the story of us

I Just Wanna Know You Better

Sam loved Pride Parades. Kurt and Blaine had invited him to join them when they went each summer for the last few years and he never turned it down. All of the colors, the happiness, and the empowerment of the event was so thrilling for him.

For Pride 2020, he was wearing a T-shirt that had a progress flag on it and had the words "we're all in this together" printed on the back. Kurt wore a feathered boa and Blaine had rainbow suspenders on.

"I'm gonna go get a water bottle. Do you guys need anything?" Sam asked his bros.

Kurt waved his steel water bottle in Sam's face, a reminder of when he told Sam to bring his own so he wouldn't have to buy plastic ones. "Ok, ok," Sam said. "I'll see ya."

Once he bought a water bottle, he tried to spot his friends in the crowd. He figured they'd be way ahead of him so he didn't stress too much about catching up. He always met such cool people at these things, so it's not like he'd be missing out on the fun.

The last thing that he expected, though, was to see an ex-girlfriend of his... especially Quinn Fabray.

"Quinn?!"

She turned to look at him and took of her sunglasses. When she recognized him, she walked up to him with a big smile on her face. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Sam grinned and shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing."

Quinn just waited for an answer.

"I'm here with Kurt and Blaine. Well, I was. I'm not sure where they are now."

She put her sunglasses back on to shield the brutal sun and they started walking together. "Well, I'm here looking for a good time."

There was something in her voice that told Sam that she didn't mean a good time as in "a nice walk to celebrate gay pride."

She noticed him staring and bumped her shoulder against his. "How's it going back in Lima, Mr. Evans?" Quinn chuckled at the thought of him being a teacher. "Has Mr. Schue turned down a set list yet?"

"No, it's going really well! We made it to Regionals, did a Britney Spears tribute. The crowd went wild. We would've made it to Nationals if we'd had some more going on, but we don't have a lot of students this year."

Quinn sighed. "Well, I'm sure it was great. How are other things? Yknow...have you found another nurse to drool over yet?"

"No. You?"

It was a loaded question, and they both knew it.

"I mean, a few little things here and there. Most recently, a falling out with a co-worker that ended up with her getting fired and me getting a promotion."

"That sounds like a long story," Sam said.

"It is." The way Quinn said it told Sam that they wouldn't keep talking about it. He got an idea.

He stopped walking and turned to face Quinn. "What do you say we make plans for lunch tomorrow?"

"I leave town in the morning," Quinn said, her eyes locking with Sam's. "How about tonight?"

His face turned bright red and he ran his fingers through his hair, not sure how to respond. He hadn't really talked to Quinn since graduation, so it felt kind of unreal that this was even an option.

Quinn grabbed his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I'll call you." Then she walked away, leaving Sam flustered and confused.

~•~•~•~

That night, 7 pm.

Blaine was lounging on the couch with a theatre magazine when he saw Sam walking towards the door.