Kurt marched into the kitchen, and was instantly annoyed to see Finn at the table with a glass of milk and one of his Dad's car magazines.

"I heard…" Finn said without looking up from the pages.

"Heard what?" Kurt wandered around getting various ingredients for a sandwich.

"Um…I don't know…that you dumped Blaine."

"None of your business, Finn," Kurt said dismissively. He started putting the ingredients back. He didn't really feel hungry anymore.

"Blaine actually became my friend, do you realize that!"

"You can still be his friend, Finn…"

Finn took a long sip of milk, thinking. He asked, "What were you and Sam doing in your room earlier?"

"Finn," Kurt finally lost it, he marched over to Finn at the table and stood across from him. "You are, like, the biggest hypocrite in the world, do you realize that? Do you remember how you and Rachel got your start! You thought Quinn was carrying your baby and you were still going after her!"

"I was in a hard place," Finn tried. "I felt all this responsibility to Quinn, you know? But, you know Quinn; she's so bossy…and needy…"

"And you just think Blaine's so perfect, and that I'm completely in the wrong here!" Kurt asked.

"No…" Finn immediately realized what he'd been doing. He'd felt so badly for Blaine that he didn't consider the other side of the story. "I'm sorry, Kurt…you're right…maybe this wasn't cool of me…"

"Thank you!" That's all he needed to hear. He started to turn away, but curiosity got the best of him. "How did you do it, Finn?" He asked. "Not just the first time…but this year, before Nationals. How did you know that Rachel wasn't just, like, an excuse to break up with Quinn?"

Finn sipped from his glass again, thinking hard. He stared off into space, smiling slightly as he spoke. "It was when Mr. Shue was reading that speech for coach Sylvester at the funeral. I realized that I felt tethered to Rachel…I guess I just really loved her, and I knew that I needed to be with her."

Kurt was silent. He remembered he'd been thinking about Blaine when Mr. Shue made that speech. Then, he remembered how hard he tried to feel that tether. He'd told himself that his problem was that he was bad with metaphors; that he didn't have to feel the way someone else expected him to feel. Love had to feel different for everyone.

But suddenly, he wasn't so sure. His mind jumped around from moment to moment. He thought about how comfortable and content he was around Sam, how his goofy smile was the last thing he thought about before he fell asleep at night. He was always looking forward to when he and Sam could hang out again. He realized that for a while now, those visits had been the highlight of his life.

Suddenly, he understood. Suddenly, he felt the tether.

"I am such an idiot…" He said quietly. He began stepping away from Finn. "I have to go!"

And then he ran to his car.

Sam's mother answered the door.

"Oh, hi Kurt… Sam didn't tell me that you were coming over…"

"Is he here?" Kurt said quickly, his voice shaking. "Can I see him?"

"Yeah," She was a little taken aback. "What's the urgency…?"

"Kurt…" Sam appeared in the doorway. He glanced at his mother as he came out into the hall. "You can close the door, mom. It's okay."

Kurt and Sam stood in silence for a moment after Sam's mom was gone.

Finally, Kurt spat out, "I'm sorry,"

"It's fine, Kurt," Sam replied, although it was clearly not fine. "You're confused. It's not going to affect your friendship."

"I'm not confused," Kurt's head was shaking as he spoke. "Not anymore…"

Sam froze. "Oh…"

"When you think of tethers, what do you think of?" Kurt asked.

"Um…tetherball…?" Sam wasn't sure if it was a trick question or not.

"Do you remember that speech Mr. Shue and Coach Sylvester made at her sister's funeral, about what happens when you love somebody…"

Sam suddenly realized what he was talking about. "…she said you feel tethered to them."

"You're the best part of my life, Sam," Kurt felt tears coming to his eyes, but this time, he wasn't afraid to let them show. "I feel so connected to you, whether you're sitting next to me, or a hundred miles away. Maybe you don't believe in this sappy stuff, but it's just how I feel. And I'm realizing that the reason I wasn't feeling what I thought I'd be feeling when we kissed was because I didn't feel anything new. I'd been feeling that close to you for months…it was already so real. I expected this big change, but it was already there. I was already tethered to you." Sam was silent. "Damn it, if you don't say something, I'll…"

Sam took Kurt in his arms and kissed him hard in the mouth, then, he held Kurt's head in his hands and kissed every inch of his face.

"Okay," Kurt sobbed. "That's better than saying something."

"I've waited so long," Sam rested his chin on Kurt's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "To be able to tell you that I love you…"

"I know," Kurt told him. "I love you too…"

And he meant it.

And they continued to kiss in the Evan's hallway.