Knights Nerds Naps

Santana waved at Finn as he walked up. "Sup?" she asked.

"Not much. How's Rachel?"

"Pain killers are working their wonders, and her dad says she should be back in action by Wednesday. Just no dancing until next Monday. How's Kurt doing?" she asked, lowering her voice.

"He said he's full of ennui. Which I think means he's sad and panicking."

"But waitlisted isn't a no, necessarily," Santana said as they walked to class.

"Right. And he has an interview this afternoon with one of the directors and a teacher."

"Scary."

"I know. Hey," he said, pulling her aside. "I need to talk to you at lunch. I need…I need your advice."

Santana's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Finn nodded vigorously. "Fine….I just… have some stuff going on and, I mean… you always tell the truth. Even if it hurts. And I think that's kind of what I need right now."

Santana smiled, nodded, and pulled him into a hug. The full weight of how far they'd come this year hit her like a Mack truck. "Sure. Me, you, Breadstix. We'll skip the last two classes if we have to, and you have my undivided attention."

Finn relaxed visibly and smiled too. "Thanks, Santana."

"Don't worry. We're bros now, right?"

"Right."

"One thing though. We're taking our backpacks in and eat with our notebooks and pens out. Just in case Ben Israel has spies. I don't want people thinking we're creepin' behind our ladies' backs."

Finn laughed as they walked into their history classroom.


"Do you need anything?" Kurt asked, seeing Rachel wince.

"No, I'm okay. They're reducing the amount of pain medicine I take every two days, but I've been doing alright. Just sore. Anyway, talk to me. What did they say about this interview?"

"When she called, Dr. Hendricks said it was with her and a theater teacher. She said not to worry; they interview all of their waitlisted candidates and that it was super casual."

"Are you going to have to sing?"

"I hope not," Kurt said, smiling. "We're meeting at the Lima Bean. That would be incredibly awkward."

"Indeed, it would be. Also, not that I'm not thrilled that you're here, but why are you not at school?"

"I threw up twice this morning. Dad knew it was nerves about the interview, but he still let me skip. Then when we were texting each other incessantly this morning, he called your dad and asked if I could keep you company."

"Got it. Don't worry, Kurt. You're going to nail this interview, and then we're going to New York together."

"You, me, and Santana…."

"And possibly Quinn. Genius got into Columbia as well."

Kurt shook his head, smiling. "It's going to be great."

"The first weekend there, we should all eat lunch in Central Park together."

"Watch the clouds…talk about our dreams…."

"It's going to be perfect," she said, giving him a light hug. "Now, there's something I need to tell you, and I know you're going to protest, but know that I've already made up my mind."

"I'm terrified."

"I'm coming with you this afternoon."

"What?" he asked. "You can't. You're supposed to be home!"

"No, I'm supposed to be limiting activity. I can't go to school for two days, because that's constant stress, but I'm not confined to my bed by any means."

"Your dads will kill me…."

"No they won't. They know how stubborn I am, trust me. I'll just sit in the corner while you have your interview. A visible, but silent presence of comfort."

"Somehow, I doubt your ability to be silent."

Rachel hit him with Mr. Penguin.


"Alright, start talkin'."

Finn took a sip of Coke and fidgeted. "There are two things. I'll start with the scarier one," he said, chuckling. "Sugar's dad wants to have another sit down with me."

Santana dropped her breadstick. "What?"

"I went over to their house for dinner on Saturday, and it went well…. I think. But afterwards he kind of patted me on the shoulder and gave me this look. Then he said 'I think we should talk this week. Man to man.' And all I could do was nod, because he is scary as hell."

"So…when do you have your come to Jesus?"

"That's the thing! We already had one. After he told me that, Sugar's mom wanted to show her their redesigned craft room, so her dad kind of pulled me into his study."

"This I have to hear."


"Have a seat, my boy."

Finn sat and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"I like you, son," Mr. Motta said, pouring himself a drink. He pulled a Sprite from the fridge and poured it for Finn. Sitting across from the boy, he leaned back in his chair. "My Sugar's dated a few boys in her years, but they…er…couldn't exactly handle her. It's no secret that the women in our family are high maintenance. It's part of why we love them. But Sugar…she's my angel. One of the only truly good things I've done with my life. And I don't want to see her hurt."

"I won't hurt her, sir. I promise."

"Oh, I know you wouldn't hurt her intentionally. You're a good boy—I can see it. I've known enough bad boys to be able to spot a genuinely good one. The problem is…how do I put this? You're still just a boy. I know a little more about you than you think. I know you have a temper—that's okay, I do too. And I know you say things you don't mean when you're hurting. Most people do. But you have to learn how to channel that—how to overcome it. That Rachel girl you dated, and the Quinn girl…they dealt with your back-and-forth style because they're strong. They know what they want, who they want, and how to cope. Now, imagine if your friend Santana were to do that kind of thing with Brittany, when they were together."

Finn flinched visibly.

"Exactly. Brittany's strong in her own way, but she's also very innocent. That's my Sugar. My daughter thinks the world can be turned into a bright, shiny place with the right amount of zeroes after a number. In a way, she's right. But in a way, she's completely wrong. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"I think so…."

Mr. Motta nodded and smiled. "You're going to be a good man, Finn. I look forward to the day Burt and I look at you and all we want to do is buy you a stiff drink. But for now, while you're still a boy, try not to make any stupid boy mistakes that affect my kid."

"I'll…I'll do my best, sir. Plus, I always have Santana and Puck to beat some sense into me if I start messing up."

Mr. Motta threw back his head and laughed. "Yes…yes, it's always good to keep people like that around. Speaking of this Santana…I'd very much like to meet her. I'm always impressed by those who spend their lives protecting others. You bring her to our next sit down, right?"

"Er…yes, sir."


"WHOA, pony!" Santana exclaimed, twirling her pasta around her fork. "He wants me there? How does he know all that stuff about us?"

"I have no idea. Sugar swears he's not in the mob, and I haven't seen a lot of shady people at their house when I've been."

Santana shook her head. "It's not the mob. He's too open about his money. Mobsters have a little restraint. Not much, but a little. He's probably a government official."

"In Lima?"

Santana shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he's about to crack a drug cartel or a pedophile ring."

"Thanks for that image."

"Any time. Now, what's the second thing you wanted to talk about?"

"…I'm thinking of joining the Army."


Kurt got Rachel a seat on one of the chairs with footstools and made her put her feet up. He handed her her tea and almond cake, and kissed her forehead. "Wish me luck," he whispered.

"You're going to be fine," she said.

He nodded, and walked over to where Dr. Hendricks sat. "Dr. Hendricks," he said, putting out his hand.

"Kurt, it's so good to see you again. This is Professor Clayton. He teaches History of Theater at Julliard, and some classes at NYU."

"Just relax," Clayton said, smiling. "This is actually a good interview. We want to give you some…er…options, shall we say?"

"Really?" Kurt asked, confused. "Well, I'm…all ears."

"We looked through your profile, and rewatched your audition," Hendricks told him. "I was fully prepared to offer you a placement at our school. Still am, in fact. But this one here," she nodded at Clayton, "seems to want to steal you from me."

"I'm head of the Fashion Design department at NYU. Julliard is just my side job."

"That's one hell of a side job," Kurt quipped.

Clayton laughed. "Yes, yes it is. Listen, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're a fantastic dresser." He smiled when Kurt laughed. "No, I know it's a bit of a shock. I'm sure you've been laboring under the delusion that you're just an average high school trendsetter, but this is above and beyond. Plus, I Googled your name and found that you did some guest blogging for teen fashion week. That's pretty impressive. I don't know if fashion's on your radar at all for a college option, but I can guarantee that if you apply to NYU, you'll have a place in the program."

Kurt opened and shut his mouth wordlessly for a moment. "I…wow…."

"It's a lot to take in, we know," Hendricks said. "What I suggest is this. Go home today. Go ahead and apply to NYU and get your acceptance letter. Talk everything over with your family and then make a decision. You don't have to get back to Julliard until June sixth, and NYU's cutoff for acceptance is the…fifteenth, am I right?"

"That's right," Clayton said. "So you've got time to think it over."

"Wow," Kurt said again. "Well…I will. I'll think about it. This is amazing. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Either way, I'll see you in the fall," Clayton said, standing and offering Kurt his hand.

When Kurt made it back to Rachel, she was in the middle of explaining the concept of underground theater to Santana and Finn.

"What's up, K-money?" Santana asked.

"How'd it go?" Rachel asked.

"You guys are never going to believe this…."

LbN: Last week to vote on what I'm writing next. Previews are in chapter 26 of this story. Poll is on my profile. It'll be live until 5:oo p.m. Central time on Sunday, August 26th.