I apologize in advance for any mistakes, I kind of rushed to have this chapter out today.
Ahh welcome to S4! I have thought a lot about this, and I have always hated the way Ryan Murphy so many of the characters in S4. In my opinion, he completely ruins Tina's character. I loved her before, and although I was so happy to see her get more screen time and storylines, I was so sad to see her become, well, this new, annoying Tina. I know Jenna said in an interview Tina was finding herself, but everything she did just seemed so out of character for her. And don't even get me started on Sam and Blaine. Why did they dumb Sam down? Sam was always this dorky, loveable character, but he wasn't that dumb. And I loved Blaine in S2/3, but then he became annoying to me. And his and Kurt's storyline from that point on never made any sense to me, I mean they were a pretty healthy couple (apart from that whole Chandler situation, but even then), but Ryan Murphy adding cheating to their relationship (what is it with Ryan Murphy and cheating?) just made no sense to me, it just seemed out of character. And it made me dislike their relationship from that point onwards.
Anywaysss, I know this is a story focusing on mainly Sam and Quinn, but I have begun to love their little interactions with their friends, and since Quinn is mainly absent from S3 onwards, I will be including more sections from Sam's POV. So I don't know how I'll do it or whether I actually will, but I kind of want to keep certain characters' personalities the same from how they were in S3. I don't know if any of that made sense, but let's just go with it.
Thanks for reading my long note/rant about how much I disagree with Ryan Murphy.
Also also, I have made Sam quarterback again! Football was such a big thing in seasons 1-3 and then it's like after Puck, Finn, and Mike graduated no one really cared about it anymore, which makes no sense to me because Sam wanted to rejoin the team so badly when he transferred back in S3.
Okay now onto this chapter, hope you enjoy (:
The New Rachel
It feels weird walking into the choir room without seeing the seniors. He misses sitting beside Quinn, so he sits beside Brittnay who is blonde and a cheerleader to fill that void, even if it doesn't work.
He doesn't really care about all of this 'new Rachel' crap. Besides, Finn told him he can take his role of leader anyway, with all the random pep talks and leaving all the hard work to whoever Artie decides to take Rachel's old spot.
Artie had invited him to help judge, but he doesn't really feel like feeding into all the drama this early into the new school year. He would much rather wallow in his room at the Hudson-Hummel's and stalk Quinn's social media and feel like crap because she's having the time of her life at Yale and he's stuck here in Lima miserable without her.
He wants to text her and ask her how she's doing. If she's settled in okay, if she's joined any of those clubs that she was telling him about when he drove eleven hours to go see her. But he can't, because much like her, he too knows how it will go. He knows if they fall into the same routine as they did before, FaceTiming every night and texting all the time, he will crack first. He'll throw in the towel and go visit her again and they will succumb to their temptations and it will be even harder to let her go. So he's giving her space not only for herself, but for him too.
Besides, he has Kurt to update him. He doesn't even think Kurt realizes how much he talks about Quinn. Sure, he gets updates about Rachel and how she's doing in New York, even the odd update about Mercedes in California, but Kurt is obsessed with talking about Quinn.
"You should see the outfits she's wearing! All thanks to me. She's like a modern day Hilary Clinton or Eleanor Roosevelt, stylish and political." "Sam have you heard? She's befriended these older girls who are in one of Yale's oldest secret societies. Can you believe that? A female secret society!"
He knows that if Kurt knew how much him talking about Quinn was rubbing salt into his still fresh wounds, he would probably stop. But if these little remarks are the only tidbits of information he's going to get about her for the time being? Then he'll keep a box of bandages by his bedside.
The only thing he's looking forward to is his parents moving back to Lima. They had told him in the summer that it doesn't make any sense for him to move back to Kentucky, and he can't exactly stay at the Hudson-Hummels forever, so they found another house that they can afford and are planning to move back in the upcoming months.
xxx
It's odd sitting with the popular kids. Not that he's never sat with the football guys before, he was on the team. But the glee club mixing in with the popular kids? It doesn't really feel right.
He's thankful for the girl he swears he's never seen before interrupting them, at least it gets Tina to stop pressuring Artie on his decision on who the new lead vocalist is. Didn't Rachel herself tell Tina it was going to be her before they left for nationals last year? What's the whole point of this competition then?
He thinks it's adorable how nervous she is. Her name automatically reminds him of the movie Marley And Me. He shoots a glare at Tina for her bitchy comment and gives Marley a welcoming smile when she looks over at him. He knows what it feels like to be the new kid and just want to fit in.
But the smile is wiped off of his face when he sees Wade sit down at their table wearing makeup. He doesn't exactly get the whole Unique thing, but his parents raised him to accept anyone regardless of how different they are from you, but still, McKinley is not as open as the people in Chicago.
"Wade, you can't wear that makeup and stuff in here. You have to know how this stuff works. It's like Game of Thrones."
This time Tina shoots him a glare but he pays no mind to her, she doesn't get it. He knows how ruthless football jokes can be, he's just looking out for Wade.
He's thankful Artie backs him up because he was starting to feel bad due to Tina's continuous glare. "Yeah, the peace between us and the truly popular kids is weak, winter is coming. It's not gonna take much for us to get smacked to the bottom again."
He sees Wade's face fall and looks over at Blaine for some help. He knows he and Artie can sometimes be a little blunt and abrupt, maybe Blaine can help soften the blow.
Blaine gives him a nod when he sees his pleading look. "Maybe you should just save Unique for performances, and be Wade the rest of the time."
He gives Wade a supportive nod and a smile when he tells them that he is going to go take off his face.
But once more that smile vanishes when he sees Kitty and two new football players he's never seen before come sit down at their table.
Don't get him wrong, being popular is definitely better than the alternative, but the popular kids this year are so much worse than the football guys last year.
xxx
He gets a text from Quinn while he's heading to Coach Beiste's office so he can talk to her about football tryouts. Hey! How was your first day?
He wasn't expecting the message, so he freezes for a second, but then he just turns his phone completely off. He knows on the door of the coach's office and waits for her and she waves him inside without looking up from her clipboard.
"Hey coach, I wanted to talk to you about trying for quarterback again this year. I know I missed the entire season last year because of my transfer, but before I transferred from my old school in Kentucky I was quarterback there, but I'll miss some of the tryouts because glee club auditions overlap with football tryouts."
She puts her clipboard down and he braces himself for the worst. Coach Beiste is one of the nicest women he's ever met, but she is so incredibly hard to read.
"Don't bother kid, you already have the position."
His eyes widen, and if the coach wasn't looking at him right now, he would be jumping for joy. "Wait, what?"
She chuckles and reaches behind her to hand him a uniform. "Finn had talked to me before he graduated about how you should be the only carrying the torch now that he's gone and I agree. I remember your talent Evans, it just wasn't your time then, but it is now."
He stares at the uniform sitting in front of him on Beiste's desk. Number six, she remembered. "I don't even know what to say, thank you coach."
She smiles at him and tells him to be early for tryouts later this week because she needs him prepared for some of the drills she's going to run. He thanks her again before he leaves.
xxx
He sends Finn a text the next morning thanking him for talking to the coach and tells him that he made quarterback, but he doesn't expect a response back. Finn has been pretty much MIA since leaving for the army.
He also tells Kurt because he knows Kurt will tell Quinn. He has a hunch that just how Kurt is updating him on how Quinn is doing, he is also doing the same for her.
He walks into the choir room as Mr. Schue starts the meeting, preparing them for what auditions are going to look like tomorrow afterschool. He takes a seat next to Tina and she gives him a look. He rolls his eyes, what could he have possibly done now.
"Is your phone broken? I mean it can't be since you sent me another stupid meme during first period, but I'm just curious, is it not working properly?" She whisper yells at him subtly so Mr. Schue doesn't yell at them for not paying attention.
He sighs. He has a feeling what this is about. "No Tina, my phone is not broken."
She makes a hmph sound and crosses her arms across her chest. "Weird. Because Quinn told me about how she texted you asking how your first day back was and you didn't even answer her."
He throws his head back and quietly groans, he really does not want to be having this conversation, especially not with Tina. "Look Tina, I can't do it okay?"
But of course, Tina gives him no sympathy. He wishes Mike were here, he would have had his back. "She's just trying to be civil Sam," she barks at him. "Why can't you just be friendly?"
"Because I don't want to be friendly, Tina." He bites back through gritted teeth and sighs again once Tina turns to glare at him. "I just need space right now, okay? I will text her back when I'm really and not fucking heartbroken that she's gone and everything will go back to being fine and dandy. Can I have that?"
Her eyes soften and she nods at him. Relief washes through his body, finally. He's still annoyed at how Tina was giving him such a hard time when Quinn was the one who wanted to end it, so she asks Tina how Mike is doing and tries not to flinch under her glare because he's heard from Mike the two of them are having problems because of the distance.
xxx
He shows up to the auditorium right before auditions are about to start because if he's being honest? He doesn't really care. They have allowed anyone who has tried out into the club before (minus Sugar, but she eventually joined anyway), so why should it be any different this year?
He takes a seat next to Blaine who hands him a clipboard. He skims through the list of names, no one he really recognizes, but then his eyes catch Stoner Brett in messy handwriting and he chuckles. Beside each name are two boxes, one for yes and one for no. Even though they have to sign their name at the top of the paper, he still checks yes for Brett as a joke.
He doesn't exactly know why Kurt is here, is he a mentor or something for the glee club this year? But he doesn't question Kurt, he doesn't exactly want him to leave. He needs his updates about Quinn somehow. And he knows Tina won't tell him about her unless he asks her, which he will not be doing. It doesn't exactly go with his whole I'm over it look.
He's surprised at the amount of people that are trying out. Now that they have Wade, they really only need five more members to make it twelve. He doesn't really think any of them are bad, so he waits for Blaine to either look at him and shake his head or nod before he checks off the boxes.
He tells Sugar "no he's not." when she says she thinks Jake is so sexy. He's supposed to be the best looking guy in the club, as cocky as it sounds.
His eyebrows shoot up in surprise at Jake's outburst. It reminds him of something Puck would do, since Finn's speciality is kicking over chairs.
Marley walks in next looking all nervous. He immediately just checks yes because of how badly she wants to be a part of the New Directions, but realizes he's made the right choices as soon as she starts singing.
He thinks about how much Quinn would have loved her. She's shy and kind, doesn't seem like the type of girl to cut someone's throat just to get a solo, but she's super talented. She reminds me of Tina, he can hear her saying inside his head.
He claps and chuckles to himself at Blaine, Tina, and Wade's worried reactions. Marley is star quality, oh who are they kidding? She is the new Rachel.
Mr. Schue collects their clipboards and dismisses them for the day, telling them he will post the finalized list tomorrow.
xxx
He walks into the choir room the next day to see Kurt with a bunch of sheet music on the floor. He pays no mind to how Blaine won the new Rachel competition, instead he personally congratulates Marley on becoming the newest member of the New Directions.
"I'm Sam by the way." He says, for the first time getting a good look at her eyes. They're big and brown and remind him so much of Quinn's. He realizes his staring has gotten a little creepy when Tina nudges him and Kurt gives him a knowing look.
"Uh thanks Sam." Marley says awkwardly, rubbing the side of her arm. He blushes embarrassment and moves to the back so the other members can congratulate and get to know her.
xxx
"Hey Sam, there's something I need to tell you." Kurt says to him while entering his room later on that night. He looks up from his homework and gestures for Kurt to come inside. Kurt goes and stands at the foot of his bed while nervously playing with his hands. "I'm leaving, for New York."
His heart sinks. There goes the only person he can talk to Quinn about without any judgement and the only person who will update him. "Oh, wow. That's great man, congrats." He doesn't sound happy for him at all, so he gets off the bed to give Kurt a hug.
"Don't worry." Kurt tells him. "I'll still update you about her." When they pull a part Sam tries to look as unbothered and calm as possible.
"Oh Kurt no, I'm completely over it. You don't need to do that." He says, trying to make his voice as even as possible.
Kurt just smirks at him. "Sure Sam, sure."
xxx
He takes a seat next to Marley at lunch in the cafeteria the next day because he wants her to feel as welcome as possible. He pulls out his math homework and gets Artie to help him because he's tired of hearing about this 'new Rachel' thing.
He shoots Sugar a glare when Marley tells them all that the new lunch lady they had been making fun of is her mom. He gives them all individual looks of disappointment (except for the popular kids, he knows they won't care). He knows what that feeling is like, to try and hide who you are because you're afraid of what everyone else is going to think. He lived through it two years ago when his family lost all of their money.
He gets up and goes to throw his lunch away. His appetite is gone.
xxx
He finds Marley in the hallway the next day and decides now is probably a good time to talk to her. "Hey Marley, uhm, I just wanted to apologize for all of us and beg you not to quit." She can see that he's not interested in his apology, so he decides that sharing his story with her won't hurt. "Look, I get you. Like for instance, I know that sweater is from Walmart and your mom sewed the label into it."
She looks mortified which makes him feel worse and asks him, "how do you know that?"
"Because my mom used to do the same thing for me." He tells her while smiling. "The best thing about glee club is it's not about labels. If you can sing, or you can dance, you belong. And dude, you can sing."
But Marley isn't buying anything he's saying. "I don't know." She tells him, turning back to her locker. "You say that, but the way you were making fun of my mom, something doesn't feel right."
He's grateful when the rest of the glee club comes over because he isn't exactly the greatest with words. He just prays that they won't make it worse. But he's relieved when they all apologize to her sincerely.
He rolls his eyes when Kitty calls him Richie Poor, like he cares, he's been called worse. But his heart does sink when Unique (Kurt had explained to him the whole thing with Unique and how disrespectful he had been when he had made her take her makeup off) and Marley get slushied.
That sad feeling returns when he sees Marley hasn't joined them for glee rehearsal in the choir room. He tries not to think too much about it while Mr. Schue is teaching them new choreography.
But he hears her start singing Chasing Pavements by the curtain when the music starts and grins. When he reaches her at the front of the stage he fixes her hat to tease her a little bit, hoping it will make her feel more welcomed. Sugar swats his arm while laughing at him, still trying to keep up with the background vocals and he smiles as the song ends. Maybe glee club this year won't be so bad.
Brittany 2.0
He looks at Artie in confusion who is sitting beside Brittnay because Brittnay looks like a mess. Artie just shrugs and looks just as confused as he does as he goes and sits on the other side of her. He heard she had been kicked off the cheerios because of a bad test or something like that, but she didn't realize she was taking it this bad.
"Hey Britt, how are you today?" He asks carefully because he knows how girls are. You could think you're saying the right thing and turn out to be saying the worst thing you could have possibly said. He dated Quinn after all, and the first time they dated? She was the queen of mixed signals.
Brittany just looks at him and doesn't say anything. He's grateful Mr. Schue walks in shortly after because things were starting to get awkward.
He looks over at Brittany when Mr. Schue talks about how one of their own has fallen, and smiles at Brittnay even though she isn't even looking at him when Mr. Schue announces they're doing Brittnay week again.
He tries to encourage Brittnay to dance along with him during Blaine and Artie's duet, but she isn't having any of it. She just continues to slouch next to him and eat her oreos.
Relief floods through his body when Brittnay says she feels inspired with Brittnay week. Even though the two of them have never really been close, he still cares about the girl. Plus he had told Quinn that he would look after Brittnay now that she and Santana are gone. The two of them might be broken up, but he's not going to break his promise to her.
"Let's do a song together!" Tina says to him as the two of them walk out of glee club, linking her arm with his. Not that he minds, he and Tina have gotten a lot closer. Since Quinn has left and she and Tina were best friends, and Mike had been his best friend, the two of them nonverbally bond over how much they miss the two of them.
"I told Joe I would do a song with him right before Mr. Schue ended the meeting." He tells her, but it doesn't bother her.
"That's fine! He can join too. I'll send you the song later tonight so you can learn the chords." She tells him happily and she walks in the opposite direction for her next class.
"Wait, Tina!" he shouts after her. "I have to play guitar?" She turns around and shoots him a smile without saying anything and he grumbles under his breath. Don't get him wrong, he loves playing the guitar, it's just the last time he did is when he sang that duet with Quinn. And even though he thinks about her all the time, he doesn't exactly like to be reminded of when they were still together.
xxx
He throws his bag by one of the chairs once he enters the choir room and takes a seat on one of the stools Tina has set up for the three of them. He grabs one of the guitars at the side of the room and takes a seat next to Tina.
"You ready?" She asks him, catching the look on his face. He just nods back and focuses on the song rather than the flashback of memories he's getting.
As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he is having a ton of fun. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Brittnay get up, but he just assumes she's heading to the washroom. He does stop strumming though when he hears the sound of an electrical razor.
Mr. Schue rushes over to her and Tina looks over at him panicked. He sighs and pulls out his phone as everyone tries to calm down Brittnay. He pulls up her name under his list of contacts, her message from a week ago still sitting in their chat, unresponded to.
Brittany's kinda lost it. Thought u would wanna know. Maybe u can tell Santana.
He's surprised at how quickly she responds back. Shouldn't she be in class or something? He knows she got a part time job at this little cafe, Kurt had told him all about it. So even if she's not busy with school, wouldn't she be busy with work?
Oh no, I hope she's going to be okay. Thanks for telling me, I'll let Santana know.
Just as he's about to put his phone back in his back pocket he gets another text.
How have you been?
He doesn't answer that text either.
xxx
He's standing at his locker when Tina starts pulling his arm. He barely has time to close his locker before she starts dragging him down the hallway. "Woah Tina, what is this about."
"Emergency glee meeting in the choir room." She tells him, not bothering to look back at him.
"About what?" he asks her as they reach the choir room.
"Brittnay." Everyone is already there. She goes and hops on the piano, and he follows her actions sitting on the other end.
Brittany starts talking to some different version of Siri, but he isn't focused on that. His eyes are drawn to the giant coffee cup in Brittnay's hand. "What size coffee is that?"
He doesn't really agree with Brittnay's idea for all of them to lip sync, and by the looks of it, no one does either. He looks at Blaine, concerned, but he shakes his head, telling him just to drop it. They'll do this one thing for her, and then everything will return back to normal.
xxx
He gets to the gym before anyone is really there before the pep rally so he can get changed. He goes over last minute dance moves with Joe as Blaine and Tina freak out over the fact that Brittnay is eating cheetos.
He knows everyone can tell Brittnay is lip-syncing, but he's just hoping no one will call them out on it. But of course that Kitty bitch points it out and everyone starts booing. Blaine quickly runs and pulls the curtain to cover all of them and Mr. Schue sternly tells them to head to the choir room.
He sits next to Joe in the back because he's ashamed. He knows he should have said something, or told Mr. Schue about it so he could have convinced Brittnay not to do it.
He watches in shock as Brittnay quits the glee club and realizes that this group intervention thing is not working, she needs one on one help.
xxx
He slips a note in Brittnay's locker to meet him in the auditorium, and draws her a map just in case she really has lost it.
He waits patiently for Brittnay to arrive, scrolling through Snapchat and purposely torturing himself by rewatching Quinn's story of her with her new friends and new classes and new life without him.
He puts his phone away when he hears the doors of the auditorium open. He chuckles as Brittnay continues to stare down at the map like if she were to look up she still wouldn't be able to find him.
He makes a joke that he keeps a map in his pocket as well in case anyone ever steals his compass when she thanks him for the map. She gets a giggle, which is what he was hoping for.
"Look, I know what you're up to." He tells her as soon as she takes a seat next to him. "The lip-syncing, beating up Jacob Ben Israel. You're intentionally hitting rock bottom."
She waits for Brittnay to deny it, or tell him if she thinks that than he must be as stupid as she is, but instead she tells him, "so I can make a glorious comeback just like Britney. I mean, just look at her. She got paid fourteen million dollars to be on X-Factor, she looks great, she has an amazing perfume you can smell from miles away. No matter what happened to her, she just came back stronger."
He sighs and takes away her box of pop tarts. "Alright, consider this. The last stop on the Train Wreck Express - an intervention.
She smiles and leans her head onto his shoulder. "Thank you. I'm so ready to come back. I'm just so sad that everybody's so mad at me."
"I just think they didn't understand what you were up to." He tells her, trying to comfort her as much as he can.
"But you did." She tells him and he laughs.
"I think we just just think the same." He tells her. He gets how she's feeling, it's not that she wanted attention from the rest of them, she had one particular person in mind. It's a cry out for help to Santana. I'm still here, don't forget about me. He knows that feeling, he feels it all the time.
He brushes off her "it's probably because we're both blonde." comment and asks her if she's okay.
"You still seem kind of bummed."
"I don't know." She tells him, lifting her head from his shoulder. "Santana would have understood. And then she would have used mean words against anyone who got down on me."
"You miss her huh?" He asks her, relating to her pain.
"I just miss, like, the little things, like her laugh and the smell of her armpits." He chuckles at that. "Yes, we had interesting lady sex, but she was also my best friend."
"Well, now you have a new friend, and he's blond." He tells her, hoping to cheer her up. She just blankly stares at him so he confirms that he's talking about himself, but she still gives him that same look. "I miss Quinn too."
Bingo, she stares at him sadly and he finally gets her walls down. He understands it now, Brittany just wants to feel like somebody else relates to what she's going through.
"Now you just got to figure out a way to get back on the cheerios." He says, changing the subject because yes he will admit that he misses Quinn, but that doesn't mean he's willing to talk about it.
"It's all part of the comeback." She tells him, smiling. He gives her a small one back.
xxx
He walks up to Jake to welcome him, telling him "hey dude, me and your brother were best friends. Is it weird that I know him better than you?" He just gets a weird look back, but he shakes it off.
He grins when he sees Brittnay in her high pony and cheerios uniform. Although Marley's song does make him think of Quinn. He's not an idiot, he can see she's singing to Jake. But he doesn't care about any of that. He's too busy drowning in his own thoughts about his own failed love story.
Makeover
He's a little bummed that Brittnay didn't ask him to be his running mate. He gets why she chose Artie, especially if she's going against Blaine. Artie is smart and is into these political types of things and the most political thing about Sam is his Bill Clinton impression.
So he asks Brittnay once glee practice is over. "Hey, why didn't you ask me to be your running mate? I'm like the perfect candidate."
"Well, I didn't want it to ruin our friendship. I mean, look at Sarah Palin. She and her grandfather, they were super close, and then he asked her to be his running mate, and they lost, and now they're not even speaking." If he's being honest, he has no idea what Brittnay is talking about, but he just agrees with her so she doesn't feel guilty for not choosing him. "But I do think you'd be a great vice president, so I'm going to help you out."
He laughs to himself when Brittnay introduces him to Blaine. Does she not realize that the two of them are already friends? He smiles and shrugs when Brittnay declares that he will be Blaine's candidate for vice president.
But Blaine says no, so Sam tries to sell why he would be the perfect candidate. "My family's on food stamps, so that will get you the sympathy vote. I'm not gay, so that will help with the not-gay vote and you know, I don't want to brag, but my impressions are hilarious 100% of the time." He tells Blaine while impersonating George W. Bush. Blaine looks at him a little confused so he says, "it's George Bush, come on."
"Okay, sure." Blaine tells him and he grins while shaking Blaine's hand.
"First order of business, Artie and I challenge you and Sam to a debate." Brittany tells them before walking away.
History might be his best subject, but he hates politics, so he leans over and whispers to Blaine, "what's a debate?" He's heard the word before, Quinn brought it up all the time, but he isn't exactly sure what the meaning of it is. Besides, Quinn always said words he didn't know the meaning of.
xxx
Kurt sends her about a dozen text messages while she's in her English Literature lecture. She discreetly cheeks her phone to make sure it's not an emergency. I got an interview with vogue!
There are about twenty more texts of Kurt asking her what he should wear and how excited he is. She giggles and waits twenty minutes for her lecture to end before she responds back. Kurt that's awesome! So proud, Skype before you leave?
He tells her that his interview isn't until tomorrow, but he will definitely Skype her beforehand so they can go over outfit options. How's Blaine doing? She asks him subtly, hoping the conversation will shift to Sam.
He's good, running for student body president. Before she can send him a response she gets another text message. Sam is running with him.
Oh. She wasn't expecting that. She doesn't exactly know how to feel. She's glad that he's thriving during his senior year of high school, but she is kind of upset that he's not as miserable as she is without him.
xxx
Blaine corners him in the hallway the next day and starts talking to him about the election. If he's being honest, he's kind of surprised about the amount of effort that he has to put into the thing. He thought people would just vote and if they won, they won. He didn't realize the amount of campaigning he would actually have to do.
"If I'm going to be completely honest, I'm a little worried that my picking you as a running mate is going to seem like a desperate grab for the straight vote if you don't really look like a serious candidate?"
He gets a little nervous and panicked at how important this is to Blaine so he quickly blurts out a John Wayne impression. "What do you mean, pilgrim?"
He tells Blaine he panicked when he asks Sam if that was John Wayne. "Okay, listen. Why don't you just ask Quinn for some help with campaigning? She campaigned for prom queen twice didn't she?"
Blaine's small drops and he can only assume it's because of the expression he has on his face. "Okay, nevermind that. I didn't realize the two of you weren't on good terms. When's your next period? I need you to meet me in the costume shop."
He doesn't know why Blaine is questioning him so much, isn't Blaine going to be the one debating anyway? Isn't his role just to stand there and look good?"
He doesn't remember hearing about Kurt having to wear a suit and tie for the debate last year. And podiums? This is starting to get a little ridiculous. And a lot more than what Sam thought he signed up for.
"I look like a republican." He tells Blaine when he has him dressed in a red tie. Blaine just snorts and puts a red and blue striped tie in front of it to see which one is better.
He posts a picture to his Snapchat story because he looks really good dressed so formally and as shallow as it sounds, he likes the attention he gets from the other girls to distract him from the fact that the only girl he wants for in the world is hundreds of miles away from him.
The one person he doesn't expect to get a reply from is her, although he knows he probably shouldn't be surprised because she's been sending him little messages for weeks now but he just can't bring himself to text her back.
He slides open her chat and skims over her message. You look amazing! Good luck Sammy, I know you'll kill it. Xo."
He has to read the message a few times because he can't decide if she's flirting with him or not. He wants to leave her on read, but he decides that after about seven unresponded text messages, just one can't hurt.
But he was wrong. Because even though he just sent back tnx, he still gets a lump in his throat.
xxx
He wishes Artie and Brittnay good luck and then walks over to where Blaine is getting ready. "Hey dude, now that you've made me over can I give you some advice?" He asks Blaine.
"Yeah, sure."
"Lose the bowtie." He tells Blaine, looking at him through the mirror.
"What?" Blaine asks him shocked and he refrains himself from rolling his eyes.
"Yeah trust me, it makes you look uptight and a little like a young Orville Redenbacher. Just take it off." He says to Blaine, and smiles at him when he throws the bow tie on the vanity in front of them.
Blaine tells him he was right, and he bites his tongue from saying I told you so. But then he gets a pang in his chest because it reminds him of something Quinn would say.
He stands at his designated podium and waits for Sue to ask him a question. He listens to the first part of Artie's answer, but then it drags on and on and he has to blink a bunch of times to try and keep himself from dozing off. He never has had the best attention span.
Which reminds him of this one time Quinn had been ranting to him about her cheerios back when they had dated while she was head captain. They had been sitting on that one couch they always sit on for their makeout sessions. He had asked her how her day went to not look like an asshole for going straight to kissing her, but he hadn't expected her to go on and on about how some of the girls didn't know the routine and they were a week away from some meaningless competition so Ms. Sylvester could win another trophy she doesn't need.
"Sam! Are you even listening to me?" She asks him while smacking his arm. He lifts his head from where he had been leaning it on the headrest.
"Uh huh." He tells her, having no clue what she was talking about, and from the looks of it, she knows it too.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh really? Then what did I just say?"
"Something about cheerios?" He tries and she glares at him.
"You never listen to anything I say!" Now it's his turn to roll his eyes.
"That's not true, I listen to everything you say." She just crosses her arms. "Okay so maybe I don't always listen, but I know the important things, I pay attention to what matters. I know your coffee order by heart, a vanilla latte in the winter and an iced coffee on the warmer days. I know you're terrified of singing solos in the choir room, and that's why you look straight at the wall or at the floor, or even the person you're singing with so you don't have to stare at anyone else because you think singing makes you vulnerable. You hate constantly caring about your reputation, even though you don't have too because you're amazing with or without that uniform as a shield. Should I go on?"
"You're such a dork." She tells him playfully, rolling her eyes.
He grins at her and leans up on his elbows. "I love you too." He says to her, moving in for a kiss.
He's pulled out of his thoughts when Ms. Sylvester asks him for his response to the same question. "Whatever Artie said, I agree with that."
Blaine gives him a look of disappointment and he curses. He doesn't even know why he has to be up here, who cares about the vice president?
Coach Sylvester gives him his next question. "Rumour has it you were a stripper. Aren't you ashamed?"
He sighs, he hates talking about it. He has blocked most of those nights from his mind, but he wants to do this for Blaine, so he answers the question honestly. "No I'm not." He has this entire empowering speech prepared, but then he panics because he doesn't know what everyone else's reactions will be, and does he really want most of the student body knowing about that part of his life?
So he walks towards the front of the stage and starts loosening his tie. "In fact," he says, trailing off as he rips open his shirt, the catcalls and whistles in the audience motivating him and giving him more confidence. He swings his shirt around and tries to not look at Blaine who is shaking his head.
It's finally time for them to switch and for the presidents to start their debate, so he runs behind the curtain and starts re-buttoning his shirt so he can go take a seat next to Blaine while he says his speech.
He knows he and Blaine have it in the bag as soon as Brittnay says her speech, but that doesn't make him feel any less bad. He just hopes that her losing student body president doesn't make her lose it again, he's starting to really care about her.
xxx
It's announced that he and Blaine won the next day on the announcements, and everyone in their class starts cheering for them.
"I'm planning you guys a celebration tonight at Breadstix!" Tina tells the two of them when she turns around to face them.
"Oh Tina, you don't have to-"
"Sounds good T, what time should we be there?" He asks, cutting Blaine off. What is Blaine thinking? The girl is offering to throw them a party. How can he say no to that?
"Be there at seven boys." Tina says to them, sending them a wink.
xxx
He's a little surprised at the amount of effort Tina put into everything. There are balloons and confetti and a poster. He stands at the back with Blaine where she's set up a little stage and throws their conjoined hands in the air as blue and red confetti falls around them.
He feels ecstatic, but Blaine keeps bringing his mood down when he keeps bringing up Kurt and how much it misses him because it reminds him so much of Quinn. "You're kind of killing my party buzz bro." He tells him.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I did all of this for him. I did all of this for him. And now he's not here. And so it just kind of feels like none of it matters."
"Of course it matters. You're McKinley's 'First Gay Guy President.'" He tells Blaine, trying to lift his spirits. "Look, before you, Kurt was the first gay kid I met. And don't get me wrong, he's great, but I don't really get his Bravo jokes or the fashion thing or Broadway. You and me, it's different, you know? I never had a gaybro before. We'd be like Wolverine and Cyclops, you know, show people how cool we are with each other. If you ask me, that's what matters."
Blaine smiles at him and thanks him, but before he can say anything else, Sam's phone starts buzzing on the table. They both look down to see that Quinn is calling, and before he can decline the call, Blaine grabs his phone and presses 'accept', putting it on speaker.
"Maybe she knows where Kurt is!" Blaine tells him as the call is connecting, completely oblivious to the fact that Sam is glaring daggers at him.
"Sam! I was beginning to think your phone was broken. I've sent you a ton of texts, but you haven't really replied to any of them. I heard about your win with Blaine, congrats! How have you been?"
He smiles slightly at how she's rambling, he knows she's doing it because she's nervous because she knows that she doesn't have any control over the situation, he's really the one who has all the power.
Blaine gives him a look he doesn't recognize, so he looks away.
"Hey Quinn, it's Blaine." Blaine tells her as soon as he realizes that Sam isn't planning on saying anything.
"Oh. Hi Blaine. Is Sam there?" He shakes his head frantically and Blaine sighs.
"No, sorry. But I was actually wondering if you had heard from Kurt?"
The sound of her voice makes him feel like he's suffocating so he gets up and walks over to where Brittnay is sitting at a table alone.
"Congratulations to you, Mr. Vice President." Brittany says to him as he takes a seat next to her inside of the booth. "The people have spoken."
"Can I let you in on a little secret?" He asks her. She nods and he tells her, "I voted for you." He doesn't tell her it's because he knows no one else would, and smiles when she thanks him. "I know losing sucks, but you know, sometimes it can be a good thing. Look at Al Gore. He lost an election, then he won an Oscar.
He doesn't know how he feels about how touchy feely Brittnay is. He knows that's just how Brittnay is with everyone, and besides, she's still dating Santana, but the leaning on his chest or the touches on his arm remind him of Quinn, and it makes his throat feel like it's closing.
"I don't know how you do it." She tells him, and he asks her what. "You just always know exactly the right thing to say."
He shrugs his shoulders and tells her, "it's a gift."
Brittnay gets up and goes to talk to Sugar, and Blaine slides in and takes his spot. "Here's your phone back." Blaine says while placing his phone down in front of him. Blaine pauses before telling him, "she asked about you."
"I don't want to talk about it." He tells Blaine sternly.
"She's coming back for the holidays Sam, you can't avoid her forever." He just grunts in response.
Before Blaine can continue to lecture him, Tina pulls Blaine out of the booth and towards some of their classmates.
He stares at his phone for a bit, as it sits there on the table, mocking him. He finally gets the courage to open it, and immediately is confronted with Quinn's contact. His phone hovers above her name, his thumb almost hitting the call button. He shuts his phone off before he can press it.
So there it is! The first chapter of S4. Just a few quick little notes. Most of S4 to S6 will be from Sam's point of view with a few moments from Quinn because of course we need to know how she's doing at Yale, but because Sam *finally* becomes a main character and Quinn (sadly) falls into the background, we will get to see a ton more of him.
Also, I know that Unique identifies as a female and I fully support that! I know I referred to her as he in this chapter, but keep in mind that this is still Sam's point of view and he can be a little oblivious. That is also not saying that Sam is unsupportive of Unique because we all know he is, but what I got from this episode is that the glee club members were just a little uneducated on the subject.
As always, thanks for reading and please leave comments they make my entire week!