Chapter 1 - I'll Be There For You

No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows
Someone to face the day with

Kurt leaned his forehead against the cool ceramic of his toilet and panted slightly from the exhausting exercise of throwing up his whole breakfast.

He took a deep breath, pushed away from the bowl and sat on his heels. He heard a knock on his bathroom door and then his father's voice asking if he was ok. He got up from the floor and went to open the door. He smiled tentatively up at his dad. "I'm fine."

"Were you throwing up?" Burt asked, frowning.

"Yeah, must have been the pancakes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Kurt replied with a nod. "I'm late for school and I still have to shower so..."

The older Hummel nodded still unsure of whether he should believe his son or not. In the end, he adjusted his cap and looked straight into the boy's eyes. "Ok. I'm going to work now. Remember to lock the door when you leave and to drive carefully."

This time, Kurt's smile was genuine. "Ok, Dad. I'll see you tonight."

"Later, kid."

Kurt closed the door to the bathroom and then stepped in front of the mirror. He studied his reflection for several minutes but was unable to recognize himself. He looked tired these days and not even the thought of the glee club could cheer him up. Sighing, he turned toward the shower and started it.

*GLEE*

When Kurt drove his Navigator inside the McKinley High's parking lot, he spotted the football team waiting by the dumpster right away.

Parking his SUV, the teen took a moment to collect himself; he leaned his forehead against the steering wheel and let out a tired sigh. After several minutes, when he was sure that he'd be able to act like his normal self, Kurt grabbed his bag and got out of the car.

"Hey, fairy!" One of the jocks called out to him as soon as he was close enough to the dumpster.

"What do you want dickhead?" He asked, turning around.

The football player seemed taken aback by the unusual scurrilous comeback.

"What? Cat got your..." Kurt's words were cut off when an all too familiar pair of arms slid under his and pulled him back against a muscular chest.

"What's going on, boys?" When Puck spoke, his breath caressed the soprano's neck sending a shiver up and down his spine. He pushed Kurt towards the dumpster saying, "C'mon, Hummel, you know the drill."

The pale boy hated when something as simple as a breath coming from the other boy could set him on fire. So, wanting to pretend that he was unaffected because it was just another morning after all, Kurt pulled away from Noah's hold. "You always do the same things. One would think that your little brains could come up with something new after all this time, but no..." He threw his bag on the ground not caring that it would look like completely out of character and then slid off his jacked handing it over to one of the jocks.

He turned to Puck with his head held high. "Well then, what are you waiting for?"

When his lover simply shrugged before spun him around so he could grab him again, Kurt asked himself if falling in love with Noah, was worth being torn apart by Puck.

His back hit the trash bags and the cardboards and the lid sliding closed, softened the fading sound of laughter. Kurt was starting to have doubts that it was worth it.

*GLEE*

By the time lunch rolled around, Kurt was feeling exhausted and was also starting to doubt his theatrical abilities since it seemed that he wasn't hiding his discomfort well enough; Mercedes kept glancing at him worriedly and even Rachel was looking at him with concern.

Not wanting to have to face the entire glee club and all the questions about how he was feeling, he grabbed his tray with only an apple and a bottle of water on it and went in search of an empty classroom where he could eat on his own.

Knowing that most of the class on the first floor were occupied or closed, he went to the second floor. He was about to step inside the last class of the hall when the door to the janitor closet, that was next to the classroom, opened, and Santana and Puck walked out of it.

The cheerleader straightened her skirt and her ponytail before locking eyes with Kurt arching an eyebrow.

Puck tensed up for a moment before sliding his hands inside the pockets of his letterman jacket. "What's the problem, Hummel? Never seen two people having fun before?"

Santana snickered before starting to walk away. "Call me later!" she yelled, before rounding the corner at the end of the hall.

Puck watched her go until he was sure that she wasn't coming back before turning his attention back on Kurt. He noticed that the soprano was holding his tray so tight that his knuckles had turned white. He decided not to address the problem because as far as he was concerned, he didn't do anything wrong to deserve Hummel's anger.

"Do you have a minute?" The jock asked, looking at the pale boy with a leer.

Kurt glared at him before turning around and starting to leave, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore.

"Kurt!"

"Screw you, Puckerman!" Kurt kept on walking desperately telling himself not to turn around, and knowing that Puck was never going to follow him, made everything easier.

He was able to reach the girls bathroom before breaking down; being so emotional was never his thing, he was the Ice Queen, always sarcastic and caustic. However, lately, it was like the more Puck became detached, the more Kurt became attached to whatever they had going on.

They had been in their sort of "agreement", because you couldn't call what they had relationship, for almost five months now and it was getting harder and harder for Kurt to act as if being Puck's dirty little secret wasn't affecting him.

Sometimes, when they were alone, Puck would act like the most perfect boyfriend in the world, always caring and gentle except for when they both wanted something rough, but then, when they were among other people, Noah would disappear, leaving at his place a jerk with a mohawk that wouldn't be gentle with the soprano if his life depended on it.

Kurt put the tray on the sink counter putting the apple and the water in his bag before opening one of the faucets. He splashed some cold water on his face and once again found himself studying his expression in the mirror. He was following the water drops' pat on his cheeks through the mirror when the door opened and Rachel, her white jumper drenched in something blue, walked inside.

The girl wiped some of the iced beverage out of her eyes before opening them; she froze catching sight of Kurt.

"Slushie?" The soprano asked, turning towards his bag and pulling out a packet of moist towelettes that he handed to the brunette.

"Thanks. Azimio wanted a laugh with his lunch," she said, walking over to the sink next to the boys. She glanced at him sideways while wiping the slushie off of her face. "Are you okay, Kurt?"

He nodded. "Why are you asking?"

"You weren't at lunch today and you, don't take this personally," she held up her hands with a tentative smile. "But you seem a little off and you're paler than usual."

"I..." Kurt's reply was cut off when a wave of nausea hit him full force. Covering his mouth with his left hand, the boy hurried inside one of the stalls barely managing to reach the toilet before throwing up.

Rachel watched with wide eyes and a second or two went by before she was able to spring into action and run over to Kurt. The girl put a hand on his back and started rubbing it softly.

After what to him felt like an eternity, Kurt finally stopped puking. He got up with Rachel's help and walked back to the sinks to rinse his mouth. "Thank you," he said in a whisper; his throat too sore to be able to speak loudly.

Rachel nodded. "Was this the first time it happened?"

"No." Kurt closed the faucet and looked over at the girl. "It's been going on for a while now."

"You should see a doctor," the singer said, before handing the packet of moist towelettes back to the boy. "Do you have one?"

"Yes."

"Good. As the captain of our glee club, I feel the need to ensure my teammates' welfare."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Rachel."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but," she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I think you should skip glee and see if your doctor will see you this afternoon."

"I can just say that I have a sore throat and Mr. Shue will just let me watch so I won't be putting myself to strain."

"You don't look too well, Kurt, I'm serious," Rachel said softly, turning her big doe eyes on him. "It's Friday; go home and contact your doctor and then rest for the week-end." She smiled. "Every diva needs her beauty rest."

"I will ignore the fact that you just called me a girl and," he sighed, tilting his head to the side and squeezing his eyes a little. "I will take your advice."

"Great."

"Just, don't tell everyone that I had to go home because I was sick."

Rachel shook her head. "I will come up with something, don't worry."

"Thank you." Kurt picked up his bag and waved at the singer before stepping out of the bathroom.

Lunch break was almost over so he had to hurry up if he wanted to get out of school before Mercedes spotted him. He hurried down the halls and got outside through a backdoor then he ran to his SUV and before someone could see him, he drove away.

During the drive he kept the radio turned off because he was starting to feel a headache coming and, even though November's air was pretty chill, he kept his window down; the cool air somehow calming down his nausea. When he finally arrived home, he called his doctor and got an appointment for Monday briefly wincing at having to skip glee once again.

With a sigh, he went down to his room and kicked his shoes off before staggering over to the bed when he let himself fall on the mattress with a tired breath.

*GLEE*

When the last bell of the day rang, Puck was catching a nap in the nurse office. Finn came to get him and together, they walked over to the glee club.

Brittany, Santana and Quinn were sitting in the chairs in the last row; Mike, Sam and Artie were talking together in a corner while Mercedes and Tina were sitting in the front row and Rachel in the middle row.

Puck frowned noticing that Kurt still had to arrive but didn't ask for him. Finn and him went to sit down next to Rachel and a few seconds later, Mr. Shue walked in with his usual joyfully expression in place.

However, when the teacher noticed that Kurt was missing, the smile faded away leaving place to a frown. "Where's Kurt?"

Rachel cleared her throat and everyone's gaze turned on her. "He had to go home," she fidget with the hem of her skirt. "His father called and he told me to inform you that he couldn't make it to glee today."

"Wait," Mercedes' voice rang loud in the choir room. "He left and told you about it?"

"Well, Mercedes," Rachel's tone I'm-better-than-you was back and Puck briefly marveled at how much alike her and Kurt were. "I was there when it happened."

The black girl mumbled something under her breath before pulling her cellphone out of her bag.

Mr. Shue sighed and looked at Rachel. "Well, thank you for telling me, Rachel."

"As the captain of New Directions, it was my responsibility." That earned an eye-roll from everyone.

Puck had been in silence and was now glancing at Mercedes trying to understand what was going on from her expression while she texted Kurt. He had to refrain himself from pulling out his own phone; checking on Kurt would have been too boyfriend-like and they weren't in a relationship after all.

"Well, I hope that someone will be able to get next week assignment to Kurt." Mr. Shue said, looking uncertainly between Mercedes and Rachel as if he wasn't sure which one of the girl will talk to Kurt sooner.

"Anyway, next week assignment is to prepare a song that will express how you feel in this moment. You can choose whatever song you want, but this time, you will have to focus on the lyrics more than on the music."

*GLEE*

It was late at night when Puck's truck stopped a few houses from the Hummel residence. Noah frowned down at the steering wheel still trying to understand what he was doing or why he had decided that since by the time glee had ended Kurt still had to answer to Mercedes' texts, he needed to check up on his lover.

He pulled out his cellphone and saw that it was already 12:30 a.m. and wondered if maybe he should have just called or texted Kurt. Finally, coming to a decision, Puck got out of the truck and started to walk towards the Hummel's house. The soprano always left the window to his bedroom open for the running back and even if it was pretty reckless (because really, anyone could use it) he was happy to find that when he reached the window, and pushed, it opened.

The room was dark and Kurt's soft breathing was the only sound. Puck took off his shoes and quietly walked over to the bed, partly because he didn't want to wake Burt Hummel, and partly because even though he pretended not to notice, Kurt looked tired and he didn't want to disturb his sleep.

Noah looked down at the sleeping form of his lover and couldn't help but smile, he didn't know what was so special about this boy that kept him coming back for more, that made him wish to be someone better and that scared him so much that he was starting to feel like he had to pull away before it was too late because it was everything getting to be too much; he only knew that he just couldn't stay away. He knew that as long as Kurt wouldn't dump him, he would keep going back no matter how much of an asshole he was when they were in public; he was simply too selfish to let the pale boy go.

Puck put his jacket on the chair of the boy's desk and then gently pulled the covers back and slid underneath and an instant later, Kurt rolled toward him leaning his head on the jock's chest; a soft sigh escaped the beautiful lips that Noah loved to kiss until they were swollen.

"Noah?" Kurt whispered, still with his eyes closed and more asleep than awake.

"You skipped glee today," he said in the same soft tone, starting to combine his fingers through the other boy's soft locks.

"I wasn feelin 'right..." his words came out all slurred.

Puck slid his free arm around Kurt's waist pulling him closer. "Are you ok now?"

"'m tired."

"Sleep tight then, Kurt."

The boy fisted Puck's shirt trying to get closer. "N 'night, Noah."

"Good night, Kurt."

Hours later, when the sunlight coming through his window awoke Kurt, Puck was gone.

Thank you so much for all the reviews on the prologue! Let me know what you think of this chapter!