I ship these four in, like, every possible combination. So...I decided to channel my own internal shipping chaos into a story... This happened kind of spontaneously. So. We'll see where it goes.

"We built this city," Sam sang under his breath, casually playing an air guitar as he walked rhythmically down the sidewalk. "We built this city on rock and roll."

Kurt rolled his eyes, his arms crossed as he suppressed his smile.

Sam turned to him, singing right in Kurt's face. "We built this city."

"You know, I could do an entire case study on why minors shouldn't be allowed to buy energy drinks based on this moment alone," Kurt said sharply. "You're not allowed to have any more caffeine. When we get in there, I'm ordering you a hot chocolate."

Sam's lips curled into a goofy smile as they approached the entrance to The Lima Bean. "Come on. You can't turn the radio to 80s nostalgia hour and not expect the songs to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day."

"I'm not the one who refused to change the station!" Kurt said, holding his hands up defensively.

Sam laughed, grabbing the door and holding it open. "Well. Forgive me for wanting to get a little nostalgic."

"Sam! You were born in 1995!" Kurt laughed melodically, walking into the shop. Sam followed him in, shrugging.

Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine, who was waiting at a table, having saved them seats. He realized Blaine had a whole tray of drinks in front of him.

"Hey! I ordered for you guys!" He called animatedly to them. Sam grinned and moved toward the table.

"Yay! Coffee!" He said, taking the cup that Blaine held out for him.

Kurt went and took his seat across from Blaine. "He drank an entire Monster an hour ago and now he's impossible to deal with."

"Aw, come on," Sam laughed, blowing into his coffee to cool it down. "I'm totally adorable."

Kurt couldn't help but smile tiredly. He turned to Sam and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Yes, you are. That doesn't mean I'm going to condone you being high in public."

"I'm not...!" Sam started to defend himself, but shook his head, realizing the playful gleam in his boyfriend's eye. Kurt laughed, and he and Sam leaned toward each other and exchanged a light peck on the lips.

Blaine watched the two of them, resting his chin in his hand. He sighed dreamily. "I want what you guys have."

Kurt relaxed a bit, a pleasant smile coming over his face. He looked over to Sam, and lovingly caught his eye. "You'll have it someday..." He promised.

"No," Blaine huffed. "It's completely hopeless. Maybe I should just get cats."

"Blaine, come on! You're being ridiculous," Kurt said impatiently.

"Yeah, Blaine," Sam agreed. "You're a total catch. There's gotta be some guy at Dalton who wants a piece of that action."

Blaine looked quickly at Sam, who usually didn't have much to say in these situations. Actually, it had taken him and Blaine a while to get comfortable around each other. When Sam first started dating Kurt, he pretended not to pay attention when Kurt and Blaine started in on one of their BFF talks. He hadn't wanted to intrude. Lately, though, Sam had apparently started living under the philosophy that any friend of Kurt's was a friend of his.

"Right..." Blaine nodded uncertainly.

"Just have a little confidence," Sam urged dramatically.

Blaine sighed, stirring his coffee bitterly. "Well, that's easier said than done."

Kurt frowned, watching his friend and feeling a little guilty. "Blaine, it'll get better," He said gently, reaching forward and touching Blaine's hairy fore-arm.

Blaine nodded, unable to look Kurt in the eye for fear that he would completely lose it if he did.

It had been a bittersweet moment for Kurt; the moment he realized that he wasn't in love with Blaine.

It was the morning after Rachel's party. Kurt woke up forgetting who had fallen asleep beside him. He sat up and tiredly stared down at his friend, suddenly remembering the events of the night before.

"Who wants to play spin the bottle?" Rachel had cried out.

Kurt saw it as an opportunity. Granted, Blaine was drunk and any contact their lips made ultimately wouldn't count for anything, but Kurt still hoped desperately for a chance to know what it would feel like.

When it came time to spin the bottle, he breathed deeply in anticipation. Sure enough, his spin landed on Blaine.

Kurt froze, his heart racing. Was this really how he wanted his first kiss with Blaine to go? His quick change of heart left him panicked. There wasn't really a way for him to pass. He turned to Blaine and tried to appear relaxed. Blaine crawled toward him, a hungry look in his eye.

Kurt had no choice. He leaned in, and the two of them pressed their lips together. Blaine grabbed the back of Kurt's neck, and came at him more forcefully, and Kurt had to admit that even drunk Blaine seemed to have a good sense of what he was doing. It felt nice; as nice as Kurt expected it to, but something was missing. Maybe it was because it was just a game, and all of his friends were watching, but it didn't feel special.

That was it. Blaine pulled away and sat back in his spot as the rest of the New Directions applauded them. Kurt was disappointed that the moment had passed so quickly. Blaine cast him a dopey smile, and Kurt reciprocated, hoping that he'd someday have a chance to kiss Blaine again, under different circumstances. Maybe he could bring up the kiss after Blaine sobered up, and ask him if it meant anything.

In the four months since they'd met, Blaine had become one of the best friends Kurt had ever had. He knew that Blaine felt the same way about him. "I don't want to screw this up," Blaine had told him. Although it hurt at first, Kurt was beginning to understand. The more he thought about bringing up the kiss, the more he realized what a horrible idea he was. By the time he was sitting in bed the next morning, Blaine dreaming beside him, he realized that he was completely content he was with his decision not to.

That's when it hit him: he was happy with his friendship with Blaine. And upon realizing this, Kurt was suddenly unhappy.

He had actually thought that he was in love. That was what bothered him. Blaine had shown him kindness. He was the first decent-looking, openly gay guy Kurt had ever associated with. Naturally, Kurt had loved the idea of falling in love with him, and now that he had gotten to know Blaine, and now that he had kissed him and evaluated the situation, he realized that he wasn't in love with Blaine. He just wasn't. And he wasn't ever going to be.

Suddenly, it was like Kurt had taken off a pair of goggles. He thought of all the annoying things that Blaine did that he had been choosing to overlook: how he'd told Kurt not to try so hard to get noticed during Kurt's first week at Dalton; how he'd been so stubborn when all of the Warblers told him that "When I Get You Alone" was not a good song selection for The Gap Attack; how he refused to leave the house without a disgusting amount of gel in his hair. Sure, these qualities were mildly endearing, and Kurt didn't mind having them in a friend. But in a boyfriend? No. Blaine wasn't Kurt's type at all.

After thinking it through, Kurt realized that he wasn't losing anything at all. At first, he experienced a wave of disappointment. He really had thought that he was in love. He thought he was finally at the point in his life where his favorite Ballads made sense to him. But it had been a false alarm, just like it had been with Finn. For real love, he'd have to wait. Little did he know at the time that it would only be a few more months.

After Kurt got passed the disappointment, however, he experienced a wave of relief, and he suddenly realized just how exhausting being in love with his best friend had been.

"Blaine," He said, nudging the sleeping boy. "Wake up."

"No."

"No. Wake up. You have to get out of here before my Dad sees you."

Blaine blinked and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Wait...where am I?" He looked at Kurt, extremely confused. "Oh god. Did we do something together last night?"

"We might have kissed a little bit," Kurt nodded embarrassedly. "I'll forget it if you will."

Blaine smiled embarrassedly, falling back onto the pillows. "If you let me sleep five more minutes, it's a deal."

Several weeks later, Blaine suggested that Kurt sing a duet with him for Regionals. Kurt was flattered, but wasn't quite sure why Blaine was doing it. It seemed a little weird that Blaine was finally paying attention to Kurt now that Kurt had given up. Sure, Kurt was sad about the death of Pavarotti, but it felt like more than just a pity duet. Blaine had been looking at Kurt differently ever since he'd sang "Blackbird", or maybe it was ever since he'd told Blaine that he got too many solos. Either way, the looks were making Kurt uneasy, and when Blaine came into the common room one afternoon to "practice", Kurt knew he had to set things straight.

"Why did you pick me to sing this song with?"

Blaine hesitated, blushing. "Kurt...there is a moment when you say to yourself, 'oh, there you are, I've been looking for you forever'. Watching you do Blackbird this week...that was a moment for me...about you..."

Kurt felt a wave of nausea pass over him. "Blaine. Stop." He spat out.

Color rushed to Blaine's cheeks. "What...?" He asked timidly.

"Just stop," Kurt replied, panicked. "You said we were friends..."

"We are friends!" Blaine replied, hurt showing in his voice.

"You said you didn't want to screw this up!"

Blaine clenched his teeth, turning his head and staring at a pile of rhinestone in the middle of the table.

"Blaine, I'm so sorry," Kurt continued compassionately. "It's just...you aren't thinking, are you?"

"I am..." Blaine said quietly.

"Okay, fine." Kurt collected himself. "Maybe I should try to hear you out. Where exactly is this coming from?"

"I don't know..." Blaine shrugged.

"Look," Kurt said calmly. "I'm not going to deny that I can really deliver a ballad, and I'm sorry if the emotions that my performance stirred up were a little too intense for you..."

"No!" Blaine interrupted, waving his hand in front of him, frustrated. "Kurt. Listen to me... I realized how much you mean to me; how much your opinion means to me. When you didn't like 'Misery', I felt horrible..."

"So naturally, you must be in love with me," Kurt teased dryly.

"You're being cold," Blaine accused flatly.

"You're being unreasonable!" Kurt snapped. "You're trying to seduce me to make yourself feel better about the fact that I insulted a song you sang!"

"That's not what I said!" Blaine stood up quickly. "Forget it. It's not even about the song. I just thought I liked you for a minute, but don't worry. You quickly changed my mind!"

Blaine crossed his arms in front of his chest, fuming stilly. Kurt watched him. The moment had gotten too heated. It almost felt surreal. However, Kurt realized that this was the most real he and Blaine had ever been with each other.

"Look at us, Blaine," He said finally, breaking the long silence. "We're a horrible fit, like Julia Roberts and Dermont Mulroney in 'My Best Friend's Wedding'."

"What are you talking about?" Blaine grumbled.

"Well, they dated, but then they broke up and became best friends, but then he gets engaged to Cameron Diaz..." Kurt preached. "...and she suddenly decides she can't live without him, so she goes to stop the wedding but eventually realizes that Cameron Diaz is the one he really belongs with, and even though she's his best friend and they really do care about each other, nothing can change the fact that they just don't work as a couple..."

"So, basically, you're trying to resolve this argument with the moral from the end of a rom com?" Blaine's eyes narrowed, completely in disbelief.

"Absolutely." Kurt replied nervously. "I mean, it still ends happily. She realizes that her gay boyfriend is never going to leave her, even if she's a gigantic attention whore."

"Kurt..." Blaine was not amused.

Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just really don't think you're thinking clearly."

Blaine fell silent again. Kurt watching him, trying to read him. He knew there was a chance that he'd been too mean, that their friendship would never recover.

"Okay..." Blaine finally said. "We should just practice our song then."

"Yes. So, are we okay?" Kurt asked him.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I guess we're going to have to be."

Kurt smiled uncomfortably. "Great..."

Things had remained awkward between Kurt and Blaine for a few days, but by the time their "Regionals Survival Party" rolled around, they were back to being as chummy as they'd always been. Their loss had been hard on them, and ended up putting things in perspective. "At least we still have each other," Blaine had told Kurt. That's when he knew that their argument was water under the bridge.

The party was in full swing. Blaine and Kurt shared a couch cushion in the Dalton common room, watching Trent and Thad square off in "Dance Dance Revolution". Suddenly, they heard a commotion near the room's entrance.

"Pizza!" Jeff's voice rang out. Kurt and Blaine turned around, almost instinctively.

"Is that...?" Blaine began, catching a glimpse of the Pizza guy, whose blond hair was sticking out under his Italian Flag baseball cap.

"...Sam!" Kurt finished the sentence, his face lighting up. He jumped off the couch, and ran over to help with the pizzas, if only as an excuse to say hi to his old friend.

"I had no idea you were a working boy," Kurt told Sam charmingly. "On top of Glee Club and football. You must have excellent time management skills. I'm impressed."

Sam forced a smile in return. There was something insincere about it, though. "I do what I can," Sam said quietly. As Kurt got a closer look at Sam's face, he realized that Sam had massive dark circles under his eyes. He even seemed to carry himself differently then when Kurt had last seen him up close. He had far less energy.

"Just make sure you give yourself time to sleep..." He tried teasingly.

Sam pressed his lips together, nodding as he took a wad of money from Wes. He pocketed the cash, and then looked back to Kurt, whose eyes were now glowing with concern.

"Sam..." Kurt started in again. "Is everything okay?"

Sam stood up a little straighter, clearly trying to give the illusion of strength. "Everything's fine. Money's been tight at home, that's all."

"Okay..." Kurt shrugged, trying to brush it off as easily as Sam seemed to expect him to. "Well, keep in touch, okay? Let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

Sam seemed a bit surprised by the offer. "Yeah, okay..." He said dismissively.

"I mean it!" Kurt insisted, remembering how Sam had stood up to Karofsky for him right before he transferred to Dalton. "It's not like you've never helped me before."

Sam smiled again at the memory, this time sincerely. "Thanks, Kurt. I'll see you around."

Sam left the Dalton common room, casting Kurt one more appreciative grin before he left. Kurt turned and made his way over to the table where the Pizzas sat, ready to eat. He got in line behind Blaine, unable to get his mind off Sam.

"You're alone..." Kurt observed a month later as he stepped into the motel room that the Evans family had been inhabiting for the past few weeks.

"My parents take the kids to the library most nights." Sam told him. "There's more for them to do there."

Kurt nodded, not sure how to react to that.

Kurt had been back at McKinley for a week. His first day back, he'd approached Sam, asking how he'd been holding up. That's when Sam had confided in Kurt about the truth of his situation. His heart went out to Sam. He wanted to do whatever he could to help him.

Kurt looked down at his hands, remembering the duffel bag he'd carried in. "I brought you some old clothes. I'm not sure what kind of stuff you're looking for. It's supposed to be cold tomorrow and I didn't know if you had a jacket or anything..."

Sam laughed quietly. Kurt was instantly embarrassed. Maybe the clothes were a bad idea.

"I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you..." Sam finally said, getting ahold of himself.

"Then what are you laughing at?" Kurt asked, genuinely curious.

Sam shook his head at Kurt, searching for the right words. "You're just... something else..."

Kurt cocked his head, trying to read Sam. As far as he knew, Sam was totally straight. There was no reason to assume that Sam's appreciative compliment meant anything more than what it was on the surface.

"Well, thank you." Kurt replied breathily. "I think the same of you."

"Do you want to sit down?" Sam asked him, gesturing to the bed. "We can watch some TV or something. I mean... I don't want to make you leave when you just got here."

"Yeah. Sure." Kurt nodded, going to lower himself cautiously onto the foot of the creaky motel mattress. Sam flicked on the TV, which played some old "Gilligan's Island" rerun.

"What channel should we watch?"

"Whatever you want," Kurt shrugged passively. Honestly, he just wanted to talk to Sam; to see how he'd been doing. "This show is fine. I love old sitcoms."

Sam's face lit up. He beamed at Kurt. "No way! So do I!"

Kurt was, once again, impressed. Sam came and joined him on the bed.

"I've been watching a lot of these shows..." Sam admitted. "Something about them makes me feel better. No matter how crazy things get, it always turns out alright at the end of the thirty minutes."

Kurt cast Sam a concerned glance. "Things are going to be alright in real life too..."

Sam turned to Kurt, so that their faces were just inches apart. "You seem so sure of that..." Sam said with a crooked smile.

It was a strangely intimate moment, unlike anything Kurt had ever experienced before. "I am sure," Kurt shrugged, working hard to remain poised.

Sam laughed again, softly this time. "I can really talk to you, you know? I don't know what it is..."

Kurt was, for once, lost for words. "Oh."

"It's just that..." Sam continued bashfully. "I never feel like you're going to judge me."

"That's cause I'm not going to," He assured Sam. They really were sitting close to one another... Kurt suddenly felt uncomfortable, but in really good way.

Then, it happened. The two of them were suddenly kissing. Neither of them really knew how it started, or who initiated it. All either of them knew was that in that moment, it felt completely right.

"It'll get better..."

Now, it was October, and Kurt and Sam were sitting in front of Blaine at The Lima Bean, being nauseatingly adorable, and trying to assure Blaine that his life didn't suck nearly as much as he thought it did. Blaine grabbed his coffee from the table in front of him and sipped it, miserable.

"You've been in such a mood lately," Kurt suddenly pointed out. "Is there something else bothering you?"

There were a number of things bothering Blaine, but this was the first time in weeks Kurt had actually taken the time to ask him about it. Ever since Sam's parents moved to Kentucky back in July, and Kurt had begged his father to let Sam live in their basement, Blaine had been seeing considerably less of his supposed best friend.

"I'm fine," Blaine lied.

"You're lying." Kurt said simply.

Blaine looked up at him timidly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on..." An unexpected voice chimed in. The three of them looked to see a tall, confident boy quickly approaching the table. "Maybe if you vented to your little boyfriend, you could get rid of those hideous frown lines."

Sam immediately grabbed Kurt's hand, as if to show the taller boy whose boyfriend Kurt really was.

Blaine glared at the tall boy, "What are you doing here, Sebastian?"

"Can't a guy get a cup of coffee without you questioning his motives?" Sebastian asked smoothly, shrugging with an evil gleam in his eyes.

Blaine shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Kurt looked Sebastian up and down, trying to figure out what his relationship to Blaine was.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" Sebastian asked meanly. He smirked at Sam and Kurt. "Blaine and I are on the Warblers together. He's my only real competition for solos, to be completely honest."

"Trust me," Blaine sat up a little straighter in his chair, trying to exhibit at least a small amount of confidence. "There's no competition."

"I've been telling him..." Sebastian shrugged, locking eyes with Kurt first, then Sam. "All I need is a few more months, and that rag-tag council will quickly forget that he ever had seniority."

Blaine rolled his eyes, blinking angrily down at his coffee.

"Oh, come on, Blaine," Sebastian cooed. "I told you! We can still be friends! I'll even throw in some benefits."

"Go to hell, Sebastian," Blaine snapped.

Kurt and Sam both jumped a bit at Blaine's sudden outburst. They suddenly caught wind of how serious Blaine's hatred for this guy was. Sam suddenly rose out of his chair.

"Get lost, okay?" He said intimidatingly. Sebastian froze, careful to keep his smirk pasted on as he looked Sam up and down.

"Well, you certainly look like you could do some damage to this pretty little face of mine," Sebastian said cooly. "I'll see you in rehearsal, Blainey boy..."

With that, Sebastian slowly turned and walked away. Kurt turned to Blaine, shocked.

"Is that what the problem is?" He asked incredulously. "Has that guy been giving you trouble?"

Blaine, more than ever, didn't want to get into it. "It's fine." He told Kurt, then looked gratefully to Sam. "Thank you for being...you know...threatening."

Sam's face broke into another crooked smile. "I try..."