A/N: FYI: There are song lyrics in this chapter, and for the second song selection, I chose not to have Dave label it before singing it so that it would feel more personal. For your reference, readers, the first song is Reckless Abandonment and the second song is All Over You, both by The Spill Canvas, so if you feel like listening to them while you read, feel free to!

Chapter Five

Dave arrived promptly at eight, calling Kurt as he parked. Kurt told him that he was just about ready and would be out in a second, suggesting that Dave just wait out front. Dave plugged his iPod into the stereo unit in his dashboard and searched for a song, eventually settling upon Reckless Abandonment by The Spill Canvas. He pressed play, turned up the volume and sat back, closing his eyes. He sang along, quietly at first, but once it reached the chorus, Dave was belting out the words:

The world is spinning way too fast.

The entire human race, will float into space.

So fill your shoes with cement,

And kiss the ones you love,

With reckless abandonment.

I'm not concerned, with pleasing

All those little pricks and all their little scenes.

See I'd like to believe in those that try,

To turn the best of what they have, before they die.

As the song finished, Dave slowly opening his eyes and realized that Kurt was sitting next to him in the front seat, smiling. Dave hadn't even noticed him get in. He jumped.

"Ohmigod. Don't do that! How long have you been sitting there?"

"Since about the first chorus." Dave shifted in his seat. "You're really good. I didn't know you could sing."

"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just like when I'm in the shower or in the car by myself."

"That wasn't nothing, David. You really seem to have quite a talent. I mean it. You were great in the halftime show, too."

"...You saw me in the halftime show?" Dave was blushing again. "I wouldn't have thought you could pick me out in the crowd. It was dark, and the field was covered in, uh, zombies, heh." Dave and Kurt both laughed.

"Well you sort of stood out, since you weren't in full costume and makeup, and you ran out onto the field after it started."

"Oh, right."

"But you were pretty obvious too because you really had the moves. You were getting into it." Kurt rested his hand on Dave's, which sent a shiver through his arm.

"Really? I didn't even think you'd be paying attention to me. I mean, we weren't exactly friendly back then."

Kurt blushed and took his hand back, embarrassed. "Yes, well, it's hard to ignore talent." He looked out the window. "You should join glee."

"What? Oh no no no. I'm pretty sure most of them still don't like me."

"So? It's not like all of them get along all the time anyway."

"Yea, I guess, but not all of them made fun of the glee club and Slushied them, either."

"Not all of them, no." Kurt turned back to him with a knowing smirk.

"True..." Dave was finding it hard to think of any real objections, perhaps especially because he had recently been thinking about joining the glee club himself. "I'll think about it."

"Good. Now, can we eat? Because I'm starving."

Dave and Kurt arrived at the restaurant, which was some sort of tchotchke-laden establishment in the vein of an Applebee's or TGI Fridays. After being seated, getting their drinks and ordering, Kurt started telling him about glee club practice. Apparently they were singing Waterfalls by TLC, and Blaine was just such an amazing singer, and the whole number was such wonderful fun, and Kurt couldn't wait to put it on in front of the school on Thursday.

Dave smiled and nodded while stirring his cola with the straw, his other arm and hand propping up his head by his chin. Listening to Kurt talk about his things going on in his life was bittersweet to Dave. On the one hand, he loved to just sit and listen to Kurt talk, and he really was interested in what he had to say and what was going on with him. However, his stories often involved Blaine, and Dave found it hard not to sneer every time he mentioned his name.

"So I should be back at McKinley this coming Monday."

Dave perked up, ignoring his swirling soda. "What? Already?"

"Yup. My last mid-term here is on Wednesday, but I figured I'd finish out the week and start fresh next week."

"That's great!" Dave said, a bit too enthusiastically. "I didn't know you had decided yet."

"Yes, it was tough. Dalton looks impressive on a transcript, and the education is top notch, but I don't want my dad and stepmom to have to keep paying for this for me. That and I miss my friends at McKinley."

"I'm glad you're coming back, Kurt. But what about Blaine?" Dave tried not to spit his name out as he said it.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll keep in touch. After all, Dalton isn't that far. I mean, you've already been here three times."

"Ah. Yea." Dammit.

Their food arrived and they ate silently for a few minutes. Once they were nearly done, Kurt spoke again.

"So have you thought anymore about the glee club?"

"What? Since like an hour ago?"

"Well, yea, I suppose. I just had this idea. If you wanted to try out, you could always come up and practice with me."

Dave thought about this, and found it enticing. Another chance to hang out with Kurt? Yes, please. And if I'm going to be really honest with myself, I want this too. I really do. It may be an uphill battle, but I'm tired of shying away from things because I'm afraid of what it'll do to my image.

"Yea...you know what? I'll do it."

"Terrific! So you should pick a song that really has meaning for you and practice it, and then come here on Friday night and you can sing it, and get critique. I'll see if Blaine is free."

"Huh? Why Blaine?"

"Well, two sets of ears are better than one, and he is a very good singer."

"Ah. Great." Dave bit his lip, and could taste the slight tinge of blood in his mouth.

"So do you have an idea for a song?"

Dave thought for a second. "Yea, I think I've got the perfect choice..."

Dave's life had changed a lot since he apologized to Kurt. His best friend had become his worst enemy, the glee club, whom he had mocked relentlessly, were fast becoming amicable toward him, and now, he was even planning on joining them, if they would have him. It was a brave new world.

Dave wasn't scared of Azimio, but he did his best to avoid running into him. Nevertheless, he couldn't avoid him forever, and when he inevitably did, he realized he might not have to worry. Az put on his best "don't mess wit me or I'll fuck you up" face, but he didn't come near Dave. He just kept walking. Dave was starting to think that he might have broken his spirit when he defended Artie. Still, Dave would keep his guard up, because he never knew Az to shy away from a fight.

When he wasn't avoiding Az, he was talking to various glee club members. He was finding that they weren't all completely annoying or strange, and he even had similar taste in things like movies and music with a few of them. It was nice, getting to know them. Nice as it was, though, he still felt that perhaps they were humoring him while waiting for some punch line, wherein he would turn back into the person that they had learned to despise for so long.

For this reason, it came as quite a bit of a surprise when Artie, Sam, Mike, Puck and Finn came up to him at lunch, where he had been sitting, alone, and sat down next to him. They all smiled at him, and then dug into their food.

"What's this about?" Dave asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of us. Were these taken?" Sam said, looking up at Dave with a goofy grin.

"Uh, no…"

"So then it's okay if we sit here?"

"What Sam is trying to say, Dave, is that you looked like you could use some company," said Artie, apparently spoiling whatever joy Sam was getting out of being snarky.

"Oh," Dave said, and then he smiled. "Cool."

Even the girls seemed to have softened on Dave. Rachel, Mercedes and Tina would say hello to him in the hall, and they didn't even flinch as he walked by. Quinn, Brittany and Santana waved at him when they saw him, and he's pretty sure that Santana pat his ass and made a kissy face at him as she brushed past him in the hall one day. Boy would she be disappointed when he eventually came out. The only one who didn't really seem to interact with him was that new girl, Lauren, but then she didn't seem to too friendly toward anybody.

Still, Dave didn't expect anything to come to him easily. He was prepared for a struggle, and he didn't think for a second that the glee club would welcome him in with open arms just because he made some apologies and defended Artie. He had to earn it.

Each night after he came home from school, Dave would lock his bedroom door, turn on a karaoke version that he found online of the song he planned to sing for his audition (and for Kurt) and sang it over and over until he was sure he didn't suck too horribly. By the end of the week, he still didn't really feel ready, but he would do his damnedest to nail it when he sang for Kurt.

He arrived at Dalton and texted Kurt.

"Im here. Where r u?"

"Come to my room. It'll be more comfortable than the auditorium, and the huge rooms here have surprisingly good acoustics."

"K."

Dave put his phone away, took a deep breath, and headed inside. He walked up to Kurt's room and knocked on the door. Shortly after the door opened and Dave was greeted by Blaine. Dave cringed a bit, but forced himself to smile.

"Hey."

"Welcome, David! Come in!"

Dave walked into the room, and saw that they had set up two chairs facing the open space in the middle of the room. Blaine went and took one of the seats. Dave heard the bathroom door open, and out stepped Kurt. Dave and Kurt briefly made eye contact, and then Dave blushed and looked to the floor.

"So, tell us about your song selection," Blaine asked, apparently doing his best to impersonate a music instructor.

"Uh…well it's…a…it's from one of my favorite bands, and I think it's, uh…pretty meaningful."

"Mm hmm," Blaine said, looking bored. Then he cracked a smile. "I'm just kidding."

"Blaine, you really can be so cruel sometimes," Kurt said. He turned to Dave. "If you have your song on your iPod, you can plug it in over there." Kurt pointed to a stereo on the desk with an iPod dock connector on the front. Dave nodded and proceeded to pull out his MP3 player, select his song and then plug it in.

"So, should I just, like, go…? Or what?"

"Just start when you're ready, Dave." Kurt smiled at him reassuringly.

Dave took another deep breath, pressed play, and waited for his cue as the song started playing. When it came, he locked eyes with Kurt, and wouldn't let go.

Yeah he's a looker,
but I really think its guts that matter most.
I displayed them for you,
strewn out about from coast to coast.

I am easily make believe,
just dress me up in what you want me to be.
I'll take back what I've been saying for quite some time now.

I gotta feel you in my bones again,
I'm all over you.
I'm not over you.
I wanna taste you one more time again,
I'm all over you.
I'm not over you.

In my daydreams, in my sleep,
Infatuation turning into disease.
You could cure me, see all you have to do now
Is please try.
Give it your best shot and try.
All I'm asking for is love,
But you never seem to have enough.

I gotta feel you in my bones again,
I'm all over you.
I'm not over you.
I wanna taste you one more time again,
I'm all over you.
I'm not over you.
This life is way too short
To get caught up in all this stuff
When I just want you to love me back,
Why can't you just love me back?

When he finished, he realized that both Kurt and Blaine were staring at him, mouths wide up.

"How was it? It needs work, right? I just want to say that I'm not really a singer. I mean, this isn't a thing I do. As I was telling Kurt, I really only sing in the shower or my car, and I've never sang in front of people, so I was really nervous, and…"

As Dave rattled on, Blaine and Kurt turned to look at each other, still slack-jawed with shock. Blaine was the one who finally decided to speak.

"Dave… Dave… DAVID. Stop." Dave shut up, realizing he had been rambling. "That… that was really…"

"It's bad, right? I knew it."

"Dave, let him talk," said Kurt, looking almost surprised that he still had a voice.

"That was…well I think the only word for it was incredible. You seem to have a real natural, raw talent. You packed so much emotion into that song. Stunning. If McKinley's glee club won't have you, there's always a place for you in the Warblers."

Dave blushed, not sure how to react to that. Then he turned to Kurt, and Kurt turned to Blaine.

"Would you excuse us, Blaine?"

"I was actually thinking the same thing." Blaine turned back to Dave. "I'll see you around. Great job." He pat Dave on the shoulder on his way out. Once the door closed, Dave turned back to Kurt.

"Did…did I do something wrong?"

"No. No, no. Definitely not. That was amazing. You'll definitely get into the glee club with a voice like that. Hell, I think you could land a spot in a Broadway musical…"

"But…?" Dave could tell that something was on Kurt's mind, and he was afraid he wasn't going to like what it was. Had he gone too far? Was the song too much? Maybe he should have been subtler.

"No, there's no but…maybe more like a however…" Kurt searched for the right words. "That was, um, that was very…personal. Beautiful, really."

Dave walked over to the now vacant chair next to Kurt and turned it so that he could sit facing him.

"Please, Kurt…just…just tell me what you're thinking." Dave felt certain he had ruined his friendship and any chance he had to make it into more than that. It was all too rushed.

"Dave…" Kurt began, then paused. When he began again, words couldn't express what he was feeling, and so he leaned in and kissed Dave. Dave was surprised at first, but he quickly caught up and kissed back. Putting one hand around the back of Kurt's neck and his other around the boy's lower back, he pulled him gently closer to him. Kurt responded by wrapping his arms up around Dave's back and spreading his fingers through his hair, feeling its texture. Dave rubbed his hand up and down Kurt's back, and massaged his neck, while his mouth explored the smaller boy's. After a while, Kurt pulled his lips away, gasping for breath.

"Dave, oooh."

Dave tilted his head and kissed Kurt's neck, nibbling gently as he went. Kurt panted and moaned, clearly enjoying it, and so Dave continued, pulling the boy closer still. When the chairs became an obstacle, Dave picked up the slender boy, knocking over his chair in the process, and deposited him in his lap, straddling Dave. He continued to nuzzle Kurt's neck, and tried again to work his way back up to his lips. When he reached them, though, Kurt protested.

"Dave, stop please. Stop."

Dave obliged, realizing in that moment that he would likely do anything for Kurt if he asked. "What's wrong?"

"I…I just can't."

"I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"

"Stop saying that. Everything you've done is right. Well, everything recently," Kurt joked, nearly forgetting that things weren't always so good between them.

"So then what's the problem?" Dave was feeling hurt, and self-conscious. He had fucked up again. He knew it, he just didn't know how.

"It's just…it's just that I can't be with you…"

"Because you're in love with Blaine?" Dave said with the tone of a pouting child.

"No, it's not that. Blaine and I, we aren't together. We won't be together…but…but we could be together, because he's openly gay, and I'm openly gay."

"But I'm gay. I'm most certainly, absolutely, officially gay."

"Yes, but you're not out. Not really. I know you are, and your coach and…unless there's something you're not telling me, that's it. I just…I can't be with you in the shadows. You need to come to me in the light."

Dave looked away, tears forming in his eyes.

"Dave, please don't cry. I like you. I mean, I really, really like you. And I want to be with you. And I don't mean to try to force you to do anything you don't want to do, but…"

"No…I understand." Kurt looked concerned that he was not getting through to him. "Really, I do understand. And I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm not ready yet. I dunno."

Kurt cupped Dave's face, still wet with tears that kept coming, and turned it toward him. "When you are ready? I'll be waiting. You won't lose me."

Dave looked into Kurt's eyes and saw sincerity. He was sure Kurt would wait for him. He just wasn't sure that he himself could wait.