CHAPTER 12: Tabula Rasa – Part 2

Austin, TX, October 2, 2010

Burt had invited Lou over to the house after he had arrived back in Austin and they had spent most of the afternoon hashing out the details concerning the shop and the house. Finn, as promised, was working which gave Burt time to think about what he wanted to say to his stepson.

Burt had played football in High School as well and it had given him and his friends free reign over the school. He had never thought about it before, but he couldn't imagine that McKinley had changed much since he attended. Maybe Elisabeth had taken Kurt out of school because of the way he had been treated there.

What set Burt and his friends apart from the boys who played football at McCallum was that they had known there were lines you didn't cross. You never really hurt someone, because you didn't want to ruin your future because of something like that. It had mostly been calling other guys names if they weren't what Burt and his friends wanted them to be.

He knew that calling Finn out on his behavior was hypocritical, but the kid couldn't go on like that. Even Burt recognized that the boys had taken things too far. "Burt, you listening to me? What you thinking 'bout so hard?" Lou interrupted his train of thoughts.

"I need to talk to Finn about some things he'd done at school that aren't okay, but I don't know what to say. I wasn't much better in school either." "Just tell 'im what you did and why you think that's wrong." As if it were that easy. "Thanks Lou. Alright lets talk about the house."

Finn dreaded going home. Burt was back and his mom had told him that he and his stepfather would have a talk. It was probably just about skipping school, because he couldn't imagine Burt getting made about the other stuff they pulled at school. And yeah, maybe he was secretly relieved he didn't have to go back to school, especially after he had heard that his friends had been questioned by the police.

He hadn't answered any of their calls and they'd probably realized by now that he'd been the one to call 911. Patrick could be cool and all but you didn't want to make him angry. And sending the police after him must have made him angry.

So Finn had thought it best not to go to school for a few days to let things blow over. By next week, there would be another scandal and the incident in the parking lot would be forgotten. Finn would try to avoid being alone with Patrick and everything would turn out fine. That was yesterday.

Today he knew he wouldn't return to McCallum but move across the country because of his stepbrother. So Finn was conflicted. If Kurt hadn't got beaten up they wouldn't move, but if Finn hadn't told Kurt that football practice ended early he probably wouldn't have been beat up and they wouldn't have to move. Man, his life had been a lot easier before Kurt had shown up in Austin.

After Lou had left, Burt had picked up some cardboard boxes and started packing up the rest of Carole's things. He was just about to finish putting the last of her books into a box when he heard the front door open. No more stalling. It was time to sit Finn down, and have a little talk man to man. He abandoned the half full box and called out to Finn who appeared in the living room a few seconds later.

"Get cleaned up while I order us some pizza. You and I need to talk." Finn gave him a quick nod and then made his way upstairs. Burt quickly ordered two meatlovers pizzas and put the rest of Carole's CDs away. They ate dinner in silence, pretty much a first for them and after they had cleared the table, he told Finn to wait for him in the backyard.

Whenever his father had wanted to have a talk man to man, he would grab two beers and they would talk outside on their porch. He just hoped that if Carole found out she wouldn't be too mad that he gave her sixteen year old son beer. He grabbed two cans of that light stuff they had bought after his doctor had told him he was worried about his blood pressure and high cholesterol and carried them outside where Finn was already waiting.

He handed the boy one of the beers and then motioned for him to sit down next to him on the stairs. "You know why I want to talk to you?" he asked after taking a long drag. Finn nodded next to him. "I'm sorry about skipping school. I just didn't want to go back there when everyone was still talking, you know?"

"I'm not happy about you skipping school but I understand that you've been scared, okay? So, first thing Monday morning, you and I are going down to the station and you're telling them everything that has happened. I don't care that neither Kurt nor you are going back to that school, but it's the right thing to do. I doubt they'll get punished, but I have to try at least."

"I really don't want to talk to them. I know it's the right thing to do, but I can't." Burt took a glance at Finn. He was staring at the floor refusing to meet Burt's eyes. "I guess that's because you did some things you're afraid to confess now." Finn's head shot up. "I've just done what everyone else has. You've been on the team, you know what it's like." Burt nodded.

"When I was in High School we used to take kids' lunch money or locked them into the janitor's closet for a bit. I'm pretty sure wedgies were the worst thing we did. And we called people names when we didn't think they were manly enough."

He got Finn's attention now. "You know, I used to think exactly like you. That what we were doing was just normal behavior for high school, that we were allowed to do that because we played football. I busted out my knee in JC and I thought my life was over because if I didn't play football anymore who was I then?" He paused for a moment.

"What you and your friends were doing is wrong and in the real world you would get arrested for assault. And just because you play football doesn't mean you are exempt from punishment."

Finn was looking scared now. "Now I know that you didn't hit Kurt yourself, but you still just stood by and let your brother get hurt, and I think that's about as bad as if you had thrown the first punch." "Why are you suddenly defending Kurt? It's not like what you've been doing was that much better." Finn argued back.

"I thought that if I could get Kurt to blend in, he wouldn't get hurt. If people wouldn't realize how different he was the moment they saw him they wouldn't harass him. I told you and Kurt to keep it a secret at school, because I was afraid something like this would happen. I thought that if I could get him to behave normally, his life would be easier. If he just made an effort. I honestly don't know what's what anymore when it comes to this gay stuff, but we really don't have much of a choice but figure it out together."

Burt honestly didn't know what to believe anymore. He'd always believed that Kurt was the way he was because of the way his mom had raised him – allowing him to wear dresses and play with dolls instead of toy cars and playing in the mud. But that Blaine kid, liked the stuff Finn liked and he was still into dudes.

It couldn't really be just rebellion if the kid had risked getting kicked out. And his own son couldn't be as weak as he looked if managed to travel across the country on his own with his injuries. Like he had told Finn, they had to figure it all out together somehow.

"I'm going to bed. Tomorrow, you and I will start packing up the house. Think about what you want to take with you and what we can put in storage here. And Monday, after we've gone down to the station, we'll drop by McCallum and get the papers for your transfer and you can say goodbye if you want to. I want to get you to Lima as soon as possible, because with your grades you really can't afford to miss much more school."

He didn't wait for Finn's answer and finished his beer on the way back inside.

They were given the chance for a fresh start. Now he just had to figure out how not to screw it up.