Tristan took the stairs down to the foyer, hands deep in the pockets of his sweatshirt. After getting the message from Kurt, he'd decided to go down and meet his boyfriend on the way. They hadn't seen each other a lot over the last few days, for various reasons, and they liked to take the time they could in between classes and activities. For once though, Tristan was done with his schoolwork, and it was another hour or so before curfew, so they had some time tonight.
The foyer was empty when he came down, and Tristan pushed open the big entrance door, instantly hearing the voices of the Cheer team as they moved towards him. With the door open, he let his eyes roam over the boys, noting in his side vision the girls that were moving towards their own bus. He frowned a little when he didn't see Kurt, and looked over to the bus, but the driver was just starting it up to move it to the parking lot in the back, which meant the bus was empty.
"Hey, man." John, the male Cheer captain, and a senior in Tristan's classes greeted him as they came closer.
"Hey, uhm, you know where Kurt is?" Tristan could feel dread starting to gather in his stomach. He didn't know why, there was at least ten good reasons why Kurt wasn't there, but something just didn't feel right.
"Kurt? What do you mean, he's..:" The other boy turned around and broke himself off. "He was right behind us."
The boys all started looking around, and Tristan called out for his boyfriend. There was no answer, and he raised his voice and tried again. Nothing. His eyes started roaming the darker corners of the parking lot, and in a moment of complete silence, he heard a noise and suddenly say two figures in the shadows. He ran over, the boys following him, and was there just in time to have Kurt fall into him.
Kurt's cheek was aching. The right hook from Karofsky had hit him in the worst place possible, and he knew that his face would bruise and ache for days. Though he was feeling less than great, he was actually pretty proud of himself. He had used the techniques he had been taught in self-defense and had pulled himself out of the first few seconds of pure panic that had gripped him and defended himself.
In all of the chaos of his thoughts, the one that was really sticking out was how Karofsky had found him. Someone in Glee had to have told him, but why would they? This time, though, Karofsky wouldn't get away. Not only with the whole cheer team there as witnesses, but Dalton had security cameras everywhere, and they would have caught a lot of what happened on tape.
When Kurt had realized what Karofsky was hiding, he had had some sympathy for him. But after the death threat, and then having to come to Dalton, and now this, Kurt was just all out of sympathy.
At the moment, they were all waiting for Kurt's parents and the police. Tristan was sitting next to Kurt, holding his hand, in the teachers meeting room. John was there as well, though the rest of the Cheer boys had gone to shower and change. The girls had returned to school, but John knew exactly who had been there, and had spent the last 20 minutes writing down the names to give to the police. Kurt had been checked out by the nurse, but thankfully didn't have a concussion, and had gotten some salve for his cheek. He didn't know where they had Karofsky, last he had seen of the bigger boy was when he was held back by two of the Cheer boys.
He laid his head down on Tristan's shoulder (the side that wasn't throbbing), closed his eyes and sighed. They would have to wait for his dad to come, which would be another hour, so there was some serious waiting in store. He knew the cops arrived a few minutes ago, as the principal had come in and informed them, but as Kurt was 17, they couldn't talk to him without his dad there. He wasn't looking forward to telling the whole sordid tale from start to finish, but he knew that this time he would have to.
A few minutes later, Tristan broke the silence. "Maybe you could write it all down, if you think that will be easier than saying it all out loud? I mean, they'll probably ask you to tell them what happened today, but the history there is long, so maybe writing it down instead would help."
Kurt thought it over for a few minutes, before nodding and sitting up. "Yeah, I think that would be easier."
John tore off the sheet he had been writing on, and handed Kurt the notebook and pen, and Kurt nodded a 'thank you'.
The next half hour was eaten up as Kurt wrote. He tried not to linger over the hurt and the shame and the ugliness of everything that happened, but it was hard not to. Tristan being there helped, as did the soft music he had put on a few minutes in, so that the silence wouldn't feel quite as deafening.
Writing it all out also gave Kurt some perspective, and he realized how absolutely bonkers the whole thing was. And how lucky he was to have come out of it alive and relatively unscathed (his mental issues were a whole other thing, but he could work on that).
The time passed, Kurt was back with his head on Tristan's shoulder, his eyes closed and humming with the music. There was a knock on the door before it opened, and Burt Hummel walked in. Carole followed after and Kurt rose to meet them both. He knew the only reason his dad wasn't stressing out was because he had talked to Kurt on the phone and knew that Kurt was okay and taken care of. That didn't mean Kurt wasn't pulled into a firm hug the instant he was within Burt's reach. Carol put an arm around Kurt's shoulders, and joined in a sort of weird three-way hug. When they pulled apart, she took a look at his face and deemed what the nurse had done as satisfactory.
They both greeted Tristan, who had slowly followed behind, and thanked him for having Kurt's back. Only seconds later, the cops came in, and the process started. They were thankful both for the list of people from John, and the background from Kurt, and after reading through it, had him sign it. Karofsky had been taken into custody, and the officers seemed supportive. They helped Kurt fill out a restraining order, and in the end, they only had one question unanswered. How did Karofsky find out where he was?
They hadn't talked to him yet, giving his parents time to call a lawyer and letting them sit for a while. But they wanted to know if Kurt had any ideas.
"No, I don't know how he figured out where I am. I mean, my Glee club knew, but I didn't tell anyone else, so either one of them must have told him, or they told someone who told him. Do the surveillance show how he got in?"
Officer Melanie Cullins nodded and answered him. "He got in through the gate. He snuck in behind a group of seniors who had been out and returned by the bus down the street. The guard said he recognized them and opened the gate for them en masse, and didn't think to consider someone would be with them that shouldn't be let in. I suspect they'll tighten up the security in that area, and Karofsky has been put on the no-entry list."
An hour or so later, the police left, and Kurt and Tristan stumbled towards their rooms for bed. Burt and Carol had been offered one of the guest rooms, as they had over an hour to drive home, and had accepted. Outside of Kurt's room, it was obvious that Tristan didn't want to leave Kurt alone, and after a few seconds indecision, Kurt pulled his boyfriend in after him. It was way past bed check time, and if anyone found out, Kurt would blame nightmares. As Tristan curled around him as the big spoon, Kurt sighed and fell asleep in only seconds.
"Don't you make a sound, or I'll kill you."
Karofsky had quickly turned Kurt to hold him better and was whispering in his ear. The meaty hand over his mouth was pressing down hard, and Kurt's panic grew.
"You think I would just let you run off to you faggy little school and let you be? Oh no, remember this. I know where you live. I can get to you as easy as this."
The next few days were intense. All everyone talked about was what happened, speculations going rampant. Particularly because no one really knew what happened. They all agreed that the Cheer team was involved, that there had been cops there, and that someone's parents had arrived that night and left the morning after, though no one quite knew whose parents it was. The only one who knew Kurt had been involved was Jeff, and that's just because he wasn't back in bed when he should have been. But Jeff wasn't telling anyone.
Officer Cullins called Kurt after a few days and told him that the security camera had payed off. They had gone through every camera in the parking lot, and on the last one found had recorded everything. They had full sound of everything Karofsky said, and with that clear evidence, she doubted he would need to come to court, but she would keep him updated.
It had been a relief to know that it couldn't be dismissed because of he-said he-said, and Kurt slept a little better at night knowing that.
"Hey, stop struggling! You'll get me all hot and bothered, and that would lead to a much different outcome than I had planned."
Karofsky pushed his pelvis forward, making it very clear what he meant. Kurt could feel his stomach turn, and the panic in him grew cold and angry.
The police station was teeming with people. All the Glee club was there, each with one parent, for official interviews. Though they didn't need to know for the Karofsky case, they would still like to figure out how the boy found out where Hummel was. Whether it was just an accident or someone else sinister standing behind it. Most of the kids where confused, but willing to answer their questions. In the end, it turned out to be pure naiveté.
Finn Hudson had given Karofsky the address. Apparently, Karofsky had come to him and said he wanted to apologize to Kurt, but didn't have a way to contact him, and did Hudson know where he was. Finn, wanting Kurt back to McKinnley, had given him the address and not thought anything more about it. He had also mentioned that Kurt would be away cheering that afternoon, and Karofsky had done the rest of the digging himself to find out when they would be back.
Kurt leaned into his training and put his heel down on Karofsky's instep before elbowing him in the nose, stumbling away from the other boy as he was let go.
"Fuck! You fucking bitch!"
And before Kurt could do anything more, a fist came at his face.