may the force be with you

[samakin]

F2F → SAMCHEL S3 AU — 001.

[charliecraw]

Everything Sam was saying had a lot of sense – everything Sam was saying was exactly why Rachel had said no in the first place. How could Finn be someone’s husband when he didn’t quite know who he was himself? They were too young and too inexperienced, and far too lost and far too ready to pin all their hopes on each other. Rachel had her dreams already, she couldn’t be his. “That’s what I thought. I’m happy to be his everything - I love being his everything - but I can’t be his everything.“ She shrugged sadly, sniffing slightly. “I’m really glad you understand.“ At his offer to help, Rachel chewed her lip. "You might as well try talking to him. It’s not like he’ll talk to me.”

[samakin]

"Then it's settled. Bro bonding session." Sam grinned, making a motion with his hands. "Call of Duty, Doritos, and some good old fashioned anti-marriage counselling - Sam Evans style." He laughed. "Oh, and dip. For the Doritos." It was hard, seeing the unstoppable Rachel Berry look so defeated. He liked his plan; he only hoped he could execute it. Living in the Hudson-Hummel (ft. Evans) household had given him all new insight into what went on there. Nobody'd talked to Finn yet; no one had the chance to. But Sam knew he had to try. If not for Finn, then for Rachel. He didn't want to let her down. "You gotta know you're not at, like, any fault here, okay," he said softly. "Finn sprung this... huge thing on you, and you freaked out, like anybody would." Raising his eyebrows, he added, "I haven't witnessed a lot of high school engagements, and I’m no expert, but it sounds like the normal reaction to me.”

[samakin]

F2F → SAMCHEL S3 AU — 001.

[charliecraw]

There was a part of Rachel that felt huge amounts of relief at what Sam was saying. The idea of getting engaged when she was seventeen was insane, and it was breaking her heart that Finn couldn’t understand it. “I’ve tried to explain that I don’t want to break up, I just don’t want to be engaged, but he just sees it as me rejecting him.” She did her best to breathe, taking in a few shallow breaths that bordered on sobs, but her hands were shaking and she felt like her heart had been shattered. This was the first time she’d spoken to anyone about it properly – not even her dads had coaxed the whole story out of her. “He’s been so lost lately, with applying to schools for next year, and finding out things about his dad, and I think he just… needed something that he could hold onto, and I think saying no has taken away his last shred of certainty. I don’t think he’ll ever feel safe with me again.”

[samakin]

Over the past two years, Finn and Rachel had helped him a lot; Finn got him into Glee, they both encouraged everyone to chip in to get his guitar back, and they brought him back to McKinley. Now that the shoe was on the other foot and they were having a hard time, he wished he could help them find their way like they helped him. “Rachel, I know you’re his girlfriend and everything, but Finn feelin’ lost’s not your fault. Just ‘cause you said no to his... wacky marriage proposal.” He forced a chuckle. “Sounds like he’s just got a lot on his plate lately. But marriage won’t solve anything. He probably thinks it will, but it won’t. I mean, he totally loves you, but... yeah.” To substitute for his lack of good advice, he smiled sympathetically. “What he’s doing to you, the whole ignoring you thing... it’s not cool. I can talk to him, if you want.”

[samakin]

F2F → SAMCHEL S3 AU — 001.

[charliecraw]

Rachel couldn’t help but feel a little comforted by Sam’s words. She and Finn were crazy about each other. Through every bump in the road, every new boyfriend and girlfriend, they’d always come back to each other. There was no way their story would end like this. It couldn’t. While she wasn’t sure how much Sam would want to hear about her woes, she nodded shyly at his offer to talk, moving to sit next to him. “Finn, uh… he asked me to marry him,” Rachel admitted quietly, her hand automatically moving to fiddle with her necklace. “About a week ago. I told him it wasn’t a decision I could make on a deadline, and then two days ago, I told him no. He’s been angry at me since, he won’t talk to me, he won’t even look at me. I’ve tried to explain it to him so many times, but I’ve hurt him so much. I’ve apologised, but he just won’t even consider forgiving me.”

[samakin]

Sam wasn’t quite over the shock he felt. Sure, he’d proposed himself once upon a time, but it wasn’t strictly a marriage proposal. As in proposing marriage. But as groundbreaking as it was, he didn’t think she’d appreciate him asking her a dozen questions about it. Not right now. His eyes dropped to the necklace she toyed with. “That’s... totally insane,” he said, shaking his head. “Like, Finn asking you to marry him all of a sudden. It’s crazy. No offense.” He inhaled a sharp breath. “You weren’t wrong to say no, Rach. I mean, when you ask someone to marry you, that’s what you get: yes or no. And he’s gotta respect your decision. Even if it’s not what he wants to hear.”

[samakin]

F2F → SAMCHEL S3 AU — 001.

[charliecraw]

Rachel managed a more genuine smile at Sam’s good-natured antics, trying her best not to let more tears escape. Thank god for stage make-up – for once, years of being slushied had proved good training, and her non-smudge mascara was holding its own. It was a small consolation that she at least didn’t look as much of a mess as she felt. “Thank you so much,” she whispered when Sam offered her the tissues, taking one and dabbing at her cheeks. “I’m so sorry you have to see me like this…” Taking a deep breath, Rachel couldn’t help the fresh wave of tears that hit her, and her voice was small and distraught when she spoke again. “I just – I… I think Finn is going to break up with me.”

[samakin]

Sam frowned, upset for Rachel and racking his brain for something helpful to say. “What? He’s crazy about you. He’d never break up with you,” he said. “I mean, last year was rough for you guys, but you always pull through. All the... drama and everything...” He decided to stop before he put his foot in his mouth. Instead, he patted the seat next to him, and looked up at her with the most comforting smile he could muster. “You wanna talk about it?”

[samakin]

F2F → SAMCHEL S3 AU — 001.

[charliecraw]

Rachel tried her best to give Sam a friendly, star-filled smile, but it in her current state, it was closer to pained and grotesque than a winning, picture-perfect grin. Sucking in a deep, shaky breath, she looked up at Sam when he asked her about his folder. “Mr. Schue might have put it in his office,” she suggested, her voice wobbly and thick. Not only had she now lost Finn, but she was certain this was incredibly off-putting to Sam and any hopes of friendship. “I went to look for some tissues in there and I think it’s on his desk. By his stapler.”

[samakin]

Sam looked into Mr. Schue’s office. “Good thing he doesn’t lock up." He laughed. “No tissues, no... studying for stupid tests.” He held his fingers up before he zipped into the cluttered room, letting out an “A-ha!” when he found his folder among several other items, including the stapler. For good measure, he came out with a box of tissues, too. “Here,” he said, offering them to her with a nod. He sat on one of the many plastic chairs, dropping the folder on his lap. “There’s a bunch of stuff in there. He could totally be on Hoarders.”

[samakin]

F2F → SAMCHEL S3 AU — 001.

[charliecraw]

Over the last two years, Rachel had finally started to feel like McKinley High was home. She’d found friends, appreciation, and most incredibly, she’d found love. Glee club had given her a place in the world, and the people in it gave her a family. And yet a week ago, Finn had asked her to marry her – Finn, the love of her life, her knight in shining armour – and she’d said no. She was too young, too bright a star, not ready to be tied down out of panic and uncertainty. And since she’d turned him down, he hadn’t been able to look her in the eye, hadn’t returned her desperate calls and frantic texts, and just didn’t understand.

Finally, after an agonising Spanish lesson with Mr. Schue, Rachel had spotted Finn in the corridor. She’d called out to him, run after him, but he’d sprinted off to his car and ignored her pleas to stop and talk. For the first time since the whole incident, she burst into tears, and rather than cause a fuss in the parking lot - she had enough people stare at her on a daily basis anyway - Rachel sought refuge in the choir room. Her daddies weren’t picking her up ‘til five o’clock, and she knew the classroom would be empty until then. Or so she hoped. So caught up in her own distress and heartbreak, she didn’t hear the door open, and jumped when she heard Sam’s voice. Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked up with watery eyes and a miserable expression. “Of course,” she replied, wiping her cheeks. “Don’t mind me.”

[samakin]

Although she told him he was free to come in, he felt like he was intruding something. "Awesome,” he said, offering her a small smile. “Thanks.” He dropped his backpack on the piano stool. His brow creased when she looked up at him with teary eyes. Rachel always had a flair for the dramatic, and she was always emotional after she sang a meaningful song, but somehow, this time, Sam knew there was more to it. He decided that she mightn’t want to talk about anything right away, so he opted for a different approach. Scratching the back of his head, he said, “I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for my folder. It’s got important study notes in it. Big test tomorrow. You seen it anywhere?”

[samakin]

SAMCHEL S3 AU

Set just after 3x10, Yes/No, Rachel mulls over Finn’s proposal and comes to a decision – no. With Finn feeling angry and confused and Rachel wondering why he can’t understand, their relationship feels once again on rocky ground, and Rachel turns to an unlikely friend - Sam Evans - to help guide her through.

Sam never enjoyed school, but he found that his head space was foggier toward the end of the day, when everything else slowed down. It was no surprise to him that, while preparing to go home, he was missing his folder, and it dawned upon him that he must’ve left it in the choir room. With a sigh and a slammed locker, he threw his backpack over his shoulder and turned around, heading in the direction of the - what he assumed was abandoned - classroom.

He opened the door just wide enough to poke his head through, just to make sure he didn’t walk in on anything he could interrupt - like Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury making out, or anything Brad might be doing (because he was almost certain he lived there, even if he had no proof yet). What he saw -- or heard, rather -- surprised him more than anything else he thought he’d see when he imagined walking into the choir room after hours. Undecided on whether to approach a sobbing Rachel or not, he knocked on the door. “Um, hey, Rachel...” he said. “Can I come in?”