Notes: Yay! Another chapter! It's about time, right? Haha

Also, this chapter has more of Puck/Finn bromance, so there's a lot of the 'F' word. Just warning people...

Chapter 14

The Show

Kurt looked around at the empty gymnasium, trying to calm down his pounding heart. He had, impossibly, escaped Mercedes' house without waking anyone up. He was even more surprised when he was actually let into the school. He supposed the janitor thought he was just an over achiever. But now, as he was standing alone in the gym, he wondered briefly if it had been worth it. Was Karofsky not going to show?

He tried not to get his hopes up with that last thought. Knowing the bully, he would show up. Besides, he was a few minutes early. Kurt checked his phone for the umpteenth time, frowning when he realized he had only been here for two minutes. It felt like an eternity.

He paced for a few seconds, but stopped when he got chills from the echoing footsteps. He kept thinking he heard someone else, and each time his heart raced faster than the last. He looked around frantically, expecting Karofsky to jump out at any time.

He's not going to show. Kurt forced himself to stay positive, and he decided pacing was better than just standing there. He walked around, his legs barely holding him up. People were going to be showing up to school soon. Maybe he forgot, he thought hopefully, not actually believing himself. Maybe he overslept. Maybe he's sick. Maybe his car broke down. Maybe… Maybe… Maybe…

"Agh!" Kurt grunted, covering his face with his hands. It was pointless. He was just getting his hopes up. Karofsky was still going to show up, no matter how many excuses he made for him. No matter how much he wished that the bully's alarm clock never went off, or that he had the flu, or his car engine was broken, or any other stupid thing, it wasn't going to happen.

However, Kurt would have thought Karofsky would have gotten here earlier if he was really coming. It would be like him to be here extremely early, then blame Kurt for being way too late. He looked around, suddenly realizing that, yeah, maybe Karofsky wasn't coming. If he was, he would surely be here by now. People would start showing up for school any minute now!

Kurt was beginning to think that coming here was pointless, and that Karofsky had just been trying to scare him. He snickered and shook his head, wondering why he had been so scared. Of course the bully would do something like this. Get him all worked up over nothing. Scare him half to death, only to reveal that there was no danger at all.

"Hey!" Kurt's stomach dropped, and he would swear his heart stopped beating for a long moment. He turned his whole body to face the doorway of the gymnasium, trying not to scream. Staring back at him, looking awfully smug, was Karofsky.

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you too!" Finn screamed, looking around briefly to check for teachers. Luckily, they were only surrounded by students and a janitor that didn't give a crap what was going on as long as no messes were made. A few students looked at the two boys screaming at each other oddly. Several of them looked over excitedly, hoping to see a fight. But they were sadly disappointed when they caught a glimpse of the grins on both boys' faces.

"Fuck yeah!" Puck and Finn yelled together, throwing fists into the air and pelvic-thrusting to their own music. The small crowd around them dispersed quickly so as not to be caught in their way. Even the janitor looked like he was kind of annoyed by the boys. They had been screaming at each other and making obscene gestures for a while now.

"Are you two still on this?" Santana said, walking up to the overly excited boys. They stopped their dancing long enough to look at Santana, then at each other, then once again at the girl.

"Fuck yeah!" They started laughing, high fiving and bopping their heads to that silent music.

Santana rolled her eyes. Really, could they be more annoying? Her question was answered as the two hooked arms and started running in a small circle, laughing hysterically and knocking people out of the way. Students scoffed and walked on, quietly murmuring about the two most obnoxious boys in the school. They kept giving Santana small glances, as if telling her to fix the situation.

"What?" She snapped at a small, blond boy, who squeaked and ran off. What am I supposed to do? They aren't my problem. Although…

The two boys had wrapped their arms around Santana's, pulling her into one of their dances. Puck had a hold of her hand, and he was swinging it around playfully while bouncing on his toes. Finn, on the other hand, had a hold of her elbow, and was trying to drag her in a circle. His other hand was on her waist, twisting her back and forth.

She wasn't amused.

"Stop!" She shrieked, pushing the boys away from her angrily. They toppling away and into the lockers, making the hall fill with an echoing crash. The crept closer to Santana slowly, taunting her and still laughing, despite their ungraceful tumbles. She gave them the death glare, but they were obviously too drunk off of the hype over 'Fuck'.

"My name is Puck," he whispered satanically.

"And my name is Finn," he added. They were both bopping up and down, nearly crawling around the annoyed girl. She watched them carefully, ready to punch either that came at her.

"And what is that together?" They said in unison, their voices demonic. "Fuck!" They lunged at Santana.

"No!" She screamed, backing away. The two boys froze where they were, looking awfully surprised. She smiled smugly. It was about time they came to their senses and listened. She stared at them for a moment, then realized they were looking behind her. She turned, watching where they were.

A distraught, out of breath Brittany was quickly making her way the three students. Her blond hair whipped out behind her as she ran, and Santana wondered momentarily why she was running. Her fists clenched tightly. If Anthony did anything to her…

"Guys," Brittany had run up to them, and she bent over briefly, trying to catch her breath. "It's Kurt."

Kurt was speechless as Karofsky slowly came closer, his steps heavy and loud. His breath was becoming short, and he leaned against a wall because his legs weren't holding him up properly. The bully was getting closer by the second, and each step seemed longer and faster than the last. Kurt squirmed, awaiting the moment when Karofsky would be close enough to hit him. He could almost taste his own blood in his mouth. He could almost feel the pounding in his head after a blow to face. And he could almost see the bully's knuckles just before they collided with him.

He was becoming desperate. Karofsky was almost to him, and he honestly didn't want to get hit. He was seriously regretting coming here at all. He should have stayed home. He should have told Blaine and Mercedes what Karofsky had said to him. He should have gotten help. He should have gotten help. He should have gotten help!

"You're late!" He blurted, causing the bully to stop in his tracks. He was just a few steps from him, and Kurt's heart was pounding so loud he was sure that he could hear it from where he was. He had just said the first thing he could think of. All he wanted was to distract him.

"I know." Karofsky said quietly, nodding. He smiled and looked down. "I wanted to be late. That way there would be kids at school."

"What?" Suddenly, behind Karofsky, students began peeking into the gym, their eyes widening briefly before they filed in. They chattered amongst themselves, staying in one large crowd and staring at the two boys before them. Then it hit Kurt.

Karofsky wasn't just going to beat him up. He was going to humiliate him. He wanted the entire school to witness his defeat. He wanted them to laugh as he thrashed and screamed for mercy. They were going to watch the entire thing from the sidelines, staying a safe distance away so as not to get hurt. They were going to stand by and watch him get pounded.

"You're sick." Kurt said angrily, glaring at Karofsky. He knew the bully would just enjoy his hateful remarks, but he didn't care. He wanted to get his point across. And by God, he was going to get his point across.

As Karofsky chuckled and nodded to the growing crowd of students, Kurt strode forward, getting right in his face. Their noses were almost touching, and the bully stumbled backwards slightly in surprise. He hadn't been expecting Kurt to fight back at all.

"How dare you?" Karofsky laughed, and Kurt shoved him roughly, letting out a sound of disgust and anger. The bully stumbled further back, looking at him with a shocked expression, which quickly turned to one of rage. "You brought these people here to watch me get beat up. How desperate can you get? Are you that insecure about yourself that you need people to witness what you do to people firsthand?" Karofsky stepped forward, trying to intimidate Kurt. But nothing was going to move him. He glared harder, shaking in anger. "You brought these people here to see a show." He nodded, his movements firm and crisp. "Alright, fine!"

Kurt turned to stare at the crowd, his chest heaving now. But he wasn't scared anymore. He was just furious. He looked back at Karofsky, tightening every muscle in his body. The bully wasn't smiling anymore, and seemed to be annoyed that his show wasn't going as planned.

"Let's give them something to look at!" Kurt screeched, his voice booming around the large room. The two boys tensed, ready to fight.

The entire room gasped as the first move was made.

Notes: Dun dun dunnnnnn! Please tell me what you think of this chapter. I tried to make it suspenseful, and I hope the way I wrote it did so.