So I decided not to do Girls and Boys on Film or Feud because neither Sam or Quinn have big storylines in those episodes and I would rather focus on the episodes that they do!
Guilty Pleasures
Ms. Pillsbury schedules a meeting in her office with her and coach Beiste to go over interested scouts and post secondary plans. He's a little nervous because it's a big decision to be making by himself, plus he has no clue where he wants to go. He knows that Blaine, Artie, and Tina are all applying to Film or Performance type schools in New York which it's not really his thing. Don't get him wrong, he loves being in glee club, but his dream is not to perform on Broadway or record an album, but he still wants to go to school with them.
Tina had helped him with his applications back in January, urging him to just apply anywhere because you never know. He's thankful Burt had hired him to work a couple of shifts at his shop because he doesn't know how he would have paid for the application fees without it, especially after Christmas with the ring he bought Brittnay and the camera he bought Quinn.
The ring was under a hundred bucks, it was the camera that cost him a bit, but seeing Quinn's reaction made it worth it. She hasn't figured out that it was him yet, not that he expects her too. She's only picked up the photography hobby while at Yale, ever since she took a photography class as an elective. But he pays attention, he watches all of her social media updates, how she has grown a fond interest in photography, buying herself a new camera with some of the tips she's gotten at the cafe. He also hears from Kurt that she brings it with her everywhere, even when he goes down with Adam to have lunch dates with her because she's grown to adore Kurt's new boyfriend. He doesn't say much about that, he's still a little embarrassed that he had thought Adam was originally Quinn's date.
He also doesn't say much about it because the wedding just reminds him about how Quinn and Santana had sex in a hotel room during the reception. At first he had thought Quinn had just told him that to mess with him, but Santana made sure to tell him all about it while they were saying their goodbyes, saying that if he wants to get with her ex, she can just as easily get with his.
He knocks on the wall of Ms. Pillsbury's office to indicate to her and Coach Beiste that he's arrived for their meeting. They both look up at him at the same time which freaks him out a bit, but Ms. Pillsbury quickly recovers and smiles at him and gestures with her hands for him to take a seat.
"Thank you for joining us Sam. Coach Beiste here has a list of the scouts that have come up to her with a clear interest in you. All you need to do is let me know if any of those schools capture your attention and then we can move forward with possible programs and different requirements." He nods to what Ms. Pillsbury is saying because his heart is beating hard inside of his chest. He wipes his sweaty palms discreetly against his jeans, talk about the future makes him extremely nervous.
"There are the local schools like Ohio State, Ohio University, and Toledo if you're interested. Ms. Pillsbury had mentioned to me that your family had just moved back to Lima." Coach Beiste informs him.
"Are there any schools in New York?" He asks and tries not to think too hard about the fact that Coach Beiste looks a little taken back.
"University of Buffalo and Stony Brook University are the only two who offered full-ride I believe." Coach tells him and he nods.
"Are any of those near Brooklyn he asks?" He knows he doesn't have to commit to any schools right now, but he knows if he is going to go to a school out of state, he's not going to go by himself. He knows he probably has better offers, since he did win a championship for the Titans this year, but his dream isn't to be a professional football player. If he's being honest, he's not even sure what his dream is yet.
"Stony Brook is about an hour away." Ms. Pillsbury says and he nods, a possible option.
"What about in Connecticut?" He asks and both faculty members look at him puzzled. He doesn't blame them, they don't know what's special to him in Connecticut.
"The UConn Huskies." Coach Beiste tells him and he nods again, setting a mental note to see how far that is from Brooklyn and another place he knows.
"What is it that you want to study?" Ms. Pillsbury asks him and he feels the panic start to arise. He has no clue what he wants to do with his life, he only started thinking about life after high school like a week ago.
"I have no idea." He tells Ms. Pillsbury honestly, hoping she won't judge him too harshly for it, but she just smiles.
"What about what interests you?" She asks instead.
"Uh, astronomy I guess." Sciences are really the only thing he's ever found interesting. History bores him to death, and he's always struggled with English because of his dyslexia. He's been good at Math his whole life, which he guesses balances out the whole sucking at English thing, but that doesn't mean he enjoys doing it.
"Well both Ohio State and Stony Brook have Astronomy programs. Ohio University has Astrophysics if you're interested in that, or many other science program options. UConn doesn't really have anything that specializes in Astronomy, but I'm sure they have great science programs. I can order some booklets from the schools you're interested in and you can come pick them up later this week if you're interested Sam." Ms. Pillsbury tells him and he nods again feeling like a bobblehead.
"That'd be great Ms. Pillsbury, thank you." He tells her and then thanks Coach Beiste before leaving the office.
xxx
He doesn't exactly remember when the whole macaroni art thing started. He thinks it was around the fourth grade, when he had a crush on Summer Brown and Brad Johnson gave her a macaroni necklace, so Sam took it upon himself to do her one better and made her a macaroni portrait of a bunny because she loved them, and ever since then he guesses it's been sort of a hidden talent.
He's never told anyone about it because it's not exactly the manliest thing in the world and he doesn't do it as much as he used to, but he's taken it up again recently because of the amount of stress he's felt regarding the future, so when Blaine offers to give him fifty bucks because he's seen him steal pasta from the cafeteria and thinks it's because his family is having money problems again, he knows that he's caught.
He knows he could probably lie to Blaine and just take the money, but that's also not the kind of person he is and he's afraid if he does Blaine will keep coming back to give him more or he'll tell Mr. Schue that his family is struggling again and that will be a whole other thing to deal with.
So he decides to tell him. "Okay, can you promise to keep a secret?" He asks Blaine who looks at him half intrigued and half concerned.
"Yeah, of course." Blaine answers a little hesitantly.
"I have been stealing pasta." He tells Blaine, closing his locker and indicating him to follow him down the hall. "But it's not for dinner. It's, it's art." He says as they enter the art room. "So, what do you think?" He asks Blaine after several minutes of silence.
"Are those macaroni portraits?" Blaine asks him in awe.
"Yeah, they're my guilty art teacher thinks I'm some sort of genius, like the ugly guy in the Shining except with macaroni." He explains as Blaine examines his portraits.
"Is this Emma Stone?" Blaine asks and he nods.
"Yeah. And then you got LeAnn RImes, Ralph Macchio. Those are the guys from Duck Dynasty. I even did Kurt." He doesn't tell Blaine that he does Quinn all the time, different kinds of portraits whenever he misses her, all shoved at the top of his closet where no one can find them.
"The macaroni really captures him. Thank you for sharing this with me. This is really incredible." Blaine tells him as he's about to leave the art room, but he stops him.
"Whoa, whoa, not so fast. Now it's your turn." He tells Blaine who just looks at him confused.
"My turn for what?" Blaine asks, cocking an eyebrow at him, puzzled at what Sam is asking him.
"For your guilty pleasure." He answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world. He's not going to share this huge thing with Blaine and not expect a secret back. He hates feeling vulnerable.
"I don't have a guilty pleasure." Blaine tells him, but he can instantly tell that he's lying.
"Okay, you're lying. Everybody's got that one thing that they're like so ashamed of that they refuse to admit to anybody." He tells Blaine and takes notice of how he looks a little nervous.
"I love," he starts, trailing off awkwardly causing Sam to furrow his brows confused. "Wham!" Blaine shouts causing him to jump slightly.
"What?" He asks confused.
"The band Wham! They're like my favourite band of all time." Huh, he would have thought Blaine's favourite band would have been the Beatles or a band like that, definitely not Wham.
"Hi guys." Tina says, knocking on the door. "Mr. Shue is out with the flu this week, so there's no glee club this week." She informs them and he wants to ask Tina how she even knows that, but decides against it.
"Not necessarily." He says, looking to Blaine who just looks at him like he doesn't understand what Sam is trying to get at.
"We could do a Guilty Pleasures week and take over while Mr. Shue is away. You're the new Rachel right, and apparently I'm the new Finn and they never let us take a week off." He tells Blaine, ignoring Tina who rolls her eyes.
It will be nice for all of them to just have fun and let loose. Ever since the wedding things have been so tense and awkward, especially between Finn and Mr. Schue. And now Finn is gone and he knows a lot of people are sad, so they need this.
xxx
"Why are we here?" Tina asks once everyone arrives in the choir room like she hadn't overhead him and Blaine talking about doing a guilty pleasures week yesterday.
"Oh, come on guys. Regionals is only a few weeks away. Even without an adviser, we can't afford to miss one week of preparation." Blaine informs all of them.
"Which is why Blaine and I asked you all to come here. We have come up with an assignment for this week." He cuts him, walking towards the whiteboard to write this week's lesson plan down.
"Guilty pleasures. Come on!" Blaine shouts, trying to get everyone excited. "We all have some musical shame. You know what I'm talking about. You know, that secret love we dare not to speak, but when it comes out on the radio, you can't help but turn up the volume and sing along?" Blaine asks everyone who just looks at the two of them oddly.
"Yeah and we're supposed to sing one of those songs for regionals?" Ryder asks unenthusiastically and he frowns. He really thought people would be more excited about this.
"No. Sam and I were speaking earlier, just like, shooting the crap, like two bros do, you know." Blaine says and even he looks at him weirdly. Shooting the crap? "And we felt really safe with each other. So we decided to reveal our guilty pleasures."
"And it felt amazing. I mean, letting go of this big secret made me feel so good." He shares, but Jake and Ryder do not look convinced.
"And we figured if we all share musical shame with each other, we could all become a more cohesive team for regionals." Blaine says.
Unique makes a comment about how she's an open book and he rolls his eyes. "So besides Unique then, does anybody else have something they would like to share?" He asks, but no one responds. "Guys, this is a great team-building exercise." He says.
"Okay, well, then you guys go first." Jake tells them.
"We thought instead of telling you we could show you." He says, unzipping his hoodie revealing his choose life t-shirt as he and Blaine get ready to perform the song they have prepared.
xxx
He's been feeling really liberated ever since he shared his macaroni talent with Blaine, so he figures that to make him feel more free he could share a few more big secrets that have been weighing on his chest. And who knows, maybe it will clear more space for the secret that he's still in love with his ex-girlfriend, but isn't willing to admit it out loud so it makes him feel like he's suffocating most of the time.
"Dude, put some pants on. I need to talk to you." He tells Blaine while the two of them are in the locker room. "So, lately I've been battling a really deep-seeded sense of shame about something in my life, and it's a secret I've kept buried for as long as I can remember." He tells Blaine who looks intrigued and a little scared.
"Really?" He asks, shocked and Sam nods.
"Yeah, and I've been waiting to like, let it out and release this inner sin that's tortured my insides." He says, being a little dramatic, but it is a deep dark secret.
"Do you, do you have feelings for me?" Blaine asks him and he moves his head back in surprise. That's what Blaine thinks he was going to say? He's literally dating Brittnay. Not that there's anything wrong with being bisexual or gay, he's pretty sure his ex-girlfriend might be after what she told him, but he's straight.
"What? Dude, no, come on." He says, thinking Blaine has to be kidding.
"Ob-obviously I'm kidding." Blaine stutters out.
"It's a million times worse than that." He tells Blaine seriously.
"Well, until you can speak it, you're gonna be stuck in this shame spiral forever, so." Blaine must notice his distraught reaction because he lays a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you can trust me. You can tell me anything."
"I like Barry Manilow." He blurts out because he's afraid if he doesn't say it now he never will.
"What?" Blaine asks, taken back.
"I said I like Barry Manilow." He repeats.
"No, no, no you can't say that in a locker room." Blaine tells him and he's confused because wasn't Blaine the one who was urging him to share his secret?
"I know, I know, I know, but see I just relate to his stories: the break-ups, the lost love." He doesn't tell Blaine that they help him deal with his break-up with Quinn, he doesn't need to know that much. "Oh, and the rain, who shot who? It's like he's talking right to me."
"Well, then I think you need to come out to everyone and say that." Blaine tells him and she shakes his head in disagreement, telling him no. "Once you stop hiding, you'll feel so much better."
"You really think I could just stand up in front of everybody and say that I'm a Fan-ilow?" He asks Blaine who gives him a funny look.
"Sure you can Sam." Blaine tells him while patting his shoulder before walking off leaving him to think about possible song choices he could perform to tell everyone he's into Barry Manilow.
xxx
He stands at the front of the choir room the next day, shaking in his socks because he's so nervous about confessing his love for Barry Manilow's music. "I love Barry Manilow." He blurts out, similarly to how he did to Blaine yesterday in the locker room. "I mean, not just, you know, the Barry Manilow Love on Ice Tour, but I think he's an amazing songwriter and performer, and I also believe he's underappreciated, has amazing hair, and has done a hell of a lot of good for this world through his light-rock talent. This is who I am, and I make no apologies." He shares to everyone, who just look at him blankly.
He nods his head towards the band to indicate he's ready to perform the number he has prepared. He feels relief when Brittnay comes up to dance with him, making him grateful for his girlfriend for making this easier for him. Soon enough everyone is dancing and he wonders to himself why he didn't admit this to anyone earlier.
Everyone cheers after he finishes his performance and he watches in awe as Artie, Jake, and Ryder all admit they are fans of Manilow as well.
"Are you guys kidding? You guys really like Barry, huh?" He asks, completely surprised that he wasn't the only one.
"Dude, everyone loves Barry, but thank you for making us finally say it out loud." Blaine tells him and he feels relief wash over his body.
xxx
He meets Blaine in the library because he's noticed that he is the only one who hasn't been working on a number to perform for their assignment.
"Uh, here's the thing." He starts. "So far this week, you know, you've been talking the talk; but now I need you to walk the walk." He tells Blaine who looks confused and a little distressed. I've been honest about my guilty pleasures, and I ever wore those tiny little Wham! Shorts, and we did that great number, but now it's your turn to be honest, because you haven't really been yet so far."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Blaine tells him and he huffs in frustration.
"Well, you know, you're only as sick as your secrets, dude, and that's what this week's assignment is really about. This is your chance to really set an example for the glee club. What's yours gonna be?" He asks Blaine before leaving so he can let Sam's words sink in.
xxx
Blaine asks them all to meet in the auditorium so he can perform his guilty pleasure assignment. At first he doesn't get it at first, what Blaine's guilty pleasure is supposed to be. But then he looks at him a bunch of times, and he finally gets it. He's Blaine's guilty pleasure. Blaine has feelings for him.
He's flattered, and he's not all that surprised. Just look at him, he's gorgeous. And he's also pretty sure Kurt had a little crush on him when he first transferred to McKinley.
He claps after Blaine finishes his song so he can show Blaine that he's okay with it, it isn't going to ruin their friendship or anything like that. And if he wants to talk to him about it, he's here.
xxx
He decides to meet Blaine in the auditorium a couple of days later because he knows he'll be there and Blaine hasn't spoken to him much ever since he performed his guilty pleasure.
"What's that?" He asks Blaine as soon as he gets there, referring to the song he's playing on the piano.
"I wanted to do one more Phil Collins song before they made us put our guilty pleasures back in the closet." Blaine tells him.
"Well, maybe we don't have to. I mean, everybody seems to be having so much fun with them out on the table. Maybe life's just better this way." He suggests.
"I don't know about that. I think if we always indulged ourselves in that kind of thing, I think we'd make a lot of people pretty uncomfortable." Blaine says.
"You don't have to be uncomfortable." He tells Blaine, referring to his actual guilty pleasure. "Dude, it's okay. I get it. Your-your guilty pleasure is me." He says and Blaine looks at him with panic on his face. "I mean, I've had a feeling all year, and you know, frankly, I'm an attractive guy, and you are into dudes, and if you weren't into me, I'd probably be pretty offended." He jokes, trying to comfort Blaine.
"You're not freaked out?" Blaine asks him. "Because I don't want to jeopardize our friendship. I mean, you've been there for me throughout this whole Kurt thing-"
"Dude, Stop. Nothing is going to change." He says, talking over Blaine and trying to cut him off to show him that it's okay. "Okay? We're like brothers. I trust you, and you know, and to tell you the truth, the attention feels kind of good. It's flattering." He tells Blaine honestly. "Hug it out. Let's go." He says, opening his arms so that Blaine will get up and hug him. He feels relief when Blaine hugs him, but then panics when he feels something poking into his leg.
"Oh, uhm. Dude, uh, please tell me that is a pack of Lifesavers in your pocket." He says awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah, no, they're breath mints. Do you want one?" Blaine asks him and he feels relieved again.
"Yeah sure. Thanks." He tells Blaine. "Let's go lead one more class. I have a song that everyone's going to love." He says, pulling Blaine towards the choir room so he can tell everyone that for their final number he thinks they should perform Mamma Mia.
Shooting Star
He meets Blaine and Tina in the library so they can go over possible schools. He knows Blaine and Tina are planning to go somewhere out of state, but he has no idea where he wants to go yet, hence the meeting. He just got his family back, he's not sure he's ready to leave them again.
"Sam, you're like a half an hour later." Tina tells him annoyed once he rushes into the library.
"I know, that's why I got you a coffee." He tells her, placing a vanilla iced coffee in front of her, getting a kiss on the cheek as a thank you as soon as he sits down next to her.
"Okay, everyone has their possible options?" Blaine asks and he and Tina both nod. "Tina, you go first." Blaine says and she pulls out a folder from her backpack.
"I want to go into acting, but my parents also want me to go to a good school so I've applied to some performance schools like Juilliard, but also schools like Princeton, Columbia, and Brown. I haven't heard back from any yet." She informs them and Blaine nods satisfied.
"Sam, do you want to go next?" Blaine asks him and he shakes his head. He knows he's going to need the most help so it's probably best if he goes last. "Okay. We'll if applied to both NYADA and NYU. I've been accepted into NYU, but NYADA is my first choice."
"Blaine that's awesome!" Tina says while the two of them congratulate him.
"Enough about me, what about you Sam? I know you've had some interested schools." He nods his head and pulls out the booklets Ms. Pillsbury gave him.
"Coach Beiste told me that I peaked the interest of a lot of scouts. Apparently taking a team to win a championship after not playing football for a year is a big deal. Plus I was also on the team when we won two years ago." He tries not to think too much about that one though, since that time was when Quinn had started cheating on him. "I'm only interested in some of the schools though. There are two in Ohio: Ohio State and Ohio University. There's one in Buffalo and Stony Brook is in New York."
"That's fantastic Sam! Are those the only ones you're interested in?" Tina asks him and he wets his lips nervously. He wasn't sure if he was going to bring up UConn to the both of them because there's really only one reason why he would even be going there.
"I was also looking at UConn." He tells them, bracing himself for their possible reactions. Both of them stay silent at first, and for a second he thinks they have no idea what school he is talking about.
"UConn as in University of Connecticut?" Tina asks him and he nods slowly. He knows Tina gets why as soon as he nods, but Blaine just looks at him confused.
"What's in Connecticut?" Blaine asks puzzled.
"Yale." Tina answers for him. It takes Blaine a while to get it, but then the realization swipes across his features.
"Ohh." Blaine says a little awkwardly and he feels a blush creep up his neck. "What about Brittnay?" Blaine asks.
"Brittnay isn't his first love." Tina answers for him again.
"I like Brittnay." He interjects because he knows he probably sounds like an asshole right now. "But I know I'm not going to marry her." He says honestly. He knows it probably sounds super shallow, but he knows Brittnay isn't expecting to marry him either, he knows deep down she still loves Santana. The both of them just enjoy each other's company, mending their hearts through each other.
"Well, do you know which school you're going to pick out of all of those options?" Blaine asks him and he shakes his head. He has no idea where he wants to go. "Well sleep on it okay? And we can meet back up in a couple of days to see if we've made any progress." Blaine tells them and they all head off to go to their first classes.
xxx
He rushes into the auditorium right before glee rehearsal for regionals. He really needs to start breaking this habit of being late to everything.
"I hold in my hand, ladies and gentlemen, our competition for regionals." Mr. Shue tells them, starting practice. "From North Central High School in Indianapolis, the Hoosierdaddies. And from Our Lady of Perpetual Loneliness in Battle Creek, Michigan, the Nun-Touchables. Guys, I like our chances against both of these squads, but we still got a lot of work to do." Mr. Shue states.
"Mr. Shue please stop talking. I have an announcement." Brittany interrupts and Tina looks at him confused. He shrugs his shoulders, he has no idea what this is about. "I regret to inform you a deadly asteroid is headed our way." She informs them all and he sighs, not again.
"Wait, didn't we just go through this at Christmas?" Tina asks.
"Shut up, Tina." Brittany snaps at Tina who looks a little hurt. He wraps an arm around her shoulder to make up for his girlfriend's antics. "I'm naming this comment Tubbington-Bopp, and it is headed straight for Lima."
"Wait, so is it an asteroid or a comment?" Artie asks for all of them.
"It's both." She tells them and he wonders if he should get up and do something, but if he's being honest he's still trying to recover from Christmas and the Mayan calendar.
"Wouldn't NASA know something about this?" Marley asks and Brittany shakes her head.
"We can't trust NASA. I mean, last month a meteor exactly like Tubbington-Bopp hit Russia with no warning at all." He and Blaine look at each other confused, when did a meteor hit Russia?
"Oh, so now it's a meteor." Artie says sarcastically.
"That's right, Artie. And when this meteorite hits, I will not be spending my time in this room preparing for regionals, I will be spending my last hours making amends with somebody who I need to get right with. Someone who I love very much." He assumes she's talking so he smiles, but of course she's talking about her cat. "Lord Tubbington. So go back to your homes and hide your wife, hide your kids and hide your wife. McKinley High, I salute you." Brittany tells them before walking out of the auditorium.
They all look to Mr. Shue who just looks lost. "Uh, rehearsal dismissed I think I need to go call Brittany's parents again." he tells them, following Brittany.
xxx
He 's really into astronomy, so he knows that there is no meteor or asteroid or comet hitting them, but he doesn't know how to explain it to Brittany. He knows how crushed she was when she woke up on December 22nd, thinking the world was seriously going to end because of the Mayan calendar thing.
So he decides whatever, he'll leave this one up to Mr. Shue now that he's back. "All right, show of hands, who's worried about Brittany's meteor/asteroid/comet prediction?" Mr. Shue asks them as soon as they all sit down in the choir room. Brittany looks at him with those big pleading eyes and he sighs and raises his hand because no one else does.
"Okay. Well, here's how I see it. There are two possible outcomes. First, the meteor misses us and we go to regionals and we kick butt, which will only happen if we prepare. Or, we only have a few days to live and if that's the case, we need to say everything we need to say to the people we love. I can tell you from those couple of weeks where I couldn't talk to Emma that there is nothing worse than unfinished business with the one you love. And meteor or no meteor, any moment you have with those people might be your last one. Bruce Springsteen always says he plays every show as if it's his last, and that is the kind of urgency we need at regionals this year. So this week, we're either gonna sing our last songs to each other or get in touch with what it feels like to do that. Okay, everyone. Let's make the most out of it." Mr. Shue tells them before he dismisses them.
xxx
"I called Mike." Tina tells him while he's at his locker the next day. He cocks an eyebrow at her confused as to what this is about.
"Uh, why?" He asks as politely as he can. Just a few weeks ago Tina had told him that she was still upset Mike told her that he would try things again, but as soon as he got back to Chicago said the distance would be too hard.
"Because of this week's assignment. It's about closure and all that. It feels good Sam, like a weight has been lifted off of my chest. We just talked for hours about everything and we're at a really good place now."
He hums because he doesn't really know what else to say, or how this has anything to do with him. Tina just rolls her eyes at him as she follows him down the hallway.
"You should try it with Quinn, Sam. It's obvious you're still in love with her. Just talk to her." Now it's his turn to roll his eyes. He stops in front of his class and Tina crashes into his back.
"I have to deal with my actual girlfriend who is freaking out over this meteor." He tells Tina sternly who just huffs and crosses her arms before leaving to head to her own class.
He doesn't have to talk to Quinn, there's nothing left to say.
xxx
He sits awkwardly at Brittnay's desk as she talks to Lord Tubbington. He doesn't know what he was expecting when she asked him to come inside after he dropped her off at her house, but it definitely wasn't this.
"Lord Tubbington, I know that through the years we haven't always gotten along. Like the time that you filed paperwork to have me committed or the time you told the police I was the one that brutally murdered that whole family of mice. But I want you to know that through it all, I always loved you." Brittany tells her cat while he watches painfully. "I don't think he believes me." She tells him, turning to face him from on her bed. "'Cause he won't say that he loves me too."
Well he has no idea what to say to that because cats don't talk, so obviously he isn't going to respond back. "What's Lord Tubbington's favourite song? I mean, maybe you could let him know how much he means to you by singing it to him." He suggests.
"Well, I stopped singing to Lord Tubbington out of protest when he joined the KKK, which is the Ku Klux Klan for Cats." She tells him and he chokes on his own spit.
"You know, you could bring him by and then we could all sing to him. That way, you know, he'll see how much you love him, and everybody else in glee club will stop feeling like you're choosing a cat over them." He says, hoping she will get the hint that it's absolutely insane that her boyfriend is over and she's choosing to talk to her cat instead of makeout with him.
"Sam, you're a genius." She tells him, jumping on his lap and hugging him. "Now get out."
"What?" He asks, completely shocked. She just called him a genius, why is she kicking him out?
"I need to prepare for this performance, so you need to leave." She says, getting off of him and his jaw drops.
He grumbles curses under his breath all the way to his car. Blonde cheerleaders man, the things you do for them.
xxx
Brittany sends him the song she wants to sing for Lord Tubbington the morning of and he sighs, he guesses studying for his Geometry test can wait until tomorrow.
"This is insane." Tina whispers to him while they're all performing More Than Words in the auditorium for Lord Tubbington. Brittany has them all holding candles while he plays the song on his guitar.
He shrugs his shoulder as the song ends and Brittany sighs in contentment. "Thank you guys for this. I know Lord Tubbington appreciated it because he hasn't threatened to kill me yet." Brittany tells all of them before picking up her cat and walking out of the auditorium leaving all of them extremely confused.
xxx
"Hey, I'm going to head to the washroom quickly. Take my bag, yeah? " Brittany tells him as they walk to glee practice together. She's been feeling a lot better lately ever since she figured out her asteroid was just a dead ladybug.
"Yeah sure, I'll meet you there." He tells her, giving her a quick peck on the lips before heading inside the choir room.
Mr. Shue tells them all today's meeting will be the first "Thank God The World Isn't Ending" glee practice, but just about they're about to start, they hear gunshots.
Mr. Shue and Coach Beiste shut the lights off and block the doors as he helps Artie out of his chair and onto the floor so they can hide. He swears he stops breathing as soon as everyone hides on the floor.
"Okay, everyone start texting and tweeting, let everyone know what's going on. But don't tell them we're here, all right. Shooters have smartphones too." Mr. Shue instructs them and he immediately starts texting his parents. Mom, I love you. There's someone with a gun inside the school, I'm hiding in the choir room.
Dad, I love you. Thank you for helping me grow up into a man. There's someone with a gun inside the school, I'm hiding in the choir room.
He hates that he has to be doing this, he shouldn't have to be doing this. This isn't supposed to be happening, they shouldn't have to deal with this kind of stuff. They're just kids.
He forgets his pride and clicks on her name. If this is it, the last day he's going to be spending on this Earth, he doesn't want to leave anything unsaid.
I'm sorry for everything. I love you.
And then he remembers Brittany. How she's in the washroom and she doesn't have her phone. So he starts crawling towards the door.
"Sam what are you doing?" Mr. Shue asks him, but he ignores him, he needs to get to Brittany. He knows he's still in love with Quinn, and he's sure Brittany knows it too, just how he knows she's still in love with Santana, but he still cares about her. He doesn't want anything to happen to her, so he needs to go get her.
"I have to go." He tells Mr. Shue as Mr. Shue blocks his path so he can't get any further. "Brittany doesn't have her phone on her. She's in the bathroom." He tells Mr. Shue who just shakes his head.
"Sam, sit down." Both he and Coach Beiste order him as Mr. Shue forcefully makes him sit on the floor. He needs to get Brittany. He made a promise that he would take care of her.
Artie lays a supportive hand on his shoulder and Blaine tells him that Tina isn't here either, which doesn't make him feel better at all. Tina is like a younger sister to him, he'll die if anything happens to her too.
xxx
She's at work when she gets the call. She ignores the first two because she's not allowed to answer her phone while she's at work, but on the sixth call she decides it has to be an emergency.
She steps to the side behind the counter, it's not even that busy, she's sure the owner won't mind. She knows the older woman is fond of her. She frowns when she sees that it's Tina calling, shouldn't she be in class?
"Tina? What's-" She doesn't even get a chance to finish her sentence because Tina immediately cuts her off.
"Quinn, there's someone with a gun at school." Tina sobs out and her blood runs cold. No, this can't be happening.
"Wh-what? Wher- how- Sam?" She asks, unable to make a proper sentence.
"I don't know. They're all in the choir room, I went on a field trip and they won't let me inside." Tina cries and she nods even though Tina won't be able to hear her.
"Okay. It's going to be okay. I'm coming." She tells Tina.
"What? Quinn you're in New Haven, how-" She hangs up on Tina and shouts for the owner, ignoring the odd looks she gets from customers.
"Susan! Susan I need to go!" She shouts to Betty who is inside the office.
"Quinn? What on Earth is going on?" Betty asks her as she walks to her.
"I need to go to Lima. There's someone with a gun and Sam." She gasps out and Susan's gaze softens. Susan is like a second mother to all the girls. She doesn't have any kids and her husband is in the Army so she treats all the students who work at the cafe like her own.
She had confided in Susan when she had come back to New Haven after Winter Break. Told her all about Sam and their complicated love story, and she's grateful she did because she's not sure Susan would let her go if she didn't.
"Go. I'll manage until Katherine comes in." Susan tells her and she nods and grabs her purse before running out of the cafe and into her car so she can drive to the airport.
She's thankful she didn't get pulled over because of how much she was speeding. She pulls into one of the empty spots and pays for parking before sprinting into the airport so she can buy a ticket.
The woman at the desk looks at her like she's lost her mind when she sees her and she doesn't blame her, she must look crazy. She's still in her work clothes, apron tied around her waist with mascara running down her cheeks, lips red and bleeding from how hard she's been biting them.
"I need a ticket for a flight to Lima." She tells the woman quickly, who shoots her a fake smile. She knows it's fake, she's mastered the art herself, but she doesn't have the energy to care right now.
"The next available flight is tonight at seven." The lady tells her and she frantically shakes her head.
"No, I need something sooner." She pleads.
"Ma'am, the only other flight is scheduled to leave in fifteen minutes, I can't get you on that one." She looks down at the woman's name tag, Margaret is what she reads.
"I'll pay extra, I don't care. Margaret, please I need to get on that flight, there's a gunman in one of the highschools in Lima, please, the guy I love is trapped inside, please.." She begs and Margaret sighs.
"I'll see what I can do." Margaret tells her before picking up the phone in front of her and calls someone. She bounces on her heels as she waits for Margaret to get off the phone. "Okay, come on, it'll be $115." Margaret tells her and she pulls out all the cash she has and gives Margaret the correct amount.
She follows Margaret through the airport before she directs her to the flight she's supposed to board. She thanks her and heads inside and looks at the ticket to see what seat she has.
She guesses she falls asleep on the flight because she wakes up ten minutes before they're about to land. She opens a compact mirror and wipes away the dried mascara on her cheeks and applies a new coat to distract herself from what's going on.
She runs off the plane as soon as it lands and sprints out of the airport to get a cab. She apologizes as she steals one from a business man and frantically tells the driver to take her to McKinley High.
"Miss, everything is blocked off there. I don't know if you've heard, but there's a school shooting." The cab driver tells her nervously and she glares at him.
"I don't care, take me there." She snaps at him and he nods. She picks at her hangnails the twenty minutes it takes to get there and feels relief wash over her as soon as he gets there.
"Thank you." She tells him while handing him the leftover cash she has, giving him a generous tip to make up for the fact that she pretty much tried to bite his head off.
She pulls out her phone to call Tina and looks around for her. There are so many people that she can't see anything. Parents, reporters, civilians block the road for blocks.
"Where are you?" She asks Tina as soon as the call connects.
"By the school buses near the side of the school." Tina tells her and she pushes past people to get to her. She starts crying as soon as she sees her, dropping her phone and running to hug her.
"What's happening?" She asks as Tina sobs into her shoulder.
"I don't know. There were two gunshots but there hasn't been any since and it's been hours. They're waiting for the SWAT team to arrive." Tina tells her as she wipes her eyes. "Come on, let's grab your phone before someone steps on it."
She checks her phone while they wait under one of the tents the police have set up for students. Tina's already been questioned, but they still allow them to sit and wait. She has a bunch of messages from Kurt and Santana asking her if she's heard about what's going on. She texts them back telling them she flew to Lima and she will send them updates. Finn had texted their alumni group chat about the whole situation and everyone had shared their shock and worry. She also tells all of them she's in Lima and will give them information as soon as she gets some, not caring how it looks that she flew all the way back here.
She also gets a text from Sam, telling her that he loves her and that he's sorry that makes her break down all over again. But before she can reply, Finn is calling her.
"Finn?" She asks confused, sniffling.
"I'm about five minutes away. I just got out of class. Where are you?" He asks her.
"I'm with Tina. We're sitting under a tent by some school buses." She tells him, her voice raw from the crying.
"Okay, I'll be there soon. Sit tight." He tells her and she nods even though he can't see her.
"Finn's coming." She tells Tina who nods. She looks empty, so she grabs Tina's hand.
"I should be in there with them, I shouldn't be here." Tina tells her numbly.
"If you were, you wouldn't have been able to call me and I wouldn't be here. You're safe Tina, be grateful for that. I know they're thankful you're safe." She tells Tina who just nods as tears stream down her face. "Are you parents coming?" She asks Tina, changing the subject to distract her from those thoughts.
"My dad was in a meeting, but my mom is on her way. I think Mike's mom is coming with her." Tina tells her and she nods.
She sees Finn and Puck looking around so she stands up and waves, hoping Finn will see her. He does, and the two of them walk over to her and Tina. They all hug as soon as they reach them, and Finn holds Tina as she sobs into his chest.
"Burt and my mom are coming with Stacey and Stevie, Sam's parents can't get out of work." Finn tells her and she nods.
"Aren't you in California?" She asks Puck, confused as to what he's doing here.
"I was visiting Finn. I was about to leave when he got the call, my brother is inside." She nods and reaches between them to squeeze his hand, life is too short to carry any resentment about what happened between them.
They all wait patiently for more news and eventually Tina's mom and Mike's mom arrive. Tina refuses to leave, so they go to talk to some other parents they know while they all wait. Shortly after that Burt and Carole arrive with Stevie and Stacey. Stacey jumps onto her lap as soon as she sees her and Stevie stands beside them with a football in his hands. Puck notices the football and tells him they can throw it around behind the tent if he wants and Stevie agrees, dropping his school bag on the empty chair beside her. Burt and Carole go to talk with Tina and Mike's moms.
"Quinn, why did someone bring a gun to Sammy's school?" Stacey asks her and she bites the inside of her cheek because she has no idea how to answer that question.
"I don't know Stacey." She tells her honestly, giving Stacey her phone to play with because she doesn't feel like answering any more questions.
She leans her head on Finn's shoulder as they wait, exhausted from the day's events. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and before she knows it, she's drifting off.
xxx
He gets up again when he sees Kitty run across the choir room. He feels either Artie or Blaine grab his flannel, but he doesn't care. He needs to go get Brittany.
"I have to go. I got to go." He tells Coach Beiste and Mr. Shue. "She's out there all alone, she doesn't have anybody out there."
"Sam, no." Mr. Shue tells him but he shakes his head.
"I have to go, I don't care." He tells him, trying to push his way towards the door.
"Come on, Sam!" Mr. Shue tells him as he tries to push off both Coach Beiste and Mr. Shue so he can get to the door.
"I don't care!" He says through gritted teeth, but they end up grabbing him. "No, let go of me!" He shouts.
"Sam! Sam, listen!" Coach Beiste tells him as he shouts I don't care into Mr. Shue's palm. "You are putting everybody's life in danger. Look at them. Look at them." He looks around at everyone's terrified expression and just cries. Brittany is terrified right now and she has no one, at least they have each other. "It's okay, Sam. Go sit with Artie, go sit with him." Coach Beiste instructs and he sits down next to Artie who wraps an arm around his shoulders.
Artie pulls out one of his camcorders so each of them can record a message just in case they don't make it out of here. Ryder and Marley go first, everyone else shortly following, until it makes his way to Sam.
"Mom, Dad, I love you guys, and there is a cat in my backpack in my locker. It's for Brittany and her stupid other cat. Thank you guys for everything." He says into the camera lens before Coach Beiste tells Artie to turn it off.
"I'll go get Brittany." Mr. Shue tells him and he looks up at him in shock.
"What?" He asks to make sure he isn't hearing things.
"I'll go get her." Mr. Shue repeats as he moves some of the stuff blocking the door. "I'll knock three times when I get back." He tells Coach Beiste before walking out.
He thinks his heart has actually stopped once Mr. Shue leaves, and Blaine puts a comforting hand on his knee.
His heart stops again when Ryder causes one of the phones to go off in the choir room. He's heard about the whole catfish situation, but now is clearly not the time to be trying to figure out who it is.
"Turn it off." He snaps at Ryder along with everyone else. Is he stupid? Whoever is out there could hear the phone and now they're inside.
Ryder slams his phone on the ground just as Mr. Shue returns with Brittany and two other students. He thinks one of them was in his English class, and the other one he recognizes as one of Quinn's friends from when she was on the Cheerios.
He gets up and hugs Brittany as soon as Brittany walks inside, telling her how sorry he is.
"It's okay, you couldn't have known Sam." She tells him, wiping away his tears.
Then why does he still feel responsible?
xxx
"Quinn." Finn calls, shaking her shoulder lightly.
"Hm?" She asks, lifting her head from his shoulder, forgetting for a second where they are and what's happening.
"The SWAT team just got here." He tells her and she immediately sits up straight, remembering what's going on.
"How long have I been asleep?" She asks him.
"Like fifteen minutes." He tells her chuckling, putting the arm back around her shoulders.
"What's a SWAT team?" Stacey asks her, looking up at Quinn from where she's been playing candy crush.
"They're gonna get everyone out of the school." She informs Stacey, deciding she won't get into too much detail with her answers because she doesn't know how Sam's parents will react to her telling Stacey and Stevie about all this.
"Apparently they just went in." Tina tells them, looking down at her phone. Her breath hitches and Finn squeezes her shoulder.
"It's going to be okay." He tells her and she nods, leaning her head back on his shoulder.
It's ten minutes after the SWAT team heads inside that they get the all clear signal. She hugs Finn as best as she can with Stacey still sitting on her lap playing games on her phone.
Tina tells them that she texted both Blaine and Sam where they are, but doesn't know if either of them will see it.
Stacey jumps off her lap and starts running. "Stacey!" She cries, her heart dropping to her stomach as soon as she loses sight of her. She gets up from the chair and screams her name again, catching Puck and Stevie's attention who have now come over to see what's going on.
Her body gives out as soon as she sees Stacey come back with Sam carrying her. Puck catches her before she falls to the ground. "I got you."
Tina runs to Blaine and hugs him as Brittany sprints to Finn. Puck sets her down on the chair so he can go greet his brother.
She gives him a minute so he can greet his siblings, staring blankly at them as they hug and cry and hold each other. Finn and Brittany watch over his two younger siblings as he gets up from his knees where was kneeling so he could properly hug them.
He walks up to her and she gasps, cupping his cheeks with her palms. "Is this real? Are you real?" She cries and he chuckles.
"I'm right here." He tells her, placing his hands overtop of hers.
"I love you too." She tells him, referring to his earlier message. He just smiles, and she knows why. His girlfriend is currently standing three feet away from him playing with his younger siblings. She grabs his shirt and cries into his chest, still thinking this must all be a dream. He wraps his arms around her and kisses the crown of her head.
He releases her after a few minutes and walks over to Tina and Blaine and she watches as Tina cries and hugs him tightly. Brittany walks up to her and hugs her and she freezes, realizing that Brittany probably saw their entire embrace. "I'm sorry." She whispers into Brittany's ear, hoping her friend will understand what she's referring to.
"It's okay, first loves are forever. I understand that more than anyone." Brittany whispers back.
xxx
Finn drives her back to her moms house since she can't get a flight back to New Haven until tomorrow afternoon.
"Quinn?" Her mother asks surprised when she sees her walk into the house. She doesn't blame her for being shocked, she kind of forgot to tell her mother that she's back. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"
"The school shooting." She replies, hoping her mother will get the hint and not ask her too many questions because she's clearly exhausted.
She takes a shower immediately to release some of the tension in her muscles, and then hops on her old computer to check any messages and work on some assignments. She sends an email to Susan telling her that everything is okay and she'll be back soon so she won't need to miss her upcoming shift this weekend.
She decides to head to bed early after dinner. She usually doesn't sleep until 1am, but she thinks she's allowed to retire early tonight due to today's events. She doesn't get into bed until 10pm, but as soon as her head hits the pillow she is out.
She wakes up to a noise right outside her window. She bolts out of bed and grabs the closest thing to her she can use as a weapon, which happens to be a broken umbrella. She holds it in front of her like a shield as she walks to her window, but drops the umbrella as soon as she sees Sam sitting on her roof.
"A broken umbrella? Really Q?" He asks, snickering and she glares at him.
"How did you even get up here?" She asks as he crawls into her room. It's not like she has any trees or ladders nearby.
"I couldn't sleep." He tells her, taking off his shoes and shrugging off his hoodie, completely dismissing her question as he goes to sit down on her bed. She stays standing, staring at him with her arms crossed.
"Thinking about it?" She asks him and he nods. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shakes his head.
"Is that my shirt?" He asks and she looks down at what she's wearing. She didn't really pay attention to what she grabbed before her shower, but he's correct. She's wearing one of his old superman shirts and a pair of plaid pyjama pants. She nods and blushes and he smirks at her.
"It's okay, I don't mind. You look cute." He tells her, teasing a bit and she blushes.
He lays down on her bed and she goes to lay down next to him. She doesn't ask him why he came here instead of going to Brittany, but it's all she can think about. She puts her head on his chest and he throws an arm around her, rubbing a finger up and down her arm.
"Do you love her?" She asks because she can't stop thinking about it. Is it really possible to love two people at the same time.
"No." He tells her honestly, and she hates how she instantly feels relieved.
"Does she love you?" She asks, biting her lip bottom nervously.
"No. I think she still loves Santana." Now she's just confused, why are they with each other if they don't love each other?
"Then why are you together?" She asks, trying to sound as polite as she can, she doesn't want him to get the wrong impression, like she's bitter or something.
"The company is nice. It sucks being left behind, so at least we have each other. I like her and care about her, I'm just not in love with her." She's not sure she quite gets it, but she's not going to question him further. She just wants him to be happy, and if this is what makes him happy then she's okay with it.
"Do you think she'd be upset with you being here?" She asks because she also cares about Brittany and doesn't want to hurt her.
"No. I think she knows I still love you." He tells her.
She hums and begins to drift off again, her adrenaline wearing off from when he first arrived.
"I think about it every time I close my eyes." He says and she instantly wakes up, knowing exactly what he's talking about. She waits for him to continue, knowing if he wants to talk about it more he'll do it on his own without her urging him. "I felt so powerless and I hate it. I still feel powerless."
"There's nothing you could have done." She whispers to him. He has this hero complex, always wanting to be the one saving everyone. In certain situations she finds it adorable, but in situations like these she wishes he would just sit back and stay quiet.
"I could have." He argues and she rolls her eyes.
"How? That person had a gun Sam. You're not invincible." He huffs and she reaches behind her for his hand and squeezes it. "I need you alive if we're ever going to be together again."
"I just don't understand why someone would come into the school with a gun." He tells her, his voice breaking at the end and her heart aches for him. She wishes there was some way she could take his pain away.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you guys." She whispers to him, looking up at him. His jaw is clenched and there are a few tears rolling down his face. "What can I do to make you feel better Sam?" She pleads, desperately wanting to take away his pain and anger.
"Just be here." He tells her, moving his arm to stroke her hair. "Just lay her with me."
She hums and snuggles closer into his chest and sleep takes over her once more.
xxx
When she wakes up he's gone, but she's not offended. He probably had to return home before his parents woke up. She rolls over and checks her phone that is lying down on her bedside table. She has one message from him, so she unlocks her phone to check what it says. Thank you. She smiles.
She keeps her phone close the entire day just in case any of them need her. She can't imagine what they're going through, and to make them go to school the next day is so wrong. They need time to heal, yes no one was hurt but it's still ridiculous to force them back into normalcy, they're just kids. She knows that they also have Finn who is a lot closer than any of them are, but more than that, they have each other.
But still, she's here. She's holding space for them in her heart. She knows that there's no way they can come back from this, yesterday took a part of them that none of them will ever get back. What a cruel thing for all of them to have in common.
xxx
How do they expect them all to get back to normal with metal detectors and locker checks? How do they expect them all to get back to normal when every time he leaves to go to the washroom he has to empty his pockets to a security guard. How is that normal? They're kids, not criminals.
It makes him sick to his stomach that one of them would bring a gun to school. If you're in pain or struggling, talk to someone. Because now they all have to live with this, and that just isn't fair.
Maybe it's selfish to think that way, but it makes his skin crawl. Every time he closes his eyes, he is back in the choir room, hopeless and powerless, sitting on the floor. Ears still ringing from the sound of those two gunshots. So maybe it's selfish, but he's angry, and he feels like that is justified.
Tina hasn't stopped shaking since yesterday. She won't let go of him or Blaine since they came out of the school. Grabbing their hands or arms or whatever she can put her hands on, like if she lets go then they'll go back in time to yesterday and she will be stuck outside again. He knows Tina felt a whole other level of helplessness yesterday, so he lets her do it, subconsciously hold onto him without realizing it.
xxx
He was going to wait a little longer to give Brittany her present, he's pretty sure they have some sort of anniversary coming up. He meets her in the hallway in between classes with the cat he bought her shoved inside a gym back, the zipper only halfway done up because he's not an idiot and isn't trying to accidentally suffocate the thing.
She immediately hugs him and he debates on whether or not he should tell her about where he was last night. He knows they're both on the same page regarding their relationship, that it isn't really a permanent thing, but he also doesn't want to hurt her.
"Do you feel any more normal?" She asks into his hair and he squeezes her tighter in a way to show her that he's thankful she cares so much about him.
"Not really. I couldn't sleep last night so I went to go see Quinn." He tells her slowly, a little afraid of how she's going to react.
They break apart and she gives him a soft smile, an indicator that it's okay, she understands. "I called Santana last night." And he sighs out in relief that she doesn't hate him.
"I was genuinely scared when I was in the choir room, and you were out here all alone. I couldn't stop thinking about you." He tells her, grabbing her hands because his body yearns for some kind of physical contact after yesterday.
"You were all I thought about too." She tells him and he smiles.
"Not Lord Tubbington?" He jokes, but of course she doesn't laugh. She thinks he's being serious, but he doesn't mind.
"No. At first I thought he might be the one doing the shooting." He bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing.
"I've kind of been a jerk about him lately. But it's not like he's that nice to me." He adds, but he doesn't take it personally. He doesn't think that cat likes anyone, including Brittany sometimes.
"I shut down his email account so he wouldn't send you any more harassing messages." He nods his head when in reality he has no idea what she's talking about. He hasn't gotten any harassing messages.
"Look, he's your cat, and if he's important to you, he's important to me too. That said, I think he's just a little lonely. So I got him a companion, and her name is Lady Tubbington." He tells her, pulling the cat out of his gym bag. "I made sure to get a fat one at the shelter so Lord Tubbington doesn't feel self-conscious."
"How long was she there for?" Brittany asks while cooing at the cat.
"A while." He tells her honestly. Fat cats aren't exactly the most wanted household pets.
"She's amazing, thank you Sam." She tells him and he goes to wrap his arms around the both of them. Even if he can't get back to normalcy right now, he's okay with this.
xxx
They all unanimously decide to skip the stupid mandatory assembly. None of them really want to side in the gym and listen to a bunch of crap about how the new safety precautions are for their own protection and about how the faculty and board members are going to make sure this never happens again. It shouldn't have happened in the first place.
He gets to the auditorium early with Artie because he's in charge of playing the guitar and because being alone makes him replay yesterday's events over and over again. He wants to do something so he can get his hands to stop shaking.
xxx
He doesn't expect it to get better overnight. He knows it's going to take a while to get over things, but he thought that not being able to sleep would pass first. He tries everything, soft music, keeping the light on, but nothing helps. Every time he closes his eyes he thinks about being back in that choir room.
So he calls her. He knows Brittany is probably asleep, and he's not sure how but she has taken this whole thing extremely well, so he doesn't want to constantly remind her by burdening her with his feelings.
He doesn't know if she'll be awake since it's 1:17 in the morning, but he keeps his fingers crossed as the line rings. She answers on the fourth ring and he feels his chest feel lighter.
"Sam?" She asks. She doesn't sound tired so he's glad he didn't wake her up, but she does sound a little confused.
"I couldn't sleep." He tells her, hoping she will understand and not question him further.
"Okay." Is all she says and he's grateful for it.
"What are you doing right now?" He asks her, hoping he's not keeping her from something important. Although he isn't sure how important things could be at one in the morning.
"I'm writing this stupid paper on Modern Literature." She groans and he chuckles. He'd offer to help, but they both know he sucks at English.
He's not exactly sure when he falls asleep, but when he wakes up the next morning he's a little grouchy because he's still exhausted, but he has a message from her telling him that she hung up as soon as she heard him begin to snore. He rolls his eyes at that, he does not snore. She also tells him that if he finds himself having more sleepless nights, she'll still be here.
Lights Out
The power goes out and he feels his heart stops. It takes him back to a couple of weeks ago when the gun went off. He hears Figgins tell them all it's just a power outage, but it still takes him a couple of minutes to get his hands to stop shaking. But he is excited for unplugged week. A new assignment means a new challenge and a new challenge means a distraction from everything that has happened.
But he doesn't have glee club the entire day, so he still has to walk the hallways with his phone flashlight turned on and his guard put right up. So maybe he's having problems trusting people ever since the lockdown, wouldn't anyone?
xxx
The assignment comes easy to him, which he can't figure out is a good or bad thing. Yes this means he won't have to worry about it now, but that also means now he's going to have to worry about other things.
But he still decides to go first. He waits for Mr. Shue to introduce him, and he's not really sure why he does. Which makes him think he needs to have some sort of introduction himself which causes him to panic because he doesn't have anything prepared.
"Um, well, when Mr. Shue was talking about being big, I started thinking about Phil Spector's legendary Wall of Sound and how he would use, like, thousands of instruments so his songs could really fill a stadium." He swallows because he's a little hesitant on whether or not he should admit this next part, but decides what the hell, these people are like his family. "And then I started thinking about stripping, um, drowning out all that extra noise to get the essence of the song. Plus, my mom said that I was conceived to this song, so I kind of literally owe my existence to the Righteous Brothers. Anyways, uh, here it goes."
He's kind of taken back when Ryder joins in, but he doesn't mind. Their voices do sound kind of nice together. He notices Artie not paying attention to his performance, instead looking down at his phone, but he decides he's not going to call him out on it. If Artie doesn't want to pay attention, he doesn't have to pay attention.
But then he says he can't perform his own number without a synth and he kind of loses it on him. "You need to man up." He snaps at Artie.
"Excuse me?" Artie asks, surprised.
"You know how often the power went off at my house, how many times my dad couldn't afford to pay the stupid bill? Relax, dude. I had to entertain my brother and sister with just my guitar and my voice, and we didn't have any synth." He vents, and then decides what the hell, maybe he will call Artie out. "I mean, like, I saw you texting during my song, and it's not just you; it's all of us. We're so focused on being plugged in to the Twitterverse and Blogosphere that we don't appreciate what's actually right in front of us. And I think that's just sad and lame." He shares, getting blank stares in response. He doesn't expect any of them to understand, they've never been in his position before, but the whole situation still annoys him a little bit. So when Mr. Shue dismisses them, he doesn't wait for anyone, just walks out.
xxx
"Hey." Artie says to him while he's at his locker later in the day, startling him a little bit. "I was thinking about what you said, and you're totally right. I kind of got inspired when I was rolling down the hallway in between classes. And the sound it made was almost musical, and it got me thinking; we don't need to have electricity to make music. We don't even need real instruments."
He furrows his eyebrows, that's not exactly what he meant. "I didn't say you couldn't use instruments. I was-"
"I know, but think about it." Artie says, cutting him off. "We want to win regionals, and we're going to have to do it as a team. And imagine how we could get everybody working together if we pushed ourselves to pull off a song with nothing but a water bottle and pencils and a zipper, and who knows what else. You want unplugged. This would be unplugged squared." Artie tells him.
"I like it." He tells Artie, and Artie nods his head before rolling himself down the hallway. Unplugged squared, that could be kind of cool.
xxx
He likes Ryder's performance. And he's all about revealing yourself and being vulnerable through song, God knows he's done it enough times. Which is why he doesn't know why he makes such an insensitive comment towards Ryder about his experience.
He hates himself as soon as he says it. And he can already begin to feel Tina's harsh glare from across the room. And the truth is, he panicked. He panicked because he's had similar experiences. Not as badly as Ryder's, but he was a stripper, he's definitely had his fair share of unwanted touches and grabs. He's not sure why Artie was so on board with it, but in his case, he's never really been able to keep his mouth shut.
The little voice inside his head is telling him to just shut the hell up and let Ryder share his story. That this is a very serious thing that sticks with people, but for some reason his mouth just takes over. He feels the embarrassment wash over him in waves when he asks why it's a crime. Really Sam? Why is it a crime?
Mr. Shue dismisses them shortly after that so he can go report it. He's barely out of the choir room before Tina pulls on his ear and drags him to an empty corner in the hallway.
"Ow Tina what the hell!" He hisses once she releases his ear.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asks him with her arms crossed, glare still plastered on her face. "Your reaction was probably why he felt like he had to hold that secret in for so long. You can think whatever disgusting thoughts you want Sam, but what happened to him must have been so hard on him and you just made it ten times harder."
Tina's lecture makes him feel worse than he already does, but he's not going to tell her that. He plans to apologize to Ryder later, but he's not ready to share with Tina that the reason why he reacted that way was because the whole topic was hard for him to swallow.
"I'm disappointed in you Sam. You think you would be more sensitive to this kind of stuff after what happened with Quinn." She tells him while shaking her head before exiting the classroom, leaving him feeling like the world's biggest asshole.
xxx
"Hey Ryder, hold on." He says to Ryder the next day when he catches him in the auditorium for their unplugged group performance. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" He asks and Ryder nods. "Listen man, about what I said yesterday, I'm sorry about that."
Ryder shrugs his shoulders. "It's alright."
He shakes his head. "No, it was fucked up. I can't imagine going through something like that. I'm really sorry it happened to you." He tells him and Ryder gives him a smile and a nod. He feels a lot better.
I hate that we don't get to see the same focus on post secondary for Tina, Blaine, Sam, and Artie the way we did for the graduates in season 3. We even got a future storyline with Mike and all we got for season 4 was Blaine mentioning he wanted to go to NYADA and then in season 5 we learn Artie and Tina both get into schools in New York, which is great for them, but how? I don't remember them mentioning they applied.
And don't even get me started on Sam. He's not that dumb, why does he not go to post secondary? And I get it's not for everyone, and don't get me wrong I love the model storyline, but it just seems so far fetched from season 2&3 Sam. Does anyone else remember the Sam that was in love with astronomy in season 2? Where did he go?
So I have decided to make some major changes so season 4-6 will be more AU.
Another side note, as iconic as Evan Evans is, he does not exist in this story simply because I adore season two Sam and I feel like season 2 Sam would not create an alter ego, and without Evan, Sam really has no storyline in Sweet Dreams so I decided not to include that episode so I could focus on the episodes that give him and Quinn bigger storylines.