Silver Bullet

With one last glance towards the bathroom, watching Shawn step back from Victoria, his cock slipping free of her gaping hole and the gob of cum that followed, Kurt turned to Kendra. She lead him away from the bathroom, to some secluded corner away from the pounding bass of the club. Part him didn’t want to leave, as if when he stopped observing Victoria and Shawn together it would cease to be. He had to repeatedly tell himself that he had seen it, that he had really seen Shawn fuck Victoria on the bathroom counter, that it really had happened.

But seeing Victoria like that, so submissive to him, was horrifying, and the idea that Shawn’s cum had been anywhere near Kurt’s mouth was sickening. So, he really wasn’t terribly upset about putting some space between himself and that cocky, bald headed bastard. He couldn’t help but think that there was some reason for Kendra being there right at that moment. When he stumbled upon Shawn and Victoria in the bathroom he thought he’d finally caught them, but perhaps they’d simply tricked him once again. As he followed her, he glanced all around, waiting for someone to jump out and shove another bag over his head.

When they were far enough away from the others, Kendra stopped and turned to face Kurt again. Scanning his face, she asked, “Do you understand what you just saw?”

“Shawn was fucking Victoria, and not for the first time,” Kurt said simply, unsure, the basic answer being the only one he could think of. “Was seeing that supposed to break my spirit or something?”

“No,” she said, her brown hair bouncing as she shook her head. “You weren’t meant to see that at all. I was keeping watch, but I let you see it so that you would understand what happened last night.”

“What DID happen last night?” Kurt inquired bluntly, exasperated that as many times as he’d asked that question, of Victoria, of himself, he kept coming back with fewer answers. “I mean, obviously they fucked, but what does he have on her to make her behave like this?”

“You can ask her yourself, though I have a feeling you won’t like the answer,” Kendra replied with a frown. Tilting her head, she added, “But you can see that she’s his now. What were her words? His ‘good little slut’?”

“Where are you going with this?” Kurt growled through gritted teeth.

“You’ve been operating under some presumption that Victoria is lying to you out of self-preservation, out of shame or embarrassment, right?” Kendra waited for Kurt’s nod before continuing. “So, that’s why I needed you to see them together, so you can understand that she’s not lying to protect herself. She’s lying to protect him.”

“That’s doesn’t make any sense. Why would she do that?” Kurt recoiled, flabbergasted, watching Kendra for any sign of a lie. “And don’t tell me to ask her. I’ve tried asking her, and like you said, all she does is lie. If you want me to know the truth, you’re gonna have to be the one to tell me.”

“I don’t know the details. I was at the warehouse, remember? The only ones who know what happened in that apartment are Shawn, Victoria and Dustin,” Kendra insisted firmly. “And whatever happened was so bad that Dustin went running back home.”

“That’s what happened to him,” Kurt remarked, enlightened. “Tell him to get a message to Jennifer somehow. She’s looking for him and she’s worried.”

“I’ll try, but last I heard he wanted nothing more to do with this town,” Kendra explained. “That’s how bad it was.”

“Shit.” Kurt rubbed his head and looked at the dirty floor. He knew whatever happened was bad, and seeing Shawn and Victoria together made it apparent that it was crazier than crazy, but he never imagined it’d be so traumatising to run a kid out of town for good. He lifted his eyes back to Kendra. “What’s the big plan for getting Victoria to talk then?”

“Take this,” she suggested, reaching into her bag and produced what appeared, at first, to be stained, tattered rags. It was only once Kurt took them in his own hands and unfolded the material that he realised they were the yoga pants Victoria had been wearing when she’d gone to the apartment. Now they were ripped along the crotch seam and that same area was darkly saturated. They looked like she’s been through a street brawl rather than a date.

“Are these really the same ones that she wore yesterday?” He looked from the pants to Kendra.

She nodded, explaining, “Shawn told me to get rid of them from the apartment along with the bed sheets. It should be enough to get her talking when she realises that you know she’s lying.”

“Maybe,” Kurt scratched his chin. “Or she says she fucked Dustin, or that he **** himself on her. And keeps protecting Shawn, for some reason.”

“Maybe, but I’m guessing that’s not the story she’s already telling you?” Kendra asked. Kurt shook his head. “Then at least you’ll have proof that she’s lying and that she changed her story. But I don’t think that’ll be an issue. Any change to the story risks the question of what Shawn was doing.”

“Hm, yeah. Well, it’s an opening, at least, which is more than I’ve had all day when I was trying to investigate what happened,” Kurt admitted with a half-hearted laugh. “But it does beg the question, why are you helping me?”

“We made a deal,” Kendra reminded him coolly. “I’m just honouring that.”

“Deal?” Kurt searched his mind, only then remembering the agreement he’d used to trick Kendra into freeing him. “Oh, so, you’re helping me save Victoria, so you can save Shawn? But the damage has already been done, hasn’t it? Whatever he did sent Dustin fleeing.”

“Dustin was only one part of it. I don’t like Victoria. She’d no good for Shawn,” Kendra replied defensively, like a mother protecting their child. “He’s so infatuated that he doesn’t see it, but I swear she’s going to be the **** of him.”

Kurt stared at the brunette for a few seconds before his mouth twisted into a wide, knowing grin. He bounced a finger in the air and said, “Ah, I get it now. You’re jealous.”

“W-what?” Kendra sneered, though not all entirely convincingly. “That’s ludicrous. I’m invaluable to Shawn.”

“Sure, as a tool, but before he depended on you in more ways that just that. He didn’t just need you around, he wanted you around, but now you’re not first anymore, are you?” Kurt noted, laughing. “Shawn’s got a new toy and you’re stuck in the toy box.”

“Fuck you,” Kendra shot back. “I’m helping you, aren’t I?”

“You’re right,” Kurt agreed with an apologetic frown. “I just think you and Victoria are both lying to yourselves as much as the people around you. I refuse to believe that one night with Shawn and Victoria is just his dog now. There’s something deeper going on, and you’re right, with this…” he held up the soiled, ripped yoga bottoms in his fist. “…maybe I can get the real answers. But you need to get some real answers too. You’ve spent a long time at Shawn’s side, being loyal, even when you knew he was doing the wrong thing, because you figured he’d come around, he’d come back to you. But I think you can see that Victoria threatens that, and if she sticks around, Shawn won’t look twice at you. You can see it, but you’re just not being honest with yourself.”

“Geez, one semester of college and you think you can psychoanalyse everyone.” Kendra rolled her eyes. “My reasons don’t really matter now, do they? We have a common purpose, even if our motives differ.”

“You want to save Shawn by getting him away from Victoria and I want to save Victoria by getting her away from Shawn,” Kurt surmised. “Yeah, I can get on board with that.”

“Good,” Kendra concluded, beginning to stalk away. “If this works out, hopefully we’ll never be seeing each other again.”

“Wait,” Kurt called out, taking a step forward. “Can I ask you just one thing?”

After a pause, Kendra agreed, “Sure, one question.”

“You weren’t wearing glasses when we first met,” Kurt recalled, his brow furrowing. “Were you wearing contacts or is it some kind of disguise?”

Kendra blinked and pursed her lips. “No…it’s just a fashion choice…” she waited a moment, staring at him. “Is that really what you wanted to ask?”

Kurt nodded and shrugged. “It was just bugging me ever since you showed up.”

Turning and walking away, off to find Victoria, he left Kendra standing, bewildered and confusion at the random, innocuous exchange. It was strange not to have a conversation about something that wasn’t loaded or like she had to carefully craft her response, and it had been a long time since someone had asked about her just because they were curious. She raised a hand to her chest, and felt her heart ache.