It was pointed out to me that, as freshmen, Finn and Kurt were talking about driving. Oops! All fixed now! This chapter's shorter, but get used to that. I'm not a patient writer.

:-:

i built a monument
for the love we used to know

:-:

but that is far removed,
and you say that i'm gonna be okay

:-:

and yeah, i'm gonna be okay.
but it doesn't seem that way

:-:

no love, not today

:-:

Finn walked into the school the next Monday feeling anxious. Since Kurt had gone home on Saturday, they'd only talked a couple of times via text messaging. Upon hearing about his son's injury – accident, if Kurt had stuck to his lie – Mr. Hummel had threatened to fly back to Ohio immediately, but Kurt kept him away with carefully crafted reassurances.

The moment he walked into first period, though, he was quickly sent away by his teacher, Mr. Thorton. "The office called for you before the bell even rang. It's not like you would have stayed awake for my lecture anyway."

Finn ambled down the hallway to Principal Figgins' office, wondering what on Earth he could have done this time. Maybe he was being called in as a character witness for Puck. Puck practically lived in that office.

"Mom?" Finn paused by the door, confused. Did something happen? Was Grandma in the hospital? Did their family win the lottery? Had the (inevitable) zombie apocalypse started? "What are you doing here?"

His mother sat across from the principal, anger clear on her face. "I was just telling Mr. Figgens – can I call you Shankar? – I was just telling Shankar here about those boys who attacked Kurt on Friday."

"Oh." Finn really wasn't an eloquent person.

"And your mother said that you had names?" Figgins asked, eyes skeptical. Finn nodded slowly.

"Um, yeah, a few… They won't find out it was me who ratted, will they?"

Figgins shook his head. "This is completely confidential."

Finn sat down, dumping his bag on the floor. His mother looked on expectantly.

"Well…there was Azimio – Glenn Azimio – and Marcus Strando, Jacob Littlefield, Austin Keehn, J.R. Ripley, um…what's his name? Powers. Jimmy Powers, that's it. But they all just shouted at Kurt and didn't stop anything from happening. The main guy was Sean Karofsky, and his brother Dave. They were the ones to throw Kurt into the dumpster, and Sean was the one to punch him."

Figgins steepled his fingers. "I see. Well, thank you Finn, Mrs. Hudson. I'll look into this accusation, and see these boys are properly punished." Carole stood, a victorious grin on her face. Finn stood with her and grabbed his bag from the ground.

"No, thank you, Shankar," Mrs. Hudson said, smiling a little too warmly to be genuine. She shook the bewildered principal's hand, then strode out of his office, Finn on her heels.

Finn walked his mom to the front doors silently. She noted the hush that surrounded them, and leaned in to tell her son, "Take care of him, okay?"

An inexplicable lump rose in Finn's throat, and he could barely whisper, "I will," to his mother. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, then walked out the doors to leave Finn standing all alone in the hallway. Finn slouched back to class, stricken with a tidal wave of emotions he couldn't even put a name to. Mr. Thorton didn't even look up when his missing pupil returned. He was right; Finn didn't plan on paying attention.

:-:

"Finn."

Finn looked up to see Kurt standing next to his locker, entire being trimmed and coifed to perfection. His hair – as promised – was cropped short. Finn liked the look on him, surprisingly. It made the small boy look older, and didn't take away from his natural beauty –

Anyways. Finn liked it, and he told Kurt as such (but with fewer incriminating adjectives; didn't want Kurt getting any ideas…). The smaller boy blushed, and thanked Finn.

"My dad wanted to thank you and your mom for all your help after my accident," Kurt said in a light tone. Finn didn't miss the emphasis on the word 'accident,' or the pain in Kurt's voice as he said it. "So he told me to tell you that any car work you need done – anything at all – he'll do it for free."

"Your dad knows cars?" Finn didn't know what he was expecting of Mr. Hummel (an overgrown man in form-fitting sweaters and pageboy caps?), but handyman was not high on the list.

"He's a mechanic," Kurt said, smirking at the shock in Finn's voice. "Owns Hummel's Tires and Lube. Oh, don't be surprised," he said, voice tinkling with laughter. "Is it that hard to imagine someone that butch spawning little ol' me?"

"Uh…" Finn wasn't sure of the right answer here, but he just shrugged. "I guess I just expected your dad to be…I don't know, a fashion designer or something."

Kurt snorted, and Finn wanted to die from the cuteness. "Please. My father thinks flannel and trucker hats are acceptable to wear in public."

"They aren't…?"

"'Sup, fags?" One of the older guys from the team – Strando, maybe? – shoved past Finn and Kurt, flipping them a crude hand gesture. Finn blinked in shock. Kurt didn't even seem to notice.

"Well, I've got to get to class. Tell your mom about my dad's offer, okay?" Kurt smiled at Finn, then turned to go to Biology. Finn saw Artie wheeling in that direction, and he didn't miss the way Kurt seemed to thank the boy for assisting in his rescue. Artie just smiled and patted Kurt's arm, and the two lab partners walked (rolled) off together into the crowd.

"Finn."

Quinn Fabray walked into his line of sight, hands on her hips. And – oh – she looked mad.

"You can't talk to him."

"Why not?" Finn didn't get it. He had only just started dating Quinn, but she always seemed so sweet to him. Maybe she was jealous of Kurt, since Kurt was practically an honorary girl, and Quinn got mad whenever Finn talked to other girls, but that didn't make sense because totally wasn't gay—

"Because he's a loser."

Anger swelled in Finn. "Hey, back off!" Quinn looked startled. "You know, he's pretty cool once you get to talking to him."

The blonde cheerleader scowled some more. "That's the problem, Finn. Talking to him. Doing that will ruin your reputation, and if you want to be quarterback next year-"

"Reputation has nothing to do with what the coach decides!" Finn threw his hands into the air.

"It does when the quarterback has to be a leader, and you won't be able to lead anyone because your respectability has gone down the drain," Quinn hissed, poking her finger in Finn's chest. "And without the quarterback boyfriend, how will I snatch the position of head cheerleader?"

Finn blinked, trying to ignore Quinn's logic. That was how McKinley worked; popularity was everything.

"I guess you're right…" He relented.

"Of course I am." Quinn smoothed down her skirt. "So, you aren't going to talk to weirdoes anymore?"

"I guess not…" Finn pouted, looking at the ground. Quinn hummed triumphantly and gave him a drawn-out, chaste kiss on the lips.

"I'll see you at lunch," she told him flirtatiously. Finn nodded like an idiot as his girlfriend left, trying to ignore the guilt swelling up in his gut.

:-:

Avoiding Kurt was a lot harder than he thought it would be. The boy only fell (was thrown) into Finn's life a few days ago, but now that he was there, he was there to stay.

Finn was walking out of the cafeteria, Quinn on his arm, when he heard the shouting. A teacher passed by without bothering to investigate. Finn sped up his pace, dragging Quinn with him down the hallway.

Sean Karofsky had Kurt pinned against a locker as he shouted profanity at the smaller boy. Kurt held his chin up, but Finn could see the pain in his eyes. The Protector (as Finn had taken to calling him) rose up, filling Finn's being with anger and courage and the primal need to bash some heads in. All he needed was some blue paint and he was ready to go Braveheart on someone's ass.

That someone happened to be Sean, who was screaming, "-faggot! Now I have detention! For a whole fucking month! Just 'cause you're a pussy who can't handle a little roughhousing-"

Kurt growled at the large boy. "I didn't rat you out, Karofsky. There were witnesses, you know."

Sean raised his fist in the air menacingly. "I'm gonna pummel you into tomorrow, you fuckin' homo."

Finn thought that would crack Kurt for sure, but the small boy just smirked at Sean and paused for a second, before spitting directly in his face.

"Oops. Hope you don't 'catch the gay.'"

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

Finn decided it was time for The Protector to gallop in and save the day. Pushing Quinn back a little, he stormed forward, shoving Karofsky to the side. "Leave him alone!"

Sean wiped the spit off his face, glaring at the two boys. "Oh, you a fag, too, Hudson? Figures. Seen you peepin' in the locker room."

"God, just shut up!" Finn shouted, using his height and volume as a scare tactic. "He already had to go to the emergency room once this week! Just leave the kid alone!"

"Bumpin' uglies with the faggot, eh, Finn?" Sean spat out hatefully. "You make me sick."

Finn just snapped. Without a second thought, he dove towards Sean, fists blazing. He was centimeters from the older student when a pair of soft, surprisingly strong hands held him back.

"Don't." Kurt's voice was soft, but commanding. "He's not worth it."

"Like hell he is!" Finn shouted, struggling to attack Sean. Kurt huffed.

"Everyone's staring, Finn. Go to class!" He shouted the last part, looking around at all the spectators. "There's nothing to see here!"

The crowd slowly started dissipating. Sean brushed off his letterman jacket and stormed off, posse on his heels. As the tormentor turned the corner, Kurt let go of Finn, sighing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Finn asked quickly, checking out the back of Kurt's head. The stitches were in place, no extra injury to be seen.

"Yeah…" Kurt murmured. "Thanks. Again."

"No problem. Really." Finn ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. Kurt blushed, and looked away.

"Finn Hudson!" They both looked over at Quinn, who had stormed up to Finn and slapped his arm. "Are you an idiot?"

"Um…is that a trick question?" Finn shot a look at Kurt, who was trying (and failing) to mask his expression of disgust towards the cheerleader.

"No, you buffoon!" She slapped his arm again. "Are you trying to completely destroy your reputation?"

"He was gonna hurt Kurt again!" Finn defended, hands in the air.

"You completely disobeyed me! What did I tell you not to do?" Quinn was absolutely fuming.

"You told me not to talk to the gay kid," Finn said, a dangerous calmness in his voice. "You told me not to talk to the loser, because it would make me look bad. But what you meant was, it would make you look bad."

Kurt's eyes widened in pain, pained by the harsh words. Quinn gasped.

"Finn-"

"We're through."

Quinn gaped like a fish. "Excuse me?"

"We. Are. Through." Finn took a deep breath to calm himself. "Go find yourself a new pet, Quinn, 'cause I refuse to be used by you anymore."

There was a moment of absolute silence in the hallway – the calm before the storm – and then Quinn was practically screaming in anger and frustration, storming away. A path cleared for her, frantic students pushing each other into lockers to escape Hurricane Quinn. Kurt could have sworn he saw steam coming from her ears.

"I'd worry for your safety if I were you," he told Finn quietly. The tall boy shrugged.

"I can handle Sean."

Kurt snorted a little (adorable) and said, "I was talking about Quinn. I think she might eat you."

"That's what she said!" Finn cried, practically doubling over with laughter. He held out his hand for a high-five, but Kurt just stared at him condescendingly. Finn lowered his hand.

"Or, you know, not."

Kurt giggled, smiling up at Finn. "You're so weird."

"Didn't I see that shirt in the women's section of Banana Republic?" He countered with a teasing grin.

"Nordstrom's, actually. And fashion has no gender."

And thus Kurt and Finn fell into an incredibly odd friendship.

:-:

"Burt Hummel?"

Burt looked up from the cash register. "Sorry, ma'am, we just closed up for the day. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

The woman smiled. "Oh, no, I'm not here about my car, though I do plan on taking you up on your offer." He gave her a confused look. "I'm here about your son."

"You must be Mrs. Hudson," Burt said, extending his hand. "Thank you so much for what you did for my son after his accident."

"It was no problem at all. He's a perfect little angel. But…about the accident…"

She paused, and Burt felt something in his gut ice over. He knew that tone; he knew that look in her eyes.

"It wasn't an accident."

"What?"

Carole looked sad. "My son, Finn, witnessed a group of boys harassing Kurt before two threw him into a dumpster. He cracked his head on the dumpster's edge."

Burt paled, and steadied himself on the front desk. "And the shiner?"

"One of them punched him."

"Thank you for telling me this, Carole," Burt said slowly. "I don't know why Kurt didn't tell me, but…I swear to God, I'm going to march down to that school, march down to that Principal's house, if I have to, and tell him-"

Carole interrupted him. "I already did."

"Really?" That surprised Burt. "And?"

Carole Hudson let out a heavy sigh, and a look of irritation settled on her face. "Finn tells me that the two boys who actually did physical damage to Kurt have a months-worth of detention. The others got off without charge."

"What?" Burt clenched his fists. "That's unacceptable!"

"I know." Carole crossed her arms, giving Burt a small smirk. "When you didn't storm down to the school earlier, I assumed that you either weren't back in town, or you didn't know." She paused, then said, "I'm going back to the school tomorrow."

"Well I'll sure as hell be there! Those boys can't get away with this!"

"Oh, no. Not when faced with our combined forces. We'll be unstoppable."

Burt grinned at this woman, appreciating her feisty attitude. "So are we a team now?"

"Only if you're ready to kick ass."

:-:

That night, Finn dreamed of Kurt for the first time. The small boy was spread out underneath a tree, pale skin glowing gold under the beaming sun. Leaves fluttered down, landing in the grass silently.

"Thank you," Kurt whispered, in that beautiful, lyrical voice of his. "Thank you."

Finn knelt beside him, and the world shook. Blood was pouring down Kurt's face now, and the tree was on fire.

"Help me."

Finn tried to stop the bleeding, but more cuts formed, intertwining across his skin like rivers. Lightening branched across the sky above their heads.

And then Finn was awake and panting and scared shitless. He grabbed his phone and dialed, not caring at it was three in morning and normal people were asleep at this hour.

After the fifth ring, a sleepy voice answered. "Hullo?"

"Kurt?" Every muscle in Finn's body was shaking, and it was evident in his voice. "I've got your back, okay?"

"What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Finn's voice was hoarse. Maybe he was screaming in his sleep. His mom had gotten used to that. "But from now on, I've got your back. No one's gonna touch you again, got it?"

He thought he something on Kurt's end – a choke? A laugh? A sob? – and then, "I appreciate that, Finn."

Finn smiled, settling back down against his pillow. "Sorry for waking you."

A chuckle, then a small sigh. "It's okay. I couldn't sleep all that well to begin with."

"Ah, well. Neither could I. Obviously."

"Have I told you how weird you are lately?"

"Only like five times today."

"Oh. Well have I told you how sweet you are lately?"

"Nope. You should tell me that now."

"You're a sweetheart, Finn Hudson. Don't change."

"Kurt?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."