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―
HUNTER LARKLEE HAD NEVER been a fan of hospitals, that hatred growing stronger and stronger the longer his mother was stationed in one. So, when Mercedes had told him about Kurt's dad, despite his want to be there for his friend, the anxiety surrounding the building clouded his head as he stood outside of it, looking up at the big sign.
"You've got this, Hunter." The boy whispered to himself.
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Hunter opened them before entering the building, hands clenched in anxiousness as he navigated his way through the labyrinth of sterile halls, making his way to Burt Hummel's room.
He paused his movements as his hands raised to knock, swallowing thickly and knocking on the door.
"Come in." The sound of his broken friend muttered, and Hunter swore his heart broke as he opened the door, seeing Kurt sat next to his unconscious father, holding his hand like a vice, tears staining his cheeks.
"Kurt." Hunter said his name quietly as he softly closed the door, making the boy look up.
"Hunter?"
"Thought you might need a friend." Hunter shrugged, only for Kurt to jump into Hunter's arms.
"I don't know what to do." The fragile boy sobbed into his friend's shoulder.
"I know," Hunter muttered, holding him tight, "But I'm here."
"The last time we spoke, we had an argument." Kurt sniffed.
"And you'll be able to rectify it when he wakes up. I promise."
―
"Hey, Hunter!" Finn called out to the boy, making him turn to the glee captain as they stood in the middle of the school hallway, "Why the hell didn't you tell me about Burt?!"
Hunter shrugged, playing with the straps of his backpack, "I assumed you already knew."
"Well, I didn't," Finn shook his head, "I had to find out from some guys in the locker room."
"In Kurt's defence, he has a lot on his mind right now."
"I know that, but Burt's as good as my father-"
"And Kurt's already lost his mother," Hunter softly cut him off, "Losing one is awful," His voice cracked as he spoke, "But the prospect of losing a second. That's soul breaking. You of all people should understand." The boy whispered, before walking away and continuing his route to Coach Sylvester's office.
Hunter knocked on the door, hearing the woman call for him to enter, doing so himself.
"Coach Sylvester?" He said, closing the door behind him.
"Mickey Mouse," Sue hummed, looking at him over to top of her glasses from where she sat at her desk, "How can I help you?"
"I need ot talk to you about what you said to Kurt." Hunter told her, the woman raising an eyebrow, before gesturing for him to sit in the chair across from her.
―
After an anonymous complaint, the Glee Club were no longer allowed to do spiritual songs for assignments.
"Last week we were too sexy. This week we're too religious. We can't win." Tina shrugged.
"Now I know what Miley feels like." Brittany frowned.
"The real tragedy here is that I found the most perfect spiritual song to sing this week and now it's been torn away from me like Sophie's daughter." Rachel dramatically huffed.
"Guys, you can still sing whatever songs you like that sum up your feelings about God, about spirit. You just can't do it on school time." Mr. Schuester sighed.
"I hope you're happy, Kurt." Santana glared at the boy.
"Having the week of my life, actually." Kurt muttered, staring blankly ahead, feeling empty.
"It wasn't Kurt who complained," A voice said, making heads turn to the door, "I did."
"Hunter?" Quinn asked.
"I may not be in the Glee Club anymore, but that doesn't mean that I've stopped caring for any of you," The brunette said, moving to stand in front of the group, "And that doesn't mean that you should stop caring for each other. We all have our own beliefs. Our own way of grief, of dealing with things. And we all need to respect that. When my mom was in hospital, I know there were some of you who prayed for her - even though my family are all atheists. And I appreciated that, and I still do. I was even more appreciative that you weren't going around preaching your different beliefs when all I needed was to be supported by my friends. Not by God. So just have the same respect for Kurt. Please." He told them all, before quickly turning on his heels and exiting the choir room before anybody had the chance to say something to him.
―
The week had ended with the club accepting each other's beliefs (or lack thereof) and coming together in solidarity. More excitingly, Burt had woken up, and Hunter stayed by Kurt's side as he did.
That weekend, Hunter and Johnathan decided to visit Elizabeth's grave. Together, for the first time. They sat on a blanket in front of the stone slab, a picnic basket filled with homemade brownies as they told her about their day, feeling more connected to her spirit than they had in a while.
The Glee Club had also decided to do one last song about spirituality, a performance that Hunter snuck into the back of, a small and pained smile on his face as he watched.
[ one of us, performed by tina, finn, mercedes and the new directions ]
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