The key to a good train wreck, Stephen decided, was to make sure it wasn't happening to you. If he had been the one to have an ex surprise him out of the blue and then rather stupidly invited said ex to a party his current boyfriend was throwing, he would have been in a corner praying for death. But since it was Kurt caught in this hilariously awkward situation, he was enjoying this for all it was worth. He was probably going to bad friend hell, but really, he would have to be a saint to not find this endlessly entertaining.
He so hoped Raph had in fact found a video camera because if they got this stuff to Bravo or Oxygen? Instant hit show and they were going to be millionaires.
"How does Austin not have a video camera?" Raph complained as he slid back next to him. "I thought music majors were all about watching themselves perform."
"Yeah remember he's the one that doesn't like the spotlight? Stupid freak of nature."
"So what did I miss? Anything good?"
"Dude this is the best thing to happen since they cancelled SoapNet and Brian Frons got fired. Austin keeps looking at Matt and trying not to death glare him. Which he's totally failing at by the way."
"Of course he is. He's a music major. Not a theater major."
"Details. " Stephen waved off Raph's point. "And Matt keeps looking like he's going to go and say something to Kurt but he keeps stopping himself. Mainly because it seems Austin has developed a sixth sense when Matt's about to do what he mysteriously drove up here to do and magically appears by Kurt's side every time Matt takes a step. "
"Damn it and we don't have popcorn." Raph swore. "Alright more important discussion. Why do we think Matt showed up? He shot down the marriage idea."
"I have no idea. But it's clearly about Kurt since he's not taken his eyes off of him since we got here. "
"Ok that means Austin's sixth sense is just him paying attention you twit."
"Do you have any ideas oh wise one?"
"Well as the person in this room with most experience in what I believe you would call a love triangle…"
"Been meaning to tell you, not something people brag about."
Raph continued, ignoring Stephen entirely. "I don't think the actual reason Matt's here is all that important. The more important fact is he came all this way, when probably he could have sent someone else. I'm thinking someone's realized their feelings aren't as dead as they claim they are."
Stephen turned his head to catch Raph's eyes. "And our clueless roommate has no clue what's about to happen."
"Nope." Raph confirmed. "He still stuck at seeing you lead Matt into the kitchen. He's on total autopilot right now. "
"So what do you think the odds are of a big confrontation happening right here, right now?"
Raph shook his head. "This is just the buildup. Austin is way too quiet a guy to pick a fight in the middle of a crowd. And if we didn't overhear him talking to Kurt, I would doubt Matt could speak. No if anything happens it will be later. And they'll attempt to do it in private."
"I hope they realize that includes us."
"If they don't, they will."
"Ok since you kind of brought it up, I have to ask you." Stephen gestured between Matt and Austin. "I'm not the only one thinking Kurt has a ridiculously specific type am I?"
"No. I'm starting to realize why all those blind dates we set him up on last year didn't work."
"So clearly the order of things to do when we get home is first, figure out why Matt came up here in the first place. And after that, we're having a long talk with the star of this little drama."
"That is the smartest thing you've said in months."
With a heavy sigh, Kurt leaned against the front door of his house. It had taken a good hour and an a half to convince Austin nothing was going to happen just because Matt was going to crash on his couch. And the fact Matt spent most of the party starring at him was just because Matt didn't know anyone there and was shy. That's all it meant.
He'd probably have a slightly better time convincing himself of those arguments if he had a single clue why Matt had shown up in the first place. He denied it was about Leah. He denied he was going to run off to Canada to marry Geoffrey. The New Directions phone tree hadn't been activated so it wasn't anything related to any of their other high school friends. If there was something going on with Dad, Carole or JoBeth, Finn would have shown up long before Matt. To put it simply, Kurt was absolutely baffled.
The easiest way to solve the mystery, of course, was to just walk into the living room (after making sure Stephen and Raph weren't sitting on the landing of the steps like he knew they were going to try) and just ask Matt for the truth. Matt had already admitted it involved him and he was likely to not like it. It had to be better than the endless guessing games he had been playing with himself all night.
Squaring his shoulders, Kurt decided he could do this. He could walk into the living room and find out exactly what had drove Matt to act so completely unlike himself. And the sooner he did it, the better it would be for everyone concerned. Shooting a quick look at the steps to make sure his nosy roommates had in fact gone upstairs; he walked into the living room.
Matt sat on the couch, going through his disgusting old football bag but he looked up when Kurt entered the room. "I didn't cause you two to fight did I?"
"It wasn't a fight. Although Austin's not thrilled with this entire situation, he's trying to be supportive and trusting."
"This is a bad idea. Seriously Kurt I can find a hotel. We can talk in the morning." Matt stood up, grabbing his bag as he did. "I didn't come here to cause trouble for you."
"Sit down." Kurt put his hands up to stop him. "I don't know why you came here yet but I know you would never intentionally cause problems. And you're not finding a hotel. Winter graduation is in a week. They've been booked up around here for months. And I'm not letting you sleep in your car. So just sit down and forget that entire ridiculous idea about finding a hotel. It's not happening just like your insistence that plaid will make a comeback."
Matt smiled a little at their old joke. "One day plaid is going to be so in, even you won't be able to deny it anymore."
"And at that point I hope I'm senile and blind." Kurt retorted as he sat down at one end of the couch. He patted the cushion next to him. "Now sit down and tell me why you came up here."
"You're going to hate it." Matt pointed out as he sat back down.
"So you've mentioned. "
Matt took a deep breath and closed his eyes, staying silent for a long minute before opening them and looking at Kurt. "You may have at noticed at Thanksgiving that our friends seemed awfully insistent that we spend time together."
"And that's new how?" Kurt joked. "It's been the same thing since you came home from Spain."
"The reason this time was new."
"The reason?" Kurt questioned. "The reason…..oh don't tell me Mercedes and Finn told you their ridiculous theory that I have an eating disorder."
"They didn't use those exact words. But they were worried."
"And they dragged you right in the middle of their delusions. Matt I am so sorry. They forced you to come up here to talk with me about something that doesn't exist."
"It doesn't?" Matt asked softly.
"Of course it doesn't. " Kurt protested immediately. "Just because they didn't see me eat doesn't mean I don't eat. I eat."
"When? I saw you at the party. You didn't eat a single thing."
"That was empty calories and processed sugars. You know how I feel about those. And why are you questioning me about this?" Kurt sucked in a breath as the now obvious reason for Matt's visit slapped him in the face. "You….you believe Mercedes and Finn don't you? You think they're right."
"I don't know. But I think they are right to be concerned. What you're doing isn't healthy."
"You're all crazy. I'm not doing anything."
"Exactly! You aren't eating. Not that any of us can see."
"You all aren't with me twenty four hours a day."
"But when we are, we don't see it." Matt countered quickly. "And after spending all night with you at a party and seeing you not eating a single thing? You're damn right I'm concerned. I don't care if you hate it right now. I need to know you're ok. And right now I don't."
"So what? You're going to follow me for the next week? Write down every time every time I eat and what I eat?"
"Something like that." Matt shrugged. "Didn't exactly have a plan but that sounds like a start."