Catalyst
Chapter 25
By Dani J.
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Summary: Kurt and Blaine have decided to just be friends and the dapper boy realized he really missed Dalton Academy so he's gone back. No Klaine-bashing is intended, it just wouldn't have worked for this fic. However, Kurt has an admirer in a new kid… and Puck isn't happy at all but doesn't seem willing to step up.
Disclaimer: I own nothing whatsoever. Blame RM and company for this unfairly attractive and addictive group of characters. Well, except for my cute, original character, Kristopher.
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Last chapter: Yeah, it was time to pull out the big guns… but he had to be smart about it… and he smiled to himself throughout all his classes. He didn't give a damn about his grades; his family was well-off but he had to maintain a certain grade average, simply to impress people. Kurt's father would probably prefer someone like him for Kurt anyway, rather than the Puckerman punk. Really, which dad wouldn't?
As Kurt and Noah went about their afternoons, eventually separating when Noah had to leave him to go to football practice, Kris continued planning. By that night, he had a solid plan in place. To make things more interesting, he gave himself a time limit. He would have Kurt begging for it in two weeks' time and Puckerman wouldn't even be a memory.
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Santana stalked through the hallways of McKinley, a panther on a hunt for a particular prey and when she spotted it, her steps slowed, allowing her hips to do that slight, tantalizing move the boys loved so much. She took a deep breath, stuck her chest out and pasted a saccharine smile on her lips.
"Hey, Ladylips, how are things in love-dove land?"
As an opening it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Kurt turned with a wary expression to look at the short, Latina and shrugged.
"Hello, Santana, you're smelling… fresh today," he said, looking down his nose at her and smirking inwardly as she stiffened. Her eyes hardened and he had the satisfaction of getting one up on her.
However, she relaxed slightly again and managed not to claw his eyes out. Instead, she looked to both sides of her at the passing students and then spoke just loudly enough for Kurt to hear.
"I don't know what gave you the feeling you can… compete… with me, Hummel, but don't be surprised when Puck comes sniffing after me again."
Kurt stared at her disbelievingly. Was she delusional or what? He stared at her insultingly, starting at her small feet, and let his eyes wander slowly up her body and finally to her face. By the time he was finished with his cool perusal, she was fuming.
He sniffed in his usual disdainful way and turned back to close his locker firmly, spinning the combination lock before stepping past her. He threw one last thing back over his shoulder as he spied 'Cedes and Tina waiting for him a few steps away.
"This is no competition, Santana; if you had an ounce of self-respect, you'd know when someone is tired of you."
He grinned as he saw his girls exchange a gesture, touching their fingertips together and then flicking them away, shaking them as if they'd just got burnt. He suppressed a giggle, though, because it didn't go well with the air of cool disdain he was trying for.
A string of rather inventive curses followed him, causing Tina and 'Cedes's eyes to widen incredulously. Kurt simply shook his head and muttered, "That's just what I was talking about," as he joined his friends.
Farther down the hallway, Noah had witnessed the interaction between his boyfriend and his ex-hookup. He shook his head as, even though he had not been within hearing distance, he had a pretty good idea what had gone down. First Santana had probably insulted Kurt and he, being Kurt, had probably retaliated in some cool, sarcastic put-down.
He watched as Santana smoothed and then tightened her high ponytail, admitting that the girl was a pretty hot specimen, but he realized he didn't feel that surge of lust that he used to.
Getting his books from his own locker and slamming it closed without even bothering to lock it, he turned and headed in the opposite direction from the others, joining the flow of student humanity headed to the first class of the day.
His mind wandered to Kurt and what he'd said about Marshall putting the moves on him and he realized he had to come up with a way to get the other boy out of Kurt's way completely. Clearly, though, he had to find a way to do it that would leave him, Puck, smelling like roses. Hmmmm.
He thought about it all the way through the first couple of classes for the day, even while exchanging vaguely erotic texts with Kurt that left him half hard the whole morning. Even Kurt's texts seem to have that overtone of sexy and innocent that totally turned Puck on. Actually getting to make out with the gorgeous, pale-skinned boy, though, was a gift that Puck felt just kept on giving and giving.
It wasn't until lunchtime in the cafeteria that the idea percolating in the back of his mind finally settled. It would take only a minimum of setting up but he figured he could do that without drawing too much attention. He wasn't a manipulative guy but he could use his brain and figure out people and situations as well as the next guy.
He smirked to himself, inadvertently drawing Kurt's attention to his lips, even though for that day they were sitting at different tables. When he realized that Kurt was trying not to stare at him, he sent him a little sexy look that totally brought the color to Kurt's cheeks. He finally eased up on him as he grinned, gathered up the detritus of his lunch and sauntered out of the cafeteria, telling himself he did not feel Kurt's eyes on him as he left.
Puck glanced down at his cell phone and waited for a few minutes, knowing that the end-of-lunch bell was about to go. When it finally rang, he texted Kurt and asked him to wait for him outside of the A/V club room after 3:15 p.m. When Kurt asked him what he was going to be doing at the A/V club – even the text sounded suspicious – he told him that Artie wanted his help with some stuff he was supposed to be doing.
Kurt had to accept it at face value because the different clubs did actually interact and work together regularly. The A/V Club, Glee Club, the band, even the Drama club, regularly did projects together, sometimes for special assemblies and the like. It wasn't far-fetched to think that Artie would have asked Puck or any of them, really, for assistance.
Puck smiled down at the phone as Kurt finally agreed. Now Puck had a couple of hours to 'set up' the situation but he was confident that he would manage.
Next he strutted off down the hall, not even needing to weave his way through the throng because most of them automatically moved out of the way for him. He knew it was a combination of his air of badassness and the letterman jacket, and he smirked to himself.
Just as he was heading into one of the boys' restrooms, he spotted Marshall up ahead with some stringy ginger kid he figured was probably a member of the A/V club. He sped up a bit and just as Marshall was about to slip into his classroom, he called out to him.
"Hey, Marshall, wanna have a word with you."
Kris had a look of surprise on his face that he quickly wiped off as he turned to look guardedly at the boy he thought of as an interloper. He tried to look suave, pulling on an air of laissez-faire he'd seen his dad use on clients, and waited for Puckerman to join him.
"Yeah, what do you want?"
Kris had a feeling that Kurt had probably told Puckerman about his unwelcome kiss but he didn't see Puckerman as stupid enough to just start brawling in the school hallway. Still, you never can tell, he thought and he braced himself for whatever was coming.
Puck caught up to him and gave him a quick, hard stare before plastering a smile on his face. He looked up at the other boy – damn, he was tall! – for a second before he gave a slight shrug and made his face get a faintly sheepish expression.
"Look, uhm, I think this thing is kinda getting a little silly, y'know," he started, trying to go for a 'hey, let's all just be friends' air. "I mean, I like Kurt, Kurt likes me, but I totally get that you would be into him. The boy is hotttt!"
He grinned inwardly as he saw Marshall struggling to maintain his air of cool. He looked a little puzzled too and Puck knew the question was coming. Sure enough…
"So, what do you wanna do about it, Puckerman? I can't promise you not to stop trying with Kurt. I mean, would you?"
Puck held up both hands, palms outward in a show of trying to placate the other boy. "Hey, man, no. I know Kurt's a catch; I mean, I have him." And he did a little 'heh-heh' laugh, trying to egg the other guy on.
"Not quite yet," Marshall muttered, frowning now.
"So, I just want us to be calm and civil about this… and I think we should meet up and talk about it later. How about 3:15, at your A/V club room. That way, Kurt won't be able track us down and we can talk things over."
Marshall looked at him and narrowed his eyes, trying to see, probably, if Puck was serious. Finally, he took a step toward the classroom door and nodded.
"Okay, 3:15 is good. Can't chat long, though, I have to dub Kurt's narrative onto the film today."
Puck nodded and held up his hands in that placating way again, this time with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Yeah, yeah, we're all busy people. Three fifteen, A/V room," and he backed away a couple of steps before turning and walking away.
What Kris couldn't see was the totally evil little smirk that slid across Puck's face. Come 3:15, he would simply listen to what Marshall had to say on the subject of one Kurt Hummel… and how much better off he would be with Marshall.
Puck had no doubt that the Marshall kid was a super confident guy. Come this afternoon, he was going to dig around and see what the basis of that confident was. Yeah, it was going to be one eye-opening conversation.
Now to find Artie and fill him in on his role in this little high-school drama.
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At 3:15, Kurt was heading towards the A/V club room, his mind awash with curiosity as to what Puck was doing with Artie, what project it was and why he hadn't heard about it. He'd tried to find Artie and when he'd sent him a text, Artie had replied with a terse text, telling Kurt that he couldn't chat at the moment.
Kurt dismissed it anyway because he was about to find out in a couple of minutes.
When he got to the A/V club room, the door was slightly ajar but there was a small card hanging from the doorknob by string, informing people that they needed to be absolutely quiet because this was a working area. Kurt pffft and rolled his eyes; some of these kids could be so full of their own sense of importance, he thought derisively. As if anyone really cared what they were doing in their little 'studio'.
He put a hand on the doorknob and pushed slightly, only realizing as he did that he could hear angry voices. He stopped, wondering at first if maybe he was going to be interrupting a play rehearsal or something. Slowly, though, it dawned on him that he recognized Puck's voice and… Kris's?
He stepped inside quickly and pushed the door shut quietly behind him. Why were Puck and Kris scheduled to be here at the same time if Puck was supposed to be working with Artie?
He frowned as he moved closer to the other door, having moved silently through the small ante-room that then opened to what the A/V kids proudly referred to as their 'sound studio'. Kurt put his ear to the door, unable to stifle his curiosity and listened.
"You don't know what he needs, Puckerman!"
Oh! That was definitely Kris and he sounded pretty pissed off. Kurt heard an answering chuckle, not sounding full of humor, from Puck and he pressed his ear harder to the door.
"Dude, I don't profess to know everything about Kurt's needs. I do know that I'm the one he's chosen to fulfill them, okay?"
"Yeah, right," Kris jeered now. "Like he's had all that much experience outside of this hick town. I can show Kurt stuff, give him things that he's only dreamed about so far. What can you give him?"
There was an incredulous scoffing sound from Puck and then… "What, are you flinging your parents' money in my face now? Is that how you're gonna 'woo' Kurt? Hah!"
"Yes, I can actually afford to 'woo' him, Puckerman. You can only afford to give him, what – dinner at Breadstix?" It was his turn now to do that scoffing sound and Kurt's stomach tightened in anger. "Kurt's pretty high-maintenance, isn't he? Do you even have any idea what his wardrobe probably costs? Kurt doesn't look the type to descend to shopping at Target or Best Buy or any of the places someone like you would need to shop. Am I wrong? You can't give Kurt any of what he's used to, so you should step aside and let someone who knows what he's doing, and how to do it well, take care of someone like Kurt. Admit it, Puckerman, that hot little twink is really too much for you."
"Look, you total shit," Noah snarled, his voice coming a little louder as if he'd moved closer to Kris and, hence, the door. "Kurt is not some shallow little bimbo who's going to be dazzled by your daddy's bucks, okay. He has class… so much that I don't even know really why he picked me. I can't give him stupid, fancy trinkets or … whatever, but I will give him everything that I am. I-I love him, high-maintenance or not… Can you say the same?"
During the little silence that followed, Kurt held his breath, wondering how Kris was going to rebut Noah's statement and then he heard the sound of slow, mocking applause and his lips tightened.
"Wow, you know, we should really have been taping this stuff; that was a pretty touching little speech." Kris's voice had this hateful, smug sound to it that Kurt had never heard before. Now he wondered if this was how Kris normally was, when he wasn't trying to seduce Kurt with his charm. "Really, Puckerman, if you're so certain about Kurt's feelings for you, why don't we put them to a test…"
Puck made a disgusted sound before blurting, "You really are an asshole, aren't you? Beneath all of that smooth talk and the 'I'm better than Lima' air, you're nothing but a stupid rich kid. I don't have to put Kurt to a test. You can ask him right now, right here."
There was the faint sound of footsteps coming closer and Kurt stepped back, folded his arms across his chest and schooled his features into a cool, neutral mask.
The door was flung open and both Puck and Kris stepped into the ante-room, Kris looking a bit flustered as he looked from Puck to Kurt and back again.
"You set me up?"
Puck shrugged, a little smirk on his lips. "You set up yourself, Marshall. I didn't put those stupid words into your mouth or your fucked-up attitude into your head. That's all you."
Kris turned from him to look at Kurt, a pleading expression on his face. Kurt stared back at him as if seeing him for the first time. In fact, for the first time he actually looked beyond the façade that Kris presented, to try and see the person beneath.
The three stood there for a couple of minutes before Kurt dismissed Kris's presence and turned to Noah, dropping his mask and allowing a warm smile to light his eyes.
"Are you finished with this, Noah?"
Kris's eyes widened at the way Kurt had blanked him and he drew in a quick breath. For the first time he had no quick words, nothing, and he watched as Kurt turned on one heel and led Puckerman out of the ante-room.
"Kurt, please, let me explain…!"
The two boys kept walking away from Kris and he tried again. "I only want what's best for you, Kurt, please!"
The sound of the outer door to the corridor closing firmly was the only response and Kris stood there, feeling all kids of foolish, and feeling bested by Puckerman's using such a simple ruse. He'd never had to admit defeat in any campaign before but something deep down told him that his plan to get Kurt was stalled, dead in the water.
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Kurt walked beside Noah and out of the building, heading towards his Escalade, his mind mulling over Kris's words.
"High-maintenance, huh?" He finally glanced up at Noah beside him, taking in the slightly worried look in the other boy's eyes. Kurt chuckled and nudged him to head around to the passenger side. "At least I look good with it, right?"
Noah stared at him and then he smiled, which turned into a chuckle and then full-out laughter. After a surprised second, Kurt joined in, the two of them leaning against the hood of the giant SUV as they waited for the laughter to subside.
Finally, Noah ran a gentle hand up and over Kurt's stylish hair and down the back to the nape of his neck. He tugged and Kurt came to him willingly, his lips parting slightly to welcome Noah's somewhat relieved kiss. They stood like that for a long time, exchanging soft kisses that didn't grow in passion but seemed to establish something deeper.
Noah eventually pulled away to stare down into Kurt's blue-green eyes lovingly. "I do love you, y'know?"
Kurt's lashes fluttered briefly and then he nodded, his eyes searching Noah's. "Yeah, I know, even though you're a conniving bastard."
Noah's eyes widened in surprise but then he nodded, a faintly smug expression on his face. "Hey, I couldn't fight the idiot so getting physical was off the table. I had to find another way to get you to see a side to him he probably hadn't shown you before."
Kurt smiled and nodded, too. "Yeah, I kinda got that; that was a clever plan, baby." He sighed and then rested his head against Noah's shoulder as he moved in for a tight hug. "I think he got the message I wasn't pleased, don't you think?"
The laughter rumbled through Noah's chest and Kurt smiled, feeling warm and secure in his boyfriend's arms. He thought back to the little encounter in the A/V club room and admitted ruefully that he really hadn't seen that Kris was a snob. If there was one thing Kurt couldn't stand was someone thinking he could look down on the people he liked, maybe even loved.
The fact that Kris obviously came from a wealthy family had never swayed him; all he'd seen was a boy who was pretty open about finding him attractive. He could have fallen for it, but for Puck's reaction that day in the music room to Kris's goading words. The subsequent events had made him see Puck differently, first in a negative light and then gradually, and surprisingly, in a more positive light.
To be honest, he could probably have gone his whole life not realizing that there was a much deeper layer of untapped passion in him if Puck hadn't brought it out, albeit unknowingly. Something about him made Kurt react on an almost primal level, and he was not about to toss that away for a 'whirlwind' romance with the snobbish Kristopher Marshall.
He was a little mortified by the way Kris had talked about him back in that room and it had taken all of his self-control not to light into him. Instead, he had fallen back into his bitch-queen persona, level two, and then led Puck out of there. Puck had done well and Kurt felt his heart swell at the clever way he'd found to get rid of what he considered a rival for Kurt's attention, if not affection.
They finally pulled apart and Kurt murmured, after dropping a quick peck on Puck's lips, "Let's go home, baby, there's something I want to show you."
He smiled to himself as Puck did what he said even though he was obviously curious and Kurt jumped into his beast of a car and started it up. The drive to his home was a little quieter than usual but they both had a lot on their minds.
When they pulled up outside the Hummel/Hudson residence, Kurt smiled mischievously as he looked over at his boyfriend. "My dad and Carole are out of town until pretty late tonight and Finn is over at Rachel's until later, too."
Puck stared at him, his eyes wide at the implication and his breathing sped up. Was Kurt hinting that they were going to… finally?
Kurt's self-satisfied chuckles led the way as the boys dashed up to the front door. Kurt barely fumbled with the keys to get the door open and when they finally almost fell inside, he slammed the door shut, spun Noah around and pushed him up against its surface.
Kurt stared at Puck, taking in the dilated pupils and the shortened breath, and then smiled predatorily before fastening their mouths together.
Puck groaned and let Kurt plunder his mouth; damn, Kurt was hot when he was in charge!
They kissed and rubbed against each other, hands finding flesh as they moved their clothes aside. Finally Kurt tore himself away, his lips already plump and red and Puck leaned forward to kiss them again.
"Uh-uh," Kurt admonished playfully as he moved out of his reach. He however, slid his hand down Noah's arm caressingly until he reached his hand and then tugged him towards the stairs leading to his bedroom. "Good things come to those who wait, haven't you heard?"
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TBC
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A/N: There is lovely boy-on-boy stuff coming up in the next chapter. Stay tuned!
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