The Music In Me
Glee AU Fan Fiction
Chapter 8
"I have an idea," Rachel declared, waltzing into Sam's room the next day.
All of their classes were over until their actual lunch period, and they were enjoying one of their favorite past times-Tuesday Frozen Yogurt Dates. It was something they'd started years back, having always had schedules that seemed to correlate perfectly, giving the both of them that time frame, without Kurt tagging along, to enjoy each other's company.
They were able to share stories about their love lives, their classes, and any other form of pointless drama. It had come incredibly important when Santana was in the group, because the girls often ran off and did their own thing, and even when all four were together, Rachel and Santana often seemed to be in their own little worlds.
Sam usually lived for their Tuesday afternoons together, especially as their rehearsals and practices started to pile up and their classes got harder. But not when Rachel started their plans with a statement like that. It was so broad, capable of meaning anything and everything. There was no way around it. And whenever Rachel had an idea, it meant that Sam was going to be forced into doing just that. There was no way to get out of it.
Sam sighed, leaning back against his bed pillows and stretching his arms up above his head. He rolled his shoulders back, rotated his neck, and then pushed himself forward, crossing his legs pretzel style in front of him, sitting up straight as he looked at Rachel with wide-eyed anticipation as though he were actually excited for what she was about to say.
Rachel glared at him, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against his door frame with a scowl stretched across her lips. She knew that he was making fun of her, that expecting grin on his face meant to mock her because he wasn't really interested in her plan.
They knew each other far too well. They understood one another in ways that nobody else could ever imagine understanding somebody else. And the sad part was that nobody had ever taught them how to understand one another.
It wasn't that they were going from years of experience. Instead, they were merely basing their interactions and their thoughts on some sort of internal instinct that forced them to believe they understood the other. They'd been able to communicate without words, via their facial expressions and their body language, for years. From the time they had first met, they'd had a bond that had killed Kurt to watch, because he longed for a connection to Rachel that was as strong as theirs.
It wasn't that Kurt and Rachel didn't know each other though, but they hadn't been able to communicate in such a way naturally. It had taken years of decoding the other one's hidden messages behind their tone of voice, the way their mouth twitched or they adjusted their hands. It was never easy for them, constantly like school work until they had finally figured out enough that they didn't need to second guess themselves anymore.
But it would never be as strong as the one between Sam and Rachel. Nothing would ever be that strong.
"I'm not going to tell you if you're just going to make fun of me," Rachel snapped.
"Ray, you know I'm just teasing you. I wouldn't actually make fun of you," He said, flashing her an earnest grin, completely sincere, goofy and real.
"Don't worry about it. It's no trouble to me if I don't share it with you. I just thought I'd help you out," Rachel replied, shaking her head as she tried to mask the laugh filled smile that was starting to spread across her face.
That was another thing other Sam could do to her.
No matter how upset he made her, no matter how much trouble he caused for her or how angry she became with him, he could get her to smile as though he were the funniest person in the entire world. He could make her burst out laughing even when she only wanted to be angry and bitter towards him. He was that person, the one who could make her turn to hysterics when she didn't even want to smile.
He was goofy and lovable, like the puppy she had always wanted but had always been told no by her parents. He was like the dorky boy next door who had an answer for everything and it never failed to cheer Rachel up and change her mood within an instant.
Sometimes Kurt hated that he couldn't do that himself, because it meant calling up Sam and inviting him to tag along whenever Rachel was in one of those moods where all she wanted to do was eat junk food-especially chocolate-and watch musicals where everything always ended up okay in the end.
Still, Kurt loved that Sam was able to cheer her up because a hysterical Rachel was close to impossible to deal with. She'd pout and stomp her foot, she'd cry until her eyes ran out of tears and she'd refuse to speak until her voice became so hoarse from lack of use. She'd throw things and break things, slamming everything that she touched and tear apart her entire room, ruining her perfectly organized system for her closet, her desk, her dressers, and her CD collections.
Only Sam could pull her out of that type of funk, and Kurt was grateful for the blonde in those cases, because, even if he'd never admit it, Rachel scared him when she was in one of those moods. Absolutely terrified him.
"Ray, just tell me," Sam sighed.
"Fine," She relented, dropping down onto the foot of his bed. "I was thinking-you and Brittany seem to have gotten very close in only a few short days, and you usually take a long while to warm up to people, you know?" She asked.
"I liked you within seconds," Sam reminded her, looking down into his lap.
"I was different," Rachel insisted. "Anyways, you and Britt immediately hit it off and I was thinking…what if you two went on a date?" Rachel asked brightly.
"I thought you didn't like it when I dated your friends," Sam muttered, playing with the laces of his sneakers, still not looking up at her.
"And I had rules about dating my friends' brothers, but here I am, going on a date with Brittany's step brother Friday night," Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Just consider it, okay? I think it would be good for you-you really haven't dated before and it's something that everybody should try. You don't wanna look back on high school with all these regrets, do you? Take a chance and ask her out. What's the worst that can happen?" Rachel asked, voice bright.
Sam looked up at her, eyes narrowed in suspicious as his mouth formed a straight line, doing his best not to give any of his emotions away.
"What brought all of this on?" Sam asked.
"Nothing," Rachel answered quickly-too quickly.
"What did Kurt say?" Sam accused.
"It wasn't Kurt, actually. Brittany admitted to finding you attractive and I thought that it would be an excellent idea for you two to give it a try, because…well, I've noticed the way you look at her and it's not the way you look at other girls. You're different with her, Sammy, and it's a good different. You deserve to be like that all the time and I feel like if you two were dating you might be that guy more often. I like that side of you. It's like the Sammy I became friends with all of those years ago," Rachel admitted, voice soft as she went on with her explanation.
"Fine," Sam sighed.
"Really?" Rachel asked, eyes twinkling with excitement.
"Yes," Sam shook his head. "Now, can we go and get some frozen yogurt? Because that's kind of the entire point of these dates," He stuck his tongue out, reaching out to poke her in the shoulder.
"Let's go," She said, jumping to her feet and messing up his hair, taking off down the hallway before he had a chance to retaliate against her attack.
"You're dead meat, Berry," Sam called after her, sprinting after her.
And just like that, their entire conversation with Rachel's begging Sam to date another girl and Sam's agreement to pretty much use Rachel's best friend to move on from her and keep the brunette happy, was forgotten. Everything was back to normal for the both of them. Because that was just how their friendship worked-they never could be serious with one another for very long.
He reached her, slamming one hand against his passenger's side door, and then the other one so that she was pinned between his arms, trapped between himself and the car behind her. He smirked, looking down at her with a mischievous glint to his bright eyes, and moved his mouth towards her, resting it right beside her ear.
"Caught you," He whispered, the words low, coming from the back of his throat in a soft whisper, a few octaves lower than he usually spoke.
"And?" Rachel asked, tilting her head and smirking at him.
"That means you have to pay for the frozen yogurt," He smirked, pushing away from the car and making his way around the car, towards the driver's side.
"Don't I always do that?" She sighed, shaking out her wild and teased mane of loosely curled hair, bangs pulled back into a slight poof.
She dusted off her pleated, high waisted, white tennis skirt and retied the bottom of her mini green, button down tank top. An acid washed, leather, mint green satchel styled cross body bag hung over her shoulders, across her chest and dangled just past the bottom of her skirt. A pair of high heeled, mint green Mary Jane styled shoes added to her height and as soon as she got into the car, she slid her aviator sunglasses on over her eyes.
And then, just so nobody worried about where she and Sam ran off to, she fired off a text to Brittany, Puck and Kurt, manicured nails tapping against the back of her green and white, triangle patterned phone case as she typed up her message.
As Sam drove, Rachel reached for the radio and played their favorite mix CD, full of country songs that they could both sing along to and enjoy.
"I don't make you pay every time, do I?" Sam asked suddenly, turning to glance at her.
"No," Rachel replied quickly, looking down at her double C, golden necklace and twirling the logo around her fingertips. "Of course you don't. Besides, I want to pay for you," Rachel insisted, knowing her response had come out far too quickly for Sam to actually believe.
"You think I take advantage of you," Sam responded, glancing straight out of the window.
"Sammy, that's ridiculous. I always offer to pay and I'm the one who insists on it," Rachel shook her head, fiddling with her rings.
"Then why do you keep doing that?" He asked.
"Doing what?" She asked, sliding her golden bangles up and down her arms repeatedly, purposefully refusing to look at him.
"Fidgeting," He narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not," She lied, reaching up to tug on a golden hoop earring. "You're the one who's making me nervous with all this questions. What brought this on?" She accused, glaring down at her golden heart belly button ring.
"Nothing," Sam replied. "It's just…sometimes I feel like I'm your charity case or something," Sam replied, voice bitter.
"My charity case?" Rachel laughed. "Sam, I do things for you because I want to repay you for all you've done for me since we became friends! You're been loyal and protective of me ever since we met one another and I could never repay you for that," Rachel explained, turning towards him with a shocked expression.
"We're friends. Friends don't repay one another for doing things friends are supposed to do," Sam muttered, but he was already starting to lose his tough guy exterior as that proud smile started to make its way across his large, oversized mouth.
"Well, I don't want anybody to think I'm taking advantage of your brute strength," Rachel teased, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Oh, so that's why you keep me around?" Sam teased her, losing full control of his facial muscles at last as the smile broke out completely.
"Yeah, it is-but don't tell anybody," Rachel giggled.
"It's okay, I only keep you around for the food anyways," Sam stuck his tongue out. "You're a pretty good baker and those homemade cookies are the best. Especially the sugar cookies. And your dads send some pretty kick ass care packages,"He responded, smirking at her fem the corner of his eye.
And with that, they were both laughing, their awkward fight forgotten completely-the way things were supposed to be between the two of them.
"Rachel went on a date with Sam," Puck said, storming into Brittany's room and slamming the door shut behind him.
"What?" Brittany asked, glancing up from the textbook she'd been studying. She had an hour break between classes and had retreated to her dorm room for a quick snack and to make sure she stayed ahead in all of her classes.
"A date, Brittany-as in, they're going out. Together. To get frozen yogurt. Didn't you check your texts?" Puck growled, eyes dark as he spoke.
"I didn't think she meant real date," Brittany shrugged, running a hand through her straightened blonde locks.
She slammed her book shut, knowing she wouldn't be getting any work done and rolled off of the bed, straightening out the hem of her black and white Adios, t-shirt styled dress. She stuffed her feet into a pair of black, high topped, wedged sneakers and rolled her shoulders back.
"I mean, they do things all the time and refer to it as a date. And Kurt's usually with them." Brittany went on, sitting back down on the edge of her bed.
"Well, why'd she need to text us and let us know that they were going?" Puck asked.
"Because we all knew she had a break in her schedule at this time. Maybe she didn't want us to go looking for her and worry? Kurt has a habit to show up at her dorm and bang on the door, screaming her name out when she's not around and he doesn't know where she is," Brittany explained, tilting her head to the side.
"I still say there's something going on between them," Puck shook his head.
"Puck, what's going on? When have you ever cared about a girl you were trying to screw going around with another guy? Why do you even care what's going on with Rachel and Sam?" Brittany asked with a sigh, reaching towards her black covered phone case with the white font broadcasting to always dress like one was going to see their ex.
"Nothing," Puck denied, shoving aside Brittany's black backpack styled purse and her bedazzled black sunglasses so he could sit down at the foot of her bed.
"Don't lie to me. I'm your sister and I've known you since the third grade. Do you really think I don't know when something's bothering you by now?" She accused with an eye roll.
"Britt…she's not just a hook up," Puck sighed, reaching up and running a hand through his mohawk. "At least, I don't think of her as that. I want something….more," He explained.
"Aw, Puck! You're finally starting to develop feelings," She giggled, reaching out and wrapping her rubber bracelet clad arms around him tightly. Her thin, silver hoop earrings swayed against her hair as she moved, squeezing herself against him tightly and she could feel her sliver of body fat digging into the diamond studs of her cross belly button ring. Still, she clung to her stepbrother because he hadn't pushed her away yet and jumped to his feet, screaming at her for her antics and taking everything too far.
"Britt," He laughed, reaching behind him and grabbing her hands, forcing them to unlock their tight grip around him. He forced her to release her hold on him and slid slightly away from her, an amused smile on his face. "I guess I am," He admitted sheepishly.
"Don't be ashamed of that!" Brittany said, reaching out to slap him in the shoulder. "You should thrive in it, because it's something amazing! You're starting to act like a human. I've never been prouder of you before in my life," Brittany squealed.
"It doesn't matter, Britt," Puck shook his head. "Not if she's on a date with Blondie," He insisted.
"She's not. But, if you're so certain she is, text her and ask her what's up with the two of them. She swore to me that they're just friends and nothing more. Besides, she knows how I feel about him," Brittany shrugged.
"How you feel about him?" Puck asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I may have a small crush on Sam," Brittany admitted. "It's not really a big deal, besides, he's crazy about Rachel. But she thinks of him as a brother. She and I had a long talk about it," Brittany explained.
"You and Rachel are pretty close for two girls who just met," Puck observed.
"She's lonely. Something happened between her and her last roommate that she doesn't want to talk about, but it messed her up. She's been waiting for a girl that she could confide in, and she trusts me," Brittany explained.
"Her old roommate Santana?" Puck asked.
"I guess so," Brittany shrugged. "Rachel won't say her name. She doesn't say much about her, actually. And Kurt and Sam change the subject whenever the topic comes up," she explained, checking the time on her phone.
"Well, Santana was the one that her ex-boyfriend Jesse cheated on her with, and when Santana started packing her bags to move out and switch schools, she let Rachel know all about their relationship," Puck explained. "I wouldn't be very trusting after that, and I definitely wouldn't wanna be reminded of the bitch," He shrugged, climbing to his feet.
"How do you know that?" Brittany asked, narrowing her eyes after him.
"Mike told me," Puck shrugged, making his way from the room.
"And why were you and Mike talking about Rachel?" Brittany asked.
"Because I wanted to know that it was gonna take to win her over." Puck shrugged, not even bother to turn back around.
Because he was done with his conversation with Brittany. He had gotten the information he needed and he had pretty much gotten Brittany's approval to go on and make a move on Rachel. And that was all that he had gone in there for.
Kurt was pretty sure he had the worst luck in the entire school.
Not only did all of his friends have a free period while he was stuck in some boring science class that he was sure he'd never need for his future, but he was stuck in that god awful chemistry class with none other than Kitty Wilde and Quinn Fabray.
And it was the worst chemistry class to be in, because their teacher picked out the lab groups, which worked in groups of four. Not that it would have helped Kurt if he could pick out his own partners, since he didn't have a single friend in the class, the closest one being Finn Hudson, and Kurt sucked at science too much to willingly risk his grade to be lab partners with the boy he'd had a crush on for so long.
Besides, he was over Finn, especially since he had been forced to deal with the fact that Finn was crazy about Rachel and would do anything to get her, just to prove that he could and to ensure that he had a girlfriend who wouldn't run off and ditch him for somebody better. And Kurt was sure that Finn would love to take something of value from Sam as well.
Still, no matter how awful he had thought his year in chemistry was going to be, he had never dreamt that he would be partnered up with not only Finn Hudson, but both of the blonde twins.
He was ready to drop out of school and try to make it on Broadway from that young age, because there was no way he would be able to pass the course if he dumped toxic chemicals on the pretty blonde head of his two new lab partners or got distracted by his old feelings for Finn, getting lost in his eyes.
He was going to need some major recreational spa time with Rachel and Brittany that weekend and every weekend to follow if he was going to make it through the school year without ripping out his perfectly styled hair or tearing apart his carefully planned out outfits that cost him a small fortune and wasted plenty of his time to find at thrift stores and online at cheap, affordable prices.
"Well, I hope that somebody here is good at chemistry," Kitty replied with an eye roll as she dropped down onto a lab stool across from Kurt. "Because science is so not my forte," She explained, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"School isn't your forte, Kitty," Quinn replied, rolling her own eyes at her friend and reaching out to give the girl a playful push of the shoulders.
"I'm pretty, not smart," Kitty pouted, sticking out her bottom lip at her friend.
"Sucks for you-I'm both," Quinn bragged, sticking her tongue out.
Kurt had to fight back a laugh. The girls almost seemed human and that was something he had never thought would come from the pair of them. They were acting as real friends, whereas Kurt had always thought that Kitty followed Quinn around blindly because she was secretly jealous of the girl and lived off of the perfect blonde's table scraps.
It had never once occurred to Kurt that they might be friends because they actually liked one another and enjoyed each other's company. He had merely assumed that they were friends out of necessity-because nobody else wanted to be friends with them and they feared being alone more than anything else.
He was pretty sure nobody had thought that their friendship had stemmed from the normal roots of a friendship. They just didn't seem like the type of girls who made friends that they planned on keeping after high school was over.
"What are you gawking at, Porcelain?" Kitty sneered, whipping her head around and glaring at Kurt.
"Shouldn't you be focusing your attention on Franken-teen over there? I'd think he was a little bit more your type than we were," Quinn replied, her bitchy tone taking over as she rolled her eyes at him, refusing to spare him a real glance.
And just like that, Kurt regretted thinking that the girls might actually be human. They didn't have a compassionate bone in their entire body and he had been a fool for thinking otherwise. They were just bitches and they had learned how to get along and laugh with one another because they didn't have anybody else to talk to or joke around with. They had started off as friends out of necessity, but they had been forced to become actual friends when it was made clear they would never have a real friend.
And in a way, Kurt felt sorry for them both.
"I was actually looking at your outfits and trying to figure out where you thought those ensembles made sense," Kurt snapped, his inner snarky gay boy coming out as he narrowed his eyes at the pair of blondes, refusing to let them bother him. He was better than them-but that didn't mean he couldn't put them in their place when they deserved a good bitch-out.
And besides, they did look ridiculous.
Quinn looked far too formal for school, in a tribal print, strapless dress with a loose, flowing black skirt that ended just a few inches below her butt, much shorter than it actually should have been. A pair of wedged, thick strapped sandals added to her height and showed off her pedicure, matching her pretty manicure. A silver, diamond cross hung around her neck with a matching bracelet around her slender wrist. Like always, she wore her purity ring proudly. Silver cross earrings hung from her ears, dangling down around her. Black sunglasses pushed her hair back-a foolish mistake as it broke hair to do such a thing-and a black quilted case covered her phone. And her purse for the day was a black, leather mini backpack.
It wasn't absolutely horrible, but it was too much and it was too dark. Everything was plain and black, except for those sparkling silver crosses that broadcasted her religion and reminded Kurt that she believed he should be burned alive for his sexuality. She was constantly insulting him for being gay and she was always trying to 'save' him because of his lifestyle.
And then there was Kitty, who had taken the exact opposite approach of Quinn, in a pair of distressed shorts and a black tank top with some cheerleading thing written in colorful, block-like font. Black Converse with colorful tongues covered her feet. She wore a hot pink cross body bag as her purse and her phone was covered in a hot pink, gel case. She had tossed her pink sunglasses onto the lab station upon her arrival, as she was always tossing her things around, constantly losing them.
A silver cheerleading necklace hung around her neck, arms stacked up and covered with colorful bangles, mostly in various shades of pinks, oranges and purples. In her ears were black, heart shaped studs.
"What are you? The fashion police?" Quinn rolled her eyes.
"Just because you dress in everything features in this month's Vogue doesn't mean you're fashionable," Kitty replied bitterly.
"Um, that's actually exactly what it means," Kurt replied, smirking at the girl who put a truth to all of those blonde cliches and stereotypes.
"Are you three going to fight like this all year?" Finn asked cautiously, slipping into his seat besides Kurt. "Because I don't know if I'm gonna be able to deal with that one," He flashed that carefree, goofy grin that had always managed to make Kurt's heart stop before.
But there was something else distracting him at that moment and it was the gorgeous male who had just waltzed into the room, dressed in bright red skinny jeans with a thin black belt, cuffed at the ankle to show off his checkered, slip on Vans. He wore a white polo shirt, tucked into the pants and her on plastic, bright red sunglasses with dark frames, which he quickly removed to reveal wide, hazel eyes that were so heavy on the green Kurt could barely pick out the brown and golden hues.
He had deep, olive skin with a head full of perfectly gelled, dark chocolate brown curls, so perfectly sculptured and colored that they appeared to be a jet black. He was tall and muscular, bare arms solid and thick. Kurt could just barely detect a firm set of abs beneath the thin material of his white shirt and the jeans hugged his leg muscles tightly, showing them off with each step he took.
"Sorry I'm late," he said, every word perfectly enunciated and a flawless, straight, bright white smile flashed at the teacher. He was the type of charismatic student that could win anybody over. "I actually just arrived on campus this morning. There was a delay in my flights. I took care of it all over in the main office, but I wasn't sure if they informed you yet. I'm Blaine Anderson," He said.
Blaine Anderson. Kurt Hummel. Blaine and Kurt-Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel. Kurt Anderson. Blaine Hummel. Kurt Anderson-Hummel. Blaine Hummel-Anderson. It just sounded right. It sounded perfect. Kurt could see it all before them.
"Yes," Mrs. Carlson replied, her low, sultry voice that made her a favorite amongst most of the male students, despite her strict rules and incredibly tough curriculum, not even gaining the slightest reaction from the newcomer. That was a sign in the right direction, for Kurt's sake at least. "It would appear all of my lab groups are full, however. I'll have to put you in another group and you'll have to figure out how to work with five rather than four. The scheduling this year was a mess," She mused, scanning the room.
Kurt pleaded, silently with his eyes, for her to select their group.
"Why don't you go over and join Mr. Hummel's group," She declared, eyes locked on Kurt who silently, mentally, celebrated this small victory.
He jumped to his feet and smiled towards the boy.
"Kurt Hummel," He said as soon as Blaine had approached.
"Blaine Anderson-you're the co-captain of the Glee Club, aren't you?" He asked, flashing that smile and revealing two adorable dimples.
"Yes," Kurt said.
Yet another mark for this boy playing for Kurt's team. No way would a boy who already knew the captains of a Glee club and gush over meeting one of them be straight. Besides, looking at his outfit was like waving a rainbow colored flag, almost as much as Kurt's own did.
"Is it too late for me to try out?" Blaine asked.
"Of course not! I'll arrange an audition for you right away," Kurt insisted, answering the question almost too quickly.
And if he hadn't been so distracted by Blaine's appearance, he probably would have noticed Kitty and Quinn share a devious look with one another, their minds always working on a plan to humiliate Kurt for his insults.