Chapter 28- Apex Predator

Kurt closed his locker, seeing the grinning face of his boyfriend as he sauntered towards him, swagger in every step. He leaned down and kissed Kurt on the cheek, collapsing against the adjacent lockers.

"Tough morning?" Kurt grinned.

Noah groaned. "The worst. Can you believe they're still teaching math when we have phones and calculators?"

Kurt rolled his eyes mockingly. "Outrageous, it's almost like simple addition is its only function."

"I don't like nerdy you," Noah groaned again.

Kurt slipped his arm through Noah's as they commenced the walk to Glee Club. "Well that's what you signed up for when you asked me out. You get to hear tales about French Club, too."

Noah shrugged. "I like the French. Especially when you whisper it in my ear."

Kurt smirked, leaning up to his boyfriend's ear. "Je veux t'embrasser."

"I don't know what that means, but whatever it is you can do it."

Kurt shrugged. "Maybe later."

As they turned into another hallway, the populace were stood still, all eyes on Quinn. Kurt knew that wasn't unusual, but the blonde girl was surprisingly vulnerable-looking. They hadn't talked much since she joined Glee Club, but Kurt still cared for her and respected her a great deal.

"What's going on?"

"I'm sure it's nothing," Noah replied, pulling Kurt flush to his side, tightly. Kurt pulled away.

"I'm going to go see if she needs anything." Kurt walked away from Noah, breaking through the crowds, approaching Quinn's side.

Quinn looked up at him, eyes tearful. "What?"

Kurt smiled softly. "Do you need something? A talk? A tissue?"

And that was when Quinn Fabray fell apart.

She wrapped her arms around Kurt, burying her head into his chest.

Kurt was surprised. It wasn't like they were close friends; she must have really needed him in that moment.

"It's all falling apart."

Kurt was very wary that there was a crowd. He shielded her from them. "Scram!"

And they did, something that Kurt was not counting on. As he surveyed the vicinity, Noah was gone too. Kurt frowned, but paid more attention to the girl who needed his help.

"How about we go sit somewhere and you can tell me about it?"

Kurt led Quinn to the choir room and pulled out chairs for them both. Quinn had somewhat pulled herself together and wiped her eyes. They were still red and bloodshot, but she was trying and that was what mattered.

"Why are you helping me? We're not friends."

Kurt knew she wasn't being snide, she was just asking a simple question. "Well, when I see a crying girl in the middle of the hallway, I'm not one to leave her. I guess it's what I'd hope someone would do for me."

Quinn nodded. "Thank you."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Quinn shrugged. "I guess. I'm going to have no one else by the end of all this, so I may as well tell you. I…I'm pregnant."

Strangely, the first thing that came into Kurt's mind was the imagine of Finn Hudson, as he was now, as a father. Hoping to never think of that again, he looked at her deeply.

"Finn's?"

Quinn hesitated and that told him everything.

"Ah. Who?"

"I don't want to say."

"That's okay. I don't have to know. Are you…do you want to keep it?"

Quinn bit her lip. "That's what I can't decide."

Kurt rubbed her arm, noting mentally how soft her skin was. "That's also not something you have to decide right now. You have some time. The important thing is to know that you do have options."

Quinn shrugged. "Whatever happens, I already know how this is going to go."

Kurt paused, leaving her a gap to share her thoughts.

"I'm going to get kicked off the Cheerios, meaning I lose all of my friends. My parents will find out when I'm showing and kick me out, then I'll have no place to live, no friends, no family, and no money to support this little baby. I guess I can't really keep it, can I?."

Quinn burst into fresh tears, dabbing at her eyes. "I'm such a mess."

Kurt sighed. "I don't know anyone in this situation who wouldn't be. Would the father be able to help you out? He could get a job, support you…while you need it."

He was about to say until your parents find out, but he didn't feel like that was wholly supportive.

Quinn sniffled. "I guess…he's not exactly one for taking initiative, though."

Kurt conceded that. Not many at their school would have what it takes to provide for a pregnant woman, let alone care for a child. He doubted even he would, and he considered himself probably the most mature and put-together male at their school. "I have an idea."

Kurt retrieved a piece of paper and a pen from his bag, scribbling something carefully while Quinn watched, frowning, trying to read upside down.

Kurt folded it and put it in his blazer pocket. "We're going to go to the mall."

Quinn just frowned some more.

"I wrote myself a note to excuse myself with you due to a medical emergency. Though you're going to have to convince the office that we're either cousins or project partners."

"Why not just friends?"

Kurt raised a perfectly sculpted brow. "Well, come on, Quinn. Even the faculty here would have a hard time believing that Kurt Hummel and Quinn Fabray are friends. I think the last time we spoke, you were tossing my satchel across the hallway."

Quinn blanched. "Kurt…"

"I wasn't calling you out, Quinn," Kurt smiled. "I understand the machinations of the high school food chain enough to understand that the apex predator has to eat to survive. I consider myself more along the lines of algae. You were just doing what was biologically imperative."

Quinn blinked. "Wow. You're a nerd."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm sat with Noah in Biology; the only thing that stops me from ripping open his jeans is to pay attention to the lecture."

Quinn giggled. "I was right about you."

"Oh?"

"You're funny. And a good person. And even if it's not an issue to you, I'm sorry about the way I treated you. Past tense, because that shit stops today. In fact, you've been a better friend to me these last thirty minutes than anyone has been to me my entire life."

Kurt grinned. "Quinn Fabray, are you saying we're best friends?"

"Slow down, algae," Quinn winked. "But I could do worse."

Kurt offered his hand. "I think hitting up the food court might be in order. My treat."

Quinn licked her lips involuntarily. "Ooh, you are my best friend."

They were an hour into their shopping/eating excursion when Kurt's phone continued to buzz. He looked away from his garden salad and opened the messages.

Where are u? We were supposed 2 "study" mine

Kurt?

JBI said he saw u leaving w/ Quinn?

"Shit," Kurt whispered, ignoring Noah's rampant text speak.

Quinn frowned. "Problem?"

"I just forgot to tell Noah that I was leaving early. We had plans."

Quinn stabbed her chicken with her fork. "I shouldn't have kept you. You can take off if you need to."

Kurt smiled. "And leave a pregnant cheerleader eating chicken by herself? That would not be good for my Karma. I can just catch up with him later. Besides, I'm having fun."

"You're gonna make me blush."

Yeah, I wanted to do something to cheer her up after today. Sorry, I completely spaced about our plans. I'll make it up to you tomorrow? x

Kurt put his phone back into his bag and picked some more at his salad.

"How am I supposed to deal with this, Kurt?"

Kurt swallowed his lettuce and wrinkled his nose. "Honestly, I don't know. I have experience of school-wide alienation and gossip-mongering, but nothing like this. I only know that you're strong enough to handle it."

Quinn fidgeted with her hands. "I don't know that I am. I'm using to living my life without the pressure of being an outsider. I only know the in-crowd."

"But you know how they work. You know their methods. You can prepare. And you're free to use my designated slushy cleanup station in the girls' bathroom by the science wing."

"Gee thanks, Kurt," Quinn deadpanned, flinching at the mere idea of being coated in an icy cold slushy.

"I was kidding," Kurt protested weakly. "But I am serious about helping you, Quinn." Before she can intervene with her question of why, Kurt smiled. "Nobody should have to go through something like this alone. Noah will help you too."

Quinn blinked quickly. "No, he won't."

"Why not?"

"You're dating him, you know how important his status us. Somehow he managed to be dating you and stay popular, he's not going to risk that even further for me."

Kurt nodded. "I see your point and it's a good one. But Noah isn't Puck, Quinn. Puck would never be caught dead defending someone, he'd be on the front lines throwing the pee balloon. Noah is a really good person. He's consideration, and I think I've managed to drill in some basic respect and manners somewhere along the way. He's really grown up these past two years."

Quinn stared into his eyes, trying to find a way to not send the message through her emotions, which were plain as day on her face. Kurt's face twisted into a mix of curiosity, suspicion, and then, finally, understanding.

"Oh."

"Kurt, I—."

"No, I think it's best if I speak first."

Quinn nodded, pushing aside her chicken, no longer hungry.

"You said you were six weeks along?"

Another nod.

Kurt pulled out his phone and scrolled back on his calendar. He locked the phone and a loud laugh slips from his mouth, earning him some strange looks. "I know exactly what day this was. I want to know everything. From the moment he asked to come over to the moment he left."

Quinn gasped. "Kurt, are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, you haven't." Kurt's eyes told her otherwise. They were narrowed and slightly glassy. She knew that look on herself. Angry but not willing to shed tears at the present moment. She understood. "Please, I need to know."

It was the feebleness in his voice that convinced her. She hated hearing him sound so vulnerable.

"It was…out of nowhere, really. He just texted me, asking if I was busy. I said no, but I didn't really feel like hanging out with anyone. He…he called me and convinced me to let him in. So I did. We talked about me and Finn, I tried asking him about you but he told me to drop it and then kissed me. I pushed him off, obviously. I told him to go home, that I wasn't about to cheat on Finn, or let him cheat on you."

Kurt gripped his glass very tightly, as he listened, sipping at his water.

"He tried to kiss me again and I refused, again. He got mad, he started yelling about having lost his edge or whatever. I reassured him that he was still cool and popular, and…I don't feel comfortable talking about the rest."

Kurt had calmed down by this point. He placed his water on its coaster and smiled thinly. "If I'm about to break off my two-year relationship, I need to know that I have all the facts right."

Quinn's eyes widened infinitesimally. "He kept telling me how pretty I was, and that I looked like I'd lost some weight. That was what did it. I was feeling down about myself that day and I probably would've said yes to anyone. I kissed him back. Then it got heavier and I asked him if he was sure he wanted it. He said yes, and I asked him he had a condom. He said that he had a vasectomy and he had been checked since the last time he did it. Then I guess you know what happened from there." She patted her stomach, tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Kurt."

Kurt nodded. "Thank you for telling me the story."

"You can yell at me, Karma be damned."

"That isn't my place. I wouldn't begrudge Finn yelling at you, or the yelling I'm going to doing with Noah, but you didn't wrong me. Yes, you slept with my boyfriend, but you didn't owe me anything. He was the one who chose to cheat on me. Finn and Noah, on the other hand, is different. They're best friends. And he slept with Finn's girlfriend. You and I were nothing to each other before today."

Quinn winced a little at the harsh honesty of it all, wondering if Kurt was being a little too mature about the situation.

"It might take me a while to sort out my feelings, but I still want to help you, Quinn. You were wronged, too. Noah was the only perpetrator here. He lied to you, betrayed Finn, and cheated on me."

"I would hate me."

Kurt shrugged. "I just don't operate like that. I think it's the only perk of being as self-centred as I am. If something doesn't affect me personally, I'm rarely mad at it."

"You're not self-centred," Quinn replied smoothly.

Kurt smiled. "The intent is nice, Quinn, but you only know the side of myself I've chosen to share with you. As time goes on, you'll learn my faults. For now, I can only ask one thing of you."

"Anything, Kurt." God, he had been so great about something that had beaten herself up over for weeks, she would do anything he wanted her to at this point.

"Come with me while I talk to Noah."

Quinn gaped. Except maybe that. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Kurt."

Kurt shrugged. "What more damage could it possibly do? Everything's already fucked. I swear, if you apologise one more time, I'm going to ask Rachel to give you maternity fashion tips."

Quinn shuddered, eventually nodding. "I'll do it."

The drive to Noah's was as silent as Quinn had expected. She moved to turn on the radio about five minutes into the drive, but Kurt had simply put up a hand in protest. She suspected that Kurt was formulating his argument, complete with counter-arguments for anything that Puck…Noah might combat them with. It was what she would've done. And she knew that, in this respect, she and Kurt were a lot alike.

Kurt turned his Navigator into the Puckerman driveway and hit the brakes. He took the deepest breath in Quinn had maybe ever experienced and released it in a concentrated stream of air that lasted just as long. Quinn waited for Kurt's cue, then opened the door as he did.

Kurt opened the door he knew to be unlocked. He turned into the living room that was near the entrance. From behind him, Quinn saw Noah's mother and little sister sitting and watching television together. Quinn quickly shoved away feelings of her own family; her problems could wait. Kurt was about to go through something horrible.

"Hi, Bonnie," Kurt greeted warmly. "Hello, Leigh. Is Noah upstairs?"

Bonnie Puckerman nodded. "Go right up, dear. Hello, Quinn," she added, a little less cheerfully.

Kurt nodded. "Thank you. I apologise for the impending yelling."

Bonnie looked concerned. "Is everything okay, Kurt?" A moment of silence. "What did he do?"

"Oh, nothing," Kurt smiled.

Kurt gestured for Quinn to follow him upstairs, leaving Bonnie and Leigh very confused about what was about to happen. Leigh sat very still, muting the television and wanting to listen. Bonnie scolded her daughter for eavesdropping, but left the television silent.

Kurt didn't bother knocking, he just waltzed right in, closing the door as Quinn stepped into his room.

Quinn was taken aback by its tidiness, something that she automatically attributed to Kurt.

Noah sat up in his bed, eyes wide. "Kurt…and Quinn?"

Quinn couldn't find it in herself to smile back. A dangerous mixture of guilt, shame, regret, and everything else bad was churning inside her.

Kurt smiled so sweetly that if Quinn didn't know the situation, she would've presumed that everything was fine, and maybe Kurt had won some kind of award.

"I'm guessing you're able to figure out the nature of this visit by Quinn's presence."

Quinn noted the precision in Kurt's syntax, similar to her own when she was mad.

Noah scowled at her. "Did you tell him?"

Kurt stood in front of her. "No. You don't get to put the blame on her before you've even explained yourself. I was talking about you and the guilt on her face told me everything. Funny, I was talking about how much you'd changed for the better since we got together. About the difference between the Puck you were and the Noah you are now. Funny."

Puck (Noah didn't feel appropriate right now to her) shook his head. "What did she say?"

"The truth, something you obviously know nothing about. But I wouldn't be me if I wasn't fair, so I'd like to hear the story from your side. From the beginning."

Puck knew better than to stomp on the thin ice that Kurt was rewarding him with, so he sighed instead. "I got to Quinn's house to hang out…"

Kurt put a hand up, silent but deadly. "Oh no. I believe I asked you to start at the beginning."

"Kurt…"

Kurt gritted his teeth. "I already know what day it was, dumbass. It's not hard to figure out."

"I was upset, okay? I just needed to…I don't know. It was stupid."

Kurt snarled. "I think I know exactly what happened. And I'll fill in the blanks for you, since you're too chicken shit to tell me yourself." He turned to Quinn. "You're about to find out the reason I'm not mad at you."

Quinn leaned on wall next to her, silently, avoiding Puck's glare.

"See, Quinn, not an hour before you conceived your child, Noah was with me. We were in my room, watching a movie, fooling around, you know how it goes. And Noah decides to take things a notch further. You should know by this point that we'd never slept with each other. I simply was never ready for that. I'm still not ready."

Quinn knew exactly where this was headed, but she refrained from even moving.

"Noah removed his shirt, and tried to remove mine. I refused, saying that there was only one place that was headed and I didn't want to go there yet. Noah backed off, and we continued watching the movie, but he didn't put his shirt back on. Not even a minute later, he tried to undo my belt buckle. I pushed him away."

Kurt turned to Puck.

"You were never going to accept my decision for what it was, were you? You couldn't deal with the fact that I'm not ready to have sex yet. You said you were fine with wait, that jerking off was enough for you. But it was never going to be. So when I turned you down, again, you went looking for someone who would have you. Even if it did turn out to be your best friend's girlfriend."

Puck clenched his jaw. "I'm sorry."

Kurt shook his head, folding his arms. "I thought you respected me."

"I did! I do!"

"No, you don't. Or else you wouldn't have tried something you know I'm not ready for. I love you, even in this moment. And before today, I was planning on having my first time be with you. I thought that I could trust you enough to share that experience with you. I didn't care that you'd already done it, I was just happy you wanted me. I guess I counted my chickens too early."

Puck slammed his first under the bed beneath him. "Fuck, Kurt. I can wait. I can."

"That doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm not stupid or prudish for wanting my first time to be with someone I can be vulnerable. Someone I know will take care of me. Am I?" He turned to Quinn this time.

Quinn shook her head, her voice light. "No. I wish I had." A tear slipped down her cheek.

Kurt nodded, fired up. "And that brings me nicely along to my next point. You told Quinn that you had gotten a vasectomy? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Puck pursed his lips.

"Speak!"

"I don't know, Kurt. I wasn't thinking straight, obviously."

"I think you were thinking plenty straight that day, Puck."

Puck screwed up his face at the name. "Don't make this about that."

Kurt shrugged. "Why not? I was right, wasn't I?"

Silence.

"I told you when you first asked me out and I said no that you were going to hurt me. I may have gotten the details wrong, but my Seer skills are pretty good."

"You said that I was going to realise I didn't like guys and go back to being 'straight'."

"I did," Kurt admitted. "It's not my finest comment, but I was scared. Insecure. Foolish enough to believe that you had changed. The guy who once nailed my lawn furniture to my roof, who launched pee balloons at me while I was running errands. Why did I think you were ever going to be any different than the rest of them."

Puck growled. "Because I love you!"

"No, you don't. Yours weren't the actions of a man in love."

Kurt sighed. Quinn could see him lose control and she knew him well enough already to know that he didn't want to do that in front of Puck. "Let's go, Kurt."

"No," Puck barked at her. "You don't get to tell him what to do."

Kurt snorted. "And neither do you."

"Why aren't you mad at her?"

Kurt shrugged. "Because I'm probably certifiable. Because, while she consented, she was manipulated and lied to and now she has a lasting reminder of that deception. Because she never owed me a single thing. You owed me some respect and some fidelity. And not that I care, you should probably talk to Finn at some point."

Puck threw his arms up. "Like you're not going to running over to tell him so you can be his shoulder to cry on."

Kurt bit his lip, hard. "Don't you dare," he hissed. "I will admit to having a small crush on Finn in middle school. But then I met you and that went away. I won't be telling Finn a single thing. That's for Quinn to do. And she knows where she did wrong. I'm not going to tell Finn to break up with her, or be angry at her, or anything. Because it's his prerogative to forgive her or not. Just like I'm choosing to not forgive you."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Puck begged.

Kurt nodded. "You're right. But this isn't your second, Puck. I forgave you for the bullying because I understood why you did it, out of your own self-loathing. I was an easy target, and I get that. But this…no fucking way."

Quinn was surprised at how natural the invective sounded from his mouth. If she was completely honest, it turned her on a little but that was completely inappropriate and she would blame pregnancy hormones for that intrusive thought.

"In case this was in no way clear, we are done, Noah Puckerman. And know this, you best leave Quinn and Finn alone after this. Be accountable for once in your life. Accept that you fucked up and deal with the consequences."

And with that, Kurt turned from the room and slipped through the door and out of Noah Puckerman's life. Just like that.

Before Quinn could leave, Puck stopped her. "You know it was your fault just as much as mine. Finn's gonna flip."

Quinn smiled wryly. "I know. I was as surprised as you are that Kurt wasn't mad. I'm going to talk to Finn tomorrow, I suggest you take the day off. As for me, I don't want to see you if I can help it."

"That baby is still mine."

"Unfortunately so, yes. But I haven't decided what I want to do yet. If I need something from you, I'll let you know."

Quinn left the room too, leaving Puck to storm across it and throw something she couldn't identify.

She found Kurt at the bottom of the stairs, hugging Leigh, Puck's sister.

"I'll be sad to not see you anymore, Kurtie."

Kurt smiled. "We can still hang out, Leigh-Leigh." He looked at Bonnie. "If that's okay?"

Bonnie nodded. "I love you like you're my own, Kurt. You and Noah not dating anymore doesn't change that." She kissed his cheek. "And someone will have to pick up Leigh from school when I ground Noah for a million years."

Kurt chuckled. "I'll make sure to send some brownies home with her."

Leigh grabbed her stomach. "Ooh, I'm going to miss those!"

Quinn smiled at the display, hands on her own stomach.

Bonnie noticed this quickly, and frowned. She pointed upstairs.

Quinn's lip quivered and she nodded.

Bonnie took a step towards her and Quinn thought she was about to get slapped, but instead Bonnie Brough her in for a hug. "You let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Quinn nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Puckerman."

"Anytime."

As Kurt and Quinn said their goodbyes, they got back into Kurt's Navigator.

"Probably a dumb question, but are you okay?"

Kurt shrugged. "I'm devastated. I'm angry because I know I'm still going to love him, probably forever. I'm pissed because it was sex that drove us apart. I'm even mad at myself for making such a big deal about it."

Quinn shook her head. "Kurt, you have no reason to be mad at yourself. Sex is something that you should dictate on your own terms. It's incredibly personal. Take it from someone who wasted her first time: don't. Because you're going to find someone who's right for you, who will wait for you and your first time is going to be amazing. From what Finn tells me about Gym class, you're going to make some guy very happy."

Kurt blushed. "I don't even know where to start computing that sentence. But thank you."

Quinn giggled. "This has been the craziest day. I know you said not to, but can I apologise just one more time?"

Kurt tried to hide a smile. "Fine."

"I am genuinely sorry. All apologies sound cliche, but I would take it back if I could. And even though we weren't friends at the time, I never wanted to hurt you like that. And if there's anything I can ever do, I will."

Kurt nodded. "You're right, that did sound cliche. But I forgive you, again. If you want, I can be there when you tell Finn?"

Quinn shook her head. "That's something I have to do alone. I decided not to make my bed, now I have to lie in it."

"That's not really how the saying goes."

Quinn laughed as Kurt started the car. "I know."