Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Note: Ahh, Sam was hard to write. But to those of you who totally caught the Blaine reference, congrats! Cyber-brownies to all of you! I'm just loving you guys and your lovely reviews and your mad-guessing on what's going to happen next. Please keep doing these great things for me!
"Sam was strangled?" Finn shook his head furiously. "No freaking way."
"Yes freaking way," Puck muttered. Of course, he knew that Sam's neck had snapped thanks to a length of rope and a high beam in a closet, but he wasn't about to tell Finn that. "I told you guys, there's a killer loose in Lima."
"Please, stick together," Mr. Schue pleaded the group. "I don't want to lose any more of you guys. Three is enough as it is." Rachel shot Kurt a worried look, and he glared at her to stop. "Lock your homes securely at night if you're going to be home alone, okay?"
"I feel so bad," Quinn said softly. "I mean, Sam's family moves from wherever to Lima, and their oldest son is murdered hardly a month into the school year."
"What do you mean, their oldest son?" Mr. Schue peered at her curiously.
"He had a younger brother and sister," Quinn explained. "Twins, Stacy and Stevie. His family goes to my family's church, so I saw them around."
"Oh my God," Rachel closed her eyes.
"That sucks," Puck put an arm around Santana, who pushed him away. "What?"
"Honestly, Puckerman. How would you like it if Sara died?"
"Leave my little sister out of this," his eyes narrowed at her.
"Wait, you have a little sister?" Kurt asked Puck. "I had no idea."
"And she's mine, so don't even think about giving her a makeover," Puck said firmly.
"Oh, fine," Kurt sulked in his chair.
"Stop the fighting," Brittany pleaded. "Artie and Tina and Sammy are dead…"
"We know, Brittany," Mike snapped.
"Lay off Britt," Santana whipped her head around to stare daggers at him.
"Lay off Mike," Mercedes rolled her eyes.
"HAVE WE ALL GONE MAD?" Finn stood up and shouted. "TWO—MAKE THAT THREE—OF OUR CLASSMATES ARE DEAD, AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS SNAP AND BITCH AT EACH OTHER?"
Everyone sat in dead, heated silence for several moments. Finn kicked the chair in front of him—Sam's chair, he thought to himself—and stormed out of the room, swearing heavily under his breath.
"Class dismissed," Mr. Schue said weakly, not sure of what to do or say anymore. One person he taught being murdered was one thing. Two people, that was another thing. But three people, in less than a months' time? Now that was something else altogether. He found that the members of his Glee club were acting very strange lately. They'd cried over Artie and Tina, but seemed immune to Sam's passing. Perhaps it was because they'd only really known him for a month, so they weren't as close to him. But then again, why all the fighting? Was the tension really mounting that high?
Of course it was. Three down, seven to go.
Later that night
"Well, Sam's gone," Mercedes shrugged.
"I still find it strange that he was here for barely, what, a week before signing into a suicide pact," Rachel said. "What could've driven him so far?"
"Maybe he just wanted to fit in," Santana shrugged. "Popularity is dangerous."
"I think I know why," their leader said quietly. They threw Sam's messy journal into the center of their slowly-diminishing circle of followers.
"I'll read it," Puck volunteered immediately. "Whoa, dude had messy handwriting. Okay, let's see what made him go insane. I knew it!"
"What?" Rachel leaned in. "What is it?"
"He was gay," Puck grinned. "I knew he was!"
"I was right," Kurt breathed. "I was so right! My gaydar never lies!"
"So is that it?" Santana asked. "Sounds kind of…not right for our sick little group here."
"Looks like he got the crap kicked out of him after he went to some dance with some boy named—oh, I can't read it, he crossed it out, I guess," Puck shrugged, blasé.
"Still doesn't seem right," Santana stretched her legs out in front of her. "It's not as twisted and demented as Artie or Tina."
"You don't know what someone's been through unless you were them," Mercedes pointed out thoughtfully. "Maybe Sam took being gay and being harassed about it to heart. Kurt, any insight on this?"
Kurt pressed his lips tightly together. "Uh-uh. Not just yet."
"I wonder why Finn was so upset earlier," Rachel drew her knees to her chest.
"How should I know? Isn't he like, your boyfriend now?" Santana asked snidely. Quinn flinched noticeably.
"He…he didn't tell me," Rachel didn't quite meet Santana's gaze.
"Enough of this," the leader clapped their hands. "Chang!" Mike looked up. "You're too quiet over there. I think you should be next."
"Really?" He brightened a bit. "You mean it?"
"I mean it," they smiled sweetly at him. "How does October 16 sound?"
"Sounds great," he nodded. "Let's do it."
"Good luck," they nodded back. "We'll see you on the other side."
To be continued…
