Chapter 8, Part 2

The cogs keep turning in his head the rest of the morning, though he nearly becomes his own worst enemy a number of times before remembers everything in the big picture he risks losing and everything he could hope to gain. Afraid of ruining his own plan, he avoids Kurt the rest of the day . All he trust himself to do is send a text:

Talked the guy I told you about into helping out your Glee club tomorrow.

He hits send with the a confidence that keeps giving him pep talks through the rest of the day, even managing to override some choice comments made from Az and couple other jocks. It does, however, begins to wear down the next morning as he makes his way to school, but Kurt's face as Dave boards the bus is enough to stop him from turning around and running the rest of the way home. Let it be worth it. Let this be the right move. Don't say anything stupid...

"Where's...?" Kurt begins loudly, face twisted between shock and skepticism. "You?"

Dave tries to shrug it off before taking a seat next to other boy, seeing as Mercedes and Quinn were in the midst of a conversation towards the front of the bus, "Me." He repeats trying to gauge what exactly Kurt's reaction means. "What?"

Kurt sits back against the muted brown seat pulling a knee to his chest with ease even in the small space, "Nothing..." He replies thoughtful before his eyes meet Dave's again, "I just keep underestimating you, I think."

"Don't worry," Dave says with a small smile, "I do that all the time."

"So...why didn't you say anything?"

Dave shrugs, "I tried...I just...it just...I tried," He confesses, "I wanted to that day you quit football." This confuses Kurt who starts to open his mouth but Dave continues quietly, "I had told my parents the night before. And my Dad, he didn't take it well…I mean we're good now, well…getting there." He adds the bit as he watches Kurt's face falls slightly because the last thing he wants from Kurt is pity, especially in this moment.

"The rumor..." Kurt starts as the bus pulls out of the parking lot but the athlete cuts him off quickly, "Was still stupid...but I was angry at my dad, angry at myself, the guys on the team...you."

Kurt's rightfully a little offended at the last admission, "Me? What did I do?"

"You were safe on the football team, all the guys laid off you..and quitting was just opening yourself back to all that...and all I could think of was 'is this what I want' to get crapped on during high school..."

"But you're still on the team..." Kurt points out the flaw in Dave's defense to which the athlete scoffs adjusting against the uncomfortableness of both the chair and the conversation."I never said the logic made sense, mostly it was fear..."

This seems to satisfy Kurt for the moment and the pair of them drift into a silence letting the noise of the rest of the teenagers on the bus wash over them. It's mostly Rachel's voice making it way to where they're seated a couple rows behind everyone else. She's barking instructions that Dave is slightly aware that he should probably pay attention to if he's going to actually be helpful.

"What about now?" Kurt voice overrides Berry's in an instant. "Are you going to tell everyone?"

Deep breath, Dave, deep breath, "I want to...be open, but" the disappointment that flickers across Kurt's face instantly makes him feel guilty so he hurries to explain himself, "I just want take it slow. One step at a time...I mean I'm not going to deny it...It really sucks lying to the people I care about" There's a slight panic in his brain, but Kurt is seemingly unaware of the slip Dave believes he made. It takes another deep breath for him to recover. "And as much I want to sometimes, I'm not ready to start announcing it. I just really wanted you to know."

Kurt's head which had started nodding in understanding as he made to look out the window nearly whipped back around as Dave's words processed, his eyes, wide, locking onto Dave's. "Why?"

Dave looks to his knees, rubbing them with the palm of his hands hard enough to threaten the fabric of his jeans."I just thought you should know you're not alone."Dave's nerves virtually evaporate in that moment, because (whether the other boy is aware of it or not) Kurt's got a smile breaking across his face. The congratulatory relief of this minorly major accomplishment is derailed by the sound of Rachel Berry,"Kurt! Karofsky!"Dave groans internally; did nobody realize that 'Dave' was so much easier to say than 'Karofsky'. "We're almost there and I don't think anyone has been listening..."

"Because they haven't, Rachel." Kurt chimes, but nudges Dave signaling that both need to move forward despite the safety protest of Ms. Pillsbury. As Rachel rambled the rest of the way Dave took everyone else's lead and ignored her by getting lost in his own thoughts. Between having told Kurt and the bizarre looks Puckerman was shooting across the bus (though, these could very well have been intended for Quinn) he was starting to feel more and more ridiculous for having agreed to help out the Glee club. Maybe I didn't think this all the way through,he told himself as they left the bus and made their way into the building. He hated to admit it but he agreed with Rachel about going last, maybe by then someone would tell him what he was supposed to do or Hudson would have a change of heart. As he looked around the group as they wait for the auditorium doors to open he realized that it was a little more like the pre-game feeling in the locker room then he was feeling; everyone getting themselves one form of a pep talk or another. Mercedes and Kurt talked nervously about Mercedes' solo to his right, Mike Chang was doing his own private round of the hokey pokey to warm-up, and Quinn Fabray was staring at her hands with intense focus next to him on the little bench.

"You nervous?"

She looks over looking at him likes he ruined an important conversation, "No." But her shoulders fall a little and she sighs, "A little. You?"

He shrugs, "Don't know what I'm doing, only ever sing in the shower, no experience, no practice...so, no, I think I'm good."

Keeping up the non-chalant attitude manages to stave off any form of performance anxiety before the panic rises in the group around him while the first two groups preform until te point that they're freaking out in the back room (green room, Kurt keeps correcting him). Their shouting accusations and trying to figure out what to do in the hour before they have to go on.

"What about all those other songs you done so far...like..." He trying to come with the song from Kurt's diva-off when Santana interrupts.

"You know what lard ass, your job is to lip sync and sway in the back ground." Well, at least that answers that question not really offended by her show of nerves as both Kurt and Quinn rise to his defense. But he takes the Latina's advice and spends the rest of their panic attack in the corner of the room. He listens as Rachel takes the solo, and Quinn suggest 'Somebody to Love' well, at least I know the words to that one...

He's in the middle of mentally making sure he does, in fact, know the words to that song when his relief arrives in the form of a song-bearing Hudson.

"I guess I'm no longer need." He tells Kurt, who shrugs as Dave continues, "I'm just going to go watch from the auditorium...Good..."

"No!" Kurt practically shouts silencing Dave out of slight fear. "Don't say that. That's the last thing we need right now. You're supposed to say 'break a leg'..."

"I thought that was just for plays."

"Are you sure you're..." Kurt quietly teases as he walks the no longer needed volunteer out of room.

"Funny." Dave dead pans breaking into a slight smile after a beat before starting to walk off.

"Dave!"

Kurt waits until he's turned around to say, "Thank you."

Dave just nods before continuing back to the auditorium, smile growing the entire time as he's fairly confident that the gratitude isn't just for volunteering for the Glee club.

"Derek! The football player..." Dave doesn't even bother to correct Mr. Hummel, who's waving him down, he's almost sure at this point the older man is doing it on purpose. The woman sitting next to mechanic Dave recognizes as Hudson's mom (and assumes that must have been how Finn got there) also looks confused but doesn't say anything as they make room for the high schooler to sit with them.

The announcer is getting ready to introduce New Directions when Mr. Hummel leans over, whispering, "So, do understand any of what's going on?"

"Nope." Dave shakes his head, "Not yet."

Burt looks like he's going to say more, but falls silent as the lights go dark. Dave's in awe of what they managed to put together in the short time and isn't surprised to see that they end up winning. His plans of joining the celebration are cut sort by the text telling him that his mom got off a little early and asking if he's done. To his surprise (and slight dissapointment) Ms. Pillsbury agrees to let Mr. Hummel take him home early instead of making him ride the bus back. But at least he gets a conversation rich in sports debate and stats, topics he know much more about the entire way home. He thanks Mr. Hummel before making his way into his house where his mother shouts for him to come back to the kitchen. He shakes his head with an inward laugh, every major conversation seems to happen in the kitchen, not the living room...no they make their life decisions next to the food and (for his parents at least) the alcohol.

"How was the competition, sweetie?" His mom asks as enters.

"Good," He nods, "Finn ended up showing up after all, so I just got to watch...but they won."

"Well, that's good."

"So, what's up?"

His parents share a look before his dad looks away and his mother continues at the helm of communication, "Well, Dave, it looks like there might be a change of plans for your summer."

"Did something happen with Uncle..." But his mom's already shaking her head 'no' so he know its the other trip, "I already told you I'm not going."

"You might not have to," Her words are slow, cautious causing warning bells to go off inside Dave's head, "We got a call from Cam's mom the other day..."

Instantly the familiarity of her words start a reaction, no, no...Dave's head is screaming barely listening to rest catching bit of key the words; new evidence, lower charge, eligible for parole. Looking at his dad he knows that they're both feeling like someone taken a baseball bat to their stomachs.

Then she says the words, "They want to come see you if he does get out."

Author's Note

1. Yay part 2...again...the whole Chapter 8 just got way too long and I wanted a little more time to work on this part as it is sort of important...the first of the two really big moments (in my mind for this story) the next will be the Theaticality based chapter which be in two or three updates!

2. As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for all the reviews, favs, and alerts. I want you all to know how much I appriciate your support and the fact you're taking your own time to read what I'm writing.

3. I would like to address the suggestion I recieved in a review reminding me that Dave needs healty relationship in general...and its true...I just got so focused on telling Dave's story with Kurt as that's the general purpose. But I will do my best to include interaction with other people...and I've got some ideas of how to incorporate that idea. Reviews like this help so much. So thanks again to Ashuisha, for that reminder.

4. I have posted another story (it won't, well, shouldn't be as long as this one) that I hope you all check out called "The Life Fantastic" It's AU, where Kurt's brand new, and Dave is returning. There's rumors...and secrets...and (SPOILER: a baby, though its NOT mpreg)

5. For those who need a refresher: Cam(eron) is, in this story, Dave's bio dad who went to jail when Dave was 4 (alluded to in earlier chapters) and has no custody of Dave who since was adopted legally by Paul Karofsky. It's Cam, his crime, and the little twist in this chapter that will force Dave to examine why he hated himself so much, and why he made the mistakes he did the first time around. This part of the story will be mostly secondary, and used only to suplement the main story...because I don't want to digress from the canon-with-nice-Dave feel too much. I just felt that as far as canon goes we don't really know the what is causing the self-hate, so I wanted to explore a possibilty. I just don't want to focus on it so we can get to the Kurtofsky action that'll happen in approx. 4 chapters...I know its taking it time, but this is Dave we're talking about...I don't want to rush him.

6. Therefore, Next chapter is going to give a little more detail on Dave's personal history that I've created for this story. It'll explain more the family dynamics and explain or at least hint at some of the things that led up to Dave's death the first time around.

Again, Thanks for keeping up with this story, and I hoped you enjoyed it.