TW: mentions of bruising from abuse
Chapter 3 - Late
Dave's drive home had his mind racing. He really just spent time with Kurt, and they both enjoyed it? If it wasn't for the throbbing in his shoulder from football practice earlier he would have been positive that he was dreaming.
Were they friends now? He really hoped so, even though Dave knew he didn't deserve it. Suddenly he sighed as he felt a single tear run down his face. He had tortured him since Freshman year, always finding time in his schedule to shove the smaller boy into a locker or throw a slushy into his face. Gods! Dave really despised himself sometimes. He had no excuse for how he treated Kurt, the simple truth of the matter was Dave really was a scared little boy like Kurt had said that awful day in the locker room.
One thing was certain, he would never kiss Kurt again until he asked him to. He started actually crying and laughing dryly as he knew that would never happen. Dave was smarter than to think he would ever be attracted to him in that way. Believe it or not, Dave was full of self-esteem issues that stemmed highly from his size. Being the biggest boy on the team your entire life kinda dictated what positions you'd be forced to play and eventually which social circles you'd fall into.
Just as Dave was about to pull onto his street his phone lit up. Glancing down quickly, he smiled lightly when he saw it was a text from Kurt. He drove a bit faster than necessary to reach his house before pulling into the driveway and quickly putting his car into park.
Kurt: Want to get breakfast together tomorrow? We can go out of the city so no one sees us together…
Dave frowned. Of course he wasn't ready to come out to everyone quite yet and Lima was a fairly small town but part of him felt that Kurt was embarrassed to be seen in public with him. He sighed, he couldn't blame the other boy.
Dave: I'd like that. Any places in mind? I know this really nice mom and pop cafe about 20 minutes north of here.
Kurt: That sounds great. I'll pick you up at 8?
Kurt was coming to his house? Willingly? To take Dave out to breakfast? Dave wasn't so sure anymore that this wasn't a dream.
Dave: Sounds good! I'll be here :)
Lima was small enough that he didn't need to give Kurt his address but he did anyway just for the sake of formality.
At this point, Dave's head was spinning with so many thoughts at once and he knew that sleep would be his only escape. Shutting off his car, Dave closed his door as silently as possible so he didn't wake his parents before heading inside and climbing straight into bed. His last thought before sleep consumed him was of Kurt laying beside him in bed.
When Kurt woke up that morning, he felt as though he'd been hit by a truck. His body ached everywhere, even in places Blaine didn't touch last night and he grimaced as he thought about his boyfriend. How could someone that claimed to love you be so cruel?
Climbing out of bed, Kurt walked over to his vanity and had to hold back a choking sob when he was his face and stomach. Bruises covered nearly the entire left side of his lower stomach and his jaw was swollen and sporting a disgusting shade of purple. He knew there was nothing he could do to hide the swelling of his jaw or cover the bruises on his stomach but he was at least able to cover the bruise of his face. After taking an exceptionally long shower, even by Kurt's standards, he made quick work of covering his bruise before glancing down at his phone.
Shit! It was already 8:30! How had he mismanaged time this badly? He quickly scrolled this his call list before finding the name he wanted and clicking on it.
"H-hello?" Dave sounded tense on the other end of the phone. Kurt cursed himself silently again. He really hoped Dave wasn't upset with him.
"Dave! I'm so sorry! I completely lost track of time, but I'm heading out now. You did still want to go out right?" Suddenly Kurt was unsure, what if Dave had only agreed in the first place out of kindness and not genuine want?
"I do! I-I mean yeah… I am a little hungry." Dave laughed shyly and Kurt smiled. "Okay great! I'll be there in about 10 minutes." Hanging up the phone, Kurt tried quickly to rush to grab all his things and sneak out before his dad could say anything.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on Kurt's side this morning.
"Morning Kurt. Whoa! What the hell happened to your face?" Before he could stop him, his dad was up close and personal examining the obvious swollen jaw of his son. Kurt had to think of something and he had to think quickly.
"Nothing dad! We were practicing some new choreography for New Directions and Tina accidentally tripped me and I landed into the side of the piano." Sounded solid enough, though Kurt could see the doubt in his dad's eyes.
"Hmm, alright but next time put some ice on it. Not much you can do for it now." Worry still clouded his dad's voice and Kurt felt sick to his stomach for lying to his dad.
"I-I will! But uh, I gotta go. I'm meeting up with Rachel to practice for next week's duet challenge." Please don't ask any questions, please.
"Okay Kurt… well drive safe alright? It rained pretty bad last night and the roads are probably still slick." Kurt nodded in reply and quickly shuffled his way out the door and to his car.
Time to go pick up Dave.
Dave had been pacing back and forth in his room for the last hour, he was convinced you could actually see the path in the wood at this point. When the clock hit 8:10 Dave accepted that he was probably being stood up. He couldn't blame Kurt, he really couldn't. It was nothing in terms of payback for all the awful shit Dave had done and said to him.
He couldn't believe it when his phone lit up with a call from Kurt. He practically fell over his desk chair rushing towards his phone. After talking to Kurt for a few minutes Dave felt a weight lift off his shoulders that he hadn't realized was there before.
Kurt hadn't stood him up, in fact he sounded worried that Dave would be upset with him. As if that could ever happen, he was too perfect in Dave's eyes.
Caught up in his thoughts, Dave nearly missed it when his phone lit up again, this time with a text.
Kurt: Hey, I'm outside!
Alright, Dave thought, here goes nothing.
Author's Note: Ahhh! Okay, who else is extremely excited for their "date"? This chapter differs majorly from how it was originally written but I'm definitely preferring the slower pace that it's taking. As always, please leave a comment below if you like this chapter! :)
