Chapter Text
Sam Evans had never met his grandfather. Ethan Evans had died long before he was born, yet Sam was still expected to drive out in the light rain to replace the flowers on his grandfather's grave. He wasn't entirely annoyed by the task. He knew his dad would have done it instead, but he was out of town for the week. So, there Sam Evans was, crouched under an umbrella, laying down flowers for a man he never knew. Sam attempted to feel mournful; he knew how much his grandma and father missed the guy. However, he felt nothing except for the cold air. After he stood back up, he noticed someone sat down a couple of gravestones away from him. For some reason, the mysterious figure seemed familiar to him. Curiosity getting the better of him, Sam decided to approach the person.
9 years ago, on that day, Kurt Hummel had said his final goodbyes to his mother. Over time, Kurt managed to almost fully recover from his mom's passing however, today was a particularly rough day for him. The events of the day led to him explaining what happened to his mom, collapsing into a heap on the muddy ground as tears raced down his cheeks. He covered his mouth with a shaking hand to prevent his sobs from being heard.
"It was horrible, Mom," the boy whimpered. "It was painful enough that he-"
"Excuse me," a voice cut in, causing Kurt to whip his head around to glare at the stranger interrupting his breakdown, "are you okay?"
"Sam?" Kurt sniffled, struggling to see the blond boy due to his blurry vision. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, hang on." Sam sat down beside his friend, covering him with his umbrella.
"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked, irritated that he was caught crying.
"Just delivering flowers," Sam told him. "Are you okay?" he repeated.
"Yeah, yeah," Kurt answered unconvincingly, and Sam waited patiently for him to be truthful. "9 years ago my mom died. A lot of crappy stuff happened at school over the past few days- worse than usual- and it all just... got to me." His bottom lip quivered as he tried to prevent himself from crying again.
Without warning, Sam pulled Kurt into a long, tight hug, stroking his back gently. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"
"I- I can't," Kurt stuttered, tears coursing down his cheeks. "He'll hurt me," he mumbled, not meaning for Sam to hear.
"Who will hurt you?" Sam demanded. "Kurt if someone threatened you, you have to do something about it. I promise he won't find out."
Taking a deep breath, realising there was no way to get out of it, Kurt informed Sam of the incidents that had occurred with Karofsky. His voice got quieter as he described how Karofsky kissed him harshly. Despite his volume being hardly above a whisper, he was aware that Sam could still hear him due to his reactions.
"And then he tried to kiss me again," Kurt explained, his voice quivering.
"What did you do?" Sam inquired, shocked.
Kurt went on to tell him how he pushed Karofsky back, unable to move from his spot due to being so terrified. Then he went on to recount how the day after Karofsky threatened to kill him if he ever told anyone how the violent male had kissed him.
Numerous thoughts of torturing Karofsky himself entered Sam's mind, however, he simply held Kurt close, comforting him. He knew that the brunet needed a friend more than a bodyguard.
"It'll be okay," Sam reassured him, wiping the tears that fell down his friend's face, "Don't worry."
The following day, Kurt and Mr Shue left Coach Sylvester's office feeling dissatisfied.
"Kurt!" Sam greeted the shorter male with a tense look on his face. From one glance he could see that Kurt was distressed and on edge.
"Sam." Kurt acknowledged the blond then turned to the teacher. "Mr Shue, can you give us a minute?" he requested.
"Okay, just hurry up. You're both already late to Glee Club," he told them, giving Kurt a sympathetic nod.
"Can you come with me?" Sam asked Kurt when Mr Shue was out of earshot.
When the countertenor nodded, Sam took his hand and led him to the compact janitors closet. Locking the door behind them, Sam took a deep breath and turned around to face Kurt.
"What happened in there?" he investigated. "You seem upset," he added before Kurt could deny anything happening.
"Well," Kurt bit his lip before proceeding to explain, "Mr Shue took me to Coach Sylvester's office for me to tell her about the..." he struggled to find the right word to describe the situation, "bullying."
"And?"
"She said she can't do anything because he hasn't physically hurt me enough for her to expel him..." Kurt whimpered, feeling hopeless.
Sam sighed at seeing how distraught and put out his friend was and decided to hug him. "The system is stupid," he muttered, smiling when he earned a giggle from Kurt.
However, his grin fell after he pulled back, seeing tears softly fall down Kurt's cheeks.
"I'm terrified to even be here... I don't know what he's going to do. He could kill me in the middle of the halls and no one would care!" Kurt cried, burying his face into Sam's chest. "Today started so well too, my dad and Carole got engaged..." he added, missing the happy memory.
"Don't worry," Sam consoled him, "I'll protect you no matter what."
Kurt looked up at him, his eyes filled with hope. Sam couldn't help but feel attracted to the male, despite his face being covered in salty tears. Slowly, he cupped Kurt's face in his hand and leaned in, connecting their lips.
After pulling back, Sam frowned upon seeing Kurt's alarmed face. "K- Karofsky," he muttered, memories flashing in his mind of the unconsented kiss between the boy and his bully.
"I- I'm sorry," Sam apologised, "I shouldn't have... But I'm not like Karofsky, Kurt. I wouldn't hurt you."
Kurt nodded. Even he had to admit that the kiss, though it was a surprise, was amazing. "I thought you were with Quinn," Kurt said. "Are you gay?"
"No, I'm bisexual," Sam informed him, "I came to terms with it a while ago. I dated a few guys at my old school, actually. You know, I was interested in you when I first saw you."
Kurt gasped. "Really? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I was planning on telling you when we were going to do the duet. But then you dropped out, so I assumed you weren't interested."
"Wait," Kurt realised something, horror filling his entire body, "you're with Quinn!" Kurt cursed himself for helping somebody cheat.
"We broke up a few days ago, Kurt," Sam told him, though he didn't seem heartbroken.
"Why, if I may ask?"
"I couldn't keep lying to myself, or her, about my feelings." Sam sighed.
Kurt wrapped his arms around the taller male, feeling his pain. After his debacle of a relationship with Brittany, he understood how it felt to be lying to yourself about who you really are.