Title: Teen Spirit

Fandom: Popular

Pairing: Sam/Brooke

Rating: PG

Prompt: 055 Spirit; written for the fanfic100 challenge

Word count: 1,032

Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own the characters of Popular. They belong to Ryan Murphy, but hopefully he won't mind if I borrow them for a little while. And the lyrics at the end are by Kurt Cobain.

Summary: An unanticipated performance.

A/N: It's sophomore year in high school.

A/N2: Thanks so much to wolfemeister and theagonyofblank for the beta reads!

Sometimes, Brooke wondered why she was still friends with Nicole. On certain days, for some reason or another, Sam's not-so-affectionate nickname of "Satan" rang especially true, and Brooke would find herself wishing that she had the strength to end their twisted friendship once and for all.

It was one of those days.

Brooke was supposed to be spending the night at Nicole's place, but ever since she found out that Nicole had slept with Josh, Brooke had been less and less willing to put up with Nicole's shit. So, having bailed on the planned shopping trip with Nicole and Mary Cherry, Brooke decided to just go home and relax instead. Mike and Jane were out of town, and Brooke didn't know what Sam was up to, but maybe they could just hang out and watch a movie or something.

Upon entering the house, Brooke was somewhat startled to hear the sound of blaring music coming from upstairs. Curious, she made her way towards the source of the music, ending up right outside Sam's room. She hadn't been able to tell what the song was right away, but as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, there was no mistaking the distinctive melody of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Brooke smiled as, above Kurt Cobain's guttural voice, she could hear Sam's more feminine tone, singing along.

The music was loud enough that Brooke was pretty sure Sam wouldn't be able to hear her knock on the door, but she did so anyway, in case Sam accused her of barging in uninvited. When, as expected, her knocks went unanswered, Brooke slowly pushed the door open and took a step inside the room.

What she hadn't expected, though, was the way that the sight on the other side of the door literally caused Brooke's breath to hitch. Sam was dancing around her room, strumming along on air guitar and belting out the lyrics, with her long, flowing hair spreading out around her head.

Brooke honestly hadn't really thought about it before, but in that moment, it hit her. Sam was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.

Brooke was grateful that Sam's eyes were closed, as it gave her the opportunity to simply watch the brunette. It was the first time that Brooke got a chance to see Sam without all those walls that Sam had worked so hard to build.

Now, the adjectives that used to come to mind when Brooke thought about Sam -- stubborn, self-righteous, annoying -- were replaced with new ones -- passionate, strong, free-spirited. It wasn't so much the song itself, but more the way that Sam carried herself.

Brooke smiled to herself, and then quietly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

o0o0o

Brooke peered surreptitiously around the corner, watching Sam open her locker. She could tell that Sam noticed the object right away, the curious confusion easily visible on Sam's face, even from a distance.

Brooke watched Sam open the envelope, her puzzled frown deepening as her eyes scanned the note. When she opened the accompanying box, Sam simultaneously blushed and smiled widely. Brooke grinned shyly as Sam looked up and around the hallway, her eyes searching until they landed on her. Sam picked up her backpack and made her way over to Brooke.

Still blushing, Sam asked, "Nirvana, Brooke? You like Nirvana?"

Smirking, Brooke replied, "Well I hate to break it to you, Sammy, but sure, I like some of their stuff. Nirvana isn't only for the dark, angsty, young rebels of the world."

"Anyway, I take it you actually got home earlier than I thought, yesterday? I totally assumed I had the house to myself."

Brooke laughed lightly. "Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to interrupt your wonderful performance, though."

"Well, I don't know if it should count as a performance, since there wasn't supposed to be an audience." Sam mock glared at the smiling blonde, but Brooke could tell that Sam wasn't really upset. "And you really shouldn't have gone through the trouble, but thanks for this," Sam continued, holding up the Nirvana CD.

"My pleasure," Brooke assured Sam. "The song seemed to be skipping a lot, so I thought you could use an upgrade."

"Yeah, too much time jumping around my room like a wanna-be rock star, I guess. I've been listening to the same, old CD for years now, but somehow I was always too lazy to just get a new one, even though my copy is all scratched up. I know, I know... 'Way to be cheap, Sam,' right?" Sam rolled her eyes self-deprecatingly.

"Hey, you said it, not me." Brooke held up her hands innocently.

Sam smiled and continued, "But don't expect a repeat performance anytime soon, or anything. I don't know if I'll be able to listen to that song for a while, without being completely embarrassed, now."

"Oh, don't be, Sam," Brooke hurried to say. "You really have a beautiful voice. You have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, I promise."

Brooke found herself hoping that Sam would play the song again soon. She had listened to it a few times in the music store, and found that, with the music flowing in her ears, all she had to do was close her eyes, and she could once again visualize Sam, dancing freely in her room.

The bell suddenly rang, and the girls shared a last smile and separated to go to class. Brooke turned around again, though, when Sam called out, "Oh, and Brooke?" At Brooke's expectant look, Sam continued, "That's my favorite part too."

o0o0o

Dear Sam,

Well, you're constantly teasing me about the Glamazon choreography, but now I know that you've got some moves of your own! Watch out, though...I like the song, too, so maybe the difference between "Teen Spirit" and "school spirit," isn't quite as big as I'm sure you'd like to believe. Anyway, just thought you might appreciate a newer copy.

Enjoy,

Brooke

p.s. I'm not sure what the hell it means, but this is my favorite part. What's yours?

"And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind"