CHAPTER 7: Decisions

Lima, OH, June 16

"What the hell!"

Blaine was still spooning Kurt when he was rudely awakened by someone shouting close by. He managed to crack open an eye and saw a group of people in front of their bed. In the front, a man in jeans, flannel shirt and baseball cap was glaring in their direction.

"Are you out of your mind Kurt? Cheating on you're girlfriend with a guy hours after your mother was buried!", the man Blaine assumed to be Kurt's father shouted. Blaine tried to disentangle himself from Kurt, who he felt stirring next to him. A tall teenager, Finn, Blaine remembered, was eyeing them with distain before he muttered: "Gross!" "Take a walk Finn", the woman next to Finn ordered. "Mom!" "Now, Finn!" Finn stomped back upstairs muttering insults under his breath.

"What?" A confused Kurt asked after he had finally managed to extricate himself from Blaine's embrace. "The girl from the pictures. The one I saw you hugging yesterday," Kurt's father elaborated. Oh, Mr. Hummel thought Rachel was Kurt's girlfriend. Kurt still looked confused when he answered his father's question, but confirmed Blaine's suspicion. "Rachel? She's not my girlfriend."

"So you're a liar too now?" The older man countered. Kurt looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Blaine knew he had been avoiding a confrontation like this for years now. "I only told you she was my girlfriend because I knew you wouldn't like it if I told you I had a boyfriend. Mom promised not to tell you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine saw that Kurt was struggling to keep his tears in. Couldn't his father see that he was upsetting Kurt? Unfortunately, Kurt's father didn't let it go.

"If you knew I'd disapprove, then why are you doing this. Is this some twisted form of teenage rebellion?" "This isn't about you or mom or anybody else!" Kurt sounded exhausted. "This is about me. Not about what you think is right or wrong, but who I love. And nothing you say or do will change that."

A tear escaped Kurt's eye and was rolling down Kurt's face. Blaine, who so far had watched the exchange silently frozen in bed, reached out and took Kurt's hand into his own to show his support, ignoring the glare Mr. Hummel sent in his direction. "We'll see about that", Kurt's father threatened.

The woman, who had also watched the exchange frozen in place, suddenly put her hand on Kurt's father's arm to distract him from Kurt and Blaine on the bed. "Burt, why don't we all calm down and talk about this like reasonable adults? Let the boys get dressed and then we can all have breakfast together." Mr. Hummel took a deep breath and then glared again in Blaine's direction.

"Yeah, well. I think he should leave so I can have a little chat with my son." Blaine paled, but before he could say anything, Kurt glared at his father and told him with a voice like steel. "His name is Blaine, and he lives here too. Mom promised him he'd always have a home here as long as he wanted to, and you are not going to make him leave."

Before anything else could be said the woman interrupted again. "Burt…!" "Fine. Let's go upstairs and try to have a reasonable talk with a child." Kurt's father turned around and stomped up the stairs, sulking like a five year old.

Once Mr. Hummel had left the room, the woman took a step closer. "I'm Carole by the way. I'm really sorry about your father and my son. Are pancakes okay for breakfast?" Blaine and Kurt nodded in unison because there wasn't much they could say or do in their current situation anyway.

xXx

When Carole made her way to the kitchen she called out for Finn, but after hearing no reply she assumed he was still out as she had requested. She found her husband pacing in front of the stove. Carole opened the fridge where earlier she had stored some groceries and took out the ingredients she needed for pancakes. Burt was still muttering to himself, blocking her access to the stove.

"Stop that." Burt finally looked at her. He looked pissed. "I can't believe he lied to me for years. He didn't just keep the truth from me, he actively misled me." Burt spat out. Carole knew she should tread lightly, but she had never been a woman who kept her thoughts to herself. Usually Burt told her that was what he liked about her. "And that surprises you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Burt immediately went on the defense. Carole rolled her eyes. "Kurt's not a child anymore. He must have picked up on the reason his mom didn't want you around." "I was just trying to help her make him normal", Burt interrupted her. Carole sighed.

They had had this discussion before, many times, ever since Burt had opened up to her about his shaky relationship with his son. He knew she disagreed with him on the subject, but he usually just dismissed her and told her to come back when it was her son.

"But he is normal. He is still your son regardless of him having a boyfriend or a girlfriend." Burt just continued, showing no indication that he had heard what she just said. "It's not right and it's definitely not normal. No way in hell, am I going to leave him here where people tell him it's okay to fornicate with boys."

"Burt…!"

Carole tried to draw Burt's attention back to her again, but Burt wouldn't listen. "No! Call Finn and tell him to stop sulking. Kurt's moving to Texas with us. Once he is away from this toxic environment he'll see the errors of his way."

Carole had seen the way her new stepson was clinging to the other boy as if he were the only thing keeping him going. "Burt don't…" "My decision is final Carole. Kurt's my son, so I make the decisions. You'll see, in the long run, it's what's best for him." Carole knew Burt was right. She couldn't make any decisions about Kurt. They only thing she could do was be there for Kurt and hope for the best.

"I hope you'll see how wrong you are, before you lose your son for good." "I know I'm doing the right thing. That is all I need to know." Carole knew there was no talking to him when he acted like that. She turned back to the food she had taken out of the fridge and started preparing pancakes.

xXx

Kurt, after having convinced Blaine that he needed to face his father alone, was slowly entering the kitchen where Carole was preparing pancakes and his father was glaring at the coffee in front of him as if it had personally offended him.

Carole turned around when she heard him enter and smiled at him. Kurt thought he could actually have liked her if she weren't married to his father. She reminded him of his mother, but he couldn't think about that now or he wouldn't be able stop crying for hours, and he wasn't sure he had any tears left.

"Where's Blaine?" she asked while putting a plate stacked with pancakes on the table. "He's taking a walk to give us time to talk alone," Kurt answered, avoiding looking at his father. "Alright, tell him I'll save some pancakes for him." Carole took a few pancakes and put them in the oven to keep them warm. Carole already looked so at home in his kitchen. But he didn't want that. He wanted his mom and Blaine here with him. Not a stranger and a father who hated him.

"Kurt, sit down. After breakfast I want you to go downstairs and pack your things." Burt said without looking up from his coffee. Kurt was surprised by that. "You found a house already?", he asked curiously. At that his father finally briefly looked up before focusing his attention back on the cup in front of him. "No, you're moving to Texas with us."

Kurt drew in a shaky breath. He wouldn't. He had promised they would stay in Ohio. He couldn't leave. "But you said…" He couldn't finish the sentence. He had to focus all his attention on not starting to cry in front of his father. "That was before I found out what company you keep here," his dad said in an icy tone. Kurt gripped the counter behind him. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

"You can't do that to me. Please don't make me leave my mom and Blaine. He's all I have left." He couldn't stop the tear that ran down his face. His father looked up at him and scowled. "As soon as you are away from him, you'll see how unhealthy it is to have a relationship like that with another boy. As for your mother. I'm so sorry about that but I think a fresh start is going to be what's best for you."

Kurt wiped the tear away. He wouldn't go down without a fight. His father had to understand. "You can take me out of Ohio, and move me away from Blaine, but it's not going to make me any less gay! " Kurt couldn't help raising his voice. His father gave him what he probably thought was a sympathetic look. "You're just confused because you don't know any better and people so far have encouraged your abnormal behavior."

How dare his father call his love for Blaine abnormal. "I'll be eighteen in a year. And as soon as I turn eighteen, I'm back here. You can't keep me away from the person I love for good." Kurt shot back at his father. "You're barely seventeen. What do you know about love?", his father countered. Kurt hated when people told him he was too young to be in love. What did they know about his life or his relationship?

"I know that the people who really love you accept you the way you are instead of trying to change you." If his father loved him as he proclaimed he did, he would accept Kurt's differences instead of trying to force him to change. He realized he just should have told his father the truth years ago, instead of staying in the closet to keep his relationship with his father. It had just not been worth it.

His father was staring at his coffee again. "Eat your breakfast and then start packing. The sooner we get out of here the better." Kurt scowled at him and ran out of the kitchen back to what had been the sanctuary of his bedroom.

xXx

Blaine had snuck back downstairs when he had heard raised voiced coming from the kitchen. He had just finished straightening out the covers on the bed when Kurt came running downstairs, tears streaming down his face. Blaine let Kurt cry into his shoulder until he had calmed down enough to recount what had happened in the kitchen.

Blaine was at a loss for what to say. He was terrified of being left behind, having nowhere to go but stay in Kurt's house all alone and the upcoming school year. But he couldn't add to Kurt's worries. Courage he told himself before sitting Kurt down on the bed next to him and wrapping his arms around him.

"It's going to be okay. We talked about this. It's just for a year. And I can come visit you. I mean Carole seems nice. I'm sure she would help us." Kurt was shaking his head. Of course his boyfriend wouldn't make this easy. "I can't just leave you here by yourself. And McKinley is a hellhole even without Karofsky."

Blaine sure as hell didn't want to go back to public school on his own, but he just didn't have the money for Dalton. At least at McKinley he already knew a few people. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be all right. I already know Rachel and Mercedes and some people from Glee club, and if I join I'll have people around me who don't care that I'm gay. They have a lesbian couple, I'm sure they'd be cool with me too."

Blaine knew Kurt didn't just worry about his boyfriend, he was terrified of what would happen to him. After a silent moment during which Blaine was rubbing Kurt's back in what he hoped was a soothing manner, Kurt spoke up again. " I don't wanna go. I don't know anyone there apart from a stepbrother who called me gross the first time he met me. And who knows what my dad will do to try to make me straight – as if I could be even if I wanted. And mom, I can't…,"

Kurt couldn't finished the sentence as he started sobbing again. Blaine felt a tear escape his own eye. He didn't like seeing his boyfriend so down. He was one of the strongest people he had ever met. Kurt just needed to believe it himself.

"Don't let them get you down. You're Kurt Hummel. You're fabulous. And you know what you're mom used to say. No one pushes the Hummels around." That got a small smile out of Kurt. "And as for Finn. Show him that there's nothing to be afraid of – that there's nothing wrong with you. Prejudice is just ignorance. And you have a chance to teach him." Kurt looked at him hopefully. "How?"

Blaine thought for a moment. What was it that he had never dared to do when it came to the bullies at his old public school? "Confront him. Call him out. Have courage." Kurt's lips twitched at little, probably because Blaine used the phrase so often. "You always know what to say to make me feel better. I'm going to miss you so much."

Another tear threatened to escape. He had to stay strong now or he wouldn't be able to stop crying. "Hey, we can still talk on the phone and Skype. Your dad has the shop. He can't control you every minute of the day."

Blaine pressed a kiss to Kurt's temple but was suddenly pushed backward onto the bed with Kurt pressing him down. After a few seconds he returned Kurt's desperate kiss. "I love you. So, so much," Kurt panted against his lips. Blaine indulged a few moments longer before gently pushing Kurt back. He didn't want to be caught by Kurt's father because that sure as a hell wouldn't help their case. "I love you too. Come on. I'll help you pack."

xXx

Finn came back from his forced walk to find his mom and Burt in the kitchen. His mom was shooting daggers at his stepfather, while Burt was on the phone with someone. He grabbed a plate and filled it with his mom's pancakes. "What's going on?" "Finn, swallow before you talk," his mom admonished him. "Burt is trying to get us plane tickets for Austin for later today." "Sweet."

Finn did not want to move to Ohio. He was top dog at his school in Austin and had a smoking hot girlfriend. He only had two years of high school left and didn't want to start at the bottom again. Especially if he had to go to school with Burt's son. He couldn't understand why a dude would voluntarily do that with another guy. It was gross and wrong. Everyone said so, apart from his mom, but that was because she was too liberal for her own good, as his girlfriend's mom always said.

"What about Kurt though? I thought he was my age. Why is he allowed to live on his own?" His mom sent him her "Oh, honey – look", the one she always gave him when he was slow catching on. "Finn, Kurt is coming back with us to Texas." "Until you guys find a house up here?"

"No. Burt decided that Kurt will come live with us in Austin. He will go to school with you come fall." No. Finn thought. That would be even worse. His mom would probably insist he'd show Kurt around and his friends would not take too kindly to him running around with a homo.

He saw his mom writing down something on a piece of paper, but looked up when he heard Burt hang up the phone. "Finn, can you go downstairs and tell Kurt we're leaving in thirty minutes and he'll better be ready. I go and put our things back in the car."

After Finn had nodded his assent, Burt left the kitchen. Finn didn't really want to go talk to Kurt, but he figured it was better to just get it done with and then get back to Austin. Before he could leave the kitchen his mom stopped him and handed him the piece of paper she had written on before.

"Please give this to Blaine. It's my cell number." "Why are you giving him your number?" Finn didn't understand why his mom was interested in that guy. "Because I feel bad leaving him here on his own. I want him to be able to get in touch with me if he needs something." Finn was confused.

"What do you mean, stay here alone? Why doesn't he just go home?" "Kurt said he was living here. He didn't say why, but I suspect his parents kicked him out." Finn couldn't wrap his head around that. Yeah, sure he thought that what the boys were doing was wrong, but not even Burt left Kurt behind alone.

He took the piece of paper and made his way back downstairs. He just hoped they weren't doing anything. He really didn't need to see that. When he entered the room, there were three packed suitcases at the foot of the stairs. Kurt was handing the other boy some keys. He walked over to Blaine and thrust the piece of paper in his direction.

"My mom wants you to have this. It's her cell number." "Thanks," Blaine muttered clearly surprised. Finn turned to Kurt. "Your dad said we're leaving in thirty minutes. So get ready." He contemplated for a second carrying one of the suitcases upstairs, but decided not to and to wait in the car instead. It was time to beat his Angry Birds record.

Thirty minutes later he saw Kurt coming out the front door struggling with two of his suitcases while his mom was carrying the third. Burt came around the house and got into the car. Once everything had been placed into the car, Kurt got into the back next to him. He looked like he had been crying. Burt turned around to remind them to put their seat belts on.

As the car left the Hummel driveway, Finn looked out of the window and saw Blaine standing in the doorway, tears streaming down his face. He did feel sorry for the dude, because no one deserved to be kicked out of his house, but then again something like that would never happen to him, because he would never be with another guy. Finn turned away.

Now all he had to do was make sure Kurt understood he couldn't tell anyone at school he was a homo or it would ruin his reputation. He dared a side-glance at his new stepbrother. But first he had to convince Burt that he couldn't let his son leave the house with those weird ass clothes he was wearing. Finn smiled. They had all summer to make Kurt normal and then maybe going to school with him would somehow be okay.