Out of The Mouths of Babes (1/1)
Title: Out of the Mouths of Babes
Rating: G
Character(s)/Pairing(s): mentions of Quinn/Sam, Santana/Sam, past!Puck/Quinn and onesided!Sam/Kurt possibly
Author Notes: Based on spoilers (confirmed and unconfirmed). One, that Sam is getting a little brother and sister cast, two, that little brother might be named Cody based on tweets between Dianna and Naya, and three, the really unconfirmed spoiler that Sam might get kicked out of his home in 2x19.
Warning: I don't know. Sappiness?
Disclaimer: Spoilers up to 2x14, plus those unconfirmed spoilers
Summary: Emily wonders why her brother is acting so weird lately
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“Don't be sad, Emily.” Sam pats her head and kneels down. “You're going to make a lot of new friends at your new school. I mean look at your pigtails and awesome lunch box. I'll be surprised if you don't have twenty people begging to be your best friend by the end of the day.”
She looks up at him and feels a little better. She was old enough now to know that Sam didn't exactly know everything (she could pick out his spelling mistakes). But he was right about these kinds of things. Cody had been a jerk and told her that first grade was a million times harder than kindergarten and that all teachers were so much meaner, but Sam had reassured her that First Grade was still as fun as kindergarten, you just had a few more responsibilities. And Sam was right.
“But what if I get bullied?”
“Remember what we practiced?” Sam says offering his fist. She giggles and bumps it. “Just don't use unless there's a good reason. I don't want Mom being mad at me for exposing you to “those violent comics”.”
“What about you though? Are you going to make friends?”
His smile falters for a second and he laughs. “Of course. I'm going the quarterback and most popular boy in school. You're going get to come to all the games and cheer me on.”
“I'm going to be Quarterback one day.”
“That's right and head cheerleader. Come on Emmasaurus, let's get you to school. Mom will be mad again if you're late.”
“Weird.” Cody says looking appreciatively at his brother's shoulder.
Sam manages to give him a half grin. “I know. Maybe I'll have superpowers now.”
“It hurts right?” Emily asks
“Not much.” Sam tries to shrug, but it doesn't work and he just mutters something under his breath. “I'm sorry I wasn't cool, Emily during our first game. I promise I'm going to be Quarterback again. Soon. I just need to work a little harder. You'll be proud of me.”
“So how was school?” Mom asks at dinner.
“I won the prize for best drawing in art class.” and may have gotten a bad mark on the geography test, but they didn't need to know that.
“Fine.” Cody says in between mouthfuls off potato and corn.
“I joined glee club.”
Everyone turns to look at Sam, who has his head down, He usually doesn't say much more than Cody, or he'll make some offhand comment about football.
“Glee club?” Mom asks.
“It's just like choir at church, Mom. They sing at events and stuff.”
“As long as it doesn't interfere with football or your schoolwork.” Dad shrugs and takes a sip of water.
“There's a duet assignment. One of the kids already asked me to sing with them.”
“Oh really?” Mom is suddenly excited. “What's she like?”
Sam looks down at his plate again for a second. “It's not like that.”
“Oh it will be though, I'm sure. Boys and girls, can't spend that much time alone together without something happening.”
“Don't get her pregnant.”
“Fred! Not at the dinner table.” She hisses looking at Emily out of the corner of her eye.
“So what's the person you're singing with like?” Emily asks Sam, as Mom and Dad start talking about the Ohio weather.
“It's hard to explain. I just met them once,” he looks out the window. “But they send me like 60 Mp3s of them singing and they have nice voice. I thought they were Faith Hill.”
“Can I meet them?”
“Maybe. I'll see how this duet goes.” He smiles a little and goes back to eat his dinner.
The next day, he comes home and doesn't say anything about the duet. Whenever, Emily tries to ask he changes the subject or offers to help her build Lego structures.
The day after, he finally answers her, when they're wishing the dishes together. She always gets to dry the forks off.
“The other person canceled it. H-They thought it would be the best, for both of us.” Sam says. “It's fine. I'm doing it with someone even better. This girl named Quinn we're going to sing Lucky together. Hey, we might even win, and I'll get a date to Breadstix.”
Emily doesn't like Quinn. She knows she should. She knows she really should. Quinn is nothing, but nice to her, and is always offering to help comb her hair or take her shopping. Also, sometimes she looks at Emily and seems to have this sad and regretful look in her eyes. Sam mentioned that something really sad happened to her last year, so Cody and her should be extra nice to Quinn.
But it's not the way Quinn treats her that bugs Emily. It's the way, Sam started acting differently around her. He never makes references to those cool shows he watches, or does impressions of Darth Vader around Quinn. He just sat there holding her hand and agreeing with everything she said. It's so annoying.
Besides, that stupid Hannah Puckerman is always making saying stuff to her now about it. How it's not fair, how it was suppose to be her brother going out with Quinn. She says mean things about Sam that make Emily want to punch her (even though her mother would get mad and lecture her for hours on proper behavior).
It's only when she sees him selling his old comics that she said anything to him though.
“I thought you really like reading those,” She says. “You always used to read them to me when you baby sat.”
“I do like them, Emmasaurus.” He shrugs. “But getting money to take Quinn on dates and buying her things is more important. I've got to grow up sometime.”
“But-”
“Hey, you want to see something?” He smiles and pulls out a box opening it. “I'm going to give it to Quinn later this week. What do you think?”
“It's stupid. Why are you selling things you like, and acting boring because of her?”
“Hey, don't say things about Quinn. She's going to be my girlfriend.”
“You're stupid too now. You don't even help me make Lego houses anymore.” She stomps away to her room.
A few days later, Sam comes home with a black eye. Even, though she hadn't been talking to him at this point, she was curious enough to ask what happened (and worried).
“I told Mom and Dad that I hit my head, but can you keep a secret?” He says leaning back in the rocking chair.
She nods.
“I got in a fight.”
“Was it for a good reason?” Sam told her that people should only punch others to defend someone weaker or to protect themselves. It was what Captain America or Spider-man would do he explained.
“Probably,” he sighs. “The person shoved Mike for telling him to back off another one of our friends, Kurt.”
“Why are people picking on him?”
“Because Kurt likes boys more than he likes girls.”
“He hates girls?”
“No it's not like that. A lot of friends are girls actually. It's complicated. He likes boys like Dad likes Mom and his old girlfriend before Mom.”
“Okay. Why do they pick on him for that?”
“I don't know, Emily. But it's wrong for them to do it. Nobody should ever do that to another person because of that. It's just wrong,” he whispers the last part.
Emily walks over and gives him a hug. He returns it rocking back and forth slowly.
“I won't pick on anyone. I promise.”
“I'm glad.”
Months pass. Quinn did accept the stupid ring and is suddenly at their house for dinner every Sunday. Her mom and Mom get along great. Dad tells Sam to take Quinn hunting. Sam never talks about Avatar or Star Wars or comics anymore. He just goes on dates with Quinn.
The last game of the season. He's not quarterback, but he seems happy when he's performing the halftime number with his glee club. Emily only saw him perform that one time (they never went to Sam's competitions, even though he had that solo the first time). It was really cool (They were dressed like zombies), but her parents didn't seem thrilled. She sees a sad looking boy, dancing and making motions to the routine. She remembers seeing him in some pictures Sam showed her of his glee club friends. He was the one that got picked on, Kurt. When she asked about it a few days later, Sam tells her he's going to new school. He seems upset about it, like he could have done something to prevent it.
A few weeks later, something seems to happen. He suddenly starts to wear his hair like Justin Bieber and dress like him. He sings Baby with her while they do the dishes, and it feels like he's finally back (even if it's a weird pop star version of him).
At the end of the week, he tells everyone at dinner that he's stopped dating Quinn. He already has a new girlfriend, Santana. He doesn't seem particularly happy about it. But he goes back to making Star Wars and Avatar references.
She comes over less than Quinn did. She always seems really polite in front of their parents. But she has no problems with outright insulting Sam. She also has this really weird obsession with his mouth. At least, Sam stood up for himself.
“I don't understand,” she asks him once. “Why are you the boyfriend of someone you don't like?”
“It's easier than being alone,” he says tying his last lace with some difficulty before he leaves to go to a party at one of his friend's homes.
She frowns. It doesn't make any sense.
One night, she wakes up to noises downstairs. Yelling (she only catches certain words like “How could you do this to us?”), pacing and a glass breaking. Finally, her Dad roars “Get out!” and the front door slams. She goes to the window and sees Sam standing on the lawn walking away from their house, backpack on his shoulders.
“Sam!” she calls through the window. She races down the stairs, out the door and onto his arm. “Why are you going?”
“Mom and Dad are kicking me out.” His eyes are red, and he looks sad and tired.
“Why? Did you fail a test?”
“No,” he kneels down. “It's because I like boys better than I like girls.”
“But you said it was wrong to pick on someone because of that.” Mom and Dad wouldn't do something that was wrong right? Tears start to trickle down her face.
“Hush,” He pulls her into a tight hug and starts stroking her hair. “It's going to be fine. I'm going to be just fine.”