I don't own anything, blah blah blah. The song is Use Somebody by Kings of Leon, if you didn't know. Anyway, I'm on my back up computer, the other one is in the shop for realz and it's killing me because I really hope that the man-genius at PCyber can recover the 20 page Snarry Smut-fest that wasn't completed and was a total secret and all the other stuff I had on it... If there is anything to be learned from this is follow your gut! If it tells you to back up your files, back them up, don't wait for the next day. *bangs head against the wall* This was written on my back up comp that doesn't have a battery so whenever the power cord comes out it shuts off and okay, I'm done with my pity fest... Hope you enjoy the show!

Kurt can't breath.

He backs away from the window of the choir room door and stumbles as he tries to flee the scene he's just witnessed.

Puck and Artie.

Kissing.

Puck was kissing Artie.

The scene just didn't compute in Kurt's brain. Puck was the straightest man in all of Straightonia and Artie was, well, Artie, not that there was anything wrong with him, but he was with Brittany, and by default, Santana... but still.. why were they kissing?

He ran past a stunned Mercedes and Tina, never noticing them through the tears in his eyes.

The two girls share confused looks and Tina continued on to the choir room while Mercedes goes after her best friend.

Almost everyone is already in the choir room, chatting amongst themselves.

Puck is sitting in the back with Sam, chatting about some video game. Artie is at the front, with Mike and Finn as they chat about some concert or something.

Tina has no idea what's going on with Kurt. She furrows her brow in confusion as she studied the group, hoping it wasn't someone here that had hurt Kurt.

x

'Kurt!' Mercedes finally catches up with Kurt as he struggles to get his keys into the lock of his navigator.

'Go away,' his scathing retort is ruined by the trembling bottom lip and the sob that breaks through.

'What's wrong, baby boy?' Mercedes asked gently, pulling him into her arms as he drops his keys again.

Kurt clings to Mercedes as he sobs into her shoulder. After a few minutes Kurt pulls away and uses his sleeve to wipe his eyes. Mercedes knows it's bad, Kurt always has a damn handkerchief at the ready.

'I told him how I felt about him, and he said "okay" and walked away and then he was there and he asked and I told him how I felt, and they were fucking kissing.'

Mercedes cooed something as Kurt tried to pull himself together again. He knows he's probably over reacting but, just once, he'd like to get the guy.

'They both knew so when is it fucking my turn!' he cursed before sobbing into Mercedes' shoulder again.

Mercedes does her best to comfort Kurt, she has no idea who the he's are in Kurt's drama, but when she finds out they are in for a serious hurtin'.

x

'You want Kurt, he wants you. What's stopping you?' Artie asked when they were alone after practice; Puck wheeling Artie out to his truck.

'He deserves better than me,' Puck replied. He wanted Kurt, he really did, and his time helping Artie had helped him see that, but he didn't think he was good enough for the male diva.

'Puck,' Artie sighed in exasperation.

'What?' he snapped.

Artie simply leveled a glare at him, unimpressed with Puck's attitude. After having gotten to know the jock over the last few weeks, he'd found himself actually like who Puck was underneath all the macho bravado.

'Why did you kiss me?'

Artie shrugged, 'I don't know, to prove to you that you are worth something, the kissing another guy won't end the world,' he offered with a shrug.

'What about Brittany?'

'Have you ever watched her and Santana go at it?' he retorted, like it was the most obvious thing on the planet. 'She'll be disappointed that she didn't get to watch.'

Puck snorted.

They're quiet for a few moments as they wait for a red light.

'So what do I do?'

Artie studied Puck for a moment, 'you apologize to Kurt for being a douche and you bring him some expensive chocolate and you beg for him to forgive you and give you a chance. He likes movies that fuck with your head. He made me watch Inception like 8 times, and I'm still not sure I know what's going on.'

x

'What?' Kurt snapped as Puck grabbed his arm to keep the other boy from storming out after class.

'Can we talk?' Puck requests gently.

'About what?' he snaps, pulling his arm from Puck's grasp, 'you made it perfectly clear when you walked away from me.'

'Kurt please,' Puck begged, hating how much he'd obviously hurt Kurt with his non answer.

'I saw you yesterday. Kissing Artie,' Kurt cut him off.

Puck's stomach drops to his feet and his heart is in his throat.

'I... it wasn't... it didn't mean anything,' Puck tried to explain, but like always, whenever he's around Kurt, he turns into a Neanderthal, his ability to speak reduced to grunts and half formed syllables.

'Look, whatever okay? I don't know what's going on with you and Artie and Santana and Brittany but, I don't... it's not...' Kurt trailed off because it's not okay for Kurt, but it's not his business. Kurt will find his someone. Just not here. Not with Puck.

With one last, heartbreaking look at Puck, Kurt walks out of the classroom before Puck can figure out what the fuck is going on.

x

Puck slammed his locker shut and let out an impressive array of curses. Kurt spent the rest of the day avoiding him.

He's pretty sure Mercedes knows, namely because when she hasn't been running interference for Kurt she's been glaring daggers at Puck. He's positive that if she had mind powers that he'd be dead, at least three times over.

'Something bothering you?' Artie asked from behind Puck.

'He saw us.'

'Shit, yo,' Artie mumbled, barely loud enough for Puck to hear.

'Yeah. And now he thinks we have some bizarre love square going on with San and Britt,' he stated, pushing the other boy to glee.

Brittany practically falls on Artie as Puck leaves the wheelchair bound teen with the blond and Santana.

Puck sits at the back, watching Kurt, who's sandwiched between Mercedes and Quinn. Both girls glare at Puck, but he refuses to look away.

Apparently they knew about the Puck part and didn't know about the Artie part, or they seemed to ignore that part.

x

'Hey guys,' Mr Schue called out as he entered the room, glancing at everyone, 'Everything alright Kurt?' he asked, noting that the boys eyes are red and puffy and that Quinn and Mercedes are clinging to his hands.

'I'd like to preform something, if that's okay?' he replied.

Schue is surprised and Rachel looked like she was going to protest, insist that they have to practice for regionals or sectionals or the nursing him, but Finn stopped her with a shake of his head. He's not as brain dead as everyone thinks he is, apparently.

'Of course, Kurt, the floor is yours,' Schue moves to take a seat as Kurt sits at the piano.

Schuester's eyes widen as he recognizes the song, slower than he's used to, but recognizable. He had no idea Kurt would do a song like it, but then again, he was always trying to get the kids to broaden their horizons as it were. He immediately feels guilty for thinking that Kurt only knows show tunes and Lady Gaga songs, putting the Mellencamp fiasco aside, he's expressed a vast knowledge of music from several genres.

Kurt's only accompaniment is the piano and as he sings in a lower register than normal, Schuester is blown away. It won't be this song, but the next time they perform, Kurt will have his solo.

"I've been roaming around, I was looking down at all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody

"Someone like you and all you know and how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you

"Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice -"

He tried to sing the entire song, he had been able to make it through I Want to Hold Your Hand, but he can't because this song is different. The person it's meant for is here, sitting in the back, pretending not to watch, to listen. His face crumbled and he is in tears.

Quinn and Mercedes are out of their chairs, moving to comfort him, but Puck is faster. He straddles the piano bench and pulls Kurt into his arms. Despite the burn in his eyes, he manages to glare the duo away from them. He wants to be the one to comfort Kurt, because he caused this, he did this to Kurt, and he can't believe that he's caused such pain in someone. He's not worth this heartache. Kurt is, Kurt is worth so much more than this, and really, Puck thinks it should be him who's crying over Kurt's rejection.

'Why am I not good enough?' Kurt almost pleads, his voice barely loud enough for Puck to hear.

There were strong arms around him, and he hasn't registered that they are Puck's. The warn flannel throws him, but the Axe should have clued him in.

'You are good enough, you're so much better than anyone in this hick town,' Puck is trying to comfort the sobbing boy in his arms.

Schuester herded everyone from the room. They have already seen too much of Kurt's breakdown.

'So much better than me.'

That seemed to snap Kurt from his tears.

'What? No! Noah, you're a good man,' he began, the fact that he'd just been crying in Puck's arms not quite registering in his mind.

'Really? I've bullied you for years, because you were different. I slept with my best friend's girl and got her pregnant because I was jealous. I'm basically a male whore. I gave up my daughter,' his own voice caught in his throat and he swallowed around the lump that had formed.

'You're not that guy anymore,' Kurt blurted. 'Not since you joined glee. You haven't tossed me in a dumpster for like a year and half and you took a slushie for me the other day. You only slept with Quinn, and all those other women, because you hurting, but Quinn conned you into it, even I can see that. It almost killed you to give her up, if you could have, you would've kept her, and you would have been an awesome father.'

'This isn't supposed to be about me,' Puck stated, wiping Kurt's cheeks gently.

Kurt turned away, fresh tears dampening his cheeks. He'd been fine talking about Puck, why did he have to change the subject?

'What's with the tears?'

Kurt is silent for a long time, so long in fact that one of Puck's legs, which has been under both of Kurt's, who's not as light as he seems to be, for the better part of twenty minutes, has fallen asleep.

'I just... every time I think, "hey, maybe this time" I get kicked in the face and shoved in the dirt. Just once, I want someone to pick me, to chose me,' he gave a bitter laugh, 'and now I sound like a whiny bitch.'

'I choo-choo-choose you,' Puck offered softly.

Kurt gave a soft laugh, 'I appreciate it, Noah, but I really don't want to be a part of that pentagon.'

'No,' Puck denied, and when Kurt tried to say something he covered his mouth with a hand, 'you had your chance to talk, it's my turn,' he used his free hand to cup Kurt's face, gently but with determination. The other hand still over Kurt's mouth.

'I want you, so badly, my chest aches for you. I don't want anyone else, and that kiss that you saw between me and Artie, well I still have no idea what the hell it was, but it didn't mean anything. I think it was just Artie showing me that it was okay to kiss another guy, but I don't really know. I hate that I can't give you my first kiss, or my virginity or anything like that, but I can give myself, everything that I am, I can give that to you. I would offer you my heart, but you've already stolen that. Please Kurt, you've made me notice.'

Puck didn't wait for Kurt to reply, he pulled him close and kissed him passionately, pouring all of his feelings for the boy in his lap into the kiss.

'I think I've already fallen in love with you,' he whispered against Kurt's lips.

Kurt's eyes fluttered shut as he melted into the kiss, completely ignoring the fact that the entire female half of New Directions has just swooned in the doorway.

Puck and Kurt both new that this relationship wouldn't be easy, but then again, the best things usually aren't, so for right now, they're content to sit awkwardly on the piano bench in the choir room, kissing like the horny teenage boys they are.

Artie rolled away, looked particularly smug, and if anyone noticed, they didn't say anything.

Straightonia needed a new mayor.