Naked
She gets a call at one-thirty in the morning on a Thursday night. She's already exhausted because she had spent the past two days finishing a paper that was due earlier today so she snaps what at whoever decided to bug her at this ungodly hour. A sobbing Santana was not who she was expecting.
"Quinn!" She jolts upwards concerned. Santana does not cry usually, only when she is drunk or when something bad has happened and the girl on the phone is not exactly slurring her words so she gets an uneasy feeling in her stomach.
"Santana? What's wrong?" She bites her lip trying to go over all the possible things that could have happened. She knows Santana had broken up with Brittnay a couple of months ago, could something have happened to her?
"She's dating him!" She tries not to snort into the phone because what was Santana expecting? She broke up with Brittnay who still goes to high school. Those schools are full of hormones, of course Brittnay was going to find someone else. And how does Santana not know already? Those two are not exactly subtle about their new relationship.
Even though she knows the answer, she still asks, "who's dating who San?"
"SAM! She's dating Sam!" It stings hearing it out loud. Yes she's known for a while because she has both Kurt and Tina sending her updates every hour, but she hasn't had to talk about it with someone yet. She knows that they haven't exactly been on the best terms since their breakup so she knows anything lingering between them has disappeared, but she wasn't expecting him to find someone else so fast.
She's only half listening Santana go on about stupid Trouty Mouth and something about his dumb impressions that aren't even that cute. The other part of her is thinking how this could have happened. Sam and Brittnay weren't even friends, she thought Sam would have stuck with Tina, Joe, or Artie this year, or even Blaine. Brittany has her Cheerios.
"Quinn! Are you even listening to me?!"
Santana's voice makes her jump and she quickly responds back, "Huh, what? Oh, yeah. Yes." She feels bad for not really paying attention to Santana when she's clearly upset, so she asks her, "wait, how did you even find out?"
"The lesbian blogs! So then I texted Tina to confirm and it's true!" Lesbian blogs? she thinks confused. Why would they lesbian blogs care about Brittnay and Sam's relationship? She figures there's no point in asking, she doesn't have enough energy right now to care about the answer. She also has a feeling it's going to leave her more confused than she is right now.
She says "oh.." because she doesn't know what else to say. How does one even respond to something like that?
She hears Santana scoff and she rolls her eyes. Santana should be grateful she's even listening to her, she has class next morning and it's almost two.
"He got her a promise ring Quinn." Santana tells her softly and she bites her tongue painfully to distract her from the other pain she is feeling inside of her chest. A promise ring? He got Brittnay a promise ring? She absentmindedly opens her bedside tables drawer and pulls out the ring box, inspecting it softly. She opens the box and takes the ring out, placing it on her finger. It's a simple ring, but she never cared much about that, it was what it signified that was important to her. Did he promise Brittnay the same things?
"I thought there was something between you two?" Santana asks her, sniffling slightly, pulling her out of her thoughts.
That catches her by surprise. Yeah she confided in Santana after they broke up in a moment of weakness because she felt like she didn't have anyone else and she couldn't exactly tell Kurt because he was living with Sam, but she didn't expect Santana to remember.
She answers, "Oh no, whatever that was is gone. We're just close friends." but inside her head she's thinking, Yeah, I thought so too.
xxx
The show choir board immediately disqualifies the Warblers and declare the New Directions winners as soon as Finn and Trent tell them about the Warblers' use of HGH during sectionals.
He's ecstatic when Finn calls him and tells him, but Finn asks him to refrain himself from telling any of the other members because he wants to tell them all during glee rehearsal tomorrow so he reluctantly agrees.
But his skin is itching to just tell someone, so he calls her before he can think too much about it.
She answers on the second ring, which is surprising because she always had this rule about waiting until at least three rings to answer. "Sam?"
He's taken back that she knows it's him so quickly, but then kicks himself because hello, she probably has caller ID. "Hey." He knows he could have just easily just told her then, and if he's being honest he doesn't know why he doesn't, but he guesses her voice still knocks the wind out of him after all this time.
"Hi." She says, giggling a bit and it makes him smile.
"We're going to regionals." He tells her, pulling his phone away from his ear when she begins cheering on the other end of the line. "But you can't talk to Tina or Brittnay about it yet because Finn wants to be the one to tell everyone."
"I don't even talk to Brittnay anymore so you don't need to worry about that." The way she immediately sucks in her breath indicates to him that she didn't mean to say it out loud, especially not to him, so he chuckles when in reality he feels like the worlds biggest asshole for putting a divide in their friendship.
"That's not because Brittnay and I are.., right?" He asks her, hoping she will get what he is trying to say because he doesn't really feel like discussing his new relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
"Oh no, not at all. I'm just busy now, hard to keep in touch you know?" She asks him but he knows her well enough to know that she's lying. He doesn't ask her why it's so easy for her to keep in touch with Tina then, but he lets it go.
"Yeah, totally." He wants her to know that he knows the truth, he knows that if she really wanted too, she probably could have kept in contact with Brittnay, especially since from what he knows, she's been able to do it with everyone else. But he also does it because he wants her to know that even after all this time and distance between them, he still knows her. He knows the little things about her that tell him what she's really thinking or feeling. The click of her tongue, the tone of her voice, he can still guess her body language while she's talking to him over the phone.
"Well I should probably let you go then, you have a big day tomorrow, preparing for regionals and all that." She tells him, but he knows that she really wants the opposite.
"It was nice talking to you Q." He tells her, the old nickname rolling off of his tongue before he can catch it. Oh well, it's not like it's that special or anything, everyone calls her Q.
"Yeah, I missed it." She tells him honestly and he hums because he can't exactly tell her that he missed her too while he's with someone else.
xxx
He's jumpy all day the next day. He can tell it's starting to annoy Tina that he won't tell her why, especially since Blaine has already told her he already knows.
"God you two are like Quinn and Kurt when Quinn wouldn't tell me about how you two got back together." Well that definitely killed his mood. He glares at Tina and reminds her that his girlfriend is now Brittnay, but Tina just rolls her eyes at him.
But she finally understands why the two of them have been so giddy all day when Finn writes regionals on the white board during glee practice.
"All right people, we are back!" Finn tells them and Tina smacks his arm, causing him to yelp.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks him, glaring at him.
"Because Finn wanted to. And ow!" He says to her, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. She just rolls her eyes and he bites his tongue from telling her that if she continues to roll her eyes that much they're eventually going to get stuck in the back of her head.
"First of all, big props to Sam and Blaine for all their hard work to make this happen." He fists bumps Blaine while trying not to notice the small hand that is rubbing circles in his upper back. "But, there's no time to celebrate. We just lost three weeks prep time for regionals, and we still have to raise $400 to pay for the bus to get to the competition in Indianapolis."
He ignores Artie's comment about Indianapolis being the Paris of Indiana because he swears he's never even heard of the city so how can it be that exciting.
"I propose a bake sale. I mean, it worked last time." Finn tells them and he shakes his head. He heard all about that bake sale from Quinn, and how the only reason why it was successful was because Puck made weed cupcakes.
"Well, that's because Puck spiked the cupcakes with Mary Jane." He gestures his hands towards Artie as if to say there you go. Really Finn? A bake sale? That is the best you can come up with?
"I'd be willing to cut off my hair to sell it for extra cash." Joe tells them and he looks at him like what the hell? Are they even allowed to do that?
"This is silly, I know exactly how we're gonna get the money." Tina tells all of them while walking up to the front. "'The Men of McKinley' calendar. Let's face it, this is the cutest crop of Glee boys we've ever had." She snorts at Finn's offended reaction, but will admit it is a good idea. He knows his abs would sell a couple hundred bucks no problem.
"That's great. And it's January, so it's the perfect time to sell them." Marley adds, and he nods his head to show his approval.
"There are six guys, so each one can take two months. I think Blaine should definitely be December. You can do a Santana thing, but sexy. Sexy Claus." He looks at Tina to Blaine weirdly, he thought he told Tina to get over this whole odd maybe feelings for Blaine thing. Blaine is gay, it's just creepy. He's going to need to talk to her about it again.
"I'm in as long as I can take my shirt off." He adds, while doing an impression because he's panicking on the inside. He's going to definitely need to add in more workout sessions to prepare his body for this calendar.
"Wait, why does it have to be just the men? Why can't we objectify the girls too?" Artie asks and he glares at Artie. Objectifying the girls? Not exactly the words he would have used.
"'Cause girls are the ones that buy stuff. We're responsible for the consumer-driven economy. Those Twilight books are poop on paper, and we've turned them into a billion-dollar industry." Kitty tells him and he agrees, although he does think if the girls were to do a calendar in bikinis or something like that a lot of guys would pay for it.
"This could actually work." Finn tells them. "Tina, you're in charge. You can set up the photoshoots. Everybody else, pick your months and work on your concepts." He cheers along with everyone else to congratulate Tina on her brilliant idea and chases after her once Finn dismisses them.
"So you're going to be the one picking my months right? Because I don't think I'm really good with this kind of stuff." He tells her once he catches up to her and she nods.
"Yeah I can do that." She tells him as he walks her to her next class.
"And I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but Tina, this whole Blaine thing," he says, trailing off hoping she will understand what he's trying to say.
She sighs. "I know, I don't know what it is, I just say stuff like that without thinking. I know he's gay so there's like no chance between us, but I don't know Sam." She tells him, distress clear in her voice.
"Hey, it's okay. You probably just miss Mike so you're just trying to distract yourself with someone else. Although I am offended that you didn't choose me." He jokes and she shakes her head while laughing softly as they reach her class.
"That's because I know Quinn forever has your heart." She tells him in a singy type of voice.
"Brittnay!" He corrects as she walks into the classroom.
"Whatever you say." She tells him, drawing out the vowels and he rolls his eyes before heading towards his own class.
xxx
He knocks on the door of Ms. Pillsbury's office. "You wanted to see me?" He asks and she gestures for him to take a seat.
"I have some good news Sam. There are a lot of schools that are interested in giving you a football scholarship." She tells him and his eyes widen.
"Wait, what? I thought the scouts already came this year and talked to the students they were interested in." He says, completely surprised.
Ms. Pillsbury smiles at his state of shock. "They talk to the students they are on the fence on, and sometimes they don't even send scouts. Coach Beiste had sent some schools your performance during the championship game and it had piqued the interest of a couple colleges and universities. But that's not why I called you in here Sam, I want to know what your post secondary plans are?"
He blinks at her blankly. If he's being honest, he hadn't even thought about post secondary, he had been too busy worrying about the New Directions making it to regionals.
"Uh, I don't really have any at the moment." He tells Ms. Pillsbury, but she just gives him a warm smile and he lets out a sigh of relief that she doesn't think he's an idiot for not beginning to plan out his future.
"That's okay, some students start preparing early, others start later, but as long as you submit your application before the deadline is what counts. My concern is with the cost. Post secondaries can be quite expensive, and I understand your family went through a bit of a rough patch regarding finances last year?" She asks him and he nods his head, cheeks red with embarrassment. "I think a scholarship would be good for you Sam, but full ride scholarships are only given to students who show both athletic and academic promise, but that does not mean you need to be a straight A student, it just means you need to be on top of your classes. Now I have noticed your grades have slipped since last year."
He purses his lips because he doesn't really feel like telling Ms. Pillsbury it's because his tutor was his girlfriend who has now graduated and broken up with him. "I've just been busier this year. With football, glee, and the musical. I also have student council. And my parents moved back to Lima a few months ago, but I'll try and get Artie and Blaine to tutor me more." He tells her and she smiles at him like he's a child, like he doesn't understand what she's saying which confuses him because what is there to understand?
"It's not your grades I'm really worried about, it's your S.A.T scores. Did anyone help you prepare for your S. ?" He shakes his head embarrassed, he didn't fail that badly did he? "It's not that you did bad Sam because you didn't. It's just the schools that will be offering these scholarships will be looking for a higher mark, but there are other options Sam. I would love to see you again to go over these, does that work for you?" She asks him in the same cheery tone she's been using the entire time. It doesn't make him feel any better.
"Yeah, sure Ms. Pillsbury. That works." He tells her, getting up from the chair and leaving her office, unsure of whether or not he's actually going to go. What's the point? It's not like he can go back and time and retake the S. . And it's not like his family will be able to afford a decent college either. There's no point in making future plans if he has no future.
That's fine. If he's not going to college then he can do other things. Maybe modelling, people have been saying he has the perfect body for years. So he begins to note down what he eats and adds in a workout session at least once a day. A bag of chips has around 1,200 calories? That's fine, running for an hour burns 1,000.
xxx
He doesn't know what it is that makes him decide to go to school in only a pair of uggs and swim shorts, but it's fine, it's not a big deal. It will prepare people for the McKinley calendar, get them hyped up and all that. From the looks of it, the girls don't seem to mind anyways.
"Sam? What are you doing? It's January?" Blaine asks him as he and Tina walk up to him.
"What do you mean? It's hot out there, you know?" He tells him, trying to keep himself from shivering because if he's being honest he is freezing. "Sun's out, it's like, way above freezing." They just look at him like he's lost it.
"Are you sure you're not overcompensating a little?" Blaine asks him and he begins to grow a bit annoyed. Why is Blaine making this such a big deal?
"Overcompensating for what?" He asks Blaine, a little frustrated, as he takes off his sunglasses.
"Your S.A.T scores. Ms. Pillsbury told me about how you blew off your appointment with her yesterday. There are re-tests Sam." Blaine tells him and he glares at him. He has no right discussing his business with Ms. Pillsbury, and to talk about it in front of Tina? Really Blaine? He might as well call Quinn right now since he's going to be getting one from her as soon as she finds out.
"You know what dude? Like, if you choose to be jealous of my hard-core rockin' bod, that's on you." He snaps because he does not want to talk about this. He doesn't care about those stupid S.A.T scores or the scholarships he's going to miss out on because of them.
"Sam, we're just worried about you." Tina chimes in and he rolls his eyes. They don't need to be worried, everything is fine.
"I'm just looking out for you Sam. I'm trying to be your friend." Blaine adds and he groans. He is fine, why won't they get that?
"Okay, well, then put down the Hatorade and come to my seminar this afternoon?" He says, panicking. Crap, now he has to text all the other guys about it and actually plan a seminar.
"Your seminar?" Blaine asks him, like he's never heard of it before. Which would be correct, since he just made it up.
"Yeah, for the Men of McKinley calendar. It's a one-hour course entitled 'Modern Centerfold: Techniques that work for Today's Hot Young Posers.' 3:30. Locker room. No chicks." He says, directing the last part to Tina who just glares at him before walking away so he can get to his first class.
xxx
He's surprised at the turnout, he only created the seminar because he wanted Blaine to get off his back about the whole S. thing, so he didn't expect anyone to actually show up because even he thinks it's stupid.
He shows the guys some yoga poses because he doesn't know what else to do and he's pretty sure they all know how to work out.
"Why are we doing this again?" Jake asks him.
"It's broga - yoga for bros. All about getting in the best possible shape for the calendar." He responds, trying to put his mind on something else to distract himself from the burn he's feeling in his legs.
He sounds like one of those fraternity jocks Quinn would complain about, deciding that the best way to distract himself from the pain he's feeling in his legs is to focus on the pain in his heart.
"So are you going to be a sorority girl?" He asks her, flipping through one of the university booklets she's thrown mindlessly on the floor. The two of them are currently looking through possible schools she can apply to so they can distract him from the impending heartbreak he's going to feel since Mercedes has a new boyfriend.
"No." she snorts, crossing off something on her list. "And have to deal with those fraternity assholes? No way." She tells him and he laughs. "What about you though? Any dream schools in mind?" She asks him from where she's seated on her bed, staring down at him as he is laying on her floor, cradling his head in his palm with his bent arm.
"With my grades? Don't think so." She rolls her eyes and kicks his head softly with her foot.
"Hey, you're not dumb Sam. You have the potential to go wherever you set your mind to." She tells him softly and he scoffs. "Tell you what, I'll tutor you this year so we can get your grades up."
He raises an eyebrow. "You would do that?"
She flashes him a grin. "Anything for you, Sam Evans."
"Well, not everyone in here looks like they're on the CW. Some of us are more, PBS." Artie says, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Does the calendar really need to be shirtless?" Artie asks.
"Afraid so dude." He tells Artie, getting up from his yoga mat. "But don't sweat it, 'cause in no time, we'll all be centrefold-ready, thanks to White Chocolate's Strip Tips." He says, but Artie just looks at him unimpressed.
"Okay, moving on. Rule number one - manscape, all right?" He tells the guys, placing shaving cream all over his chest and stomach. "Nobody wants to see those rando nipple pubes, or even worse, a back that looks like Chewbacca's ass. No offense, Joe. Shave it off!" He says to them, shaving off the shaving cream.
"And who says you can't pack a little extra?" He asks, moving towards the sinks. "I like baby socks. Now, just make sure the sock is clean so you don't get any athlete's foot on your junk." They all just look at him mortified, but he just dismisses it, they'll get it eventually. "Now let's get this party started!" He tells them, referring to the fake tans he had convinced the cheerios to do for them earlier.
xxx
Throughout the week he runs more workout sessions with the guys, keeping track of the weight they have been losing and the muscle they have been gaining.
"Sam, are you alright?" Blaine asks him after one of their running sessions in the auditorium. He looks over at Blaine confused.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He asks, throwing on a tank top and grabbing his bag.
"I mean, don't you think you're going a bit overboard with working out for this calendar?" He scoffs, there is no such thing as going overboard with fitness. He's just getting them all into shape.
"No, I don't." He tells Blaine, leaving him in the auditorium.
xxx
She gets a call from Kurt after her shift at the cafe and just assumes it's their weekly call where Kurt updates her about everything from how he is doing at vogue, to Rachel's new boyfriend Brody, and how everyone is doing at McKinley.
"Hey Kurt, I just got in so just give me a second." She tells him as she steps into her dorm, kicking off her shoes and walking to the fridge to get herself a snack.
"Quinn we have an emergency." He tells her and she drops the yogurt she had grabbed in surprise.
"Emergency?" She asks, worried. It's not Burt is it?
"Rachel is planning to go nude!" Kurt tells her and she rolls her eyes as she picks up the dropped yogurt.
"Kurt! I thought you meant something serious." She tells him as she goes to grab a spoon.
"This is serious Fabray! Rachel cannot go nude for a student film. And her new boy toy is totally supporting it by putting his naked body on MY furniture. You and Santana need to get over here asap! She won't listen to me."
She sighs, she guesses she could take a little trip to New York, she has been meaning to get some decent shopping done, and there's no place better than New York to do it.
"Fine." She tells Kurt who squeals. "But you need to convince Santana yourself, I'm not doing it."
"Alright on it." He tells her and changes the subject so he can fill her in on all of the other updates that he has as she looks on her computer through train tickets.
xxx
She meets up with Santana at a coffee shop across the street from Rachel and Kurt's apartment before they head over for Rachel's intervention.
"Isn't it weird that every time we're in New York someone is having some sort of crisis?" Santana asks her as they walk out of the shop.
She rolls her eyes. "Maybe it's you, maybe you just bring bad luck." She teases Santana as they head towards the door of Kurt and Rachel's apartment.
"Oh bite me Fabray." Santana says to her as she knocks on the door.
"Oh it's so good to see you guys!" Kurt says to them, hugging the both of them as soon as they head inside. "Okay, Rachel should be here in about five of ten minutes. I don't want to be here for this so I'm going to go get coffee with Adam, see you guys later!" He tells them and the two of them look at each other confused. Adam? Santana mouths to her and she shrugs her shoulders.
"Who's Adam?" She calls after Kurt but he's already gone.
"How can Berry and Hummel even afford this place?" Santana asks her as she wanders around their apartment.
"Santana, focus." She tells her best friend, grabbing her arm to make her stand in front of the door as they hear someone walking down the hallway.
"Ohmygod!" Rachel yells as soon as she sees the two of them. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Lady Hummel called, begging us to do an emergency intervention." Santana tells her and Rachel just looks at them confused.
"On who?" She asks them.
"You." She tells Rachel, who looks at them surprised. "Come on, why don't we sit down?" She suggests, as she and Santana go to sit on chairs, giving Rachel a few minutes to get settled in.
"So, let me get this straight: you guys came all the way to New York to talk to me because Kurt called you?" Rachel asks them.
"We're also here to shop." She adds, not wanting to make Rachel feel embarrassed.
"Rachel, you cannot do a nude scene." Santana tells Rachel and she nods her head in agreement.
"It's not a nude scene, it's just a topless scene." Rachel corrects and she can feel Santana roll her eyes from beside her.
"Same thing. Topless is as nude as anyone is ever gonna want to see you." Santana tells Rachel and she flinches for Rachel at how harsh that sounds.
"Let's say you do it." She cuts in. Think about the 2-2-2 rule. In two weeks, how are you gonna feel about the nude scene?" She asks.
"You'd probably feel pretty great." Santana answers for Rachel and Rachel agrees. "You'll get to feel a nice, cool breeze on them skeeter bites, you'll feel refreshed, even." She nudges Santana, indicating she wants her to stay on topic.
"Then, how are you gonna feel about it two months from now?" She asks Rachel who is starting to look a little distressed.
"I don't know." She tells them honestly. "Nervous? Worried it may not even be good?"
"Rachel, it's a student film. It's not gonna be good." Santana tells her and she glares at Santana.
"And two years from now? How are you gonna feel about it then?" She asks.
"Guilty. Just, hoping my kids won't ever see it online." Rachel admits and she nods her head, her work here is done. Hopefully now she can finally get some shopping done.
"Oh, they'll see it. And they will never be the same." Santana tells her, putting the icing on the cake.
"Okay, wait." Rachel says and she internally groans, wanting to snap at Rachel. Why is she so set on doing this stupid film anyways? It's for a senior thesis, it's not like it's going to be winning her any Oscars. "Why am I even taking advice from you? Didn't you have a sex tape that leaked online?" Rachel asks Santana, totally disregarding the fact that Quinn had also been giving her advice, but she guesses she can direct the question at both of them since the first time she got nude for someone she got pregnant.
"Yes, I did." Santana tells Rachel. "A sex tape that follows me around to this very day. Look my name up on the internet right now." Santana tells her and the two of them wait for Rachel to do it.
"'Santana Lopez, nude, lez, boobies, sex tape, Mexican or Dominican, question mark.'" She furrows her brows in confusion how that can possibly be the first thing that comes up.
"Booyah." Santana says. "That will exist forever."
"But Santana, some women find it empowering to be naked on film." Rachel points out and she rolls her eyes. Didn't she just say she won't find it empowering two years from now?
"Yes, but not in a student film that is probably about someone's grandma with Alzheimer's." Santana tells her. She feels guilty as Rachel begins to look kind of hurt.
"Look, we care about you." She tells Rachel, hoping to soften the blow.
"And for once, Rachel, we actually have your best interests in mind." Santana chimes in.
"Please don't do it." She begs Rachel, who just sighs and eventually nods her head.
"Fine, I won't do it." She tells them and they both let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally! Now can we please go shopping?" Quinn asks and Rachel just laughs at her.
"Yes, let's go."
xxx
He skips a few of his classes to get extra workout sessions in before the shoot. And maybe he misses a couple of meals, but he knows how many calories he needs to eat a day, so he knows how he can make up for them later.
So maybe it makes him a little agitated throughout the day, but he's fine. As soon as this shoot is over with, he'll be fine.
He's posing for August when Tina suggests some of the other guys join the picture, which he doesn't mind, it's not going to distract people from his body.
"I'll do it." Joe volunteers and he scoffs.
"No offense, Joe, but I don't really think you want to be in a shot next to me. My washboard abs are gonna make you look like a bloated Bob Marley." He tells Joe, dismissing his comment about how he is how God made him. "Look, the reality is that we probably should have just done a Sam Evans calendar."
"Yes, and every month we could see you dressed as a different brand of jerkwad." He ignores Artie's stupid comment, he's just jealous of him.
"Guys, we waited too long! I lost my pump. I need five minutes." He tells them, storming off so he can go get his pump back.
"You're kind of out of control." Blaine tells him and he scoffs. Blaine has no idea what he is dealing with.
"Yeah, well, haters gonna hate." He tells Blaine, internally cringing at how much of an asshole he sounds.
"Will you please stop lifting? This isn't who you are, Sam. You're not just some body-obsessed muscle head." Blaine says to him and he rolls his eyes, putting down his weights.
"You don't know what it's like." He snaps at Blaine. "You can sing and dance and you can kick butt in school and you're all charming and everything, I have to announce my presence with authority the second i walk into a room. People have to notice me, or else they never will. People laugh at my impressions because how I look already has them on board." He admits to Blaine.
"Do you really believe that?" Blaine asks him and he rolls his eyes.
"It's just a fact." He says to Blaine, taking a seat on the workout bench. "If you want to make it in this world, you have to be special." He tells Blaine sadly.
"But you are special." Blaine tells him, taking a seat in front of him. "Even without your body."
"No, I'm not, man. It's, it's all I have. I'm exhausted. Watching what I eat all the time, my two-a-day workouts." He tells Blaine, finding some relief in telling someone the truth.
"Let it go. Have a burger every now and then. Eat a bag of Cheetos. Skip your workouts. Sleep in a little. Your body isn't going to change. And even if you have seven percent body fat, you're gonna see that all of us are still gonna love you. And we're gonna laugh at your impressions." Blaine tells him, smiling.
"I'm fine Blaine." He tells him, throwing on a zip-up hoodie and walks out of the weightroom.
xxx
"You wanted to see me?" He asks Ms. Pillsbury as soon as he gets to her office. "What are you doing here?" He asks Blaine as soon as he sees him sitting in one of the chairs.
"Blaine asked me to look into something for you." Ms. Pillsbury tells him. "Come in and have a seat." He reluctantly sits down, not wanting to hear what either of them have to say. "This is a very small sampling of colleges that don't require S.A.T scores or A.C.T scores. And they're really good schools, Sam. They're schools that recognise that a test score isn't always the best measure of your intelligence."
"Or creativity." Blaine chimes in as he looks through the pamphlets Ms. Pillsbury had put on her desk for him.
"And you can always take the SATs again if you want. You know, a lot of kids do that." Ms. Pillsbury tells him, but he isn't buying any of it.
"Yeah, well, let's say I somehow get into college somewhere. I still can't afford it." He tells them, which is the truth. His parents might have gotten back on their feet, but they can't afford college, especially since he's pretty lost all possible full-ride scholarships.
"Yes, you can." Ms. Pillsbury tells him and he's beginning to feel like whatever excuse he comes up with she's going to have a solution for. "Because even in this economy, there are hundreds of scholarships out there. What you'll need for these is a personal essay about yourself and your accomplishments."
He scoffs, what accomplishments? "Like what? Like my abs and my fish lips?" He asks.
"Like the Glee Club." Blaine tells him. "Like Student Council, the swimming,"
"Synchronized Swimming." He corrects.
"You led a football team to a championship Sam." Ms. Pillsbury adds. "You've accomplished a lot more than you're giving yourself credit for. But why don't you take that home and, um, just think about it?"
He nods and leaves as quickly as he can, putting the books Ms. Pillsbury gave him in his locker even though he knows he's never going to look at them again.
xxx
She gets a call from Tina as her and Santana are looking through different racks of clothes. "Hello?" She asks confused, wondering what this could possibly be about.
"Quinn, you need to come back to Lima." Tina rushes out and she puts back the dress she was looking at concerned.
"What? Why? What's wrong?" She asks, beginning to grow worried.
"It's Sam, something's wrong and I'm worried. Apparently he didn't do well with his S.A.T's and now he's all obsessed with his body and," she tunes Tina out after that, already knowing what this is.
The first time she had found out about it is when he had asked her how many calories were in the dinner she had made them when they had first started dating two years ago. He had sounded desperate, and his hands had started twitching when she told him that she didn't know. So he had gotten up and began to look through the packages to get a good estimate, and then typed something on his phone.
He had refused to tell her what it was about, so she stopped asking and started to pay attention. How he would ask the lunch ladies the approximate amount of calories in today's lunch, telling them he had to know for health reasons. How every time they went out to eat, he typed something in his phone and then put it away. Sam was an old kind of romantic, always putting his phone away whenever they were together so he could focus on her, so she always found it odd how he had to type that one thing before putting his phone away.
So she went through his phone. It had been during one of their movie nights at her house and she had chosen a silent film that she knew would put him to sleep. She had guessed his password on her fourth try, rolling her eyes at how it was his siblings' birthdays, but she never found anything. There was nothing in his messages or his notes.
So then she broke into his locker when he had football practice. She checked his regular one first and searched through his school bag but hadn't found anything. So then she checked his locker room locker and looked through his gym bag, which is where she had found a small black notebook where he had logged the calories of every single thing that he ate, along with a workout that burned that amount of calories.
She remembers how mortified he was when she had told him that she had found it, which had motivated her to tell him that she had also been struggling with body issues, sometimes skipping meals or getting weight loss pills on the internet on the days Santana called her tubbers.
The two of them then decided that they would help each other get over this since neither of them had really wanted to go to an adult. He would grab her hand whenever Santana or one of Puck's jock friends would insult her about her weight, and she would take his phone whenever they went out to eat.
She's not entirely sure how, but it worked for them. He got better with accepting that it wasn't normal to look like a Greek God, and she learned that others mean words stem from their own insecurities.
It was a nonverbal thing. Neither of them liked to talk about it much. She would give him a look whenever she caught up staring at his phone when they were eating, and he would squeeze her hand whenever someone would spit mean words at her.
Which is kind of where the hand squeezing thing came to be. A way for them to tell each other, you're not alone. I'm right here if you need me.
She's pulled out her thoughts when Tina starts raising her voice at her on the phone. "Quinn? Will you come?!"
"Uh, I'll have to see Tina, I'm in New York right now dealing with Rachel and I-" She starts, but Tina doesn't let her finish.
"He needs you Quinn, please. I need to go, but just please come." Tina tells her before hanging up and she groans and pulls her hair.
"What's wrong?" Santana asks her, looking from her to her phone.
"Did you drive here?" She asks Santana, disregarding her previous question.
Santana crosses her arms and looks at her confused. "Yeah I did, why?"
"Perfect, can you make a pit stop in Lima?" She asks Santana who just looks at her more confused than she was before.
"Yeah I will, but will you tell me what this is about?" Santana asks her again, but she just smiles.
"I'll tell you on the way there."
xxx
Rachel tells them to meet her in one of the auditoriums at NYADA that Kurt gives them directions for.
"Are you going to tell us what this is about?" Santana asks Rachel as soon as she enters the auditorium.
"I went back to do the nude scene, but I couldn't do it. And I just wanted to thank you guys. Thank you, so much." Rachel tells them and they both hug her. "It's like my dads say, you can't make old new friends."
"No regrets?" She asks Rachel and she shakes her head.
"None." Rachel confirms. "But do you guys have to go? Can you stay a little bit longer? 'Cause I would love to buy you dinner." Rachel tells them.
"Quinn?" Santana asks and she shrugs.
"Sure, as long as we can still get to Lima by tomorrow morning." She tells Santana, causing Rachel to look at the both of them confused.
xxx
"So are you going to tell me what you need to do back in Lima?" Santana asks her, shaking her shoulder to wake her up.
"God San, I was sleeping." She tells her, rubbing her eyes and looking to see the time and groans when she sees that it's half past three am.
"So? Are you going to tell me?" Santana asks her again and she rolls her eyes.
"I need to go help Sam with something." She tells Santana, feeling guilty for the silence that comes after. "You probably think I'm horrible because he's dating Brittnay."
"No Q." Santana tells her, placing grabbing one of her hands. "I would have done the same thing if it was Britt. You do anything for your true love."
Santana gives her a soft smile and she smiles back at her. "Thank you."
xxx
She finds him in the weight room working out his arms when she walks in the next day. He stops for a moment when he sees her, but then shakes his head and continues after asking her, "you do know you can't be in here right?"
"Funny, I thought you'd be happy to see me." He sighs and stops, moving a little forward on the seat. She doesn't miss how it looks like he's calculating something inside his head. She sits in front of him, copying him in throwing each leg over the bench, thankful she decided to wear jeans today instead of a dress. "Your eating habits change when you get pregnant. You stop caring about yourself, the way you want to look because the most important thing is the growing child inside of you. So you alter your lifestyle to make sure that child is getting everything they need."
"Good to know Q, but I don't think I'll be getting pregnant anytime soon." He jokes and she reaches to put her hands overtop of his on the workout machine to get him to stop.
"Why didn't you tell me you started all this up again?" She asks him and he huffs out a frustrated breath.
"I don't know what you're talking about Quinn. I'm sorry if you came all this way because you made a false assumption, but everything is clearly fine." He tells her and then places her hands on the work bench in front of them so he can continue working out.
She sighs. Fine, if he wants to play hardball then she can too. She gets up from the bench and walks out the door and she can faintly hear his sigh of relief. She walks a couple of rooms down to the locker room and walks to his old locker. She hopes to God that his locker is still the same one they had when the two of them were dating otherwise this is going to be awkward for her when the guy it truly belongs to walks into the locker room and sees her trying to break into it.
It's the numbers of Stacey's birthday, so she knows he must have put up a good fight to keep this one. She undoes the combination of his lock and internally cheers when the lock pops open. She pinches her nose while searching through the contents of the bag, thinking to herself Gosh Sam, when was the last time you washed this thing? Her fingers brush against a small book and she thinks Bingo.
She pulls out the black journal and opens to a random page to confirm her suspensions. Just how she had thought, he had begun spiralling again, calculating and writing down every meal, every calorie, every workout session to burn those calories. She knows it isn't that serious, where he's starving himself or bingeing, but she's still worried. Sam's obsession with keeping his figure exactly the way it is isn't healthy, and she had seen the worst of it while the two of them had been dating the first time, she just hopes it isn't that bad this time.
She shuts his locker and storms back into the weightroom where he is still working out on the same machine. She throws the book in front of him and stands in front of him with her arms crossed. "Everything is fine?"
She watches as the panic flashes across his face, but then that panic is just replaced with anger as he looks up at her and glares at her. "I'm pretty sure breaking and entering is a felony." He snaps at her.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh please Sam, save me the dramatics, it's a high school locker. Now we can either talk about this here in front of everyone, or we can go somewhere else, but either way, we are talking about this."
He grumbles something under his breath and gets up from the machine, throwing a McKinley football team hoodie over the muscle tank top he had been wearing. He walks out of the room and she follows him, keeping a bit of distance because she doesn't know how mad he is. Jumping a bit when he asks her, "are you even allowed to be here?"
"Visitors pass." She tells him, running a few steps to catch up to him to show him the pass she has clipped to one of her belt loops. He leads them into an empty classroom and then closes the door behind her once she enters and leans onto the teacher's desk.
"Who was it? It was Tina, wasn't it? She was the one who called you?" He asks her, going to sit in one of the chairs at the desk across from her.
"Does it really matter? I'm here anyway, it doesn't matter how I got here." He just looks unimpressed and she clenches her jaw because she doesn't understand why he's being so difficult.
"I have a girlfriend now. Don't you think this is really none of your business?" He says smugly, and she knows exactly what he's trying to do.
"I know what you're doing, you're trying to avoid the subject and it's not going to work, I found the book Sam." She tells him, growing tired of the games he's trying to play with her.
"You don't know what you're talking about." He snaps at her and she digs her nails into her palms as she clenches her fists because her patience is beginning to run thin.
"But I know you!" She shouts at him and his eyes widen, taken back at her outburst. "I know you just as well as you always tell me you know me. I know what this is Sam! I know you're scared. You think you're stupid because of those stupid S.A.T scores, so you're trying to distract everyone with your body and in order to do that your body needs to be in 'perfect' shape." She tells him, using air quotes with her fingers when she says perfect. "But you're not stupid Sam. Some useless test does not determine how smart you are. Please don't do this to yourself, it's not healthy." She begs him, looking into his eyes, but he just turns his head.
"It's fine Quinn." He tells her coldy and she huffs out at a desperate breath as the tears begin to fill her eyes.
"It wasn't fine two years ago Sam. You used to twitch when you didn't know how many calories you were consuming, but you let me help you then. But if you don't want my help this time around, that's fine, I understand, but please just let someone help you." She cries to him, but he still won't look at her.
"Do you want me to beg? Fine, I'll beg." She tells him, walking to the side of the desk he's sitting at so she can kneel in front of him, grabbing his hands. "I will do that for you because I love you." His eyes snap to hers and she takes a shaky breath. "And I know you're with Brittnay and that's okay, because I just want you to be happy. But when the guy I love is doing this to himself, it hurts my heart. And I think both of our hearts have gone through too much to let each other hurt them anymore, don't you think so?" He nods silently as a tear escapes his eye and she releases one of his hands so she can wipe it away.
"I'll talk to Blaine or Tina." He tells her softly and she nods. It stings a little that he doesn't want her help this time around, but she gets it, he has a different life now, one without her in it.
xxx
He decides to go to the astronomy room during his next free period to start working on the essay Ms. Pillsbury was talking about because if he knows he doesn't, none of them will let it go, and the astronomy room has always brought him a sense of comfort.
"You ready to write that essay?" Blaine asks him, startling him.
"No, I'm not." He tells Blaine honestly.
"Well, I've been doing a little research, um, with some folks that know you really well, and they all seem to think that you've actually accomplished quite a bit." Blaine says to him, playing a video on his computer.
He watches as the video starts with Tina, talking about how he had saved sectionals last year when they had been short a member and he had moved back to McKinley. It continues to Artie, telling him how he had rescued their nationals trophy, switching back to Tina, saying how he had saved sectionals again this year when he found out the Warblers cheated. He laughs as Santana appears.
"Trouty Mouth inspired me to try my hand at songwriting." She says and he smiles through a couple tears.
"Sam was the first person in America to do a Sean Connery impression." Brittany says as the video switches to her. "His impression is what made Sean Connery's career really take off." Both he and Blaine laugh at that.
"You know, Sam gave me the courage to follow my dreams and become a singer while the two of us had dated the summer before he moved, and become a singer, and without him I probably would have never moved to L.A." Mercedes says.
"And let's not forget when Sam took care of his entire family after his dad lost his job. They were living in a motel, homeless, and Sam supported them. I mean, that's pretty amazing. He's a really substantial person." Finn adds as more tears stream down his face.
Finally, Quinn appears on the screen with a little wave. "Just how Sam had saved sectionals both last year and this year, he had saved me. After I had Beth, I had been so lost, and along came Sam. He saved me." She says, as the video concludes.
"Now, that's your essay." Blaine tells him and he gets up and hugs him.
"Thanks, thanks bro." He says to Blaine as the final tears fall.
"Don't mention it. It was Quinn's idea anyway." Blaine tells him as they break apart. "She had suggested it to me and Tina the day she had headed back to Yale."
He laughs at the irony of it all, Quinn saying how he's always saving her, but he thinks it's quite the opposite.
xxx
"Hey, Artie." He says to Artie when he sees him at his locker the next day.
"Oh, I'm sorry, do I need to take my shirt off while addressing you?" Artie bites at him and he sighs feeling guilty.
"Listen, um, the bottom line is that we have two empty months in this calendar. We want you to fill them, and I totally understand, you know, wanting to keep your shirt on." He tells Artie. "You want to be known for more than just your massive biceps." He jokes.
"Look, it's hard enough being the only one in a chair posing for this calendar. I don't really want to be the only one wearing clothes either." Artie tells him.
"You won't be." he tells Artie before walking away, leaving Artie confused.
He's surprised that the calendars sell out the first day. Tina thought it would be cool if they had autographed them as a way to get more girls to buy them, but it looks like they didn't even need to.
He smiles at Brittnay who asks both he and Artie to sign her calendar, knowing that she knows how insecure Artie had felt because he had told her about it during their last date, not knowing what else to talk about.
"Here's the calendar you asked me to save." Tina tells him, as soon as everyone clears out of the choir room. "Are you going to tell me what it's about?" Tina asks him and he shakes his head.
"Nope. I'll meet you in the auditorium, I just need to do something first." he tells her as she looks at him oddly before walking out of the choir room. He flips to his September page and writes To the girl who's always saving me, thank you.
Diva
He's thankful he gets to take a back seat to this week for glee club since he's still a little exhausted from last week's calendar assignment. Even though Blaine has been trying to convince him to partake in this assignment for the last couple of days.
"Guys can be diva's too Sam!" He'd been telling him every time they brought up the assignment. Maybe, but Blaine has never dated many different kinds of female divas, and trust him, there is not enough room for both a male and female diva.
Plus unknown to Blaine, he's been secretly rooting for Tina. He's a little worried that she's losing it. Ever since senior year started, she's been a little lost. Tina was always quiet and caring, so much softer than who she is now. Which he gets, she probably isn't used to having all this attention since Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes are gone and they were kind of the divas of glee club since the beginning, but an assistant? It's a bit much. And the whole crush on Blaine thing? That was insane, so he's glad that's over with.
xxx
He's not sure why Finn keeps bringing back alumni. He doesn't have a problem with Santana, the two of them are closer than most people think, or at least they used to be while he was dating Quinn.
Quinn is one of those girls where regardless of who she's dating, her friends always come first. And everyone knows Santana went through a tough time last year, so he often found himself third-wheeling with his girlfriend and Santana on their Friday date nights. But he didn't mind, he likes Santana, but then again, that was last year. Last year when he wasn't dating his ex-girlfriend.
He's also a little worried about Tina, who looks less than pleased that Santana has come to make a guest performance. But he's sure it will be fine, as long as Finn doesn't crown Santana the diva of glee club over Tina.
He claps along with everyone else after Santana's performance finishes and tries not to pay too much attention to the fact that his girlfriend is cheering the loudest. He tries to keep a blank expression when Brittnay asks Santana why she didn't tell her she was coming to town. She didn't tell him she still talked to Santana, he just assumed that neither of them spoke to their exes anymore.
"You know, I think that the better question is, why didn't you tell me that you were dating Sam?" Santana asks her and he flinches. If Santana knows that he's dating Brittnay, then so does Quinn. Which he guesses she either found out from seeing the two of them together at the championship game or Tina told her. "I had just left a comment on my favourite 'Rizzoli & Isles' lesbian subext blog when I heard the news." Santana tells Brittnay, but he's just confused. What is a lesbian subtext blog?
He watches carefully at Brittnay's reaction when Santana tells her that she has a girlfriend. Yeah she might be with him, but he knows that he wouldn't exactly feel happy if Quinn told him that she was dating someone else. Brittany looks a little crushed, but he's still trying to process everything so she decides that he'll just deal with this whole situation later.
xxx
Turns out that later is the next day because Santana sends him a text to meet her in the auditorium. "I thought you loved Brittnay." He tells Santana as soon as he gets there, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. "I mean, I can't believe you're making what's going on with me and her about you."
"You're naive to think that this isn't about me." Santana tells him with her arms crossed. "I broke up with Brittnay, this is just her revenge. She could have dated anyone, boy or girl. But no, she chose you. The one person she knew would send my brain straight to Lima's Heights." He doesn't even understand what that means, or why it matters to Santana so much that he is the one that Brittnay chose to date. He's sure her reaction would be a lot worse if she chose someone like Finn.
"Okay, you know what? Brittany doesn't understand revenge. Brittany is in love." He knows it's crap, he and Brittany have only been a few months after breaking up from serious relationships, there's no way that they're in love yet, but Santana doesn't need to know that.
"Listen up, Lipsy McChapstick. This is going to end. Soon as Brittany realizes that you are the most boring human being on the planet, and that your impressions suck." He knows it's not true. That yes he and Brittany may not be in love, but they still care about each other, but he lets Santana have this. Let's her insult him and tell him that he doesn't stand a chance because he cares about her too, and he knows that she needs this for some form of closure.
"And then what? You're going to date her again? Long distance? It didn't work out, you said it yourself." He tells Santana and she rolls her eyes.
"One step at a time. First I am gonna cut off the Sam-sized tumour on her heart, and then we can begin the long, slow process of cleaning the stink of your mediocrity off of her." Santana bites at him and he sighs out of frustration. This is really not on how he was planning on spending his day.
"I'm not letting her go without a fight." He tells Santana because as he said, he cares about Brittany. Even if the two of them break up, he knows how destroyed she was doing long distance with Santana.
"Isn't that your specialty? Fighting for your girlfriends? But I guess it can't be since you lose every time. Quinn and Mercedes? Yikes." He knows what Santana is trying to do, she's trying to get inside of his head, but he's not going to let her get to him, but Santana is good at reading people, he knows exactly what is going on inside his head.
"But that's what this is about, isn't it? Quinn. You're dating one of her best friends to get back at her." Santana asks him while slightly laughing.
"That's ridiculous, I'm over Quinn." He snaps at her, instantly regretting it because it makes him look more guilty than innocent.
"Sure you are Evans, but it's fine, I won't tell her." Santana says smugly and he shakes his head.
"I'm not doing this with you." He tells her, turning around to leave the auditorium.
"She still loves you, you know!" She calls after him, but he pretends not to hear her.
xxx
"Kurt?" She asks confused as soon as she sees him and some guy she's never seen before enter the cafe. It's a monday in the afternoon so it's not that busy since most people are either hungover or still in class. She walks over to him and the guy he's with just as they take a seat in one of the tables in the corner.
"Hey. Your roommate told me you were at work. I know I probably should have called, but I needed to get away from Rachel. She is being such a diva." He tells her and she giggles.
"More than usual?" She asks and he groans.
"She won't answer her own phone, she wants me to take all her messages because she's trying to save her voice. Ever since she won that stupid showcase." He tells her while frowning, completely forgetting the fact that she has never met the guy he's with, so she takes it upon herself to introduce herself.
"Hi I'm Quinn." She says, while sticking out her hand for him to shake. "Kurt and I went to highschool together." She adds, not knowing how much this guy knows about her.
"Adam." He tells her while shaking her hand. "Quinn as in pregnant Barbie who spent half her senior year in a wheelchair Quinn?" He asks and she laughs and nods her head.
"Wow you really didn't miss anything." She tells Kurt who gives her an apologetic look, but she just smiles to indicate to him that it's fine. "So Adam, tell me about yourself." She says while slipping in the empty chair next to Kurt.
"Well I'm twenty-two. I went to school in England my whole life hence the accent, and then I was accepted into NYADA first attempt." He says, making a dig at Kurt that gets a giggle out of her and causes Kurt to roll his eyes. "And now here I am."
"Are you coming to Lima for the wedding?" He asks Adam who just looks at Kurt confused and she kicks herself. "Oh I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have assumed." She tells Kurt who just smiles at her.
"No it's fine. I'll probably need to bring someone to keep me from strangling Rachel on the flight. Want to come?" He asks Adam who shrugs.
"Sure. I've never even heard of Lima." He tells them and she and Kurt laugh.
"So what about you Ms. Fabray, are you going to bring a date?" Kurt asks her while nudging her with his elbow and she groans.
"I wish. Santana and I just decided we would go together and miserably watch our exes who are now dating each other." She tells him and he and Adam laugh.
"And this would be Ken?" Adam asks and she nods her head. "The homeless stripper?" He whispers and she bursts out laughing. Maybe this wedding won't be so bad with Kurt and Adam there.
xxx
He sighs out in relief when Finn and Ms. Pillsbury announce that Tina has won the Diva competition, she'll be in a much better mood this week. She leaves all excited with Blaine and just as he's about to leave with him Ms. Pillsbury pulls him aside.
"I got your S.A.T scores back after you retook them." She tells him and he feels his heart drop, he must have not done good if she didn't even book an appointment with him to go over them. "You should be expecting some calls from scouts soon. You did well Sam, congratulations." She tells him smiling and he doesn't know what else to do other than hug her, which takes her by surprise.
"Thank you Ms. Pillsbury, thank you for everything." He tells her before running out of the room so he can go share his news with Blaine and Tina.
I Do
He doesn't mind helping the other guys with their Valentine's Day gifts because it distracts him from the fact that this is the first Valentine's day he'll be spending in Lima without Quinn. Yeah maybe she was cheating on him their first one, and they weren't even together during their second, but it still meant something to him.
So he busies himself with helping Jake woo Marley since Brittany thinks Valentine's Day is overrated and everyone should spread love every day and because Jake and Marley remind him of a young Puck and Rachel.
It also prepares him for this weekend because he knows he'll be seeing her at the wedding. He's a little afraid that she's going to bring a date, which he knows makes him such a hypocrite because he's dating one of her best friends, but he can't handle seeing her with another guy. The only other guy he's had to see her with was Finn and look at how well he took that.
He arranges with Brittany to meet each other at the Church. He knows it's a bit of an asshole move since it is Valentine's Day and the two of them are dating, but he doesn't want Brittany to see his reaction if Quinn did decide to bring a date.
xxx
She decided to fly to Lima this time instead of drive since it doesn't make much sense for her to drive eleven hours there and back for a two day trip, so she asks Kurt and Rachel to pick her up on their way to the wedding.
The four of them decide to wait for all the other alumni so they can all sit together, but of course Kurt ends up spilling coffee on his suit blazer.
"Rachel this is a fashion emergency." He tells Rachel panicked and she stiffles a laugh.
"Okay come on, we'll go to the washroom and get it out before it stains. Adam you're okay with Quinn?" Rachel asks and he nods.
"So how are you liking Lima so far?" She asks him once Rachel and Kurt have run inside.
"It's quiet. I'm surprised a town like this produced Rachel and Kurt." He says and she throws her head back and laughs. "But what I want to know is who that guy is that keeps glaring at us." Adam says, subtly nodding his head to someone who is behind them so she discreetly turns around to see Sam staring at them from across the parking lot.
She expects him to look away now that he's been caught, but instead he just starts walking towards them, which causes her to look up at Adam panicked, afraid of what Sam is going to do. But Adam remains calm, throwing an arm around her waist as Sam reaches them.
"Hey Q." Sam says, completely freezing out Adam and she refrains herself from rolling her eyes.
"Sam, this is Adam." She tells him, taking it upon herself to introduce the two of them.
"Nice to meet you." Adam says to him, taking his other hand that is not sitting across her waist and holding it out for Sam to shake.
"Yeah, likewise." Sam says through gritted teeth while grabbing Adam's hand and shaking it roughly and she rolls her eyes. He's dating her best friend and he's mad at the idea of her bringing a date? "See you inside." He huffs out before heading inside.
"I'm sorry about that." She tells him as soon as Sam is out of hearing distance. "He's usually a lot friendlier."
"Don't worry about it." Adam says to her, dropping his arm from her waist as she sees Santana's car pull into the parking lot. "If the person I was in love with brought someone else as a date I would be pissed." Adam tells her and her heart races.
"Oh, no, Sam's not in love with me. He has a girlfriend." She tells him, laughing awkwardly.
"He is Ken isn't he?" Adam asks her and she nods hesitantly. "Yeah, I can see that. I would assume that's how Ken would look at Barbie when sees her." He tells her and she blushes.
xxx
She slides into a seat with Santana and curses at the fact that Santana chose one that is behind Sam and Brittnay. She pulls out her lipstick and compact mirror from her purse quickly when she sees them beginning to turn around because she really does not want to talk to either of them.
"I am so over this and it hasn't even started yet." Santana tells her and she smirks. "I'm clearly the hottest bitch in this lousy joint, but I'm all alone, stuck here sitting with you." Santana complains and she rolls her eyes.
"Do you want me to slap you again?" She asks her best friend. Plus she isn't stuck with just her. Kurt, Adam, Puck, Mike, and Rachel will also be sitting with and behind them.
"I hate weddings, and I hate Valentine's Day. They were invented by breeders to sell cheap chocolate and false hope." Santana tells her and she furrows her eyebrow confused.
"Do you know what I hate? Men." She tells Santana while looking at Sam as he throws an arm around Brittany's shoulders. "Every single one of them is a pig, except maybe Mr. Schue and Al Roker. And you know what? You were right. I do let men define me, but not anymore. Like Gloria Steinmen said, 'a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.'" She says as Santana passes back her mirror.
"Al Roker is disgusting, by the way." Santana tells her and she huffs.
"Whatever." She says to Santana while crossing her arms.
"I hope I am also included in the category of non-disgusting men." Mike tells her and she squeals while getting up to hug him as he, Kurt, Adam, Puck and Rachel sit in the row behind them.
They all turn around as soon as the organ starts playing, but stop once the doors open and Sue starts walking down the aisle.
"Oh dear God no." She whispers as Santana whispers wanky under her breath.
Finn gets everyone to clear out so that Mr. Schue can have some space while the rest of them can go figure out if Ms. Pillsbury is still in the building.
"She's not here. She left." Kurt tells them once they all meet up again at the front of the church.
"So who's going to ask Mr. Schue what he wants to do about the reception?" Mike asks and they all look at Santana.
"Really guys?" She groans. "Alright fine."
xxx
She leaves the church with Santana and Mike as they all pile into Santana's car to the hotel for the reception. The three of them get a table with Finn, Puck, and Mercedes and Rachel, Adam, and Kurt get one right next of theirs, so they decide to push the tables together so things aren't awkward.
But she guesses it doesn't really matter since they spend most of their time on the dance floor. She dances with Mike most of the night and has a few dances with Adam whenever she catches Sam staring at them. But it doesn't make her feel any better once he pulls Brittany to dance with him right in front of her.
She's thankful when Santana pulls her off the dance floor and tells Mike they're going to get a drink. "We all should've known that a Valentine's Day wedding was just asking for a disaster." She tells Santana as soon as they reach the bar.
"Love stinks." Santana confirms.
She pulls out the fake ID her roommate got her to show the bartender after ordering a drink.
"Look at those romantic saps." Santana says to her once they get their drinks, referring to Sam and Brittany. She bites her tongue to keep herself from telling Santana that she would rather not. "You know, they may have love, but you know what we are that they are not?" Santana asks her.
"Flawless." She finishes while they clink their glasses together.
xxx
"Can you believe Kurt?" Blaine asks him as he slips into the chair beside him when he's taking a break from dancing. "He brought a date."
"But didn't you bring Tina?" He asks Blaine before taking a chug of water from the water bottle he's been drinking out of.
"Yeah, but as friends. He brought an actual date." He groans as he looks across the dance floor to where Kurt is. He follows Blaine's gaze and chokes on his water as soon as he sees who Blaine is talking about.
"Wait, that's Blaine's date? The blonde guy?" He asks, seeing the guy Quinn was standing with this morning.
"Yeah, Adam." He pouts and Sam looks at him in shock. But isn't he Quinn's date? He looks over to where Quinn is standing with Santana at the bar. Well that explains why he hasn't seen the two of them together since this morning.
"Wow I am such an idiot." He tells Blaine who just looks at him confused, but before he can explain himself Brittany is pulling him on the dance floor again.
xxx
She and Santana run onto the dance floor as Sue is about to throw Emma's bouquet. She stumbles a bit as she runs to the middle, and bursts out laughing as Santana catches her. She pouts when she sees that Rachel was the one to catch the bouquet.
"Of course Berry was the one to catch the bouquet. We should have just put her and Hudson in replacement or Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury." Santana tells her and she giggles.
"Does this mean I'm not going to marry Sam?" She asks Santana while pouting and Santana rolls her eyes.
"I forgot how much of a sappy drunk you are." Santana tells her and she rolls her eyes. "Come on." Santana says, dragging her on the dance floor as Rachel and Finn start their duet.
"I've never slow-danced with a girl before." She tells Santana as the two of them dance together. "I like it."
"How do you feel about taking this upstairs?" Santana asks her. She looks over at Sam who is looking at her while dancing with Brittany. He breaks eye contact with her to kiss Brittany and she looks away.
"Sure, why not." She tells Santana because she's too drunk to care about the consequences, and at least Santana asked her for her consent.
The two of them run to the hotel lobby so they can book a room and drunkenly stumble from the elevator to their room.
She's kissed girls before at parties during games of spin the bottle, so kissing Santana doesn't feel all that different.
"So that's why college girls experiment." She tells Santana once they finish.
"And thank God they do." Santana tells her and she giggles.
"You know, it was fun, and I've always wondered what it would be like to be with a woman, but uh, I don't know. I think for me it was more of a one-time thing." She tells Santana, afraid she may have different thoughts of what this meant.
"Look, you don't have to worry. I know you're still in love with trouty, I'm not going to show up at your house with a U-Haul." Santana tells her and she smiles while taking a swing out of the water bottle she has half filled with water half filled with vodka.
"So what happens next?" She asks Santana, a little nervous because she's never done this before.
"Well, you could walk out first. Or we could make it a two time thing?" Santana asks her and she smirks, moving forward to kiss Santana again.
xxx
They quickly get dressed and brush their hair with their nails once they're finished again so they can head downstairs and say goodbye to everyone.
She stumbles her way downstairs with Santana who tells her to wait for her in the hallway because she needs to go to the washroom.
"So turns out that Adam is Kurt's date." She hears someone say from behind her causing her to jump.
"I never said he wasn't." She tells him as she turns around, seeing him leaning against the wall across from where she's standing. "Santana's my date." She says to him as he kicks himself off the wall and walks towards her.
"Good." He says, dropping his voice a few octaves causing his voice combined with the drinks that she's had to make her feel things. "At least I don't have to worry about you kissing her." He tells her as soon as he stops right in front of her.
He's grown since she's last seen him, and her heels aren't as tall as the ones she usually wears so she has to look up at him. "I think you're only supposed to worry about your girlfriend kissing other guys. And I'm pretty sure she's still inside." She tells him before wetting her lips. "Besides," She says, stepping on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "You don't need to worry about Santana and I kissing, we did a lot more than that." She tells him before looking into his eyes once more and wiping some of Santana's excess lipstick from her lips and then turns to leave him standing there with his jaw on the floor.