The past few days in Glee Club had been torture for Santana. Rachel kept bugging her about needing to work on their duet; Brittany was clinging to Artie as much as physically possible; and Sam and the hobbit would always sit next to each other and whisper things between the two of them. The entire situation was disgusting. She was surrounded by annoying trolls and happy people, and apparently only she noticed it. Someone needed to be miserable like she was and, if Santana had her say, it wouldn't be long before someone else was suffering.
For the most part she had her scheme plotted out. The entire thing revolved around Sam since torturing him would hurt Blaine. It was just a matter of settling on which angle to go with; of course, collateral damage was fun, too. If she worked everything out right, there might be a way to spin the situation where the entire Glee Club would end up hating Sam, Blaine wouldn't want anything to do with him – which meant that he and Kurt would probably get back together, and Santana figured she should at least throw Kurt a bone – and she would have Brittany back. Of course, the cherry on top would be Artie being alone and miserable, too. It would be perfect; there was just one more piece that needed to fall into place.
The only flaw in the plan was the fact that she had been stuck with Rachel for her duet. Santana had counted on having a nice little talk with Sam right before it was time for her to perform. If Sam squirmed when she sang her original song a few weeks ago, the poor boy would probably pee himself after she spoke with him and then performed. She had found the perfect song to use; now all she had to do was convince Rachel to agree to perform it with her.
It would be easy - all she had to do was find a way to spin it that the other girl would believe that this particular song would prove that she didn't need Finn in her life, which would make Finn want to be with Rachel again.
"Berry, wait up," Santana said calling after her latest target. "We need to talk."
Santana couldn't help but laugh when she saw Rachel instinctively recoil and take a step back. Too bad she needed to focus on her real plan instead of torturing Rachel, but she was sure she'd get another opportunity to torment the girl soon enough.
"There are other people in the hall… witnesses, remember that," Rachel said.
"Oh come on," Santana brushed the comment off. Like having witnesses would ever be motivation enough to stop her if she really wanted something. "I just wanted to talk to you about our duet."
"Didn't you decide that you would just send me a list because you didn't want to be seen in public with me?"
"That's still on, but I found the perfect song," Santana plastered an evil smile on her face as she spoke. "I'm going to send it to you tonight and you can work on it. You'll love it, it's all about how you don't need a man and you can just throw them away when you're done. It's the perfect way to prove to Finn that you don't need him."
"Why would you do that for me though?" Rachel asked.
"Because I'm still mad at Quinn for getting me bumped from head cheerleader at the beginning of the year," Santana shrugged. "And Finn's a stupid boy. The second you tell him that you couldn't care less about him, you'll have him eating out of the palm of your freakishly large and hairy hands."
The comic book store had been amazing. Well, it always was, but it was different being there with Blaine. When he lived in Tennessee, Sam would always take Stevie and Stacy with him, but it wasn't the same. It was difficult for him to have a good time when he was there with his brother and sister. Stacy would always insist on getting some Betty and Veronica comics or some fairy tale series. Stevie was a little better; he'd be happy as long as the book had a giant robot in it. Their taste in books wasn't the big issue though - he loved his little brother and sister, and he was always happy spending time with them.
Obviously, it was different with Blaine because the two of them were the same age. It helped that apparently they shared an interest in the same books, too. Of course that was probably because Sam kept showing Blaine things that he already liked.
It was a light week as far as new releases were concerned, so Sam spent the majority of the time at the comic store answering any of the questions Blaine asked and explaining how the back issues were sorted. He enjoyed spending time with Blaine, but he also really liked that for once there was something that he knew all about and had to explain to someone else, instead of him being the one that always had to play catch up. Actually, it kind of bothered Sam that Blaine was catching on so quickly. He didn't want their little excursion to be over because it would mean going back home and possibly getting into yet another one-sided fight with his father.
Sam was relieved when Blaine suggested they go for coffee when they left the store. He wasn't a fan of coffee, but he would get a chance to talk more with Blaine and it would keep him out of the house a little longer. Looking at the menu was a struggle; he wasn't sure if it was literally in a different language or his dyslexia getting the better of him, but he couldn't understand anything except the prices.
"I'll have a medium drip and one almond chocolate biscotti please," Blaine said, placing his order once they reached the counter.
Sam gave the menu one last panicked look before finally giving up. "Um, I'll have the same."
Once the barista had turned around to fill their order, Sam looked over at Blaine and shrugged. "My coffee knowledge pretty much stops with 'you put hot water in a cup.'"
"We can go somewhere else if you want," Blaine offered.
"Nah, it's cool. I exposed you to comic books, you're exposing me to scalding hot water. It's a fair trade."
When Blaine suddenly burst out laughing, Sam found it impossible to not join in. He didn't really understand it since what he said wasn't particularly funny; yet, he could tell that Blaine wasn't laughing at him, but at his joke. When the barista returned, their laughing ended as abruptly as it began. On pure instinct, Sam pulled out his wallet and paid for their food and drinks when they were told the total. He picked up the two little plates and handed them to Blaine and took the two cups in his own hands and sat down at the nearest empty table.
When they reached the table, Sam took the seat across from Blaine and handed the other boy one of the cups and took one of the plates from him. He had never had biscotti before, but it looked good – kind of like a long, skinny brownie. With how much extra time he would need to add on to his next work out to burn this off, it had better be good. He was staring at his plate so intently he hadn't noticed Blaine pull out his wallet until he began waving money in his face. "Um, what's that for?"
"You paid for my coffee," Blaine said.
"So, we drove here in your car- it's like gas money or something," Sam continued to stare down the chocolate on his plate. Why did it have to look so good?
Blaine placed the money on the table next to Sam before saying anything else. "No, see, I only let nice guys buy me coffee when they ask me out."
"Dude, you've been here a little over a week – it took me almost a month to even go on an almost-date with Quinn. By this time next month, you'll have so many guys buying you drinks you won't have any time to hang out with me."
"Oh, I won't let just anyone buy me drinks. It's all about quality over quantity."
"Good," Sam smiled, pausing only long enough to take a sip from his coffee. "I don't want you to date a jackass."
"I'll make you a deal: I won't date any jackasses and wait patiently the perfect guy, and you stay away from succubi like Santana."
"Somebody snuck over to the fantasy section when I wasn't looking," Sam laughed. This entire outing was too weird. He was having fun, spending time with the best friend he ever had, and now they were having some weird conversation about who the other person should date. It made Sam feel normal, like he fit in and belonged for once. "You should watch out. Those are usually the books that rely more on the art than an actual plot."
"Well, you'll just have to keep me away from those things."
"Wow, you've been gone from Dalton less than two weeks and you already need a chaperone?"
Sam stared down the scrawny blond who had walked up to their table. Sam watched as Blaine's body language began to change. He seemed too stiff now, like being around this other boy was making him uncomfortable. Not counting the whole Karofsky incident last week, this was the first time Sam had ever seen Blaine thrown for a loop. He needed to know why this kid was upsetting Blaine this much - it wasn't cool.
"Yeah," Blaine said, his voice almost having a beaten down tone to it. "It's such a big world outside of Dalton… it's nice really."
"Things have been different since you and Kurt transferred. Nick actually got a solo yesterday," said the blond Warbler. "Where is Kurt anyway? I thought you guys were… you know."
"Kurt and I aren't seeing each other. We're just friends now," Blaine dipped his biscotti into his cup absentmindedly. "Oh, this is Sam. Sam, this is Jeff. We went to Dalton-"
"Yeah, I picked up on that." Sam wasn't sure why he sounded so angry. Was it because he was having a good time and then this guy, this Jeff, showed up and spoiled it? Blaine was happy before this kid had showed up, and now he wasn't, and that really upset Sam for some reason.
"Sorry, you guys were doing your own thing," Jeff said quickly. "I don't even have time to stay. I just saw you and thought I'd say hi."
Sam was thrown by the look Jeff threw him before he walked away; it was disturbing to say the least. "Whoa, I've gotten nicer looks from Santana. What's his deal?"
"It's… I-"
Sam felt bad when he saw the pained look on Blaine's face. The entire time they had known each other, Blaine had never struggled for words. What had Jeff done to make Blaine react like this? "Hey, it's cool - you don't have to say anything."
"No," Blaine said firmly. "I can talk about it. It just surprised me. Jeff and I – last year we kind of… um, he was quantity over quality."
"Oh," it took a second for what Blaine was saying to fully hit him. "Oh! So he's like Dalton's version of Santana or something?"
"He's not that bad. We both ended up at Dalton at the same time and neither of us were really in the best places. At the school I was in before, I got jumped and beat up pretty bad – like almost needing to be at the hospital bad – all because of the fact that I spent the entire school dance talking to the only out guy at school."
Sam felt his hand under the table ball up into a fist as he angrily pulled at the hem of his shirt. It made him furious that someone as nice as Blaine could have something so horrific like that happen to him. No wonder he seemed so sad when Karofsky attacked him last week. It must have brought back a lot of bad memories.
"Jeff and I bonded and it was nice, but I wanted something more than he could give, and I wasn't cool with it being just physical. It was a mistake, but it was one of those ones that kind of had to happen. He and I are actually good friends now. I guess it just threw me running into him now that I'm starting over at another school."
"Thanks for telling me that." Sam wasn't sure what he should be saying right now, but he felt like he had to say something. "It makes me not feel as bad for dumping my sob story on you when we first met. Not like they are even close to being compared. I mean, your story is like being trapped on the Death Star as it's blowing up and mine's like 'Oh no, I've got a splinter.' I'm sorry… I'll stop talking now."
"What's a Death Star?"
"What? Are you kidding me? How can you not know about Star Wars? There were six movies - sure like three of them were pretty crappy, but still… how can you not get a Star Wars reference?"
"Well," Blaine spoke slowly. "If I'm in a bad mood this weekend, how about you come over and we can do a marathon? It's kind of impossible to be in a bad mood when you're bouncing around all happy. It will definitely cheer me up."
"Yeah, see," Sam smiled. He was glad Blaine was starting to act more like his "old" self now. He hated seeing his friend hurt so much. "The problem with that is now that I know you haven't seen Star Wars, I'll totally force you to watch them no matter what mood you're in."
Santana was surprised by how easily things had fallen in place. Rachel had been much easier to manipulate than she had expected, probably because neither of them wanted to spend any more time together than necessary. There was only one thing left that she needed to take care of, and that was going to be by far the most fun and easiest part of the whole thing.
The former Cheerio couldn't contain the sparkle in her eyes when she wandered into the music room and found her ex sitting there all alone. It made sense; Sam's social life was pathetic even with all of the time he had been spending with Blaine. Of course he would be the first one ready for Glee Club; he really didn't have anything better to do.
"Hey Sammy," Santana said as she took a seat next to the blonde.
"Um, what do you want?" Sam asked.
Santana was trying her best not to laugh. This was perfect - she had only said two words to him and she could already tell he was petrified. "What? I can't say hi to you?"
"You called me 'Sammy,'" the boy shrugged. "The only time you even come close to using my name is when you want something."
"Well," Santana began. She pulled out her cellphone and angled it so that Sam could see the screen as well. "I got this new phone and I wanted your opinion on the picture quality the camera has."
Santana's eyes were glued to Sam's face as she began scrolling through the photos on her screen. "Like here for example," she pointed to the first picture, which just so happened to be of Sam and Blaine at Breadstix last week. "I meant to take a picture of a group of friends eating together, but I guess I zoomed in too far because all I can see is the Hobbit and Trouty sitting together in a booth, smiling at each other all romantic like."
The panic stricken look on Sam's face was all that Santana needed to know that her plan was working. "See, and this next one," she said, flipping to the next picture. "Again, apparently I zoomed in too far because all you can see is the two of you drinking coffee, and you know people say that coffee is the number one beverage choice for casual dates. You know… I've never seen you drink coffee the entire time I've known you. We never went for coffee together."
"We dated for like two weeks."
"Exactly," Santana powered down her phone. "You've known Blaine for two weeks and he's already at coffee status. By that point in our relationship, I had to practically force you to hold my hand and then you dumped me."
"You were just using me to piss off Quinn, and you made up that Trouty Mouth song and humiliated me in front of everyone."
"Exactly," Santana said throwing back her hair. "And I did those things when I liked you; imagine how big of a bitch I'm going to be since you dumped me. Nobody dumps me; you owe me, Sammy."
"I-I don't understand."
Santana rolled her eyes and sighed. "Of course you don't; you're an idiot. You're going to do me one little favor: break up Britt and Artie. I don't care how you do it - sleep with her, hell sleep with him, roll him off a cliff for all I care. Just break them up or I'll have these photos plastered everywhere and ruin your life."
"Why…. It's just pictures of me hanging out with Blaine."
"Imma break it down for you, Simple Sam. You're at this school for five minutes before you join Glee Club and want to sing a duet with the lady boy, then you move on to dating Quinn. Did you really think that social status ladder climbing attention whore wouldn't run up and down the halls screaming about the promise ring you gave her?" Santana couldn't believe how much she was actually enjoying this. It was a thousand times better than she had imagined. Sam actually looked like he was about to wet his pants.
"But see," Santana continued. "That's where the story gets interesting. She cheats on you, so clearly you weren't fulfilling her needs. Which, to be honest, if you were here last year for the whole baby-gate thing, you'd know she's not picky. Then you and I start dating, and you leave me completely underwhelmed by your lack of game and moves-"
"We dated for two weeks," Sam repeated, shouting this time.
Santana reached out and smacked Sam in the back of his head. Right now he was making Brittany look like a genius, and she didn't have time to hold his hand and walk him through the conversation since they wouldn't be alone for that much longer.
"Hello, I'm a slut. I gets what I wants and I gets gone. I ran through the entire basketball team last year in the length of our 'relationship.' There are exactly four guys in our entire grade that I haven't done it with. I don't do charity so that rules out Artie, and Kurt and Blaine are gay so that's pointless. That just leaves you. Gee, Trouty, I wonder which of those categories you fall in. If you don't do this, I'll make sure people start connecting the dots on how you managed to blow through an easy lay and the former Miss 16 and Pregnant. By the time I'm done, these pictures of you and your brand new BFF will have a whole new meaning."
"Santana, you're insane. We dated. You know I'm not gay. It's just pictures of Blaine hanging out with me. That's all."
"Oh, it doesn't matter what I think, Trouty," Santana shrugged. "Actually I don't really care what anyone thinks of you. But Blaine… he's new, he glues himself to a strapping jock like you…. I wonder how badly the other jocks will react when they learn that Blaine is basically turning you gay. You saw how everyone treated Kurt this year, and they've known him for years. He got off easy compared to what they'll do to the Hobbit."
"Look, I don't care what you do to me," Sam's voice trembled as he spoke. "But Blaine and Brittany are my friends…"
"Ha," Santana laughed. "Let's get something straight here, Trouty: Britt is not your friend. She's only hanging out with you because you got paired together. I snap my fingers and she drops you, and you go back to being the kid nobody pays attention to. Unless you do what I say, I'll make sure that everyone knows that the new and improved Sam Evans didn't actually grow a pair, he's just borrowing his boyfriend's. I wonder how many dumpster tosses and slushies it will take before the Hobbit runs back to Dalton? And the best part – it's all your fault. Do the right thing, Sammy. Pick the first option. At least that way you'll get a little bit of action before you fade back into oblivion."
"W-why would you lie like that? Blaine's a nice guy, and Brittany is supposed to be your best friend. Why would you want to hurt her like that?"
"If I was really that important to Brittany, she would have dumped Wheels the second I was single," Santana shrugged. "Misery loves company. Right now I'm miserable, and I want to be surrounded by so many people that I can't move without stepping on someone's feet."
Apparently Santana had timed everything perfectly because the second she closed her mouth, the rest of the Glee Club began shuffling into the room. She was amused when Blaine shot her a dirty look when he saw that she was sitting next to Sam. For an instant, she debated on just getting up and letting the two of them sit together, but she decided against it. After all, she knew Sam would eventually cave in; the two of them could spend all day every day together if that's what they wanted. She just needed to get what she wanted out of the deal first.
"Okay guys," Mr. Schuester said once everyone had settled down. "Is anyone ready to perform their duets?"
"Berry and I are ready," Santana stood up, roughly pulling Rachel up when she walked by, not even bothering to give her the option of not performing the song today. After all the groundwork she had just set down, there was no way she was going to give Rachel the chance to back out.
"What song did the two of you decide on?" Mr. Schuester asked after taking one of the empty seats among the rest of the students.
"Following your, if I may be so blunt, incorrect assumption that I need to sing less ballads," Rachel began, "Santana and I chose a song that shows all of the teenage girls out there that they shouldn't just let boys walk all over them. It's about women taking back their power-"
Santana rolled her eyes and sighed. She needed to cut off Rachel or she would keep babbling on like this, and it would give Sam to recover from his state of shock. "It's a cautionary tale of what happens when you piss off your ex."
"That, too," Rachel added before the music began.
I have a heart, I swear I do
But just not, baby, when it comes to you
I get so hungry when you say you love me
Hush if you know what's good for you
I think you're hot, I think you're cool
You're the kind of guy I'd stalk in school
But now that I'm famous, you're up my…
Santana was actually thankful when Rachel decided to be overtly dramatic and censor herself by covering her mouth at the very end of the verse. She knew that the song was questionable to begin with; she just needed to keep Mr. Schuester from cutting them off before she had the chance to nail her point home to Sam. Once they had managed to get through the chorus, Santana forced her way past Rachel and made a point of staring Sam directly in the eyes. She could already tell that he was clearly uncomfortable, and it wouldn't be that much longer before she pushed him over the edge.
Whenever you tell me I'm pretty
That's when the hunger really hits me
Your little heart goes pitter patter
I want your liver on a platter
Use your finger to stir my tea
And for desert, I'll suck your teeth
Be too sweet and you'll be a goner
Yup, I'll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer
"Whoa, whoa," Mr. Schuester said, throwing his hands up in the air. "That's way too inappropriate. I expect this kind of thing from certain people, but I'm really surprised by you, Rachel."
Santana didn't bother paying attention to the teacher. Frankly, she barely paid attention to him anyway, but right now her only concern was making sure that Sam understood what was going on. She enjoyed watching him squirm during the entire song, but right now he looked like he was going to throw up. When she saw Sam cover his mouth, jump out of the chair and run for the door, all she could do was smile triumphantly.
With each step down the hallway, Sam felt more and more nauseous. He had never felt like he was going to throw up as badly as he did right now, and he was honestly afraid that if he started he'd never be able to stop. That song, it was so disgusting and the conversation Santana had with him right before Glee Club – there was no doubt in his mind that she had planned the entire thing. All Sam wanted to do right now was run home and lock himself in his bedroom and never come out.
No one had even bothered to go after him when he had run out of the music room. He couldn't blame Rachel. After all, she had been singing with Santana – at least he knew that Rachel was just singing and not an actual part of Santana's plan… that had to count for something. It didn't explain why Mercedes, Brittany or Kurt hadn't come to check on him. If they were really his friends, why didn't any of them care that something was clearly going on with him? It was always the same. He wasn't meant to be happy or be himself, and the universe was going to keep punishing him every single time he tried.
Sam could hear footsteps behind him and he sighed. He didn't need to turn around to know who it would be; it had to be Blaine. He was the only one in Glee Club that was really his friend. Of course, that was the issue. Apparently the universe had decided that Blaine Anderson was the cause of, and solution to, all of Sam's problems. Blaine was the best friend Sam ever had; he understood him when no one else had even bothered to try.
Why did Santana say she was going to tell everyone that he and Blaine were dating? They were close, and they did spend a lot of time together, but that didn't mean anything. They were friends; that's what friends were supposed to do. Sam didn't understand how what he and Blaine had was any different than Santana's friendship with Brittany; in fact, as far as he could see, it was exactly the same thing.
"Come on," Blaine called out after Sam. "Hold up. Are you okay?"
"I-I just had to get out of there," Sam finally said.
"You know, you really didn't have to take off. I'm about 80 percent certain that Santana wasn't literally going to eat you."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Sam didn't want to turn around because he knew if he did, Blaine would be standing there with that little grin he always gave him and Sam would start to forget about everything that just happened.
"Look on the bright side. Santana's in the music room with everyone else and you're out here free. If we make a break for it, she won't be able to catch up and you won't have to see her the entire weekend. If you want, I can set traps all around my yard tonight so she can't crash the movie marathon tomorrow. I made sure my dad went shopping yesterday and the pantry is packed with food, so we can just relax and watch all six of the movies. Oh… I had him pick up some almond chocolate biscotti, too. It won't be as good as the ones at The Lima Bean, but it was pretty much the only thing I know you're not allergic to."
"Yeah, about that," Sam said as he turned to finally face Blaine. Sam closed his eyes tightly and sighed. This would be so much easier if Blaine wasn't standing in front of him with that insane smile he got whenever he was excited. He hated this so much. He couldn't do what Santana wanted him to, but if he didn't, she was going to tell everyone that he and Blaine were together.
The sad thing was that didn't even bother him. After all, people assumed he was gay because he hung out with Kurt a little before everything went down this year. It didn't matter to Sam because he knew who he was. He couldn't do that to Blaine though. Yes, people knew Blaine was gay, but what would the rest of the football team that wasn't in Glee Club say and do if they believed Santana?
Sam knew he could handle it, but he didn't want to risk anyone hurting Blaine like he had been at his school before Dalton. Sam cared too much about Blaine to ever risk putting him through that kind of thing again, especially when the two of them were only friends. It would be better if he just cut his ties with the other boy now; it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway.
"My dad kind of has a last-minute business trip and he hates paying babysitters, so I'm stuck watching my brother and sister," Sam said, unable to even look Blaine in the eyes.
"Oh. Well, um, if you want, I can come over and keep you company. I mean, the movies probably wouldn't work, but I could help you watch them or something."
Sam could tell Blaine wasn't happy with what he said. He felt like crap. Blaine was his friend and he was clearly trying to cheer him up right now, but that was the problem. He had to make sure that Santana would back off of Blaine. "I'm not really supposed to have anyone over, and Stacy is a huge tattletale so it wouldn't work out."
"You could-" Before Blaine could say anything else, Sam jumped in, cutting him off.
"Look, I know you're trying to help, but I don't feel good and I'm in a really bad mood right now, and I just want to go home. I just want to be left alone, okay? I don't feel like hanging out with you. We spend all our time together anyway – it's weird. You should hang out with someone like Kurt. I'm not like-"
As soon as Sam's brain caught up with his mouth, he wanted to throw up. He had no idea why he had said that. He loved spending time with Blaine; it was like the only good thing he had going on in his life right now. Sam felt horrible. He was trying to protect Blaine from Santana, but what he just said – Santana couldn't have hurt Blaine that much.
"I-I," Blaine's voice was so low it was almost impossible to hear even though the hallway was empty. "I guess I finally met the 'Sam' that you kept talking about. I can see why that Sam didn't have any friends."
"Blaine, I-"
"Don't worry. I won't crowd you anymore."
Sam stood there quietly as he watched Blaine storm off. He could tell that the other boy was mad at him, and he had every right to be. Right now, Sam was even mad at himself. He wanted to run after Blaine, to grab him and tell him he didn't mean what he said, and tell him about what happened with Santana before Glee Club, but he couldn't. It was bad enough to see the pain in Blaine's eyes the first time. Sam knew it made him a coward, but he couldn't stand to see that look again.
He had never felt anything like this before. Sam didn't even remember feeling this bad when he found out Quinn was cheating on him. He knew he needed to think up some way to fix the mess he had just made, assuming that was even possible. He just needed time and maybe some help. The only problem was Sam had not only thrown the one person who would have helped him under a bus, but he threw the bus off of a cliff after that. Sam closed his eyes and let out a scream. A few seconds later, he felt his fist connect with a locker door.
Authors note: Sorry it's been so long since my last update. The fact that Chord was let go and Sam would just be gone really didn't help my desire to write. Thank you for everyone who has reviewed so far. This story is clearly far from done, especially with my latest cliffhanger. Thank you all for sticking with me, and brighter days will come in this fic soon. Sam's too adorable to keep miserable for long.