Authors note: Thanks for the continued positive response and help everybody :D Hope you enjoy this next chapter. I am also extremely grateful for those of you who have added this story to their favourites and to their alerts, it is incredibly flattering to see all the emails in my inbox, they make me grin like an idiot, so thanks!

Dave could only remember being this scared three other times in his whole life.

The first was when he was 12 years old and it was the first time he'd seen his father since he had left them. He was so excited. He had missed his father so much. He had wanted to run after him, to stay with him, but his mother had stopped him. And then one day, out of the blue, he came back. Dave's teary eyed reunion with his long lost father was cut short when his mother threw him up the stairs.

'Go to your room David!' Susanne commanded, ignoring the cries of pain from her young son. Dave scrambled back downstairs but stopped when his mother once again screamed at him. He was so terrified of the look in her eyes that he couldn't even hear his father defending him. He did as he was told and darted up stairs, ducking behind the wall so he couldn't be seen but he could still hear.

He had regretted that move ever since. His parents screamed at each other. Williams usually calm personality had been pushed to its limits and he was bellowing at his wife, and Susanne was screaming, just moments away from hysteria. Dave didn't understand what they were saying, his mum was calling his dad words he'd never heard before but judging from his fathers reaction, he knew they were rude.

'I want my children back!' William cried.

'In your dreams faggot! You think I'll ever let my children near you or that fairy boyfriend of yours?'

'They're my children Susanne! I need to be able to see them!'

'Dream on!'

'I will take you to court goddamn it, I will have my rights heard!'

Dave had his small hands pressed against his ears now, desperate to block out the arguing. As always, it did nothing except make things worse. The noise got louder, more distorted and he couldn't stand it. Tears streamed down his face when he heard the sound of a slap and then door slamming shut.

The second time was when his brother almost walked in on him touching himself whilst he read one of his fitness magazines. He had thrown himself against his bedroom door, breaking his collar bone in the process, to keep George out of the room. When he screamed out in pain from the broken bone, he had slid the magazine under the bed before George came in - an idea he always wished he had thought of earlier.

The third and most recent was just before he kissed Kurt in the locker rooms. It was still so fresh he could barely handle thinking about it.

And now here was the fourth, and once again, Kurt Hummel was involved. Hannah was sitting opposite them, a serious and intense look in her brown eyes.

'What is going on?'

Dave was so frightened he couldn't speak, so Kurt did instead. 'We were arguing. It got out of hand.'

'Why were you arguing?'

'We… we don't get along.' Dave flinched at the words.

'That much is obvious, what I want to know is,' Hannah said in a very soothing voice as she looked at her brother, 'what was that about a kiss?'

Dave could feel a wave of darkness wash over him and before he knew it, he was out like a light. He came to when he felt the gentle slaps on the cheek and his sisters voice. He blinked his eyes open and he looked up to see the concerned faces of Kurt and Hannah.

Dave couldn't stand their pitying expressions. His stomach knotted and he at up and pressed his fists into his stomach, as if he was somehow trying to push out who he was.

'Stop it David!'

Hannah was gripping his hands and trying to pull them away from his body but he wasn't a little child anymore and he over powered her. His knuckles were pressing so fiercely into his stomach that his eyes were watering.

'Karofsky, stop it!'

Hannah, still holding onto her brothers hands, stared in amazement when she saw that Kurt's command actually seemed to make a different, if only a tiny bit.

'Stop being such an idiot!'

'Kurt!' Hannah cried, looking at her brother to make sure he didn't lash out.

'No! Come on, this is ridiculous! This is your sister, Karofsky! Why are you being such a jerk!'

'Leave me alone!' Dave cried.

Dave lent forward and rested his forehead on his sisters shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him, cradling him and thankful to see that he had stopped hurting himself.

'Kurt, maybe you should go.' Hannah suggested with a hushed voice, comforting her crying brother.

He didn't want to go. He needed to stay. He had to know more. He needed an explanation. Kurt stood up and walked to the other side of the room, his arms folded. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily, shaking his head. 'I can't go.'

Hannah shot Kurt a glare, one so frighteningly similar to Dave's that Kurt actually flinched. 'Kurt, I am asking you nicely to leave.'

'Hannah, please. Just let me talk. Let Dave talk.' Kurt pleaded with a tired voice.

Hannah sighed and looked back at her brother who was no longer weeping, just sniffing softly, his cheeks read and his fists clenched tightly even though he was hugging her. 'Dave?'

'Hmm?' he murmured, clearing his throat so his voice wouldn't crack.

'Do you want Kurt to stay?'

The emotional teenager looked over his sisters shoulder, across his room and into the blue eyes of Kurt. He was ashamed to be seen crying but he was so tired, so drained, he couldn't muster up the energy to pretend anymore. After a few moments of silence, Dave sat back up and rested against his wall. 'He can stay.'

Hannah silently looked back and forth between the two boys but nodded slightly, standing up and folding her arms. 'Sit back down Kurt.'

'I'm okay here.'

Dave found himself wilting slightly inside when Kurt didn't want to be near him. Don't be so stupid.

'Fair enough. David, tell me what the hell has been going on.'

And that's exactly what he did. Right from the very beginning.

He told Hannah about the first time he saw Kurt. The first time he took a second glance at him. He could remember the outfit he was wearing. It was a checked shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans that clung to him in just the right places. He told her about the first time he dreamt about him. The first time he looked at a picture of a naked man. The first time he threw Kurt against the locker as an way of punishing him and his open sexuality. The flood gates had opened and Dave couldn't seem to stop.

Kurt was holding his stomach, nauseous from the barrage of information, almost of all of which was about him. His eyes were squeezed shut and his face was twisted by disgust when Dave admitted looking at Kurt during classes, whilst he changed for football practise and whilst he performed with the Glee club. The worst admission was that Dave always checked Kurt out - lusted after him - before he slammed him into the lockers.

'Okay,' Hannah said, her hand over her eyes as she tried to process this brutally honest admission, 'tell me about this kiss.'

'He chased after me… we argued. I couldn't stop myself. It was either kiss him or punch him in the face.'

'Jesus…' Kurt mumbled, sick to his stomach.

Hannah glanced at Kurt, feeling sorry for him. This must be incredibly uncomfortable, but he had wanted to stay. He could leave whenever he wanted. She returned her attention to David and said, 'has anything else happened?'

'No.' Dave said quickly - too quickly.

'He threatened my friend with violence when all he wanted to do was help, ' Kurt snapped quickly, unable to stay silent any longer. 'He said I was the one who kissed him,' he continued, counting the points with his fingers, 'and he also threatened to kill me if I ever told anybody what had happened.'

Dave's face dropped at Kurt's brutal outburst, even though everything was true. His stomach was so twisted with guilt and fear that he was pretty sure he was going to vomit all over his bedroom floor.

'Oh David…' Hannah said, one hand over her mouth, her eyes shut. 'How could you?'

'Hannah…' Dave whimpered, 'please…'

'No… god David,' Hannah said, her voice cracking as a tear ran down her face, 'how could you ever say something like that… after dad… after everything.'

'Hannah, you don't understand!' Dave cried, unable to stop his own tears.

'You'll have to give me some time David… I can't even look at you right now.' she said as she stood up from the desk chair and walked to the door, wiping her eyes and leaving the bedroom.

Kurt looked after her, unable to stop himself feeling guilty. He liked Hannah, she didn't deserve this. When he saw the door clip shut, he suddenly realised he was alone with Karofsky again. He nervously looked over at the bully who was now hunched over, his whole body shaking with sobs.

'Maybe I should go…' Kurt mumbled, staring at his feet.

'I've been telling you that since you arrived…' Dave growled, managing to sound threatening even through tears.

'It'll…' Kurt began before he mentally scolded himself for comforting Karofsky.

'What? Be okay?' Dave asked, scoffing.

'Maybe…'

'Bullshit.' Dave snapped, looking up and glaring at him with red eyes.

'Now Hannah knows, she can help you.' Kurt said, standing firm even though his heart was racing.

'Hannah hates me!'

'No she doesn't! She's just in shock! You told her an awful lot back there.' Kurt sighed, cringing at the memories.

Silence fell over the room for what seemed like forever until it was broken when Hannah gently tapped on the door. Entering, she held her head high, not ashamed of her red eyes, unlike Dave who couldn't look at her. Kurt wrapped his arms around himself and asked gently, 'are you okay?'

'Yeah,' she said with a surprised smile, 'thanks Kurt.'

Kurt smiled back, his fondness for this particular Karofsky growing bigger almost every moment.

'David,' Hannah said softly, 'are you okay?'

Dave looked up in surprise - he had expected Hannah to never speak to him again, let alone care about his feelings. 'Yeah… yeah I'm okay.'

'Good.' she walked over to her baby brother and sat down on his bed next to him, wrapping her long arm around his broad shoulders and tugging him to her gently. 'I just got off the phone with dad.'

'What?' Dave exclaimed, trying to pull away but she wouldn't let him, her fingers gripping his shoulder as tightly as possible.

'I spoke to dad and he wants to speak to you,' looking over at the awkward Kurt she added, 'he wants to see you too.'

Kurt was shocked. Dave's dad wanted to meet him? He was being included in this important moment. This was huge.

'But why?' Dave asked, his eyes widening when he heard that Kurt was to be joining them.

'Because you're his son and he loves you and this needs to be sorted out. You've been raised in a rotten household, you need to get away from this place, even for a little while.' Hannah said, her eyebrows knotted tightly.

'Hmm…' Dave sighed, unable to argue with that.

'And,' Hannah continued, 'if you are gay,' she once again pinned her brother against herself as he tried to move away, 'dad is who you need to talk to. Who you need to be with.'

'I'm not gay!' Dave barked automatically.

Kurt rolled his eyes but instantly regretted it when both Karofsky children shot him that identical glare. He squirmed under their look and shrugged as a way of apologising.

'You've got plenty of time to work out who you are,' Hannah continued calmly, 'but David, at the moment, it sounds very much like you are homosexual,' she squeezed his shoulder when she saw a fresh tear run down his face, 'and this is not the place to be if that is true, is it?'

Dave shook his head and then lent against his sisters shoulder, his eyes squeezed shut. Hannah wrapped her free arm around his front and held him, planting a kiss on his forehead. Kurt waited patiently whilst the two held each other.

After they each took a trip to the bathroom to freshen up, they left the house and climbed into Hannah's car. They pulled out of the driveway and headed towards William Karofsky's house, all the time unaware that the last few minutes of their conversation had been overheard.