AN: Sorry about the delay, and thank you SO much for all of the wonderful comments. You're all so wonderful. Thank you for reading, and hopefully updates will get back to being more than once a week as finals come to an end.
Oh, and there is a song in this section. Bold means Mercedes is singing, Italics means Kurt, and regular means Santana. Hopefully it's not too confusing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
18. One more Apology
Kurt tapped his thumbs nervously on the steering wheel as he made his way down the interstate.
"Dude, are you sure you don't want one of us to drive?"
He flicked his eyes over to Puck who was sitting in the passenger seat looking vaguely nervous.
"Hush you," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not going that fast."
"You're going 90 in the 75 zone…" Sam said from the back. "The girls are like way behind us."
"We'll get there and back faster soooo whatever. I'm sure the only one in this car who speeds."
At the silence that ensued, he rolled his eyes again. Whatever. He just really wanted to get there and he was nervous and it wasn't as though he weren't an expert driver, so they just needed to get over it. His dad was the one who taught him to drive, and had given him that cop detector monitor for his car. If that didn't sanction speeding, then what did?
Finn was looking a little green in the back, wedged in between Mike and Sam.
"If you get a ticket, I'm so telling Mom and Dad."
"Whatever," Kurt growled back. "If you tell Dad, I'll tell them about the porn you've been illegally downloading onto your laptop."
"Ha! Like I'm the only one of us who has downloaded porn," Finn said with a snort.
Kurt blinked and tried not to blush or look over at Puck who was eyeing him up and down.
"This is true," he conceded finally, "but who are they more likely to believe. You, or me?"
Finn paused for a minute. "Ah crap. You're right."
Kurt stuck out his tongue at this brother in the rear view mirror. Finn scowled back.
"TMI, Dudes," Mike said without looking up from his copy of Time Magazine.
"I just think it's interetsint that innocent little Hummel here is all boy like the rest of us."
"Shut the fuck up, Puckerman," Kurt said, taking the upcoming curve with an intentionally harsh swerve that had all the boys smashing into the person or object to their right.
"How would you know that Puck?" Sam asked with a teasing smirk once he'd recovered from his impact with the door.
"Ew, dude, have you been hitting on my brother?" Finn demanded.
"Excuse me, are you saying that it's gross that Puck would hit on me?" he demanded, swerving again.
"Jesus Christ, Hummel, get a hold of yourself!" Puck yelped as his head connected with the window.
"No, I'm just saying that you're my brotherand Puck is well… Puck. He should not be taking advantage of you..!"
"I can take care of myself, and if Puck was hitting on me, then I would handle it accordingly. Also- I'm really not that innocent or naïve, also, I'm a boy, Finn…do you need me to prove it to you? Because I could pull over and…"
"No!" all of the voices chorused from the back. Puck just shot him a sly look and Kurt reached over and smacked him upside the head.
"Pervert."
By the time they all made it Dalton, the girls and Artie were a good ten minutes behind them, David was already waiting for them in the parking lot by his car.
"Land!" Sam cried in mock relief as he stumbled out of the car.
Kurt whacked him, and went to wait for the girls so he could help the girls with Artie's wheelchair.
"Right on time," David said with a small smile as he moved to stand beside him. "How's the head?"
Kurt smiled at him in return, "Good. It's better. Listen, David- I just want to thank you for talking to them the other day-"
David patted him on the shoulder awkwardly.
"Don't mention it. It was necessary."
Kurt felt a wave of affection flood through him and he blinked rapidly.
"You're not as much of a jerk as I thought you were."
"Yeah, well, I guess you aren't either."
There was a brief awkward silence and Kurt breathed a sigh of relief when the girls chose that moment to arrive.
Kurt was starting to get a little nervous as his new friend (ally?) led them through the halls toward the Warblers' choir room. The nerves in his stomach were a massive bundle of butterflies, and he tried to suppress them. He was a good singer. They had already forgiven each other after Saturday. They'd spent the whole afternoon just sitting together and really talking about things and how they could move forward and how they would be as honest as possible from this point forward.
There was nothing to be afraid of here.
Except, maybe of messing up…or what if they saw it as over the top? Or what if…
He could hear the sound of harmonies and Wes calling out for someone named Trent to stay in time with the tempo. David gave them a slight nod and patted Kurt on the shoulder before sliding back into the room.
"David, there you are! We were beginning to think we'd have to come looking for you. Did you fall in?" he heard Thad tease.
"Har har," David replied. "Sorry guys, I just had to make a quick pit stop. Now, before we begin again, there's something I need to share with you."
Here it was… oh god, Kurt was feeling so nervous.
"What is it, David?"
Blaine's voice. He sounded concerned.
"You'll see. I need everyone to take their seats."
There was the sound of shuffling and then the opening beats to their song. He looked around and momentarily panicked before meeting Santana's eyes, and nodding. She gave him a smirk, the closest thing to an encouraging smile he imagined she had, and pushed through the doors.
There was a startled murmur for a minute before she began to sing.
You took my hand
You showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Uh huh
That's right
I took your words
And I believed
In everything
You said to me
Yeah huh
That's right
He watched the others file in behind her to provide the back-up vocals.
Kurt was till out in the hall, alone, waiting for his verse. He could hear Mercedes taking up cut in of Without You, and silently pushed his way through the doors.
/Without you Oh, oh, oh! You! You! You! Without You! You! You! Without you
I am lost, I am vain, I will never be the same /
He opened his mouth and finally began to sing.
Remember when we were such fools
/Without you/
And so convinced and just too cool
Oh no
No no
I wish I could touch you again
I wish I could still call you friend
I'd give anything
/Without you/
As he continued singing he managed to passively split focus and both perform his part and observe the sea of blue and red in front of him. At the head table he found Wes, and saw that his friend was staring at him, and only him, with wide-eyed concentration. Kurt figured he realized this for what it was. Kurt was apologizing on his own, even though they'd already been through it all, and he was giving them a chance to hear the competition the way he had. Yet the way Wes was looking at him made it seem as though he could care less about the others, and the only one who mattered was Kurt. He offered a tentative smile through his words, and it was returned.
The entire group took up the chorus.
When someone said count your blessings now
'fore they're long gone
I guess I just didn't know how
I was all wrong
They knew better
Still you said forever
And ever
Who knew?
Santana, Mercedes, and Kurt stood together facing the Warblers from the doorway, while the others traipsed through the room and around the couches singing to the boys who were looking at them with mixed expressions. The boys who knew Kurt had obviously been informed of his treachery and so they looked a mix between touched and annoyed, while the others appeared to be fascinated.
Kurt stepped forward as Santana took up the start of the next verse and moved to stand right in front of Blaine.
Yeah yeah
I'll keep you locked in my head
(Can't erase, so I take Blame)
Clear blue met bright hazel and he smiled at the boy, a feeling of warmth and love and home creeping into the far corners of his mind as he sang. Blaine's smile was so big that Kurt worried his face might get stuck like that. He reached out and placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder and tried to convey sorry and I love you through the touch, through his eyes, and through his voice.
Blaine grabbed his hand and squeezed, and if his eyes could say what he was thinking, Kurt imagined they were saying It's okay and I love you too.
Until we meet again
(But I can't accept
that we're estranged)
Until we
Until we meet again
And I won't forget you my friend
Without you
What happened
Without you
Pulling away from Blaine he slid back over to Wes, stopping briefly to sing toward a few other old friends.
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong and
That last kiss
I'll cherish
Until we meet again
And time makes
It harder
I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep
My darling
As the music began to fade, he pulled back toward the front with the others and took his place between Mercedes and Santana.
/Without you/
Who knew?
My darling
My darling
/Without you/
Who knew?
My darling
I miss you
My darling
/Without you/
Who knew?
Who knew?
His voice trailed off and they ended with their heads down. After a moment he pulled his eyes upward and sought out those of his friends. There was a slight sound of applause, but before he could do more than catch their eyes, there was a blue blur moving towards him and then almost knocking him over.
He tried not to hiss in pain and blinked down to see that it was Blaine, arms wrapped around him. He stiffly wrapped his arms around the boy and buried his face in his shoulder.
He looked around for Wes and saw him a few feet from them, a smile on his lips. Kurt looked down into Blaine's eyes and saw a familiar twinkle. Together they opened their arms and Wes rolled his eyes before joining them.
"Dudes what do I need to do to get in on this action?"
"Shut up, Puck," Mercedes and Rachel hissed at the same time.
Kurt smiled and began to pull away, and found that Blaine was not letting go. Despite the blush that was creeping up his cheeks because he knew everyone was watching, he started giggling. It felt just like it used to.
This was starting to become a common occurrence, and he just couldn't bring himself to care.
"Alright, Blaine you can let go," Wes said shoving the other boy away gently with a smirk of his own.
They looked at each other for a moment before Wes turned back to the group.
"David, Thad, I think we've had enough excitement for the day; what do you say we end practice early?"
Some of the other boys whooped in excitement as David and Thad concurred. They began to file out, patting Kurt on the back and congratulating New Directions on their performance.
"How about we get some Coffee?" Blaine added. "And then we can take you home."
Oh, does that mean I can drive the Navigator home dude?" Finn asked sounded a little too relieved and excited.
"Hell no," Kurt said with a horrified expression. "Driving in Lima is one thing but I am definitely not confident enough in your driving skills for the Interstate. Mercedes, you're up lady."
"Yes!" she squealed sticking her tongue out in Finn's direction and catching the keys as he tossed them. "I love the Navigator. I love you boo, you are my favorite!"
"You only love me because of my car," Kurt pouted.
"You know that's not true. I love you for your fashion and shopping abilities too."
"And the facials," Britney added with a grin.
"Alright, alright. Get out of here you scoundrels. Tell Mr. Schue thanks for letting us out early if you see him. Thank you for helping me."
"Aww Ku-urt," Rachel said with a grin as she hopped forward to wrap her arms around him. "Happy Kurt is the Kurt we want. Although next time you plan a public performance I insist upon having a solo."
"Out Rachel!"
He watched his friends walk out of the room bickering over who got to ride with Mercedes in the Navigator. Once they were all gone he turned towards the other two.
"Soooo… I know we already talked about everything this weekend, but I've had this planned since Thursday and I just couldn't in good conscience let a performance slip away," he joked. "Erm, and I just… I really am sorry. I swear that I'll never lie again and that I should have said something from that very first moment in the hallway…I don't even-"
"Kurt," Wes interrupted. "Stop rambling. It's okay. We're okay. And the song… said enough. It was beautiful."
"Your voice, Kurt," Blaine added eyes widening slightly, "is so amazing. I had no idea from when we were younger. I mean, you just never sang when we did! And like Wes said, the song said it all. That doesn't mean I'm not still a little upset with you. I am, but it was always going to pass. You're too important to me to let go over a silly glee club issue."
Kurt bit his lip in relief and felt his heart rate speed up.
"And hey thanks buddy," Wes said with a grin as he clapped Kurt on the shoulder and began guiding them toward the door. "You gave us a sneak peak into the world of New Directions. I have to say I'm a bit nervous now. We're going to have to step up our game."
Kurt smirked at him.
"Oh Wesley, that wasn't even our A-team of singers. Better bring it, big time."
They all laughed.
"Okay," Blaine said, still smiling, "enough shop talk. How about that coffee? And then what say you Wesley, that we go pillage the Hudson-Hummel again household for dinner?"
"I mean, only if Kurt's step mother cooks better than Burt."
The songs in this chapter were Pink's "Who Knew" and David Guetta's "Without You."
Up-Next: Dinner with the Hudmels again, and a little Finchel drama.