After the Smythes left, the three teens went upstairs. Kurt grabbed Quinn's dance clothes from their laundry closet. He stepped back out onto the landing and texted her. She opened the door.

"Oh, thanks. You already washed them?" She kissed him on the cheek. She slipped her leotards and tights off the hangers. "I'll hang them back up on my own hangers. Thanks for washing them for me. See you in class tomorrow."

He put the empty hangers back in the laundry closet and locked the front door. He went to look for Dave and found him in their study. He put his hands on Dave's shoulders and began to massage them.

"Mmm. That feels good."

"Are you ready for a shower?"

"Definitely." He got up and stacked his books up. "These shelves on the ends of the desks are handy." He put the books on the shelf. "Alright. Let's go."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt curled into Dave's side and laid his head on Dave's chest. Kurt ran his fingers along Dave's chest. "Something's bothering you."

"Yeah. I'm bothering me. I'm irritating myself."

"I'm not sure what that means."

"It means that I feel a way that I don't want to feel and I'm mad at myself for feeling that way."

"Somewhat more explanatory, but still pretty vague."

"I'm jealous."

"Of Sebastian?"

"Yes. No. Yes."

"Well, that was a less than helpful answer."

"Yes, I'm jealous of Sebastian, but no, it's not because he's Sebastian. It's just stupid. It's exactly what I wanted for you and now that you're getting it, I'm jealous and it's stupid."

"Please continue."

"Back in Lima, we had a few friends, more like a group of friends. We did things with them. It was 'us' and 'them'. The only 'we' you were a part of was you and me. Us. We were 'we'. Now, there are new people who will be a part of your 'we' as in – 'We were rehearsing our skit for French.' And 'we' will be you and Sebastian. Or it will be 'We were working on this song.' And 'we' will be the guys in Harmonichords. It won't be me that's always a part of your 'we'. It's been me and you all the time for almost two years. And I knew this was coming. I knew that once we started college that we wouldn't be together as much anymore because we don't want to study the same thing. Plus, I want you to make friends. I've always been able to just be one of the guys and that has never been the case for you. When we moved, I wanted that to change for you and it has. Nick, Jeff, Sebastian, and probably all of the other guys in Singspiration and Harmonichords and your ballet class will all just accept you and some of them will want to befriend you because you're a really cool person. And I want that for you. I REALLY, really do."

"I can see your point of view, but I was part of 'we's that didn't include you in Lima. You didn't help with the alterations for costuming. That was usually just me and Tina. You weren't part of my ballet 'we'. That was just me and Quinn. The difference I see now is that the 'we' is going to include guys now. Here there are guys that will be willing to do things with just me." Kurt gently turned Dave's face towards his and pecked him on the lips. "Sweetie, I need you to be honest with me. Really, deep down, all-the-way-to-the-roots honest. Are you actually afraid that I will leave you?"

"Yes and no."

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Please explain."

"Yes, because deep down I wonder if you'd be happier with someone who shares more of your interests than I do."

"Okay. And no?"

"And no, because you've never given me any reason to doubt your word and you say that you love me and you show me that you love me in so many ways all the time. And I don't want to be the ninny boyfriend who wants to keep his boyfriend isolated and dependent on him for all social interaction. I really do want you to make new friends and enjoy your life. I love you so much and I want you to be happy."

"And I am happy – with you. Your love makes me stronger because I know you will be there if I fail. I hope you feel that way about me too. And I hope that you'll like the people that I make friends with and that you'll make new friends too. I think it's different for me because you already had a best friend when we started dating. I didn't. You quickly became my best friend. But now we're here and Azimio isn't."

"That may be part of it. I hadn't thought about it that way. But I told you ages ago that you're my best friend, not Z."

"But that doesn't change the fact that Azimio was still a big part of your life even after I became your best friend instead of him and I didn't have anyone in my life that was my close friend, like you had Azimio. Like you said, the friends we had were 'our friends', but Azimio was still your closest friend that you did things with when I wasn't around, which was quite a bit of the time because I had to work so much. Before we started dating, I had made friends with Mercedes, but we had only been friends for about a month. I know I said that she was my best friend, and that was true, but she wasn't my best friend in the same way that Azimio was your best friend. She and I had a lot in common and we bonded quickly, but we didn't have a lifetime of friendship that you have with Azimio. You don't know what to expect if I have someone like that in my life. Actually neither do I, and I won't until I've been friends with someone for a really, really long time. I do like Sebastian and Nick and Jeff and who knows who else. With me not working afterschool and you training for hockey, it will be the first time that I'm the one with free time to spend with other people while you're busy. But me having one or ten friends who like me for me and who do things with me when you're not around won't ever change the fact that you're my best friend and that I will always love you more and in a different way than I could ever love any of them."

Dave turned and looked back up toward the ceiling. "I know that. I do. I know that I'm being unreasonable. And that's why I'm so aggravated with myself to the point of near disgust. I WANT you to have what I had before I came out. I want ME to have what I had before I came out. I want us to make friends who are indifferent to our sexual orientation. Like you've talked about before, you want to make friends with people who don't put you in a box called 'my gay friend'. I just want us to be ourselves, separately and together, and be able to make friends individually and together. I want that more than I can even explain. I really do." Dave was nearly distraught.

"Sweetie, just take a breath. It's okay." Kurt propped up on his elbow, guided his face back towards him, and gave him another gentle kiss. "Breathe. I'm not angry with you. And maybe if you listen to me, you can stop being angry with you too. Turn on your side." Kurt reached down and hit the switch to turn the mini Chinese lantern lights on and rolled back over to face Dave. He wrapped his hand behind Dave's neck and kissed him. After a few minutes of passionate kissing, Kurt moved back to gentle reassuring kisses. "It's hard to move to a new place and feel like your anchor is being stolen."

"Why aren't you feeling the same way that I do?"

"Because I'm not worried. Sweetie, you gave up everything you had going for you to come out and be with me. I might never feel worthy of you having given all of that up, but I've already seen you chose me over popularity and friends. This is the first time that you've been in the position of wondering whether I would do the same. You had fallen in love with me before you ever really talked to me. I can't say that I understand how, but it's the truth, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I used to tell you when I was certain that you were asleep."

"It took me time to get to that point because I didn't know you. You knew I was gay, just like everyone else. You could spend time watching me and learning about me or whatever, but I thought you were straight. I had no more reason to look at you and get to know you than I did to spend time admiring a random girl. You were in the same category as all of the rest of the guys and girls – either 'off-limits' or 'not desirable'. And you surely know by now, that you were not in the 'not desirable' category, but in the 'off-limits' category. I told you that you were definitely my type when it came to the physical attraction aspect of liking someone. And I as I got to know you, I fell in love with you as a person. Yes, you were attractive physically, but once I got to know you and trust you, I fell hard. I love you so much." Kurt moved his hand and ran his thumb down Dave's jaw. "Is there something that I'm not doing or that I am doing that causes you to feel insecure? You've made it abundantly clear you don't want to feel this way, and I accept that as the truth. I know that you don't want to isolate me. Where is the insecurity coming from?"

"I wish I knew. It's not you. Honestly, you've never done anything to make me feel this way."

"If you can't actually come up with anything I've done or I'm not doing, then maybe you should consider seeing someone to talk about it. If you can't identify what I'm doing or I'm not doing, then I don't know how to prove my love to you and to assure you of my trustworthiness. You say that you trust me, but deep down something is clawing at you. Maybe talking to someone could help. I don't want this to grow to actually become a problem between us. I love you with everything that I am and it's hard feeling like it's not enough."

"It is enough. It is. I promise." He pressed forward and kissed Kurt. "I'll go see someone. I'll tell Dad tomorrow that I want to go see someone. I'll work on fixing this. It's me. It's not you." He held him close and ran his hand down and back up Kurt's back. "I do trust you completely." He splayed his hand between Kurt's shoulder blades holding him against his chest. "I won't let my own messed up thoughts hurt us."

"Okay." He kissed along Dave's jaw. "If whoever you go to see ever wants to talk to me, I'll go." He kissed Dave sweetly. "I'm going to turn the lights back off and turn over so we can sleep. I love you."

Once they were comfortable, Dave kissed the back of Kurt's neck. "I used to lay like this while you fell asleep and I'd whisper how much I loved so quietly that I wouldn't risk waking you, but I just had to tell you. I don't have to wait like I did back then." He kissed his neck again. "I love you so much."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

The alarm clock went off extra early the next morning. Kurt got up and got ready. He made breakfast and put it on the table and went back into their room to get Dave up. He leaned over the bed and kissed him Sleeping Beauty style. "Hey, sweetie. Your breakfast is on the table. If you don't get up, it will get cold."

Dave opened his eyes a bit.

"I'm heading over to Sebastian's house to take a look at his car before school. I'll see you and Quinn in English first period." He leaned down and kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you too. Thanks for breakfast."

"You're welcome."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

"So, you're sure you can fix it?"

"Yep. If you want to wait around for me after Set Design Club, we'll find an auto parts store, and I'll fix it this afternoon."

"That sounds great."

Sebastian got into the Navigator and they left for school. They met up with Wes like he had asked them to.

"We're all wearing ours today, so if you'd put them on, that would be great," Wes said as he handed them their Harmonichords hoodies.

"Sure," Sebastian said. "Come on. I'll show you the closest restroom and you can change and put your other shirt in your locker or your SUV before the second bell rings."

Kurt followed him and they made it to AP English right before the second bell rang. Dave had saved Kurt a seat and he slipped into it quickly. Sebastian sat in the empty chair at the table where Wes was sitting. Kurt looked around. Quinn was sitting with Nina. Nick was sitting with Jeff.

Mr. Hughes did a roll call and filled out the seating chart as he went. "These will be your assigned seats for the semester." He handed out a syllabus, the grammar book, a novel, and a Greek and Latin roots workbook. "I will be distributing the rest of the novels as we read them." He began an introduction to the course and outlined the requirements, as well as explained the AP testing procedure that would take place in May.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Quinn, Kurt, and Dave went to their Global History and Geography class. Afterward, they went to the resource room and learned about the Regents Exams. They ate lunch with the same group they had eaten with the day before. All three of them opted to just eat lunch at school and not bother with packing lunches. Dave left right after he finished eating, rather than waiting around for the lunch period to end.

Quinn and Kurt went to Drama and Advanced Ballet and enjoyed both classes.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

After school, Sebastian did some reading while sitting in the auditorium waiting for the club meeting to end so they could go to the auto parts store. When they got there, Kurt went straight to the service counter and asked for exactly what he needed. Sebastian paid for the belt and they left.

When they got in the Navigator, Sebastian asked, "Are you sure that Dave's okay with us spending time together? I could have made a milkshake at lunch with the cold radiating off his shoulder. And he left as soon as he finished eating."

"It's not you. We all have our demons. Moving has brought some of his to the surface. It's not personal. I hope you can trust me on that."

"Alright. I won't push. As long as you're sure."

"I am."

When they got to Sebastian's, Kurt opened the back of the Navigator, pulled out one of his work shirts from the garage and swapped it for the hoodie he had on. He took his toolbox over to where Sebastian had the hood up on his car in the garage. A half-hour later, Kurt had replaced the belt. They took it out for a test drive. Kurt wiped his tools down and packed them back up when they got back.

"Is it okay if I use the utility sink in here?"

"Yeah, sure. Help yourself."

Kurt pulled out a mini hand cleaning kit and got all of the grease off of his hands. He put the kit back in with his tools and change back into his hoodie. "That belt should keep you going for a while, but your oil is low. You need to add a quart and then track how long it takes for it to get low again. Are you seeing dark spots where you park?"

"Honestly, I can't answer that. I think my dad drove it occasionally while I was gone."

"I'd take it in for a tune-up if it's been sitting for a while."

"I'll tell him you said so. Thanks for fixing it." He grabbed a bottle of oil off the shelf. "Is this what I need?"

Kurt nodded and took the bottle from him. "Come watch me do it."

Sebastian paid attention. "He got me the car when I came for 10th grade. I took Driver's Ed when I got here. I had just turned 16. My mom and I don't drive in Paris, so I hadn't taken lessons before I came. My grandparents have lived in their place forever and there's not much parking available and it's just easier to use public transportation and walk. If we had to go somewhere that's too far to walk from a bus stop or metro station, we'd ride to the closet place and take a taxi from there."

"I get it. It's probably like being in New York City. It's expensive to park when you do find a place and the traffic is so bad that it takes longer to drive somewhere than it does to walk." He gave the bottle back to Sebastian. "Well, that should help for now. Have your dad schedule an appointment somewhere to have a tune up done on it. I'll see you at school tomorrow. We have that French play to do together. I can come early if you want to go through it again. I have to head home now or I'll be late for dinner."

"I think we're fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Later that evening, Kurt and Dave were snuggled up on the couch doing some reading for their classes. Dave put his book down next to him and waited until Kurt noticed and paused his reading.

"What's up?" Kurt asked. He took Dave's hand and interlaced their fingers.

"Dad got me an appointment for Friday after school."

"That's quick."

"I hope it helps. I'm tired of feeling like this. This isn't what I expected at all. I'm ruining everything. I think tomorrow for lunch, I'll go eat outside."

"I'll go with you."

"No, you should stay inside and eat with the new people you've met."

"I'll sit wherever I please. And if I want to sit with you, then that's where I'll sit." He moved and straddled Dave's lap. "You can be sullen and sulky or mad or whatever you are. You have the right to feel however you feel. But I also have the right to love you with everything that I have. I'm not going to give up on us." He kissed Dave.

Dave wrapped his hands around Kurt's lower back and held him close. "You're a bossypants."

"I am. I own that. And I also know that you happen to like me bossy. You said so." He leaned forward and kissed Dave even more passionately. "I love you David Allen Karofsky." Kurt leaned back a bit and ran his thumb down Dave's cheek. "You are a good man and I know you love me. We are going to work through this. If you've finished what you need to do, let's take a shower or a bath and a shower." He leaned forward and kissed Dave again before climbing off his lap. He double-checked the lock on the door and waited for Dave to grab his book and take it to the study before turned the lights off and went through their room into the bathroom.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Thursday morning, Dave and Kurt ate breakfast together. Kurt washed the skillet while Dave loaded the dishwasher.

"Ready?" Kurt asked.

"Not quite. I need to grab some stuff. I'll see you at school in a little bit."

"Sure." He stepped closer to Dave and hugged him. He pulled back enough that he could kiss him. "I love you. I'll see you in a few minutes. I'll try to sit on the edge of the tenor section so you can sit next to me."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Thursday after yoga, Dave said, "Go ahead and get dressed and go to lunch. I'm going to stick around and figure out who coaches hockey and get some information about where the team practices and when the season starts."

Kurt put his clothes back on, packed his PE clothes away in his bag neatly, touched his hair up, and left the locker room. He went to the cafeteria and got in line. Once he had his food, he sat down with the group of people he had been sitting with.

Wes came up and sat down next to him. "Are you considering auditioning for the lead?"

"Me?" Kurt looked up asked, wondering if maybe Wes was talking to someone else.

"Yes, you. A countertenor as one of our leads would make it easier to arrange music. We could use the other lead to sing songs written in a tenor range and you could lead songs that are traditionally sung by women, but that have great potential for the rest of the group to be a vocal band."

"I hadn't really considered it, but I will now that you've asked me."

"Good. We have several good candidates for tenor lead singers. Nick, Jeff, and Sebastian are all good."

"I've not heard any of them sing by themselves yet."

"Well, come tomorrow during PE and sing for us and I'm sure at least a couple of them will audition and you can hear them."

Kurt nodded. He stayed where he was the whole period, hoping that Dave would eventually come in and sit with him, but he didn't.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

After lunch, Kurt and Sebastian did well performing the first part of the play. They got to hear the rest of their classmates speak in French, which ranged from decent to needing a lot of work on their pronunciation.

"Thank you all. Starting next Friday, we will divide into three groups for oral reading and work on your pronunciation skills. You will be given the readings every other Tuesday to give you time to prepare. Today we're going to move on to the assigned reading." She started asking questions and asking specific students to answer, not giving anyone the opportunity to let their mind wander.

When the bell rang, she dismissed the class, but asked Sebastian and Kurt to stay behind.

"I'd like each of you to lead one of the oral reading groups. I'm aware that Sebastian has spent half of his life in France and that his mother is French. I'm curious about you, Kurt. Did your previous school offer a French language immersion program?"

Kurt laughed. "Not at all. My options this year would have been to go to another high school or to enroll in a class at the community college."

"You scored the highest on the pretest I gave, besides Sebastian of course. That's why I paired you with him. But even at that, I was shocked today by your speaking skills."

"That's a funny story actually. My mom loved French. She studied it in high school and in college. She did one of those junior year abroad programs in France when she was in college. She taught me from the time I was born. She read books to me in French just like she did in English. I was as fluent as the average 8 year old when she died."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Kurt nodded and went on. He explained his use of library books, videos, and computer programs to continue his French studies. He told her about how he and Sebastian had been paired in a pen pal program.

"What a small world. So, the two of you were pen pals for two years. That's amazing. Well, Sebastian's influence on your spoken French was definitely to your advantage. I won't keep you any longer so you won't be late to your next class. Can the two of you come to school 15 minutes early next Tuesday? I'd like to go over what you'll need to do to run your groups. I can't grade the two of you on your pronunciation because there's nothing to correct, but I will give you full points for that portion of your grades for running the groups and helping the others improve their pronunciation. Everyone will improve more quickly with three of us offering help than if I do it alone like I have in the past."

"Sure," Sebastian said. "I can come early."

"Me too."

"Thank you. Just come here to this classroom." She handed them two passes in case they didn't make it to the next class on time.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Right as the second bell rang, they slid into their seats in Spanish, which was just a few doors down from the French room.

"Why aren't you in AP Spanish?" Kurt asked when he saw Sebastian's pretest score.

"I'm taking two English classes and two history classes as well, so I'm up to my eyeballs in reading. I didn't take the AP class because I knew it would be a ton of reading. I was looking for an easy class to take, so I picked this."

Kurt chuckled. "I'm not counting on this being an easy A for me. Our language department was terrible and our Spanish teacher couldn't have sounded less like a native speaker if he had been offered $1000. I'm guessing that his version of third year Spanish is not quite as thorough as second year Spanish here."

"I think you'll be fine."

"Why are you taking two history classes? I am too. I'm just curious."

"I took two the first year I was here. And French schools don't offer US History, so I'm taking both the 11th and 12th grade history courses."

"That makes sense."

"Keep in mind that since I've only gone to school in the US one year and that particular year I took Global History and Geography I and II. I have pretty much zero knowledge about US History. It would be like you moving to France and taking French history. Everyone else knows a lot of things I know nothing about, so US History will be a challenging course for me because it will be almost all new information for me."

Kurt nodded and didn't say anything else because Señor Artino had finished taking attendance and passing out their pretests and packets.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt left school as soon as the Costume Design Club ended. He had already chosen his first song, but he needed to pick between a few ideas for his second song and he needed to find good backing tracks to use.

He spent the whole afternoon practicing the two songs. Dave didn't get home until dinnertime. He came in through the studio and slid into his seat just in time to eat. The five of them ate dinner and the teens cleaned up afterwards.

Dave and Quinn headed upstairs to work on schoolwork. Kurt stayed in the studio to practice more. He did some reading in between practicing so he wouldn't tire his voice out. He went upstairs about 8:00.

He found Dave sitting on the futon, playing Halo with Azimio. He noticed that he had wet hair. He walked over and kissed him on the cheek and went into their study to work on the questions he had to complete for history. He used his computer to make a preliminary weekly schedule. He printed it and hung it up with a magnet over his desk. He searched for nearby garages and wrote down the names and addresses in his notes on his phone. He knew that he couldn't go out until Saturday, but since they were going out the next night to the open mic night, he decided to get a head start on compiling the information he needed.

Once he finished everything, he went back into the living area and sat down next to Dave on the futon. He tried to snuggle into Dave's side, but Dave scooted down. Kurt scooted back the other way to give Dave more room. After he watched for about five minutes, he lost interest and went back into their study and read ahead in history and answered the questions at the end of the chapter and put them in his binder.

He put everything away again. He picked out his clothes for the next day and got in the shower. He lay down when he got out and read the novel he hadn't had a chance to read in a few weeks. Eventually, his eyes got tired and he turned the light off and went to sleep.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt woke up Friday morning to hear Dave speaking to him gently.

"Fancy, wake up. I made you breakfast."

Kurt opened his eyes. "Hmm?"

"I made you breakfast. Slide up in the bed."

"Thank you." He sat up and let Dave sit the tray across his lap. "This looks really good." Kurt took a bite of sausage and pancake.

Dave went around the bed and sat down next to him.

"Where's yours?"

"I'm not all that hungry, but I am really sorry. By the time I came in to go to bed last night, you were sound asleep. I slipped in the bed as gently as I could."

"Did I do something to upset you? I came upstairs to spend time with you and you didn't seem to want me around. I wasn't even spending time with other guys. I was just down in the studio practicing."

"You didn't do anything to upset me. I was mad at myself."

"I'm struggling with being able to tell the difference." Kurt forced himself to eat.

"I've never really felt like this before. I don't know what to say other than 'I'm sorry'."

"Have you figured out what's going on at all?"

"Can you give me until later? I'm too angry and I don't want to say or do anything else to make this worse. I'm going to go talk to that guy this afternoon and I hope that helps."

"Okay. I won't be in the library or the cafeteria today. The Harmonichords are holding auditions for lead singer. I hadn't planned to audition, but Wes asked me to yesterday. I'm underprepared, but I did what I could."

"You always sound great."

"Thanks." Kurt finished the food on his plate and slid the tray back.

Dave got up to grab it.

As Dave left the room, Kurt noticed that he was already dressed. He got up and headed into the bathroom. He came out and put on what he decided on the night before. He went into their study to grab his bag. Dave was sitting at his desk staring at his computer screen with his email program open.

Kurt put his hand on Dave's shoulder and squeezed gently. He stepped back when Dave didn't respond. "I'll see you in English. I'm going to go ahead to school."

Dave just nodded.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt went to the smaller choir room at the beginning of PE. He was one of the first to arrive. He sat down and put his earbuds in and listened to the originals of the songs he was going to sing.

Wes came in and set up a mic on a stand and hooked it to a sound system. Once everyone was there, he called the group to order with a gavel. Kurt had to restrain himself from laughing. Instead, he focused and sat up straighter than he was already sitting.

"Who would like to go first?"

Kurt raised his hand. "I'm the one who has the least idea of what it is that you want, but I'd be glad to go first. My apologies if this isn't what the group is looking for. I'm willing to learn and I'm a good team player." Kurt went down front and hooked his phone to the stereo system. "Yesterday, Wes commented that having a counter tenor singing lead would open up the possibilities of singing popular songs sung by women without having to transpose them. So, my first song is a powerful female ballad." He stood in front of the mic. The cello and the piano introduction began.

Every day is so wonderful.

Suddenly, it's hard to breathe.

Now and then I get insecure.

From all the pain,

Feel so ashamed.

I am beautiful, no matter what they say.

Words can't bring me down.

I am beautiful, in every single way.

Words can't bring me down.

So, don't you bring me down today.

When he finished, he turned and changed the song on his phone, but didn't press play. He turned back and said, "Tuesday it was suggested to sing a song that showed potential for the group to be a vocal band backing up the lead singer." He turned and started the music.

You were my sun. You were my earth.

But you didn't know all the ways I loved you, no.

So you took a chance and made other plans.

But I bet you didn't think that they would come crashing down, no.

You don't have to say what you did.

I already know. I found out from him.

Now, there's just no chance for you and me.

There'll never be.

And don't that make you sad about it?

You told me you loved me.

Why did you leave me all alone?

Now you tell me you need me when you call me on the phone.

Girl I refuse. You must have me confused with some other guy.

Your bridges were burned and now it's your turn to cry.

Cry me river.

When he finished the song, he grabbed his phone and sat back down.

"Well, that will be a tough act to follow. That was amazing," Wes said. "You prepared both of those last night?"

"I did."

"Alright, who's next?"

Sebastian got up. He sang "I Want You Back" and "Uptown Girl".

As he sat down, Wes said, "Anyone else?"

Jeff and Nick looked at each other.

Jeff spoke. "Nick and I were going to audition, but Kurt and Sebastian are better than the two of us. We want to win and we'd have a better chance with the two of them."

"We'd be glad to hear you sing," Kurt said. "Are you sure?"

"We're sure," Jeff said. "We'll sing for you if you want us to though."

He and Nick got up. They sang "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)". Jeff took the higher parts. The two of them horsed around while they sang. When they finished, they took a deep bow.

Kurt was struggling not to laugh, but then he realized that making everyone laugh was exactly what they had wanted.

Wes rolled his eyes, "Thank you. Although I am certain that you had planned to sing something else. And if you hadn't, I'm going to pretend like you did."

Nick grabbed his phone and sat back down.

"Anyone else?"

No response.

Wes banged his gavel. "Kurt and Sebastian will be our lead singers this year. If you two could come up and grab a copy of 'Since You Been Gone', please. We're going to try it with Kurt and Sebastian singing the lead together. Kurt will take the high harmony later, once he's had a chance to look the music over."

They spent about 20 minutes working on the song before they all headed to lunch part of the way through the period.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Dave left at the beginning of lunch and headed to the college campus early. He went in the cafeteria, bought something to eat, and sat down away from everyone else. He forced himself to eat before he went to class. He left as soon as it was over and drove to the psychologist's office. Paul was there when he got there.

"Ready to go in?" Paul asked, as they met up under the patient drop-off area.

"Yes."

They went inside and found the office. Paul filled in the insurance paperwork and took it back to the counter. It didn't take long for them to be called back. They were taken to an office with a desk that had four chairs facing it. Paul and Dave sat down next to each other.

"It's nice to meet you two. I'm Mathias Clarkson. I read through the information that Dave sent in. I'm not sure if he shared it with you or not."

Paul shook his head.

"Dave, given what I read, I really do think it's important for your dad to know what's going on with regards to the email you forwarded to me, but I will respect your wishes to keep it private if that's what you choose. The other things you mentioned on your questionnaire, we can deal with privately, unless you'd prefer for Paul to come to all of your sessions, which I do allow."

Dave took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. He selected an email, opened it, and handed his phone to Paul.

Paul took it from him and looked up almost immediately. "Your," he changed his wording quickly. "Martha emailed you?"

"She did, but I only opened it yesterday. Our choir director emailed all of us Tuesday using the email address we put on a sheet in class. He told us to check it Tuesday afternoon to make sure we had received it, so we could let him know if we didn't, but I forgot. I remembered yesterday morning before school, so I checked before I left. I've read it several times since then."

"Okay. Give me a minute to read this." He facial expressions got more and more tense as he read. He clenched his jaw. Before he finished, he was breathing like he had been exercising. "How dare she!" he said when he finally finished. He handed Dave's phone back. He closed his eyes and attempted to regroup. When he opened them, he looked at Dr. Clarkson. "I can see why you needed someone to talk to, Dave. Thank you for not trying to deal with this on your own."

"I needed someone to talk to BEFORE I read the email. I'm failing spectacularly at dealing with that email on top of everything else."

"Did you let Kurt read this?"

"He doesn't know about it."

"I'll let Dr. Clarkson speak to that as well, but I think it's a bad idea for you to keep it from him. I can understand why you wouldn't want him to read it, but to not know of its existence at all seems to invite a lot of potential problems."

"Yeah. I may have already hurt him to the point of him not trusting me anymore. My mind is such a mess that I don't even know what to say to him. He knows that I'm angry and that I'm not angry at him, but he left for school this morning and all he did was put his hand on my shoulder. I didn't even try to stop him from leaving 15 minutes early. I let him leave without kissing him goodbye or telling him that I love him. I'm such a mess. Part of me wants to go find him and tell him how sorry I am and kiss him senseless and the other part of me thinks I should find someone willing to listen to me confess my sins so I can be absolved from them and that I should go to Pennsylvania."

Dr. Clarkson spoke. "If you don't mind me asking, what does Martha do for a living? From reading what she wrote, I think writing letters of condemnation and forcing confessions out of people for crimes they didn't commit might be two good guesses."

"She was an English major. Before she left, she worked for my law firm part time. She did legal writing. And she perfected the art of persuasive essay writing in college. She's equally good at writing summations that make a client look as innocent as a baby. She is a VERY persuasive writer."

"I have never in my life seen anything so utterly vicious and sickeningly sweet all rolled into one letter," Mr. Clarkson said. "It's truly the Mona Lisa of maternal manipulation." He went on. "She calls white 'black and black 'white'. Her so-called selflessness is the most blatant case of self-centeredness I have seen. Her statement that she's learned that her previous attempts of leaving you to figure things out and repent on your own were misguided and that it's her job to 'love you back into the fold' is just wrong on so many levels. Look, Dave, I know that you are confused by all of this. She's using the innate desire that we have for our mothers to love us against you. She is intentionally manipulating you. I want to read something to you, if that's okay.

"What?"

"Well, this is unusual for me, but not unheard of. I've familiarized myself with several religious groups' teachings so that I have a better understanding of my clients' beliefs when they come to see me. So, what I want to read you is something from the Bible and also from the dictionary."

"Fine, sure."

He pulled it off the shelf and read the definition. "Love – verb transitive – to hold dear, cherish."

"She told me several times in the email that she loves me."

Dr. Clarkson nodded. "Yes, she did. Did her words make you feel cherished?"

"I don't know."

He put the dictionary back and took the Bible off. He opened it to a place with a bookmark. "Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." He put the Bible back on his shelf. "According to her religious text's own definition of the word, does what she wrote indicate that she loves you?"

"No. She said that Kurt was lying and that he doesn't love me and that I'm just the first of many notches in his bedpost. She said that she didn't abandon me, that she just went to make a place for me to live a righteous life with her in Pennsylvania. She said that Kurt is going to be the one who leaves me if I stay. She said that if I stay living in sin that him leaving me heartbroken is my just punishment for living in sin."

Paul put his hand on Dave's arm. "Dave, I need you to think back. Has Kurt ever been anything besides exactly what Dr. Clarkson read to you?"

"No."

"Has Kurt ever said anything mean or hurtful to you?"

"No."

"Has Kurt ever so much as even fussed at you for messing his kitchen organization up?"

"No. I've seen him straighten it up, but he's never said anything to me about it."

Dr. Clarkson said, "Your dad has a point, Dave. I've never met Kurt, so I don't know the right questions to ask up front. How long have you and Kurt been together?"

"Almost two years."

"So, Martha has been gone as long as you've been with Kurt."

"Yes, she took everything that was hers, signed dissolution papers, and signed away her parental rights the day after she found out that I'm gay." Dave answered. He broke down crying. "Kurt's been there for me through everything that's happened. He's been nothing but amazing. He held me when I cried about her leaving."

"Has he ever given you any reason to believe that anything Martha wrote about him in that email is true?"

"No."

"Dave, I know this may seem strange coming from me," Dr. Clarkson said. "But in all honesty, there is no evidence in the Bible that being homosexual is a one-way ticket to hell. Being gay isn't listed in the 10 Commandments of things to avoid. I would like to challenge you to read the first four books of the New Testament, which are the parts of the Bible that Christians claim contain the words of Jesus. I am not suggesting that you convert to Christianity. I'm suggesting that you treat this as a research exercise. Martha is making claims about your fate that are based on her faith. I'm asking you to consider reading the text upon which she claims to base that faith. It is impossible to separate truth from falsehoods if you don't know the original source. I'd like you to consider the situation that goes on in English classrooms across the country. The teacher assigns a book to read and a portion of the students watch the movie instead of reading the book."

"Preachers are like the movie director. They interpret the book and their interpretation may or may not actually follow the book."

"Exactly. Millions of people consider the Bible to be their sacred text, but a very low percentage of those people have read the whole thing for themselves. I'm not going to declare myself an expert because I read it once, but I can assure you that being gay isn't on a list of things that makes a person unfit for heaven. Jesus had quite a bit to say about the rich and about hypocrites though. I'll drop this, but since this seems to be a really problematic area for you because Martha uses it as a way to make you feel irredeemably bad, I'd like you to consider my suggestion."

Dave nodded. "It's actually a good idea. I'm an adult now and I should make an informed decision about what I believe, even if I come to the conclusion that I don't believe in any of it."

"What do you think of letting your dad leave while we talk some more and having him call Kurt to come for the last part of our session? My appointment after you cancelled last week due to a conflict, so I put you in for both hours after I received that email from you yesterday. If you're ready to leave before the two hours are up, that's fine too."

Dave sat and thought for a minute. "Sure. Dad can go and he can call Kurt to come here. He told me that he'd come with me if I wanted him to."

Paul said, "I'll go call him. But before I leave, I want you to know that I know that Kurt loves you. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that he loves you. Try not to let Martha's lies worm their way into your mind. Kurt is not a player. He is loyal and trustworthy. And I'm certain the only way Kurt will leave you is if you break up with him."

"I remember Kurt saying something to Quinn when were talking one evening. He told her that love is freely given. Anyone who only says they love you when you've done what they wanted isn't showing you love – they're showing you their approval."

"That sounds like Kurt. I can even guess that it was in relation to how Russell treated her."

"It was. After Quinn got a nose job, dyed her hair, and became a cheerleader, Russell was finally pleased with her."

Paul took a deep breath before speaking. "I have nothing nice to say about Russell except that his foolishness was my gain." He stood up. "Actually, if Dr. Clarkson doesn't think it's overstepping, I'd like you to delete that email or allow me to change your password for your email account for now. I don't think it's good for you to reread it."

Dave looked at Dr. Clarkson.

"I agree that looking at it will only prolong the length of time that you are hurt by what it says."

Dave pulled up his email app and went into the settings and pulled up the Change Password screen, and then handed it to Paul. Paul changed the password and handed it back.

"I'm going to go call Kurt." He left the room.

Dr. Clarkson said, "So, tell me about what was going on before you read that email."

"It feels stupid to talk about now."

"Humor me."

"It felt like I was on cloud nine, but I was afraid of falling through the fluff. I know that sounds dumb. But honestly, we got the apartment finished and we were together and it was amazing. I had everything I had ever dreamed of with him. I've liked him since freshman year. I saw him the first day of school and it was like those stupid cupid cartoons. Right through the heart. And that feeling never went away, no matter how ridiculous I told myself that it was or how much I was still hoping that I could somehow get rid of the feeling of liking and wanting him so badly."

"So, you got what you wanted and then you got scared you'd lose it?"

"Yeah."

"That's not uncommon. Especially when you've felt so strongly and what you wanted was so out of the norm for someone your age to achieve. I can't say that I've ever met a parent that allowed their child's boyfriend or girlfriend to move in and live with them at age 16, especially not allowing the two to share a room."

"I know. I was surprised too. I figured it was because he felt so bad about what had happened. But Kurt just fit right in. He's a force of nature." Dave laughed. "You'll see. He's been through so much and he keeps going. Just hearing you and Dad say that the email is wrong makes a difference. I know that sounds lame because I knew it was wrong, but…"

"I told you that it was the finest example of maternal guilt and manipulation I've ever seen. If someone had written something like that to me, I would be hard-pressed to get to the end of it without wanting to find a priest."

"You're really okay with the fact that I'm gay?"

"Yes. I'm not gay, but my brother is and he and my brother-in-law were amongst the first to get married in Massachusetts back 7 years ago. They'd been together for 15 years at that point."

"That's cool. Kurt and I have talked about getting married, not a lot, but I know he wants to."

"Well, you can do that here now."

"I know. It's exciting. I know it's nosy, but does your brother have kids?"

"They do. Twins that are in high school. A girl and a boy. My brother-in-law's sister agreed to be their egg donor and they hired a surrogate."

"We've talked about kids, but not the specifics of the process."

"You have time. Finishing high school and getting jobs that pay enough to afford kids comes first."

"Definitely." He pulled his phone out. "Excuse me for just a second." He texted Kurt telling him that Dr. Clarkson was fine with them being a gay couple. He put his phone back away. "I owe Kurt a huge apology. I need to figure out how to not be so needy. What can I do?"

"Define 'needy'."

"I've gotten used to him not having anyone else that he really spends time with and I've gotten spoiled being the one who always gets to be with him. And I want him to make new friends and I want to make new friends, but part of me just wants to keep him with me all the time and keep him to myself. And I honestly despise myself for feeling that way. He's never, ever had the opportunity to just be himself and be accepted. And I want that for him so badly. And I want him all to myself. It's a contradiction that I don't know how to solve."

"Do you doubt his love for you?"

"Aside from the insanity that the email inspired, no not at all."

"Do you think he'll cheat on you? I get the impression that the two of you have no experience being around other gay or bi teens."

"That's true. And no, I don't think he'd cheat on me. He could find someone else better than me. Someone more like him and he might break up with me and start dating someone else."

Dr. Clarkson hadn't given anything away, but Kurt had come in right as Dave began to answer. He closed the door after he stepped inside.

"David Allen Karofsky, that is the biggest load of poppycock. I told you the other night that I wasn't looking for my clone to date." He walked closer and stood facing Dave. He put his hands on the armrests and leaned forward and kissed Dave. He stood back up, turned around and extended his hand. "Kurt Hummel. Nice to meet you, Dr. Clarkson." He pushed the chair next to Dave closer to him. He sat down and reached out for Dave's hand. He waited and once Dave offered his hand, Kurt intertwined their fingers. "You have quite a collection of books in here. Do any of them have the answer to how to get an insecure boyfriend to believe that his boyfriend loves him and isn't interested in anyone else?"

Dr. Clarkson laughed. "Maybe not the answer to that exact question, but, yes, I'm pretty sure the answer to this dilemma is in one of these books."

"Excellent. The next important question is whether you have any idea WHICH of the books has the answer. Maybe I can borrow it and photocopy the relevant parts and slip them under his pillow with the hope of him learning by osmosis on top of whatever it is that you're going to tell him."

Dr. Clarkson shook his head and chuckled again. "I'll see what I can do. In the mean time, how about we talk about some of the issues that are bothering Dave."

Kurt smiled and squeezed Dave's hand. "Of course."

The atmosphere in the room turned very somber as Dave sat staring out into space.

"Something happened," Kurt said.

Dave nodded. He explained what had happened before school the previous morning.

Kurt was outraged. "What a despicable, conniving thing to do!" He turned to Dave. "Sweetie, whatever lies she wrote in there aren't true. You're not going to hell because you love me. You know I don't believe in hell, but if it is a real place and I'm wrong, you aren't predestined to go there. That's not even in the Bible! Liars. All of them who say that."

Dave smiled. "Dr. Clarkson challenged me to read the first four books of the New Testament so that I would know what exactly it was that Jesus said."

"That seems like a reasonable thing to do. I read those and through several more books in Junior High. I was tired of being told second-hand information from people, who, as far as I could tell, didn't even read their textbooks, much less do any side reading in religious studies. Jesus was a pretty cool guy according to all accounts. Throwing shade at the religious leaders of his time and lecturing people about minding their own business."

Dr. Clarkson chuckled.

"He was big on personal responsibility and being kind. Not so much on condemnation. He didn't think much of the rich and he hung around with low-lifes. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't be very popular amongst modern day Christians."

"I'll read it and let you know what I think."

"There's something else still," Kurt said.

Dave took a deep breath. "She emphatically stated that you had been brought up without morals or religious teaching so it was my job to lead you to the straight and narrow since I'm the one who is well-versed on how repenting and not being gay anymore is the only way to be redeemed. She said that if I stayed with you that I'm leading you straight to hell."

"Oh, no," Kurt said. "I am no follower. Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrible follower. If I'm on my way to hell, I'm not following you there. I'm leading the damn parade. Might as well enjoy myself if my way inevitably leads there, right?"

Dave started cracking up. "Oh, my God, Fancy. I haven't heard you that riled up in so long."

"If memory serves me, I believe your type was snarky, sassy, bitchy diva, with gorgeous blue eyes and a killer ass. Something like that." He turned to Dave and winked at him. "I'm pretty sure that's what you told me nearly two years ago."

Dave blushed.

"Uh huh. Yep. I'm right. If it weren't a 6- or 7-hour drive to Pittsburgh, I might be inclined to go share my thoughts with her. This is not acceptable. She will not come in and hurt the person I love the most. I will not let her tear us apart. Is that whole spiel about you leading me down the wrong path what was going on in your head last night?"

"All of it was going through my head last night. I was trying to blow things up repeatedly to keep it from going round and round in my head last night. I scooted down from you because I was so angry that I moved away so I wouldn't hurt you with my violent moving around trying to kill everything in sight. If you had stayed that close, you'd be sporting some bruised ribs."

"Oh."

Dave squeezed his hand. "You felt like I was rejecting you."

Kurt nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." Kurt leaned forward and grabbed some tissues from the box on the desk. He wiped his eyes. When he opened them, a flash of understanding dawned on his face. "You were sitting at your desk re-reading that email this morning before school, weren't you. That's why you didn't get up and hug and kiss me before I left."

"Yeah."

"I hate that she can get at you like this. No more emails. I'll help you re-sign up for every email list you're on this weekend with a new email account that she'll never get. I don't care if it takes all weekend to do."

Dr. Clarkson said, "That sounds like a good plan. How about we talk about how maternal abandonment can rear its ugly head in adulthood?"

An hour later, Kurt and Dave went back out to the lobby and Dr. Clarkson called Paul back inside.

"When Dave said Kurt was a 'force of nature', he wasn't joking."

Paul laughed. "Definitely not. That boy blew into our home and took charge and turned Dave and me into men who could care for ourselves. He taught us to cook, clean, plan, and organize. He's like a second son to me. We owe him so much. He was there to put the pieces back together when Martha left us."

"He's wise beyond his years. And funny."

"Both true."

"So, back to business. I'd like to see Dave twice a week for the next two weeks. I'd like to get him to move through the issues that have been brought up by your recent move. After that, if he still feels like he needs someone to talk to, we can work out a schedule."

"That sounds fine to me. I'll have him see what you have available that he can work into his schedule." Paul stood up and offered his hand. "Thanks for seeing him so quickly. Getting that fire from the email put out before it consumed him was important. I'll be in contact with Martha reminding her that harassing Dave violates the agreement she signed."

"You're welcome. I hope to be of help to him. Although I think Kurt is a natural."

Paul smiled and left.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Dave got into the Navigator with Kurt when they went back out to the parking lot.

"I have a weird idea that you can help me with," Dave said.

"Well, you know I love weird. What's your idea?"

"I'd like to go to Goodwill or an old bookstore and buy a used copy of a Bible. I'm going to read the parts Dr. Clarkson recommended. I want to be able to photocopy the pages that have parts that I think are relevant. And I want to make a collage and mail it to her. I'll include a note about how I feel like it's my responsibility to point out the parts that she's obviously never heard or is choosing to ignore."

"Okay."

"It will help with my rage. I can't confront her because I don't want to see her, but I don't want to just be a spineless wimp who lets her attack me without defending myself."

"Sure. One rage-filled collage is on our to-do list for the weekend. We can go get a used Bible and a poster board. But we're still going out with our new friends tonight to the open mic place. We can go early and order dinner or better yet, I'll text Jeff and ask him whether people eat there or if it's just like a coffee shop or something. Hopefully, he'll answer by the time we get home." Kurt leaned towards Dave and grabbed the placket on his shirt and pulled Dave towards him. "If you think I'm going to sit back and let you think that I'm only half-heartedly interested in you, you're sorely mistaken." He kissed Dave passionately. "I'm still that same sassy bitchy diva if I need to be. Anyone trying to steal me from you is going to get an earful of bitchiness if they don't take my nice 'no thank you'."

Dave chuckled. He leaned forward and reconnected their lips. "I love you. When we get home, you can kick my ass for with whatever lecture you find appropriate." He kissed him once more and reached for the door pull so he could drive his truck home. "Let's get home."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt got home about two minutes before Dave, but he used his head start to his advantage and ran up the stairs and stripped, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor next to their bed. He made it into the shower and had the water running warm by the time Dave entered the apartment.

"Fancy?" When he didn't get an answer, he stopped and listened. He heard the shower running. He put his bag on the futon and went in their bedroom where he saw Kurt's clothes. He shook his head knowing how much Kurt hated his clothes being on the floor. He picked them up and tossed them in the laundry basket with his own and joined Kurt in the shower.

"It's about time you got here," Kurt teased. He turned Dave and sprayed him down. "I missed my shower with you last night." When he turned Dave back around, he kissed him. "I know just what I can do to make it so you'll not want to shower without me again."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

"Oh, God, Fancy. You're going to be the death of me."

Kurt came back from the bathroom after brushing his teeth. He climbed over Dave and leaned forward on his elbows and kissed him. "You're sexy and young and strong. I think you're going to make it." He kissed him again.

"I think my limit is three times in an hour," Dave said, still trying to catch his breath.

Kurt wiggled his eyebrows. "I love you so much. We need to get ready to go though or we're going to be late." Kurt pecked him on the lips one last time and got up.

He went in the bathroom to style his hair. When he came out, Dave went back in. Kurt grabbed solid polo shirts for both of them.

"This is as close as we're going to get. You have to wear it tucked in with a belt though. Wear your white sneakers. I'll wear my cheer shoes." Kurt turned and looked in the mirror. "Popped collars."

"Got it." Dave adjusted his.

"We can practice on the drive. I still have it on my iPod."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Thirty minutes later, they pulled into the lot and parked. They walked around the front of the building and went inside. They looked around and found everyone sitting in the same area together. They made their way through and sat down.

Jeff said, "Aww, now why didn't I think to dress up? Nice job."

Kurt smiled. "Thanks. Some of you are going to sing, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Jeff said. "You need to go put your names on the list. See the guy sitting to the right of the stage at the small table? That's where to sign up."

Kurt headed across the room to put their names on the list. He also asked the guy to let him put his name a few lines down the page as well. He went back to his seat. Dave had ordered drinks and some food for them while he was gone. Sebastian had come in and sat down in the chair next to his as well.

They all talked quietly and ate. Once the open mic event started, they quieted down. Kurt and Dave's names didn't get called for about 45 minutes. When they got up on the stage, they took a deep breath and Dave began to sing, alternating sections of the verses, and singing the chorus together.

He walks in and I'm suddenly a hero.

I'm taken in. My hopes begin to rise.

Look at me. Can't you tell I'd be so thrilled to see

The message in your eyes?

You make it seem I'm so close to my dream.

And then suddenly it's all there.

Suddenly, the wheels are motion

And I am ready to sail any ocean

Suddenly, I don't need the answers

Cause I'm ready to take all of my chances with you

When they finished, they got a rousing round of applause from the audience, which surprised both of them. They took a quick bow and went back to their seats.

"Why didn't you join the Harmonichords with Kurt?" Sebastian asked Dave.

"I play hockey and once practices start, I won't have much time for after-school clubs."

"Too bad for us. You sounded great."

Dave genuinely smiled. "Thanks."

Quite a few people around the table complimented them before they quieted down for the next person on stage.

About 15 minutes later, Kurt's name was called. Dave looked at him questioningly. Kurt leaned towards him and kissed him right below his ear.

"This is for you, sweetie. No one is going to think they have a chance with me." Kurt got up on the stage. He pointed directly at Dave before the music started. When the intro started, Kurt took the opportunity to do the dances moves from the chorus of the video, complete with the triple spin. He stopped and changed to just moving his arms and hips as he sang, changing the words just slightly.

We're no strangers to love.

You know the rules and so do I.

A full commitment's what I'm thinking of.

You wouldn't want this from any other guy.

I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling.

Gotta make you understand.

Never gonna give you up.

Never gonna let you down.

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry

Never gonna say goodbye

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.

We've been together for so long.

My heart's yours and I'm not too shy to say it

Inside we both know what's been going on

We know the truth and I'm gonna say it

Everyone can see how I'm feeling

Gonna make them understand.

Never gonna give you up.

Never gonna let you down.

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry

Never gonna say goodbye

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.

Kurt went back to his seat when he finished. Dave looked up when Kurt pulled his chair out. Kurt took advantage of his position and leaned down and kissed Dave before he sat down. He scooted his chair as close to Dave's as he could, leaving Dave very little room for his arm. He slipped it up behind Kurt and put it across the back of Kurt's chair. Kurt leaned into him and they sat close watching other people get up and perform.

The open mic portion of the night ended at 9:00. Everyone settled up their bills and headed out. Quinn left with Nina, who had brought her. She was sleeping over at the Duval's.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

"So…" Dave said.

"So?" Kurt asked, as he fastened his seatbelt. He waited for Dave to do the same before he pulled out of the parking spot.

"Is your goal to publicly declare that you're mine until every guy in this town knows better than to even consider asking you out."

"If I have to. It might be faster if I just wore a hat that says 'taken' or 'not available'. No better yet, 'In love with Dave.'"

Dave chuckled. "You're something else, you know it?"

"Umm hmm. You've said that before. Something fabulous."

"Definitely that."

"Which way am I supposed to go?"

Dave looked down at his phone. "Right. Then, down two blocks and turn left."

Kurt followed his directions and pulled into a bowling alley parking lot. He parked and grabbed his bowling bag out of the back, as did Dave.

On their way in, Kurt said, "I forgot to tell you. I got the lead, well dual lead. It will be me and Sebastian."

"I told you."

Kurt smiled. "You did."

They went inside and found the lanes the guys had reserved.

"Well, we can kiss our chances goodbye," Sebastian said, as Kurt and Dave walked up.

The other guys turned to look.

"They're good enough to have their own equipment."

Kurt smirked. "I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you Sebastian?"

Nick and Wes got everyone's names put into the system. Sebastian managed to switch his name to the lane with Kurt and Dave. They played two games before they called it a night. Kurt and Dave came out tied at one game each, but they led their team to victory.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt walked up the stairs in front of Dave and managed to take two at a time the first couple of steps so he could get just far enough above Dave that he could swaggle his tush in plain view all the way up the stairs.

Dave grabbed him around the middle once they were through their door and pulled him close. "Feel that?"

Kurt played like he had no idea what Dave what talking about. "Your hands on my chest feel good." He put his hands on top.

"Don't you pretend like you don't know what you've been doing for the last 15 minutes."

"Hmm?" Kurt turned them so he could lock the door. He also managed to turn himself in Dave's arms and wrapped his hands behind Dave's head. He started running his fingers through Dave's hair. "What exactly have I been doing?"

"Stroking your hand along a certain part of my anatomy while you were driving us back here."

"Oh, you mean checking out that seam on your zipper that might need repaired?"

"Right." He pressed Kurt against the door gently and began to kiss down his neck. He slid his hands down and undid Kurt's belt and the button on his jeans. He looked Kurt in the eyes before he went any further, and then kept going.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Saturday morning, Kurt went to the garage that Sebastian had mentioned when he told Kurt his dad had made an appointment for a tune up. He figured if Mr. Smythe trusted the place and he'd lived there quite a while, it would be a good place to start. He went in and introduced himself. He showed the owner his certifications and they talked a bit.

"I've been trying to hire someone, but I need so few hours that no one has been interested so far. I end up short-handed every time I have to leave for any reason. If you could come in and work from 4-8 on Mondays and come in really early on Saturday twice a month, I could do my errands and I could go to a few auctions on Saturdays."

"I could do that."

"First I want to see you in action. I need to know that you're not book smart and molasses slow. It won't do me any good to have someone in here that only gets one thing done in four hours."

"I understand that. If you loan me some coveralls, I can demonstrate my skills for you."

"Works for me. I've got a tune-up coming in," he checked the schedule. "10 minutes. I'll give you some coveralls and you can change in the locker room. You do it while I watch and if you're good, you're hired."

"Thank you for giving me a chance." Kurt followed him in, took the coveralls, and changed.

When he came back out, he smiled when he saw Mr. Smythe and Sebastian through the door between the customer entrance and the work bays. He stood back out of the way as Mr. Harmon pulled Sebastian's car into the bay.

Kurt looked around the work area, attempting to quickly familiarize himself with the location of the tools, while the computer diagnostic was running. Once he had the readout, he went through the process of checking and changing everything as needed while Mr. Harmon watched him. An hour and a half later, Kurt was done.

"That was pretty damn impressive, kid. Where'd you learn to be so efficient?"

"I've always worked for my dad. He's not big on lollygagging and he's a stickler for accuracy."

"Well, you're hired. If you've got the time, stick around for another hour and I can show you around. I'll get you a pair of coveralls of your own and order you a name patch. Put this car back out in the lot in the #2 spot, over to the right of the customer entrance. I'll show you how to ring it up when you come back in."

Kurt listened and paid attention. He was still there when Mr. Smythe and Sebastian returned.

"Kurt?"

"That's me," he teased.

"I didn't know you worked here."

"I just started today. Your car was my first assignment here."

"Lucky me. Are you done for the day?"

"I am."

"Do you want to grab some lunch?"

"I can't. Dave's dad is grilling out. Quinn invited someone. Let me see if I can invite you." He texted Paul. He got an immediate response. "He said 'yes'. Do you want to come over and hang out? I know that Quinn invited Nina. I wouldn't be surprised if Nick and Jeff tagged along." He handed Sebastian the key to his car.

"Sure. I'll stop and grab something to share. Any suggestions?"

"Ice cream? I made a black forest chocolate cake this morning. So cherry or vanilla ice cream. You've been there before. Just knock on the front door to the main house. You can hang out in the studio or the back yard if you get there before I do."

"Okay. I'll be there soon. See ya!"

Once Sebastian was outside, Mr. Harmon asked, "Your boyfriend?"

"Sebastian? No. He's just a friend. We're in a bunch of the same classes at school. I do have a boyfriend, though. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Nope. Doesn't float my boat, but to each his own. Live and let live. Go ahead and get changed. I'll get you a set of coveralls to take with you. I'll pay you for today. When you come Monday, bring your social security card, your driver's license, and those certificates so I can copy all of them for your file."

Kurt nodded and followed him back to the employee lounge.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt ran upstairs, took a really quick shower, and changed into shorts, a t-shirt, and his chucks. Dave opened the door and came in as Kurt was tying his shoelaces.

"I got a job! I worked a few hours this morning. I start Monday. Four hours every Monday and four hours two Saturday mornings a month. It's not the kind of money I made in Lima, but your dad doesn't want me to work much. It will be about $400 a month, so I'll have money to buy stuff for costumes or projects or going out like we did last night."

Dave pulled him into a hug. "That's great! I'm going to go shower and I'll be right down." He kissed him before he let go.