A/N: I'm considering doing an epilogue. I probably won't decide until after Tuesday's episode (3x08). Also, feel free to check out my tumblr at hufflepuffandpass . tumblr . com
... and yes, I am working on Chapter 9 of Dunder Mifflin, Lima Branch. Thank you all so much for the reviews/alerts/favorites on this story. It was so much fun to write!
August in Lima, Ohio is scorching hot. There hasn't been a breeze for days and clouds have been just as seldom to come by. Sam's sweating bullets and packing all of his belongings into his dad's car isn't cooling him down any. They're leaving tomorrow and he still hasn't gotten used to the idea that this crappy little motel – which he despised at the beginning because hello, who wants to share a room with their entire family – will no longer be his home. And yeah, sharing a bed with Stevie and Stacy – and occasionally winding up on the floor – sucked, but the whole experience only made them closer as a family. Stronger, too.
"Need any help?" a familiar voice calls.
Sam turns around. It's Santana. She dressed pretty similarly to the way she did that night at the graveyard – without makeup and her usual attire. This time she's wearing a Cheerios t-shirt and some denim shorts. He realizes that this might be the last time he sees the softer side of Santana and it breaks his heart a little. "Sure," he tells her. "How'd you get here anyway?"
"Britt dropped me off. She said Lord Tubbington was running low on gravy so she needed to run by the store."
Lord Tubbington never fails to amuse him. In the strangest, littlest way, he'll even miss Brittany's blob of a cat.
They work in silence for a while until she says, "I want to thank you, Sam."
"For what?" he asks.
"Not sure if you've really noticed, but I don't have many close friends. Part of it is because people can't handle my level of marvelousness, but I'm also not the kindest person in the world. Britt brings out a lot of good in me, but this summer I realized that you do too. I wish I'd known that all along because you've become my best guy friend despite your General Geekbar impressions," she says.
"Admiral Ackbar," Sam corrects. "Believe me, I was surprised too. I wanna tell you something, but you have to promise not to get mad."
"I never make promises I can't keep."
"At the start of the summer, I made it my goal to get you and Brittany together," he admits. "At the time it was mostly so you'd quit yelling at me and moping around, but now I truly see how good you are for each other."
"I don't know if me and Britt are quite there yet," she tells him as she packs one last box in the car. "But we just rejoined the Cheerios together. This morning, actually."
"You'll get there," he says honestly. "She's going to give you as much time as you need. She loves you, Santana."
They decide to get lunch at Breadstix for old time's sake. Well, Sam wanted something a little more … tasty, but Santana insisted on the generic, hardly-classifies-as-Italian food. What a surprise. By the time they're done eating, she's got enough breadsticks stashed away to assemble a replica of the Eiffel Tower to scale. Well… almost.
Sam goes to pay for their meal, but she stops him. "My treat," she says.
"You were wrong earlier when you said you weren't the kindest person in the world," he tells her as she signs her name to the receipt. "You definitely are. You gave me a job, a car for the summer, free babysitting for my brother and sister, and as cheesy as this sounds, you gave me hope."
Santana rolls her eyes, but she's not annoyed; in fact, Sam can tell that she's actually flattered by the compliments. "You, Sammy Evans, are as cheesy as they come."
He drops her off at her house so she can change, but she tells him to come over later. He doesn't think much of it and drives off, bopping along to Head Over Feet as he goes. Knowing Santana, she's got something up her sleeve. She'll most likely try to force him into staying by using Chinese water torture or something equally unbearable.
He's thoroughly enjoying his nap in his strangely bare motel room when he gets a text telling him he has four minutes to get to her house. On average, the drive's about ten depending on the stoplights because if he's being honest, there's no real traffic around here. He makes it in around seven minutes– not bad considering he has to wait for Mrs. Hagberg to cross the street before he can turn at the corner of Elm and Main.
The house looks even darker than usual when he arrives. Santana had sent him a text saying the door was open and to just come on in. And if Santana thinks he's going to change all the light bulbs in the house again –
"SURPRISE!"
Well… he should've seen that one coming.
The party's in full swing and just about everyone from the glee club is there. Mercedes, however, is conspicuously absent.
Santana notices Sam's disappointment and says, "If it makes you feel any better, her new boyfriend's about as blubbery as Lauren. In fact, he and Zizes should probably spend the rest of their days roaming the oceans searching for krill and singing whale songs to each other."
"Santana," he warns.
"What can I say," she shrugs, "I have a way with words. Besides, the ocean probably hasn't had a power couple of those proportions since Shamu and Free Willy. Speaking of which, I'm going to go hide the shrimp bowl from Lauren's cavernous mouth."
"Hey," Sam calls to her as she tries to slip away, "If I forget to tell you later, thanks for my party."
"Whatever," she says. "Don't thank me. My parents are chaperoning this shindig. I've had a million parties here and they've never cared before. Then I said I wanted to throw one for the glee club only and all of a sudden they're like totally interested in making sure no one drinks."
"It's 'cause they love me," Sam kids. She flicks him off before heading into the kitchen.
"Hey Sam," Finn yells from across the room, his arm wrapped around Rachel. "We're really going to miss you."
"Yeah right! Now you won't have any competition at quarterback," Sam says half-jokingly as he makes his way over to him.
Finn nods. "Yeah, but you were better than me anyway, so I bet at your new school you'll get the starting job pronto."
Sam thinks at that moment how easy it would've been to be best friends with Finn. But then Sam decides he'd take Santana over Finn any day.
"You smell like Old Spice."
Sam turns. It's Brittany. "Thanks. I, uh…"
"It's better than the Axe you used to wear," she tells him. "Now maybe girls at your next school won't think you have no game."
"What will I do without you, Brittany?" he asks.
She shrugs. "I dunno. Your life will be a lot more boring. You won't have to go on weed scavenger hunts or scrub pictures of schlongs off your body. And you probably also won't visit Westchestertonville or play trivia."
"Those were some of my favorite parts of this summer," he laughs.
She hugs him and he really, really, really doesn't want to let go… just like he didn't want this summer to end and just like he didn't want to move again.
The party winds down and Santana practically has to drag Rachel out the door. Sam and Brittany start to clean up some of the mess before Adriana stops them. "You don't have to do that, kids. It's why we have a maid," she tells them.
Dr. Lopez grins. "When's the last time the maid actually cleaned anything?" He doesn't wait for a response, but instead turns to Sam and says, "Son, we're really going to miss you around here. I know it didn't seem like we were around much, but you've done us a huge favor by keeping our Santana out of the doghouse. Believe it or not, I think this is the first summer since she's met Brittany that she hasn't gotten in trouble."
"That's because she was in trouble to start with!" Adriana interjects. "But my husband's right, Sam. So that's why we wanted to thank you by being here at your party."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Santana says to her parents after shuffling back into the house. "Now scram, por favor. We young folk have some hardcore hanging out to do before Cinderella's carriage turns back into a pumpkin. So goodnight."
Dr. Lopez shrugs, but doesn't chastise his daughter for getting an attitude. Adriana huffs and follows her husband upstairs.
"God, Santana. That was mean," Sam comments.
She pretends to inspect her nails. "I'm working on it. Having everyone in the glee club know where I live puts me on edge a little bit. I don't want to come home and find Rachel Berry waiting on my doorstep. That's how six of my top ten nightmares begin."
"And three of your top ten fantasies," Brittany quips.
"You swore never to repeat that, Britts," Santana whispers.
Sam decides it's best to change the subject. "So, what's the plan for tonight? It's …" he checks his watch. "… 10 PM. Wow, that party ended early."
"Santana told everyone that if they were still here by 9:45, she'd get her dad's baseball bat out of the garage and start heading for their cars. She wanted the three of us to have some time together."
They do all of the things they normally do – eat snacks, watch television, go for a late night swim – but there's a certain finality to it. Sam promises to meet up with Brittany and Santana later in life, but he'll never have this summer with them again. So he replays every moment in his mind until his head is reeling with memories.
"Sam, wake up!" Santana commands. "Your parents are gonna kill you."
"What?" he asks, disoriented.
"You spent the night on my couch, that's what."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" he accuses.
"Me and Britt were busy elsewhere."
"Oh. Well, congratulations?"
"Please stop talking," she says as she hands him a shirt. He looks down because he's certain he's already wearing one and then he sees it's the Star Wars shirt he let her borrow when she and Brittany were awkwardly naked and trapped in a public restroom.
"You keep it," he tells her. "To remember me by."
"Aw, does this mean we're going steady again?" she taunts.
He smiles. "No, it just means you're really, really gonna miss me."
"Damn. I wish I had some article of clothing for you. Stay right there. I have this low-cut top that'll look fantastic on you," she says.
Sam's parents aren't all that thrilled when he shows up at ten o'clock in the morning with rumpled hair and two teenage girls trailing behind him. But they don't say anything to him about it in front of Stacy or Stevie, thankfully. Since the car's already packed, however, they do want to get on the road.
Brittany takes the opportunity to whisper in his ear. "She needs you in her life, okay? I do too. Don't forget about us."
"How could I ever forget you, Brittany Susan Pierce?" he whispers back. "Or Santana? I'm going to be there for graduation and when you get married to each other and everything else. I better be the godfather to your kids."
She sniffles a little and clings to him in another hug that feels shorter than it actually is.
Then it's Santana's turn and he sees that she's already crying. "Well, at least you'll have a kickass essay for college," she sobs.
He's confused. "About being homeless?" he asks.
"No… about your summer as my chauffer."
He bursts into laughter which only makes her cry harder. "You're supposed to be crying with me, not sniggering like an asshole," she says.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you're right. My job driving you around is a much more interesting story," he says. "I don't regret anything."
"You better not," she says. Her attempt at her usual cattiness is feeble at best. There's no stopping the tears once they've started.
"I'll miss you so much," he says. Then he adds, "I was talking to the car, by the way."
She giggles a little, then punches him lightly. "Don't make me murder you in front of your family and a couple other witnesses," she says as she pulls something out of her purse. "But I'll miss you too. Here. It's your last paycheck. Don't spend it all in one place, you hear?"
He takes the envelope and shoves it in his back pocket. Looking back on it, he would've done it all for free if his parents hadn't needed the money so badly.
She turns to go, but before she can get into the passenger seat of her own car he yells, "Hey Santana! You better start working on your insults now. I wanna hear 'em when I come back so I know some things haven't changed."
She smiles sadly. "Sure thing, Sam."
And just like that, it was the perfect end to a perfect summer.