Kurt POV

When the party was over and it was time to take Finn home, his mother was present, effectively killing any chance there might have been of me getting lucky. Furthermore, she was waiting for us, so we couldn't even pull a U-turn and sneak back to my place for a quickie. Finn sighed deeply and dramatically. "Sucks, Dude."

I walked him to the door, because that's what good boyfriends do (and also so I could get a hug from Carole), telling him for the thousandth time that day that I loved him. He responded in kind, and Carole told me that Dad and I were invited over for a celebratory dinner in two days. I thanked her, and collected my hug before starting back to the Navigator. As the door shut, I could hear Carole yelling. "You stole a car! Dear God, Finn, that's a felony!"

He hadn't exactly stolen my baby, just borrowed it for a while, but getting yelled at wouldn't hurt him any. True, this time it had been the most romantic gesture possible, and had won my heart for all eternity, but slowing down and thinking about his actions would help Finn a lot in the future. Besides, I was figuring out that Carole didn't have it in her to either purposefully frighten Finn or hold a grudge for more then a little while.

Anyway, I had bigger fish to fry. Like cornering Mercedes and demanding to know what she and Puck had done on that pool table, and, more importantly, why.

Don't be jealous just because she's getting some. If you want it, you need to tell Finn so. Besides, Puck is rawr!

Now I was sure that Galinda and I were two separate entities, because I would never think of Puck like that, never. He might have the whole rock star vibe going on, and, yes, there was something sexy about his attitude, but I preferred my men to come without STD's, thank you.

He has a nipple ring. Galinda's tone was cajoling.

What about that was supposed to be attractive? I made a mental note to never, never let Finn pierce anything. Or get a tattoo. Well, only if it said 'Property of Kurt Hummel' and was on his ass.

I don't recall that ass being your property yet, Kurt. Or did I sleep right through it all?

Now would be a good time to cease this line of thought entirely, before I found myself bested by my own mental voice.

Too late.

I refused to dignify that with a response. Instead I dialed Mercedes, listening to the phone ring until it went to voice mail. Oh, no, that just meant that she was ignoring me, and there was no way she was escaping that easily. I didn't bother with a message, instead choosing to redial. Four tries later, she finally picked up. "What the fuck, Kurt!"

Her voice of terror had long since lost its desired effect on me, though it could make every other guy on the team curl into the terrified fetal position. I tossed my hair, even though she couldn't possibly see it and assumed my smuggest tone. "I believe the question ought to be: who the fuck, Mercedes?"

The sudden silence on the other end of the line told me everything I needed to know. "Oh, Mercedes, really?"

"I…" She stuttered and stalled out, obviously trying to think of something. "I was embracing myself as a proud and liberated woman?"

"By embracing Noah Puckerman?" I was really trying not to sound judgmental, but it was so shocking that I probably failed.

"There was absolutely no embracing happening. It was more of pull-up-the-skirt-and-drop-the-pants-oh-look-there's-a-pool-table sort of affair. I feel horrible enough, Kurt, so don't make me feel any worse."

She sounded so miserable that all of my shock and horror disappeared. "Ok, baby, I'm sorry. Why don't you come over so we can talk about it?"

"Ok." She was so subdued that I found myself aching to give her a hug. "I'll see you in a little while."

I knew that Dad would still be at the garage, but I still felt a little disappointed that he wasn't there to share in my victory. Because of everything that had happened, the phone calls and bricks to the windows and threats, I needed to call him before I left a place and as soon as I got home. "Hummel Tire and Lube, Burt Hummel speaking."

"Hi Dad, its Kurt. I'm home from the party." Was that a wrapper I heard in the background? He better not be eating Slim Jims again.

"Great. Are you going to be alright alone until I get home? Wait, you are alone aren't you?" His voice was suddenly suspicious, and I had the sinking feeling that Finn was going to be getting a long lecture very soon.

"Yes, Dad, I'm alone. Mercedes is coming over, in a few minutes, but Finn is at home. I assume it was Finn you were talking about?" Dad was nowhere near as subtle as he thought he was.

"I know that I'm sending you a bit of a mixed message, considering that I let the pair of you get a hotel room together last night, but I do not want you and Finn to be alone in either house from now on. It's not proper." He sounded like he would rather be having any other conversation.

"Really? Where you and Carole Hudson spend last night? Can I assume that you walked her to the door and gave a chaste goodnight kiss before going home to sleep?" My big mouth was going to get me in trouble one of these days, but I just couldn't help myself.

"I'm a grown man and you're a child. What's appropriate for me to do isn't appropriate for you and you know it. And don't you pull the 'it's because I'm gay, isn't it?' card, because you would be getting the same lecture if you brought home that dippy blond cheerleader."

I gave him my bitchiest snort, even though I was secretly delighted. This was the sort of fight that I thought I would never get to have with my father. When I thought about coming out to him, usually in the middle of the night when there was no danger of it actually happening, I thought about doing it once I was in college across the country. Some time when I was already out of the house and had a place of my own, in case he decided I was no longer welcome to come home. I never once imagined that I would still be living at home when I had my first boyfriend, or that Dad would be comfortable enough to give Finn the talk about respecting me. "Whatever."

"Whatever yourself. If I get home and Finn is there, regardless of whether or not he's dressed, I will chase him out with a shotgun. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." I would have kept fighting, but I had just seen Mercedes' car pull up. "Mercedes is here, so I need to go. Should I make dinner?"

"No, I have leftovers from last night. You just hang out with your friend. Oh, and Kurt? Congratulations on winning."

My throat closed. "Thanks, Dad."

"You earned it. Love you kid." I heard the chime over the door sound, at almost the same time our doorbell rang, so I knew we both needed to go. I whispered a goodbye and hung up, mentally preparing myself for anything that might come out of my best girlfriend's mouth.

Only nothing did. She just marched in and sat down on the edge of my bed, playing with the comforter. I tried to initiate conversation twice, and came up empty handed both times. She just wasn't ready to talk yet, and I had to respect that, no matter how badly I was dying to know what had happened. "Do you want me to make us some sundaes, like you did when I was the one having man troubles?"

"Yeah, that would be great." She picked up the stuffed armadillo that was sitting by the pillow. "This is new; did Finn give it to you?"

"He pulled it out of a claw machine for me." Why exactly Finn had thought I wanted a stuffed armadillo was still a little bit of a mystery, but Giorgio and I were good friends by now. Also, I may or may not have been spritzing it with a tiny bit of Finn's horrible cologne, just so it would smell familiar.

"He's sweet when he isn't being a total moron." She stroked the plush gently, her eyes sad.

Finn was sweet even when he was being a moron, but I knew that saying so would be a huge mistake. So I tried to sound nonchalant. "He can be. I'll go get the ice cream."

I had a small amount of vanilla in the back of the fridge, but, luckily, Dad had triple fudge with only a few spoonfuls taken out of it. There was some hot fudge in the cabinet, and I put that in the microwave to warm up while I scooped the ice cream. I split the remainder between two bowls, then shot whipped cream over both of them. There it was, an artistic, beautiful, 10 million calorie, snack. Hello ass and thighs, here it comes.

Maybe you could get Finn to help you burn it off later.

Hmmm, maybe.

Mercedes was still sitting on the bed, this time with Giorgio in her lap. I put the tray down next to her and leaned my head against her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She picked through the whipped cream. "Oh, God, I slept with Puck."

I wanted to be comforting, but I wasn't really sure what the appropriate thing to say was. 'How could you?' worked, but probably wasn't comforting. 'You should probably get tested right away' was even less so, though I made a mental note to give her the advice at some point. So I just snuggled closer. "I kind of thought so. On a pool table?"

Don't knock it until you've tried it.

She sniffled. "It seemed like such a good idea when he first brought it up."

I wondered how many other girls could be telling the same exact story. Quinn, like no other. Brit, for sure. Possibly even Santana, though I was willing to bet that she could give as good as she got. Even Finn was frequently talked into things that weren't a good idea, just because Puck had said so. "Ok." My voice was comforting, but still asking for more.

"Can we just not do this for a minute?" Mercedes took a bite of her sundae. "Can we just be you and me, sitting together, like we used to?"

"We still do that." We were doing it right now, weren't we?

"No, we don't. This is the first time you and I have hung out together since it was you and Finn having your big dramatic fight after what happened in your basement. It was sundaes then, too." Now she sounded close to tears. "I miss us."

She was right. As much as I loved Mercedes, the only time the two of us had been seeing each other recently was at school and that one double date. It was never the two of us as friends any more.

As if she had been reading my mind, Mercedes kept going. "It's always Finn, Finn, Finn now! I know that boy has more drama then a teen movie, but it's like you've forgotten that I was here first."

I never thought that I would see the day when Mercedes was jealous of Finn Hudson. "I'm sorry. You're still my best girlfriend." I nudged her with my shoulder. "My special girlfriend, the only one I'll ever have. Plus, my very first friend, ever."

Now she was smiling. "I know, and I'm just being an insecure drama queen. God, I've become Rachel Berry. Kurt, please, kill me now."

It was so much nicer when she was smiling and joking. "So, tell me what happened."

"You just want to give you the low down on what Puck looks like naked." She tried to sneak a spoonful of my hot fudge, and I slapped her spoon with my own.

"Nice try. And I don't need to know what Puck looks like naked. I showered with him after football, so I've seen everything. It's not that impressive." Not as impressive as Finn's, but I didn't think he would appreciate my describing his, shall we call them 'attributes', to someone else. As far as I knew, I was the only one who had actually seen him naked.

"Have you seen the full show?" I must have looked a little confused, because she leaned forward and whispered. "What I mean is, have you seen the Puckadactyl take flight?"

"Mercedes!" Now I couldn't keep the horror out of my voice. "No, I haven't!" Of course not, I had been too busy secretly hoping the see Finn hard to even bother peeking at Puck or anyone else.

"You are such a prude. I swear, Kurt, I don't have even the slightest idea who Finn's gotten as far as he has with you."

Because he was Finn, and if he had told me to drop my pants and get on all fours, I would have done it with a smile on my face. "He's not complaining."

"Mostly because you've given him 10 times what any of his girlfriends have, stuffy as you are."

My prudishness was a bit of a sore point, so I forced the conversation back to what I really wanted to know. "So…Puck." I already had a pretty good idea of what had happened, considering that Puck's MO involved taking advantage of emotionally distraught women, but I wanted to hear it from her own lips.

She sighed. "I broke up with Sean. I mean, full on diva fit, hated him, hoped he died, if he was that concerned with fucking our group over, he could forget fucking me, I hoped leprosy was in his future, etcetera, etcetera. You would have been impressed."

"I'm sorry, 'Cedes" I had no idea what losing your first boyfriend for good felt like, but if it was anything like what I had felt two days ago, thinking Finn was breaking up with me, I was amazed she was still standing.

"Yeah, well, I may have overreacted a bit. He really acted like he had no idea what I was talking about, so maybe the coach didn't tell them why they were changing their set lists. I mean, if Mr. Shue had told any of us that we were going to win because we cheated, would we go for it? Not that he would, but you get it."

He had cheated Finn without a second thought, so I wouldn't personally put it past him. That would be the wrong thing to say, though, so I just nodded. "It's entirely possible. Their director did seem like kind of a prick."

"So maybe I shouldn't have told him the only way I would ever touch him again was if I came down with something contagious?"

I could picture the entire scene with perfect clarity. "Might not have been the best idea."

She huffed, and, this time, when she tried to go for the last of my ice cream, I let her have it. "I need to apologize, don't I?"

This was one of those situations where I needed to tread very, very carefully. "Well, I guess that depends on whether you want a relationship or not. If you do, then hearing his side of the story couldn't hurt."

Hypocrite. Didn't you just tell Finn this morning that he never had to talk to Mr. Shuester again? What happened to hearing both sides of the story?

The difference was the Mr. Shue was clearly in the wrong, while we didn't know who had been in the wrong with Mercedes and Sean. Probably both of them. Plus, Mr. Shuester was manipulative, and Finn was easily led, so it could only end poorly for my boyfriend.

Get off your high horse. You would never forgive the man in a million years, but you aren't Finn. He has a forgiving nature, and holding grudges gives him heartburn. Don't force him to talk to the man, but don't prevent him from doing it either. Be gentle and supportive, no matter what he chooses. Oh, and stop thinking about Finn while you're supposed to be comforting Mercedes.

"I guess so." She sounded miserable, and I gave her another hug. "Do I have to mention Puck?"

"Mercedes, by the time I'm through with Puck, there isn't going to be enough left of him to mention. He has mistreated the girls of McKinley High one time to often. I don't care if he did save Finn's life, Noah Puckerman must die."

She sniffled a little, but she was shaking her head. "No."

"No?" But I was already planning a dozen different ways to kill him and dispose of the body, including, but not limited to, strangling him with one of my silk scarves, spraying him with hairspray and lighting him on fire, and setting a pack of vicious and rabid weasels on him. "But…"

"Look, Puck's a jerk, there's no getting around that. But think about it, Kurt. No one knew that I was dating Sean except for you and Finn. There would be no reason for Finn to say something, and I know that you didn't. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Yes, I did. "If Puck didn't know that you were dating Sean, then there was no reason for him to think that you were upset tonight. So I see it as him taking advantage of a vulnerable girl, he sees it as celebrating with a team mate. And we both know that there's only one way that Puck likes to celebrate anything."

"Exactly. I mean….he was actually kind of sweet about it, believe it or not. Like it wasn't just about him getting his rocks off. He wanted me to enjoy things, too."

"Did you?" The female orgasm was a nebulous concept to me (and, if the girls were to be believed, to most of the rest of the boys at school), and I wasn't even sure if it was appropriate for me to be asking, but that was the best friends job, right?

"Let's just say that I think this is one of those times when experience counts. Yes, I enjoyed it very much. It would have been nice if it had been with someone I actually cared about, but I can't fault him for that. I could have always said no."

"Would he have listened?" Ok, I knew that he would have.

"Being a horndog doesn't make him a rapist. I made a bad decision, and I'm sure I'm going to be nothing more then a notch on his bedpost, but I was the one who said yes. What is it about him that turns otherwise rational and strong girls into blithering idiots?" One arm came across her face. "I'm one of Puck's many slutty conquests."

I groped for something positive to say. "At least your first time didn't suck"

Very comforting, Kurt. Very comforting.

She peeked out from between her fingers. "Did yours?"

"I'll let you know if it ever happens." At the rate Finn and I were going, I was probably going to die a virgin. "I'm pretty sure I'm the only virgin left in the Glee club, though."

"Of course you aren't. At the very least, Finn is, too. And you know Rachel Berry isn't going to put out for anyone until she wins her first Tony. It would be like cutting Sampson's hair."

"Who?" As hard as I tried, the only Sampson that cam to mind was the neighbor's enormous dog.

"Sampson and Delilah? From the Bible?" At my continued blank look, she heaved a heavy sigh. "Sampson was blessed by God with enormous strength, so long as he never cut his hair. So he was very strong and powerful and famous, until he met Delilah, who drugged him and cut his hair off while he was sleeping. That's Rachel. She would never risk losing what makes her special for earthly pleasures."

I was incredibly disturbed by the fact that I could actually follow her logic. "Plus she hasn't had a boyfriend since she broke up with Finn for the fifth or sixth time."

Mercedes smiled, and it was nice to see that she was getting her equilibrium back. "I wasn't dating Puck, either. Things happen."

If there was a man on this planet willing to take Rachel on sexually, he was a far better man then I was. Not only could I picture her barking instructions throughout the entire thing, just like she did at practice, but I was pretty sure that, unless he could sing Broadway perfectly on pitch during the actual sex act, he was going to end up booted out of her bed. Probably covered in gold stars and nothing else. "Brave guy, to even try with her."

"I know. If that girl bit his head off and ate it afterwards, like a praying mantis, I can't say I would be surprised. Grossed out, but not surprised."

It was eerily easy to visualize Rachel with folded up mantis legs, a huge toothy mouth, and an atrocious animal print sweater. Maybe one with a ladybug on it. I voiced that thought to Mercedes, who gave me a horrified look, then started laughing hysterically. Her laughter always got me laughing, too, and we spend the next few minutes giggling and making praying mantis gestures. She was right; I had missed this time with her.

She must have been feeling the same way, because she squeezed my shoulders. "You and I need to have a date night every week, just the two of us. No horny football players allowed."

"I think once a week is more often then I have a date with my actual boyfriend." I saw Finn almost daily, between school and me helping him with his homework, and us being drug along on our parent's dates, but actual dates? Not that often. We just had too much else going on.

"Well, he'll just have to move on over. I was here first, you know."

"Of course you were." Except Finn put out for me and she didn't, which tended to tip the scales in his favor. But I had heard enough bitching from the other girls about when their friends suddenly got a boyfriend and only had time for him and ended up ditching their best girlfriends. "You and I, at least one date a week with no boyfriends allowed."

"Deal. This counts as date one. Next time, though, we go somewhere."

Her comment reminded me that Finn and I still hadn't gone bowling, nor had Dad and I. Look at that, I was actually getting a social life for the first time ever. "Anywhere but the bowling alley."

"Agreed." Her arm suddenly went heavy across my chest, pinning me down. "So, give me all the details about you and Finn. Leave nothing out."

There was no way I was telling her the details about blow jobs and whipped cream and I certainly wasn't about to tell her that sex still looked like it was a long way out. But there was something that I could tell her, something that was almost as important as either one of those things. "He told me that he loves me."

She knew how badly I had been wanting to hear those words. "He did? When? And how did you not call me the minute it came out of his mouth?"

"Thursday. After it all blew up and I went over to his place to talk to him. I was going to tell him how much I loved him, even if he didn't come back to Glee and even if he didn't love me back. But he said it first." That moment, the moment when Finn looked me in the eyes and told me how much I meant to him was going to be etched into my brain forever.

She gave a lovesick sigh. "Was it romantic?"

Not exactly. Romantic would have involved flowers and a decent outfit and possibly some jewelry. On second thought, nix the jewelry, I didn't trust Finn to come up with something not huge and covered in rhinestones. "Well, kind of."

"Kind of? He told you that he loves you and it was only kind of romantic? Kurt, do you think your standards might be a wee bit high? This is Finn Hudson, not the movies. He's not going to propose to you on top of the Empire State Building."

"Well, not if we never get to Nationals." But wouldn't it be romantic if he did? My mind was swept away by thoughts of Finn on one knee, black velvet box in one hand, a tasteful (and expensive) ring inside.

That was when I remembered the look in Finn's eyes as I was cuddled up against him on the bed. The softness that only came out when he looked at me, which was almost as good as a proposal. Even if I was going to have to burn that old, holey, t-shirt he insisted on not only clinging to, but still wearing. Still, that and sweats looked better and better the more I remembered it. "He loves me." I said the words experimentally, just trying them out.

Mercedes laughed, probably more at the question in my voice then anything else. 'Yes, baby, he loves you. Did you tell him that you loved him back?"

"No, after waiting for almost two years to hear the words come out of his mouth, I missed my chance. Of course I told him that I loved him back. I kind of wish I had been able to say it first, but, oh well."

"Well, I think it's sweet that he waited this long to tell you. This way, you know that he's sure, that he's not just saying it to get in your pants. Or maybe it took him that long to figure it out. He's not the brightest you know."

I remember the first night in the basement, just a few months ago. I certainly hadn't held back then. "He was in my pants way before he loved me, I'm sure. But I agree about him not just talking out the side of his mouth."

She laughed. "And who let Finn in their pants before he loved them? You could have always said 'no'."

"Yeah, I know. But it worked out, and he loves me now, so it's ok. Maybe it'll work out for you and Puck, too."

Her face crumpled in horror. "With Puck? I don't want it to work out with Puck! He's an egomaniacal jerk who gets girls pregnant and lies about it. He slushies people, and do I even need to remind you how many times he gave you the opportunity to inspect the inside of our finest dumpsters? He used me, but that's ok, since I guess I kind of used him, too. I slept with him, it's over, I never want to talk about it again. I'm sure he's not going to tell anyone that he slept with a fat chick anyway, so it should be easy. Now tell me more about you and Finn."

If she had heard how many times Puck had bragged about sleeping with women three or more times his age, she probably wouldn't have been so confident that he wouldn't tell. I reminded myself to have Finn call Puck and let him know that Mercedes was under no circumstances to become locker room gossip. "There isn't much more to tell. He loves me, I got the chance to spend the night with him, things are perfect right now."

Way to curse yourself. Again.

"So, do you think you'll ever get laid?" She just wasn't going to let it go, now was she?

"Of course I will. When it's right for Finn and I, it'll happen. No point in forcing it." There was also no point in telling her that Finn wasn't the only one who was a little nervous about the entire thing. I knew that he was going to want to top and, well…have you seen the size of that thing? I know that there's a certain amount of stretch, but I couldn't help but be afraid that it was going to hurt like hell.

"Oh, baby, you're making that face again. Tell me what's wrong."

I knew that she was just concerned, but there were some things that I just couldn't bring myself to say to Mercedes, or any girl, no matter how much I loved them. It was just…no. "I am not discussing sex with you." My voice booked no argument.

"Oh, come on. I won't tell anyone, and maybe we can figure something out together." She wasn't laughing now, and the sincerity in her eyes made me feel a little bit better.

My resolve weakened. I mean, girls worried about sex hurting the first time, too, didn't they? "You can't tell anyone. Not Tina, not anyone in your family, not anybody."

"I swear I'll keep your secret." One pinky rose, and I wrapped mine around it, squeezing tightly.

I could feel myself flushing, my skin heating up, but I made myself speak. My voice came out tiny and scared sounding. "I'm afraid that it's going to hurt. Did it hurt when you were with Puck?"

For a minute, I didn't think that she was going to answer. She picked at the blanket and shrugged instead. "'Cedes, you're asking me about my sex life, but you don't want me to ask about yours?"

She sighed. "Ok, white boy, I get it. To answer your question, yes, it hurt a little. I think it always hurts the first time, just like anything else. You're making your body do things that it isn't used to doing. But he should be willing to go slowly. I mean, even Puck was, and he's an asshole. I'm sure that Finn wants to make things as good as possible for you." The she grinned and gave me a poke. "So, you're the bottom?"

"I don't know. We didn't actually talk about the specifics; we just talked about in general. But let's be realistic, can you imagine Finn wanting to be on bottom?" If my face got any redder, I was probably going to catch fire.

"Actually…" Mercedes leaned against me, her eyebrows raised and her lips pursed as she thought. "Yeah, I could imagine it. Actually, I could imagine him on the bottom a lot easier then I could imagine you."

My head snapped up. "What!" Damn, I was really going to have to work on not doing that shrieking thing when I got upset.

"Well, you have to admit, Finn does tend to let other people boss him around. I just think that that could apply to the bedroom, too. Has he specifically said he doesn't want to be on bottom?"

Her matter of fact tone made things slightly less embarrassing. Slightly. "No. I guess I just sort of assumed that being on bottom would make it way to gay for him."

"Ok, I'm only going to repeat myself once here: did Finn actually say any of this, or are you just projecting your own insecurities? Because I'm pretty sure that everything else he's done with you counts as gay."

Yeah, that made sense to her, and every other girl on the planet, and anyone with a sense of logic, but there was a difference between rational people and teenage boys. "You would be amazed at the number of boys who think that as long as you aren't the one on bottom, or the one with the dick in your mouth, you can do anything else and not have it be gay."

Mercedes startled for a second, then burst into laughter. "Please tell me that the boys at our school are not that stupid."

"Unfortunately, they are. You wouldn't believe the lengths the average male will go to to prove that he does not, under any circumstances; have the slightest inclination towards his own gender."

"Only we aren't talking about the average male here, we're talking about Finn. From what I understand, he's above average in quite a few departments."

Like his penis size.

Yes, Galinda, we all got that, thanks. "I refuse to discuss the size of my boyfriend's penis with you, no matter how much I love you. As far as the other goes, I guess it's one of the things that he and I still need to talk about."

Her hand ruffled my hair, and, if it had been anyone else, I would have killed them. Well, anyone else but Finn. "See? This is why you need your best girlfriend around. Without me, you would die a virgin."

There was only one right answer to that, so I gave it to her. "I will never not need you, Mercedes, no matter what. Finn won't get in between us, I promise. No man will."

She kissed me on the temple. "You remember those words the first time we go for the same man."

"Touch Finn and I'll set your hair on fire." There was no mistaking the threat in my voice.

"Honey, Finn Hudson is all yours. Not that I don't love his dumb, clumsy, ass to death, but he's not exactly my type."

That reminded me, there was something else that I needed to bring up to her. "Speaking of Finn, there's something else we need to talk about." I waited until I was sure I had her full attention, and soldiered on. "You have to stop calling him dumb. I know you guys think that he doesn't notice, and that he doesn't care when he does notice, but he does."

"Did he tell you that?" She sounded guilty. "Because he has to know that we don't mean it in a mean way."

She should feel guilty. It's not any more right for her to hurt his feelings and call him dumb then it is for her call you 'fag' or her by some racist slur.

"He didn't tell me that it bothers him, and do you know why? It doesn't bother him, because he's totally convinced that it's true. He really thinks he's that stupid, and I can't convince him that he's wrong." The words came out harsher then I intended them to, but the memory of the acceptance in Finn's face when he told me he knew he was stupid was haunting. "He's not stupid, Mercedes, I know he isn't."

The sad part was, I really didn't think that Finn was stupid. I did think that he didn't pay attention as well as he could, but sometimes he could come up with an idea or answer that surprised even me. He wasn't a genius by any stretch of the imagination, but he learned just fine when someone taught him the correct way.

She shook her head. "I didn't realize that he even really noticed. I'll apologize next time I see him, ok?"

"No, just let it go. If you say something, he'll know that it's because I talked to you, and he'll be crabby that I squealed. Just watch yourself in the future. Finn's having enough problems right now without having the entire Glee club turn on him."

"No more calling the Frankenteen stupid, got it. Wait, I can still call him the Frankenteen, right?"

I knew that I would be able to trust her to keep that promise. "Yeah, you can still call him the Frankenteen. I really think he likes that nickname." I had no idea why, as I found it insulting on so many levels, but Finn was a bit of an odd little duck.

She pressed her head against my shoulder. "I love you, Kurt."

"I love you, too."