Corresponding episode: Born This Way
Mildly graphic (medical, not sexual)
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After Finn's admirable performance of "I've Gotta Be Me", Kurt sang Christina Aguilera's version of "Reflection." Dave then got up for his turn. He snapped his fingers and tapped his foot in time with the band as they began his intro.
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone,
Oh, honey though our friendship ceases, from now on;
And, listen, if you can't say anything real nice,
It's better not to talk at all, is my advice.
We're parting, you go your way I'll go mine,
It's best that we do;
Here's a kiss! I hope that this brings lots of luck to you.
Makes no difference how I carry on,
Remember, please don't talk about me when I'm gone.
During the long instrumentals, Dave did some dancing with the microphone stand. He had become much more comfortable with it since that first day in glee club.
The New Directions clapped for David when he finished. Dave thought he was done, but then Mr. Schu began to speak, "So David, to you, how does that fit in with the assignment?"
David thought about it for a minute. To him, it just seemed to work, he hadn't actually thought about why it worked for the assignment, however. "I guess it's because I'm real self-conscious about what people think about me. Also, because I don't really seem to keep friends all that long. So this song is something I've thought to myself over and over again every time I have a falling out with someone. 'Well, shit. What are they gonna say about me behind my back now?'"
Mr. Schuester nodded, content with David's response. "Thank you for that, David."
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"You know, it's his own damn fault no one likes him."
Kurt put his fork down, the lettuce on it still uneaten. "Can we please not talk about this Mercedes?"
"I'm serious. I get that he's trying to change for the better and all that, but he doesn't really make a whole lot of effort, does he?" Mercedes pointed her tater tot at Kurt every few words to punctuate her thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"You, me, Rachel, Tina, we all go to the mall and have sleep-overs. Puck, Finn, Mike, Artie and Sam all go to the gym or the park together. You and I do spa days with Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. I've dated Puck, you and Finn are brothers, you and Mike attend dance classes together every now and then. Everyone in glee is interconnected. ExceptDave. He's like a square peg in a round hole. He doesn't fit and he doesn't even try. Has he ever hung out with anyone from glee outside of glee?"
As much as he hated lying to Mercedes, he couldn't tell her the truth about his own after-school activities with Dave. "Glee club and Dave have been enemies for so long. Dave's in enemy territory; he's vastly outnumbered. Maybe he's just too shy or insecure to initiate anything with anyone. Maybe we should take it upon ourselves to open ourselves up to him."
Mercedes gave Kurt the diva stink eye. "And what the hell do you think we could possibly do with Dave that wouldn't either bore us to death or him to death?"
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And that's how, after Rachel's Barbara-vention, Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, Mike and Dave wound up at the mall's Disney store. Kurt was looking at the miniature character sets. Ever since he had mentioned buying the Disney Blu-Rays the other day, he couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to have a little person to buy fun things for. If David's baby made it to term, Kurt was positive, boy or girl, he would spoil the hell out of it. He could be the baby's "awesome uncle Kurt." Kurt looked back and forth between the Power Ranger set and the Little Mermaid set. It would just be so much easier if he at least knew the gender!
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I fucking love Mulan. She's a badass warrior chick…like Xena. But she's not a princess. She winds up with Shang; Shang is a military officer. Not royalty. And she isn't royalty either. So why the hell is she a Disney princess, when Megara isn't? Megara hooked up with friggin' Hercules: son of the king of the gods. She's a hell of a lot more princess than Mulan is!"
Kurt looked over to where David's voice was coming from. A very harried-looking sales clerk stood defenseless in front of David's tirade. Kurt smiled. David was cute when he was worked up like this. And he wasn't being mean to the clerk, or yelling at him. He just didn't seem to realize that the poor guy probably made minimum wage (if that) and barely even knew what a Disney princess was.
Kurt almost intervened when he saw Mercedes heading over, but opted to stay out of her way. Mercedes grabbed David by the arm and dragged him away from the clerk and over towards the Cars section of toys. "Boy, quit being a dumbass and leave that man alone."
"I just think it's messed up that both Hercules and TheLionKing came out in the nineties and still aren't represented by the Disney Princess line while Tiana has been out a year or so and is already in the line."
"Yeah? Well I think it's messed up that it took Disney until 2009 to have a black heroine!"
"Tiana is not Disney's first black heroine."
"Bullshit she ain't."
Kurt watched with interest. He certainly couldn't think of another black Disney heroine. "Forgetting for a moment the fact that both Nala and Kiara were African for a moment, because, let's face it, an African lion is significantly different than an African person: you are overlooking Brandy."
Mercedes looked confused and taken aback. "Who the hell is Brandy?"
David smiled and sighed, amused at Mercedes 'ignorance.' "In 1997, Disney did an amazing all-star remake of Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella, casting Brandy, ablackwoman as Cinderella. It also cast Whoopi Goldberg as the queen and Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother."
"I never heard of that."
David shrugged. "Most people haven't, I think. Brandy and Whitney Houston got in a fight over whose name would appear first in the crediting on the accompanying soundtrack. It was never resolved so no soundtrack was ever released, and since Disney thrives on the music in their movies, it lost valuable traction."
Mercedes just shook her head as she walked away. "It still doesn't count."
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"So what's your shirt supposed to mean?" Finn tugged on the front of David's "Offensive/Defensive" "Born This Way" shirt once they had finished up their performance.
David looked down at where Finn had snapped the material and then back up at Finn. "Well, I have a tendency to get really defensive when people say or do things that I don't like; but, over the past few years, I've become so obsessed with protecting myself from any imagined attack, that…I have a tendency to strike first, so to speak. Rather than dealing with things in a normal way or letting them roll off my back, I go on the offense or the defense."
Puck nodded. "I'm kind of the same way sometimes. Then again, I'm usually a jerk just cause I can." Puck smiled like he was proud of that fact.
"Dude, you put way too much thought into your shirt." Dave just shrugged at Finn. "'Bully' probably would have been a lot easier."
"Or 'Wooly Mammoth'" Puck stage whispered the comment, and let out a soft chuckle.
Kurt watched as Dave tensed, his face turning red. He was fairly certain he could even see the hackles rise on the back of David's neck. Kurt wasn't the only one who could see David's apparent anger. Finn, Lauren, Puck, Kurt, and Mike all watched as David clenched and unclenched his fists. Just as Kurt was certain David would throw a punch at Puckerman, David turned on his heel and stormed out of the auditorium.
Kurt threw his nastiest glare at Puck, muttered "Asshole" just loud enough for him to hear and followed after David.
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If Kurt ever found the guy who raped David, he would murder him. He would sink his teeth into his throat and just rip it out. But first he would force the guy's dick through a paper shredder. David's Saturday appointment had started out well enough; they met the specialist from Boston, who turned out to be a young Indonesian woman named Dr. Laya. She and Dr. Novak had taken Kurt and David to an examination room that had been specially prepared for all the tests Dr. Novak had planned. The ultrasound had gone well, his blood sample had been sent to the lab, and it was too early for the amniocentesis. The only test remaining was the one David was currently undergoing.
David was curled up on his side in the fetal position. He had a blanket covering his lower half, the blanket lifted behind him so Novak and Laya could see what they were doing. Kurt sat in front of David, holding his hands as the larger boy trembled and wept. Neither Kurt nor David had told the two doctors that David had been raped; they had no idea how badly they were traumatizing him as they examined his cervix. They probably thought his soft whimpers were from the pain.
Kurt wasn't sure how long it took, but Laya eventually lowered the blanket back over David and told him everything was looking good. Novak announced he and Laya would go and check out David's blood test results. Once they were alone, Kurt shut the privacy curtain for David. "Are you okay, hun?"
"Yeah. Great. It fucking hurt and it was embarrassing as all hell." David pulled the privacy curtain back open. David was redressed and sitting on the gurney bed.
Kurt went over and sat next to him. As David wrapped his arms around Kurt's middle, and leaned his chin on Kurt's shoulder, Kurt turned his head to kiss David on the chin. "Everything is gonna be okay now. The worst is over and pretty soon, we'll know exactly what to expect."
All of David's test results came back better than they had expected. Neither doctor had observed anything that would give them concern as to David's physical capability to carry the baby. Even the blood tests came back looking good. All the supplements Novak had suggested for David had kept his nutritional levels acceptable; the only concern the blood work presented was a mild anemia. There was still a lot that could go wrong with the pregnancy. However, David's mind was set; he was going to try and carry the baby to term.