Chapter 11:

When Kurt woke up, he was in Sam's arms. And heaven, potentially.

He must have been asleep for a while, because between the curtains he could see the sky growing dark. It wasn't night yet—the sky was the deep, swirling purple and blue of a late sunset, orange and pink in parts where the sun was still present—but it was growing close.

"You're awake,"

Kurt tilted his chin up to look at Sam, and smiled. "No," He replied, closing his eyes again. "Still dreaming."

Kurt heard Sam laugh softly, and then felt himself shifted to the side as Sam leaned in to kiss him. Kurt breathed in deeply, and slide his fingers up into Sam's sleep-mussed hair. It really did feel like a dream. This wasn't his life, it couldn't be. It was too... calm. Serene.

Happy.

Kurt opened his eyes, and pulled away from Sam. He felt happy. It felt... strange. He'd forgotten what it felt like, to be happy and safe in the arms of someone he loved.

Sam brushed a finger gently along his cheekbone. He whispered his name, and leaned in for another kiss. Kurt turned his face away. "Don't," He muttered, pulling the covers up around himself. This wasn't his life, it was some dream from another life he might have had but never would. A dream; his, but not real. He couldn't let himself, or Sam, forget that.

"Come on," Kurt said, forcing himself to rise from the bed. "We have to get up,"

"No, we don't," Sam put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, and tugged him back down. Kurt glared at him. Didn't Sam understand that this was difficult enough without having to argue with him?

"Yes, we do," Kurt insisted, shrugging Sam's hand off and standing up. Sam looked at him for a moment, and then got up as well.

They dressed in silence. When Kurt was finished, he looked up and found Sam sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing a strange look on his face. Kurt's chest tightened; he knew that look. That hard, serious look he had when he was thinking about things Kurt couldn't, wouldn't think about. Kurt was seeing it more and more lately, and it terrified him.

"Kurt," Sam said, turning his head a little to look at him. "I'm leaving,"

Kurt blinked a few times, and his mouth opened. Whatever he'd expected Sam to say to him then, it hadn't been that, no matter the look on his face. "What—"

"I'm leaving," Sam repeated, getting off the bed to stand in front of Kurt. The strength in his voice and the strange light in his eyes dispelled any notions Kurt'd had that Sam was just talking about going to the grocery store. A shiver ran through him as Sam reached down and took his hand. "And you're coming with me."

For a second, Kurt almost laughed. Because that had to be a joke, of course. Kurt couldn't leave, that was just—ridiculous. Sam couldn't be serious.

Except he was.

Unable to form an answer, Kurt just shook his head violently, trying to back away from Sam.

"Yes," Sam countered, stepping forward and squeezing his hand. "Yes—stop shaking your head, yes you're coming—"

"No," Kurt finally managed, wrenching his hand back from Sam.

Sam grabbed Kurt shoulders and held them firmly. "Yes, Kurt. Yes," He said again, looking him square in the eye. Kurt didn't say anything. "Kurt, please," Sam's eyes were wide, and his voice soft and pleading. "I can't do this anymore. I can't... but I can't go without you, either. Please, come with me. Let's get out of here, get away, together."

Kurt shut his eyes, afraid of what he'd say if he kept looking at Sam. "I can't, Sam," He said. It was easier to find words without Sam's face in front of him. "I can't leave Blaine..."

Sam shook him a little, and Kurt opened his eyes. "Yes you can," Sam said. He sounded angry.

"No, I can't,"

"Yes you can!"

"No I can't!" Kurt put his hands on Sam's chest and shoved him away. This was a stupid conversation, and he wouldn't have it anymore. He wasn't going to leave Blaine, and his life and everything behind just because Sam asked him too. He couldn't.

"Why not?" Sam shouted, his face flushed red.

"Because—because he's my boyfriend and I love him!"

Sam scoffed. "Kurt he's not your boyfriend he's your pimp,"

Kurt felt like he'd been slapped. "N-no..."

Sam stepped up again and put his hands back on Kurt's shoulders. "Yes, he is," Sam said. His tone was gentler again, and for some reason it made Kurt feel like he was about to cry. "I'm sorry, Kurt, but it's the truth. And you know it, you just want to pretend you don't." Kurt shook his head, feeling the tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Kurt... what did Blaine tell you, when I moved in here?"

Kurt's brow furrowed. "What?"

"When I first came here, what did Blaine tell you about who I was and what I was doing here?" Sam said. "I mean, he must have told you right off the bat that he was going to start prostituting me, right? But not right away?"

Kurt glanced down, feeling guilty. "Yeah... he... he told me he brought you in to help me, so I wouldn't have to work as hard," He said quietly. "But... he wanted to wait a little, before you started working... so we had to pretend we weren't seeing each other..."

"And you were okay with that?" Sam pressed.

Kurt had the feeling Sam was getting at something, leading up to making some point, but he couldn't tell what it was. "No... well, he told me..." He bit his lip, and forced himself to look at Sam. "He promised that he loved me, and only me... and you weren't anything."

Sam nodded. He didn't look hurt. "Kurt," He said quietly. "He told me the same thing about you."

Kurt blinked. "W-what—"

"When he got back together with you, after I started working. He told me that he had to pretend to be with you for a while, because you get insecure and lonely." Sam said. "But he promised me that I was the one he really loved, not you. He said you were nothing."

Kurt felt sick. That couldn't be true, Blaine would never say that. "You're lying," Kurt said, his voice barely more than a squeak. "He loves me, he wouldn't—he wouldn't—"

"He doesn't," Sam said firmly. "He doesn't love anyone, or anything except himself. He used you, Kurt. He used us both. We need to get away from him. Please, I can't do this anymore."

Kurt shook his head. "I—I'm scared," He whispered. He didn't want to believe any of what Sam was saying, but somehow there was a part of him that already did. A part that knew it was true.

Kurt felt like was about to pass out.

Sam pulled him into his arms, and kissed his temple. "So am I," Sam said, stroking Kurt's hair. Kurt let himself hold onto Sam, afraid his knees would no longer support him. "But we have to get out, Kurt, I know we do. This isn't how things are supposed to be. You were supposed to be a star, remember?"

Tears streamed down Kurt's cheeks, and he let himself sob into Sam's shoulder. Sam was right, none of this was what he'd wanted. Sleeping with men for money, sharing his supposed boyfriend with others... forcing himself to be someone else just so he didn't go crazy from the things he had to do. It was horrible, it was all horrible and he was so miserable. He hated himself, and he hated his life and what he'd become. He was supposed to be in school, learning how to be the best of the best and on the road to becoming a star. A big, big star.

Kurt closed his eyes and waited for his shoulders to stop shaking. When he opened them again, his tears had stopped. He looked at Sam, and tried to keep the quiver out of his voice as he spoke. "What do we do?" He asked.

Sam's eyes went wide, as though he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "Are you serious?" He asked. Kurt swallowed, still feeling a bit ill. There was a voice in his head—and Kurt couldn't tell if it was his own—shouting no! No he wasn't serious, no he couldn't run away with Sam—no no no, he couldn't do any of that, the voice insisted. You love Blaine, remember? the voice tried to reason with him. How could you leave him?

Kurt did his best to ignore it. It was hard, because he knew in a way the voice was right. He did still love Blaine, in a way. But... he also knew that in another way... he hadn't loved Blaine for a long time. If he really thought about it, he thought he might've even hated him, too.

Kurt looked at Sam, and nodded. "I'm serious," He said, shakier than he might have liked. "Do you have a plan?"

Sam pursed his lips. "You mean beyond 'leave?'"

Kurt sighed. "Yeah, beyond that." He said. "We have to find some place to go, first of all... and money, so we can get there, and-and—"

"Oh, wait," Sam broke in, snapping his fingers like he'd gotten an idea. He bolted out of the room, and when he came back a minute later he had a white envelope in his hand. It was the one Luc had given them a few hours ago. "There, money."

Kurt nodded, feeling a bit nasous. "Well... well that's one thing, then," He said slowly.

Sam smiled at him for a second, but then quickly frowned down at the envelope. "This doesn't seem like much," He said.

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding?" He'd counted the money before, he knew how much was in there. More than his and Sam's usual salary combined.

Sam shook his head. "Not as much as we've earned," He said.

Kurt opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Sam wasn't just talking about what they'd earned with Luc. He was talking about everything they'd earned.

"Where does Blaine keep the money?" Sam asked, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Our money,"

Kurt paced around the room, nibbling at his finger nails while Sam examined the small safe hidden at the back of Blaine's closet. The safe that Kurt knew about because Blaine trusted him. And now here he was, plotting to break into it and rob him blind, then abandon him without a word.

"Maybe we could try to pick it..." Sam muttered, holding the heavy pad lock in his hand. "You don't know anything about picking locks, do you?"

Kurt looked at him. "What do you think?" He asked, his voice several octaves higher than usual. He shook his head, still pacing. "I can't believe we're doing this... we can't do this... we can't..."

"Yes, we can," Sam said, standing up and going over to Kurt. He put his hands on his shoulders, and looked him in the eye. "Kurt, that money in there... who had to have sex in order to get it?"

"We did..." Kurt said quietly.

"So who does the money really belong to?"

Kurt's face crumpled. "But Blaine—"

"Lied. And manipulated. And sold us. Sold you." Kurt looked away, and Sam put a hand on his face. "Please Kurt, I need you to see that. I don't want to be someone else that forces you into things you don't want to do, but I need you to see Blaine for what he really is. I know it's hard, I know you love him... I just need you to believe me."

Kurt sniffed, and shut his eyes. "I do, Sam," He said. "I believe you... I... I know what Blaine is, what he did..." He opened his eyes and looked miserably at Sam. "I think I've known it for a while," He whispered. "I just didn't want to. I just... I wanted everything to be ok, and good... but it's not." He shook his head again, and wiped at his eyes. They were stinging, but he was determined not to cry again. He looked at Sam. "And it won't be okay until we get out of here."

Sam nodded. He brushed a finger gently over Kurt's cheek and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, lightly, as though he was unsure about whether or not he was allowed. Kurt wanted to kiss him back, wanted a full kiss where he could wrap his arms around Sam and disappear into him, but it didn't feel like the time. Sam pulled back and looked at him for a moment, and he knew Sam felt it too. This wasn't the time for that, not now.

Without a word, they both went back over to the safe and crouched down in front of it. Kurt picked up the lock, and gave it a hard look. It was heavy in his hand, thick and intimidating. "There's no way we can pick this," He said. "Especially considering neither of us know anything about picking locks."

Sam frowned. "Maybe break it?"

"Does this look breakable to you?" He asked, rattling the lock around.

Sam shook his head. "No, not unless we had some kind of tool..." Sam's eyes lit up and he grabbed Kurt's hand. "I can get us tools!" He said. He stood up and darted out of the room, once again leaving Kurt staring after him in confusion.

"Where can you get tools from?" Kurt asked, following Sam out of Blaine's room and back into Sam's own. He found Sam digging through the drawer of stuff in his night table. "Sam?"

"Remember my good customer? Dave?" Sam asked, rifling through his drawer. "He owns a construction business. He can get us tools, he—aha!" Sam triumphantly held up a piece of paper with a number written on it. "Where's the phone?"

"In the living room—Sam, wait!" Kurt said, grabbing Sam's arm as he made to leave the room again. "Sam, think. We don't have time for that. Blaine could be home any minute. If you want to go we should go now. Forget the money."

Sam blinked. "Oh... crap, you're right," He said. He sat down on the edge of his bed. "We'll never have enough time... not to do things properly..." He looked up at Kurt. "We'll have to leave tomorrow."

Kurt's mouth fell open. "Wah—no!" He yelped. "We can't—I can't! Not if I have to see Blaine and-and—"

Sam stood up, and took Kurt's hands in his. "Kurt, calm down," He said. "You can do this, I know you can. This is your thing, remember? You can make anyone believe anything you want to." Kurt didn't say anything, and Sam continued. "Blaine's gonna come home today, and you're gonna tell him all about how great Luc is, and how sexy his accent is and how you need to go to France one day, and he won't suspect anything because you're an amazing actor, Kurt. And one day that's gonna make you famous, but to get there first it has to get us out of here, alright?"

Kurt nodded slowly, looking down at his hands in Sam's. Sam was right, he could do this. This could be... his greatest acting challenge yet. The final hurdle he had to over come to get to his happily ever after. "Alright," He said. "Call Dave."

Sam retrieved the phone from the living room, and dialled the number off the piece of paper. Kurt watched him, letting his eyes drift over Sam's chest, where only a few hours ago he'd been lying so contentedly, and up to Sam's mouth, that he still wanted to kiss, so badly.

Not now... now wasn't the time.

There would be time for that later.