A/N: So, I'm posting another chapter already because I'm really excited for it and I'm an aries so I don't know how to fucking wait, but anyway... Two chapters in less than 24 hours! Yay!
Also, I have an important question for you, guys... Because after season 3 - yes, I already have season 3 written so you can get excited for it! -, I really, really don't like what they did to Sam's character and Quinn appears less and less and so seasons 4-5 aren't as interesting to me as the first three. In any case... I have a few ideas for the story line I've been meaning to follow for Emily and Sam in those seasons but I'm a bit scared of the reaction because I'll be changing a few plots and ignoring a few episodes so, I guess, what I'm trying to say is... Would you guys be interested in reading it anyway? Would you trust me to change the story line a bit more than I've been doing in this book? Let me know, please!
"How are you feeling?" Sam asked, as he met with Emily on the hallways toward the choir room. "Did the alcohol finally wash out?"
"Oh, don't say that word around me. The A-word is hereby forbidden in my vicinity." Emily groaned, causing the boy to laugh. "But, yes. I'm feeling a lot better, thank you. Even though everyone in school is still talking about me throwing up on stage, I think I'll live."
"That's good to know." Sam smiled, before offering Emily a cup from Lima Bean. "I did bring you tea, though."
"You didn't have to." She smiled, pleasantly surprised by the action, before taking the cup from him.
"Went to grab myself some breakfast and remembered you still felt kind of sick yesterday, so I just thought a cup of tea could make you feel better."
"That's very sweet of you, Sam." She said, reaching for his arm so he could stop walking and leaning in her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."
Sam simply nodded as he looked at the ground, hoping she didn't notice the blush in his cheeks. Beside him, as they walked, Emily took a sip of her tea, trying to ignore the itchy feeling she had to just reach over and grab Sam's hand in hers, but, thankfully, the awkward silence didn't last for long because, soon enough, Mercedes was rushing toward them, throwing her arm over Emily's shoulders as they continued to walk.
"Did you hear?" She asked, as Emily gulped down another sip of her tea.
"Hear what?" She asked.
"Brittany is pregnant." She said, causing Emily to stop dead in her tracks as she coughed.
"Brittany is what?" She gasped, as Sam rubbed circles on the small of her back to try and calm her down. "No, she can't be."
"Quinn told me." Mercedes shrugged as the three of them started to walk again.
"And who told Quinn?" Sam asked.
"Tina, maybe. Or Santana? I'm not sure."
"Oh my God." Emily whispered, as she walked into the choir room just to see Artie sitting in his wheelchair with a blank look on his face and Brittany sat beside him with a guilty expression. "Oh my God..."
"Come on, let's sit down." Sam urged, pulling Emily along as they walked toward the chairs. "You can talk to her after glee."
"All right, folks. Regionals is in a week. It's time to get deep into our set list." Mr. Schue said excitedly as he walked inside as soon as Emily had taken her seat next to Quinn. That was when he noticed Artie's expression. He frowned. "Artie, you okay?"
"My life is over." Artie said, rather vaguely. "How am I supposed to support a baby? How could you not tell me about this?"
Brittany slumped under her boyfriend's stare. Mr. Schue seemed to grasp the situation then, turning to the ex-Cheerio with a worried look on his face.
"Wait. Brittany, are you pregnant?" He asked.
"Definitely." She said, frowning as she turned to Artie. "I'm so sorry, Artie. I didn't want to upset you. I thought I could surprise you when I dropped him off. Pretty sure it's a boy."
"Um, babies don't get dropped off." Emily pointed out with a frown of confusion as she looked at Brittany.
"Wait, Brittany, have you been to a doctor yet?" Mr. Schue asked. "That's the only way to be sure."
"I don't need to go to a doctor. I just need to look outside my window." She said, as everyone turned to her dumbfounded. "Three days ago, a stork built its nest on top of my garage. I'm not stupid, it's obviously getting ready to bring me my baby. I know where babies come from."
At that, Emily realized a breath, finally understanding that Brittany actually wasn't pregnant, thankfully. Looking over at Quinn, the two shared a fond look for their clueless friend and shook their heads in disbelief.
Well, at least they wouldn't be having another teen pregnancy that year.
***
"Sexy." Mr. Schue announced as he wrote the word on the board the next glee meeting.
"I really hope that's not one of the requirements for Regionals, because with Berry in those tights, we don't stand a chance." Santana commented as Rachel gasped, offended.
"No, this isn't about Regionals." Mr. Schue explained. "I'm less worried about that right now and more worried about the fact that it's become clear to me that some of you have been lacking when it comes to understanding the... The, uh... The intricacies of adult relationships."
Mr. Schue sighed as he realized a few of students were laughing at his choice of words. Damn, why did it have to be so difficult having a conversation about sex with high schoolers?
"Yeah, anyways." He continued. "Along with preparing for our Regionals next week, I want to spend the week educating ourselves about some of these intricacies."
"Is this the appropriate forum for that?" Rachel asked with a rather disgusted frown on her face.
"Look, whenever we had, uh, issues in the past that are on our minds or giving us problems, it's always helped us to sing about it." Mr. Schue explained. "So, this week I have invited a special guest: Ms. Holiday!"
Everyone cheered when Ms. Holiday entered the class.
"Hola, clase." She smiled, as she walked to stand in the middle of the choir room. "Okay, so: sex. It's just like hugging, only wetter."
"Yeah it is." Artie agreed, earning a disgusted look from Emily.
"Okay, so let's start with the basics." Ms. Holiday said as she walked toward Finn. "Finn, is it true that you thought you got your girlfriend pregnant via hot tub?"
"I have always been dubious." He defended himself before she turned to Brittany. "And, Brittany, you think that storks bring babies?"
"I get my information from Woody Woodpecker cartoons." She said, matter-of-factly.
"Well, that's all going to end right here, right now." Ms. Holiday said. "Because, today, we are going to get under the covers, all together, and get the ditty on the dirty."
"I'm so turned on right now." Puck whispered, as Emily grunted in repugnance again, earning her a chuckle from Sam.
"Ah, what about those of us who choose to remain celibate?" Rachel asked, as she reached over to Quinn who was sitting beside her.
Emily chuckled a bit when she saw Quinn raise a hand at Rachel, silently asking her to stop.
"Oh, well, I admire you. Although I think you're naive and possibly frigid, I do admire your choice." Ms. Holiday said, as Emily raised an eyebrow. That wasn't the best way to go at it, she thought.
Rather uncomfortable, Mr. Schue interrupted Ms. Holiday before things started to escalate too much.
"I think this is a good time for a song." He said, as Ms. Holiday turned to him with a nod.
"Oh! Yes, okay." She said, before turning back to look at the students. "Rule number one: every intimate encounter that you're ever going to have in your life is going to start with a touch. Hit it!"
Emily watched in mild disbelief as Ms. Holiday performed Do you wanna touch me in front of some high school students, but when she pulled her and Brittany in for a bit of dancing, she couldn't really refuse it. Halfway through the song, the rest of the Glee kids had joined in the fun — even Quinn and Rachel who did seem a bit reluctant about the whole thing.
"So just remember..." Ms. Holiday announced as everyone still cheered and clapped for her. "Whenever you have sex with someone, you're having sex with everyone they've ever had sex with. And everybody's got a random."
***
Sam walked down the hallways of the school, looking around for the one person he needed to see in that moment. He had checked her Geography classroom knowing that had been her last class of the day, but frowned when he found it empty. Granted, he was 10 minutes late but everyone knew Mr. Gunther was a pain and almost never let his students go before the bell — or, in most cases, even about fifteen minutes later. Maybe that was bad luck for Sam because she wasn't there. And considering it was Wednesday, she didn't have Glee Club, cheerleading practice or Brainiacs meetings, Sam was sure she had already headed home.
"Crap..." He mumbled under his breath.
Maybe he'd really have to talk to his mom so she would ask Quinn instead, but Sam wasn't entirely sure he wanted her to know everything just yet. Heading to his locker deciding he would have no choice however, he noticed the lights of the choir room were on. Rather confused since they had no practice that afternoon, Sam approached the room, opening the door just in time to catch Emily cleaning off the last bits of a slushy from her hair. Rushing to her, he made himself known as he threw his bag to the side by the door and grabbed the towel she was using from her hands before spinning her around so she was face to face with him.
As he wiped a bit of the purple slushy from her hair, he noticed how she avoided any sort of eye contact, looking at the floor instead of at him and he frowned. Surely she wasn't this upset over a slushy?
"Are you okay?" He asked finally, breaking the silence as Emily sighed.
"I'm fine." She answered quickly, almost automatically. "Just a few jerks from the hockey team. Think they can bully me now that I don't..."
"Now that you don't what?" Sam frowned. Emily simply shook her head, snatching the towel from Sam's hands and turning away from him.
"Nothing." She just rolled her eyes, shoving the dirty towel in her gym bag, not actually caring that it would most likely stain everything in there. She wasn't using any of this, anyway, now that she wasn't a Cheerio anymore. "It's stupid. It's nothing."
"Hey, it doesn't seem like nothing." Sam frowned a bit as he moved toward Emily and pulled her along with him as he sat down in one of the chairs of the choir room, letting her know he wanted her to sit beside her. "Come on, talk to me."
"Look, you're right. It's not nothing, okay?" She admitted, following his lead as she sat down. "But it's nothing for you to worry about. I'm just going through some stuff and I guess... I guess I just need time to sort myself out. But I'll be fine, really."
"Well, if you ever need anything, you just have to ask, you know that, right?" Sam asked gently as she smiled a bit.
"I know." She nodded at him, before turning in her chair to look at him properly, already feeling better just by being around him. "But anyway... What brings you here? Are you performing for us this week too? Do you want the choir room for a bit?"
"Not really, no." He shook his head, quickly dismissing her words. "I actually was looking for you. Went to Mr. Gunther's class expecting to catch you on your way out but you weren't there."
"Oh." Emily nodded, her eyes flying to the floor as she tried to hide the fact that she was flustered at the implication that Sam knew her schedule so well. "Yeah, sorry about that. Mr. Gunther was ill today so we got that period free. But did you want to talk to me or something?"
"Yeah, actually." Sam frowned, his voice lower as he spoke causing the whole atmosphere around them to change suddenly. "Wanted to ask you for a favor, really. And, like... It's totally fine for you to say no, too, I just... I don't know, I guess I just didn't feel comfortable enough with anyone else to ask this, but if you don't want to do it, it's fine, I understand, I just..."
"Sam..." Emily interrupted him with a frown. "It's fine. Just ask. It's alright."
"Right, sorry." He chuckled, rather nervously, as Emily tilted her head at him in confusion unaccustomed with this side of her friend. "I just... I guess I just wanted to ask if you're free today after school?"
"W-what?" She asked, absolutely shocked. "What do you mean?"
"No, not... Not like that." He said as Emily tried to pretend those simple words didn't tear her to pieces. "It's not like that."
"Oh, sorry." She mumbled, embarrassed.
"It's my fault, really. I'm awful with words." Sam told her with a small smile as he grabbed her hands in his. Emily lifted her eyes to his and when brown met blue, he started talking again. "Listen, this might be a little weird, but like... You know how I have two younger siblings, right?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Stevie and..."
"Stacy." He completed the sentence for her when he noticed her struggle to remember his baby sister's name. She nodded then. "Yeah, so, like... My dad got fired Monday."
"Oh, God, Sam... That sucks. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Thanks, though." He shrugged. "Anyway... Mom and dad are out all day trying to find a job and I want to help, so I'm trying to find one too. Got a job interview at a pizza parlor, but it's six o'clock and neither my mom or my dad will be able to be home at that time, so what I'm asking, really..."
"You want me to watch your siblings for you?" She asked, as Sam frowned, looking down at his lap. Emily smiled softly, squeezing his hands that still held hers as a silent plea for him to look at her. "I'll do it, Sam. No problem. Really."
"Em..."
"I swear. It's alright." She reassured. "I'll just call my mom and tell her I'll be home a bit later. It's fine."
"We can go now, if you want. You can meet them while we do some homework so when I leave it won't be awkward anymore." Sam offered gently, as Emily smiled. "The two of them are super fun, I bet you'll be good friends."
"Well, if they're anything like their big brother, I'm sure we will." She giggled, looking down at her hands. Sam felt his heart skip a beat at the sound.
"Great. Then around five thirty I leave you three for a bit. I'll probably be home by eight. If you want, I can get us some pizza for dinner too."
"Oh, that'd be lovely." Emily smiled, as she got up from her chair. "Pepperoni?"
"Yeah, Stevie and Stacy will definitely love you." He laughed, getting up as well and following Emily as she walked toward the door. Before she could leave the choir room, though, Sam reached for her arm, stopping her and turning her around so she was facing him. "I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this, Em. You really are saving my life."
"Honestly. Don't be so dramatic." She laughed with a playful roll of her eyes. "It's no problem, really. Besides, we have that Biology assignment to get through anyway. We can start with that today at your house, right?"
"Sure." He nodded with a smile, reaching for his bag on the floor as the two of them walked out of the room and into the hallway.
He smiled as he walked beside her, her positive attitude rubbing off on him as he started to feel happier and happier with each step they took. And as he tried to convince himself that it was simply because that was the effect Emily Marshall usually had on people, deep down he knew the truth. Emily Marshall made him feel better just by being around him. And that was something he hadn't felt in quite some time — not toward the end of his relationship with Quinn and definitely not with Santana.
***
Sam had barely walked through the door when a set of feet came running toward him. He smiled, knowing that was most likely Stacy and, quickly locking the door behind him, he made sure he had a firm grip on the pizzas in his hand. Just in time, too because soon enough, a small body collided with his and he chuckled down at his sister as she started to spit out every single word that crossed her mind.
"Sammy! Em taught us a dance! She said she was practicing it and she asked me if I wanted to learn it."
"Oh, yeah? And did you?" He asked, throwing his keys into the bowl by the door and walking with Stacy down the hall and toward the living room.
"Yeah. Em said I was good. Did you know she was a cheerleader?"
"I did know that, yes." He chuckled at her excitement. "Pretty good one too."
"Do you want to see our dance, Sammy?" Stacy asked, as she grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him toward the couch.
"I'd love to. Just give me a second to breathe, will you?" He laughed, placing the pizza down on the center table as he turned around to see Emily already sat there beside Stevie as he played with his videogames. She smiled up at him as Stacy pushed him to sit. "You alright?"
"I've survived." She joked. Sam noticed she was about to speak again, but before she could, Stevie spoke up.
"Did you bring us pizza, Sam?" He asked, his eyes briefly leaving the TV to look at the pizza boxes on the table. "Is it pepperoni?"
"Yeah, bud." He nodded, with a small smile. "So, how about you two go wash your hands so we can have dinner, huh? Go on, now. Stop the game, Stevie, and let's eat."
"Alright." The two of them agreed, quickly running out of the living room and toward the bathroom.
"Was it okay? They didn't give you too much trouble, did they?" Sam asked, his blue eyes searching Emily's brown ones as he searched for any signs of annoyance or tiredness.
"Absolutely not, Sam. Honest. We had fun. It was alright." She nodded at him, a soft smile on her face. "And how about you? Did it work?"
"Yeah." He told her with a smile. "Got a job in the pizza parlor."
"That's great, Sam!" Emily cheered and Sam felt his heart swelling with a weird sense of pride at her reaction. "I'm so happy for you. And if you ever need me to come and watch your brother and sister, just let me know. I'll gladly do it, really."
"You don't need to, Em."
"I know. But I want to." She smiled at him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sam suddenly felt warmth spread all around him and, as cheesy as that sounded, he was sure that warm feeling started when her skin touched his. "I want to help you, Sam. As much as you let me. Besides, I just taught your sister a small routine from the Cheerios and she got super excited about it. She's good too. If we keep working on it maybe she can..."
She stopped talking when Sam leaned down to press her lips to hers. For a moment, she was too stunned to do anything, but before Sam could pull away in fear of having been too invasive, she finally responded — leaning into him further as she raised a hand to tangle it in his hair. Sam's hands finally moved from his lap and toward Emily's hips but as soon as he gave them a playful squeeze, they heard footsteps coming in their direction. Quickly pulling apart, Emily looked down at her lap and Sam frowned, having half expected her to at least give him a smile.
"Can we eat now, Sam?" Stevie asked, as Sam quickly turned from the girl beside him and toward his brother.
"Sure thing, bud. But can you and Stacy go grab us some cups and a box of juice, please?"
"Yeah." They nodded, running toward the kitchen.
As soon as they were out of sight, Sam turned back to Emily, grabbing her hands in his and sighing when she pulled away.
"I'm so sorry, Emily." He whispered at her, noticing how she still refused to meet his eyes. "I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I just thought... I don't know, I thought..."
"Listen, the kiss was not the problem, Sam, really. And neither are you." She interrupted him, her eyes still looking down at her lap. "The problem is... The problem is me, I guess..."
"Is it... Is it the same problem from earlier at school?" He asked, as she nodded, still looking down at her lap. Reaching over at her, he lifted her chin with his fingers, his heart breaking when he noticed all the concealed tears in her eyes. "Tell you what? How about we eat some pizza with the kids and then we go up to my room so we can talk? Or, we can call your mom so she can pick you up. Whatever you want. I promised you pizza for taking care of them and Stacy will never forgive me if you leave before you show me the routine you taught her."
Emily chuckled slightly, nodding just barely.
"Hey, Em, do you like orange juice?" Stacy asked, as she ran up to her after placing the box of juice down on the center table.
"I love it, thanks for asking, Stace." She smiled, her whole demeanor changing as soon as the young girl gripped her hand in her smaller ones.
"Okay, so let's eat!" Steve announced, distributing the cups as both Sam and Emily got down from the couch and onto the floor so they could use the center table as support for their dinner.
For the next few minutes, the four of them talked and laughed, sharing stories about their days and doing their very best to stop any feuds between the two younger kids before they even started. Sure it was rather awkward for the two teenagers involved, but the children didn't need to know so, during their meal and even during the girls' small performance — at Stacy's insistence, of course — they kept their small discussion hidden. And it wasn't until dinner was done with and Emily went up to Sam's room the awkwardness returned.
"You can sit in the bed, if you want." Sam said, as he pointed at the surprisingly neat bed in the middle of his room.
"You're not as messy as I thought you'd be." She noted, as she looked around just to see that Sam had his jersey laying around somewhere and his school stuff all over his desk. Other than that, everything seemed to be pretty much in place for a sixteen year old boy.
"Thanks, I guess?" He chuckled, sitting down on his bed as he waited for her to do the same.
Emily could feel Sam's eyes watching her and even if he meant nothing of it — she could tell he wasn't checking her out or judging her — she just felt so exposed that she just burst out crying.
"Hey, hey..." Sam frowned as he walked toward her and enveloped the girl in a hug as he rocked the two of them side to side gently. He let her cry a little bit, but as soon as she was a bit calmer, he walked them both to his bed as he sat her down beside him while keeping his arm around her back. "C'mon, now, Em... You gotta tell me what's going on. Talk to me, baby, I just want to help."
"It's just... It's just so stupid..." She whimpered, as Sam shook his head.
"If it's making you feel like this, it isn't stupid," He told her. "It's just me, Em. You're safe with me. Just open up, let me in?"
"It's just... I don't know... I've been trying to be strong, you know? But like... After I quit the Cheerios and walk around the school in regular clothes I just... I just feel so vulnerable. I feel so... Naked all the time. And the fact that I get a slushy to the face a day and that no one even looks at me anymore I just... I guess I just feel... I think the assignment this week triggered something in me and I guess what I'm trying to say is that... I don't feel sexy anymore. You know?"
Actually, no, he didn't. In his mind, there was no way someone as beautiful as Emily would ever not feel sexy. Even worse, Sam realized, she didn't feel pretty, or smart, or worth anything, he knew. But God, if she could only see herself the way he did — even for just a second —, she'd know she was the most amazing girl he had ever had the pleasure of meeting.
And as much as he wanted to say all of that, he settled for a bit less, worried she wouldn't accept all of that if he just poured it all out for her.
"You said it yourself, Em. You don't need that uniform." He told her as she scoffed, wiping her tears away angrily.
"Quinn was right. It was naive of me to say that." She said. "This whole school is about labels and about where you are in the food chain. I used to be at the top Sam and now... Now I'm nothing."
"That's not true." Sam shook his head, reaching out for her again only to have her stand up and step away from him. "Emily, please..."
"Just... Just don't lie to me." She pleaded, trying to keep her voice low since the children were just outside. "Please, Sam..."
"I'm not lying, Emily." He told her firmly, as he stood up as well and walked toward her carefully. "You are incredible. Beautiful, inside and out. And I get it... You don't feel as powerful or as safe without your uniform, but I need you to believe me when I say... You are so much more than just your uniform. So much more."
Emily stared at him for a second, her eyes searching his in search of some type of lie or joke. When she found none, she smiled, the smallest bit.
"Thank you, Sam." She whispered, as he only nodded, pulling her in for another hug as she buried her face in his chest, crying a bit more, but, suddenly, feeling safe in his arms. "Thank you."
***
Everyone watched in silence as Santana, Brittany and Ms. Holiday performed a beautiful rendition of Landslide. To the naked eye, it seemed like an innocent enough performance, but Quinn and Emily knew better. They exchanged a quick glance when Santana started to get emotional toward the end of the song. When it was over, everyone clapped and Santana tried to wipe away her tears before going to Brittany and pulling her into a hug as they whispered to each other gently.
"Can I just applaud this trio for exploring the uncharted world of Sapphic charm?" Rachel interrupted the moment, as Emily rolled her eyes, itching to slap the girl. "Brava, brava."
"Look, just because I sang a song with Brittany doesn't mean that you can put a label on me." Santana said, rather angrily. "Is that clear?"
After giving Brittany a look, Santana crossed her arms in front of her chest and, once again trying to avoid any fights or arguments that might ensue, Mr. Schue invited the students to head toward the auditorium where the Celibacy Club would perform a song to show the benefits of celibacy as per Ms. Pillsbury's request.
So off they went, waiting for a few minutes for Rachel, Quinn and — surprisingly enough — Puck to get ready, applauding when they came out and watching, slightly uncomfortable as they sang Afternoon Delight.
"I thought celibacy was supposed to be some no-sex till marriage type of thing." Sam whispered over at Emily during the performance as the girl shrugged.
"Supposedly, yes." She whispered back, leaning a bit toward him as he frowned.
"Then why are they singing about..."
"Look, I don't know." Emily interrupted him with a shake of her head, her eyes falling back on Quinn as she stood as elegant as ever on the stage. "But I'm sure there will be an explanation."
Sam shrugged then, sitting back on his chair and watching the rest of the performance in silence, clapping along with everyone else after they were done. Brittany went as far as standing up for it, having clearly enjoyed the whole thing, but Ms. Holiday didn't really seem that convinced.
"Hi! Um, Holly here." She said, as Ms. Pillsbury turned to give her her whole attention. "So, I'm a little confused. Isn't this a strange song for the Celibacy Club to sing?"
"What, why?" She asked innocently. "It's so wholesome. It was written during the Bicentennial to celebrate America and fireworks, and..."
"No, it's about sneaking out for a nooner." Ms. Holiday said.
"Yes, exactly!" Ms. Pillsbury smiled and Emily sighed once she realized a nooner wasn't exactly what she had in mind. "A nooner is when you have dessert in the middle of the day, right? Right, Carl?"
Emily raised an eyebrow at the way her husband just stared at her for a second, seemingly completely shocked.
"Well, regardless, great job, guys." Mr. Schue said. "Great number."
"It was fantastic." Ms. Holiday agreed quickly.
"Hey, Glee Club, let's go." Mr. Schue said, as everyone quickly got up to leave.
Jogging a bit to catch up with Emily, Sam smirked as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"So, after that performance, what do you say we go for our own nooner now, huh?" He asked, as Emily almost choked in her own spit. Sam laughed at her bright blush and threw an arm over her shoulders. "I mean, Ms. Pillsbury's type of nooner. Desert in the afternoon."
"Oh my God..." She laughed, with a shake of her head. "I'd love that, Sam, but we have History now, remember?"
"We can ditch." He shrugged, as they walked out of the auditorium and stood in the hallway. "I mean, you can, at least. You never ditch, anyway."
Emily sighed as she looked to her right where her History class was and then to her left where the exit of the school was. Rolling her eyes a bit, she shook her head and smiled up at Sam as she grabbed his hand in hers.
"Congratulations, Evans." She smirked at him as he smiled. "You just got yourself a nooner with me."