SAM EVANS IS BACK AT MCKINLEY!

FINN KNEW THAT SAM EVANS WAS THE TICKET TO WINNING SECTIONALS. Having Tessa know exactly where he was, he'd managed to sneak her phone away from under her nose, finding Sam's location and returning the phone before she'd even realised it was gone. Pleased with his work, Finn took Rachel along with him and drove all the way to Kentucky to surprise the glee club.

With Finn and Mr Schue nowhere to be seen and Rachel still suspended, the mood was low in the choir room as the few members left tried to discuss the upcoming Sectionals, "are we sure which band members are joining us yet?" Artie asked, frowning over at the band.

Following his gaze towards the band, Puck shrugged his shoulders, "well it looks like Floppy-Haired Bass Dude, Chapped Lips McGee and Johnny Tromboner."

With her legs draped over Mike's, Tessa ripped a page from her notebook, crumpling it up into a ball and sending it flying across the room so it smacked him right in the face, "give them the appreciation they deserve." She hissed, flashing the band a smile their way, despite not knowing their names either.

"God we're screwed." Tina threw her head back, feeling a complete loss of hope.

"No we're not." Tessa waved it off in an attempt to be positive, even if she knew that Tina was probably right.

Throwing the paper ball right back at her, Puck gave her a pointed look, "oh yeah, genius? Give us the game plan then if you're so confident in us."

Shrugging her shoulders, Tessa wiggled her eyebrows and reached over to give him a poke in his side, almost falling off her chair in the process, "pure sex appeal." She joked.

Laughing along, the mood was lifted just a little as they began to joke around with one another. Speaking up loudly, Quinn was more genuinely confident with the plan she was devising with the gossip she had on Shelby, "no Tess's right. I know for a fact we're winning."

Choosing to brush over Quinn's confidence, the group spun round as Mr Schue arrived with a large stack of red plastic cups in his hand with Finn following behind with a glass of sparkling cider. Unsure how she would react to having Sam Evans back in the mix, Finn avoided Tessa's eyes, wondering whether she'd be excited to see him or not.

With the largest grin on his face, Mr Schue was starting to feel just as confident as Quinn had been, "hey, great news everyone! Sectionals is gonna be a challenge, but we have a — "

Cutting him off, Kurt didn't want to hear his optimism, "Mr Schue, we appreciate your endless supply of affirmations but all the sparkling cider in the world can't deny the fact that the titanic has hit the iceberg and now we're on a sinking ship."

Coming through the door, Sam had finally shown himself with a beaming grin, "not if I can help it."

Recognising his voice immediately, Tessa whipped her head round to see Sam beaming right at her. Mouth hung open, she stayed still from her shock. Throwing Tessa's legs straight off of his, Mike had spring up from his seat, falling over his chair in his eagerness to jump right into Sam's arms.

Finding herself, Tessa finally stood up and pushed her way to meet him as he let go of Kurt. Delighted, Sam opened his arms right up waiting for her to jump right in, his grin growing even larger as she began to smile at him. Holding her at arms length, he couldn't deny how he felt to be back with her again, "Tessie! Look at you! You look incredible!"

"Have you seen yourself?" Tessa chuckled, pulling him right into her arms in an attempt to hide her blush. As they swayed on the spot for a moment, Tessa hadn't expected to be the one lifting Sam off the floor. Stumbling backwards as she managed to lift him off his feet, she spun him round once whilst letting out a chuckle before plopping him back on the floor.

Resisting the urge to plant a kiss on her cheek, Sam was more than pleased with just a hug from Tessa, finally looking up to the rest of the room, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Finn and Rachel. I sort of lost my way but true friends help you find your way back."

Slapping a hand down on his shoulder, Finn felt his worried flutter away and loudly popped open the sparkling cider, beginning to fill all the cups, "let's hear it for Sam Evans!"

Snatching his guitar up from the ground, Sam slung it across his shoulder and began to do what he did best with an excited rendition of 'Red Solo Cup.' Dancing along with a soft smile, Tessa and Sam couldn't stop sneaking fond glances at each other. Biting onto her lip, she wasn't sure how she was meant to tell him how different things were to last year.

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FOLLOWING HER OUT OF GLEE CLUB, SAM HAD FINALLY MANAGED TO CATCH UP WITH TESSA. Feeling bold, he carefully slipped his hand into hers, swinging it slightly as they walked along.

Scanning the hallways just in case, Tessa slightly reluctantly pulled her hand away, meeting his eyes guiltily as he pouted at her, "what are you doing?" She whispered.

"Holding your hand." Sam confirmed, slipping his hand into hers once again as it brushed besides him.

"Well you can't." Tessa told him, pulling her hand away once again, hoping that no one had seen the two holding hands for the short moment, "I'm not single."

Frowning, Sam felt his heart sink at her words and his hopes of coming back to Mckinley and them finally getting a real chance together felt as though it was being crushed, "you're not?" He questioned, quietly, "you have a boyfriend?"

Nodding, Tessa gave him a small smile though refusing to meet his eyes. Wanting things to go back to how they were, she gave him a poke on the arm and a teasing grin, "what's so shocking about that? Don't you remember I'm a catch?"

"Yeah, you really are." Sam muttered under his breathe, genuinely. Shaking his sadness away, he just wanted to be happy for her and decided to return her teasing, "who's the poor guy that has to put up with you?"

"Ryan Beckett." She told him quietly, "you wouldn't know him."

"He's the new guy on the football team, right?" Sam asked, getting a nod in reply. Confused, he furrowed his eyebrows thinking of the little he knew about this new boyfriend of Tessa's, he knew he wouldn't like him. Disguising this by shoving his hands in his pockets and shuffling around awkwardly, Sam gave her a tight lipped smile, "Finn and Rachel never mentioned him. And neither did you."

Feeling guilty, Tessa shrugged her shoulders and avoided meeting his eyes, "I'm sorry, I should've told you, I know." She said, furrowing her eyebrows slightly and continuing on, "but I didn't know you were coming back. I thought we'd had our chance."

Holding out his arms, Sam just grinned at her, "well I'm back at Mckinley for good now. Excited?"

"Very." She grinned in reply, keeping her arms wrapped around her binder.

Feeling content as they continued down the halls, he tried to push aside his disappointment so not to cause himself any further heartache, "I get that you've got a boyfriend now and all and I'd rather be your friend than nothing, but I want you to know that I'm gonna fight to get you back. I don't care how cool your new boyfriend is."

"Well then we're friends." Tessa confirmed with a cheerful smile, spinning round on her heels so she was walking backwards in front of him, "but i can assure you, you're just as cool as him." She whispered, giving him an affectionate poke in his stomach, "maybe even cooler."

Satisfied with this analogy, Sam stood himself up taller, letting out a long sigh as he watched her turn around fully and skip off to her next class, feeling both glad to be back in Mckinley and sad to have to see Tessa with someone who wasn't him.

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THIS TIME SAM HAD BEEN THE ONE CALLING SANTANA TO THE LIBRARY. Used to this familiar set up, Santana had sat forward on her arms, though this time she was less irritated and more eager to use this opportunity to make sure Tessa was going to be happy.

Quick to get straight to his point, Sam had mirrored her stance, "why didn't anyone tell me about Tess's boyfriend?"

"Because it's none of your business Lady Lips." Santana snapped, protectively.

"It kind of is." Sam muttered, retreating slightly out of fear of Santana's raging scowl, "after last year."

Wanting him to have to work for his relationship, Santana kept her guard up, playing harsh, "after last year? When you left for Kentucky, breaking my girl's heart?" She pushed, narrowing her eyes scoldingly, "don't make me more mad at you than I already am."

Shuffling backwards, he bit his lip guiltily, "I still really care about her. I was hurt too. And I'm hurt now, I don't wanna have to watch her off with her new boyfriend. I wanna be that guy."

"Oh trust me Trouty, we all want you to be that guy for her." Santana said, pointing a finger this way, "but first you've gotta understand that you can't just come back here and expect Tess to be waiting for you. In our eyes you were gone for good, and she was hurt and as much as it pains me to say it, the smirky idiot was just there to pick up the pieces."

Letting out a sigh, Sam spoke up once again after trying to absorb everything Santana had just told him, "I didn't mean it like that. I just thought with coming back to Mckinley I'd get the sectionals win, I'd get the girl and everything would fall back into place."

"Well I can assure you that you're not getting any sectionals win." Santana smirked. Her expression softening, she gave him a small smile, "but I'm pretty sure that Tess still likes you, even if she won't show it yet. Those flowers you sent her for West Side Story, they were perfect."

Grinning proudly, Sam sat up straighter in his seat, delighted, "they were her favourites."

Rolling her eyes in a small amount of disgust as his dreamy smile got undeniably larger, she continued on, "it showed her how much you cared. And on that night I saw her the most genuinely happy I'd seen her in quite a while."

"So what are you saying? Should I buy her more flowers?"

"I'm saying that you should give her time to figure things out." Santana told him, watching as his face saddened slightly, "you can't rush her into a relationship or force her to break up with her new boyfriend, because as much of a jerk he is, some strange, delusional, little part of her must like him a little bit. You need to give her time to make her realise that she still likes you more."

Slowly nodding, Sam understood what she was saying and from the glare Santana was giving him, he knew it best to take her advice. Standing up from his chair, he gave her a grateful smile and began to walk away until Santana caught onto his hand to pull him back, "even though I'll never understand why Tess would ever like you, she definitely deserves someone who cares for her as much as you clearly do. Don't give up on her this time. Or Auntie Snixx will have your head."

"I won't." He smiled, giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up to which Santana rolled her eyes dramatically, already fed up of his company after only speaking for a few moments. Turning on his heels, Sam felt as though Mckinley wasn't as he'd expected already, but he knew he was going to listen to Santana's advice closer this time and he wasn't going to give up on Tessa Swann.

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IT WAS THE DAY OF SECTIONALS AND EVERYONE WAS GETTING READY. After letting Mike attempt to do her lipstick, Tessa was lucky that none had slipped onto her crisp white jacket and was busy doing vocal warm ups with him as they both prepared for their big moments on the sectionals stage.

Bouncing over to the two of them, Sam put a hand on each of their shoulders, and giving them a shake, delighted to be performing with them once again, "you guys ready to kill out there?"

"Totally!" Tessa laughed, trying to bite back her smile, knowing how truly happy she was in that moment.

Giving Tessa a playful nudge, Mike couldn't be more proud, "Tess's finally been given her chance to shine with a dance duet with yours truly. Seems that Mr Schue's finally come to his senses and realised that Tess can dance. He was shocked."

Dramatically gasping, Sam whipped round to face Mike, mouth dropping open playfully, "Tess can dance now? Incredible."

Looking down out of nerves and biting onto her lip, Tessa felt the two beaming at her with pride and let out a quiet laugh. Not wanting to admit she was nervous, she looked back up, "we have plenty of new tricks up our sleeves, hopefully we'll blow away the judges."

Before he could agree, Mike felt a tap on his shoulder and spun round to see Tina with a huge smile on her lips. Watching as his own smile faltered, Tessa sensed the tension between the two of them, thumping Mike on the back and taking Sam by the hand and dragging him away.

Smirking at the sight of his hand in hers, Sam took in every moment of them holding hands, trying not to explode from the butterflies in his stomach until they reached backstage. Finally noticing how long they'd been holding hands, Tessa pulled back as she felt her cheeks heating up and pushed a strand of hair behind her ears.

Stepping forward, Tessa peered out towards the audience. Spotting Rachel in the audience, she sent her a small wave, which she returned. Frowning as she continued to look around, she met Rachel's eyes once again and noticed her apologetic smile and knew that Ryan hadn't come as he'd promised.

Catching onto her disappointment, Sam carefully came up closer behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, rubbing her arm, "he didn't come did he?"

Shaking her head, Tessa took in a sharp breathe of air, "nope."

Spinning her round to face him, Sam gave her a soft smile, searching her eyes he lifted her chin slightly so she'd be focusing on him rather than her worries, "he's an asshole. But it's his loss, right? He won't get to see you kicking ass on that stage." Seeing the small smile tugging at her lips, he kept his gaze on her whilst booping her nose, "don't let this wipe the smile off your face, okay?"

Her eyes flickering away from his to look him up and down, Tessa let her shoulders relax, the rest of her following and with a deep breathe, she nodded her head. Grateful to have Sam stood next to her ready to support her completely, she whispered an appreciative, "thank you." Before they had to creep their way onto the stage ready to perform.

　　　　　　　 ☆

BOUNCING INTO THE CHOIR ROOM, THE NEW DIRECTIONS WERE EAGER TO CELEBRATE THEIR WIN. Jumping right onto Finn's back as they ran into the choir room, Tessa cheered out loudly, as he spun round with her on his back, almost falling over in the process.

Falling off into Tina, she cupped her face in her hands and planted a celebratory kiss on her forehead, unable to hide her excitement, "we did it! We won!"

"We won! We won! We won!" Tina chanted as they jumped up and down on the spot, quickly being joined by Mike, who was filled with his own achievements, "and my dad came!" He marvelled as he thought back to the moment he'd spotted his dad in the crowd, "he came and he stood and it was amazing!"

Exchanging a glance with a tearful Tina, Tessa was practically bursting with pride as she threw her arms around the two of them and squeezed them tightly, "I'm so proud of you!" She gushed.

Moving away as Mikes dad arrived at the door hoping to chat to his son and his girlfriend, Tessa threw herself into Sam's arms, letting him pull her off her feet and spin her right around out of pure excitement. Realising how close they were to each other, Tessa took a step back and glanced down to the floor whilst tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had become loose from all the celebrations. Letting out a happy sigh, she absentmindedly played with the hem of her skirt, "this night has just been perfect."

Fuelled by the confidence of winning, Sam shrugged his shoulders with a quiet smirk, "it's having me back, right?"

"Totally!" She teased, giving him a poke on the arm before her expression became more genuine, "seriously though I'm glad to have you back. You're a great uh friend." Feeling a pang of sadness that they were only friends, Sam bit back his sigh and masked it with a grin whilst Tessa kept speaking, "those White Chocolate strip tips really did us a favour."

Taking the chance to show off his signature body rolls once again, Sam was pleased to look up and see her cheeks glowing a faint red. Unable to stop herself from laughing, Tessa shook her head in amusement and clapped along, her laughter only getting louder as Mike came back from his successful talk with his dad, jumping right on top of him and joining in on the body rolls as well.