Hello everyone! I wrote this a few months back after seeing a post on tumblr with a similar AU plot and I decided to write my own version. I am currently working on some new stories for you so don't worry! I hope you enjoy and please review if you have any opinions.
'Come on! Work!' Quinn whined as she repeatedly smacked the TV remote in her hand. It was the night of the American Idol finale, and even though Quinn doesn't usually get so invested in such things, she's a sucker for a good reality competition type-show. It's the night she's been waiting for, the night she actually gets to find out who won, and her TV is refusing to turn on. Of course, it's just Quinn's luck, the day she really wants to use her shitty-little TV set the fucker breaks on her.
Quinn huffed and sat down on her couch, throwing the remote to her side and crossing her arms. She sat there, trying to find a solution to her problem. Could she stream it? No. Her internet was just as shitty as her TV. Could she call Santana? No. Santana would just tell her to fuck off. Quinn turned her head to look out the window, still in thought, when she saw her new neighbour, Sam she thinks his name is, sitting down to watch a basketball game on his flat-screen. BINGO!
Getting up off of her couch, she headed towards the door, then remembering that she couldn't just knock on her neighbours door and ask to use his TV to watch a show he probably thought was lame empty handed, she stopped and looked around her apartment for something she could offer, bribe seemed like a better word, him. Her eyes landed on the unopened bottle of vodka that was placed on top of her kitchen counter. Free booze for three hours of TV seemed like a fair trade to Quinn. She grabbed the vodka and headed for Sam's place.
She was nervous, she'd never actually met the guy before, and here she was knocking on his door asking if she could disrupt his evening, she felt kind of rude, but still, she'd waited months for this and she wasn't about to miss it. Bringing her hand up to knock on his door, Quinn took a deep breath and knocked, waiting for him to answer.
After a few moments, the door swung open and revealed her new neighbour. He was tall, well-built (very well-built if you asked Quinn). He had short and bright blond hair, and his eyes were a dull-green with flecks of gold in them. He had really, really big lips, much like a fish, but Quinn thought it worked for him.
'Hello.' The man, Sam, said to Quinn, who was stood there with a smile on her face.
'Hi,' Quinn began. 'I'm your neighbour, Quinn, I live in apartment 12c.' She held her hand out for him to shake.
He took her hand, it was notably larger than Quinn's, but her small one felt as though it fit perfectly in his. 'I'm Sam, and I live, uh, well, here.' He said in a dorky way that made Quinn laugh, gesturing to the apartment behind him. 'Is there anything I can help you with?'
'Yes, there is actually, um-' She paused for a moment. 'See, my TV decided to be an absolute asshole and break.'
'Do you need help fixing it?' Sam asked. He seemed like the kinda guy who knew how to fix things, like maybe he worked in a car-shop while he was in high school, he certainly had that rugged-yet innocent look about him.
Quinn snapped out of her thoughts after a few seconds, probably seeming insane at this point. 'Um, no, actually, I was-' She hesitated again. 'I was actually wondering if you would let me use yours.' She finished, looking at him with a nervous smile.
'You wanna use my TV?' He asked.
'Erm, yeah, I mean, it's the final of American Idol and I've been waiting for months to see who wins and I know it's probably really rude of me but I just-' She sighed, she probably wasn't making any sense at the moment, and judging by the look on Sam's face, she wasn't. 'I have vodka.' She smiled and held up the bottle.
Sam laughed and took the bottle from her hand. 'Well, how can a guy say no to free alcohol? Come on in.' He said and moved to let Quinn in.
His apartment was nice, it was slightly differently layed out to Quinn's, but not too different. Quinn stood awkwardly near his door as Sam walked over to his kitchen and pulled out two glasses from a cupboard.
'You want some?' He said, holding up the vodka to Quinn.
'Yeah, thanks.' She answered quickly.
He poured himself and Quinn some vodka before walking towards the couch and setting the drinks down on the coffee table. He sat down on the couch and turned to look at Quinn.
'Are you gonna sit down?' He asked, looking at the spot next to him.
'Yeah, sure, sorry.' Quinn said as she walked over to his couch and sat in the place next to him.
'I got some coke as well, because, as much as I do like vodka, I don't want to drink it straight and get hammered after two glasses.' He said, pointing to the bottle of coke that was next to the vodka. Quinn laughed at him then, thinking that he was right, it probably wasn't the best idea to get really drunk.
He turned the TV channel from the basketball game he was watching to American Idol, which, thankfully for Quinn had just started.
'How'd you know what channel it was on?' Quinn asked him, wondering why a guy like him would be watching American Idol, not that there was anything wrong with that, of course, he just didn't seem the type to watch it.
'My little sister used to make me watch it with her.' He replied, looking at the screen.
'You have a little sister?' Quinn asked, not sure why it surprised her so much, it's not like she knew the guy, after all.
'Yeah, Stacey, she's 11.' He said as he pulled out his phone and showed Quinn his background, which was a picture of Sam, Stacey, and a little boy she presumed to be his little brother.
'She's adorable.' Quinn commented. She found it odd that he had such a personal picture as his background, not because he seemed like he didn't care for his family, but because men his age usually weren't like that. It was odd, Quinn had only met him a few minutes prior, and she didn't even know his last name, but maybe she didn't need to know it in order for her to know him. She was far more interested in who he really was.
'Yeah, I miss 'em like crazy.' Sam said quietly as he put his phone away.
'Your family?' Quinn questioned. 'Where are they?'
'Tennessee.' Sam stated. So he was a southern gentleman, 'makes sense.' Quinn thought.
'I was trying to figure out that accent.' Quinn said in a jokey tone.
'Yeah, born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. My accent's not as strong as it used to be, before I moved.' He said as he moved to get his drink.
'So if you like it so much there, why did you move?' Quinn asked, feeling like she was getting too personal, but still wanting to know more about the man in front of her.
'I came here for college. I got in to NYU, and as someone who's struggled with school their whole life, it was too good to pass up.' He put his drink down and turned fully, so he was facing her instead of the TV.
'You went to NYU?' He nodded. 'Impressive.' Quinn giggled out and he shrugged with a smile. 'What do you do now then?' She asked.
'Oh, I'm a graphic designer.' Quinn shouldn't have been surprised, he had a lot of technology and arty things all around his apartment. It didn't really explain the Iron Man poster on the wall though.
'How did you get into that?' She asked.
'I really loved comic books growing up,' That explained the Iron Man poster on the wall. 'Being dyslexic they were pretty much the only things I could read easily, and I was always really transfixed with the art, so when I came to picking courses for college I chose graphic design because I wanted to create the same kind of art I loved as a kid.' The way he spoke was so truthful and personal, Quinn was impressed that he had managed to find something he loved so dearly. She only wished everyone was that lucky. 'What about you?' His speech brought Quinn out of her thoughts.
'Where are you from? What do you do?' He asked, wanting to find out the same things about Quinn she had found out about him.
'I'm from Lima, Ohio. And I-'
'Where?' He asked, clearly not knowing of the place.
'Lima.' She clarified. 'It's a cow-town. Let's just say it's probably best you haven't heard of it.' Sam nodded. 'I have an older sister, Frannie, but I don't see her much, she's a lot older than me so we don't speak that much.' Quinn didn't like the relationship she had with her sister, she wanted to be closer to her sibling, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Frannie was too much like their Father, caring about appearances and being 'proper', whereas Quinn didn't care for any of that life. Quinn always wanted to be accepted for herself, regardless of wether it damaged the family name.
'Wow, that sucks.' Sam commented. 'I can't imagine not being close to my siblings.'
'Yeah well, Frannie really didn't care about me while she was growing up, so it's not like I have anything to compare it to.' Quinn spoke with a sad tone in her voice. She reached for her drink and drank the whole thing, hoping it would take her mind off of her broken family and their issues with showing any emotion.
'So, where did you go to college?' Sam asked, wanting to change the subject.
'Yale.' Quinn replied simply.
'Yale!' Sam exclaimed, startling Quinn. 'What did you study there?'
'Well, I studied drama to begin with, but my major was journalism.' She recalled wanting to be an actress, but then changing when she fell in love with journalism.
'Wow, so you're like, smart.' Sam stated, making Quinn laugh.
'Yeah I guess.' She whispered. 'Anyway, I moved to New York after graduating and I've been here ever since.' The past few years of Quinn's life had gone by quickly, two years has gone by since she left Yale, and she was still in the same place she was when she moved to the city.
'Well, you certainly are impressive.' That made Quinn smile. 'So do you work for a newspaper or anything?' He asked.
'Yeah, just a local one, but I make most of my money from stripping.' Quinn said simply. Sam, who had just taken a sip of his drink, began to choke, making Quinn laugh harder than she should have.
'Wha- What?' He coughed out.
'Calm down, Man, I'm only kidding.' She laughed out and went to patting Sam on the back in an attempt to stop him coughing.
'Very funny.' He said once he had stopped coughing. 'Nearly killed me.'
'Oh please you're fine.' Quinn said as she waved him off with a smile.
After a few more drinks Sam turned his attention back to the TV, his head starting to feel a bit fuzzy. He saw Ryan Seacrest on the TV and scoffed. 'I hate that guy.' He said before taking a sip of his drink.
'I have a tattoo of him.' Quinn stated simply. The alcohol, clearly affecting her, because if she were completely sober, there would be no way she would have told him that.
'What?' Sam asked. 'No you don't.' He argued, Quinn just nodded. 'Show me.' He said, or rather ordered.
Quinn just set her drink down and lifted her t-shirt so Sam could see her lower back. True to her word, Quinn did indeed have a tattoo of him on her lower back. Sam just sat there looking completely confused.
'No way.' he said, baffled, and then began to laugh hysterically, Quinn joining him on that. 'Why the hell do you have that?' He laughed out.
She shrugged. 'It was part of a phase.'
'Weird phase, but whatever.' He mumbled out, making Quinn laugh as she sat back down.
They continued watching the finale together, and by the time it was finished, they were both steaming drunk.
'So I threw the ball, and then got hit, and I didn't even see where it was going.' Sam said, his words being slurred. 'And then, I'm lying on the floor, and I lift my head up and I see that we scored, and the crowds like-' He began to make noises of a really loud crowd cheering, making Quinn laugh. 'And then they all lifted me up and we won.' Sam smiled, his story of how his team had won the state championship clearly not accurate.
'Wow.' Quinn said seriously. 'When I was in high-school, my friend nearly got shot out of a canon.' She slurred and then began to laugh. Before they knew it, both her and Sam had slid off of the couch and fell onto the floor laughing. Quinn looked over to Sam, who was still laughing a bit, he turned his head to look back at Quinn. Just then, their eyes locked, and his green ones were burning holes into her hazel ones. Quinn felt like Sam was staring into her soul, and it might have just been the alcohol making her feel that, but she was sure that nobody else had made her feel like that before. Slowly, Sam started to move closer to Quinn, until their noses were nearly touching. He moved his head down slightly, wanting to capture her lips with his, but was stopped when Quinn spoke.
'I- I should go.' She said, her voice soft, as she looked from his eyes to lips and back again.
'Don't.' Sam spoke with quiet confidence. 'Stay.' He pleaded, wanting nothing more than to spend more time with the girl in front of him. Quinn stayed still for a moment, before closing the gap between her and Sam's lips ferociously. Sam kissed her back with the same level of enthusiasm, putting his hand on the side of her face as her hand moved through his hair.
The rest of the night was a blur to the both of them.
Quinn woke with a pounding in her head, and the light coming through the curtains didn't help either. She hoped that if she just closed her eyes the light would leave her alone. Suddenly, something next to Quinn moved. She froze, not wanting to look to see what was beside her, but she turned her head regardless. She was met with the image of a blond man's toned back. Quinn sat there, frozen in place, unsure of what the fuck was going on. All she remembers from the night before was watching American Idol with Sam. Sam. Oh God. That was Sam lying next to her. 'What a fabulous first impression, Quinn!' She thought. She could see it now, 'Quinn Fabray, Building Whore!' What a joke.
Sam stirred awake before Quinn even had a chance to come up with an escape plan. He turned over, looked her right in the eye with a horrific look of shock on his face.
'Quinn?'
'Hi.' She said awkwardly. Usually she would have ran out of the apartment by now, but seeing that she had no clothes on, she decided it wasn't best.
They both just sat there in a haze of awkwardness, waiting for the other one to say or do something. It was Sam that spoke first.
'So, forgive me for not remembering, but what, er, exactly happened?' He asked, finally moving his eyes up to look at Quinn who was sat up against his headboard.
'I can't remember much after showing you my tattoo.' Quinn said quietly, cursing herself for showing him her tattoo, although at this point there wasn't much she hadn't shown him.
Sam let out a stiff laugh. 'Do you want breakfast?' Sam asked Quinn as he began to move from the bed.
'Uh, sure.' She said, unsure of how to respond.
Sam left the room quickly after finding something on his bedroom floor to wear. Quinn sat there, unsure of what to do next. She sure as hell wasn't going out there naked, however much Sam might like that. Checking that Sam had closed the door she stood up and moved to Sam's draws, hoping to find some sort of shirt. After looking through a few draws, she found his t-shirt draw. Pulling out the first one she could find and checking it was big enough, she put it on, she looked down and laughed when she realised that it was a Batman shirt, 'of course' she thought to herself to with a smile.
After double checking that his t-shirt covered her well enough, she made her way slowly out of his bedroom. She walked timidly over to his kitchen island, taking a seat on one of his high stools. Her head was still pounding from all the alcohol she had consumed and she still hadn't even processed what had happened between her and Sam.
Wordlessly, Sam put a glass of water and some aspirin in front of her and went back to cooking breakfast. She mumbled a quick thank you to him and took the pills, hoping they would work quickly. A few more sips of water and she set her head down against the cool surface of the kitchen island huffed out. She felt like shit.
Sam set down scrambled eggs and bacon in front of her and a cup of coffee. He left the sugar on the table (he wasn't stupid enough to just assume they took their coffee the same way) and started eating his breakfast. In all his life Sam had never once seen a girl eat so quick, it was kind of impressive.
'Don't judge me.' Quinn said as she looked up at him. Sam held up his hands in defence and just smiled at her then carried on eating.
When both of them had finished eating Sam turned to put the dishes in the sink, when he went to grab Quinn's plate he noticed her attire.
'Are you wearing my shirt?' He asked her, a small smile on his face.
'Well, yeah, I- I couldn't find my clothes so I just-' Quinn tried to explain but Sam cut her off.
'You should keep it, it looks better on you anyway.' He winked at her and then walked away. Quinn sat there blushing.
'Have you got work today?' She asked him once she'd stopped blushing.
'No.' He said as he turned back around. He looked just as good as he had the day before, maybe even better, standing there shirtless and all rugged-looking.
'How are you not hungover?' She asked, more like whined, at him. 'I seriously feel like someone's punching me directly in the brain!' She exclaimed then put her head down on the counter with a thud.
Sam walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders and started rubbing them in circular movements. Usually he wouldn't do this with someone he only met the day before, but considering what went on the night before, he thought it should be okay.
'I don't usually get hangovers.' Sam lent down and whispered into her ear.
'Lucky Bitch.' Quinn whispered, causing Sam to laugh. She sat up and turned around to face Sam. His arms were by either side of Quinn, and he was leaning on the counter, so he was very close to Quinn. Slowly, he lifted his head to look into Quinn's eyes, the mainly hazel and flecks of gold made his insides twist in a way they hadn't before, he really had to suppress the urge to start talking navi to her.
'With you here, I certainly am.' He said with a small smirk on his face. Slowly, he moved in closer until his and Quinn's noses were nearly touching, he went to move his head down to kiss her, but Quinn's voice stopped him.
'I- I should go.' She said, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes darted from Sam's eyes to his lips, then back again.
'Don't.' Sam said with quiet confidence. 'Stay.' He pleaded with a smile. Quinn stayed still for a moment before closing the gap between her and Sam. It started off as a small and sweet kiss, but quickly turned more heated. It became fierce and passionate, until Quinn pulled away with a look of panic.
'What? What's wrong?' Sam asked, looking flustered as she pulled away.
'Who won American Idol?' She exclaimed in a tone of serious worry.
Sam shook his head, smiled, and lent down to kiss her again.