A/N: I'm glad you all liked Finn's POV, because it was really hard to write. I guess I'm more like Kurt (the scheming, drama prone part, not the fashionable one) so he's easier. This chapter does contain some homophobic slurs, but nothing you haven't heard on the show. Thank you for all the reviews, I love reading them!

Kurt POV

I was still floating on cloud nine when I got to school the next morning. Not only had I actually gotten to spend some time with Finn last night, but we had both had a good time. Plus, he wanted me to come back and visit again.

My good mood lasted until just before third period, when I found myself pinned against the lockers by Karofsky and his goons. It was hopeless for me to struggle, so I settled for glaring deeply into his piggy eyes. "Put me down, you cretin." I didn't yell or scream, just kept my voice level and frightening. Sometimes they would back down if you didn't show them fear.

Unfortunately, this didn't look like one of those days. The three of them exchanged looks and smirked. "What are you going to do about it, queer bait? Your boyfriend Finn isn't around to save you. You're all ours, little fag."

For the first time, I realized how much protection Finn actually afforded me. It was something that we had never discussed, though I knew that he had been on the other player's cases about it. He had been holding them back, but like dogs that had broken their chains; they were back and meaner then ever. There's an old saying about cowards in a pack having their own courage, and I was afraid for the first time.

Don't panic, Kurt. You're in a public hallway, and they can't do much to you. Just hold still and get ready to scream.

Karofsky must have been having the same thought because he let me drop to the ground. He spun me around and started for force me to the doorway, one hand clamped over my mouth. This was bad, this was really bad. If they could get me outside, they could do anything they wanted, and there would be no one to help me.

"Hey!" The voice was familiar and extremely surprising. My knight in shining armor had turned out to be none other then Noah Puckerman, my former tormenter. He slammed his shoulder into Karofsky, his dark eyes glinting with rage. "Back off of him."

I had thought I sounded tough, but compared to Puck, I sounded like a wet kitten. The hand fell away from my mouth, and I backed up, moving away from all five of them. Karofsky snorted. "What, Puckerman, you on his side now? That stupid group turn you gay, too? Damn, it already got Hudson, now you. Glee club is like some sort of sickness"

Puck's eyes narrowed. "He's under my protection, David. You put a finger on him, and you're a walking dead man. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." His eyes swung over to me. "Looks like you got yourself a couple of guys willing to fight over you. First Hudson's telling us to leave you alone or he'll kick our asses, now you have Puckerman doing the same thing. You got lucky this time." Then he turned to Puck. "So, what is it, winner gets to screw him? He's almost pretty enough to be a girl." With that parting shot, he sauntered off.

As much as it absolutely galled me to do this, I turned to Puck. "Thank you, Noah."

He gave me a feral grin. "It's Puck, lady man, and no problem. Finn called this morning, though you might have a little trouble with these guys. He told me to keep an eye on you. Come on." He started back towards the classroom, not bothering to see if I was following him.

"He did?" I tried not to sound too eager, but failed miserably. "Finn said that?"

"Dude, haven't you noticed that you haven't seen the inside of a dumpster in weeks?"

Now that I thought about it, it was true. "I guess."

"Yeah, well, Finn pounded the crap out of Karofsky right after he joined Glee club. Told him to leave you alone, and then told the rest of us that he would beat us up if we did it again. He was pissed."

Be still my beating heart. Finn had all but rode in on a white horse and protected me from the inside of McKinley High's most disgusting dumpster. Ok, so it wasn't exactly flowers and roses, but the sanctity of my clothing was far more important than any of that. Before I could stop myself, I felt that dopey grin spread across my face.

Puck paused at my classroom door. "I'll be here after class, to keep those morons off your back, so try to hurry it up." His voice tried to sound mean, but I knew that it was just a cover. Believe it or not, Noah Puckerman did have a softer side, at least when it suited him to have one.

"Hey, Puck?" I was rambling a little, but I didn't want to lose my small amount of courage. "How come you came after me? I mean, you could have just told Finn you tried your best but didn't see it. Then you could have saved face with your team."

It didn't make any sense. Puck tolerated me, though he was very careful to make sure we never touched, just in case my gay cooties rubbed off on him. He and Finn were friends, but I had seen Puck turn Finn down for favors much less than this one.

His eyes were intense when they met mine, and for a minute, I wasn't sure what he was going to say. Then he shrugged. "I owe Finn one, big time. Be here right after class or you're on you own." He spun on his heel and marched down the hall.

Did he owe Finn because he was cheating with Quinn? Most of the guys tended to shun me, but I was pretty sure that there were complex rules that governed when it was and was not appropriate to kiss a friends girlfriend. Number one was probably that it was always inappropriate when the friend was still dating said girl. If it was anything like the rules that girls played by at least.

True to his word, Puck was waiting for me outside after class, and dutifully escorted me to math. He didn't actually talk to me, but he did glower at anyone who seemed interested in beating me up. At the door, he paused. "I somehow pulled your girlfriend to sing a ballad to, so I have to meet with her after lunch. Think you can make it to your class all by yourself, or do you need me to hold your hand?"

Ah, there was the Noah Puckerman we all knew and loathed. "I'll be fine."

Hearing that Puck and Mercedes were stuck singing a ballad together made me realize that I needed to talk to her. She would be dying to know how my evening had gone, and I needed to catch up on the Glee gossip.

Luckily, math was the last period before lunch, and I only had to tolerate 45 minutes of droning about imaginary numbers and parabolas before the bell rang. I all but bolted from the classroom, not even remembering to ask for Finn's homework, desperately scanning the crowd for Mercedes.

"K-K-Kurt, come on." Tina materialized next to me, the neon green streaks in her hair allowing her to stand out. "W-We want to know how F-Finn is."

I allowed her to lead me to the cafeteria, where the entire Glee club, minus Puck (and interestingly enough, Quinn), was waiting. Mercedes pushed a tray full of my favorite foods towards me. "Spill, Kurt."

I had no idea how much they already knew so I started as simply as possible. "Finn broke his arm really bad. The bone was kind of separated and pushed over like this." I did my best to demonstrate with my hands. "Um, Coach and I took him to the hospital, and he they said he needed to have surgery on it. So, they did that the same night, and they let him go yesterday."

Rachael rolled her eyes. "We already know all that. We need to know how soon he can come back to Glee, because Sectionals is coming up, and we need him"

Honestly, I knew that she wasn't as shallow as she often came off as. Rachael loved Finn in her own way, and was genuinely concerned about his well being. It was just hard for her to express it. Once this whole thing with Quinn blew up, Finn would probably go to her for comfort and end up dating her, making the same mistake he had made with Quinn. They both wanted him because of what he could do for them, and what they thought they could make him into. They didn't want him because of who he was, right now.

You do. You love him because he's Finn and that's good enough for you. Well, except for his horrendous fashion sense.

"I didn't know that he was released from the hospital." Artie's voice was soft, but it carried across the table. I shot him a quick, grateful, smile. He always knew the right thing to say, which was a trait I envied.

"H-how is he?" Tina's eyes met mine. "I mean, does he seem ok? Do you know what the doctors said about his arm? Is it going to go back to normal or is there going to be permanent damage?"

Whenever she was really passionate about something, Tina very seldom stuttered. "Dad and I went over there for dinner last night so I got to see him. He was in some pain, but he mostly seemed alright. His Mom said that it would take a few months, but his arm should be alright."

"It sounded really bad when he got hurt. Like a branch snapping or something." Brittany was playing with Santana's hair, a sleepy look on her face. "I thought bones were stronger then that."

It might have been the most intelligent thing I had ever heard come out of her mouth. "Britt, if you throw 400lbs on top of someone's arm, it's going to break. Anyway, his arm is up in a sling, but no cast."

"Did he make you look at the scar? Because let me tell you, it's pretty damn gross." Puck appeared out of nowhere, pulled out a chair and sat on it. "It's very Frankensteiny."

Despite my best efforts, I felt a small smile tug at my lips. Puck was Puck and it was impossible to be too angry with him for long. True, he was an egotistical asshole most of the time, but he never pretended to be something that he wasn't. He was lying to Finn, but, right now at least, that was Finn's problem, not mine. Later, with any luck at all, it would be something we shared, but not yet. "He tried, but I wouldn't look."

Rachael's eyes narrowed. "So, did everyone but me go over and visit?"

"Yes, Rachael, we all got together without you and went over and bothered someone who was just a few hours out of the hospital. It's all a big conspiracy against you." I tried to keep the nasty out of my voice and didn't quite succeed. "I didn't know Puck went over at all."

He shrugged, obviously a little embarrassed to be caught actually caring about someone else. "Yeah, well, Finn's my boy. Stupid fucker needed someone to look out for him." He stood up, apparently bored with us. "Didn't make much difference though, he was so doped up he barely even knew who I was."

"But he seemed alright?" This time it was Santana. "I mean, he's going to get better pretty soon, right?"

I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or Puck. When they were together, they didn't have eyes for anyone else, but when they were apart, they wouldn't even acknowledge the other existed. The problems was, the rest of the Glee club never knew if they were on or off on any given day. Most of the time, I suspected they didn't know themselves.

Luckily, Puck answered before the silence could drag on. "Back to school on Monday, unless he can convince his mom that he's still too injured to go. I doubt it, though, Carol's tough."

It was Thursday now. That meant I had just three days, four if you counted today, of Finn's attention, before he wouldn't need me any more. Once he went back to school, he would hook back up with his real friends, and that would be that.

"Anyway, Finn's gonna be fine. Ok? Fine. There's no reason to bother with him any more." Puck was edgy, his eyes darting from side to side. "Mercedes, are you coming or not?"

Her eyes met mine, silently asking if she should go with Puck, or if I needed her. I did, desperately, so I jerked my head at her. She nodded minutely. "Sorry, White Bread, Kurt needs me right now. Later, guys."

Her hand was warm on my arm as she steered me out of the cafeteria and into an empty classroom. "Alright, what happened? Did Frankenteen do something?" She grinned and nudged me gently. "Or did he not do something? You don't make that worried face for nothing."

How did I explain this? "He did, but he didn't." I sat on one of the desks, taking care not to wrinkle my clothes. "I think he wanted to kiss me."

"Uh-huh." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. "So, Finn, who is painfully straight, not to mention about to be a daddy, has suddenly decided that he likes cock."

"Mercedes!" I was no prude, but somehow, it always creeped me out to hear her say that. "I didn't say he did kiss me, I just said I thought he might want to." Hurriedly, I went over what had happened, from him kissing my cheek when I first got there, to the strange scene right before Dad and I went home. Try as I might, I couldn't properly explain the look in Finn's eyes as he had stood toe to toe in his room. It was the most intense feeling of my entire life.

To her credit, she listened quietly, even though her eyebrows were rising higher and higher. One arm came around my shoulders, pulling me to her body. "Oh, Kurt, this is a hot mess right here."

I laughed a little at her blunt honesty. "So what do I do?"

"Good question. I don't want to get your hopes up, but it does sound like he's at least interested. What did he say when you stepped back? Did he get all weird or anything?"

"No." Even the memory of that look made shudders run up and down my spine. "He just stood there."

"Alright, let's think about this. Finn Hudson, the man of your, as well as the entire female population of McKinley highs, dreams, might actually have feelings for you. Kurt, what do you want?"

The answer came without my having to think. "Finn."

"Do you?" She was probing now. "You wanted him before, when you didn't think you could have him."

My anger rose. "No, I wanted him because I wanted him. He's cute and he's funny and he's, well, not smart exactly, but he's so sweet. He actually treats me like I matter."

"Alright, Kurt, just chill. I wouldn't be a friend if I didn't ask."

Grudgingly, I had to admit she was right. I had to be sure that it was actually Finn I wanted, that I wasn't just attached to him because I thought he was off limits. I leaned back and thought hard. I thought about Finn's lopsided smile, and his expressive eyes, and the easy way he touched me, even thought he knew I was gay. I thought about how he carried Artie in and out of Glee practice every day, without every doing anything to make his friend feel like a burden. True, his mouth was about three times as fast as his brain was, which could lead to awkwardness, but his heart was in the right place. "I'm sure he's what I want."

She gave me a devious smirk. "Well, then. We have to get you one Finn Hudson, served up on a silver platter. Suggestions?"

It was a testament to my newfound restraint that I didn't immediately come up with the most outrageous plan possible. Finn was like a skittish alley cat right now, and grabbing for him would cause him to bolt. I had to charm him to my hand, and that meant being subtle. Plus, there was a not so small (though getting larger by the day) impediment to my bliss: Quinn Fabray.

As if she could read my mind, Mercedes stopped. "What about Drizzle?"

The fact that the entire Glee club referred to the baby that way drove Quinn absolutely insane, which may or may not have been the reason that I, at least, continued to do it. Petty was not a good look on me, but I really couldn't help it. "I don't know."

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her about Quinn and Puck, but I couldn't make the words come out. Mercedes and I had never kept secrets from each other before, but this was different. This was Finn's secret, not mine, and it wasn't right for everyone to know before he did.

Kurt, darling boy, he already knows. He has to be half knocked out with pain and drugs before he can admit it, even to himself, but he knows. Just be gentle to him, alright? He needs to face the truth head on, and you need to be there when it all comes crashing down on him. Because baby? It's going to hurt him so badly.

The voice was so tender that I barely recognized Galinda. She was right, of course, she was always right. Finn was sensitive, which was one of the things I loved about him, but sensitivity came with its drawbacks. Namely wearing your heart on your sleeve and making it easy for others to destroy it.

And this would. Finn might have been shocked about Drizzle at first, and scared, but he had really come around to the idea of fatherhood. Not having a father of his own had marked him, and he had promised himself that he would take care of Drizzle, no matter what. I might be able to compete if it had just been Quinn, but the baby tipped the scales.

Being there for Drizzle doesn't mean being there for Quinn. She treats him like a dog, and you both know it. He puts up with it because he doesn't know any better. You have to show him that he's worth more.

"Kurt!" Mercedes snapped her fingers in front of my face. I gave her a guilty look and an apologetic shrug. "Drizzle."

"I don't know. I can't take him away from the baby, but I can share him with her. That's enough, right?" There was more desperation in my voice than I was comfortable with.

"It's a start. Don't worry, Kurt, we'll figure something out." Suddenly she grinned again. "So, want to hear the latest gossip? You'll love this, I promise."

"Coach Sylvester was caught in a torrid affair with Figgens?" It was the most bizarre thing I could come up with.

"Better." She was giggling now, so it must be juicy.

"Uh, Brittany hooked up with both Mike and Matt, at the same time?"

"Kurt, that was last week. No, even better."

I leaned in closer. "I give up, what?"

She did the same, mimicking Finn and my pose from last night. "Guess who Rachael Berry is chasing after? Someone in Glee Club…"

Anyone but Finn, anyone but Finn. No wait, if it was Finn it wouldn't have been plain old gossip, much less the juicy kind. It couldn't be Puck; the two of them had already been hooked up. Matt and Mike were out, and she barely had the time of day for Artie. It couldn't be one of the girls, could it? "You?"

Mercedes jerked backwards. "Kurt Hummel, bite your tongue. If I was going to go that way, it would be for something a lot better than Rachael Berry. No, it's Shuester!"

"The teacher?" No, Kurt, the other Shuester in Glee. Yes the teacher! God, sometimes you're dumber than Finn is.

"Yes, Will Shuester, our teacher. You missed it all yesterday because you were playing nursemaid to your man crush."

I decided to let that comment slide, at least this time. "You're kidding."

"Nope. She was full on Fatal Attraction, bunny's on the stove, eye stalking him. It was beyond creepy."

A quick check of my watch confirmed that there were only a few minute left before the bell rang. Once that happened, I wouldn't see her until Glee. I had actually been considering skipping it again, to go and see Finn earlier, but there was no way I was going to miss this train wreck. I grabbed her hand. "Mercedes, tell me everything."

Ok, so it wasn't the nicest way to act. After all, who knew better than me the pain of having a crush on someone you knew you could never have? Shuester was married with a kid on the way; Finn was dating Quinn Fabray with a kid on the way. Had it been anyone else, I would have had a lot more sympathy.

But it was Rachael Berry, who had absolutely everything. Was it so unfair to want, just once, for her to try her absolute hardest and still not got what she wanted? She had already gotten my solo, not to mention more than her fair share of talent, so why shouldn't she get to know exactly how the rest of us felt sometimes?

Well, maybe a large part of my nasty was coming from the fact that she had gotten all that, and was still chasing after Finn, too. Shouldn't I get something?

I realized that I was dangerously close to going on a mental whining streak, and checked myself before Galinda could do it for me. I was Kurt Hummel, and I was not about to give in to melodrama. No matter what happened with all of this, I would keep my head high, and keep counting the days until I was out of here.

Glee was kind of boring today, since everyone was practicing their ballads, and I didn't have a partner for mine. I busied myself picking through some old sheet music for inspiration, and furtively watching the rest of the club. Mercedes looked like she might want to strangle Puck, who was happily mooning over Santana. And Brittany. And Quinn. He even raised a suggestive eyebrow at Tina. Staring was rude, but I really didn't want to miss it when Mercedes finally let him have it.

I continued to watch them out of the corner of my eye, checking out the rest of the club. Brittany and Santana were totally involved in each other, squealing and laughing. They certainly didn't seem to have a problem singing with a person of the same gender. Maybe Finn wouldn't either.

Uh-huh. Do you really think that? Come on Kurt, you've seen the way they look at each other. They don't have a problem with it because they're already together. Plus, Finn is Finn, not Brittany or Santana.

Not possible. The more I watched, though, the more I became convinced that it was true. Britt stared at Santana the same way I did at Finn, though if I looked that desperate and dopey I was going to have to commit suicide. I made a mental note to watch myself for that.

However, the most fun of the day was watching Mr. Shue try and fend of Rachael's rather obvious advances. I did regret missing the Endless Love fiasco from yesterday, but apparently she was going to give me plenty of material today, also. Mr. Shue had the petrified look of a deer in the headlights, and Rachael had the deep stare of a wolf. It quickly became obvious that the man needed help.

"Mr. Shue?" The words came out without thought. "Can you help me with my ballad, please?"

Relief flooded his eyes. "Of course. Rachael, I'm sorry but Kurt needs my help."

Her disappointment was palpable. "Oh, that's alright." Suddenly, she brightened up. "You and I can just rehearse together later. Maybe you could give me some private lessons?"

I was pretty sure I didn't want to know what sort of "lessons" she was talking about. From the look on his face, and the way he kept nervously adjusting his tie, Mr. Shue didn't either.

He sat down next to me. "Thank you, Kurt."

"No problem." Now that he was actually here, I didn't know what to say to him. "I, uh, I don't know what to pick."

He nodded. "Well, I paired you with Finn, right? Just go with what you feel."

Somehow, I didn't think that would go over too well. Finn was slowly coming around to my way of thinking and I didn't want to scare him. "What if I don't know what I feel?"

"That's what the music is for. No matter what your feelings truly are, there's a song for you. I have more music in my office, if you don't see it right now. Just go from the heart, Kurt, you're excellent at that"

I glanced around, but everyone was distracted by their own ballads. Even Rachael had disappeared. "You know, don't you? That's why you put us together for the ballad"

To his credit, he didn't attempt to play dumb. Instead he gave me that strange smile. "Yes, I know."

"So, what do I do?" I hated to sound so weak, but I was totally out of my league here. Why I was asking him was somewhat of a mystery, considering what a mess his love life was, but he was close to Finn, and maybe he would have a suggestion. "Do I even have a chance?"

He sat on the floor next to me, his eyes distant. "I can't tell you that, Kurt, because I don't know. The only one who can know that is Finn, and he's only going to tell you if you ask."

"But…" The next part was hard to say, and I very nearly lost my nerve. "I don't want him to hate me. If I ask, and he doesn't feel that way, he's never going to want to talk to me again."

That, of course, was my biggest fear. I could put up with the dumpster tossing, and the name calling, and my stuff being ruined, because I knew that the people who were doing it were creeps that were going to end up working at McDonalds in a few years. But if Finn joined them….I couldn't even imagine it.

"He's not going to hate you, Kurt. Just be honest with him. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, he'll respect you being brave and putting it all out there."

I guessed that was true. Finn appreciated honesty and directness. It was just that I wasn't even out to the rest of the Glee club, just Mercedes and Dad, and, considering how absolutely dense Finn was, this was going to come as a complete shock to him. Still, there was no excuse for wimpiness, even more than then there being no excuse for bad fashion. "Thank you, Mr. Shue."

He patted my shoulder and stood, looking around nervously for Rachael. "I know how hard this is, but I'm going to tell you something, Kurt. Not saying anything isn't going to change your feelings. It's just going to lead to things building up until it all explodes, and you don't want that to happen. Regret's ugly, and you don't need to have it so early in life."

Maybe the fact that his life was so screwed up meant he was the one I should really be listening too. After all, we had all met his wife, and seen the way he looked at Ms. Pilsbury. If anyone had regrets for the direction their life had taken, it must be him.

None of the music here was right, not for Finn and I. "May I be excused early from practice? I need to think about my ballad before I choose."

"Of course. I wasn't expecting you to show up at all today, so I don't really have anything for you to do. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

I was standing before he added. "Oh, and tell Finn I hope he's feeling better. He can have an extension on his Spanish homework if he needs one."

"I will." I wasn't expected over at the Hudson's until six, but I could use the extra time to get ready. I had a brand new red shirt (since Finn had told me once that red was my color) that needed ironing, and I knew he liked the way a certain shower gel smelled. It was a little on the manipulative side, but I wanted to go in as confident as possible.

Finn Hudson wasn't going to know what hit him.