Enjoying a gorgeous fall Saturday, Kurt sat in the Lima Bean with Rachel and Mercedes, chatting about the recently completed duets week in glee club. Rachel admitted to throwing the contest with her song choice and Mercedes rolled her eyes.
She and Santana had been stellar and should have won, in Kurt's opinion.
"But it's good that Sam and Quinn won!" Rachel insisted. "We want to give them incentive to stay in glee club."
Kurt smiled a bit at the thought of the blonde boy. For football player, he was sweet and oddly unaffected by Kurt's sexuality. He had even been willing to sing with Kurt, something most of the boys balked at.
"Oh, look! Sam! Hi!"
Speak of the devil (though he was far from devilish looking), Sam had just stepped away from the counter, a takeout cup in hand. He smiled at Rachel's greeting and wandered over. "Hey," he said and slid into the chair Rachel waved him toward. "What's up, Docs?"
Kurt raised a brow at the Bugs Bunny imitation as Mercedes quipped, "Just your usual wild Saturday in Lima."
"How was your date with Quinn?" Rachel asked, leaning forward eagerly. "You two are cute together."
Setting Sam up with Quinn would serve two purposes for Rachel, Kurt realized. It would anchor Sam to the club and it would keep another wedge between Finn and his ex-girlfriend. Devious little diva.
After sipping his drink, Sam replied, "It wasn't a date. But Quinn is awesome."
"Oh," Rachel murmured, then brightened and patted his arm. "Don't worry. Your charms are not insubstantial. It's only a matter of time before she sees that."
Sam blinked, a confused expression on his face, but before he could comment a new voice interrupted.
"She means that you're a catch and anyone would be lucky to have you for her boyfriend."
A boy had approached the table and Kurt tried not to stare. He was really cute, a bit short, with neatly gelled hair and a bright smile. He wore navy and white striped Henley and are maroon cardigan and skinny blue jeans… He definitely didn't go to McKinley. Kurt would have seen him before.
"Hey," Sam greeted the newcomer with a grin, tilting his head back to see him. "Blaine, these are some of my friends from McKinley, Rachel, Mercedes and Kurt."
"Have a seat!" Kurt was quick to offer and Blaine aimed his smile at him as he pulled over a chair.
"Thanks," he replied, then eyed Sam's cup. "That's not coffee is it? You know you can't handle caffeine."
"No, it's herbal tea," Sam sighed. "And I can handle caffeine just fine. It was the combination of espresso, Red Bull, Mountain Dew and Pixie Stix that caused the incident."
Blaine snorted delicately. "I still don't know where you and Jeff found a bandicoot."
Watching the interplay, Kurt asked, "So, how do you two know each other?"
"I went to Dalton Academy last year," Sam replied, then gestured to his friend. "Blaine's still there…He's smart enough that the classes don't make him want to cry constantly."
"Well, McKinley makes me want to cry, so I can relate," Kurt replied without thinking and found himself the sudden focus of four pairs of eyes and Mercedes patted his back gently.
"Bullies?" Blaine asked, understanding clear on his face. "After I came out, I was harassed and… I couldn't deal with it and ended up at Dalton. Zero-tolerance policy for bullying."
Kurt gaped at Blaine. He thought maybe the other boy was gay, but then again, he thought the same of Sam… "You're gay?" he clarified, then let his eyes to go over to Sam, "And…."
"If you gotta label me, bi," Sam said easily, and creeping across the table toward Blaine's coffee.
Catching Sam's fingers and holding them still, Blaine mused, "Somehow I don't think most bullies care about that distinction…and hands off my coffee."
Sam's hand turned under Blaine's and their fingers laced together, motion smooth and easy, obviously one that had happened countless times. It was such a simple thing, but it hit Kurt like a kick in the ribs.
He desperately wanted that, wanted a boy who would sit close to him and hold his hand in public. A boyfriend. Sam was a year younger than him and somehow he had found that….
Clearly there was hope…though considering the only two boys near his age who might be interested were attached, Kurt figured her boyfriend wasn't in his immediate future. New friends who understood what he was going through though, they were welcome too.
"How's your dad?" Sam asked suddenly, focusing on Kurt. "Quinn said he'd been sick."
Kurt smiled. "He's doing better, thanks. Keeps trying to sneak butter into his food, but I'm not letting him get away with it."
With a smile, Mercedes teased, "Mr. Hummel's getting a steady diet of fish and steamed vegetables. Poor man."
"It's hard healthy," Kurt insisted, nudging her playfully.
"Nothing wrong with fish and veggies," Sam agreed, nodding to Kurt. "Brown rice is good too. And stoneground oats."
"Thank you!" Kurt said triumphantly. "Finally, another male who appreciates a healthy diet."
Sam seemed pleased by the praise and Blaine smiled, free hand reaching down and prodding at his messenger bag. An odd crinkling sound filled the air and Sam's head whipped around. "You didn't!" he demanded, making a grab for the bag but Blaine shoved it toward Rachel.
"I did, but they're for the movie tonight," the dark-haired boy said with a laugh. "Let's see some of that Sammy self-control."
"Even Superman has kryptonite, dude!" Sam laughed, leaning over Blaine and stretching out a long arm.
Catching him in a headlock, Blaine grinned at Rachel. "Could you be a dear and grabbed the bag, put it somewhere he can't reach?"
She smiled and snatched up the bad, placing it on the opposite side of the table. "What's in there?" she asked, clearly bemused.
"Oh, just the necessities," Blaine replied as Sam went limp in his arms. "Hair gel, lip balm, sheet music, breath mints…Cool Ranch Doritos…."
"The preciousssss," Sam mumbled in a decent Gollum impression.
"Sheet music?"
Of course that was what Rachel had heard.
"Blaine's the lead soloist at Dalton," Sam said and the tone in his voice was clearly bragging about the other boy.
Releasing Sam from the headlock, Blaine straightened his sweater. "Needless to say I was quite surprised to hear Sam was joining New Directions after refusing to perform with the Warblers last year."
He pursed his lips and gave Sam an unimpressed look. The blonde made a placating gesture. "I know, I know, but I never would've had time at Dalton. Classes were too hard, plus I can play my guitar with New Directions. You know Wes has that no instrument rule."
"We're an acapella choir," Blaine informed Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes. "When Sam told me about New Directions, I looked you up on You Tube. You're very talented."
He seemed sincere and Kurt smiled at the complement. "Are any of the Warblers performances on YouTube?"
Blaine nodded and Rachel leaned forward. "We could watch videos, or you could come with us to the music store and we could sing! After all, you're dating a member of our group. We have to be sure he's being exposed to talent and not any corrupting influences…."
Rachel's intensity seemed to amuse Blaine and he drained his coffee. "Sounds fun."
Sam looked rather adorably befuddled. "We're just going to randomly break into song? In public?"
"It's a music store," Blaine told him with an easy smile. "It'll be fun!"
Yeah, Blaine was going to fit in with their group just fine.