Secrets in the Closet

1: Choices

"…and maybe we could hop on over to Breadstix later, how does that sound? Sam? Sam?" Sam Evans blinked and shook his head, looking a little fazed. He blinked again and looked back up at Quinn Fabray with a confused look on his face. Quinn looked annoyed that he had not been listening to her, but repeated what she had just said nonetheless.

"Oh," Sam replied, forcing a small grin, "That sounds great." Quinn tilted her head slightly, shooting a questioning look at her boyfriend. He had been distracted for the whole day—he was either looking elsewhere concentrating hard on something else that wasn't her or staring blankly into space as though he was thinking about something much more serious than a date. He had never mentioned any family problems, so Quinn was now genuinely perplexed.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "You've been spacing out a lot and when we spoke on the phone just now you just… didn't talk like you used to. What's bothering you?"

"It's nothing," Sam reassured her, sitting up straight and clearing his throat, "I'm just tired—I had a great workout yesterday." He grinned sheepishly at her, hoping that it would stop her from asking too much. He never liked lying to Quinn, but somehow he just could not bring himself to tell her what the real problem was. He had wanted to confide in someone and had even considered William Schuester, but then again, he felt like he was not ready to face it.

He'd been thinking about it since Kurt Hummel had announced that he was going to transfer to Dalton Academy after next Monday. Immediately, he pushed those thoughts away and looked back at Quinn, who still looked concerned.

"Are you sure it was just a workout…?" Quinn asked, her hand reaching out to his. Reflexively, his hands retreated, shocking Quinn.

"I… I gotta go," Sam said, standing up and grabbing his bag, "Look, I'll see you later at glee club." He remained rooted to the spot for a few seconds, before swooping down to kiss Quinn on the cheek. She watched him leave hurriedly and felt even more worried than before. Biting her lower lip, she buried her face in her hands and let out a heavy sigh, not knowing what to do.

When the bell rang minutes later, Quinn grabbed her bag and strode out of the cafeteria, still trying to figure out what was bothering Sam. She would talk to him after glee club, she decided inwardly, and get some answers. She couldn't stand how uneasy she felt because of him, and she wanted that feeling to go away as soon as possible. Her hand instinctively fell to the promise ring on her finger as she entered Spanish class.

In the classroom next to Spanish, Sam was staring into space quietly amongst his classmates who were enjoying their teacher's absence. He'd been trying to figure out what to tell Quinn later on, but couldn't come up with anything. All of his emotions were in a mess, and his troubles began after he had gotten into a fight with Karofsky because of Kurt.

Kurt.

He groaned and rested his head on the desk, thinking about him. He didn't understand why Kurt wanted to leave McKinley for Dalton—he had so many people willing to protect him from Karofsky no matter what but he still felt that it wasn't enough. Sam knew it was more than just the bullying and the shoving from Karofsky, and he wanted to know why. But that wasn't the only reason why he was so distracted—he was surprised as to why he was so beat up about the whole situation. It wasn't as though he was the one being bullied, but somehow, he felt obliged to want to protect Kurt.

And the moment Dave Karofsky walked into class, Sam felt his anger returning. He clenched his fists and bit his lip, mentally restraining himself from wanting to lunge at Karofsky and beat the crap out of the boy. It wasn't until Karofsky smirked at him when Sam realized that he had been glaring at the jock the entire time.

"What up, Evans?" Karofsky sneered, apparently enjoying how angry he made Sam, "Want another go?"

Sam ignored Karofsky, but the bigger jock slammed his fist onto his desk, still persisting. "You seem pretty protective of Hummel," Karofsky said, "How long have you two been going out, huh? Does Quinn know about this?"

Within a split second, Sam stood up and grabbed Karofsky roughly by the collar. "Watch it, Karofsky," Sam said warningly. "I'll break your legs next time." He had wanted to say more, to defend Kurt, but decided against it and pushed Karofsky away aggressively. The jock sniggered and walked off, unaffected by Sam's threat.

The blonde closed his eyes and rested his head on the desk again, pretending to sleep. He had to talk to someone.

Just then, Emma Pillsbury walked in. After a few moments of attempting to settle the students down, she cleared her throat and informed them that she was to serve as their teacher's substitute for the day.

"Just do your own work," Emma said nervously, and went over to sit at the teacher's table. "Ms. Hawkins will be back this Friday."

Sam, still pretending to be asleep, made a mental note to visit the counselor's office sometime soon. He had never liked the idea of being counseled, but this time, it seemed that he didn't have much of a choice anymore.

Kurt Hummel was positively relieved.

The idea of transferring to Dalton Academy was the best there ever was, in his own opinion and his parents'. Despite Finn's constant objections back at home, Kurt knew that he had no choice but to go to Dalton. It was no lie that he was going to continue suffering while Karofsky was still around, so he immediately agreed with Burt and Carole's suggestion to transfer him to Blaine's school where there was a strict no bullying policy. Even though he didn't want to leave New Directions, he could only take comfort in the fact that Blaine would be there for him at Dalton and no one would be able to terrorize him anymore.

And besides, from the look of enthusiasm on Blaine's face while he was describing Dalton in such great detail right now, Kurt was pretty much excited about his new school.

"…and their facilities are pretty top notch—I personally think you'll like the choir room. All of our instruments are cleaned on a weekly basis, and you won't find a better place to practice your singing. That's where the Warblers practice and that's also where you'll be auditioning," Blaine said cheerfully, smiling brightly at Kurt.

Kurt returned the smile. "I honestly cannot wait to start school there," Kurt said, "And joining the Warblers… wow."

"Yeah," Blaine said, "It's a shame you have to wait until Monday though. The Warblers are excited to meet you."

"They… they are?" Kurt asked, his eyes widening with surprise. "You mean they know about me already?"

Blaine laughed and nodded. "They wondered why the new kid didn't join the last time he went to Dalton, and asked me why he disappeared after that one day he was here. I couldn't resist telling them about you really; especially after you told me you were going to transfer to Dalton! I told them you were in your school's glee club and they'd really like to hear you sing once you settled down there."

"That's quick," Kurt said, "But I'm not complaining."

"Neither am I," Blaine replied, almost too excitedly. "I still can't believe your parents wanted you to come here. It's going to be great, Kurt, I promise."

"I know, Blaine. You've said that for about like five times in this conversation alone—I'm not going to count the ones from your texts when I told you yesterday," Kurt joked. Blaine grinned and took a sip of his orange juice. Usually, he never came to Breadstix because he was used to staying in Dalton on weekdays to either study or just practice with the Warblers, but he couldn't refuse when Kurt had asked him out.

Of course, it wasn't a date. Kurt had just wanted to "celebrate" and interrogate Blaine about Dalton.

"What about your friends?" Blaine asked suddenly, "I mean, did they take it well?"

"They… freaked out at first," Kurt said, bursting out into laughter moments later, "But they understood and respected my decision. I can't say I won't miss them when I'm gone, but I don't really have a choice."

"You always have a choice," Blaine reassured him, "This is just one of the better ones you've made."

"Now you're just being biased." Kurt punched Blaine on the shoulder playfully.

"I know," Blaine replied sheepishly, "But what I really meant was… I mean… if you join us Warblers, you'll be competing with New Directions at sectionals." Then, Kurt finally understood what Blaine had meant by asking if they "took it well".

His heart sank a little at the thought. "They didn't say anything about that," Kurt said softly, "I didn't realize it at first, but now… now I think I do feel a little bad."

"Kurt, before you tell me you feel like you've betrayed them, you haven't." Blaine's hand reached out to Kurt's and squeezed it encouragingly. "Even if you feel like you're not in their world anymore, or if you're not one of them, I know they'll always regard you as a member of their glee club. You might think that they hate you for leaving them, but the fact that they respected your decision is a sign that they just want you to be happy no matter what."

The thing Kurt liked about Blaine was that this boy knew exactly what to say to make him smile involuntarily.

"Thanks, Blaine," Kurt said, "Though I think Finn is still the only one who isn't taking this well, though he always tells me it's okay."

"He'll get over it," Blaine replied confidently, "Then he'll see what a great decision you've made."

"Blaine, you're being biased again."

Emma Pillsbury jumped at the knock on her office door. She looked up from her book and realized that it was Sam Evans, the new student who had recently joined New Directions who was in the class she had relieved yesterday. She smiled at him and gestured for him to enter. Sam swung the door open and closed it behind him as softly as he could; noticing the little scare Emma had moments before.

"Um, good morning, Ms. Pillsbury," Sam said, hesitating a little. "I'm… Sam Evans."

"Hello Sam," Emma greeted, smiling up at the blonde jock, "Have a seat."

Sam nodded and pulled a chair out for himself and sat down, then placed his bag on the floor. Emma noticed that he seemed nervous and hesitant about something, and figured that he was going to have to take a while to be able to open up about whatever problems he had.

"So, Sam," Emma started, "What's on your mind?"

"Uh…" Sam began, and then fell silent again. He fidgeted with his phone in his hands and avoided eye contact with Emma, as though choosing his words carefully. He didn't know how to start because he found it awkward to talk to a complete stranger about his problem, but the only reason why he had approached her in the first place was because she was the only one who wouldn't tell anyone else.

"Just take your time," Emma told him patiently, "It's fine to, you know, gush. Many students have come in here feeling scared at first, but then they slowly open up and tell me about all of their friendship or family problems because they know that I keep everything private and confidential. It's just me and you, Sam."

Sam nodded again, inhaling and then exhaling. "Kurt's transferring to Dalton Academy next week," Sam said, looking up at Emma with uncertainty in his eyes, "and I don't want him to leave."

Kurt had no idea what was so urgent that he had to wait for Sam one hour before glee club started. He sat in the choir room patiently, while texting Blaine. The Dalton student had begun to gush enthusiastically again about something else Dalton-related—this time, it was regarding a Warbler's father donating a brand new grand piano to the school. Blaine told him that they could use it to practice together once Kurt joined the Warblers, his enthusiasm overflowing in abundance. Kurt couldn't help but smile at how excited Blaine was and somehow, it rubbed off on him and he began to feel excited himself.

Just then, Sam walked in. "Hey, Kurt," Sam said, smiling a little, "Glad you could… never mind. I'll, uh, get right to the point."

"Okay," Kurt said, wondering what Sam wanted to see him about.

"I know you're afraid of Karofsky," Sam started, approaching Kurt, "And I know Dalton seems like a great place for you to be because you won't have to face any bullies like him anymore. But Kurt, I… I think I'm speaking on behalf of the whole glee club when I tell you that you shouldn't go."

Kurt raised his eyebrows, shocked at what Sam was saying. "I shouldn't…?"

"No," Sam said, looking straight into Kurt's eyes, "Because I don't see how I—we can't protect you from Karofsky."

"Sam," Kurt began, "I know you guys don't want me to leave. But sometimes, I have to take myself into consideration first. I want to be happy—it's not that I'm saying I'm not happy with New Directions, but I can't be happy while Karofsky is prowling the corridors every single day, waiting to push me into the nearest locker again."

"I get that, but… but I think you should trust us guys to help you," Sam said, "It's not that I think Dalton's not as good as McKinley, but you shouldn't run away from him. I'll—we'll help you, I promise. Please don't just make such a reckless decision to leave us behind. I know you'll have that Blaine kid around you so you won't feel alone and stuff but we'll miss you, you know?"

Kurt considered Sam's words thoughtfully. "Since when have you felt this way?"

Sam flinched, suddenly nervous. "Felt this way?" he repeated.

"Like Finn," Kurt explained, "He's always saying what you're telling me but I get that because he's become my brother. It's just surprising that you… you know…"

Sam's heart rate decreased to a calm and steady rate again. "Oh," he said, relieved, "I was just… you know… I've been talking to Finn, and…"

"Sam, I can't stay," Kurt told him firmly, "I've made my decision."

"I know you're afraid of him. I know you don't ever want to see him again. But Kurt, you have friends here who can help you and protect you from him. I know! I know this isn't just about the bullying and the shoving and the names—there's something more. What is it, Kurt? You can tell me. Tell me, Kurt." By now, Sam seemed almost desperate to keep Kurt at McKinley and that puzzled him even more. Kurt wondered why Sam had said all those things—the very things Finn never failed to repeat every night since his announcement that he was transferring to Dalton. Sam had never spoken to him a lot, but Kurt could see an obvious difference in his behavior towards him now and he wondered why.

"I can't tell—I mean, there's nothing more, Sam," Kurt insisted, "It's just Karofsky and his bullying. He's been targeting me since the start, Sam, and it's only because I'm gay."

"No, no, I know there's something else. You're more afraid than usual, Kurt, I can see that."

"I'm not, it's just—"

"Trust me."

Somehow, the way Sam had said those two words made Kurt feel safer for a moment. It wasn't that Finn or Rachel hadn't told him to trust them, but it was something else that made Sam's words different. Kurt immediately felt more willing to open up to him, and he didn't know why. There was something about him that was different this time around, but Kurt couldn't figure it out yet. All he knew was that Sam was someone who could probably keep his word seriously, especially after Kurt had learnt about him attacking Karofsky in the locker room. And he had been keeping it in for far too long.

"Will you keep it a secret?" he asked.

"I'm your friend, Kurt. Of course you can. But it's your choice," Sam said, smiling at him.

It's your choice.

Kurt took a deep breath. "Karofsky kissed me. He's gay."