little moments
Rachel Berry truly invested her beliefs in that you could have fried an egg on her face right now. Her visage was as red as the strawberry lipstick she had when she was fourteen, and her palms began to moisten from the nervousness overcoming her. Her current state was completely out of character for her. She always prided herself in her confidence, and her ability to remain calm in even the uttermost circumstances.
It truly was a sight to see the tiny diva so flustered. She was stuttering, swirling her straw around her glass of water, avoiding everyone's eyes. Mercedes and Kurt were holding back their laughs unsuccessfuly as she tried to manage a coherent answer.
"You, Rach, have a crush," Mercedes declared in her booming tone. Kurt was putting his palm over his mouth as his body shook in silent hysterics. Rachel bit her berry-scented lips and swallowed heavily.
"I can honestly say I do not," she shrugged. Rachel was usually a better actress than this. She truly was wracking her brain for any feasible excuse for how she was blushing when the guys were performing "Stop! In the Name of Love (Free Your Mind)" in glee club today. If it was summer, she could have lied about the weather being much too high, but it was December.
"Please, Rach, just tell us," Kurt whined, taking a sip of his Vanilla Coke. Suddenly, she had an idea. It was truly a master plan in her desperate mind at the moment. She decided to play it cheeky.
"So, what if I do?" Rachel smirked. Kurt's and Mercedes' eyes widened, and they looked at each other as if they had won a million dollars. She laughed at their puppy-dog like expressions and nodded her head to herself. "Take a guess."
"I hope you have gotten over Finn," Mercedes said earnestly. Rachel nodded her head confidently. She was proud of herself of how easily she had gotten over the dark haired quarterback. A certain glee club member had made it a lot easier, Rachel mused.
"Well, how about Puckerman?" Kurt raised a thin eyebrow. Rachel laughed and shook her head. Noah and her had a rather easy friendship, and the kiss was behind them, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Puck to have kissed a girl.
"Artie?" Mercedes said with a hint of doubt in her voice. As far as she knew, Brittany and Artie were dating, but she truly did not know much about the wheel-chaired boy's love life.
"No. Though, I do believe that Artie is a nice person and will find someone truly nice," Rachel intoned. Mercedes and Kurt laughed at her formal language, but they continued on their search for her crush.
"How about.." Kurt took the courtesy of eliciting a dramatic pause before finishing his question, "... our dear Sam Evans?" He could tell by the girl's reaction that he was right – the flushed cheeks, the avoiding of eye contact, the fiddling with her thumbs. This caused the boy to have a devilish glint in his ocean eyes; Kurt smirked and nudged Mercedes with his elbow. She caught on quickly.
Mercedes raised her dark eyebrows in a devious stance and asked again, "Yeah.. What about Sam Evans, Rachel?"
By now, Rachel Berry was sure she was going to hyperventilate. She started tapping her foot and swallow hard. She heard a ringing noise in her ears – that was how nervous she was. But, eventually, rational thinking took over, and she realized it wasn't the end of the world because Kurt and Mercedes found out. These two people were her best friends, and Rachel truly believed they would not betray her trust and tell Sam.
"Well.. uh.. yes. I do believe that Sam is an extremely good looking character and -" Rachel was speaking so fast that the words began to slur, a contrast to her usual perfect enunciation. She twiddled her thumbs and glanced up at her two friends with doe brown eyes.
"- enough with the lecture, Rach, do you like Sam or do you not like Sam?" The larger diva turned toward her small friend and smiled at her. Rachel forced a smile.
"Fine, I like Sam. A lot, actually. I do truly believe he is very kindhearted and cares about everyone around us. He is also very talented, and I love how he plays the guitar so well, and how -" Rachel was now in her full-on lecture mode, and her friends they needed to stop this before it got too mushy.
Mercedes held up an impatient hand. "Okay, we get it. You like Sam. Now, Rach, the big question is what are you going to do about it?" Rachel tilted her head, like a curious puppy, and looked at Mercedes as if she had grown an extra head.
"Nothing," she shrugged, all the fight exiting the tina diva. Kurt's jaw hit the floor, and he glanced at Mercedes with wide eyes.
"Did I just hear that Rachel Berry is not going to do anything about her crush on Sam?" he asked in an incredulous tone. Mercedes nodded.
"Well, he's obviously way too good for me. Why would he date me if he could have someone attractive like Quinn or Santana?" Rachel asked, looking crestfallen for once in her life. Kurt looked at Rachel as if she was an idiot.
"Because, unlike all the other giggly Cheerios, you are real, girlfriend. You have a dream and you are working hard to achieve it. You don't let other people's words and actions get to you. That, Rach, is attractive. Not to mention you are drop dead gorgeous," Kurt shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Mercedes high-fived her friend.
"Now, go get him," she cheered.
xxxx
The next day, at glee club, Rachel was in a hurry. She was absolutely never late, but she had gotten caught up talking to Mercedes that she hadn't realized she was late for glee. She felt like the White Rabbit practically running down the halls, her large purse swaying with her. When she opened the door to the choir room, looking frantic, she saw Mr. Shue glance at her in a slightly amused fashion.
Just her luck, the only empty seat was next to Sam because Mercedes had come before her. Dejected, Rachel slumped down next to the good-looking blonde boy who smiled at her quickly. She did the same. When Mr. Shue announced that they were doing Mash-Ups, she sighed. "The person next to you is going to be your partner for this assignment," he intoned.
Sam glanced at Rachel and smiled. "Hi, partner." The dainty girl felt butterflies dwelling the pit of her stomach, and she smiled back a smile so radiant it took his breath away.
"Hi, partner," she repeated.
"So, what song do you want to do?" Sam asked her, hands in the pockets of his jeans. For once, Rachel Berry was at a loss. She mulled over her options before shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. The blonde looked shocked. "You don't know?"
This seemed to bring Rachel back to reality. "Well, I guess we could do Without You by Mariah Carey, then mix it with Without You by David Guetta and Usher?" Sam appeared to be thinking.
He smiled. "That would be great."
xxxx
I can't live
If living is without you
I can't live
I can't give anymore
I can't live
If living is without you
I can't give
I can't give anymore
I won't run
I won't fly
I will never make it by
Wiithout you, without you
I can't rest
I can't fight
All I need is you and I
Without you, without you
The pair ended their emotionally-charged mash-up with a hug. To be perfectly honest, Rachel learned this was the first time she actually hugged Sam. The only other physical contact they had shared was holding hands (once) when she was waiting for her part in a group performance and so was he. It was nothing sexual; just chaste. So was this hug, Rachel sighed to herself.
Groundbreaking applause shook the choir room. Everyone smiled, got up and cheered. People truly loved this mash-up – especially Mr. Shue who beamed and announced them the winners of the small competition. Feeling a surge of confidence rush through her, Rachel leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Sam's cheek.
Surprisingly, well to Rachel, he didn't withdraw but smiled at her just a little bit more radiantly.
xxxx
After their duet mash-up, Sam and Rachel grew closer. They formed a strong friendship which included sitting next to each other at glee, hanging out at Breadstix and the small diva attended his football games. Rachel, through their time together, learned a lot about Sam.
Like how football wasn't his life, contrary to Finn. He also was into comic books (he practically collected them) and really digged the movie Avatar. Sam also confided in Rachel that his family was struggling and that he lived in a motel and worked many jobs so he could support his family.
Rachel found this admirable.
She treasured the little moments they shared together like when he hugged her goodnight, watched Funny Girl with her, and when she kissed his cheek whenever she saw him. She really, really liked Sam and enjoyed his friendship and his company.
And, who knows? Maybe something more could come out of it.