The school bell tolled through the hallways of William McKinley High School, signifying the end of class, and thus the end of Glee Club for the day. As one the students got to their feet, grabbing their belongings and hustling to the door. Sam rose, about to follow the others when a figure stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Not so fast Sammy boy. You and me are having a chat." Santana stood, hands on hips looking up at him with her best 'don't mess with me' look. The expression alone was enough to freeze Sam in place, experienced enough with Santana's quirks to know that failing to comply and thus embarrassing her in front of the class was sure to end in a quick trip to the hospital. She turned to glance once at the door to make sure no one was around then turned back to him.
"Listen lips, this you and me thing? It needs to end, alright? Visiting rights are officially over." Santana said it almost flippantly, crossing her arms over her chest. Sam simply stood there, saying nothing and looking at her with an expressionless face, staring her straight in the eyes and for once not caring what sort of bodily injury it resulted in.
"What? Don't look at me like that, you knew what this was. You just wanted to get back at Finn and baby momma, and I needed a rep boost. But I'm done with that now so we needs to be over."
Sam looked at her for a few more seconds before flopping back down into his chair, shoulders slumped. He cast his eyes to the ground and ran a hand through his hair, sighing loudly.
"Go figure. It was only a matter of time. It always is." Sam mumbled.
"Uh…" Santana was at a loss for words. She was no expert at emotions but she was pretty sure Sam looked upset. "I mean cheer up or whatever. It's no big deal."
"That's just it Santana, it never is a big deal. You know when I got to this school I thought I had a chance at being different. I thought I had a shot at being worth something. But everyone just keeps using me to get what they want and no one actually seems to care about me."
Santana shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, unsure how to react. It wasn't supposed to go down like this, she hadn't counted on Sam actually being upset by the break up. She exhaled loudly, as though thoroughly inconvenienced by the conversation, but took a seat beside him all the same.
Leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees, Sam cradled his face in his hands. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be in love with a girl when their heart belongs to someone else?" His voice came out muffled through his hands.
"You have no idea." Santana muttered so quietly there was no way Sam could have heard. Oh yes, Santana knew exactly what that felt like. And it was that empathy more than anything else that suddenly made her feel sorry for Sam. Sorry that she had used him for her own means because now more than ever she knew exactly what rejection felt like.
"Ok listen Evans, here's the deal, and I swear to god if you tell anyone this conversation happened I will see you neutered. But fact is you deserve better than girls like us. You deserve someone who actually wants to treat you right. And trust me when I say this but that's not barbie bitch. She's too busy chasing around any guy that happens to be flavour of the month that she doesn't even care who gets in her way. You're too nice for her anyway, so I say screw her and I mean you're kind of cool so at least you have that going." Santana finished awkwardly, not accustomed to this kind of conversation.
Sam raised his head and turned to look at Santana, as if suspecting the kind words to be part of some sort of trick to make him feel worse. But for once the disapproving frown was gone and she returned his gaze levelly, face impassive. Seeing that the fiery girl was, for the first time, actually being genuinely nice to him, he was surprised to discover that he actually felt comforted.
"Thanks Santana."
With a shrug Santana got to her feet and started heading towards the exit. After a few steps she stopped and turned around to look at him.
"And I meant what I said fishlips, you tell anyone about this and I will ends you."
"Don't worry Santana, no one will find out from me that you actually have a heart." Sam grinned at her.
"Whatever." Santana rolled her eyes, but let a smile momentarily grace her lips nonetheless. What surprised Santana the most was how good it felt to do something nice once in a while. Maybe Brittany was right, maybe feelings were better after all.
Turning around, she headed towards the door, back straight and shoulders squared so by the time her foot touched the hallway floor, the head bitch smirk was securely back in place. Stalking down the corridor, people skirted out of her way, avoiding eye contact. After all, everyone at McKinley High knew that Santana Lopez was not to be messed with.