When Kurt came back that Monday, he was slightly subdued for a while. He didn't explain to anyone what had happened, but it was apparent on his face what it was. Wes tried his best to erase any of the bad memories when he could, and that was exactly the case now. But Kurt wouldn't talk to him. He wouldn't talk to anyone. He stopped singing in the Warbler rehearsals, he didn't even talk with his old friends from New Directions anymore when they called or texted. The one time that Wes took his hand, Kurt met his eyes for only a moment - one just barely long enough for Wes to see the pure hurt in his eyes - before he pulled his hand away.
It was a good two weeks later before Kurt let anyone even touch him. He kept to himself a lot, acted much more like he had right after his transfer. Wes had tried his best to get him to talk again, but it wasn't working. And he only sang if he had to.
Before they knew it, they were at the venue for Regionals. The Warblers had mixed it up slightly, doing different music. They used music that demanded emotion in them. Kurt got involved, but he avoided eye contact with most people. He had been given a solo, after Thad and David had talked with the other Warblers. He probably had the most emotional song out of all of them - Secrets - and he played it well. He had met Mr. Schue's eyes when he started, silently apologizing. " ..I need another story, something to get off my chest, my life gets kind of boring, I need something I can confess. 'Til all my sleeves are stained red from all the truth that I've said, come by it honestly, I swear. Thought you saw me wink, no, I've been on the brink so..tell me what you want to hear, something a little like those years, I'm gonna give all my secrets away. .. " He was passing a message, they all knew, as he sang. His eyes scanned the New Directions at one point, eyes slightly dull. " ..This time, don't need another perfect lie, don't care if critics ever jump in line, I'm gonna give all my secrets away. Got no reason, got no shame, got no family I can blame, just don't let me disappear, I'mma tell you everything. So tell me what you want to hear, something little like those years, I'm gonna give all my secrets away. .. " His voice was soft, almost haunting as he sang, the Warblers backing him up. Mr. Schue was surprised. When Kurt finished, he stepped back, and the Warblers left the stage.
When everyone gathered on the stage for the results, Mr. Schue went to stand in front of Kurt for a moment. He addressed Kurt, a slight smile. "You have never really gotten a song across better than you did tonight, Kurt."he said. Kurt gave him a smile, the first one that the Warblers had seen from him in weeks. He gave Mr. Schue a hug. But Kurt's smile had disappeared when Mr. Schue went back to stand with the New Directions, who were watching him. Kurt kept his eyes forward. Wes clasped a hand on Kurt's shoulder lightly, giving him a silent comfort that was dearly needed. Kurt relaxed into the touch. Things were so out of rhythm right then, that Kurt just zoned out for a moment. It was just another tie. He didn't miss much. The New Directions stuck around after, while Kurt was talking with Wes, David and Blaine.
Finn came up behind the countertenor and spoke. "Kurt?"he asked quietly. Kurt turned to look at his brother for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Don't you have someone else to hurt?"he snapped. Finn's eyes flashed with hurt for a moment before he sighed. "I came to apologize. I'm not leaving until I fix this."he said stubbornly. Kurt let out a derisive laugh. "Really? Well, you may well sleep here then. I forgave you almost blindly that first time when you apologized. Finn, you're my brother. I know you don't really accept it, but you could at least try, you know? Not make thoughtless comments when you think I can't hear you."he said, making everyone fall silent. His voice had been cold and unwelcoming. "Just go home, think this over, provide me a good reason at the weekend for what you did and I'll think about forgiving you."he added before turning away and leaving. Wes met Finn's eyes for a second. He sighed helplessly, shrugging.
The following week was near disaster level. While Kurt had accepted the apology and forgiven his brother, he was also a lot more withdrawn from the group for that first week following Regionals.
Come a few weeks after Regionals, Kurt was back to his normal self, accepting of any physical contact that the boys gave him and was more than happy to contribute to a conversation. A nice change now. Wes was glad to see Kurt back to normal, but had distanced himself slightly from Kurt. Kurt noticed and seemed a bit hurt by it.
Wes didn't really realize just how much it hurt Kurt to see this until almost a week after he did this. Kurt had stayed in the room with them as always, but he absolutely refused to be near any of them. He was drifting back to how he had acted before Regionals. He didn't speak with them much and stayed curled up in bed for longer than he needed to after he woke up, just thinking. Almost daydreaming. He didn't really realize that the tears that he had fought back so despriately for the past month had spilled over until his breathing shifted. All the hurt that came from the tears tore at Kurt's defenses, pushing past them slowly.
But he didn't break. Not right then. Just a stray tear. No, the breakdown happened in the middle of that night, well after Blaine, David and Wes had gone to sleep. He kept himself quiet, since he really didn't want to be questioned by the three. It didn't work. Wes, ever the light sleeper, heard the suppressed sobs and woke up, glancing up at Kurt from where he lay before it hit him. The distance wasn't a good thing for either of them. He got up, careful not to wake the other two boys, and moved to lay by Kurt, shifting the countertenor so that he was in his arms, and let him cry it out. It was better than keeping it all bottled up inside. Kurt sniffled slightly after a while, and Wes just wiped the stray tears away and offered a supportive smile, as well as a kiss to the teen. Kurt met his eyes a bit later, tried to offer up a smile, but failed. Wes nodded in a silent 'I know'.
The following morning, Wes woke up to the sun shining. Kurt was still asleep soundly, head resting on his chest. Wes smiled down at the countertenor. David and Blaine were talking quietly and Wes rolled his eyes slightly at the questions coming from the two of them. He just whispered a soft, "He had a breakdown," to them, careful not to wake Kurt up as he did so. Kurt stirred slightly, but didn't wake up, just mumbled slightly.
That evening in the Warbler meeting, Kurt was focused on what was going on, but was only half paying attention to some of it. Wes had sat by him to talk to him, but right then Kurt didn't really know what he was supposed to do. He spoke before Wes could. "I'm sorry about the meltdown last night, Wes."he said quietly. All of the Warblers knew, but it was a touchy subject for him. Wes shrugged. "It's alright,"he replied softly. Kurt gave a slight smile, but didn't reply to it.
Things got better after that. There were a few times that Kurt's mood would slip a bit, but it wasn't often.
Wes and Kurt went out on a date one Saturday, still learning new things about each other that they hadn't learned already. It was one of those days that were relaxing. They both enjoyed the calm day, and entered Dalton Academy again a bit before they actually had to be back, still talking over something that they had been trying to discuss for a little over an hour. It was just one of those days that had been so good yet so odd at the same time. The two of them were back to how they had been, Wes kept Kurt's hand in his own on the way out to the back patio of the school. Everything was going good for them.
And they stayed that way. When the Warblers had the chance, they'd go out on another 'bonding night'. Kurt knew that the others could very easily embarrass him with all they knew, so he kept rather quiet if he didn't have to talk, content to be around them outside of the meetings. The only thing that was a bit of a damper for Kurt was where they had gone that time - Breadstix. It was a place he'd avoided since his transfer, for the obvious reason of it being frequented by the football players from McKinley High. But he didn't let it bother him now. Right now, he was with a group of amazing friends as well as his boyfriend, just hanging out and relaxing from all the work they'd all had to do that week.
"...but no, I don't think I've ever had to deal with people as crazy as you guys before, and that is saying something,"Kurt finished, an answer to a question that Nick had pestered him with until he answered. Some of the boys were laughing, others were resigned to the term 'crazy'. The group was a lot calmer than they had been in the past, maybe because they had learned that Kurt was really familiar with this place, maybe because they just wanted a calm bonding night for a change. No one had objected to it, anyway.
That night, Kurt felt completely at ease with the Warblers for the first time since their gathering during the winter holiday. Somehow, things were so much better now than they had been even then. He could joke with the others without any worries for a while. Nick and Jeff made sure to throw in a few teasing words, directed towards Wes and Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes and hit out at Jeff when he poked him.
(End Note: Alright, here's the new chapter. Sorry it's taken so long, but I've had to struggle with having a few power outages here at home as well as having to do research for the Love Is Louder organization. Assembly on it in a few days, as well as an in-class presentation. Just kill me now..)