The Life Fantastic Ch 3

Kurt waved a quick farewell to the two girls before he turned away, making a face once his face cleared their line of vision. He was sure he found a friend for life in Mercedes Jones, however despite the little voice that told him he felt the same way about Rachel Berry, the larger part of him just want to strangle the overbearing girl. Really the girls, as well as the whole glee club had been extremely warm in welcoming despite the fact just a couple of weeks ago he had been the competition.

"So, what'd you think of the Glee club?" Finn asked as he climbed into the driver seats.

Kurt gave a non-committal shrug, "It's nice, more freedom. Something to get used to."

"In a good way, right?"

"Yes, Finn. In a good way."

Silence ensued for a few moments as they pulled out of the high school parking lot. Kurt was content to sit in the passenger seat, staring out the window, all the while wishing he was the one driving. He knew better than to argue, even though his dad believed his side of things, a little leeriness was to be expected. It was only when he tried to push those particular memories out of his head did he realize that Finn had started talking again.

"…different than Dalton, with all the girls and everything? I don't think I could go to school without girls. Not that you care, I mean since you're gay." Now the boy who may have only talked to Kurt two or three times throughout the day was just rambling, "We don't have anybody who…well, now we've got you…and Karofsky." There was no mistaking the dislike the driver had for the much talked about returnee.

This caught Kurt's attention just enough to let the words come spilling out, "What do you have against Dave?"

"Dave?" Finn repeated in disbelief.

"I'm just saying he doesn't seem that bad."

They turn into their street and Kurt couldn't help being a little nervous as his stepbrother spent most of the turn giving him a look of bewilderment.

"Yeah, well, you weren't here last year." Finn swallowed tightly, "Kurt, just stay away from Karofsky. He's bad news. You'll just be better off."

Kurt forgot himself for a moment as Finn turned the car of and head inside. It took him a few seconds before he recovered enough to close his gaping mouth. "Excuse me!" He called after his step brother. "Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?"

"Come on Kurt, trust me." Finn said turning at the front door, "He's trouble and the last thing you need is more trouble."

"The last thing I need is people who can't stay out of my business." Kurt countered loudly, "So, I'll thank you to let me decide for myself!" He marched past Finn, and into the house where Carole was appearing in the doorway of the kitchen, no doubt attracted by the raised voices.

"Everything okay boys?"

"Fine." The responded simultaneously.

The older woman simply raised her eyebrows in an expression that clearly communicated that she knew everything wasn't, in fact, fine. But still she chose to ignore it. "Alright, well, I guess you left your phone here Kurt, its been going off since I got home." Her stepson nodded and made his way to the basement door, "And…" Her voice momentarily stopped him, "Kurt, don't forget you have a follow-up appointment with the doctor on Thursday and your…hours start this Saturday."

He sighed and nodded before disappearing out of the entry way. As soon as she heard the door to the basement shut her attention snapped to her son before her. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

"No."

"Finn." Her I-am-the-mom-and-I-was-really-telling-not-asking voice stopped him from retreating to his make shift bedroom.

"Kurt's found a friend…in Karofsky. He's back."

There was a moment of silence as the name registered in his mom's head. "Oh, honey. I thought you were over all that."

He sighed, "I know, but after what Quinn told us after the truth came…out and he left. And seeing him. He lied, he and Quinn…"

"He was scared, Finn…and when you thought it was yours, so were you. He's probably just trying to move on, you should too."

He gave her that begrudging look she knew meant that he knew she was right, but he didn't have a chance to vocalize anything.

"Carole," Kurt reappeared back around the corner, "Do you think we can look into getting my number changed? I just, if no one is going to believe me, I would just rather leave it all behind." He showed his stepmother a couple of the message his phone had received through the day.

She tutted her concern, nodding, "Sure, honey. I'll pick you from school and we'll do it tomorrow."

Kurt sighed as Finn excused himself while Kurt and Carole made their way back into the kitchen. "It would be so much easier if I could just drive myself."

As he sort of expected he was met with a pointed look and a sympathetic smile. "You only have a week to go before your month is up. You're lucky Dalton didn't want any bad press"

Kurt tutted softly, but it was loud enough for her to catch him. "I know this isn't easy, paying for something you didn't do, but right now, you've just got to make the best of a bad situation."

"A month without a car, leaving Dalton, my allowance taken away, community service and having to listen to some old guy drone about the danger of teenagers. Where's the good?"

She looked at him her teeth fumbling with her bottom her unwilling to admit he was right. "How about I send your dad to get pick-up out by that coffee shop you like, to pick up a couple of muffins, and if there a happened to be change enough for you to pick up something just for you?"

Kurt gave her the smile he knew she wanted. She didn't ask for any of this, but ever since she met Burt she had stepped up to the plate beautifully, the very least he could do was pretend to be excited about what she thought was a genius plan.

"The Defenestration of Prague and the Thirty Years War." Dave read out loud from the book in his left hand to his daughter he was held on his knee with the other while they sat on the couch in the living room of the tiny two-bedroom apartment he shared with his father, who had called to say he'd be spending all night at the office. She was far too interested in drowning bear shaped teething toy with her saliva to pay attention to what he's reading. "I'm with you, eating a bear sounds like more fun than throwing someone out a window. Just remember that when you're sixteen and I tell you that you're not allowed to go out with the quarterback,, okay?" He began to plant a soft kiss on the top her head when the movement distracted her enough to turn her head. The clip that held her barely long enough hair caught his lip in the movement which caused him to yelp loudly at the unexpectedly sharp pain. It took a moment before he realized it had all made her smile wide enough to show all the gums her teeth were taking their sweet time to appear in.

"Oh, you think Daddy's pain is funny?" He laughed lightly and she took it as a her cue to let out a squel of delight before babbling on in a series of sounds.

Her very one sided conversation was interrupted by his cell phone going off from the back room where he had changed her diaper just after their arrival. By the time he made it to the piece of plastic the call had already gone by. He flipped through the call log and hit redial on the one of his older brother's cell number.

The response was almost instant after the first ring.

"Did you need something, Jake?"

"Yeah, Mom just dropped off a box for you and dad, I was wondering if you could drop by and pick it up."

David sighed, "I dropped Liam off at hers this afternoon, why didn't give it to me then?"

"Because she lives on making all our lives more complicated. Come by, I'll give you free coffee?"

"Yep, be there in a few."

Nearly forty minutes later their arrival at the small coffee shop was announce by the dinging of the bell attached to front door with tacky giant bow.

"Welcome to the emPour…oh, its just you."

"Good to see, you too." He teased his sister-in-law as she approached her baby bum only emphasized by the white arpron tied around her waste.

She smile at him before her attention turned to the infant he was carrying. "Hi there, Miss Lyla."

"Beth." Dave corrected but she ignored him taking her niece out of the arms of her father. "Your daddy is silly isn't he? If he wanted to call you by your middle name then he should have made that your first name."

"Dave!" The sound of his name being called out derailed his retort. He turned to she Jeremy, Jake's twin emerge behind the counter. Trusting his daughter to her aunt he moved to greet his brother.

"So where's my free coffee?" Dave asked.

"I wondered how he convinced you to not leave that box here to rot. What'll be?"

Dave shrugged, "Double, caramel?"

"Alright." His brother nodded, "How is life back at McKinley? I miss that place."

"Well, I didn't….Being back was everything I expected."

Jeremy cringed sympathetically, "That bad, huh? But dad said you were going to talk to the new coach."

The scoff came out his mouth before he could stop it, "That was one giant maybe. I have to prove I can handle the responsibility…and she's worried about how the team will handle it now that everyone knows I'm gay."

"Well, you can't let that stop you."

"I just don't know what the point is. I could spend the time I waste at school and practice on a job. I need…"

Jeremy glared at his younger brother as he handed over the Styrofoam cup, "You agreed…"

"But I can't wait for that money to come through, especially if Leo protests the will."

"He won't." Jeremy replied instantly with enough authority that Dave didn't question it, "Jake's got the box in the back."

Dave nodded as he disappeared through the door after one last check on his daughter. Knocking on the office door he pushed through door. Sitting behind the desk was Jeremy's look alike, and Beth's godfather.

"Hey, little brother."

Dave returned the brotherly hug despite his disdain at the nickname, regardless of its base in fact.

"Where Lyla?"

"Beth is with your wife."

There was a slight grin at the correction, "I know you prefer that name, you just…well, its just hard for some of us."

"I know, I just wanted to…" His eyes turned to the photo on the wall, a picture of all eight of the Karofsky kids taken seven years ago, just before the long road of tragedy and bad luck first began for the family. Dave cleared his throat, coming back to reality, "But I'm just fighting a battle I'm never going win."

"True." Jake forced a smile in return, "Well, the box is just there." He pointed to the seat against the wall, and as Dave turned he spotted the box with a large plastic bag.

"What's that?"

"Nothing." Came the guilty response. "Just some extras we had making the nursery."

"Jake, I'm not stupid…there's no such thing as extras when it comes to kids…plus you wouldn't be diapers for an eight month old to get the nursery read for a newborn. I told you guys…"

"Then don't think of it as help, think of it as a gift for my goddaughter. Really there's not a lot else I could get for eight month old."

"Fine." The younger Karofsky brother conceded.

"and I would stop giving her these gifts if her father took me up on my job offer." Dave started to protest but was cut off once more, "It's decent pay, I'll work with school, and sports, you could bring Lyla if you needed. Dave, just think about it. I want someone I can trust, while Sarah and I are away from work. And someone I know will keep Jeremy in line."

"Fine. If you're going to guilt me."

"Thank you. Next week?"

"Next week." Dave agreed.

"I'll help you with this." They maneuvered around for a moment before they headed out back to the front of the of the coffee shop where Beth was becoming increasingly vocal about having been separated from her father.

Dave's sister-in-law was busy with a customer when the baby girl spotted her father. Sarah excused herself for a moment as she whispered rather loudly into her niece's ear, "Look, there he is! There's Daddy!"

The smile on Dave's face grew as he was met with an enthusiastic response. Quickly he shifted the bag of diapers to his hand with the coffee and scooped her gently with the newly freed arm, "There's my princess. Thank you for watching her, Sarah…And thanks for the gift" He held up the bag.

She shrugged off the gratitude as though it were nothing smell before she turned back to the customer she had been in the middle of the helping. It was only then that Dave noticed the customer who had placed his order at the counter and his stomach plummeted as he realized it was none other than Kurt Hummel. He half expectant the mouth-gaping-eye-gawking look when the other boy looked over, but it never came. Hudson stepbrother had a small moment of shock, but hid it well behind a slight. Much to Dave's dismay Kurt made his way over as he waited.

"Hi."

"Uh…hi." Dave responded dumbly, then proceeded to inwardly chastise himself for not having anything intelligent to talk about.

"Long time no see."

"Hi there." Kurt turned to the infant in Dave's arms who chose that moment to channel an unusual amount of shyness as she dug her head into the her father's chest.

"She's beautiful." Kurt gave a standard compliment Dave was sure most babies received, though he secretly thought it was exceptionally true, then again he was biased. Still, he simply nodded his thanks for the comment.

Kurt smiled as he finally her eye long enough to get the infant to smile at him as though it were a huge accomplishment. Without think he continued to talk. "She looks like you."

Unable to resist Dave didn't miss a beat, "Are you calling me beautiful?"

It had been worth it Dave thought simply to see the other boy's face change to a deep beet red in a matter of seconds.

From behind Dave his older brother cleared his throat as he came to Kurt's rescue, "Well, I'm just going take this out to your car, Dave, I need to get back to work."

Both high school students snapped back to reality. "Yeah," Dave acknowledge, "I've got to get going. It's almost someone's dinner. See you at school, Kurt."

Kurt nodded vaguely, but if he had responded Dave hadn't noticed. He was already out the door. As he approached his brother at the trunk, Jake raised his eyebrow with a serious curiosity.

"How do you know Kurt?" Jake asked.

"New kid at school." Dave caught on and looked to Jake. "How do you know Kurt?"

"It's a popular place for the boys from Dalton. He's been a regular since he started there. He seemed really popular, until a few months ago. A whole bunch of rumors….I didn't really listen to them, high school was a long time ago for me. Maybe its why he transferred?"

Dave shook his head, "He said it was because his dad remarried."

"Well," The older man shrugs, face neutral, "Like I said, just a bunch of high school rumors." The thirty year old paused for a moment lowering his voice as Kurt came out of the coffee shop making his way for a vehicle parked on the other end of the lot, "Are you thinking about…" Dave was suddenly aware of the awkwardness that had begun to settle in on the conversation.

"No. no. His new stepbrother, is Finn…" He saw the confusion, "Hudson. He's the one Quinn tried to pin Beth on, before I found out." But the confused looked stayed put.

"You wouldn't want to do…you know with him, just because of his stepbrother? Finn aside, is that your…type?"

Dave rolled his eyes. He knew it was his brother trying to be supportive. Keyword: trying. "Whether he's my type or not, I have a daughter, high school, sports, and now two jobs…I think a boyfriend is the last thing I'm thinking about."

There was a long pause before while Jake eyed him, "So, he is your type?"

The groan was loud enough and deep enough to warrant a giggle from the youngest member of the Karofsky family. Sarah popped her head out of the door and started taunting her husband to get him back inside.

Dave gave held his hand out for a brief fare well handshake, but Jake held on.

"See you next week, and Dave….just….proceed with caution."

alright, there you go thank you for your patience.

'This Time Around' new chapter should be up within a couple of days, just found that notebook again...thank goodness for having to clean for Passover.

Happy Pesach to all those who observe it.

Yay for Glee tonight.

Also, I know this chapter adds a little to the confusion but no worries it'll all be explained. In this story Karofsky has a large family, but besides this they won't play too much of a part.

Let me know what you think!