Rachel writes down a schedule and mails it to Sam. It details the progression of their relationship and he reads it over carefully. She has managed to convince him- this is important. They need to do it right and he trusts that she knows how, so he's going to do what exactly she plans.
First stage: appear to get closer.
They start off by walking together down the hall. They stop next to Rachel's locker and she takes out her books while Sam leans on the lockers next to her and watches.
She speaks quickly and quietly. "You need to look interested, but not too interested. We need to talk to each other some, but not too much. We don't sit together in class."
He nods. She closes her lockers and turns to him, flashing a smile. He smiles back. He'd offer to carry her books because that's just what he does but he knows that's not good for now.
They start walking. They make small talk, keeping it quiet so that no one realizes they're just talking about homework.
She whispers, "Some people are looking. This is good."
They get to Spanish and Rachel marches to her front row seat. Sam sits at the back with Puck and Mike.
…
After three days of walking together, they make it a point to arrive at glee together. She smiles at him and takes a spot at the back. Mercedes looks at her suspiciously but doesn't say a word, and Sam sits at the other side of the room.
Two practices after that they sit together. It was carefully planned. Sam got there first and put his backpack on the chair next to him. Rachel walks in five minutes before practice starts (there are some members there but not all of them). Sam moves his bag to the floor and Rachel takes its place.
Fin and Quinn walk into the choir room last and Quinn stops for a split second as she sees them before keeping on walking to the two open seats next to Mercedes.
Rachel keeps her eyes to the front of the room but mutters to her right, "We got them."
Slowly, as she taught him, Sam shifts his eyes to Finn and Quinn. Their heads are close together and they're whispering to each other. He smirks at Rachel before focusing on Mr. Schue who just walked into the room.
…
They space their actions out, so it's a few days before she IMs him that it's time for their next move. They spend an hour planning it over the phone, and she talks time, place, pace. It helps him to know exactly what to do and he appreciates her dedication to making it work so well. He could have never planned this alone.
She whispers, "Action" when glee practice is over the next day. They gather their things and walk out, keeping a steady pace as they walk to the parking lot. They know exactly who walks before them and who walks behind them.
They reach his car. That morning Sam picked the specific location. He unlocks the doors and Rachel smiles. She waits for the right moment to get in, and as she does, she makes sure not to turn her face away from the window. Sam too gets in. He fakes fumbling with his seatbelt until Rachel says, "Now." He places his hands on the wheel and puts the car in 'drive'.
As they drive away from McKinley, Rachel looks intently in the rear-view mirror. She sees Santana watching them pull away and grins when Santana takes out her cell phone. She's making the call while standing next to her car watching them.
Plan execution: perfect.