Chapter Thirteen: Come On Fallen Star

After what had to the most uncomfortable weekend he'd ever spent, between moving into Kurt's house, his mom and Burt being overly nice and listening to Rachel's complaints about not having a duet partner Finn walked into school anxious for a little normalcy. That was hope was quickly doused when he heard his name being yelled before he even entered the building.

"Hey Hudson, tell me the rumors aren't true man," Azimio said as he approached Finn at the entrance to the school.

"What rumors?" Finn asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

"That you up and moved into Fairytopia this weekend."

Finn felt cold dread travel down his spine and come around to pool sick and low in his stomach. "I…my, uh…my mom is dating his dad and-"

"Oh shit, so it's true? Damn Hudson, you realize what this means right?" Azimio said, leaning towards Finn with a predatory smile on his face.

"What?" Finn asked, the cold, sick feeling in his stomach curling into a hard lump, making him nervous and nauseous all at once.

"It means that your stock has dropped," Azimio said as he pulled back his arm preparing to throw his cherry red slushie all over Finn.

Finn closed his eyes waiting for the avalanche of ice to hit. It never did and when he cracked an eye open he was surprised to find he was staring at the inside of an umbrella.

"Hummel, you're a dead man," Azimio promised as he stalked off.

"And thus begins another award winning week at William McKinley High," Kurt quipped shaking off his umbrella and turning to Finn. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I know that you aren't used to…this and I can't help but feel a little responsible."

Finn exhaled. He had almost been slushied. Finn had never been slushied. Hell, Finn used to be the one throwing the slushies. It wasn't fair. He hadn't done anything. He hadn't changed; he was still the same guy he was on Friday. It wasn't his fault that Kurt's dad and his mom fell in old people love and wanted to shack up.

He looked at Kurt. As much as he wanted someone to blame, Finn knew it wasn't Kurt's fault. Kurt had gone out of his way over the weekend to make Finn feel at home. He'd invited the guys from Glee to come over and help Finn set up his room, and then allowed them to have an impromptu pizza party down in his basement room. Finn had to admit Kurt's gaming and home theater systems were sick and he was surprisingly…not girly. Sure he wasn't a jock and he'd never be mistaken for straight, but it hadn't been like hanging out with a girl. Kurt had played games and talked about sports (he wasn't a football fan but was surprisingly well versed in baseball) and had even dressed down a little. Finn had had a good time despite himself and the next day Kurt had made the most awesome breakfast Finn had ever had and only given him a bitch glare one time (which totally hadn't been Finn's fault, how was he supposed to know which towels were "for decorative purposes only", sheesh) and had even helped him write his American History paper.

Hanging out with Kurt over the weekend had reminded Finn of how much he'd legitimately enjoyed Kurt's company before he'd realized Kurt had a crush on him and things got weird. But Kurt hadn't given Finn any of those looks this past weekend. The only time Kurt had looked like that was when Blaine had called and he'd left to meet the other boy at the movies. Stupid Blaine, with his stupid blazer and his stupid hair gel making Kurt make stupid faces.

"It's not your fault, Kurt. Azimio's always been an ass," Finn shrugged. "You totally saved me so, thanks."

"You're welcome. I've had more experience than you do in anticipating the Monday morning Mckinley High greeting. I planned accordingly," Kurt said.

Finn frowned. He thought back to Kurt's mornings, specifically his Mondays. He remembered the dumpster tosses, the slushie facials, the name calling, and the threats. He remembered every time he participated or just watched and Finn wondered if that sick, cold feeling he'd had in his stomach when Azimio confronted him was what Kurt felt like every day.

As he followed Kurt into the building, Finn felt cold and sick all over again, but for a completely different reason.

Finn had hoped Azimio's interrupted slushie facial would be the worst thing that happened to him that day. He had been wrong.

Practice had been a nightmare. He'd been left wide open a number of times and taken some brutal hits. When he'd gotten to the locker room he found that his locker had been broken into and his clothes thrown in a urinal.

"Guys what the fuck!" Finn exploded.

"It's simple, Hudson," Karofsky stepped up. "You got your third strike. Strike one: joining homo explosion. Strike two: getting rid of the head Cheerio and taking up with that dwarf from homo explosion. Strike three: moving into Fairytopia and hanging out with Hummel."

Azimio stepped up beside Karofsky. "You're still our QB so we can't like, pound on you or anything. But something's gotta give, Hudson. You either quit Glee, cut Berry loose or shake Hummel."

Finn felt that nervous, nauseous feeling return. "You want me to quit glee or break up with Rachel?" He asked hollowly.

"Or get some distance from Hummel," Karofsky added.

"How can do that when we live in the same house!"

"Don't mean you have to hang with him at school. You two walked into school together this morning and were all buddy buddy at lunch today," Karofsky growled.

Finn closed his eyes. He liked glee club. He liked singing, he liked dancing and he liked performing even if it wasn't the coolest thing. He also liked Rachel. She was smart and funny and didn't treat him like she was only with him because he was the quarterback or popular. He had a feeling that even if he started getting slushied and thrown in the dumpster and lost his letterman jacket Rachel would still like him and he'd never had that feeling about another girl.

Kurt. Finn liked Kurt too and now that he was pretty sure that Kurt didn't like him like that, he wasn't as freaked out by him.

But Finn also liked football. He liked being the quarterback and he liked leading the team and he liked being popular. He knew that Kurt was helping Sam out, tutoring him and that Kurt was crazy smart. Finn knew if the guys let him get hurt Sam could come in and take his place again. He knew that Kurt would help Sam keep his grades up too so that Finn might not ever get his place back.

Finn didn't want to give up football, Rachel, glee club or Kurt but if something had to go, Finn knew it had to be Kurt.

Besides, he could still hang out with him at home. He just had to keep it under wraps at school. Kurt was a smart guy, he'd understand that Finn was just doing what he had to do.

Finn didn't think that sick feeling would be going away anytime soon.

Kurt had no idea what had happened. Finn had gone from tentatively resurrecting their friendship to completely freezing him out overnight. Kurt hadn't expected things to be easy, but he didn't think they'd be this hard either.

Finn had come home from football practice on Monday a completely different person. He'd ignored Kurt at dinner and then shut himself up in his room for the remainder of the evening.

Finn had been like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the rest of the week. He'd virtually ignored Kurt at school, even going so far as to walk right past him being thrown in the dumpster by Azimio and Karofsky and then doing a complete one eighty and actively seeking out his company when they were at the Hudmel house.

Kurt was confused, resentful and more than a little angry and it was starting to bleed over into their home life and into New Directions.

Glee had turned into a nightmarish combination of tension and stress. Rachel had been campaigning rather loudly to get someone-anyone-to switch partners so that she didn't have to perform alone. Finn had gone, one by one, to everyone in the group and tried to lobby on her behalf but no one was willing to give up their partner. Finn had barely escaped with his life when he'd tried to suggest that Quinn or Mercedes work with Rachel. He'd known better than to approach Santana, but when he'd tried to convince Artie he was thoroughly turned down. Both Brittney and Mike refused and when he'd tried to switch with Rachel himself, Tina had gone to Mr. Schue and threatened to quit if he made her perform with Rachel.

Kurt had known it was only going to be a matter of time before Finn made it to Sam or himself but he hadn't expected Finn to try to guilt him into giving up his duet with Sam again.

"Kurt, I know you and Sam have gotten tight since he's dating Mercedes now but you can't do your duet with him."

Kurt counted to ten and then raised one perfectly arched brow at his former crush. "Is that right, Finn Hudson? And pray tell me, why exactly you've decidedI can't perform with Sam this time?"

Finn shuffled uncomfortably. "Kurt, the team-"

"Oh fuck you and the football team!" Kurt exploded. "You want to let those Neanderthals dictate your personal life and control the decisions you make, you go right ahead. They don't control me, they don't get a say in what I do or who I do it with and to hell with you if you think they should."

Finn held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa, whoa dude. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying-"

"You're just saying the same thing you said last time. That I'm a predator who can't take no for an answer and I should stay away from straight boys because I make them uncomfortable and ruin their reputations. Well, again I say, fuck you Finn Hudson. I didn't prey on you, I liked you. And yeah, I pushed but no harder than anyone else who's crushed on you."

The words and the pain were pouring out and Kurt couldn't stop either of them. "What about Rachel and her pseudo stalking while you were dating Quinn? What about Molly Preston freshmen year? Remember when she made freaking banners begging you to go out with her? Or Alison Perkins when she had Toscana's deliver you lunch every day for a month, or Torrie Hamilton when she had the freaking singing telegram sent to homeroom? Torrie had a guy in sparkly pants and body glitter sing "Bedroom Boom" to you and you didn't bat an eye. Shana Sleaton showed up to third period in her mom's rat fur coat and stripper heels, then flashed you but I made you uncomfortable? Seriously Finn, fuck you."

"Oh fuck you, Kurt! I'm not gay and you have no idea what it's like to have someone with like, the wrong parts, trying to mack on you," Finn fired back.

"Actually I do," Kurt snapped. "Remember when Mercedes busted out my car windows? It was because she liked me and I rejected her and it hurt her feelings. So yeah, I know what it's like. I also know what it's like to man the fuck up and tell them thanks but no thanks, something you never did. You never once said to back off. You never once said you were uncomfortable. The closest you ever came was telling me you were straight, weeks before I ever even came out, and then proceeded to call me every time you needed help, hang out with me, lean on me, compliment me and get close to me even though at that point you obviously knew I had feelings for you. You never once told me I was stepping over a line with you and then you pulled the predatory gay card and it just wasn't fair Finn."

"You totally targeted me!"

"Targeted you? Did you "target" Quinn? Or Rachel? Or Santana?" Kurt demanded.

"No, but that's different."

"No, it isn't. Finn, I liked you. Period. I wasn't trying to suck your soul dry or make you the star of your own personal Lifetime movie. I just liked you." Kurt's voice broke a bit on the end but he pushed past the lump in his throat and continued. "That's all. I just liked you."

"I didn't want you to. I didn't ask you to and I didn't…it wasn't cool man," Finn said, frustrated and angry.

"Well, thankfully for both of us my liking you is no longer an issue. Now get out of my room," Kurt snapped.

"I didn't want to hang out in here with you anyway!" Finn yelled, stomping back up the stairs.

Kurt threw himself down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He hated that Finn had the power to hurt his feelings and he hated that he'd let himself reveal how deeply Finn's words had affected him.

"Hey kiddo, you alright down here?" Burt Hummel's voice broke the stillness in the room.

"I'm fine dad," Kurt answered slowly.

"You don't sound fine and you don't look fine either," Burt pointed out gruffly, descending the basement steps to sit on the edge of Kurt's bed.

"Please, I don't want to talk about it," Kurt said, turning over and curling up into a ball.

Burt frowned down at his son and felt his heartstrings clench. He'd overheard enough of Finn and Kurt's argument to know that his son was hurting and he bore some inadvertent responsibility in that pain.

"Kurt…I heard you two. Now, I'm not gonna lecture you on the language," Burt gave a disapproving quirk of his lips, "but I heard something about uh, the "predatory gay" card being thrown out and I think we need to talk about that."

"What's to talk about? I got the message loud and clear: stay away from straight boys or you'll ruin their reputation or try to recruit them into the lifestyle of the love that dare not speak its name," Kurt said tiredly. "Really, I get it dad. I got it the first time you told me, I don't need the recap."

Burt stared at Kurt in shock. "Son, what in the world are you talking about? I have never and I would never tell you anything like that."

Kurt rolled over and looked at his father. "Dad, remember what you said when I told you about Finn telling me to give up my duet with Sam? You said-"

"I know what I said; I think the problem here is what you heard," Burt stated.

"Dad, can we not? Please?" Kurt said brokenly.

"Sorry kiddo. I think maybe we should have done this awhile ago, if what I heard earlier is any indication."

"Dad-"

"Kurt." Burt's tone left no room for negotiation. "Look, when this thing came about the first time, I had just gotten out of the hospital. I was…off balance and I think that what I said, what I meant and what you heard all got jumbled up somehow."

"Dad, I really don't see how that could be the case. I explained to you what was happening and you said that I was pushing Sam into performing with me because I liked him and to get used to going it alone until I met a guy wearing a feather boa and vomiting rainbows," Kurt sighed.

"Uh huh, and you took that to mean what?" Burt asked, ignoring his son's sarcasm.

"I took to mean exactly what it meant," Kurt snapped. "That I'm gay, Sam was straight and it's my responsibility to stay away from the straight guys because they'll be bullied for associating with me, being friends with them is off limits if I find them attractive and to get used to being alone until I graduate and get out of this hellhole or get really lucky and met another openly gay guy like myself." Kurt smiled a little as he said the last line, thinking of Blaine and how lucky he had gotten to meet him.

Burt reached out and pulled Kurt tight against him. "Ok kid, we need to get a few things ironed out here. First things first, don't you dare take the responsibility for someone else's actions. Those kids that bully you and would then turn around and bully a guy for being friends with you, they are the ones who own their actions, not you. Their closed mindedness and hate, Kurt that's not your fault. It's not your fault that they feel that way, it's not your fault that they think that way and it's not your fault that they act on it. You understand me? You are not and never will be, responsible for them. Don't you dare carry their baggage for them. You got enough of your own. You own your crap and no one else's. You got me kid?"

"I got you, dad," Kurt said softly.

"Second, I never meant for you to think you can't have friends, Kurt. Gay, straight, bi or ah you know transgendered," Burt blushed but rushed to continue, "Attracted to them or not, if you treat each other with respect and enjoy each other's company that's all that matters to me. I was just…I just wanted to make sure you were being honest with yourself. I wanted to you to question your motivations because kid, at that time you were all over the place emotionally. You were soul crushingly lonely, you were worried about me, there was friction with you and your glee club friends and things weren't back to normal around here," Burt stated.

"I wanted you to be sure that you weren't heading towards heartbreak, Kurt. I wanted you to be sure about why you picked Sam and what you wanted from him, whether that was friendship, or something more. That's all it was, Kurt." Burt paused to look Kurt in the eyes. "When I said to get used to going at it alone, I was just trying to look out for you. Look, you may the only uh, out and proud, kid around here but I'll eat my hat if you're the only gay kid in Lima. I've always been afraid that you're gonna end up with someone who hides themselves and wants to hide you. I know being out isn't easy and I don't mean to sound judgmental, but damn it Kurt, you're my baby. I don't want you to have to lie or sneak around or be anybody's dirty little secret. So yeah, I want whoever you end up with to be out, maybe not uh, wearing feather boas and vomiting rainbows but at least comfortable enough with who they are to be honest about it."

Kurt looked up at his father. "So you didn't think I was some sort of creepy sexual deviant?"

"No. Kurt, not once, not ever did I think that about you. I could never think that about you," Burt said.

"Finn does," Kurt whispered.

"Well, Finn a good kid but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer now is he?"

"Dad!" Kurt laughed.

Burt shrugged. "Anyway, you just keep your head up kid. And if I ever say something that hurts you like this…you tell me, Kurt. I'm your father. You're supposed to come to me with the important stuff, got it?"

"Got it dad."

"And son, give Finn some time. His priorities may be a bit mixed up right now, but I think you know as well as I do, he's a good person. Try not to have too many hard feelings, ok."

"Dad-"

"Remember son, none of this is easy for him. He's dealing with all the changes you are, plus having to give up his childhood home. I'm not saying to let him walk all over you, just to try to be tolerant if he makes some mistakes over the next few weeks."

"I'll try, dad," Kurt promised.

Burt figured he had better quit while he was ahead. He nodded at Kurt and made his way back up the stairs.

Friday's glee club practice was a disaster of epic proportions.

It had taken almost half an hour for Mr. Schue to get everyone settled and working. Kurt kept texting Blaine and comparing notes with Quinn and Santana, who were texting and sexting respectively, with Thad and Jeff. Brittney kept asking him if he could get any of the other bird boys to come on Fondue for Two and Sam and Mercedes were battling it out with Tina and Mike to see who could stay attached at the lips the longest.

Once Mr. Schue finally wrangled everyone into settling down with their assigned partners the chaos began anew. Rachel decided the best way for her to contribute was by critiquing everyone else's duets. Quinn had ultimately snapped when Rachel accused her of being flat on a note and had gone after the raven haired girl with Sam's guitar. Kurt and Mercedes had managed to talk Quinn down while Finn comforted Rachel, Sam rescued his guitar and Mr. Schue dismissed them all forty five minutes early mumbling about needing a drink and a vasectomy.

Kurt purposely waited for Finn, hoping to get a chance to talk to the taller teen before they got home and went their separate ways.

"Hey Finn, can I have a minute?" Kurt asked, once he saw his sort of step brother exit the choir room.

Finn took a quick look around and, seeing that the hall was empty, nodded. "Sure, what's on your mind?"

Kurt squared his shoulders. "It occurs to me that I may have been a bit harsh with you earlier this week."

"Yeah, you were sort of a bitch," Finn agreed.

"And you've been a jackass," Kurt fired back. "Finn," Kurt said tiredly, "I'm trying to apologize. If you want that apology, don't help anymore."

Finn nodded.

"Good. As I was saying, I may have been a bit harsh. I had been holding onto to a lot of hurt feelings for awhile and they kind of bubbled over," Kurt explained. "That isn't to say you were blameless or I didn't mean what I said, because you aren't and I did, but still I shouldn't have shouted at you."

"Ok," Finn said warily.

"And because my father has always told me actions speak louder than words, I wanted to get you something to show that I'm willing to try and I'm not holding anything against you."

"You got me a present? Sweet."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes Finn, I got you a present. Now, I admit I had to rely on Sam's guidance but I think you'll appreciate it," Kurt said, pulling a package artfully ensconced in red and white wrapping paper from his bag.

Finn took the box and gingerly lifted the top. He peered inside and smiled when he saw an Ohio State throwback football jersey. "Oh cool. Thanks Kurt." Finn said sincerely.

"Finn," Kurt said laughing, "look at the jersey."

Finn peered closer and he could see several autographed littering the jersey. "OH MY GOD, IT'S SIGNED BY THE WHOLE TEAM!" Finn yelled. He grabbed Kurt and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Uh, well, not the whole team but most of them. I made sure it had the quarterback's signature though since that's your position. I was going to get a football, but Sam said-"

"Oh no, bro this is perfect." Finn said, beaming. "You didn't have to do this but man, I'm glad you did."

Kurt shook his head. "I swear you are five years old sometimes. I'm glad you like your present, Finn."

"Of course I like it. This is like, the best gift ever."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Carol giving you the gift of life gets that particular title but I'll humbly accept second," Kurt teased.

Finn and Kurt made their way down the hall and out the building. Finn looked around and noticed Karofsky glaring at him from the sidewalk. He quickly dropped out of step with Kurt.

"I ah, I forgot something in my locker," he lied.

"Oh. Did you want me to wait for you-"

"NO. No, you just go on home. I drove today anyway so…yeah. I'll see you at home though ok. We'll hit your PS3 and hang, ok?" Finn added, as he tried to push down the guilt he was feeling for pushing Kurt away after he'd done such an amazing thing for him.

Kurt was blissfully unaware of both Karofsky's presence and Finn's inner turmoil. "Sounds good to me. I'll see you at home then."

Kurt crossed the parking lot and got into his Navigator while Finn stood on the steps and watched him drive away. He locked eyes with Karofsky and noticed the angry red blush creeping across the other teen's face and neck. Finn tightened his grip on the jersey Kurt had given him and hurried to his car.