Dave

Everything was going perfectly! No one knew about me (except for Kurt, Lauren, mum, Kurt's dad and that Blaine guy but they weren't planning on telling), no one was hurting Kurt any more (but that's mainly because I was the top offender) and most of all I was dating Kurt.

Even at school, when nobody could know, our eyes would meet in the canteen or he'd shoot me a quick wink when nobody was watching. I texted him all the things I missed about his presence and he sent back texts that made me feel so much better. After school we'd meet up, and on weekends, and spend our time just talking or watching films, going out to dinner or shopping. I had Kurt drag me into shops on a regular basis and dress me in new outfits. I was like his little doll. I didn't mind, he actually had good taste in clothes. So he'd give me fashion advice and I'd treat him to ice cream, or whatever low fat frozen yoghurt crap he wanted. Things were perfect.

But of course it didn't last long before the perfection was ruined.

It was first lesson on a Wednesday. I was buzzing as Kurt had met me before school for a long due make out session. And hell, it was a good one. I was settling into English when Az came in, his forehead in creases. He searched for me and made his way over.

'Man, I need to tell you something!' he said in a low voice, so nobody could here. 'It's Hummel.'

I was immediately alert. 'What? Is he alright?' I questioned.

'I heard the guys talking this morning. They were saying he's not been harassed in way too long and if they don't watch out he'll get too big for his boots. I think they're planning something for break. I knew you'd probably want to know, but don't do something stupid, okay? Just be discreet.'

What the actual fuck? The guys were such dicks! I knew where I'd be at break. Finding Kurt and making sure he was safe. For now, I flipped out my phone and sent a quick text to Kurt. I didn't want to worry him, but I wanted to make sure he was alright.

'Hey, you okay? Just to say, be careful, stick with your friends :) xx'

The kisses had become a little habit now. Kurt had began adding them to texts since we began our boyfriend relationship and I, not wanting to make him feel awkward and wanting to show my affection, began adding them too. Anyway, I didn't want to discourage him from sending them back.

From Fancy: I'm fine, why do I need to be careful? What's wrong? xx

I didn't want him to worry. I just wanted him to be safe.

'Nothing, just be on guard. See you after school, I believe it's my turn to host the evening xx'

From Fancy: I count on it being a good one too! See you then xx

I had become nervous over the first portion of the day. Az and occasionally teachers having to snap me out of my little daydreams. Or daymares?

Images of Kurt flushed through my mind, yeah that was normal, but as I became more worried the images got worse. I saw him hurt, afraid. I needed him by break time. I needed to see he was okay.

I knew what lesson he had. He had Maths. I'd somehow managed to remember most of his lessons. Wow I really was quite creepy. So as soon as the bell rang out I rushed to his lesson, finding him as he just left and was walking off. I wasn't sure where, but he'd decided to stroll off on his own. Damn it!

I followed him, staying a good distance and only hurrying when he turned corners. However I got to one corner he'd turned and he wasn't there. I rushed down the corridor, looking each way. I was panicking, I admit it, but I needed to know he was alright. No one was going to hurt him whilst I was around.

Then I found him. In the middle of a sea of red letterman jackets, all heading in the same direction. Well shit.

Kurt

I wasn't sure what was going on. One moment, I'd been heading to my history class to give in my essay and the next I felt firm hands on my shoulders, leading me in another direction. It was the jocks. Well the ones who weren't in glee and Dave and Azimio weren't there either. So it was the ones left over. They dragged me down the corridor as I protested rather loudly, but when we reached the sports end of the school, I was pushed under the bleachers and turned to face the crowd above me.

'What do you want?' I demanded and they all laughed at me.

'You need to know what you get for being a fag in this school, Hummel. And lately, you ain't been getting it,' called out one of them. I wasn't sure which, I didn't care. I was too nervous about what was about to happen. I'd never actually been beaten up before. Just shoved in dumpsters, against lockers and had various possessions of mine broken or stolen. But never beaten up.

I braced myself as one of them moved towards me, fist already clenched. He grabbed the front of my shirt (I decided it wasn't a good time to complain that he'd crease it) and pulled me upwards so that my face was mere inches away from his fist. I closed my eyes and waited for it. Who was I kidding? This was going to happen someday, so I may as well just get it over and done with.

But it didn't come.

Instead I heard a booming voice from behind the crowd. 'Get away from him!' I instantly recognised who it was.

Dave came bounding up, separating the guy's fist from my shirt and stepping between us. I saw his hands squeeze into fists at his sides.

'You gone all homo on us, Karofsky?' shouted one of the lettermans, causing an eruption of laughter from the rest of the group.

'Shut the fuck up. You're all dickheads. Leave him the fuck alone, right? Or I'll make sure that Figgins and Bieste have something to say about it,' he threatened. Okay it was kind of a soft threat, but they all knew that Principal Figgins had enough complaints about them and from what I'd heard Coach Bieste wasn't exactly the softest of coaches.

'Oh shit, Karofsky's gone soft!' shouted another, but they all saw that they should clear away, and they did. Dave and I were left under the bleachers, me knelt on the floor and Dave standing above me. He offered to help me up and I gratefully tugged on his hand to get up.

'Thanks, Dave. I'm sorry, I know you told me to stay with my friends. I see why,' I said. He hesitated for a moment, but pulled me into a hug, letting my head rest on his chest. We stood there, holding each other for a couple of minutes, but both seemed to realise where we were and broke apart.

'Sorry you have to deal with that, Kurt. Those guys are seriously messed up,' he muttered. He looked guilty. Why did he look so guilty?

'What's wrong Dave?' I asked timidly and he met my eyes.

'Nothing... it's just that... well I used to be like that. It could have been me in that crowd. I'm glad it's not, but how the hell did you forgive me after all that crap I put your through? It still amazes me,' he confessed. I smiled up at him and lifted his chin up to look at him properly.

'Because, Dave Karofsky, you were sorry. And I could see you meant it. Besides, how could I resist your charm, huh?' We both let out a chuckle.

He pulled me into another hug and after a moments hesitation, whispered softly in my ear, 'I love you.'

And there were the butterflies and heart flutters. Holy prada, he loved me. And...

'I love you too,' I whispered back.

He pulled out of the hug and examined me, as if he were looking to see whether I was lying or not.

'Really?' he muttered.

'Really,' I told him. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. I smiled up at him and I was about to suggest we start to go to class when a voice sounded from a few metres away.

'Looks like Karofsky really is a homo.'

Dave

I looked around for the voice. Christopher Strando. Fuck!

Kurt and I both stared at him for a while, not knowing what to say. Should I beg him not to tell anybody? Convince him he misinterpreted the situation? Deny it completely? The option I could not consider was telling him the truth. I was busted.

'Strando...' I began but he cut me off.

'Fuck, Karofsky. What the fuck has the homo done to you?'

That was it.

'What the hell are you on about? Are you people not educated? He's not done anything to me!' I yelled at him. He looked slightly taken aback.

'Then why the fuck are you all gay all of a sudden?' I couldn't answer without admitting I was gay. 'See you later, Karofsky. Have fun bumming your fag.'

I was prepared to go and punch his face off, but Kurt grabbed my arm and shook his head.

'I'm so sorry, Dave,' he whispered.

'What are you sorry for? It's not your fault. It's mine. It's done now. No way out,' I muttered back, but as I did I could feel my eyes stinging. I could not cry. I was not going to show Kurt how weak I was. But at the thought of everybody knowing, I squeezed my eyes shut and sat on the grass, leaning forwards to rest my head in my hands.

Kurt sat next to me and attempted to comfort me. Okay, so it helped a little, but I didn't want this. I wanted Kurt, but not for this reason. Not because I was breaking down after someone found out I was gay.

The bell rang out for the next lesson and I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes to rid of any unwanted tears. I said my goodbyes to Kurt, who asked if I should be going to lesson.

'If I don't show up, they'll know they got to me. If they know about me, then I may as well face them now,' I told him. A few minutes later and I was in class. No one said anything. No one did for the next few lessons actually. In fact I thought that he hadn't told anybody. Just as I got my hopes up, it was lunch time. I met with Azimio, who wore a worried expression.

'Dave, how the fuck do they know?' he asked.

Well shit.

'Busted. Shit, what am I going to do?' Was I really asking Azimio for advice? Probably not the best plan.

'Look, dude, just ignore whatever the fuck they have to say, okay? You're Dave fucking Karofsky. You don't stand for any of this shit!'

I didn't feel like the usual Dave Karofsky. I felt like the hidden Dave Karofsky. The scared shitless, closet case Karofsky. But I held my head high as I went to get my lunch.

'The fag's here boys! Make sure he doesn't get behind you,' one of the guys called as I went past. I ignored him and went on to having lunch with Azimio as they jeered and shouted. And of course people were interested. They peered over at who they were yelling at. I'm not sure whether they guessed it was me, or just assumed they couldn't see this person or something.

But I survived lunch. Lessons weren't so hard. We were encouraged to sit down and shut up. That meant no one said anything to me. All contact with anybody was avoided for the short period of time I was in lesson. I sat and pretended nothing had happened. It was easy enough to do. Pretend nothing had happened. Well of course it was until I escaped lesson.

The word had spread pretty fast about me being gay. I suspected that Jacob Israel may have had something to do with that, but I had other things to worry about. Like getting out of school alive. The halls were lined with people, some ignoring me completely, some yelling things at me, some just briefly nodding as I walked past. But I didn't care. I didn't want any of these people. I wanted to talk to Kurt. But I couldn't here. So I'd wait for him to get to mine and we'd talk. It would be okay. It would be fine.

Kurt

'So did you hear?' Mercedes asked as I slammed my locker shut.

'Here what?' I said curiously.

'About Dave Karofsky. He's gay! How ironic is that!' he chortled.

'I know. I'm dating him,' I said. Her laughter stopped and she glared at me.

'You're what?' she demanded.

'I'm dating him. Sorry, I should have told you but you wouldn't have understood,' I explained.

'How … but you... Kurt you hate him, he made your life hell, what the heck are you on about?' she babbled.

'About a month ago, he apologised and came out to me. I couldn't exactly tell you everything without telling you he was gay and he didn't want people to know, but beings as everybody knows now anyway I might as well tell you. Anyway, I got to know him and we went out a couple of times and it turns out that I really like him. And he likes me too.'

Mercedes stared at me as if I was a stranger. 'Kurt, why the hell didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have told anybody. Besides, are you sure about him?'

'God, you sound just like Blaine!' I complained, but Mercedes just narrowed her eyes.

'You told Blaine? You told Blaine but you didn't tell me? And I thought you had you heart set on dating Blaine! Where the hell did that go?' she questioned.

'I knew I could tell Blaine because he doesn't know Dave. You do. So that would make Dave uncomfortable and that's not fair. And I thought I had my heart set on dating Blaine, but like I said, I got to know Dave. In fact Blaine couldn't go out with me because he was going out with his boyfriend and that's when I went on my first date with Dave. Honestly, Mercedes, I think you'd like the new Dave. He's completely different,' I told her. She eased up a bit.

'Fine, I see why you didn't tell me. Even though you can trust me with anything! But are you really that sure about him? He did bully you severely,' she muttered, unsurely.

'I'm positive. He explained about the bullying and he apologised. He really meant it. I could tell. I really am sorry I couldn't tell you 'Cedes.'

'That's alright, Kurt. I guess if you're happy then I'm happy. I'm off home. Catch you tomorrow,' she said and left me standing alone by my locker. I was quite late leaving, the halls were empty and the car park had been long deserted.

I climbed into my car and checked my phone. Dave should be home by now. So I jabbed his name and held the phone to my ear.

'Hello?' came a shaky voice.

'Dave, it's Kurt. Am I still alright to come round or did you want to be alone?'

'Come round. If you want, of course. I... I could do with someone here.'

'I'm on my way, see you soon.'

I disconnected the call and almost immediately started the car, driving away as fast as possible to my boyfriend's house.

He needed me and I would be there for him.

Dave

As soon as Kurt had hung up, I switched my phone off and put it in a drawer. I couldn't take it. Ever since we'd left home I'd been receiving texts and notifications, each with a cruel message or phrase or word. I'd looked at a few of them, but I'd ended up nearly throwing my phone out of the window. I sat curled up in a ball on my bed waiting for Kurt. He'd be here soon and I needed him now more than ever.

Mum wasn't home, she'd gone out with a few of her friends to catch up. Lauren was working over. I was alone. How did I spend my alone time? Sat weeping in my hands, trying to get rid of the hateful messages that were scarred into my thoughts.

The doorbell rang and I fled to get it, checking it was Kurt before I answered. As soon as I opened the door, he flung his arms around me and I just broke. I wasn't sure where it came from, but I was highly aware of the door being open, so I kicked it shut and let Kurt lead me up to my room. We sat on my bed and he held me as I let out all my tears onto his silky jumper. Guess I'd messed up my chances of not looking weak in front of him.

'This is a bit of a stupid question Dave, but what's wrong? It's not just people knowing, there's something else,' he mumbled into my hair. I pulled apart from him and opened the drawer, retrieving my phone and handing it to him. He switched it on and was greeted by the messages and notifications that I'd refused to read.

'Oh,' was all he could say and he wrapped his arms back around me. I didn't care what I looked like at that moment. I just wanted to stay in the protection of Kurt's loving arms forever. I didn't want the outside world. It hated me.

My blubbering calmed down and Kurt muttered soft and soothing words into my hair, laying gentle kisses on my forehead. He really was good at comforting a guy.

'I'm sorry, Kurt. I probably look a wreck,' I said, allowing my thoughts to slip through.

'Don't apologise to me. You don't look a wreck. You look human,' he told me.

Thanks? I guess,' I mumbled.

'I just meant that this is a perfectly reasonable reaction. You're just human after all David. Although, with the amount of ice cream you can eat, some wouldn't believe it,' he said. I let out a chuckle at that. It felt good laughing at Kurt's jokes again. How did he manage to make me feel so good all the time?

'How did you put up with it?' I said, my chuckle faded.

'I guess I just went with it. People expected me to be gay, so it wasn't really that big a deal,' he told me. I guess that was true. It wasn't that Kurt was girly, he just embraced things that boys would never normally embrace, like singing and appearance and clothing. He used proper language and spoke French. To most teenage boys that spelt out G-A-Y.

'I s'pose,' I said back, sitting up to look at Kurt. My eyes were probably red, as the black eye had faded dramatically, by Kurt just stared at them.

'Did I ever tell you that I love the colour of your eyes, Dave?' he whispered.

'Nope, but you stare at them enough.'

'Well I do. It's amazing.'

He ran his thumb over my jaw and leaned in, spreading a kiss over my lips. And with the power of his amazing kisses, I left the real world and entered my own, where no one mocked, no one cared, and most of all I got to kiss Kurt all day.