Hi there!

Thanks to those who have reviewed; your kind words mean a lot to me. Also, a special thanks to those who have added this story to your Story Alerts and Favorites lists. That is very encouraging.

This will be the last chapter for this story. I hope you enjoy!

Friday Night Fright – Chapter 3

The Hudson-Hummel house was quiet, so there was no good reason for Kurt to be awake at 2:00 in the morning, but awake was exactly how he found himself.

The numbers on his alarm clock glared at him in the darkness, and he sighed. He knew that it had been a stressful night, but still… He had fallen asleep earlier with no great problem, so what was the deal?

Deciding that a glass of water was in order, he tossed back the blankets, swung his legs over the side of his bed, and stood up. He left his room, heading for the kitchen.

On his way down the hall, Kurt paused outside of Finn's room. The door was partially open, and he could hear sheets rustling. For a moment, he wondered if Finn had snuck into his room and curled up in bed with Rachel, but he quickly put that thought out of his head. His dad would kill Finn if he did that, and Finn knew it too. That could only mean that he was not the only person awake in the house.

He reached out a hand and softly tapped on the door with his index finger before gently pushing it open. He leaned his head inside. Rachel was curled up on her side, facing the door.

"Can I come in?" he whispered.

Rachel nodded wordlessly.

Kurt entered the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could.

He moved over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "Can't sleep?" he questioned softly.

"No," Rachel answered, just as quietly. "Every time I close my eyes, I see a gun."

Kurt nodded, then gestured for Rachel to scoot over. She did so, and Kurt climbed under the covers, lying down on his side facing her. He reached out a hand and took hers.

"Earlier, you said you didn't think you remembered feeling like the girl who would decorate her room the way you did yours," he began. Rachel looked him in the eye, and he continued. "I don't think I ever told you exactly what started me thinking about transferring to Dalton, did I?"

Rachel looked confused. "I don't know, I guess we all figured it was because the situation with Karofsky was getting out of hand."

"Sort of," Kurt said. "He told me he was going to kill me. I know people say that all the time, use it as an expression, but I really thought he meant it."

Rachel squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry, Kurt."

Kurt gave her a small smile. "I know. And I know it was your idea for the football players to get on him about what he was doing, for which I am eternally grateful. But, that's not the point. The point is that, although it's not quite a gun being shoved in my face, as soon as he said that to me, I felt like I lost something. I wasn't the same Kurt Hummel after that, the one who only had to worry about which Alexander McQueen sweater I wanted to wear to school that day."

"What are you trying to say?" Rachel asked, her eyes looking glassy.

"What I'm trying to say," Kurt replied, holding her hand even tighter, "is that while what happened to all of us, particularly to you, was terrifying, you shouldn't let that fear erase who you were before."

Rachel let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes tightly, but the tears came anyway. Kurt could feel her trembling and put his arms around her, pulling her close. He stroked her back soothingly while she cried.

After about 10 minutes, Rachel quieted down. She pulled her head away from Kurt and looked him in the eye. "How did you get to be so smart?"

"I learned it from Brittany," Kurt said, completely deadpan.

At that, Rachel started laughing. Not wanting to wake the other inhabitants of the house, she turned her face into the pillow to quiet the sound, but every time she felt like it was slowing down, the laughter bubbled up again.

Eventually, Rachel gained control of herself. She turned back to face Kurt, smiling for the first time since they entered the convenience store.

Rachel leaned her head forward and planted a kiss on Kurt's forehead. "Thank you, Kurt."

"You think you can sleep now?" he asked.

"Yes," Rachel said.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Rachel closed her eyes and looked back at him in embarrassment. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all," Kurt answered and held her tightly.

They lay there for several moments, and Kurt thought Rachel must be asleep when her quiet voice reached his ears. "You know," she began, "whenever I pictured sleeping in this bed with a boy, I always thought it would be Finn."

Kurt couldn't help but smile at that. "It's ok," he said. "Whenever I pictured getting into bed with someone, I never thought it would be a girl."

Rachel's response was to snuggle her head close to his. He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing.

As he was about to nod off, Kurt hoped that they would all be able to put their demons in the past, where they belonged.

The End

Well, that's it. I know it's a short chapter, but it's all that was needed to wrap up the story.

I hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought :o)