History Lesson: Kurt's accidental reputation transformation into a BAMF – aka Bad Ass Mo Fo – came from DJ-DizzyD's story "Wingman". My continuation of that story: "Turnabout: Chronicles of a Matchmaking Badass" had Kurt trying to ease his way back into normalcy by shifting the school's attention over to Karofsky and Azimio, whom he convinced to come out of the closet, only to realize he had a brand new problem when the freshman boy he'd saved from a dumpster-dive started leaving flowers and romantic poems in his locker. So, just a little bit of fluff in the form of a nice, awkward high-school romance! :-D

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Kurt was beginning to feel like a hunted animal. Not necessarily a foreign emotion, after all he had been pursued by bullies for half his life, but this was entirely different. All day long, every time he turned around that wide-eyed little freshman seemed to be there, peeking around corners and lurking in the background. Staring at him with that adoring expression that he uncomfortably suspected had adorned his own features whenever he had looked at Finn Hudson last year. Like he had hung the moon and all he needed to do was return those shy little smiles and it would make the boy's entire existence worthwhile.

It was an awesome – in the literal sense of something both great and terrible – power to have over another person, and Kurt did not have the slightest idea what to do with it.

Avoidance would be the coward's way out, but right now Kurt felt that he'd be happy to add that to all the other labels he'd been collecting lately, titles that did not quite suit him but were comfortable to hide behind while he figured out a plan.

He sighed in relief as the bell rang to let him out of his final class of the day and he emerged into the hallway with all of the other students, finding no mini-stalker waiting for him this time. Spinning his combination, Kurt tossed his notebook and History text inside and began to transfer his homework and a few other items into his messenger bag.

Checking his hair and face in the small mirror hanging inside his locker, Kurt smiled as he noted the comments of several students walking past. It seemed that the gossip mill was still furiously buzzing about WMHS's newest gay couple, the shocking jock love story of Karofsky and Azimio, meaning that he no longer had to worry about keeping up his recent badass reputation. He was grateful for that. It had been a fun but exhausting exercise and the prospect of a free evening - there were no Glee or Cheerios practices scheduled and Dad was not expecting him at the garage today - was extremely appealing.

As Kurt closed his locker, he turned around and released a most undignified, "Eek!" at finding the little brown-eyed boy standing right behind him, clutching a pile of books tightly against his thin chest. "I mean, uh, hi. I didn't see you standing there."

The boy's big eyes looked absolutely starry as Kurt spoke directly to him, but his fine reddish eyebrows knitted together and he chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he studied the blank surface of Kurt's locker, a devastated look appearing in his eyes. "You didn't like them," he whispered, small shoulders slumping.

Noting the ginger-colored hair, freckles and cutely pointed features, which he had not really taken much notice of before, Kurt had been musing that the boy looked a lot like a leprechaun, but he put that thought aside as he followed the gaze and realized what he was upset about. "The roses? Were those from you?" He knew that they were, but it was easier to play dumb. The boy nodded. "That was a really sweet gesture, and of course I liked them, but you didn't have to go to so much trouble just to thank me. I was happy to help. Believe me, I know what dumpster-dives feel like and I wouldn't wish one of those on anybody!"

You're rambling, Kurt! Keep it casual. He needs to know that saving him was just a nice gesture from one dude to another. Something you'd have done for anybody. Wait . . . dude? When did I start channeling Puck? Yeesh!

"Somebody did that to you?" the boy said, bringing Kurt's mind back to reality.

He sounded so astounded and outraged that Kurt could not help smiling. "That and a lot of other things, nearly every day," he said honestly. "See, up until the end of last year, I was about your size and I like to wear nice clothes and I have a tendency to fight back with sarcasm. The fact that I'm both openly gay and a part of the glee-club only added to the problem. I was just way too much temptation for the thug-brigade to resist."

Stricken, the freshman clutched his books tighter. He only appeared to have heard two words of what Kurt had been saying. "Every day?"

Kurt winced. He had not meant to frighten the kid. "Only at first, and it might not be so bad for you. Like I said, in their eyes, I kind of brought it on myself." He did not believe for a moment that this kid would have it any better than he had. Puck and Finn had joined Glee and stopped picking on the losers, and he had probably taken Karofsky and Azimio out of the lineup when he had pulled them out of the closet, but there always seemed to be new bullies ready to take the place of the old. Luckily, from the boy's relieved expression, his assurance was enough for, "What's your name, anyway?"

"Dennis Payson," he replied eagerly. "You can call me Denny, if you want to."

"Nice to meet you, Denny. I'm Kurt," he said, offering his hand for a quick formal shake.

The other boy's small hand was cold and he did not have much of a grip, but Kurt put that down to nerves and tried not to notice how reluctant the kid was to let him go. Oh, this could be bad.

Kurt quickly made a decision. Mercedes was right. Ignoring a problem never worked, so he would do the opposite. He would befriend this boy, prove that he was just a regular guy with nothing very special or crush-worthy to focus on, and soon the hero worship shining in those huge eyes would fade away. It was nice, flattering and all, to think that someone actually had a crush on him but he was not convinced that Mercedes was also right about the gay thing. One sappy poem proved nothing. After all, puppy-love knew no boundaries.

Kurt could still remember back in sixth grade when he had crushed unbelievably hard on an eighth-grade girl who had owned, hands-down, the most beautiful wardrobe he had ever laid eyes on. He had written their names, surrounded by hearts and flowers, a thousand times in his notebooks and daydreamed about the gorgeous wedding they would have some day. Oddly enough, he could no longer remember the name he had scrawled so many times, but the girl had transformed Kurt's entire outlook on fashion without them ever exchanging a word. The crush had eventually faded, to be replaced by another one on a seventh-grade boy with braces and a strange love of lizards, and that 'true-love' had also turned out to be entirely ephemeral. No doubt Denny's crush on him would fade just as quickly and thoroughly once he got to know the real Kurt Hummel. And if he wasn't really gay, he would be extremely relieved later on that Kurt had not let him do anything to embarrass himself. Who knew, maybe he would even pass that same kindness onto some other deserving underclassman one day! Pay it forward, as it were.

Yeah, I like that idea. One good deed begets another, and slowly the world becomes a better place. Forget being a BAMF. Just call me Saint Kurt, the Benevolent!

Kurt's self-satisfaction came to an abrupt halt as he noticed that the other boy was starting at his outfit. The one he had been so smugly certain would attract attention when he put it on this morning. Well it certainly was succeeding, if Denny's mesmerized gaze was anything to go by. Attractively displayed arms, red jeans clinging tightly to Kurt's long muscular legs, and especially the way those same pants drew direct attention to his groin, which had been reacting with unfortunate enthusiasm toward his lack of underwear all day long.

Oh, crap, I probably look like I'm begging for it!

And from the look on his new friend's bright-red face, he would be more than happy to answer that request if Kurt were to verbalize it. Kurt matched the blush when he noticed that Denny's stack of textbooks was being surreptiously lowered to cover a reaction of his own.

Damn, so much for the kid not really being gay. Admiring him out of gratitude was one thing, it could be excused all sort of ways, but getting physically turned on by having another boy's body in close proximity? Yeah, that was definitely something more.

"So, I should probably get going," he said quickly. "Gotta get dinner started before my dad gets home from work. I'll, um, I'll catch you tomorrow, okay? Oh, and thanks again for the roses. They were really nice. Have a good evening." Smiling in what he hoped was a friendly but not inviting way; Kurt turned on his cute little granny-booted heel and fled.

What the hell was he supposed to do now?