Chapter Two

Rachel was worried about how she was going to go about talking to Sam, and making him see the truth about Quinn was going to be a whole different challenge all together and she wasn't sure she could do it. Truth was, in the near six months since Sam Evans had joined New Directions they had not shared a conversation, or even talked to one another around other people. It wasn't that Rachel didn't like Sam or anything like that; from what she saw of him in Glee club he was a very nice boy who treated his girlfriend well and never set out to offend or upset anybody. Finn used to talk about Sam a lot when Rachel was still dating him, and he always talked highly of Sam and had even supported him and Quinn dating.

Rachel felt sorry. She knew that Puck thought that Sam might be genuinely clueless to what was staring him in the face but something happened on Tuesday morning that told Rachel everything she needed to know. She'd always been good at reading people. She was standing alone at her locker looking at Sam and Quinn as they talked on the opposite side of the hallway; Quinn had her attentions turned fully on Sam but then Finn walked by and she immediately turned away and looked at him as Sam continued talking about football. Quinn clearly didn't register what happened next but Rachel did, and as Quinn looked at Finn a defeated look took over Sam's face and he looked like he was about to break until Quinn turned back to him. He immediately painted on a smile, pretended he hadn't noticed anything and carried on talking. All the time looking directly into Quinn's eyes. Finn had never really look Rachel in the eye when they talked, maybe it was because he had to look down, but seeing the dedication Sam gave to Quinn made Rachel feel slightly envious

The bell rang and Sam bid Quinn goodbye before walking off in the opposite direction, Rachel couldn't tear her eyes away from him as he did so. He just looked so defeated, and he didn't deserve that

"Hey treasure trail" Quinn said aggressively as she approached Rachel with a stride, she looked angry "Don't think I didn't just catch you drooling over my guy"

"I... wasn't" Rachel sighed "I just happened to be looking where he was walking, I'm not into Sam like that"

"Good" said Quinn with a false smile "Because it would be so repetitive if you lusted after my boyfriend again, and history tells us that even if you do manage to steal somebody's boyfriend you never hang onto them"

"I didn't steal Finn from you" Rachel said annoyed at Quinn's nerve "Had you not cheated on him with Puck, you're relationship wouldn't have ended"

"I could say the exact same thing to you" Quinn said before leaving. Rachel glared after her and then made the decision to follow Sam, wherever he was going, she was going to make him see sense right here right now. Rachel walked down the hallway with purpose not really looking where she was going, and of course she ultimately bumped into someone and fell over

"Oh my god, Rachel, I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going" the voice belonged to Sam Evans and soon enough Rachel found herself being pulled up by a pair of very strong arms and firm hands

"My fault" she replied brushing her hair from infront of her face, she looked up at him and noticed his eyes were red. Then she realized they were standing just infront of the boys toilets and everything became a lot clearer to him

"Are you OK?" she asked, she knew from experience never to just outright ask a guy if they'd been crying as they'd only deny it. You had to let them confide in you themselves when they were ready "Your eyes are all red"

"Oh yeah" he said blushing, he was kind of cute when he blushed "My...err, I have allergies in the spring time so..."

"It's February" Rachel said. He laughed a little. "Look, Sam, whatever it is that's wrong I hope I can help, I know that Quinn can be..."

"It's nothing to do with Quinn" he replied quickly. She sighed. Denial. Great

"OK, I'm just here if you, you know, want to talk or anything" she said before picking up the remainder of her books and walking off. She looked back at Sam and noticed him slumping a little against a locker looking utterly defeated - she was more worried than ever now and even more determined to make him happy

"What do you guys think of Sam" Rachel asked Mercedes and Tina as the three ate lunch together a few hours later

"Hot" Mercedes said instantly "Oh, the things I would do to that boy if I got the chance. He is one fine piece of ass"

"I didn't mean physically" Rachel said with a laugh "I meant, you know, what do you think of him as a person"

"Wouldn't know" Mercedes said with a shrug "Never actually spoken to him one on one or anything"

"Yeah, me either" Rachel sighed

"I have" piped up Tina "Lots of times, he and Mike are friends and because Quinn and I get along OK, we've gone on double dates sometimes and I can honestly tell you Sam is one of the kindest people I know"

"How so" Rachel asked, surprised by her own sudden interest in the boy who for the last six months she'd be nicknaming 'Ken' because she considered him so plastic and shallow

"Well, it's just the way he is" Tina said with a shrug "I mean, all the boys in Glee club have their moments of being nice, even Puck, but most of them can be jerks a lot of the time. I'm including Mike in that too by the way, but Sam. I've never seen Sam be anything but sweet, polite and charming towards Quinn and everyone he meets."

"I just feel so sorry for him" Rachel said, she looked over at Sam sitting at the 'popular kids' table with Quinn, Finn, Santana, Puck and Brittany. Quinn and Finn were sitting next to each other and obviously flirting. Sam was sitting on the other side of Quinn, gripping her hand as if his life depended on it. Santana and Puck knew what was going on from the looks of things

"You sure you're not just jealous because of Finn" Mercedes asked. Rachel wondered if that's what this was. Jealousy, and she was just choosing to focus on Sam to hide the fact she still loved Finn

"Maybe" Rachel said "But regardless, I can't just sit by and watch Quinn break another boys heart. Sam doesn't deserve it"

Lunch ended a few minutes later and Rachel made sure to catch up to Sam, she was going to stop all of this before he got hurt. Sam and Puck were making their way to the boys locker room when Rachel finally caught up with them

"Hey wait up" she yelled, slightly out of breath from the running "Man you guys walk fast"

"We walk at a normal human pace Berry, we've just got normal sized legs" Puck replied with a smirk before entering the locker room

"Don't listen to him" Sam said "I'm sure you'll grow". Rachel almost laughed at how sweet he was, agreeing with Puck or laughing at the joke wouldn't have made Sam a jerk in her eyes. It would have just been banter. But Sam clearly felt like Rachel was offended by what Puck said. Rachel guessed that Tina was right; Sam was the kindest boy in Glee club. The whole school maybe.

"Hey, err, I need your help" Rachel said thinking on her feet. She needed to get him on his own

"What with" Sam asked looking slightly confused she'd approached him

"Ermm... Avatar" Rachel said unsurely, she was pretty sure she remembered Finn telling her Sam was obsessed with that movie "I'm thinking of dating a guy who's really into it, and I don't wanna come across as a complete novice to him"

"Oh, yeah, cool, I guess I could teach you some Navi and junk" Sam replied, Rachel nodded along though she had no idea what 'Navi' was meant to be "Ermm, I'm free last period today. We could go to the library"

"Cool, yeah, great" Rachel said as Sam gave her a smile and headed into the locker rooms.

She didn't want to break his heart by telling him, but she knew that she had no choice and it would be better for him in the long run