Author's note: My apologies for the time it has taken to get this updated. I have moved house, had tonsillitis, had a child hospitalized etc etc. I.e. RL got to the point where everything else went on the back burner.

(A complete aside to the story, but in the first year of my relationship with my now husband I was hospitalized during the night and he woke up to a post-it on his door with the message "J's in hospital". Not being from my city he had no idea where the hospital even was and mobile phones weren't common 13 years ago. He went straight to the university and demanded to know where the hospital was and when my friends found out *why* he needed to know I ended up with two car loads of rowdy 20-somethings causing a lot of problems on the ward. They got kicked out.)

Warning: Homophobic language and actions. There is no direct written violence. It ends on another cliff hanger...

CHAPTER TWENTYTWO

His heart is racing and he's scrabbling as to what to do. He can feel more than a dozen pairs of eyes on him, watching and waiting to see how he's going to react. He wishes he fucking well knew wH

"Fuck, I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Nate…"

"Just breathe okay?" Nathan says, voice barely a whisper and his lips don't even move.

"Oh, look, it's his little fairy friend."

Nathan just rolls his eyes and gives whoever said that the middle finger. He's not sure that's very wise.

"Brush it off. Terence is walking down the hall now. Just pull out the books you need and… just breathe okay?"

He huffs a soft laugh at that, nervous, but also the over protectiveness of his friend making him feel more than a little pathetic. He does as Nathan suggests, noting that the paint is still wet and he can't help but get some on his fingers and he stares at the yellow smears until his shoulder is bumped and he looks up to Terence watching him.

"Dude, come on. We're going to the office to report this. Whoever's done this," Terence looks pointedly at Carl, "probably didn't even remember that there's like security cameras covering every inch of this school."

Carl's eyes narrow at that, and even though he knew it was him it confirms it in even more so in his mind. Fuck. Seeing there's going to be nothing interesting happening most people have walked off, or at least stopped watching. There's still a few shooting him covert looks and he really wishes they would stop. He doesn't like being so exposed like this. He lets Nathan and Terence walk him toward the main office, flanking him on either side. He finds he really appreciates it, although has no idea how to voice it. The first bell hasn't even rung, so the halls are still crowded and the way new sets of eyes look at them he knows they all know.

It's not as bad as he feared, and he only has two weeks left of school. Ten days. He can do this. He listens as Terence informs the school administrator about the vandalism, tells her they need to speak to the principal and the serious look on his face gets an immediate response. They're told to take a seat and wait and he doesn't want to be here, but the heavy hand on his shoulder keeps him in his seat and he exchanges a quick look with Terence.

Nathan is bouncing one of his legs nervously, which instead of being annoying is actually soothing in a weird way. The first bell rings and the crowd evens out a little, although people are still staring. A part of him inside is laughing hysterically, wondering if he should do something for them to actually stare at, like starting dancing the tango with Nate. Except he doesn't know how to tango. Nate probably knows how though, talented fucker. He needs to do something, anything, nerves finally getting to him and he pulls out his phone, wondering if he should text Kurt.

Just got outed at school.

It looks so bare, pure, simple fact and it's the fucking truth and his stomach starts churning. Violently.

"Oh fuck, I'm going to be –"

A small trash can is whipped in front of him and his breakfast joins the pieces of trash and his phone is now ringing and he hates that he has to ignore the call, but he really can't talk to Kurt right now. Nate is passing him his water bottle and removing the trash can and he forces himself to rinse his mouth and swallow, trying not to think about it too much. He goes to give it back and Nate just mumble 'keep it man' which makes him laugh quietly. He sucks in deep cleansing breaths and ignores the fact that his hands are trembling as he sends another text back to Kurt.

Can't talk right now. Waiting to talk to principal.

What? Why?

My locker was vandalized. It's fine. See you after school?

Definitely! Take care. xxx

"You're not going to tell him?" Terence asks, and he realizes he's seen the whole exchange.

"I'd rather tell him in person, when he can see that I'm okay."

"Huh. Yeah, probably not a bad idea. He's going to worry all day though isn't he?"

"Yeah, probably."

You too. xxx

"Gentlemen, you need to discuss something with me?"

They all jump a little at the sound of Mrs Scott's voice but they stand and he's nodding, although what he's going to discuss is something of a mystery. They file in and take seats and she closes the door.

"I understand you locker was vandalized Mr Karofsky. Any idea why?"

He swallows and then rolls his shoulders.

"Homophobic bullies trying to intimidate me."

"Is it true?"

"Does it matter?" Terence snaps, and despite his best efforts his lips twitch.

"No. Just curious really. Whether it's true, or why they would think that."

"It's true, someone must have seen me at McKinley's senior prom with my boyfriend." Despite the situation he can't help the little thrill that calling Kurt his boyfriend causes.

"Alright then. I'll have the security footage reviewed and the culprit, or culprits dealt with. Did you want to stay in school today?"

The question throws him because he hadn't even thought about the possibility of leaving and he opens and closes his mouth a couple of times.

"Uh, I don't know. Do you think I should?"

"I'd advise you too, until the culprits are found."

"I don't think Carl," he rolls his eyes and Mrs Scott's pursed lips, "sorry, the culprits would try anything in school. I'm not scared of them." Which is a lie, because he kind of is.

"I didn't imply that you were Mr Karofsky, however I am aware that mob mentality in high schools is easily… provoked. I am thinking of your own safety here."

He hates it, but he knows she probably has a point, but going home just feels cowardly, and also like he's the one in the wrong somehow. He looks to Terence to see if he can maybe get his opinion to find him sitting there impassively, shrugging silently when Dave mouths a silent well? in his general direction. He tries to convey how useless he currently thinks Terence is being with his face and then turns to Mrs Scott.

"Do you mind if I talk to my dad?"

She smiles and has the phone already in her hand, keying in his father's number without even consulting him and he figures she must have his file pulled up on her computer. He listens as she explains to his dad what's happened, saying she hasn't seen the damage to his locker, but that her advisement is that Dave leave school for the day before she passes him the phone.

"He would like to speak to you."

"Hey dad…"

"You okay?" Dave can't help the roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, of course. It's just a bit of paint on my locker."

"Don't be stupid David, it's not only paint on a locker. Do you want to leave? Go home for the day?"

"Dad… no." He wishes he was alone in the room suddenly. "That's…running away," he adds quietly.

"You're allowed to run. If you don't feel safe there then I'm getting you out."

"But I'd have to come back tomorrow." He frowns, because he doesn't feel un-safe.

"No. You can finish school right now." He can hear his dad taking a deep breath and he can't help be grateful that he came out to him months ago, that this isn't a huge shock to him as well. "You can walk out those doors and never have to go back."

"I have friends here dad, I'd actually like to hang out with them and pretend we're actually still doing something productive until summer. And I guess I have to get used to this type of shit. Uh, I mean stuff. I can't ignore it. Not anymore." He feels the truth of what he's saying wash through him and wonders if this is what Kurt feels like, freedom, still with the undercurrent of fear, but not letting it hold himself back anymore.

"Well, I'm going to excuse you so if you want to leave at any time you can just walk out. Okay?"

"I… yeah. Okay."

He says his goodbyes, reassuring his dad that he will go to someone if he needs to and passes the phone back. The bell has long since rung and the look Mrs Scott gives him can only be described as concerned but he shrugs it off.

He'll be fine.

LSY

He keeps checking his phone, a little preoccupied about Dave's earlier text messages and he's wondering if he's being paranoid. He wants to talk to him, because he can tell when Dave is hiding something from him now, from just the tone of his voice. Stupid text messages just don't give him enough information. He's already stopped himself from getting in his car and driving to Carmel, because there's something niggling, something that isn't right, and he hates it.

Despite the fact that they aren't covering any new material his classes before lunch pass fairly quickly, and he knows he'll be able to ring Dave, their lunch periods overlapping by twenty minutes. When there's no answer after the third try he gives up on the pretense of staying in school and heads toward his car, steps slowing when he sees his dad walking toward him and his stomach drops.

"Dad… what are you doing here?"

"I… look, is there somewhere we can go and sit down?"

He looks around the school yard, the nearby benches are filled with students, and he shakes his head.

"Dad, you're freaking me out. What's happened? Is Carole okay? I know Finn's fine, I just saw him trying to eat his own body weight in food…"

"Kurt. I got a call from Paul. David's father."

His whole body feels like it's been immersed in ice and he wishes he'd listened to his dad and found a chair, because slumping against the wall and sliding to the floor isn't a good look.

"Is he…" Alive? He can't make himself say it, but a small sane part of his mind is telling him not to overreact.

"He didn't say… just that he was at the hospital and thought you would like to know."

"Oh my god. I'm meant to be seeing him after school."

"Well how about we move that time frame up a little. Let me take you to the hospital."

He doesn't notice anything after that, everything looks, feels and sounds fuzzy, like he's surrounded in layers of bubble wrap. His dad drives, which is just as well because his mind is imagining every possibly scenario and none of them are pleasant. He wishes he knew what had happened, just so his overactive imagination has something solid to focus on, rather than the tiny snippets of text messages which paint a possibly grim picture. He faintly feels his dad steer him towards the entrance to the hospital, figures his dad is asking about Dave and of course they won't tell them anything.

He searches the waiting room but he can't see Dave's dad anywhere, although he knows he must be here at the hospital. So he sits and waits, phone clasped between his hands, and he's willing it to chime with a message from Dave, even though he knows it's a futile hope. His dad seems at a loss of what to do or say, but he's glad for the company anyway, because he has no idea what he would say to someone in his situation right now.

"You can go and see him."

Shoes fill his line of vision and he looks up to the tired gaze of Paul Karofsky and just the fact that he can go and see Dave gets rid of half of the horrible imaginings in his mind. More than half. He feels the knot in his stomach loosen slightly.

"I – really? He's okay?"

"Well, he's shaken, but he's fine physically. Apart from a broken arm."

"Oh… okay." He sucks in a deep breath, steeling himself. A broken arm. He can deal with that. He's seen his father lying unresponsive in a hospital bed with multiple tubes coming out of him. He can do this. He listens to Paul rattle of the room and his dad's offer to take him to get coffee and he heads on autopilot down the hall before stopping. His hands suddenly feel empty, and he wonders if he should run to the gift shop and get him something before deciding, and hoping, that just seeing him will be enough for Dave.

He pushes open the door slowly and freezes when he sees Dave, past memories of other people he cares about lying in a similar setting flooding his head. Dave looks… well. Paul hadn't mentioned the bruising, or the fact that Dave has obviously been beaten. Dave's face is swollen, but he still smiles and his eyes go warm when he finally steps into the room and forces a small smile. The last thing he feels like doing is smiling, but he's certain crying or making a big fuss won't make Dave feel any better right now.

"Hi…" he manages to get out, and his voice wavers.

"I guess I need a keeper huh?" He frowns, not really understanding what Dave is referring to and his incomprehension must be apparent on his face. "You told me to take care… I didn't do such a good job."

He shakes his head, stepping closer before sinking down into the chair beside his bed.

"Oh my god Dave. You… you are not to blame for this," his hands flutter helplessly, wanting to touch but also not wanting to hurt him. Dave takes his hand, squeezing firmly, smiling a little wider and he tries to ignore the fact that the movement breaks open the split in his lip.

"I know it's not my fault. I was just… trying to lighten the mood?"

"Yes well, you didn't." Dave grimaces and he instantly feels worse. "I'm sorry, I just… I was really worried. The things I imagined. I'm just really glad you're okay."

Dave's lower lip trembles and he knows if he starts crying he's going to join him.

"Yeah… I'm okay. I'm fine… just, Terence is in surgery."