Should've Tried Harder Chapter 1, a glee fanfic

This is an idea that had been knocking around in my head since i was on a Hey Monday kick (I've known and liked them waaaaaaaay before Kurt and Blaine did candles and i have all their songs, including the Mini-Album that isn't on ITunes -.-) and i wrote the first bit and then got distracted by my other fic, Falling For You. So, i've done finished the first chapter and here it is. I think this will be a three-shot and possilbe epilogue, because i can't handle another multi-chapter on the go at the moment :)

Speaking of Blaine, yes i know he isn't like this. He is a lovely character and Darren Chris is, i'm sure, a great person. (Lack of chemistry with Kurt aside, i really do think he's nice). So i apologise for the way he is portrayed to those who actively ship Klaine, but it was necessary.

Anyway, i hope you enjoy :D

Over and out x

"You've got to be kidding me?" Kurt stared incredulously at his boyfriend, arms crossed over his chest as he tried to restrain himself and not shout for the whole of Dalton to hear.

"You treat me like dirt, always thinking about yourself and never about what I might want or need! I'm expected to pander to your whims and trail around after you like a little ball boy, picking up your stuff and clearing up your mess!" He flung the harsh words at Blaine and was pleased to see the effect he had on the other teen, the Warbler starting to walk towards him with a look on his face that shouted panic.

"Kurt, c'mon, you know I love you! You mean everything to me; I never wanted to hurt you." He was using a puppy dog look that Kurt knew well, but that just meant that he knew just how fake it was. It was the way he wheedled his solos out of the other Warblers and Kurt had seen it enough times for it's dubious effect to have worn off.

Storming towards the door he tried to contain his anger at the fact the guy had the audacity to ignore him constantly, only turning to him when he wanted to feel wanted, never giving anything back. He had seen Blaine flirting with the barista at their favourite Starbucks one too many times, getting Kurt gifts of cheap cologne to try to distract him, not realising that Kurt could obviously tell the difference between designer and the real thing.

He felt a cold hand tighten around his arm and try to pull him back, and he whirled around to face his 'boyfriend'. The other was starting to look angry but was still covering it up with a mask of hurt.

"Kurt really, you've gotta believe me, I need you to stay!"

Forgetting all about his decision to keep quiet and not gain attention from their schoolmates he took as step towards Blaine and leaned into his face. His eyebrows rose as he saw the look of hope in his eyes, and he found himself shouting in the taller boy's face.

"I don't CARE! I'm not playing ball boy any longer Batman,"he practically sneered, "I've screwed that 'On-your-arm' perfect boyfriend posture for my Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs couture, I'm taller, harder, stronger, older, and I don't need YOU!"

Trying not to think about the fact that he really had to stop paying so much attention in his english classes*, he wrenched his arm from Blaine's grip and slammed the door open, ignoring the startled glances and shocked looks as he forced people out of the way to get along the corridor. He wanted nothing more at that moment that just to get away from the guy he'd thought he would fall in love with, spend the rest of his life with, and who'd turned out to be nothing but a poser and a phoney.

He could hear footsteps following him down the now silent corridor and he threw his hands into the air as he turned around, the glare on his face enough to freeze Blaine in his tracks, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something.

Kurt wondered what he'd ever seen in him as Blaine fumbled around for the right words to say, or what he thought were the right words to stop Kurt from turning on his heel and walking out the building.

"You think you're so perfect, don't you, all charm and suaveness, but you just don't get it! You plan your relationship around what's great for you, always so self-absorbed and narcissistic, but guess what? I know your type!"

He had meant to speak the words of the song he had in his head, but in his anger and need to show Blaine just how he felt he heard himself breaking into the melody. At the smattering of secretive smile on the faces of those in the Warblers who were often left out and had the insane pleasure of swaying at the back while Blaine sang, Kurt decided that if he had started singing he was damn well going to carry on singing.

Some think that they deserve more
Give a little, like it's become a chore
Don't demand things, walk yourself out the door

He waved a hand at Blaine, indicating the door to his left as he walked towards him, giving him a scathing look as he stopped about two feet from him, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes.

I fell flat on my face too many times
Left with nothing but some cheap perfume
Now you cry
Now you need me
Now that perfume's not cheap
But i told you

"Catch!" He threw the box of cologne Blain had given him before their confrontation had started back at him, and watched as he fumbled it, his eyes still locked on Kurt. It fell to the floor and Kurt stifled a wince as the glass inside smashed and the liquid started to pool on the floor at Blaine's feet.

If you wanted to be my only one
If you wanted to see this happen
Maybe you, you should've tried harder
If you thought i would leap into your arms,
everytime i would see your face
Then maybe you, you should've tried harder

He was backing away from Blaine now, retreating towards the exit but never moving his glare from Blaine's face putting all his anger and frustration into the words as his fellow students shrank back into the classroom doorways when he passed.

Go on, prove it
I'd love to see you try
Convince me that you gave me the world
I tried and tried but you never opened your eyes
You stand tall like you've won some kind of award
But really, i've never seen someone so short
You'd look taller, if you gave me some more
But i told you

He was almost at the doors now, his voice echoing perfectly around the corridors and spreaing out of the doors and into the courtyard outside, still teeming with students that hadn't heard his frustration and heartbreak yet.

If you wanted to be my only one
If you wanted to see this happen
Maybe you, you should've tried harder
If you thought i would leap into your arms,

Everytime i would see your face
Then maybe you, you should've tried harder

Some think that they deserve more
Give a little bit

Blaine had followed him out the doors, running a little to catch up with him, and by the time he was at the parking lot he could practically feel the other teen reaching out o him from behind.

"Don't touch me!" He spat, no remorse in his eyes as he saw that the rejection was gone from Blaine's instead replaced with fury.

"How dare you do this to me? In front of everyone? You're just friggin' jelous that other guys flirt with me when we're out!"

That was it. That right there was his limit. He slapped Blaine across the face without a second thought and finished his song in a loud and very angry voice as the taller teen reeled backwards with a hand pressed to his face.

He got into his car and, making sure to slam the door, put his music on loud as he sped away from what he had thought was his perfect new beginning at Dalton.

Sam was heading to a vegan delicatessen outside of Lima to pick some tofu up for his mom when he saw a black car pulled up at the side of the road with it's headlights on but seemingly no one inside it. He pulled over and walked towards the car, realising as he did that it looked very similar to Kurt's Navigator.

He slowly made is way round to the drivers side, looking in the windows and trying to discern whether there was anyone inside. He couldn't see much because of the harsh sunlight coming from behind him, so he decided to check around the rest of the truck, checking the soil around it for footprints as he went.

When he turned the corner of the car and found himself in front of a sparkling back window he had a sinking feeling that the car was definitely Kurt's. He didn't know anyone else who's car would be so clean, especially not anyone with a Navigator. Checking the registration plate quickly he groaned on the inside as the digits of the numberplate he had seen Kurt wipe graffiti off a thousand times shone back at him.

When his check around the rest of the car was complete he knew for certain that Kurt must still be in the car, because there were no footsteps anywhere but the ones he had made himself, meaning no one had got out.

Cupping his hands to the drivers side window again he peered into the black leather interior and was hlf disapointed and half pleased when he didn't see Kurt collapsed on the front seat, a heart attack having been one of the many worries that had danced around Sam's head.

However, as he was turning away he heard a muffled sound from inside the car.

"Why? Why did i... hate him so... his... him..."

Gripping the door handle and hoping with all his heart that it wasn't locked, Sam pulled, and to his immense surprise it clicked and swung open at his touch. He opened it wider and looked inside, only to be horrified by what he saw. Kurt was sitting scrunched up in the footwell below the steering wheel, with his knees bent up to his chest and his hands clasped around them.

And he was crying.

Kurt was torn out of his semi-hysterical trance as he felt a cold whoosh of air and his vision was invaded by piercing tendrils of sunlight, signalling the opening of his car door.

He looked up, trying to see who it was and hoping that it was someone he knew, one of his friends. But he couldn't see anything but a sillouhette because of the bright light that was hurting his eyes, and for one terrible moment he thought that it was one of the football jocks, Karofsky or Aizmio, or a stranger who would probably be just as hostile.

But then the figure shut the door with a click and stopped blocking the sunlight, disapearing from the window. Kurt thought he was going to be left in peace to obsess over how stupid and naïve he had been, and how Blaine had been able to manipulate him so easily. Damn he was stupid!

However, the passenger door opened a few moments after his had shut and the figure slid inside his precious car, pulling the door closed softly and leaning down towards him with an unreadable expression on his face. With a start he realised that it was Sam Evans. Oh Gaga no! He can't see me like this! No one should see me like this, pull yourself together Kurt!"

Sam looked at the smaler boy and didn't know what to think. Sure, he had red rimmed eyes from crying, and his hair had become rumpled when he had slid under the steeringwheel, but Sam could hardly tell the difference. He still thought Kurt looked beautiful, far too perfect to be real, and he was bawling his eyes out and snotting everywhere.

Offering a hand to Kurt he nearly laughed at the stunned expression on the smaller boy's face.

"It's only a hand. It won't bite. Just thought you might be more comfortable on an actual seat."

"I prefer it down here. It's darker."

Kurt shivered after he had spoken and tried not to react any more that he already had to the fact that super sexy Sam Evans was in his car, offering him his hand and talking to him. Well, Blaine Anderson, eat your heart out. Not that it meant anything, but Kurt could dream.

Sam rolled his eyes at what he percieved as Kurt's stubbornness and stretched his hand out further towards him, leaning slightly to get a better reach. When the brunette made no move he sighed and grasped the soprano's fingers, peeling them away from his shapely legs and holding them firmly in his grasp as he pulled Kurt up from under the seat and, taking his waist in his hands, forcibly but carefully placed him on the drvers seat.

I don't care if it's dark and comfortable, it's probably not good for you."

Kurt smiled ever so slighty at his comment, saying "Of course, all the leading studies show..."

"That hiding in foorwells of cars at the side of the road isn't sane or comfortable? I thought that's what the four out of five dentists were there for." He added in mock seriousness, lightening the tangible mood in the car ever so slightly.

As Kurt's slight laughter died down he smiled at the brunette, but then realised the reason for their situation and grew serious again.

"Kurt? Um, why were you sat under the wheel of your car at the side of the road?" He's honestly curious to get his answer, but nothing prepares him for the one he recieves.

"Oh... well, i... I b-broke up with Blaine today." Kurt stammered out, only just managing to regain his composure as he talked.

This shouldn't be happening. He wasn't even upset, he was angry. Furious in fact, his tears had been those of frustration, meaningless and pointless, but somehow needed all the more.

Sam could only sit shocked as Kurt dabbed daintily at his eyes with a tissue again, sniffling slightly and then squaring his jaw and raising his head up higher. Common behaviour, Sam realised, from someone who was used to putting a mask on daily, hiding behind his attitude so as not to show anything, any emotion, that would get him into 'trouble'.

"Do you want to talk about it? Tell me what happened? I'm a good listener you know."

He spoke softly as he slid an arm around Kurt's shaking shoulder, trying to comfort but not alarm him, as he didn't think that would help one bit.

Kurt looked up into Sam's face as the older boy draped an arm around his shoulders, and immediately felt less sad. This, though, left room for more anger.

"I just hate him so much!" He said, his voice seething with so much loathing it was scary, even to Kurt.

"He was so perfect, and everything was going right, a new start and a new place, clean slate and all that cliché crap. Then he comes along and yeah, I had to wait a while, but we seemed to be in a perfect relationship those first few weeks." Kurt said, the sadness invading again for a fraction of a second.

"And then what?" Sam probed gently, sliding the sobbing boy onto his knee on the passenger seat so he could put his legs up and immediately feeling him tense up.

"Relax Kurt, I'm just going to sit and listen and try to help you out."

Kurt looked up at him, still startled from his shift in positions, and smiled timidly, carrying on his story.

"And then he started to get ever so slightly more distant every time we talked or kissed or anything. He still acted the perfect boyfriend, but I was becoming a mere possession to him, something he could play with when he felt like and then just leave on the nursery floor when he couldn't be bothered or had something better to do. I guess all the signs were there, it's my fault for not recognising it sooner." His voice broke a tiny bit at the end of the sentence, and he was greatly thankful for the firm yet gentle hand pressing into his back, rubbing comforting circles into it.

Sam could hardly think of the words to say, he so badly wanted to hit something, preferably the stupid curly haired hobbit whose fault it was that someone so trusting and perfect was sitting crumpled and broken and sobbing in his car, miles from anywhere. Definately said hobbit. Hopefully his face.

"Just so you know, it sounds horrible, what this guy did to you, and no one should have to be used and patronised like that." Sam said, small smile hesitant on his lips as he looked at the tiny boy in his arms.

He twisted his neck so he could look up, saying "Thank you Sam. You don't know what it means to me that you're listening and not butting in, just letting me get this off my chest."

"No problem Kurt, carry on. I don't mind" This time he does smile, a tiny, tentative one that somehow makes Kurt smile too, and it was something magical when he revealed dimples and a few perfectly shaped pearly white teeth.

Kurt looked up at the boy who he hadn't really even spoken to properly sincde he had released him from their duet partership and wondered why on earth he was being so kind. But as he said, he really needed to talk about it. And he couldn't think of anyone else who he'd rather tell it to, save Mercedes, and she was on holiday in Crete for two weeks.

He leaned his head back against Sam's chest with his cheek pressed against the rough fabric of his shirt and closed his eyes again, wondering how the hell he had ended up in that situation. But he couldn't really tell the girls, because they'd pretend to listen and then ply him with ice cream, which was a nightmare for his thighs, not to mention he'd have to double his exfoliation routine to combat the extra oils it would produce, putting on some cheesy movie because it should soothe him. Any of the other guys would have been even worse, they flinched if he touched them anywhere when they didn't expect it and were nervous around him as if they were going to 'catch the gay'. They were nice, and polite, and pretty considerate, but they would have been so uncomfortable talking about the breakdown of his gay relatonship that he didn't think he could have stood it. Even Finn wouldn't have been much good, even thought he'd been trying recently.

Yet here was Sam, comfortable as ever, talking him through it like he had nowhere else better in the world to be.

"I know you don't really mean that Sam," He said dejectedly, "You can go if you want. I'll be alright."

Staring at the petite boy, hunched in his lap with his delicate cheek pressed against him, like he was mad, he sighed, saying "I do mean it. You need to get this out, you said so yourself, and I want to listen. So please, just give it up and tell me. It won't do you any good to repress it and keep it bottled up."

He secretly thanked God or Allah or Budda or whatever deity happened to be listening that Kurt didn't disagree, as he started to speak, in barely more tan a whisper.

"Well I probably knew right from the start, subconsciously, that the emotional side of things was off kilter, something just wasn't quite right with the - with whatever- we had between us. But after a bit there were more physical, noticable things that should have clued me in. He started to buy me little gifts, and then you think, 'Oh, he loves me, he's just showing his appreciation and devotion'. He started out with flowers and then he was buying me cologne, and things, which was great except that I had one of my own that I always used, and I thought he knew it. I took me a while to figure out that they were all cheap, nasty knock-off's. He hadn't spent money on me at all." Kurt sighed, wrapping his arms around Sam's chest without even realising.

Sam was definitely going to punch the stupid Bland kid when he saw him. He ouldn't concieve why anyone would manage to snare someone as perfect and kind and loving and commited as Kurt Hummel and then let him slip through his fingers by being such a douche that Kurt broke up with him.

Knowing he had to try and subtly persuade Kurt to reveal the rest of his anguish he said "I know that cheap knock-off's are horrific, and the guy should, by all accounts, be buying you a three litre bottle of Channel No. 5 if they're in direct proportion to your awesomeness," At that Kurt blushed such a delicious deep pike that Sam felt his heart pounding in his chest, and he wa sure Kurt could too, "but is that really a reason to break up with him?"

Kurt could tell by his tone of voice that he wasn't having a dig or trying to mock him, that he was genuinly interested in the answer. So he kept his eyes closed but took the plunge, deciding to go for broke and just spill everything out onto the leather interior of his baby.

"It wasn't just that, it was the way he was using them to try and bribe me. We would see guys in shops and he would continuously flirt with everyone, well, all the guys. At first I ignored it, but it got to me, you know? Slowly chipping away at my confidence, bit by bit, destroying my self-esteem, because whose boyfriend flirts with other people when they're stood right next to them? But the final straw was when he came home smelling of the fragrance he had bestowed upon me the night before, obviously being vain enough to think that I would instantly wear it and that he would be safe. But I liked my old stuff, I'd never taken to wearing whatever tack thing he'd bought me. So I could tell when he walked in the room that he'd been with someone else. Maybe for a chat, maybe a date, I don't know, but he had to have been near enough to have picked up the scent, and that would be pretty close."

Sam couldn't believe his ears.

Activel venting his frustration he warned "I'm going to get him Kurt. He's gonna wish he'd never ever even been born, because he doesn't deserve to live if he would even consider cheating on someone as great as you."

Kurt had no idea where Sam's sudden protective side had come from but something inside i'm seemed to like it a lot. And he liked the idea that he thought he was great.

Sure, he knew that there was no real hope for him and hell, he'd only just broken up with Blaine for God's sake, but as he was starting to notice Sam's great abs and his steady, soothing heartbeat inside the wonderful chest he realised that he may or may not have one huge-ass crudh on Sam Evans.

"Thank you Sam. But yeah, he did. I don't know how many times, it might have been just that night, but it wasn't the only thing wrong. Even if he hadn't cheated on me and I've somehow (unlikelyly) ended up with the wrong impression, he's spent these last few weeks treating me as his personal slave, getting things, moving things, helping him style is hair, just for one grand entrance. I'd got sick and tired of being taken for granted, and I couldn't take it any more when he would kiss me when we were out and it was expected, but then ignore me whenever we were back at the dorms or singing or even talking."

He knew he was rambling. He knew it. But he didn't care, because it didn't bother him. It didn't bother him because apparently id didn't bother Sam. He paused for breath, trying to remember where he had been going, and then slouched a bit more in Sam's arms - wait, in Sam's arms? He had realised he had wrapped his arms around Sam, but he had no memories of the tall, muscular blond moving his arms around him so that they met in the middle, each hand clasped around the forearm of the other arm.

Shooing away thoughts of how wonderfully warm and solid they felt, he carried on. "I guess I just flipped, y'know? He was standing there all smug and self improtant, and I just lost it. I-i-i-I hated him! Pretending like he wasn't thinking about other people behind my back, trying to buy me off and keep me sweet, then saying he loves me when he obviously d-d-do-doesn't."

He started crying again, all the time hating himself for being so weak. He had been the strong one, telling Blaine what he thought of him, yet he couldn't act anywhere near as calm and aloof when he was sat with someone he didn't even know that well. He was breaking down all over again in front of someone he was trying to supress feelings for if his butterflies reaction was anything to go by.

"I'm so pathet-pathetic, you shouldn't have seen me like this, shouldn't have stopped and come and found me." He said, screwing his eyes up as he felt the body around him tense slightly.

Sam leant down to try and look Kurt in the eye, getting to his eye level only to find that the small soprano has squeezed his eyes tight shut and was grimacing as if in pain.

"Kurt, don't say that. Please, you are anything but pathetic. You stood up to someone who you thought you loved, who you had thougt loved you, and you settled things once and for all, instead of succumbing to the meaningless empty promised he was throwing around. It taked real strength to do that, instead of getting sucked back in, forgetting why you were annoyed in the first place." He said, stroking a hand through Kurt's soft hair as he spoke.

He hated that Kurt felt that way about himself, hated that the brave, passionate, strong Kurt he had always seen wasn't the one that the boy himself saw. Why couldn't he see what everyone else saw, the impeccability of him and the strength of characted that Sam so admired.

Kurt had finally looked up at him, Squirming around in his arms to blink his piercing blue eyes in his direction, his tears slowing even as their predecessors formed glassy tracks down his cheeks, a mirror of his face when Sam first saw it in the footwell.

"I... Thank you Sam. I sometimes forget what it means to be strong I guess. It means physicality, something I'll never have even if I try, most of the time to me. But when you put it like that... Thank you, honestly, I can't tell you enough how much that helped." Kurt said, smiling tentatively up at the blonde as he considere his words.

He was right in a lot of ways, that Kurt hadn't succumbed to the tension and temptation he had known was there when they had been arguing, hadn't fallen back into a badly flawed guy's arms just to be safe. So now it was Blaine that was sorry, and somehow Kurt couldn't bring himself to apologise for that, because the more he thought about it the more he knew, he had meant it. Every last word, he had meant it.

He blinked again at the taller blonde smiling a gentle smile down at him as he sat twisted into such an uncomfortable position, saying "You have somewhere to be don't you? Hardly anyone passes along this stretch of road any more, so you must have been doing something. I don't want to keep you when you have to be doing things, so you should probably get going."

Sam stared incredulously at the fragile looking but impossibly unbreakable boy perched on his lap and wondered what he was doing. But then it hit him, he didn't want to impose. He was so polite, so unassuming, and he felt like he was taking up Sam's time, wasting precious minutes. But in reality it was the minutes that he had spent with Kurt inside he gleaming black car that had been precious to him.

"I was only going to get some vegan ingredients from a store outta town for my mom Cara. No biggie and she's out of town, but she texted me and asked for them, so it doesn't matter how long I'm gone really." He paused for a moment before adding "You really want me to leave? Because I just don't want to leave you alone now, as, not to mention you might end up back there begging for forgiveness, no one should be alone when they break up with the anyone, let alone the person that they thought was their true love or however you viewed him." San said softly, patting Kurt's arm as he tried to reassure him.

Kurt looked away from him again, his arms staying around him but loosening significantly as he said "Sam, I'm not going to drag you down with me just because you happened to be in the right, or wrong I suppose, place at the right time okay. I won't tangle you up in all my tumultuous crap. Just... Go and get your vegan things and I'll text you after and tell you if I decide to kill myself yeah?" He joked, his small laugh somehow filling the car even though it could hardly be heard in the enclosed space.

He knew that Kurt wasn't going to give up easily, Sam could tell that he still didn't want to burden him with unneccesary pain and regret that was what came with recent break up's. Knowing in his heart that he shouldn't really leave the small soprano he sighed, because Kurt was stubborn even when he wasn't upset, and he was definitely going to be putting his foot down so as not to 'take advantage' (Sam could almost hear him saying it).

Softly closing his hands on Kurt's hands and lifting, he said "C'mon then. If you're insisting on making the journey home by yourself then you'd better get going. It's getting dark and I don't fancy you driving around on this road in the dark, with no streetlamps."

He could have sworn he had dies when those warm, soft yet firm hands rested on his hips and lifted him up, off Sam's lap. He was slowly relaxing into the touch, having tensed up at first, when he remembered the reason why he was sat in his car on the side of the highway in the first place. Blaine. His very-recently-ex-boyfriend. And here he was thinking about another guy.

His eyes popping open, he thought angrily that Blaine had no say over anything now. He shouldn't ever influence his decisions again, or invade his thoughts. So what if he was being comforted by a straight guy because of his recent break up, he could react any way he wanted, thank you very much. Nothing would happen but he didn't need to feel guilt for thinking about the niceity of someone's touch.

"That's probably a good idea. I'd better get home anyway, I told my dad I was going to be back and that I'd make him something for his dinner when he got home from the shop. He was surprised when I called, but I couldn't explain on the phone. It was too hard. That's partly the reason I ended up pulling over." He admitted, removing himself from Sam's lap and turning around so that he could see the other boy properly.

His hair was mussed up and his cheeks were red, from embarassment or the temperature Kurt didn't know, and the front of his shirt was stained darker from his salty tears as they had washed their was in rivulets down his face and soaked one by one into Sam's chest.

Sam looked down, for Kurt was still smaller than him, and watched as he studied not his face or his own feet, but Sam's chest, with something akin to upset.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin you shirt, i'll get it dry cleaned, or I'll wash it, or I could buy you a new one or..." His voice trailed off as he saw the incredulous look the taller blond was giving him.

"Kurt, you were upset and I was helping you out, I'm not angry and I definitely don't blame you! I can wash the damn thing at home, I don't care about it." He smiled down reassuringly at Kurt, trying not to notice how the messy hair and big doe eyes made Kurt look undeniably cute, in a whole other league to puppies.

Kurt blinked again and then said "Oh, well, i... It'll be okay then..."

Sam just messed up his hair even more, running a hand through it just to secretly feel how soft it was, and then slid over to the passenger seat, untangling himself completely from Kurt and clasping his hand around the door handle.

"Well, I hope you get home alright, and that your dad enjoy's his meal. And I'm truly sorry for what that asshat did to you, he didn't deserve someone as wonderful as you, okay? If someone mysteriously kills him in his sleep it definitely wasn't me, yeah?" Smiling again, he pulled the handle and pushed open the door of the Navigator, again marveling at the smoothness of the mechanisms and the shinyness of the gleaming bodywork.

Kurt just stared after the retreating figure of the footballer, wondering whether it had all been a mirage, a dream. There was no way Sam 'Perfect Abs' Evans had just spent the better part of forty minutes in the car of Lima's resident gay, talking about the break up of said gay and his evil, possessive, cheating harlot of an ex-oyfriend.

He whispered into the empty space that had been left when the passenger door opened and just as quickly closed "Thank you Sam."

As he strode away, Sam himself couldn't resist turning his head for one last look at the stunning black car that looked so out of place in the dust of the hard shoulder that his attention had been attracted in the first. He could make out the shadow of the soprano in the driver's seat, see him twisting round as he put on his seatbelt and then his hand snake out to twist the keys.

Kurt inserted his shiny set of keys, personally customised by himself so that they 'glowed', into the ignition and twisted firmly to the right.

Nothing happened.

He twisted again, putting extra force into it and turnng with all his might.

That time the engine splutterd a minescule bit and then died, making a mettalic keening sound and then, with a final screech and clunk, falling silent. He was stuck, his car unusable and in the middle of nowhere.

Sam had heard the silence as he turned after he had seen Kurt in the car, but thought nothing of it, just thinking that he was slow to start up the car. But when it started to make high pitched shrieking noised that it would seem obvious would proceede ruin Sam stopped, slowly facing back the way he came.

Walking back towards the car he was startled to see Kurt emerge from the car and stomp round to the boot, pulling out a tool kit and some kind of rag before pulling the bonnet up and bending over it slightly to see the inside properly.

All Sam could think at that moment, instantly forgetting the Blaine debacle and the fact that Kurt was being defensive and withdrawn,and the fact they they were stood on the side of a pretty much deserted road at dusk, was the fact that when he leaned over the hood of the car Sam could see his ass, and a great deal of his pale, creamy skin as his top rode up.

Unconsciously licking his lips he skook all such thoughts out of his head, repeating his very new mantra, Don't look at Kurt, Don't look at Kurt, Don't look at Kurt...

He wondered what the smaller boy was doing until he realised that he must be having car troubles (Duh, way to go Sam, great deduction skills) so he decided to stick around, hoping against hope that Kurt wouldn't be able to fix whatever was wring and that he would have to go home with him. Or at least let Sam drive Kurt home. Because the boy really shouldn't be left alone after the day he had had.

Kurt cursed as he stared into the cavernous space that held his V8 engine, closing his eyes and inhaling thtough his nose as he treid to remain calm, and not think about the fact that there was no way he was going to be able to get his car to start that night, because it needed work that even his dad wouldn't have been able to do without the right part.

He wiped his hands on the rag, grimacing at the oil that has rebelliously sneaked under his fingernails and was refusing to budge, and then shoved it into the tool box haphazardly as he tutted over the ruined oil line and worn down brake cables.

"Fuck! Stupid crappy piece of junk! Stupid crappy Blaine for making me be in this stupid shitty place with no ride and no cell signal in the dark with no car!" He muttered under his breath, running a hand through his now unkempt and messy hair.

Or, he thought he'd muttered.

"I don't doubt that Blaine is stupid and crappy, but I think if your Baby heard you call her that she'd not be nice to you for a month."

He whipped round, feeling both a sense of dread and the indiscribable feeling of having millions of butterflies in his stomach, battling each other for dominance.*

Sam had known that he had no cell coverage when he'd tried to ude his own, and he was not going to let Kurt freeze while he waited for a recovery truck on his own at night. His dad was out and there wasn't another auto repair shop for about forty miles, meaning about forty minutes wait until someone showed.

"What are you still doing here?" He knew he sounded harsh and defencive when he had said it, but even though he felt horrible he couldn't take it back.

Watching Sam's face fall a little and his shoulders droop, Kurt knew he had to try. This boy had given up time to sit with him and talk about his problems without one word about his own, and Kurt owed it to him to be grateful and to be polute and courteous and friendly.

He bit his lip, "I didn't mean that. I just wondered swhy you hadn't already left, I thought I was going to have to wait for the recovery truck on my own."

Sam instantly perked up, knowing that Kurt really meant what he said from the set of his jaw and the honest sprakle in his eyes. Oh god, he was ignoring his mantra already. He blinked away the film of his own internalised rambling and smiled at the soprano, offering him a hand silently.

Kurt took it confusedly and just stared up at the jock whose large, warm, slightly calloused but still soft hand was enveloping his smaller, slenderer one.

"I'm not leaving you here on your own. I waited when I saw you were having car trouble, and I know your dad can't get it, so I'm taking you home. I don't care what you think." Sam said, a smile curling the corner of his lips as Kurt's pout grew more and more pronounced, even through his frustration and sadness

"I don't want to, you know why, but... I guess I have no real other options. I need to call the repair shop first though, so you'd better be good at waiting."

He watched in trepidation as Sam remained silent for a while, not knowing why but hoping that the blond would stay with him and keep him company.

"Sure. But, I have heating. We're sitting in my car."

As Sam's car pulled away from the site where Kurt's black Navigator was sat, he finally leant back into his seat and relaxed slightly, looking over at Kurt, who was seemingly much happier as he sat in the passenger seat of Sam's run down old car and watchen him fiddle with the radio.

"Damn! I can't ever get a proper station on this thing!" He said, twiddling the dial frantically as the static grew more and less pronounced with every turn.

Kurt chuckled slightly and eased Sam's hand off the dial, taking control and sliding it round slowly as he lostened for anything remotely like actual sound.

Sam nearly missed a turning he was so happy that Kurt ad laughed. Well, more of a giggle. No, actually just a chuckle. Hmm, possibly... Well, he laughed, and that was the main point. And thr way Kurt had been when Sam found him, the footballer thought that it was quite an achievement.

"She's a bit tempramental, the guy I bought her off said he couldn't ever get much but an oldies station so don't be disappointed if there's nothing but static noise." He said, smiling at the frown that Kurt made when he was forced to finally give up trying and just turn the thing off.

He turned to Sam, just hearing his sentence properly and wondering about the blond's use of female personification for his car.

"She?"

Sam looked up imperceptably to see Kurt's interested face, and then glanced down again., face reddening with embarassment.

"Yeah, she, I named her Cassandra." He admitted to his knees.

Then he realised he could hardly see the road, and had to swerve suddenly as a huge lorry came towards them and they veered into it's path.

Kurt flinched violently, shouting "Watch out!"

Surprised by his reaction, Sam jerked to look at Kurt, the pale boy surprising him with the intensity of his reaction.

"Uh, you okay Kurt?" He asked.

Kurt brushed some fallen bangs out of his eyes and tried to control his shaking voice. He hated careless driving, and he was terrified of getting into an accident. It was just too painful to think about...

"Uh, yeah, I was just... shocked, that's all." He lied semi-smoothly, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself.

It was only then that he realised they had driven past the turn off for his house and were heading further dwon the road, gaining speed marginally as they went.

"Sam! We've passed my house, you need to turn back" He said, touching the other boy's shoulder to get his attention.

Sam felt pressure on his sholder and that tinkling voice and knew that his plan had worked, He had realised it wasn't the best idea to leave Kurt on his own to mope, so he'd decided to bring him to his own house. He had driven past the turning he knew led down to Kurt's, and was heading towards his own house, because he knew no one was in, his parents away for a romantic weekend, and so he and Kurt could talk, watch a film, anything to take Kurt's mind off the one thing Sam was sure would be at the absolute forefront of his mind.

Blaine.

"Don't worry, I knew that was the turning. It's just... Don't be mad at me, but I didn't want you to be alone tonight, seeing as you've been through a lot emotionally today. If your day was a rollercoaster it would be Oblivion, and I want to make sure you come out of that tunnel and up into the sparkling light."** He quipped, remembering his trip to England the year before and the amazing theme park he had been to. Alton something?

Kurt looked at him in shock, which quickly gace way to equal parts anger and gratitude. He couldn't quite understand where Sam's thoughts were coming from, and he had said that he wanted to be alone, but having Sam offer company and compassion made him choke up a little, and he was accepting before he knew what he was saying.

"Okay. I'll come back to yours. I don't want to disturb you though."

Sam smiled as he flicked on the indicator and then pulled right onto a sidestreet Kurt hadn't ever been on before.

"Don't worry, my parents are away on a long weekend romance break, they won't be around to say anything of fuss. We can just be normal, hang out, do whatever you want." Sam said, slowing as he approached his house.

They rolled the last few metres to a stop and then Sam shut off the engine, looking round at Kurt as the brubette nervously chewed a fingernail, something Sam was sure he never, ever did normally.

Kurt scolded himself for regressing to his disgusting old habit that he thought had been cruched by the introduction of his heaven sent manicurist, and removed his thumb nail from his mouth, concerned about the worried look in Sam's eyes.

"What? Is something wrong?" He questioned, anxious.

Sam chuckled almost ghostlike and then said "No, nothing. I just didn't think I'd ever see you chew your nails. You must've had a really tough day, huh? I know you told me the shortened version, but still. You'd better come inside. Hot chocolate sound good?"

Perking up at the mention of hot chocolate Kurt nodded, reaching out to grasp the handle and open the ca door, trying to get out before some invisible force pulled him back int. It only took him a few seconds to realise that said invicible force was his seatbelt. Shaking his head and groaning at his lack of thought he unbuckled it and then moved out of the car, closing the door softly with a click.

As he walked towards the pavement and took in a perfect looking red brick house with a picket fence and a small garden overflowing with what he knew wold be beautiful flowers in bloom (and in the daytime), he grew so preoccupied with absorbing his surroundings that he nearly walked right into Sam.

"Oh god, sorry." He gushed instantly, rocking back on his heels to allow them both more room.

Sam turned around from where he had been waiting for Kurt to join him, and smiled to himself at the way Kurt was so apologetic when things were rarely his fault.

"You shouldn't feel the need to apologise for everything that's wrong with the world Kurt. You're probably one of the only people that has absolutely nothing to be sorry for, apart from the occasional accidental stepping on toes, or dragging Mercedes shopping at six am for a bargain at the Macy's sale." Sam joked, laughing.

Kurt looked at him aghast and said "She told you about that?"

"I think she told everyone. But don't worry, I think it's endearing."

He reached over to ruffle Kurt's hair once again but reconsidered at the look he was getting from an obviouslt displeased soprano. Instead, Sam grasped his shoulder andsteered him up the front path and up to a blue front door.

"Pretending it's the TARDIS?" Kurt asked jokingly, knowing of Sam's Doctor Who collection.

Sam just looked down at his feet and eventually mumbled "...No."

Laughing, Kurt had forgotten all about the events of the afternoon and watched in glee (A/N: Tehee, glee :D) as Sam struggled to get his key to turn, eventually pushing open the door and motioning for Kurt to go inside.

Walking in he felt compelled to comment "It's... It's not bigger on the inside."***

Sighing, the blond footballer turned to Kurt and raised an eyebrow, hoping to achieve an effect he had seen the smaller boy procure many times.

"You're dork is showing Kurt."

Kurt just rolled his eyes in one protracted motion and then walked down the hall, stopping after a few strides to allow Sam to pass him.

Leading Kurt into the lounge he pointed to the sprawling mocha coloured couch and smiled.

"You can just sit there for a second while I get that hot chocolate." He said softly, leaving the room again and bustlign through to the kitchen, trying to remember how to make hot chocolate properly after so many years of declaring it something for children. He just had a feeling it might soothe Kurt.

Yup: powder, make a paste with the milk, add the boiling water and he was good to go.

Back in Sam's lounge, Kurt was sat demurly on the couch, studying the photos on the mantle piece. But one in particular brought him up short.

Sam was grinning out of the middle photo in a school uniform, obviously from the boarding school he had attended before McKinley, looking about fifteen. It was quite obviously a different uniform, but it reminded him so mcuh of Dalton and the Warblers and Blaine that he suddenly couldn't take it any more, and once again he sank into the soft, furry couch, tears rebelliously defying his best efforts and squeezing themselves from between his eyelids, even though he had them forced shut like they were fucking Fort Knox.

Sam returned with two steaming mugs only to be greeted by the sight of Kurt curled up in his couch, his knees drawn up to his chest and his eyes closed, teard pouring down his face.

Rushing over, he nearly spilled their drinks all over the distraught boy, and ste them down carefully on the coffee table before returning to his main concern.

Kurt felt hands grasp his shoulders but he didn't respond, not caring who it was as he continued innefectively to stop the tears.

Then they cinched his waist and he was flying upwards, while something warm and soft yet solid slid underneath him.

Sam suppouted Kurt as he moved onto the couch, sitting underneath him and then lowering him so he was sat longways across his lap, Kurt's head leaning up against the cushions near his thighs and his feet at the other end. As the smaller brunette tried to speak, Sam smiled softly.

"I'm... so, so s-s-sorry S-sam."

Leaning down he did what he had been wanting to do ever sonce he had got into the car with Kurt.

He smoothed his hair back and then kissed him softly on the forehead.

A/N: Hope you liked it! The song is 'Should've Tried Harder' by Hey Monday, obviously, and it's one of my favourites. :)

*Go read the poem 'Kid' by Simon Armitage. We were forced to analyse it for English Literature GCSE and you will get why i made Kurt think this after his comment.

**Oblivion is a ride at Alton Towers in England. It is frickin' amazing!

***If you know Doctor Who, i commend you. You have amazing taste. If you don't... GO GOOGLE IT! XD

Well, there we go, first chapter of my fourth (technically) fic. Enjoy :D

Oh, and... Penny for your thoughts? x