SAM'S ESCAPE

CHAPTER THREE

SETTING: McKinley High School, Sam's motel

WHO: Sam Evans and Quinn Fabray, others

WHEN: The days after Sam and Quinn get back together

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to Glee or any other song/product mentioned below.

Sam slept the best he had since moving into the tiny motel room. For a little while, the feeling of desperation had left him and he felt nearly optimistic. Of course, he was going to have to face Finn the next day at school. Hopefully, the drama would not be out of control.

Quinn had driven home, listening to the radio quietly, pondering the events of the evening. At her house, she was glad to see that Finn was not waiting on her; she almost expected it. When she didn't see his beat up truck parked on her curb, she made the quick decision to drive by Rachel's house, just on a whim. Good thing she did…he was there. In an odd way, she was happy for him. Rachel was who he wanted and now they were free to be together. She also felt bad about breaking up with him via text message but in her heart she knew she had not cheated on him and cut him loose to find happiness with Rachel. She hoped school would not be too weird the next day and that the four of them could finally be on the right path with their true loves.

Back at her house, it was quiet. Her mother was still out with her boyfriend. The house was huge yet still; she was lonely there most nights, no one to have meals with, watch TV with, talk to, just do the everyday things with. That is why she had offered to help Sam's family when she learned of what was going on with him in church, getting out of her house and being with his family, even for a short amount of time most days, made her heart feel lighter, made her feel like she was a part of something, even when she was with them and he was not. Lying in bed waiting for sleep and replaying the events of that night with Sam and how just being with him had instantly lifted her spirits, an idea crossed her mind…why had she not thought of this before?

He was somewhat nervous about school in the morning. His absolute worst fear was that he'd see Quinn and she'd ignore him and be with Finn. If that happened, he just did not know what he would do; he'd be crushed for sure. He wasn't necessarily afraid of Finn, more anxious about seeing him. He saw her at her locker alone and slowly walked up behind her. "Hi," he said quietly, kind of shyly. "Sam, good morning!" She turned to him and planted a kiss right on his lips. They parted and he allowed himself to smile. "Last night wasn't just a dream then?" "Well, one might say it was a dream come true, but that's me…" she nibbled her lower lip. His mouth just kind of fell open. She pretty much summed it up for him…dream come true. He moved his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Me too Q…" and leaned in to graze her lips with his. "I was a little worried about today, well still am, since I haven't had the pleasure of running into Finn yet…I was worried that last night didn't happen and you'd still be with him," he confessed to her. His expression broke her heart a little. "Sam, I am with you…don't let yourself worry about that." She ran a finger along his jaw from his earlobe to his chin. "Let me tell you something quickly before class…last night I was worried that he might be waiting on me at my house…he wasn't…so I drove by Rachel's and he was there." Sam had not even considered that Finn would be crazy enough to be waiting on Quinn; he was now glad he hadn't let that worry him all night. "Thanks for that bit of intel…can I walk you to class?" "Yes please." He took her books and then took her hand and they started off down the hallway.

They turned a corner and ran right into Rachel. They all stopped, Rachel's eyes going to Sam and Quinn hands laced together. "Good morning," Rachel said quietly. "It's true, then?" "Yes, Rachel, Finn is all yours." Quinn said as nicely as she could muster. Sam just watched the exchange, not really wanting to get involved. Rachel looked at both of them again, a small smile playing at her lips. "Thank you Quinn." Rachel walked around them going onto her class. Sam and Quinn looked at one another. "One down, one to go," Sam said, trying to make light of the extremely touchy situation. "I guess we'll see what happens in Glee…I'll see you there." Quinn smiled warmly at Sam, so happy to be by his side again. He pecked her on the cheek. "I'll see you there Q…" He walked to his class, wondering how freaked out she'd be if he told her he still loved her.

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully for both Sam and Quinn, save for a few strange looks from people who might have heard the news. Quinn had made a mental note to herself sometime after lunch to go around after school and take down all the "Quinn and Finn for Prom Queen and King" signs. Every time she saw one it made her stomach twist in knots. Glee Club met during the last period of the day and some days they stayed over for extra rehearsal time. That particular day, Sam tried to get their before the rest of the group, afraid he might have to defend himself again. Mike and Tina had beat him there, plus Puck and Lauren. He took a seat on the upper row of seats and waited.

Quinn came in, looked for Sam, and sat down next to him, picking up his hand and squeezing it, smiling. The quick glances and not-so-quiet whispers started, people checking them out. Quinn felt Sam stiffen next to her, feeling the scrutiny of their peers. She looked at him, seeing his jaw clench. She got her notebook out and scribbled a quick note to him: "We did nothing wrong…don't let them get to you!" He read it and smiled at her, trying to relax. The other kids had got there except for Finn; he blew in as the bell sounded. He took a seat next to Rachel but was shooting dirty looks at Sam and Quinn. Mr. Schue started in on the lesson, but Sam was having a hard time focusing.

All of a sudden, Finn's hand shot up. Sam and Quinn looked at one another, preparing for who knows what. "Mr. Schue, can we sing a Journey tune?" "Uh, Finn, ummm, what song?" Mr. Schue was caught off-guard. Finn turned to stare at Quinn… "Faithfully." Sam rolled his eyes. "I think some people here need to be reminded of the virtue of trust." Mr. Schue noticed that Finn was glaring at Quinn and Sam. "That could go both ways Finn," Quinn said. Finn was on his feet, moving to stand in front of Sam and Quinn. Sam was up out of his seat before Quinn could stop him and was down the couple rows to be eye-to-eye with Finn. "She did nothing wrong and you won't talk to her that way." Sam said to Finn. "Uh, yeah, she cheated…again!" Finn shoved Sam; Sam shoved Finn back. Then, before anyone could react, Finn's fist slammed into Sam's face. The whole group descended on the two boys, Schue and Rachel trying to get to Finn, Quinn and Puck trying to get to Sam since he was down on the floor trying to get up to go after Finn. Quinn was in Sam's face, trying so hard to get his attention, "He's not worth it Sam…just walk away…you hit him and you'll be in trouble…" She was just grasping at straws, knowing the emotions were running high with all of them and that there was no way she was going to be able to stop him. "I won't let him talk to you that way or call you that." He somehow tore away from Puck and now Mike who were holding him back and lunged at Finn, shoving him into the large floor speakers for the jazz band, giving Finn a black eye in the process. Schue and the other boys managed to break them up again and Puck and Mike got Sam out of the room altogether.

In the hallway, Puck and Mike were trying to calm Sam down. "What the hell is up dude? Did they break up or what?" "Quinn did not cheat on him…yes, she broke up with him…she wants to be with me, he wants to be with Rachel…she broke up with him before…anything…happened between us." Puck and Mike looked at each other. "Okay, dude, you need to calm down…Finn's just pissed….he'll get over it, especially since he has Rachel all over him," Puck said, checking over his shoulder at what was going on in the choir room. Quinn was sitting in a chair in there, her head in her hands. "Can one of you get Quinn for me?" Mike went and told Quinn Sam needed her. She ran out to the hallway, throwing her arms around him. "Sam…I don't know why…I am so sorry he did that to you…" Quinn was exactly what he needed to calm his nerves, though her tears upset him again. He tried to laugh it off and said "I got in a good look too." She ran her fingers over his eye as it was red and starting to swell. "Did I eff up that band equipment?" he asked her. "No, the only thing hurt was his pride, I believe." "I just will not have him talking to you or about you that way, Q." She smiled at him. "It was so hot when you stood up for me…I just hate that you'll probably get detention now." "I'd do it again to defend your honor." In her mind, she thought he truly is my knight in shining armor, that armor being a t-shirt and Levis today.

After talking to Principal Figgins, Sam only got two Saturday detentions, Finn got four since he threw the first punch. Sam knew his parents would be pissed about this with everything else they had to juggle with bill-paying and childcare and making sure there was food and now him getting in fights over a girl at school. "Do you two think you can behave yourselves in the nurse's office for ice on your eyes?" Sam and Finn looked at one another and mumbled yeah.

In the nurse's office, they each held an ice pack up to their face in silence. Finally, Finn asked Sam, "How long have you two been together?" Sam sighed. "Dude, not until after she texted you last night. She has been helping my family out since we had to move to the motel and nothing at all happened between us; we only started talking again since moving to the motel. Jesus Finn, most nights I'm not even there, I'm working. In fact, last night I told her to go if she had plans with you and she said you were busy." "It's just hard to believe that nothing has been going on between you two all this time," Finn mumbled. "When I found out Quinn and you had been making out, I was so hurt; I split up with her then to let her be with you. Then, when she started helping us out, I told myself she was off limits because she was with you. Honestly, I wasn't going to stoop to your level and try to steal her back. She came to that conclusion on her own Finn…because she knew you still had feelings for Rachel." Finn looked as if he was trying to process all this info. "Tell me that's not true Finn…that you don't still have feelings for Rachel." Finn looked at him. "I still love Rachel," he mumbled.

There it was; Sam knew it. "Then dude, what is the problem?" Sam asked him. "Quinn was like my first love; I guess I just didn't know how to break it off with her and then she texted me…and, well, it just sucks, the breaking up." "Then we have one thing in common…she's my first love too," Sam said quietly. Silence filled the room then as both boys nursed their black eyes. A thought crossed Sam's mind and he threw it out to Finn: "You know, maybe Rachel is actually your first love, not Quinn." Finn just looked at Sam like he had dumped a ton of bricks on him.

Thank you as always for reviews and story alerts! I hope you liked the Sam/Finn confrontation!