CHAPTER FOUR

With or Without You

Karofsky Resident: Saturday, May 21

Kurt rang the doorbell and turned to face Blaine. He surveyed his boyfriend's outfit. Blaine wore a pair of slim-fit red trousers and a silk black button-down capped off with a bright red bowtie. His hair was fastidiously-coiffed for the occasion. Blaine Anderson was the only person Kurt knew who used more hair product than he did.

"You look really handsome this evening," he said.

"As do you," Blaine said.

Kurt reached out and flicked away a piece of stray lint from Blaine's shoulder.

"I'm so glad you came tonight," Kurt said.

Blaine's eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't I?"

Kurt shrugged and gave a nervous laugh. "It's just that, well you know you and Dave kinda started off rocky -."

"Hey." Blaine reached out and placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "You gave Dave a second chance. I figured I should, too."

Just then the door opened to reveal Dave standing on the other side. Dave was wearing a charcoal V-neck sweater with a pink button down underneath paired with dark denim jeans. Dave smiled and ushered the two of them inside.

The interior of Dave's house smelled like the inside of restaurant. Kurt's stomach rumbled as he remembered the last time he ate had been at breakfast which was now hours ago.

"I'm glad you both are here," Dave said.

"Wouldn't have missed this for the world," Kurt said. He held up the two gift bags in his hand and said, "Finn couldn't make it but he did send a gift."

"Yeah," Dave said. "He texted me and apologized for not coming tonight. Everything okay?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and said, "He accidentally butt-dialed Rachel and he's been spiraling ever since."

Dave winced and said, "Poor guy. Maybe I'll invite him over to play some Call of Duty tomorrow."

"I think he'd like that," Kurt said.

Dave took the two small bags from Kurt and sat them on antique credenza in the foyer. He turned to Kurt and Blaine and said, "C'mon. The girls are already here. I hope you don't mind but we'll be hanging out on the patio tonight."

"Perfect evening for it," Blaine said.

Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and the two of them followed Dave through the house and out the back door. At this point, Kurt had been over at Dave's house at least a couple of times. When Dave had texted Kurt to let him know he was being released from the hospital, Kurt had gotten in his truck and driven to the Karofsky's, arriving before Dave and his dad.

When Kurt had first heard of Dave's suicide attempt, he had cried for hours. Then when he finally stopped crying, the guilt started to settle in. If only he had answered one of Dave's calls, maybe then Dave wouldn't have done the unthinkable. After nearly drowning in self-pity for over a week, his dad and Carole had managed to convince him that what Dave did was not his fault and that it wasn't too late for Kurt to make good on his offer to be Dave's friend.

Dave's patio was decked out in colorful lights and a small intimate area had been set up for Dave and his friends. Both Santana and Brittany were already seated at the cloth covered table. Mr. Karofsky looked up from his position at the grill and waved at Kurt and Blaine before turning back around to flip the steaks they would be having for dinner.

"This looks great, Dave," Kurt said taking a seat across from Brittany. Blaine took the seat next to him and across from Santana.

"Thanks," Dave said as he sat at the head of the table. "I really appreciate you all coming."

Brittany held up the glass in front of her and said, "Happy Graduation, Dave."

"Happy Graduation," both Kurt and Santana said.

"Thanks."

"Sorry – we didn't make it to the ceremony," Kurt said.

"No worries," Dave said shrugging his shoulders. "The only reason I went was to get my diploma."

"So now that you've graduated, what are your plans going forward?" Blaine asked.

"Well, I got accepted to Ohio State University, Northwestern and Michigan State University."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Oh wow – that's awesome."

"I'm leaning towards Michigan State University."

"And I'm trying to convince him to come to Ohio State with me," Santana said.

"If you to went to Ohio State, it would make it easier to visit you both," Kurt said.

"It'll all depend on how much scholarship money I end up getting," Dave said. "I should be hearing something back here in the next couple of weeks."

"Well, looks like Kurt's off to New York in the fall. Santana will be going to Columbus and you'll be in either Chicago, Columbus or Michigan," Blaine said addressing Dave. "I guess this really will be our last summer together in Lima."

Dave reached for the glass of tea in front of him and said, "Actually I'll be leaving town for the summer in a couple of weeks."

"Oh really," Blaine said. "Where you going?"

"New York," Dave said between sips of his drink. "I'll be working at a summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth."

"Wow. That's incredible."

"I'll be working at the same camp," Santana said, a Cheshire grin on her face. "Yes, Dave and I will be laying down the law for a bunch of 12-16 year olds."

"Finn texted me the other day to tell me he got accepted as well," Dave said.

"Wait a minute, Finn Hudson is coming, too?" Santana asked.

"Yeah." Dave turned to Kurt and said, "He said you were the one to convince him to apply. He said he needed to get away from Lima."

"You mean get away from Rachel," Santana said.

"Yeah, her, too."

"So let me get this straight, all three of you are going to summer camp to be what … camp counselors I'm guessing?" Blaine asked. He looked over at Brittany and asked, "Are you going to, Britt?"

Brittany shook her head and said, "No – I actually got a job volunteering at the animal shelter. Ms. Pillsbury said it'll look good when I start applying for colleges."

"Kurt, didn't you get the counselor position, too?" Santana asked, a slight smirk on her face.

Blaine turned to Kurt and said, "Wait, you're going, too."

Kurt swallowed hard and looked down at the table. "If you're asking if I applied for the camp counselor position and got it, well, the answer is yes. I haven't, um, quite decided if I'm going or not."

Dave furrowed his brow and asked, "Why not? Your mind seemed pretty made up last time we talked."

Kurt felt the heat rising to his face. He felt all of their eyes on him and he wanted to disappear. He looked over at Blaine and saw confusion and hurt on his face. Blaine looked away and down at his lap.

"C'mon, Kurt," Santana said. "You've got to come. Who else is going to make sure Finn doesn't walk off a cliff?"

Kurt looked over at Dave and gave him a look that said, help – please change the subject.

Dave cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder. "Hey Dad, are those