Chapter 30

December 14, 2012

Kurt was having a difficult time. Blaine had gone to the bathroom in-between the episodes and the teen kept staring at his phone while the other boy was gone. He kind of wished that Blaine had deleted his conversation with Mike so he wouldn't be having this crisis.

Blaine trusted me not to read it...

But how can I help him when he won't tell me how to help him...

He's just learning how to trust me, I can't lose that little faith he has in me over curiosity...

He won't find out though...

Maybe he didn't say anything to Mike, why would he open up to a stranger...

Mike is a slave, he can relate to Blaine...

"Fuck it," Kurt mumbled silently and unlocked his phone.

He opened the conversation and before he could even read any of the messages, he pressed the delete icon. Now he was sure he wouldn't break Blaine's trust at a moment of weakness. He still wondered what the slaves talked about but he could be patient, that was something he had promised Blaine.

Kurt heard the steps coming from upstairs and soon Blaine walked into the living room. Ever since he talked to Mike he seemed kind of happier, more relaxed.

"What would you say if we finished this episode and went to study a little?" Kurt asked and saw Blaine perk up. "I take it you like the idea."

"Yeah, I'd love that," Blaine said and sat down next to Kurt, not close enough to touch but still closer than two strangers.

The moment the episode they had been watching ended Blaine looked up at Kurt impatiently, a sparkle playing in his eyes. He reminded Kurt of a puppy, ready to play and with a smile he went into his bedroom with the slave boy in tow.

When they got comfortable on the bed Kurt looked over his list of assignments trying to figure out what they should start with. "Um, I have these History questions to answer... Do you like History?" he asked Blaine.

"Yeah, I love it actually. What are you studying right now?"

"I'm not quite sure what the class is doing but my questions are still from the old topic about Napoleon..." Kurt answered and opened his textbook. "Some questions are easy like giving the right date, others are tougher like comparing the importance of two battles. Are you up for this?"

Blaine nodded eagerly. "Sounds interesting. But could I read the book first, please?"

"Sure," Kurt said and gave Blaine his textbook. "It's chapter fifteen. We can answer the questions separately and then compare them."

"Good idea," the boy said and started reading.

They worked in a companionable silence for a while, History being followed by Calculus, Calculus being followed by English. It surprised Kurt how little help Blaine actually needed. The other boy was way too smart for a slave (he kicked himself for stereotyping) and only asked questions after putting a lot of effort to understand by himself. Once again Kurt wondered how long he had been in slavery. He only knew that it couldn't have been a long time.

They moved on to Spanish and since Blaine hardly knew the language he opted to read the next chapter of Kurt's History textbook. While Kurt was trying hard to translate an extra tricky sentence into English the doorbell sounded through the house and the teen checked the time.

"It might be Noah," he concluded seeing it was already after school hours. "He didn't say he would be coming today... Stay in here just in case, okay?"

Musing Kurt went downstairs and opened the door to reveal people he didn't expect to see.

"Hey, Kurt," the girls in his doorway said, smiling somewhat guiltily.

"Hi, Rachel, Mercedes," Kurt responded still shocked to see his classmates. "How did you know where I lived?"

The girls shared a look and it was Mercedes who spoke. "My friend's mom is Figgins' – the principal's – secretary so my friend got your address for us. Could we come in?"

"Uh, sure," Kurt said and let the girl get into the house, knowing it was a good idea since he was wearing thin clothes and the air from outside was making him cold. "Why are you here?" he went straight to the point when they were all inside.

"You weren't answering our messages," Rachel said.

"You sent me like three messages... And it's not like we ended on good terms last time we spoke," the boy said, remembering the infamous sleepover.

"That's why we are here," Mercedes said before he could elaborate. "We talked and we decided that we were in the wrong."

"Excuse me?" Kurt stared at her with big eyes.

"Yeah, we didn't really understand what was going on but then we kind of realised that you weren't pro-slavery as we had thought. You hadn't ever really said you didn't like slavery so we just assumed you did... and you never corrected us," Rachel accused him in a soft voice. "So we wanted to apologise and propose being friends, who never talk about slavery."

Kurt was taken aback by the offer, it was the last thing he ever thought he would hear from the girls. While it was tempting he just couldn't agree. It all flashed through his mind in a matter of seconds – all the times they called Blaine names, how Rachel was at fault for Blaine's black eye, how they both treated their own slaves, how they were okay with Blaine being killed.

"No," he said shaking his head, "I'm sorry but we can't be friends. I'm okay with being civil towards each other but I don't think I could ever be friends with people like you."

"Ouch, now that hurts," Mercedes forced a small smile as if she was joking.

"Listen, I appreciate you coming here today and making an effort to be friends but slavery is something I'm very passionate about and I can't see myself being friends with people who treat their slaves badly."

"Well, at least we tried," Rachel mumbled. "So, when are you coming back to school?"

"I'll be back on Monday," Kurt said, suddenly aware that he was supposed to act sick. "I'm not feeling too well just yet but I should be fine soon," he said and fake coughed.

"I guess we should get going before we catch something," Mercedes laughed. "We'll see you on Monday."

They bid their goodbyes and when he closed the door Kurt could hardly believe the whole conversation ever happened. He climbed the stairs and his shock must have been clear on his face because Blaine looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay," he asked when Kurt sat down on the bed. "You look... weird."

"Two of my classmates came over to talk. They..." he thought for a moment how to describe their friendship. "They were the first people who talked to me at school. We were sort of friends I guess. It's just that... they think slavery is a good thing," he finished in a small voice.

"Oh..." Blaine swallowed audibly. "And why are you friends with them? If I may ask."

Kurt couldn't make himself meet Blaine's eyes and just stared at the cover of his Calculus textbook. "When I moved to Lima I was afraid I wouldn't make any friends so I took what I could get. The girls treated me as a friend from day one so I just tuned out whenever they were talking about slavery."

"It's not nice of them to talk about it if you don't like the topic," Blaine frowned.

"I..." Kurt began, painfully aware of his burning face, "I didn't exactly tell them I was against slavery..."

"You... pretended to like it?"

"Yeah, I... I wanted to fit in, you know? But I learned my lesson and I'd rather be alone than betray my beliefs ever again," Kurt said and finally looked at Blaine, to see if he was angry with him or not.

The other boy seemed pretty calm though. "So you told them you didn't like slavery in the end?" he asked, his voice curious.

"Not in that many words... I mean, I snapped at them and yelled when I couldn't take in anymore and they figured out what the reason was. They came over to suggest being friends again, just without talking about slavery."

"Oh, um, that's... nice," Blaine forced a smile.

"I said no," Kurt said hurriedly. "I can't be friends with them even though it's not their fault they are the way they are."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they were raised by a pro-slavery family in a society, where owning other people is normal. They would have been different otherwise."

"That's bullshit," Blaine exclaimed, his voice rising a little. "Oh, shit, I didn't mean to curse, I'm sorry."

Kurt shook his head. "Don't worry, I curse a lot too. I just don't understand why you think it's bullshit."

"Come one, you can't blame parents for their children's behaviour. It's just a stupid excuse, 'I was raised like that'," he said in a mocking manner. "It's an excuse for narrow-minded people. My parents owned four slaves, one of them was my dad's sex slave and I knew it was killing my mom to see him with her but despite that I was always nice to all of them. In my eyes they were people, not things. Now how different my background is to your friends'?"

"Not... very," Kurt said, realising that Blaine had a point.

The boy didn't stop though. "Take homosexuality, for example. I had many friends at school, whose parents were homophobes and they lived in a homophobic State but they were still my friends. They read articles and watched videos about being gay, they asked me what it was like to be different. They educated themselves, they didn't let their parents' opinions dictate theirs."

"I get it," Kurt said when the other boy finished. "I just never thought about it before. I guess it's just easier to blame your parents than to look at your own flaws."

"Yeah, that's my point," Blaine said, breathing heavily from his outburst. "I'm sorry I took it out on you. I just got emotional..."

"One smart man once told me that if you are passionate about something you shouldn't control yourself," Kurt said with a smile.

"Using my words against me? That's not very nice," Blaine laughed.

"Maybe I'm not a very nice person then."

"You are," the slave boy said with a smile. "So, can we go back to studying now?"

"You are such a nerd," Kurt said and they both laughed.

***

Noah: hey kurt meeting on sunday at my place at 2pm

Kurt: Wait a sec, did you just call me Kurt?

Noah: yeah can you make it

Kurt: Sure, just give me your address... Puck. And remember how you owe me one?

Noah: yeah

Kurt: We are going shopping tomorrow. Come over at 11am.

The boy put his phone aside with a satisfied smirk. He knew Puck wouldn't appreciate going shopping with him and it would be a good way for the other boy to redeem himself by carrying the bags around. Since Blaine needed a whole wardrobe he knew there would be plenty of bags to carry. Sure, he wouldn't be able to buy anything too expensive and he would probably have to go to the second-hand shops only but at least Blaine would have some clothes of his own, not to mention of the right size.

He looked into his wallet to see how much he had and how much he would have to ask his dad for. He couldn't ask for much since his dad already bought a new mattress for Blaine and while it didn't cost as much as they had thought it would, it was still pricey.

The money question had to wait until the next day though because he knew his dad was talking to Blaine about something downstairs before he left for his first real date with Carole. He didn't know when he could come back home afterwards.

***

Blaine went downstairs when Kurt had told him his dad wanted to talk to him. For a second he thought his heart stopped. Did he finally do something wrong? Was the man going to tell him to leave or beat him up? The slave's hands were shaking when he entered the living room, where Burt had been waiting for him.

"You wanted to see me, Mr Hummel?" he asked politely and the man turned around to face him.

"Ah, yeah, I did. How do I look?" Burt asked and turned around. "Kurt told me to wear this for the date but I'm not sure."

"You look good, Mr Hummel," Blaine managed through his nerves.

"I hope Carole thinks so too. I haven't gone on a date since Kurt's mother died," the man said and gestured for Blaine to sit down. He spoke again when they were both sitting on the couch. "It gave me an idea..."

Blaine looked curiously at the man who took out a beautiful silver ring with a single clear stone in the middle. "This is my mother's engagement ring. I proposed to Elizabeth with it. I loved her so much," Burt said staring at the piece of jewellery. "It's the most valuable thing I have. It's not worth much in money but in my heart it has a special place. I want you to keep it safe for me."

Blaine frowned, his eyes going from the ring to the man's face. "I don't understand."

"I trust you to keep it safe, buddy. I want to make you a deal, okay? You will keep the ring for as long as you live here. If you decide to leave, you will just give it back to me before leaving. But if I ever kick you out, you get to take it with you," Burt explained. "It's some sort of reassurance that you will have a place with us for as long as you want. What do you say?"

"I..." Blaine choked, having lost the ability to speak.

He knew it didn't mean much. The man could just forcefully take the ring from him right before kicking him out but the thought itself of Burt trying to come up with a way to connect with him warmed his heart. He was about to accept the offer when he thought of Burt throwing him out of his house with the ring and then accusing him of stealing it. There were many possibilities how this could have ended badly.

He thought of Puck's praises and then Mike's encouragement to give the man a chance. He hesitated just a tad bit too long because Burt retreated the ring.

"Sorry, I thought this was a good idea," the man sighed and scratched his bald head. "Kurt is so much better at this... But rest assured, I'll find a way to earn your trust, kid," he finished with an awkward laugh.

Blaine bit his bottom lip before blurting out, "I'll keep it, Mr Hummel."

"You will?" Burt asked and Blaine could hear excitement in his voice.

"Yes," the slave said and took the ring from the man. While he carefully slipped the ring on the chain of his locket he asked the question that worried him, "What's the punishment for losing it?"

"No punishment," Burt said and stood up. "I don't want you to be scared here. And I trust you not to lose it."

"Thank you, Mr Hummel."

"You know, we are living in the same house, I think it's time you start calling me Burt," the man said. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a lovely lady to charm."

The man left not long after and Blaine sat in the living room alone, playing with the ring in his fingers. He opened the locket and looked at the photos inside, something he always did when he felt lost. He wondered what his life would have been like if his brother hadn't died.