169Chapter 23: Tell-tale
Chapter song: "You'll Never Walk Alone" – Gerry & The Pacemakers
Time: December
Quinn was working on their monthly assignment when a tiny folded piece of paper was dropped on her notebook. She glanced up to see Finn stretching awkwardly.
"What?" She whispered a little annoyed.
When Finn and Rachel had entered the English literature class that morning, they had completely ignored Quinn, despite her greeting them. That is, Rachel had been ignoring her completely, sticking her nose in the air at Quinn's 'hello'. Finn had waved slightly, but not nearly enough to make Quinn forgive his girlfriend.
'Read it,' Finn mouthed dramatically, eyeing the note he had just passed her.
Sighing heavily, Quinn unfolded the paper and read it:
Need to talk with you but Rach cant know. Stay after class and wait for me ok?
A year ago, Quinn would have been convinced that Finn was trying to cheat with her, and maybe she'd even have gone for it, due to her dislike of Rachel. However, this was senior year and Quinn wasn't the only one who had grown; she had witnessed herself how Finn and Rachel had matured greatly, so she felt pretty secure that Finn wasn't interested in hooking up when he dropped the note on her table.
Therefore, she stayed in her seat when the bell rang. Rachel glared at her, wondering why the former cheerleader wasn't moving, but apparently she was still too upset to ask Quinn what was the matter, so she coldly exited the class room with Finn in her heels.
It only took a matter of minutes before the latter returned, sneaking in through the door.
"Are we alone?" He asked, suspiciously looking around.
"Yes," Quinn answered obviously annoyed. "Finn, what's going on?"
"First, Rachel's pissed at you, so you can't tell her about us meeting now," the tall boy said quietly, as he sat down next to Quinn.
"She won't even talk to me, so you really don't have to worry about that," the blonde stated. "Wait, why is she pissed at me?"
"Because of the way you acted at the winter dance."
"Why? What did I do?"
Finn sighed. "Come on, Quinn, don't play stupid. We all saw you leave with Sam. Everybody noticed."
"Yeah and so? What's wrong with that?"
"You mean except he's your best friend's boyfriend? I thought you were done with all the cheating and lying."
"What?" Quinn raised her eyebrows, shocked at the tremendous accusation. "Sam didn't cheat on Mercedes. Not with me, not with anybody. I was tired and he drove me home, that's it."
"It took him two hours! He barely made it back before Mercedes drove off with Mike and Tina for the after party. I don't wanna know what you were doing, but I can't help but think it was something you weren't supposed to do."
Quinn remained silent, knowing Finn wouldn't believe her, if she told him that they'd simply gone for slush ice.
"Look, I know you miss him, I understand that. I just can't believe you'd actually do that to Mercedes… and Gus as well, how do you think it made him feel, discovering you'd already gone home and didn't even say good bye?"
"I did, l-"
"You left him a napkin, Quinn. He was your date and you left him a freaking napkin!"
Quinn felt her cheeks flush as she embarrassedly casted her eyes downward.
"Sorry," Finn murmured upon yelling at her. "I'm your friend and I'm not here to judge you. I'm just trying to show you what this looks like – even if you and Sam didn't actually do anything."
"I get it," Quinn mumbled. "But I want you to know that I didn't do anything with Sam. I couldn't do that to Mercedes, I swear." She tried to sound sincere, but she knew she was lying. It had been Sam who pulled back that night, not her.
"Okay. I trust you," Finn said, gently padding her hand.
"Are they all as mad at me as Rachel is?" Quinn asked with a small voice.
"No, I lied earlier," Finn admitted. "It was only Rachel and I who saw you leave, 'cause we were coming back from the, uh, the ladies room…"
Quinn snickered a bit at the sight of his ears turning bright red.
"… we didn't tell anyone else, and Sam said he'd just been out to get some air when he returned.
Mercedes was a little pissed, but I don't think she suspects anything."
"That is until Rachel tells her," Quinn scoffed.
"Don't talk about her like that."
"Come on Finn, I know she's changed over the past year, but you can't deny she has a record of not being able to keep secrets. If she's going to judge me based on my past actions, I might as well do the same with her."
Finn couldn't help but feel disappointed at Quinn's unfriendly words. "I thought the two of you had actually become closer. I thought you'd become friends"
"We have," Quinn agreed. "But a real friend wouldn't have ignored me like she did today. A real friend would have listened to my explanation instead of just choosing Mercedes' sides immediately. Had Rachel been interested in my part of the history, she would have discovered that there were no need to choose sides."
"And you think I just discovered that?"
"I hope so."
Finn squeezed her hand. "I did. There's no need to choose sides. You can count on me."
She gave him a small but genuine smile. They exited the class room together.
…
The entire glee club was sitting at a table in the school cafeteria. Rachel was still ignoring Quinn, but knowing that Finn wasn't mad at her, Quinn didn't feel quite as bad. She was sitting across from Sam and Mercedes, but tried to keep her eyes on her plate. Every time she met Sam's gaze, she'd go over their encounter in his car in her head, and every time she'd feel sick to her stomach seeing him with Mercedes.
Gus was sitting next to her, but she hadn't had the chance to talk to him about last Friday night. He'd been a bit more quiet than usual at lunch, but he didn't seem angry, which Quinn was pleased about. Yet she couldn't help but notice how he didn't really want to look her in the eyes.
A girl from the drama club approached their table and tapped Gus on the shoulder.
"Hi, um, I was just, um, you know, wondering if you, like, had any, um, plans today," the girl mumbled. When Gus didn't answer immediately, she quickly continued: "It's just that me and Ashley and Sophie are meeting up after school at my house and we're gonna read Molière's "l'Amour Médecin" and we were just sort of wondering if you'd know, like to go," she shrugged trying to act nonchalant, but failed miserably.
Gus shot Quinn a brief glance, before answering the girl: "No, I am sorry, Carla. Today I have a tutor lesson with Quinn."
Wow, he never said it like that before, Quinn thought upon hearing the hurt in his voice. I'm his friend; he shouldn't feel obligated to come to my house.
As soon as the drama girl had gone away, Quinn leaned into Gus. "Can we talk?" He looked a little hesitant, so she continued: "Privately. Please?"
Gus thought for a moment, but then he got up and offered her a hand. "Yes, I would like that."
Quinn knew the other glee club member were staring at them and probably whispering when they left the cafeteria, but she didn't really care. Making things right with Gus was more important.
They went into the choir room, where they sat down facing each other.
"Gus, I'm… I'm sorry."
The French boy just looked down.
"Please say something," she pleaded.
"I just don't understand why you left me," he answered, pouting a bit.
"I know, I'm sorry. It was just that I was feeling tired and I saw you at the dance floor, you were having so much fun. I wanted to go home, but I didn't want to ruin your party."
"You could have say good bye."
"And I probably should have, but honestly, would you have let me go if I'd told you I was going home alone?"
"You go home alone?"
Quinn sighed upon realizing she still hadn't told him who took her home. "N-no, I didn't go home alone. Sam drove me."
The French boy squinted a bit. "Why?"
"I don't know, he was just there. And I really didn't feel like staying two additional hours till the end of the dance, just sitting alone at a table. And I saw you dance with those girls from the drama club and I know we're not dating or anything, but I guess I just felt a little jealous since you were my date. And then Sam was just there being all sweet and nice, joking and apologizing and he made me feel comfortable…"
Sensing how his friend's tone of voice had changed from frustrated to sad, Gus moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "What happen?"
"Nothing happened. He's was just being sweet and he took me for slush ice and we sat on the car roof…" Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she continued: "And he was just being really nice and it was like we were friends again, and you know how I've missed him. And he drove me home, and there was that necklace and I tried to kiss him, but then… and he… because… with Mercedes…" Quinn was now sobbing loudly, so Gus held her tight, kissing her forehead.
"Oh Quinn, you should not have go with him. If you say to me you want to go home, I will drive you." He patted her back lovingly before he continued: " You are my best friend here."
Quinn sniffed loudly, trying to control her tears. "But I'm not your girlfriend or your little sister," she said firmly, pulling away from him and wiping her cheeks. "You shouldn't plan everything according to me."
"I don't understand," Gus said, pinching his earlobe.
"Listen Gus, as much as I love you being there for me, I don't want to pull you down or force you to take care of me."
He kept on tugging at his ear, so Quinn kept on speaking: "I left the winter dance because I knew you were having fun. And knowing I had to break in to get you to take me home, I was going to ruin that fun. No, please don't interrupt me. You know I love being with you, but I also love seeing you happy. If being with those girls from the drama club makes you happy, then please, go be with them. Don't say no to their invitation because you're afraid of hurting me."
He let his hands drop to his lap, seemingly understanding, though still not nodding.
"Let's skip our tutoring session today, Gus."
"No! Qu-"
"Your English is great and we'll have plenty of other afternoons to talk and listen to old music. Just this one time Gus, do what you'd rather like to do, not what you feel obliged to do."
"I will rather be with you." He pouted a little.
"A little break from me will do you good. We can't have you getting sick of me, can we now?" She asked smilingly, though her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"You are sure it is okay?"
"Perfectly sure. Go spend your day with those girls and come and bitch about them to me afterwards."
"And you will be okay?"
"You know, I had a life before you, Gus," she chuckled. "I think I can manage spending a day alone."
"You know that is not what I mean," he said seriously.
And she knew. She casted her eyes downwards, but he quickly cupped her chin with his hand, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I hate to see you be alone."
"There's not much to do about it," Quinn said quietly, feeling the hot stinging of tears in her eyes. "He genuinely loves her and he has for months now."
"Maybe. But if he is si ignorant that he choose another girl instead of you, he does not deserve you."
Quinn let her tears fell as her friend pulled her in for another hug. Sam doesn't deserve me? If only Gus knew how I acted last year. She frowned a bit, but the French boy couldn't see it, as her head was buried in his neck. But he does know; I've told him about everything – and in details! So why does he still treat me like a saint? Despite Gus' comforting embrace, Quinn still felt a little guilty, so she shyly pulled away.
"Let me take you home," he whispered, caressing her cheek.
"No, you shouldn't. I actually wouldn't mind being alone this afternoon; I need to do some thinking."
"You are sure?"
"For the last time: Yes, Gus, I'm sure," she smiled. "Now go and tell those annoying drama club girls that you'd like to be their personal piece of meat for the day."
Gus got up and began walking towards the door. "You are not coming?"
"I'll be out in a minute," she assured him.
As soon as he'd left the door, Quinn exhaled deeply. She wasn't really use to people being so selfless and caring so much for her, (Sam was like that when we dated, wasn't he?) she wasn't always sure what was the right thing to do around Gus (yes, he was that selfless and caring, but that's what a boyfriend, who's not Finn or Puck, is supposed to be like. Gus is just that way naturally, not even getting any of the benefits of being in a relationship. He's just loving and caring as it is), trying to find a balance between not abusing his giving nature and not being plain down repellent and rejecting.
Slowly she got up from her seat, heading towards the door. She knew that she looked terrible from all the crying, and she just wanted to go to the girl's bathroom before running in to everybody, though she knew it was going to be difficult since the lunch break was coming to an end and everybody was heading towards their lockers to find their books.
…
"I'll pick you up at 8," Sam said, pecking his girlfriend on the cheek.
"M'kay, but you better not be late!"
"I won't, I swear." He smiled at her and continued down the hall, stopping in front of his locker.
"It's that stupid Quinn Fabray," a voice said beside him. He looked to his left, where a girl from the drama club was standing in front of her locker, two other girls looking expectantly at her. "He said he had a tutor lesson with her today."
"Of course he chooses her over us. They're probably having sex and stuff like that," one of the other girls said.
Sam immediately felt his stomach drop at those words, but he couldn't keep from paying attention to their conversation.
"Na-ah, don't think so. I think she's holding him on a like really tight leash and shit."
"Man, she's such a bitch, just trying to keep him all to herself." A third girl said
"I bet she doesn't even love him, she just wants some of her popularity back."
"But it's just totally unfair, I mean, we actually want to hear him speak French. She just wants him to, like, learn English."
"I know, it's like 'hello, he's from another country, so let him keep his own language!'"
"She's such a bitch."
"Yeah, totally."
"Totally."
Sam's was now completely facing the three girls. He was insulted on Quinn's behalf, yet very amused at the lack of content and consideration in the drama girls' conversation.
He was still staring at them, when his peripheral view caught the mentioned French boy. Did he just come out of the choir room? Sam mused. What the hell was he doing in there all by himself.
Gus looked a little lost, until he spotted the three girls standing next to Sam. He practically skipped over to them with a large smile on his face. "Carla," he yelled.
"Hi Gus!" All three girls exclaimed simultaneously.
"Sophie, Ashley," he nodded. "I just want to say that I will very much love to read Molière with you today after school."
"Oh my god, like seriously?"
"Yes. Seriously."
"That's so awesome!"
"Uh, thank you."
"But what about Quinn Fabray?"
Gus looked from one girl to the other. "It is fine," he smiled, walking past the girls and Sam.
Why was he smirking li-Sam's thoughts were interrupted when once again he saw the choir room door open. This time another familiar face appeared, though somewhat tear stained.
Upon seeing his ex-girlfriend's rosy cheeks, red nose and sticky eyelashes, Sam felt the rage bubbling inside of him. So that's why Gus was suddenly free to go on a date with those bimbos. 'It's fine', was that what he said? He calls that fine? He blows off Quinn, making her cry, and then he calls it fine? That stupid, idiotic, moronic, motherfu… Clenching his jaw and folding his fists, a red-faced Sam began walking after the French boy.
… meanwhile…
Quinn didn't get far down the hall before running into a familiar little brunette. At first, Rachel gave her a death stare, but then she noticed Quinn's wet face.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Quinn, still feeling a little betrayed, bit her cheek and tried to play cool. "Nothing."
"Why have you been crying then?"
"Rachel, not now. Please just leave me alone."
"N-no, wait. I-I'm sorry for earlier today. Finn just told me that I probably need to hear your side of the story of the dance, so…"
Quinn just exhaled, ready to pass her shorter friend.
"Wait, please," Rachel pleaded.
Quinn was just about to hiss at her when she remembered her own words from earlier that day. A real friend would have listened to my explanation. Rachel Berry was actually being a real friend right now, when Quinn needed it the most, and she was pushing her away.
Slowly, Quinn turned around to face her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's just been a really… a really long day."
"I think I understand," Rachel said, patting the blonde's arm soothingly. "Is there anything I can do for you? Get you a tissue? Carry your books?… Beat up a certain Ken?"
Quinn gave a small smile at the last sentence. "No thanks, I think I'm just gon-… Oh, actually, there is one thing you can do for me."
"Shoot!"
"Well, my car is still at the work shop and I really don't feel like walking home today. Do you think you can drop me off at my house on your way home?"
"Sure!" Rachel exclaimed. "No problem at all. What about Gus, is he driving with us as well? I think I heard you two talk about a tutor lesson"
"No, actually Gus and I aren't ha-"
Quinn's voice was cut off when she heard a familiar voice yell her name.
"What's going on?" Rachel murmured, but Quinn had already turned the corner to see why her ex-boyfriend was yelling. The sight that met her made her heart stop as she froze completely.
… a minute earlier …
"Hey," Sam said, trying to contain his voice at an attempt to hide his anger. He tapped Gus on the shoulder, resulting in the latter turning around.
"Yes?" He asked.
"I was just wondering why you were being such a jack-ass."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard. And judging from the time you've spent with Quinn, I'm pretty sure you understand what it means."
"What is this about?"
"It's about you being a total asshole and choosing those stupid drama girls over her."
"Not your business," Gus said casually, turning around to walk away from the angered blonde boy.
"It is my business," Sam yelled "when you're hurting my friend. And guess what? Quinn's my friend, and today you hurt her, you idiot."
"Really? Is Quinn really your friend? Is that how you normal treat your friends?" Gus hissed. He wasn't a very tempered boy, but he had seen Quinn suffer enough because of her ex-boyfriend.
"Shut up," Sam said, pushing the European boy slightly. "You don't know shit about me or Quinn!"
Gus just shook his head and once again tried to walk away.
"So that's how you handle things, huh? You just keep running away. Running away from all the responsibility and all the problems."
"What are you talking about?"
"Like today, you and Quinn had a date and you ditch her because you'd rather be with those girls from the drama club."
"And what is the problem?"
"The problem is, you freaking douchebag, that you left Quinn crying, not caring about her feelings."
"I did not make her cry." You did, you ignorant, Gus mused.
"Yes you did! I saw her myself, after you had left her, she had been crying – a lot!"
Gus was just about to explain how her tears had actually been Sam's fault, when the blonde boy interrupted him:
"You don't even care about her, you just go and hang out with some other girls. Yeah that's right, just leave Quinn all by herself, all alone. Never mind that you're dating or anything, just leave her by herself," Sam yelled, not noticing the pair of hazel orbs, eyeing him from behind.
"Quinn and I are not dating," Gus scoffed. "She has a lot of boys."
"What did you just say?" Sam asked, not believing what he had just heard, stepping closer to the somewhat taller boy.
"Quinn has a lot of boys. She doesn't need me to be her boyfriend."
Sam slowly began to lose his grip, as a red cloud of anger blurred his vision. How could that idiotic, stupid, thoughtless, son of a bitch asshole stand there with a straight face and call Quinn, Quinn Fabray of all people, a slut? How… how…
Without thinking, Sam clenched his fist and pulled back his hand. He's not gonna talk about my girl like that.
Somewhere, Sam heard a familiar voice screech, but he couldn't stop. His fist landed right in the middle of the French boy's face, making an awful cracking sound.
Everything went silent, everything stopped. Sam was breathing heavily and his heartbeat seemed deafening to him as he took in the situation. There in front of him on the floor, lay Gus. Quinn's boyfriend. He lay there with a face contorted in pain, holding a hand in front of his nose, which was bleeding abruptly.
His own fist prickled and his arm was still tense. He couldn't think. It seemed as if this moment of nothing would last forever.
But as it usually is, the moment passed. It was ended by a pair of small hands pushing at Sam's arm, forcing him to the side. Then a flash of blonde hair in front of him, and suddenly Sam was back in reality.
Quinn had seen it all from afar. As soon as she had turned the corner, she'd seen Sam standing inches away from Gus. Though she couldn't see his face, she could see the red spots on his neck, and the way his jaw was clenching.
She heard the two boys argue about her, she saw the drama unfold. And at last, she'd seen Sam punch Gus in the nose – and that ripped her out of her frozen position. The sound of her tall friend hitting the floor made her run over to the two boys, pushing Sam aside and kneeling next to Gus, putting a hand under his head.
"What's wrong with you?" She yelled at Sam.
He just stood there, his mouth slightly open, his eyes blank.
"What's wrong with you?" She yelled again, this time even louder.
Slowly, Sam shook his head and looked at his former girlfriend. "H-he… he called you a slut."
"What?" Quinn asked incredulously, looking from Sam to Gus and back to Sam again.
"No no," Gus stuttered, in between cries of pain. "No, I did not."
Quinn gently stroke his hair, trying to hold her tears back at the sight of her friend's bloody nose.
"Yes, you did, don't lie to her!" Sam exclaimed a little louder this time. "You called her a slut. You said that she has a lot of boys around."
"It is true," Gus said, turning his head slightly to face Quinn, looking up at her. "You do have a lot of boys." Quinn immediately recognized his choice of words from one of their previous conversations regarding Gus' little sister.
"Shut up," Sam yelled, taking a step closer.
"Sam, stop it!" Quinn hissed, her eyes burning. "He didn't mean it like that, he only s-"
"Don't defend him, I know what I heard!" Sam interrupted angrily, keeping his eyes on Gus.
"Back off," Quinn yelled even louder, finally creating eye contact with the blonde boy. "He didn't mean it like that. I know what he meant. It's just how he expresses himself, he doesn't know the correct phrase!"
"Quinn, I-" Sam began, but she interrupted him:
"Don't. You misunderstood him and ended up punching him. You're such an idiot, just get lost."
"Please,"
"No, Sam. Just… go away."
He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but decided that there was nothing more he could do. Crestfallenly he turned around, but ended up standing face to face with Rachel Berry who had followed Quinn.
She was frowning, looking rather shocked, but her features softened as she noticed the hurt look in his eyes.
"Sam," she began, but he just pushed past her. He then quickly walked down the hallway, trying to escape everything. Everyone.
Rachel turned to Gus, who was still lying on the floor, his blonde friend caressing his cheeks.
"Is he okay?" She asked.
"I think his nose might be broken," Quinn said worriedly. "We need to get him to a doctor."
"No no no," Gus exclaimed, his head resting in Quinn's lap. "Mes parents américaine vont être inquiets. C'est pas une bonne idée." ["My American parents will be worried. It's not a good idea."]
"We'll just say you spent the afternoon at my place. Rach, can you give us a ride?"
"Of course."
They skipped the last period to take care of Gus.
...
Sam was in his bed that evening, lying flat on his back, and thinking about what had happened today. He knew that he'd overreacted; punching someone is always overreacting. But he'd most definitely been overreacting, considering the subject of the fight wasn't even his girlfriend.
At that very moment, his actual girlfriend called him.
"Hello," Sam asked, lazily pressing the phone to his ear.
"Hi Sam, it's me."
"Oh. Hey." He had known exactly who it was, since her name and picture had been on the display, but his thoughts were in another place.
"I just wanted to… uh, do we still have a date tonight?"
"Oh. Yeah, sure," Sam said, sitting up slightly. Because of the eventful day, he had completely forgotten about his date with his girlfriend. He wasn't really feeling like going somewhere, but he sure as hell couldn't stand her off now. And perhaps, just perhaps, it would get his mind off that horrible fight he had experienced earlier that day. "I'll come and pick you up right away."
"No, don't!" Mercedes exclaimed, much to Sam's surprise. "I think it's better if I come to your house."
"Uh, okay," he mumbled. "I'll leave the door open."
Half an hour later, he heard the front door open and close and then footsteps up the stairs. There was a light knock on the door before Mercedes entered his room. Sam was still lying on the bed (above the sheets though) dressed in a white t-shirt and black shorts.
"Hey," he greeted, sitting up.
"Hi." She threw her jacket at his desk and sat down on the bed next to him and he kissed her cheek. "So, I heard."
"Heard what?" he asked.
"Come on, Sam. You know what I'm talking about."
He pouted a bit, not wanting to meet her eyes.
"Jewfro has already written about it on his blog, so you might as well come clean."
"It's not that big a deal…"
"You busted Gus' nose. That IS a big deal! And it's not like you at all!" Mercedes yelled.
"Sorry, but he was being a total jack-ass!"
"What did he do to you?"
"It doesn't matter, he was just being douchy."
"What did he do, Sam?"
"Nothing-"
"Then why did you hit him?"
"Because he said something really nasty 'bout Quinn!"
"So this all happened because of Quinn," she said quietly.
"That's not the point. The point is he was acting like an idiot and he needed to back off. I may have overreacted and Im sorry 'bout that, but Gus wasn't innocent in this."
"He was acting like an idiot… towards Quinn, you mean."
"Uh, yeah, well, I would've beaten him up for being rude to any of you girls."
"But it wasn't any of us other girls. It was Quinn."
Sam sighed heavily and got up from his bed. "I don't want to talk about this."
"Fine, I'll talk," Mercedes said calmly. "You still love Quinn."
"No I don't!" Sam said a little too hastily, frowning at the other end of the room.
"Yes. You do. Don't you think I notice, Sam? You're always looking at her, you get in a crappy mood if she's laughing with Gus, and you still have lover's quarrels with her."
"I've… I've never cheated on you," Sam whispered.
"I know. But what you're doing now - giving her all of your attention – that's just as bad as cheating, Sam."
"What?... I don't think I understand," Sam mumbled, crossing his arms. "I don't love her. And I've never lied to you."
"No, you've never lied to me, 'cause you're a good guy. And you might not even be aware of this yourself, but you do still love her."
Sam walked over to her, shaking his head, but she continued:
"Please don't interrupt me. Look, this is not how it's supposed to be. If a guy insults a girl who's just your acquaintance, you're not supposed to lose your temper like you did today. You're simply supposed to tell him to mind his own business. You only lose your temper when you love that girl."
Sam cocked his head, still not quite understanding.
"Sam, this affect she has on you; you obviously still has feelings for her."
"Well, she's my ex-girlfriend, so it's pretty natura-"
"No Sam, it's not natural to act like that around your ex-girlfriend. You don't see Finn acting like that, do you?"
"But… I love you," he mumbled, kneeling down in front of her.
"No, you don't. You like me – maybe a lot, but you definitely don't love me."
"That's not true,"
"Yes it is. Sam, when you disappeared at the winter dance, do you know what I did in the meantime? I danced with pretty much every single guy from the jazz band. That's right, I was flirting with about ten other guys, and you didn't care at all, even upon seeing me with them when you returned."
"Of course I would've cared, but I just, I didn't notice you were flirting with them!"
"And that's exactly the problem, Sam. You don't notice it; you don't notice when I'm flirting with other guys, you don't notice when I'm feeling down, and you don't notice when I'm trying to get your attention. And you do with her – you notice all those things about her. That's what proves it: You love Quinn Fabray, not me. And that's why I'm breaking up with you."
Sam blinked a few times in confusion before letting himself fall down next to her on the bed. "Y-you're breaking up with me."
"Yes, I am. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing, though. We can still remain friends. Close friends, even."
"I'm so sorry, Mercedes," he said upon thinking about all the things she had said to him. "I've been a douchebag and a really bad boyfriend to you. I guess you're right, you know, 'bout me and Quinn, but I swear I had no idea that I still had feelings for her." He knew he sounded like a complete idiot, but he honestly hadn't thought their relationship through.
"It's okay Sam, it's a guy-thing, I guess. You're too much of a skinny white boy for me anyways, I need a real man," she smiled, trying to put him at ease.
"I feel so bad, though."
"Please don't, it's okay. No really, I'm okay. This isn't any shocking news to me. I've noticed whatever is between you two for quite some time – I was just wondering when it would be too much for our relationship."
"So you're not mad at me?"
"Nah, I think you and I are better as friends. We never really loved each other, did we?"
"I guess not. I really do like you, though. You're the funniest and coolest girl I've ever met."
"I'm a gem, I know," she laughed and he joined in. "So what did happen between you and Gus today?"
Sam hesitated a bit.
"It's okay Sam, you can tell me. I'm no longer your jealous girlfriend. Now, I'm just your friend, who happens to be a girl, and who wants to give her male friend a piece of good advice."
"Well, I saw Gus ditching Quinn today to hang out with a couple of other girls and then I saw Quinn crying, so I got kind of pissed. Then I decided to confront him and we kind of ended up arguing. It came to a point where he called Quinn a slut."
"Really? Gus called Quinn a slut? That doesn't sound like him at all. And, I mean, Quinn, of all girls to be called a slut…"
"Apparently he didn't call her a slut, he was just… I don't know, he was using some wrong words and I misunderstood him."
"So you punched him."
"Yep."
"So what? Go and apologize to him tomorrow and everything will be all right. He's a guy too, he'll understand. Why are you so down?"
"First of all, I don't really like Gus and I don't really want to apologize. But even if I did apologize, he'd understand, sure. But Quinn wouldn't."
"Oh. She saw it?"
"Uh-huh, everything and she was pissed."
"I can imagine. She'll get over it eventually. After all, her temper isn't as bad as it used to be."
"Maybe, but I don't think she'll ever really forgive me. God, the hatred in her eyes. I swear, she looked like I'd shot her parents or something."
"I actually think she'd rather have you shoot her parents than hurting Gus," Mercedes chuckled.
Sam smiled, but he wasn't laughing with her.
"Don't worry, Sam," his friend assured him, padding his back. "She'll definitely forgive you at some point. You're too important to her, she can't stay mad at you."
"So… you think I still have a shot? I mean, I know she's in love with Gus and everything, but… do you think she still might be in love with me as well?"
"Easy now, we just broke up tonight. I'm not going to take care of your love life right away."
"Uh no, of course not," Sam said, running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry."
"It's okay," she grinned, grabbing her jacket from his desk. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sam."
"Do you want me to escort you to your car?"
"No, I'll let myself out." She opened the door and stepped out into the hall, but returned a second later. "But for the record: yeah, I think you still have a shot. I haven't exactly been close to Quinn this year, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't love Gus. She's not very good at hiding those kinds of things."
Sam looked a bit confused, so she continued:
"Quinn may be shy and reserved, but those eyes are tell-tale. I think you still have a shot." With a smirk, Mercedes closed the door and walked downstairs.
It was a bittersweet night for Sam. He was happy that he'd realized his feelings for Quinn and he was thrilled that he'd might still have a shot at winning her heart, but he was sad to see Mercedes go. Of course she was right, that they'd be better at being friends than they'd been at being lovers, but nevertheless he was going to miss her. He might not love her, but he sure had grown fond of her during the last six months. Just before he went to sleep, Sam grabbed his cell phone and texted Mercedes.
Maybe I don't love you as a lover but I really do love you as a friend. I do love you cedes, I really do!
He hit 'send' a turned off the phone, putting it on his night stand. After a little while he drifted off into sleep, exhausted from all the events of the day.
Thank you for reading!
And once again thanks for some marvelous reviews. You guys are just.. ugh, I totally need a gif to express my feelings. I love you, I love you all. Really.
I'm really flattered that so many of you enjoyed the Winter Dance chapters. They were a lot of fun to write, so that's just great. This chapter, on the other hand, I struggled quite a bit with it since I'm really not good at writing drama. I'm better at the little insignificant conversations, details and every day things. I hope this is okay, though - I kind of needed a big plot-turner, thus Sam losing his temper.
Oh yeah, a last note: Please don't be too touchy regarding the girls from the drama club: I mean absolutely no offence to drama clubs, I'm in one myself. Their conversations is simply based on what I usually hear girls gossip like. Always stupid, always pointless, always very hurtful.