A/N: Hello. Sorry it's a day late. I've been dealing with some rather unpleasant things my life has decided to throw at me. This chapter has mentions of self-harm, but not overly so. It's Christmas, but instead of writing all about what everyone gets and all that blah blah, I just decided to write around Christmas. It's mentioned throughout the next few chapters, some of the gifts they receive. This is also the first chapter where we get extensive information on Kurt's biological mother and her location. This will be a big thing in the next few chapters, and leading towards the end. I hope you're enjoying this story. Read and Review lovelies. Have a fabulous day (or night, depending where you live in the world). JusticeIsn'tEasy. D.
Chapter Six: Wonderful Time of the Year
The signs that had been slipped under each of the Worthington House dorm doors on the morning of December 18th, had most of the Warbler's either excited, or rolling their eyes. Kurt was nowhere to be seen, but Nick did roll his eyes for his absent countertenor friend, and when he met up with Blaine and Jeff, the three of them rolled their eyes together, as Wes, David and Thad gathered the common house together for "Operation Warbler-Slack-Off-Day" or as it has been proclaimed by Riker and Ian, "WSOD". Nick rolls his eyes at this, and follows Blaine, Jeff and the Twins out of their house, and over to the cafeteria. No one has asked about Kurt this morning, which is surprising, but also a little comforting, because he knows that Blaine would have all the information he needs, and that Jeff doesn't really need to know, even though they're friends. Miss Price is standing in the middle of their rehearsal room, smiling and holding Wes' itinerary in her hands. Nick, Jeff and Blaine ignore her, and the other Warbler's gathering around to listen to her and Wes talking about WSOD, moving to the far side of the room, and taking residence on the couches they have claimed as 'theirs'. It's amusing to watch the Warblers all together in one place, walking around and acting like idiots over a day that the teachers are for some reason, condoning. They have a week off coming up anyway, so why do they need a 'slack-off' day? Miss Price begins calling them all to attention, and then proceeds to explain to them the rules of WSOD. They can go anywhere, as long as they have an off-school pass, and if they're staying on the grounds, they aren't to disturb the other students. Blaine is only half listening, focused mainly on the text messaging going on beside him, and the look on Nick's face. He manages to catch a glimpse of a message from Kurt to Nick about missing a rehearsal, for an appointment, but looks away when the other boy looks up, frowning. He knows that Kurt is going back to Dr. Zucker, but part of him wishes his boyfriend would tell him about it.
When all is said and done with rehearsal, the Warblers head to their first classes of the day, dawdling along behind one another, talking and laughing and making sure they've got the right books, and haven't left their blazers behind. Nick is about to sit beside Blaine, when Kurt appears in the doorway, books in his hands. He smiles, and moves over to where they're sitting, tie hanging loose around his neck, shirt unbuttoned. He sits down, and finishes dressing himself in the correct manner, and then opens his history text book to the right page, grabbing the pen he had sitting behind his ear. Blaine is watching all of this from beside his boyfriend, and Nick is amused, talking to Jeff excitedly about something, but with a small smirk on his face, at Kurt's unkempt attire. Something about the situation seems off. Kurt is never later to class, he's always dressed immaculately, even in the uniform, and he's never missed a rehearsal since he re-joined the Warblers, and all this is going on without the knowledge of Blaine. He's about to start a conversation, but their teacher calls them to silence (not that Wes seems to understand the concept), and begins their class, talking about the effects of post-war life on those who lived through it. Kurt isn't paying attention, but he can feel Blaine watching him. He can feel him, the question on his lips, the furrow of his brow, the frustrated manner in which he's twirling his pencil in his hand. For a moment, it's amusing to Kurt, but then it's kind of annoying. He wants to talk to Blaine, of course he does, but they're in class, and he quite enjoys history. Besides, there's plenty of time to talk on tomorrow, on the slack off day. Silently, Kurt takes Blaine's free hand, and kisses it softly, sending him a small smile, and wink, before turning back to the front, not letting go of his boyfriend's hand, but it's enough to get Blaine to focus back on work, and stop worrying, if only until they can sneak away at lunch and talk. Nick and Jeff are watching the interaction, and Kurt manages to send a glance to the other side of the room, where Wes is also watching him, an odd look on his face… what is everyone's problem today?
On the morning of their slack off day, Kurt wakes to find the blinds open, Nick fully dressed, arguing with David and Wes in the small common area in their room. He sits up, letting the doona pool around his waist, revealing the toned muscles of his abdomen. All three of the Warblers looked over at him, and smiled, before resuming their conversations. Kurt just ignored them, and moved to shower and find Blaine. They're supposed to be meeting up with Puck and Finn to go bowling, because for some reason, the Glee Club also has the day off, and he's starting to think that this whole thing was planned for a reason. Regardless, he's looking forward to spending the day with the New Directions, because ever since the 'prank war' started, he hasn't really been able to. Blaine arrives just as Kurt is pulling on his shirt, and greets his boyfriend with a kiss, before grabbing his hand and following him out of the room. Nick just waves, leaving the two to disperse, before they're dragged into whatever Wevid are planning. Blaine looks amazing in casual clothes, which Kurt makes sure to mention as they head towards Blaine's car. He doesn't often get to see Blaine in casual clothes, because they're always in uniforms at school, but when he does, he takes every opportunity to stare, or goad or touch his boyfriend. Blaine is smirking, and Kurt just winks at him, before pressing him against the car, kissing him passionately, and pulling away before Blaine can blink, laughing when he hears the other boy groan, but move around to the driver's side. The drive to the bowling alley in Lima was quicker than Kurt thought, and Puck, Finn and the New Directions were standing outside waiting for them, cheerfully running over to them as Kurt got out of the car, bracing himself to be hugged by Rachel, Mercedes and Brittany.
'So, we have a designated day off. How did you all manage to swing it?' Blaine asked, as they headed inside
'Well, Schuester talked to Sue and she "banned" the New Directions from the auditorium for one day, so we decided to take the day off. Besides, we're seniors, and schools almost over. Christmas is coming and it's not like we have much work to do,' Finn replied, smiling and thanking the guy standing behind the counter
'Well, New Directions and Klaine, let's do this,' Puck said, fist-bumping and hi-fiving everyone
'You going down Puckerman,' Kurt said, smirking and grabbing a blue bowling ball off the rack, laughing at Puck's stunned face
After the first game, Puck was calling for the next game to be a bet. Kurt wasn't about to let Puckerman think he could be beaten, so he took the mow hawked boy up on his offer of a bet. Blaine, Rachel, Puck, Finn and Brittany gathered on their side of the lane to discuss the bet, and Kurt, Mercedes, Quinn, Santana and Sam just waited to see what they were going to have to do. The fact that Kurt was on the opposite team made the opportunity for Blaine, to see his boyfriend out of his comfort zone too large to pass up. He quite happily agreed to join the other team, because healthy completion in a relationship is good, and they both know where they're going to end up at the end of today. Kurt winks at him, before turning to talk to Sam about something, and Blaine knows that he's gone straight away. Anything they do, he's under Kurt's charm, and there isn't anything he can do about it. He loves that boy more than anything, and Finn and the others can see it. Rachel just smirks at him, before clapping her hands, and announcing that they have the conditions of Puck's bet. The groups stood facing each other, amused that things were getting interested. Puck stated that should Kurt's team win the next game, they can have a free shot at the New Directions for their prank war, without retaliation, to which they agreed, and then Puck said what would happen if they lost… Kurt would have to let the Warblers take a hit without them retaliating, and if they do, then New Directions would win the pool. Kurt couldn't promise that Wes and the Twins wouldn't try anything, but agreed, shaking Puck's hand, and turning back to get the game underway. He was bowling against Blaine this round, and he knew that Rachel had set it up that way on purpose, but he knew the tricks of the trade to make Blaine lose focus. Mercedes smirked at the Lead Warbler, and suddenly his mouth went dry, when he noticed Kurt removing the jacket he'd been wearing, to reveal a skin tight shirt, that covered him in all the right ways. He's toast.
After their bowling, and Kurt winning, he made sure that Puck and Finn understood the terms of the bet, and they nodded, hugging and going back to their cars. Kurt got into Blaine's car, and they headed back to Dalton, so Kurt could pick up his own car. He has an appointment in Columbia, and his father is taking him down there, so he has to be back at Dalton, and then back in Lima by seven. They're taking a couple of days to head to Columbia, and then they're coming back to Lima. Nick is going with them, because Burt wants him there, and Blaine is spending time with his family anyway, so Kurt will see him on Christmas Eve. He's spending Christmas Morning with the Anderson's, and then afternoon with Burt and the Hudmel's and Duval's. When they get back to Dalton, it's like a ghost town, Wes and David aren't anywhere to be seen, so Kurt and Blaine manage to get back to their dorm rooms, without getting accosted by other Warbler's. He thinks he's about to get away scot free, when Nick, Wes, Thad and David arrive in the dorm, and chuckle as Kurt, tells them about beating the New Directions, and the bet they made. He barely gets time to look up, before Wes leaves the room, shouting for the twins. Kurt doesn't have time to hang around and watch to see what they do, he and Nick have to be back in Lima in an hour. They catch up with Jeff and Blaine on their way out of Dalton, Kurt pulled Blaine into a hug, kissing him softly before getting into the car, letting Nick and Jeff say their goodbye's, which turned into a five minute make-out session. Blaine chuckled, Jeff punched his arm, and Nick and Kurt waved as they drove off. They were silent on the way to Lima, Nick was just watching his best-friend as he drove through the streets, thinking back to the time when Kurt was in the rebellious stage of his life… those were hard times… Nick thought.
He wasn't sure what had brought it on in the first place, but Kurt was breaking curfew… again. It's strange, to get a call at ten at night, to sneak out of your house, and meet up with your friend, so that you can attend a party that is thrown by a bunch of fifteen year olds. Nick isn't sure that he's ready to deal with this, but he can't let Kurt do this on his own. When they get to the house, Nick notices that Mercedes, and the other girl, Quinn he thinks her name is, are standing on the front porch. They smile when they see Kurt, and introduce themselves to Nick, who just smiles. He's not happy that Kurt texted him, saying he was sneaking out to a party, and told him that there will probably be underage drinking and all of that stuff. Lately, Kurt has been different. Acting out, going against his father, getting into trouble at school. Instead of being bullied, he's become the bully. Nick has talked to Burt and Mercedes about this, but neither of them seem to be able to reign him in. it's only when they're inside the house, and in the basement, (he soon discovers that it's Rachel's house), that he notices Kurt's wrists when he takes his jacket off, and hands it to the mow hawked boy. Nick is the outcast. All of the people in this room are from McKinley, and he's from Dalton. Sure, they've had parties like this, but they're not outrageous, and there certainly isn't any alcohol. At this rate, Kurt will be an alcoholic by the time he's eighteen. Not that it stops him. At midnight, several more people show up, and Nick notices a couple of them are guys that Kurt met when he snuck out to the local gay bar last week. He's talking with one of them in the corner of the room, and to be honest, Nick's a little annoyed, because he's clearly being taken advantage of, but Kurt is too drunk to notice… or maybe he just doesn't care. Either way, Nick pulls Mercedes aside and tells her that he's worried. It does nothing to slay his fears, when the diva just laughs it off as being fourteen and wanting to have a good time, before going back to talk to Rachel. He needs help to get Kurt out of here before he does something he'll regret.
The following week, Nick and Kurt are walking home from a New Directions rehearsal, (Nick was staying the night, and had offered to pick Kurt up on the way home), when he was surprised by Kurt, pulling him in a back alley, and dropping his backpack on the ground. In the nine years he's known Kurt, he's never seen the boy willing to do anything that could get him arrested. Obviously, whatever Kurt pulls out of his bag isn't going to be something good, and then he notices that they're out the front of Burt's shop, and Kurt pulls his black hoodie over his head, before handing Nick a spray can and smirking at the look on his face. Nick flat out refuses to vandalize Burt's shop, and tells Kurt that he shouldn't either, but something makes him take the lid off… something makes him stand beside Kurt and spray the word 'traitor' onto the garage door. He can hear Kurt inside, throwing things around, and then, in the distance, there is a car, and sirens. That doesn't stop Kurt… but it stops Nick. The Dalton boy can't afford to get into trouble. Dalton doesn't tolerate juvenile delinquents. He's about to call to Kurt, tell him that he's out, that he won't get arrested for him, when the taller boy appears, covered in grease and dirt, hair mussed up, carrying a box filled with papers. He can't read what it says in the dark, but Kurt doesn't say anything else to him, just moves back into the alley, picks up his bag and takes the can from Nick, who is looking at him like he's just pulled off his face, to reveal that he's a demon underneath his skin. There is something underneath his skin, it's another version of Kurt that he doesn't know if he likes that much. It's a version of his best-friend that he's never seen before… it's a version he never wants to see again.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, Blaine was woken by his boyfriend pressing kisses to his neck, and chest and face. Blaine woke up, wrapping his arms around Kurt, and smiling, pulling him down to connect their lips. Kurt let Blaine have control for a split second, before he straddled his boyfriend, smirking when Blaine let out a noise of surprise, but happily placed his hands on Kurt's hips, rubbing his thumbs lightly over the skin when his nightshirt had ridden up. Kurt smiled and moved to grab his phone of the nightstand, still straddling Blaine, as he pulled up the email he'd received yesterday. Blaine was watching him, confused and a little annoyed. Kurt is straddling him, and he's turned on right now, that Kurt is sitting like this, and he just wants to take him, but Kurt is playing with his phone. He's about to flip them over, and give Kurt payback, when Kurt shoves the phone in his face, and Blaine takes it from him, reading the email, whilst Kurt kisses his neck, giving him a hickey. Suddenly, Kurt is thrown off of his boyfriend, landing on the floor with a thud, and Blaine quickly climbs out of bed to help his boyfriend up, before kissing him fiercely, pushing him back onto the bed. Kurt just smirks and gives into the events. Obviously, Blaine is happy, but they can talk about that later, because right now, Blaine is kissing the sensitive part of his neck, and all this thoughts are…. Blaine runs his hands up Kurt's back, and lifts the shirt over his head, dropping it onto the floor. Kurt finds himself in the position he had Blaine in only moments ago, and smiles.
'Do you realise what this means Kurt? You can go to law school. You got one of the highest scores. You can go to Harvard Kurt,' Blaine replied, kissing him
'I wanted to give you the news as a Christmas present, but I couldn't wait to tell you,' Kurt replied
'This is amazing Kurt. It's all working out perfectly. We can both go to Harvard now. I got into the music program there,' Blaine replied running his hands through Kurt's hair
'I love you,' Kurt replied, and everything else melted away as they lost themselves in one another.
They've been together only a month when Rachel invites him to New Directions party, and tells him to bring his boyfriend so they can meet him. Kurt had mentioned to Blaine that the New Directions wanted to meet him, and warned him what they might do, but the Lead Warbler had just chuckled, and told Kurt that everything would be fine. Reluctantly, Kurt had text Rachel back and told her that they would be there, and would be staying the night in Lima. She replied with a bunch of emoji's, and that was the end of their conversation. Finn had called him earlier in the week, and asked if he could come to Dalton to meet Blaine, before the rest of ND does, and Kurt had made Finn promise that he wouldn't do anything to scare the other boy off. Finn agreed, and had come out to the school. He and Blaine had bonded, and got along really well, which Kurt was happy about… until Finn threatened to dismember Blaine if he hurt his brother. The countertenor couldn't complain though, Nick had done the same thing when he first found out about the two. Kurt took Blaine's hand as he rang the doorbell and waited to Quinn to answer. This week, the party is being held at Quinn's house, because Rachel's fathers are having theirs renovated, and Quinn was excited as the prospect of hosting, so they had it here. The blonde answered the door, excitedly hugging Kurt, kissing his cheek and pulling him through the door, taking both his coat and Blaine's. She turned on the Lead Warbler next, linking their arms and pulling him towards the den, where the party was, talking. Blaine shot Kurt a 'help-me' look, but Kurt just smirked and went ahead. Blaine heard him call out to Brittany, and then saw all of the New Directions gathered around as Quinn pulled him into the room
Rachel was the next to pounce, pinning him against the wall, and even with her size, he was terrified of her. He answered her questions, ignoring the ones about stealing their songs for regionals, and looked around the room. The ND boys were standing on one side of the room, watching him, looks on their faces that kind of terrified him, except for Finn who was just smiling at him… or at Rachel he couldn't really tell. Once the interrogations were done (he was approached by all of ND at one stage), they settled around the room, with people shouting ideas of what they could do, before they settled on starting with a little bit of karaoke. Kurt groaned, but told Rachel to go first, because anyone who knows Rachel, knows that you always let her go first, no matter what. Finn smiled, having been selected to run the music, and chose a song that put Rachel out of her comfort zone. This is why it's fun to watch, because they always pick songs for one another, that they either want to hear them try and perform, or that put them in a position where they aren't comfortable. They aren't there to scope out what the New Directions might have planned for regionals, but Blaine doesn't miss the opportunity to film some stuff, and make mental notes to take back to Warbler practice. He also doesn't miss the way Mercedes watches Kurt, like any moment he's going to do something he isn't meant to, and Kurt just stares back at her, almost like they're having a silent conversation. Nick mentioned to Blaine, to keep Kurt away from any alcohol that they might have, but the countertenor is driving, so Blaine doubts he'd be drinking. Most of the room is focused on Rachel, but Blaine is watching the interaction between Kurt and Mercedes. He quite likes the diva, she's protective of Kurt… sometimes overprotective, but regardless, he's unsure of what exactly she's been protective of. When Rachel finishes her song, their silent conversation stops, and Mercedes pulls Santana up to sing with the Latina girl, and Blaine cheers with the rest of them, letting Kurt curl up to him. The first time he meets the New Directions, they're not that bad.
Two days before Christmas Eve, the Warblers had somehow managed, with the unknowing help of Brittany, to sneak into the Auditorium and Choir Room at McKinley, and fill them with foam, and buckets of water, and sticky glue, so that when they opened the door they would all be covered. It had of course, be caught on camera (that Wes had set up), and the Warblers had gotten a good laugh out of the free shot. But now that it's back to war, Wes and the twins are on their guards the whole time. What the New Directions intended for their prank to get Wes and the twins, actually accidentally was taken out on Kurt, who was left drenched with water, covered in dirt, and a couple of bruised ribs and a fracture in his arm. Apparently, Puck had devised a foolproof plan, that involved taking over the Worthington House courtyard, and spraying them with water and buckets of dirt, whilst being pelted with slushies and those soft balls you throw around in volleyball. However, being paranoid as they should, the twins had made Kurt go outside before them, and without realising, ND attacked him. To say that Kurt was mad was an understatement. Finn had mentioned to Puck that Kurt had gotten him the most amazing gift, but that now he's unsure of whether or not to give it to him as punishment. ND did all they could to make it up to Kurt, but he needed to stew for a couple of days. He got them back, by hijacking the McKinley football rehearsal, and leaving the boys red-faced as they ran out onto the field wearing pink shirts and skirts instead of their football uniforms. It's been fun, but now that it's Christmas Eve, and Kurt and Blaine are looking back on the 'war' they're glad that it's over for another year. It definitely won't be the last though. Not if Puck has anything to say about it.
Nick doesn't know how he got roped into helping Burt find his ex-wife behind Kurt's back. If his best-friend found out that he's known, for the last two months, all the information about Elizabeth, and has been hiding it from him, well it might just send him over the edge. Nick and Burt are in the study of the Hudmel house, everyone else is out, and Kurt isn't arriving until tomorrow, but he called Nick over because Burt has to know. He needs the information now. Elizabeth Calder. That's her maiden name. The name she had before she married Burt Hummel, the mechanic from Lima Ohio. Nick knows that if Kurt finds out that he's doing this for Burt, he'd freak and then everything would go to the shit house. But if the bald man was going to hide things from his son, then that's his choice. Personally, Kurt wouldn't care, even if he knew. He would probably say good riddens to the woman, and head back in the opposite direction, but deep down... deep down, way beneath the hurt and the loss, Nick knows that his best-friend still loves his mother. That's why it hurts him so much to think about, because this woman is his mother. She's the one who birthed him, and then left him. That doesn't just go away. It stays with you and builds into other things in later life. Nick thinks back to Kurt's rebellious years, and remembers him saying something about her seeing it, or hearing about it, and coming home. It's stupid, for Kurt to think that she'd come back after fourteen years, but you can't tell him that. He's been through enough in the last two weeks; he doesn't need his father lying to him about this on his shoulders as well. He hands the bald man the manila folder, and Burt takes it, heading back to the study, where he closes the door and asks Nick to sit on the chair opposite the desk, which he does, albeit reluctantly, before turning to Burt, and telling him what he knows.
'Calder, Elizabeth. She's thirty seven, been in and out of rehab for years. Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder three years ago, and her parole officer said that she's lucky to be alive, after he found her passed out from an overdose when she was thirty-five. She's been in and out of abusive relationships, and has another kid, who is in the foster system, he's ten, and living with a family in…. Denver, Colorado. His name is Jared Hilden. I did a background on his foster parents, they're nice people, work at a family owned business, and have two kids of their own. Currently Elizabeth is at a hospice just out of…. Boulder, Colorado where she moved last year to be near her son. Been married an additional three times, the first to Geoff Hilden, Jared's father, he died of an overdose when Jared was three, and the second to Tom Ford, an investment banker, they were married for four years, before they got divorced after she relapsed. They had no children, and he's re-married, and currently she's married to Malcom Calder, a Salesman from Boulder' Nick said, and Burt looked impressed and annoyed all at the same time
'I knew there was something off about her. She went off her meds two weeks before she took off, and I though the doctor had prescribed her something different, but the erratic behaviour… I should have seen it,'
'Mr Hummel, all due respect, but I don't think you could have anticipated this life for her. She's been dealing with this since she was seventeen, and I think it came back to kick her while she was down,' Nick replied
'I'm going to Boulder for a couple of days. Don't let Kurt know,' He replied, standing
'Sir, Kurt and Blaine are going to be here tomorrow. How do you plan to get to and from Boulder in that time? How do you plan to keep this from them?' Nick asked, but Burt didn't say anything, just looked at his son's best-friend, before standing and leaving the room, Nick just sighed… this isn't going to end well.
A/N: Next Chapter: The first week back at school is dedicated to perfecting their National's numbers, and then they head to New York to participate, and take the time to look around at some schools. Kurt and Blaine discuss their futures, whether or not they're going to last through college, and Kurt presents Blaine with a promise ring. Nick feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, after he and Burt discuss Elizabeth, and hides it from Kurt. He and Jeff attend a post-National's party with New Directions, where he gets drunk and then admits to Jeff and Blaine that he knows where Kurt's mother is, and he's known for a while. This leads to a rift between the Lead Warbler, and Nick, after he pleads with Blaine not to tell Kurt. Wes says something to Blaine that offends him and Kurt, and the once tight nit group, take sides, and are almost torn apart. Flashbacks include: Kurt and Blaine's first date, the first time Kurt harms himself, the moment Blaine realised that he's in love with Kurt, and Nick and Kurt build a fort in the backyard and pretend they're pirates. Read and Review. Enjoy. JusticeIsn'tEasy0083. D.