As September loomed near, Blaine Anderson, Sam Evans, and Tina Cohen-Chang realized their summer was coming to an end. The summer had been everything the three of them had imagined, if not more. No, it wasn't filled with summer romances, but it was a summer of friendship, which was exactly what they needed before they started their lives as McKinley High Graduates.
"Do you think NYADA would let us room together if we noted you were gay?" Tina asked, looking up from the magazine she was reading as she lounged in a chair next to the pool in Blaine's backyard.
"Not a chance!" Blaine laughed as he hopped out of the pool. "They'd find it hard to believe that two people as attractive as us aren't together."
"Ugh, I do wish we could room together. I don't want to get stuck with an annoying, self-absorbed-"
"Rachel Berry character type?" Blaine said, trying not to laugh as he towel dried himself.
"Exactly." Tina giggled.
"God, I wish I could come with you two." Sam said, and then dove back into the water in order to avoid petty words of encouragement.
Tina and Blaine exchanged nervous glances. They knew this conversation would come sometime. Over the course of Senior Year, Blaine, Tina, and Sam had become the best of friends. Once summer ended, Blaine and Tina would be headed to NYADA together, and Sam would be left in Lima.
"Sam, you're doing the right thing." Tina said soothingly, getting off her lawn chair to sit at the edge of the pool closer to him. "By staying in Lima, you save tons of travel money, and you can still help out around home. You have time to get a job and earn some money. And the community college classes will show all the professors that you deserve a full scholarship to the college of choice."
"I know that my family can't afford it, and I know that the community college classes will help me get into a better college in the future and allow me to have time to work, but I can't help but feel you two are leaving me behind." He confessed, leaning his arms over the edge of the pool and bowing his head in shame.
Tina gave Blaine a worried look, then turned back to her friend and said seriously, "Sam, we could never really leave you behind."
"We'll Skype you like once a week!" Blaine said encouragingly.
"And you could help out with the Glee club around here!" Tina suggested.
"That'll be me, Sam Evans, that kid hanging around his old high school while his best friends make it big in New York." They fell into an awkward silence for a moment. Blaine took a seat next to Tina at the edge of the pool, and she rested her head on his shoulder comfortingly as she rumpled Sam's hair. They seemed to be enjoying this quiet moment, one of their last moments together. Because even Tina and Blaine knew, although they were going to the same college, once they reached New York, nothing will ever be the same.
After a few quiet moments of reflection, Blaine jumped up in excitement so quickly he sent Tina nearly flying into the pool. "Your parents didn't specify which community's college you had to go to, did they?" Blaine said mischievously, his eyes filled with a brilliant plan.
"New York?" Sam's mother, Mary, said in disbelief.
"I'd still be at community college, and I'd still work!" Sam reasoned.
"In New York?" His father, Dwight, said.
"Mrs. Evans, I have wanted to move to New York my whole life. But now I realize it won't be everything I've ever dreamed it'll be unless my two best friends are by my side." Blaine coaxed.
"Well that's all very nice, Blaine, but you and Tina are going to NYADA. You have dorms. Where is Sam going to stay, the streets?"
"That's what we came to talk to you about." Tina said excitedly. "We want to get an apartment together."
"Define 'we'." Mrs. Evans said with narrowed eyes.
"Me, Blaine, and Sam. I much rather live with them than an obnoxious stranger for a roommate." Tina explained.
"You, with a girl? Absolutely not." Mr. Evans said.
"Are you implying that Tina and I would-" Sam began, but was too embarrassed to finish his phrase. "No."
"You two do spend an awful lot of time together." Mrs. Evans reasoned, a playful smile on her face.
"Yeah, but with Blaine!" Sam said. "Why don't you ever accuse Blaine and Tina of dating?"
"Because Blaine is..." Mr. Evans didn't finish his statement. "The fact remains, you are not rooming with a girl."
"Actually, Mr. Evans, I believe the word you were looking for is bisexual." Blaine said, and Tina and Sam stared at him in surprise. "Tina and I have been dating for two months now." He put his arm around her and gave her a wink, informing her to play along. "So if he does try anything with Tina, well, let's just say it won't be pretty."
"And your parents are okay with you two dating and running off to New York and moving in together?" Mrs. Evans said in disbelief.
"Pretty much, yeah." Tina said brightly. Sam almost laughed. This was probably the worst lie ever.
"Actually, Tay-Tay, my mom said I could move in with you if Sam came." Blaine lied. "Something about us being 'too young' but as long as there was a third party present, she's totally fine!"
"See, Mom!" Sam begged. "It's a sign."
Mrs. Evans sighed and looked at at her husband expectantly.
"Blaine, Tina, do you think we could have a moment alone?" Dwight said.
"Of course." Blaine said charmingly, then added, "C'mon, Tay-Tay, let's go pick out your engagement ring." Tina shrieked with giggles as they walked out of the Evan household hand and hand.
"Mom-"
"We know they're not dating."
"You didn't believe them?" Sam said in surprise.
"Not for a second." His mother laughed.
"Really? I thought they did a pretty good job. I mean, those two have chemistry. I swear if Blaine wasn't gay they would be getting married." Sam said casually.
"Sam, your friend Blaine may be a good actor, but an awful liar. He did a nice job playing Tina's lover, but if Mrs. Anderson is a concerned mother, she would not let him move in with his girlfriend in New York under the sole condition that a fellow teenager is present to 'supervise'. Valiant effort, but the story fell flat." She explained, amused.
"So you're not going to let me go because you two have this crazy theory that Tina and I are going to hook up if we live together in New York?" Sam said bitterly.
"We didn't say that." Mary said. Sam held his breath.
"Sam, I mentioned that comment about your friend Tina before because, well, it was the only excuse I could think of." Dwight explained. "You have to admit, it is a valid excuse. How many eighteen year old boys are living with women?" Sam was silent. "And I'm sure Tina will have a hard time convincing her parents that she can move in with a couple of teenage boys in New York." Shoot. Sam didn't think of that.
"But the more I think about it, the more I realize that is the only excuse I can come up with to keep you from New York. And I used it because part of me doesn't want my son to go away. But the more I think about how much you deserve this, and how much you want this, and how much you have sacrificed for our family, and even the amount of stuff Tina and Blaine have done for our family, I cannot possibly think of any reason not to let you go." He sighed. "As long as you abide by the rules of maintaining good grades and a steady job, you have our blessing. And you couldn't be in better company."
Sam's lips broke into a huge smile. "You really mean it?!"
"Yes." His father smiled.
"Thanks, dad! Thanks, Mom!" He exclaimed, hugging them both. "I can't wait to tell Tina and Blaine. They're probably already celebrating at the Lima Bean under the impression that their genius dating ploy worked." He laughed. "I hate to crush their spirits."
"Then don't." His mother said with a twisted smile. "It'll be quite fun to watch Blaine and Tina keep up with this lie for the rest of the summer when they're around us. And it'll be even funnier if we show up for a surprise visit in New York and they'll be caught off guard and have to quickly get 'in character'."
Sam smiled before pulling them into a hug. "You two are the coolest parents, ever. I'm going to miss you so much."