Now we're going to get into the simultaneous stuff. A lot of dialogue will be repeated over the next few chapters, just a warning.

I got a question about tuition. I didn't actually realize that public high school had no fees... so um... yeah. Disregard Blaine's comment about it being triple the cost.

I've been trying to work out where this story is set and this is the idea I'm basically working with. After the success of Duets, Schuester got them to do duets again which is where the assignment for the first chapter came from. The first half of Never Been Kissed happened, and then from there it's all AU. It was around Never Been Kissed when the rest of the club basically stopped talking to Kurt and forgot about him. So that's where it fits in to things if it were canon. Which it isn't.

And I know Finn and Carole got kicked out in Season One. I don't know whether they moved back in or not, but for the sake of this story, they did.

I hope I don't have to put this on every chapter, but this is just to be completely sure. Because of the events, and because of the story being non-canon, Finn is OOC.

Finn.

The sound of footsteps faded, and the room was silent. A few seconds later, Finn heard Mr. Schue getting up and following. He took a few shaky breaths before looking up, wiping his eyes.

What the hell just happened?

"Finn, are you alright?" Quinn's arm was still on his back and she was looking at him, concerned. Finn could see the tear tracks on her own face and knew without looking that the rest of the club was the same.

"He shouldn't be."

Mercedes stood up, tears still streaming down her face. "What is wrong with us? We call ourselves a family and we let that happen to Kurt?"

"We didn't know -"

Mercedes glared at Rachel. "We should have. You saw the bruises on his arms as clear as any of us, yet somehow we were all seeing them for the first time. We let that boy down and I'm glad he's going to go somewhere that he'll finally be safe. I'm glad he has Blaine too, because he sure didn't have us." Finn could see Mercedes was fighting against her emotions to be able to speak. "I'm going to track him down and see if he'll accept an apology. And I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't."

As Mercedes turned, Sam stood as well. "I'm coming with you."

Mercedes nodded and the two left the room quickly. In the silence that remained, every eye turned to Finn. "What?" he snarled, glaring at them. He wasn't sure where his sudden anger had come from, but the way everybody was looking at him didn't quite sit right.

A few members looked away uncomfortably, but Puck wasn't having any of it. "Dude, we see Kurt a couple of times a day and I can't remember the last time I spoke to him. That makes me a pretty crappy friend. But you, Finn, you live with him. You're his family. What the hell?"

"Don't you start on me, Puckerman. I'm warning you!" Finn was on his feet, Quinn tugging at his hand to try and get him to sit down.

"Why shouldn't I? Tell us, Finn, do you and Kurt even talk at home anymore?"

Finn knew his silence spoke volumes. But instead of Puck responding, it was Tina who stood and addressed the group. "Face it guys, we've completely let Kurt down. It was only a few weeks ago that his Dad came out of hospital from a heart attack. He sang a duet on his own and then you guys told him to get lost and go spy at another school, saying that was all he was good for. And I think that was the last time we paid him any attention, wasn't it?"

Finn knew it was true. Without another word, he pulled his hand out of Quinn's and walked out of the room. Once outside, he all but collapsed against the wall, letting himself sink to the floor and forcing himself not to cry again. They had all been right. He had screwed up.

And he didn't even have an explanation for himself. Finn lived with the boy, for goodness sake, and he hadn't seen it. Any time Finn and Kurt were at home at the same time, they were in their separate rooms. Finn presumed that Kurt was working on homework or something and just left him to it. And at school... well, they lived together after all, why did they need to interact much at school? Everybody else he knew who had siblings didn't talk to them at school, why should he and Kurt be any different?

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, expecting some kind of text from Puck calling him a coward or something. Instead he saw his mother's name flash up on the screen.

Finn. Please don't come home until 5pm.

Finn gulped. He hadn't even thought about what would be waiting for him at home - of course Kurt would have filled his dad in on what was going on, and Burt would have told Finn's mom straight away. The only question was, how long had they known? When Finn thought about it, he realized that Burt had seemed a bit off towards him for about the past week or so. The fact that Kurt's dad hadn't known either at least helped Finn's case - he wasn't the only one who had been blind. Still, Finn knew he was in for it.

Sighing, Finn stood and made his way out to his car. He couldn't go to any of his friend's places since most of them hated him right now. He could go see Quinn, but he didn't feel like hanging out with anybody right now anyway. All he wanted to do was see Kurt and apologize, but the fact that he had been told not to come home yet probably meant that Kurt didn't want to see him.

Sitting behind the wheel, Finn let his head drop. He felt so useless, and it was all his fault.

It was 5:27 when Finn finally pulled into the driveway. He knew he could have come home earlier, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to facing the fireworks. Kurt's Navigator was missing, but both Burt and his mom's cars were there. Offering up one last prayer to whatever deity may possibly like him, Finn killed the ignition and climbed out of his truck. Shouldering his backpack, he headed towards the front door, wondering whether he could possibly just slip straight through and go to his room -

"Finn."

Finn forced himself not to groan aloud, shutting the door and turning to face the living room. Both adults were sitting on one of the couches, staring at him. Finn wasn't sure who was the safest to look at - he knew Burt would be furious, but his mom would be disappointed, and both would hurt equally. Instead he stared down at the carpet, scuffing a foot across it. How bad is this going to be?

"Finn. Sit."

Cringing a little, Finn stepped into the room and sat down across from the adults, still refusing to look at them. There was a moment of silence, then Burt's voice, low and dangerous. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you out of my house right now."

Oh. This bad. Finn gulped, slowly raising his head to look at Burt, immediately wishing he hadn't. The man looked murderous. And Finn couldn't blame him, it was his son that had been beaten up and driven out of his own school. "I - I can't, sir," he admitted quietly. "When Kurt told us today, I was sickened with myself when I found out, and not because of what was happening... I mean, what was happening was disgusting... but I was sickened with myself. Puck got furious at me and I wanted to stick up for myself but I realized I couldn't. I lived with him and.. I didn't know -"

Finn broke off, the tears beginning to run down his face again. He couldn't bring himself to try and stop though - the only thing he could be ashamed of right now was his behavior. "I - I guess I'll go pack. Just... please don't throw out Mom. I know you love her. I'll... I'll find somewhere to go."

As he stood, his mother's voice quietly cut in. "Finn, wait." There was a moment of whispering, then a sigh from Burt. "Sit down," she continued. Confused, Finn turned back around and sat. "Burt is going out to Dalton tomorrow with some more of Kurt's stuff - he couldn't fit it all in his and Blaine's cars tonight, and he wants to say goodbye to Kurt of course. I want you to go with him and talk to Kurt. The final decision will be up to him - if he's willing to forgive you then Burt will let you stay."

Finn nodded. It was completely fair after all. "Thank you," he murmured. "I wanted to apologize to him, after all."

In the silence that followed, Finn stood and left. This time nobody called after him and he escaped to his room, collapsing on his bed. And now it was time for the biggest hurdle of all. How do I apologize to Kurt?

Finn jumped in the front of Burt's truck, immediately on edge as the other man climbed in. It was apparently an hour and a half to Dalton, according to Kurt's boyfriend, and Finn knew the car trip definitely wouldn't be a silent one.

Sure enough, they were only a few minutes down the road when Burt began to speak. "Finn, if this was the first time, you know I'd be easier on you. But we had that incident last time when you came into my house and ragged on my kid."

"I know, and I'm really sor-"

"But," Burt continued, acting as if he hadn't heard Finn, "this is a totally different matter. This isn't about words he's been hearing his whole life. This is about his safety, his well-being. Something I had thought that you and that Glee club of yours were going to keep an eye on. So I want to hear why you didn't. I want to know how my son practically turned invisible in that school."

Finn had been thinking about it himself. "Kurt... doesn't really fit completely with either side. The guys were always a bit edgy on how to treat him because of the homophobia that was drilled into us all the time. The girls love him... but he's not a girl, and they always know that."

"That doesn't excuse anything."

"I know," Finn said. "Nothing can and I'm not trying to." He took a deep breath. "I can understand how some of the other guys like Mike or Sam could have let him slip out of sight, but not me or Mercedes or Rachel. Especially not Mercedes, those two were meant to be best friends. I know the attacks on Glee club were getting worse - the others were getting slushied quite frequently... but I honestly don't know how we couldn't see him."

There was silence for a long time, and after awhile Finn started fidgeting in his seat, not sure what was coming next. When it did, it certainly surprised him. "You seem genuine," Burt grunted without taking his eyes off the road. "Kurt told me he started purposely distancing himself from the rest of you guys to see what would happen. I guess with everything else... he just did disappear."

Burt sighed. "Finn, I was a teenager once too. I know what it's like, your priorities are all screwed up at that age. You think football is your top priority, and having a girlfriend." Finn opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. It was true after all. "You don't notice guys like Kurt, no matter how much you're meant to. And no matter how angry I am... I can't take it all out on you."

Finn wasn't sure he was hearing things correctly. "Are... are you saying you're not going to hate me forever?"

"Kurt wouldn't let me." Burt shrugged. "Look, I know high school is a difficult place, but you need to sort it out, Finn. Family and friends always come before status, and you have to learn that now. You should have learnt it before it was too late, but you still have the chance to stick by that Glee club of yours."

"I don't think they want me," Finn mumbled. "They all hate me, especially Mercedes and Puck. Did - did Mercedes talk to Kurt?"

Burt nodded. "Her and some blonde kid. I gave them a few minutes alone and everybody looked a bit emotional afterwards. I don't think they're sorted just yet, but give it time and they probably will. Kurt's too forgiving for his own good."

Finn silently agreed, while the selfish part of himself just hoped that Kurt could extend the same forgiveness to him. "He said he was completely done with McKinley..."

"Done with the school, yes. Done with the overall attitude of people, yes. Done with every single last person... no, I don't think so." Burt took a turn onto the highway. Finn checked the clock, amazed that over half an hour had passed already. "Let me make this completely clear. My son's safety is my number one priority. He can forgive people all he likes, but if I think they're still going to cause him hurt or to get hurt, I won't hesitate on pulling them out of his life permanently."

Finn gulped, knowing what it would mean if he was one of those people. So far he hadn't been brave enough to bring up the topic of whether he was getting kicked out or not. He knew it relied on Kurt for the most part, but he also knew that Kurt would be living at Dalton five days out of seven and Burt still ran the house.

The rest of the car trip was silent. Finn thought he would be relieved when they pulled up at Dalton, but the tension in his stomach just got worse. What am I supposed to say to Kurt now?

And as they pulled into the car park, there he was. Kurt's smile changed into a frown when Finn hopped out of the truck, and Blaine stepped forward protectively. Finn lowered his head, knowing their treatment of him was completely justified.

"Blaine, please help my Dad get this stuff inside."

Finn glanced up hesitantly to see Kurt whispering something to Blaine, who gave him one last glare before grabbing an armload of stuff. Burt also gave him a stern look before the two walked away. And now it was just him and Kurt.

"Finn-"

"Kurt-"

Both boys paused, then, to Finn's surprise, Kurt laughed. "You first."

Finn could feel the tears welling up again. "Dude... I'm just... so sorry," he choked out.

There was a moment of silence, then Kurt stepped forward a little. "This conversation only takes place if you answer this question honestly, and right. Did you know?"

Finn shook his head immediately. "I had no idea, I swear. I would have put a stop to it if I had."

"Finn, how could you not notice!" Kurt's voice was rising and Finn winced, knowing this wasn't going to be a good conversation. "I was in that room every day with bruises. I was shoved in the halls, and I know it was in front of you at least once. You didn't talk to me for three weeks until now. And you were in the next room over... how could you not know?"

At that last sentence, Kurt's voice dropped to a whisper and Finn felt the tears begin to run down his cheeks. "I don't know, I don't know, I wish I did but I don't," he babbled out, wishing he could say something to make it all better. "I just thought it was the standard bullying, I thought you'd tell me if things were getting worse. And you have no idea how much I wish I had noticed, Kurt. It's killing me, knowing I could have stopped this."

"Am I invisible?" Kurt asked quietly. "Is it that you don't want to know me, so you make sure to ignore me?"

Finn didn't even have to think about it. "Kurt, you're like my brother now. And yes, we've gone through some crap and I was an idiot to you and I should have been nicer and clearly should have paid more attention, but I want to know you. You're my friend now... or you were before I screwed things up."

There was silence. Finn chanced a glance at Kurt to see him staring into the distance, thinking. Tears had welled up in his eyes and seeing that only made Finn feel worse. He knew he couldn't expect any forgiveness from his almost step-brother, but he was praying for it. Finn knew he would do whatever it took to make things right with Kurt.

"I can't just... forgive you," Kurt said finally. "But I'll tell Dad not to kick you out. I think you could benefit from being in his house a bit longer anyway, he might help you sort out your priorities."

"He already is," Finn mumbled. "Thank you, so much."

"As for you and me," Kurt continued, hesitating for a second, "it's going to take a lot of time and work, and I won't be the one putting the work in, you understand? I can't trust you right now, and I know you don't like the past being held against you but I have to."

Finn nodded. "I know. I wouldn't ask for anything else, I don't deserve it."

The sound of footsteps had Finn looking up to see Blaine reappearing. The boy was still glaring at him, and Finn really couldn't blame him. "How did things go?" he asked, stepping up behind Kurt and wrapping his arms around him from behind. The look on his face was clear - this was a test to see how well Finn was going to react to their PDA. But Finn had no problem with it anymore, and hopefully it showed on his face.

"We're ... okay," Kurt replied, turning a little to smile at Blaine. "We will be, hopefully, anyway."

Blaine nodded reluctantly. "Well, your dad is up in your room waiting to say goodbye if you're ready."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for that," Kurt said quietly. "Finn... we'll talk when I come home next weekend."

"Thanks, Kurt." As Blaine took Kurt's hand and led him away, Finn drew up all of his courage. "Blaine?" he called.

The older boy paused for a moment before turning around, his expression unreadable. "Thank you for looking after Kurt," Finn said. "I'm - I'm glad somebody didn't let him down."

Blaine's expression relaxed ever so slightly. He nodded once before turning back around and leading Kurt towards Dalton. Finn waited until they were out of sight before slumping back against the truck shakily. Despite everything, he couldn't help but smile a little. He had failed catastrophically, yes, and things weren't okay. But at least this time he was going to try and fix things.

And now, Kurt was safe. And Finn would protect him this time, until the death. Because that's what family was supposed to do.

Next chapter: Mercedes