Thanks for your amazing reviews! I reread each of them a hundred times, trust me. Sometimes I scream at myself about the cliff hangers too..I am like "Oh come on, another cliff hanger, Lori? That's lame". But I can't stop myself! Beware, the next few chapters contain the over abundance of fluff I have been warning about! I added the last few lines from the last chapter, so you will remember where the conversation was… PLEASE REVIEW! I think this chapter was a little too 'wordy' and I would love your feedback!

Kurt opened his eyes, and pulled back from the other boy's embrace, lifting Dave's chin in the process.

Their eyes met and in that exact moment…that second…. the world stopped spinning.

"Dave, I need to tell you something…I…"

"I can't do this. Not like this, anyway. Being with you; it feels so good...so oddly right. But how do I know that I won't walk into school on Monday, and you'll go right by me, like I'm not there?"

Dave opened his mouth to protest, but Kurt shook his head, needing to finish what he had to say before letting the other boy respond.

"I know you're not ready for us to be 'out', or for us to go to Prom together, and I don't need that from you...yet. But you act like you don't know me outside of Glee. In Glee, you act like we don't spend hours on the phone every night. Like I'm just one of the guys and it hurts me so badly. When you wouldn't meet my eyes after singing that song to me, it tore my heart out. I can't…I won't be your on again, off again secret. "

Catching his breath, Kurt leaned forward, back into Dave's arms, resting his head on Dave's broad shoulder.

After what he'd just said, this might be his last chance.

A few seconds passed; and he felt the other boy inhale deeply, exhale and begin to speak.

"God, Kurt…I don't think you understand. When you left McKinley it was the worst day of my life, but it was almost a relief. "

Kurt started to pull back in protest, but Dave drew him back in, holding him without speaking; comforting him without words.

"It was relief; not because I wanted you gone, but because being near you…it does something to me. God, it brings me to my knees. When I am sitting three chairs down from you in Glee, facing away, talking to whomever, trust me when I say that all I am thinking about is you. The distance that I keep, the lack of interaction…it isn't to protect me from you and what other people think. Keeping that distance and trying desperately to pretend that you are just like anyone else...it protects you from me. "

Kurt pulled the other boy's bowed head up, until their eyes met again. The hazel eyes were darkened with anguish.

"What do you mean, Dave? By protecting me from you? I don't understand"

Taking a deep breath, Dave buried his face in Kurt's neck again. As if he was unable to look him in the eye and be so vulnerable at the same time.

Whispering, he explained.

"If I sat next to you, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands from touching you. If I looked at you in the hall, and saw you smile, I would back you up against the lockers and kiss you until you couldn't breathe and I wouldn't notice or care who saw. I'm jealous of every single smile you give someone else, of every minute you spend in conversation with anyone else. I want all of your smiles and your laughter and your love, all for myself. I'm a selfish bastard. I love you too much...need you too much…so I have to protect you. By not looking at you in the hall. Not sitting next to you in Glee. I can't slip up for even one second. When I looked at you while I was singing, it felt like fire was racing through my whole body, and it was all I could do to make it through Glee without going stark raving mad"

He was trembling from head to toe. Kurt had never heard him speak so long at one time, not even in their all night phone conversations.

What he said shocked Kurt. Shocked, confused, and thrilled him.

To his knowledge, he'd never been the recipient of mild interest before; much less intense passion.

It stole his breath away.

Pulling back from the other boy, he met the hazel eyes once again. Trying to catch his lost breath, he spoke, every word coming from his heart.

"Dave, I don't know what to say to that. I need you to know that I have feelings for you too. Really strong feelings. Like 'back you up against the lockers and kiss you until you can't breath' strong. It helps me to know why you did the things you did. I just know that I can't keep going like this. I need…something…I don't know what, but something different…something more than this"

Dave was nodding, his eyes fervent.

"I know, Kurt. You deserve better, and I can't lose you. I just can't. So you tell me; what do you want? I'll do anything"

Kurt smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm new at this too. I don't know where to begin. Maybe we can figure it out together?"

In the end they decided to start simple. It was Kurt who suggested the term.

Courtship.

The last two weeks of school; amongst the chaos of finals and last minute Glee assignments, their courtship would begin, unbeknownst to anyone but them.

For the first time in all of his teenage years, Kurt was sad it was Friday. He'd have to wait two days to seeing Dave; a courting Dave, again.

He couldn't wait.

If Kurt Hummel thought he knew David Karofsky, those final two weeks of school made him realize that he hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of the other boy. He knew what it was to be the target of David's bullying, the target of his seeming apathy, but to now be the target of his 'courtship'….it was the most intensely romantic thing Kurt had ever experienced.

Every morning he found a flower and a note of encouragement for the day. The notes were personal and heart warming. Dave always knew what final he had that day, or what was stressing him out. Dave's faith in him; his encouragement, made Kurt feel like there wasn't anything he couldn't do.

For any class they had near each other, and for Glee, Dave held the door for Kurt. He always managed to do it without drawing any overt notice, and his shy nod to Kurt as he walked through the held open door warmed Kurt's heart and made him fall deeper with every passing day.

And it wasn't only school. They managed to steal away for a few afternoons and evenings together.

They'd laid on a blanket in Kurt's back yard and looked up at the cloudless blue sky; talking about their childhoods. Dave listened to Kurt talk about his mom for hours, injecting the perfect balance of sympathy and interest. Kurt hadn't realized how much it was weighing on his heart, not having someone to talk to about his mom. He and his dad still did; but it was different now that his dad had remarried. Kurt didn't want to take away from his current happiness by dredging up old stories or memories.

Being with Dave; it made Kurt feel lighter somehow. Like it wasn't just him in this alone anymore. He hadn't realized until Dave how alone he had felt.

He understood what Dave had said to him; about him filling up the emptiness, and taking away the pain. Dave did that for him too.

For his part; he had tried to find unique and simple ways to court the other boy. He left him little notes whenever he could. He texted him when he knew Dave was in science and health; his two least favorite classes. He made him rice krispy treats and a mix cd of songs that he listened to when he missed him.

Since he knew he was leaving for Europe the week after school got out; for his two week bus tour, he bought Dave a long distance phone card, and a note promising to speak every night.

Dave; despite the occasional shy smile, still had difficultly expressing his feelings. It wasn't until he quite coincidentally ended up behind him in the lunch line that he realized how seriously Dave was taking their whole courtship thing.

He saw Dave reaching into his wallet for his lunch money, noting that the wallet seemed overly stuffed.

For a brief instant he wondered if Dave were one of those hoarder people; and it made him frown.

Then; seeing Dave's neck flushing red at having trouble getting his money; Kurt shook his head and smiled. He'd take Dave, mental health issues or not.

Finally extracting his money; Dave's wallet erupted all over the floor around him.

That's Kurt saw what he had crammed in there.

Kurt's notes. Even the ones that said nothing more than "good luck in gym...its dodgeball again today". Dave had kept every single one and he took them wherever he went; safely tucked in his wallet.

Watching Dave scramble to pick them all up; his face and ears just as red as his neck, Kurt felt it again. Dave had stolen his breath away.

Setting his tray down, he hunched down; picking up the last few stray notes. Carefully dusting them off, he leaned over, handing them to Dave and whispering in his ear at the same time.

"If there were lockers here, I would be backing you up against them."

Dave's eyes widened; the hands holding his tray, betraying a slight tremor.

Kurt paid for his food and grabbed his tray; never once taking his eyes from Dave's.

As they walked together to the Glee table, Dave looked as if he were in pain.

Sliding into seats at the end of the table, Kurt set down his tray, his eyes trying to meet the other boy's.

"Are you ok, Dave?'

Dave wouldn't look up from his tray. Kurt almost missed his muttered reply.

"I can't fucking eat now. I can't…I can't even think"

Kurt was surprised that no one else at the table even glanced their way. The electricity between them was so heavy, it was palpable.

Taking a big gulp of his water, he tried to regulate his heart beat. And failed.

Leaning in, he whispered,

"You know the choir room's empty during lunch."

Dave nodded tersely.

"Meet me there in 5 minutes"

Leaving his tray, Kurt grabbed his back pack and walked out of the cafeteria.