'I've Got To Go, It's Starting To Rain' Part Three
Part Three
"Right, guys." Finn clapped his hands, trying to get his students’ attention and, for the most part, failing. "Please, guys." Maybe he wasn’t cut out for teaching. This was Glee Club, it was meant to be extracurricular. Didn’t that mean these kids wanted to be here?
"You need to project, Mr Hudson." Ella said helpfully from her front row seat. Finn kept calling her Rachel. Was it a Glee thing, attracting crazy girls who breathed Broadway?
'Brrrp brrrp brrrrrrrrp brrrp.'
"Okay, whose phone?" Finn shouted over the noise.
Colin, a hulking footballer with a list of ex-boyfriends as long as his arm, raised an eyebrow. "I think it’s yours, Sir."
Finn checked. It was. He really needed to stop changing his ringtone around, it was getting confusing.
"Hello?"
"Hey Finn? It’s Ali."
"Hey, I’m at work right now-"
"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to say, I saw this really scruffy kid wandering around outside yesterday and I just saw him again. I think he might’ve been in your apartment, but I don’t think he took anything and I showed him the door, of course. I think he’s kind of crazy…"
Finn ended the call and ran for the door, shouting as he went. "Glee Club’s over, Guys. Sorry!"
He ran out into the parking lot, scrambling in his pockets for his keys. He stopped when he saw his car, and swore loudly. Someone had slashed his tyres. Finn froze, his brain short-circuited, he couldn’t think.
"Hey, Sir!"
"Go away, Rachel."
"My name is Ella. I don’t know why you keep forgetting that."
"Now really isn’t a good time."
"I thought you were in a hurry. Why are you just standing there? Is that your car? Did someone slash your tyres?"
"Do you ever stop talking?"
"I don’t think you’re supposed to talk to students like that. Unless you’re coach Sylvester." Ella pouted and folded her arms.
"Sorry. I just really need to get back to my apartment because my friend is ill and why did they have to pick today to vandalise my car?" Finn really wanted to kick something. Hard.
"Why didn’t you say so?" Ella went from indignant to beaming in a matter of seconds. "I can drive!"
By ‘I can drive,’ Finn decided his pupil must have meant ‘I shouldn’t be allowed on the road, or even in the immediate vicinity of something with wheels.’ If it wasn’t for his desperate need to get to Kurt, he would have jumped out of the vehicle a couple of miles back. Instead he hung on grimly and gave directions through gritted teeth until Ella happily backed her car into a dumpster outside Finn’s apartment building. He mumbled a thank you and stumbled out of the car.
"Kurt!" He yelled, looking around. No answer and no sign of Kurt. Why had Ali kicked him out? Couldn’t she tell there was something wrong? Why hadn’t Kurt explained?
"Who are we looking for?" Ella appeared at his elbow making him jump.
"Ella, shut up." He snapped irritably. He started walking around the building to the main door. Maybe Kurt wouldn’t have gone too far. Oh, god what if he’d wandered out into the road? What if he was hurt, or worse? He shouldn’t have left him…
"Mr. Hudson, over there!" Ella pointed. A crouched figure huddled up by a low wall. Finn ran over to him, ignoring Ella’s screech and the loud sound of a horn.
"Kurt…" Finn grabbed Kurt’s shoulders and he screamed, lashing out and knocking Finn backwards. He lurched to his feet and edged backwards, moving his head agitatedly from side to side. At some point he must have dropped the sunglasses and his red shirt was muddy up one side, his small hands clenched into tight fists. Finn got slowly to his feet, rubbing his jaw. That was going to bruise.
"Kurt, it’s all right. It’s me."
At his voice, Kurt flinched and swung to face him. "Leave me alone," he whimpered, backing away. "It’s too dark."
"Kurt. It’ll be okay." Finn edged towards him, reaching out a hand.
"It’s not okay!" Kurt shrieked, "How could I be okay?"
Ella dashed forward, colliding with Kurt and knocking him flying. They fell together in a tangle of limbs.
"Ella, what the hell?" Finn dragged her off Kurt.
"I was helping!" She protested. Finn glared at her as Kurt sat up.
"No more ‘helping’ okay?" He turned to Kurt. For a moment he thought he was going to hit him again, but Kurt just shuffled forward reaching out to him. Finn took his hands and pulled him close. Kurt pressed his face against Finn’s shoulder and Finn felt hot tears against his neck.
"Hey, ssh, it’s-“ ‘It’s not okay! How could I be okay?’ “I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’ve got you."
Ella pressed elevator buttons and opened doors as Finn half-carried, half-led Kurt back to his apartment. Kurt seemed desperate to keep as much body contact as he could, which made things pretty difficult, but eventually they made it. Finn was briefly glad that Ella had stayed to help ("Ella, can you make tea?") and she puttered around his cramped little kitchen as he pulled the curtains over the windows and settled Kurt on the sofa, feeling an ache in the vicinity of his heart as the young man sank sleepily into the deep cushions.
"So dark," he murmured sleepily. Finn lifted and arranged him so that he was lying comfortably with his head in Finn’s lap.
"Got to escape and get home." Kurt informed him, eyes shut. "Dad’s waiting. DVD night with Finn."
Finn leaned down awkwardly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I’ll let you chose which movie we watch," he promised, brushing Kurt’s bangs from his eyes. "Just get some sleep now, yeah?"
"Yeah." Kurt smiled.
Ella arrived a minute later with mugs of tea.
"Is he asleep?" She perched on the arm of the sofa.
Finn nodded and took his cup, feeling the warmth seep from it and into his hands. He hadn’t realised he was so cold. "You should be getting home. Your parents will worry."
Ella shook her head. "She’s working this evening. And Glee wouldn’t have finished yet, anyway. I’ll finish my tea."
Finn felt guilty for wanting her gone. "I shouldn’t have left him," he found himself saying. "I just wanted to believe that it was all over. That he was fine. I’m such an idiot. How could he be fine?"
"What happened to him?"
Finn didn’t really want to tell her, but the words just seemed to pour out of his mouth. "He was kidnapped six years ago. Everyone thought he was dead, because there was a lot of blood and time went past and he wasn’t found. Then yesterday he just…showed up. He escaped, I guess. He can’t see. The doctor said the light, like, did something to his eyes. But they heal really quick, so that’s good. I really don’t know why I’m telling you all of this."
"Is that him?" Ella picked up a framed photo from the coffee table.
("Boys! Smile!" Carole laughed exasperatedly and pointed the camera at them again. "You can’t escape, Kurt. Finn, hold him down!"
Finn clutched the struggling boy to his chest.
"Say cheese." He told him. "I would have thought you’d like having your photo taken?"
"Not family photos." Kurt grumbled, "I always look horrible." But he smiled, anyway.)
"You look so young." Ella beamed.
"Sixteen. That was taken a few months before he disappeared." Finn ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I don’t know what to do. He doesn’t want me to tell people that he’s back. I guess he doesn’t want them to see him like this. But he’s damaged, he needs someone to help and this may seem selfish but I have to work. If I lose this job, I’ll have to move back home and my mom can’t support me. What if I’m already fired?"
Ella had a strange look on her face. Slightly distant. It was vaguely similar to that one Kurt used to get when he thought up one of those crazy plans…
Kurt awoke slowly, feeling warm and comfortable, which was a pleasant surprise. His eyes still hurt (a scratchy feeling, as though they were full of sand) but the pain was dulled and the world was dim, made up of patches of light. The light moved and a voice spoke softly.
"Hey. You awake?" Finn. Finn was here. That was good.
"Hmmm." Yes, he was awake, but obviously not enough to speak.
Finn laughed. "Those painkillers are working, then?" Finn’s hand stroked over his hair. Human contact was wonderful, after six years without it and the warmth of Finn’s hand sent pleasant shivers down his spine. The bed dipped as Finn lay down beside him. "You can’t hog the bed anymore, I’m afraid. I can’t sleep on my sofa, it’s too small. We’re going to have to share, if you don’t mind."
"S’night time?"
"Yeah. You’ve been asleep for like, two days." Two days and he still felt tired? Must be the painkillers. He moved unconsciously nearer to the heat of Finn’s body. Warm was good.
"You’re going to have to go with me to work tomorrow. It was Ella’s idea and I’ve blacked out my office, so you can stay in there. I got Brittany and Anna to look after you while you were asleep-"
"Anna?" Kurt mumbled, almost blissed out by the feeling of Finn’s chest pressed against his back.
"Brit’s girlfriend. They both work at McKinley, so Brit took the day off on Tuesday and Anna doesn’t work Wednesdays, so it worked out. Brittany almost burned down the building, but it worked."
Finn’s voice faded as Kurt closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was a soft laugh and Finn saying, "That boring, am I?"
"Does Figgins actually know about this?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow as Finn hurried him through the corridors of the high school.
"Not so much." Kurt imagined him looking around nervously as he was led through a door.
"Do you know where we are?" He could hear the grin in Finn’s voice.
"No, Finn. I can’t see."
"Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean…"
"It’s okay."
"We’re, uh, in the choir room. I have Mr. Schue’s old office." He pushed gently at the small of Kurt’s back. Kurt heard the click of the door closing.
"There, you can take the glasses off, if you want to. I covered the windows, so it’s dark enough."
Kurt removed the sunglasses, ignoring the dull throb as his eyes protested at the change of light.
"Thanks Finn. For doing all this." He started to feel around the small room. He’d never really appreciated the sense of touch that much, but now that his world had been reduced to dark and light shapes, it suddenly seemed that much more important. Still, he couldn’t wait for his eyes to heal.
A hand touched his shoulder.
"My class starts in five, so I’ve got to go, but I’ll come and check on you, okay?" He put something in Kurt’s hand. "If you need me, call me with this. My cell is on speed dial and I’ve marked the key you need to press with a sticker. Can you feel it?" His hand guided Kurt’s fingers.
"Yeah. Thanks."
Finn squeezed his hand once, quickly, before letting go. The door shut with a soft click. Kurt let out a soft sigh and felt around to find somewhere to sit. He was slowly getting used to it, not being able to see. It was difficult, certainly, but six years in almost complete darkness was in that way kind of useful.
What he was struggling with was Finn. While he had been locked in the basement, he'd imagined -or maybe hallucinated- Finn coming to save him. He'd retained his crush of the tall boy, imagining scenario after scenario until they all blended in to one, heroic image.
But Finn was no longer a boy. Six years. He probably had a girlfriend. And anyway, even if he hadn't, he was still as straight as he always had been, despite Kurt’s attempts to convince him otherwise.
No matter how Kurt felt, that wouldn't change.
How did he know that he was thinking clearly, anyway? What if he was insane? That would be completely expected, of course, within these circumstances. It would be a miracle if he hadn't been a little...affected, after his experiences.
What if this was just another hallucination?
What if he woke up, in the dark, with the door locked and no food? He covered his face with shaking hands, his other hand fumbling at the phone. He stopped. It had only been five minutes, he couldn't phone Finn. He was a nuisance as it was. He'd be fine, sitting here.
After all, he'd managed for the six years by himself. He didn't need anyone now.
Finn sat at his desk, relieved that his students were, for once, working. In silence. It was most definitely a miracle.
He'd been thrilled when he'd found out that he'd be teaching the new music program that Figgins had reluctantly allowed. He hadn't realised, though, how difficult it would be. Not to mention the fact that when he had applied for the job, he'd unknowingly snatched away Sue Sylvester’s latest opportunity to run the arts program. She was furious and Finn was nervously avoiding her around the corridors and even eating lunch in the choir room to avoid her in the staff room.
"Sir, who was that you brought in this morning?" someone shouted from the back of the classroom.
"Uh…" Finn struggled to think of something to say. "A friend. He's a friend. He used to come here as a student and wanted to see if it's changed."
"Did you come here then, Sir?" another voice chimed in.
"Yeah, I did. I was in Glee. But this isn't really vital to your work, so..." And the classroom returned
(almost) to its previous state of silence. Finn wondered if Kurt was okay.
This was going to be a really long day.
Finn headed to the cafeteria. Usually he'd make a sandwich to bring in with him, but in all the chaos of sneaking Kurt into school, he'd forgotten. So he lined up alongside students and the few unlucky teachers to get what could only just be described as food.
"Finn." A brown haired woman, probably on lunch duty, nodded to him. Her name was Anna and she was Brittany's girlfriend. She was nice, but in a serious, teacherly way and Finn was almost terrified of her.
"Oh, hey, Anna." He walked over and she looked at his lunch tray doubtfully.
"Should it be that grey?"
"Uh, I think so..."
"How's Kurt?"
"He's cool. I went to check on him before I came to get lunch. I think he's doing okay."
"You went to check on...wait, he's not here, is he?" She raised an eyebrow when Finn failed to answer. "He is. You brought him in to school?"
"Well, I couldn't leave him at home, could I, all by himself?"
"Was this Ella's Idea?"
"It might've been."
"I could kill that girl. Finn, if Figgins finds out about this..."
"I know, I just couldn't leave him. Not how he is."
"How he is? He seemed fine when I looked after him."
"Yeah, but you didn't see him on that first day. He was locked away for years. There's no way that he's going to be all right."
"Have you contacted his dad yet?"
"He doesn't want me to. I don't think he wants his dad to see him like this. And anyway, I don't even know how to contact him. When he left he didn't leave any contact details, or anything. He just vanished."
"Mr. Hudson! Sir!" Finn took one look at the face of the student who’d just come running up to him and his stomach lurched.
"Ella, what’s wrong?"
"It’s Ms. Sylvester. She’s found Kurt."
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