Chapter 10:

Helen was gone again for a few days in Miami. Kurt spent his days working on his lessons and books, trying to get busy not to think about anything else. He was currently working on Of Mice and Men and had already read it three times in three days to get every single detail of the book in mind. He didn't talk to anyone. He had barely any friends at school since it had started one month ago. John and Sarah had come the day before to see how he was doing and to apologize for the confrontation with Keith.

Truth was, Kurt had been thinking of calling Keith several times the past few days. After all, the man still seemed interested in Kurt. And Kurt had grown up since the time they were together. Now he knew what to expect from a perfect relationship and could send Keith to hell if he didn't agree with him. And that would be a real step towards the process of oblivion he had started after Puck had left.

There was a lot of irony in the fact that, once, Kurt had been the only way for Puck to forget about something hard and Keith had been the barrier. And now, Keith was Kurt's only way to forget about Puck.

Kurt knew that Helen would not agree with Kurt and Keith to go back together, and, even though she was not his mom, he usually obeyed her. His aunt hadn't told him when she'd be back in town but Kurt would have to decide himself quickly whether or not he wanted to go back with Keith. The reasonable part of himself knew that it was not a good idea. Keith had been a perfect jerk to him. But Kurt had really been in love with him, there might have been a good reason for that.

Kurt went into the bathroom to have a long, warm bath, in order to clear his mind. The last few days had been an emotional roller coaster, and not in a positive way. He made his way to the bathroom, enjoying the fact that he was alone. He ran the water on, pouring lavanda balls in the bath to have a bubble bath. He started undressing himself, folding cautiously his clothes, and went to the sink to check if he didn't look too much like a zombie. He found dirt on his left cheek, he wondered how he could have gotten dirt here, but shrugged it. He poured water on his hand and started wiping it off. But the stain wouldn't go away and the more he stroked his cheek, the more it hurt. That's when Kurt realized that it wasn't dirt he had on his cheek. It was a bruise, the kind that became more visible as days passed. And it was not a random bruise, Kurt never had bruises. It was due to Puck's slap, the one that had made him stumble and almost fall on the floor. Kurt watched the slight purple lines on his cheek, a tear coming down from his eyes. He grabbed his cell phone that was resting next to his clothes and found Keith's number. Without an ounce of hesitation, he pressed call. It was no surprise when Keith took the call after only one ring.

"Hi Kurt." He said cheerfully.

"Hi Keith." Kurt replied. They remained silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. Kurt didn't even know what he expected from Keith.

"So ? You only called me to say hi ?" Keith finally asked.

"Is this coffee offer still on ?" Kurt asked.

"Absolutely." Keith replied happily. "What about tonight ?"

"No, not tonight. Tomorrow morning ?" Kurt offered.

"That's good for me." Keith agreed.

"Great. See you Keith."

"Can't wait." The man replied, Kurt hung up.

So that was it. He had made his choice. He was going to get over Puck with the only man he knew who wanted him for sure. Helen would be disappointed, that was for sure, but Kurt was young, he was allowed to do mistakes. And maybe this time would be the good one, after all, Kurt was not a virgin anymore, they would not fight about that. But thinking about it, Kurt didn't want to have sex with someone else than Puck just now. The last person to touch him was Puck and, in some way, having sex with someone else would be like erasing Puck's memories for good. It was the last thing he had from him, and it was one of the best. It's not that sex was all that mattered for Kurt, but, after two years, things could have lost their spice. But it wasn't the case at all, having sex with Puck was always something amazing, it was like he was discovering the sex universe over and over again.

Just thinking of what they had had made Kurt hard. He entered in his bath to cool off because he knew that if he touched himself right now, he would fantasize over Puck and that was not the best way to get over him; his hurtful words and his slap.

Kurt fell asleep in his bath, thinking of what could result of tomorrow's coffee with Keith. Sure, Keith was not Kurt's soul mate, but the chances for someone to end their life with their soul mates are like zero. People usually settle with someone they appreciate and feel not so bad with. That was what Keith could be to Kurt. After all, the boy had always been too naïve concerning love. First, he had been dating Keith, certain he loved him, when the man was cheating on him. Then, he had been dating Puck and, that time, he knew he was the good one, it made no doubt to him. But Puck, well, a modified version of Puck, had hurt him too.

The next morning, when Kurt was getting ready, he glanced at the door several times, almost hoping Aunt Helen to enter the apartment and stop him from going to see Keith. He felt like, all those times, when you're about to do something you know is stupid, you know you shouldn't do that, but you do it despite everything. Like when someone broke up with you and you know you shouldn't text them because either the reply will hurt or they won't reply at all. But you do it, hating yourself for being so weak. That was exactly how Kurt felt right now. When he looked at his reflection in the mirror that morning, he thought that he must hate himself for going back in Keith's arms. That he must have no pride at all for going back with the man who hurt him the most.

But he already hated himself for not telling Puck from the beginning about Max and juvie. Puck had been right, even though everyone thought the same as him, he should have never tried to hide things from Puck. He knew Puck, knew that he was strong enough to handle the truth, and that he would want to know about it. Noah was not the kind of man who want to be spared, even less such important things. Kurt should have known that. Somewhere, deep inside, he had known since Puck had woken up that they would never get back together. It was impossible. Back in junior year, Puck would have never even considered dating Kurt, the same way Finn had. And now, Puck was back to his old self, his straight self. He didn't feel comfortable with Kurt in his arms anymore, he found it awkward, Kurt knew it. He had been kind enough to try and remember to go back to the life they once had, and Kurt should be glad about it. Now, Puck would go back living in Lima, dating tons of girls, not even having the slightest memory of the time he had spent with Kurt as a couple. Kurt tried to persuade himself that it was for the best, that fate existed and, if Puck didn't remember, that was a sign that they were not meant to spend their lives together. Maybe they would see each other again, feeling awkward for having slept in the same bed one night, and that would be all.

When Kurt was about to step outside, in the street, his cell phone rang. He took it to see it was Puck. Puck, who called him to say what ? That he was sorry ? That he never should have slapped him ? It would only result in Kurt hoping again; thinking that his Puck was back when he was not. There was always this weak part of himself that imagined that he was calling him to say that he remembered, that he loved him and wanted them to be back together. But that was not the case. If it were the case, Puck would be here to tell him that himself. So, as much as Kurt wanted to take the call, he ignored it, putting his phone back, deep inside his pocket.

"You're not taking that call ?" A woman asked from behind Kurt. She was the woman who lived next to Helen's apartment.

"That was an error." Kurt replied.

"I see." She answered, Kurt could see that she didn't believe him but was glad she didn't ask more. "Will you say hi to your aunt ?" She asked.

"I will." Kurt promised. He went outside, dreading what was awaiting for him on his meeting with Keith. He struggled within himself not to take his phone and call Puck to know what his call was about. He finally resolved to put his mobile at the bottom of his bag, where he knew he would have to fumble at least one minute to find it.

He was finally walking down the street when he saw Keith meeting him.

"Hi b... Kurt." He greeted him. Kurt noticed his hesitation in calling him 'baby' and was glad he didn't.

"Hi Keith." He greeted back, avoiding physical contact with his ex boyfriend. But Keith didn't seem to think the same, he took Kurt in his arms tightly as if they hadn't seen each other for years. Which was basically true, if you didn't take their last encounter into account. But it wasn't like they had broken up in good terms. Kurt wiggled softly his way out of Keith's hold. "Didn't we say we'd meet at the coffee shop ?" He asked.

"Yes but I thought it'd be better if you didn't come here by yourself. " Keith explained with a disgusting charming smile. Kurt smiled back politely.

"So, what about you and Puck ?" Keith asked bluntly once they were sitting behind their coffee.

"I bet you can guess by yourself that I don't want to talk about it Keith." Kurt replied coldly.

"Alright, I won't talk about it. From the very beginning I knew he didn't love you like I did." Keith stated, with the same throw-up-worth smile.

"He didn't break my heart. Let's talk about something else." Kurt said again.

"Okay. Let's talk about that giant bruise you have on your face."

"Alright, I'm out." Kurt said standing up, realizing how much of a bad idea it had been to come here. Keith grabbed his hand.

"Wait, Kurt." He said, no, he implored Kurt.

"I'm not staying if you keep on talking about it." Kurt warned him.

"I just wanted to let you know that you could stop defending Puck in front of me." Keith stated. "He used violence against you Kurt. I'd never have done that."

"You tried to force yourself on me Keith." Kurt reminded him.

"I didn't." Keith replied.

"Puck didn't want to hit me." Kurt defended. "We've had a really dark period that's all."

"Yes, Sarah and John told me he had lost his mind."

"Alright. Bye Keith." Kurt stated, standing up for good, unable to go on with this conversation.

"Wait, Kurt please." Keith said standing up as well. "I'm sorry okay, it's just that he hurt you and I hate that." He stated. "Will we meet again ?"

"Maybe." Kurt replied before leaving. Once outside, he fumbled in his bag to check the time and see if he had time to go to the library. When his screen light was on he saw one missed call from Puck and one voice mail. He hesitated again, but listened to it this time.

"Hi Kurt. I just wanted to tell you that one day, you told me that I couldn't get rid of you even if I wanted. I hope that's true."