Good Times and Hope
Chapter Five
By: Lily Handle
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Author's Note: You know, Kurt's a though guy to write, at least to me he is. This little scene in the beginning here was hard! Man, I thought I'd never get it written. Probably why it's so short.
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The theme for the prom this year was "Magical Midnight." Corny, yes, but what prom theme isn't? It didn't matter to Kurt. He was with a girl who didn't mind that he was blue…all the time. Or furry. Amanda smiled at him, and kissed his cheek without flinching. She didn't even mind holding his hand, his real hand. He couldn't believe his luck.
"Oh," Amanda said suddenly, "Rogue's leaving."
"Leaving?" Kurt swung them around on the dance floor so he was looking towards their table. Sure enough, Rogue was walking away, heading towards the front door.
"Should we go after her?" Amanda asked, looking concerned. Kurt thought about it, seriously, he thought about going after Rogue, who would probably tell him it was none of his business and to leave her alone. She certainly had been telling him that a lot lately.
"No, Rogue can take care of herself." She certainly didn't want anyone else taking care of her either, he thought bitterly.
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"Check," Charles said, moving his knight forward. Hank glanced back towards the chess board. How had he been cornered so quickly? He and Charles were pretty equally matched normally. Tonight his head just wasn't in the game tonight.
"Clever, very clever," He said, scanning over the board more closely, "But, not clever enough." Hank moved his rook closer to Charles' knight.
"Quite the foolish move, my friend," Charles said, taking out Hank's rook with a pawn. "Is something troubling you?"
"No, it's nothing," Hank said, but he knew Charles saw past the lie.
"You should talk with her," Charles said, "You shouldn't let this eat away at you like you are."
"She's happy, I don't want to ruin that." He didn't want Hope to see what a fool he was about her. Where had he gotten the idea that she could want him? He was a monster.
Charles and he exchanged a few more moves in their chess game, a thick silence between them. Hank knew Charles could tell he was suffering, but what did he say? He was miserable because Hope had chosen another man over him? That he had thought so many things that were obviously wrong? "You're miserable, Hank, if you don't want to talk with Hope, then you know you can always talk to me."
Hank sighed, leaning back in the chair, and rubbing his chin with one hand, "How could I have been so stupid about this, Charles? How could I think anyone could…when I look like this?"
"From what I've seen, Hope cares for you."
"She's always cared," Hank growled slightly, "I thought she might feel something other than care, something more."
"Ahh," Charles drew the sound out and steepled his fingers together, "I still think your best option is talking with her, Hank. She deserves to know how you feel about her."
"It doesn't matter how I feel, Charles, its how she feels."
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Author's Note: I just can't get enough of torturing Hank! I mean, really, I should leave the guy alone, for goodness sakes, but I just can't! That's what I get for setting up implied Hank/Hope throughout all the other stories.