I listened to the song as I read this and it really matched it! Anyway, this was really beautifully written. A tad depressing but really good.

Very sad but perceptive. Dave seeing no way out, and Kurt around making him feel even worse about himself and the lie he's living. I really liked some of the detail in here, such as the chipped Thansgiving turkey magnate, and the fact that he'd be holding his class ring in his *left* as opposed to his *right* hand. These little details made it all seem much more concrete. Poor Dave.

UPDATE!

Really good story.

Wow, that was really powerful and devastating. It makes perfect sense that Dave would only be fully comfortable on the football field, where he knows exactly what he's supposed to do, exactly what's expected of him, and it lines up perfectly with what he's comfortable doing. There's no identity crisis on the football field. I think you portrayed Dave's suicidal ideation very well. It makes sense to me that he would regard an inability to kill himself as a 'failure.' And you capture very well all of Dave's heartbreaking thoughts when he sees Kurt again. Jealousy and longing and hopelessness. And that awful realization - you can't outrun what's inside you. Very true. Favorite line: "When he closes his eyes, he can see his life unspooling like thread."

Brilliant.

The ending was so powerful. And it's so hard because all I want to do is comfort Karofsky or something. It's so sad that he thinks football makes him what he is, and without it he has to keep running. Aw. Beautiful writing.

So perfectly depressing.

this is very well written! i really like this portrayal, it's like you took a vacation in his head...

"Of fucking course he's alone. He's never felt more alone in his life."

perfect. keep up the great work!