Title: Strings
Author: J.J. Smith (Mobyluv on Tumblr)
Beta: my lovely Dalek sister (Hikari-chu on Tumblr)
Rating: T (may get higher later on)
Pairing: Kurtofsky (eventually), Klaine, Finnchel, Blinn, Faberry, Brittana, Samcedes, Merzimio, Tike, Barole and several others.
Genre: Supernatural/Romance
Warning: Character death IN THIS CHAPTER
Spoilers: AU from the end of season two mostly, some references to season three.
Disclaimer: Not mine, or Glee would have more continuity and a lot more Dave.
Summary: This story takes place in a world where roughly 9 out of 10 people have some superpower. Kurt gets his power and can now see the Strings Of Fate that connect two soul mates.Suddenly the beautiful future he wanted to share with Blaine collapses.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took me longer than usual. A lot is happening in here that I've been planning for some time and I wanted it to be right. I also had a minor case of writer's block. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway. It's time for Sectionals! The song Dave sings is All I know by Five For Fighting.

Chapter 14

When Glee club started on Tuesday, Kurt was slightly disappointed that Dave hadn't contacted him yet. It felt weird not having Sam there. Kurt wasn't exactly close to him, but Sam always managed to bring joy to the group in a geeky sort of way.

The group could definitely use Sam right now. They were one member short and Sectionals were in just two weeks. At this point they didn't even know if they could compete. Mr Schue looked way too happy when he entered the room.

"Guys, Sectionals are coming up, where is your excitement?"

"Mr Schue, we're a man down. We can't compete," Artie said.

"Well, I have some good news. A student approached me yesterday saying he was interested in auditioning for Glee club. So, let's welcome Dave Karofsky to the New Directions!"

Kurt and Finn were the only ones who matched Mr Schue's excitement when Dave entered the room.

"Oh, hell to the no! Mr Schue, I know we're desperate for new members, but we don't have to let him join," Mercedes said.

"I agree," Puck said. "He chased Kurt away last year!"

Dave was just about to defend himself when Kurt spoke up.

"I want David to join." Those five little words had a huge impact on the group. They all feel silent.

"Kurt, you do remember what he did to you, don't you?" Puck broke the uncomfortable silence.

"It's kind of hard to forget. Just like it's kind of hard to forget when you and Finn threw pee balloons at me." That seemed to shut Puck up. "I have forgiven the both of you and you didn't even properly apologize. David apologized to me and I forgave him." When no one seemed to object, Kurt continued. "So, let's hear Dave sing. I'm sure he'll do great."

Dave shuffled around uncomfortably in front of the group. Mr Schue patted him on the shoulder.

"Let's hear it, Dave." Mr Schue nodded at Brad and the music started.

Kurt had never seen Dave look this nervous. He shot Dave an encouraging look. He hoped it was encouraging. He didn't have long to think about it because Dave began to sing.

I bruise you
You bruise me

"Wow, he sounds good," Mercedes whispered. Kurt felt his heart swell with pride. He didn't know the song but it sounded so beautiful and also so pained.

We both bruise so easily
Too easily to let it show
I love you, and that's all I know

Kurt didn't know what to think. Dave looked at him. He made eye contact when he sang those three little words. Those three little words that meant so much to Kurt. He was having trouble breathing, his heart beating too fast. Did Dave mean them? Kurt couldn't be sure.

And all my plans
keep falling through
All my plans they
Depend on you
Depend on you
To help them grow
I love you
And that's all I know

Again, Dave looked at Kurt when he sang those three words. Kurt tried not to get ahead of himself. He tried to make himself believe it was just a coincidence, but Dave could have picked any song and he picked a song with those words in it. Twice now he'd looked at Kurt when he sang them.

When the singer's gone
Let the song go on
It's a fine line between
The darkness and the dawn

Kurt felt as though his heart might stop at any second. Dave made sure his eyes didn't linger on Kurt too long, but when they did he always made sure to make eye contact. Kurt wasn't the only one who noticed. Rachel bent closer to him and whispered in his ear: "He's singing to you." She sounded as shocked as Kurt felt.

They say in the darkest night
There's a light beyond
And the ending always
Comes at last
Endings always
Come too fast
They come too fast
And they pass too slow
I love you
And that's all, it's really all I know
It's all I know

By now, Kurt was sure he'd go into cardiac arrest at any second. This wasn't the first time someone had sung a song to him, but this time was different. It felt like Dave was showing Kurt his soul.

It's all I know

Dave kept eye contact with Kurt for a few seconds longer than was wise. Luckily, no one seemed to notice. The group burst into loud applause when the last notes of the piano died away. Finn was the first to race over to Dave and congratulate him on his great performance. Puck and Mike joined him. Soon, everyone was standing around Dave, complimenting him on his singing, except for Kurt and Rachel.

"We should join them," Rachel said. "Kurt, are you okay?"

Kurt sat frozen in his chair. "He… he sang that to me."

"I know. And if you don't get up soon the others will notice something's going on." Rachel helped Kurt get to his feet and pushed him towards the group. "Just congratulate him. You'll be fine," she whispered in his ear. She let go of him when they got to the group and joined them in celebrating their newest member.

"You were amazing," Kurt managed to say.

"Thanks." Dave was trying with all of his might to hide the blush that lightly colored his cheeks.

"We're so going to win at Sectionals now!" Finn cheered as he threw his arm over Dave's shoulder.

Kurt was relieved he couldn't talk to Dave right then; there were too many things to consider before addressing what had just happened. He needed to talk to Dave, but he hoped that if he waited a little bit longer he'd be able to collect his thoughts and not say anything stupid.

After a few more moments of celebrating, Mr Schue ushered them to their seats and began lecturing them on all that needed to be done for Sectionals. Kurt didn't really pay attention. Mr Schue had been holding the same speech since the beginning of the year. Both his mind and gaze kept wandering towards Dave. Dave was sitting between Finn and Puck on the front row. Kurt had chosen a seat in the back, next to Rachel.

"What are you going to do now?" Rachel whispered.

"I don't know. I guess I should talk to him after glee club," Kurt answered.

"You should definitely talk to him. But don't you dare mess up our chances at Sectionals. We need Dave to win."

"I know, Rachel."

"I know that your love life is also important, but right now we really need to focus on Sectionals."

"Rachel, I promise not to purposely ruin Sectionals for you." Kurt was slightly annoyed with Rachel. He knew she meant well, but at the moment Kurt cared more about talking to Dave than Sectionals.

When Mr Schue finished his speech they had a quick dance practice before he dismissed them. Kurt managed to get Dave's attention before he left with the other boys. They waited in the choir room until they were alone. Dave looked down at his feet.

"So, I guess you want to talk about that song," Dave said.

"Yes."

"Can we wait? We should talk, but maybe it's better if we wait until after Sectionals. We have to spend a lot of time together in rehearsal these next two weeks to prepare and I don't want things to get awkward between us."

"If you didn't want things to get awkward you shouldn't have sung that song," Kurt retorted.

"I know," Dave admitted. "I just wanted to take a chance and it seemed like the right opportunity."

"I understand."

"We can always pretend it didn't happen, if you preferred."

"No!" Kurt exclaimed. "I… I don't want that. It was nice having someone sing to me like that."

"Even if it was me?"

"Especially because it was you." Kurt gathered his courage and decided to just go for it, Sectionals be damned. "I like you, Dave. And I would really like to go out on a date with you."

"I'm not ready to come out."

"You don't have to come out. We could stay in. I could cook and we could watch a movie."

"I…"

"David, you serenaded me in front of the entire glee club; you won't convince me that this isn't what you want."

"I'm just not sure I'm what you want," Dave admitted.

"You're a kind, funny and extremely good-looking man, how could I not want you?" Kurt smiled. "I don't need an answer now, take some time to think. Tell me what you want when we win Sectionals."

"Okay." Dave still seemed nervous.

"Or if you want some more time, that's fine by me. I'll wait for you, however long you need me to. I promise." Kurt took a step forward and placed his hand on Dave's chest. "You're worth waiting for. Don't ever forget that." Kurt pressed a quick kiss on Dave's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." He felt triumphant as he left a stunned Dave behind in the choir room.

Practice for Sectionals kept everyone busy the following days. Between the constant dancing and singing rehearsals, Kurt and Dave could only exchange glances. Kurt did notice how happy Dave looked every time their eyes met. No matter what Dave was doing, no matter who he was talking to, when he saw Kurt he smiled. Kurt was getting a bit impatient waiting for Dave's answer; luckily, the stress of Sectionals distracted him.

The prospect of seeing Blaine again at the competition also increased his stress. Kurt wasn't the only one not looking forward to seeing Blaine again; Finn was also getting more and more nervous the closer they got to sectionals.

They didn't talk about Blaine much, or at all, really. Even though Kurt had forgiven the both of them, he was still a bit bitter. He wasn't blind towards his brother's discomfort, though. Kurt really didn't want to talk to Finn about Blaine, but he hated seeing his brother like this. His mood was affecting the entire house. He knocked on Finn´s door with two glasses of warm milk.

"Could you open the door? My hands are full," Kurt said.

Finn opened the door and looked surprised. "Milk? We haven't done this in months." Fin accepted one of the glasses. "What's wrong?"

"I was wondering if you needed someone to talk to about Blaine."

"You don't want to talk to me about him," Finn countered.

"Not really, but I'm worried about you. And I know there's no one else you can talk to about this, so here I am. Talk."

"I'm worried about him. The way he talks about this new guy, Sebastian. Something's not right. I don't know what, but there's something about him," Finn began. "It's not like I expected us to date, but I was hoping we could at least stay in contact. Blaine won't talk to me. He ignores my calls and emails, and he even blocked me on Facebook."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm just worried about him."

"We'll see him at Sectionals. You can speak to him then."

"I guess."

"Finn, Blaine's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"I know."

"I'm sure he just wants some time to think." Kurt drank the last of his milk. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel the need to hit some pillows or something. I'm done talking about my ex-boyfriend."

"I understand. Thanks, man. You're an awesome brother."

"You're not too bad yourself."

Sectionals had arrived and with it came Blaine. The New Directions were supposed to perform last, after the Warblers and the Unitards. Kurt enjoyed the Warblers' performance; it once again focused on Blaine as he sang some top 40 songs. They sounded good, but Kurt was sure the New Directions were better. The New Directions moved backstage to prepare when the Unitards performed.

Kurt was walking around a bit to get rid of his nerves when he saw Blaine.

"Hey," Kurt greeted him.

"Kurt! Wow, you're here." Blaine had that big goofy smile on his face that always made Kurt melt. Blaine could be such an excited little puppy.

"Yeah, we're up after the Unitards. You guys sounded good."

"Thanks."

"I hear you've got a new boyfriend." Kurt cut to the chase. "Sebastian or something. Didn't take you long to move on, did it?"

"I…I don't know what to say, Kurt. At first I wasn't interested in Sebastian, at least not in that way. He invited me out for coffee, we got to talking and, well, long story short, I love him."

"You love him? How long have you known him for?" Kurt asked.

"It feels like I've known him my entire life. It feels right when I'm with him." Blaine explained.

"I can't believe you." Kurt was very quickly becoming annoyed with Blaine. "Why are you ignoring Finn? He's worried about you."

"Sebastian doesn't want me to talk to him," Blaine deadpanned.

"And you're just doing whatever it is Sebastian tell you to do?"

"Yes."

"Great, Blaine, just great. Don't you have a mind of your own?"

"Blaine, honey, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." A tall boy came over to Kurt and Blaine. "Come here, Blaine."

Blaine obediently walked over to Sebastian.

"Who are we speaking to, Blaine?" Sebastian asked.

"Kurt," Blaine answered.

"Ah, Kurt Hummel, I've heard a lot about you," Sebastian addressed Kurt this time, a look of disgust on his face. "I must say, Blaine made you sound a whole lot better than you look."

"You must be Sebastian." Kurt immediately disliked this guy.

"Correct."

"I don't like you," Kurt said.

"And I don't like you," Sebastian retorted. "And I don't like you hanging out around my boyfriend. Leave."

That one word seemed to spark something in Kurt. "You know what, I believe I will." He turned around and walked away. He didn't know why he walked away; he hadn't finished saying what he had wanted to say, but every fiber in his body told him to leave. He didn't give it much thought, because it was time to perform.

All the hard work put into rehearsal those last two weeks paid off; they rocked it. By the end of their third and last song, the entire audience was on their feet cheering them on. Kurt felt someone grab his hand and looked to his left to see Dave with a big smile on his face. He squeezed Dave's hand and their eyes met. They laughed as they hurried off the stage. Kurt let go of Dave's hand when they were backstage so there friends wouldn't see them holding hands.

Time seemed to fly and before long the New Directions were called to the stage again. Kurt stood near the back, next to Dave. Dave looked more nervous than Kurt felt. Kurt grabbed Dave's hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Their eyes met briefly before they focused their attention on the judge that came onto the stage.

"In third place", the man began. "The Unitards!" The group accepted their cup happily.

Kurt looked over at the Warblers. His eyes fell on Sebastian; unlike the rest of the team he was calm. He was probably convinced they were going to win. Kurt hoped the Warblers lost, not just because that meant they had won but also because he wanted to see that smug smile disappear from Sebastian's face

"In second place, we have", the man paused for dramatic effect, "the Warblers! Let's all give a big hand to this round's winners, the New Directions!"

Kurt only had a second to enjoy the devastated look on Sebastian's face before he was pulled into a hug by Dave.

"We won!" Dave yelled. "Kurt, we won!"

Kurt hugged Dave back; he loved seeing the boy this happy. "We couldn't have done it without you." Dave didn't have time to object because Finn patted him on the back.

"We won!" Finn also cheered.

The kids followed Mr Schue off of the stage. Congratulations and more hugs were exchanged. Kurt loved watching how all the soulmates seemed to stick together. Tina and Mike were exchanging chaste kisses, Rachel and Quinn hugged and jumped up and down in joy and Santana and Brittany had their pinkies interlocked. Brittany was talking excitedly while Santana listened intently with a smile on her face. Kurt hoped they'd be more open about their relationship soon. Everyone knew Santana loved Brittany dearly and Kurt would love it if they showed more affection at school, and especially during Glee club.

"Hey." Kurt was pulled out of his daydreaming when big, strong arms pulled them against a warm body. The hug only lasted a second or two before Dave let him go again.

"Hey, David." Kurt turned to smile up at Dave.

"I was thinking, maybe we could go to school early tomorrow morning and decorate the choir room to celebrate our win." Dave was biting his bottom lip. "And we could talk about, you know. I have an answer."

"Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow morning then," Kurt said.

"Yeah."

Kurt left not long after that with Finn, his father and Carole. When he went to bed that night, he was having trouble with going to sleep; the excitement of both the competition and what was going to happen tomorrow kept him wide awake well past midnight.

Kurt ran into Dave in the empty parking lot.

"Morning," Kurt greeted him enthusiastically.

"Morning." Dave sounded just as happy but slightly more nervous.

"You were really great yesterday," Kurt complimented Dave. "You really picked up on the dance routines quickly."

"It was fun. I really enjoyed myself yesterday."

"You looked like you were having fun."

They exchanged some more chitchat while walking to the choir room. The closer they got to the room, the more nervous Dave got. Kurt also got a bit nervous. He knew what was going to happen once they entered the room. He knew Dave was going to say yes, but it was still nerve-wracking to wait for it.

When they entered the room, all thoughts of their conversation left their minds. They saw Santana sitting on one of the chairs. She was still wearing the outfit she wore at last night's performance. Her hair was a mess and she looked like instead of sleeping she'd spend the entire night crying. It didn't take Kurt long to see why. The red thread that used to connect her to Brittany hung broken and limp from her pink.

Kurt stood frozen at the door. Dave ran towards Santana.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding freaked.

"It's Britt," Santana said between sobs. "She's dead. I… I killed her."