Chapter 9: Learning
The next day, even after no sleep at all (Sam didn't leave his house until 7 in the morning, not that he would have been able to sleep anyway) Kurt was so awake that he was basically bouncing in his shoes. His heart wouldn't stop racing and he couldn't stop himself from blushing and if this was any indication of how much Sam had an effect on Kurt just by admitting he was gay, Kurt had no idea how he'd be if they actually dated.
Not that that was going to be happening anytime soon. Kurt knew that getting used to being gay took time and he definitely wasn't expecting declarations of love, or anything close, from Sam anytime soon. It was possible that Sam didn't like him, anyway, and just wanted to be friends – Sam's use of "boys" popped into his mind again – but he couldn't help hoping. It was all that he had.
In the kitchen, Finn was sitting at the table, slumped over it like he usually was in the morning and eating an enormous bowl of Weetbix. When Kurt thumped his way through the door, basically running because he was unable to lower his energy, Finn jumped so hard he almost over-turned the table.
"JESUS!" Finn cried, breathing hard.
Kurt laughed and speed-walked towards the pantry. "I think you'll find that my name is Kurt."
Finn rolled his eyes and sat down, shoving another spoonful of Weetbix into his mouth. "Wha's gob woo so escided?" Finn asked with his mouth full.
Kurt grinned at him and sat down at the table. "I'm more hopeful than ever, Finn."
Finn swallowed. "About what? Last night you were all upset… oh! Did you – did you and Sam –?"
Kurt shook his head. "No, but… he can around last night, needing to talk. And you were right, Finn…. He told me."
Finn stared for a moment, a little confused, before his mouth split into a grin. "Oh, right! Sam's gay! Of course!" Kurt looked at him in amusement and Finn hurried on. "And I knew that because, you know, I was the one who told you that in the first place… so that was just me being slow as usual! Although it seems I'm not as slow as Sam or you for that matter."
Kurt laughed. "I guess you're not. You are quite a surprise, Finn."
Finn shrugged. "You know it," he said, smiling and heading over to the dish rack. "So are you hanging out with Sam today?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm meeting him in about an hour. We're going shopping," Kurt answered, cheerily.
"Uh-oh," Finn said, seriously. "Does Sam know what he's getting himself into?"
Kurt shrugged. "Nope," he chirped, "but fashion is a big part of being gay and I'm sure he'll benefit from this."
Finn grinned. "Well, good luck with him. I'm going over to Rachel's. See ya later, bro!" he said as he walked out of the kitchen towards the front door.
"Bye!" Kurt called out after a moment, before he went back to a dreamland where Sam strutted a thousand different outfits for him to see. Mmmmmm…..
"So how is shopping going to help me?" Sam asked as they drove in Kurt's car to Lima Plaza.
Kurt laughed. "Have you seen my clothes? Don't you think there's a reason I dress like this?"
Sam looked Kurt over and shrugged. "I just thought you wore those clothes because you like them… not because you're… gay…"
Kurt looked over at Sam. "I do like them… but, you know, you're gay, too… and I just thought that maybe wearing clothes like this… it might make you feel more comfortable."
Sam nodded, a little uncertainly. "Well, it's worth a try," he said, smiling at Kurt. "I'll do whatever you say."
Four hours later…
"I'm sorry, Kurt, but… now of these clothes suit me!"
"You're just not trying hard enough, Sam, and we just haven't found the right outfit yet. You'll see. It's only been four hours. In my book that equals a mini- shopping spree!"
Sam couldn't help but smile. "Really? Because, to me, this is a nightmare. I'd hate to think what an enormous shopping spree would be like."
Kurt huffed. "Well, for you information, it's heaven! I love shopping! All gays love shopping!"
Sam stopped walking and sat down on the bench. He patted the spot next time and Kurt sat next to him cautiously, glaring a little bit. Sam smiled at him, blushing a little. "Look, Kurt, I really appreciate what you're trying to do… but… I'm gay and this… this isn't helping me. The clothes look awesome on you, they really do, but they're just not… me."
Kurt sighed and nodded. "I know. I should have realised that. I'm sorry."
Sam laughed. "It's cool."
Kurt shook his head. "No, it's not. I really want to help you, Sam… but I'm not sure how to teach you anything… it's really something you need to find out for yourself."
Sam nodded. "I think I've realised that you don't really need to teach me 'The Ways of the Gays'", he said, laughing a little. "Really, Kurt… I just need you to be there to support me. That's all."
Kurt grinned. "I can do that."
Sam smiled and reached over to put a hand over Kurt's. Kurt looked down at Sam's hand on his and smiled.
But right at that moment, a group of guys walked passed and shouted, "EWWW! YOU FAGS! CUT THAT OUT!" "DON'T START TOUNGE WAGGLING!" "STUPID FAGGOTS!"
Sam quickly drew his hand away from Kurt's and looked away, shocked.
Kurt huffed angrily and got to his feet. "Just ignore them, Sam. Let's go."
Sam got up a little weakly and followed Kurt out of the Plaza, not daring to look back at the guys but unable to block out the sound of their voices.
They were silent in the car. Kurt kept on looking over at Sam, whose tense expression hadn't changed. Kurt didn't really know what to say but as soon as they arrived at the front of Kurt's house, beside where Sam's car was parked, Kurt turned in his seat and looked at Sam.
"Sam… don't worry about those guys… they're idiots and they just don't understand…Their judgement really doesn't matter. They have nothing to do with you feeling good about yourself. It's only you that matters."
Sam looked over at Kurt slowly and swallowed. "Thanks… it's… just… I used to be like one of those guys… and now… here I am… A faggot."
Kurt swallowed. "There's nothing wrong with being that, Sam. You know that. And don't call yourself that." He added.
"WHY NOT?" Sam burst out. "I AM ONE! WHY SHOULDN'T I CALL MYSELF THAT!"
Kurt stared at him in shock for a moment.
Sam's face suddenly melted and his anger was replaced with regret. "Oh, jeez… sorry, Kurt…I shouldn't have yelled – "
Kurt shook his head and interrupted, "No, you're right, Sam. Faggots and proud of it, right?"
Sam gave Kurt a small smile. "Well… almost proud."
Kurt smiled at him sympathetically. "You'll get there, Sam. You'll get there."
That night after dinner Sam rang Kurt on his mobile to organise what they were going to do together on Sunday.
"Hey!" Kurt answered, waving Finn away from his bedroom door (Finn walked with a shrug, mumbling something about asking his Mum to help him with his homework instead) and lying back on his bed.
"Hey, Kurt," Sam answered, sounded a little sleepy.
"How are you? You sound tired!" Kurt said.
"And you, apparently, are not?" Sam asked, the sound of a smile in his voice.
"Not at all!"
"You crazy, crazy, cu – uh… Kurt!"
"That's me," Kurt chirped, grinning.
Sam laughed out loud.
"So, what should we get up to, tomorrow?" Kurt asked.
"Umm… I dunno…"
"Well it's your choice."
"Maybe we could just have a stay in day… my families out for the day… we could just watch some movies and stuff?"
Kurt hesitated. "But… how would that be… educational?"
"Uh…" Sam paused for a moment. "I told you, I don't need "lessons anymore." I know what I want."
There was silence. For some reason Kurt's heart was jumping into his throat (although this wasn't much of a mystery because it always happened around Sam.)
Finally, Kurt replied. "And… what do you want?"
"Y – "Sam made a choking noise. "I just want to hang out with you. That's all."
Kurt smiled. "Alright. Well, I think that would be nice. I might have to say I'm staying at Mercedes, though."
"How come?"
"My dad probably won't be that cool with the idea of me spending a day with a guy in his otherwise empty house."
"Oh, right. So, have you got any movies you'd like to bring?"
"Sure. We'll watch a mix."
"Awesome. I can't wait," Sam said, happily.
"Me either," Kurt answered, blushing a little.
10 minutes later, after organising the time and after some more idle chat, Kurt hang up the phone and just lay on his bed beaming for a couple of minutes until Finn appeared at Kurt's door, looking desperate.
"What?" Kurt asked, dreamily.
"Is your head clear enough to help me with my homework? Mum won't help me."
Kurt sighed. "Are you ever going to be able to do your homework by yourself, Finn?"
Finn grinned. "Of course. And I can. But why would I when I have an awesome brother like you to help me?"
Kurt laughed, unable to stop himself, and got up to sit at his desk. "Come on then, my brother. Let's turn you into a Know-It-All."
Finn grinned. "Yeah well, you'd probably have more luck with that than ever making Sam like shopping."
Kurt smacked Finn lightly on the arm.
Kurt hesitated a moment outside Sam's front door, but before he could even reach his hand out to knock on Sam's door, it burst open and Sam stood there beaming happily at him.
"You're here!" Sam grinned.
Kurt grinned back. "You're in a happy mood!"
Sam nodded a little jerkingly. "Sure am!"
"What's got you so perked?"
"I just realised something! Something that's going to help me!"
Kurt raised his eyebrows. "And what would that be?"
Sam opened his mouth to answer but before he could, a loud beeping sound came from the kitchen and Sam ran into the house, cursing loudly.
Kurt followed him into a very smoky kitchen and saw Sam standing bent over something black and smoky sitting on top of the oven. Kurt laughed out loud before hurrying over to Sam.
"And what were those?" Kurt asked, pointing to the tray of burnt food.
"Cupcakes," Sam sighed. "I made them… for you… but… they're all burnt."
Kurt laughed. "Yes, I can see that. They are definitely burnt."
"Dammit!" Sam said, a little grumpily.
Kurt smiled. "Hey, it doesn't matter. It's nice you tried."
Sam looked at him and smiled. "I should probably turn that off shouldn't I?" he asked, indicating the smoke alarm.
Kurt nodded. "That would be a good idea."
Sam looked around and walked over to the other side of the room. He grabbed one of the tall cushioned stools from the corner and propped it in the middle of the kitchen.
"Do you need any help?" Kurt asked, watching as Sam carefully stepped up onto the stool and stood slowly.
"Uh," Sam muttered, not looking down and reaching up towards the smoke alarm. "Could you grab me that broom over there? I can't really reach."
Kurt grabbed the broom and handed it to Sam. As Sam grabbed the broom off Kurt, the stool shook a little and Kurt grabbed onto it to hold it steady.
"Thanks," Sam muttered as he finally poked the button with the broom and the beeping sound went off.
"Phew," Kurt muttered, relieved the sound was gone.
Sam grinned down at him and they stared at each other. It seemed like forever that they just stood there, Kurt on the ground and Sam on a stool, just looking at each other. After awhile, Sam looked away in a fluster and made to slowly come down off the stool. But somehow, as he lowered his leg towards the ground, the stool shuddered again and toppled over, bringing Sam with it and both landed smack bang onto Kurt, knocking him onto the ground, too.
Kurt knocked his head on the ground, lying there, squished with the stool wedged between himself and Sam. He looked up at Sam in embarrassment, but Sam didn't seem embarrassed at all.
"Are you ok?" he asked Kurt, in deep concern, leaping up and pulling the stool off of him before holding out his hand for Kurt to grab.
Kurt nodded and grabbed Sam's hand, getting to his feet and rubbing his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But I think I'm going to have two bumps on my head by tomorrow. One in the front and one in the back. People are going to call me a Retarded Unicorn."
Sam laughed and suddenly reached forwards, wrapping his arms around Kurt. Kurt froze for a moment before slowly winding his arms around Sam and hugging him back.
After awhile, Sam drew back and looked at Kurt's forehead where he'd been rubbing before. Kurt stared at Sam and for a moment they just stood there as Sam examined Kurt's head.
Then, suddenly, yet so slowly it was almost torturous, Sam slowly leaned forwards and ever so gently… he kissed Kurt on the forehead. Right on the spot where it hurt.
Kurt sucked in a breath and his heart sped up to boiling point. Sam's lips were soft and slightly moist. They were only against Kurt's skin for a second, but it was wonderful. The best thing Kurt had ever felt in his life.
Sam drew back his head and looked at Kurt and surprisingly, he looked super calm when Kurt was feeling like he was going to explode.
Sam drew in a breath and whispered, "I just thought that might help make you feel better."
Kurt smiled nervously. "Thanks… it was… very nice."
Sam smiled. "Then you won't mind… you won't mind if I…"
Sam's gaze moved down towards Kurt's mouth and Kurt instinctively bit his lip.
"You… you want… you want to … ki – kiss me?" Kurt stammered.
Sam slowly looked back into Kurt's eyes and nodded. "I know what I want, Kurt," he said, gently.
Kurt smiled widely, feeling like he might cry, before leaning forwards and for the first time, and for the most glorious moment of his life, his lips met Sam's.