Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Losing My Religion.

Note: Gah, I know, what's up with Rory? Soon, my dears. This chapter sort of wrote itself, but I promise all will be better by chapter 9.

I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think, I thought, I saw you try

"Rory, can we please talk about this?" Sam banged on the guest room door. "Rory? Oh, come on. You can't stay in there forever." He hadn't seen or heard a word out of Rory since last night, and he was getting worried. "Okay, well, I'll be in my room…" Sighing, he spun around and walked smack into Stacy.

"What's wrong with Rory?"

"He's not feeling very well," Sam lied.

"Did you do it?" She whispered.

"Look, Stace, I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," she whimpered. "I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes; why did they always have to guilt-trip him like this? "I like Rory, and he likes me. But it's just not gonna work out between us. I wish it would, but it can't. He doesn't want to be my boyfriend. No matter how much I want him to be."

Rory, who had been listening to every word Sam had been saying, slid against the wall and curled himself into a ball. He hadn't known that Sam wanted to actually date him. He wished he could be with Sam. He wished it with all of his heart. But he knew he couldn't. It would destroy everything, and he couldn't chance that. Sam didn't know anything about his past. He didn't know everything that Rory was hiding, the things he hadn't told to anyone. Maybe it was time he told someone what was going on. Anyone but Sam. Anyone, anyone but Sam. He fished his cell phone from under a pile of dirty clothes and dialed a number he had only called once or twice before. He held his breath as it rang. "Hullo, Kurt? Yes, yes it's Rory. Happy New Year to you, too. Is Blaine there with you? Great, can you put him on speakerphone? I have to ask you two something. It's about something that happened between me and Sam last night…"

Next Day

"Well, let's head back to Lima now," Sam said half-heartedly. Rory blinked. He hadn't spoken to Sam since their disastrous kiss the other night. The only contact the blue-eyed boy had had outside of the twins was Kurt and Blaine, who had given him sound advice on what to do next. He wasn't quite ready to talk to Sam about what he was feeling just yet. He climbed into the truck, slipping his headphones on so he wouldn't have to talk to Sam the ride back. He just turned his Celtic music on full-blast, losing himself in the familiar words, finding it easier to listen to his native language than English. Sam drove in stony silence, occasionally glancing over at the Irish boy, who was lost in his own world. He didn't know how he did it, but he made it the four hours back to Lima. He wordlessly dropped Rory off at Brittany's house and drove back to the Hummel-Hudson home, where he was immediately pounced upon by Kurt.

"What in the world happened the other night?" Kurt demanded.

Sam did a double-take. "Kurt, what are you talking about?"

"Rory called me and Blaine," Kurt folded his arms across his chest. "He told me that you kissed him out of the blue. Now, my gaydar proved to be right about you, but what gives you the right to just go around kissing boys who you don't even know are straight or not? Like, what if I just went up to some boy on the street and kissed him? Hmm?"

"Then you wouldn't have a boyfriend anymore," Sam said honestly.

Kurt dropped his signature bitch glare. "My point is," he said through clenched teeth, "you really shouldn't have done that. Do you know how upset Rory is about this? He called me practically in tears."

"He…he said he likes me, though," Sam sputtered. "He told me he does."

"Well, you clearly upset him," Kurt said exasperatedly. "Do you know he's considering leaving after midterms because of what you did?" The look on Sam's face told Kurt his answer. "Do you know that he can't handle a relationship right now? God, Sam, you're such an idiot."

"I…I'm so sorry…" Sam choked out. "I…I'll be in my room…" he dropped his bags in the foyer and ran up the stairs two at a time, slamming the door to his pseudo-bedroom shut.

Kurt stomped into the living room, muttering curses under his breath. "I can't believe it!"

"You didn't tell him?" Blaine looked surprised.

"How could I?" Kurt huffed. "No, we'll let Rory tell Sam himself. I'm just so frustrated with Sam right now."

"He couldn't help his actions," Blaine reasoned. "He's a teenage boy. Of course he's going to act on his feelings. I mean, where would you and I be if I didn't take that chance?"

Kurt softened. "I guess you're right. But what should we do? Poor Rory is so shattered by this decision. I don't want him to miss out on being in a relationship with Sam."

"If I know Rory, he'll make the right choice in the end. Like you and I did," Blaine smiled. "Come here." Kurt went and sat on Blaine's lap. "What did I tell you?"

"Courage," Kurt gave him a tiny smile.

"And what did you do?" Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist.

"I told you that I liked you," Kurt sighed, having gone through this routine before.

"And then what happened?" Blaine's hand caressed Kurt's cheek.

"You finally woke up," Kurt murmured. "And we fell in love."

"That's right," Blaine reached up to kiss Kurt tenderly. "With any luck, they will too."

Later

"Sam? Can I come in?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "Whatever."

Finn stood awkwardly in the doorway. "So, um, you're like, gay now?"

"Bisexual, I think," Sam said weakly.

Finn nodded. "It's okay with me, bro."

"Thanks," Sam muttered.

Finn frowned. "You alright? You look miserable, man."

"I'm fine," Sam tried to keep his voice even. "Just had a long week back home."

"Okay," Finn seemed to accept this for now. "Let me know if you wanna talk."

"Yep," Sam stared straight ahead at the wall. Finn, not knowing what was going on but not wanting to get involved, stepped out of the room and went to his own. Sam hardly slept that night. His mind kept whirling with the possibilities of why Rory didn't want to get involved with anyone romantically while he was abroad and why he insisted that he couldn't be with him. He knew it wasn't because Rory was totally straight or anything like that. And he was pretty sure it wasn't the age difference. Maybe Rory just didn't like long-distance relationships. Maybe his parents didn't know that he liked boys sometimes, and they weren't okay with that. And if they weren't, Sam certainly didn't want to risk Rory being kicked out of his home or anything. Maybe…maybe…maybe…

Sam's eyes met Rory's in the hall at school the day after. The blue-eyed boy ducked his head and stared down at his sneakers as he walked away to class. Sam wanted to run after him, to tell him that he was sorry and that he just wanted them to be okay again.

"Sam!" The blonde turned around to see Artie wheeling towards him. "How was your Christmas?"

"Good," Sam said. "How was yours?"

"Awesome," Artie declared. "Hey, so I was thinking, maybe we can have a Star Wars marathon sometime soon?"

"Sure," Sam shrugged. "This weekend, maybe?"

"Sounds good," Artie fist-bumped him. "Cool. Well, see you in Glee."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "See you then."

Glee rehearsal was tense, as Sam and Rory weren't speaking to each other. Rory sat on one side of the room, chatting and laughing with Kurt and Blaine, while Sam sulked in the opposite corner. "You feeling okay?" Mercedes asked kindly.

"Tired," he mumbled. It hurt him, to see Rory smiling and talking to Kurt and Blaine. Why could he talk to them and not him? Why, all of a sudden, was he animated and talkative? He tried to pick up on some of their conversation but realized they were speaking French (had Rory lied about speaking French, too?) and Sam again had no clue what they were saying. That made three languages that Rory could speak fluently, and Sam was insanely jealous that he could only speak English. His shoulders tensed even more when Mercedes began to chat with Tina about potentially going on a double-date with her boyfriend, Shane, Mike, and Tina that weekend. It still hurt, that Mercedes had dumped him and hadn't waited for him to come back and was dating a guy who Sam didn't like.

But he thought Rory rejecting him was the harshest rejection of all.

He had Artie over on Saturday for an ultra-Star Wars marathon. Artie had brought all six movies with him, and they intended on watching all of them in order to finally settle the old-vs.-new debate once and for all. Artie preferred the original trilogy, while Sam adored the newer trilogy. He helped Artie get downstairs to the recreation room and lifted him from his chair to the couch, as he had done so many times before. He never had minded doing favors for Artie. Artie was one of his closest friends, and shared his love of science-fiction movies. Sam wasn't afraid to let his true nerdy colors shine through around Artie, and felt comfortable with the handicapped boy. Sam popped Episode I: The Phantom Menace into the DVD player and settled back on the couch with Artie.

"Okay, Jar Jar Binks is the worst character ever to be added to a franchise," Artie complained. "He screws everything up for the later movies."

"No way," Sam shook his head. "If he hadn't screwed everything up, then the first three movies would've been pointless!"

"Never insult the original Star Wars trilogy," Artie's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"I didn't insult them! You insulted the prequels!"

"Oh just because you have the hots for Amidala and I'm a sucker for Leia…"

Artie ended up falling asleep sometime during Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Sam chuckled to himself and moved closer to Artie, letting the bespectacled boy rest his head on his shoulder so that he might be more comfortable.

Unfortunately, he picked the wrong moment to do just that. Rory came downstairs—when had he come over?—and froze immediately upon seeing the scene.

"What…what are you doing here?" Sam's eyes grew wide with concern.

"Kurt offered to help me with a solo for Glee club, and then asked if I would sleep over. I came down here to find the sleeping bag he said was in the closet."

"Oh, yeah, it's over there," Sam gestured behind him. Why had Kurt invited Rory over for a sleepover? How did I not know that Rory was over here?

"I see how it is," Rory said in a tight, clipped voice. "They were right. You are a player, and I see that clearly now."

"What?" Sam said, perhaps a little too loudly, because Artie woke up.

"Hey, what's going on?" He blinked rapidly. "Rory, what are you doing here?"

"How long were you going to play me like this, Samuel Evans?"

"You think I'm playing you?" Sam stood up furiously. Artie fell over. "Sorry, Artie. Rory, I can't believe you think I was playing you the other night."

"Well, this didn't look very friendly, what with the lights being off and Artie's head being on your shoulder. Sam, how could you betray me like this?"

"Betray you?" Sam yelled. "I didn't freaking betray you! Look, Artie fell asleep, I moved him a little so he wouldn't hurt his neck too much, and that was it! It's not like he can move himself into a more comfortable position!"

"Um, right here," Artie waved. "I can hear everything you're saying."

"I can't believe I ever fell for you, Samuel," Rory hissed.

Kurt came barreling downstairs. "What the hell is going on down here?"

"Kurt, stay out of this," Sam clenched his jaw.

"Rory, come upstairs with me. Forget the sleeping bag. Whatever feud you're having with Sam can wait until morning, when we're all more awake and sane. Deal, boys?"

"Fine," Sam spat.

"Whatever," Rory mumbled. His eyes flashed dark with hurt as he climbed the stairs, Kurt trailing behind him.

"What," Artie looked from the stairs to Sam and back again, "the hell was that about?"

"Nothing," Sam stared at the closed basement door, breathing heavily. "Nothing…"

"Bullshit," Artie declared. "Sam, I'm your best friend. Tell me the truth."

"Fine," Sam huffed and spun around. "I'm in love with that boy, okay? Happy now?"

"Rory?" Artie tweaked his glasses. "Um, this is an unexpected revelation, Sam." He tweaked his glasses again. "So you're, uh, gay or what?"

"Bisexual," Sam sighed. "And I guess Rory thought you and I are involved and I'm playing him…see, we kind of sort of maybe kissed on New Year's Eve…"

"How do you kind of sort of maybe kiss someone? Either you kissed or didn't."

"Okay, so we did," Sam said all in one breath. "And now Rory's more confused that ever about if he wants to be with me or not, and since when did he and Kurt become friends?"

"Sam, you need to relax," Artie said calmly. "Now, tell me the story from the beginning. Maybe I can help you out here. Granted, my track record isn't that great but I'd be willing to try and help in any way that I can. We're best friends; I just want you to be happy. I don't care that you're bi. Hell, Kurt and I have been friends since we were toddlers and I don't care that he's gay and has a boyfriend."

Sam sat back down. "Thanks," he said after a few moments.

"You're welcome," Artie said. He cleared his throat. "So, tell me the story."

Sam sighed. "It all started when I got back from Kentucky…"

To be continued…