CHAPTER 8: Changes

Burt Hummel was proud of the home he had built for himself in Austin after his divorce eight years ago. The garage was flourishing and in Lou Jenkins he had found a guy he could trust to look after the shop if he couldn't be there. Burt had been thinking about opening another branch of Hummel Tires and Lube and on his way to his ex-wife's funeral he had seen a for sale sign in front of the garage he had worked at eight years ago. But Burt Hummel had more important things to take care of now than mourning a lost opportunity..

The Hudmels – as Carole had dubbed them after she had overheard one of Finn's friends call Finn and his girlfriend Kelly Filly – lived in Allendale, which was in the north of Austin. It was a small, but well kept house close to the Texas State Highway, perfect for a family of three.

Burt and Carole had discussed Kurt's living arrangement on the plane and Burt had decided to clean out the room he used to store boxes in, for Kurt. The room wasn't big, but should offer enough space to put in a twin bed, dresser and desk. Burt had never really supported Kurt's move to the basement because he had always thought that his original bedroom was more than big enough for a child or a teenager. But Elisabeth had given in, as she always had.

No wonder the kid turned out the way he did. Burt stopped himself before he went further down that road. Ex-wife or not, one shouldn't speak ill of the dead, or in his case think. He would just have to give Kurt a proper male role model and things would sort themselves out.

It was close to midnight when they finally reached their house on Lexington Rd. While Finn ran upstairs to his bedroom, Burt helped Carole make up the couch for Kurt. The kid had barely said two words to any of them on the way to Austin, but he was at least polite to Carole. He decided to leave their luggage in the car for the night and get it the next morning before he took Kurt clothes shopping.

xXx

Kurt woke up with a stiff neck in an unfamiliar living room. On the coffee table were multiple sports magazines and the walls were covered with flowery tapestry. He smelled coffee somewhere in the house and after getting dressed in the downstairs bathroom, followed the smell not knowing where anything was yet. The only thing he had been told was that they would work on his new room today.

He decided to be a good sport for now, so maybe Carole would let him use her cell phone to call Blaine later tonight. He was desperate to hear a familiar voice and now that he couldn't call up his mom when he was sad anymore, Blaine was the only person who could help him get through this. His father had taken away his cell phone, but promised to get him a new one later. How much later he hadn't said.

Unfortunately it wasn't Carole who Kurt found in the kitchen, but his father reading a newspaper. He looked up briefly when Kurt entered and then gestured to the food on the table. "Have some breakfast. Once you're done, we're going to Northcross Mall." "We're going to the mall?" Kurt asked. He definitely hadn't expected that.

Usually a trip to the mall would always brighten his day, but today he wasn't in the mood. Shopping was something he had done with his mom, even though he had replaced her with Rachel and Mercedes over the past couple of years. Why did he have to act like a typical teenager and refused to let his mom take him shopping once he got older? He was so caught up in his memories that he nearly missed what his father was saying.

"You need some proper clothes. Finn gave me some pointers about what kids wear these days." Kurt scowled. Finn Hudson was the last person he would ever ask for fashion tips. "What's wrong with the clothes I have?", Kurt demanded, pointing at his outfit.

He was wearing white skinny jeans, his black lace-up Doc Martens and a tight red shirt. It was summer after all. "Yeah, no. You're not leaving the house like that. It screams homo." Kurt flinched. He hadn't expected his father to come right out and say something like that. "If you want to wear stuff like that here where no one can see it, knock yourself out. But you're not going to embarrass me in public. Your suitcases are upstairs, second room on the right. Go put something normal on after breakfast."

Kurt suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. He turned around and stormed out of the kitchen. Something normal. What had he done to deserve all that? Back in Lima, had had always been allowed to wear whatever he wanted, apart from the one time he tried to wear a corset to school.

But fine he would try and find something boring in his wardrobe and appease his father for now. It wasn't like there was anyone left who would compliment his outfits first thing in the morning. He just had to remember that as soon as he got dressed, they would go to the mall and he would have a cell phone again.

Upstairs he found his suitcases in a small room filled with cardboard boxes, which he assumed would become his bedroom. It wasn't even half the size of his basement room but for the foreseeable future it would have to do.

In the second suitcase he opened he found his thanksgiving jeans, lose fitting jeans with straight legs and combined them with a Dalton P.E t-shirt he had stolen from Blaine, after they had started dating. He might not look fashionable, but at least he was wearing something that reminded him of Blaine.

When he came back downstairs Carole was in the kitchen. He gave her a small smile when she wished him a good morning and accepted a thermos of coffee and some toast from her. His father was already sitting in his truck fiddling with the radio when Kurt came out and joined him.

xXx

The drive to the mall wasn't long. Burt was playing tour guide pointing at parks in the area that Kurt might be interested in. "When we're done at Northcross I'm gonna take you down to McCallum to register you. Gonna ask them to try to get you in some of Finn's classes." Out of the corner of his eye he saw his son shake his head. What now?

"I'm taking mostly A.P classes, especially now after Dalton." Burt had nearly forgotten about that fancy private school. He had known it would be a bad idea to send his son to an all boys school.

"You met Blaine there?" Kurt seemed surprised by the question but nodded his head. Like he had thought. The kid should have stayed in public school. It had been good enough for him and so it had to be good enough for his son. He glanced over at Kurt again. The kid seemed debating asking something.

"Maybe you could try to get me into some senior classes. If I want to get into a good college I'll need a head start. Especially, if I'm back in public school." There wasn't anything he could say about that. Kids today needed to go to college if they wanted to make something out of their lives.

Well, maybe not Finn. With his grades, Burt was surprised Finn was even allowed to be on the football team. At least with Finn, he had someone who could take over the shop one day. Burt had taken some business classes in Junior College and was doing fine.

xXx

The shopping trip with his father had been a disaster. First Burt wouldn't let him shop anywhere else but Target, where he was forced to pick out jeans that were too big on him and awful graphic t-shirt and sweatshirts, and afterwards his father had bought him a fucking child proof cell phone that could only dial the four numbers Burt had approved at the store. Carole's cell, Finn's cell, his father's cell and the garage. Apparently his father was dead set on Kurt cutting all his ties with Ohio.

When he complained about not being able to contact either Mercedes or Rachel – he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to bring up Blaine – his father had told him he could use his cell phone as long as Burt was close by. Even prisoners could basically call whoever they wanted if they were allowed phone calls.

At least their trip to McCallum High went relatively well. The school reminded him of McKinley, impersonal and large enough for up to a thousand students. Kurt had briefly met with the school's guidance counselor, a tall dark haired woman in her fifties, and she had promised, after looking through his school records, to try and get him into one or two senior classes.

She also gave him information on the school's extracurricular activities, but to Kurt's chagrin they school didn't offer any music or theater classes. How was he supposed to get into a performing arts college if his school didn't offer theater or choir?

xXx

After spending the morning at a local park throwing a ball around, Finn was lounging on the sofa with Kelly snuggled into his side, while he was battling Patrick in Grand Theft Auto. He was glad to see that the house was empty and Kurt wasn't anywhere close. His was sorry the dude lost his mom, but that didn't mean they had to be friends or something like that.

The teens ordered pizza for lunch, and for a while Finn forgot all about the family addition. He was in the kitchen refilling Kelly's glass when he heard Burt's truck pull up. He saw Burt and a miserable looking Kurt climbing out of the car, and getting shopping bags from the trunk. He gave Kurt a quick once-over, but fortunately he was wearing normal clothes.

Finn was carrying the drinks back into the living room, when he heard the front door open. Burt was telling Kurt that he had to go to the garage and that Kurt should start working on his room. Patrick looked up from the game when Kurt walked into the living room, a scowl on his face. Why did the dude have to look so unhappy after he got new stuff? Kelly gave Kurt a quick once-over as well and then turned to Finn.

"He the stepbrother you mentioned?" Finn nodded. It wasn't like he could hide it and tell them the guy was an exchange student who didn't speak English. His mom would have his head on a platter.

"You wanna play?" Patrick asked, waving a controller in Kurt's direction. "No thank you. I have things to take care of," Kurt said in his weird high pitched voice in a I'm so much better than you tone. "You're living with a fag?" Patrick asked incredulously. Shit. His friends could never know that. "Of course not. My mom said he's just a late bloomer or something like that." Nice save, Finn. Patrick shrugged and turned back to the game, while Kurt glared at him.

"Don't you have stuff to do?" He shot in Kurt's direction. He got back a stiff nod and then Kurt stomped upstairs probably to empty the storage room. His mom had asked him to help Kurt with the boxes, but Finn didn't see a reason why he had to. It didn't matter. Kurt didn't seem the type to rat him out to his mom.

xXx

When Carole came home that night she found Burt and Finn in front of the TV watching some sports game. Kurt was nowhere in sight. "Where's Kurt?" She asked her husband and son, who hadn't acknowledged her presence yet. Burt pointed upstairs but then returned his attention to the TV. Carole sighed. Sometimes she didn't know what to do with the men in her house.

She found her stepson dragging the last of the boxes into a hallway closet. His clothes lay neatly folded on the bed Burt must have put in some time during the day. Carole didn't harbor any illusions that Finn had helped at all. Lately she just didn't know what to do with him anymore.

"Need some help with that?" Carole grabbed a box and pushed it into the closet. "No thank you. I'm nearly done." There was a clear dismissal in his tone. But Carole didn't give up easily. "Do you like to cook? I could use some help with dinner, if you wanted to?" she tried again. For a second there was a hint of a smile on his face but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "I suppose so." Carole didn't let herself get derailed by his short answers. After all, she'd been living with a teenager for a while.

"I like what you are wearing by the way." It looked expensive and not something she had seen on a teenager before, but the dark skinny jeans and silver vest suited the teenager. "Thank you. Not that it matters. After all I'm not allowed to leave the house in my not-normal clothes." "Kurt, you know I don't agree with you're father, but I'm not the one making the decisions in regards to you. I'm sorry."

The teen was staring intently down at his shoes. "I understand, but it's nice of you to say that. If things were different…", he trailed of.

"Come on. There is this recipe that I've been dying to try. And while we're in the kitchen you can send a text to Blaine about your day. How does that sound?" That finally earned her a genuine smile. She would have loved to let him use her cell for a phone call, but while Burt and Finn were both home it just wasn't a good idea. She'd probably have to delete the sent text afterwards, on the off chance that Burt looked at her phone.

xXx

Blaine was sitting on the living room couch surrounded by half empty pints of ice cream Rachel and Mercedes had brought over when his phone dinged. Carole's name popped up and Blaine fumbled for a bit before he could open the message. It wasn't long but it was something. "Was that Kurt? Let me see." Rachel demanded and grabbed his phone to read it out loud.

"Blaine, survived my first day in hell. Not allowed to wear my clothes in public, no glee at school, and Finn's friends already hate me. At least we have Carole on our side. I miss you. Love Kurt." Before he knew it the two girls had enveloped him in a hug. "That sucks so bad. No wonder, Ms. Hummel divorced the d-bag," Mercedes exclaimed. At the mention of Elisabeth, Blaine's eyes welled up again. A month ago he had a boyfriend and a mother figure. Now he was living on his own in their house, and had no idea when he would see Kurt again.

Rachel, as always, managed to take his mind of the horrible things for a while. "How did your audition for King's Island go? I'm really jealous they weren't looking for female performers. But at least this year at get to pass on my knowledge to young impressionable minds at camp."

Blaine initially didn't plan to go to his call back after Elisabeth's funeral, but now he need the extra money if he wanted to see Kurt before next May. "I start next Monday. Three shows a day and five on weekends. I get Wednesdays and Thursdays off, just in case you wanted to visit me sometime. I could use some company." That sounded pathetic even to his own ears.

"What about the guys from the Warblers? Don't you see them anymore?" Mercedes asked on her way to the kitchen to get them more junk food. "Wes and David have both graduated and are doing internships somewhere outside Ohio, and the others I've been close with are on vacations in Europe or the Caribbean."

To spell it out made his friends sound like entitled little rich boys, but once upon a time, he had spent his school holidays in exactly the same fashion. "Oh, well. Then we'll have to be your entertainment for this summer. Someone has to take care of you while Kurt's gone. And you know, my dads said you'd be welcome to move in with us if you wanted."

Rachel's dads had been worried when they heard he lived on his own without a guardian, but Blaine had received signed documents that would enable him to become emancipated, shortly after his parents had asked him to leave their house. He didn't need a guardian, and as nice as it would be to live with other people, he didn't want to leave the house, he had felt at home at the most.

"Tell them thanks for the offer, Rach, but I'd rather stay in Kurt's room and look after the house for him."

Rachel nodded. "Then we should at least make sure that this is going to be a fabulous sleep-over. But before, I think you should text back Kurt." "Are you sure? I don't want to get him into trouble his first day there." After seeing Burt Hummel's reaction to the two of them Blaine just couldn't help but be worried about Kurt.

"I'm sure that Carole lady will pass you're message on." Rachel handed his phone back to him. He stared at the keys for a couple of seconds before typing. "Miss you too. Glad you are semi-okay. Hope to talk to you soon. R&M are keeping me company tonight. Love, Blaine."

xXx

Burt listened to his wife and son giggling in the kitchen. He just didn't understand why Carole was encouraging his behavior. The boy shouldn't be cooking in the kitchen, but learn how to do manly stuff. Starting tomorrow, the kid would come to the garage with him and learn how to work on cars, if he wanted to have an allowance.

Finn had been working with cars for years and he had turned out like the son Burt had always wanted to have. Not that he didn't want Kurt. Kurt just had to learn how to act normally and then they wouldn't have a problem anymore. Burt was sure of it.

After all, all boys craved their father's acceptance and if Kurt wanted it he had to work a little harder for it.