"Rachel."
She had been taking out her cell phone to call her dads and ask for a ride home after Friday's Glee practice, thinking about Mercedes' and Lauren's cover of "I Want You" and Sam's and Artie's cover of "I'll Be There For You," when Quinn came up to her. Rachel attempted to compose herself; it wouldn't do to show weakness in front of the Ice Queen, even in the form of surprise. "Yes, Quinn?"
"Do you need a ride home?"
"One of my dads will pick me up, I just have to call-"
"I have a car, I can give you a ride."
"Oh…" Rachel wondered whether this was some sort of plot to get her killed. Or worse. "That's not necessary. Thank you for the offer, though."
Quinn sighed. "I'm not going to try to kill, maim, hurt, or seduce you, if that's what you're wondering. I just want to talk to you."
Rachel hadn't been worried about Quinn seducing her before, but now she was. "It's really not necessary-"
"Yes it is. I… need to talk to you."
Quinn's expression was what did it; she was desperate. "…All right. Let me just tell my dads." Rachel shot off a quick text to them and followed Quinn out of the school.
Once they were in the car, Rachel started asking questions. "Did you like the performances today? I thought they chose very well, certainly out of their comfort zones but still well-done. Don't you think so?"
Quinn looked over at her almost sadly. "You know I don't want to talk about the performances."
Rachel's smile dropped. "I know. I just think this is something that would be better to discuss when one of us is not piloting a potentially dangerous vehicle. Many accidents are caused by heightened emotions."
"Do you want to talk at your house or mine?"
"Oh, we don't need to disturb your mother with this-"
"She already knows." At Rachel's stunned look, she continued. "I talked to her about it. She made me tell her; apparently I've been miserable and I've been talking in my sleep, which I haven't done since I found out I was pregnant, so she knew something serious was going on. And she knows when I'm lying, so I had to tell her the truth. She told me to talk to you, so I'm talking to you."
It probably should have hurt Rachel that Quinn was only speaking with her at her mother's request, and not of her own free will, but it didn't. At least they were talking. "Well then, we'll go to your house."
Quinn nodded and started driving. "I did like them, by the way. The performances. They… did well." She smiled, but only barely.
"Not as well as us," Rachel replied, nearly whispering.
Quinn's smile grew just a fraction.
000
Kurt's phone rang as he opened the door. Burt looked up from the couch and Kurt waved at him. He'd left the shop early to be home in case Dave's coming out didn't go as well as planned. While he didn't put nearly as much trust in Dave as Kurt did, he at least was willing to help now that he knew Dave's reasons for going after Kurt. Kurt was, in a way, thankful Dave had allowed him to out him to Burt; the man wouldn't have trusted him any other way.
"Dave?"
"I can't do it."
Kurt locked the door behind him and headed up to his room; this would probably be a long conversation and Burt didn't need to know everything that Dave had apologized for. "I'm not going to force you to. It's your choice."
"I want to, though. I just don't know if I can. Can't you help me with that?"
"Last time I tried to help someone with having conversations with parents over the phone, Finn got Quinn kicked out of her house. I'm not the best person to go to for advice about this. I'll probably convince you to sing it to them."
"That's fine. What should I sing?"
"You're not actually serious about that, are you?"
"Yeah, sure, why not? Can't hurt to try."
Kurt pulled the phone away from his face and stared at it for a few moments before replying. "That's a terrible idea. Do you really think your parents would take very kindly to you busting out in 'What What, In The Butt'? Because I don't." Kurt tried to keep his mind away from that mental image.
Dave started laughing. "Oh, man, that's hilarious; if I was sure they'd be fine with it I'd totally do that."
Kurt groaned. The image was getting harder to ignore.
"You suggested it. Seriously, what do I do?"
"Just… tell them. Don't try to, I don't know, approach it from a different angle. It's not like football or hockey or video games. You have to face it straight on - no pun intended. Sneak attacks are just annoying. Most people appreciate complete honesty. It's going to be hard to say it no matter what, but it gets harder the longer you wait, not easier. Once it's out, you'll feel much better."
There was silence for a few moments, then Dave let out a long breath. "Thanks. I think… I think I'll be okay. I just have one question."
"Okay."
"After I come out - and I mean totally come out to everyone - I know I'm gonna get plenty of crap from everyone. Does it really get easier?"
"Yes. It does. And I'm not just saying that because the guy who was bullying me turned out to be gay, too. It really does get easier. Not everyone's going to treat you well, but you get used to it, and in a little over a year you'll be out of high school and if you pick your college right and you end up living in the right area you won't have to worry about 'getting crap' from anyone."
"You sound like an 'It Gets Better' video."
Kurt instantly got defensive. "Those videos are very inspirational and-"
"Relax, Fancy. It was a compliment. I've seen, like, a hundred of them, and I just wanted to hear it from someone I know."
"Oh."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"I'm gonna… go talk to my dad now."
"Call me when you're done, okay?"
Dave laughed. "You make it sound like a date."
Kurt didn't respond to that. The mental image from earlier grew ever more impossible to push out of his mind.
"Talk to you later."
"Yeah. Later."
As he hung up, Kurt was left with the odd feeling that they were dating and neither of them really knew it yet. It was already taking them forever to hang up the phone.
000
"Santana?"
"Yeah, Britt?" Santana glanced up from the book she was reading - yes, Santana enjoyed reading, though she'd deny it to anyone who asked.
"I think we need to talk."
"About what?"
"About us. You said you love me, and I love you too, but we didn't talk about it since then. I want to talk about it."
"There's nothing to talk about." Even though there's a lot to talk about and this is the perfect time since we're not at school and my parents are out but I don't know what to say…
"Santana…"
"I know you want me to come out to everyone before I can be with you, and I just can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Well, for one, I'm not nearly as strong as Kurt and there's no way I'd be able to take the shit that he did. And also, my parents aren't understanding or accepting like yours. They'll kick me out without even thinking about it."
"Well then what are we going to do?"
Santana felt helpless. Practically begging for her was her perfect girl, the girl she was in love with and would give anything for - only she wouldn't, because she couldn't. There were so many things she couldn't do. If Brittany needed Santana to give her life for her, she'd do it without a second thought. But coming out was so much harder, because she'd have to face that every day.
"Tana?"
"I don't know, Britt." She set her book down and pulled a pillow to her chest. "I don't know."
Brittany pulled the pillow out of Santana's arms and snuggled up to her. "Tana, you don't have to tell everyone you're a lesbian. You don't even have to tell anyone you love me. All I want is that you act like you do, and when they ask, don't tell them you don't."
Santana ran her hands slowly through Brittany's hair; Brittany giggled and squirmed in her arms.
"Stop it, Tana. You're tickling me."
Santana smiled at her. "I love you."
"I love you to. Will you do this one thing for me?"
"My parents can't know."
"We don't have to tell them," Brittany whispered. She nudged Santana's nose with her own. Santana laughed quietly and kissed her. It had been too long since she'd been able to.
"I promise I'll hold your hand in the halls and not punch anyone who says anything about it. Is that enough?"
Brittany nodded.
Santana hugged her tightly. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this happy; she probably never had, but there was something that didn't sit right with her… oh. Of course. "I'm so sorry for how I've treated you."
"What do you mean?"
"I manipulated you and used you and I treated you like crap when you chose Wheels over me and I've done so many other horrible things to you and I'm just so sorry."
"I know, Tana. I know you're sorry and I forgive you and I still love you after everything you did."
"Why?"
"Kurt forgave Dave. Rachel forgave Quinn. What they did was a lot worse than what you did, so I think it's only fair that I forgive you."
"Oh, God, Britt-" She pulled her in close and kissed her breathlessly. "You're perfect."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are. You're perfect to me."
There was a shuffling noise by the door. Santana froze. She hadn't heard the front door open-
"Shit!"
Brittany moved away from Santana just before the door opened. Santana's parents stepped in; they were furious.
"You have 24 hours to be out of this house," Mr. Lopez said. "Whatever you leave behind gets thrown out. Dyke."
000
Music:
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" by The Beatles
"I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts (a.k.a. the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. theme song)
"What What (In The Butt)" by Samwell
Other: "It Gets Better" Project