoulder and shook him firmly. "Kurt, calm down. We'll think of something. Think of this as…an acting exercise. Mike just experienced something strange concerning you. Lie. That's the only thing you can really do. If he finds out and then the Volturi find out that he found out, we'll all be in danger. Including Mike."

Kurt nodded. Edward and Carlisle had explained everything regarding the Volturi to him and, while he wasn't particularly scared of them, he understood the damage they could do to their family and friends. "I don't know how to explain that. He heard my voice in his head, Alice. Ugh, I know that it was too soon to come back to school. I guess it's just a good thing that this didn't happen around Charlie! Who knows what would have happened?"

"You can't think like that, Kurt. You just can't. I'll talk to Carlisle tonight. You're spending the evening with Bella and Charlie, right?"

"Yeah. Jacob's coming for dinner. Charlie wants to meet him as my boyfriend. It's weird because Charlie has known him since he was a little boy. Oh, I bet he has pictures!"

Alice smirked. "You need Jacob. Did you drive in this morning?"

Kurt shook his head no. "Charlie needed to clear some things up with the principal so he took me. Bella rode with Edward. I can't miss any more classes, Alice. Juilliard doesn't look too favourably on multiple absences. It shows lack of dedication to academics and that is not going to do me any favours at all."

Alice looked stern. "Kurt, I know that Juilliard is important to you, but there are bigger things at stake here. If your power strikes again, it could mean trouble. The Volturi is probably already scanning Forks for any mentions of vampires. Our coven is getting bigger very slowly and they've taken notice of that. You can't allow anything like that to happen. If you have to drop out of school and get the rest of your high school credits another way, so be it."

Kurt sighed. "You're absolutely right. That was rather selfish of me. Of course this comes first. Juilliard isn't a priority right now."

"I'm sorry, Kurt. Anyway, I'll talk to Mr. Berty and you can go and wait by my car. Call Jacob and tell him to meet you at your house. You need grounding right now. Are you thirsty?"

Kurt shook his head, actually surprised that he wasn't. "There's a little tingle, but I've mostly forgotten about it."

Alice chuckled. "You're a strange kind of vampire."

"That's me," Kurt said into her mind and she shivered at the feeling of intrusion.

"I so need to get used to that."

Kurt laughed and thanked her once again before heading out to the parking lot.

Dialling his boyfriend's number, he grinned as the man in question picked up. "Kurt?" Jacob asked.

"Hey, Jake."

"Aren't you supposed to be in class right now? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, just…something happened today. Could you be at my house in twenty minutes please? I need you right now." Kurt hated asking Jacob to drop everything, knowing that he would gladly do it. One of the few downsides to the imprint bond was that Jacob would literally do anything to keep Kurt safe and would ignore matters in his own life to do so. "If you're not busy, that is."

"I'll be there in ten."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

Kurt sighed as he leaned against Alice's small car and blinked, liking the feeling of doing something at least a little bit like a human. As the wind blew across his face, his ears perked up, picking up a sound from a tree a little bit in the distance. As a human, Kurt would not have been able to see it, but his new enhanced sight gave him the ability to look into the distance and see a figure in a black cloak lurking in the woods. As soon as their eyes locked, the figure flitted away in a way that told Kurt that they were a vampire. It wasn't any of the Cullens and there weren't any other vampires in Forks. That was a fact. Carlisle would have known if there was.

"What's got you so creeped out?" Alice asked as she bounced over to the car.

"I saw someone," Kurt began. "By the trees over there. They were wearing a black cloak and hood. I think it was a vampire, judging by the way they ran away. It was fast. Like us."

Alarm bells sounded in Alice's mind and concern washed over her face. "Kurt, once you get home, don't leave the house. You'll be more vulnerable if you do. Jacob's scent will repel them. I need to go and see Carlisle about this."

"Alice, what is it? Is the Volturi? Are they here?" Kurt fired his questions in rapid succession. She nodded grimly.

"It appears so. We need to know why they're here. If they came for a legal visit, we can work with that. If something has angered them…then…"

"We'll be in trouble," Kurt finished for her.

"And we might not win."

For the rest of the drive, Kurt stared straight ahead out of the window, not even speaking to Alice. He was too scared and guilt pushed down on his chest. He needed Jacob right now.

Kurt saw Jacob pacing outside of his house and his heart soared and twisted in his chest. Just seeing Jacob made him happy.

Alice smirked at him before hugging him goodbye. Kurt quickly slipped out of the car and ran to Jacob's outstretched arms. Jacob grinned widely and swung Kurt around, kissing him.

"I'm surprised you can still lift me when I'm pretty much solid marble now," Kurt remarked.

"You forget that I have enhanced strength too."

"Oh, no. I'm very much aware of that," Kurt smirked.

Jacob laughed. "So what's going on?"

Kurt unlocked the door and led Jacob into the living room. Jacob sat down first while Kurt got himself a glass of water. Jacob wasn't particularly thirsty. Kurt downed his glass in the kitchen before returning to his boyfriend. He draped his legs across Jacob's lap and put his head on Jacob's chest.

"What's wrong?"

"My stupid vampire power was playing up today. I thought I had it all under control but I was talking to Mike Newton in English class and I spoke inside his mind. By accident, of course! He looked severely freaked out and I left without explaining. How could I have explained? For example, if you phased while you were with someone, that's pretty self-explanatory. You're a werewolf. But my power doesn't equate to me being a vampire. I could always just tell him that I'm a psychic or something. I think that I'll be—."

Jacob sighed. "Kurt. Slow down. This is nothing that you can't fix. I promise, everything will be okay."

"This isn't about Mike or people knowing I'm a vampire. It's about the Volturi."

"You mean the people who basically rule the vampire world?"

"The very same," Kurt nodded. "Alice says that they're watching us. They know about me. And the Cullen coven is becoming too large to escape notice. Alice thinks that if they come here, things could go really badly for us. I cannot have the deaths of my family on my conscience."

Jacob smiled at the mention of the Cullens as his family and he supposed that they were. His cousin's future in-laws were technically his family too by some distant distinction. "Nobody is going to die and I want you to get that idea out of your head right this second, Kurt Hummel! If the Volturi come to Forks for a fight, then they'll be outnumbered."

Kurt counted the numbers aloud. "There's Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward and me. I just know Bella will be sitting out somewhere. That makes eight. From what Carlisle told me, the Volturi have an entire vampire army at their disposal if things do no go their way."

"You're forgetting about the fourteen Quileute wolves on the reservation. Particularly a russet coloured one who really likes your eyes."

Kurt was outraged. "No. Absolutely not, Jacob! I'm not having you fight in that confrontation, whenever it comes. Because it will arrive and you will not risk your life. This isn't your fight!" Kurt raised his voice a little.

"Any fight you're involved in becomes my fight. You're my life. Anything happens to you and I cease to exist," Jacob argued.

Kurt groaned, silently cursing the imprint bond for the first time since he met Jacob. "I'm sorry for getting angry with you. I just couldn't deal with having to worry about you alongside the Cullens. And if I'm responsible for hurting you, then I cease to exist. Please, Jacob."

Jacob kissed Kurt's cheek. "Hopefully it won't have to come to that, angel, but I suppose I could be…persuaded to sit out."

Kurt smirked at him and found the spot on Jacob's neck that drove him crazy and sucked on it slightly, sending Jacob into a fit of pleasure.

"Oh, fuck, Kurt."

Kurt palmed Jacob's already growing hardness through his pants before he heard the noise from outside. "Shit, Charlie's back. What's he doing home so soon?"

Jacob crossed his legs and Kurt chuckled at him.

"Hush, you. This is your fault."

"I was persuading you!"

A knock sounded on the door and Kurt frowned. "Charlie doesn't knock. Ugh, he probably forgot his keys again! Hang on Charlie," Kurt called as he walked into the front hall, unlocking the door.

When the door opened, Charlie wasn't there. Nobody was. Kurt groaned as he realised that it was probably a prank from some kid.

Until he saw the piece of paper on the floor.

"Jacob," Kurt called into the living room and the werewolf darted over to Kurt's side, where he held the paper up to his eyes. Kurt gasped at the giant, emboldened 'V' in the top middle of the page.

"Oh God," Jacob murmured as he read the two frightening words.

We're coming.

Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait! Review! xoxo