CHAPTER 2

A/N: First of all - The reviews you guys wrote were absolutely amazing! Letting me know there were people who could sympathized really made my day when I read them. Thank you guys so much for everything!

OH, By the way - I don't know if you guys noticed, but I lengthened chapter 1. Now it contains a section in Sam's POV. You'll want to read it before you read this!

Anyways, This chapter is not only going to be in Sam's POV, but it's going to show a lot more to Rachels' transition from Bright and Shiny to Dark and Twisty. You'll have to read further to learn more! :D

Note:

Italic: Rachel or Sam's thoughts(except the headline before the chapter; that only shows the POV)

CHAPTER 2

Sam

Sam was distracted all day. Ever since he'd seen Rachel this morning, he's had this twisted feeling in his gut; Almost like he already knew the answers to the questions he wanted to ask. What happened to make her like this? Should I talk to her? What would I say? It was all so confusing. When the final bell rang, he was the first one out of his seat and in the hallway. He knew one thing for certain: Rachel Never Missed Glee, no matter how sick or depressed she was. Maybe he could hear the whole story and understand her sudden change in persona.

He pushed the door the the choir room open and found the room surprisingly subdued; He assumed everyone would be in an uproar - Not that they weren't, but their reaction was different than what he'd predicted. Mercedes, Artie and Tine was sitting together, whispering loud enough for him to catch snippets.

"…Wonder what came over her… Never seen her this bad before…" He heard Mercedes mumbling.

"Maybe this has to do with…" Tina suggested. Sam thought he heard her say Finn, but he wasn't certain. It didn't matter, as Artie shook his head doubtfully.

"She wasn't this bad when Jesse… Vocal adrenaline again," he murmured. Sam shook his head; All this talk was confusing him. Who's this Jesse kid? What about Vocal adrenaline? Huh?

He didn't have long to think about it before the sound of the whispering went silent, and Rachel entered the choir room. Her eyes were unfocused, avoiding the 12 people staring at her with concern and surprise in their eyes. She walked silently over to her seat in the first row, pulling out a notebook and a pen, doodling absently. Her usual grace was still there, and she sat with brave dignity. She let her hair fall over one side of her face, which blocked the gazes of the other Glee club members. But from where Sam was sitting on the other side of the room, he could see the blank expression on her face and the subdued pain in her eyes.

Quinn walked up to her, a smirk on her face; After a moment, Sam put two and two together. Duh! Why didn't I see this before? This is about Finn! That's why I got that feeling like I knew what was going on; This happened to me with Quinn! His eyes widened when he realized what was about to go down.

"Acting all sad and pathetic and helpless like this won't work, you know. He's never going back to you," she smirked coldly. "Nice effort, though. I almost thought you were sincere, man-hands."

Rachel looked up at her with a look of innocent, sweet sarcasm. Albeit the act, her eyes were blazing with a glare that looked better than Sue Sylvesters' death glare.

"I'm not doing this with you. You can push me around all you want, but I'm not going to give you the reaction you're looking for. So you can take your bitchy ways and go now," she replied, with a sarcastic smile on her face. Surprised gasps filled the room, and she looked back down at her doodles with the same blank expression on her face as before. Quinn stared at her in shock, then turned and walked back to her seat next to Finn with the same subdued expression on her face. People were staring at Rachel in stupefied silence. She glanced up quickly, then returned her focus to her doodling.

"So do I have something in my hair, or are you guys staring at me like total creepers for no good reason?" she snapped sarcastically, putting down her pen. Almost immediately everyone jumped, and began doing other things. Sam was impressed; She looked completely different, and she was acting like a completely different person, but in this case, it wasn't a bad thing. She'd just managed to tell off his ex-girlfriend in one simple verse, and now Quinn was sitting next to Finn, in a subdued, offended manner. Finn was looking at Rachel with deep concern in his eyes, and Sam suddenly felt annoyed with the towering quarterback.

Oh, please. You made your choice, moron, you can't have both. You've done enough damage to her, you're the reason why she's become so broken and hurt. He looked down to Rachel, who had lowered her gaze again and was now doodling on a new page in her book. Mr. Shuester walked into the room, noticing Rachel once again.

"Hey Rachel, what's with the new look?" he asked her, confused. She didn't look up, just continued drawing in her notebook.

"Felt like it," she replied curtly. Mr. Shue narrowed his eyes in concern. Sam looked at her with an expression filled with sympathy. I think I'm the only one here who knows what she's going through, he thought to himself. I wonder if I should talk to her, I mean she probably doesn't have anyone she can talk to who understands what she's going through. Mr. Shuester narrowed his eyes, lingering on Rachel for a moment, before he turned back to the class and began the lesson for the day. Sam kept his attention divided between the lesson and Rachel, who was watching intently.

Things went by faster than Sam had expected; The next thing he knew, the others were picking up their bags and leaving. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he walked over to Rachel. Steeling his nerves, he spoke.

"Rachel?" he asked her. She looked up from her bag through her bangs.

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked as she stuffed her notebook in her bag.

"You got a moment?" he asked. Don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up. Rachel looked at him in surprise for a moment, before picking her bag up and resting it on her shoulder.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," she said, and he followed her as she walked to her locker.

Sam rested his shoulder on the locker next to hers in the empty hallway; Everyone was gone now, it was just them. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly before he started to speak. He had plotted these words out in his head very carefully, ensuring that he wouldn't look too creepy if he said the wrong thing.

"So this new and improved you," he started, as if it were the beginning of a question, "Would it happen to have anything to do with Finn?" he asked. He saw her expression change, and her gaze fall. Great. You upset her. Smooth move! but Rachel spoke before he could.

"I figured someone would put it together," she murmured to herself, resting her back against the lockers next to him. "I guess shouldn't be surprised you figured it out first. I mean, it makes sense."

"So why aren't you expressing the new you through singing?" he asked.

It was the one thing that confused him; She had an amazing voice, why choose to express her emotions through appearance instead of song?

"I…" she replied, exhaling in a sigh. "I dunno, really… I guess I just wanted it to be visible, you know? to not have to use my voice to explain it."

"Well, considering the difference between animal sweaters and faux leather jackets, I have to say you did a pretty great job," he smiled, and she chuckled. For the first time in the entire day, he saw her smile. And it wasn't one of those fake, too-bright-teeth smiles; it was pure, and warm, and true.

"Thanks," she murmured. They sat there for a moment, before Rachel turned to look at him. "How are you handling it?" she asked. His expression turned grim for a moment.

"I've been better," he replied honestly. "Watching you tell Quinn off was a perk, though," he added. She smirked.

"Yeah, I have no idea what her problem is…" she sighed. He could tell from her expression that she was thinking of Finn. He put a hand on her shoulder, and almost instantly felt an electrifying jolt of energy come from his hand. She looked up at him, confused. He turned her so that they were facing each other.

"He doesn't deserve you, Rachel. I didn't see him defend you once while you were dating, and from what I gather from Mike, he's a bit of a hypocrite considering what happened last year. So, you kissed Puck; He slept with Santana and lied to you about it. You don't want to be pulled down by someone like him," he told her quietly. Her eyes were full of emotion; She looked like she was about to cry.

"You… You really think that?" she asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah. Finn's a jerk; He knows what it feels like toe cheated on, and yet he put me through that anyways. We were both wronged here, and I think you deserve better."

She smiled a bit, looking him in the eyes.

"You deserve better then Quinn, too. Considering her past relationships, she doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself. Sleeping with Puck, cheating on Finn, LYING to Finn, Cheating on you… You've shown me that you're a much better person than I thought you were. You're pure-hearted, and she doesn't deserve you," she explained, only breaking their gaze for a moment. Her expression slowly turned to one of hurt and sadness. Sam felt the panic rise in him as a single tear streaked down her face. She wasn't gasping for air, she didn't look like she was crying, but a tear fell anyways.

"Whoa - Hey, are you crying?" he asked her seriously. She shook her head and wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"Sorry… I just… What have I done to deserve this? This pain, this torture, this drama…" she murmured, as another tear started falling and she quickly wiped it away. Her breath was starting to get ragged now, and Sam did the only thing he knew he could do to help her. He let his bag slide off his shoulder, dropping to the floor, and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. It took a moment before Rachel wrapped her arms around his waist, returning the hug.

"Shh, it's okay," he murmured quietly, rubbing her back his his hand as she sobbed silently into his letterman jacket. Nobody noticed the football player hugging the tiny girl in the hallway for what seemed like hours. She finally let go, and he stepped back, letting his arms fall to his side. She looked up at him with a new expression; They had reached an understanding; a pact, that nobody else would understand. They would always stand up for each other, no matter what happened next. He smiled slightly as he used the pad of his thumb to wipe the tear streaks off her face.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly. He nodded to her.

"Here, I'll walk you out," he replied, taking her bag from her. She smiled, nodding, and they walked out of the school. They made their way to the parking lot and over to Rachels' shiny black Honda accord; The thing looked like a sports car, and Sam smiled, impressed with her choice of car. He opened the door for her, and she took her bag from him and got in. She started the car, but before she pulled away she looked at Sam through the window and mouthed the words 'Thank you.' He mouthed back 'You're welcome' and she pulled away. He watched her go before he walked over to his old chevy pickup truck and drove home. He could feel something different inside him; He didn't know exactly what, but it felt like he was promising he would never let her get hurt again.

Well, I think it did pretty damn well on this chapter. Hope you guys liked it!