Author's Note: This is a little teaser of what's to come. In the next little while, updates will probably be more frequent...eventually settling into a once-a-week pattern. Please take a minute to let me know what you think. I do not own Glee nor the characters involved. This story does not necessarily reflect the sexuality/relationship of Rory Flanagan and Sam Evans (we can only dream) or the actors who portray them. Enjoy! :)

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Anita Rivers was happily enjoying a game of Solitaire on her computer. She always enjoyed being the first one in school. For at least thirty minutes of her day, there wasn't a student in sight. No noise, no commotion.

She could sit back and relax, sipping from her mug of instant coffee, without anybody disturbing her. As head receptionist, she thought it was appropriate to say that she was truly the one who kept the school up and running.

Frowning at the computer screen, she found herself in a tough spot. No cards matched up! She exited the game, resolving to challenge herself to a rematch later on in the day.

Stifling a yawn, she stood up to go refill her coffee mug—dropped the mug and let out a scream.

A dark figure stood in the doorway, bathed in the dark hallway's shadow. As the silhouette stepped forward, Anita breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a boy. From what she could see under the hood of his black sweater, he looked no older than a Sophomore.

"Sorry," the boy said, surprisingly with an Irish accent. "Did I frighten you?"

"You sure did," Anita said, bending down to retrieve her mug (thankfully only slightly chipped). As she stood up, she let out another gasp as the boy had rematerialized a foot away from her desk. "I'm usually the only person in school at this time."

"I'm the new student," the boy explained. "I thought it'd be best to arrive early."

"You're the one that Mr. Pierce called in about, right? You're staying with his family."

"I am."

Anita nodded. "Okay, I'll be right back with your schedule."

The boy tapped his fingers against the desk while he waited. He took furtive glances over his shoulders, around the room, investigating the shadows…a force of habit.

"Here we are," Mrs. Rivers announced, handing over a stack of papers.

"Thank you."

"Welcome to McKinley," she said, and looked down at a sticky note attached to her desk, "Rory Flanagan."

Sam Evans huffed out a breath, his face red with exertion. His muscles ached and quivered as he struggled with a final bench press. How many had he done? Fifty…a hundred?

Setting the weight down with a clank, Sam sat up with a wince. His T-shirt was soaked through with sweat and strands of blond hair were plastered to his forehead.

He stretched his arms behind his back and crossed his bedroom to the door, opening it and stepping into the hall—and nearly being toppled over by his speeding-bullet of a brother.

"Whoa, Stevie," Sam chuckled, "where's the fire?"

"Sorry Sammy," the younger boy replied. His eyes were bright with excitement. "Me and Stacy are playing hide-and-seek. She's It!"

"Then don't let me keep you waiting." With a quick ruffle of his brother's hair, Sam sent the frenzied boy on his way.

Padding down the hall to the bathroom, Sam spotted his parents in the master bedroom. His father had an arm draped over his mother's shoulder, and they stood by the window looking down onto the street. Sam knew they were happy…heck, he was happy. It was nice to be back in Lima, with the comfort of financial stability.

Sam shut the bathroom door behind him and peeled the sweaty shirt from his flushed skin, pausing for a moment to observe himself in the mirror.

His eyes trailed down to his stomach and he frowned. Turning to the side and running his hand over the taut skin, Sam grimaced. In his mind, his belly was cushiony…soft.

He pinched at his skin, pulling at the slightest of looseness. No more lunchroom burritos for this guy, Sam thought. Those things are just microwaveable tubes of lard.

Resolving to workout extra hard after school, Sam shed the rest of his clothes and ducked into the shower. The water seeped into his sore shoulders and washed away the stress. Only a week into the school year and his plate was already full to capacity. Not to mention tryouts for the football team were coming up.

Thankfully, he always had Glee Club to look forward to…though it wasn't the same as it had been the previous year. It felt awkward. Finn was not into hanging out; he was a lost puppy being dragged along by The Rachel Berry Show. The couples were sickeningly in love, never more than an atom's-breadth apart: Mike and Tina, Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Brittany. And ever since his nasty split with Mercedes over the summer, she had made every effort to ignore him. Add to that Quinn and Santana, his other exes! He felt alone…friendless.

He thought bitterly, Maybe I should swear off girls all together!

Shutting off the water and drying himself off, Sam only hoped that somehow this year would turn around for him. Maybe he would meet someone.

If only he knew what was in store.