Not sure the ending is quite right, I may have to tweak it a little, but otherwise this is it! Thanks to all of you who sent me Reviews, I really love reading your comments. :-D

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Full dark had fallen before the gathering officially ended; broken up by the fact that three of the nine teenagers had fallen asleep where they sat. Finn gently shook Kurt's shoulder, bringing him out of his light slumber with a startled snort.

"Time to go home," Finn told him.

"Is the party over?" he asked, sounding like a disappointed five-year-old even to his own ears.

Finn laughed a little. "Yeah, it's over."

Rousing a little more as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, Kurt stretched his lids wide open and then blinked them rapidly in an attempt to shake off the sleepy feeling. "How long was I out?"

"Not long. You quit singing about twenty minutes ago, then Quinn started snoring and we noticed that Mike was using the bag of leftover Chee-tos for a pillow. Figured it was time to call it a night before we lost anyone else."

Kurt nodded, accepting the hand that Finn held out to pull him upright. "Did the girls go home already?" he asked, noticing that none of them seemed to be around.

"They're upstairs gathering extra bedding and stuff. Mercedes invited them to stay the night," Artie told him, wheeling his chair over when he noticed that his friend was awake again. "Actually Tina and Quinn were already invited before the rest of us got here, but Rachel found out and started doing the kicked puppy face so Mercedes invited her too."

"Yeah, that'd do it," he decided, yawning around the words. "Mercedes is a sucker for the big sad eyes trick."

Finn smiled. "You would know. By the way, I figured I'd drive you guys home in your car and you can bring me back to get my car and pick up Rachel tomorrow."

"You don't have to drive us home," Kurt said, trying to sound indignant and failing as he fell victim to another jaw-breaking yawn.

"Yeah, he does," Artie said with a laugh. "I can't drive and you're so sleepy I wouldn't trust you not to run us into a tree. Besides, you still need to get me in and out of your truck, and I'd rather not end the day by kissing pavement."

Realizing that he probably had a valid point, Kurt gave in gracefully. "Fine, whatever, just don't let me forget to pick up the clothes I left at your house this morning."

"Dude, not so loud!" Finn hissed, nervously eyeing Mike and Puck, who had halted their own conversation to shoot them strange looks, surprise in Mike's case and revulsion in Puck's.

Kurt jabbed the taller boy in the ribs with a sharp elbow. "Will you all please grow up? What did you think; that I was going swimming wearing skinny jeans and Marc Jacobs?"

Seeming to find relief in this logical argument, the other guys finished gathering their things together and wished everyone a cordial good night.

"One of these days I am going to snap and plant a big wet one right on Puck's pouty, homophobic lips, just to get him past that stupid gay-cooties syndrome he's been holding onto since we were ten years old," Kurt grumbled, throwing the bottle of sun block into his sports bag rather more violently than necessary before he sat down to lace up his sneakers.

Artie burst out laughing. "If you're serious, warn me first, will you? I want to get it on film."

Finn grinned, but then looked worried. "You wouldn't, like, really do that would you, Kurt? Cause you know Puck and I both still have a problem with the other guys in football thinking we're gay because of the glee club."

"Yes, I know. I was only kidding, Finn. Both of your bad-ass reputations are safe with me," Kurt promised with a sigh, wondering for about the millionth time why it was okay for everyone else to make endless jokes at his expense while he couldn't even make one tiny gay jest without sending the straight boys into a panic.

Oblivious, as usual, Finn just smiled, nodded and finished gathering up his now deflated pool toys to take home with him.

Kurt and Artie exchanged a fondly exasperated look. After spending half his life in a wheelchair and enduring all the thoughtless comments and behavior that went with it, Artie was in a unique position to understand Kurt's point of view.

"I think we have everything," Artie said, checking around to make sure as Kurt placed the sports bag in his lap, then wheeled him around the side of the house. There was no ramp at the Jones home, but the boys smiled to see Mrs. Jones and Mercedes waiting on the front steps when they came into view.

"I was hoping we'd have a chance to thank you again," Kurt said, stepping up and spreading his arms wide to hug both mother and daughter in a single warm embrace.

They enthusiastically returned the favor, placing simultaneous kisses on Kurt's rosy cheeks that had his face crinkling up in embarrassed delight. For some reason he could never quite get used to the free-flowing gestures of affection that the Jones women both favored, but he loved them just the same.

Finn and Artie also received hugs.

"Kurt, honey, don't forget this," Mrs. Jones reminded him, reaching behind her to pick up a small jar from the porch rail. "My secret recipe. Just wash your face real good tonight and use this in place of your usual moisturizer. It's a mask so don't rinse it off right away. Just let it soak into your pores tonight and wash it off with cool water in the morning."

Relieved, he hugged her again. Mrs. Jones had studied dermatology at one point, and while she had not chosen to make a career of it, Kurt trusted her implicitly. "I will. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome. Now you boys drive safe."

Finn's tall stature made transporting Artie back into the passenger seat of Kurt's truck a much simpler task and Kurt willingly sat in the next row as Finn accepted his keys and climbed into the driver's seat.

"This feels weird," Kurt commented, stretching out as far as his seatbelt would allow on the plush leather bench seat as the truck began to roll. "I don't think I've ever sat in the back before, but it's pretty comfortable. I could get used to having my own chauffeur."

"Just don't fall asleep back there," Finn told him with a snort. "We're almost at Artie's house and I don't want to have to ask his mom if I can have my brother's clothes back."

They all laughed, Kurt unable to stop himself from wriggling a little bit in pleasure over Finn's casual reference. For once, he didn't even feel the usual stab of regret over his failed school-year crush on Finn. Having his very own brother instead just felt . . . right.

They reached Artie's home within minutes, getting him quickly situated back in his chair. Finn declined the invitation to come inside but Kurt accompanied Artie to the door, smiling self-consciously as Artie's parents greeted him with welcoming smiles that could not quite hide their amusement over his unusual appearance.

Kurt had thoroughly rinsed his soiled T-shirt in Artie's bathroom sink before they departed, leaving it to air-dry over the course of the day. The usually soft material was a little stiff but after an experimental sniff-test, Kurt deemed it wearable for the drive home.

Ducking into Artie's bathroom, he changed out of the borrowed apparel and back into his own, relieved to be free of Artie's too-tight clothes. While his jeans were designed to be nearly skin tight, they were fitted and familiar, which made all the difference in the world. There wasn't much he could do about his hair after allowing it to be wetted by chlorinated water and then repeatedly sun-dried, but Kurt had plenty of products at home that would repair the damage, and Mercedes' advice about being a child for the day was still echoing in his mind.

"I'll take these clothes home and get them washed for you," he offered, holding up the swimsuit and discarded T-Shirt as he walked back into his friend's bedroom.

Artie laughed. "You don't need to do that. Just throw 'em in the laundry basket. I'll wash them tomorrow with the rest of my stuff."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I don't believe in gay cooties, remember?"

Kurt laughed, appreciating the friendly sarcasm. It felt okay when Artie said things like that, comforting instead of insulting. "Right. Thanks again for the loan."

"No problem. Hey, we still on for Friday?"

They had decided on the way over this morning that Artie should come by the Hummel residence for dinner and movie night on Friday evening.

"Absolutely. Ask your dad to drop you off around four o'clock. We can play video games or something until dinnertime."

"Cool. Tell your dad I'll bring him some of my mom's barbecue wings."

"Oh, he'll love you forever."

Artie grinned. "I know; it's all a part of my master plan for eventual world domination."

"Scary. Especially since I think you'll have to fight Miss Sylvester for the title."

Laughing, the two boys exchanged a friendly fist-bump. "See you, Kurt."

"Night, Artie."

Waving farewell to the Abrams as he passed, Kurt went outside and jogged up to his truck. He felt more than awake enough to drive by now, but decided to let Finn retain the honor. His friend drove an old fixer-upper Mustang that he had received for his birthday and which the two of them, plus Kurt's dad, were slowly restoring together, but he was still not- so-secretly in love with Kurt's beautiful and expensive Lincoln Navigator.

"Today was pretty awesome," Finn said after a few minutes, drawing Kurt out of a reverie he had fallen into as the quiet vehicle hummed smoothly through the night-darkened streets of Lima.

"I know. Probably the best day I'll have all summer."

Finn smiled at him. "You never know. Tomorrow could be even better."

"Not a chance. I promised Dad I'd work from noon to five tomorrow," Kurt reminded him. "Swimming pools and barbecues definitely trump crank cases and greasy donuts."

"I like donuts."

Kurt laughed. "Me, too, but don't tell Dad. I'm still trying to get him to cut back."

"At least that means you get to sleep in tomorrow, if you want," Finn tried again, seeming determined to make Kurt look on the bright side.

"True," he said thoughtfully. "Though, the mall is having a sidewalk sale tomorrow. Even with work, I should be able to squeeze in a pretty decent shopping trip if I go early."

Finn brightened. "Hey, maybe me and Rachel could go with you."

"Rachel?" he repeated, wrinkling his nose. "On a shopping trip?"

"She wants to get an early start on her back-to-school wardrobe. Figured maybe I'd buy a couple of shirts or something, just to keep her company. You could help me pick something out, and I'm sure Rachel wouldn't mind having another girl's opinion. You know, sort of."

Ignoring the last part, Kurt considered the offer. "You'd both be willing to take my advice?"

"Totally, dude! You're great at that kind of stuff. I mean, your clothes used to scare me a little, but after you picked out some of our outfits for Glee, I realized you didn't expect anyone else to dress like you usually do, so it's all good."

Not quite sure if Finn's words were intended as a compliment or an insult, Kurt chose to assume the former. "In that case, you have yourself a wardrobe consultant."

Finn looked a little uncertain. "That's a yes, right?"

"Yes," he said, stifling a sigh.

"Cool. I'll call Rach when we get home and let her know."

Kurt raised an amused eyebrow. "You do realize that if you invite her while she's at Mercedes' slumber party, you're probably going to have three extra girls along for the trip, don't you?"

Finn looked alarmed for a moment, then he smiled again. "That's okay. Today was fun with all of us together. Why shouldn't tomorrow be just as good?"

The other boy's relentless optimism was hard to resist and with the possibility of not one, but two makeovers dangling before him, Kurt had to admit that he was suddenly looking forward to tomorrow with a great deal more enthusiasm. "Maybe it will be."

After all, given enough time, maybe he could break Rachel out of the knee-socks and animal sweaters motif completely! The very thought of never seeing that combination again during the entirety of their upcoming Junior year made his heart beat a little bit faster.

And maybe one of the mall boutiques would also be having a sale on designer swimwear. Mercedes was sure to invite him back over now that the pool had been properly broken in, and they still had a long, beautiful month and a half of summer vacation left to use it.

He could hardly wait.

THE END