Chapter 32

December 16, 2012

It was around two in the morning when Kurt woke up from a nightmare. He relaxed in his bed when he realised it wasn't real until a strange noise caught his attention. Carefully the boy got out of the bed and opened the door of his bedroom. The sound was coming from downstairs. The laughter seemed familiar so he made his way into the living room without worrying about safety. Just as he thought he found Blaine watching 'Friends'.

"What are you doing up so late?" Kurt asked and made Blaine jump in his seat.

"God, Kurt, you scared me," he breathed. "Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry, I thought it wasn't very loud."

"It wasn't loud but you know how well the sound travels during the night," the boy yawned. "I woke up and heard the voices. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I didn't have time to do my tasks yesterday, today... um, yesterday... I'm not sure," he laughed nervously. "And tomorrow I'll be busy cleaning so when you went to sleep I decided to read two chapters of my book and watch four episodes so I don't have to do that tomorrow. Is... is that okay? If I do things in advance?"

Kurt rubbed his heavy eyes. "It's okay if you want to... But first of all, you aren't cleaning anything tomorrow because you are still sick. And it was my dad's fault you had no time before dinner and my fault you had no time afterwards. Come on, let's go to sleep."

"But–"

"You can do this all tomorrow. I'd rather you have a good night sleep now."

"Okay," Blaine whispered and turned off the TV.

Kurt took his hand and they went upstairs, only releasing the hold when they reached their respective bedrooms.

"Goodnight," they both said at the same time and parted.

Twelve hours later Kurt found himself in Puck's house, sitting in his small bedroom that was packed with everyone who had come to Kurt's place a few days ago. Right before everyone else came Mike whispered into his ear that he would want to talk to him afterwards and Kurt only smiled at the boy.

When they all finally settled Lauren gave everyone a photo and Kurt choked when he saw it. "Finn is cheating on Rachel?!"

"Of course not," the girl rolled her eyes. "Have you forgotten the plan?"

"I didn't but it just looks so real..." the teen couldn't help but stare at the photo in disbelief – Finn, still sporting his black eye, even though it had faded a little, was standing in the locker room with some girl; they were kissing. "Who is she?"

"Suzy Pepper – the bottom of the bottom," Santana smirked. "She is crazy enough to believe that this really happened so she will go with it. This will be the most painful hit to Hudson's reputation."

"I'll go to school early tomorrow and put these photos everywhere," Puck said. "The janitor is used to seeing me at some random times so he won't question it."

"Alright," Lauren nodded and collected the photos. "I'll make more copies. There are a few different ones as well to make it more believable."

"You are a genius," Puck said lovingly.

"Of course I am. I may have done something more..." she said, a twisted smile on her face. "Since Puckerman couldn't shut up about kicking Hudson's ass I hacked into the system and made it look like he had enrolled in the wrestling team in the beginning of the year. He will be forced to attend the McKinley's competition and guess who he will be against in the first round."

"Are you serious?" Tina looked at her in disbelief and shortly started laughing. "I'll have to go see it for myself. Are you sure he will be there?"

"Our club has very strict rules so he will be there," the girl assured her confidently. "The pain from football will seem like a bee sting when I'm done with him."

"Good, very good," Puck smirked. "Santana? Any news from you?"

"Karofsky doesn't like Hudson being on top so it will be very easy to convince him to slushy him when the right time comes," the girl said. "Friday, right?"

"Yeah, just let us know in advance so we can set everything beforehand," Puck reminded her.

"Sure, sure."

"Tina, Brittany, do you have any good news?"

"Oh yes, we found out some interesting stuff," Tina said and shared a look with the blonde girl.

The girls shared what they knew with the rest of them and not long after they all decided to go their own ways and get ready for Monday.

Everyone was in a good mood when their meeting was over. Lauren decided to stay until Puck's mother came back from work, Santana and Brittany went to Lima Bean for a coffee date, and Kurt stood by his car with Mike, having asked Tina for a couple of minutes of privacy.

"How is Blaine doing?" Mike asked when the girl went to her car.

"He is much better and all thanks to you," Kurt smiled gratefully at the boy. "I don't know what you talked to him about but he's been doing much better with my dad ever since."

"It's all his doing, I only gave him some advice," the boy shrugged.

"My dad has been trying pretty hard to get Blaine to trust him and only after your talk things started going forward. So, thank you for that."

"That's alright. Do you think I could come over some time? I'm actually curious about him and maybe he could use a friend? It's just a suggestion though."

It sounded like a nice idea since Blaine seemed to like Mike but it was too risky. "Um, you see, I don't think it's a good time... He's still adjusting and stuff... So, yeah, maybe later on?" he offered, not sure if he could ever trust the boy enough to let him in onto their secret. The fewer people knew, the better.

"Oh, it's okay, really," Mike smiled. "Not crowding him is a good idea actually. And maybe you will let us text again. I know I could have used a slave friend when I was recovering."

"Of course, you two can text whenever you want."

"Cool. Okay, I'll go now, Tina is waiting. Tell Blaine I say hi," Mike said and they parted.

When Kurt told Blaine about the conversation with Mike later that day, the slave perked up and spent time texting the boy while Kurt and Burt cleaned the house. Most of the time it distracted the boy from feeling guilty for not helping out.

December 17-21, 2012

It was the most intense week in Kurt's life.

On Monday morning Kurt was more cheerful than he usually was on mornings before school. When he parked his car in the parking lot and walked towards the building he heard Rachel complaining.

"I thought we had a deal here, Finn," she spoke and it took every ounce of his self-control not to look back. "You were supposed to drive me to the concert on Friday and now you are ditching me? Did I do something wrong?"

"God, Rachel, I told you my mom took my car and my driving licence for a month..." the boy retorted irritated. "It's your fault actually."

"And how is that my fault exactly?"

"Someone ratted me out to my mom. She didn't like the fact that I hit smelly-ass. And who told me to do it, huh?"

"Well, tell her you are sorry or something. I don't want to drive myself," the girl said when Kurt reached the entrance. "I'll wait for Mercedes here, you can go to your class."

Kurt entered the school with a smile – not only did Carole punish Finn, it also got Rachel angry. It was a nice addition to their plan, even if unintentional.

"Everyone is talking," Kurt heard Tina's voice when he was standing by his locker after the first period.

"I know, right? You should have seen Mercedes' face when she came to Spanish. Furious!"

"Have you seen Rachel?"

"No but I have English with her next," the boy said and before he left for the class he saw Tina slipping a piece of paper into Finn's locker.

He knew exactly what was printed out on it – That weed you smoked at Karofsky's party?Tsk tsk, you shouldn't have done that...

The boy couldn't wait to see Rachel. Their plan was to ruin Finn but if the girl got hurt in the process, then so be it. After all, she wasn't innocent in the whole situation.

Unfortunately for Kurt, Rachel did not come to their shared class. In fact, he didn't see her until lunch.

When Kurt bought some food in the cafeteria he turned around to find a place to sit. So far he had always been sitting with Mercedes and Rachel but since they were no longer friends he couldn't sit with them. Not to mention that they were nowhere to be seen.

"Princess, come here," he heard a too-familiar voice and went to a small table with only Puck and Tina occupying it.

"Where is everyone else?" he asked and sat down.

"Santana and Brittany are at the table over there with jocks and other Cheerios. They never sit with any us," Tina explained. "Puck usually smokes behind the bleachers but today he joined me for some reason. And Zizes never comes to the cafeteria. Nobody knows where she spends her lunch break."

"Probably spying on someone," Puck laughed. "Look, Karofsky and Azimio are coming. This should be fun."

Kurt looked discretely at two big guys, who sat down in front of Finn. "Hey Hudson, do you want some salt on that? Or do you prefer pepper?" the black guy said loudly and Tina told Kurt that one was Azimio.

The two boys high-fived each other as everyone around them laughed. "Did you get bored of sweet berries and decided to spice things up?" the other one – Karofsky – added.

"Stop it," Finn glared at them.

"What are you gonna do, huh? Blind us with your new girlfriend's fugly face?" Azimio teased him.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Finn shouted. "Those photos are fake, this never happened! Now leave me alone or you are going to regret it on the football field."

Before any of the jocks could say anything an angry Rachel ran into the cafeteria and straight to Finn with Mercedes behind.

"How could you, Finn Hudson?!" she yelled. For the girl as small as Rachel she had a strong voice. "You humiliated me in front of the whole school! You... you pig!"

Finn stood up and placed his hand over his heart. "I swear I didn't do it. Someone played a cruel joke on me. I love you!"

"Well, I don't care," Rachel said. "I hate you. If it isn't clear, I'm breaking up with you. Let's go 'Cedes."

Both girls stormed out, leaving Finn standing alone in the silent cafeteria, everyone shocked by such a short and silly confrontation.

"I love myself a good show during meals," Puck smirked.

***

The next day two new notes made their way into Finn's locker. Stealing from your mother? Tsk tsk, you shouldn't have done that... put there by Puck and Taking steroids? Tsk tsk, you shouldn't have done that... slipped into the locker by Brittany.

Whenever Kurt saw the jock, he looked more and more worried, his signature smug smile never gracing his face anymore.

When he went into the English classroom that day Kurt found Rachel already sitting in her seat. She noticed him so there was no way he could get out of the conversation without being rude.

"Hey, Rachel," he said when he sat down in his seat.

"Hi, Kurt," she said, her voice small. She was obviously upset. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay... I'm, um, sorry for what happened with Finn," he said somewhat awkwardly.

"It's good I found out now, you know?" the girl tried to stay positive. "At least he didn't fool me for too long. He's still denying cheating on me but I don't believe him. He's a first class jerk."

"Yeah, well, now you can focus on more important things."

The girl nodded. "I want to be on Broadway one day. Now I can work towards my dream without anyone weighing me down."

"You want to go to New York?" Kurt asked. "I'd like to go there as well."

"One day we will," Rachel said and waved at Mercedes, who entered the classroom at that moment.

Kurt let them speak amongst themselves.

On Wednesday Kurt was walking to the History class he had after lunch together with Tina when they saw Finn arguing with a tall man.

"I didn't sign up for any club except for the football team," he reasoned with the man. "I'm not going to any wrestling competition. I know nothing about wrestling."

"It's your own fault you didn't go to practice," the man scolded him. "I talked to Coach Beiste and she agreed that you should learn some responsibility. If you don't participate you are off the football team. So, tomorrow after classes I'll be waiting for you in the gym. Don't be late."

Tina hooked her arm in Kurt's and smiled broadly at him. "It's such a beautiful day," she said.

Later that day Kurt threw a small piece of paper with another note into Finn's locker – Shoplifting? Tsk tsk, you shouldn't have done that...

He knew that others put a couple more since they wanted to throw the jock off balance just enough so his performance during the football match on Friday would reflect his psychological issues. They didn't expect he wouldn't be allowed to play at all though, all thanks to Lauren's brilliance.

Even though they were not allowed to go and see the competition themselves since Lauren told them their coach didn't want any strangers in the gym watching them, she wasn't too sad about it because she could always get a tape for them. Still, Puck lurked around the school until Finn left and soon Kurt got a video message with Finn limping towards the bus stop. He laughed out loud and it caught Blaine's attention.

The boy raised his head from the Calculus problem he had been working on. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, just a friend being ridiculous," he answered and put the phone away. "Did you get twenty three for the part c? This is killing me..."

Blaine looked through his working. "Kurt, I told you, you have to do the brackets first..."

It was the lunch time of the last day before the Christmas break when Santana sent out a mass text.

Santana: finn wont play today cos zizes kicked his ass

Santana: also beiste says hes too distracted

Santana: kar and az not happy gonna slushy him after lunch by his locker

"We have five minutes tops," Puck said. "Okay, princess, go to your locker and pretend to be busy. I'll hide in the girls' bathroom. Take him in there. If he gets violent I'll get you out. Got it?"

"We've been through this hundreds times already," Kurt said as they walked out of the cafeteria. "At least we now know the exact place."

When they reached the right corridor Puck slipped into the girls' bathroom unnoticed and Kurt stood by his locker waiting for the jocks to come. Soon Finn was there, taking out the books for his next period.

Kurt watched as Karofsky and Azimio came from behind and tapped on the fellow jock's shoulder.

"We hear you won't play today," Azimio said, holding a big cup of icy drink.

"And we don't like it," Karofsky added when Finn turned around.

"Look, guys, I can play but Coach Beiste won't let me," Finn said and closed his locker. "It's not my fault."

"We don't care if it's your fault or not, Hudson," Azimio cut in. "Welcome to the bottom!"

Before Finn could react two cups of a blueberry slushie drink were dropped on the top of his head and he stood in the blue mess.

Laughing the jocks left and it was Kurt's cue to do his part. He went to Finn and took him by his arm. "Let's go, I'll help you out," he said and gently guided the boy into the bathroom.

"Fuck, this shit stings my eyes," the jock cried out.

Kurt turned the water on in one of the sinks and let Finn wash his eyes. When he was done Kurt started washing his hair.

"Why are you doing this?" Finn asked, uncomfortable as the boy he had talked to once in his life was helping him out.

"I'm just a decent human being, helping out a friend..." Kurt said and turned off the cold water, leaving it hot. "Sorry, it may sting but the hot water is better for cleaning out the sticky mess."

"It hurts," Finn whined but Kurt didn't let him move his head.

"I'm sure it hurts less than what that kitten went through when you decided it was a ball you could play soccer with," Kurt said and grabbed his hair harshly.

"It was you? You put those notes!" the boy said and tried to wiggle out of Kurt's hands.

"You better stay still," Kurt warned him, well aware that Finn could kill him with a few punches. "A friend of mine knows everything and if anything happens to me, he will tell people. We don't want that now, do we?"

Finn stilled, hot water still pouring on his head. "Look, I didn't want to do it, okay? Karofsky made me. They made me do things that will haunt me for the rest of my life but I had to do them! I had to stay on top."

"So it was all for popularity?" Kurt asked disgusted. "You can steal, you can hurt others, all because you want to be on top? Well, let me tell you one thing I know about popularity... It takes a long time to climb the social ladder and it takes one careless step or a gentle push to fall. You, my friend, have just fallen, right in front of my feet."

"What do you want?" Finn asked. "I'll do anything just don't tell anyone what you know!"

"Hm, right now I don't want anything from you... But I'll be watching you. One mistake and I'll give all the proofs to your mommy, the principal, and anyone who may be interested in your behaviour."

"You are bluffing, you don't have any proof," Finn accused him but it all sounded weak.

"Try me," Kurt laughed and released the boy's head.

Right before he exited the bathroom, he threw Finn's locket that Puck had found in the factory on the sink.

Little did he know that Puck never planned to forego his initial plan to hurt Finn. A couple of minutes later the mohawked teen exited the bathroom with his right hand knuckles bright red.

Later that evening Kurt cuddled with Blaine watching 'Little Mermaid' and fell asleep listening to the boy's heartbeat. It felt good to finally get back at the monster that hurt his best friend.

December 22, 2012

Blaine was getting stronger and it was obvious. His face colour reminded of a healthy boy, the coughing was almost gone, his body temperature was back to normal. It wasn't supposed to happen so soon.

It was Saturday and this time Blaine was allowed to help to clean around the house. They gave him the easiest tasks like dusting but it had a great effect on the boy – he finally felt less like a burden.

They were eating late lunch after cleaning when Blaine brought up the topic of his future. "Um, I... I wanted to thank you for keeping me for this long," he broke the silence and both Hummels looked at him like deer caught in the headlights. "I think... I think I'm healthy and you said I could leave when I get healthy, right?"

"Don't do this," Kurt whispered with fright in his eyes. "You aren't perfectly healthy yet. You still have a runny nose so you shouldn't be in the cold or you will get worse again. How, how about you wait until after Christmas? Huh? A couple more days for you to get better."

"Kurt, I–"

"You just can't leave now! Let's make it your Christmas gift for us, okay? A few more days and then you can do whatever you want."

"What Kurt is trying to say," Burt looked at his son sternly, "is that we would love you to stay with us for Christmas. If you want you may leave but it would mean a lot to us if you came over on the Christmas Eve. Or, you know, you can stay permanently."

Blaine looked at Kurt's pleading eyes. "Okay, I'll stay until after Christmas," he said and Kurt mouthed 'thank you' to him.

Later that day Puck texted Kurt to tell he was coming over. Burt had gone somewhere without any explanation so it was only him and Blaine, watching TV. They were going to the kitchen to refill their snack bowls when the doorbell rang and Kurt opened it without thinking since he thought it would be Puck. He was wrong.

Both boys froze on the spot when a short girl appeared in front of them with a small present wrapped in dark red paper. "Hi, Kurt," Rachel spoke, ignorant to the tension. "I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas because you were so nice to me this week even if we aren't friends."

She extended the gift to the boy and Kurt took it dumbfounded. "I don't have anything for you," he said, having not expected anything from the girl.

"I know, it's okay," she said and Blaine trying to leave caught her attention. "Wait a second, you got yourself a slave?"

Kurt cursed the central heating that made them wear short-sleeved clothes. "It's not what you think... He is my aunt's. Yeah, she came over for Christmas and brought him..."

"Kurt, you are lying," the girl smiled. "There is no shame in owning a slave, please, don't be embarrassed. I mean, it's slightly hypocritical of you after our argument and all but it's fine. Slave, kneel."

Kurt stared at her and caught Blaine by his arm when he noticed the movement. "Don't. Go to my room," he instructed and waited for the slave boy to disappear. "Don't you ever talk to him like that!"

"Your slave needs a proper training," she told him. "I know a good training centre not far from Lima. You could send it there for a couple of weeks and it will be perfectly obedient. How long have you had it by the way?"

"It's none of your business," Kurt snapped and threw the gift back at Rachel, who caught it with her fingertips. "You can't come in and treat others like crap!"

"It's just a slave, Kurt, don't get so upset..."

"No, it's not just a slave. It's a person, a human being. He used to be a teenager like us before someone took him and put in slavery. He used to go to school, he had family and friends. Just because he is a slave, doesn't mean he is less of a person."

"But slaves–"

"–are people. Imagine yourself in his place. How would you feel if your parents died or sold you and you became a slave? Every time you order any slave around imagine it was you instead of them."

"Well, my dads would never–"

"Would never die?" Kurt mocked her. "Just think for a moment. If someone tattooed that ugly black thing around your wrist, would it instantly make you an object, not a person anymore? Can you answer me this?"

"No, I wouldn't be–"

"You know, I don't want to hear any of this. Merry Christmas," he said and slammed the door shut.

He took a few calming breaths and ran up to his room to find Blaine sitting on his bed with his knees up to his chest. The quickly sat down next to him and pulled him into his arms.

"She's gone, it's okay," he whispered.

"I need to leave, she will tell everyone–" he spoke, clutching Kurt's waist like his life depended on it.

"She didn't recognise you," Kurt assured him. "She would have said something or shown in some way. I'm sure she just thinks that I bought you or got your for Christmas or whatever."

"But what if–"

"She doesn't know it's you, stop worrying," Kurt said gently and kissed the top of Blaine's head. "Let's forget her and have a lovely Christmas together, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine responded but still sounded unconvinced.