Freedom

Chapter 2 –

Puck had been right, every time he accidentally came across Kurt in the halls, someone else would be "propositioning" him for a ride. There were even a few freshmen girls who were adamant that he couldn't possibly be gay and if he gave them a ride, they could prove it.

His friends were a bit more inventive and useful. Tina promised a dinner at Breadstix. which he accepted, though got the dessert himself. Sam promised to sing a duet with him at least once, Kurt gratefully agreed, though he reassured Sam that he no longer had a crush on him. Santana promised to clarify a few things that his dad had left hazy during "the talk." Kurt replied with a strong "no thank you," but gave her a ride anyways. Brittany offered to be his girlfriend again if he was pretending to be straight. Kurt pointed out that she was still dating Artie, and that he was still gay, then gave her a ride because he could.

The one that appealed to him the most was Rachel's trade. She promised to relinquish at least one solo to him if they ever fought over it, though Mr. Shue would decide which one. Kurt agreed immediately, even throwing in a "free" ride just to make sure she wouldn't change her mind. Though the written contract they signed would guarantee that they both followed through.

Puck knew Kurt was expecting him to trade something. But he also knew that he shouldn't have been paying attention to when Kurt would change into some designer sweater in the hall, simply slipping it over his white under shirt. But Puck told himself that he didn't ask because he couldn't think of anything to trade. What on earth could he get for Kurt that he didn't already have access to? So he just watched, everyday after glee, as Kurt returned to his locker, replacing the sweater with his leather jacket and bending over to strap on his chaps.

Friday, when Kurt walked into glee looking angry and red eyed, Mercedes was the first to approach him in the hopes of quelling his anger before practice.

"What's up, Kurt?" she asked gently, sitting next to him.

Kurt sighed. "Blaine came to visit real quick. He doesn't start school until next week."

Mercedes nodded. "I thought you guys had decided to be friends? Why would his visiting bother you?"

"Apparently," Kurt paused and took a deep breath to calm himself, "He thought that I still had a thing for him, so when I showed him my bike…" Kurt stopped, shaking his head. "I can't even… the nerve of it!"

Mercedes put a hand over his, squeezing slightly to calm him down. "What did he do, Kurt?"

"He said he'd," he paused again, this time bighting back tears. "He said he'd go out with me, if I let him use the bike sometimes."

Finn, who had only been paying half attention looked confused. "I thought you wanted to date Blaine? He was practically all you'd talk about the whole summer."

Kurt glared at him. "Finn, this has nothing to do with that. I don't want to date a guy who is only interested in my bike. I want a guy who's interested in me. Now, after this I don't think Blaine and I can even be friends."

Mercedes nodded. "You just say the word, Kurt. I'll go slap his ass from here to next Sunday."

Kurt found himself giggling, though not with much humour behind it. "You won't need to do that. I'm sure he'll be putting ice on his cheek where I slapped him."

"Did it make you feel better?" asked Rachel. "I've always wondered if slapping a guy was as freeing as others make it out to be."

Kurt shrugged. "I think it would have helped, but instead of walking away I told him I didn't want to see or talk to him again." Letting out a sigh he fell back into his chair – Puck couldn't help but notice the way his shirt tightened across his chest. "Now I just feel depressed. We were really good friends, but seeing him try to trade a ride for something like that, it makes me wonder who he really is."

"He who?" asked Santana as she came in. "Hey, Kurt, do you think you can give me a lift home today? I want to tick off my dad. He hates it when I date trouble makers."

"Wait, you're dating Kurt?" asked Brittany.

Santana just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Santana," said Kurt, "I think I'm going to leave alone today. I need to think. And riding my bike alone is…" he slouched further into his chair, "Ahh, it's so therapeutic."

Puck had to cough to cover up his groan. Kurt was so far relaxed, apparently just thinking about riding his bike, that he was practically horizontal. Mix the position with that moan he released and… well… Puck had to get out of there. He shot up from his own seat and practically ran out the door, mumbling a quick, "Bathroom, be back," to Mr. Shue as they passed in the doorway.

The following Monday, Kurt walked into the school, happy as could be. He was still mad at Blaine, but the boy had apologized… sort of. Kurt was still ignoring him a little as punishment, but it looked like their friendship would return to the way it was before. Plus, Blaine owed him now. There was no way Kurt was going to let that stupid suggestion go.

He was so busy trying to figure out if the newly texted 'I'm sorry' was Blaine's 25th or 26th when he found himself trapped by a large arm in front of his eyes. He stopped and looked up, following the arm from hand to shoulder and finally to face. He immediately took a step back, but raised his chin in defiance.

"What do you want, Karofsky?" he said, his voice shaking only a little.

"I want to borrow your bike for an afternoon."

Kurt gaped. "Hell no!"

Karofsky frowned and glanced around before lowering his voice and leaning forward. "I just need to get to Columbus for one afternoon. I can have it back in the parking lot before six if you let me take it around noon."

Kurt shook his head in disbelief. "Why on earth would I let you drive my bike? Besides, the traffic would be terrible in the city at that time."

"I… I'd be able to weave in and out of traffic on your bike. I could go that much faster." He glanced around again. "I'll come clean, about everything. The kiss, being…" he closed his eyes and breathed a moment before continuing, "Being gay."

Kurt gasped. That was a very good proposition, but he couldn't. "I couldn't let you take my bike," he said. "Not legally, anyway."

"I have a license," Karofsky said quickly. "I bought a broken down bike this summer. Someone's been helping me fix it up and I got my license while we worked."

Kurt's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to get to Columbus so badly?"

Karofsky sighed and looked at the floor. "The guy who's been helping me with my bike… he's starting at Ohio State this year. He's moving into his dorm today and…" he swallowed, blushing, "I wanted to visit."

Eyes going wide Kurt just stared for a few seconds.

After such a long silence, Karofsky sighed and stepped away. "Fine."

But Kurt grabbed his jacket sleeve before he could walk away. When the bigger boy turned back, Kurt held out his keys. "You so much as scratch it, you will pay. Use the passenger's helmet, it's on the back of the bike, and be back by six. I'll be waiting out front."

Karofsky took the keys, nodding. He looked nervous as he turned away again but Kurt spoke up.

"And you don't have to do anything you said you would," he said gently.

Karofsky looked confused. "Then what do you want?"

"Why don't you just make sure that me and my glee friends have a bully free year?" shrugged Kurt.

Karofsky stared a moment before nodding. "Thank you." Then he disappeared.

Puck had only heard the last few comments, so he was very much confused. However, he realized that he may be able to finally get a chance talk to Kurt alone. That's when he would make his own proposition, because he had been thinking about it all weekend, and all he needed was a little… well, courage.

TBC...

A/N: Not that I need any more fic ideas, but if you're interested in maybe seeing a side story for Karofsky and the Columbus kid, be sure to review. Maybe I'll start thinking of ideas. Oh, and thank you to JasonDragon64 for inspiring my Karofsky idea.