Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the music quoted in this chappy

Chapter Six

You Give Me Fever

He found himself struggling more than usual on focusing in his classes. Algebra was a pain, English was boring, Biology was too complicated, and History was a snore fest. Even Spanish was killing him, though to be honest, Spanish always killed him, it just killed him more today.

When things like this happened, a kiss or smile from Rachel would make it all better. It didn't work this time.

So by the time glee came around, he was in the corner of the group, tapping his foot impatiently for the meeting to end. Rachel was finding it distracting, and held his hand in an effort to calm him. That didn't work either.

Before she could ask what was wrong, Mr. Schue called Quinn down to practice her song. Finn realized at the last second that it was the very song that induced the nightmare. The music started and Quinn snapped her fingers.

"Never know how much I love you," she sang sweetly, swinging her hips, "never know how much I care."

This was different. It was nothing like the original. Her voice was more high pitched, the drums sharper, and the bass a bit more rhythmic. Normally Finn would have no problem with modernizing old music, but this version was just too…forced?

He felt stupid being critical, especially about a song he wasn't very fond of. Maybe Rachel should have fought more to get the song…

Kurt would have done it justice –

No! Shut up. Don't think about him!

Despite himself, Finn took a quick glance across the risers to Kurt who was frowning lightly as he watched Quinn sing. So he wasn't the only one who thought this version was awful.

That kind of disturbed him.

…

"I think I'm ready," Rachel said, placing her hand over his. They had been driving in pleasant silence to her house when she decided to speak. "I'm ready for the next level."

"What?" his voice squeaked, oh god that was lame. He tried to keep a steady hand on the wheel. Thankfully a red light came on as he approached the end of the block. He looked at his girlfriend. She was smiling warmly at him, the kind of smile that expressed deep love and affection, the kind that was ready for…for that. "A-are you sure?"

"I wanted to be sure so I said we could go a little further at the park, you were so…tender and loving that I just knew it was time," she was blushing, he was pretty sure he was redder than her, "I'm ready, Finn."

He attempted to smile and laugh to ease his nerves, but neither worked. "O-okay," calm down, just breathe. "That's great!"

He knew he didn't sound happy or enthusiastic; such a tone would normally throw Rachel off into a rant. He was really hoping she would rant.

But her smile widened, she gave his hand a squeeze, and she returned to looking out the window. Finn gulped and looked back to the front.

The red street light glared back at him like a warning.

…

She wanted it to be spontaneous, preferably in an environment where they wouldn't be interrupted. As much as she wanted the romantic music with the rose petals scattered over the bed, she knew Finn would end up being nervous and come too early. At least that's what she told him, and he didn't find it necessary to argue.

Because now he wasn't feeling so sure.

Luckily for him, her rule was still up. He dropped her off at her house, and left, like a good rule abiding boyfriend.

…Like a terrified boyfriend.

Now that he was in the safety of his room, he proceeded to bury his face in his pillow. Why did Rachel say she was ready now? A few weeks ago he would have been flying to the skies in giddy happiness; he would have done the deed with her hours ago!

He was chickening out. He didn't know why, but he was chickening out.

That was impossible. He didn't chicken out with Santana, and that was the most awkward meaningless thing he'd ever done in his life! After waiting for Rachel, fantasizing, dreaming, wishing…

Why did Rachel want to do it anyway?

Thinking back on it, she'd been acting distant lately. They barely kissed at school or on their way home, they didn't talk as much as before, and that moment at the park…was he really tender and loving?

Could she be doing all this regain his attention? He hadn't been very talkative lately either.

With a sigh, Finn put on Kurt's iPod and set it to shuffle.

It Don't Mean a Thing immediately started playing. Its upbeat rhythm didn't match his glum and confused mood so he skipped it. He was sick of that song anyway.

The next song was The Andrews Sisters's Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. He skipped that too. Fever thrummed in, he scowled and skipped it as well. Finally Billie Holiday's Good Morning Heartache came on. He didn't pay much attention to the lyrics, but the melody was doing good in keeping his rattling thoughts at ease.

Dinner wouldn't be for an hour, he may as well kill time by doing some homework. It was starting to pile up pretty badly anyway.

"Good morning heartache, thought we said goodbye last night."

Finn shivered as he opened his Spanish text. Maybe Billie Holiday wasn't so bad…

…

The luscious wafts of dinner called him to the kitchen. He'd lost track of time, flying through his homework with surprising ease. By the time he sat down at the table, stomach growling in excitement over the feast laid out before him, his mother turned to him with a sweet smile.

"Honey, can you go get Kurt, we don't want to start dinner without him," she said, nodding to Burt who already had a fork and knife in each hand and was trying hard not to dig in just yet.

Finn looked at the lovely layout of potato salad, turkey, pork, cream of mushroom soup, and the many decorative arrangements of little sandwiches and artistically cut fruit. He sighed and reluctantly left the table, mentally strangling Kurt for always being the last one at dinner, and always having him get him.

He trudged down the stairs to the basement, a familiar song echoing against the walls of the bedroom. Finn reached the bottom, looking around for the honorary girl, but found no one. Was he in the bathroom?

"Kurt! Dinner!" he peeked into the bathroom. No one was there. "Kurt?"

He turned in irritation. Kurt was standing a few inches away from him. Finn yelped in surprise and almost fell backwards. Kurt grinned in amusement.

"Jeez," Finn shook his head, "come on, I'm hungry."

"Stay," Kurt grabbed his wrist, gently pulling him close to him, "dinner can wait," he placed a hand over the taller boy's chest.

"But – "

Kurt shoved him down his couch. Caught off guard, Finn slipped and fell on it sideways. His heart jumped to his throat when Kurt plied his tensed legs apart, crawling in between them and leaning over him.

"W-what are you…" He froze as Kurt leaned down and darted a tongue at his ear lobe. "Stop, I'm not gay!" he pushed against the smaller teen's chest, but either Kurt had gotten stronger, or he lost all his strength because Kurt didn't budge. "w-we need to go upstairs for dinner," he argued weakly, squirming to break free.

"Stay with me," Kurt whispered huskily in his ear, his voice rumbling all the way down to the tips of Finn's toes. He bit his lip, his struggles weakening. This couldn't be real; he must be having a nightmare or something. Kurt wouldn't have the gall to do this.

That's right, he was dreaming. He looked into Kurt's misty teal eyes, unable to really connect with them. He'd never seen that kind of smirk on the other teen's face. Yes, this was a dream! He needed to wake up.

"You let me violate you," Kurt brushed his lips lightly against the curve of Finn's neck, rubbing his thigh against his groin. Finn flushed and cried out in surprise. "You let me desecrate you."

That song. He knew it, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew what it was. He heard it before. From Kurt. Here in his room…

He gasped, throwing his head back as Kurt rolled his hips against his. His legs were trembling, unsure of whether to spread wider or close them to push the other boy away. He was burning up.

"You let me penetrate you."

His mind had become so muddled, he couldn't figure out how or when his clothes were removed. He was sweaty, and hot, throbbing with pent up frustrations that so desperately needed release. Kurt was pressed against him, his sweaty nakedness almost soothing in a way. They were rubbing against each other, their heavy breaths echoing in his ears.

"You let me complicate you," Kurt swooped in and stole his lips. Finn didn't struggle anymore. This was a dream, it would be embarrassing when he woke up, but he may as well enjoy it now while it lasts.

Their tongues wrestled and danced, explored and practically sang. Finn was dizzy, unaware of the little moans he gave. More, he wanted more…

Something was penetrating him there. It was big, and long, sliding inside him like a sword. He gasped, clutching Kurt close to him, his legs tightly wrapping around his waist. He was completely inside him, lovingly thrusting in and out. Finn pulled Kurt into a sloppy kiss, not quite sure what he was doing, but unwilling to make it stop.

Then Kurt hit something inside him, and he saw stars.

"Finn!"

…

"Finn!"

He woke with a start. Kurt's bedroom washed away. He was back in his own room, fully dressed with his text books squashed under him and drool pooling over his notebook. One of the headphones had lodged out of his ear and was playing Closer. Why was that song on the playlist? He wiped his chin and looked around blearily before realizing what exactly he had dreamt.

He fucked Kurt…no wait, Kurt fucked him!

And he liked it!

…Oh god.

"I've been calling you like ten times, I was about to throw cold water over you!"

Finn froze. Of all the people to wake him up, it had to be the person he was dreaming of. He busily, fumbled with putting away his text books until he realized another more embarrassing problem. His pants were uncomfortably sticky.

"It's time for dinner let's go," Kurt waited by the door, unaware of what was troubling Finn. He did get curious when the taller boy didn't move from his bed. "Finn, did you not hear me? It's dinner time."

"Um…" he swallowed, wiping the drool off his notebook. Kurt curled his lip in disgust before noticing something more important.

"Did you drool on my iPod!" he stepped in the room, but faltered when Finn yelled at him.

"I'll be there in a second!"

"There's no need to shout!" he yelled back. He watched Finn closely. He seemed tense, and whatever was bothering him, his presence wasn't making it any better. As curious as Kurt was, he knew that if he pushed, Finn would lash out at him. He hadn't forgotten the other times when he had. "Fine, come to the table when you're ready." He left with as much haughty dignity as he could muster.

Finn sighed and went to his dresser, all the while telling himself that he didn't enjoy the dream, he was just being a teenager, hormones were to blame, and he didn't find Kurt even the least bit attractive.

Because if he did…well, he didn't want to think about it.

…

He made it a habit to bring Kurt's iPod to school and listen to it whenever there wasn't the risk of it being taken. He didn't know if it was because he wanted to honestly understand the era glee was trying to revive, or if he was starting to enjoy it. Whatever it was, Rachel seemed happy to hear Frank Sinatra's I Love Paris blaring out in his car.

"Where did you get this music?" she asked, picking up Kurt's iPod. She frowned at the purple flower designs decorating the shell, and arched an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"Kurt let me borrow his iPod," Finn replied quickly, not wanting Rachel to get the wrong idea. "I don't listen to this stuff, so now he's making me. You know, for the show."

"Really?" she raised her eyebrows, skimming through the endless list of music, "I could have shown you, you know."

They drove into the parking lot. He looked around for a space, mentally wincing at having forgotten that his girlfriend was just as obsessed with the swing/jazz era as Kurt. "It kind of happened last second…"

She nodded and gave him an unconvincing smile. Once he got the car parked he gave her a kiss, hoping it would cheer her up. Although he couldn't understand why something like this would upset her.

…

Mercedes stood before the group. Artie thrummed on his Les Paul while Kurt was on the piano. This would be her first time to fully perform the song in front of the club, and so far it seemed pretty good.

"Folks here's the story 'bout Minnie the Moocher," it was probably one of the rarest occasions Finn had seen the diva sing in a low tone, and not the loud soulful scream. "She was a red hot hoochie coocher."

As the song continued Mercedes adopted similar moves that Cab Calloway was famous for, staying on the spot and swaying with her hands at waist length, shoulders tense. But at the same time there was a little bit of her shining through, her voice rising to that proud yell, fists clenched to reach the ultimate high note. She wasn't just singing, she was delivering a story.

It was perfect.

Quinn seemed to have improved her song as well. And La Vie en Rose felt like it was created just for Rachel.

They were almost ready to rehearse on stage except for one thing. They didn't have a great ending. Mr. Schue made them go through several songs, pull different choreography, everything! But nothing felt right. Something was missing that was making everything they tried sound empty.

After listening to Kurt's iPod day and night, Finn had an idea of what song they should use, but he couldn't remember the exact beat, or the name of the song or artist. Unfortunately, with Kurt's four-hundred plus songs crammed into his tiny little iPod, finding the song was looking to be impossible.

He figured Kurt himself would know, but he looked just as clueless.

Rachel slammed her locker shut, startling him out of his thoughts. "I can't go home yet, you go on without me, I need to take care of something first."

"Is it gonna take long? I don't mind waiting," he frowned lightly, she seemed troubled. Was she still unsure about La Vie en Rose?

"No it's gonna take forever," she sighed, clutching her books to her chest. "I just want to go the auditorium and vent – alone," she added, seeing him about to argue. "I'll just take the bus back, or I can walk, my house isn't that far."

"Okay…" something was definitely bugging her, he always joined her in the auditorium when she wanted to sing. He leaned down and gave her a kiss, squeezing her shoulder consolingly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, her eyes teary, before turning and walking down the hall towards the auditorium. Finn reluctantly went the other way.

If she was upset about La Vie en Rose, she wouldn't bottle it up. She was the type of person who demanded what she wanted, or complained about what she had and didn't want, she was too proud and outspoken to be quietly upset about a song.

Or was she upset about something else?

He reached the exit of the school when this thought struck him. What if the song wasn't what was bothering her? What if it was the fact that they didn't have sex after she clearly said she was ready?

A bad feeling was crawling up the back of his neck. It wasn't that he wasn't ready. More like…he was cautious and confused and…

And his thoughts of Kurt Hummel were becoming increasingly unbearable.

They'd become so bad, Finn couldn't look him in the face anymore. Shit, he barely even talked to the guy they were so bad. What was worse was that he couldn't discuss these problems to his awesome hot why-is-she-with-me girlfriend because…well…she wouldn't take it well and he was terrified of what the implications these stupid thoughts meant.

Rachel was very perceptive though. Then again, so was everyone when compared to Finn. She may have figured it out already. She didn't seem too happy with him borrowing Kurt's iPod, and she was close to tears just now. He had to fix this somehow. He knew exactly what to do.

Today would have to be the day. Finn fished through his pockets for loose cash. He needed a condom; romantic sappy cd's, a bunch of roses…

But first he had to apologize to Rachel!

…

She wasn't in the auditorium. There was someone singing, but it wasn't her. She wasn't in the audience, on stage, or even backstage. She was nowhere to be found. Finn was about to leave, he knew exactly who was on stage, and he didn't want to stay any longer.

"Never know how much I love you; never know how much I care."

He was on the piano, hitting the low keys in a match to the slow rhythm of the original. His eyes were shut, he had no idea he wasn't alone.

Finn froze. It was that damn song again.

"When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear – you give me fever," he struck the piano keys with more daring. His eyes were cloudy and lost in his thoughts, or perhaps lost in fantasies of singing alongside Peggy Lee, or even Little Willie John.

Finn hid behind the curtains, away from Kurt's line of sight. He sang just as he imagined he would. Low and sultry, his voice like honey yet filled with unheard passion.

It was like…Finn blushed. Like sex.

"Fever! In the mornin', fever all through the night," Kurt smirked. Finn flushed. He shouldn't be here he felt like he was walking in on Kurt doing something dirty – he felt dirty. This was like when he walked in on him singing Closer. He needed to leave. He had to find Rachel. He had to apologize; he had to tell her…he had to tell her…

That he couldn't do it with her.

There was something wrong with him. It was something that was keeping him from leaving. Something that kept his eyes locked on Kurt. Something that made him blush, his stomach flutter, steal his breath, clench his chest, made him dizzy all at the mere thought of Kurt. Something he could no longer feel for Rachel. He knew exactly what it was, and it was too terrifying, horrible, painful, and crazy for him to even say it to himself.

He was falling in love.

It took all his will to keep from screaming when a hand tapped his shoulder. He whipped around, his blush draining when he saw who it was. He must have been watching him watching Kurt for a while, because instead of the pleasantly surprised 'oh what brings you here' look he'd been hoping for, he was anything but.

It was that painful look of understanding in his eyes, the very tiny almost invisible sad smile. There was no hint of malice, no trace of mischief, just sympathy. Because he felt the same for Mike, and like Finn, he could do nothing to stop it.

Horrified at being caught, Finn looked away from Sam, wishing the ground could open up and swallow him.

Kurt continued singing without pause.

TBC