“What?!?” Sam choked on his cereal as he spotted her. Wiping his chin of milk, his eyes wide and his mouth ajar, he shook his head, as if he thought she’d disappear, a mirage that was too good to be true.

Rachel did a spin for him before lifting one shoulder in a shrug as she grinned proudly. “You said you liked Wonder Woman, so… What do you think? I had to make it myself and I wanted to stay as close to the original design without getting too… revealing.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I think it really showcases my legs though, don’t you think? And the colors work. I even asked Kurt and he made a few jokes, but you know him, he almost never approves of what I wear.” 

Sam blinked at her and then took it all in again before biting his lip thoughtfully. “Do you have a casting call today?”

Her brow furrowed. “No… I’m free all day.”

With a short nod, he stood from the kitchen table, abandoned his half-eaten cereal, walked toward her, bent, and flipped her over his shoulder before walking directly toward her bedroom, clearly on a mission.

“Sam!” she cried laughingly. “I take it you like it then?”

“Rachel, I plan to spend the entire day showing you how much I love your costume making skills.”

“Is that so?”

“Definitely!”

“Well, I expect detailed notes then. And remember, I have a lasso of truth and I’m not afraid to tie you up with it…”

For all that Rachel’s costume was amazingly well put together, it spent more time on the floor than it did on her, though neither she nor Sam complained about that any.

“Um, Rach…” Sam knocked on the door again. “Your dads’ called, they said you haven’t come out of your room in a few days…” He tried the handle and it swung open slowly, only for him to be faced with something he’d never seen before.

Rachel was sitting on her bed, unshowered, wearing wrinkled pajamas, her knotted hair piled lopsidedly on her head, and she was surrounded by comic books. 

He blinked. “What…?” He stepped inside and looked around; she had Deadpool, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men, Captain America… It was like a geek’s wetdream, especially with the pretty girl sitting in the center, staring up at him with wide eyes. Okay, so she looked like she needed a shower and some sleep, but she was still pretty.

“After you lent me the first one, I-I went to the comic book store you mentioned and I… Well, I anticipated that I would enjoy more than a couple, so…” She waved a hand at her collection.

“Did you buy out the store?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, but they’re so well written, Sam! The characters are so intricate and damaged, and they just want to do the world a service!” she cried emotionally.

“Whoa, okay…” He held his hands up and walked to the bed, pushing a pile of books out of the way carefully and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Listen, why don’t we take a break, okay? You look like you haven’t slept in a while.”

“Justice doesn’t sleep,” she told him, in a voice that very closely mimicked Christian Bale’s Batman. 

Reaching for her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and stared at her very seriously, his brows hiked. “Listen, I know this feeling. This is just the initiation phase. You’ve found something you love and you don’t want to put it down.”

She nodded quickly, hugging her latest comic to her chest. “I need to know how it ends.”

“That’s the thing… They don’t ever really end,” he told her, prying her hands away. “One series might, but most of these, they just get redone, rewritten, remade… And they’ll be here tomorrow, right?” She frowned, but nodded, and let him help her off the bed, his arm around her waist as he walked her to the ensuite. “I don’t wanna make you feel bad, Rach, but, uh… I love you, but you smell.”

She gasped, looked down at herself. She ran a hand over her wrinkled unicorn pajamas to smooth them out and gave herself a sniff before blushing brightly. Standing up straight, averting her eyes, she told him,. “I… I’m going to shower…” She stepped out of his arms and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and calling through it, “Please… don’t let this color your opinion of me!”

Sam grinned at the door and chuckled to himself. He just found out the girl he had a massive crush on was as into comic books as he was. His only opinion was that she was even more awesome than he first thought.

Walking back to her bed, he grabbed up the comic she’d been reading and started at the beginning. He figured while he helped her ween herself down from the marathon reading she’d been doing, they could discuss subplots and characters along the way. It was going to be hard work, but he thought he was just the guy to help her. 

He’s sitting in front of her door, a duffel bag by his side, his guitar case leaning against the wall, and a bag of half-eaten Cool Ranch Doritos in his lap; he’s been sitting there for three hours.

She sighs, “Sam, this is getting ridiculous, you can’t camp out in my hallway!” she exclaims, throwing her hands up.

“I’m not leaving until you give us a chance,” he replies, his mouth full, lips ringed with cheese powder, and his shoulders stubbornly shrugged high.

“Just date him!” Kurt shouts from inside the apartment, “He flew all the way out here because he’s in love with you and I need my beauty sleep, so let him in, admit that whatever you two have is undeniable, buy stock in Chapstick, and live happily ever after. Just, whatever you do, stop singing terrible country music and pacing from one end of the apartment to the other already! So help me, Rachel, I will kick you out into the hallway too!”

Laughing to himself, Sam stands from the floor, wiping his hands on his jeans as he goes, and tells her happily, “I got a job at a comic book store downtown, I’m already looking at apartments, and I’m really, really persistent. So just… go out with me, one date, and let me show you that we can make it work here too… I— I want your dreams for you too, Rach, I just wanna be a part of them.”

She cracks, because she loves heartfelt speeches, and finally, she reaches out, grabs up his duffel bag and steps into her apartment, nodding her head to invite him along as she says, “This will make a great story for our future grandchildren…”

comonteiths:

samchel au:

famous teen sensation, sam evans, puts a stop to his tour because he decides he wants to finish his senior year at an actual high school. he takes it up at william mckinley high (where the new directions, national champion glee club, lies). at mckinley, he meets rachel, who he quickly becomes fascinated with once he hears her sing. they spend time together as friends before sam asks her out on a date. rachel’s dream is to perform with him on tour, and later that year, they do - and the crowd loves them.