Chapter Text
Mr. Schue was trying to calm Rachel down, telling her who's going to sing what was already decided and he has no plan in changing it. Predictably, it didn't do the job and Rachel walked out, not without telling Mr. Schue that he's punishing her like she always does whenever the man didn't give her a solo.
Kurt rolled his eyes at the childish display. This is nothing new though, it's your typical Glee rehearsal and your typical Rachel Berry. On a normal day, Kurt would've even joined the fight for solos but he was not feeling it today. His mind was still fresh, reminding him of Valentine's Day. Of Karofsky, specifically.
He still couldn't believe how stupid he was for thinking that Blaine was the one pulling all those romantic acts. He had berated himself, saying that Blaine is your boyfriend, it would be extremely dumb to convey himself as a Secret Admirer. Artie was right.
It's too late now though. Valentine's Day had already happened.
Kurt didn't need to feel guilty. He had a boyfriend when Karofsky asked him out, — still has — didn't Karofsky know that?
But he did feel guilty. He would have to be blind not to see Karofsky's development over the past few months. He had asked Kurt out. Had told Kurt that he was finally being honest with himself and that he wanted to be with him. He went and did things the old and angry, bully Karofsky wouldn't. And Kurt turned him down, told him he didn't know what he was feeling. And if that wasn't the worst thing you could possibly say to a person who was still having a hard time accepting his sexuality, he didn't know what.
Love . Kurt shivered, he didn't know if in a bad way or a good way, but he shivered. Love is such a big word to just throw around. He knew Karofsky knew what that word meant. So to just throw the word out there? It's strange, and it puts Kurt in a jumbled mess.
He groaned internally… or maybe not so much internally, because all of the sudden there were eyes on him.
"Kurt, you okay there?" Mr. Schue asked. "If you have complaints about the setlist, I'm afraid I—"
Just when he was about to answer that no, he doesn't have a problem with the setlist, his phone buzzed in his pocket, loud enough in the suddenly quiet choir room for everyone to hear.
"I have to take this. It's probably my dad. Excuse me." He lied, he hasn't even taken the phone out of his pocket. He walked out to the hallway and finally took out the device. Huh .
Karofsky .
He wasn't expecting that. He considered ignoring the call. Talking to the person responsible for his current dilemma, — in person or not — was not at the top of the list of things he wanted to do right now.
He argued. Maybe after this call, they could finally have some sort of closure and Kurt wouldn't feel so guilty anymore. That's right.
He swiped, put the phone on his ear and spoke, "Hello?"
The silence was long enough for Kurt to think that Karofsky misdial and he was about to throw out a second hello when the most broken utterance of his name filled his ear.
"K-kurt."
There's relief in Karofsky's voice, but it was short-lived. It started with a hitch, then a whimper. The next thing was a relentless sobbing on Kurt's left ear. He stood there, speechless.
"I'm so s—sorry, Kurt. For e—vryhing."
The unintelligible words concerned Kurt even more. Was this what it's about? An apology? Kurt remembered the first time Karofsky had apologized to him. He had cried then, too. But this was on another level of intensity if the unceasing whimpering on the other side of the phone was any indication.
"Karofsky, what happened?" He asked, when he found his voice again. If it sounded tense, he didn't care. This was much more. He didn't think this had anything to do with Valentine's Day.
"I... I've b—been outed. M—my s—school knows."
Kurt stood still. He felt like the whole word stopped for a second.
I've been outed . Kurt repeated the words in his head. He couldn't believe what he heard. He found himself needing to clutch his phone until his knuckles were white. It hurts, the hard object digging into his palm, but it was a welcome distraction.
Outed . Kurt didn't know what to say. He didn't have to worry about being outed before, but he knew for a fact that no one deserved this, no matter how bad the person was. Certainly not Karofsky, who was trying so hard!
His mind flashed back to Valentine's night. The same night Karofsky ran into one of his schoolmates. He remembered the look on the person's face when Karofsky had tried to make excuses for being with him. Was that the same guy that outed him?
"Kurt."
"Yes?" He gasped. He didn't realize he was holding his breath.
His phone beeped, signaling the end of a call. Kurt frowned until a text came through from the same number. It's an address. A second message came in immediately before Kurt could make sense of the first. A one word text that almost made Kurt cry there and then. It says:
Please
He pocketed his phone. Kurt jogged towards his car, not bothering with Glee club rehearsals, or saying goodbye for that matter. He knew what Karofsky was asking and he found himself undoubtedly determined and set to go. If it was pity that he felt toward Dave, he didn't care. Dave needed someone and it pained Kurt to see that the man— no, the boy didn't have anyone. Closure could wait another day.