CHAPTER 4
Kurt was exhausted. He had done way too much work that day and it wasn't even close to being over. After a very long dance class, he had gone to Vogue and he still had a very late shift at the Spotlight Diner. However, he had succeed in finding someone he thought that could help Sam and had already texted Rachel all the details. Kurt turned off his computer and stood up, ready to leave.
"Kurt?" Isabelle called him. He turned around, a smile on his face. "Before you go, can I talk to you for a minute? It's important." She told him. Kurt nodded and followed her, wondering if he had done something wrong, especially because Isabelle looked extremely serious. "Please, sit." She said once they entered her office.
"Isabelle, is everything okay?" He asked her. To his relief, she smiled.
"Oh, yes, yes. It's actually more than okay, Kurt." And she grinned. Kurt had no idea what was going on, but he smiled back. "I have amazing news!" Isabelle took a folder from her desk. "Do you remember the designs you gave me last month?" He nodded. "Well, people loved them! You have received an offer from the big boss. How do you feel about Paris?" Isabelle asked Kurt.
"Paris?" He repeated. Isabelle's smile grew wider.
"Paris." She confirmed.
Sam had just gotten home only to find Santana pacing in the living room. He was pretty sure she was muttering in Spanish to herself, and so he planned to quietly go to the bathroom for a shower. However, he hadn't been quiet enough.
"You!" She shouted. "Trouty Mouth!" Sam gulped. "What the hell do I do?" She demanded, making him more confused than before. Without waiting for an answer, she pushed him into the couch. He landed next his pillow and quickly hugged it for support. "Dani just called me!"
"Oh, that's… Santana, that's good, right?" He asked, his voice unsure. She huffed and rolled her eyes.
"How? How is that good, tell me!" Santana yelled. Sam wondered if he could get up and run away from her. Probably not. Lima Heights had made Santana too tough, she'd never let him go. "She called me and she said that we need to talk. Right now! I have to go and meet her. To talk."
"People do talk to each other, Santana." Sam muttered. She gave him a look that was obviously a threat.
"Don't try to be a smartass." She told him. "You know what this means. Everybody knows what this means. Her ex is in town. She calls me and tells me we need to talk. It's so obvious. Of course she cheated on me. Of course she's dumping me for that bitch."
"Whoa, okay." Sam said, standing up. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Deep breaths, Santana. Deep breaths." Despite the fact that she looked like she wanted to punch him, Santana did what he was telling her to do. "That's good. Now sit." He pointed at the couch. When she sat down, he did the same. "I know it looks bad right now, but you don't know if that's what's really going to happen. Just… Just go there and see what Dani has to say, okay? You're amazing, she'd be dumb to do that to you. And Dani doesn't look like she's dumb." He told her. Santana sighed.
"Fine. Go there. See what she has to say. I can do that." She finally muttered. Sam nodded and she stood up. "Okay. Go. Listen to her." Santana repeated as she opened the door. Before she shut it, Sam heard her add: "And then kill that stupid ex of hers."
"Close enough, I guess." Sam whispered to himself. He sat by himself for a few minutes, wondering if he should make dinner for only himself or check with the others if they'd be home soon. He had just taken his phone and was about to send a text message to Blaine when the door opened. "Hey, Rachel."
"Sam, hi!" She smiled at him. "I'm so glad you're here! You'll never guess what happened today!" She told him, clearly happy. "Good thing you're sitting down because…" Rachel made a dramatic pause. Even though Sam was used to it, he couldn't help but think it was adorable. "Kurt got you a great contact! I already called them and you can go there next week!"
"Oh, my God! Rachel, seriously?" Sam asked her, standing up. They hugged, but quickly let each other go. It was about to get awkward, so Sam jumped on the couch. "That is so awesome, thank you!" He shouted while he jumped, making Rachel laugh.
"You can thank me by making me dinner. I swear, your food is amazing." She giggled as he lost balance while jumping and almost fell on the floor. "And also by not getting yourself killed?" She added. Sam saluted her when he stood up and started walking to the kitchen.
"I shall do my best." He told her. "Should I make enough for Blaine, Kurt and Santana too?" Sam asked her. Rachel shrugged.
"I have no idea where Santana is, but Blaine and Kurt are having dinner together tonight. Kurt said he needed to talk to Blaine about something very important." She replied. Sam nodded.
"Yeah, Santana left not too long ago. Dani called her and said they had to talk too. Lots of important conversations going on tonight." He muttered as he started preparing their dinner.
"Well, then I guess it's our job to keep things light." Rachel said. "Unless you also want to have a very important conversation." She added, making Sam's heart beat faster.
"Definitely keep things light." He finally told her. Rachel nodded, seeming somewhat lost in thought. Scared of why and of where it could lead to, Sam quickly thought of a topic to distract her from her thoughts. "So have you talked to Puck lately?"
"Not really. Not since…" Rachel paused. "Not since Finn's memorial." She finished. Sam felt like punching himself. So much for light conversation. "I guess he doesn't have much free time to keep in touch now that he's joined the Air Force." Rachel said. "But maybe no news is good news?" She suggested. Sam nodded.
"You're probably right. I'll ask Jake later and see if he's heard from his brother." He replied. Rachel smiled.
"I don't really know the new Glee club members. Are they nice?" She asked him. It was Sam's time to nod while he turned on the stove.
"Yeah, they are. There's some drama going on right now. Or there was. You know how fast things change there." They both chuckled at that. "But Jake is really cool, and the dude has some amazing moves. Ryder is funny, like… Really funny. Kitty… You need some time to get her, but once you do, she's awesome." Rachel nodded, enjoying how enthusiastic Sam looked while talking about his friends, his smile getting wider and wider. "Marley is the sweetest girl ever, and she's been a good friend to Unique." Then, he got serious. "Unique goes through a lot of bad stuff there." He said quietly. "But she keeps her head high, she knows who she is and that's good enough for her."
"It's really sweet how much you care about your friends, Sam." Rachel finally told him, putting a hand on his arm. He smiled at that.
"Well, if I didn't, they wouldn't be my friends." He winked. "I do miss them a lot. And the others too. You know, Mike, Puck, Artie. Brittany, Mercedes, Tina. Rory, Sugar, Joe. And…" Sam paused, not wanting to say it.
"And Finn." Rachel completed the list for him. "You can say his name around me, you know?" She muttered, her voice low. "I miss him more than I can put it into words, but the last thing I want to do is pretend he didn't exist. He did, Sam. He was our friend. He was my boyfriend. We almost got married. It all happened. The only thing that would hurt me more than…" She stopped talking and Sam noticed that she was crying. He hugged her and let her cry on his shirt while she continued speaking through her tears. "The only thing that would hurt me more than him being gone is pretending that nothing ever happened. I don't want the memories gone, Sam, I don't. I want to always remember him."
"Me too." He nodded. "Finn was the first person there who invited me for anything. One day, he just showed up and took me to the choir room. He made me feel like I belonged there. And he was right." Sam said. They stayed in silence for a few seconds, quietly holding each other. Then, he lightly chuckled. "You know, last year, he told me about the duet competition. I can't believe you actually threw a competition!" Rachel giggled at that, finding comfort in that particular memory.
"It worked, didn't it?" She let him go and stared at his eyes. "You stayed. Our plan worked flawlessly. As expected." Sam offered her a smile.
"Rachel Berry. Mastermind. Comes up with evil plans to keep people in Glee club." He said, clearly teasing her. She slapped his arm.
"Go check on my food." She told him. He laughed, but walked over to the stove. "And it's Rachel Barbra Berry, thank you very much." Rachel added, drying her eyes with her hands.
"In that case, it's Samuel Dwight Evans." Sam replied. "And your macaroni is almost ready, Miss Rachel Barbra Berry. Just a few more minutes now."
"Thank you, Sam." She said, her voice suddenly very serious. He turned around to see her.
"It's just macaroni, Rachel." He muttered, but he knew that was not what she was thanking him for and shook his head before she could say anything else. "I know. I'm scared too. Of forgetting. I think we all are." He paused. "You know, even though talking about him hurts… This was good. Keeping the memories fresh is good."
"It is." Rachel quietly agreed. They didn't say anything else while they waited for the food to be ready. When it finally was, Sam turned off the stove and served them both. "This smells great, Sam. And I'm sorry for not keeping things light tonight." She added.
"We're friends. Friends talk about everything." Sam firmly told her. "We're there for each other, right?" He asked her. Rachel smiled.
"Always." She replied. "Always, Samuel Dwight Evans." Rachel added with a giggle.
"Shut up." But he couldn't stop the chuckle that left his mouth.
"Thank you for meeting me here." Kurt said when he saw Blaine entering the restaurant. His fiancé smiled before giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Of course." He replied. "I missed you all day and I was kind of hoping we'd get some time alone. Just you know, to talk." Blaine muttered. "Sometimes it's hard to talk when we're surrounded by three of our friends."
"I know." Kurt sighed. They found a table and ordered. "Blaine, the reason why I asked you to meet me here… We need to talk." He finally said. Blaine could sense the obvious tension and suddenly got very nervous.
"Kurt, what is it? What happened?" He shook his head. "Is this about me living with Sam? Listen, there's something I have to tell you about that."
"I'm going to Paris." Kurt blurted out. Blaine gasped and was left speechless. "I mean, it's just for two weeks. It's not like we haven't been away for that long before, right?" He chuckled, but he was anxious. Blaine nodded.
"Paris. You're going to Paris for two weeks." He said. "That sounds great, Kurt. How did this happen?" He asked, clearly interested and supportive. Kurt smiled a little, feeling more relaxed.
"Isabelle showed some of my designs around and I guess some of them got a little popular. It's not really a big deal if you're an actual designer, but it's a big deal when you're… Me." Kurt answered, an amused smile on his face. Blaine grinned.
"Kurt, that's really amazing! I'm so happy for you, and so proud too!" He exclaimed, taking Kurt's hands. "Wow, I can't believe this! Congratulations! I'm going to miss you a lot, but this is going to be great for you!"
"I'm so glad you're okay with this." Kurt sighed in relief. Blaine scoffed at that.
"How could I not? Kurt, you'll always support me and I'll always support you. It's how this works." He replied, his voice very serious, and Kurt nodded. Their dishes arrived and they were momentarily distracted.
"Wait." Kurt said after a few minutes. "Did you say you had something to tell me about you living with Sam?" Blaine gulped. "What is it?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really." He tried to say, but Kurt was already shaking his head at him. "Okay, fine, but you can't tell anybody. Please. It's just… Sam sort of has a crush on… Rachel." Blaine slowly and quietly told Kurt, who gasped.
"No! This cannot be happening!" He shouted, making the other customers look at them. "Blaine, why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Kurt demanded, not as loud as before. Blaine opened his mouth to answer, but he was too late. "What are we going to do now? Don't you see how problematic this is?" Blaine shook his head, clearly thinking that his fiancé was overreacting. "Rachel sort of has a crush on Sam too, but Santana and I weren't going to worry about it because she's not about to make a move on anyone yet, but if Sam has feelings for her, he might make a move on her, and Rachel is just not ready for that."
"Oh." Blaine whispered. Then, he blinked a few times to make sure he had understood everything. "Okay, just… Just hold on a second. Rachel likes Sam? And Sam likes Rachel. But Rachel is still hurt about Finn."
"As I said, extremely problematic." Kurt replied.
"Listen, Sam knows about that. He understands what Finn meant to her. And that's why he almost stayed in Lima. He thought it'd be better to wait until he didn't have to live in the same place as Rachel. I convinced him to come by saying we'd find a place for ourselves as fast as possible."
"Yes, and that's exactly what you're going to do." Kurt told him, his index finger close to Blaine's nose. "Damn. I was hoping to find a way of convincing you to stay in the loft." He whispered, and then he sighed. "I'll definitely miss you once you move out."
"Me too."
Santana was still cursing while she made her way to Dani's house. Sure, Guppy Lips had calmed her down a little, but she couldn't help but feel nervous about her current situation. The fact that she saw her girlfriend sitting on the stairs, waiting for her and crying didn't help Santana feel much better.
"You're here." Dani sobbed, unable to stand up.
"I see." Santana replied, coldly glaring at her. "So that's it, huh? You know, I expected better from you. Especially the whole crying thing, I mean, do you really think that you're the victim here? Really?" Dani slowly shook her head.
"What are you talking about?" She finally asked, still crying.
"Oh, don't play stupid. I know what you did. What you're doing. Is she there? Is she waiting for you to break up with me so that you can officially be together again?" Santana pointed at the door. Dani stood up, shaking. She seemed the angriest Santana had ever seen her, even though she also seemed devastated.
"Excuse me? I called you here because I need you, no, needed you for your support. And instead of listening to me and being there for me, you get here and start accusing me of what? Cheating on you? Who the hell do you think I am?" Dani exclaimed. She huffed and looked away. "I never thought, not even for a second, about cheating on you. I really just wanted you to sit next to me and tell me that everything's going to be okay. But you know what? Leave. I see now that you're just going to make things worse. And I can't handle worse than this." She turned around and opened the door.
"Wait, Dani, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just thought…" Santana said, trying to hold Dani's arm, but she was pushed away.
"Don't. Just don't." She told Santana before slamming the door.
Five days later and Santana was still sulking, only leaving home for her shifts at Spotlight Diner. Dani hadn't shown up for work, but if Gunther had noticed the absence of one of his waitress, he hadn't mentioned anything to any of them. Santana was currently on her bed, staring at the wall, singing sad song after sad song.
"Enough, Santana. Get up." Kurt told her as he entered her room. She ignored him. "Get up. Come on. You're taking me to the airport." That caught her attention and she sat up.
"Airport? Is it today already?" Santana asked him, wondering how fast the days had gone by and if she had even taken a shower lately. Kurt nodded. "Do I have to go?" She whined, not wanting to leave her bed.
"Yes. Get up." He said one more time. Santana huffed, rolled her eyes, sighed and muttered something under her breath in Spanish, but thirty minutes later, the five former McKinley students were on their way to the airport. When they finally got there, Elliott and Greg were waiting for them.
"I can't believe you're going to Paris, I'm so jealous!" Greg told Kurt when it was time to say goodbye. "Enjoy the food and the places and everything!"
"Thanks, Greg." Kurt replied. He quickly hugged Greg and Elliott. Then, Sam and Santana. "You take care, diva. I'll be back soon." He whispered while he held Rachel. When he let her go, Kurt looked at Blaine with tears in his eyes.
"Call me when you land?" His fiancé asked. Not trusting himself to speak, Kurt simply nodded before kissing Blaine and hugging him for as long as he could. "You have a great time there, Kurt. I'll be waiting here for you. I love you."
"And I love you." He said, finally letting Blaine go to look him in the eyes. With a final wave at the others, Kurt left.
"Well, that was depressing." Santana muttered as they started walking to the exit. "Just what I needed after getting dumped by Dani."
"Dani dumped you?" Elliott asked her, clearly surprised. "She didn't mention anything when she called me to tell me about her father." He added. That caught Santana's attention and she took his arm.
"What do you mean? What about her father? I thought she didn't talk to her family anymore." She said, looking at him suspiciously. Elliott shared a concerned look with Greg.
"She doesn't know." He whispered to his boyfriend. Then, he turned to Santana. "You don't know. Oh, wow. This is awkward."
"Wait, what happened? We all care about Dani." Rachel told him, and Blaine and Sam nodded their agreement.
"Well… Okay." Elliott finally said after taking a few seconds to decide whether or not he wanted to tell them what he knew. "You're right, Dani doesn't really talk to her family… But her mother called her a few days ago. Her father had a heart attack and he didn't make it." Santana gasped.
"So that's why she called me." She whispered. Rachel quickly hugged her friend when she noticed that Santana had tears streaming down her face. However, Santana was already making plans. She hugged Rachel for a few seconds, then lightly pushed her away, looking at Elliott. "She went home, then?" He nodded. "Okay. I need to get to the loft as fast as possible and pack. I'm going to Detroit."
AN: Angst, angst, angst... I know. And I'm aware I'm not very good at writing angst, but we have to go through it, so here we are! The next chapter will get some of this solved... and also some new angst, oops? Only two chapters left, though, it's almost over already... so I hope you're all enjoying this story!