Kurt POV

When I showed up to get Finn on Friday, he was looking good. Really, really good. It was still chilly, if not downright freezing, in the mornings, so he was usually bundled up in a heavy coat and hat. Today he was in dark jeans, new looking sneakers and a black leather jacket that made me want to do unspeakable things to him. Instead I settled for a quick kiss and an appreciative growl. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Finn is not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, so I was rewarded with a blank look. "Huh?"

"You look quite dashing in that jacket. Very James Dean."

His confusion deepened. "The sausage guy?"

The sausage guy? Now I was confused as well. Finn must have read it, because he tried to clarify things. "You know, Jimmy Dean? He makes those round sausage things that you put in a frying pan. Isn't Jimmy a nickname for James?"

Oh, dear God, we needed to have a West Side Story viewing party stat. "No, James Dean the actor. He was in a movie called Rebel Without a Cause where he wore a black leather jacket and jeans exactly like what you have on. Though I must say you carry it off better then he did."

Finn puffed with pride. "Oh. What he in anything else cool?"

"The Giant and another movie called East of Eden. He died very young in a car crash. Here, make this face." I schooled my features into a passable imitation of James Dean's trademark half smile.

Since his smile has a bit of natural smirk in it, Finn was able to come much closer then I did. If he had been wearing the mirrored sunglasses as well, I might not have been able to prevent myself from jumping him right there in the car.

At least until he cracked himself up and started giggling. Then he just looked like Finn again, my goofy Rebel Without a Clue. I laughed with them, since there's nothing that makes me happier then seeing him in a good mood. "One more kiss before we leave, ok?"

If there's one thing Finn's good at, it's obliging me with kisses. He gave me one on the nose, one on the cheek and a lingering one on the mouth. His eyes, amber in the dim light, were soft and content. I seized him by the front of his jacket and pulled him close for yet another kiss, this time harder and more insistent, a promise of things to come.

The porch light abruptly flickered on and off and I jumped back as if I had been burned. Finn jolted and glared in the direction of his house. "Not cool, Mom! Do you think she was just standing there watching us make out? Because that's nasty."

"It's far more likely that she noticed you were already in the car and we've been sitting here idling for five minutes now. I'm sure she has no interest in seeing us kissing." At least I hoped not. I put the car in reverse and pulled out. "But back to my original question: why are you so dressed up? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but this is a change from your usual Abercrombie and puffy vest combo."

What popped out of his mouth was enough to raise my hackles. "Oh, Rachel wanted me to wear it."

Luckily, he was already distracted by something and looking out the window, so he didn't see my fingers tighten on the steering wheel until they turned white. Yeah, you got me. I'm still jealous of Rachel. She's never been inappropriate towards Finn, not since she found out that we were together, but I still didn't trust her. Once she sets her mind on something, there's not stopping her, and I'm still a little afraid that what she wants is Finn. Even her having Jessie wasn't enough to assuage those fears.

And I'm not blaming Finn for any of it, either. I very seriously doubt that he would cheat on me, and certainly not with her. But she's clever, and I can easily see her leading him into trouble before he knows what's happening. It's kind of like putting the frog in a pot and turning on the heat. Finn never sees it coming, so he wouldn't be able to hop out before it was too late.

I kept my voice strong and steady. "Oh, really? How come you dress up for Rachel but not for me?"

He shot me a puzzled look. "You didn't ask me to dress up for you."

Sometimes his literal nature was extremely frustrating. "How could I ask you to dress up for me, if I didn't even know you had a leather jacket like that?"

"If you like it, I can wear it more. Not every day, because it was my Dad's and I don't want to mess it up, but I can wear it if you like it. Or something else. All you have to do is ask." One of his eyebrows was raised now, and his face clearly told me he thought I had gone over the deep end.

My anger ebbed. No, Finn had no idea why this was such a big deal to me, but maybe that was a good thing. He was secure in what we had, and didn't see Rachel as being competition for his love. He wasn't attempting to impress Rachel, just listening to a suggestion she had made for him. I squeezed his thigh gently. "Did she say why she wanted you to dress like that? Because you should never take fashion advice from Rachel Berry. Have you seen the number of atrocious sweater sets she owns?"

"I don't know what a sweater set is, but I'm guessing it's a lot because of the way you said it." He stretched, his legs straightening and his fingers running lightly across the roof of the car. "Anyway, she only asked me to wear it for the video."

What was he talking about? "The video?"

He flinched. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you about that. It was supposed to be a secret between Rachel and me."

I pressed cautiously. "Can you at least reassure me that this isn't a pornographic video starring you and Ms. Berry?"

"Nope." Suddenly his eyes widened. "You know, we could make a pornographic video. My phone takes movies, and then I could, you know, enjoy you whenever I want to! And by enjoy, I mean jerk off while I watch."

"Yes, Cowboy, I got that without further elaboration. And, no, we are not making a sex tape. People besides us will see it, because that's always what seems to end up happening, and then it will hit the internet, which is forever. In 10 years when I'm a world famous designer, I don't want people being able to see what I looked like at 16." If reading Star magazine had taught me nothing else, it was that sex tapes invariably got leaked to the world. "Is the video for our bad reputation assignment?"

"Yeah. But I can't tell you which song, because I want it to be a surprise. We're filming it during study hall, and she's going to get it edited during fifth period. Jacob Ben Israel wanted to do it, but she's having Artie help her instead, because Arties doesn't try and feel her up. So, if it all goes well, we should be able to show it off in Glee today. Cool, huh?"

Actually, it was cool, as much as it pained me to admit it. Why hadn't I thought of that? I had to be at least as creative as Rachel was. "It is cool. And you look absolutely wonderful this morning."

"Thanks. Are you going to talk to Tina?" He seemed a bit tentative about bringing it up.

The sudden change in subject briefly confused me, and I took a minute to get my thoughts in order. "I guess I have to. You're right, she's Mercedes' best friend after me, and if Mercedes won't talk to me directly, Tina's my next best shot. I really don't want to, though."

"Well, yeah. No one likes admitting that they acted like a jerk. But just do it and get it over with, and then the two of you can be friends again. It's easier then it sounds, I promise."

I would give up all of my clothing for a week just to have Finn's optimistic nature. "I'm not as sure about this as you are, but I'll do it."

He rubbed my knee. "You should be sure. You and Mercedes love each other. You just let your tempers get the best of you. Trust me, it happens to me a lot, and telling the other person that you messed up usually makes things at least a little better.

I pulled into my usual parking spot, as far away from the school as I could manage. I used to park closer, always fearful of being trapped by some of the jocks and being too far away from the school for anyone to hear me scream, but I didn't worry about that as much since I had Finn to protect me.

He couldn't kiss me in public, of course, but made sure he walked me to my first class, shooting death glares at anyone who dared take a step towards me. At the classroom door, he lightly touched my lower back and whispered "good luck." I nodded and stepped inside.

My stomach knotted as I saws Tina sitting in her usual place by the window. She's no more of a morning person then Finn is, and looked half-asleep there at her desk. Maybe I should just wait until after class?

Coward.

I might be many things, but being accused of cowardice always hurt. I sat in the empty chair next to my second best friend. "Hey, T."

There was something cautious in her eyes that had never been there before and my heart sank further. Clearly she had been left with the impression that it was war between Mercedes and I, and she felt that she was expected to pick sides. Just as clearly, my side hadn't been the one she chose. "Hey."

Best to just bite the bullet here. "So, I guess you talked to Mercedes and she told you we got into a fight."

"I did." She began picking at her nails, letting me know that she found this situation as uncomfortable as I did.

"I really screwed up, T, big time." My voice choked, and I had to take a breath before I could keep going. "I need your help."

She softened a little. "With what?"

"I want to apologize, but she won't pick up the phone when I call. I left messages, but she won't call me back. How can I tell her that I'm sorry if she won't even pick up the phone?"

Tina sighed. "So you thought that you'd find me and I'd do it for you? Because you're right, she's pissed with you."

Even thought I had already known it, it still hurt to hear someone say it so baldly. "I know. She wanted to quit the Cheerios, and I didn't want her to, and it all kind of spun out of control from there. I don't want you to apologize for me, but could you just get her to talk to me? Please?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I will, but only because I think that she's being as stupid as you are by refusing to speak to you at all. Let me talk to her next period, and I'll text you later." She paused, then narrowed her eyes. "Can I offer you a suggestion, though? Because I like you, and I don't want to see you die?"

"Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated." Not necessarily listened to, but appreciated all the same.

"If I were you, I would spend a little time thinking things t-through. This isn't about the Cheerios, and if you pretend that it is, you're only going to make things worse."

I knew that. It was just easier to blame everything on the Cheerios. "Oh trust me; I have plenty of groveling prepared."

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and I realized that I was still in deep trouble with her as well. Even though Tina was a friend to both Mercedes and I, but either I was totally in the wrong here, or Mercedes would get her in the friendship divorce. Right now, I was being assessed as an enemy, to see how this would play out. Finally she shook her head. "I can't promise anything, but I'll talk to her."

I wanted to beg her for some more help, to tell me what to say to make this right, but the bell was ringing again and the teacher was glaring. So I settled for squeezing her arm. "Thanks, T."

I then took my seat, pretending that I hadn't heard her mumble of 'you'll need all the help you can get'. Great, like I wasn't nervous enough already. I spun my pencil around, nervously planning and replanning what to say. If I didn't get this right, I wasn't going to get another chance.

Tina was texting under her desk, her black-tipped fingers flying. She frowned and typed again, then a third time. This was bad. If Tina couldn't get through to her, I was down to either having a big scene at school, which I wanted to avoid at all costs, or driving back to her house and waiting for her. That was the less publicly humiliating of my choices, but I knew that her father had a shotgun, and, while I wasn't that afraid that he would shoot me, I was a little scared that she might. Nobody pissed off my girl, even me.

Since looking at Tina was only making things worse, I turned my attention back to my notes. Being clear and organized had always served me in the past, so I turned my notebook to a clean page and started making notes.

Things To Say to Mercedes

I'm sorry. That's the most important one

I overreacted to what you told me and I had no right to speak to you that way

I will always make time for you in my life, Finn or no Finn

I'm really sorry.

I don't care if you quit the Cheerios. Coach Sylvester is a bitch and I'll stand by you no matter what.

Please forgive me

I'm sorry

There were probably more things I should be saying, but I couldn't think of anything. Hopefully I could say at least some of them before I started crying. No, I would do it without crying. I had to.

My phone buzzed against my thigh, and I slid it out to take a quick peek. 1200 IN THE AUDITORIUM. SHES STILL PISSED SO DON'T SCREW UP.

Ok, this was progress, this was good. Focus on the positives here. Mercedes was willing to hear me out, so I had a chance to fix this. I shot Tina a grateful smile, and she tentatively returned it.

Even though she had agreed to speak to me, Mercedes didn't so much as glance in my direction during our next two classes. I did my best to respect her space by choosing a seat far away from her and not pushing matters. It was lonely without her passing notes and sending texts to break up the day. I kept sneaking looks at her, and my heart jumped when I caught her looking back.

The next two classes were a little better. Not only was my heart a little lighter, since I knew that she didn't totally hate my guts, but they were both classes that required quite a bit of attention for me to maintain my A, so I didn't have as much time to worry.

Lunch was the only time in the morning that I usually saw Finn, but I was going to have to skip it today. I sent him a text letting him know that I was sorting things out with Mercedes and not in the bottom of a dumpster somewhere. He texted back a good luck and a suggestion for later that took my breath away. He always knew just how to raise my spirits.

The door to the auditorium suddenly loomed up in front of me, and I felt my stomach take yet another flip. Why was I freaking out? This was just Mercedes. It wasn't Karofsky, wasn't Coach, wasn't even my pissed off father. Just Mercedes, my best friend in the entire world.

With that surge of confidence, I pushed the doors open and stepped inside. It was a little dark, and I had to stand still for a few minutes while my eyes adjusted. It was too quiet, and my heart started pumping. Was she even here?

"Well, some on. If you want to grovel, I'm right here." Her voice rang out in the darkness, and I finally saw her sitting on the stage, her legs dangling over the edge.

As much as I just wanted to run down there and give her a hug, I knew that it was a bad idea. So I walked slowly, rehearsing everything that I needed to say. "Hi, Mercedes." My voice was small and shaky, not at all like the suave, confident, adult I wanted to come off as.

"Hi, yourself." She had no trouble sounding confident and strong. Damn, I wished I could bottle some of that.

I was standing in front of the stage by now, and everything on my list had flown straight out of my head. I couldn't even pull a single word to mind. So I finally blurted the first thing that came into my mind. "I'm the biggest asshole on earth."

A very small smile quirked at her lips. "Go on. I like the way this is starting out."

The ways she said it gave me hope. Her eyes were laughing a little, and I knew that she was going to forgive me before this was over. That unlocked my memory, and I was able to go on. "I'm sorry, Mercedes, I really, really am. You were right to quit the Cheerios, and right that I was ignoring you. Except I didn't mean to, I promise. It just sort of happened. If you want me to quit the Cheerios, too, I will. I'll go to Coach Sylvester's office right now. Mercedes, you're the best friend I ever had, the first one, even. I don't want to lose you." There, that was everything on the list, right? Oh no, wait. "Please forgive me."

This time it was a real smile. "Of course I forgive you. You're my Kurt, and there's no Dynamic Duo without you." She jumped down and wrapped me in a hug. Good thing, because I felt a little weak with relief. "And, I guess I have to apologize, too. I was a bitch, and not the good kind. The Cheerios wasn't for me, but it is for you, and it wasn't fair for me to try and force you to quit. And I shouldn't have said what I did about Finn. That was mean. I know you love the big lug, and that means I love him too."

"But you shouldn't have to listen to me babble on and on about him and nothing else." If she never wanted to hear about Finn again, I could do that.

She hugged me again. "Thanks, Kurt. But you were fine. I was just feeling so terrible after what happened with Sean. You had this awesome guy who's stupid-crazy about you, and all I had was a guy who cheated at Sectionals and screwed us over. Then I made it worse by sleeping with Noah Puckerman of all people. Finn worships the ground you walk on, and I lost my virginity on top of a pool table. A pool table in Rachel Berry's house, which just rubs salt in it. Then you were so good at all the Cheerios stuff and Coach Sylvester just loves you. It was like you suddenly had everything, and I had nothing at all. I was jealous."

I had suspected as much, but I hadn't wanted to say anything out loud. I didn't want to lord anything over Mercedes, or make her feel bad because I felt so good, but everything she was saying was true. I had something special, and it was something that I couldn't share with her. Well, I guess I could, but my jealous nature prevents me from sexually sharing Finn.

We'll cut her if she makes a move on him.

Except with Galinda, apparently. I leaned my head against Mercedes' shoulder and tried to look as appealing as possible. "You know that you'll always be the number one woman in my life."

Well excuse me.

I chose to ignore that comment. It hadn't been that long ago that I had had something really specials with Mercedes. Maybe it wasn't too late for us to try and get it back.

"Boy, you need to quit with the Disney eyes. You aren't getting in my pants, and that look isn't good for much else." Still, her arm was tight around me, and I knew that I had been forgiven.

"But it is. How do you think I convince Dad to let me do whatever I want? The sad eyes win every time." Ok, that wasn't the actual truth. It wasn't so much what I made my eyes do as the fact that they looked so much like my mothers that he couldn't bear to deny me anything.

"I don't think you get away with nearly what you think you do. But you're my best guy friend. Right at the moment, you're my best guy period. So, can you forgive me?"

"Definitely." I didn't even have to think about the words before they came out of my mouth. I pulled her into the theater seats, so we could sit side by side. "Now tell me everything that I've missed in the past few days."

As it turned out, Mercedes knew a lot about what was happening around the school, things I had been too preoccupied to notice. That thought made me realize that maybe I had been a little caught up in Finn. "-and I don't know what Rachel Berry is up to, but Ben Jacob Israel has been hot on her trail for days! If I was that girl, I would look into a restraining order, pronto. Or at least get my Benedict Arnold of a boyfriend to kick his ass."

I couldn't betray Finn by telling Mercedes what Rachel was actually up to, but I could agree on the restraining order. "Maybe that's his nefarious plan. He's here not only to spy, but to sacrifice our lead female to the perversions of Ben Jacob Israel. It makes an evil sort of sense."

"They could pop out little big mouthed jewfro babies. Scary. So, have you noticed what's going on with Coach Sylvester?"

"A little bit. I guess a lot of people are laughing at her." I was a little torn about that one. Had someone been handy with a video camera, many, many, embarrassing videos could have been taken of me, most of which would have resulted in my immediate death from humiliation related causes. No, I hadn't put the video up myself, but I was the one who had taken it, and I hadn't stopped Finn when he did it.

But maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to Coach Sylvester. Maybe seeing what the rest of us put up with on a daily basis just because we weren't the most popular kids in school would teach her a little compassion. I hesitantly voiced that thought to Mercedes, who shrugged. "I don't know. I feel kind of bad for her, though. But then I think about how mean she is to everyone, and my pity dries up really quick."

"Do you think I should have stopped Finn from putting it up there?" Because I'm pretty sure he would have stopped if I asked. I didn't add that part, though, because it made me look like a terrible person.

"Hell no. If I had been holding that thing, I would have put it on every website on earth, not just YouTube. Bitch tried to make Mercedes Jones feel bad about herself. How can anyone make a girl this fabulous feel bad?"

Everything about her was exactly like I remembered, and exactly what I had been missing. As much as I loved Finn, he couldn't be everything I needed in one person. No one could. I loved Mercedes for her sass and Finn for his gentle acceptance. Her for telling me when I was a jerk, and him for leading me into the discovery myself. Her for her warmth, and Finn for his fire. Her as my best friend and him as my lover. It wasn't a competition between them, because I needed them both.

My phone buzzed against my thigh, and I grabbed it, noticing that I had a text from Finn. Mercedes quirked an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. "He's probably just checking up on me. He's kind of over protective." Even though it was a bit of a struggle, I put the phone down without reading the text. This was a perfect time to start paying attention to Mercedes and not Finn.

"Good. You need someone to protect you when I'm not around. Do you think I need to apologize to him, too? How much did you tell him?"

"Nothing. Just that you and I had had a fight about the Cheerios. I never told him that you brought him up at all." It was a lie, and I would have to let Finn in on it later, but just a little white one. Finn's so naturally forgiving that I knew he wouldn't mind not getting an official apology.

My phone buzzed again, then a third time and fourth time. Mercedes laughed. "Text him back before he explodes."

I read quickly though the messages, each one more desperate then the last.

KURT I NEED HELP!

KURT CANT GET ILINER OFF!
KURT! HELP!

I CANT GO TO GYM LIKE THIS!

It took me a minute to realize what he couldn't get off was eyeliner, and then I couldn't stop giggling. Trust Rachel Berry to put make-up on my man and then leave him with no idea of how to remove it. Mercedes gave me a questioning look, and I passed the phone over to her. She read the texts and laughed herself. "Kurt, go save the poor boy. Unless you want all the other boys in gym to be make him their pretty lady for the day."

She meant it lightly, but it was a very real fear of mine. The locker room terrified me, filled as it was with hormonal, naked boys. I always felt like if things were to go too far one day, if the pseudo-sexual harassment were to turn into something far worse, it would be there, with the running water to cover up any cries for help. "Are you sure?"

"Go!" She pushed me to my feet. "I'll save you a seat during 7th period."

As well as this had gone, I couldn't help but notice a few small things. She wasn't giving me her usual smile, and she didn't offer to do the special fist bump handshake that we had invented. It was going to take more then one meeting to restore what had gone wrong between us.

But at least this was a start. We were speaking, and even laughing and joking with each other. I might not have my best girl back yet, but we were close. I started to turn, then jumped back and raced over to kiss her on the cheek. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you to. Now get on." She pushed gently and I raced down the aisle. I knew Finn, and I knew that he would be in the boy's bathroom closest to the science pod. Why he prefers that one, since it's just as repulsive as every other bathroom in the school, but at least it made him easy to find. By the way, I'm including the girl's bathrooms in that disgusting quota. For a while I thought that they would be cleaner, but girls are just as nasty as boys. At least I don't have to look at used feminine products in the means room.

Sure enough, there was Finn, make-up and all. His skin looked red and damp, no doubt the result of desperate scrubbing with a paper towel. He rushed to my side. "She turned me into a chick!"

Too bad he seemed so horrified, because Finn actually looked pretty good in that eyeliner. "It's not that bad, Cowboy. Probably no one else would even notice. But why would you think I could get it off?" I had tried really hard to hide my make-up use from him, since I had a fear that that would just a little too gay for him.

He looked blank. "Because you know everything."

His faith was very flattering. "That's hardly the truth, Cowboy. There are many things that I know absolutely nothing about. Sports for one."

"Yeah, but I do, so it totally makes up for it." He rubbed at his eyes again and I had to grab his arm to keep him from further irritating the skin. "So do you know how to fix it?"

"Fortunately, I do. But this does not mean I'll always be able to get you out of your scrapes. Hold still for a second." I reached into my bag and pulled out a packet of make-up removing wipes. "Keep them closed for a minute." A few quick swipes removed the offending color, though I could tell that Finn wasn't very happy about having me so close to his eyes. "And done."

He checked himself out quickly in the mirror and grinned. "See? I told you you knew how to do everything!"

I had to laugh. "So, other then Rachel covering you in make-up, how did your filming go."

His nose wrinkled. "Ok, I guess. We didn't get it finished in time for Glee today, but I think we got all of the lyrics down. Hey, does it seem weird to you that she wanted to have me learn all the verses, but we only used a few of them? Don't you use all the verses in a music video?"

"I personally would, but Rachel Berry's mind is a strange and frightening place, and I refuse to spend any time there without a hazmat suit." Fine, so I was still a little jealous of her idea, and the fact that it hadn't been mine. I could be the one filming Finn doing any number of strange and sexy things.

"Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird, but she just says things like 'artistic vision' and 'lack of higher order understanding' and I just quit listening to her. She's probably right, anyway."

That was Finn's biggest problem. He always thought that he was wrong, and the other person was right, no matter what. It was what allowed him to be lead in to making bad choices, or putting up with things that he shouldn't. I was trying to work on it, but there really wasn't that much I could do. This was a self-esteem issue, and he would never believe me until he could believe in himself. "She may be right and she may be wrong, but, for the record, it sets off my spider-sense, too." It was always better if I didn't tell Finn outright that he was wrong.

A dopey grin spread across his face. "Dude, you totally just made a comic book reference. One that was actually right for a change. I love you so much."

He's very free with the words that I never get tired of hearing. "I love you, too. Totally, completely, perfectly. Like Peter Parker and Mary Jane."

"We're kind of awesome together, you know that, right?" He was close enough now to tip my chin up and give me a quick kiss. "Like peanut butter and jelly, or French fries and ketchup, or, um, you know, Dolce and Gabana. That's that designer you like, right?"

Nothing he could have said would have made me love him more. He might not understand fashion, but at least he tried hard for me. I kissed him one more time, then pressed my hand to his heart, feeling the slow beat. "Cowboy, everything about you and I is right."