Chapter 32: Pariah

From Kurt: how bad is it?

From Dave: could be worse no slushies here

From Kurt: stay away from dumpsters

From Dave: no one wants to get that close to me

From Kurt: cause gay's contagious (eye roll!)

From Dave: :)

Kurt pocketed his phone, and caught up with Tina. "Did you get the reading done?"

"No. Europe between the World Wars, please! I may or may not have spent the night over-dosing on Vampire Diaries."

"Damon or Stefan?" Kurt grinned knowingly.

"Damon."

"Does Mike know you have a thing for bad boys?"

Tina smirked at Kurt, as she took her seat. "What makes you think Mike can't be bad?"

"Did you hear about Karofsky?" Finn threw his back pack into the back seat and climbed into the passenger seat of Kurt's Navigator.

Kurt froze, his hand hovering over the ignition. "No, what?" He checked his rear view mirror and backed out of his parking space.

"The guys on the football team at his new school are saying that he's gay."

Kurt flipped his left turn flasher on, and waited for the light to change. "Where did you hear this?"

"The whole team was talking about it today. I think someone at his school sent out a tweet last night." Finn looked over at Kurt. "Karofsky! Shit! You think it's true?"

"You'll have to ask Dave that, Finn."

Finn stared at his step-brother, who was very carefully not looking at him. "You know don't you?"

"Why? Because Karofsky and I were such good friends?" Sarcasm was Kurt's first line of defense. It had taken Finn a while to figure that out, but hearing it now, confirmed his suspicions.

"You know something, dude. Usually you'd be all over a rumour like this. You'd be all OMG, really!" Finn tried to imitate Kurt's higher voice, but he only managed to sound squeaky. "But you're not saying anything." Finn shook his head. "And dude, you never not say anything."

"Thank you very much for that character assassination, brother mine." Kurt glared at Finn. "And, I do not sound like that!"

In the resulting squabble, Finn forgot about Karofsky.

"I told my parents."

"And?"

"My father didn't say anything, and my mother's still crying." Dave's voice dropped to a tearful whisper. "Kurt, she said I'm unnatural."

"She's wrong."

"She's my mother!" Dave's cry echoed through the phone.

"Yes, she's your mother, and she's wrong."

Kurt's absolute assurance was an amazing comfort, and Dave wrapped it around himself like a blanket. "I wish I was more like you."

Kurt couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Sorry, I just had an image of you in Alexander McQueen."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Dave, just give it time." Kurt was silent, debating whether or not to tell Dave that his story had reached McKinley. "Dave, just so you know, someone at your school tweeted last night. Finn said the football team was talking about it at practice today. By tomorrow every student at McKinley will know. It's a good thing you told your parents."

"Yeah, I guess. What did Finn say?"

"He was surprised, wondering if it was true. I told him to ask you."

"He didn't say anything else?"

"Dave, he's not going to wig out on you. Jeeze, he lives with me, and I'm way gayer than you'll ever be."

Dave laughed, as Kurt had intended him to. "I don't know dude, you said it takes time, right?"

Kurt switched gears, into high camp, borrowing from Emmett Honeycutt. "Baby, you will never be this fabulous."

Dave's crack of laughter was exactly what Kurt wanted to hear. "Dude, today was one long horror story, the kids at school walked around me like I had the plague, and then my parents. I didn't think anything could make me laugh, not today." Dave paced his room, stopped at his window, and looked out onto the darkening sidewalks. "Kurt, if you ever need anything. I mean it. I owe you."

"Well, there may be some heavy lifting and IKEA assembling required when I move to N.Y."

"I'm there!"

"Kurt!" Finn hollered down the stairs. "Nigel's here."

"Dave, Nigel's here. Call me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, thanks Kurt."

"No problem."

Nigel and Kurt lay spooned together on the couch in front of the big screen in Kurt's room. The TV was on low, just background noise.

"His mother's pretty upset. She's religious."

Nigel snorted. "Guess she forgot that part in the bible that says, 'You Shall Love Your Neighbour As Yourself.'

"They always do."

Nigel held Kurt close, thinking about his own high school experience and how much effort he had put into hiding who he was. "How did the guys on his team find out, anyway?"

"I don't know. He never said." Kurt twined his fingers with Nigel's. "Although, they spray painted his locker the day after Valentine's so…Oh, my god!" Kurt jerked out of Nigel's arms. He sat facing his boyfriend, eyes round with horror. "It's my fault!"

"Really? How do you figure that?"

"Dave was with me at Breadstix, just before Sugar's party. That's when he told me that he was my secret admirer." Kurt closed his eyes trying to remember exactly. "Dave was leaving, and a guy sitting in a booth recognized him." Kurt opened eyes dull with worry and guilt. "Nick, his name was Nick. He saw Dave with me. He must be the one who told everyone that Dave was gay. It's my fault."

Nigel swung his legs off the couch and sat up. "Oh, you told Dave to send you Valentine's cards, and balloons, and telegrams? You told him to meet you at a restaurant on Valentine's Day wearing a gorilla suit?"

"No, of course, I …"

Nigel didn't let Kurt finish. "No. Those were all Dave's decisions. He took the chance that Breadstix was far enough away from his school that no one would recognize him. He was wrong, but that was not your fault. You did not out him, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel!"

"Okay, Okay I hear you." Kurt jabbed Nigel in the stomach. "You didn't have to use my middle name." Kurt pushed Nigel back down and straddled him. "Who told you my middle name anyway? Finn? I'm going to kill him." Kurt started to tickle Nigel.

Nigel tried to bat Kurt's hands away, but laughter seriously impeded his efforts. "No, not Finn." Nigel gasped out the words between laughing and swatting at Kurt. "It was your Dad."

Kurt stopped, and stared at Nigel. "My Dad told you?"

"Yeah, why?"

Kurt smiled. "It means he likes you." He started to undo the buttons on Nigel's shirt. "If he's telling you stuff about me, it means he likes you. If he ever asks you over to watch football on Sunday, it means you're part of the family."

"Well, actually…"

"No!" Kurt worked Nigel's belt open. "You know what this means, don't you?"

Nigel sent his hands snaking up Kurt's back, under his T-shirt. "What?"

Kurt looked down at his boyfriend. His eyes lit with laughter, a teasing smile on his lips. "You're going to have to marry me!"