Chapter 12: Dashed Hopes

Kurt was bombarded by Finn the next day as he headed towards the cafeteria for lunch.

"You can't do this to him." Finn said, following Kurt.

"You're overreacting." Kurt said, entering the lunch line.

"If he sings with you, you're painting a bull's eye on his back." Finn tried reasoning with Kurt.

"Once again, your closeted homophobia seeps in the surface on the contents of a cracked cesspool." Kurt said.

"Look, don't give me that." Finn said, still following Kurt. "Look, I know I shouldn't have used that word in your basement. But it's not like you were innocent."

Kurt was silent. Finn continued talking in a hushed tone.

"I really like you, Kurt. But the fact of the matter is the way you were all over me last year...if I did that to a girl, she'd take out a restraining order."

"You have issues with me being gay." Kurt said, and Finn had to hold back his rising temper. "I get it."

"No, actually, I don't." Finn said. "I have issues with the fact that you don't understand that 'no' means 'no'."

Kurt made a face before looking up at Finn. Finn looked away uncomfortably before Kurt found the strength to say something.

"I just want to sing with him." Kurt walked away and Finn looked up.

'I actually want to do more than that, but Finn doesn't need to know that.' Kurt thought, aware that Finn had turned and followed him again.

"Then you don't give a damn about any of us." Finn accused, and Kurt rolled his eyes. "If he sings with you, I guarantee in a week, he'll take so much crap he'll HAVE to quit Glee Club."

Kurt froze in place. He opened and closed his mouth, at a lose for words.

"Your call, Dude." Finn said before leaving Kurt alone.

'Why can't people just let me be happy about anything for once?' Kurt thought, barely holding back tears.


The following day, it didn't take long before Finn started on Sam, trying to get Sam to break off singing with Kurt.

Sam came out of the showers, a towel wrapped around his waist, and his hair and body wet with water droplets.

"I don't see what the big deal." Sam said, heading for his locker. "He emailed me like 60 MP3s of him singing and I thought he was Faith Hill. The kids' good." Sam turned to look at Finn as he unlocked his locker.

'He does have a great singing voice, even if he does sound like a woman doing it. It just make him even hotter to me.'

"Look, this isn't about how good Kurt is." Finn said, interrupting Sam's train of thought. He sat on the bench while Sam pulled his clothes from his gym locker. "Being in Glee Club is like, it's like walking down the double yellow lines of a highway. If you get just a little off-course, you're gonna get crushed."

Finn looked down at the bench as Sam watched him, holding his shirt.

"I gotta be honest," Sam said. "You're kinda confusing my head right now."

Finn looks up at Sam, his brow furrowing.

"I mean, do you remember what you said when you talked me into joining Glee Club?" Sam asked.

Flashback Starts

"Nationals are in New York City. Can you imagine what it's gonna be like, coming home with that First Place Trophy? Most of the kids in this town have never even seen the OCEAN. We'll be GODS." Finn told him, making him smile.

Flashback Ends

"I joined up because I'm new here and you said it would make me popular. And now you're telling me it's gonna get me killed." Sam said, pulling on his jeans and doing them up.

"Well, yeah, eventually you're gonna get popular from it, believe me." Sam sits on the bench to put on his shoes, listening to Finn talk. "But until then? You gotta lay low a little bit, and singing a duet with another dude is not laying low."

"I didn't realize you had a problem with gay dudes." Sam said, irritated at Finn as he pulled on his shirt. He was going to tell Finn he was Bisexual, but if he had a problem with gay guys, he was better off not knowing.

"Look, I don't have a problem with gay dudes - everyone else does, and we're living in their world." Finn said, and Sam snorted and smirked. " And in their world, you singing a duet with Kurt is a death sentence."

Sam huffed in irritation. He stood up before he spoke.

"Well, I gave him my word. In my world, that's that." Sam locked his gym locker and strode out of the locker room, fixing his sleeves.

Finn was left bewildered.


Sam's day was rough after talking to Finn. As soon as he left the locker room, he was doused in the face with two cups of cherry flavored slushie. He ended up getting help cleaning up from Quinn.

'She's pretty, but not quite my type.' Sam thought.

For the rest of the day, until he went home, Sam thought of nothing else but Kurt, and how Finn had tried to get his to drop the pretty boy as his partner.

'If only he knew I was into Kurt romantically. I wonder if he'd try to stop me then?'


That evening, Kurt was talking to his Dad, who had just gotten home from his date with Finn's mother, Carole.

"So, what's up. How's school?" Burt asked his son.

Kurt sighed.

"It's fine. I guess." He looked to the other side of the living room.

He felt his Dad looking at him, so he went on.

"There's this new kid at school. Sam. In Glee Club." Burt waited for Kurt to go on. "He and I are singing a duet together."

"Is that a problem?" Burt asked.

"Finn practically begged me not too. He said it'd ruin Sam's reputation."

"Well, this kid, Sam. Uh, you know, he play for your team?"

"Undetermined. I think he does. But it's hard to tell." Kurt said, looking away.

"Oh." Burt said. "Maybe Finn has a point."

"You're siding with him?" Kurt said, incredulously. "After what he called me in our basement?"

"I was talking with Carole, and you weren't totally honest with me." Burt said. "She told me you had a crush on Finn, and you weren't afraid to show it."

Kurt was at a loss for words.

"Is this true?" Burt asked his son.

"So, a gay guy can't be friendly to a straight guy without it being predatory!" Kurt said, getting up off the couch he and his Dad were sitting on and walking into the kitchen.

"You gotta understand," Burt started as Kurt got a bottle of water from the fridge. "Most guys don't know how to deal with unwanted attention."

"So, you're saying I shouldn't sing with this Sam guy." Kurt snapped. "'Cause it might upset a couple of homophobes. I thought you said that no one pushes the Hummel's around!"

"No one does, I'm not saying that." Burt said. "I-I'm saying that maybe it's you who's pushing this kid Sam around, trying to take advantage of him because you're interested in him."

Burt looked over to Kurt.

"Dad, you have no idea what it's like." Kurt said, getting upset. "I am the ONLY openly gay kid at school, in this town. I mean, why can't I walk hand in hand with a person that I like? Why can't I slow dance at my Prom?"

Burt looked at his son before speaking.

"Come here." Kurt walked over and joined his Dad on the couch.

"You think I don't want those things for you?" He asked. "I do. You know, until you find somebody as open and as brave as you, you're gonna have to get used to going it alone. "

Kurt leaned over and rested his head on his Dad's shoulder, his hopes dashed at possibly getting to date Sam, if he were to be proven gay.