Edited by I AM AIR

Thanks so much for to Jessica LaRae and counrtybutterfly for finding corrections. Also I have re-edited all the chapters. There still will be problems but I hope it reads a little smoother.


The pair stayed up in Noah's room until Noah slowly coaxed Kurt back into the basement where Sarah had already started working on her homework. She was lying on the floor, kicking her legs in the air as Noah sat down on the couch. Noah started to take more work out of his bag, which was on the floor next to him, and spread it out on the coffee table in front of Kurt and himself.

Kurt didn't have his books and asking Noah to borrow his seemed like it would take too much energy. He was already running low. Even though he was a straight A student, homework seemed like such a silly and unimportant thing to him right now. He just wanted to stay in his own little world outside of the harshness and responsibilities of the real one. Kurt noticed that Auntie Ella was not in the room, but it was too much effort to ask where she was. Kurt let the scraping of pencils and paper become soft background noise as he curled himself into a ball next to Noah. Every few minutes, Noah would let his hand fall onto Kurt's knee and Kurt noticed that every time the larger boy made the move, both of them seemed to become a little less tense and the hand would reappear as soon as Kurt tightened up like a spring.

Everything seemed to fade into the distance as Kurt tried to make himself numb. He knew it wasn't the healthiest way to deal with what was going on but right now he had more problems than energy. If he was going to make it out of this intact, he needed to refill his batteries so he could fight his way out of the mess that was threatening to turn him to a complete loon.

Kurt didn't even notice that Sarah was talking to him until he felt her hand touch his. He flinched and moved closer to Noah. As he turned to look at Sarah, he saw the bewilderment and worry clearly displayed on her face. He hadn't meant to make the little girl worry about him. It was bad enough that the rest of her family was trying so hard to make him feel better. It really wasn't her job to make his life better after all, compared to her he was an adult and should be facing his problems like one. "Sorry, I spaced out a little. What's up?" Kurt forced himself to say.

Sarah hesitated for a second before she answered. "I was wondering if you could help me with my history."

Before Kurt could answer, Noah spoke up without turning from his homework. "I'm almost done so I can help you in a second."

The guilt from ignoring Sarah, who had been so kind to him, caused Kurt to uncurl himself from Noah's side and turn her book to face him. He forced a smile onto his face as he started to skim the chapter. "No, it's fine. Maybe the work will help me out of my funk. Plus it's history." To Kurt, history was an easy subject and kind of fun since it was mostly stories from the past that were just trying to be recaptured. The way that his current teacher thought a history lesson should go was not fun at all though. Kurt was usually lucky if he didn't fall asleep during class. To be honest, he had faced a few near misses. Mr. Kirk sucked the entertainment out of the subject with his soft monotone voice.

Sarah smiled and sat in the little nook between the arm of the sofa and Kurt. "I don't really need much help. Just a double check of my answers."

Kurt nodded and started to look at the answers. He was able to focus enough on the work in front of him, that he could almost forget why he was here in Noah's basement rather than hanging out at his house with his dad. The work seemed to help him let all the bad events fade away a little. It was also a lot more productive than numbing himself to what was happening around him. Maybe if he just kept busy, he could get through this.

Noah closed his book a few minutes later and got up, stretching his arms over his head and lean back just a little. Noah had taken off his button up shirt sometime while Kurt had been asleep so the mohawk sporting teen was only in a black tank top and those amazing tight jeans. Kurt couldn't help but enjoy the view.

Kurt didn't have much time to appreciate it since Noah stopped stretching rather quickly and walked around the coffee table. "I'm going up. You two want anything?"

Kurt ducked his head, trying to hide the blush that Kurt knew had taken residence on his cheeks, again. It seemed that even in a time like this, his body just reacted like it normally would to a hot guy like Noah. Not only had he been staring at his friend/maybe-boyfriend like a perv, but now he was red in the face because of it. He shook his head and was relieved when he heard Sarah answer for both of them. "Kurt is almost done so we can come and grab something when we come up."

Kurt heard Noah start walking up the stairs. "Sounds good, buttercup."

Kurt turned back to Sarah's homework and noticed the little girl was right about not really needing help. So far she didn't have anything wrong but good grades seemed important to her so Kurt continued his check of her work.

There was a few seconds of silence before Sarah started to talk to Kurt about the horrible dramas that was happening in the third grade. Kurt tried not to laugh, since he knew that the drama that Sarah was going through with her friends liking or disliking the same people were very important at he age. It all seemed so simple and easy compared to what was happening in his life right now that it was kind of amusing. Kurt would have loved to go back to that kind of drama right now so Sarah's stories were a welcome distraction for Kurt from what he was dealing with.

He added his opinion of what she should do when it seemed warranted, but still managed to finish checking over Sarah's answers in less than ten minutes. He handed the book and homework back to the little girl and said, "I think everything looks alright."

Sarah smiled and packed her things away in her backpack. "Thanks, Kurt. Noah usually helps me but he seemed a little busy. Most of the time, he's done with his homework by now so he just sits here to make sure I do mine. I think he doesn't want to get into trouble with mom for not being a good brother."

Kurt felt guilty considering he had demanded Noah's attention all weekend long. It was no wonder Noah had no time to get his work done. So many people had told him that Noah really did do well in school so it should stand to reason that he spent a descent amount of time on his homework to get those good grades. Now because of Kurt, Noah was falling behind. Another thing that was his fault.

Sarah interrupted Kurt's thoughts by grabbing his hand and tugging him upstairs. Kurt had always wanted a little sibling and Sarah seemed happy taking over the position even though they had just met. Kurt couldn't decide if it was because Auntie Ella and Noah were so accepting of him, or that she was just that outgoing of a girl, but Kurt wished that he had a sibling like Sarah to tease like she did Noah. Instead, he was probably going to get a sibling who ordered him around and fought with him though maybe Finn could turn out to be a better brother than a love interest. That was still to be seen, though.

Auntie Ella was working on some kind of yarn project when Sarah and Kurt got upstairs. Kurt didn't really know that much about knit or crocheting or anything to do with that kind of project but the ball of yarn gave it away. He knew some of the end products were beautiful, but he was happy with just his knowledge of hemming and altering since they were a lot more useful to him. Auntie Ella smiled at them and put down her needles. "Are you two ready to go?"

Sarah nodded and went to grab her coat from Noah, who seemed to be waiting with coats in hand for the two of them. Noah walked over to Kurt, who looked questioningly at Noah.

The taller boy smiled as he handed Kurt his jacket. "We're going to Barb's for dessert." Noah had already donned his coat and seemed to have put his purple button up back on. Kurt didn't know if he was happy with the reappearance of the purple shirt. On the one hand, it did look good on Noah but on the other, the tank top was a lot tighter than the shirt was.

Noah's mom slid her arm into her coat as she spoke. "I already called your dad. He is going to meet us there."

Kurt smiled slightly. At least he wasn't making his dad drive all the way here to pick him up. "Thank you."

He quickly put on his coat as relief washed through his system since was going to see his dad soon. He knew his dad probably didn't blame him for what happened but until he heard it from his dad's lips, Kurt knew he would continue to feel anxious about what his dad thought. Especially since Kurt blamed himself for everything that was going wrong right now. Kurt wrapped his arms around himself as he wished the only family he had since his mom passed away was with him right now. As kind as the Puckerman/Bohm family were, he really wanted to be with his dad. He bit his lip as he tried to regain his composure. He had already lost it too many times today.

Kurt noticed Auntie Ella and Sarah were already out the door but when he started to make his way to the foyer, Noah grabbed his arm. "Hey princess, if you don't want to go, we can just hang out here."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm just a mess right, now." He tried but couldn't stop the sob from escaping his lips as he tried to be strong. "I just want my dad."

Noah pulled Kurt to him and wrapped him in a hug.

Kurt didn't feel the need to clutch to Noah like he had earlier. It wasn't that he didn't want the support his oldest friend was offering, but he just wanted to go Barb's and see his dad. He wanted the smell of old spice and car grease not zest soap and axe body spray. Kurt moved away from Noah slowly but took care not to push the larger boy off of him since Kurt knew the only reason why he was as sane as he was right now was because of Noah. It wasn't Noah's fault he wasn't the person that Kurt wanted at that moment. Though Kurt knew that after all that had happened, he probably wouldn't be able to cope without Noah near him either. The larger boy was starting to be his touching stone much like he had been when they were younger. If anything, Kurt knew he selfishly wanted both men around him at all times so he knew he was safe from anything that could hurt him. After all, who could beat the duo of Burt and Noah?

The car ride over to Barb's was a blur to Kurt, who spent most of it looking out the window from the back seat he shared with Noah. Kurt felt a million miles away from everyone else in the car. That was probably why he was holding Noah's hand so tightly. It was the only tether that was holding him to the real world.

Kurt was scared about being in such public place considering Officer Willis said that the local news would probably make the story a huge deal. He knew it was so they could find his stalker faster, but he didn't want to be a public figure. At least, not like this. It was hard enough going through town as it was, but being fingered as the gay kid by everyone was going to be even worse. Right now, most people just thought he was odd and eccentric. If they knew without a doubt that he was gay, it would be even worse.

He also knew that if the police didn't have a good eye on what was going on at the diner, he might be putting people who he cared about in danger by being out in public with him. In the past, Albert Nelson beat his own brother but he killed his brother's boyfriend. What if the little get together was the final piece that made the psycho realize how important Noah was to him?

Kurt didn't notice that they arrived at the diner until Noah tried to let go of his hand. Kurt looked at the jock, who also looked a little out of sorts himself, and was puzzled with what he saw. Noah had been a prince during all of his craziness. It was incredible that Noah was being so sweet when he could have easily just turned away from him. Honestly, considering the psycho after him, Kurt wouldn't even blame him. It was like Noah was the only good thing that really came out of everything that was happening to him.

"We're here, princess." Noah said softly.

Kurt nodded and noticed that Noah's mom and sister had already left the car. "Can we talk for a second?"

Noah nodded and moved closer to Kurt.

Kurt looked at the hand that was captured in his. Kurt brought his other hand over and started to play with the strong, callused fingers of the larger boy. "I know I've been moodier than usual lately, and I guess I just wanted to thank you for being so amazing. The last few weeks have been horrible for me and you've made a lot better than they could have been. I know I've been a little out of it and I don't mean to be so distant considering how wonderful you and your family have been... I just don't know how you can be so sweet to me when all you are getting is this crazy mess, but I swear I'll try to be better. I mean you've had to rescue me from bullies and now crazy stalkers. You've had to run interference with Finn and deal with me being childish whenever I'm not the center of your world and I really don't know what you see in me, but I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there here for me so just please don't leave me." Kurt said softly. His emotions were a mess by the time he finished speaking. He knew that Noah wasn't getting much out of staying with him and he couldn't figure one good reason for the other boy to stay with. But Kurt felt like if Noah left him now, he would come apart at the seams. In the last few weeks, Noah had crept into his life and become the only one he seemed to feeling comfortable with anymore. Everyone else seemed to fade into the background when Noah was around.

"Whoa, princess. Who said anything about leaving? It took me this long to get back to where we were when we were all those years ago. I'm not going to give that up because you're having a rough few days. Anyway with everything that's been happening, I think you've earned the right to lose it and not just a bit. Actually, you've got the right to go completely nuts and you're not. Shit, I don't even think you've pulled your normal diva thing in the last few days. Honestly, even if you decided to become the biggest pain in the ass on the planet, I would understand. And I know I've said it before but I promise I'll be here as long as you want, so stop worrying about that."

Kurt felt something in his stomach relax. He knew he shouldn't put so much stock into words but he could almost feel the truth in them. He felt like at least Noah would always be there for him no matter what happened to him. Noah was okay with him being clinging and chaotic. He was okay with Kurt at his worse and was still here with him. He leaned in towards, tilted his head and looked closely at the other boy.

Noah was exactly the type of guy that he had hoped his first kiss would be with. He was sweet and considerate, hot yet not horribly full of himself. Okay, the last part didn't really seem true but Kurt noticed Noah used his ego as a mask from the world just like Kurt used his sarcasm to keep people away. In the last few weeks, Kurt only saw Noah be that egoist jerk when Noah was easing the tension from the room. And, honestly, Kurt knew that Noah wasn't prefect but, really, who was?

Kurt closed his eyes and puckered his lips like he had seen in all of those romantic comedies he loved, but instead of Noah's lips against his, he felt a rough finger up. Kurt's eyes snapped open as he flinched back. Noah must have changed his mind about the whole dating thing and now Kurt felt like an idiot for trying to kiss him. Marc Jacobs, he hoped Noah would let him forget what happened and just sweep it under the rug in the name of the friendship that had just started up again.

Before Kurt could have a full fledged freak out, though, he was pulled close to Noah and felt Noah's lips on his forehead. Kurt was all sorts of confused now.

Noah must have known since he started to laugh. "Now princess, you have to stop tempting me. I promised you a date before your 'first kiss' and I want to deliver on that promise. If you keep trying to jump me, I don't think I'll be able to resist for long." Kurt felt his chin being lifted so he was looking into Noah's eyes. "Today was a horrible day and I want you only thinking about me and us when we kiss, not everything else. I want you to kiss me because you like me and want me not because you feel grateful because I didn't leave you. I don't want it as payment for not being a dick. I want you to kiss me because you just want to do it, like before when you were drunk off of the wine." Noah kissed Kurt's forehead again but Kurt could feel Noah laughing at his own comment. "Now, try to resist my hotness for a little longer. I know it's hard but I'm sure you can do it."

Kurt snorted and hit Noah. "Come on your hotness, let's get in there before your mom and my dad come looking for us."

Kurt looked around the parking lot as he rushed out of the car and to Noah's side. The parking lot seemed full. There was probably little to no hope that this night would end without Kurt trying hide from judgmental looks. Noah opened the door for him with a smile. Kurt returned his smile. He couldn't believe how amazing Noah was. He gave him a quick hug before walking it. It really wouldn't be hard fall completely over heal in love with Noah.

When Kurt walked through the door, he was shocked with what he saw. His friends from football and glee had filled the diner. Mercedes charged at him and grabbed him in a very strong hug. Kurt wondered if he had cracked his back or maybe bruised some ribs considering how tightly Mercedes' grip was.

"Bo, that's the second week in a row that you made me almost lose my mind." Mercedes said as she held Kurt close.

Kurt wrapped his arms around him as he scanned the room, searching for his dad. His dad was sitting in a booth with Carole and Finn. His dad waved to him and smiled. Kurt returned the smile slightly before turning away. The three of them looked comfortable together. Almost like the perfect family. Kurt was sure it wouldn't have been so bad if Finn had been sitting with some of the guys from football, but since the quarterback had been sitting one on side of his dad and Carole on the other, it showed Kurt that his dad had already found the support he needed.

He continued to scan the room and saw all his friends from glee, excluding Rachel. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't find Josh either. That was either really good news, or really bad news considering the date that the two of them had on Friday. Also missing from the diner was Dave, though Kurt did see Azimio was sitting in the corner trying to keep the guys who were at his table in some resemblance of control. Considering Berry and Jason were at his table, he must have had his work cut out for him. Kurt saw Sarah and Auntie Ella sitting at a table in the corner. Sarah was glancing around to all the people in the room but seemed more concerned with the menu in front of her than the loud teens around her. Kurt let Mercedes drag him to the table where most of the glee kids were sitting. Santana, Brit, Tina, Mike, Artie, and Matt were sitting at the table watching him move to the table. Brit smiled widely when she saw him, but the rest of the table's smiles were troubled. Kurt tried to smile but after the day that he had had, he didn't have the energy to pretend that he was anything but depressed.

Santana spoke up as the silence at the table was climbing. "So apparently, while we were busting our asses trying to find you, you were in dreamland at Puck's."

Kurt tried to smile and not blush at Santana's dig since he knew that she was just teasing him and knew it was only the fact that he was at Noah's that saved him the psycho. "Well, I blame Noah since he was the one who invited me over for dinner the night before."

Santana had a smile in her face that didn't quite reach her eyes. Kurt could see that his friend was truly worried about him and was trying to hide it behind her joke. "So you just started to hang out with him and you already know that 'everything is his fault'?"

Mercedes interrupted their jabs. "Well I, for one, am happy that mohawk decided to keep my Bo at his place. I heard some of what happened on the TV this afternoon. This guy sounds crazy."

Kurt shuddered. His issues were now being blasted all over the news thus the town. He really didn't want to know that. Now, everyone will be looking at him odder than before. He didn't want it but he knew this was coming. He was going to be pushed into the limelight not because of something that he did but because of something done to him. "How much did you hear?"

Before Mercedes could answer, back Mike jumped into the conversation. "Not that much. It just said that this guy, Albert Nelson, is being looked for because he was responsible for property destruction and hate crimes. It didn't really even mention you except for the part where they said that the guy was after was a teenager."

Kurt sighed in relief. At least there was no mention of who he was. Also, it didn't seem like they said why he was targeted. For all most of the towns people knew, it could be for any type of hate crimes. After all, people didn't just hate gay kids.

He glanced back to see where Noah was, and saw that Noah had moved over to the jocks. Kurt looked at all his teammates and was taken aback. It looked like the whole team, including all of the second string players, were there minus Josh and Dave. Kurt felt ungrateful that two of the people who were supporting him this week were missing from the gathering so he made his way to Noah after convincing Mercedes to finally letting go of him. Kurt didn't have Dave's or Josh's number, and he knew that Noah had everyone on the team's on his phone so he could just ask him for his phone to make the calls. He could call Rachel from his phone but if the date with Josh went badly, Kurt knew she wouldn't want everyone to know her business.

The three tables of jocks smiled at Kurt as he walked up to them. Kurt could see some relief in their eyes as he walked up to Noah. Noah must have been telling the boys what had happened for most of the day.

Kurt was amused as Berry almost fell out of his chair as he tried to make his way over to Kurt. Berry threw an arm around Kurt, and pulled him towards himself. "Little K, I was freaked out when my dad said he was at your house this morning. It was even worse when he told me to get a search party together. I tried to call Noah but it was before he got up so it was a no go. We're all glad that you crashed at his place, since the word is your place is trashed."

Kurt just nodded as he waited for Berry to let him go. Kurt was a little on edge so the causal touching that the boys usually partook in was a little unsettling. Noah must have noticed his discomfort, since he moved away from the table where Moser was sitting with some of the other second string to pull Kurt away from Berry. "So what's up, princess? Bored of the glee crowd already? I was sure that you wanted more girl time after your hot Fridays night with them."

Kurt heard laughter from the second string table and he saw what looked like Noah's phone being passed around the tables. Kurt turned to Noah and glared. "I thought that you were going to get rid of that picture."

Noah smirked. "First of all, it's pictures and I never said I was going to get rid of anything. In fact, I'm pretty sure I told you I was going to show it to all of the guys."

Kurt rolled his eyes and started to move towards Moser since he was currently holding Noah's phone. "Okay, hand it over."

Noah was right behind Kurt so he quickly grabbed the phone out of Kurt's hand after Moser handed it to the smaller boy with a slightly guilty look on Moser's face. "Who said you could have my phone, princess?"

Kurt knew Noah was trying to relieve some of the tension in the room with his whole class jerk routine, but he really started to miss the Noah he had spent the last few days with. Right now, he wanted to be coddled and not pushed around. "Noah, give me the fucking phone."

After the words came out of Kurt's mouth, a pin drop could be heard. One thing that everyone knew was Kurt Hummel did not swear. Noah's eyes seemed to widen to comically proportions as he looked at Kurt. "Princess, why don't we take this little chat to the kitchen for a minute?"

Kurt was furious, but knew he didn't want to start screaming like a lunatic in front of everyone. Heck, that might actually land him on the front page of the newspaper at school if he went up against Noah in the diner. Okay, considering what was happening to him, he knew he was going to be front news anyway, but this would be because he was being a diva for no good reason rather than the crazy stalker angle. Actually, that didn't sound too bad to Kurt but he still decided to listen to Noah. "Fine by me."

Kurt quickly moved to the kitchen with Noah hot on his heels. As soon as they reached the kitchen, Noah looked at the hand full of people back there and said. "Hey, guys do you mind giving me and Kurt here a few minutes? I swear I'll make sure nothing goes wrong in here."

The personnel in the kitchen seemed to take one look at the pair and quickly moved out. As soon as the last one left the kitchen, Kurt was quickly turned around and forced to face Noah. "What the hell was that, Kurt?"

Kurt could feel his nostrils flare. "Oh, you mean when I actually didn't want to be the butt of every one's joke?"

Noah glared at Kurt. "You know that I wasn't really making fun of you."

Kurt snorted. "Well, maybe I don't like the Jekyll and Hyde thing that you have going on. Where was the guy who was so nice to me all weekend? Where is the guy who was cuddling with me in the car?"

Noah let go of Kurt and backed up. "I'm still here, princess. You are the one who said that we should take it slow and that you didn't want everyone to know what was going on. I hate to tell you that if I acted even a little like the way I normal do with you, everyone in this would be able to see it from the second we stepped into the diner. That's not really what your mad about, is it? Because I don't mind going in there and tell everyone what is going on."

Kurt snorted. "As if anyone would believe a guy like you would be gay."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "A guy like me? What do you mean a guy like me?"

Kurt glared. "You don't know anything about being gay." Kurt started to pace in the kitchen. "You've never had to deal with the looks and the jeers that I get. You've never been pointed out on the street as the fairy or gotten phone calls to your house to your dad about how horrible it is that his son's queer."

Noah's face transformed from anger to concern as he listened to Kurt speak. "Jesus, princess." He quickly moved in front of Kurt and stopped his pacing. "What's going on here? The truth."

Kurt was still mad though Noah looking at him like that was making it harder for him to stay that way. "Well, I don't know Noah. Could it be that I had my car completely totaled last week or that my house was broken into sometime last night and destroyed? Could it be that there is a psycho coming after me? Or maybe it's that fact that the whole town knows it too? Tyra Banks, I bet some of the people figured out that it was me that they are talking about and probably think that he's doing the right thing going after the queer kid. Hell, I bet that he even gets a facebook following with support from half of this hick town.

"Maybe I'm just sick of everything Noah. Maybe I just want the whole world to leave me in peace for two seconds before sending me more crap to deal with? Is it too much to ask just to be allowed to make a few phone calls to some friends without being made fun of for some stupid pictures? Or maybe I should just be happy that you aren't beating the crap out of me now that you've magically figured out that you were gay, too? Heck, I bet you don't even want to tell the guys because you don't want them to know you got queer on you from me. I know it must make your stomach turn to like someone like me. I bet that the only reason you're even with me is because you thought that the queer kid must be easy to get in the sack since no one else would touch him with a ten foot pole. You'll probably just use me to get off until you can start your pool business up and then you'll disappear. Isn't that right?" Kurt was glaring at Noah who seemed to take the assault of word easily as if Kurt hadn't spewed venom at him.

Noah didn't even nod when he noticed that Kurt had finish his little diatribe and did not speak afterwards. The brief pause made Kurt realize what he had said and what he had accused Noah of. Noah had been so supportive of Kurt this whole time, and this is what he got for his efforts? Kurt's knees started to give in as he realized that he had accused his maybe-boyfriend of not caring about him when Noah had spent his whole weekend making sure that Kurt was okay. He was getting upset with the only person who was really there for him. Kurt's anger gave way to worry and fear. He stepped closer to Noah. The only person that was shielding him from the real world was getting farther from him because of his moment of stupidity. If there was anyone in this whole situation that didn't deserve his ire, Noah was that person. When he had inched himself within a foot of Noah he took a chance and launched himself at the Noah. "I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry. Don't get mad at me. I didn't mean it."

Kurt felt some of his worry start to loosen as he felt Noah's arms wrap himself around him. Yet, the wider receiver's grasp was not as soft and welcoming as it normally was. Kurt could felt the tension in Noah and he knew it had a lot to do with what he had just said to the other boy. Kurt tired to figure what to say to make the other boy forgive him for what he had said. So far, this relationship was based on what Noah was willing to give Kurt. Noah gave him protection, friends, and even a safe haven and what did he get out of it? After what Kurt had just done, Kurt wouldn't be surprised if Noah dumped him as a friend and a love interest.

Noah finally spoke up. "I know you are not mad at me, princess but I am not going to let you talk like that to me either."

Kurt nodded but couldn't make himself look at Noah in the eyes. His eyes were firmly over Noah shoulder. "I know I was completely out of line when I said... Well, most of the things that came out of my mouth since we've been in the diner hasn't been rational or considerate. You've been the only thing that's kept me sane for the last few weeks and you didn't deserve anything that I just said. It's just that I just felt mad all of a sudden and you seemed to be the first person I could take it out on. I'm sorry."

The arms around Kurt tightened a little and Kurt could feel some of the tension come out of Noah's shoulders. "You've had a rough few days, so I'm going to let it slide, but you should know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Kurt buried himself closer to Noah. "I know and you been a prince. A real knight in shining armor, but I just got so freaked out when I heard that everyone in Lima knows what is happening. I mean, I already get all sorts of dirty looks and now there will be no question in any one's mind that I'm Lima's queer kid."

Noah snorted. "Well, actually, won't you have to split that award with Karofsky?"

Kurt didn't say anything. He didn't want to joke about what was going on right now. "I really didn't mean what I said."

Noah shook his head. "I know that, but you also know that you can't say stuff like that without getting some kind of reaction. If it was anyone else other than you pushing me for a fight, they would have been laying on the floor right now, princess."

Kurt could still hear some of the anger in Noah's voice. "I know. Right now, I won't even fault you for trying to beat the crap out of me either."

Noah let go of Kurt and moved away. "I would never hit you because I'm mad at you." Noah's voice was low and dark. He only looked at Kurt for a second before turning away and moving towards the stoves to check what was going on with the food.

Kurt's eyes widened as he realized that he had just stepped onto another mine. He knew with everything that Noah had said about his dad, physical abuse seemed to be the norm with the elder Puckermen. With how much Noah hated his dad, it would be stupid to imply that he was anything like him especially with how he treated people that he cared about.

Kurt moved behind Noah and put a hand on Noah's shoulder blades. "I know you would never hurt me. That's probably why I know I can act like such an ass. You would never ever try to hurt me because you were mad at me. You're too good of a guy for that. If I was ever hurt because of you, I know you won't mean it and you probably would feel worse than me about what happened. You're a good man, Noah Nathan Puckermen, and don't you ever think otherwise."

Noah looked over his shoulder at Kurt and then turned back to the stove to take off the food that seemed ready to serve. "I don't know what to say about your little rant earlier. There really isn't much of that that I can control."

Kurt took Noah speaking to him as a sign that he might be forgiven for his faux pas and moved so his body was wrapped around Noah. With his face mostly buried in Noah's back, he tried to answer the wider-receiver but most of his words came out muffled

Noah sighed and turned away from the stove. Kurt kept his arms around Noah's waist as the larger boy turned to face him.

"Okay, would you like to repeat that?"

Kurt nodded. "I guess, I just wanted to be away from here and back at your place where I could pretend it was just us getting to know each other and getting closer rather than all of the horribleness around me being pushed back into my face."

Noah shook his head. "I can understand that but no matter how much I would want you to be my personal boytoy and keep you locked in my room forever, you can't hide from what's going on around you."

Kurt nodded. "I know but it was so much easier when it was just you and me and your family. Now, it's me versus the world."

"Hey, now. I'm still here, princess and I'm not planning on going anywhere." Noah said firmly. "I understand that you are overwhelmed but could you not take it out on the people around you? I might be a little more understanding but that doesn't mean that everyone will."

Kurt shook his head. "You're not understanding, you're amazing." Kurt turned his head a little so he was looking Noah right in his beautiful brown eyes. He was enchanted by what he saw. The brown seemed warm and earthy, but rich like chocolate. Kurt moved slightly closer until he was millimeters away from Noah's lips. Kurt felt Noah shift slightly as their bodies became somehow closer than before. This was it. Kurt was finally going to have the first kiss he always wanted.

Well, that was what almost happened, except that his magic moment was interrupted by his dad calling out his name. "Hey, Kurt? Is everything okay?"

Kurt dropped his head and sighed as the moment was broken. Of course, his dad would pick this moment to become interested in his life again. Kurt heard Noah chuckle a little as he moved away. "I'm fine, dad. Noah and I were just talking some things out."

Noah laughed. "Is that what you were trying to do?" Noah said just loud enough to reach Kurt's ears.

Kurt glared at Noah as he turned towards the door. "We'll be out in a minute, dad."

Burt came to the door and poked his head in. "Are you sure Kurt? Because we can leave right now if you want to."

Kurt shook his head. "No, dad. It not Noah's fault that I got so mad. Its just been a crazy few days and I was taking it out on him. I needed to apologize since he's done nothing but be sweet."

Noah snorted causing Burt to shot him a measured look. After a few seconds of the two of them staring at each other, Kurt stepped in front of Noah and spoke to his dad. "Noah and I'll be out in a second, okay?"

Burt looked away from Noah and back to his son. "Okay but you have five minutes."

Kurt nodded and waited for his dad to leave the room before turning around. "You know if you and my dad can't get along, it'll be really hard being together."

Noah folded his arms over his chest. "Your dad is just a little over protective considering everything that's happening. He usually is a lot friendlier than that."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, it does seem that the two of you are a little overprotective of me. Maybe you two can bond over weird ways of making sure I have no way of leaving the house without a tracking device."

Noah smiled. "Tracking device? I was thinking of getting you a GPS chip like they have so you don't lose your pets, but I don't know how you already figured it out. I was going to give it to you on our first date as a surprise. Now, you've ruined it."

Kurt moved over to Noah to deliver a well-deserved slap when he was wrapped in the larger man's arms. Kurt laughed softly. "Gucci, is my life messed up? I find an awesome guy who likes me and got rid of all my bullies, and then a psycho comes in so I can't scream out how happy I am to everyone I meet."

Noah looked into Kurt's eyes. "So you want people to know?"

Kurt frowned. "In a perfect world, this would be our coming out as a couple party instead of a 'thank goodness that Kurt isn't in a millions pieces' party. But this isn't a perfect world and I don't want anything to happen to you because of me. I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to you."

Noah shook his head. "Nothing that pyscho does is your fault."

Kurt moved closer to Noah. "It's not just him. You don't know what it is like being looked at all odd because of who you like. You're the big man on campus and most of the girls are usually panting after you. You've never been hated just because you don't think the same way as someone else."

Noah shook his head. "You have to be joking. Kurt, the main reason I was at the diner most nights lately is because that was the one place I wasn't judged for what happened with Quinn. Oh, I heard an earful but mostly about how I had gone about telling Finn and how I should have been more of a man about the whole situation before the news finally got out but they still made me feel welcome here. I lost a lot of friends and a great business because of what people think. So as far as not telling anyone because of the weird looks I'll get, fuck 'em. I lost a lot of people who I thought were friends before and now I know who would actually have my back. I know who are my friends and they wouldn't care if I was sleeping with you or banging a MILF. They're good people." Noah framed Kurt's face with his hands making the smaller boy look at him. "Right now, there is only three people whose opinion really matters to me. One is my mom, the other is my sister and the last is you. I know some of the guys might freak but I know Santana, Brit, Aretha, and even Rachel will behind us. They might be a bunch of girls but I would never want to be on their bad side. Anyway, if we're really in a pinch, I'm sure that Karofsky would lend a hand since he's gay too."

Kurt nodded. "Maybe but can we hold off telling everyone? I don't think I could handle that on top of everything else."

Noah nodded. "Fine, but it seems like you want to be out more than staying in the closet."

Kurt nodded. "I was in the closet for a long time about being gay, but it seemed like everyone already knew that I liked girls more than boys. The stress of keeping my homosexuality a secret was tremendous. I don't want to keep us a secret and I wouldn't if I wasn't so worried."

Noah sighed and let Kurt go. "I understand princess, but I'm going to keep wanting to tell people so you better get used to it."

Kurt smiled. "Who would have thought that you would be the nag in the relationship?"

Noah smirked. "Says the man who wants a date before his 'first' kiss."

Kurt mock glared. "I was totally willing to let you kiss me twice today."

Noah's smirk became wider. "I did notice you couldn't stop yourself from throwing yourself at me."

Kurt snorted but didn't reply at Noah's remark. He didn't really care because it was kind of true. He couldn't really kept his eyes off of Noah today. Heck, Kurt couldn't remember a twenty minute period today where he wasn't within touching distance, except maybe the shower and that was only because Kurt liked long showers.

Noah spoke up after he realized that Kurt wasn't going to say anything. "Are you really that upset about the pictures?"

Kurt shook his head. "No, it was just one more embarrassment in a line of embarrassments today. I actually just wanted your phone so I could call Dave and Josh to see where they were."

Noah laughed. "Well, according to Berry, Josh and Rachel are going at it in the parking lot."

Kurt scrunched his face as if he had tasted some very decidedly sour. "Ewwww. That isn't information that I needed."

Noah took his phone out and Kurt noticed that he was calling Josh. Noah switched the phone to speaker and the two of them listened to the ring. After the third ring, Josh picked up but sounded little out of breath. "Hey Puck, what's up?"

Noah had an evil grin on his face. "Nothing much. Hummel and me were wondering where you were and if you were still attached lip-to-lip to Rachel? Because that's what's going around the diner, that you're having a hard time getting out of your car because the two of you are attached. If that's true, I'm sure I can get a rescue together. Most of the team would be willing to help you out if you need it."

Kurt could hear Josh growl lightly at what Noah said. "We'll be up in a minute."

Noah nodded. "You have to make sure everything is tucked back where it's supposed to be. Wouldn't want anything hanging out especially on you. Could blind the whole diner."

Josh hung up with a quick, "Fuck you, Puck," which caused Noah to laugh and Kurt to smile.

"Do you want me to call Karofsky too?" Noah asked.

Kurt shook his head. "No, I was hoping that I could talk to him by myself. I just want him to become part of the group since he is trying so hard. I mean, I'm not sure I can really call him a friend but I think everything that I thought about him is wrong. Well, not everything. He's still very crude and very intimating, but I think that maybe we can use that for good instead of evil like he has been. I mean, after how he acted all Alpha male when Finn was harassing me shows that he can be nice too. True, he wasn't nice to Finn but it is a baby step in the right direction."

Noah shrugged. "He's not bad. He seemed okay when his boyfriend is with him."

Kurt nodded. "Blaine was nothing like I thought he was going to be."

Noah nodded and handed Kurt his phone. "I'm going to go back into the front so your dad doesn't think that something is happening back here."

Kurt grabbed the phone with one hand but stopped Noah from leaving the room with the other. "Can we tell my dad soon?"

Noah smiled. "That's up to you but it would be nice if I didn't have to sneak around your dad."

Kurt grinned. "Yeah, while him walking in on us making out might be a big clue, it might cause him to change the gun from a scare tactic to a real weapon against boys. I've kind of gotten attached to you, so I would like you to stay in one piece."

Noah leaned in and kissed Kurt in his forehead. "I've gotten a little attached to you, too."

As Noah left the kitchen, Kurt called Dave. The phone rang at least five times before Dave finally picked up. "Karofsky," roughly came over the phone. Kurt sighed. Did no one know phone etiquette anymore? Where was the 'hello?' Or the 'how are you? This is blah.'

Kurt spoke softly. "Hey, Dave. This is Kurt. How are you?"

Dave's voice became kinder as it came through the line again. "Hey, Kurt. How is everything? Do you need something?"

Kurt smiled softly at the eagerness in Dave's voice. If someone would have told him that he was going to be on first name basis with his arch-nemesis last week, he would have told them that they were crazy. But here he was talking to Dave as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "No, everything is fine. I was just wondering where you were. I mean most of the football players are here so I thought that you should be here too."

Kurt heard Dave sigh over the phone. "Kurt, I don't think that it would be good if I showed up. I mean, I heard about the thing from Azimio but I don't think that most of the crew would want me there."

Kurt shook his head even though he knew that Dave could not see him. "The guys should know that you are okay and if not, I think it would be the perfect time to tell them."

"Yeah, but Hudson''s there and I don't want to cause a scene." Dave said.

Kurt frowned. He could understand the want to stay in the closet, but he did want Dave there if only to make sure the other boy was allowed to hang out with him at school. Not that anyone would say no to Dave but still. "I can't force you to come but I want you to know that if you do want to come I'll make sure the boys behave. I'm sure that Noah would help me out as well."

Kurt could hear the suppressed laugh from the other side of the line. "I'm sure that Puck would help you with anything that you want."

Kurt rolled his eyes. How could he have been so blind to Dave's silly little jokes? It now made sense why Noah was so mad at Dave that other day when he was teasing him. Kurt hoped that he wasn't always this slow about things. "I'm sure that's true but the question is do you want to come? I understand either way, but I really want the guys to start treating you better. Noah didn't do a good job of getting the word out last week."

Kurt heard Dave snort. "I think Noah wanted someone to blame after everything happened and I was an easy person to be mad at. I understand since transferring anger was what I did for years with you. I still feel really bad about that."

Kurt frowned. "That doesn't mean that I think that you would stay away from Noah and me. You been really helpful the last few days and I want the guys to know that you are not a threat to me."

A deep sigh came over the line. "You are worse than Blaine." Kurt heard some rustling over the line. A few seconds later, Dave spoke again. "I'll be there soon but if anyone gives me grief..."

Kurt cut him off before he could finish. "Don't worry about it. I'll make sure everything goes smooth."

There was a pause over the line. "Are you sure you are okay?"

Kurt wanted to give Dave the normal spiel, but he felt as if the larger boy was one of the few people who would understand how hard it was for him to keep up the mask. Even after all Dave had to go through at home, no one seemed to be able to see what was happening. Honestly, if the linebacker hadn't proved that his brother was in the hospital and he had not met Blaine, Kurt probably would not have believed Dave about how he was really sorry about what he had done for the last few years.

"I'm okay some times but others..."

Dave seemed to understand. "You want to disappear so everyone can stop reminding you about how you are different and alone." There was a heavy pause. "You do know that you're not alone right? Puck, me and Blaine are here for you."

Kurt laughed wetly since he was trying not to think about how he had a room filled with people who were trying to make him feel less alone was right behind him but here he was trying to get one more person into that room. Prada, he was needy. "Thanks Dave. I'll see you in a few."

There was a grunt and the line went dead. Kurt looked at the phone to see that Dave had hung up and shook his head at the lack of goodbye. He knew it wasn't really Dave's MO to have manner but there was a line.

Kurt walked back into the main part of the diner to see Noah talking to the cooking crew. Before he wandered back to the wide receiver's side, he noticed that Rachel and Josh had come in. Rachel was sitting with the rest of the Glee table but her eyes were definitely stuck on Josh and the football player was not doing any better at taking his eyes off of Rachel. Kurt was happy to see that they seemed so blissful. He could tell by the predatory look on Mercedes' face, that there was only had a few seconds before she would start asking Rachel how things went the other night with Josh. Well, at least they knew it went well but details were always fun. Kurt walked over to the glee table and smiled as the whole group tried to squeeze even closer so he could sit down. Kurt sat down next to Mercedes who put her hand on his arm as soon as he was situated. It wasn't as wonderful as Noah's hand on his, but it did help him feel less alone.

Mercedes leaned forward and smiled at Rachel. "So Berry, what happened on Friday? Kurt was waiting to hear about what happened on Friday all night."

Rachel glared at Mercedes but turned to Kurt with a smile. "Thank you for helping me get over my anxiety on Friday. The date was really nice. He brought me to Barb's and there was a few moments of awkwardness but then he asked me about my family. When I started to talk about my two gay dads, he didn't make a big deal out of it. He actually tried to play it off as normal until I told him he didn't have to pretend. He just shrugged and started to talk about his family instead. His family seems very well educated and motivated. He actually is thinking about going to school on the East Coast. His dad is a NYU graduated and Josh is thinking of following in his footsteps."

Kurt nodded his head. He knew that Josh was not really a slouch when it came to school. He might not have as high of a grade point average as Kurt did but he wasn't that far behind. Considering that he was also part of the school counsel and the volunteer club, it was clear that he was thinking about his future since he was already padding his college application.

Rachel leaned in a little closer to Kurt. "He also ordered dessert with two spoons. It was kind of cute since he order two desserts, but insisted that we shared both of them. He said that since I couldn't decide and I didn't have room for two deserts it was the only workable option."

Quinn spoke up. "Josh does seem like a catch. He is a really sweet guy and he is more patient than most of the guys at the school. He's also more mature."

Kurt couldn't figure out if Quinn was trying to be friendly or make sure that Rachel no longer was attached to Finn. Though one look at Rachel's face when she tried to steal glances of Josh, it was clear that Finn was no longer in the picture.

Mercedes hummed her agreement. "Also, doesn't hurt that he is tasty little treat? Now tell us how much of that you've bitten off."

Rachael actually seemed shy about what was going on between her and her new beau. She shook her head and turned her gaze towards Josh, who seemed to be smiling a silly grin at her. She turned towards Mercedes trying to keep the smile Kurt could see peeking out off of her face and fighting to regain her usual composure. "A true lady doesn't kiss and tell."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "A true lady doesn't sit in a car for at least half an hour doing who-knows-what when she should be inside with her friends."

Kurt tried not to laugh but he knew there was a small smirk on his lips. This was what he needed. Being around his friends was calming him down much faster than being at Noah's house. Their loudness and constant need for attention and answers kept him from sinking back into the funk that he had been in at Noah's. Also, now that there were romantic feelings on both sides, Kurt didn't know what was appropriate. It was very lucky for him that Noah was so laid back about what was happening. Kurt was sure that the crazy mood swings that he was having would have scared lots of people away but Noah was still there for him. Kurt looked over to where Noah was joking around with the jocks and smiled at the other boy. Noah noticed Kurt's glance and smiled back at him. Kurt excuse himself from the glee table when the diner door opened and Dave came in.