Author's note: A reminder of what happened originally with the whole car-scene and Blaine being drugged by Sebastian. Another reminder that this is an AU from the First Time. This chapter got away on me. I've cut it in half. Sorry about that. You'll have to wait for the next chapter for Dave jumping to conclusions.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"We need to talk."

If it were anyone else his blood would have run cold, but Honey doesn't make his blood do anything so he just lets out a long sigh and tries to think of a place where they can go and talk privately while still be public, because he wouldn't put it past her to try something. Or tie him up and leave him naked somewhere. She looks pretty pissed off with him. He waves a hand in farewell to Terence and Nate as she tugs him determinedly down the hallway.

So he ignored her overtures on Valentine's, but it's not like he had any choice. Even simple thanks would have been taken as encouragement and he doesn't want to encourage her at all. He leads her into the gymnasium. There's a class trying to learn basketball but the stands are empty and he heads up to the top, knowing they'll be able to talk but not be overheard and hopefully stop any rumors that they snuck off to make out in their tracks. Honey doesn't look like she is about to say anything so he decides to try prompting her.

"You said you wanted to talk?"

"Why do you not want to go out with me?" Rubbing his face with his hands he lets out a long resigned sigh. "I've done everything I can think of! Do you not like me?"

The last is asked quietly and fuck he's pretty sure she's on the verge of crying, which isn't something he can deal with. But he doesn't like her, not this slightly, no, very, obsessive and driven girl that seems to completely disregard every word from his mouth.

"Look Honey, it's not that I don't like you, but I'm not ever going to go out with you okay? I'm not playing hard to get. I'm not pining after Santana." He's not saying anything she hasn't heard before, but judging from the look on her face she's actually finally listening to what he's saying, as opposed to just hearing it. "I just don't get why you want to go out with me so badly. I'm not anyone special, and I am actually gay. I didn't just say that as an excuse to not go out with you."

"I just want people to like me."

"What? Why?" He has no idea why going out with him would make people like her.

"I know people think I'm dumb, but I'm not.I want to feel like I've done something when I finish high school and… there's only three months left."

"And how is going out with me going to accomplish that exactly?"

"You're friends with everyone. You know their names, even the freaky looking ones who scare me a little."

"Well, calling them freaky looking won't earn you any points in their favor." Honey looks at him with watery eyes and he feels like he's somehow kicked a puppy or something. "Look, how about you try having lunch with me, Nate and Terence for a week, move around the tables at lunch rather than just sitting with the other cheerleaders?"

"Do I have to?"

"No. But I'm not going out with you either. If you want people to like you then you have to give them the opportunity to get to know you. The real you."

She doesn't look happy with what he's saying, and he's striking off counselor as one of his potential career choices, not that it was there in the first place, but hell, this is not his idea of a fun time. He has no idea what the real Honey is possibly like, for all he knows she could be obsessive and out of touch with reality.

"And do Nathan and Terence know the real Dave?"

"Yes."

"They know that you're 'gay'?"

He's pissed off at the little air quotes and snarky twist she puts on the word gay and he knows he probably looks a little angry.

"'Yes'." He replies, voice saccharine sweet but eyes hard. Her eyes widen.

"You told Nathan and Terence?"

"Yeah. Along with my dad, my step-mom and a few other friends. Nate and Terence are my friends. I want my friends to know shit like that about me."

She blinks and then shakes her head.

"I… really?" He nods. "I guess you really are gay then. I just, you don't seem the type."

He feels like laughing at her, but she seems so earnest and holy shit, it's taken her months to maybe believe him but it looks like she might have actually had a break through. About fucking time.

"I hate to break it to you, but we come in all shapes and sizes."

"What? Guys?"

"Well, yeah. But gay guys too. There's not just one template."

She looks a little wide eyed as she takes it in, but he's pretty sure she's got it now. He stands up and she follows his lead, taking the steps back down to the court. He notices a couple of people watching them and he knows there will be rumors, but he can't stop those. They start walking back to their lockers, and he hopes this is the end of it. The sight of his own face, grinning back at him from the wall, the words 'Dave for Prom King' make his stomach churn.

"What the fuck?"

"Oh. Didn't you know? You've been nominated. No one told you?"

"No," he growls out, and fucking Kara and Terence and their fucking plotting.

"Nominations close this Friday. I haven't been nominated."

He knows it's a not-so-subtle hint, but he remembers the bet she has going with the other cheerleaders, and maybe this is a way to derail Kara and Terence's plans.

"Well I'm not going."

"What? Why not? Even with a chance to be Prom King?"

"I was Prom King at my prom last year, I can't say I enjoyed the experience much."

He stomps off down the hallway, determined to find Terence and get him to explain.

LSY

Terence is as useful as tits on a bull and the next day at lunch when Honey joins them, and answers both Nate's and Terence's incredulous looks with a 'Dave invited me' he just groans. It's a day with the drama club, which is nice and normal really. They're all slightly obsessed with the up and coming school play, practicing lines and talking about sets to pay much attention, although the addition of Honey does raise a few eyebrows. He's glad it's Friday, he can escape the insanity of school for a couple of days.

Tonight he's got a chilled evening planned with Nate and Az. His dad and Claire have already left to spend the weekend in Columbus, taking the twins with them, so he has the house to himself for the weekend, a fact he's keeping pretty quiet as he has a football game tomorrow night and doesn't want the team deciding his place is good for an after match function.

"So, is there any reason why you never sit with Vocal Adrenaline?"

Terence and Nathan both look toward him and he rolls his eyes.

"Even I have my limits. And they'd accuse me of spying or something stupid."

"Hmm. They are definitely really intense. And they're even more cliquey than us. The cheerleaders I mean. I'm probably going to have to do some serious explaining as to why I sat with you today."

She keeps talking. And talking. Nathan looks like he's trying to not bust his guts laughing out loud and Terence looks quietly amused. She talks about everything and nothing and he's wondering what he might just have unleashed upon himself.

LSY

The beginning of March brings a bit more warmth to the air, which he luxuriates in and layers his clothes accordingly. As much as he likes his winter coat collection he much prefers the shoulder seasons and the ability to show his style off. The one thing he isn't enjoying is the histrionics of the newly re-formed glee club. Practice had been brutal and his temper has frayed enough with the in-house bickering among them that he's ready to scream. He strides into the Lima Bean, ignoring his no coffee past seven rule and orders his usual

"If it isn't gay-face. Heard you couldn't handle your boyfriend getting frisky."

He doesn't even think, doesn't pause to consider anything as he turns towards the smarmy voice and lets his fist fly. He bites back an oath at the sudden sharp shooting pain in his hand as bone crunches against Sebastian's cheek. Punching someone is harder than it looks. He forces himself to also bite back the almost automatic apology that forms. He is not apologizing for that, especially seeing as it hasn't even knocked Sebastian over, simply made him sway back a bit, surprise written all over his face. He isn't the only one surprised. He turns on his heel, leaving his coffee order and runs to his car.

His first instinct is to go home, but he knows Rachel is going to be there for dinner, with her dads. He knows Finn is planning something crazy, because he'd asked Kurt's opinion on rings. He'd begrudgingly given it, along with the advice that he was too young to get married. Finn had only been half-listening and he doesn't want to go home right now. Awkward family dinner moments — he's had enough of those. His hand is throbbing and he flexes it. Surely if it were broken it would hurt a lot more than it does, although he's pretty sure he's not imagining the swelling.

Ice. He needs ice. He pulls out his phone and then slides it back into his pocket. Dave has ice, and he knows he's home tonight. He drives carefully, the changing of gears making his hand ache slightly. He parks and heads for the door, unsure if he should knock or just go in. They expect him on Wednesdays, and sometimes Tuesdays as well, but this is a Friday, and apart from New Year's he's not really here to socialize with others, and he knows Dave invites his friends from Carmel around.

He compromises by knocking and opening the door at the same time, calling out quietly. He likes that their front door is always open, not that Lima is a crime-capital or anything, but ever since he was little his dad has made sure he locked the door if he was home alone.

"Hello Kurt, how are you?"

"Hey Claire. I'm… okay. Do you think maybe I could get some ice?"

She immediately looks concerned and he briefly explains punching Sebastian, embarrassed that he resorted to violence even if a part of him feels like it's totally justified. He can hear Dave's low laughter coming from the lounge, and another voice who he suspects is Nathan laughing back. Huh. The pang of something is unexpected, and he easily recognizes it as envy. He's not sure if it's for the happy couple sounds, or that Dave is apparently no longer single and hasn't told him or… something else entirely. It worries him a bit that it might actually be something else.

He shakes his head and follows Claire through to the kitchen and allows her to fuss for a bit. He's in two minds as to whether to leave and face the awkward dinner at home, or to stay and be a third wheel. Although maybe Az is here and is feeling distinctly uncomfortable with being the third-wheel already. He accepts the ice-pack gratefully and heads for the lounge and only pauses slightly at the sight of Nathan laying full length on the sofa with his feet in Dave's lap.

"Hey."

"Hey. Kurt. What are you —what did you do to your hand?"

"I punched Sebastian."

"What? When? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just some bruised knuckles maybe. I have no idea how Noah broke Blaine's nose. Punching someone really hurts."

"Is there some fight club I need to be made aware of?" Nathan asks, sitting up and looking interested and Kurt shakes his head.

"Just drama. And a smarmy asshole life-ruiner."

Nathan looks at him with raised eyebrows and he waves his good hand in dismissal, shaking his head, because it's not important enough to go into. He sits in the comfortable one-seater Dave had indicated he should sit in on his first ever visit here and smiles at the irony that he is comfortable here, in this house and with Dave for company. More than comfortable.

"I know I'm not meant to support violence, but did you knock him over?"

"No. Shocked him more than anything I think. What were you guys doing?"

"Talking about Honey. She's joined forces with Kara."

He's heard everything about the Honey saga, Dave filling him in with wild theories about plots and Prom King nominations and how he's just refusing to go to Prom at all this year, which he completely gets because he doubts he'll go either.

"What are they trying to do now?"

"Ensure I go to prom."

"It's okay, we can avoid prom together. I can't say I have ever enjoyed them," Nathan states, and Kurt supposes he's probably had horrible experiences as well. What a sad bunch they are, although the idea of Dave and Nathan avoiding prom together almost sounds like an admission of togetherness and he decides to go, standing to leave even though he knows he's only been here a few minutes and it seems a little erratic.

"I'm going to go home. I should have just gone straight home, but I kind of wanted to avoid Rachel and her dads. You two enjoy your… uh, evening."

The look Dave gives him is clearly confused, and okay, so maybe he's reading everything wrong, but Nathan is giggling, giggling, and lying back down on the sofa. He's not going to be a third-wheel to Dave's potential happiness and first boyfriend or… whatever it is going to be.

He's not.