Episode 15, Chapter 2:
Somehow Dave Karofsky convinced him to skip the rest of the day so they could talk. Kurt should have been terrified of Dave. Based on the awful gifts he sent, he should be worrying about his safety. Any sane person who knew about the gifts and the bullying would have screamed bloody murder at the sight of him. Only Kurt knew Dave a lot better than he had given the impression he did.
Dave bullied him for years—this much people knew. In a sense, he definitely still had some control over him. However, he'd learned the bully's secret a long time ago, and with that knowledge, their relationship changed. It was when Kurt used that against him that they became true frenemies. They'd gone through levels of hate and fear that went both ways. The last low they had was Kurt's fault. That was the reason he went on a walk with Dave. As much as Dave could scare him and constantly reminded him of his old self, he owed him. Kurt needed to discover what it was he wanted with him.
"You like to make an entrance, Dave. I'll give you that one. I thought I was the king of drama," Kurt said drinking a bottle of mineral water at a hotel bar two blocks from his school with his ultimate adversary. Dave acted confused for a moment.
"Oh, you mean the gifts? You didn't like them? … I guess I had a little too much fun."
"Showboating as a serial killer?" Kurt raised his eyebrows, judgmentally putting the bottle to his lips so he wouldn't have to see Dave's sour expression.
"After what you did, I could have killed you," he said lightly. Kurt caught his eyes over his bottle. "Oh, my bad, that's not a threat or anything!" he said sincerely. "I'm over what you did. Old Dave may not have been so understanding, but I haven't been that kind of guy in a while. I left and dealt with my…emotions."
"You clearly didn't, Dave. Meat, a bloody sweater and that mirror…it seemed a bit like you want me dead. I know what I did to you was wrong, and I'm sorry for that."
"I was angry with you, yeah. Then, I hit rock-bottom. Your brother isn't the only one who struggled."
Kurt processed what Dave said slowly. The meaning snuck up on him and shocked him. He never believed his words could do so much damage. He thought Dave just hated him. Kurt forgot the effect he had on Dave. He'd broken him. Kurt gulped, realizing his old self had driven someone to attempt suicide.
"I'm so sorry," he said putting his hand on his.
"Don't, Kurt. We were always trying to tear each other down. I hit you, and you hit back. I was weak. I'm not that person anymore. I have a lot to live for, and while it might not include my dad, I have dreams for myself."
"That's good to hear. I'm not the same person I was either. I'm not the kid you bullied, and I'm not the 'bully' either. I'm done being both. I'm stronger than I've been and surer of myself. I wish we could try being friends, but I don't know if that's possible."
"I came back to call a truce Kurt. There were only three gifts. I'm done. Same as you."
"All the drama, and this is how you want it to end? You're not going to pull any tricks?"
"We're not kids anymore."
"You're saying you just want us to be civil? No more games?" Kurt emphasized.
Dave nodded, and Kurt hesitantly nodded too. He was expecting a full blow up in his face and was pleasantly surprised. The other boy had come a long way, almost as long as he had.
When Dave bullied him, Kurt would hide. Always confident in himself and out and proud gay from 13 years-old, he'd almost jumped head first into the closet when Dave started harassing him. He didn't tell anyone at the time, even Quinn. Kurt was great at keeping face. No one would have known if Sam hadn't seen something in the locker rooms in 8th grade and socked the bully in the face. Puck and Sam kept it quiet for his sake.
Just before the TKO, Kurt finally understood why Dave hated him. The boy was gay too and scared as hell to admit it. He resented Kurt for his bravery. Even though he could have used it against him then, he didn't. They became weird friends, or at least equals. Dave didn't bother him anymore. And there was the added fear Puck and Sam would come after him if he did.
The next year Kurt, confident that he was officially free and safe, paid Dave back in turn for what he'd done to him. He screwed up his homework, switched answers on his tests, subtle things no one else would notice. Dave shot back by buttering the ground and splashing a slushy at him on multiple occasions that always ruined his clothes. For this, Dave was always the bully, and Kurt the victim in everyone's eyes.
Eventually, his dad pulled him out of school with the intention to send him to boot camp. Dave resisted and pulled a final trick on Kurt. He invited him over so they could make up and hang out one last time. Kurt believed it, got drunk, started telling dirty secrets and talking about guys. There were always boys that he was crushing on in school. He didn't know he was being recorded, and on the second incident of Gossip Girl's existence, Dave revealed the tapes for everyone to see.
That was the last straw.
The next day hungover and nursing his headache with a Bloody Mary, Kurt crashed the other boy's family dinner and took no time before blurting out that Dave was gay. He embellished the story a bit, not caring about what they thought of him because what they thought of their son was the only thing that would matter. He included additional erroneous details about how they were secretly dating, and he couldn't take hiding it anymore, and he loved when Dave ploughed into… It definitely didn't go over well with the boy's parents, especially his dad, who did one better than boot camp, he sent him to live with his uncle, an ex-pat living in Poland.
This part of the story was fabricated over and over at home on the Upper East Side, so Kurt didn't know until Puck mentioned it and only believed it when he finally heard it come from Dave's mouth.
They could have just parted ways after that, but they continued talking more.
They were never actually friends, but they could have been. Kurt didn't even care about the stuff that got revealed on GG a day after it came out. If Kurt hadn't been cruel, they might have still had time to be friends. Dave never wanted to come out of the closet, and because of him, he still hadn't. He couldn't even say the "gifts" he sent were the worst things they'd ever done to each other. There was more to their story. Kurt was glad Dave ended their game the way he did. He deserved a win.
"Shouldn't you be going home? I thought 'new' Kurt didn't like to party."
"This isn't a party," Kurt huffed at Dave's air quotes.
"You sure about that? I know some people who could turn this into one if you want?"
Spotted: Kurt Hummel being given a real-life multiple-choice question. A: go home and study, B: get a good night's sleep, C: call your boyfriend, or D: None of the above.
"Who do you know?" Kurt asked.
Hope that wasn't the wrong answer, K. This test doesn't grade on a curve.
Quinn let the girls in on her plan to bring down Zizes when they came over to her apartment that night. She wore her rich mustard yellow knee-length skirt, cream button-down sweater, brown belt and matching booties. [vote queen Quinn] They had several hours to dig up dirt and make it world-crushing. While they couldn't care less about her, they joined in on the plan because scheming is what they did for fun, and they needed a break from watching Quinn study for her SAT.
The blonde felt more comfortable reading her flashcards when she saw them on their phones doing some research. Santana had her tall black Steve Madden boots kicked up on some furniture making her short, lacy black Macy's Material Girl Sweetheart Peplum dress lift higher. [Prom Queen] Brittany readjusted her Urban Outfitters Deena & Ozzy felt floppy hat that she wore with a H&M Sunset tee and H&M flared suede ruffle skirt as she did some work. [2x13]
Brittany was the one who spotted a file titled 'Zizes Dirty Secrets.' Unfortunately for her, when she opened it, she unknowingly alerted the tech savvy girl Zizes that someone was trying to destroy her.
Zizes in her bedroom across town drank a large Big Gulp. It was easy for her to uncover the device which fell into her trap. The unlucky culprit was titled 'Britz Phone'- a name that Santana had actually set when Brittany called upon her to set up her newest phone. The last two phones Brittany had both mysteriously disappeared. One she said been lost in a water fountain and the other had been carried off by a falcon according to Brittany's retelling of the events.
Upon further hacking into the server, Zizes determined this particular Brit was one of Q's minions, meaning this attack hadn't been thought up by the ditsy blonde, but instead Zizes' Enemy Number One. She hadn't planned on taking Quinn down any time soon, but she would have to put her plan into effect sooner than she hoped. Zizes had twenty minutes before Puck would be coming over, but she'd be done with Quinn in five.
Blaine and Tina had been looking through the record store for the last two hours mostly stopping to talk next to the racks of vinyl and cassettes. Blaine wore a Jack Spade 'Felton' long sleeve regular fit shirt and a Topman Navy and Red Tartan skinny fit blazer. [6x13] Tina looked like a sneaky devil in Heavy Red Love is Lost red sweater hoodie with large black lines in X shapes. [2x01] It was the perfect break from studying that he desperately needed.
Burt usually ordered-in on Fridays. He could expect neither of his kids to cook on Fridays. Therefore, when Blaine led Tina into his apartment where they were supposed to have dinner, he expected some pizza or General Yin's Cooking from around the corner. He was instead greeted by Rachel and Burt cooking together in the kitchen.
"Is there a family dinner party I don't know about?" Blaine looked at them suspiciously.
"No, just me and my girl cooking up some hot, healthy foods," Burt responded giving Rachel a nuzzle and kissing her head. Rachel beamed happily in a Pacsun Sandy Holiday Roses dress with a purple sweater. [2x12]
"Dad and I are spending some quality time together."
At Blaine's look of confusion, she continued, "He thought it was necessary, but he's quickly noticing I have not changed at all," she smirked cheerfully, spinning a wooden spoon in her hand.
"Nope, especially not in terms of kitchen skills!" Burt objected taking a pan off the stove that was obviously over-bubbling. Rachel fretted and backed away from the flames, which Burt nicely managed.
"Okay so I'll be in my room with Tina. Call me when dinner's ready," he smiled at the two of them before passing into his room with Tina.
For the next hour, she helped him clean his room of all the books that littered the floor while listening to Eddie Money. When Blaine realized he hadn't heard any call for dinner, he turned down the music. The scene in the dining room had greatly changed.
"How could you be on his side?"
"Well, the kid's got a point," Burt explained. "What's wrong with having some other friends who don't go out of their way to tear you down all the time?" Rachel tapped her foot and shook her head. Her tongue in her cheek, she was not smiling; she was pissed. "I thought I taught you what true friendship is about. It's about having each other's backs, not wanting stab them when they're not looking. I don't say this lightly, but it seems like Finn's got a point."
"Finn won't talk to me dad! We're broken up! You can't be on his side. I'm your daughter!" she balked. This weakened his resolve for a moment, which was all she needed. "I shouldn't have told you anyway. You're trying to make me change. I'm the one who told you everything. I trusted you, and now you're going to throw it in my face with that 'I told you so' attitude. That's not fair! I thought you were going to treat me like an adult and respect my decisions. You don't have to make me feel worse!"
"Don't twist my words. I'm still your father. You still live under my roof. I have a right as well to tell you what I think. The world is full of people who won't agree with you."
"So of course, you have to be one? You can't be one salvation from the entire world that tells me no. You have to break me down like everyone else?!"
"Rachel—" he yelled, and she ran to get her coat. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to visit mom!"
"No, you can't! It's—it's late!" he said coming up with an excuse.
"It's Friday! I'm going to mom's, and you can't stop me. She told me I could come whenever I need her, and I need her now. I want to go home... to her. Blaine!" she yelled at him, calling him out. She didn't know he was already watching. Neither did Burt, who sighed that he'd caught them like this, so far from where they started. "Can you take me to Penn Station? I need a chaperone." Blaine would rather go against his dad then go against her so he nodded sharply. "Good, I'll be outside!" she stomped out the door.
Tina ran to Rachel's room silently to pack her some things that she wasn't thinking about. Blaine walked over to his dad and put a hand on her shoulder. "She'll get over it by Monday."
"You think?" Burt asked rubbing his head.
Blaine smiled, nodded and walked out with the pack Tina put together.
Kurt couldn't explain to Puck when he got back to his apartment where exactly he was for the last several hours. Sometime after the Perrier, the guys had switched to something stronger than Kurt tried in a long while. Sometime after the Bordeaux, the guys had started smoking something Kurt did recreationally a year ago. Crossfaded when he walked into his apartment, he wanted no part in the argument Puck was going to start. Luckily for him, he was still good at avoiding arguments. Puck hounded him on his whereabouts at first, thinking it had to be Kurt trying to cover for the fact that he got another mysterious package. If only Puck knew what really happened…
Kurt was not about to tell him.
He was wasted and had an SAT in the morning, so who knew what would happen?
Blaine stood three feet away from his sister as they waited on the platform. She was still fuming after 30 minutes of late-night travel. Blaine licked his lips and kept glancing over to see if she was open to talking about it. He opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it. She did not seem ready to have a conversation with him. He looked away just as quickly, staring at the signs on the walls and very boring ceiling. He eventually turned to look at her again pouting. She stuck her tongue in her cheek. Her eyes were angry, and her foot kept tapping.
"Can we at least talk about it?"
"I'm leaving, Blaine."
"I know! I'm not saying you should stay..."
"So, you want me to go?!"
"I didn't say that! I'm just...
"Well, it sounds like you did."
"Come on, dad's not that bad! He wants you to be happy. You know that so don't make him feel worse..." he finished and she continued to ignore him. "Fine that's all I'm going to say about it. We can stand in silence until the train comes. Your choice?"
Rachel kept pouting. She was trying to keep her icy demeanor, but she eventually caved. Her train was still on time to arrive 15 minutes later when she grumpily walked in the direction of the subway. Blaine grinned cheekily and swept her bag off the floor to chase her down.
~A.N. an epic Rachel meltdown? CLASSIC. Thankfully, she's going back home. Also... KURT! What is he thinking? Kurt is not making good choices and we'll see the consequences in the next chapter eep!
