Chapter 54
(A.N: Ugh, just...ugh...ugh...).
Dave didn't have a lot to pack. He hadn't really come with much to begin with. Still it seemed to take him a long time to collect it all in a movable pile. Kurt stood off to the side, watching him stuff things into his backpack, even as the seams began to rip in protest.
"You know, putting your shirts in like that will cause them to wrinkle" Kurt murmured under his breath. His arms were folded and his face was void of emotion. Still Dave could tell he was angry, and tried to ignore it. If he focused too much on his anger he would throw all his stuff on the floor and stay forever. Instead he tried to stuff one more t-shirt into his bag, hoping it wouldn't fall apart in his hands. He heard Kurt suck his teeth, and then give a huge exasperated sigh. Dave ignored it; he couldn't get into this right now. In an hour he would be moving to Mr. Schuester's, another change in his currently hectic life. Dave pushed the bag sides as close as they could get, and then tried to zip it up. It didn't seem to want to close. Dave pushed them harder, determined to get it to close. His forehead furrowed in concentration. It had to close, he could make it close. He heard seams rip but focused only on closing the bag. He bit his lip as he pulled at the zipper. "Okay stop, stop, stop." He heard Kurt say, he felt Kurt's hand on his, moving them away from the bag.
"I could have gotten it" Dave said frustrated.
"Would that be before or after you had a conniption?" Kurt spat, taking things out of his bag.
"Where am I supposed to put those things?" Dave yelled back, angry at Kurt for being angry, and treating him like a child.
"Oh I don't know Karofsky, maybe you could ask for an extra bag? Or carry it? Or shove it where the sun doesn't shine. Whatever is easier." Kurt glared at him.
"Fine" Dave gritted through his teeth. Made even angrier by Kurt's use of his last name, like they had never started to become friends. "May I borrow a bag?"
"Why don't you ask Finn" Kurt said, turning to leave the room, his head held high, his nose in the air.
"Thanks for nothing" Dave mumbled kicking the coffee table stupidly with his good foot. Pain went through it and he cursed under his breath at the moronic nature of his decision. Kurt spun around, his face red with anger; his eyes narrowed and ice cold.
"You selfish, pathetic, pigheaded sub-human. I've done nothing but stick by you through this whole mess, and what do you do? You leave, the moment you see a better opening. What? Was my family not good enough? Or did you think you milked us for all we were worth? You think we're tapped out? You asshole" Kurt got right up in Dave's face, Dave pushed him away.
"Oh please you excessive drama queen. What does it matter if I leave anyway? You can have room to brood on the couch all by yourself now. Don't worry, I won't tell Blaine about your little issues" Dave internally punched himself.
"You know what Karofsky, I lied, you are enormously fat. Disgusting actually, no wonder no one likes you. It'll be great to actually be able to sit on the couch, and not squeeze onto it with you ham hock" Dave felt his stomach drop. His skin ran cold with embarrassment. He looked away; he could feel tears welling up in his eyes.
"Fuck you Hummel" Dave spat, grabbing his bag from the couch, its contents falling to the floor. Dave ignored it, and started to go through it, throwing the clothes Kurt had bought him at him. Kurt swatted them away.
"What am I supposed to do with them Incredible Bulk? No one I know fits into a 50 XL" Dave stomach jumped, he felt sick.
"Use them as table clothes then" Dave shouted, throwing the last of the clothes at Kurt's face. "Use them as parachutes; use them as a covering for the roof whatever. Now I won't owe you anything" Dave could feel tears spill from the corner of his eyes. Back in the day he would have just hit Kurt and ran away, he didn't know how to deal with it all now.
Both didn't say anything, all that could be heard was the deep, heavy breathing of Dave. Dave looked at the door as though he could blow it up with his mind. The tension so thick that even the sharpest knife couldn't cut through it.
Finally Kurt sighed and stepped towards Dave. "Listen, you know I didn't really mean that. I was just being a bitch."
"I didn't mean a lot of the things I said either" Dave admitted, not taking Kurt's apology fully.
"Please don't take what I said to heart. Well...at least not the last part." Kurt fell onto the couch uncharacteristically hard, and put his chin in his hands. "I just don't understand. Why are you leaving? What did we do that was so catastrophically horrible that you couldn't stay another second?" Kurt's lip trembled a little; he stabbed his fingers into his lip.
Dave went over to sit next to Kurt, then thought of what Kurt said and decided not to. "Listen, you guys didn't do anything. I loved staying here, but I think that it's best if I move in with Mr. Schuester. I don't want to be a burden on you guys, and ...I just think its best."
"Well, I guess you'll see Finn at school right?" Kurt said quietly, his hand still on his lip.
"And I'll see you, we're all in Glee, and...well...if you wanted, we could hang out...you know, after school." Dave mumbled the last part, hoping that Kurt wouldn't be completely disgusted by the idea.
"Yeah, I guess we could" Kurt got up and started to collect Dave's things. "I guess I over reacted a little, didn't I?"
"Just a tad" Dave laughed, still feeling upset and a little angry.
"Just explain what Mr. Schuester has that I don't?" Kurt said, hands putting his hands on his hips.
"A closet full of vests and the answers to all my Spanish homework." Kurt laughed lightly.
"It's true; my vest collection is severely less diverse than his. Still, everything was going so well. We didn't want to kill each other every five seconds, and you were looking less like the product of a hillbilly and a homeless man."
"This isn't the end of our...acquaintanceship, it's just the beginning."
"Oh my god, I really did turn you gay" Dave laughed. The two of them finished collecting Dave's stuff, putting some of the things into his bag. Finn came into the house and looked around.
"So you're really leaving man?" Finn came over looking at his sports equipment piled off to the side.
"Don't worry, I'll come over to bug you guys every once in a while, stay for your mom's dinner" Finn laughed.
"I'll get you a duffle for the rest of your stuff" Finn said, running upstairs, leaving him and Kurt alone again.
"If you don't come over every once and a while I will make sure you have to listen to the song Friday forever and ever until you die" Dave laughed and promised he would.
While they packed the rest of Dave's stuff into the duffle, they talked and laughed. For a moment Dave wanted to say screw it and stay. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad being Kurt's brother. Maybe he could live with that.
Seeing Kurt laughing though, he knew that just being brothers would be hell. He really was selfish. He didn't just want to be brothers, and if he couldn't have what he really wanted, he didn't want second place. If he couldn't win he didn't want to play. Maybe it was competitive sports mentality, but he just couldn't compromise his feelings.
Mr. Hummel came home as they were finishing packing up. "You all set?" Dave hesitated before nodding. Imagining himself packing Kurt in the duffle bag.
Finn patted him a little too hard on the back. "See you in Glee Karofsky." Dave patted him back "And football."
"Goodbye Dave" Kurt said, putting his hand out for a handshake. Dave sighed at the coldness of the act but reached out his hand to shake. Suddenly he felt Kurt's arms around him, then just as suddenly they were at Kurt's sides again. Dave blushed, and he saw Kurt blush too.
Mr. Hummel helped him out to the car, throwing his bag into the back and helping him up to the seat. "Hey, listen" Mr. Hummel said as he started driving away. "That Mr. Schuester said you were looking for a part time job."
"Yeah?"
"What do you know about cars?"
"A fair bit why?" Dave had always taken good care of his car.
"How would you like a job after practice and Glee at my garage?" Dave looked at Mr. Hummel in shock. Was he really offering him a job?
"I would love to, really?"
"Yeah, and if we run late you could always have dinner at my place, then I could drop you off after. And this way you don't have to worry about the job hunt." Mr. Hummel didn't say anymore, but he didn't have to. Both men sat, knowing this was not going to be the last time they saw each other. It was comforting.
