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3

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Kurt wobbled on the edge of the stage as he went to step down and Elliott's hand curled around his bicep and pulled him back onto the stage and nearly into his chest. "Careful." His other hand held his guitar and he set it down carefully into the case, not letting Kurt go. He glanced away briefly to make sure it was back in the case securely before his eyes returned to Kurt. "Did you have anything to eat between sets? I haven't seen you drink much water."

"I am always too strung up between sets to eat. I tried to drink water, I drank as much as I could whenever I had thirst pains." Kurt was holding a box that he was going to take out to the waiting van.

"Let me and Lia make this trip today. You should go home, rest and eat something." Elliott took the box from Kurt. "Go home now, actually."

"I'm fine." Kurt argued. "I live the closest to the garage, it's a lot shorter of a trip for me than for you. A lot shorter."

"I can make that trip occasionally. We should trade off. You've got too much on your plate to spend that much time on the tube." Elliott's eyes went from the top of Kurt's head to his feet. "You look done in."

"I'm fine." Kurt argued and attempted to take the box back. Now he was riled up and would prove it to him.

"Aren't you going to your boyfriend's after today's set? That's double my trip."

"No." Kurt shook his head and went after another box. It was heavier than the first. "He's coming to my place today and he's not my boyfriend."

"Sure acts like it." Elliott commented idly and Kurt's head swung toward him. "He was in the audience at the last show, wasn't he?"

Kurt frowned, trying to remember if Sebastian was or not and then Kurt laughed. "That was Blaine, my ex."

"He was not pleased by my presence on this stage with you." Elliott added when Kurt waited for him to explain his earlier comment.

"Blaine's never been too happy with another guy getting my attention." Kurt grimaced when the box he was holding started to slip and he used his leg to prop it back up. "Come on, let's go, Lia is waiting for the stuff. She hates being out there alone."

"It hasn't been a problem so far but you're right, it's risky leaving her out there."

"For so many reasons." Kurt laughed, half expecting to find Lia with a girl in the back with her, blocking where their gear needed to go.

Lia was just sitting on the rear bumper with the back doors open, smoking a cigarette. Her fingers highly tattooed and when she spoke, she sounded like a smoker. "About damn time." Her voice was gritty and low, especially for a female.

"Why do we have someone like you in our band?" Elliott put the box into the back and took Kurt's to help load it.

"Besides supplying the van?" Lia lifted a brow. "Maybe because I add some gravity to your high pitched voices. I round out the sound, bitches."

"I'm coming with you today, we're letting Kurt go home today."

"And prep himself for the eventual arrival of his boy toy." Lia wiggled her brows and Kurt made a face. "Nailed it. Sorry, that's what you're going to do." She laughed at the next face Kurt made. "Maybe you two should take it easy for a bit? Save your energies and indulge in other luxuries and vices? Like a big chocolate cake?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You are one to talk." She had skin basically covering bone, maybe some very small thin muscles but there was not much to her. It was always a surprise to see her move around the supplies when they got to the garage.

"This?" She flexed her arm and it didn't get any bigger. "I can blame this on nature, alcohol, smoking and drugs. I have other things that will kill me but it wasn't a sudden weight loss and I've been at this weight for ages."

"Why is everyone suddenly concerned with my weight? Do you know that you all sound like you've gotten together to give me an intervention?" Kurt was getting irritable with them.

"We're just worried." Elliott put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "We didn't communicate with each other though. Maybe that should make you realize just how drastic this seems to us?"

Kurt sighed dramatically. "Fine, I'll go home and eat my way through my kitchen and then sleep."

"What's in your kitchen?" Lia asked.

"I don't know, actually." Kurt couldn't remember the last time he cooked. He'd been too busy to spend the time needed to make something complex or go to buy the ingredients. "I'm sure I've got something junky hidden in a cupboard."

"You don't have a cupboard."

"I have a few shelves." Kurt amended. "There's still places that things could be hiding in. Unless Santana ate them the last time she was over. She doesn't even need to try to find anything you meant to keep hidden."

Elliott and Lia looked at each other before they both turned to Kurt. "About time you went to the store again."

"All right, all right, yeesh, you two are terrible. I get it and I'll do it."