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Two years later and any questions about their friendship just disappeared at least between the two boys. They were firmly best friends now. Life had continued, Sebastian would be back for breaks, usually. His father was busy being a State's Attorney but his mother wasn't content to being tied down in a less than desirable town.
She traveled all the time and sometimes she would send for her son on those travels when he had time off. So he would go with her. Sometimes he got to go back to France.
Kurt never left Lima, still hadn't been outside of the city limits and even within the city limits, only to school, home and the shop and anywhere nearby those three locations that he could walk to.
Some people would think it cruel to tell Kurt about his travels, especially when it was obvious that Kurt wanted to be away from here. Be anywhere but there, just didn't want to leave his dad. But Kurt ate it up and Sebastian used it to foster that creativity and imagination and gave Kurt more to daydream about, especially when life got tough around him.
Things had shifted a little during those two years. Sebastian's fan club had diminished somewhat now that he wasn't the exotic French Boy who held everyone at arm's reach. The friends at school were fair-weather mainly and invites were still forthcoming but they were all pretty shallow and shallow friendships. Sebastian's personality while no longer quite as petulant or shouting stay away, did get on some people's nerves still. His behavior had contributed to a few people calling off their friendships with Sebastian. He was callous and spoke his mind without a filter and mocked those he viewed as lesser than him and he viewed most as lesser than him.
Kurt had managed to make some friends once he joined the Glee Club. It was a fledgling little thing that had taken years to achieve half the membership that it needed to even get to invitationals. Since it cost nearly nothing and they just used whatever classroom wasn't already being used, the school allowed it. They'd had the lights turned off on them a few times when they hadn't left by the time the football team had showered and left or detention let out. They'd nearly been locked in once. They were not respected, of course not, and most barely knew about them or their existence.
It was a surprisingly big school for such a poor town but the population had sustained itself since nobody really left. The income any of them made circled through everyone's hands at some point and the only injection of new money was from unfortunate visitors to the area and Sebastian's family. Even the latter was slowly dissolving from circulation as Sebastian was at a school hours away, his mother was out of state and his dad was living in an apartment in the state's capital. The house sat empty most of the time.
The whole town was so far behind the times compared to the rest of even Ohio. Sebastian didn't like coming back to visit. Yet he still did, to see Kurt. Sebastian could only communicate with Kurt when he was home and using the home computer after it dialed up and connected to the internet. It was so incredibly slow and they gave in on the idea of a live chat. Instead, Sebastian would send things to Kurt whenever he felt like it and Kurt would respond to whatever he could before the computer crashed.
Sebastian had snapped at him a few times. He'd begged Kurt to get a phone, harangued him that phones weren't even that expensive anymore and he didn't have to get anything fancy, just something with a text feature.
Kurt had pointed out that they didn't have the broadband in the area and texting cost money, especially with how much Sebastian text.
Sebastian bought him a phone and a phone plan and didn't take no for an answer. Then Kurt pointed out that it would be weird and make him a target to carry that around school when their richest kids didn't have phones. Not that it mattered, the cellphone connection was sketchy at best. Still, he was glad that Kurt had a phone that he used only when he was home. Sebastian had made sure it was top of the line though Kurt didn't need to know that. It connected as well to the network as well as Sebastian's did when he was in town, which wasn't great but something.
It was still a delayed conversation but at least it didn't really crash and more could be communicated back and forth. He even showed him the internet and social media. At first, Kurt didn't want to because of a fear of the costs but slowly it captivated him. Kurt started viewing his real life with pitying eyes, seeing how much they weren't able to achieve or get or do once he was exposed to the world out there in more than whatever media ended up in their town. Everything he really knew before the phone was what he'd seen in old movies.
There was the fear that the real stuff would muddle or destroy that dream world. All it seemed to do was make it more vibrant.
Sebastian never thought he would hate that dream world, but it did come about when the 'everything's fine' masked what was really happening. The dream world had played its part and protected Kurt mentally for as long as it could, had protected Sebastian and had drawn them together. Now it was time for Kurt to acknowledge the real world and then find a better place within it, some place more like his dreams.
Dalton wasn't perfect, no where was. But Dalton was a hell of a lot better than that public school in Lima. They had a new student that fall, transferred in from a private school in another town in Ohio nearby. The boy was all front, Sebastian knew that, but he was also attractive. For a moment, Sebastian had wanted to get in his pants but had pushed too hard too soon. The boy attempted to be suave and smooth and good. He puffed up his chest and thought he was the one everyone should aspire to be like, to want to be friends with. He was the savior and knew things.
He nearly got Kurt hurt and Sebastian lost all interest in the boy when that happened.
On the rare occasion that Sebastian got Kurt to come up to Dalton, they happened to meet. Kurt had recognized the pain in Blaine's eyes, had seen through Blaine in a way that was different than Sebastian had. He got out of Blaine the story of his own brush with bullies and feeble attempts with dating in Ohio.
Sebastian hadn't recognized that, seen that until Blaine admitted as much to Kurt. Kurt had taken it in, absorbed what Blaine was saying about how he wished he'd stood up to his own bullies. Sebastian tried to caution Kurt against it but they were both small guys and had more in common with each other than Sebastian did; maybe they understood something he didn't.
Nope, it was definitely what Sebastian had thought. It didn't matter that Blaine had given terrible advice, Kurt had hearts in his eyes toward Blaine from then on. He didn't know why he didn't like that, he'd wanted in Blaine's pants too but that desire was gone. He tried to shrug it off and continued to go out and spend time with gay guys who were aren't and not scared to act on it. He even dated a few of the 'ten minute hookups' as Blaine called them. He didn't correct the other boy.
Sebastian always called Kurt for rides when he got drunk. He paid for the gas to come out, pick him up, drop him off and drive home. Kurt wouldn't have been afford it and it wasn't fair to play on his good heart when Sebastian did have other options. He just wanted Kurt to help him home. Kurt was always the best at it and would ensure he was home safe and sound.
When he called Kurt one night after that meeting of minds, Kurt was wearing too much for so late at night. Sebastian tried to tease him, pulling at the scarf, thinking Kurt had found a boy to neck with. The bruise along his throat was not done through pleasant actions nor were the bruises creeping up the back of his neck and into his hairline.
Sebastian made sure that Kurt was no longer in that school by the very next day and was attending every class with Sebastian at Dalton. He kept Kurt in his line of sight at all moments of the day, even making sure that Kurt was in the Warblers with them (which he would have gotten into on his own) and in his dorm room. The only time they spent apart was when Sebastian was at Lacrosse. There was no way Kurt would agree to join and Sebastian thought maybe the sport was a bit too harsh for Kurt anyway.
Kurt refused to tell him what had happened. Sebastian stopped asking after awhile, content to just have Kurt in the safety of the Dalton halls.
There had been a protest from the Hummels but Sebastian and his dad had talked sense into them and paid for it too.
Sebastian sometimes brought guys back to their dorm room. Kurt hung out with Blaine.
Sebastian thought maybe there was going to be an announcement sometime soon. There was, Blaine wanted to go to the Gap and serenade a boy he liked. Sebastian thought maybe it was a ploy but when Blaine kept chasing down a blond too old for him and obviously not interested, Sebastian's eyes turned to Kurt, watching and saw the brave face he put on. Blaine and Kurt remained friends and Kurt still pined over Blaine.
Sebastian and Kurt hung out, they were still the best of friends even while others just couldn't see or understand it. It was what it was, Sebastian and Kurt wouldn't change it. They always had each other's backs, in all things. It just wasn't something that outsiders could see.
Then there was an announcement that had Sebastian's stomach sinking. Blaine and Kurt had gotten together in the end.
It was fine though, Blaine and Kurt seemed to be together whenever Sebastian was busy, out and about or at Lacrosse. Kurt would still come pick him up.
Kurt talked about Blaine and Blaine mooned over Kurt. They seemed like a solid couple even if it was a bit PG for Sebastian. For them though and for Sebastian, that was perfectly fine. One night, near the end of their senior year, he got the bright idea to have them come out with him dancing. There was a group of them and Blaine and Kurt disappeared for awhile.
Blaine returned with a red mark across his face that was quickly turning into a bruise but Kurt was nowhere to be found. Blaine played innocent, said he had no idea where Kurt went or why he'd leave and that he hadn't done anything.
Sebastian had been in pretty deep with a guy on the dance floor, they were discussing the best place to wind up in for the end of the night, Sebastian's bed or his. Sebastian was aiming for his, a bit more freedom to do whatever. Kurt would usually spend the night in Blaine's room when Sebastian had a visitor but they still had to keep it down. Sebastian had assumed they were doing the same thing, even that night, he thought they'd taken off to fit in a quickie.
When Kurt didn't reappear and Blaine had, and his innocent protesting, Sebastian pulled away from the guy leaving hickies on his collarbone. The nameless guy protested but Kurt was more important and Sebastian left him without a further thought.
He finally found Kurt sitting in the backseat of his car. Knees were drawn up to his chest and was just staring at his feet. Sebastian had a key and was glad to see that the doors were locked. He let himself in and tilted his head, looking at Kurt, wondering if he was lost in a fantasy world again. He hadn't seen the other boy drawn into that world since coming to Dalton, not really at least. He'd had different fantasies he'd gotten lost in for awhile but hadn't needed to retreat from something terrible on the outside. Kurt was locked into a different world, but it wasn't a pleasant one from the look on his face and the vacant expression.
Sebastian carefully laid a hand on Kurt's knee. Kurt started and jerked and the fear in his eyes had Sebastian's hand curling more protectively over Kurt's knee. The bloody lip hadn't been visible until he lifted his head like that, allowing the parking lights to illuminate his face. He wanted to go back inside and kill Blaine. He had an idea of what went down but wasn't sure quite how far it had gone.
Right then and there, Kurt was more important.
"Blaine's drunk." Kurt blurted out and then withdrew back into himself.
"Ok..." He hadn't appeared that way to Sebastian but he supposed Kurt would know his boyfriend a bit better than he did.
"He didn't mean it." Kurt said more to himself, to reassure himself. "He's drunk."
"Mean what, exactly?" Sebastian asked carefully and slowly, trying not to spook Kurt but pull him out, pull out the story. Sebastian had come back with his share of bruises from fights over hitting on the wrong guy or to get away from unwanted hands. He put himself in those positions, Kurt didn't. Kurt wasn't supposed to be in those positions, he had a boyfriend who until tonight seemed respectful and they didn't go out.
"I caught him flirting with a guy." Kurt shifted. "We came out here to fight about it and then the next thing I knew he was pulling me into the car and telling me that he wouldn't have to look elsewhere for validation if I would just put out, make him know that he was wanted in all ways. I wasn't giving him enough."
Kurt's bruised and bloody lip trembled. "You didn't-."
"No, I fought him off, told him no, not like this, not tonight and he pushed for more." Kurt curled in on himself more. "I finally got away and he stormed off in anger. He's probably in there flirting with another guy or making out or putting out."
Sebastian wasn't sure about that, Blaine wanted the Hollywood story the first time. Except now he'd cast himself as the asshole boyfriend who thought just because he bought a girl dinner meant they were going to have sex in the back of the car. They'd been together for a year but they hadn't slept together? Wow, he'd totally read that relationship wrong. Or he read one of them wrong, he wasn't sure who or both.
No, he'd definitely read Blaine wrong, he wouldn't have let him near Kurt if he'd thought he could be capable of this. It didn't matter that he was 'drunk'. Sebastian had failed as a friend.
"Hey, let's get you back to the dorm." He wouldn't let Blaine near him again, even if that meant that he didn't bring anyone home which encouraged Kurt to leave the dorm room. He'd have to go back to the other guy's place or abstain for a bit. It wasn't going to be for much longer. They only had a couple of months left together at Dalton.
He made sure the two of them officially broke up.
Blaine was sporting a few new bruises that first week after when he tried to make up with Kurt to try and get him to reconsider.