Trouty Mouth and the Leprechaun
Author''s Notes: This is not my first fanfic, but it is my first fic based on a TV show, and using actual human actors as opposed to digital game characters. Glee has quickly become one of my favorite shows, the 2nd season being my favorite thus far, and I was disappointed when Sam was not making a return in season 3. Luckily that will change as of episode 8, but while the show generally makes things all A-Okay by the end of an episode, I wondered what would it be like for Sam to come back and not slide back into the group so easily. This is a mature fic, with lots of change in sexualities for certain characters, and some smut scenes. If gayness bothers you, go read something else.
Beta Credits: xxBlaineXKurtxx, G-AnakinRPG
Recap: Last year Sam's dad lost his job and they had to live in a hotel, but over the summer he got a new job and they had to move away, ending his new relationship with Mercedes which was a big secret to begin with, except Kurt and Blaine had their suspicions, but now Mercedes has a new boyfriend who urged her to join the new glee club; Santana finally had a date with Brittany and even held her hand under the napkins and leaving Rory without a date, so Finn asked him to join glee and use his leprechaun voice to sing with them; Mike's dad disowned him because he wants to be a dancer even though his mom is fully supportive and wants him to be happy and at least Tina has a way to cheer him up which his dad would probably be upset about too and that's what you missed on Glee!
-ooo-
Episode 1: Welcome Back, Evans
Lima, Ohio, hadn't exactly been the most exciting place in the world, but it had its share of excitement. If someone had told Sam Evans a year ago that he would be singing in a school glee club, he would have called them crazy, but coming to McKinley and befriending the students of the club had been a smart move and an amazing experience. That is what made it all the harder on him when the Evans family had to move away.
Sam's dad had finally gotten word in mid-June that a position he had applied for was accepting him; except the position wasn't in Lima, it was on the other side of Ohio, four hours away. It was exciting to visit a new place, especially when it meant that they could live in a house again. Sharing a small hotel room with his parents and two younger siblings was stressful. There was no privacy whatsoever, and being in such close quarters made it easy for tension to arise. When he wasn't delivering pizzas at his part-time job, he was spending time with Mercedes. Even if they hadn't been dating, he would have enjoyed her company, especially if it got him out of the room.
It was a little disappointing, however, when Mercedes seemed rather indifferent when their relationship ended and he had to leave. He should have known better - relationships in the glee club were like underwear; they changed every day. At least with Santana he was getting sexual release on the regular, unlike Quinn or even Mercedes, who insisted on waiting. In truth she was just a little too insecure about her body compared to his near perfect physique.
One day in November, Mr. Evans came home to announce that they would be returning to Lima – he was being transferred back out there for an even higher position. It meant they could have a nicer home as well as working toward luxuries that they had given up over the past few months. Better still, it meant Sam could rejoin his friends from glee club, the football team, and have an overall perfect senior year. Yes, returning to McKinley was going to be great!
-ooo-
Returning to McKinley wasn't going as great as Sam had hoped. Walking down the halls, he felt like a stranger; the new kid again. Running into the glee club members was even more of a let down.
"Hey, Mike! It's good to see you!" Sam exclaimed as he passed by Mike Chang in the hallway. He turned around to greet him as Tina strolled up to the pair of them, smiling. She gave him a hug and instantly began telling him about the drama that was going down between glee cliubs.
"You can fill him in later, we need to get to study hall. My dad isn't going to be any happier if I get another Asian F. If that happens, we might never reconcile," Mike explained to her.
"Asian F?" Sam asked, confused.
"It's when an Asian kid gets anything lower than an A. He got an A- a couple of weeks ago and his dad threw a fit," Tina replied. "He almost had to quit glee."
"He just expects a lot out of me but he doesn't understand everything I am going through," Mike added. "It's different than when he was our age."
"Sounds pretty serious. I guess we can catch up later then," Sam suggested, raising his hand up to wave at them as they scuttled off to the library.
While Finn seemed genuinely happy that the second-best male lead had returned to take some of the pressure off of him, Rachel was too busy prattling on and on about the her latest solo assignment and making plans for Finn to practice with her. Things would never change between those two - Rachel was moving forward in starting her career and Finn was just along for the ride. She did pause long enough to give him a hug and a welcome, but then returned to her strategizing.
Sam considered seeking out Puck, sure that he would be glad to see the return of another football oriented glee club member, but as he turned the corner he saw him conversing intimately with Quinn. While he doubted they were dating, he could tell that an interruption wouldn't be welcome. Quinn looked a little different as well. It was the way she was carrying herself; it seemed forced, like she was trying to hide something or keep up some sort of appearance. Oh well, he would find out eventually. McKinley was one of the most gossip-filled places in the country.
Perhaps Kurt would have time to say hello. Sam was surprised to see him standing next to his locker with Blaine, the latter decked out in street clothes as opposed to his Dalton uniform.
"Sam! Oh my God when did you get back!" Kurt exclaimed excitedly. He quickly ran up to him and threw his arms around him in a hug, followed by a less colorful but equally genuine welcome from Blaine. It was the best reception he had received yet.
"We got back last week, but were too busy for me to come back to school until now. It's a pain getting a house back together," Sam replied.
"A house? So things are going good for your family then?" Blaine asked with a smile.
"Well obviously things are going better, look at his outfit. American Eagle jeans are not cheap, nor are those sneakers. Did your dad get his job back?" Kurt inquired, pleased to see Sam back in acceptable clothing. Second-hand did not suit him well.
"No, he just got a higher position but it meant we had to transfer back here," Sam explained. He gave a curious look at Blaine. "So... what's with the outfit?"
"Oh I'm not a Warbler anymore. I transferred here at the beginning of the school year. It's been amazing coming here. It's an entirely different environment."
Kurt threw his arm around his boyfriend, grinning. "Don't get it wrong though, he didn't come here for me, he came here for-"
"For me and you," Blaine finished for him. "I'm sorry to run, but we have to get to our next classes. How about you meet us at lunch and we can catch up?"
Sam's eyes lit up. Finally, interaction! "Sure, that sounds great. I'll look for you."
The three teenagers bid their farewells, leaving Sam feeling slightly better now that at least two of his friends were making an effort. So he thought anyway. When lunch came around, he looked all over the cafeteria, but Kurt and Blaine were nowhere to be seen. Sighing, he went outside to the courtyard and sat down at one of the tables, unpacked his lunch, and stared at it. His appetite was hardly there, instead his stomach filled with a sickening feeling of dread and loneliness. He had expected it to be much better coming back, but so far it had all been a big failure. He did take note of Mercedes sitting with a burly black boy that was obviously her new boyfriend. She waved and smiled, but made no effort past that, and he felt uncomfortable approaching her with the overbearing man sitting next to her.
As one would expect, Brittany didn't even remember who he was, and Santana couldn't have cared less. She had given him a sarcastic greeting in math class complete with a remark regarding his 'trouty mouth' and that was all her interest could muster up. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Artie yet, but Sam wasn't exactly expecting miracles there, either. Brooding over his 'comeback' he picked at his sandwich until the bell rang to signal time for the next class.
-ooo-
History class dragged on forever. It was hard to stay awake, and he felt lost. How was he going to catch up? Get a grip, Sam. It's only the first day.
Sam turned the hall just in time to see Azimio Adams shove a kid into his locker, knocking all of his books to the floor. Azimio and his friends cheered, walking away as the fretting teen sighed and knelt down to gather his books.
"Those guys are real jerks," Sam said, crouching down to help. He handed the boy one of his books, noting the look of surprise on his face at the act of kindness.
"They sure are," the teen said. He slumped his shoulders under the weight of his items, trying to shove them back into the open locker. His thick Irish accent was unexpected – Sam had never heard an Irish accent before. "Thanks for the help."
Sam grinned at him, mentally noting that he had brilliantly blue eyes, like looking into the ocean. "Hang in there, they leave at the end of the year. See you around, kid!" He waved as he left the befuddled student behind.
-ooo-
Wow, that was really nice of him. He looks familiar, but I can't place him. Rory thought, looking after the blonde boy who had helped him with his books. Damned jocks, always picking on him. He hadn't been in the States but a couple months already and he lost count of how many times he had been slammed into a locker, had his books knocked out of his hands, called names, had his accent mocked, and just all around been treated like rotted potatoes. The only friends he had were glee club members, and even those were relatively thin friendships. It was better than nothing at all, however.
Rory sighed. He was seriously beginning to wonder if the exchange student program had been a good idea or not. As he robotically marched off to his last class of the day, he couldn't get the blonde guy out of his head. Where the heck have I seen him before? This is going to bother me until I figure it out!
-ooo-
Sam wasn't entirely sure he was ready to return to the glee club yet. After his less than ideal return, the idea of it almost seemed laughable. It was time for sectionals, anyway, and a new member would probably be an unwelcome intrusion.
As he expected, the entire crew was gathered in the auditorium, practicing their routine for the upcoming competition. He peered through the door, keeping to the side so as not to be noticed. It was strange – Santana, Brittany, Mercedes and Lauren were all missing. Rachel was nowhere to be seen, either, which was almost scary.
Continuing to watch, Sam noticed that Blaine had joined the group, as well as one other person, someone he recognized from earlier in the day. It was the Irish kid he helped in the hallway. He was practicing footwork with Mike, memorizing dance steps with intense concentration.
Doesn't look like they need me anyway. I wonder if that Irish kid is any good. I bet his accent sounds pretty neat when he sings. He lost himself in his thoughts, not realizing that the group of performers had finished their rehearsal and left, leaving him standing there, spying on an empty dark room.
-ooo-
Why is that guy watching us? Rory wondered. Out of the corner of his peripheral vision he saw the blonde guy that had helped him in the hall earlier, standing off to the side of the doorframe, trying to stay out of sight. Who is he? He didn't have too much time to ponder the question, however, as Mike quickly called his attention back to his dance steps.
"You're not quite as clumsy as you think you are," Mike said to him. "Now we just need to get you moving and singing at the same time."
"If I can manage, so can you," Finn piped in from the other side of the stage.
"Thanks, Finn Hudson," Rory replied. He wasn't the only one needing help; they were forced to recruit some of their band members to stand in for missing singers to meet the twelve person requirement. Mike spent the rest of the rehearsal giving the small group step lessons so they wouldn't look quite so foolish.
Is he going to stand there all day? Why doesn't he just come in and watch? Wait! I know who that is! That's Sam Evans! I thought the others said he left... maybe he's just visiting.
When rehearsal was over, Rory quickly scuttled out of the auditorium's back entrance with everyone else, but then took off toward the hallway, rounding back to the front where Sam was standing. Well, where Sam had been standing - by the time Rory arrived, nobody was there.
-ooo-
Sam felt depressed after his first day back. He fibbed to his parents when he got home, answering their questions with noncommital answers and forcing himself to smile and act cheerful. He spent the rest of the evening in his room, watching Avatar for the umpteenth time on his laptop while executing his afternoon exercise routine of push ups, sit ups, stretching, and lifting hand weights.
The next day was more of the same for him. Everyone too busy to have time for him. What was worse was that he heard several times other students whispering behind his back, asking each other why he was wearing name brand clothes if his family was so poor, why he was back in the first place. He even heard one girl mention that he probably paid for everything from money he earned as a stripper.
Really? A stripper? Not in this lifetime.
When it came time for lunch, he didn't even bother to seek anyone out - instead just resigning himself to sitting alone on the stone steps of the courtyard. He sighed, taking his sandwich from the brown paper bag and picking at it like he had the day before. Things had to start looking up, right?
Maybe they would, because right then, a dark haired young man plopped himself down right next to him.
"You're Sam Evans, right?" the young man asked in a thick accent. Sam looked up at him, recognizing him from the day before.
"Uh, yeah. I didn't do it, whatever it is," Sam replied, feigning the smile of someone kidding around.
"You sing, don't you?" Sam nodded in reply. Who was this kid? "I'm Rory Flanagan, newest member of the glee club." Rory held out his hand to shake, grinning widely.
Sam shook his hand and then responded to him. "Nice to meet you, Rory. I'm Sa- Oh wait, you know who I am already." Way to make yourself look stupid in front of the new guy.
"Why are you sitting by yourself? You're one of the most popular guys in the glee club," Rory asked, Sam listening very carefully to the Irish accent.
"I uh, it hasn't been the most welcoming return I guess you could say," Sam replied sullenly. "I guess everyone just kind of moved on."
Rory wasn't satisfied with that answer at all. How could people just 'move on' from friends? Friends were supposed to be forever. "Maybe they're just busy right now. Give them a chance, you know?"
"I suppose so. How come you aren't hanging out with them, then?"
"Because you looked like you could use a friend, and Im still making friends myself. I was hoping maybe you wanted to, even though Finn says in America, dudes don't ask other dudes to be their friends, except on-"
"Facebook, and that can take years, right?" Sam finished. "I sent Finn a friend request on Facebook last year and he still hasn't clicked the button." Both guys laughed at that admission. "Silly, right?"
"You can send me one, I'll accept," Rory replied with a smile. By accident, the two boys met eyes for just a moment, and it was right then that Rory's eyes seemed to capture Sam's. They were filled with life and excitement, bright and happy. Am I actually staring at this kid's eyes? Or is he staring into mine?
"Sam? Did you hear me?" Rory asked, dodging his head to the side, breaking Sam's daze.
Sam shook it off, snapping back to the moment. "Huh? Oh, no, I uh... your accent. Can you say it again?" What a weak recovery. Good job, dork.
"I asked if you wanted to hang out after glee club tonight," Rory repeated. He may have had a thick accent, but his words were clear; there was no way Sam could have misunderstood him the first time. Damn! How foolish!
"Yeah, sure, that'd be cool." Sam was still in a bit of a daze, but he wasn't sure why. Rory was still smiling at him, his bright eyes signaling genuine interest in Sam. Was the kid just like this; a cheerful and eager person anxious to impress? Oh well, it didn't matter. He was someone to hang out with, and he seemed nice enough. And his eyes were almost magical, capturing his gaze whenever he looked his way.
Wait, what? Why did I just think that? He's a guy! I'm a guy! We're not supposed to notice stuff like that! Right? Sam was lost in his thoughts, wondering exactly what the heck he was considering.
"Maybe we should hang out another day, say tomorrow? You seem like you might need some sleep or something. You're a wee bit out of it my friend," Rory said, obviously concerned. "Or maybe you don't really want to..."
Sam waved his hand. "No, I'm fine. Really. And I do. I do want to hang out."
"Okay. I'll see you in glee club then?" Rory asked. Sam nodded and smiled. "You might want to finish your sandwich. It looks a little roughed up. If I were you, I'd pick a better lunch spot tomorrow, too. It's supposed to rain." He smiled back and waved as he got up and left, going back inside the school building.
Sam turned back to his food, suddenly feeling his appetite return. He was still unsure about what he had been thinking before. Maybe he was just lonely and tired, and that weird thought popped up in his head? No, that wasn't it. Confused, he finished up his sandwich and then hurried on to class.
-ooo-
Well that was easy. I'm getting better at this making friends thing. He's pretty nice, but a little odd.
"Making friends with the washed up lady lips, Scottie?" came the familiar boom of Azimio Adams' voice from behind him. Oh bugger. When will they get it through their heads I am Irish and not Scottish?
Rory tried to ignore him, continuing his path down the hall, but Azimio wasn't having that. "I asked you a question, pixie boy." Nervous, Rory continued to ignore him and walk, but he could sense the agitation coming from the bigger teenager. "Okay, if you're gonna be rude about it!" The jock picked up the pace enough to pass by Rory, then he turned on a heel and sent lime green slushie hurtling at the boy, covering his entire front.
Azimio and his crew stomped off, laughing hysterically at their latest triumph over the foreigner. Rory simply stood there, stunned. It was his first slushie attack, and it upset him so bad he felt he might cry, but then he felt a large hand on his shoulder.
"What an asshole," came Sam's voice. Rory turned his head to look at him. His eyes weren't so bright and happy anymore; instead he had a look on his face that made Sam want to punch someone. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Rory let himself be steered toward the men's room, which was thankfully empty since class started moments before.
"I guess nobody told you that joining glee club is a one way ticket to slushie land?" Sam asked. Rory shook his head, frowning. "Nobody told me either at first. It's that very first slushie that hurts the most." He unraveled several sheets of paper towels and started wiping the syrup off of the boy's shirt. Most of it had already slid down to the floor, but his hair was still sticky with green glop.
"I think some of it ended up down my shirt," Rory observed.
"At least it didn't get down into your underwear. Did it?" Sam inquired as he started trying to pick chunks of colored ice out of the kids hair.
Rory shrugged. He didn't feel anything cold down there, so he assumed not. "I got it, thanks," he said when Sam started to dab at his face with a wet paper towel. He took it from him and started wiping his eyes, making sure none of the syrup got in there.
"Uhm, don't you want to get it out of your shirt first?" Sam asked when Rory looked like he was about to put his backpack on again.
Rory shrugged, set his stuff back down, and pulled off his shirt, revealing a smooth, slender torso streaked with green juice. Sam handed him another wet paper towel.
Wow, that's some really nice skin... Sam thought. He wanted to touch it, but that seemed ludicrous to just reach out and touch some other guys' flesh. Why am I thinking about another guy's skin? What does that matter? Why do I want to touch it?
"Get my back?" Rory asked, turning around. There were two long strips of green stickiness left on his upper back. Sam didn't say anything, but took the towel and wiped gently, taking the opportunity to sense the soft skin.
Rory pulled his shirt back on, checked over his face once more to look for any missed beverage. His clothes were still damp and sticky, but at least it was bearable.
"Thanks, Sam Evans. See you later," the teen said, finally leaving. What's with him? It seemed like he was staring at my chest or something.
Sam leaned back against the sink, putting his head in his hand. What the hell is going on in my head? Eyes? Skin? I'm checking him out the way I check out girls! I even touched him.
Rory, on the other hand, was just as confused. He had noticed Sam's strange behavior - staring at his eyes, going out of his way to touch him, the way he was looking over his chest. Girls don't look at me like that. I wonder why he does. I thought he had dated plenty of girls last year. Maybe he ended up gay or something.
Both boys spent their next class periods distracted from studying, instead thinking about the small interactions they had so far.
-ooo-
Right before last period, Sam went by Blaine's locker, looking for him. Surprisingly, the former Warbler was by himself, picking through books on the shelf. Sam looked around cautiously for signs of Kurt, but saw no sign of the flamboyant teen. He had chosen to talk to Blaine, the more sensible of the two gay men in the school. Kurt was great, but far too much of a gossip for this particular conversation.
"Hey, Blaine, can I talk to you a second?" Sam asked quickly.
"Yeah, hey, sorry about lunch yesterday. Kurt wasn't feeling well, so I took him home," Blaine explained. Sam shook his head and waved it off.
"That's okay, I just wanted to talk to you, privately. You can't even tell Kurt, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. What's going on?" Blaine asked, suspicious. He didn't know Sam very well, but what he knew of him, Sam was a confident kid, not the type to need to keep secrets nor to doubt himself, so what would he be wanting to keep secret, and even more, why share it with him?
"Let's go to the glee room. Nobody will be there right now," Sam suggested. Blaine shrugged his shoulders and the pair walked in silence down the hall to the choir room. They would be late for their next classes, but apparently it was important.
Sam and Blaine ducked into the room, closing the door, and sitting where they would be hidden from view. Blaine could see that Sam was nervous about something. He was a little shaky and seemed jittery.
"So what can I do for you, Sam?" Blaine asked. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, I needed to ask you something, and I don't think Kurt could help me out here," the blonde began. Blaine cocked his head as a signal for him to go on. "How did you know... you know, how did you know that you were, you know?"
"Know? You mean how did I know I was gay?" the brunette asked, deciphering his poorly worded query. Sam nodded. "I just knew. It wasn't really something I questioned."
"You didn't think anything different than usual?"
"Different? I just thought about guys all the time. That wasn't so different to me," Blaine replied.
"You didn't just suddenly look at a guy one day and think 'Hey, his eyes are really pretty,' or 'Wow, that guy has nice skin!'? What about girls? Did you ever look at them before or do anything and then suddenly that changed?"
"Sam, what's going on? Are you...?"
"No!" he said loudly. Embarrassed, he lowered his voice, "No. I just thought something and I don't understand it. I was hoping maybe... you could provide some insight."
Blaine put his hand up on Sam's shoulder, an offering of comfort. "What did you think about?"
"I was talking to this guy, and uh, I sort of stared at him. He had really nice eyes, like prettier than any girls I ever saw," Sam explained. "And then I just kind of thought that I wanted to touch him. Oh but not like that, I just mean like touch his skin to see what it felt like."
Blaine gave him a slight smile. So the guy is worried he might be gay. That was it? Well, he had to remember that it might be more difficult for some guys than it was for himself. "You know that doesn't automatically make you gay, right?"
"But it isn't normal, is it?" he asked, worried his wording might offend the gay man.
"Well, not in the sense of normal for a straight guy. You still like girls, though, don't you?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. I mean, they're awesome. Santana especially, I mean she's kind of a bitch but was so much fun in-" he stopped himself mid sentence. "Or you don't want to know that."
"I understand what you mean. Sam, do you think maybe you might be bisexual?" Blaine suggested. He answered Sam's quizzical look with further explanation. "It's not uncommon for someone to be even a little bi curious, Sam. Sexuality is pretty fluid - extremes are not that common really."
"So you mean I might be straight AND gay?" Sam verified. Blaine let out a chuckle.
"Well technically you could say that. But bisexual is the preferred term." He paused, both of them sitting in silence for a moment before he decided to press for more information. "Is the guy you were looking at - is he gay?"
"I don't know. He didn't say. I mean I didn't ask or anything," Sam answered sullenly. When Blaine inquired as to who it was, Sam quickly stopped giving answers. "No no no no no, there is no way I am telling. If it ever got out in any way-"
"Sam, I won't tell anyone. I promise you. Not even Kurt. I wouldn't do that to somebody, ever."
Sam studied him for several seconds, weighing the options. "Is it a glee guy?" Blaine asked. Sam very slowly, almost painfully, nodded his head. "Rory Flanagan?"
Sam's face fell. Damn! He got that right on the nose! Am I that obvious?
"You said pretty eyes, and he has the nicest eyes in glee, so it had to be him." Sam said nothing but stared at his feet. "You do know he's staying with Brittany, right?"
"Yeah. He said something about asking her out but she said no, so I guess he isn't on your team anyway," Sam said sadly. He felt weird, feeling upset that another guy wasn't interested in him. If Kurt ever knew about this, I would never hear the end of it. Ever.
"That's no guarantee of anything, Sam. Ever hear of a beard? No, probably not. Well anyway it could be a front. Or he could be bisexual, or like you, unsure of what he's feeling. You want my advice?"
"Well yeah, that's why I came to talk to you," Sam replied.
"Just hang out with him. As the friendship grows, you'll both open up more, and maybe your feelings will start to make sense and you can even approach him about it. Just relax and be yourself," Blaine answered. "You're a cool guy, Sam. He'll see it, and if he's into guys, he'll see something else, too."
Sam put his hands up in front of himself. "Whoa whoa, not ready for that kind of thing yet, dude. Still working things out in my head and all, not ready to be getting naked with a guy."
Blaine laughed. "That's not what I meant. I meant he would see that something inside you that makes you desirable to someone else. Your passion, or heart, or whatever you want to call it. It's that thing that makes someone else want to know you on a deeper level."
The blonde nodded, understanding what the other guy was telling him. "Thanks, Blaine. I appreciate it. We better get to class, you know?" he reminded him, not sure where to take the conversation next, and anxious to get the day over with.
"No problem. Anytime."
Later that afternoon as Sam sat in English class, trying not to fall asleep as the teacher droned on and on, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Stealthily he snuck it into his lap and pushed the button. He had a new text message, from Blaine.
"Courage," it read. Little did Sam know that Blaine had done the same thing when Kurt needed it most as well.
-ooo-
Sam's first day back at the glee club was only slightly better than the rest of his day. Once the other members had nowhere else to escape to, they finally paid some attention to him. Sam learned that Artie had become director of the musical that had just wrapped up, and that he was also taking on responsibilities as a back up for Mr. Schuester. He was still singing with the rest of them, but he was taking much more of a leadership position.
Walking into the auditorium, Mr. Schuester immediately noticed the new arrival. He welcomed Sam back and for the second time that day, he felt like he might actually have been missed.
Mr. Schuester wasted no time in getting right to the point. "Sectionals is Friday night at eight. That means no more goofing off, get it together. We're down Rachel, so we have to make up for her."
"What about me, Mr. Schue?" Sam asked. "I know it's kind of late in the game, but-"
"That just means you will have to work extra hard to get it down by Friday if you want to be part of the performance," the teacher replied.
Sam smiled confidently. "You bet I do!"
"I can't give you any solos though. We've already got those figured out."
Finn piped up just then. "Sam can have one of mine, Mr. Schue. I can spare one for an old friend."
Sam glanced at Finn and gave him a polite nod. "Thanks, man."
Mr. Schue clapped his hands together. "Okay, you two figure it out. Tomorrow is dress rehearsal and I need everything perfect."
"Here, you can have this, I don't need it," Kurt offered, handing Sam some sheets of lyrics for the songs they were to be singing.
"ABC, Control, and Man in the Mirror? Not bad. Thanks, Kurt." He started reading over the lyrics, most of which he was familiar with. He was going to be doing primarily background vocals anyway, so it wouldn't be a disaster if something was a tiny bit off. Mike was next to offer his assistance, taking Sam to join his rag tag group of would-be dancers, spending the rest of the session learning the dance steps for the performance.
-ooo-
"This is good, we were already going to hang out after school, now we can work on getting you caught up too," Rory exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, that's cool. Uh, where do you wanna go to hang out?" Sam asked.
"I'm sure Brittany wouldn't mind if we sang in my room, but how about we go get something to eat first?" Rory was smiling at him with his big toothy grin. He radiated cheerfulness and life. Sam couldn't help but feel uplifted by him.
"Sure why not? We'll go to this place in the mall. It's cheap but good," the blonde suggested.
"Can we take your car, Sam?" the younger boy asked as if he were referring a Mercedes Benz or BMW.
"I don't have a car, but my parents let me drive theirs to school and back. It's nothing special, so don't act excited."
"I'm just excited to go somewhere and do something fun. Brittany is still mad at me for the leprechaun charade so she hasn't exactly been too keen on including me in her activities," the Irish boy admitted sadly.
Sam clapped him on the back. "Yeah well, Brittany is... well she's Brittany. Come on, let's get going. I need to get out of here for the day anyway." Rory agreed and within a half hour they had arrived at the McKinley Mall, enjoying burgers and fries.
"You don't know how much I love this American food," Rory said between bites of greasy beef and cheese.
"It's just a cheeseburger," Sam replied, naive to the fact that his new friend was from another country, and everything in the USA was new to him, and fascinating.
"But it's a good cheeseburger. Did I tell you I spent my first day in school picking out marshmallows from Lucky Charms to make a whole box of nothing but marshmallows for Brittany? She thought I was a leprechaun then. She even thought nobody else could see me."
"Seriously? You like her that much?"
"She said I could get into her pot of gold. I'm still a virgin, I thought maybe she would change that," Rory admitted.
"Okay, first thing - Brittany has made sure a lot of people aren't virgins anymore. She's got a lot of mileage. Maybe try to find a nice girl, one who isn't so loose with her morals," Sam suggested, fishing around just slightly as to how the boy would respond to his remarks.
"I got that eventually. She's a nice girl, but too many people take advantage of her."
"Only because she encourages them," Sam said, brushing his hair from his face. He needed to get a haircut again. "Find a nice girl, okay?"
"I don't think I want to anymore," Rory replied matter-of-factly. "That's not what I really wanted in the first place. I just wanted to lose my virginity like everyone else."
"Don't lose it just for the sake of losing it. At least do it with someone who means something to you," Sam said, reflecting on his relationships in the past year. Santana was the only one who 'put out,' and she was very good at it, but aside from tearing down others, that was all she was good at. Sometimes he wished he had held out for someone with a little more meaning.
"I think there's better opportunity somewhere else anyway," the former-leprechaun stated ambiguously. Sam cocked his head, unsure how to take that remark. "I just mean there might be better people to take interest in."
"Oh okay. Anybody in mind?" Rory quickly replied in the negative, his answer far too fast to be legit. It looked like he did in fact have someone in mind, but why would he keep it to himself? Sam opted to let it go, and perhaps he would open up about it later.
Sam decided to change the subject to something slightly less awkward and expressed a desire to know more about Rory's Irish homeland.
"Only if you tell me about the south. Everyone says it's a different world down there."
"It's not that different, just accents and slang. And chivalry." Despite Sam's attempts to show genuine interest in Rory's recollections of his home land, he couldn't help but get lost in the teen's ocean blue eyes. He started to realize that he was staring, but at some point he actually stopped caring. Who could he be jonesing for? Wouldn't it be funny if- oh stop that, Sam, get a grip.
"Sam?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, I'm listening, really. I just kind of look spaced out because I haven't gotten much sleep since I got back." Shut up, just stop making excuses, he told himself.
"It's okay. You need to get some rest. Maybe you should get home."
"Yeah, maybe."
The two teenagers finished their dinner, stopped in the music store, and then went on home. As Sam lay back in his bed, he closed his eyes and the first thing that popped in his head was Rory's bright eyes. What was it about him that made him such an attractive person? He was nice, cheerful, gracious. He insisted on buying their meal, even stating that it was an honor to treat Sam. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was just idolization Rory had for him. Nothing else. Sam was just reading into it what he wanted to. The boy just looked up to him, that was all.
The former-quarterback sighed, then decided it was time to get the rest he had been talking about. He tossed his shirt and pants on the floor, climbing under the covers in his boxer-briefs and closing his eyes. It only took him a minute to fall asleep, and when he did, he dreamt of only one thing: Rory.
In his dream, they were singing in front of the rest of the glee club, except the others were there too - Mercedes, Brittany, Santana, and even Zizes. Instead of singing together, they were singing ballads to each other. He couldn't pick out the songs themselves, they were a blur, but somehow he knew that they were songs of affection; his own more romantic, while Rory's song expressed desire for something. Something... pleasurable. When Sam woke up the next morning he found himself in dire need of a cold shower. Why the hell am I getting turned on by dreams about a guy? And why am I dreaming about singing silly love songs to each other? Oh God what's going on with me? Girls, guys, what the hell do I want? I'm so confused.
Sam got up and showered, a cold one, and then finished getting ready. He spent more time than usual picking out his clothes, as if there was someone he wanted to look nice for. He shook the thought out of his mind and settled on jeans and a baseball-style green and white shirt, grabbed an apple off of the table on his way out the door, and set off to school.
-ooo-
Rory was waiting patiently next to Sam's locker when he arrived. "A little touch of Ireland today I see," he observed.
"Huh?" Rory's comment went right over the blonde's head.
"You're wearing green. You know, the color of my country, the one everybody assumes we wear all the time," Rory explained with a chuckle. "I'm just teasing you."
Sam smiled nervously. "Yeah, sorry, didn't sleep good again. Still a little out of it."
Rory playfully put the back of his hand on Sam's forehead as if feeling for a fever. "No, you don't feel warm. Maybe you just need some sleeping pills."
"So boys, all caught up?" Blaine asked, resting his arms on both Sam and Rory's shoulders as he seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Mostly," Sam replied. In truth, they hadn't even discussed the performance, let alone worked on it. He would just wing it.
"We're going to blow Troubletones out of the sea!" Rory exclaimed confidently. "We can't lose when Sam Evans is on our team!" Sam blushed at the compliment. He wasn't used to someone so openly praising or idolizing him. As he tried to avert his eyes, he noticed a knowing smile on Blaine's face.
Blaine clapped them both on the back and excused himself, needing to meet Kurt before first period. "He's so nice. Maybe he will be my friend too. Do you think so?" Rory asked.
Sam shrugged. "I don't see why not. You kind of are friends already anyway. That's how glee club works. Everyone's friends with everyone else." Or that's how it used to be. Now it seems like everyone is too busy to worry about anything but themselves. Technically, everyone dates everyone else, too, like Stevie Nicks.
Things were a little better by midweek. Sam managed to have an actual conversation with Finn, and even suggested hanging out, but apparently Finn was working at Burt Hummel's garage after school for some extra money.
He had no desire whatsoever to spend time with Rachel - just talking to her for more than five minutes was enough to give him a headache. She was just so self obsessed. Everything in her world was just that - all about her. That's why there was a second glee club, according to Mercedes when they talked before chemistry. Mercedes was tired of what she called 'The Rachel Berry Show" and wanted more exposure for not only herself but the other talented members who were often overshadowed in favor of the brunette diva.
Puck and Quinn were still unapproachable. Every time Sam saw them, they were having what looked like very private conversations, and often could be seen running off to the secondary choir room to see the director. At first he wondered if they were two timing the groups, but through the grapevine (A.K.A. Jacob Ben Israel) he learned that Quinn was trying to actually be a responsible mother. Of course Jacob had no faith and was anxious to catch her failures on camera if at all possible.
"Hey," Tina poked him in the back with her pen. "Why don't you come sit with me and Mike at lunch?" she asked. Sam agreed under the condition that Rory could come too. He enjoyed 'Asian Fusion' as they were dubbed by friend and foe alike. They were often cheerful and always friendly, an overall positive vibe radiating from them that he was sure would lighten his mood.
Sam's mind began to wander, once again toward his new friend. He kept picturing the smiling face, the shining blue eyes, full lips, his accent. Listening to the boy speak was pure ear candy. Coming from the south, Sam was used to thick drawls, so to him, an Irish accent seemed all the more exotic. It was also interesting that when Rory sang, it almost appeared like the accent disappeared, a phenomenon that to him was fascinating. The more he thought about him, the more Rory intrigued him.
Suddenly Sam's thoughts shifted to something a little less innocent. He remembered how nice Rory looked when he took off his shirt in the bathroom. He had such smooth unblemished skin. He remembered brushing his fingers up against the boys back as he wiped off the slushie, remembering how it felt beneath his fingertips.
Sam estimated he had very strong legs, remembering that he played soccer back in Ireland. Strong legs that he wanted to touch. He wanted to feel the corded muscle beneath his hands, the tendons and ligaments flexing as his fingers worked the flesh, massaging away the strain of a long practice.
What the fuck am I thinking? This was getting worse and worse. He went from admiring his face and voice, to dreaming about singing romantic songs, and now wanting to actually touch him, feel him.
"Something on your mind, man?" Mike asked at lunch. It was just the four of them, Tina and Mike next to each other, Rory and Sam on the other side, sharing the bench.
"Nah, just getting back into the swing of things. Kind of weird coming back in the middle of the semester I guess," Sam fibbed.
"If you need any help, let me know," Mike offered.
"Don't spread yourself too thin, your dad is already having a fit," Tina reminded him. "If you need any help in your classes, ask me, Mike has so much going on he barely has time to breathe."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." They changed the subject to sectionals, discussing their competition and what they thought about the Troubletones. Sam had yet to hear them, but Mercedes and Santana were two very strong voices, and the two of them together would surely be a force to be reckoned with.
After lunch was study hall, which Sam shared with Blaine. Perfect, another chance to talk. Just like the day before, they snuck off to a private spot to chat.
"Any luck? The boy seems extremely admiring of you," Blaine commented with a grin. "If anything, he at least has a lot of respect for you. That's a good start."
"I don't know what kind of luck you think I should have," Sam replied. He went on to explain his dream the night before, and while mentioning the daydream in chemistry, he left out the exact details of what he was thinking of doing with Rory. He simply said that he was 'wanting to be innocently physical.' He also told Blaine about the conversation at the mall, when Rory clammed up on the topic of whom his latest crush was.
"People usually get awkward like that for one of a few reasons. The person they're talking to is the crush, they're just plain shy," Blaine started to explain. "Or they are trying to test the waters and see if its safe to come out."
"You mean he might be trying to hint to me?"
"Yes. I think you should keep hanging out, maybe even drop some hints of your own, see if you can feel him out a little better."
If only Blaine knew exactly how Sam wanted to feel Rory out, he may have chosen his words differently. As before, he thanked his friend for his confidence and silence, and they returned to study hall. Blaine wanted him to be brave, but was Sam brave enough to actually hint to Rory what he wanted to tell him? Only one way to find out. He slid his phone out of his pocket and sent him a text message.
Meet at my locker after school before we go to glee rehearsal and we can go walk to the auditorium.
In less than a minute he received a reply;
Sure! I can't wait to hang out again, I had so much fun yesterday! You're the best friend ever, Sam Evans!
How in the heck was Sam supposed to take that? Pure idolization, or something a little more? Again, only one way to find out.