Chapter Five

[Afraid.]

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. Kurtis stands in the doorway, sighs, and walks back to the middle of the room. Jerry stays beside him, worried. Kurt shoves his hands into his pockets and stares at the ground, Rick carries his box to his workbench, wiping his machinery onto the floor and emptying the box onto the table. "When was this?"

"Escuse me?" Kurt raises his head, Rick clears his throat.

"When did this happen? You bleeding out in the forest?" Rick rephrases, patting an empty spot on the desk for Kurtis to sit on. Obeying, he sits down and watches Jerry as he moves to hug the side of him.

"I don't know, I was sixteen..." He thinks a moment longer, turning to Rick once he has gotten the answer he needs. "It was prom night, Jerry's prom, so around somewhere in November." He nods to himself. "In 2004, I think." Rick nods, grabbing a gun from the table. Kurtis jumps off the table and pulls Jerry with him. "Woah! Hey, put that down!"

"J'elax, it's harmless, I just want to get that memory, see what we're dealing with." Rick stands, "See if you're lying or not."

"Wow," Kurt says sarcastically, "And why should I believe you when you can't even believe me? It's really like you get off to contradictions and messing with Jerry."

"Hey, I get off to protecting my family." Kurtis makes a slightly disgusted face, shaking his head as he looks the other way. "Just let me make sure my family's safe, James." A moment of silence passes, Jerry and Kurtis holding onto one another as Rick glares at the farmer - he trusts him in a sense, but he can never let his guard down, it always caused him trouble. Kurtis sighs, glancing at Jerry before taking a step towards Richard, who sighs in relief, pointing the mind-blower at him before pulling the trigger. Within a second of a plain white sighting, everything goes back to normal, Kurt blinking a few times. Rick moves back to his seat and puts the red vile onto a projector, pointing at the light switch.

Jerry sets the lights off and moves to Rick's side as he moves his seat to the middle of the room, pulling down a white tarp from the ceiling. Kurt sits himself on the counter behind Rick, memory still in his head - though it felt far from him, needing to think of it thoroughly to remember every detail in order. Jerry stands next to Kurtis, Rick seating himself on his chair as he pushes the start button on the projector, the memory beginning to play in front of the men.

Kurtis walked along the boarder of his residence, shining a flashlight to enlighten his way along the path. He whistled the tune of the song playing on repeat in his head, 'Smooth Criminal' by Michael Jackson - he silenced himself the moment he spotted an obscure, lime light emitting throughout the forest hidden between a few trees. Curious, he left the path and ran through his muddy surroundings, positioning his umbrella to keep it from bending inwards. The light disappeared, though this doesn't stop his efforts. He ran towards where he had last seen it, stopping once he felt he had missed it, perhaps passed it. Perhaps it was only in his head? He shook his head to himself and held the umbrella over his head to shield himself from the heavy rain.

With another breath, Kurtis walked back to the path, the sound of ruffling caught him off guard. "Hello?" He turned around, only to be met with a strong force colliding with his face. Stumbling backwards, he fell to his knees and attempted to cover his face, a bruise began forming on his cheek from the backhand slap. He panted heavily as fear flowed through his veins, shaking whilst he tried getting back on his feet.

"Jerry, you listen to me and you listen good," The man spoke with a threatening voice and brought Kurtis to his face by gripping his shirt collar. He grunted out of anger and dropped him to the wet ground, hardly gaining his balance again. "Who are you?" He sneered, walking towards the teenager.

"I-I'm Kurtis!" Kurtis bumped into a tree, frozen in fear. He quickly glanced down to his lab coat, a name tag on his front pocket - Rick Sanchez. "W-what do you want from Jerry, Rick-?"

"It's 'Mr. fucking Sanchez' to you, bitch!" The Rick grabbed his hands and held it above his head, he dropped his umbrella and flashlight to the mud, their bodies became wet within a minute already by the storm. "So, you know Jerry, huh? Jerry Smith?" He nodded in response, shaking beneath his grip.

"Y-y-yes, s-sir." He stammered, heart pounded in his ears as he grew lightheaded.

"Then you better fucking help me help him." Rick hissed, anger in his eyes. "Here's what you oughta do, keep him from going to prom." He tightened his grip on Kurt's wrists, his hands became blue from the lack of blood circulation.

"Wh-" He took a deep breath, anxiety trying to stop him from speaking. "Why? Why must I k-keep him away from p-pr-prom?" Rick pulled him away from the tree and threw him to the ground, towering over him as the rain poured over them, lightning struck in the distance and the floor sunk from the rain.

"To save a Mortimer, prevent a Summer!" He yelled at the boy and leaned down to him.

"I-I don't get it-! A Summer? What's a Mortimer?!" Kurtis attempted to stand, but slid back down and gasped for air after Rick threw a lunge at his nose, blood dripping from his nostrils. He grabbed Kurt's shirt and brought him to his face.

"You keep him away from prom this year, kid." He snapped, "You keep him away from Beth. No Beth means no Summer and that translates to 'No. Morty.' You got that?" Kurtis nodded, the air being knocked out of his lungs when being dropped. He stared up at the mysterious Rick, remaining still. "And you can't tell him about it. You can't tell anyone."

"I... I won't, Mr. Sanchez..." Kurt moved to stand, but froze feeling Rick grab his hair. "Wha-?"

"Where do you think you're going?" He pulled a daunting face, Kurtis gulped. "You need a reason to keep him from going, yes?" He pushed him down and lifted his leg, Kurt's vision going dark as his face made contact with the sole of his boot. Laying on the floor, he looked up slowly and watched as Rick pulled out a white gun with a vile of neon green liquid inside. He glanced over his shoulder at the crying teenager, bleeding out slowly. He shot into the air, an oval, lime portal appreaing before him. "Jerry's on his way." He said in a soft voice and tossed Kurt his phone back, "Don't say a thing about this, or you'll regret it." He threatened before stepping through the doorway, Kurt's eyes closing slowly.

As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a bed, a beeping noise beside him as the light stung his eyes. He breathed out a breath of air and looked beside him, he locked eyes with Jerry, who instantly hugged him when noticing he was awake. Eyes red and tears flowing, Jerry held onto his friend. He pulled away briefly, a woman with deep brown dreadlocks and green eyes moved to Kurt's side, cupping his cheeks.

"Oh, Kurt, are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!" Kurt let out a weak laugh, closing his eyes again.

"I'm okay, Aunt Quinn..." She pecked his forehead and grabbed her phone.

"Okay, alright, I'll- I'll tell your mom you're okay." She nodded to herself, then turned to Kurtis, concern mixed with strictness. "And when I'm back, you're telling me what happened!"

"Yes, Aunt Quinn, of course..." He nodded, sitting up as he faced Jerry, feeling his hands on his. "Jerry, I..."

"What happened? I came as soon as you texted!" He caressed Kurt's cheek, though he tried not to bother the tubes in his nose. "You were just lying there..." Kurtis nodded, taking a deep breath as he started shaking on fear, afraid the man would come back at any given moment. He hardly remembered exactly what happened, only the beginning and when he had left, but that only raised his anxiety.

"I don't know..." Kurt shrugged and moved his hand to Jerry's shoulder, eyes falling onto his muddy suit, some stains of blood as well. The thought of Jerry holding him in the rain as he called for help dawned on him. He looked away. "There was just... this drunk. I went on my daily route around the forest, like Aunt Quinn told me not to... and there he was. I tried getting him to leave, but... I guess he didn't want to..." Jerry frowned, biting his lip.

"I'm sorry that happened... But I guess you got him to go; when I got there, you were all alone." Jerry assured, believing what he had said. "I'm proud of you, it was very brave to do so." Kurtis smiled wider and tried to sit up, clenching Jerry's suit collar as he tried pulling him towards himself. Catching the hint, Jerry pushed Kurt back down and laid a kiss onto his dried lips. His hand held onto Kurt's and the other resting under his head - a patch of hair ripped out and bandages wrapped around the patch.

Jerry pulled away however and looked behind himself, finding his parents and Aunt Quinn standing by the door. Joyce and Leonard gave a slight look of disappointment towards their son, not warmed up to the idea of their son with his male best friend. Quinn, however, only walked towards them and stroked a hand through Kurt's hair, though she was being polite, caring, he knew she would scold him for leaving the house despite her wishes. He looked at Jerry, guilt in his eyes as the thought of ruining his night, the night he had been looking forward to for months, lingered in his head. But at least he was keeping Jerry safe, keeping him away from Beth, whoever she might be, he kept telling himself that. He wanted to keep Jerry safe, and he would do that, even if it hurt himself.

Rick ends the projection, staring at the blank tarp as he takes in it all - the attacking, the fear, the moment at the end. He turns around to find Jerry studying Kurt's movements; Kurtis' eyes on the floor, ashamed. "I guess he beat me up on the wrong prom night." He laughs awkwardly, voice shaky. He hops off the counter, "I'm sorry, Jerry."

"For what? I- I'm sorry, I'd didn't know that happened! I mean, I knew you got roughed up, but... I didn't think..." Jerry stands there quietly, the fact Kurtis got beat up for him, it's shocking. And he just went along with it, he wanted to keep Jerry safe, thinking that doing so would. He rubs Kurt's arm, Rick remains quiet, the slight chemistry between them still holds, or at least he feels so. He can tell Kurt wants to press his lips to Jerry's, hold him dearly as they pretend it's all going to be okay, but he doesn't. He only stares at him as he hurts inside, the world weighing on his shoulders as he tries keeping this man safe. The way he looks at Jerry, Rick misses that, misses feeling like he matters the way Jerry matters to Kurtis. He sighs, assuming the reason they left what they had was for Beth, for Jerry's parents.

"It wasn't even the last time I saw him." Kurt says in a hushed tone, he moves a hand to Jerry's shoulder. "I remember it, it was a week after you left... He came to me and beat me up again, saying I ruined it by letting you go with Beth..." He sighs, "I didn't know she was the Beth, remember how I hooked Beth Murphy up with Chase Norman? And then... you know, when we framed her for stealing from Harry Herpson to get her to leave..."

"That's why..." Jerry whispers, in shock at how quickly Kurtis acted, only because he thought it would keep him safe. Butterflies form in his stomach as he stares at Kurtis, strangely feeling their attraction from their past. He always had known he had feelings for Kurtis, but the feelings are more prominent, right in front of him. This magnetic pull, this need he tried to suppress all these years ago, lashes out everytime he's around Kurt, whenever he looks at this man. Whenever he reached for him, he faded into the air and he found himself alone again, his eyes played tricks on him like that constantly. When he felt anxious, he'd feel his arms around his waist, but when he tried to hold his [Kurtis'] hand, all he got was his shirt.

They were wild, they were florescent, broke his parents rules, to be with one another; sneaking out and running into the meadow at midnight just to be alone with each other. When he felt alone, in slow motion, he watched their love, blossoming from when they were little kids - Jerry crying down at the lake and Kurtis walking up to him with a basket of berries, awkwardly trying to brighten his mood - until now. They stand before each other, back where they started all those years ago; they can't be together. An endless cycle of falling back in love with one another, only to be met with the same conclusion.

He reaches his hand out to him, his hand rests on the back of Kurt's neck, their bodies igniting with electricity. Kurt's hands move to Jerry's hips, a sincere look in his eyes. "I just wanted to keep you safe, Jer. You were always so innocent, I thought I was strong enough, but I was just a kid." He frowns, pulling himself away as he slides his hands into his pockets, Jerry stands there silently, touch-starved. "But, I mean, look at you, you're a grown up, stay at home dad with two kids, a beautiful wife and a cool father-in-law... You're really living the life, right?"

Jerry remains still, it's true, what he listed, but it's never how it seems. He does have two kids, but they hate him, he indeed has a beautiful wife, but their marriage hangs by a thread, his father-in-law despises him, especially for being with his daughter and having their kids. He is a stay at home father, but it's not a choice, having been fired from his last two jobs he tried working at. He wakes up with the emotional dread of being worthless, a waste of space, having been told many times before that he should leave, and do horrid things to himself... He has what some people would kill to have, but this isn't what he wants. This was never what he had ever wanted, he had never fantasized of being with a beautiful blonde, have two kids with her and stay home each day with his scientist of a father-in-law.

No. He always thought of sailing the world with Kurtis by his side and their adoptive son holding his hand, having Star Wars marathons, going out every Friday to try new restaurants and having Sunday brunches with little Patrick. Going to sleep every night beside Kurtis, holding one another as the night goes on. That was what he wanted, he thought he was happy before, but knowing that that fantasy of his could never fall into place at his current time in life, it breaks him. But it was too late, or at least that's what he felt at this moment.

Richard's eyes moves from Kurtis to Jerry, his silence speaking volumes. The two men stare at him, compassion on Kurt's face. "Yeah... Right." Jerry nods to himself, rubbing his arm as he looks away, Kurt looking elsewhere as well. They remain silent, Rick scoffing as he stands up, catching the attention of the men.

"Leave my garage, will you? Don't you have a Gardians of the Galaxy movie to watch?" He pulls his stool back to the desk after lifting up the tarp, Jerry sighs, leaving the garage as instructed rather than correcting him as he usually does. Kurtis follows.

"I think I should head out, I..." He sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"You what?" Jerry asks in a sad tone, seated on his single sofa. Kurtis sits on the arm of the long couch, Jerry hugging himself in Kurt's jacket.

"I have a blind date tonight. I don't really want to go, but Aunt Quinn doesn't want me staying single forever." He laughs softly, falling quiet when getting no response. He sighs and moves to Jerry's couch arm, "I promise if we do hit it off, I'll still make time for you. And if not, that's her thing." He shrugs, placing a hand on Jerry's shoulder. "Plus... I feel we should... take a little break, think about things and all..." He says slowly, they had just watched themselves kiss, hold one another in comfort - Jerry witnessed Kurtis take a beating for him, against his will, but he continued to lie to keep him out of the situation. Jerry sighs, leaning onto Kurt's side. He runs a hand through the man's short, curly hair.

"Yeah, that sounds fine." Jerry sighs, moving to give Kurt his jacket back. "Have a safe trip, and, um, enjoy your date." He gives him a little smile, Kurt putting on the jacket before bidding his goodbyes to Jerry with a tight hug. He pulls away, taking off his jacket and draping it over his shoulders.

"I can't leave you here cold," He smiles at Jerry, "Just keep it, it looks so much better on you than it ever did on me." The beekeeper smiles back, blushing softly.

"Thank you, Kurt," He grips at the zippers as he pulls it tighter onto himself. Nodding, Kurtis climbs into his aunt's truck, driving off as he waves at his friend. Standing outside in the cold, Jerry watches his deep blue vehicle, his breath foggy in the cold air. Rick watches him from the small window in the large, garage door, shaking his head at him when walking away.

[21 May 2022.]