A/N: I've been getting quite a few questions about the posting of this story. It is undetermined how long it will be, and I started posting it at a different site before I started on this one. I have limited internet access, so I usually update on both at the same time, and they are 6 or 7 chapters ahead. It's the same story, just at different places.

Next Chapter will be from Finn, because he's so darn cute when he's stupid!

Kurt POV

We were never going to make it inside the building. Every three or four feet, someone would stop Finn and ask how he was feeling, did his arm hurt, and could they see it? He chatted briefly with each of them, but never moved too far away from me. His arm was buckled up in its sling, and he gently refused to undo it.

"Finn." Tina bounced up to us, her dark hair streaked with neon green. "You guys are late, we weren't sure if you were coming at all."

I tried not to look guilty. No, Finn wasn't late because we had decided to have an impromptu make-out session in the front seat of the navigator. In a Starbucks parking lot, none the less.

"Yeah, I got a little held up." He slung an affectionate arm around her shoulders, his body all but swallowing hers up. "Catch me up on the Glee news, though."

Finn was naturally sweet with pretty much everyone he met. It made me jealous, not because he was touching Tina, but because he would never touch me the same way, at least not in public.

"Mr. Shue got into a huge fight with Sue Sylvester. He thinks she's leaking our set lists."

"How come?" She wasn't exactly talking to me, but I was curious. Despite her crazy clothes and hair, Tina had a way of blending in. People talked in front of her, revealing things that they wouldn't in front of the rest of us. I think it may be her stutter that makes her seem harmless. Speaking of, she hadn't stuttered even once throughout this entire conversation.

"I don't know. I just heard them yelling."

"Maybe it's 'cause she's evil. And not like movie evil, where the only problem was you had a bad childhood and just need a hug. I mean, like, comic book, Skeletor, Magneto evil."

Only Finn could bring in a comic book reference and not only have it make sense, but have it be the perfect thing to say. Or maybe it was just the irrational love I had for him clouding my mind. I would never admit it out loud, but I did read comics sometimes, and had a pretty good understanding of the characters he was talking about.

Tina wouldn't be dissuaded. "I know, but she's always been evil. She must have done something new."

I had my own theories about all this. "I think she's blackmailing Figgens."

That got both of their attentions. Finn's eyes narrowed. "How?" He had an odd way of drawing the word out; though I was pretty sure I had heard Carol do the same thing.

I was pretty sure that I didn't want to know. "Maybe he slept with one of the students?"

Tina snickered. "Maybe he made a pass at Sue?"

"If he did, he's a braver man then I am. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of little demon up there that bit your dick off." Finn shuddered visibly. "I mean, she's hot in a wild woman of the Amazon sort of way, but it's not worth the risk."

Dear God, was Finn actually attracted to Sue Sylvester? My jaw dropped. "Finn!" If he had thoughts about that evil hag, I might have to rethink this thing between us.

Oh, yeah, pretend like there's anything that could convince you to give up Finn Hudson. You could walk in on him having a threesome with both Sue and Rachael, and you would still let him into your bed that night. You have it bad, sweetie.

Finn looked unperturbed. "Dude, we all have our strange little fantasies, don't pretend that you've never had a sexual thought about someone totally inappropriate that you don't even like. Come on, power is sexy."

He had me there. After all, I was having inappropriate thoughts about one Finn Hudson before I even spoke to him, much less knew anything about him. Luckily, Tina saved me. "It's still gross."

"I know." He gave her a tight squeeze, pulling her body into his. "So, tell me more."

Even Tina wasn't immune to his loving nature. Her face flushed lightly. "Oh, we're going to have visitors today. The Jane Adams Academy is coming to perform for us."

"Who?" Sometimes I swear Finn doesn't retain information for more then 5 minutes at a stretch, if that.

"Our competition for Sectionals, remember? Jane Adams and the school for the deaf?"

"Oh, yeah. Hey, if they're the competition, how come they're coming here? Aren't these things supposed to be secret or something?"

He had a point. "Maybe they're just getting used to performing for an audience. I'll bet they don't use the same song for sectionals." I turned to Finn, suddenly desperate to remind him that I was still here, and, hello, I was the one kissing him.

Why don't you decide what you want before you get irritated with him? You flat out told him that what went on between the two of you was a secret, so don't be pissed off when he doesn't treat you any different. This is your problem, Kurt; you want to change the rules from moment to moment to benefit you.

Whatever my motives, I succeeded in getting Finn's attention back on me. "Yeah, you're probably right. You're really, really, smart, Kurt." He smiled at me, the barest quirk of his lips.

I had once heard Quinn tell Santana that Finn was dumber then a box of hair, but was a total emotional savant. He seemed more capable of reading someone's mood then he was of reading a book, which was probably why he stayed out of trouble as much as he did. He recognized that I was upset, and that it was because he was ignoring me, so he did his best to fix it without being to obvious.

It wasn't just me, though. Finn did have a bit of a manipulative side, though not nearly as much of one as I had, and he seemed to know just what to say to someone to get them on his side. When you talked to him, you felt like he knew your secrets, whether he actually did or not. Honestly, it was a wonder that he hadn't figured it out about my crush on him.

Uh-huh, you keep telling yourself that. He knew, idiot, and he still treated you pretty darn well. Keep that in mind the next time you think he's stupid, or complain about him.

I smiled back at him. "Keep it in mind, Cowboy."

He chuckled. Since he had never objected to the nickname, I had to assume that he liked it. "Sure, sure."

Suddenly, I was very glad that Mercedes wasn't here right now. There was no way she would look at us and not know that things had changed between Finn and I. How we were going to hide it from her was a bit of a problem, but not for right now. Right now I had more important things to worry about, like what was going to happen when Finn, Puck and Quinn all came face to face. I was no wimp, but I certainly wasn't going to get in the middle of it if Finn and Puck started brawling, and I don't even think Finn had seen Quinn since the scandal broke.

Maybe it was a good thing that we were having guest performers today instead of working on one of our own numbers. This way I could keep Finn on the opposite side of the room from Puck and Quinn, and hopefully there would be no bloodshed. Not that I didn't think Finn could totally kick Puck's ass, but he's such a teddy bear that he would feel bad about it, and that might lead to no fooling around later this afternoon.

The bell rang, and I reluctantly separated from my kind of, almost, sort of, boyfriend. This period was algebra, which he shared with Artie. "Ask Artie to help you with your notes, alright?"

"Yeah." His face assumed that same glazed over expression it always got when he was at school. I wasn't quite sure if Finn was just a lazy student, or he genuinely tried, but wasn't capable of learning in a lecture environment. He never seemed to put much effort into it, but then, it had to be frustrating to try and try and try, and never once get it.

"I'll see you at lunch, then." I didn't have any classes with him until this afternoon, and as much as I wanted to meet him between classes and walk with him, I had to admit that that would be kind of stalker creepy, not to mention totally obvious.

Finn brightened visibly at the mention of lunch. "Ok." Then he vanished down a side hallway, swinging his backpack from his good hand. The straps put too much pressure on the sling, which tended to twist his arm and make it hurt.

I had social studies, which bored me to death. The teacher wasn't telling me anything that I couldn't learn out of a textbook, which meant I spent the majority of the class secretly reading Vogue and filing my nails.

There was only one bright point of the class, and that was that Mercedes was in it with me. She was waiting at the door, her dark eyes smiling. "So?"

I bumped my shoulder against hers. "So, what?"

"Kurt! So how did things go with Finn? Did you kiss and make up?"

My sudden, awkward, silence must have told her everything, because she slapped both hands on her ample hips. "Kurt, tell me you didn't."

"I absolutely did not touch Finn Hudson in any way that could be construed as inappropriate." Unless with my mouth counted, which made what had happened sound far dirtier then it actually was.

"Mmm-hmmm." Her narrowed eyes told me that she didn't believe me in the slightest. "So, what did he have to say for himself?"

"He thought it was his fault instead of mine." That part still totally amazed me. I had acted like a total jerk, but he was willing to take the blame on himself.

"He always thinks that it's his fault. The Quinn Monster taught him that and you know it." As much as she would deny it if I asked, Mercedes liked Finn a lot. She thought he was sweet and needed someone to take care of him, a task I was more than equal to.

"So, he apologized, and I hope that you apologized-"She shot me another look, one that said that she was pretty sure I hadn't. "-and what happened then? Did you talk about, you know, the other thing that happened?"

"A little. Listen, Mercedes, I don't know if I'm really that comfortable talking about-"The bell rang, thankfully cutting me off before I could babble out the truth.

We took our seats and I snuck my magazine out of my backpack. Ah, the joys of another long, boring, period spent half listening to the details of conquests of Attila the Hun. Mercedes was smart, too smart, and she was going to figure it all out.

The bell rang, and we stood up. I was half tempted to bolt, and avoid her probing questions, but that would be foolish. Not only would it make me look even more like I was hiding something, but, when you are in Glee club, there's safety in numbers. Right now, I had neither Puck nor Finn to watch out for me and Karofsky had moved up to new levels of aggression.

She wasn't willing to let it go, either, and continued our conversation as if it had never stopped. "Ok, Kurt, I understand that whatever is happening between you and Finn isn't something you want to talk about, and I can respect that. Just answer one thing: is he pushing you?"

I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding. Thank God for Mercedes, and he knowledge of when to back off. "No, he's not pushing me."

"Are you pushing him?" There it was, that protective nature that extended to the entire Glee club. She loved me, but she wouldn't let me hurt someone else.

"I'm not pushing him either. I think I pretty much learned my lesson about that this weekend."

We were nearly at the part where we would meet up with Tina, Artie, and Finn. I would go with Tina, and then Artie, Mercedes and Finn would leave together. Mercedes would go to gym class, Finn to study hall and Artie to English Lit. Luckily, their classrooms were close together, so no one had to be alone and vulnerable.

"Be safe, then, alright? Don't let him break your heart, and for God's sake, Kurt, don't break his. The poor boy's punch drunk already."

I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I recognized the truth behind her words. Maybe I could ask Tina, she was pretty smart with expressions like that. "I'm being safe and being careful."

I didn't get a chance to say much else, because the rest of the Glee club had just appeared. I noticed that Finn was walking between Tina and Artie, and neither one of them was so much as glancing at the other. Whatever had gone wrong between them, it was apparently still wrong. He was looking from one to the other with worried eyes, but he wisely said nothing.

When he saw me, though, he gave me a quirky grin. It wasn't a smile I had gotten before, especially in public, and I found myself returning it. More accurately, I gave him a dopey grin that had Mercedes poking me in the side. "Stop it. You look like a lovesick puppy."

It was really hard to care at the moment, but I forced myself to snap back to attention. Let it never be said that Kurt Hummel looked anything less then perfectly put together.

Finn cocked his head at us. "Hey, Kurt, Mercedes." His voice tried hard to be casual, but there was something special in it, a happy lilt that I was pretty sure wasn't directed at Mercedes.

"Oh, God, Kurt. How did you cock whip Finn Hudson in less then two days?" The words were ground out underneath her breath, too soft for Finn to overhear. She raised her voice. "Finn, how's the arm?"

"Well, it hasn't fallen off yet, so I figure it's alright." He looked between us, knowing that something was going on by Mercedes secretive smirk and my bright red face. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, Kurt and I were just discussing the concept of the pussy whip. Do you know that that is?"

"Uh-huh." He drug the word out, obviously confused. "Why, who's pussy whipped?"

"Oh, no one. Come on now, white boy, walk me to class." She held out an arm, which he took, that puzzled furrow never leaving his forehead. He looked at Artie, who shrugged in confusion. "Bye, Kurt, see you at lunch!" One perfectly manicured hand waved goodbye.

See if we ever give her a manicure again, huh Kurt? She's never going to let you live this down as long as you live. God, I don't even want to think about what she's saying to Finn right now.

Hopefully Finn would be so dense that any references what he and I might be doing would go right over his head. I kind of doubted it, though. Finn might not be the brightest jewel in the case, but he was pretty with it when it came to sex.

"Kurt!" Tina's voice was right at my ear, causing me to jump.

"I'm sorry, Tina, what?" I felt bad that I had been caught not paying attention. Tina very seldom demanded anything of anyone, and she deserved to be listened to when she asked for it.

"When you screw things up really, really bad with someone you like a lot, what do you do to make it up to them?"

"What?" Now my voice was doing that teenage girl squeak. "Why would you ask me that?"

She turned to face me fully. "I meant it as a hypothetical question, but now I'm curious. Did something happen with you and Finn?"

Was there anyone who wasn't able to figure it out? I was opening my mouth to deny it when she gasped. "Did you get lucky at that party? You did, didn't you?"

"Tina, I am not discussing my unfortunate lack of a sex life with you. Why don't we talk about your problem?"

It won't be a lack of a sex life for looooong! Galinda drew the word out teasingly.

Oh, shut up, you pervert. I threw Tina's own words back at her. "Did something happen with you and Artie?"

"Yes." Her eyes turned shimmery. "I…I kind of told a huge, huge lie. Not really to Artie, specifically, but I let him believe it. Then he found out the truth, and now he's mad at me. How do I say that I'm sorry?"

I probably wasn't the one to ask. One of my major faults was my inability to admit that I was the one who was wrong, and that maybe it would be better to just apologize and move on, rather then pushing forward and digging myself into an even deeper hole. "I guess you could just start with 'I'm sorry.'"

She laughed a little. "You don't have very much experience with this, do you?"

"Not really." But I did apologize when the situation called for it. "I had to apologize to Finn this morning."

"For what?" We were nearly at our destination, which happened to be Geometry.

"My dad was paying a lot of attention to him, and I didn't like it. So instead of telling him that it bothered me, I started screaming at him. I didn't even give him a chance to explain himself.

She thought that over. "But you two seemed pretty cozy this morning, so he must have forgiven you."

"Like I said, sorry works." Mostly because Finn was pretty much incapable of nursing a grudge, but I sensed that now wasn't the time to tell her that. "What exactly did you do?"

A blush spread across her cheeks. "Umm…I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Now I was burning with curiosity, but I knew all too well what it was like to have a secret that you couldn't share with anyone. "Just tell Artie that you're sorry, and that you want to talk it out."

"What if he still won't talk to me?" She sat down at the desk next to mine, her head hanging low.

"Don't let him. If you really want something, you shouldn't ever give up." If I had given up, I wouldn't have Finn now. "Listen, you and I will come up with a plan to get Artie for you, alright? Just let me think."

It wasn't as easy to slack off in math as it was in social studies. The concepts were harder, and I couldn't just space out and learn them out of the textbook later. By the time the period was over, I was no closer to a solution then before. It would help if she would tell me what she had said, but I didn't want to push.

To my great disappointment, Finn wasn't there at the class change. Artie, whom I noticed spoke only to me and totally ignored Tina, said that he had been held in study hall to make up missed work, since he wouldn't be able to attend his usual gym class. He did pass on the message that he would see us all at lunch.

That must mean he was planning on sitting with us today. He tended to divide his time between the Glee club and the football team, though he had been sitting more with us lately. I could see where he wouldn't want to be close to Puck right now, so his place with us might become a more permanent thing.

It also meant that Tina would have to walk to her next class unescorted. "You going to be ok? Because I'll walk you if you need it." It would make me late for Biology, but I had enough favor with Mr. Sanders that it would probably be alright.

"That would be great." She was going to have to pass the boys locker room, and without Finn to run interference, she was as good as slushied. Even with Finn around, our safety was no longer guaranteed.

"I can walk you." Artie's voice was unexpected, but not unwelcome. "I mean, well, I think you and I have some things to talk about."

Tina looked like she might die of happiness. "I think we do, and I would love to have you walk me. You going to be alright on your own, Kurt?"

"Of course." It was only one short hallway before I got to class, and it wasn't one of the more dangerous ones. During this time of day, the jocks all congregated for extra practice, something I was grateful for.

I didn't have any real friends in this class, which didn't tend to bother me. I preferred working on labs alone, since there was less chance that my partner would 'accidentally' drip fetal pig intestines on my brand new sweaters.

Today was a lecture day though, a boring one about the insect kingdom. They were gross, they bit or stung, and they tended to make me shriek like a little girl. That was about all I needed to know.

Mr. Sanders was deep in a discussion about the butterfly family, also known as Lepidoptera, when the bell rang, signaling an end to my torment. Now it was lunchtime, which meant I could actually see Finn again. If he was willing to speak to me, of course. Neither one of us had been totally clear on where the boundaries of our relationship currently were.

Usually we didn't talk that much. This may or may not be because I'm generally too busy mooning over him to actually speak, but it had become the status quo. If we were really keeping this relationship a secret, I supposed he wouldn't go out of his way to talk to me. It was fine, I guess. After all, he was coming over after school and we would be able to talk then. Or maybe just fool around, that would be alright with me, too.

I never ate the school lunches; they were nothing but grease and empty carbs, so it was my job to get us a table. The jocks had theirs, and the Cheerio's had theirs, but the rest of us had to scramble. I found a good one and waited, scanning the cafeteria for familiar faces.

Mercedes sat down next me, tossing me a cold bottled water. "I see you're in the same clothes as this morning, so no slushies or dumpsters?" She took a bite of her taco. "Oh, wait, I know there was no dumpster because you showed up with your new love Gigantor this morning."

"Stop calling him that!" I hissed at her as loudly as I dared. "He is not my new love." Not yet, anyway.

"Really, 'cause he's here." She was smirking knowingly.

My head snapped around so quickly that my neck popped. "Where?"

"Uh-huh, he's not your new love or anything, alright. He just went to go get some food."

Tina appeared, Artie wheeling along at her side. I noticed that he had both of their lunches on his tray, which was as close to a declaration of love as you tended to see at McKinley High. Maybe she had taken my advice, or maybe they had figured out their own way of working it out, but I was glad to see things getting back to normal.

There was a resounding thud as Finn tossed himself down in the chair next to mine. His tray had two slices of pizza, a hamburger, fries, two cokes, a carton of milk, and a handful of cookies. "Did you get enough?"

He shrugged. "I can always go back for seconds."

If I ever figured out how Finn managed eat like that and not have a huge ass, I would patent it and become an instant millionaire. He completely missed my sarcasm, which was part of his charm. Before I could back up and explain myself, he gave me a megawatt smile and started fishing around in his backpack. "Kurt, you have to see this, you'll flip out, I swear."

Finn's backpack always reminded me of Mary Poppin's bag. There was no rational way that all of those books and snacks and pieces of paper and football stuff could possibly fit in there, but yet it did. He finally pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. " Here, look!"

It was his Spanish test. I was so shocked by the condition he had managed to reduce it to, stained and creased, in less than an hour that I almost missed what it was that he was trying to show me. A huge red 97 was written in the corner. "That's great!"

He nodded. "I know! I haven't gotten an A on anything since, like, fourth grade! Mr. Shue was so excited that he brought me the paper as soon as he was done grading it. Thanks, buddy, I couldn't have done it without you helping me." He did his best to smooth it out on the table. "I think my mom might try and frame it."

Artie gave him a high five. "It's great that you finally figured out what works for you. My cousin has the same thing and he has to have everything printed on colored paper."

"Huh?" Finn gave him a searching look. "I don't have anything wrong with me, I don't think."

The smaller boy backpedaled immediately. "Oh, you aren't dyslexic? I thought that you were."

I vaguely heard Finn asking what dyslexia was, and if it was some sort of eye problem. His voice faced in the background, though, because I was realizing that Artie was right. All of Finn's little problems, the difficulty reading, the inability to tell left from right, the trouble following patterns like tying his shoes or learning dance steps. It all made a sort of horrible sense.

"Dyslexia is a learning problem where you have trouble with symbols like letters and numbers or following patterns. Were you ever checked for it?"

Finn cocked his head. "I was tested once, after I almost flunked Kindergarten but they just said I was hyper and kind of stupid. Oh, they also told Mom that it was probably because I didn't have a dad. She cried all night long, even though she tried to hide it. That's the only time I've ever been tested for anything though, except for, you know, physicals and stuff." He picked up a slice up pizza and gulped it down before speaking again. "Do you really think I might have that dis-…thing? I do have trouble with numbers, and I read really slow, even though I do try."

"You should get tested. Ms. Pilsbury will do it for free, because you're only sixteen."

"Huh, maybe I should. It would be nice to know I'm not just dumb."

I would have said something comforting, but I had just seen Puck enter the cafeteria. His face looked less swollen then it had a few days ago, but the black eyes were still very much in evidence. In the second it took me to decide what to do about him, Finn followed my eyes and stiffened up.

Fight, fight, fight, fight! Galinda was cheering like a high school boy.

Only the fight didn't happen. Their eyes met, black against black, and a message passed between them. Then they both looked down and away from each other. Finn picked up his hamburger and started eating, and Puck went to go get his lunch. The rest of the Glee club released a collective breath. Finn could probably take Puck again, but he would end up suspended at the very least.

"That's it?" Tina was starting to babble, which she always did when she got nervous. She managed to get it out without stuttering, though, which was an improvement. "I mean, are things alright between you and Puck?"

"Not by a long shot." He popped open one of the sodas and drank deeply. "But I feel bad that I messed up his face like that, and I don't want to fight with him any more. I just want this all to be over. You know, things to be like they were."

The unspoken 'when I was with Quinn' was like a punch to the gut. No matter how hard I tried, I would always be his second choice. First choice was bitchy and delicate, and, most importantly, female. Two of those things I was capable of being, but the third was impossible.

"What's wrong, Kurt? Do you want a drink?" Finn held the can out to me, looking worried.

Soda is one of the worst things you can possibly drink. Not only is it filled with empty sugar, but it gunks up your vocal cords. Plus, it has about a million calories per sip. None of that mattered, though, and I took a grateful gulp before I said anything I regretted.

Even as I drank it down, Finn was talking again. "But it can't be the way it was, and it probably shouldn't be. I mean, you know, maybe things can be even better." He gave me a lopsided smile when he said that, and I promptly choked the on the soda.

Have a little faith in the boy, will you? Not everyone in the world is out to get you, despite what you seem to think. Things weren't that great with Quinn, and he knows it. Not quit looking for excuses to get on Finn's case, or he's going to leave you, too.

Finn lightly rubbed my back while I choked, not thumping like I would have expected and making things worse. Finally I drew a deep breath and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Sorry, wrong pipe." I took another sip of the vile liquid, kind of liking the way it burned on the way down.

I offered it back to him, but he shook his head. "Dude, you coughed all in that thing. No offense, but you can keep it."

He had certainly seemed alright with sharing bodily fluids before. I refrained from saying it, though. "Thanks."

I would have said more, but a tingling feeling started up my spine. It was the sort of feeling that I supposed a mouse got when a cat entered the room. There was only one thing that caused that feeling in me: Rachael Berry.

Sure enough, she sat down next to Tina, her eyes fixed on Finn. "Hello, Darling."