Note : I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read the chapter, sent a review, or set an alert for this it was all very well received i am glad you enjoyed and i hope that you will enjoy this and any further chapters i may write
Chapter *2* starting to feel ok in your own skin
Over the next few days Dave started to feel a confidence build inside of him that he had never felt before, and thanks to his best mate Az, Dave was beginning to feel like things could be ok and maybe it wouldn't all be as bad as he had initially thought . The only matters he had to deal with was telling his folks and graduating but strangely Dave felt the former was far more important and family meant everything to him. The Karofsky family consisted of Dad (Paul) , Mom (Joan) and his 2 sisters Mia( 6) and Sara (20) and brothers Adam (15) and Josh who was (23) and of course Dave who had just turned 18 was the middle child. Generally the family was a happy family no major hang ups because they were laid back and so close which made what Dave had to tell them all that much harder, he felt that on one hand telling them would be ok as they had never given the slightest hint that the news of Dave being Gay would be an issue but as he had insecurities what with negative press at times saying being Gay was immoral, wrong , he had to assume that maybe they wouldn't embrace who he was. Only time would tell.
Friday nights at the Karofsky house was family night where Josh would come home from college to have dinner with the whole clan and they could all discuss what happened during the week and as Mom would always make a special dinner these nights were so special the good happy feeling had to be a good thing for Dave's announcement but as he stared into the bathroom mirror a cold sweat came over him and the confidence he had been building had almost gone until a beeping noise awoke him from his daydream. As he reached for his phone which lay on his bed he seen that Azimo had text to say "good luck mate. I'm thinking of you and you know where i am if you need me. A" this caused a slightly nervous Dave to smile and realise this had to happen and whatever the outcome it was best to know now so Dave could deal with it. So as Dave pulled on a clean t-shirt he said to himself "I can do this " and he made his way to the top of the stairs to be greeted by a smiling Mia who screamed " Davey come on dinner is ready if you don't come now I'm having yours" then laughed as she skipped happily to the dining room to be with the rest of the family who were already sitting waiting on Dave to come and join them.
When Dave popped his head into the dining room the gazes of all the family turned to him as if to say c'mon you we are hungry so he made his way to his seat and sat down next to Josh and Adam who were busy talking about who was gonna win the big game at the weekend to be interrupted by Paul who stood up and said "finally as we are all here, lets enjoy this wonderful meal. Shall we " as he gestured towards the food on the table it was chilli and rice which happened to be Dave's favourite meal. The family all sat and ate quietly with a little chit chat from the 2 younger kids but the atmosphere was so good and as dinner was almost over Joan remarked " I can't wait to hear all that has went on this week " a big smile was on her face because she loved her family so much and she felt so lucky that she had a loving husband and 5 wonderful children.
One by one the family recounted all that had transpired in the past 7 days until the spotlight as such was on Dave who blushed slightly as he realised the time was now so he started off with a story about school when Sue Sylvester the Cheerio's coach had her mini me Becky running about the school making sure that all students had went to classes instead of bunking off as the semester drew to a close, the whole family laughed as they had heard many stories about Sue and Josh, Sara and Dave knew that the stories were true but sometimes didn't do justice to Sue. He followed this by an update on the tests he had been working hard to pass to ensure that he graduated, this was well received by his parents who both looked happy that if nothing else he was trying very hard which is all that they could ask for. Now was the time for the big one, the one thing he had done so many times over in his head and now he struggled to find his voice " Mom, Dad, guys i have got something to tell you and i have been trying to figure out the best way to say it but ... " "cat got your tongue Davey " Josh remarked as he saw the flustered look on Dave's face.
Dave tried so hard to continue but the silence and the tears that slowly started to stream down his face only made for his family to begin worrying and then as he hung his head almost too ashamed to carry on his father said " David come on now son, If there is something wrong i want to know i am your dad and you can tell me anything " he rose from his seat and went round and grabbed Dave into a hug and just said " it doesn't matter Dave we are all here and you can tell us what is bothering you we can help you " to which Dave mumbled something in between tears " I'm Sorry ... I didn't mean to upset you ... I don't want you to hate me ...." after the last statement Dave just cried hard and sobbed like he had never sobbed before. Then as if he hadn't been crying Dave shot up and said " I'm sorry but this has been so hard for me to deal with and I have wanted to tell you for a while but I couldn't put the words together " he drew his forearm over his eyes to wipe away the tears in an attempt to try and compose himself he continued " you have always brought us up to be honest and to never tell a lie so this is why i have to tell you and i really hope you don't hate me for this but ... I am gay. " Dave just stood there and closed his eyes with more tears strolling down expecting someone to start shouting in a very angry manner and to start being abusive. But after what felt like a life time which in reality was about 10 seconds the reply came from his father who softly spoke to say " David I have to be honest I wasn't expecting this but surely you knew that we wouldn't be angry with you. We are your family and we love you. True it may not be the way I'd like you to live your life but David listen to me when I say to us you are just David, Dave or Davey and you always will be. " Dave couldn't believe that it was going to be this simple that his family would just accept it without question , his heart was thumping and beating like a drum and he was sure they could all hear. Joan broke the silence by asking " Son your father and I will support you in anyway but you should have came to us before we could have helped you come to terms with who you are" this was all Dave needed to hear and he moved round the table to hug his parents and to say thank you for being so understanding .
After the dinner dished had been put in the dishwasher the family would usually sit around the table just generally chatting when Sara made a suggestion " Mom, Dad everyone i think after what we have just heard how about we talk about it just us older ones let the younger 2 go and do what they want . and Dave if you don't mind I have a few questions " Paul and Joan agreed it would be good to talk with the elder kids and get any questions out in the open. Dave said that " its fine with me you can ask anything you want to " The family sat around the table whilst the 2 younger karofsky's went about doing their own thing. The feeling around the table was a mixture of shock and strength because for the next couple of hours they asked many questions to Dave to which he answered the best way he could and he asked the nagging question " so after i have dropped this bombshell where does this leave us and where do we go from here ?" to which Josh replied "Davey-boy we move on as a family and accept you as who you are because you haven't changed you have just told us that you like guys and well ... thats ok with me im 100 % cool with it i just don't need intimate details of what you get up to " Josh chuckled a little which put Dave at ease he had no idea his family would be so open to him being gay. But all of this good feeling ebbed away as he felt a lump in his throat remembering what he had put Kurt Hummel through because he was so lucky to have an understanding family and here he was Dave Karofsky out to his family and also his best friend but the guilt of his behaviour wouldn't disappear and it was then that he made a vow that somehow he would make it all up to Kurt. Kurt may never want him as a boyfriend or even a friend but he had to make amends in some way.
Dave was brought back to earth when Joan said " Dave there was a letter of sorts that came for you today it looks as if it is from the school. I totally forgot maybe you should open it" Dave made his way to the Living room table where lying on was an a4 letter addressed to him this caused a knot in his stomach could this be the news he was waiting for? He hoped so he had worked so hard for it. As he ripped the top of the envelope to pull out an official document from William Mckinley High School which was about the forthcoming graduation. Dave nervously read the letter when his parents entered the room to see what was going on to see Dave sitting with his hands covering his face. Paul spoke first " what is it Son what's wrong ?" only for Dave to turn round to both of his parents with a tear in his eye to say " I won't be graduating this year i haven't achieved enough credit so they are telling me i will have to repeat my senior year. I am so sorry! My coming out wasn't supposed to cause this. " Dave's mother and father just went either side of him and said "its been a tough year for you and now you have got the big thing of your chest so next year you can put your head down and study hard and make it work " Dave was overcome with emotion his family had just learned he was gay and that he would not be graduating this year and yet they didn't hate him they didn't judge him the Karofsky's like most family's just did what came natural to them and that was to support and love their children.
In the next few day's Dave was like a new person he didn't have to hide anymore but he had to think what was his next plan, how could he possibly make things right with Kurt and prove he wasn't a Neanderthal and that like Kurt he could be a good guy. Dave knew that he would have the holidays over the summer to work this out but for the first time in a long time Dave spent his evenings not full of anger or jealousy. Even those few at school who would say he was nothing more than a jock but Dave knew he was maturing into what could become a grown up who could deal with things in a sensible manner and he looked forward to doing so.