Chapter 31: Help

Kurt's pocket vibrated. Slipping his phone out, he checked to make sure his Spanish teacher wasn't looking his way. He did not want his phone confiscated for the rest of the day. His screen read missed call. He hit the phone icon and Karofsky's name appeared. Not a call he had expected to get! Dave had been so embarrassed last night at Breadstix, that Kurt had been positive he'd never hear from the jock again. What could he want? What could Kurt possibly say to him? He had already told him that he was with someone else. He put his phone on the desk, hidden behind his Spanish text book. What did he want?

Kurt frowned at the phone, as it vibrated again. This time he was not surprised, when Karofsky's name came up. Maybe he was one of those guys that just couldn't take no for an answer. Kurt rolled his eyes. Just what he needed!

Not quite three minutes later, his phone danced on the desk, and then again, two minutes after that. Enough! There was no way he was going to let Dave stalk him long distance. Kurt scrolled down to Dave's name in his contact list, and sent a text.

From Kurt: in class I'll call in

Kurt checked the clock over the classroom door.

15

From Dave: k thanx

Kurt read the text. Thanks? That didn't sound like a stalker. Kurt put his phone away, and made an effort to get his head back into Spanish. He took notes on autopilot, the meaning of which totally eluded him. Most of his mind was occupied with deciphering the puzzle of Dave's call.

"Complete the exercises at the end of the chapter. Have them ready for the Friday."

Kurt shoved his books into his messenger bag, and filtered through the students clogging the classroom door. In the hallway, he dug out his phone. He called Dave en route to the girl's washroom.

"Kurt!"

Kurt almost dropped his phone, he was so surprised. Dave was crying!

"Dave, what's wrong?" Kurt shouldered open the door to the washroom, and leaned against the row of sinks.

"They all know! Everyone! What am I going to do?"

Kurt almost said 'know what', but then it clicked. Dave would only be this upset about one thing.

"What happened?"

"In the boy's locker room…" Dave took a breath, trying to stop the tears. "They spray painted my locker."

"Dave, I'm so sorry."

"They just stood around watching me, laughing. I didn't say anything. I ran."

"Where are you?"

"Behind the school, teacher's parking lot. I can't go back in there, Kurt."

"Okay, I know, I know." Kurt sighed. "Go home, Dave."

"I can't! My mom will want to know why I'm home so early. I can't tell my parents, Kurt. I just can't."

"There must be a coffee shop near you, right?"

"Yeah, there's a few, why?"

"Okay, go there. Do some homework, play games on your phone, eat, doesn't matter. Just kill some time till you can go home."

"Yeah, okay."

Kurt hesitated. "Do you want me to come over tonight?"

"No, no. I'm okay."

But Kurt could hear it in his voice, he so clearly wasn't okay.

"I just had to talk to someone." Dave cleared his throat trying to stuff the emotion away. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I didn't know who else to …"

"You're not bothering me, Dave. Look, call me tonight."

"Yeah, all right."

"Promise?"

Dave almost smiled at the imperious demand in Kurt's voice. "All right, I promise. I'll call. Thanks, Kurt."

"Bye, Dave."

Kurt was midway through his Spanish homework, when his phone rang out. Kurt smiled, hearing the Adam Lambert song he had assigned to Nigel.

"Hey, hot stuff. Coming over tonight?"

Nigel snorted. "You know I'm just an average height, skinny guy with glasses, right?"

"No, I do not! I know you're the perfect height for me, I love sucking and nibbling on your abs, and your glasses are sexy." Kurt's voice changed subtly the way it always did when he thought about Nigel. "And no one but me gets to see how beautiful your eyes are."

"Oh, God! Kurt, don't do this to me. I've got a paper due in three days, and a discussion group in world economics tomorrow."

Kurt laughed. "Sounds like fun."

"You have no idea."

"Go, work. Call me when you're done. I'll talk to you until you're 'relaxed'."

Nigel's smile sounded in his voice. "You realize you just made relaxed sound incredibly smutty."

"I'm sure you're mistaken." Kurt managed to sound insulted but Nigel wasn't buying it.

"No, I'm not."

"Go, study, Dennison. I'll talk to you later."

"Looking forward to it!"

"Leche!" Kurt smiled as he hit end call.

He was veg'ing on the couch in his room, watching some ridiculous comedy on Netflix, when his cell chirped. Karofsky's name flashed across the screen.

"Hi."

"Hi." Silence, Dave didn't know where to start.

"How are you?" Kurt spoke softly, the way he would to an injured person. Which was appropriate, actually, because Dave was hurt; it's just that the wounds were on the inside.

"Not good." Dave had been hiding in his room since he got home. He told his mother that he had a migraine. "It's all over Facebook, Kurt. Too many kids know, someone's going to mention it to their parents, and eventually my parents will find out."

"It might be better if you told them before that happens, Dave."

Dave whimpered. "My mom's one of those born again Christians, Kurt. She won't understand."

"Maybe not, but she won't be happy if someone says something when she's at the grocery store."

"You're right. I know I have to tell them." Dave took a shaky breath. "I've got to go back to school tomorrow. When I left McKinley my father said this school was my last chance." Dave sighed. "Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you do it? How did you walk into school every day, knowing that we, especially me, were going to make your life a living hell?"

"It wasn't easy. People laughing at you, and calling you names, not to mention the slushies, the dumpster dives, the locker slams, none of that is easy."

"I'm so ashamed of myself. I'm so sorry. I…"

"I know Dave, you told me last year. I'm just trying to answer your question." Kurt sighed. "I could do it mostly, I think, because of two things. One, my father was always on my side. He knew…" Kurt chuckled. "…apparently, he knew before I did, and he loved me anyway. And two, I always knew that there was nothing wrong with me." Kurt let his voice go all 'ice princess', hoping to make Dave laugh. "I knew there was something seriously wrong with all of you, but there was nothing wrong with me."

Dave did laugh. It was a poor miserable excuse for a laugh, but a good start. "I think I always knew that too."

"Do you know that Dave? Do you know that there's nothing wrong with being gay?"

Dave lost it. He broke down into sobs so deep it scared Kurt to hear it. "How can it not be wrong Kurt? Everyone says it's wrong."

"Not everyone, Dave. Not the people who matter."

"Yeah, like my mother, and my minister, and the guys at school." Dave sounded defeated and Kurt could understand that.

"Even mothers can be wrong, yes. You can find a gay friendly church, maybe not in Lima, but you can find one. And once you graduate you'll never have to deal with any of those guys again."

"I don't know how I'm going to get through the rest of the year."

"You just have to get through tomorrow."

"Like AA?"

"Yeah, one day at a time."

"I'll try."

"Call me tomorrow."

"Thanks Kurt for…for listening."

"Night, Dave."