Chapter Three

By Friday, it was becoming quite evident to Dave that his life had changed quite drastically. Coach Beiste had made Azimio and Dave apologize to each other (Dave had specifically requested that he be included in that so as to maintain his cover), and both boys did tell each other they were sorry. Dave had meant it. Azimio clearly did not.

Since that day, Az and a small contingent of the team had taken up harassing Dave whenever they knew they could get away with it. Either one of them would knock into him on the field and make it look like an accident, or he would be bumped into fairly violently in the halls, knocking him off balance, his books flying out of his hands and landing on the floor. On one particularly bad occasion, he had let his guard down while getting something out of his locker and been knocked right to the floor. While picking himself up, an offered hand appeared in front of him. Looking up he saw Finn glancing down at him sympathetically.

"Need a hand?"

"Thanks."

Dave took Finn's hand and stood up.

"Can a talk to you for a second?" Finn seemed a bit apprehensive as he asked, and Dave wasn't sure he really wanted to say yes, but considering his recent reversal of fortune, he wasn't sure he could afford to alienate anybody else who was willing to be friendly to him. He nodded and followed Finn to the choir room, which was empty.

"So what's this about?"

"Oh. Well, uh, I wanted to know if you'd heard any of the rumors that had been circling the school lately."

"What rumors?" But Dave was pretty sure he knew what Finn was talking about. He had seen the telltale signs: people having hushed but animated conversations in the hallways, in classrooms, the cafeteria, but always clamming up before be might be able to hear what it was about. He figured that it had something to do with his fight with Az, but now he was certainly starting to question that.

"Um, well, they kinda involve you, and..." Finn trailed off, as if he was rethinking what he was going to say and deciding maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

"Spit it out, Hudson."

"They involve you and Kurt."

Dave got the meaning immediately, but he played dumb anyway.

"What do you mean? What are people saying?"

"They're, uh, saying that you and Kurt are going out, and that you got into a fight with Azimio because he said something about your boyfriend and you got mad."

Oh god. Had Az figured it out that day? It didn't seem possible. Az wasn't that bright. And anyway, he wasn't actually going out with Kurt. Az must have started the rumor as part of his school-wide assault on him.

"So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You know...the rumor. Are you, uh, are you and Kurt going out? Is that what you two talked about last week?"

"What? No." It figured that Hudson would believe them. But then, it wasn't really that far from the truth.

"Oh, okay. I mean, it would be okay either way, but like, it's okay that you're not going out with him." Finn was fidgeting, and obviously straining to make sure that he wasn't saying the wrong thing.

"Of course it's okay. Why the hell wouldn't it be?" Dave said, somewhat agitated. Fucking Azimio. He'd pay for this eventually.

"So, ah, what did you and Az fight about then?"

Shit. Dave wasn't ready for that one. "Oh, uh..." Just tell him, Dave thought to himself. At least tell him some of the truth.

"Well, the fight actually was about Hummel, but uh, not for the reasons that everyone seems to think." There you go, Dave. "Az overheard you and Puckerman talking, saying that I apologized. He wasn't cool with that. He riled me up, I threw a punch, the rest is history."

"Ah. Okay. Cool." Finn seemed relieved, perhaps more because he hadn't riled Dave up then because of the news. With a small laugh, he continued, "just as well. I think Kurt might be taken anyway."

Dave suddenly lunged at Finn, pushing him up against a nearby wall and holding him there.

"Whoa, dude! What the hell?"

"I. Am not. Gay. Hudson. Got that?"

"Okay, chill dude! Just chill! It was a joke! Sorry!"

Dave released him and stepped back. "Sorry." He looked down, not making eye contact with Finn.

"I didn't mean anything by it. It wouldn't matter if you were anyway, but I was only kidding." Dave said nothing. "Well I gotta get going. Sorry again. See ya." Finn left Dave alone in the choir room.

Stupid, Dave. Real stupid. You had a real opportunity there, and you blew it. You could've told Hudson. He would've understood. And then Dave started thinking about what Finn said. Kurt was taken.

Dave pulled out his phone, thumbed over to the text app and started tapping.

"Hey. R u busy 2nite? Would u want 2 meet up?"

A moment passed, and Kurt replied: "Sorry. Blaine and I are going out to dinner. Is something wrong?"

Dave stared down at his phone and frowned. Blaine. Kurt hadn't told him who it was that came with him to the school that day to confront him after the kiss, but he was almost certain that this had to be the same boy. That uniformed pretty boy just looked like a Blaine. Dave wanted to ask Kurt if this Blaine character was his boyfriend. He wanted to ask him what he saw in him. He wanted to ask him to be honest and to tell him whether he really meant the things he had said in the locker room that day, about him being chubby, sweaty and balding. He wanted to know if those things really mattered anyway, if he did mean it. He didn't ask any of these things.

"No. Just wanted 2 hang & talk. Maybe another time."

He shut off the screen of his phone and shoved it into his pocket, but as he started to walk out of the choir room, it made a small sound indicating a new message. He pulled it out again.

"How about tomorrow night? We can grab a bite to eat and sit and chat. There's a nice pizza place not too far from Dalton. Pick me up 8?"

Dave looked puzzled. What had just been disappointment (and maybe the tiniest bit if jealousy if he was honest with himself) just a moment ago was replaced with a small hopeful feeling. He felt sure he was blushing a little, and he had a slight fluttering of nervousness in his stomach. Had Kurt just asked Dave out? On a date? But Dave wasn't sure. He responded:

"What about Blaine?"

"What about him?"

Dave didn't dare press the issue further, lest he risk fucking this up.

"Nevermind. 8 sounds good. See u then."

"OK. See you."

Dave went through the rest of his day in a rather good mood, in spite of the bullying and the rumors. It seemed that even his friends-turned-tormenters noticed that they weren't affecting his mood and backed off a bit by the end of the day. When his final class ended, he headed out of the school to his truck to go home. Once he got to the parking lot, though, he saw Azimio and Strando standing by Az's car, and they had spotted him too. Dave continued to walk toward his truck, but the two football players walked toward him and blocked his path.

"What do you want, Az?" Dave asked, doing his best to sound bored.

"Man, Dave. I thought we were friends," Az said, sounding not the least bit sincere.

"Yea, well you threw that away this week."

"Awe, come on. Listen dude, I know that I kinda crossed the line this week. I'm sorry. But, man, you gotta not be so touchy, aight?"

Dave just looked at him. It wasn't the first time he and Az had fought, but it was the first time that he didn't feel like he had to come crawling back the minute Az made a half-assed attempt to apologize.

"Look, so you overreacted like a little bitch. I forgive you, so let's just put this behind us. I wanna get krunked tonight."

"Awe, you forgive me, Az? That's so great. I dunno what I'd do without you," Dave said, words saturated with sarcasm. He stepped around them and clicked the remote on his keychain, blinking the lights and honking the horn as he unlocked his truck.

"What the fuck, man? Seriously?"

Dave ignored him, got into his truck and drove off, leaving his best friend standing in the parking lot looking puzzled.

At home, Dave did his homework, had dinner, and then headed to his room for a little R&R. It had been a long week, and he was glad it was finally over. With any luck, he hoped, Azimio would be over all this by Monday and things could go back to normal...or at least as normal as they could be anymore.

Dave arrived at Dalton Academy nearly 20 minutes early, misjudging the length of the trip. He called Kurt, and Kurt told him to come in, that he'd leave his dorm room door open. Dave walked into the seemingly empty room.

"Kurt?"

"I'm in here," came Kurt's voice from the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar. "Sorry, I didn't realize you'd be here so soon. I'm still getting ready."

"S'okay. It's my fault." Dave took a few steps toward the voice, and could see the side of the boy, naked from the waist up. Dave looked on, feeling a bit like a creep but too interested to let it stop him, as Kurt worked an electric razor over his face.

"I didn't know you shaved." Dave instantly regretted the remark, as Kurt turned off the razor and came to the door, peeking his head out to look at Dave. "Sorry. I, uh, heard the razor and, uh..."

"Uh huh." Kurt grinned somewhat mischievously. "I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to hear that I get that a lot." He went back inside, closing the door this time and finished shaving. After a few minutes, the door opened again, and Kurt stepped out, still shirtless, and walked across the room to his bed where he had laid out a v-neck t-shirt, and a light grey button-down shirt, a bow-tie and a red and grey vest.

Dave couldn't help but stare at him as he entered the room. He knew he should try not too, or at least try not to look so obvious, but it was as if he wasn't even in control.

"You know, I hear the internet has lots of gay porn, if you need something to stare it."

Dave blushed, embarrassed, but he saw that Kurt was smiling.

"Oh yea? I think I'll have to check that out. To tell you the truth, I've never actually watched gay porn before." Now it was Kurt who was blushing.

"Really?"

"Yea. I mean, up until last week, I was still trying to convince myself that I was straight." Dave frowned. "I guess now I'm just trying to convince other people." Kurt gave Dave a puzzled look. Dave sighed. "I had the opportunity today to tell Finn. It was like a sign or something, but I told him that I wasn't gay. I guess I thought this would get easier or something."

Kurt, who was nearly completely dressed now, save for his bow-tie and vest, stopped what he was doing and put his hand on Dave's shoulder. "It does. I wish I could tell you that you'd reach a point where it would all become completely natural, and you'd feel like you fit right in with everyone around you, but I haven't reached such a point myself, yet. Just know that it does get better."

Dave appreciated the comfort afforded by Kurt's words, but it was his touch that really sealed the deal. When Kurt touched him, it sent a shiver through his whole body. He wanted to lean in and kiss him again, but he decided against it. Last time he tried that it wasn't exactly a resounding success.

Kurt removed his hand and finished getting dressed. "Ready?"

"Yea. Let's go."

At the restaurant, Dave and Kurt ordered their food, and Dave began to tell Kurt all about the events of the previous week. Kurt gasped, and tisked, and shook his head, and looked altogether miserable throughout as Dave told him all that things he had had to put up with since Monday, obviously genuinely concerned for Dave's well being.

"Are you doing okay, though?"

"Yea... I mean, yea, it's sucked being on the other side of the bullying, but I kind of deserve it anyway." Kurt looked like he was going to interrupt, so Dave prevented him. "Save it. I do deserve it, and you know it. You should be happy that I'm finally getting taught a lesson for all the crap I did to you."

"David. Don't even speak like that." Kurt's tone was suddenly firm, and it caught Dave off-guard. "We've been over this. You were alone and confused."

"Yea, well I mean, that doesn't excuse me, does it? Anyway, I'm not really that miserable. It's been almost refreshing, really, in a weird way. I'll try to be less down on myself, though. For you sake." Kurt smiled lightly, and reached his hand out and placed it on top of Dave's.

"You're sweet," Kurt said, then chuckled. "It's a little weird, actually."

Dave laughed as well. "Yea, little bit."

They finished their dinner, Kurt periodically pausing between bites of pizza to let Dave know some detail or another about his time at Dalton. The check arrived and they paid and went next door to the local coffee to sit in their comfy chairs and continue over some joe (Kurt with his grande nonfat mocha, Dave with a regular coffee, cream and two sugars).

"So, you're coming back to McKinley eventually, right?"

"I'm pretty sure. It's almost mid-terms here, so I figure I'll just get through those before I decide."

"Pretty sure? What's keeping you here?" Dave asked, but was afraid that he already knew the answer.

"Well, when I told Blaine that I was thinking of going back, he began extolling the virtues of a private education, and the benefits one can reap later in life simply by being able to claim that one attended Dalton Academy."

"Oh..."

"I mean, he's certainly right about those things, but I'm just not sure that I fit in any better here than I did at McKinley. Still, I feel I should at least entertain his suggestion."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Dave blurted out. He knew that subtlety wasn't exactly his specialty, but he felt that this particular outburst was especially bad.

"Oh..." Kurt said, hesitating afterward. Yup, definitely bad.

"Sorry, I was just, uh, wondering." Nice one, Dave. That and a a good tug should help you really help you pull your foot out of your mouth.

"No, it's fine. Blaine and I aren't together." Dave tried to hide his excitement. He hoped that his rapid pulse wasn't nearly as loud as it sounded like it was in his head. "I mean, when I got here, sure I found myself attracted to him, and he's the only other openly gay kid here, so it seemed like it was a match made in heaven, right? But it turns out that he's actually interested in some guy who works at the Gap, even though he's not interested in him. I couldn't believe that Blaine didn't realize that I was sort of pining after him. Talk about oblivious."

Yea, Kurt. Let's talk about oblivious, please. I love irony.

"Yea. Well, I'm sure you'll find someone who really cares about you."

"I really hope so, but I suppose I'm not in any rush anyway."

"Exactly. We're both still young."

"Right," Kurt nodded. "I'm finished with my mocha, and it's getting a bit late now. Do you want to call it a night?"

"Uh, sure," Dave said, unable to completely hide the disappointment in his voice. "You wanna do this again sometime?"

"Oh certainly, yes. We should make a regular thing of it." Kurt laughed. "Imagine, you and I, friends, hanging out like this. Who would have ever thought, even as recently as last week, that a day like this would come?"

"Heh, yea. Definitely weird. Friends. Heh."

They left the coffee shop, and Dave drove his new friend back to his dorm, then set out on the long ride back to Lima.