On the ride back to Kurt's house, he was just driving on the Route 81, not too far from the movie theater. The new house that Kurt and his family had moved into was almost perfect, because as Kurt said, "It's only ten minutes from the mall."
Dave just nodded along with that, keeping focused on the road when suddenly the car in front of him braked out of nowhere.
"Crap!" yelled Dave as he quickly pushed on the brake as hard as he could. Everything was moving so quickly, but thankfully when he hit the minivan in front of him; it was a small hit rather than a full blown collision. The car had geared itself into neutral, and Dave quickly put it to drive to get off to the side of the road. After he parked, he let out a deep breath.
"Dave, are you okay?" asked Kurt, and Dave noticed his voice was a little higher than normal. Was he nervous? Worried about him?
"Yeah, I'm alright, you?" asked Dave gruffly. "What about Conrad?"
"I'm alright, and I think Conrad is fine as well. It's good to know the car seat works as well as they say they do," said Kurt with relief, holding a hand to his heart. It felt as if it was beating outside of his chest, the adrenaline hitting both of them with the aftershock.
"Well, looks like we get to do the fun job of playing 'who's to blame' and 'what's your insurance' game," grumbled Dave. Leaning over Kurt, he pulled out his registration and got out of the car to go see the other driver.
Kurt got out of the car as well, going to the back seat to retrieve Conrad. As he watched Dave get all the information, he held Conrad to his chest, the collision having caused the baby to start to cry. Obviously the driver in front of them felt sorry for the quick brake, and had admitted to the fault of not paying attention. Kurt absently stroked the top of Conrad's head as Dave clapped the guy's back, having taken the info to call up the guy's insurance company. The driver nodded over to Kurt, sending his apologies and Kurt smiled weakly. Dave walked over after talking to the driver, and looked at the two.
"He start to cry?" asked Dave.
"Yeah, he's quieted down now though," said Kurt. "If you'll hold him for a second, I can pop the hood and make sure the car is okay to drive us back."
"Uh, okay," said Dave, slightly numb. In all the commotion, he had forgotten that Kurt actually had experience with cars. He watched Kurt as he opened the hood and looked. After a few minutes of poking and prodding, Kurt came over and gave the okay that they could keep driving.
"Don't worry, bring the car in tomorrow and my dad can have a look at it."
In all honesty, Dave was slightly worried about being here near Burt Hummel, with lots of tools handy for the older man to club him with. Sure, he was allowed into the Hummel house with Kurt to protect him, but Kurt was off in another part of the shop where Dave was sure he couldn't hear his screams. Looking at the disheveled wreck of his 1997 Honda Civic, Dave wondered if it would possibly have been better to go somewhere else, where the owner didn't know him.
"So how did you get into this mess, Dave?" asked Burt, looking from the hood of the car to the young man.
"It was a sudden stop by the car in front of me; I had to slam down on my brakes as fast as I could. Luckily, the car was able to run enough so that I could drive home after checking on the other car and getting the information," explained Dave, looking at the car with regret. Honestly, if he could have just braked a little faster, this wouldn't have happened.
"Well, considering the fact that you were probably already going what, 50, 60? This isn't too much damage—it could've been worse," said Burt gruffly. "Now pop up the hood." Dave pulled the lever forward, and once he had gotten out, Burt already had the hood up and in place. "Looks like the bumper's reinforcement took a lot of the blow, it went in about a good 5 to 6 inches," said Burt, pointing to the inside, just under the grill.
"Can that be replaced without taking the rest of the bumper off?" asked Dave, looking at the dark green bumper that had a crack in a few places. "I'm more worried about it functioning rather than looks."
"Yeah, it should be fine, the reinforcement should be replaced though, that one won't hold up in another accident," explained Burt. "Now the radiator looks like it may be punctured by the reinforcement, but it hasn't been leaking?"
"Yeah, it only leaked a little at the wreck site, nothing major since then," said Dave, looking where Burt had pointed. The radiator was pushed up right next to the bumper, slightly dipped in where it had made contact.
"It's really the framework that needs to be straightened out," said Burt, looking up from the hood. "Possibly get a new radiator to be on the safe side, and definitely new bumper reinforcement. That'd be around $75 for the radiator, and $35 for the bumper."
Dave sighed, mentally saying good bye to any of his extra spending money for a few months. "Okay, that sounds reasonable. How long will it take for everything to be done?"
"'Bout 4-5 days, given the pile up of other work that needs to be done around the shop. That sound good to you?"
"Yeah, that's fine," said Dave, trying to think of how he was going to get to and from football practice without the car. While his house was only a few miles from the school, it would be difficult to walk around with a huge bag of football equipment.
"In the meantime, I can assist you with getting to and from school," piped in Kurt, who had just come from working on another car.
"Oh, you don't have to do that Kurt, it's fine, really," said Dave, flustered slightly by the grease smear on Kurt's right cheek.
"No, I insist. After all, if you hadn't braked so quickly, we both might have gotten hurt. It's the least I can do," said Kurt, looking at Dave determined. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me—expect me to be in front of your house promptly at 7:25."
"I'd go with it, kid. When Kurt says something like that, it's best to go with it," advised Burt.
"Uh, okay," conceded Dave, looking at both Hummels give each other a knowing grin. Obviously stubbornness was a family trait.
"Now I need to get back to this car, but after that I'll take you home," said Kurt, walking down a few cars to a dark blue Sedan.
"Okay, I'll be here, I guess," said Dave, looking away from Kurt to the older Hummel. "How much will it cost for the check up and work on the car?"
"For you, $50."
Dave stared at him, bewildered. "$50? Isn't that a little… Cheap?"
Burt looked Dave straight in the eyes and said, "You made sure my kid survived a crash, and you were there and made sure he was okay before even checking yourself, from what I've heard."
"That's what anyone would have done, I mean, he was in the car with me," said Dave, embarrassed at how straightforward Mr. Hummel was being.
"Well, anyone who would put Kurt before themselves is good in my book," said Burt, looking away from the football player to look over the engine again. "Even if they may have more than platonic feelings for him."
"M-more than platonic feelings?" stuttered Dave, looking at Burt with wide eyes.
"Kid, you may be trying to hide it from Kurt and everybody else, but it's pretty damn obvious you like him. Now if you were the kind of kid you were last year, I'd have none of it. But I've seen you around the house; you're one of Kurt's friends now. And if Kurt ever wants you back, I'm all for it, as long as you both treat each other right. You got me?"
"Yeah," said Dave, swallowing dryly. "I got you."