Monday: Stay in Bed
Burt let his heavy hands sit on Kurt's shoulders for a moment after they got out of the car. The school day wasn't even technically over yet. McKinley would be in its last period and by the looks of things Dalton was at a similar point in their schedule.
He had no regrets, and he was glad that Carole didn't seem to have any either. Their honeymoon was already cancelled (he'd called the airport and hotel and everything else in the car) and they had gotten written statements from key witnesses - that being now former Principal Sue Sylvester, Choir Director and Spanish Teacher William Schuester, and Football Coach (and presumably teacher of something? maybe gym?) Shannon Bieste - to help them get Kurt in before the money was returned to his account. Since without it they couldn't put down the payment that needed to be handed over. But he'd also called Dalton and talked to the principal there about their situation and he had proof that they'd have the money by early next week.
It just sucked that Kurt had to hear all that. He'd been tucked away so quiet in the backseat as they drove right over for what was apparently a required interview. There were a lot of required things that the staff had eagerly agreed to speed through and waive where they could. It was a good sign. They were doing everything in their power to protect a kid that they had no personal ties to and really no reason to do anything to help, considering, well, their financial situation. It gave Burt hope that Dalton was a good move. Because they just could not keep Kurt at McKinley. Even if Kurt hadn't wanted to go to Dalton, Burt's heart couldn't take it, having him there with a guy who threatened to kill him. He couldn't lose his son.
"I'm sorry," he heard the small teen whisper.
"For what?"
"This weekend was...it was so great, but now-"
"Don't even go there." His hands curled tighter on those shoulders. Not on purpose, but to remind himself that Kurt was here, Kurt was alive, and they were going to make sure Kurt stayed that way.
"But Dad!"
"Kurt," Carole cut in, taking his hand in her own. "You're more important." For a moment, they lingered there, next to the car, just steps away from the grandiose front doors of the estate-like school that was Dalton Academy. It was frustrating, in a way. The day was so beautiful. When they'd woken up the sun had been out, the temperatures were in the upper 50s - it wasn't November weather at all. Today was supposed to be a good day. His first full day married to Carole, Kurt's first full day as Finn's brother. He'd even heard a rumor (ok, well, Finn's loud mouthed girlfriend had bragged to him) that Mr. Schue was going to give Kurt a very important solo.
But this had to happen.
His fingers curled a little bit tighter. Kurt pulled away at the feeling.
"Sorry," he started to offer.
"Let's just go back," Kurt declared.
"What?"
"Let's just. Let's forget this. And go back to McKinley."
"What."
"I just...I really don't think we should make such a big deal out of this. It's not like he's actually going to do it. He's just a neanderthal who wants to be big and tough and really, by running away aren't we giving him all the power? He wins!"
"Your life isn't a game Kurt. There is no winning and losing, there's only living and I'd much prefer you do that safely here no matter what some idiot thinks than risk yourself there."
"Dad, I can't do this. I can't leave McKinley. McKinley is home. The New Directions need me. I...I...I can't...I can't be a coward, Dad. I can't run away. I can't be like that. I'm not weak. I'm your son. What does that tell everyone else? No one pushes the Hummels around? Well someone is and we're just taking it. We're not like that!"
It was hard enough to face losing his kid, but to realize that it was in part because of his macho style was probably even harder. Burt didn't linger blaming himself though. His teen needed a father to step up and make this right. So he grabbed Kurt by his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "You're not a coward."
"We're running away Dad."
"No. We're walking away, for now. Don't think that we're just going to leave this here. Finn and the rest of those kids are going to keep their eyes open. We're going to find a way to fight back. But in the meantime, you have to stay safe. And...sometimes, the more courageous thing to do is to just walk away."
"Dad...I..."
"I love you."
"I love you too." Burt looked over to his wife. She was lost in that spot between 'am I family enough to hug him too' and 'does he just need his daddy right now,' but he appreciated her patience. She loved his boy as much as he loved hers. Even though there was still a few little details they had to work out between them. The things that couldn't be talked about. Only discovered in time. "We're going to be late for that interview."
"Right."
There was something powerful when he saw Carole link her arm in Kurt's. Her hand patted over his in that soft sweet way. He got the door for them. "Which way-" she started to ask.
"The main office is down this hall," Kurt informed them. "The principal's office is upstairs."
"You've been in there?"
"Uhm, yes. I uh. A few times. I visited. I did one of those day visits. The Warblers helped me get in."
"...I didn't know you two were already looking at Dalton."
"We weren't," Burt said. "But it's fine. We already talked about cutting school. Speaking of, though, Kurt, you can't cut school if we're going to be paying this much for you to be here."
"Right. Well, there's just one day I need out anyway," the teen said. Burt tried not to frown or judge. It was probably for some performance. Which he would decide on closer to the time if that was the case.
"What for?" Carole asked.
"Well, a friend of mine...ok see, his old school was dangerous for him, that's why he's at Dalton, but his old school comes here once a year for the academic decathlon. That's right after Thanksgiving this year. I was going to ask if I could skip school to keep him company, because he doesn't go to school when they're here. After everything he's done for me this last month, I want to do something for him. And that's something I can do. Keep him company."
"...I think we can do that," Burt said. "Just let me know as soon as you can. And the two of you have to stay at home. Ours or his, I don't care. But I don't want some officer calling me saying he found two school skippers out at the mall."
"Trust me Dad. I will not make that mistake twice."
"...are there some things I need to know?" Carole asked.
"It's all in the past," Burt said. That's when he noticed them. Two boys. Down the hall, frozen in time. He seemed to be the first to see them because as soon as Kurt saw them he came to a standstill. "Those two look familiar."
"They're Warblers," Kurt said. "David and Wes." They waved. He looked to Kurt to see if his son would wave back, but the kid didn't. He just started walking again with his head ducked. Carole almost tripped trying to keep up with him and he didn't really pay attention to her when he ducked into the office.
As for the boys, well, Burt watched as they turned and ran off down the hall. He would have liked to stay and find out why but, well, his son needed him.
Carole was the one doing most all of the talking. Where Kurt had been shaken and quiet before, he was bottled up and silent now. Burt didn't try to interpret it. They could talk about all of this later. There were some very important things to attend to at this very second. Like the principal-headmaster person that seemed to be scrutinizing them all. "Pleasure to meet you," he said politely, holding his hand out. "Don't mind me, we weren't exactly expecting to be making this trip today. Or any important trips." He was well aware that his son looked like he'd stepped out of some fancy magazine while he clearly belonged squarely somewhere just north of the poverty line. "Did they tell you-"
"Its an emergency situation," the principal finished. "They did. We just have a few formalities to go over - Ms. Tracy will talk about all the financial details with you while I conduct Kurt's interview. It's merely a formality, really. I've already heard all about you."
"...You have?"
"I like to sit in on the Warblers when they're practicing from time to time. I used to be one, back in my day, oh a hundred or so years ago." The man chuckled to try and lighten the mood but Kurt just shifted his weight to the other side. "Alright, right this way." Burt watched his one and only child disappear behind the heavy wooden door. He knew Kurt would have no trouble. The kid was brilliant at making people love him. Which was already very easy as it was. He was just so loveable. Of course that was a father's bias.
Really, he had the hard part. Coming up with the money. The secretary seemed to be well aware because she made absolute sure to show him all the different scholarships Kurt could get. Apparently there were dozens of things he could do. Including just being part of the show choir. Apparently there were endless droves of alumni who were donating to the school specifically for its music program so there was plenty of wiggle room for scholarships for talented young music types. "He's already being considered for that," the secretary made sure to inform them. "Since he's part of McKinley's choir, plus the boys all say he's a good singer."
"He's a great singer," Burt corrected without even thinking twice about it. He signed his name and even dared to try to give it the tiniest bit of a flourish. He wasn't sure if that was because of his fancy son or because of their posh environment but it just felt like something he needed to do.
"Here is the payment plan," she said, holding it up to them. "It's all online too, so you can pay there, and any scholarships will be automatically added and will take the monthly total down for you. It's a really smart system."
"Sounds like it. I don't suppose there's a tutorial for it, so I don't mess up, is there?" He wasn't as concerned about messing up, of course, as he was about having to ask Kurt for help and his son seeing it. The lady happily walked him through it completely unawares.
It wasn't very long before his son was returned to him, still as quiet and grim as ever but holding up his new blazer and tie as though it were a white flag. "I should try it on," Kurt whispered. Burt didn't hesitate to take them from him.
The blazer was heavy in the man's hands as Kurt slowly pushed off his own layers. He actually kind of recognized the pieces. Sort of. Of course he knew they'd been altered since he'd last seen them. Kurt altered everything he bought. Though he'd been doing that less and less as he spent more time with friends. Especially these Dalton kids.
Carole took the pieces as they were handed to her.
It was actually really strange seeing his son in nothing more than a shirt and pants. Just a shirt. No vest, no jacket, no...corset. Or whatever else he decided to wear. Just a simple button up shirt and pants. It almost felt like the poor kid was naked without the rest of it.
Kurt didn't entirely take the blazer from him. He just started slipping his arms into the thing. Burt lifted it up onto his shoulders for him. Kurt clasped the button.
His button up didn't match and he didn't even have a tie on at all. But that didn't matter. His son was a Dalton kid now. Honestly the look suited him. Kurt had always seemed like he belonged somewhere other than the halls of a typical public school. He was kind of...soft, but not in a bad way. Like his mom. Gentle, but ferocious. His artist's heart was worn on all of his features.
"You look great kid," Burt offered.
All he got in return was a weak smile. He knew his son's smiles. There was the primly pressed 'I'm not deeply happy about this but it's not upsetting me either' smile, the ear-to-ear impish 'I'm definitely trying to get into trouble and there's nothing anyone can do about it' smile, and, Burt's favorite, the huge open mouthed smile that said that Kurt was truly and deeply happy. The kind he'd had on when he'd found out about the whole engagement and marriage thing. This was none of those kinds of smiles. This was a smile that said 'Dad, I'm in pain right now.'
And there was nothing Burt could do to fix that.
As Burt let his hands slip away from Kurt's shoulders, three boys - the two from earlier and the that Thad kid who had the car troubles - barrelled into the office. "So it's true," Thad whispered.
"You're transferring," one of the others said.
"Yeah," Kurt whispered. "I'm a Dalton boy now."
"Well let us be the first to welcome you then," the third said.
"Thanks Wes."
"And of course we all agreed that if you did transfer you'd be a Warbler," the one that was apparently David announced. "You've already proven your singing capabilities. And since we've all seen it we all voted that you are in."
"We would have been here sooner," Thad explained, "but we had to call an emergency Warbler meeting to hold the vote. It was unanimous."
"...and everyone was there?" Kurt whispered.
"Everyone."
"Ok, ok," Burt interjected when he saw his son shrinking away from the trio. "Thank you. But I think we're going to go pick up Kurt's brother and get some dinner. This has been a really exhausting day. You three, and the rest of the Warblers, can talk to Kurt tomorrow. Or just text him since I know you all do that."
"Actually, I just...I kind of want to just go home and get some sleep," Kurt whispered.
"Can we show you a surprise first?" Wes asked. "We have this whole traditional welcome planned, the kind we do for all the new members each year-"
"No thanks."
"Blaine's going to sing lead for this one," Thad offered.
"...No thanks." The teen pushed past them right out of the office.
"Now is really not the time," Burt chastised the boys.
"If, if uh, you don't mind my asking-"
"I do." He took his wife's hand and followed after his son. It wasn't hard. Kurt had become a statue in the middle of the hallway. It wasn't hard for Burt to guess why either. That same short boy that had been pretty much everywhere Burt had found his son with any various mixture of these Dalton kids was standing there, thumbs in his pockets, jaw dropped at the sight of his son. Even though Burt could only see the back of Kurt's head, he could imagine the look on his face. Something told him that this was probably Blaine. He'd heard the name passed around plenty these last few weeks - Kurt was going out with Blaine to see a show, Finn was upset that Kurt couldn't be found and he suspected Kurt was with Blaine again, Mercedes was so bored she'd come to hang out at the car shop because Kurt was out with Blaine. If these two weren't dating then they were at the very least awfully good friends. But Burt highly suspected that they were dating, based on the body language.
Maybe this was why he'd been so scared. He looked like a coward in front of his boyfriend. It seemed childish to the man who was in his mid forties, but then again Kurt was still a child.
"Mr. Hummel-Kurt," Thad interrupted the moment. "Please, can you tell us what happened?" Kurt just stood there in silence. So the trio of Warblers turned to the parents. "Please."
"What happened is only your business if Kurt decides to make it your business." His son turned back to look at him for just a moment. Then he glanced over each boy in turn before simply shrugging.
"I'm tired," he said. "Can we go home?"
"Sure," Carole whispered back, taking hold of his arm again and escorting him down the hall.
"There's your answer fellas," Burt told them once his family was far enough away. "And you better accept it for what it is because if I hear that any of you are making things harder on him, I am not afraid to get the school board involved." He had no qualms about invoking that zero tolerance bullying policy - or arguing that their pestering, no matter how well intentioned, was bullying if he had to. Kurt was going through enough right now. He just needed to relax and for his life to get back to some kind of normal.
The boys all pushed away. All except for the short one named Blaine. The poor kid looked close to tears. Burt just hoped Kurt could forgive him for this.