butterflies ⋮ sam evans

74 | "homecoming"

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With everyone back in town for Homecoming and helping to rebuild the Glee club, Mr. Shue had invited all the alumni who were in town over to his and Emma's house for dinner. Sam and Keilani had gotten there the same time as Puck, who was in his Air Force uniform despite not being on duty.

Keilani couldn't help but ask, "Is it, like, required for you to wear your uniform everywhere?"

"Are you kidding? I'm never taking this thing off. The perks I get just for wearing this is incredible," Puck pointed out. "Plus, MILFs love men in uniform."

"Jesus Christ..." Keilani muttered. "Respect the troops, ladies and gentleman."

"You say that, but who's getting that 10% discount at Old Navy while you're paying full-price like a chump."

"I'm walking away from his conversation, have a good night."

Part of the reason Keilani was so quick to walk away from Puck was that she noticed Blaine walk in, and she wanted to make sure she was there with Kurt on the other side of the living room. While Keilani was not physically there when the engagement had fallen apart, her and Mercedes had been there for Kurt in every other way they could. From Skype movie night with their favorite pints of ice cream to helping him break the news to everyone that the wedding wasn't happening, Keilani and Mercedes had tried to be there every step of the way.

Mercedes carefully laid a hand on Kurt's arm when they saw Blaine walk in the room. "I'll be alright," Kurt said without being prompted, as if he could read both of their minds. "I figured I'd be seeing him around a lot anyways, so I've been preparing for this for a while."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt," Keilani said quietly.

"I'm just going to ignore him and hope he doesn't start up a conversation. As long as I don't talk to him, I'll make it through this evening."

As it turned out, it wasn't going to be Kurt who would be having a difficult time that evening. It was going to be Keilani who struggled to make it through the evening, and it was all because of a certain Rachel Berry.

The beginning of the dinner had started out relatively normal. Keilani did notice how Rachel seemed intent on sitting next to Sam and how she seemed to be looking at him a lot, but she didn't too much of it.

It was when Rachel rested her hand on top of Sam's that Keilani nearly dropped her fork in shock. Sam pulled his hand away immediately and hid it under the table, choosing to place it on Keilani's knee. He side-eyed Keilani, trying his best to be subtle but still express that he definitely wasn't a fan of what she had just done.

The rest of the dinner passed without any more major incidents, but the interaction hadn't left Keilani's mind. After dinner, the group hung around for a while longer, taking the opportunity to catch up more and eat dessert. While she wanted to talk to Sam, she didn't want to do it in the middle of Mr. Shue's house – especially with Rachel within earshot.