Chapter betaed by Bandit Blythe

Kurt woke up earlier than normal the next morning. He had fallen asleep right after Santana had left, but his homework was finished by the time the study session was over so it was not a big deal. That morning he felt like making some breakfast before school with the extra time he had, so he rushed through his skin care. Though he had relented to Noah the night before, it did not mean he was going to go to school without the usual layers. He loved his style and his flair but it was nice to be himself without the extras and still feel like people didn't cared.

He ran up the stairs to the kitchen and slipped on his black apron, heading straight for the eggs. His dad liked simple scrambled eggs with bacon on the side in the morning. It wasn't something that he was always willing to indulge his dad with, but Kurt figured once in a while wasn't horrible. It usually kept his dad a little more pliable on days where Kurt felt like pulling out ultra healthy recipes.

Thinking about the last few weeks though, his dad had been eating like a teenager since Kurt hadn't had time to cook. Kurt quickly switched the morning menu to scrabbled eggs with only the whites for his dad and used the yellows in his own. Yes, it was bad for him too but he was still a growing boy. And he was going to substitute the breakfast fries that were baked rather than fried.

His dad came down and smiled at Kurt. "I could smell the eggs going but why is there no bacon."

Kurt glared at his dad. "You have been eating like a teenager for weeks now and I'm sad to say that you are not that young anymore. You should be eating healthier."

Burt groaned. "Not this again."

Kurt folded his over his chest, "Yes, this again. I'm not asking you to eat salads at every meal. I'm just asking you to not eat food that's high in fat and cholesterol all the time." Kurt plated the food he made. "Look, this is tasty, and it's good for you."

Burt frowned at the plate with suspiciously but still took a bite as Kurt served himself food and sat down. Reluctantly, Burt said, "It's okay. It could use a little kick though... I like the potatoes."

The younger Hummel nodded, and after swallowing, pointed out, "Since they are baked they aren't as bad for you as the regular breakfast fries. They're also easy to make, too. So can I get you to eat like this, at least every once in a while?"

Burt shrugged. "Sure, but you're never really at home anymore."

"Yeah, I know." Kurt looked down at his plate and started to play with his food. "I don't know when everything got so busy."

Burt clapped his son on the back. "Don't worry about it so much. We'll figure something out. I mean Finn was just talking about how he wanted to learn more about cars so, I set him up with a job twice a week at one of the shops and then he can come over here and hang out with you."

Kurt's jaw dropped. He didn't know what was worse. The fact that Finn was now going to be a regular at one of his dad's places or the fact that he would have to spend time with Finn afterwords. He cleared his throat and replied simply, "That's grea,t dad."

Burt smiled, oblivious to how revolting the prospect of Finn being around all the time was to his son. "I know you like to work in the garage too sometimes, so you could work there on Sundays if you wanted."

"Is Finn going to be there on Sundays?" Kurt asked softly.

"No, he is going to be working on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school."

At least, he wouldn't have to deal with Finn then. Plus, it would be great to work with his dad on cars again. He had only missed a few weeks but Kurt was craving taking apart a car. Something did not add up, however, "What about glee?"

Burt shrugged. "He said that Mr. Schu loved him, so missing practice wasn't going to be such a big deal for him. I said I could choose another day but he didn't want to work after football practice 'cause football ran late sometimes."

It was true that Mr. Schu cut Finn a little extra slack but he was going to have a mutiny on his hands if he let Finn get away with missing glee all the time. At least, Finn hadn't picked Fridays so he couldn't ruin every TV night with his dad. "I don't think that he'll get away with missing that many days."

"It makes no real difference to me. I'd prefer him working on either Monday or Wednesday since you're not at home and I'm usually stuck in front of the TV all night." Burt said taking his plate and washing it.

Kurt was about to reply when he heard the doorbell. "That would to be Noah. I have to go." Kurt scarfed the rest of his breakfast and grabbed his lunch and bag. "Bye Dad, have a good day. Oh, and I'll take a shift at one of garages on Sunday. Just tell me which one you'll be working at."

Burt nodded and followed Kurt to the door. "You know, that Noah kid is awfully nice to pick you up and drop you off. He does looks like such a punk though."

Kurt smiled. "He's a good friend."

Burt gave Kurt an odd look. "Yeah, he's a good friend. Have a good day at school."

As Kurt walked to the truck, he brushed off the look as his dad having a weird morning. Noah was a good friend. He had been there for him more than anyone else had in the last few weeks. He was starting to inch up on Mercedes. Kurt smiled widely as he sat in the car. "Good morning, Noah."

"You seem extremely happy for a hump day. Did you start celebrating early? Who did you hump this morning that's got you so happy?" Noah joked as he started the journey to the school.

Kurt smacked him on the arm. "Eww, the only people I've seen this morning are you and my dad."

"Does that mean you're going to hump me? Because I know I'm tempting but getting off while driving is hard in more ways than one." Noah wiggled his eyebrow.

Putting more strength into his next hit, Kurt giggled, "I'm not going to hump you."

Noah pouted. "That's not nice. Now, I don't want to hump you either."

Kurt moved closer to Noah. "Aww, did I hurt Puckzilla's feelings? Should I kiss it and make it all better?"

Noah smiled wickedly. "I've got something you can kiss."

Giggling, Kurt replied, "I'm not kissing your hairy ass."

Noah gasped mockingly. "My ass is not hairy! It's perfect. Do you want to see?"

"No, I believe you. Just get us to school in one piece." Kurt squeaked.

Noah shook his head. "You know, for a guy who is supposed to like dudes, you sure are very prudish about seeing them naked."

Kurt shrugged. "I was in the closet until just a little while ago, but boys have always acted... weird if I glanced at them. Soon I realized that if I didn't look, I wouldn't get into to trouble. I even asked Coach to let me take a shower before the rest of you so I could get washed up without anyone worrying about the gay kid checking him out."

"You know the guys won't do anything anymore." Noah said.

"Yes, but it's ingrained now. Also, I don't want to see all of you guys naked anyway. The first time I see a guy naked I want it to be the guy I'm with, not the jock who forgot a his towel." Kurt explained.

Noah snorted. "You've had to see a guy in the buff before in the locker room."

Nodding, Kurt continued his argument. "It's not that I've never seen a guy naked, but I don't sit there and admire the scenery. I mean as soon as I realize they're naked, I usually glance away before they notice me looking." Kurt paused for a second. "Is it weird that I just want the first guy that I'm with to be the first guy I really admire without clothing? I know guys are supposed to be horn dogs, and it's not like I don't get the urge, but I think I'm owed at least something for all the grief I've gotten."

"It just means that you want your first to mean something. My first time was when I was twelve with Jessica Ambers, who was a few years older than me. It was good but just because it was sex, not because it was special. I figured out what all the moving parts were for and went on banging any girl that I was attracted to if they said yes." Noah turned to Kurt and smirked. "Anyway, you probably will have the Catholic school girl thing going for you."

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed. "Catholic school girl?"

Noah smiled wickedly, "You know, all prim and proper until you met 'the' guy then you go all nympho on them." He glanced at Kurt. "Yup, you're destained to be a nympho."

Kurt turned red. "Just because you are a sex-addict doesn't mean I'll be one. Some of us have restraint."

"Just keep telling yourself princess and it might come true." Noah said as he pulled into a spot at the school.

Kurt looked around and saw Karofsky standing at the same spot he had been in yesterday with another bag. Frowning, Kurt tried to decided whether other people knowing his soft spot for food was finally working against him. He got out of the car and started to walk up to Karofsky knowing Noah was behind him. "Karofsky."

Just like the day before, Karofsky pushed bag into Kurt's hands. The smaller boy looked into the bag and saw Ho-Hos and Twinkies. Kurt looked up questioningly at the bigger teen.

Karofsky shrugged. "I can't really cook or bake so I just grabbed some stuff."

Noah grabbed the bag and looked in. He started laughing. "I think this is the perfect assortment for you, princess."

Kurt snared at Noah and grabbed the bag back. He speed-walked to the school trying to ignore Noah's continuing laughter from behind him. He saw Josh standing next to his locker and quickly hid the new treats into his bag. "Hey Josh."

"Hey little kick, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor." Josh said looking somewhat nervous.

Kurt rolled his eyes. Yet another nickname. "What can I do for you?"

Josh looked around before leaning in. "Well, you know Rachel, the chick in the skirts and knee hit socks?"

Kurt suppressed his want to roll his eyes again. "Yes, I know Rachel. What about her?"

"Well... I think she's kinda hot and I was wondering if she was seeing anyone." Josh spoke lightening quick.

Kurt shook his head, amused at the pair that Josh and Rachel would make. Yeah, Josh was still a jock but he was more laid back and more open than Finn was. Actually, the fact that they were both on the same team was probably the only thing that they had in common. Josh had a very high tolerance when it came to other people. He came from a mixed background with his dad being a black lawyer and his mom was a teacher in her native tongue of Spanish at the local community college a few towns over. It was a strict but loving family, which made him a very strong but level minded guy. Kurt could see how the practical way that Josh thought help him deal with the high 'drama' that surrounded Rachel.

Grinning, Kurt grabbed his books and closed his locker. He quickly linked his arm under Josh's and dragged the boy into a less busy hallway that he knew the glee squad would not be in. "Rachel is completely available. In fact, I'm positive she is looking for someone."

Josh nodded, but said, "But I heard she had a thing for Hudson."

"'Had' being the main word. I think you two would make a cute couple. If you want, I could see if she was interested." Kurt eagerly offered his help.

Josh smiled brightly at Kurt. "Thanks, little kick. I kind of wanted to ask her out for Friday so could you check if that's okay?"

"Consider it done." Kurt didn't even wait to say goodbye as he went to find Rachel. Instead of finding the short Jewish girl, he ran into the whiny brunette giant. He sighed. "Good morning, Finn."

"Hey, Kurt. How'd you sleep?" Finn hesitantly uttered.

Kurt shrugged. "I slept fine. It was no worse than when I watched the Ring. I like horror flicks. They are more amusing than scary."

"Really? I've never liked scary movies. I have nightmares for days after I watch them." Finn complained.

Kurt tried not to laugh. "I still think that they are amazing since there is usually some ridiculously dramatic scene moment before the big finish. I used to be scared too but that was years ago. I think the last time when I was about tenish." Kurt felt a little childish but it was entertaining seeing the looming teen being scared of the boogie man.

Finn frowned. "I... Just because I don't like scary movies doesn't make me like scared little kid."

"I didn't say anything like that. I was just staying that I'm not scared of them." Kurt leaned back.

"No, you're making fun of me." Finn started to get irritated. "I'm not a girl for being scared of horror flicks."

"Yes, because it seems like the girls were fine with the horror flick. In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't hear any of them scream like you did." Kurt pointed out. "Look, I've got to go." Kurt started to walk past Finn when his arm was grabbed. Kurt looked at the hand then up at Finn. "Let go of me, Finn."

The grip got tighter. "Stop walking away from me."

Kurt used his other hand to grab Finn's wrist and twisted it hard. Finn yelped as he let go. "Stop trying to grab me."

"Hey, what's going on here? Is he giving you a problem?"

Kurt turned to see Karofsky coming up to them. His long legs seemed to eat up the hallway. Kurt let Finn go and backed up. He had seen that look on Karofsky's face before and it was never good for him.

Finn got in front of Kurt. "It's fine."

Karofsky stepped up to Finn. "I wasn't talking to you, Hudson." Karofsky looked over to Kurt. "Hummel, is this clown giving you trouble?"

Well, that was a bizarre twist. His biggest nightmare was defending him from his ex-crush. "Yeah, but I can take care of it. Thank you, though. And for the snacks. You really don't have to bribe me."

Karofsky pushed Finn as he walked closer to Kurt. "No problem. I just thought that you like food so it wouldn't hurt anything."

All around them, there were groups of on lookers trying to figure out what had happened between the three teens. Though Kurt was used to the gossip mills talking about him, it hadn't made him enjoy it. Karofsky must have realized that the group seemed to be pushing even closer to them and glared at the students nearest to him. "There's nothing to see," he growled, "Get lost."

Even though Karofsky had not bullied anyone for the last few days, he was still a big imposing figure with a horrible rep. The hallway was cleared pretty quickly after they realized that whatever was happening was not worth Karofsky's ire. Karofsky smiled. "I've still got it." He looked at Kurt. "Come on. Let's get to class."

Finn started to follow them since he had the same class as Kurt, but one glance back from Karofsky made him turn around and take the long way to class. Kurt giggled softly. "I know I shouldn't condone what you did but it is funny."

Karofsky smiled. "That's why I do it... well did it. If Hudson does that again, just get me. Hudson doesn't really scare ease since most of the guys give him a free pass."

Kurt agreed with Karofsky. Though the other guys did seem upset at the QB, Jason and Berry didn't really scare Finn like Karofsky did. Actually it seemed like their main way to showing their unhappiness with a teammate was to freeze the person out. It was clearly not as effective as Karofsky's methods. Not that he did wanted the linebacker to protect him but it was entertaining to see Finn almost run in the other direction. "So how is your brother doing?"

Karofsky smiled from ear to ear. "He woke up yesterday and the docs said he would make a full recovery. Well, almost full. The pounding did mess up his knee but otherwise he should be fine."

Kurt was relieved. Even though he didn't really care for Karofsky that much, it was apparent that his brother was important to him. "I'm glad. Is he going home soon?"

Karofsky seemed to deflate a little. "No, he's not going home for about a week because the docs want to keep an eye on him. But at least, I know my dad is out of the house. The cops came around and I let them in. Apparently, he now has a warrant out for, y'know, what happened to you and my brother. It's weird but I am happy that my dad's going to jail."

"It makes sense considering..." Kurt said.

The linebacker seemed uncomfortable. "Yeah but thanks for saying yes about Saturday. Blaine's looking forward to it."

Kurt shrugged. "It's no problem."

Karofsky looked over Kurt's shoulder and smiled. "Hudson's peeking around the corner to see if the coast is clear."

Kurt looked over to see Finn looking around the corner at the two of them. He turned back to Karofsky and smiled. "Maybe you should go. I'm pretty sure that the teacher won't let anything happen to me."

Karofsky nodded and walked down the hallway towards Finn. Finn flinched backwards causing Kurt to nearly giggle but since it would be rude if he did, he stopped himself just in time. How did the villain become the hero and the hero become a jackass in his story?