AN: So, this is the start of another little drabble arc. The next four drabbles will sort of fit together to form the story. Hope you all enjoy. Set during season 1 - AU.

Prompt: Neela - "[You are a] Coward and a liar! I never asked you to do this for me, but you did! And now you're leaving, and I'm supposed to live with the fact that I killed a man, and that you helped and lied for me to cover it up." - 'ER'

"You're a coward."

With a gasp I sat up. It didn't take for me to realize that I was in my bed in my room. That realization though didn't get the image of Kurt, faced bruised and scraped up, arm in a cast and dressed in a hospital gown or his whispered words out of my mind. I hadn't even seen him since yesterday afternoon, only heard about his injuries - a broken arm, broken wrist, fractured cheek bone and quite a few scrapes and bruises. As far as I knew he was still in the hospital having been admitted last night as he had been in shock by the time Mr. Schuester had found him - on the ground by the dumpster where Puck and I had left him. Apparently Kurt had fallen climbing from the dumpster after we left.

And Puck and I were home free. We had stuck to our story about having gone out for pizza right after football practice and Kurt refused to give names. If only freeing myself from the guilt was so easy.

Despite it being almost eleven o'clock at night, I reached over for my cell phone. I easily found Puck's number and pressed the button.

"Do you realize what time it is?" Puck asked moments later, clearly having been woken up by the phone.

"Yes but I can't sleep. I keep seeing Kurt every time I close my eyes."

"Don't go soft on me, Hudson. We're in the clear as long as you keep your mouth shut."

"And you're okay with that even though its our fault Kurt is in the hospital."

"How do you figure that? We didn't beat him up. He fell climbing out of the dumpster."

"Which he wouldn't have been in if we hadn't put him there."

"A technicality."

"Puck, he could have died. How can you be so nonchalant about all of this? We lied to save ourselves and Kurt could have died if no one had found him."

"It was a school parking lot. Someone was bound to come along eventually. You really want to be suspended or worse expelled."

"No," I admitted, though silently I added that I also wanted to sleep without being haunted by a guilty conscience.

"Then keep your mouth shut Hudson. As long as Hummel doesn't talk we'll be fine. Now I'm going back to sleep."

And with that my best friend ended the call and once again I was left alone with the guilt and the question of whether I kept my mouth shut or come forward and faced up to my actions.