Catalyst
Chapter 27
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. COMPLETE.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all of you wonderful folks who read and reviewed and favorited my little story. The feedback and comments were really greatly appreciated.
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: Noah, aware that Burt was still observing them, basked in the warmth of Kurt's regard. Finally, unable to stop himself, he reached up and took Kurt's unoccupied hand and held it throughout the rest of dinner. Burt might have flicked one eyebrow at him but he was done denying anything. Kurt was his boyfriend and if he couldn't man up in front of his dad, he didn't deserve him. Simple as that.
Kurt, sensitive to the faint undercurrents beneath the laughter and chatter, smiled inwardly. Noah was turning out to have layers to him that more than pleased him and he admitted to himself that he had dodged a bullet where Kristopher Marshall was concerned. Humming with a satisfaction that went deeper than the delicious food provided, Kurt's lips curved into that special smile that Puck so loved.
Life was good.
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Kurt hopped down from his car, slammed the door and braced himself. He glanced across at his boyfriend, unable to hold back a smug little grin, and turned to saunter into the school
Puck glanced over at his boyfriend, taking in the way the morning sunlight made his skin gleam, and congratulated himself silently. He grabbed Kurt's hand and smirked at his smug grin and they walked into McKinley High together.
Mercedes watched the two boys come into the hallway and turned to grin at Tina, whose eyes widened at the sight of Puck holding Kurt's hand. She knew the boys had worked things out but she'd never thought she'd live to see the self-proclaimed king of badasses, strutting into their school, holding his boyfriend's hand.
Kurt gripped Noah's hand more tightly and Puck, sensing the building tension in the slender boy's body, let his hand go to move his arm about his shoulder. Everyone watching them knew the gesture was meant to be both one of comfort and a warning to the onlookers.
Puck exuded a very deadly vibe even though there was no tension in his body. It was all in the way his eyes swept over any jock hanging about and when he saw that asswipe Jacob ben Israel heading their way with his stupid little recorder, he didn't slow down.
Kurt couldn't help the giggle that escaped when Noah, without slowing down, barreled past ben Israel, causing the Jewish pest to stumble against the kid with the camera trailing behind him.
When Kurt drew closer to Mercedes and Tina, he glanced up at Noah, a soft smile radiating his gratitude and then he moved towards his two best girlfriends.
Puck stepped back for the inevitable hugging and squealing that commenced and he chuckled at the way the color just flooded his boy's cheeks. Knowing Mercedes, she was probably whispering to Kurt that she wanted details and Puck had no problems with Kurt spilling everything. After all, he was and still is, the sex god of McKinley. The fact that Kurt was his boyfriend now certainly didn't change that.
His self-congratulatory reverie was broken abruptly when Tina threw her arms around his waist and gave him a surprisingly strong hug. He was startled into hugging her back and as she moved away she whispered, "Don't hurt him, okay; you don't want to find out what an angry Asian Goth can do."
He huffed a startled laugh but nodded down at her before she stepped back, only to be replaced by the serious face of one Miss Mercedes Jones. She grabbed his arm and tugged him slightly away from the others before tilting her head towards him.
"I'm going to get the details from my boy but I just want you to know – do anything to change the glow surrounding white boy over there, and you will wish you were never born, got it?"
Puck gulped and nodded. Damn, these girls were a serious tag team but he had to admit he was kinda glad Kurt had them looking out for him. Deep down, though, a little ember of hurt glowed; he didn't have anyone to look out for him like that, well, except his ma. Didn't people realize that he was just as liable to be hurt in this whole thing as Kurt was, if things went south, God forbid?
Mercedes started at him and it was if she could see deep inside him because she smiled softly and squeezed his arm. "That's not to say I won't kick his fashionable, lily-white butt if he ever hurts you, too, okay?"
Puck blinked at her and felt his throat tighten but he nodded, dredging up a little cocksure smirk for her and then looked over at Kurt who happened to be staring right back at him. Noah looked down at Mercedes' smile and said, "Yeah, I got you, Mama Bear. It's all good."
She rolled her eyes at him and then marched back to Kurt to grab his arm and yank him towards their first period class.
Kurt threw an imploring look back at Noah but all he got was a wink and a smirk. When Kurt rolled his eyes and turned back to his demanding girlfriends, Puck let out a chuckle, shaking his head. He headed towards his own locker, not sure what class he had first… and the next thing he knew, Santana was in his face, almost snarling up at him.
"Listen up, Puckerman!"
Kids slowed down again to watch this other little drama ensue and Puck frowned around at them. The weaker ones gulped and scurried away but some of the hardier souls, although they moved away a bit, still stayed to watch.
He sighed. "Hey, Lopez, 'sup?"
She glared at him, her black-olive eyes gleaming with malice. "So, what are you now? King of the Gays?"
Just then, Puck spied Kristopher Marshall entering the hall from the front door and he smirked before saying a little louder than usual, "Hey, what's got your panties in a bunch – if you did wear panties?"
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Marshall drew closer. Santana, however, was focused on no one but her prey and spewing as much vitriol as she could.
"You think you're so special. You're not, Puckerman, you're just another Lima loser with poor credit and sooner than later, Lady Doughface is going to get tired of you. When you can't even hold on to a fag like that, where will your rep be then, huh?"
Some of her words found a mark but Puck would never let her know that. He let an insulting smirk grow slowly on his face and, aware that there was a deep, expectant silence in their section of the hallway, he straightened up and leaned toward her.
"You know what, Lopez, you're so stale, so tired, I would rather take my chances with the Ice Princess than with McKinley's bicycle." When she tried to stifle a little gasp and stepped back from him, he didn't ease up. "Oh, and don't call me, don't come by my house and stop throwing yourself at this 'Lima loser', okay?"
Sharp snorts of laughter and half-stifled giggles greeted that but Puck was on a roll. Just as Marshall drew closer, almost about to pass them and trying to pretend he didn't know what was happening, Puck called him out.
"And as for you, Marshall, after yesterday, Kurt has seen right through you." When Kris flinched, Noah's smirk grew cruel. "Oh, yeah, it seems your daddy's money can't make up for a lack of personality. I may not have your kind of swag, but Kurt really 'enjoyed' mine a lot." He let a little leer play over his face, just to emphasize the point he was making. "A whole lot."
That got louder guffaws from the watching kids and Puck, with an air of having finally taken out the garbage, hitched his backpack up onto one shoulder and strutted away. He could hear a stream of Spanish erupt behind him but since he didn't understand one word, he could care less. The kids cleared a path for him as he headed to his locker, a satisfied look on his face.
…
Glee club that evening was the usual mélange of fights for solos, discussion on whether Journey was always appropriate and undercover bitching about various people's actions and outfits. In short, it was the usual Glee club meeting.
Puck couldn't wait to get out of there; all he'd wanted to do the whole day was just scoop Kurt up and take him somewhere where it was just the two of them. He stifled a frustrated sigh as he glanced down the risers to see Kurt with his head almost touching 'Cedes', giggling at something.
"Hey, man."
He jerked his head up to see Finn looking at him as if he'd been trying to get his attention for a while now. The little smile on the taller teen's face seemed to indicate that he understood what Puck was going through, so Puck just shrugged and answered back, "'Sup, dude?"
Finn slid down a bit in his seat and sort of whispered, "How about we double date, me and Rache, you and Kurt?"
Puck looked at him as if he'd lost his mind but then he paused. Hmmm, double dating wasn't something he was used to. In fact, dating was a whole new thing for him, really. Before Kurt, he'd only had hookups, whether it was with Cheerios or cougars; now he thought about Finn's words and a funny feeling went through him. He didn't recognize it but it made him want to say yes.
A short silence later, he shrugged and then nodded. "Okay, that's not too lame. Where did you have in mind?" He looked over at his best friend and waited, genuinely curious.
Finn grinned wider and sat up straight. "Well, there's this new movie out that Rache has been wanting to see and I know she and Kurt talked about it the other day. Maybe we could go on Friday?"
Puck looked at him, thinking, and then suddenly it him. That feeling, that odd, new feeling was simply a feeling of belonging. He wasn't certain belonging was the right word but it was as if strangely, he was fitting in, being a normal teenager, getting a chance to do what normal teens did. Whatever passed for normal these days.
He felt a grin creeping onto his face but he quickly squashed it. Hey, he still had a badass image to project. Just because he was feeling all these warm fuzzies didn't mean he was going to get all soppy and sentimental. So he sort of frowned at Finn, who looked back at him, a bit puzzled, but then he nodded.
"Okay, I think the Princess would go for that. I'll tell him later."
Finn grinned in that happy puppy way of his and they both tuned in back to Schue and his back-and-forth arguments with Rachel. Beside him Puck seemed to relax, even though Finn hadn't realized his friend was tense in any way, but he shrugged it off to nod in vague agreement with his overbearing girlfriend as she tried to browbeat Schue, again.
Kurt glanced up to the back row of the risers and gave Noah a soft smile, watching as the jock tried to hold back a smile in return. Kurt turned back to Mercedes and with a little smirk, whispered, "All the stories are true."
When her eyes widened, Kurt's cheeks pinked, but he continued, "No complaints here at all!"
They giggled, their heads together, and even though Santana was across the room throwing them vicious looks, they didn't care. Mercedes whispered back, "I'm so jealous of you, white boy, even though I did get a short ride on the Puckerman express a while back."
Kurt nodded but he replied, "Yeah, and I'm glad you didn't get the full experience. That would be just too weird, seeing as we're best friends." His cheeks were redder now but he managed to pull off the look of smug satisfaction that had Mercedes giggling louder.
"People, please!"
They glanced up at their harassed teacher, having missed most of whatever Rachel had been going on about. For the rest of the time in Glee, they tried to pay attention, even though little giggles escaped them now and then and Kurt's eyes felt as if they'd be stuck rolling.
When Schue finally let them go, Puck managed to pull Kurt back from the main flow of bodies out of the choir room.
Kurt turned to him, only to have his lips captured in a soft kiss. He sighed into the feel of his boyfriend's lips on his and freed one hand to come up and caress the soft skin of Noah's head.
"Mmmm," he murmured as they pulled apart and he looked up at Noah with shining eyes. "What was that for?"
Puck took in the pink cheeks and even pinker lips, looking as if he wanted to go in for more but he answered, "Just because I could… and it's been a long time since this morning."
Kurt raised an imperious eyebrow at him. "Okay, so no janitor's closet hijinks for me, is that it?"
Puck's eyes widened as he asked, seriously, "You'd want to do that?"
Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled softly as he continued to pet Puck's scalp. "Noah, sweetie, all those girls got to have that, why wouldn't I?"
Noah ducked his head but said, softly, "Because you're not just a hook-up, Kurt. You're it."
Kurt froze, his eyes widened slightly, and then he gave a soft laugh. "Baby, just because we're serious about each other, it doesn't mean we can't have fun, do stupid high-school kid stuff."
Puck nodded and then dropped a quick peck on Kurt's smiling lips. "I know, I know… that's why I think we should do that whole double-dating thing with Finn and the Nose."
Kurt whapped him lightly and fake pouted. "Don't call her that!" He grinned however, his eyes twinkling. "And yes, I'd love to go out with you on a double date, sweetie."
Puck couldn't help kissing him again and it would have got a whole lot hotter and heavier if it hadn't been for the sound of a throat clearing by the door.
"Ugh, guys, I think it's time you headed out, okay?"
Kurt looked past Noah's shoulder to see Mr. Schue smiling at them, no censure in his eyes.
"Okay, Mr. Schue, we were just going," Kurt replied politely before grabbing Noah's hand and slipping past their teacher.
Puck winked at the older man who bit back a grin at the cocky teen. Puck let Kurt drag him through the silent halls of the school and thought to himself, yeah, this feels good.
…
When Friday evening rolled around, Kurt was surprisingly nervous. He knew Noah loved him, he knew that he loved Noah, but this was the first time they were going to the movies. The movies. That was where everybody seemed to hang out on a Friday night and he just knew he was going to have to haul on his armor and pretend he didn't notice the looks that were going to be thrown their way.
He had years of experience, pretending not to care but this time was different. This was the first time he and Noah would be out-out. They would be in a public venue where a lot of people in their town, not just kids from school, would get a chance to hurl homophobic slurs their way. So, yeah, he was a little nervous.
He had to admit too that he wasn't quite so certain how Noah would handle that kind of attention. Sure he was cocky in school; he was a jock and therefore part of the group that made up the 'top' echelon of the school's pecking order. Out there in public, though, he was just going to be another 'fag' who should know better than to be 'contaminating' the public.
Kurt took a deep breath and gazed back at his reflection. He knew he looked good, hot even, and a little smile edged its way onto his lips. He smoothed his hand down the thin-gauge, pale blue sweater with its wide neckline. Boat necks suited him because they showed off his long neck and smooth collar bones and he just knew Noah would appreciate it.
He turned around to get a glimpse of how his backside looked and the grin widened into a satisfied smirk. The grey jeans with its soft shimmer went perfectly with the sweater that stopped short of his back pockets. The jeans practically begged to be touched and he knew Noah would not resist.
He finally turned back around, grabbed his teal cardigan, made sure he had his wallet and cellphone and then hurried upstairs. He ran into Finn just as he stepped into the family room to tell his parents they were heading out. They were going to pick up Noah and Rachel and when Carole called out, Have a good time! he grinned at her happily.
"And don't forget the midnight curfew, boys!"
Kurt rolled his eyes at his dad's reminder and looked over to see if Finn was ready. The overly tall teen looked good, if Kurt said so himself, seeing as how he'd helped him choose that particular shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. He didn't know if Rachel was sartorially astute enough to pick up on that, but the bottom line was that Finn looked good. Kurt nodded to himself in satisfaction and led the way out to his car.
As they slid into the seats, Finn looked over at him and grinned. Kurt eyed him suspiciously and said, "What?"
Finn shrugged with that little lop-sided smile and turned back to look out the windshield. "Nothing. It's just cool that we're going on a double date, is all."
Kurt eyed him and then shook his head. He smiled, though, because he understood. "Yeah, and weird, too, that it's with Noah, right?"
Finn shrugged but then nodded. "Yeah, kinda. I mean, Puck doesn't really do the dating thing, you know?"
Kurt felt his cheeks warm, happy to know that he was the only exception. They pulled up in front of the Puckerman residence first and when the car stopped, Finn jumped out and went around to the back, leaving shotgun for Puck. Kurt felt a surge of affection for his brother and then grinned wider when Noah climbed in.
They only stopped kissing when they heard a plaintive "Awww, come on, guys!" from the back seat and then Kurt headed out to pick up Rachel.
She was actually waiting for them on the curb outside her home, one of her dads standing at the door and she waved back to him frantically before hopping into the backseat beside Finn. Kurt didn't know if they kissed because he was busy driving off and also trying to keep Noah's hand from sliding too far up his thigh.
When they got to the multiplex, they all piled out and then paired up, Noah's arm going around Kurt's shoulder as he whispered how especially hot Kurt looked. Kurt, distracted by Noah's hot breath puffing against his ear, had no time to notice if anyone was looking at them, much less sneering or anything.
They paid for their tickets and Finn attacked the concession counters, ignoring Rachel's wide eyes and Kurt's smirk as he stocked up on snacks to help him survive the 'chick flick' they were there to see. Noah and Kurt got a huge tub of the obligatory popcorn as well as sodas and Kurt, for once, relented and got himself a pack of Red Vines, one of his few guilty pleasures.
When they settled into the back row of the rather intimate, darkened auditorium, Kurt felt a little shiver of pleased anticipation go through him. He had never, not even while dating Blaine, felt this odd combination of daring and normality. Other kids talked about going to the movies and making out in the back row but that had never been his reality. Now here he was with probably the hottest boy in high school who didn't care about being seen with him in public and he was quietly, happily freaking out!
Puck glanced over at Kurt's gleaming eyes and the way his lips seemed set in a permanent smile and understood. This was like a rite of passage or something lame like that for the American teen and as experienced as he was, he had never been a part of it. Now he was here, sitting in the dark, about to eat popcorn and, hopefully, neck with a gorgeous boy and it was so, freaking cool!
More than ninety minutes later, if you'd asked either boy what had been up there on the massive screen, their answers would have been so vague as to be laughable. It was a good thing that Rachel and Finn had chosen to sit in a different row because they would have been scandalized, Kurt was sure, at what he and Noah had got up to.
They left the theater after a quick trip to the men's room to straighten up, Kurt holding his folded cardigan strategically in front of his body, and hurried to join Finn and Rachel by the car.
Kurt smiled with puffy red lips at his smirking boyfriend and squeezed the hand holding his. Noah had a vaguely strained smile on his face and Kurt knew it was because he had stopped their heated make out session just short of them coming in their pants. He had hoped that their stop in the restroom to splash water on their faces and to right their clothes would have been enough time to for Noah to calm down. Apparently not, going by the hungry gleam in his dark eyes as he looked back at Kurt.
A sudden raucous burst of laughter behind them had Kurt flinching but the tug on his hand stopped him from turning around. It would have worked too if the words that floated to them hadn't ignited his temper. Gritting his teeth, he stopped in his tracks and turned around but before he could launch into the homophobic jackasses behind them, Noah stepped in front of him.
"Hey, hey, babe, just chill, okay?"
Kurt looked up at him incredulously, a massive pout on his face and he opened his mouth to respond when he heard Finn's voice and then Rachel's.
"Hey, fellas, what's up?"
Kurt and Noah looked over to see Finn stopped in front of two other teens who apparently had just left the cinema with their girlfriends in tow. One of them, tall and muscular, looked Finn up and down with a smirk and asked, "What, your fag friends can't speak for themselves?" His ginger friend simply nodded like a bobble-head dog with a stupid grin on his freckly face.
Noah gave Kurt a warning look and then he turned and stepped up beside Finn, his shoulders rolled down and his head lowered menacingly. "Yeah, and what 'fag friends' would that be, punk!"
The two punks' dates grabbed each other and stepped back, one whimpering a name, Todd or Tom or something, Kurt couldn't tell but he sent them both narrow-eyed looks as well. The tall one, Todd or Tom, to give him credit, flinched only slightly but he tried to tough it out as Finn towered over him and Puck crowded him back a step or two.
The ginger suddenly spoke up, his voice quavering. "Uh, you know what, let's just get outta here, okay?" and he grabbed his friend's arm to tug him back.
Puck growled just loud enough for the Todd-Tom guy to flinch and snarled, "Yeah, go back to your pussy friend, punk. I fucked morons like you in juvie before breakfast. Scram!"
One of the girls squeaked when Finn made a fake lunge at the idiots and in no time they were all scrambling across the parking lot, presumably towards their car. Finn and Puck stood and watched them and Kurt thought they looked like nothing so much as a pair of Dobermans checking to see the intruders actually left. He felt laughter bubbling up in him and though he tried to stifle it, it just came bubbling out.
He was aware that the others were staring at him in confusion but when he straightened up and wiped at his eyes, a couple of chuckles still escaped.
"Oh, oh, Noah, 'before breakfast'?" And he was off again, this time with Finn grinning and Rachel rolling her eyes but smiling, too.
When he finally stopped, he grabbed Noah's hand and leaned up and kissed him quickly on the cheek, whispering "my hero" and feeling the warmth of the other's blush.
As Kurt unlocked the car, Noah muttered, "Well, hey, I didn't want you to leave them bleeding out on the pavements, cut to ribbon by your tongue, babe."
Finn barely suppressed a snort as they all clambered into the vehicle and Rachel nodded, deciding to join in finally. "It's true, Kurt; your tongue should be registered as a lethal weapon."
Soon, though, they were deciding on where to stop for a late snack and given Finn, the walking stomach was with them, burgers it was. Rachel managed to find a veggie burger on the menu so everyone was happy.
Discreetly slurping up the last of his vanilla caramel milkshake, Kurt looked around at his companions, barely tuning into their conversation, and wondered why he'd been so nervous at the start of the evening. Noah had been the perfect date, and his body hardened as he remembered what they'd done in the back row of the theater. More than that, he was impressed by how the other boy hadn't paid any attention to the occasional looks they had got, because he'd refused to let go of Kurt's hand through most of the night.
Finally, the way he'd faced down those idiots back there who thought they could intimidate a couple of 'fags' really made Kurt's heart soar. Noah, 'Puck' as he called his badass side, was not perfect, far from it. He turned to look at him now, watching as he teased Rachel and mouthed off at Finn and realized something important.
No, Noah wasn't perfect; heck, he himself wasn't perfect as much as he wanted everyone to think he was. What was important though was that Noah Puckerman, badass and sex shark extraordinaire, was perfect for him. He smiled deep into the brown eyes that looked back at him now, and had another epiphany of sorts.
He actually had a lot to thank Kristopher Marshall for because if it hadn't been for him being an ass to Noah in the choir room that day, Kurt wouldn't be so happy now. He lifted his milkshake glass and with the others looking at him, slightly confused, Kurt whispered, "Thanks."
Finis
