Chapter 11 - Timebomb

The first thing Kurt felt when he woke up was an overwhelming feeling that he should not get out of bed. With Kevin still snoring soundly next to him, and the bedside clock reading 5:58AM, Kurt knew that it was just a normal day. For how long that would last, he knew not.

He had seen this before on Grey's Anatomy. Meredith Grey had vowed to stay in bed, citing an intense desire to not leave her bed lest something terrible happen. A powerful feeling in her gut had rendered her unable to start her day. She had been talked into going into work and had spent the better part of the day with her hand jammed inside a chest cavity with a bomb that might have exploded at any given moment.

Kurt did not want 'pink mist' to be the last words he heard today.

Pre-emptively shutting off the alarm for 6AM on his phone, Kurt pulled the covers over himself and went back to sleep, shutting out the world and admittedly stealing some of the covers from Kevin.

Which woke the boy up.

"Kurt, it's freezing," Kevin groaned, eyes fluttering open, head barely lifted off the pillow. Kevin grabbed for the blanket and managed to cover himself sufficiently, though he still felt the fall morning chill rush over him. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed and rolled out of the bed, Kurt subsequently wrapping himself more tightly in the blankets. Kevin padded across the room to his ensuite bathroom and stared at his exhausted reflection in the mirror.

Letting a strong yawn emerge from his mouth, Kevin wrinkled his nose at his morning breath and proceeded to brush his teeth. He peered out of the room at Kurt, who had gradually ended up in the middle of the bed, tangled in the blankets. Kevin frowned at the time and walked over to the boy.

"Kurt, are you getting up?"

Kurt let out a contented sigh. "No, thank you."

"We have school. You know that thing you're too pedantic to skip? Your perfect attendance? Glee Club?" Kevin placed the back of his hand on Kurt's forehead. "Well, you're not sick."

"Thank you for that assessment, Dr Pearson. I'm not sick. I'm just not going."

"Are you going to tell me why?"

Kurt just snuggled deeper into the bed. "I have a bad feeling. If I get out of bed, I'm going to have a bad day. I want to have a good day."

"I'm not going to be the one to stop you from having a rebellious streak, man, but I don't think you've thought this through. Invitationals are tonight."

"What is there to think through?" Kurt hummed. "I don't have any lines at Invitationals. Someone will tell the school I have the flu and that's that and I get to stay in bed and have a good day."

Kevin sighed and trudged back to the bathroom, worry lining his features. This wasn't like Kurt at all, even when he was hiding something he was somewhat coherent. He knew that there were certain stressors in Kurt's life at that moment, with Karofsky's unpredictability and now crush playing a role in the outline of his day. There was Quinn to think about, and Glee Club, and trying not to get attacked in between classes. Kurt was taking on a lot and Kevin could definitely understand why Kurt might not want to go to school.

Kevin rinsed his mouth and dabbed his face clean with the towel.

Walking straight past Kurt, Kevin headed downstairs where he saw Jack in his work clothes at the breakfast table, cutting into some eggs.

"You're up early, kiddo," Jack smiled as Kevin leaned on the wall next to him.

Kevin smiled back weakly. "I think something's wrong with Kurt."

Jack dropped his knife and fork, frowning. "Is he okay? Is he sick?"

"He doesn't have a high temperature or anything, he just…he's saying he has a bad feeling about today, that he doesn't want to go to school. Normally, I'd just let him, but I thought that maybe if he didn't show up, they'd call Burt."

Jack blinked harshly. He hadn't thought of that. "Good thinking, son. I assume you tried getting him up."

Kevin shrugged. "Sort of, I didn't want to manhandle him if I didn't have to."

Jack stood up. "Get yourself something to eat, I'll take care of Kurt."

Kevin nodded and opted for cereal, pulling out a bowl while Jack jogged upstairs, checking his watch. He had time.

Jack walked slowly into Kevin and Kurt's room, where the latter was buried under the blankets, as though shutting out of the rest of the world. "Kurt?"

It took him a minute, but Kurt eventually turned himself around where his head poked out of the blankets, opening his eyes to see Jack stood over him.

"He told on me?"

Jack chuckled. "Just want to make sure you're alright, bud. Now Kevin said you weren't sick, but didn't want to go to school."

"I have a bad feeling," Kurt whispered. "I think it would be better if I wasn't there today."

Jack folded his arms. "Why? What's happening today?"

Kurt sighed. "I don't know, that's the thing. My gut is telling me that I shouldn't go."

Jack gritted his teeth, not out of irritation at Kurt but at having to all but manipulate Kurt to go to school. "Kurt, you're going to have to go anyway I'm afraid. If you don't show up, they'll call about your absence." Jack trailed off, hoping Kurt would understand the message he was trying to relay without actually having to say it.

True to form, Kurt's eyes widened. "Ah, they'd call my dad."

Jack nodded sadly. "Officially, you still live there. I'd rather not have Burt wondering what's happened to you and coming and making a fuss."

Kurt moved into a sitting position. "I hate that you're right. Can I come home if something happens?"

Jack smiled at his use of the word 'home'. "Rebecca'll be here all day if you wanna drive home. You're a good kid, Kurt." Jack wordlessly turned and left the room, shortly before Kevin traipsed back into the room with a knowing smile.

"I hate you," Kurt muttered.

"No you don't. You'll thank me when you end up having a great day."

As it happened, Kurt was both right and wrong about what had happened that day. By getting out of bed and taking on the day as Kevin had recommended and forced him to do, Kurt's life had started to change.

When the day's first big event happened, Kurt had already spent the majority of the day huffing and puffing to anyone who would listen about how he couldn't wait for the day to be over so he could go home and back into his bed and pretend it never happened. The sinking feeling still plagued him as he walked with Kevin through the halls and absently copied notes from the board in classes.

When he saw Jacob Ben Israel surge towards Quinn like a man on a mission, Kurt squeezed Kevin's arm before sprinting over to them, the latter boy right on his tail.

Before Kurt could do anything, Jacob was upon her, thrusting his probably unsanitary microphone in her face.

"Quinn Fabray, what do you say to the rumours that you're carrying Finn Hudson's child?"

Quinn turned to Jacob with a look so evil that Kurt was surprised the boy didn't disintegrate on the spot. "And you're talking to me…why?"

Before Jacob could say anything, Kurt snatched the microphone from his hand and dropped it into the nearby garbage receptacle.

Kurt stepped in front of Quinn. "Before you go off spouting such nonsense in the future, I suggest you think twice about whom you choose to target. Now get out of my sight."

Jacob grinned at Kurt before looking to Kevin, who was adjusting his bag strap in a way that highlighted his biceps. His grin quickly faded as he ducked his head and ran off.

Kurt turned to Quinn, the three of them gathering into a tight circle. "I think I understand why bullies bully people. That was kind of fun."

Quinn smiled. "Thank you for stepping in. You didn't need to."

"The boy's a dick," Kevin shrugged. "Last week I saw him trying to get Berry's underwear."

"What did you do?"

Kevin grinned. "Before I'd even moved, she'd threatened him with a lawsuit spearheaded by her gay dads. Her words."

Kurt snorted. "If she wasn't so despicable, I'd have respect for her."

Out of their eye line, Jacob Ben Israel was slinking down the corridor, towards the office of one Sue Sylvester, a slick smile on his face.

Quinn adjusted her bag, blowing out a small breath. "It's only going to be a matter of time before he lets the story out to people who believe it. And from there it only gets worse."

Kevin bit his lip. "We'll deny it wherever possible."

Quinn shook her head. "You may be somewhat popular, Kevin, but you still don't understand the social hierarchy here the way I do. As of right now, I'm on top of the freshman class. Poised to be…head cheerleader, projected to be in the top three of my class, either liked, respected, or feared by everyone. It doesn't even matter that I'm in Glee Club anymore. I have enough capital to make sure it's not an issue."

"Was there a point to your humble-bragging?"

Quinn forced a smile. "As soon as there's even the slightest hint of an opening to dethrone me, it will be taken. Either by my natural successor, or by someone just waiting to get a leg up."

Kevin frowned. "Who's your…?"

Kurt's eyes lit with understanding. "Santana. But she wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't she?" Quinn stared him down.

"I don't think so. Not with something this life-altering. If it was an STD or something equally embarrassing, I'd bet any amount of money that she would, but even she's not that cold."

Kevin nodded. "So we have to hope that Santana's a good person."

"In other words, I'm fucked." Quinn hadn't missed Kevin's use of the 'we' pronoun. It was her baby, one that she was fairly certain she wouldn't be keeping, but Kevin and Kurt had taken it upon themselves as a problem they were personally involved in. Quinn Fabray knew at that moment that Kevin Pearson would make a brilliant father one day.

As the bell rang, Kurt sighed. "It'll be fine. I can have Kevin beat up Jacob if you want?"

Kevin stared at Kurt. "What happened to being opposed to violence?"

"I never said any such thing," Kurt smirked. "I oppose to violence fighting violence because it starts a cycle that is seldom broken. A small amount of violence where necessary isn't the worst-case scenario."

"How did you just make fighting sound uncool?"

"Because it is uncool."

Quinn shook her head fondly as she walked down the hall with the two boys, listening to them bicker about the pros and cons of physical violence. The more she was around them, the more convinced she was that they were in love, but it wasn't exactly something she could have said to their faces. They would just deny it and, besides, she didn't want to be the reason for any more tension in their relationship. Quinn had her own shit to worry about.

It turned out that Quinn Fabray was wrong every now and then.

She had been so preoccupied with silently observing Santana that she had forgotten about the other person in the school who had the power to ruin her life, and the agency to actually accomplish it.

Coach Sylvester.

Quinn ambled absently down the hallway, weaving in and out of lingering students on their way to various after school activities. She might as well have been hit with a slushy because the frosty vice that clamped around her heart was just as potent.

When Coach Sylvester had asked for a sit-down, she hadn't been expecting anything, but the look on Coach's face had completely blindsided her.

And then Quinn realised that every face in the hall had turned to look at her in what seemed like perfectly choreographed unison. The type of perfection that could have only been organised by Coach Sylvester herself.

"Dude, can you believe she's preggo?"

"School like just started. Talk about being a slut."

"You think it's really Finn's?"

Quinn froze in the middle of the hallway.

Her worst nightmare had come to life. The secret was out. It was only a matter of time, of course, but this was premature even by her expectations of the school's gossip-mongering. Santana hadn't even found out about it yet. She knew that this hallway was the extent of it so far but, by looking at the people around her, she knew that everybody would know by the end of the day. And that was not something she could handle right about now.

Quinn's knees quivered and threatened to buckle entirely as she moved through the hallway, trying to find the nearest safe space. The locker room was too far away, the girls' bathroom too conspicuous and at risk of being crowded by the exact type of girls that she was not much looking forward to being confronted with; the type of girls she would once have dismissed for being lower than her on the social ladder. Not as pretty, not as popular or athletic. And now they would be smug, their sneering faces nothing but a reminder of how far she had already fallen, and how far she had left to fall.

Her superior knowledge of the school's layout became her saving grace as she took a sharp right turn into another corridor and then an immediate left into the choir room.

What Quinn did not expect was for somebody else to already be in there.

It was her lucky day that it was none other than Kurt.

Kurt was sat at the piano, halfway through a song, when she bursted in, all guns blazing. Kurt stopped, swivelled in his chair, and saw her collapse against the door to close it.

"Quinn, what's…?"

Quinn gave him a solemn look. "They know."

"Who knows?"

"Everyone," she stuttered, her voice thick with trying to hold back tears. Throughout this whole thing, she was trying so hard not to be weepy about it. But hormones be damned, here she was on the verge of tears in the school choir room with her…best friend? Who was also a loser in Glee Club. And now she was also a loser in Glee Club who was carrying a baby.

Not the best start to freshman year, Fabray.

She ignored the little voice in her head as Kurt moved over to her.

"Let's sit you down. What happened exactly?"

Quinn regained some of her composure and looked everywhere but at Kurt. "Coach Sylvester. She called me into her office and told me she knew. Before she could say anything else, I ran out of the office and into the hallway and…everyone knew. They were whispering and saying horrible things and I couldn't handle it. Everyone knows, Kurt."

Kurt nodded. "I'm so sorry, Quinn."

"It's not your fault."

"It might have been. Who wants to bet that JBI told her about it?"

Quinn snarled. "That's still not your fault, Kurt."

"It…"

"There's no way you're making this about you right now," Quinn managed a smile. It was in that moment that Kurt realised that she was going to be fine. Whatever happened, Quinn Fabray was going to get through it.

"Sorry. Bad diva habit."

"What do I do Kurt?"

"I don't know."

"So helpful, thank you. What would you do?"

Kurt shrugged. "I'd probably just do what I always do. Hold my head high, act like it doesn't bother me, and keep doing my thing."

"That's just it. I can't even do that once I get kicked off the Cheerios."

Kurt frowned. "You mean Coach Sylvester didn't kick you off today?"

Quinn clenched her jaw. "She's a sadist. My guess is she's waiting until everyone finds out and then she'll do it publicly. She won't give me the satisfaction of a quick death."

"Yeah, that's pretty hardcore," Kurt grimaced. "How long do you give it?"

"Monday, probably. By then it'll be all anyone's talking about."

Kurt rubbed her arm gently. "Is there anything I can do?"

"If you know a way to make my parents amnesiacs, that would be great."

"You think Sue will call your parents?"

Quinn shook her head. "Church on Sunday. Some of the kids here go with their families, they're bound to find out."

Kurt grinned. "I can go with you as a distraction, wear my gayest outfit so everyone's too focused on trying to set me on fire to notice your pregnancy thing?"

"And have your death be the talk of the town instead? I'm not having you steal my limelight, Hummel. If I'm going to be an unwed teenage mother, I'm going to do it while everyone's watching me."

Kurt nudged her. "So it's suddenly fine that everyone knows?"

"You're the worst."

"You bring it out in me," he laid his head on her shoulder. "So…church plan?"

"Fuck you," Quinn hissed through her giggles. "Don't you have enough on your plate pining over your best friend?"

"Aren't we done with that? That's so last month."

"It's not over until you're both married."

"Just not to each other."

Quinn pouted. "Can't you just get together? You can adopt my baby!"

Kurt and Quinn shared a solemn look before bursting into laughter so vigorous that no sound was coming out, just pure vibrations of both their bodies. Quinn's hand found the slight bump that was already forming on her stomach. It wasn't much but it was noticeable enough to her and would probably have already alerted her mother. Judy Fabray watched her weight with an intensity that was starting to scare her.

Kurt wrapped an arm around her back and kissed her cheek. "You're going to be absolutely fine, Quinn Fabray. Trust me on that."

"You're kind," Quinn managed, still sobering from her laughter. "And you're also a god damn liar."

"Well, I didn't say it was going to be easy. But I know you're going to end up okay."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, for one, you've got me on your side and I'm nothing if not an excellent friend. I'm going to do whatever I can to help you."

"Whatever it takes?"

"Of course."

"Including marrying Kevin straight out of high school?"

Kurt scowled. "I'm telling Coach Sylvester the baby's Jacob Ben Israel's."

Quinn gasped. "I'm telling Rachel you hate Barbra Streisand."

Kurt smirked. "I'm telling Puck the baby's actually his."

"There's no way even he would believe that."

Kurt shrugged. "Strangers things have happened."

"Yep," Quinn shot back, moving her hand over this strange, new protrusion in her stomach. She could still feel the definition in her stomach muscles, but this odd firmness caught her attention immediately. "They definitely have."

Quinn couldn't stop her inner voice from whispering at her. This is where it all ends, Fabray. You're never coming back from this.

Meanwhile, Kevin's inner voice just would not be quiet.

Detention again…so early on in the year. Your mother's going to be so disappointed.

Kevin leaned back in his chair and blew out a sigh, hoping that it would somehow speed up the hands of the clock, sending them spinning. He looked across at Puck and Santana, who were eyeing him curiously.

"What does your boyfriend think about you being in here?" Puck asked, grinning at Santana.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "What does it matter to you, Puckerman?"

"Hey, me and Hummel are buddies now, kinda."

"He didn't mention anything."

"Does he have to tell you everything?" Santana piped up.

"No, but I figure it was something that he might have brought up."

Puck shrugged. "He gave me a ride home from the mall after Finn and Quinn were getting into it."

"And he…offered?"

"Yeah. He's not a bad guy you know, Pearson."

"I know that," Kevin chuckled.

"So why are you so surprised?"

"Because it's…you. You haven't been each other's biggest fans in the past."

Santana smiled. "He's different than I thought he would be."

"How did you think he would be?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I thought he just cried all the time and whined about clothes and shit. But he's quick, smart, really strong. I mean, the reason you're here is because he puts up with Karofsky's bullshit every fucking day."

"God, he's such a fucking loser," Puck spat. "But you know why he does it, right?"

"Because he's a dick?" Santana offered.

"Well yeah," Puck laughed, "but mostly because he's mad that he's not top dog around here. Even after not making it onto the football team, Kevin's still popular and respected by pretty much everyone."

Kevin frowned. That was news to him. "I am?"

"Sure, even joining Homo Explosion hasn't ruined your rep. That's pretty big."

Santana leaned forward and Kevin, on account of being himself and being best friends with someone as sharp as Kurt Hummel, knew what her next words would be.

"You'll never know, Santana."

Puck frowned. "Am I missing something?"

Santana shrugged, a pout slipping from her face. "Just trying to figure out what Pearson's packing."

"Well, he can't be packing more than his boyfriend," Puck grinned.

"Once again, not boyfriends. Wait, how do you know…?" Kevin couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, in disbelief as to the fact that they were talking about Kurt's dick so casually in detention.

Puck gaped. "He really didn't tell you about the ride home, did he?"

"Wait you…what?"

Santana leaned back and smirked, enjoying the show.

Puck shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, man, you know The Puckzilla's a sex shark, didn't wanna stop moving."

Kevin's entire stomach flipped and he clenched every muscle possible. "Puck…"

"I didn't know a guy could do that as good as a chick. If you're not sticking it in him every day, Pearson, you're missing out."

"You're lying," Kevin said a little too breathlessly.

Puck shrugged again, this time even more casually than the first. "Sure."

"What the fuck?"

And then, Noah Puckerman smirked. "Gym class, dude. I'm not fucking your boy."

Santana shook with laughter, head on her hands. "I can't believe you fell for that."

"It's not that hard to believe," Kevin sent a little grin Puck's way.

Puck looked like he was deliberating. "Gotta say, I'm not into dudes but I could be into those lips of his."

Kevin's smile faded. "Alright, enough out of you."

"Someone's jealous," Santana purred in Kevin's ear.

"Not jealous, just looking out for him. He doesn't need any of your bullshit, Puck."

"Who says I'd be giving him bullshit? Just a big dick to suck on, god knows he needs one."

"Puck," Kevin growled, letting them both know that he was done talking about it.

"Uh oh, Puck, you made him mad," Santana said with a grin.

"I'm not mad, I just don't want you talking about Kurt like that, okay? He…he needs more than just that. And he deserves something really special for his first experiences, so you back off and let him have it."

"Which one? Back off or let him have it?" Puck mimed fucking the table.

"Oh, forget it," Kevin groaned and leaned on his hand, looking the other way.

Santana whistled. "The way I hear it, I don't think Kurt will have to wait long to get what he wants…"

Kevin's head snapped to her. "What do you mean?"

"Got your attention," she noted. "Britt's been telling me that Sam Evans won't stop talking about how much he likes Kurt and how cute Kurt is and how much he wants to take him out."

"Sam…he barely even knows Kurt."

"He knows enough, I guess," Santana shrugged, whipping out her nail file.

Kevin folded his arms, head plagued with thoughts about Kurt and Sam, and Sam and Kurt and suddenly he wondered exactly what Sam's abs looked like, and whether they were better than this, and-

Kevin. You need to stop this.

It did not help that Kevin's little inner voice sounded exactly like Kurt.

As Mr. Schuester dismissed them from the choir room, Rachel chasing after him and following him into his office to harass him with multiple questions about their Invitationals setlist that had been decided just that day, Kurt sidled up to Kevin on his way out of the room.

"What are we doing tonight, Mr Delinquent?"

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know. What do you feel like doing?"

Kurt smiled. "I'm thinking…Moulin Rouge?"

"You know I hate that movie."

"You do not, you always say you do but I always see you crying at the end."

Kevin scoffed. "Only because you're crying. You crying makes me cry."

"That's sweet. I—."

"Hey Kurt? Can I have a sec?"

Kurt turned to see Sam Evans' goofy, wide smile staring back at him. Kurt shot an earnest smile back at him, not seeing Kevin's stoic expression and slyly clenched fist.

"Sure, Sam. We were just walking to my car. Would you like to walk with us?"

Sam scratched the back of his neck, his polo shirt riding up a little as he did. Both Kurt and Kevin's eyes snapped to the tiny strip of skin that was exposed, and then trailed back to Sam's eyes. "Actually, Kurt, I was kinda hoping I could talk to you alone for a minute."

Kevin nodded to himself. This was it. The moment Kurt's going to be taken from you.

Whoa. He stopped his inner voice from continuing any further. Kurt isn't mine, asshole, nobody's going to take him.

Sam will. Just watch.

Kurt smiled. "Of course. I'll meet you by the car, Kev?"

Kevin nodded dumbly, as though his brain and body were disconnected all of a sudden. "Uh, yeah, okay. Can I have the keys?"

Kurt wordlessly tossed Kevin the keys and turned to Sam.

As Kevin left the choir room, Kurt found himself alone in the room, looking up at Sam Evans' goofy yet adorable face.

"What did you wanna talk about?"

Sam rocked back and forth gently on the spot, as though unsure of how to proceed. He heard Brittany's voice in his head from the lock-in telling Sam to be direct and not flirt. "Okay, here's the deal. Straight up: I want to take you out sometime."

Sam watched the concoction of emotions flicker across Kurt's face in real time. Sam saw what he thought was curiosity, disbelief, joy, and even a little fear in just the span of a few seconds, each one bringing a new light to Kurt's face, his eyebrows twitching and his lips quivering, eyes darting from Sam's lips to his eyes to the floor and then, finally, as though millennia had passed since Sam had first spoken, he looked back at him.

"And this isn't some kind of practical joke?"

Sam frowned, following Kurt's eye-line around the room, as though he was checking for bugs. "Not at all. Why would it be?"

Kurt laughed it off, but the fear hadn't totally dissipated from his eyes. "This just hasn't happened before. I'd…I'd really like to go out with you sometime. Oh, that wasn't smooth, Kurt. I can try that again."

Sam summoned all of his Gryffindor boldness and took both of Kurt's hands in his and squeezed them gently, gazing into those colourful, expansive eyes that he'd come to know fairly well over the last few days. Every spare moment was spent staring at Kurt, wondering if Kurt knew he was staring. Sam had found that when Kurt wasn't talking to Kevin, he was looking at him which brought a wide smile to his face every time he noticed it. "You're fine, Kurt. I…I haven't really done this very much either. But I like to think we're doing okay."

Kurt dipped his head in a nod. "Not bad for a couple of amateurs."

"You mind if I escort you to your car?"

Kurt blushed and nodded excitedly. "Well, you are already holding my hand."

As they moved out from the choir room and into the empty hallway, Sam felt Kurt's hand stiffen against his.

"Is that uh…okay? I should've probably asked before I did it, I don't know how you feel about that kinda stuff yet and—."

"Sam," Kurt interrupted gently. "You're okay for now. I just…I don't know if I'd want you to do that where people could see us."

"I get it." Sam dropped his hands and placed his own in his pocket. "Totally understand. Just know that I don't care about that kinda stuff. And it might seem easy for me to say cause I'm new and no one really knows about me here yet, but I'd totally hold your hand in the halls. Is that too much, like we haven't even really been out yet, and I'm rambling again aren't I?"

"I think it's sweet," Kurt muttered, feeling a very potent pang in his stomach, one that he'd have to identify later.

"My mom always says I gotta think before I say things, which is true, but sometimes I just can't stop my brain, you know?"

"Oh, I know. You start me talking about a movie musical, it's hard to shut me up."

Sam looked at the floor. "I gotta admit, I don't really know a lot about them."

"That's okay, it just means there's something we can do together. I'm sure there's lots of things you like that I'm clueless about."

Sam grinned. "You like Avatar?"

Kurt bit his lip. "Would you still want to go out with me if I told you I fell asleep at the movies?"

"You what?"

"It was three hours, Sam!"

Sam's eyes glazed over. "Three hours of awesomeness!"

"How did I not know you were a giant dork?"

Sam nudged Kurt gently with his shoulder and almost fell apart at the pure, musical sound of Kurt's laughter. "There's lots of things you don't know about me."

Kurt pushed the doors open and they spilled out into the parking lot. Kurt waved to Kevin who was sat inside the car but with the door open, waiting for him. Kevin's eyes were on them immediately and he waved back. Sam nodded to him.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

Kurt looked back up at Sam sheepishly. "I could be."

"Cool. I, uh, I thought we could maybe go for a nice walk somewhere, maybe bring a picnic or something?"

Kurt grinned widely at the blonde boy. "That sounds perfect, Sam. I can make a lunch!"

"Nuh uh, Hummel. I asked you out, I'm planning the date. My mama raised me right."

"It seems she did. Then it's a date."

"How's 12?"

"12 sounds great."

"Awesome," Sam rasped. "I…is it okay if I…" Sam lowered himself slightly and his lips hovered next to Kurt's cheek. Kurt felt his breath hot on his ear and blushed deeply as Sam pressed a kiss to his cheek, his soft lips lingering on his skin for a second longer than Kurt expected.

Sam pulled away quickly and was blushing too. "Thanks. Uh, your skin's like, super soft."

"Duck fat," Kurt shot back, but it was probably not the sexiest thing he could've said at the moment.

"Uh…okay. Well it works!"

Kurt put his hand on Sam's arm, trying not to concentrate on the feel of the muscles beneath his shirt. "I'll see you later?"

"Later?"

"Invitationals, Sam," Kurt shook his head fondly.

"Oh, right, that! Still confused as to what it is. But yeah, I'll see you later, Kurt."

"Bye," Kurt whispered as Sam walked away to his car, shooting Kevin a quick wave before Kurt started to move towards his own car.

Suddenly, each step felt like four. The crunch of the gravel beneath his feet felt deafening. He was a little dizzied, in a good way, and he could see Kevin's expecting face waiting to hear the whole story from start to finish. Kurt felt a little nervous flip in his stomach that he, once again, could not place.

Kurt walked around to the driver's side of the Navigator and climbed inside. "I know."

Kevin smiled, though Kurt could tell something was off about it. He didn't have the time or desire to unpack that any further, so he left it to float into the sky. "Dude."

"I know."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Kurt laughed a little breathlessly. "Maybe when we get home? I'm running on pure adrenaline right now."

"Maybe I should drive."

"No. I'm good. I'm totally chill."

"Very convincing, Kurt," Kevin chuckled.

"Shut up."

Once they were back at the Pearson house, both Rebecca and Jack waiting for them, Kurt set about doing as many small tasks as he could to occupy his brain. The thought of his first ever date with a boy swam around his mind like Michael Phelps and he couldn't stop the barrage of different thoughts and images that rattled around in there with them, each more alarming than the other.

What are you going to wear?

What if the food is bad?

What if Kevin doesn't like him?

What if he wants to have sex tomorrow?

Kurt shut that last one down before it could spring up inside his mind. He aware of Jack watching him fastidiously as he worked on the night's dinner. He was so distracted that he didn't even realise that the elder Pearson had decided to sneak up on him.

"Watch your fingers," Jack chided as Kurt chopped a carrot dangerously close to his finger. He startled and turned around as Jack closed the kitchen door.

"You should never alarm someone with a knife in their hand."

Jack smiled, holding his hands up before leaning back against the countertop. "So you survived the day."

"Just about," Kurt chuckled. "It was one of the history books, though I'll tell you that much."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

Kurt tilted his head as Jack moved next to him, grabbing a knife from the block and working on the potatoes. "You know I'm fine doing this on my own, right?"

"I know. Just wanted to check in after this morning. Things seemed to have turned around."

Kurt sighed. "Pretty much. The whole school knows about Quinn."

"Yikes," Jack grimaced. "How was that?"

"She's devastated, naturally. I don't really know how much I can do for her apart from just be there. Her parents are going to find out from their church sooner or later and then I'm really scared for her."

"Where does Finn stand on the whole thing?"

Kurt wrinkled his nose. His opinion of Finn had plummeted so much in the recent weeks that he found himself wondering how on earth he'd ever had a crush on the boy at all. Sure, he was hot but that was it. He was a pretty solid ideal to focus on to avoid thinking about anything real, but even still he was offended at himself that he chose someone so ridiculous to fixate on. "He's furious at Quinn, which is the worst part. He'll side with the mob because it's the path of least resistance. Most of her so-called friends are doing that too."

"She's lucky she has you," Jack said quietly.

"Kevin too, he's been really great throughout this whole thing."

Jack nodded. "I thought he would be. But it's good to know I've done something right."

Kurt wanted to say how much Jack had done for them all, for him, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words he so desperately wanted to. He owed the Pearsons his life, that much he knew, that much he would never be able to say to them in any words that reflected how he felt. So he settled for a kind smile and handing Jack another potato to peel and chop.

"So what else is there? I know Quinn's situation doesn't have you swanning around like you're on a deadline."

Kurt busied himself with sliding the carrots into the boiling pan as he tried to settle down his mind. "I have a date tomorrow."

Jack's face broke out into such a warm and genuine grin that Kurt wanted to cry. "Kurt! That's great! Who's the lucky guy?"

Kurt smiled, allowing himself to really feel that the past afternoon had happened for the first time since he was watching Sam walk away. "The new kid, Sam. He stopped me after Glee and just asked me out. He's planned a picnic for tomorrow afternoon."

Jack pointed a knife at Kurt. "I wanna meet this punk sooner or later, you hear me? He'll come for dinner."

"So you can embarrass me?"

"It's the rite of passage for every dad," Jack crowed casually, but Kurt's heart swelled at the words.

The fantasy of Jack Pearson being his father had never truly gone away, even when things with Burt weren't completely catastrophic, so hearing Jack regard Kurt as his son was the kind of affirmation that Kurt had spent his whole life looking for. He knew now that Jack and Rebecca no longer just valued him as Kevin's best friend, but instead as one of their own children, something that Kurt didn't think he would ever be fully equipped to handle hearing about, even all this time into his relationships with them. Sure, he was living with them now and they'd been acting like his parents for years, but nothing dulled the fire that was lit in the pit of his stomach hearing the words.

"I'll…be sure to invite him."

"So, tell me how it happened."

As Kurt launched into the story of Sam stopping after Glee rehearsal, Kevin stood outside the door, trying to hear the full story through the crack in the door rather than wait for Kurt to get around to facing the event head on and telling him about it.

"What are you doing, weirdo?" Kate asked, seeing him stand with his back to the door, head tilted towards the hinge.

"Nothing. Go away."

"Are you eavesdropping?" Kate gasped. "You should really let Kurt have his privacy. If he wants to talk to Dad, he should be able to."

"I'm not eavesdropping."

"Sure."

Kate walked away with a knowing smirk.

As soon as she'd said the word, Kevin knew the bubble was burst. He couldn't spy on Kurt's conversation and pretend to be surprised later when Kurt told him the story. Kurt would see right through him as he always did.

He didn't like it, but he peeled himself from the doorway and walked around the house restlessly, mentally going over his harmonies for the Invitationals performance later that evening. It was surreal that Kevin had started the year gunning for football and now stood in his living room going over the backing vocals for Somebody to Love like he was a professional. Artie, Rachel, and Mercedes had secured the lead vocals for the song, the rest of them pretty much just swaying in the background like props, as Quinn had aptly described it. Kevin didn't mind it too much, frankly the less solo singing he had to do, the easier his life would be, but he really felt for people like Kurt, Kate, and Tina who loved performing more than anything. He wasn't sure that Kurt was right for the song, but he would've loved to hear Tina on it. Kevin had delivered this opinion to Kurt, who was surprised at his candor but actually agreed with him. Kate had been a little more reluctant to agree but in the end had capitulated to Kurt's admittedly superior knowledge of music.

Kate and Randall watched him pace with a smirk, as they realised that he had resorted to Kurt's method of deflecting things from even himself, running around the house without an aim, just doing anything except think.

"You that nervous for Invitationals, bud?" Jack piped up as the kitchen door opened. The smile on Jack's face told Kevin that he knew everything, definitely more than Kurt had thought about at this stage.

Kevin knew he needed to lie his way out of this, otherwise he wouldn't be able to hide what was bothering him and he didn't want to confront that until he'd thought about it some more and maybe talked to Kurt about it.

"Kinda. Just making sure I know my part." He hoped he was convincing enough to keep Kate and Randall at bay, even though he knew he'd never be able to fool Jack Pearson. Or Kurt Hummel for that matter.

"Isn't it kinda stupid that the song wasn't even picked until the day before the show?" Randall wondered aloud, causing Kate to roll her eyes and Kurt to groan from in the other room. Kevin was just glad that Randall had taken the heat off him.

"Yes," Kurt intoned from the kitchen.

"It's ridiculous!" Kate hissed. "How does Mr Schuester expect us to actually stand a chance when people are googling lyrics an hour before the show?"

Kevin tilted his head. "That's their fault for not knowing Queen."

"Well said," Jack nodded. "What time do we have to leave?"

"You're coming?" Kate wondered.

"Of course we are," Jack said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"None of us have any lines."

Randall nudged her. "You're being silly. Of course we're coming to cheer you guys on. What kind of family would we be if we didn't?"

In the kitchen, Kurt smiled widely as he listened to the Pearsons talk in the living room. He knew that Randall wasn't talking specifically about him, but he knew that he was included and the very thought made him want to tear up in a way that had nothing to do with the onions he was working on.

Invitationals, as it turned out, went pretty well. Somebody to Love had gone down well with the low turnout and the New Directions felt better than ever about their chances at Sectionals. They absolutely needed some work, but they had raw potential that, once honed properly, could see them go pretty far if that was what they wanted.

Kurt had spent the whole event trying to find excuses to look at and talk to Sam before Kate had reminded him that he didn't actually need any. Sam had asked him out and it was obvious that Sam didn't care about what other people thought of him for having done that. Kurt was quick to point out that it was his inhibitions that were preventing him from just walking over to Sam and flirting with him. He knew it had disappointed Sam, when Kurt had walked over to where the boy was warming up and asked if he had any water.

Kurt had walked back from that conversation with his metaphorical tail between his legs, head hung as Kevin roped him in for a tight hug. Kurt had thought the hug went on for longer than usual. Kevin had spent the time staring at Sam over Kurt's shoulder, hoping to say everything without actually knowing what it was he actually wanted to say. Kate had rolled her eyes but ultimately said nothing. Shaking off the weird feelings given to him from both Kurt and Kevin, Sam soon fell into step with Brittany before they all began a group warm-up routine run by Mr Schuester (before Rachel had torpedoed it in favour of her own personal one).

Their performance was good, though Kurt personally had a lot of notes for everyone, including himself and the Pearsons. Kurt said they'd earned a rest and that he would deliver them the following day, once he had returned from the picnic that he was trying to remind himself was happening with the boy he was starting to really like.

Once they were back at home, with Jack, Rebecca, and Randall continuously congratulating themselves on a great performance, Kurt knew that he was going to have to face the music with Kevin and replay his whole conversation with Sam. His previous talks with Rebecca rang in his ears as he thought about what would actually happen now that he and Sam were attempting to become something. He actually feared Kevin's reaction to it, not out of fear for himself, but for both Kevin and Sam.

He knew that Kevin wasn't going to adapt to this whole situation very well, and Sam wouldn't quite understand why Kevin had an issue with him. To those who didn't understand Kurt and Kevin's relationship (which was just about everyone outside of the Pearson house and even some inside it), Kevin would come across jealous and petty when actually he was just being insanely protective of Kurt, as he had been doing this entire life. Kurt had needed protecting and Kevin had been more than up to the task. Everything Kurt had told him about Burt had made Kevin even more determined to protect Kurt. And then suddenly a handsome, charming stranger waltzes into Kurt's life and just asks him out after a few conversations? To Kevin, that would sound the alarm bells and cause him to retreat into battle mode. And Sam just wouldn't understand why.

Which left Kurt in the middle of the situation, wondering how best to solve everyone's problems without anyone getting hurt or feeling neglected. Which then would lead to whether or not Sam came to resent Kurt and Kevin's codependence. Kurt knew it wasn't necessarily healthy, but he didn't know anything else or any other way to be so Sam would just have to get on board with that or not have him at all.

He just hoped Kevin knew how willing he was to trade it all away if Kevin really took issue with it. He would potentially break Sam's heart so as not to upset Kevin's feelings.

As Kurt climbed into bed, Kevin already there waiting for him, he started to feel the day's anxieties flooding out of his body. He felt Kevin roll over and settle behind him, arms wrapped tightly around his chest.

"Doing better than this morning?"

Kurt was suddenly glad that Kevin couldn't see him though, in reality, he was vastly underestimating how much Kevin could tell about him from just his breathing and his gaps between speech. "Infinitely."

"I told you that bad feeling shit didn't mean anything."

"I'm not so sure," Kurt muttered. "It was a pretty bad day for Quinn."

"And you got a boyfriend out of it. Sounds like the universe is putting Kurt Hummel first for a change."

Kurt smiled. "We're not boyfriends."

"Yet."

"Okay, yet."

"Are you gonna tell me the story? I'm dying over here."

As Kurt dove into his story, albeit a brief one, he felt Kevin's body tense up at certain moments. Not too much, just the slight clench of a muscle here and there, of which he thought Kevin totally unaware.

"I'm really happy this is happening for you, Kurt," Kevin whispered in his ear.

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

Kevin quickly uncoiled himself from his best friend and rolled over so that he was facing the other way, his back firmly and pointed staring at Kurt.

Kurt thought the message was received rather loudly and clearly. Kevin was not happy about this development, even if he had tricked himself into thinking that he was. As much as Kurt knew that this was going to be the case, he couldn't lie and say that he was ready for what any of it was going to entail. Juggling both Kevin's feelings and his newfound feelings for Sam along with the rest of what the world had decided that he needed to be saddled with at this point in his life.

Kurt let out a little sigh as he shuffled further away from Kevin in the bed, before his game face settled over him, his inner voice saying only one thing:

Bring it on.