It's Hard To Be The One Who Stays [Kurtbastian]

Who Needs Guidance? (May, 2012)

A/N: The New Directions members mean well, they do. Just :( 

(I fell off the updating times table for a bit, so I'm posting multiple chapters in succession to make up for it. Have an extra-long chapter too!)

"Kurt!" Mercedes screams, enveloping him in a warm hug as he slides into the seat next to her. He squeezes back as tightly as he can, because Mercedes hugs are the best.

When she lets go, he settles back and lets his eyes sweep across the rest of the table.

Almost the entire crew—the ones he's close to, anyway—is there. Brittany & Santana, shoulder-to-shoulder and glowing that Found Couple glow. Sam, staring at Mercedes with a besotted look. Puck and Quinn, chatting happily away like besties and not like people who had seen each other naked, had a baby together, and then found out their Names were totally different. Artie, looking less of a fashion crime than usual in a forest green sweater and talking to Mike, while Tina looks as bright as her dress despite her recent breakup. And of course, Rachel and Finn, who, unlike Mike and Tina, were on opposite ends of the table and studiously Not. Talking.

There really was no replacement for New Directions and its incestuous dynamics, Kurt thinks with a grin.

"Good of you to finally grace us with your presence, Kurt. Why do you look like a woman who just made off with the last pair of heels in her size?" Santana asks, as she brandishes a silver ice cream spoon—which still manages to look like weapon clasped between her blood-red nails—at him.

"Because I missed you, even though you're all ridiculous," Kurt replies easily. "And I'm sorry I'm late for seniors dinner, but Sebastian left for a game this morning and I forgot to borrow his car keys. Since it's the weekend, it took forever to find someone with a car they were willing to lend me for the evening. Pass me the bread, will you, Sam?"

With an amused grin, Sam slides the basket over to Kurt, who promptly picks one up and bites into it with relish, ignoring the grease coating his fingers. He doesn't know if it's the late hour or if he really did just miss Breadstix's oily bread this much.

Probably the latter, given how he almost choked up as he walked in the door and saw Breadstix's Mediterranean décor, which is about as authentic and classy as motel room art.

"Are they treating you right at that rich school of yours, Kurt?" Finn says with a concerned frown on his face, as he waves over a waiter. Kurt promptly rattles off an order for his guilty pleasures—chicken spaghetti carbonara and a cheesecake a la mode for later—and turns back to see everyone staring at him.

"You're eating carbohydrates at night now?" Quinn asks, at the same time as Santana says, "Is there a reason you're eating like someone who ran out of food stamps and it's the first of the month?"

Brittany frowns, "Wait, they have stamps with food on them? Can I request one with a chili on it?"

While Santana plants a sickeningly sweet peck to Brittany's lips, Kurt scowls and grabs another breadstick. "It's like, 8:30, I haven't had dinner, and I sing and dance every other day. I can eat carbohydrates if I want to." He prefers not to tell them that it's because when Sebastian first came across Kurt's calorie-counting notebook, he laughed and laughed and laughed, and then tumbled him back into bed with a comment that he prefers "men with a bit more meat on their twinky bones."

Sebastian, deservedly, did not get laid that day, but it did make Kurt feel a bit silly sticking to those tight rules, especially when he knew they were more about his control issues than his health or even appearance.

"Anyway, catch me up, what were we talking about?" Kurt says, as the waiter hustles back with his order.

"My dads are making me leave two of the five suitcases I've got packed for New York here. I keep telling them that no, they can't ground ship them later, because what if I successfully talk my way into a cast party and need options?" Rachel says.