Chapter Eight: The Hole That We Call Our Home

The next morning Kurt dragged his sore, bruised body out of bed determined to be up and ready before his dad in order to avoid suspicion. After a hot shower and selecting his outfit and back up ensembles for the day, Kurt took two ibuprofen tablets, shoved the bottle into his bag and made his way upstairs. He quickly made breakfast, leaving a generous portion for his father, and then climbed into his freshly serviced car and drove to school.

Kurt should have expected that something was up when the usual welcoming committee wasn't assembled at the dumpster lying in wait for some unfortunate member of the student body to be the day's sacrifice. Suspicion came too late to save him however, and he found himself staring down the majority of the hockey team who had been waiting for him in front of his locker. Instead of the beating he feared might occur, Kurt was the recipient of McKinley's version of a 21 gun salute. Slushies flew at him from every direction and he found himself draped from head to toe in a curtain of syrup and ice.

"We thought we'd give you a little something to put out your flame, Fancy," Karofsky sneered before shoving Kurt into his locker and walking off, followed by the rest of the puckheads.

Kurt bit his lip as pain rolled over his battered body. He held his head high and made his way into the girls' locker room to inspect the damage and shower. There was no way the sink in the bathroom was going to be able to handle the mess that had been made of him. Kurt had just stepped into the changing area when the door slammed open behind him and he heard someone let loose a furious sounding stream of Spanish.

Kurt cautiously looked in the mirror to the spot behind him. Santana was standing there, leaning against the door, looking positively murderous.

She crossed her arms and glared at Kurt. "This is the girls' locker room. You may not be man enough for me but unless you got Lorena Bobbitt to remove your bits and pieces, you aren't a girl."

"Oh Satan, you're as sensitive and tactful as ever I see," Kurt responded frostily.

"Whatever," She took in his multi-colored clothing and smirked. "21 Gun salute?"

"Yet another astute observation from you, Santana. Want to talk about how gay I am and go for the hat trick?" Kurt retorted.

Kurt had been expecting the feisty Latina to fire back a nasty reply but to his horror the girl slid to the floor, her face crumpled and she began to cry.

Kurt was stunned. "You…you're …crying?"

"No shit Sherlock," Santana snapped.

"Is this…am I being punk'd?" Kurt wondered aloud.

"Yeah that's it Hummel. I'm sitting here on the filthy fucking floor having some sort of fucking episode and it's all about you," Santana sneered.

Kurt winced. "I'm sorry. I just I've never seen you like this and…if you want to talk-"

"If I want to talk I'll find someone whose balls have dropped and is worthy of having a conversation with," Santana interrupted.

"And the bitch is back ladies and gentleman," Kurt said, turning back around and stalking his way towards the shower.

Once he stepped under the spray Kurt did his best to forget about slushies, Santana and the Shipley & Halmos white cable knit sweater he was sure had died a noble death out in the hallway.

After scrubbing down and removing every last trace of dye and corn syrup from his skin and hair and quickly pulling on his reserve outfit Kurt exited the shower area and was stunned to see that Santana was still there.

The girl was sitting on the bench, her knees pulled up to her chest, head down in a pose that Kurt was all too familiar with. It was a look of utter defeat and Kurt couldn't help but feel that on Santana Lopez of all people, it didn't belong.

"Santana, while I'm relatively sure this will bite me in the ass I'm going to make the offer anyway. You're obviously upset and I'm here, willing to help or just listen or…whatever," Kurt said quietly.

Santana fixed Kurt with a look pure defiance then dropped her head back onto her knees.

"Why does it have to be so hard?" She whispered so quietly that Kurt almost didn't hear her.

Kurt cocked his head to the side. "I'm gonna need a little more to go on than that, Santana. What's hard?" He said gently.

Santana let out a shuddering breath. "This. What's hard is this place and these people, this town, just…this. It's like one giant black hole of suck designed to make sure that nobody can say what they really want to say or be who they really want to be. It's like there are all these rules we're expected to follow and nobody even knows who the fuck made them or why they even exist but people just follow them anyway like god damn sheep. And then there are the lies. No one in this hellhole has the balls to be honest so they lie because it's easy and I'm tired, Kurt. I'm tired of lying and I'm tired of easy but I'm scared of the truth and it's all just so god damn hard."

Kurt recognized some of his own feelings of frustration mirrored in Santana's outburst.

"I don't really know where all this is coming from and I won't pry," Kurt began slowly, "but I think that sometimes easy is overrated. I tried easy. I joined the football team, I dated Brit, I wore flannel and sang Mellencamp and tried easy and every day I died a little inside because I wasn't being me. In the end, easy just wasn't worth it for me." Kurt ran a gentle hand through Santana's hair before he continued. "I can't…I can't pretend I don't spend a significant portion of every damn day of my life under extreme terror and in a considerable amount of pain. I won't pretend that sometimes it does get to be too much and I curl up in the fetal position and imagine all the ways I just want it to be over. I won't lie and say there aren't days I want to give up but most of the time I feel like it's worth it, the pain, the anger, the fear. Most of the time I think I can do and its worth it because going through it all means that I get to be me. Being Kurt Elizabeth Hummel is worth all the crap I get, and I think whatever has you, Santana Graciella Lopez, the baddest bitch to ever walk these halls, looking and feeling so defeated, just isn't."

Santana gave Kurt a pensive look. "What do you mean, you spend every day of your life in a considerable amount of pain? You mean like, feelings and shit or actual pain?"

Kurt paused. "Have you ever been thrown into a dumpster? Or slammed against a locker? Has anyone ever cold cocked you in the hallway and beat the crap out of you or pushed you into a port-a-potty and knocked it over?" Santana shook her head and Kurt continued, "It hurts Santana. Yes, the isolation and the insults and the ignorance hurts my feelings but the other stuff, it physically hurts Santana. I use so much Icy Hot and Biofreeze that I should own stock in the companies. I go through so many bottles of pain relievers that I think a couple of the clerks at CVS think my father is abusing me or I have weird addiction to OTC painkillers. Pain is a regular part of my day."

"You know that is seriously fucked up, right?"

Kurt shrugged. "It is what it is. Everyone knows what happens to me, no one does anything. I can't…I can't stop it but I can manage it. I can cover the bruises and treat the pain and refuse to let it break me."

"Are you…are you hurt right now?"

Kurt thought about the bruises that littered his side and back. "Today is no different from any other day."

"What happened?"

Kurt sighed. "Short answer? I got left at school yesterday because Finn is whipped and Azimio took the opportunity to prove that he has anger issues." Kurt gave Santana a side eye, "We were talking about you though. Whatever has you so twisted around."

Santana stood. "And now we're not. Thanks for listening Kurt but I'm done bonding or whatever we're doing here."

Kurt recognized the defensive move for what it was and chose to let it go. "Alright. Just, if you want to talk again-"

"I won't."

Kurt nodded. He bent over to retrieve his bag and when he looked back up he was alone.

Kurt walked out of the locker room not realizing that in a few hours time he would find out firsthand that no good deed goes unpunished.

New Directions were in a state of complete chaos.

Mr. Schue had, as promised, come up with an arrangement for sectionals that utilized Kurt's ideas. While most of the group was on board, Rachel was being difficult, even by Rachel Berry standards.

She had stormed into the choir room with duct tape over her mouth in protest and had then refused to sing a note. When Mr. Schue finally gave up and moved onto practicing the You're All I Need mash up she had removed the tape and made such belittling comments that Mercedes had eventually snapped and threatened to cut her. Finn had immediately jumped to Rachel defense, prompting Sam to insert himself in the situation and things had quickly snowballed from there. Mr. Schue had gotten so fed up that he'd walked out, muttering about Sue Sylvester's methods beginning to have their appeal.

"If you don't shut your leprechaun ass up, I am going to drag you out of here by the roots of your poorly styled hair," Mercedes threatened Rachel as soon as Mr. Schue left.

"At least my hair is my own! My sympathies are with the poor horse who sacrificed his tail so that you could pretend to have locks as luxurious as mine," Rachel retorted.

"Oh hell naw, I know you didn't go there. I'm about to beat you like a dirty rug!"

"Sam, do something!" Finn pleaded, stepping in front of Rachel to shield her from Mercedes. "Control your woman."

"Control my woman? What would you have me do Finn? Tell her to go in the kitchen and make me a sandwich?"

"Sounds good to me," Puck cracked.

"That's because you're a jackass," Tina threw at him.

"Hee-haw, baby," Puck smirked.

"Mercedes should give Mr. Ed his tail back," Brittney said solemnly.

"Bridget the Midget, you better hope I don't get my hands on you!" Mercedes said, trying to get around Finn.

"Seriously, Sam, can't you like, stand up to her or something?"

"That's rich coming from you, Frankenteen," Santana snarled.

"What? Why are you mad at me, Santana?"

"Yeah, what did Finn do to you?" Quinn asked.

"It's not what he did to me, it's what he did to Kurt," Santana announced.

All eyes turned to the brunette who had been sitting beside Mike and trying to stay out of the fray.

"What did Finn do to you?" Tina asked Kurt.

Kurt hesitated just one second too long, letting everyone know that Finn had indeed done something before he shook his head. "Finn…Finn didn't do anything."

"Cut the martyr crap, Kurt. Finn," Santana said pointing in the other boys direction, "was supposed to give Kurt a ride home yesterday and he ditched him because Rachel threw a fit and refused to ride home with Kurt in the car."

"Not cool, yo," Artie said, glaring at Finn.

"He told me to go!" Finn shouted, looking accusingly at Kurt.

"And you told me you would come back!" Kurt shot back.

"Why does it even matter?" Rachel declared haughtily. "Kurt obviously made it home."

"Yeah, no thanks to either of you apparently," Sam said bitterly.

"And not until after Azimio found him alone and kicked the crap out of him!" Santana announced.

It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.

"What the hell dude, why didn't you tell me?" Sam said, turning to face Kurt.

"Sam," Kurt began.

"Why would he tell you? Just because you're dating Mercedes doesn't mean you're friends," Finn said to Sam.

"Actually Finn," Kurt tried to interrupt.

"Sam is a damn sight better to Kurt than you are!" Mercedes said. "Boy, why didn't you say anything?" She asked Kurt.

"Cedes, it was no big deal-"

"Oh, it's not a big enough deal for you to tell your "friends" about," Rachel said making airquotes, "But it's a big enough deal that you can run to Santana with it and try to make Finn and I look bad."

"I'm not trying to-"

"How do we even know this alleged assault took place?" Rachel continued.

"Kurt wouldn't lie about something like that," Sam said strongly.

"And how would you know?" Finn said. "You barely know Kurt. Plus, his dad didn't seem like, mad or anything when he came over to take my mom to breakfast and Burt's like, crazy protective of Kurt. If he got all beat up, Burt would totally turn into like, Rambo or something."

Sam and Kurt locked eyes. Sam remembered how wrecked Kurt had been after his confrontation in the bathroom with Karofsky over the weekend and the conversation they'd had at Mercedes'.

"I know him better than you think and I know he wouldn't lie about something like this," Sam repeated.

"Thank you, Sam," Kurt said quietly.

"Your opinion has been duly noted Sam but it doesn't change the fact-"

"That you don't know what the hell you're talking about, as usual," Santana supplied.

"Just because Kurt claims something happened doesn't mean it did. How did he get home if he was attacked like he claimed? I think this is just Kurt's misguided attempt at revenge on Finn and I. He's always been jealous of my talent and Finn's rejection was an obvious blow to his ego-"

"Oh my God, Kurt's been over Finn like, forever," Tina interjected.

"Yeah, Kurt's only got eyes for Blaine now," Mercedes added.

"Who's Blaine?" Mike asked Kurt.

"He's Kurt's dolphin friend," Brittney replied.

Kurt saw the train coming off the track but was powerless to stop it. He'd only mentioned Blaine to Mercedes, Tina and Brittney because he knew they'd be genuinely happy for him and Blaine being a Warbler was going to be a problem for the rest of the club

"Blaine's a…friend. And he's how I got home yesterday," Kurt answered.

"I don't know anyone named Blaine…is he new?" Quinn asked.

"He's…not a student here," Kurt hedged, praying Mr. Schuester would return.

"Then how'd you meet him?" Puck asked.

Kurt decided to bite the bullet. "In a roundabout way, Noah you are responsible for my meeting Blaine. He's the lead soloist for the Dalton Warblers and we met when you insulted me and then suggested I go spy on them."

Puck startled in his chair and Artie's eyes widened. "You actually went to spy? That's awesome, dude!"

"So you met some random prep school boy and now you're crushing?" Quinn asked.

"It's a bit more than that, Quinn and I think that we should all-"

"It's a lot more than a crush boy, and you know it," Mercedes said.

"Guys, its Kurt's business and he'll tell us what he wants us to know when he wants us to know it," Sam said.

"So there's something to know?" Puck asked.

"My personal life is none of your business Noah," Kurt snapped.

"Is it supposed to be a secret that you and Blaine are dating?" Brittney asked.

"DATING?" Rachel shrieked. "You're dating the lead soloist from our competition?"

"Dude, do the words Jesse St. James mean anything to you?" Puck asked.

"Blaine is nothing like Jesse and I'm not talking about this anymore," Kurt declared.

"Oh my God. Don't you see? This whole flirtation with Kurt and their lead soloist is obviously a plot by the Warblers to insure themselves a victory at Sectionals."

Kurt glared at Rachel. "I am not going to dignify that with a response."

"Jesse St. James!" yelled Puck.

"I bet Blaine was behind this whole scene today, wasn't he Kurt?" Rachel asked.

"No, Rachel. YOU and your crazy were behind this whole scene today," Kurt snapped.

"So he didn't take advantage of your unrequited feelings for Finn and your anger at being left behind yesterday by putting you up to lying about being attacked so the club would turn on Finn and I, thus creating discord within the group at a critical time."

Kurt was furious. He had been prepared for Blaine to be compared to Jesse St. James once the entirety of New Directions found out they were growing closer, but to be accused of exploiting the daily bullying he endured and lying about something that had so completely terrified him was too much.

"Just who the hell do you think you are, Rachel Berry?" Kurt snarled, jumping to his feet and grabbing his messenger bag from his chair. "How dare you accuse Blaine, accuse me of something so foul. How fucking dare you!"

"Kurt, dude-" Finn began

"Don't call me dude!" Kurt yelled. "Don't defend her! Don't say a word Finn, because you're just as bad as she is! You're worse in fact. At least Rachel has a backbone! The second you think someone might in some small way dislike the almighty Finn Hudson, you make it your mission in life to show them just why they should think you're the best thing since Coco Chanel introduced jersey to women's wear! You run around here pretending to be a leader, when the truth is you need to be led more than anyone I've ever had the misfortune of meeting!"

"Damn, Hummel don't hold back, tell them how you really feel," Santana smirked.

"There is no need to get so personal Kurt. I am merely pointing out that its highly suspicious that this boy, who happens to be the lead soloist for our main competition, happens to be interested in you-"

"So it wasn't at all suspicious when Jesse. St. Lame waltzed through the door declaring that you were worth abandoning his position as leader of a nationally ranked show choir, but it's completely beyond comprehension that Blaine might have enough interest in me to take me to dinner?" Kurt asked, derision dripping from his voice.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Finn yelled.

"Why shouldn't he? It's not like he's lying," Mercedes snapped.

"This is supposed to be a team. You and Mr. Schue, you spew that New Directions is a family crock of bull whenever it suits you but you never back it up! And quite frankly, if I had family that treated me the way some people in here have, we'd be estranged!" Kurt continued.

"Kurt, I understand that," Rachel started.

"You don't understand anything! You just demonstrated your complete lack of understanding by accusing me of lying about being assaulted by one of my biggest tormentors, betraying my friends, and compromising my integrity because I'm such a desperate loser that I'd do anything for a cute boy to look my way!"

"Nobody said that, man! Rachel was just-"

"Being a bitch as usual," Santana supplied.

"It takes one to know one, Satan!" Rachel retorted.

"Yes, Rachel, yes it does," Kurt agreed. "At least Santana doesn't try and pretend she isn't a bitch or doesn't understand how hurtful she's being when she belittles and insults people. You do just as much damage and then hide behind 'constructive criticism' or complete self absorption. Santana knows she can be a bitch. I know I can be a bitch and guess what, Rachel? You can be a bitch too. You are a bitch, Rachel and if I were the type of narcissistic, self involved, self-centered, grasping, and manipulative train wreck of an individual that you just accused me of being, you would be the only person in the room capable of recognizing it since that's exactly what you are!"

"Kurt! Apologize to Rachel this instant!" Mr. Schue broke in from the doorway. "I heard the yelling all the way down the hall. This is unacceptable behavior." He turned to Kurt, "I'm disappointed in you. Attacking Rachel-"

"Oh screw you, Mr. Schue!" Kurt exploded. "You come in here in the middle of what is clearly a heated exchange and automatically assume that I was attacking your precious Rachel. Did it even occur to you to ask what was going on or, here's a radical thought, that she started it?"

"I don't care who started it, you will not speak to me like that!"

"Oh, of course you don't care. You don't care about anything except Finn, Rachel and how to best shove them in the limelight while the rest of us wither in the darkness. I bet Santana could fall off one of the back risers and you wouldn't bat an eyelash as long you had Finn and Rachel front and center making goo goo eyes at one another." Kurt knew he was out of line, that he shouldn't be disrespecting his teacher and that, his annoying Finchel sized blind spot aside Mr. Schuester was really a relatively good person but he was so hurt and angry that he just didn't care.

"That's enough-"

"It's not nearly enough," Kurt said lowly. "You, in your pathetic attempt to live out your Emma Pillsbury inspired fantasy, decided that Finn and Rachel are the chosen ones and the rest of us are dirt beneath their feet-"

"I do not have to justify myself or my decisions to you, Kurt. You-"

"Yes, you do! You sit here, day after day, pretending to be better than Coach Sylvester but the truth is you're worse! At least she's honest about what she is! You claim to care about all of us but the only people whose talent you make any attempt to nurture are the not so dynamic duo up there!"

Kurt turned and pointed at Puck. "Noah walks in here day after day, guitar slung across his back, song writing notebook in his bag, and never once have you shown any interest in his talent. He went to juvie and you barely acknowledged his absence. He has a fantastic voice and he's as stereotypically leading man as they come and yet you never feature him."

Kurt pointed to Mike. "Mike wants to participate more and he's been working hard on his voice, something you should have been helping him with and didn't even offer to do, I might add. But even if he isn't the best singer, Mike is an amazing dancer. He and Brittney have a hand in the choreography of every single routine we do. He has talent, real, legitimate, get the hell out of Lima, level talent but have you ever encouraged it? Have you helped him look into dance scholarships or used any of your contacts to get him lessons or auditions? No, no you haven't."

Kurt gestured towards Mercedes. "Mercedes has told you how much she resents only being trotted out at the end of performances to hit the last note, yet you continue to do it! Tina has been lip synching for the entire week and you haven't even noticed." Kurt motioned to Brittney, Quinn and Santana. "What's Brittney's range? What genre would best suit Santana's vocal talents? When was the last time Quinn got a solo? Do you even know?"

Kurt pointed at Sam. "You went after Sam simply to have a body to put in the seat while Puck was missing. Sam is talented, but you've never once tried to nurture it. Artie has an extraordinary voice, yet you never put in any extra time with him like you do with Finn. You never help Artie with his vocal arrangements for assignments or ask Sam if he wants help with anything."

Kurt gave Mr. Schue a bitter smile. "Do you remember Matt? He sat here for an entire year being ignored. Could he even sing?" He smiled thinly at the choir director. "I know the answer to that, Mike and Artie do too, do you?"

The silence in the room was deafening. Rachel cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Kurt, Mr. Schue gave you the opportunity to sing the solo for 'Defying Gravity' and you-"

"Mr. Schue didn't give me a damn thing!" Kurt interrupted hotly. "My father had to come up here and raise holy hell for Mr. Schue to even let me audition for the song," Kurt crossed his arms. "And I blew the note on purpose. If Mr. Schue had any understanding of my vocal abilities he would have known I can hit that note in my sleep."

"I knew it!" Mercedes shrieked. "I heard you sing that song nearly every damn day for a year before that Diva Off and you never missed that note before!"

"What the hell? Hummel, why would you do that?" Puck asked.

"My reasons were, and are, personal. The point is, a choir director who was using me to my full vocal potential would have known what I was capable of and would have known that I was fully capable of reaching that note. Mr Schue didn't have a clue. Did you?" Kurt challenged.

Finn looked stunned and Rachel was, for once, mercifully silent. Artie was staring at Kurt with wide eyes and Puck mouthed the words "Since when is Hummel such a fucking BAMF" to Mike who simply shrugged.

"I will not be talked to this way by a student. Kurt you have detention the rest of the week. The rest of you just go on home, we'll pick this up tomorrow," Mr. Schue said, running a hand through his hair.

"You're punishing him for daring to speak the truth?" Santana asked. "You STILL haven't asked what started the fight in the first place, you have no idea what your precious Rachel said to him, but you're gonna punish him anyway?"

"Kurt is a student and I am a teacher and he was out of line-"

"But it was the truth. You're supposed to get in trouble for lying, not telling the truth." Brittney said, confusion written across her face.

"It was an opinion and it was-"

"One we all agree with, Rachel. Well, except you and Finnessa," Puck said.

"Fo schizzle," said Artie offering Puck a fist bump.

"You see!" Rachel yelled. "I was right. Kurt starts sleeping with the enemy and now there is dissention in the ranks-"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go home now," Sam cut in. "Kurt that was righteous. Thank you for standing up for me. You got your car or you need a ride?"

Kurt gave turned to Sam. "You're welcome Sam. I have my car…thanks Cory."

"No problem Shawn," Sam gave Kurt a wink as he put his arm around Mercedes.

"You two have watched way too much late night ABC Family," Mercedes grumbled.

Sam motioned to Kurt. "Come on. We'll walk you to your car." He gave Finn a dirty look, "Unlike some people, I want to make sure you get home safely."

"Thanks Sam," Kurt said gratefully. He was a little shaky after his outburst and didn't think he'd be able to handle the stress of walking out alone not knowing if Azimio or Karofsky were waiting to attack.

"Sam, we never established that Kurt was, in fact, the victim of an assault-"

"Assault?" Mr. Schue jumped on the word and stared at Kurt. "What is Rachel talking about Kurt? What assault?"

"Don't worry about it Mr. Schue," Kurt said in a voice that was hard and dismissive and just this side of superior. "I just made a new friend yesterday after school…kind of like how I used to make friends every morning before school. You know, when you would pass me and the semi-circle of jocks that had me surrounded by the dumpers every morning. Why don't you ask your dear Finn to tell you all about it," Kurt said before flouncing out of the choir room, Sam and Mercedes at his heels and the rest of the students trickling out behind them.

He may have gotten a week's worth of detention and earned himself a spot on Mr. Schuester's hit list right under Sue Sylvester, but Kurt decided that was a small price to pay to finally get all that off his chest.

Finn slammed into his house in a black mood. After Kurt's outburst in glee, Mr. Schue had asked him what Kurt was talking about and he'd had to confess to the bullying he'd taken part in. When he admitted to actually throwing pee balloons at Kurt, Rachel had given him a look of pure disgust and walked out. Mr. Schue just stared at him and then let him go home.

Finn was upset and confused and he was pretty sure it was Kurt's fault for saying all that stuff and getting everyone mad at Rachel and Mr. Schue and him too, a little at least. Then again, Finn thought maybe it was a lot Rachel and Mr. Schue's fault too. He was almost positive though, that it wasn't his.

It wasn't his fault Mr. Schue kept giving him solos. Sure, he could turn them down, but Finn liked singing. He liked performing and he liked knowing he was good at it. He shouldn't have to give that up to make everyone else feel better.

It also wasn't Finn's fault that Azimio did…whatever he did to Kurt. Finn had totally meant to go back and get Kurt, but Rachel and he had started making out and she'd even let him touch her boobs and he just…forgot.

Finn frowned. Kurt must not have said anything to Burt. If Burt knew, he would have said something to his mom and then Finn would have been grounded for freaking ever. Kurt was either lying like Rachel said, or he'd totally covered Finn's ass.

Neither option made Finn feel better.

Finn walked into the kitchen and found his mom sitting at the table.

"Hey mom. What's for dinner?" Finn asked.

"Honey, sit down."

Finn sat. His mom was smiling, but it was all weird and stretched out so he knew she was nervous about whatever she was going to tell him.

"You…you know that I've been seeing Burt for awhile now, right?"

Finn smiled. "Yeah, he's pretty cool. He's totally teaching me to rebuild an engine. And we're going camping soon and to a Buckeyes game and-"

"I'm glad you like him. He cares for you…and well, honey, Burt and I care for each other a great deal."

"You like, love him or something?" Finn asked, trying to understand why his mom was so nervous if she wasn't going to tell him something bad.

"Yes, honey. I do. He loves me too."

Finn smiled. "Awesome. You deserve to be happy mom."

Carol took a deep breath. "I'm happy to hear you say that, sweetheart. Because Burt and I have agreed to move in together and since his house is bigger, you and I will be moving in there."

Finn's smile froze. He was moving? He was moving into Kurt's house? He was going to be living with Kurt? Finn didn't hate Kurt or anything but he knew Kurt used to crush on him and Rachel kept saying he still was and he knew the guys at school would never let him have a moment's peace if they found out.

"Mom…"

"I know this is out of the blue for you honey and I'm sorry. Burt and I, well we're not as young as we used to be and don't want to waste any time. We're just so grateful you and Kurt are such good friends. If you two didn't get along it would make things so much worse."

"Yeah," Finn repeated hollowly, "it could be worse."