See Chapter 1 for warnings, still not a nice happy fiction.
I own nothing, literally, especially not the song that's about to be sung.
Italics are Dave singing.
Battered Knight In A Letterman Jacket
10
If I thought Thursday was hell then I was mistaken, that was just the warm up, this is the real deal. Screw you Tanner, the fucker made us turn up before school to practice, and he knew there was a big jock party Thursday night, so guess what, no other jocks turned up, just me and the bastard still put me through my paces brutally.
Scrubbing myself in the shower I'd been a bit surprised when he'd followed me in and the look on his face when he saw my bruises was priceless, guess he now knows why I asked him for protection before allowing him to blackmail me back onto the team.
Staggering into the school the rumour mill was going crazy about Tanner putting every single hockey jock on probation, they screw up even once and they're out.
In hindsight I shoulda known the shit was gonna hit the fan, or me in this case. I know just about every trick in the book, I've beat up other kids, I know what to look for, which teachers are too busy to care, which is most of them, or too stupid to care, again most of them.
The attacks are relentless, they're only small attacks, ankle trips, slushies, shoves, but it doesn't stop once. Ducking into the girls' bathroom I hear the comments start up and I can't believe I'm reduced to this, Jesus I used to be one of them.
"Christ was I really that much of a dick?" I mutter and go to the sinks to wash the worst of the sticky slushy off of me.
"Yes," a girl's voice says and I twist to see the girl who gave me a band aid curled up and sitting on a toilet. She's not trying to pee, she's fully dressed and I guess she's hiding as much as I am.
"Then I'm sorry, I'm sorry if I was dumbass jock who made your life more of a hell than it should have been, you should never have had to go through it, you should never have had to go through any of it," and I mean every word.
Sighing she nods and I carry on washing waiting for the bell so I can make my escape. Drying my face and putting my head under a drier I can't wait to get out of school, god I hope the jocks stop soon, maybe they'll calm down over the weekend, and I know they won't, if anything they'll be worse because they'll have had time to plan.
Sitting on the floor I curl my knees up and rest my head, I remember Santana telling me about her plan to get Kurt back so he could sing and they could go to Nationals, I remember her holding my balls, well technically she was holding my balls, as she'd out me in a heartbeat if I fucked up, and I remember lying to the Glee club when I told them how I'd read about kids offing themselves because they felt so bad, I hadn't, I didn't realise, now I do.
Karma is a bitch.
The bell goes and I give it another minute before I get up, looking at the girl who's not moved I ask, "Are you going to class?" She shakes her head, "You want me to get the nurse or something?"
"No," she curls up and I don't want to leave her, "It's okay Karofsky…"
"Dave," I correct, "Please, call me Dave. Karofsky's a bullying dick, Dave's just a harmless idiot."
"Dave, it's fine, I have study, I just don't want to go out there, I just need a little more peace first," she's so calm but I nod, god do I get needing peace now.
"'Kay, just try and be careful?" And I have to leave her to turn up late to class and a mini lecture on punctuality, the teacher blindly ignores all the slushy stains on my clothes, bitch.
I can't believe I'm looking forward to booty camp. Anything to get out and away from these dicks who think they're funny and special and that the world belongs to them, boy are they in for a surprise one day.
Changing for booty camp I try and stay out of Kurt's way I don't want a repeat of yesterday and then Mike leads us through the same moves and this time I get it and don't go down like a dead rhino. Finally something that isn't totally fucked up today.
At the end everyone leaves and I volunteer to clean up, I got a song buzzing round my head and I think I'm infected with the same strange Glee bug because I actually want to sing, oh god, kill me now.
Kurt's going with the girls, or Rachel in this case, to do things that involve giggling and I'll be round his for family dinner later. And then everyone is gone and I'm alone. I do tidy up first and then I get changed into nice clean clothes I brought in special for dinner later.
Slotting in my ipod I wander into the middle of the stage and let it all go, every mask, every wall, just me and the music, even if it is clichéd, it feels good to sing it.
The music starts up, violins playing, and who woulda thought Coldplay would do that?
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
And I did used to own it, or I thought I did, what a dick, I own jack shit and I always have I had just the illusion of owning anything.
Rhythm moves through me and before I know it I'm dancing along to the music and most of the moves are the ones Mike's been patiently trying to teach me, some of them must have stuck though.
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand
It's like they've written my life in a song, me thinking fear was respect, and then everything crashing down around me.
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
All the time I thought I was a duke stud of a jock all I did was live a lie, a big lie, and when the truth came out I stopped being that duke stud I thought I was and became me, not special, not strong, and certainly not a king, prom king crown not withstanding.
It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?
God their faces when they realised I was gay, that I'd hidden amongst them for so long, that I'd stood in the same showers as them, talked and made up shit about girls.
Now they really do want my head of a silver plate and Tanner's strung me up like a puppet on one tiny breakable string. Who the fuck would ever want to be me?
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Of course St Peter won't call my name, after everything I've done, everything I've put people through, and my up coming suicide, naw there're no pearly gates for me, I don't deserve them, I never will.
I join in singing the "Oohh," bits and let the dance take over for a few seconds of instrumental before the last part of the song comes up.
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
As the music starts to fade I stand and build my walls back up and put my mask firmly in place, time to sweep the stage and then go to Kurt's for dinner. The bang of a door makes me look up but there's no one there and I decide to cut the sweeping short, I'm making work anyway and then I hurry out of the school and jump into my truck.
At Kurt's I knock politely and offer to do yard work but Mrs H ushers me and makes me help her in the kitchen, it's nice and warm and I can have some raw carrot to tide me over until dinner.
Things are going great but then she makes me take my shirt off and she gasps, "Dave, oh Dave, what are they doing to you?"
"Revenge Mrs H, they're doing revenge," I awkwardly pat her shoulder and I end up comforting her, "It's okay, really, it's not like it's going to go on forever, it'll stop soon."
I end up with a free cookie so that's not so bad and then Kurt's there so we do homework, I've never been this up to date with my homework before and we have a nice dinner, I can stay late because it's not a school night and I only have dance lessons and the gym tomorrow. Then hockey practice at the rink with Tanner and any jock that decides to turn up.
Hopefully they'll all skip and I can play hockey on my own, without them getting in my way I probably would play better.
Putting my arm around Kurt we sit watch some comedy thing he likes, he's got the box set and it's kinda funny, Mr and Mrs H join us and it feels a bit like family, I wish dad could be here, he'd like it.
A/N: Sorry for any and all mistakes, I've tried to catch those I could, but I'm only human.
Song is a bit predictable but I like it and it is 'Viva La Vida' by 'Cold Play'.