Disclaimer-I still don't own Glee

Thanks for reviewing everyone, hope you like the next chapter

Chapter 15-Feels Like Dating

The next couple of weeks were highly confusing for Kurt. Many a time he found himself pinching his arm just to ensure he was awake as opposed to dreaming. The cause for all his puzzlement was Noah. His best friend seemed to be treating him differently ever since they slept together in Kurt's bed. He wasn't treating Kurt badly by any means. Noah was simply treating him less like a friend and more like, there was no other way Kurt could think to describe it, Noah was treating him as if he was his girlfriend, or boyfriend perhaps.

Before Leanne and Sam had ever been annoying smudges in an otherwise skilfully painted picture, Kurt and Noah had been joint at the hip, much like Santana and Brittany. Now that Leanne and Sam had been erased, the two best friends were inseparable again.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about that of course. It was only natural for two best friends to spend much of their free time together. The reason for Kurt's befuddlement was the things he and Noah were doing lately. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, maybe he was reading too much into things and making something out of nothing, but to Kurt, it almost felt as though he and Noah were dating.

They went on cinema trips together, just the two of them. Noah always let Kurt choose the film and he'd buy the shorter male low-fat ice-cream and fake a yawn as he stretched his arm up before settling it across Kurt's slim shoulders.

After every Glee rehearsal, the two of them would go back to Noah's and order pizza which they'd happily eat in Noah's bedroom with music playing in the background.

Every Friday, they would eat out at Breadsticks and Noah always insisted on paying. After they ate, they would just go for a drive. Sometimes in Kurt's Navigator, other times in Noah's truck. They would drive for hours, singing along to the radio, talking about anything and everything, or just sitting in silence and enjoying one another's company.

On Saturdays, Noah would take Kurt out for the day. He'd take him to the cinema, bowling, swimming, ice-skating, shopping or just for a walk around the local park area if the weather was nice. Then later that evening, Noah always ended up staying for dinner with Kurt and his dad.

It was nice. Kurt enjoyed his time spent with Noah immensely, but at the same time it was all so horribly painful. He wasn't the least bit sure of where he stood with Noah. To Kurt, it truly felt like they were together, they'd even been mistaken for a couple on a few occasions when they went out together, something that Noah had always laughed at but never denied.

There were even rumours circulating through McKinley High that Kurt and Noah were in a relationship. More than once, Kurt had been stopped in the school corridors and interrogated by his peers, all of them yearning for imaginary gossip that he simply could not provide.

If it were true, then Kurt would let it be known to all that Noah Puckerman was his. But that wasn't the case, and knowing that hurt far more than Kurt could hope to express.

Everytime he heard a whispered rumour about Noah and himself, Kurt desperately wished that he could turn to the speaker and smugly inform them that it was true. He wanted to be able to introduce Noah as his boyfriend to any stranger he may happen to meet, he wanted to be able to kiss him if he wanted to without fear of rejection and he wanted to hear Noah softly tell him that he loved him with all he had.

It didn't help matters that Noah looked upon the rumours about them as a highly amusing joke. The jock would even deliberately encourage all the gossip by randomly squeezing Kurt's ass in front of nosy onlookers or pecking him on the cheek whenever there was a large enough audience. Not to mention all the suggestive comments Noah would make in a loud voice for all to hear and interpret in whatever manner their minds saw fit.

Even during Glee rehearsals Noah would make such remarks. Mr. Schue would always frown in disapproval and reprimand Noah for his inappropriate language whereas the rest of the group would laugh in appreciation, or in Rachel's case complain about the interruption to their precious rehearsal time.

Luckily, other than Brittany and Santana, nobody noticed the pain or longing that glimmered in Kurt's eyes every time Noah would make a joke out of the rumours of their supposed relationship. Discreetly, Brittany would squeeze Kurt's hand and Santana would accidentally flick her ponytail in Noah's face or elbow him in the ribs or stomp on his foot.

A Friday evening found Kurt and Noah seated at their usual table at Breadsticks. Noah was shovelling his food down his mouth but Kurt was merely poking at his salad without enthusiasm.

After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Noah asked Kurt what was wrong.

"Nothing." Kurt sighed as he leaned his elbow on the table then rested his chin on his hand.

"You sure?" Noah asked him, obviously not believing his friend's lie. "Is it the salad? If you want I'll get you summat else."

"No thank you." Kurt answered as he looked around the restaurant, glancing enviously at the loved-up couples that surrounded them.

Even though the majority of the customers were abysmally dressed and most probably just looking for a brief sexual affair, they looked as though they were happy to be in one another's company.

A few tables away from where Kurt and Noah sat, was a young couple who were gazing adoringly into each other's eyes. The young woman released a musical sound of laughter at whatever her partner told her. He grinned in response before leaning across the table to feed her some of his food. She opened her mouth and ate the spaghetti off of his fork, some of the sauce staining her lower lip. With a grin, the man reached his thumb out to wipe the sauce away before leaning in and kissing her lips softly.

Pulling his eyes away from them, Kurt turned his attention back to Noah who was giving him an odd look.

"Are you done?" Kurt asked gesturing to Noah's plate. "I'd like to go."

"Sure." Noah told him pushing away what was left of his meal before paying the bill then leading Kurt out of the restaurant with his hand on Kurt's lower back.

They reached the parking lot and Noah opened the passenger door of his truck and helped Kurt scramble inside.

As they drove around aimlessly, they simply sat in silence. There was no music and neither teen made an effort to speak. Noah simply kept his eyes on the road as he drove and Kurt stared out the passenger window, watching the scenery flicker by without really seeing it. To him, it was nothing but blurs of colour.

Kurt thought about the boy beside him, his mind replaying a selection of memories of the times they had spent together. He analyzed every minor detail, trying to look at the facts objectively and decipher the true meanings behind them. Were the things Noah said and did really just an act of friendship? Or were they perhaps more than that? Could there be feelings of romance on Noah's part?

It seemed that for every gesture, every look, every word and every situation Kurt and Noah had ever been in, there was support to suggest that Noah did in fact return Kurt's feelings. Of course, the more cynical part of Kurt's brain scoffed at such flickers of hope dismissing them as useless teen fantasy.

He thought about all the times when Noah had ever hugged him and how the other teen had lingered on the hug just a little longer than necessary. Kurt's mind then pointed out that it could have in fact been himself who held on longer than needed.

He thought back to the past, before he and Noah had ever been friends. He remembered how the other teen had used to treat him, how he bullied him on a daily basis, throwing him into dumpsters, but never allowing any of the other jocks to take the bullying too far. People always said that boys bully the girls they like in an attempt to disguise their real feelings. Although Kurt wasn't a girl, that widely believed concept could still hold true to him, right?

The memory of that night at Santana's when Kurt had first cried in front of Noah surfaced to his mind. Kneeling together on the bathroom floor, Noah had held him so caringly, so protectively, soothing him as he cried. It was true that Noah had only acted as any decent friend would have done, but part of Kurt teased himself with the idea that Noah's concern went past the realm of friendship. After all, Noah had kissed him that night, just a simple peck on the lips, but a kiss nonetheless. Surely that meant something. Kurt certainly couldn't imagine the likes of Artie or Finn kissing him on the lips as a sign of comfort, nor could he envision Noah bestowing a peck upon any guy's lips other than his own. A girl, sure, Kurt had witnessed Noah do just that plenty of times. He'd even seen his best friend plant a small kiss on Becky's lips to cheer her up after she'd been subjected to unfair ridicule by some of the bitchier Cheerio's (not Santana). Those Cheerleader girls had since been kicked off the team and severely punished by Coach Sylvester who for unknown reasons seemed to hold a fondness for Becky.

After the party Kurt had been talked into hosting, Noah had stayed behind to help clear the house up. Then he'd stripped Kurt down to his boxers and pulled him into bed with him. They'd slept together, two male best friends, one of which was openly gay. What straight male would share a bed with his gay best friend wearing nothing other than skimpy boxers if he didn't feel some form of attraction for him? Of course, Kurt reminded himself reasonably, Noah had drunk a fair amount of alcohol that night, he probably wasn't thinking straight, no pun intended.

Kurt snapped out of his thoughts as Noah pulled the truck to a stop. Looking out the window, Kurt found they were on the outskirts of town. He heard the door open and shut and watched as Noah walked down the beaten path a little way before coming to a stop by a large rock.

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Kurt climbed out of the truck and joined his friend, shivering slightly from the cold. Wordlessly, Noah shrugged off his letterman jacket and draped it over Kurt's shoulders. It was far too big of course, and it clashed horribly with his black sweater and white skinny jeans, but Kurt gratefully hugged the jacket around himself and snuggled into the warmth.

Noah sat down on the rock letting out a heavy sigh. Sitting beside him, Kurt gazed at him carefully wondering what was wrong. Though he was eager to understand whatever it was that was causing such an expression to form on Noah's handsome features, Kurt knew better than to ask. He simply sat quietly, patiently waiting for Noah to open up.

"It's been so long since I've been here." Noah eventually said.

Not understanding, Kurt continued to remain silent, waiting for Noah to further explain what he meant and the significance to them being here now.

"It was the middle of the night when my old man left," Noah continued as he traced a groove in the rock with his finger. "I couldn't sleep and I heard him going down the stairs. Then I heard the door. So I got up and I crept down the stairs after him. He didn't take the car; he just took off walking down the street. I chased after him."

The Jewish boy fell silent again as he closed his eyes and rubbed them with the heels of his hands.

"I called out to him, begged him to slow down." Noah admitted in a shaky voice. "Fucking asshole didn't listen. He wouldn't even turn around to look at me. Just told me to go back to bed and take care of mum and Sarah."

"I'm sorry." Kurt replied weakly not knowing what else to say.

The two of them had discussed Noah's estranged father a couple of times, but never before had Noah gone into such detail about the night his dad had actually left.

"About a street away from our house," Noah said, his voice sounding so empty yet so pained with emotion at the same time. "He got into a car with some long-haired guy. Back then, I thought it was a woman. It was only when I got older and thought back on that night that I realised he was running off with another dude."

Kurt hung his head and lowered his eyes to his lap suddenly feeling uncomfortable though he couldn't explain why. It was all sounding suspiciously like Noah's dad was gay, or perhaps bisexual, and had left his wife and children to be with another man. If that was the case, why was it Noah was telling him and why was he telling him now?

"I chased after the car you know." Noah told him and Kurt pulled his eyes back up and faced Noah, but the other teen did not look back. "They were out of my sight before I could blink but I kept running, until I got here, to this stupid rock. I waited all night, the bastard didn't come back."

Again, Kurt didn't know how to respond. Saying sorry didn't seem like a useful option. In fact, nothing seemed like it would be helpful so Kurt settled for remaining silent and allowing Noah to carry on with his speech.

"The cops found me the next day and took me home." Noah recalled. "My mum was a crying mess. She nearly suffocated me with that hug and she kept kissing me. After that night, I used to sneak out of the house a lot and come here. I'd sit here for hours, convinced that if I waited long enough he'd come back. He never did."

They lapsed into silence and Kurt instantly decided that he didn't like it. He needed to say something, anything. For one insane moment, he seriously considered telling Noah he loved him, but he quickly realised that now simply wasn't the time for such a declaration and said something less dramatic instead.

"When did… when did you stop coming out here?" Kurt asked.

"Few years ago." Noah answered. "My thirteenth birthday, that was the last time. I sat here for a while and then… then I just got it into my head that it was never gonna happen. The jerk is never coming back, I accept that now. When I got back home that night I took up a baseball bat and smashed the shit out of his car." Noah smirked at the memory sounding and looking oddly proud. "Fuck knows why we kept it in the driveway so long. I tell you though; it sure felt good wrecking that thing."

"So… why are we here now?" Kurt asked gently. "Not that I mind, I just… wondered."

"I don't know, babe." Noah shrugged as he casually slung an arm over Kurt's shoulders. "I was just driving and I ended up here."

They drifted into silence again, this one not as uncomfortable as the last. They stayed until the sun went down and the stars sparkled in the black sky. Finally, Noah pressed a kiss to Kurt's head then took his hand and led him back to the truck.

Once again, Kurt's mind was wheeling with confusion. The kiss, the handholding, what did that mean? Did Noah simply do it because it felt appropriate after they'd had such an intimate discussion? Or did he do it because he wanted to, because he had feelings for Kurt? Maybe Noah loved Kurt back but was too scared or too proud to admit it. Maybe Noah was waiting for Kurt to make the first move. Or maybe, Kurt thought as he curled up alone in his bed that night, Noah's behaviour was purely of a platonic nature and his mind was bending fact into fiction, reality into fantasy, and running wild when it should simply come to a complete standstill and accept that Noah would only ever be his friend, nothing more.

To Be Continued

Please Review

Love and Hugs, IceQueenRia xxx