Oh my gosh...I'm sorry that I've taken such a long break. Alas, here is a new chapter. It's not very long but it needed to happen to get the story moving along. Let me know what you guys think! Hope you've all had a wonderful summer! :)


He swayed from side to side, shifting his weight from one foot to another. It was a nervous tick that he had acquired over the years. He wasn't exactly sure when he first noticed it, but he figured it was around the time he played baseball for his junior high team. He had terrible experiences that eventually led him to taking up football instead upon reaching high school. It hadn't mattered that he quit the team almost one month into the season. He still came away with a broken arm and a nervous habit. "Dude, you're going to be fine," Artie exclaimed from the choir room. It was bitter-sweet. It was the last time that a glee club would be in that room. Heck, it was the last time he was going to be in that room.

"I know. Sometimes I just get really nervous," he explained, although he wasn't sure if Artie believed him or not.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Rachel is here-would it?" Blaine questioned, giving Artie a knowing smirk.

"Guys, I don't even know if she's here yet. She could be in the auditorium, or still at her house. She wouldn't get here early just to see me." Blaine rolled his eyes before straightening his cap and smoothing over his gown. "Red never looked so awesome," Sam shouted dancing around the room wildly. Artie rolled himself to the guitar while Blaine manned the piano. In the midst of their last jam session Sam began to tear up.

He had grown to love William McKinley High School and all of the people that were a part of the school. He had done a lot of maturing at this place. He had learned the true meaning of love and loss from his classmates. He had so much to be thankful for and that school was the reason for over half of it. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of clapping and a voice he had memorized.

"Rachel," he exclaimed before forgetting about his surroundings. He rushed over to the door and picked the brunette up. Her squeals of excitement and laughter were music to his ears. "Your eyes are so pretty," he rambled while looking into the amber orbs. Without a second thought his mouth encased hers. It was wet and messy-but at the same time familiar and thrilling, something that made him feel as though he were finally home.

"You cut your hair!" Rachel shouted once he placed her down on the floor. She eagerly ran her fingers through the definitely shorter locks. "You've gotten bigger, too," she shouted while grabbing his biceps. It had only been a few months since she had seen Sam but he had been taking care of himself since he had been gone. His muscles were more defined and prominent. His hair made him look distinguished and more mature. His personality was still the Sam she knew so well though. His goofy grin and kind eyes hadn't changed.

"I just started loving my body," he sheepishly admitted. "I wanted to look good for you," he added with confidence. "Whether you want me or not I needed to look my best for you." Rachel wiped at her eye and Sam briefly wondered if she was tearing up.

The brunette pressed her hands flat against his chest. The robe was silky smooth against her fingertips but she could feel his heart beating rapidly from beneath the red material. "Come by my house after your graduation festivities with your family. I have something for you," she whispered while running her hands over arms.

"Let's blow graduation then," he replied immediately. He watched as Rachel erupted into a fit of giggles. He was glad that he could make her laugh; however, he was not joking. "I'm being serious here, Rach."

"You can't skip your graduation, Samuel. You'll regret it forever." She straightened his cap slightly and then looked around the choir room. "I have so many memories of this room. It's just unreal that there will be no more glee rehearsals in here." Sam nodded before resting his hand at the small of her back. "This is what led me to Finn. This is the reason that I had friends. This is the reason that I made it to New York."

"It's the reason that I found you," Sam whispered before clearing his throat and backing away. "I probably need to go. Thanks for coming to see me beforehand, Rach. It's really cool of you. I'll swing by later, alright? I'll text when I'm on the way." With that he turned and left, leaving Rachel behind in the choir room.

His feelings for Rachel were still there, still alive, and still growing for her. He wanted to be her friend, he did, but it was getting hard to be that guy. He and Rachel hadn't really spoken much after the whole Nationals incident, but he had been trying his best to move on. It just didn't work out in his favor. Of course, he hadn't tried too hard if his immediate reaction upon seeing her was to run up to her and plant a kiss on her.

He felt bad about his behavior and wanted to simply turn back around to apologize, but he knew that he couldn't be sorry for that. He couldn't be sorry for the way that his body reacted to her. He couldn't feel sorry when his lips were made for kissing her. He simply couldn't and he wouldn't.

He made his way to the auditorium and got in the spot he had been assigned at practice. He waved at Tina, Artie, and Blaine who were at the front of the line and sighed.

It was show time.


"I can't believe that we graduated. We'll never go to school together again. It's the end of an era, you guys," Blaine whined from his spot on the couch. Blaine's family had thrown a graduation party for him and his friends. Sam took a swig from his root beer and smiled. He was going to miss his best friend and the dramatics that came along with it.

"But you guys will get to see each other. Tina is going to Brown and Artie is going to be living in New York, too. I don't know how far away Brown is from New York-but all those states are so tiny," Sam shouted while holding his fingers together to indicate how small they were. "She could probably come visit you during the weekend or something."

"Thanks for that visual, Sam," Tina laughed while swatting his arm. "What are your plans for school?" She questioned with genuine curiosity. She and Sam had been pretty good friends. Most of the glee club considered them, along with Blaine, to be the three musketeers. Sam hadn't said anything to her about his post-high school plans. Every single senior had announced their plans at some point, but not Sam.

"It's complicated," he offered before taking another swig of his drink.

"Are you really not going to tell us?" Blaine questioned before pulling a potato chip out from the bag he held. "You want some?" He added as an afterthought after noticing the odd look Sam was giving him and his bag of chips.

"No, man, thanks though. And if I tell you guys then you have to promise to not open your mouth. Not to Kurt," Sam pointedly stated while looking at Blaine. "Not to anyone," he added while looking at Tina. Blaine looked across the room at Kurt with a sad smile before turning back to face Sam.

"I don't like keeping things from Kurt, but for you, Sam, I will." Sam nodded before looking at Tina did a motion with her fingers as though to say my lips are sealed.


He had giants playing quidditch in his stomach as he walked up the steps to Rachel Berry's house. He had been there once before, when attending her party where he drunkenly made out with Brittany. He didn't really know what to expect this time around. He looked at the door and sighed. Was he supposed to knock? Ring the doorbell? Just walk right in? He was saved from his confusion by the door being pulled open.

"Sam Evans, we have heard so much about you," a lanky man with graying hair and square glasses explained.

"Yes, so much," a darker-skinned man added from behind the original door-opener. Sam cocked his head to the side and thought over Rachel's explanation of her fathers. Hiram was the more serious of the two, definitely the Jewish counterpart of the duo.

"Hello, … ," he lamely retorted, hoping that Rachel's fathers didn't think he was an idiot. Rachel had mentioned in passing once that they hadn't exactly been supportive of her relationship with Finn. He wondered if Rachel had, at any point, told her fathers that he was in love with her.

"Call me Hiram," her father quickly interjected. "Mr. Berry makes me feel so old." Sam smiled, excited that he had been right about which father was which. So that meant that her other dad was LeRoy.

"He is the older one out of us though-so please feel free to call him Mr. Berry. I, on the other hand, am LeRoy," he explained with a chuckle. Sam grinned and held his hand out in an attempt to greet them.

"Rachel has told me all about you both. I'm sure we've met before, competitions maybe? I just feel like we've met before," he explained. LeRoy and Hiram shared a pained look.

"We probably talked at the catastrophe of a wedding Rachel tried to have."

"Daddies, hush," he heard Rachel squeal from the background. "Let Sam in without interrogating him. I'm not in high school. This isn't a date." Sam sighed. He knew Rachel wasn't into him but it didn't make it any more fun to hear. Hiram looked at LeRoy with a knowing look and let Sam pass.

"Open door policy," LeRoy shouted from his place in the kitchen, while Rachel tugged on his arm and pulled him to her bedroom.

"I don't know why they think we need that policy," Sam laughed. "So, what am I coming over here for, Rach?" He questioned. Rachel pointed to her bed in a motion that meant sit down. He followed her command and waited.

"Well, first of all we are best friends and we deserve to hang out after being apart for such a long time. I have several things I want to say to you, however, so please do not try to interrupt with one of your cute impressions, okay?" Sam nodded. "You and I have so much to discuss," she emphasized while walking from one side of her room to the other. "Are you paying attention to me?" She snapped when noticing that Sam was looking at her closet.

"Yeah, I was just remembering your old outfits," he sighed. He kind of missed the librarian look that Rachel used to rock, but he understood that moving to New York had her wanting a new look. She was, essentially, a new Rachel.

"Perhaps I'll wear one or two of them while I'm in; however, that is not what we are discussing right now." Sam nodded and sat up straight, motioning Rachel to continue on. "I have had a lot of time to think these things through, and I've come to realize that you are so very important to me, Samuel Evans. You are dear to my heart. I could never imagine a life that didn't have you in it. And for so long it has scared me because of what happened with Finn. I didn't want to open myself up to someone and then get hurt again…I've realized though that life doesn't work that way."

"What are you saying?" Sam questioned. He had to be sure that Rachel was implying what he thought she was. His heart was pounding out of his chest while waiting for Rachel to say something. She simply smiled at him before walking over to him. He watched in confusion as she bent down and began to pull something out from under her bed.

"Wait, I don't know what this is, but I'm kind of uncomfortable," Sam mumbled while Rachel handed Sam a guitar case with a bow on it. "Whoa," Sam whispered upon realizing that Rachel had gotten him a new guitar. "What? Why did you do this?"

"You always complained about your other guitar so I had some help picking this one out. I hope you like it." Sam grinned as he unlatched the case and saw the beauty that was in front of him. "Holy shit, this is a Taylor. How much did you pay for this? I can't keep this," he exclaimed.

Rachel watched as Sam pulled the guitar out and tuned it. He then began to play odd little songs that made her heart race and her palms sweat. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to be making better money when Funny Girl opens. It's fine. And you can keep it. No, you will keep it. It's my way of saying thank you…for everything. You've helped me so much this past year." She then proceeded to grab the guitar by its neck and gently lay it back in its case. "Sam, I love you," she proclaimed before crashing their lips together. Her hands instantly sought out his neck while his gently cupped her cheeks.

"Is this a joke, Rachel? I can't handle it if it is…" He breathed out after the brief kiss. He watched as her nose scrunched up in the most adorable way he had ever seen. She then shook her head before diving in for another kiss. "Wait, Rachel," Sam pulled away before he let his body get too carried away. "We need to talk. I have something to tell you…something you need to know."