Wow, we hit a hundred reviews with that last chapter, thank you all so much for your kind words and encouragement! I have to admit this next chapter is a little boring, but it's important for building up for some things in the future. I always appreciate reviews, but especially now with the stupid hit counter down for the past few days. Thanks for reading.
And for those of you who are wondering, I expect Conrad to make an appearance soon :)
I don't own Glee or United States of Tara
Chapter 21
"But Dean Parker, it was a clear violation of Dalton's zero tolerance bullying policy!"
"I don't understand how he's getting away with this, did his father donate a million dollars to the school or something?"
"This is only going to make him think he can keep doing this!"
"Boys!" Dean Parker shouted over the loud, angry voices of the three boys, one of whom wasn't even a student at Dalton Academy any more. It was too early on a Monday morning for this much shouting. "Settle down, now!"
Kurt, Blaine and Jeff all stop mid-sentence at the roar of the dean. They'd been waiting outside his office for an hour, determined to speak with him before he busied himself with other tasks for the day.
"Now, as I already explained," Dean Parker continued. "Mr. Smythe was given a three-day suspension for the prank he pulled involving Mr. Duval—"
"Prank?" Jeff almost shot out of his chair, but both Blaine and Kurt, who were sitting on either side of him, threw out an arm to hold him down. Getting in the dean's face wasn't going to get them anywhere.
"That's the last interruption I'll tolerate from you, Mr. Sterling, sit back." Dean Parker gave him one last lingering glare before continuing on, addressing all three boys again. "And while I've got you in here, when I interviewed Mr. Smythe about the incident, he said that on Saturday night you came to his room and tackled him before issuing him a warning of some sort?"
"He was blackmailing Blaine with Kurt and—"
"Answer the question, yes or no, Mr. Sterling. Did you, yes or no, initiate a physical confrontation with Mr. Smythe?" All three boys loathed the condescension that dripped from the dean's words, but at this point, they felt powerless to fight it.
"Yes," Jeff answered simply.
"In that case, you are hereby suspended for three days as well for fighting and you're lucky I don't tack on an extra three days for insubordination."
Jeff bit the inside of his lip to keep from screaming at the man. Sensing what his friend wanted to ask, but knew he wasn't able without getting himself in more trouble, Blaine cut in.
"Sir, if I may ask," he began, trying his hardest to sound respectful but not patronizing. "What is Nick's enrollment status? We know he left last night with his parents, but….i-is he coming back?"
Dean Parker sighed. "As of right now, Mr. Duval is still enrolled at Dalton. His mother sent word of a family emergency and has not communicated with us when or if he will be back."
All three boys looked visibly, if momentarily, relieved. At least Nick wasn't for sure gone.
"Mr. Sterling," Dean Parker spoke again, his voice softened slightly. "I suggest you head back to your dorm now. You are not to attend classes again until Thursday and my secretary will be contacting your parents this morning in regards to your suspension."
"Yes sir," Jeff responded quietly. He gave a last 'good luck' look to Blaine and Kurt before making his way out of the office.
"Now," Dean Parker started again once the door was shut. "As for what you're telling me about Mr. Smythe and this alleged blackmail situation."
"With all due respect," Kurt spoke firmly but respectfully. "There is nothing alleged about it. Sebastian said he would tell everyone at this school and presumably at McKinley about my DID if Blaine didn't dump me and start dating him. It's psychotic and it's predatory."
"If what you're telling me is correct, then I completely agree with you, Mr. Hummel," Dean Parker responded, much to both boys' surprise. "I will, of course, have to do some investigating, but I will not tolerate a Dalton student harassing another, either current or former."
"I don't know how you or anyone else can stop him though," Blaine spoke, sounding slightly defeated. "I think he's proven that he's going to do what he wants to do regardless of the consequences."
"Well, we'll start with a meeting with him and his parents, although I think it'll have to be via video feed since they are both out of the country. Hopefully that will solve the problem, but if not, we will visit other solutions."
Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of what to say that wouldn't get him or Blaine in more trouble. What didn't Dean Parker understand about the severity of this situation? All it was going to take was for Sebastian to upload one sentence onto the internet in order for his promise to be fulfilled. One decision. If Dean Parker's meeting with Sebastian and his parents didn't work, it meant that the whole world would know about Kurt. He was determined to figure out a better plan and from the look in Blaine's eyes when he shot him a glance, Blaine was determined as well.
"Thank you for meeting with us, Dean Parker," Kurt finally willed himself to say with a small, tight smile.
"I don't see that you gave me much of an option since you were blocking my office door when I got here this morning, but nonetheless, you're welcome."
Both boys got up and began shuffling out of the room.
"Oh, and Mr. Anderson? I expect to hear from all of your teachers today that you were in class."
"Yes sir," Blaine answered, turning around to make eye contact before following Kurt out of the office.
"Thank you for meeting with us, Ron," Burt started after shaking hands with the man across the desk and sitting down alongside Carole in the spacious, well-decorated office.
"It's no problem, Burt, you've been cutting me deals on my oil changes going on fifteen years now, it's about time I returned the favor. What can I help you with today?" Burt was comforted by the genuine look of concern on Ron Grandin's face. He'd only briefly explained over the phone that he and Carole had some legal questions about a possible incident involving their son years ago.
"I don't really know where to start," Burt stalled. He rarely had to lay everything on the table like this, and while he'd known Ron forever, he didn't really know him. He knew he was one of Lima's most prominent private attorneys and that was about it. "I guess I'll just…I'll just speak plainly. I believe my son may have been…I believe that someone may have been…inappropriate…with my son when he was a young child. And this has only come to light in the last week or so, and I was just wondering what our options might be, you know, legally."
Ron nodded with concern. This man who was usually so good at expressing himself when it came to cars was visibly having a very difficult time trying to explain this.
"Well, let me start by asking a few questions," Ron said gently. "What did your son tell you happened?"
"That's the thing, he hasn't, I just kind of found out all this on my own."
"Okay then, how did you find out?"
"Kurt's been having some difficulties, emotionally, I mean, and so I started doing a little digging in the past and I met with one of his childhood friends who told me about their suspicions about what may have happened."
"Is that all you're going by?" Ron asked, still gently, but with a hint of skepticism in his voice. Civil cases were hard to win with tons of evidence, let alone with only heresy.
"Well, no," Burt struggled. How was he supposed to explain the fiasco with Jamie?
"We also found a picture in Kurt's room of the person that we believe may have abused Kurt," Carole piped in, earning her a grateful look from Burt. "He had all but destroyed it, and to us, it just seemed to fit."
"Okay," Ron sighed. They were going to need a lot more than that if this was going to go anywhere. "Here's what I think your options are. First, I think you need to work with Kurt to get him to open up about whether or not he was abused when he was little. Is he in counseling? Good. If and when he discloses something, we'll go from there. The statute of limitations in Ohio on child molestation—" Ron winced as he realized too late that those words had probably never been spoken aloud in specific regard to Kurt Hummel, judging by the look that washed over Burt's face. "O-on child abuse crimes, is twelve years, starting at age eighteen, so you have plenty of time. We'll draw up a case plan and subpoena the offender—"
"There's a problem with that," Burt cut him off, finding his voice again after the shock of hearing those words spoken aloud. "I don't exactly know where he is. According to his nephew, he disappeared over ten years ago."
"Well, that could definitely pose a problem," Ron answered, trying not to get frustrated. He genuinely felt for the Hummels, but they weren't giving him much to go on. "Okay, how about this? I'm going to give you the number to a good friend of mine, Richard Oliver. He's a private investigator, and if anyone can track this guy down, he can."
Burt nodded and accepted the business card.
"Now, I'm going to go ahead and warn you that this might take a long time. People who disappeared over a decade ago can be hard to find. He may be in prison, or in another country or anywhere. Then again, he may be in the next town over."
Burt and Carole both shuddered.
"But," Ron continued. "While he's looking for this guy, that will give you the opportunity to work with Kurt, see if he'll disclose anything. Don't push him too hard, but do try to see what he remembers. I'd advise you to discuss all this with his therapist before making any moves."
"Thanks again for meeting with us Ron," Burt said as he stood up. "You're a good man."
"It's the least I can do, really," Ron said with sincere humility. Even though a lot of people tried to paint attorneys as heartless, soulless money grabbers, Ron had a soft spot in his heart for abused children. "Let me know as soon as Kurt discloses something."
"Will do, Ron, thanks." With nods and smiles, Carole and Burt headed out of the office. They were both drained and determined as they headed to the car to work on a game plan.