Kurt

Let's see. My hair was in place, my clothes looked great, and I had that sappy 'I'm in love with someone' look in my eyes. God, I was two steps from starring in my own Disney movie.

I wish you would get two steps from staring in your own porno movie. I'm not seeing that blow job you that Finn promised both of us. God, you are such a prude sometimes.

Just because I would rather have a real relationship and not be Finn's dirty little secret, that didn't make me a prude. It made me romantic, sometimes hopelessly so. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing.

Honey, part of a real relationship is sexual, whether you want to admit it or not. I'm not saying you have to have sex with him right now, not if you aren't ready for it, but getting the boy hot and bothered would do wonders for your self esteem. Face it, part of the problem here is that you can't believe you got Finn, and you still don't think you could possibly be good enough for him. A part of you is trying to protect yourself.

That wasn't true, was it? I trusted Finn, and there was no way that I wasn't good enough for him. If anything, he wasn't good enough for me.

You keep repeating that kiddo, and maybe soon you'll believe it. Personally, I think you two are good together, but I can't seem to convince you of that. And, anyway, any man who will put up with your tantruming and stubborn nature has to be good enough for you.

Sometimes I think Galinda is an extension of myself, and sometimes I think of her more as a sentient tumor, squatting there on my brain and harping at me constantly. Still, she had some good points, things I would have to think about later.

"Kurt, what are you doing? Are you going to some Streisand sing along or something?" My father was leaning against the wall.

"No, I have a date." I turned my head from side to side, checking myself out from all angles. Good, everything was right.

"With Finn?" He still seemed a little uncomfortable discussing boys with me, but I appreciated the effort.

"Yes. He's taking me out for sushi." I eased my coat on, taking extra care not to wrinkle anything.

His nose wrinkled. "The raw fish that looks like tires stuffed with cabbage? Does he know what sushi is?"

Good question. "I'm sure that he will very soon."

It wasn't as mean as it sounded. Finn will eat just about anything that isn't nailed to the floor, including stuff that he found in the back of the fridge and that horrible processed cheese that comes in a spray can. I was sure that he would like it, as long as no one freaked him out beforehand by telling him what he was actually eating.

Dad took a deep breath, clearly gathering his courage. "Is this the sort of date that ends in the backseat of your car? I gotta tell you Kurt, I'm a little freaked out by what I heard last night."

Horror clouded my mind. "I would never do that in my Baby! I would be wrong, despicable! God, Dad, it would be like doing it in front of my child! And anyway, you can't possibly be as freaked out by what you heard as I am about the fact that you heard it."

He took his hat off and pressed it between his hands, crushing the brim. "Kurt, I know that boys will do what boys will do, and that this is very natural for teenagers to want to…express their feelings for each other. But I do want you to be safe. I know you like Finn a lot, but don't let him talk you in to anything you don't want to do. And for God's sake, please, please be careful. Do you have any, you know, protection?"

This conversation, other then being humiliating beyond all belief, was taking a familiar ring. I want you to be safe, don't push or let him push you, protection, where had I heard this all before? Suddenly it hit me. "Did you talk to Carol Hudson about this?"

The sudden flush on his face confirmed that he had. "Maybe. Look, she just thought that it would be a good idea if we kept the lines of communication open between us. She said she talked to Finn already."

"This is completely embarrassing." I could feel the blush burning not only my face but all the way down my chest and back.

"Yeah, it really is, but it's a talk we need to have. I've been…." He flipped his hat over, looking away from me. "I've been a very distracted father to you, and I'm sorry."

Honestly, right at the moment, I wished he would be a little more distracted and never bring up anything that might reference me having a sex life ever again. "You're a great father, the best." My voice choked a little, just like every time I tried to tell him how much he meant to me.

"No, I'm not. If I was a better father, you wouldn't be so…." He gestured helplessly, stuck for words.

"Gay?" I made the word as biting as I could. How could he be so accepting one minute, then stand there and do something like this the next.?

"Insecure. See, this is exactly what I mean. If I had been a better dad, and made sure that you understood how much I love you no matter who you are and what you do, you wouldn't feel so threatened by all of this. Carol, Finn, any of it."

"I'm not threatened by Carol or Finn and I don't know where you would get that idea." Although apparently I was, because my voice automatically assumed that snotty tone that it always did when I was unsure of a situation.

Really? I seem to recall you telling your mother not two hours ago that you found Carol a little threatening. And Finn might not scare you at all when you're together, but every time you see him with your father, you throw a temper tantrum. If that's not being threatened by their presence, I don't know what is.

"Kid, yes you are. It's alright to feel that way. I mean, sometimes I feel a little threatened by Carol, too. I worry that you'll see what a great parent she is, and find out that I'm not as good. She knows Finn completely, and sometimes I feel like you and I are boarders in the same hotel. We pass each other, and we talk, but knowing what's for dinner isn't the same as having a conversation. Your mother knew how to handle things, and then she was gone and…well, I guess I never took up the slack."

Tears sprung to my eyes. This was everything I had been thinking, and hearing it out loud made it seem so much worse. What sort of son was so detached from his own father, the only parent he had left?

What sort of father is so detached from his own son, the only child he will ever have? Even if I was ready to cry, Galinda was still snotty.

"You could ask, you know. I would tell you things if I thought you wanted to know them." My voice was very, very quiet. I almost never deliberately kept secrets from him. It was more that I didn't think he cared about anything I did, and, thus, would be bored if I told him.

"I do want to know things." He reached out for me, and I threw myself into his arms, not caring about wrinkles or messing up my hair. He and Finn are the only two people in this world who can make me feel completely safe just by holding me. "You've always been so independent, such a little adult, that I sometimes forget you're still a kid and you need me. It's easier to pretend that we're equals, but we're not. Carol made me realize that it's not going to be too much longer until you're an adult, and I won't have these opportunities at all any more."

I wanted to be resentful that he had brought her into this moment between me and him, but maybe that was what he meant by me being insecure about them. "So, how do we fix things?" I barely recognized the odd, pleading, tone in my own voice.

"I don't know. Maybe instead of you dragging me to Riverdance, and me forcing you to watch the game with me, we can focus on something else? Something we can both like, rather then one of us liking it and the other grinning and bearing it? More time at the garage?" He looked so hopeful that I smiled a little through my tears.

"Maybe it is Finn's turn to do Riverdance this year. I guess I can make him suffer instead of you." My voice was still soft, but I felt better then I had before.

Dad rubbed my back, and even though it was felt totally different from when Finn did it, the comfort was the same. "First of all, spending time with you isn't suffering, no matter how confusing and sometimes strange it might be. But we've done Riverdance and football games for how many years now? Obviously, it isn't working. So let's pick something else, something that you and I can do alone, just us."

He had no idea how long I had been waiting to hear that. Actually, until he said the words, I hadn't known how long or how badly I had needed to hear that. The problem was, there just wasn't much I was interested in or good at, especially not things that he might like as well.

Maybe it doesn't have to be something you're already good at. Maybe you should pick something that he can teach you, or you can teach him. What do you want to be good at? I know you think you're fabulous at just about everything you try, but let's be realistic here.

Then it hit me. "Can you teach me how to bowl?" I knew that he could, because he used to be part of a league when I was little. Every Wednesday night, Mom and I would have movie night, where we would watch a movie, then dress up and pretend that we were the characters from the movie. Maybe it was a testament to my father that he had said nothing about it, even when he came home and found his 5 year old son in lipstick and ruby slippers. It was a further testament that he had sat patiently while I serenaded him for 3 hours with all the songs from the movie, even though it was late and he was probably exhausted. Funny how that memory had suddenly resurfaced, after all this time.

I also remembered the reason he had quit. Even when my mother had been so sick, one of his friends insisted on watching me so he could go to his league. I had protested, screaming and crying, but Jerry had been insistent that my father needed time to himself, away from the caretaking of a dying woman and a small child. But after she had died, I had refused to let him out of my sight for more then a minute. It was summer, and for three months, he took me everywhere with him, work, doctors appointments, everywhere, because I was sure that if I let him out of my sight for any length of time, he would disappear, too. He took me to his bowling league twice, but both times the cigarette smoke made me cough for hours afterwards, and by the third week he refused to take me again. I hadn't noticed at the time, but he never went back to it.

"Can I teach you to bowl?" He was looking at me like I had grown a second head. "Of course I can, but why would you pick that, of all things?" He sounded genuinely curious, and it made me feel like he really meant it when he said he wanted us to be closer and ask each other questions.

"Well…When I went on my date on Saturday, we went bowling and it turns out I kind of suck at it. Finn's really good, but he's not very good at teaching me. So, I thought that maybe you could do it and then he would be really impressed with how good I am." I knew I was wiggling like an over hopeful puppy, but I couldn't help it. Dad was right. In two years I would be gone and in college, and I would never have this chance to ask for this again.

When he smiled at me this time, there was something sad in his eyes. "It's all about a boy, huh? God, it's strange to think that you're old enough to want to impress someone like that. I think I missed some stuff."

There wasn't much for me to say to that, so I just gave him a tentative smile. We were actually bonding, and I didn't want to do anything to spoil this moment. He released me and patted my shoulder. "Ok, you and I will have a bowling lesson this week. Which day works for you?"

It would probably sound way too desperate if I blurted out that any day would work because I was more then willing to rearrange my entire schedule, including my hair appointment and my date with Finn if he wanted to do it right now. "All of them."

He chuckled and put his had back on. "I don't think you've ever been this excited to do anything with me, except when I took you to your first Broadway show. Speaking of, which one do you want this year?"

Ever since I was 10 years old, my father would buy me tickets to a Broadway show for Christmas, and we would go together on spring break. It was something I looked forward to all year long. "Wicked?"

I had asked for tickets to Wicked for the past three years, and each year I had been disappointed. Even the crap seats ran way more expensive then we could usually afford, not to mention how quickly they sold out. I knew how hard he tried, though, and he got serious points for that. "How about a second choice?"

So apparently I wasn't getting it this year either. I guessed it might be a little too much to ask for, considering everything else I had gotten this year. Glee, Finn-

Laid. Oh wait, that hasn't happened yet. Chop, chop Kurt, you don't want to still be a virgin when new years rolls around, do you?

"I don't know, can I think about it?"

He nodded, then paused. "So, I was thinking, and you can feel free to say no, but here goes. If everything is still going good with Finn and Carol then, how would you feel about inviting them along?"

Not only going to a Broadway play, but going with Finn? This day was improving rapidly. "Yeah, yeah, that would great." My voice was breathy and excited. "You can tell them it's alright."

"Sure, kid." He patted my shoulder. "Now, don't you have a boyfriend to go pick up?"

"Yeah." Thinking about Finn made a smile break out on my face. "Yeah, I do."

"Alright, you go get him, then. I expect you back by 10." He started back up the stairs, then stopped. "Kurt, you do have protection, right?"

"Yes! Can we just not talk about this?" The actual answer to that was 'no', but I didn't actually anticipate needing them for a while, so I felt the lie was justified.

"Alright. I love you, Kurt." He looked down, just like he always did when he said it.

"I love you, too." I knew that my eyes were red and my hair was mussed up, so I didn't bother looking in the mirror. If I did, I would probably cancel my date entirely, and I was hungry.

I didn't bother calling Finn to tell him that I was on my way. He would be ready; he was always ready when I finally got there. Of course, to Finn, getting ready involved taking a shower, toweling your hair dry and putting on clothes that weren't wrinkled. Sometimes I wonder what I see in the boy.

Sure enough, he answered the door immediately, already dressed. "Mom, Kurt's here so I'm leaving!"

"Do you have your keys? I'll be gone by the time you get home."

"Crap!" He pulled me inside. "Hang on one second while I go find them."

He raced up the stairs before I could reply. Carol's voice had come from the kitchen, so I went in there. She was at the table, going over what looked like bills with a worried expression. "Hi, Kurt. How's your father?"

"He's good."

"Finn might be up there for a while, so feel free to get yourself a drink if you want one. I don't know how he lives in that pigsty, but I'm tried of nagging him to clean it up." She looked hard at me. "Baby, have you been crying? Did Finn do something? Because he's sweet, but he can be kind of thoughtless at times."

"No, Finn didn't do anything. I'm just….emotional, I guess." I crept a little closer, secretly hoping that she would try and give me a hug. I wouldn't push her away this time, I was sure of it.

"Finn told me that the two of you went to the cemetery today. That's tough, no matter how many times you do it." She glanced towards the fireplace, towards the urn with her ex-husbands ashes.

"It wasn't easy." One more tiny step and I was almost touching her. She must have read what I wanted, because she stood up and wrapped her arms around me. I squeezed back, relishing the moment. Having Carol hug me was different then having Dad do it. She was gentle, and she smelled like perfume, and her body was soft instead of hard and muscular.

"You're a very sweet boy, Kurt, when you choose to show it. Don't worry, too much, ok?"

I wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but she didn't elaborate. She just changed subjects. "So, where are you taking Finn tonight?"

"Kyoto's, over near Canton."

One eyebrow rose. "Oh, are you? Does he know that it's sushi?" She sounded way too amused by this.

I cocked my hip back at her. "Would he know what sushi was even if I told him?"

"Probably not. He'll probably like it, though, as long as you keep him away from the wasabi sauce. He doesn't like things that are too spicy." Then she gave me a quick looking over. "Of, course; it appears that his tastes are changing quite a bit, and spicy might be back on the menu."

So Carol had some snap in her after all. I decided to take that as a compliment, and grinned at her. "If he can handle me, he can handle some wasabi sauce."

She probably had a smart reply to that, but Finn came rambling down the stairs. "Found them!"

"Alright, Cowboy, let's go. Bye, Carol." She gave me a little wave and went back to the table, her face abruptly changing from happy and teasing to tense and worried.

I waited until we were in the car before I brought up what had been bothering me. "What's wrong with your mom? She looked really worried about something."

He shrugged. "End of the month, Dude."

"Oh." There wasn't much I could say to that, so I just let it go. I knew that Carol worked a lot and Finn didn't have that much, but I hadn't realized things were that bad for them.

"Where are we going for dinner?" I wasn't sure if Finn was deliberately changing the subject, or if he had genuinely moved on to his next thought.

"A place I know. It's Japanese." Kind of. "It's really cool, though, there's a little river that runs by the tables, and the food floats by you on little boats. Whatever you want, you just pick up and eat it."

"Really?" Finn was giving me that wide eyed look, the one that said he wasn't sure if I was telling the truth, or just checking to see how stupid he actually was.

"Really. The waiters bring you your drink and sauces and stuff, but you get your meal out of the little river." I could tell he was intrigued, which meant he would be more likely to try the food when he actually saw it.

"How did I not know about a place like this?" Oh, yeah, he was hooked. I just gave him a mysterious shrug and looked away, pretending to concentrate on my driving.

"Wait a minute." He was still stuck on the idea that I might be teasing him. "If you just pick the food out of a river, how do they know what to charge you? Or is the river like an escalator buffet? Because that would be great."

I had to rerun that in my mind twice before it made any sense. "There's a bar code on the bottom of the dishes, and they scan it as you go."

His eyes were huge. "No fucking way."

"Yes, way." He was so cute when he looked like that, all twitterpated.

We were stuck in the car for another 20 minutes at least, so took a chance and brought something up from earlier. "What really happened to your face, today?"

"Huh?" He was attempting to play dumb, but I wasn't buying it.

"Finn, I can play innocent a lot better then you can. How did you end up with sharpie streaked all over your face?"

He heaved out a low sigh. "It doesn't matter."

That was all the answer I needed. "Let me guess: Karofsky and Azimio."

"Yeah."

"So, what was it this time? Calling you 'fag'? Gay boy? Was it just because of Glee or was it me, too?" I wanted to sound strong, but I knew that I didn't. I felt like I was going to throw up. This was exactly why I didn't want anyone to know about us. Finn would have to choose between them and me, and there as no way it was going to be me.

He looked out the window, his lower lip caught in his teeth and his head shaking slightly. "Just the usual crap for joining Glee. They were trying to decide what to put on my picture in the yearbook, and wanted to use me for a little practice. No one said anything about you."

As I've undoubtedly said before, Finn is a really lousy liar. He was doing his best to protect me, but I had to know. "Finn, don't lie to me. You know how you feel about being lied to?" He nodded softly. "I feel the same way. Now what did they say?"

When he looked at me, I could see the tears lurking in the back of his eyes. He sighed and shook his head. "They know about our parents dating, and they said that we'd move in together and you would try and turn me gay, only it wouldn't be very hard, since I was already half gay." He wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "Actually, they said I was bisexual, but I think they meant half gay and just didn't know how to say it."

"What did you say back to them?" I wasn't really sure how I wanted him to reply to me, or even if there was a right thing for him to say.

"Nothing, really. I was too busy trying to get out of there before there before it turned really ugly." He gave me a hurt look. "Do you think my head is funny looking?"

"Of course not, even though I really wish you would let me do something with your hair. It doesn't have to be much, just a little gel, but it would look great on you."

He smiled, but it was still strained. "No, it would look great when you did it. Then I wouldn't know how to do it when it was just me, and it would look stupid. I'm just not good at stuff like that."

It was time to let that particular idea go. "Where do we go from here?"

Finn gave me a weird look. "I don't know. I thought you knew where we were going. I mean, I didn't even know that this place existed."

"No, I meant where do we go with you and me?"

Now he gave me that genuine Finn Hudson grin. "We go to dinner, of course. I pay, because I asked you out and you drove. Then we go back to my place, and we fool around. Period. I'm sick of letting the other guys push me around because I'm afraid of what they'll say. I told you, you're the best thing that ever happened to me, and Karofsky and Azimio will either end up Lima Losers, or just fall in love with each other, I don't care which."

I guessed there was a right thing to say, because that had been perfect. Still, I just had to keep pushing. "They've totally turned on you now. You're going to get slushied."

"Already happens. Anyway, maybe you could lick it off one day."

I wasn't about to let him distract me. "They'll turn the rest of the football team against you."

He shrugged. "Football's almost over for the season, and, anyway, Puck will be on our side. Plus, with my arm, I might not be going back anyway."

He wasn't taking this seriously enough. "You're going to get the crap beaten out of you."

"So I'll fight back. Listen, Kurt, this thing is hard enough as it is. Why do you have to go and make things harder?"

He did have a point. "I just don't want you to get freaked out and leave me."

"Kurt, I didn't leave Quinn after she told me she was pregnant, which is about the worst thing that anyone can tell you. I'm not going to leave you because Karofsky is a moron. Ok?" When I didn't reply immediately, he lightly touched my shoulder. "Ok?"

"Ok. I trust you." Kind of. I trusted that he thought he was telling the truth, but Finn had no idea what he was getting into. His reputation was important to him, whether he was willing to admit it or not, and you didn't get much lower on the social ladder then not only being in Glee club, but being gay. Unfortunately, I knew that all too well. "We're here."

I kept him talking as we walked in, hoping that he wouldn't notice the huge sign out front that said 'sushi'. Luckily, he was way too interested in getting inside and making sure that the purported river of food really existed.

It did. It was still early, so I was able to get us seats right next to it, smiling to myself at his enthusiasm. "So, how does this work again? I pick the little dish, and they cook it right in front of you? Hey, do you think they'll do any knife tricks?"

"Finn, you're thinking of hibachi. No, everything is ready to eat right away. All we're waiting for is sauce and drinks."

He squinted as he tried to determine what he wanted. "How do I tell what they are? It all kind of looks the same."

I pointed at a few different things. "Those are tuna, and that's salmon, and those little green ones are wrapped in seaweed."

"Gross. Seaweed is all slimy and shit." He nabbed a tuna roll and set it down in front of us. "Ok, this one looks good, and I can actually pronounce what it is."

He seemed pretty gung-ho about it all, at least until I unwrapped the chopsticks and handed them over. "Uh…"

"Let me guess, you have no idea how to use these?" I stood up to help him.

"That would be a yes." He tried holding the little sticks of wood a couple of different ways, but couldn't get it to work.

I hadn't considered the chopsticks issue. Not that I would have ever thought that Finn would know how to properly use them, but, without the proper use of his dominant hand, he might not have the dexterity in his left hand to even learn. Still, it was an excuse to be close, and I needed more of those.

Carefully rounding the table, I leaned over Finn's shoulder, wrapping my arms around his. "Watch my hands." I showed him how to properly hold them twice, then positioned them in his, my fingers over his. Finn learned by doing, not hearing it. "See?"

"Yeah." He had that dopey look on his face, though, the one that suggested the only thing he was paying attention to was my body against his.

Naturally, since the universe hates me, the waiter chose that moment to show up. He was a little Asian man, so short that he actually made me feel tall and must have made Finn feel like a giant. He looked from me to Finn and smiled. "You are on a date, yes?" His English was carefully measured and a bit slow, but easy to understand.

My breath caught, but Finn picked his head up and smiled. "Yes. He and I are on a date."

That earned us a steam of some Asiatic language, which might have been Mandarin, or possibly Japanese, or something else entirely, I had no idea. But he wasn't yelling and if he was referring to us as 'fags', it certainly sounded prettier in his native tongue. Also, he wasn't making any gestures to indicate we were no longer welcome in his restaurant. Then, abruptly, he recovered himself and was right back to taking our orders.

Finn stared after him with wide eyes. "Either he thinks we are like the coolest guys ever, or he just put a Chinese curse on us. Maybe both."

I had to laugh. "Alright, do you understand the chopsticks?"

"No." He made a valiant effort, but couldn't quite pick up the roll. He was obviously getting frustrated, and I had to force myself not to laugh at his attempts. Finally he put one stick down and used the other to spear the roll through. "Hah, take that."

God he was cute sometimes. He popped the roll into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, both eyebrows raised. Then he swallowed, but never lost the slightly confused expression. "So, what did you think?"

"I don't know. It tasted good, but the texture's kind of weird. Are you sure this thing was cooked all the way through?"

Ok, now was the time to cut the crap and let Finn know what he had just eaten. Omitting part of the truth was one thing, but flat out telling Finn that he was eating something that he wasn't was another. "No, it wasn't cooked all the way through. This is sushi, Finn, and you eat it raw."

I swear that he actually turned green for a second. "Wait…you actually sat there and let me eat something raw? What if I, like, get totally sick from this?"

"You liked it while you were eating it, so don't get so upset. Anyway it's all in how you prepare it, so you won't get sick, I promise."

He still didn't look sure, so I leaned over and picked up the same thing. "Ok, look." I expertly dipped it in the wasabi sauce and ate it. "See? I'm eating the exact same thing, and I'm fine."

The suspicion in his eyes lessened, but didn't go away entirely. "What was that you dipped it in? Was it like a cleaning thing to get rid of the raw fish germs?"

"No. I dipped it in wasabi sauce, which is delicious but quite spicy." I snagged another boat, this one with two rolls inside. "Here, try this with the orange sauce."

Finn might have been more then a little grossed out by what he was eating, but not grossed out enough that he wouldn't keep going. He stabbed the second roll and dipped it delicately in the sauce before taking a tiny nibble. "It's still kind of strange."

"Everything worth trying out is new and strange at one point." I chose my own roll and ate. "After all, two weeks ago would you have thought you would be here right now? Or let another guy touch you like I have? That was strange, then."

"I guess." He took a bigger bite and shrugged. "If I die of Ecolon, I'm going to haunt you forever."

"It's Ecoli, and that's a deal. Now pick something else." As long as I didn't make a big deal out of this, Finn wouldn't either. "Try the salmon; it's really good for your skin."

He obeyed, still giving me a funny look. Then, before I could stop him, he dipped the entire thing in wasabi sauce and tossed it into his mouth. Within two seconds, his eyes shot open and his face turned bright read. I grabbed his drink and held it to his lips. "Spicy, Finn, spicy! What did you think that meant?"

He was wheezing too hard to answer, tears standing out in his eyes. With quick pulls, he drained almost the entire glass, choking slightly. "God damn." Luckily, his voice was still so raw that nobody could hear him, or we might have been tossed out of the place. "Kurt, are you trying to kill me?"

Laughing would be totally inappropriate right now, but the wounded expression on his face was just too much. I gently kissed his cheek. "Of course not. But I told you that that was extremely spicy."

"No, you didn't. You said that it was quite spicy. There's a difference, you know."

Our waiter returned with another soda for Finn. "Did you taste the wasabi?" Apparently I wasn't the only one who found this situation humorous.

Finn nodded. "Yeah."

He chuckled. "Happens 4 or 5 times a week. Men underestimate wasabi's power."

"Thank you." Finn took more measured sips of his new drink. "I don't think I want any more of that wasiny or whatever you call it."

"Wasabi, and didn't I just tell you to try the orange sauce?"

"I guess." He gave me a pitiful look and put out his tongue. "Kiss it better?"

"Not in public. PDA is beyond trashy."

He gave me a confused look. "Isn't that like a little computer? A PDA?"

"Public Display of Affection. It means keep your lips to yourself until later." No matter how badly I wanted to kiss him.

Grab that boy. Deny it all you want, but you are a grade A prude.

I have her my iciest mental glare. Just because I have some morals, I'm not a prude.

Oh, for God's sake. I wanted you to give him a kiss, I didn't tell you to get on your knees under the table.

"This is actually kind of good, once you get past the chewiness." Finn was blissfully unaware of my mental argument. He scooped a third boat out of the water. "What's this?"

I looked over it. "I'm not sure."

He took a quick bite. "Yeah, I'm not either. It's good, though."

We ate in silence for a few minutes, both caught up in our own thoughts. Finally Finn sighed. "Rach wants me to appear in the yearbook with her, but I don't want to."

"So don't." Sometimes Finn gets all worked up over nothing.

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I kind of have to. I mean, I already told her that I would."

There were times when he made things way more difficult for himself then he had to. "Why did you tell her that you would if you didn't want to?"

Another shrug. "She kind of talked me into it. Plus, it wasn't that big of a deal at the time."

I raised my eyebrow at him. Doing that tended to work better then flat out challenging him, which sometimes raised his temper. This way he knew that I knew he was a bullshitter, but it let him save face by me not directly bringing it up. He dropped his eyes and started picking at the orange sauce, stirring it with a chopstick. "They're going to kill me."

"Karofsky and Azimio?" I didn't know why I even bothered asking

"Yeah. I shouldn't have told Rach that I would do it, but she just kept on me until I told her that I would, just so she would shut up for a while."

Finn always got confused if you kept on badgering him, something Rachael was well aware of. It irritated the crap out of me that he could clearly tell her 'no' the first, second, third and seventeenth times, and she would still push until he agreed. I might push Finn on things, but once he flat out said 'no', I wouldn't bring it up again.

"Well, you said you would do it, so you're pretty much stuck." Not that I wouldn't like to see Rachael Berry get screwed over, but Finn had made a promise, and he had to keep it.

"Yeah, I kind of thought I was. You don't have to give me a ride home tomorrow then, since I'm going to have to stay after for pictures."

I tried to keep quiet about that, I really, really, did. But my natural perfectionism got in the way. "Finn?"

He smiled. "Yeah?"

"Can I please, please, please do your hair for the picture?"

Finn gave me a long, speechless look, then burst out laughing. "Yes, you can do my hair for the picture."

I was already spinning off with dozens of plans, which meant I barely noticed when out waiter came back with our bill and two fortune cookies. He smiled. "You crack each others cookies and read."

I had never done that with fortune cookies before, but, then, I had never been on a date before. Finn held out the tray and I chose my cookie. He took the other one, and we cracked them open at the same time. I read Finn's fortune out loud. "The Bells Rang Louder. What does that mean?" I flipped the fortune over, but all I found was a string of lucky numbers and some Chinese translations.

Finn shrugged. "I don't know, I can never tell what these things mean." He looked at my fortune. "The Most Famous is Sometimes the Least Worthy. God, yours sucks, too. I thought we might get something romantic."

He started to crumple his fortune up, but I held out my hand for it. Sure, it kind of sucked, but it was a little souvenir of our date, and I wanted to keep it. My fingers curled around his, easing the tiny paper scrap out of his hand. "Yeah, neither one of them was what I thought they would be."

"Things never are." He leaned forward and kissed me on the nose. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes." I stood up and he helped me get my jacket on.

"So, do you put out on the second date?" Finn's arm remained around my shoulders.

"Well, you'll just have to see when we get home, now won't you?"