When Kurt doesn't get into NYADA, he says calm on the outside. Remembers to breathe properly, blink back tears and hug Rachel tight when she tells them that she got in.
When he gets home, he throws things, screams and sobs into his pillows and kicks at his mattress in defeat, because it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair. Finn gives his room a wide berth until dinner, when he tries to coax him out to sit at the table. The response he receives is Kurt turning the volume up on his CD player until the dulcet tones of Lady Gaga echo through the whole house.
"I don't think he's coming down." Finn says sadly as he sinks into his seat at the table. Sam frowns at him, pushes his food around his plate for a second before dropping the cutlery with a loud clatter. Everyone stares at him for a moment as he pushes his fingers through his hair.
"Sam? Are you alright?" Carole asks, looking at him across the table with concerned eyes.
"Yeah, I- I'm fine. I just don't get how it's fair, you know? NYADA and New York was all Kurt wanted and now he doesn't even have that to look forward to. It just doesn't sit right by me, I guess."
There's a moment of silence and the sound of Kurt singing along to Hair fills the room again.
"I'm going to talk to him." Sam stands and his chair scrapes harshly across the wooden floor. Everyone stares at him as he pushes past Finn and heads up the stairs.
"Am I missing something?" Burt asks brashly when Finn and Carole exchange a glance.
"Kurt? Hey, Kurt, it's me. Come on, let me in." Sam says, knocking and leaning against the door. "Come on. You can talk to me."
The music pauses for a second and Sam thinks, for a moment, that Kurt will open the door. He's wrong, though, and when the opening notes of the Wicked soundtrack start up, he sighs.
"Kurt. Please. Just let me in. I think we should talk." He doesn't get an answer, so he leans against the wood and pushes the handle down until the door falls open. He stumbles, glancing around for a second since he half expects Kurt to come flying at him screaming for him to get out, but nothing happens.
Kurt is laying face first on his bed, feet hanging over the edge as he cries. Sam's expression softens, and he moves towards the bed, perches on the edge until Kurt rolls over and stares at him with wet eyes.
"What do you want, Sam?" He sighs wetly, reaching blindly for the remote to turn the music down.
"I don't think you should be alone. Not now." Sam says, once the music stops. Kurt frowns at him and drops his head back to the mattress.
"It's not fair." He mumbles into the pillows, and Sam leans over to rest his hand on the small of his back.
"I know." He mumbles, hesitating for a second before he tugs Kurt into a hug, resting the older boy's head in the crook of his neck. "You deserve better."
Kurt is silent for a second and Sam wonders if he said something wrong or too forward, until Kurt sighs and pulls himself closer.
"You know, you still owe me a duet." Sam says after a few moments of silence, and Kurt laughs wetly into his neck.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Kurt replies, and Sam feels him smile against his skin.
"I have an idea. But I know what might take your mind away from everything. Come on." Sam pulls Kurt up in to a sitting position, and the older boy frowns at him.
"What are you doing? I'm not going out looking like this."
"I don't mind." Sam grabs him by the wrist and pulls him to his feet. He drags him along the hallway, dipping into his room to grab his car keys and his iPod before carrying on down the stairs. His grip on Kurt's wrist slips and he holds his hand as they pass Burt and Finn in the sitting room and Carole in the kitchen. They all stare after them as the front door closes quietly.
"What's going on with those two?" Burt asks Finn as Carole shakes her head softly and goes back to the dishes. Finn shrugs.
"Where are we going?" Kurt asks as Sam opens the door of his rusty old pick-up truck and makes sure Kurt gets in.
"Not far." Sam replies, fastening his seatbelt and pushing the key into the ignition.
They drive in near silence until they're just outside of the city. Sam turns on to a dirt road and stops the car about half-way up. He climbs out and walks around to Kurt's side, pulling the door open and helping him out.
"What are we even doing here?" Kurt frowns at the mud on the ground and Sam laughs softly at him.
"You'll see." Sam smiles, pulling him around to the back of the truck. He's pushed the back down and laid out a blanket. He helps Kurt up and then follows him, laying flat on his back. Kurt sits upright and frowns at him until Sam gestures for him to lie next to him. Kurt sighs and settles next to him, and Sam draws his arm around his shoulders to pull him closer. He fumbles for his iPod and presses a few things until it starts playing.
"As much as I appreciate the gesture, Sam, I'm not sure I understand why we're here." Kurt says with a soft sigh, resting his head on Sam's shoulder.
"Well, whenever I feel crappy or I have loads of things going on in my mind and I can't focus, I always come and lie down outside and look at the stars. All that space makes my problems seem kind of irrelevant."
"Oh." Kurt says, pausing for a second to take in the music Sam has chosen. Vanilla Twilight by Owl City is playing quietly, and Sam squeezes his side to grab his attention.
"See those three stars in a line, there? The really bright ones." He points, and Kurt follows carefully.
"Yes."
"That's Orion's Belt. Then if you follow up from the star on the left hand side, you reach his shoulder."
"I think I see it." Kurt frowns upwards, raising his hand to point. "Right there?"
"Yeah." Sam replies with a quiet laugh, explaining to Kurt where the rest of the constellation is, and mapping others from it. Kurt sits quietly and listens to the dips in his voice and the lilt to his accent and follows his movements and his instructions.
"Thank you for tonight." Kurt says, almost whispers, when Sam falls silent and looks over at him. "It was fun."
Sam smiles lopsidedly at him and pauses to listen to the music for a second. Kurt follows suit and nestles against his side again. He's taken aback when he listens to the lyrics.
Your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck. I've fallen for your eyes, but they don't know me yet. And the feeling I forget, I'm in love now.
"Sam?" Kurt asks gently, and Sam leans down and kisses him slowly and softly all at once. Kurt hesitates for a second, before kissing him back, twisting his fingers in his hair and pulling at his sweater.
"I'm sorry –I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry." Sam pulls away and looks down, frowning at nothing. Kurt reaches up to cup his cheek and kisses him again.
"Next year. Next year you can go for NYADA again, and I'll go for NYU or somewhere in New York. I don't care if you get in and I don't, you're getting to New York. With or without me." Sam says, all rushed and breathless, and Kurt pulls him in and kisses him hard and doesn't let him go.
"No, you're coming with me. I'll only go if you're there with me." Kurt pulls back to speak before he kisses him again. Sam kisses him back, ignoring all the questions in his head –what about Blaine, and Finn, and Rachel; what will Burt and Carole say; how will I tell mom and dad- and settles his hands on Kurt's waist.
"You said I deserved better." Kurt says after he pulls away again, breathless and smiling. Sam nods, staying silent. "What did you mean?"
"I meant you deserve New York, someone better than Blaine, to live somewhere where more than five people will appreciate you, somewhere you can be a star."
Kurt doesn't say anything, just kisses him again; soft and gentle and chaste.
Burt doesn't say a word when they arrive home at past eleven, fingers linked together and faces pink from the cold; and he doesn't say anything he sees his son curled up under his blankets with Sam's arms around his waist. He keeps quiet when Kurt breaks up with Blaine and Sam holds him tight and kisses his forehead. He says nothing when Finn tells both him and Carole that Kurt and Sam sang a duet of Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran in glee and that they seemed really happy together.
When it comes down to it, Sam speaks first.
"Uh, Mr. Hummel?" He says one night after dinner when they're washing the dishes together. Burt pauses and looks at him.
"Call me Burt." He reminds him, stacking a few plates. "What is it?"
"I, uh, I really like Kurt."
"So I'd gathered."
Sam swallows audibly and Burt smiles to himself.
"I mean –if you think I might hurt him then I promise you I won't, he means the world to me and-"
"Sam, kid. Can I be blunt with you?" Burt turns to him and the blonde nods, almost terrified. "I can tell. Just –look after him, okay? Don't make me get my shotgun."
Sam pales noticeably, nods furiously and goes back to scrubbing the dirty dishes.
"Oh, and, Mr. Hummel?"
"Burt, please, Sam."
"Uh, sorry. Burt, I'm going to make sure he gets to New York. He deserves to, I mean-"
"Good. I'm glad he has someone like you." Burt claps him on the back and disappears into the sitting room. Sam exhales heavily, hands shaking at he sets a plate to the side.
"How did it go?" Kurt pops his head around the doorway before stepping in to the room.
"Good, I guess. I'm still alive, so that's something. He did threaten me with a shotgun, though." Sam explains. Kurt laughs at him.
"That's normal. Thank you for talking to him." Kurt drapes his arms around Sam's waist and he laughs, turning in Kurt's grip to kiss him. They both laugh as Sam wipes soap bubbles on to his cheek.
"I love you." Sam whispers quietly into his ear. Kurt practically giggles at him and kisses him on the cheek, mouthing 'I love you too'.