I Lived Chapter 24: Right Where I Should Be, a glee fanfic

Chapter 24- Right Where I Should Be

Summary: Sam doesn't appreciate Finn and Rachel's interference in his choice of duet partner, so he makes sure they know about him and know who he is.

Rating: K+

Characters: Finn Hudson, Kurt Hummel, Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry, Sam Evans

AU: Timeline of the episode is switched slightly. Quinn and Rachel's conversation is prior to Kurt's performance but after the shower conversation.

Notes: Kurt's lines are in italics, Sam's in bold and together in emboldened italics.

This is a request from DemonCaptainofWonderland, thought I'd stick in here! Hope you enjoy! x

Sam let the water trickle down his naked body, blinking it out of his eyes. He watched Kurt walk away and sadness pangs in his chest. He wanted so badly to get Kurt to stay, to tell him that things weren't the way he thought they were. That he wanted to sing with him more than anything.

But he couldn't. Not without talking to the meddlers first.

And god he was angry with them.

Who were they to interfere with his life? As soon as Finn talked about him about death sentences and living in other people's worlds, he knew that he wasn't going to enjoy spending time with these people. He knew that Rachel had put him up to it. They weren't his words at the beginning. Until he started talking about Kurt. Sam hadn't said anything about his own sexuality because he knew that Finn was not going to take it well, especially when Sam had just been half-naked in the locker room during their conversation.

But that was beside the point.

He knew that Finn was lying, of course he did. He wasn't stupid. Finn absolutely had a problem with guys being gay, though Sam guessed that he wouldn't have a problem with two girls making out. But that was just an educated guess. His whole spiel about living in other people's worlds would have seemed well-intentioned to somebody else, but Sam knew that Finn was putting on an act; one that ensured he seemed like he was trying to protect Sam, rather than his actual effect which was to meddle and alienate his budding friendship with Kurt.

Kurt had been so…despondent during their conversation. He could sense the reluctance in which he spoke the words that cancelled their duet. Sam hadn't wanted to be set free, but he had let Kurt do it.

Now that was stupid. With a capital S.

So now he had two things on his agenda.

First: Have a conversation with Finn and Rachel alone about the way they had interfered.

Second: Speak to the Glee Club as a whole about the duet situation and declare his wish to sing with Kurt.

He knew that Kurt was planning to do a duet by himself, so maybe they wouldn't sing together for the competition, but maybe they would sing together anyway as a closer to the week. The Glee girls and also Kurt hadn't even heard Sam sing yet, so he would have to show them what he could do in order to impress them and get the chance to be featured at Sectionals. He wanted to sing at competition, that's the whole reason he joined up. Finn's speech about them being Gods fell on deaf ears because that wasn't what Sam wanted. He had to admit that he was partially manipulating Finn and the taller boy didn't even know it. By going along with the popularity lie, Sam was opening himself up to anything Finn wanted to say, any lies he wanted to tell, which Sam could use in the future. He was playing the game, but it was exhausting.

He also thought it was strange that the Glee guys had assembled to hear him sing, yet Kurt hadn't been there. What was up with that, anyway? He guessed it was just a small insight into the way Kurt was treated in the club. That wouldn't fly with Sam. Not even a little bit.

Before he could even think about looking for Finn, he was ambushed.

He shut his locker door and was greeted with the angelically smiling face of Quinn Fabray. She was the type of girl Sam was ordinarily go for. You know, in a world where his romantic thoughts weren't taken up by Kurt Hummel's adorable-as-fuck grin. He smiled just thinking about it, before realising Quinn was watching him.

"Hey, Quinn."

"You know what they're doing, right?"

And Sam, very astutely, put the pieces together. On the other side of Finn and Rachel was Rachel, probably hounding Quinn about doing a duet with Sam. He presumed that Rachel was way more intense and sneaky about it with Quinn, using subtext and emotional manipulation to get her to sing with Sam.

"If you mean Finn and Rachel, then absolutely," Sam nodded to Quinn's pure relief.

She thought Sam was cute, if she was being completely honest, but she was taking a year for herself and not for boys. And plus, during his introduction to the Glee Club, Sam hadn't taken his eyes off Kurt. Not even once. She had noticed.

After Quinn had moved in with Mercedes, she and Kurt had grown a lot closer. He was there most nights and Quinn had found herself really liking the boy. She hadn't known him very well, only having one conversation with him about the Rachel makeover snafu. She had known that he was very much into Finn while she was pregnant and she had wanted to talk to him about it, but had never found the words.

He mesmerised her, for lack of a better description. She found herself watching him, watching his reactions, nuances; trying to unlock the mystery that was Kurt Hummel.

She had seen him speaking with Sam after the duet initiation and put two and two together. Kurt liked him and wanted to finally sing with a boy. Quinn was all for it, if Kurt was happy then she was happy.

"Good. Rachel cornered me in the girl's bathroom and basically served you to me on a silver platter. The only thing she was missing was a knife and fork."

Sam chuckled. "Finn spoke to me about singing with Kurt. Kurt broke off the partnership." Sam suddenly thought of something. He had been thinking about this all wrong, as if those two events were unconnected.

But maybe they weren't.

"I think Finn must have said something to Kurt as well to get him to break it off. Kurt was really excited about it, he emailed me multiple files of him singing."

"He's wonderful, isn't he?"

Sam nodded, lips tightly pressed together.

In reality, Kurt singing had done something to Sam that touched him deeply. His voice transcended what he thought the human voice was capable of. Kurt had shown him depth, range and emotional honesty. In particular, his piano cover of Take On Me had shown him that he was musically gifted in arranging, instrumentation and technicality. He had emailed back just as enthusiastically, saying that he definitely wanted to sing with him and they should find a song that suits them.

"What would Finn have said to him?"

Quinn sighed. This wasn't her place. She knew exactly what Finn would have said because she had been on the receiving end of his manipulations once. Even though she was better at it than him, he always knew how to strike the heart.

"It's not for me to say, but I have a pretty good idea. If it's what I think it is, Kurt was torn up about it and that's probably why he cancelled on you. Finn got to him first."

Sam seethed. "Well, I was on my way to have a much-needed talk with him anyway."

Quinn smirked. "I like you. You don't pull your punches. He's in the choir room with Rachel right now, if you want to make this a joint assault?"

Sam smiled. He knew he was going to need backup, Quinn knew Finn and Rachel far better than he did and he would need her. "Let's do it."

Finn was sat at the drums when they walked in, Rachel at the piano. She was tinkering at the keys with all the gusto of a complete amateur who was trying to pretend like she knew how to play properly. Finn at least knew how to play his instrument.

Rachel looked up at them and beamed. "Quinn. Sam. I'm glad to see that you two are connecting! Aren't they cute, Finn?"

"Cut the crap, Berry," Quinn snapped and Rachel fell silent. Sam wanted to smirk. He was definitely glad that she came along.

"Quinn, I don't know what you mean."

Sam decided it was his turn to intervene. "Yes you do. Both of you do. We're supposed to just think that you're not scheming to get us to duet together just because it'd make the two of you more comfortable in the club?"

Finn looked down and shifted.

"And there's Finn's famous gassy infant expression," Quinn smirked. "Santana told me about it. I don't want to hear anything from either of you denying this. Just admit what you did and why and just don't do it again."

"Let me make it easier for you. I'll say what I think and you two just nod when I get things right, okay?" Sam suggested sternly.

Finn and Rachel nodded in unison already, a good sign that Sam was going to be able to get his point across.

"Good. You two heard about the duets competition and obviously were going to sing together."

A nod.

"You knew that I, being the new guy, didn't have anyone immediately that I would duet with."

A nod.

"Now, this is the part where the story diverges slightly between perspectives."

A nod.

"You guys really didn't get the point of this exercise, did you?"

A nod.

"Okay, just stop nodding," Sam said.

Finn nodded.

"Jesus Christ," Sam whispered. "Anyway, Finn, you persuaded me not to sing with Kurt because it was going to grant me a death sentence and that it would stunt my popularity growth around here."

Rachel paused. "What, you said what?"

Sam faltered. That wasn't the plan. "You didn't know?"

Rachel sighed, shaking her head. "The whole idea was to make you feel like you had a place in the club, to make you feel included. Sectionals isn't too long away, your chemistry with the rest of the group isn't where it should be, obviously, it's your first week."

Sam frowned. "I wouldn't have joined if I didn't feel comfortable. When I sang with the guys for my audition, it was great. I felt like I was part of something. Sure, I got scared when I saw Tina get slushied in the hallway, but when Mr. Schue said you needed a new member, I joined right up."

Quinn smirked. "And you, Rachel, wouldn't have done this solely to make Sam feel comfortable, that's not how you operate. What was in it for you?"

"You're our twelfth member, Sam. When Puckerman gets back from juvie, we'll have a complete set of people. If we lose you, we don't compete at Sectionals."

"Figures. And then you go and meddle, risking Sam's place in the club anyway by messing with his life."

"I didn't mean…Finn!"

"What?"

"What did you do?"

Sam and Quinn filled Rachel in on what Finn had said to him about his duet with Kurt.

"Finn, why would you say things like that? Singing with Kurt is not a death sentence."

"I…I didn't mean it like that! I was just trying to do what we said we would do."

Sam folded his arms. "And that was the only you thought to go about it? Really classy."

Rachel sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what we did, however well-intentioned it was."

Quinn looked shocked but nodded. "That's fine, but I'm guessing Kurt needs an apology, too."

Rachel looked genuinely stunned at that statement. "Kurt? Why would…? No. Finn, you didn't."

Finn was silently guilty.

"You probably did so much damage and he's going to think I put you up to it. Which I guess is half-true, but I never gave you a script."

Sam pursed his lips. "We'll just…leave you to it."

Sam and Quinn promptly exited the room, faces satisfied.

"You like him, don't you? Kurt, I mean," Sam smiled.

Quinn nodded. "He's a great friend to me. You're lucky to have him."

Sam shook his head. "I don't…"

"Not yet," Quinn smirked. "But without Finn and Rachel, you two would've been singing together and probably going to Breadstix together. On a date."

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but instead thought for a second. And then he created a plan.

The Glee Club assembled that afternoon after classes had finished for their next meeting. Mr. Schuester was expecting the rest of the performances but Sam had a feeling that he was going to get round to many.

"Who's next?"

Kurt and Sam both raised their hands at the same time.

Kurt turned to look at him, confused.

"Alright, Kurt and Sam, everybody!"

Kurt shook his head. "No, Mr. Schue, we're not singing together. Not anymore."

"Okay, so, who are your partners?"

Sam smiled and stood up, dashing to the front of the classroom.

"I don't have a partner."

Mr. Schuester frowned. "Sam, it's a duet competition. The assignment requires a partner."

"What I meant to say was, I did have a partner. Until he was ambushed and manipulated into dissolving the partnership."

Finn shifted in his seat and Kurt just stared at him.

"What are you talking about, Sam?"

Sam swallowed heavily. This was it. "I know all about what Finn and Rachel tried to do, Kurt. I know that he must've said something to you in order for you to not want to sing with me. I saw the look on your face when we talked. You were sad about it."

Kurt nodded. "I was."

"So was I. I really wanted to sing with you and I was really sad when you broke it off."

Kurt's face suddenly filled with anger. "I didn't want to!"

"Uh, do you guys need a minute?" Santana snapped.

Sam smirked. "No, Santana, we're gonna do this right here, right now."

"Wanky," she replied.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "So you're telling me that neither of us wanted to break off the duet? It was just Finn and Rachel who didn't want us singing together?"

Sam nodded. "To Rachel's credit, she didn't know that we were supposed to sing together. But Finn did. And he intervened."

"Look, I said I was sorry, okay?" Finn gasped. Quinn slapped his head from her position above him on the risers.

Kurt stood from his seat and hopped onto the floor. "No, Finn. A simple apology doesn't excuse what you did or what you said to me. I'm not a predator. I understand that no means no. I care about this club."

"He called you a predator?"

Kurt fidgeted. "Not in so many words, but that was the gist of it. That if he'd have treated a girl how I treated him last year, she would've taken out a restraining order against him. So yeah that pretty much denotes being a predator."

Sam turned to Finn. "That's fucked up. It's one thing to tell me that singing with Kurt would be a death sentence and that living in someone else's world would make things supposedly hard for me after a duet, but it's another to say things like that."

"I'm sorry!"

"Shut up," Sam retorted quickly. "You can't just fuck up like that and then expect everything to be fine after a simple "I'm sorry". It doesn't work like that, Finn. I wanted to sing with Kurt and he wanted to sing with me."

Sam stared at Quinn, who nodded encouragingly.

"Now I don't know how Kurt feels, but I really like him and your meddling could have ruined something potentially wonderful."

Kurt looked up, shocked. "You…what?"

"I like you, Kurt. Ever since I saw you performing in the courtyard that first day. I didn't know you who were, but I thought about you. And when you suggested a duet, I was really excited. I heard you sing and that was it. I was in this. When you cancelled us, I was pretty sad about it."

Kurt turned into him, creating an air of privacy. "I didn't want to paint a bullseye on your back," he whispered.

"Is that what he…?"

Kurt nodded. "It was harder because I knew that I liked you and singing with you would've been a dream."

"You like me?"

"Yes, Sam, I do."

"You wanna sing something?"

"What we were originally going to?"

"You read my mind, Kurt," Sam smirked. "You sure?"

"Of course."

They turned to the group, Kurt quickly whispering their song choice to the band. He was still amazed that they could play literally anything on the fly perfectly without prep. He guessed that was what he and Sam were doing.

"So our original partnership is back on and we'd like to sing something."

Quinn smiled as she noticed they were holding hands. She wasn't sure if even they had realised that yet.

"So, Finn, Rachel, your plan failed. I might even have to thank you for it," Sam smirked, looking back at Kurt cutely.

The way you move is like a full on rainstorm
And I'm a house of cards
You're the kind of reckless
That should send me running
But I kinda know that I won't get far
And you stood there in front of me
Just close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see
What I was thinking of

My mind forgets to remind me
You're a bad idea
You touch me once and it's really something
You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world
But with you I know it's no good
And I could wait patiently but I really wish you would

Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around
Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

I run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me, it's just wrong enough to make it feel right
And lead me up the staircase
Won't you whisper soft and slow?
I'm captivated by you, baby, like a firework show

And the sparks fly
Oh, baby, smile
And the sparks fly

The room burst in raucous applause, people getting on their feet and whistling for the new couple. Sam pulled Kurt in close and hugged, kissing the top of his head.

And for those who were watching Kurt Hummel, his elation was plain to see.

Quinn smiled as her boy finally got the good thing he had always deserved.

And no, Kurt and Sam did not win the duet competition. Mercedes and Santana had, quite deservedly, claimed the free dinner to Breadstix. When she objected to sharing a dinner with Santana, the latter had surprisingly offered their coupon to Kurt and Sam, who emphatically accepted the offer. They had spent their first date getting to know each other all over again as a couple and it was more than either of them had imagined. They had promised to always be honest with each other to prevent anymore missed opportunity and mishaps via manipulation.

Kurt was still extremely angry at Finn, but he found it hard to be when his meddling had given him the greatest thing in his life.

Sam was just happy that everything had worked out for the best. And the most important thing to him was that Kurt was happy. And he genuinely was.

They were both together, right where they should be.

Author's Note: The song the chapter is titled after is "Right Where I Should Be" by the talented Us The Duo from their wonderful album, Just Love