"Dude you aren't going to eat that?" Finn's eyes almost bulged out of his head as he watched his stepbrother push around the hamburger sitting on his plate. True, Kurt never was a big fan of burgers to begin with, but he usually made an exception for things like parties. And tonight was certainly a party. Almost everyone was finally home for the summer. Or at least part of the summer. Both Mike and Rachel had booked opportunities in different summer stock companies and would leave at the end of the week. Finn still wasn't sure he understood what all Rachel had babbled at him but he had figured out it was high prestigious ( a word Finn still remembered from the ACT study cards Kurt had made him look at) and an important stepping stone. His ex-girlfriend at that point in the explanation drug out her dog-eared copy of the book Beaches in order to show him passages that gave "a taste, but not a true one obviously but still it does illuminate the drive and the lengths some of my competition will go to get a jump on the competition even at this early stage of my rise to stardom and Tony Awards". That was the point Finn had mumbled something about needing to help Burt at the grill and ran away.
"Not hungry. You want it?" Kurt pushed his plate towards Finn, who scooped up the poor unloved burger immediately.
"You sure? I haven't seen you eat anything like all day. You aren't going to be sick are you?" Finn asked suspiciously. It wasn't like he minded helping Kurt when the smaller boy was sick. It was more the fact Finn had more than his fair share of cleaning up other people's vomit in the frat house. His Big Brother kept telling him Puke Monitor was a high honor, but Finn still couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.
"I assure you I'm in perfect health. I am just trying to lose the unfortunate freshman fifteen." Kurt offered up with a smile. "I've been eating everything on the vegetable trays and from those vegan platters Rachel brought."
"You ate that?" Finn wrinkled his face in disgust. He remembered well the difficulty it had been finding a restaurant in Lima that accommodated Rachel's diet restrictions. It was an issue he was positive she no longer had in New York. She had made him eat something called a Tofurky once and Finn couldn't help but think of it every time he saw sawdust. "You'll definitely be sick later."
"Some of it is not that bad once you get used to it." Kurt defended. "I've been toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian myself. I hardly ever eat meat anyways. And it's very eco-chic."
"Don't worry Finn." Mercedes smiled as she sat down next to her best friend. "If he gets sick I'll stay and clean him up. After all I know the full moisturizing routine better than you do."
"See? I'm fine. Cedes will take care of me." Kurt smiled at Finn's obvious relief at being relieved of his possible baby-sitting sick Kurt duty. "Now go make sure Puck doesn't burn down the house before I get a chance to teach him the finer points of stripping a chasse."
Mercedes leaned closer to Kurt as Finn took off across the yard to where Puck was currently manning the grill. "You realize Puck probably stopped listening to you after you said strip right?"
"Of course. But won't Dad's dear inventory guy be surprised when he sees what it actually is." Kurt winked at her. That was kind of the entire point of volunteering to help Puck master the work in the shop for his mechanic certification. A guy did have to have some fun over the summer after all.
"So, tell me the real reason you aren't eating." Mercedes said simply, leaning back on the bench next to the house. "And don't give me that freshman fifteen nonsense. Your skinny ass could actually use the extra padding."
"First off we both know all extra weight goes right to my pear hips. And those don't need any help thank you very little. And secondly, there is no real reason. I'm not hungry and I'm thinking of being a vegetarian. No big conspiracy theory. Someone's been talking to Artie too much on Facebook."
"Try that line of bullshit with someone who doesn't know you as well as I do. " Mercedes crossed her arms in front of her. "I always know when you're lying white boy so you might as well give it up."
"And just what would I possibly be lying about?"
"That your little diet has something to do with a certain ex not coming home this summer?" Mercedes asked sweetly, keeping her eye trained on Kurt to gauge any flinching no matter how small. "You know since it seemed to start the day Matt finally said he wasn't coming home."
He could feel her eyes on him and forced his every muscle to stay still. Yes he was disappointed Matt had elected to stay in Columbus for the summer but it wasn't like he didn't understand the reasons perfectly. It was a little silly to transfer back to the Sheets-N-Things in Lima for three months. By the time all the paperwork processed, Matt would be back in school. Plus Matt would be able to knock out most of his community service requirement for one of his scholarships by working the summer camp the center put on. All very valid, logical and smart reasons for Matt to stay put. The drive wasn't that bad and there was always the opportunity for quick weekend trips down to see him if the need for a road trip hit the group.
"Matt being here or in Columbus doesn't affect me in the least. We've moved on Cedes. We're friends. He has Geoffrey and I have Austin. Have you forgotten that fact?"
"Oh you've both moved on?" Mercedes arched her eyebrow in a way Kurt imagined she stole from him. "That's why you're both basically dating clones of each other."
"You are crazy circa Brittney Spears with the clippers. Austin and Matt are totally different. And I am nothing like that Geoffrey person."
"That Geoffrey person? Oh yeah you are so over Matt." Mercedes shook her head. "Just admit you still have feeling for him and quit driving us all crazy."
"Of course I still have feelings for him. I probably always will. But we're friends now and that is all there is to it. I'm happy if Matt found someone who made him happy. Wasn't I the first one to like the change in his relationship status on Facebook?"
"And he was the first one to like yours as well a week later." Mercedes nodded. "Still doesn't change the fact you two have a very specific type. And the sooner you realize that, white boy, the better off you're going to be. "
"And just how is all this related to my giving Finn my burger?"
"When you are depressed, you don't eat." Mercedes pointed out simply. "Not even a Diet Coke. And you've been barely eating this entire party."
"I'm just not hungry. That's all. I'm not spiraling into a depression. It's just a big adjustment to be back here and away from all the craziness of my classmates. I'm still decompressing. That's all." Kurt smiled at his best friend. He knew she meant well and was only looking out for him. But really she couldn't be further from the truth. He just wasn't hungry today. It had nothing to do with Matt or Matt's new boyfriend or possibly seeing both of them in a few days before Mike left for the summer. Nothing at all.