Not The Only One [Sam]

[Alie Bennett]

Alie grunted as she walked in the kitchen, seeing her mother already drunk; it was only the morning! She could barely believe it; how could she be so down? The woman didn’t even try to get a job, she was just being there being the maid at a few houses and at the motel that was close. She wasn’t happy about her state and she wasn’t even proud to show her off to the world. It was also why she decided to build up on a lie, telling to people that she was having a happy life with a happy family while she knew that the truth was the complete family. She hated her life, she hated how everything was turning out. Her father, from what she knew had dumped her mother and she heard glimpses that he had been thrown in jail; a criminal. Sweet, that was the thing she had always wished for. Then, she lacked of money, and she was living in this shitty place. What would people think of her if they saw the true side of her life? Would they still talk to her or just ignore her and treat her like a hobo?

She sighed as she decided that she’d go breathe some air and walk around. It wouldn’t hurt and besides, she knew that there weren’t any students close; she knew they had more money than she did and that she would never bump into one here in this street. “I’m going out.” She said even though she knew that her mother wouldn’t even pay any attention to her words. She watched the older version of herself who waved at her weakly and sighed pushing the door open. She knew that today was going to be a warm day, so she decided to wear one of her favourite black t-shirts and a pair of jeans and pushed the door of her apartment to walk down the stairs and go to the entrance. She glanced at the windows, seeing that it was quite a bright day already and smiled a bit. At least, the temperature would warm her up...

She pushed the door open and turned around to see what was going on in the street. She glanced at the motel where her mother would sometimes work at and froze, recognizing a familiar face. Shit. What the hell was she supposed to do? They looked in her direction and it was as if she could barely move, unable to believe what was going on...was someone going to discover the truth? She awkwardly tried to hide near a bush that was close...hoping that whoever that was (she recognized the kid from the New Directions, blond...in her year...) God she was praying hard she had been unnoticed!

[Sam Evans]

Sam laid in bed as he listened to his parents fight. Sam was stressed out with the fighting going on between his two parents. His father was frustrated that no matter what law firm he applied to he always got rejected. While his mom was getting upset with the life they were living. Sam knew his parents loved each other, but he knew becoming broke and barely making ends meet was taking a tole on his parents. Sam moved letting his parents know that he was up, and they begun to quiet down. Sam knew very well his parents didn't want to put any pressure on him, so they knew not to talk about the subject around him. Sam felt as if his parents were treating him like his kid brother and sister. Sam got out of bed walking into the kitchen looking around for food. There was nothing. Sam sighed wishing they had enough money for food.

"I'm going to shower." Sam told his parents as he made his way into the bathroom, and locked the door behind him. Sam stepped into the shower turning the hot water on. He then washed himself up in the matter of seconds since he knew his family wasn't able to take a long shower. Sam wrapped the towel around is waist and picked up the clothes he wore yesterday on the bathroom floor and put them on. He brushed his teeth and made shook out his damp hair so it wouldn't be sticking to his forehead. Sam walked out of the bathroom thinking of what to do. Sam decided it would be best to go out for a bit. Since staying in a stuffy motel room, could get rather boring. "Mom, dad I'm going out. I'll be back later." Sam called as he walked over to the door, turning the knob as he left the room.

Sam made his way outside the motel. It was actually warm out, nothing like Tennessee though. Sam's wet hair was drying in the warm summer heat. Sam was deep in thought of what to do today. He glanced up at the motel entrance looking at the clock. It was still to early and he knew that Quinn or Mercedes wouldn't be around at this hour so Sam had to be alone. Being alone wasn't a bad thing. Sam just didn't want to. As same was walking around he noticed a familiar face. He couldn't exactly tell who it was, but he knew it was someone from McKinley. Sam decided to do the friendly thing and say hi. Sam made his way over to Allie. "Hey," Sam said as he approached Allie.

[Alie Bennett]

Alie blinked as she tried to hide herself as best as she could wondering about how the hell she hadn’t notice him wandering around the previous days, ever since she lived there. How come she hadn’t seen him around? If she knew he was there since the beginning she would’ve noticed him since the beginning! She thought she was stupid hiding behind the bush over there but then again, she couldn’t deny the fact that she was afraid of what he would think of her. Would he really suspect her from lying? He had the proof right in front of his face, that the fake life she was giving herself at school was a total bullshit. She growled as she noticed he saw her, great. What was she supposed to do now? She needed to find an excuse about why she was hiding there...she started pretending she was looking for something, like her keys! She dropped them, on the ground, making sure he wouldn’t suspect her from anything and mentally cursed herself for being so stupid.

She knew that it wasn’t a good thing to lie, but she knew as well that many people would lose respect in her if they found out she was poor, that she didn’t have enough money to eat at some points and that she was the one paying for everything with a pay that didn’t even suffice all that much. She bit her lips nervously as he approached her some more and soon she heard him greet her. She startled and quickly looked up at him nervously. Now she had to play it cool and erase any suspicions from his thoughts. That was going to be a hard shot but she had to give it or else, she was going to be ashamed for the rest of her life.

She gave him an awkward small smile mentally praying to God that he wouldn’t question her too much about what she was doing down here and pretended to bend down again, ‘finding’ her keys back. “Oh hey...what are you doing here?” She asked him, arching an eyebrow. Wouldn’t he be with his New Direction friends at the moment? She didn’t consider herself as worth the conversation so it was a bid odd for her to get any kind of attention.

[Sam Evans]

Sam ran his fingers through his hair. He was a bit embarrassed to admit he lived in a motel but all of McKinley already knew that. Jacob Ben Israel outted him to the whole school last year. As soon as he found out the news. "Well, I live here." Sam said not making eye contact with the girl. His cheeks turned a bright red in embarrassment.

The two were silent for a moment. Sam was trying to think of who this girl was. He knew he seen her around school before, he just couldn't pin point her name. Sam huffed, and then looking up at you. "I'm Sam." He said extending out his hand for Alie to shake. "I've seen you around McKinley?" Sam asked as he cocked his head to side. "May I ask why your here?" Sam asked as he kept questioning the girl.

[Alie Bennett]

Alie arched an eyebrow, almost not believing Sam when he told her that he was living in that motel. Really? So she wasn’t the only one in a shitty situation? Well, it certainly made things less awkward for her but still, she wasn’t all so sure about telling him the truth. Would he go telling around to everyone that she was a friggin poor kid or would he just let her be and support her? Sure she had heard that the New Direction’s students were rather nice and all but there was still something that restrained her from telling the truth and it was mainly due to her pride. “oh...” was all that came out of her mouth, as she stupidly answered to his statement. She scratched the back of her head, remaining silent for a couple of minutes until he presented himself.

She coughed before he looked at her and gave him an awkward small smile while he extended his hand, deciding to shake it and be formal for once. “Alie Bennett.” She nodded at him as he questioned her about if she was attending to McKingley which was true. It was hard not to notice her orange hair after all. “Yup, and it’s nice to meet you..” she said with a small smile still.

However, she blinked, fidgeting with her fingers as he questioned her about what she was doing here. He did tell her that he lived near..and she knew that if she said she would be visiting someone, it would simply be ridiculous since she would come out and in every day in there. She sighed, running a hand through her orange hair. “I live there too..” God she was hoping this wouldn’t turn out in an awkward situation.

[Sam Evans]

"It's nice to meet you," Sam said with a grin. He could tell that Alie was contemplating on what to say. On if she should tell the truth. Sam was in that position last year. Sam would have continued to hide it, since it's not at the top of anyones list to admit they are broke. Sam smiled as he was told the truth. "Oh, so you live in this motel or elsewhere?" He asked a bit confused.

Sam bit down on his lip kind of wanting to get away from the motel and just be elsewhere at the moment. Anywhere would be fine, to him. Things were a bit awkward between Alie and Sam because they were making small talk. An idea popped into Sam's head. "If you aren't doing anything, would you like to do something?"

[Alie Bennett]

Alie was a bit awkward about telling Sam the fact that she lived near because she knew that it only meant that she was poor. Hopefully it wasn’t going to end up being so bad since he apparently was in the same situation. She was a bit surprised by it but didn’t say anything to insure insecurity or a possible useless fight they could have over reasons of why they were here. It actually made her feel a bit better and more comfortable to talk to him. Normally she was on guard, not wanting anyone to know her deepest secret which was the fact that she had no money and barely had the time to do anything that a normal teenager would because of that. People could pity her, she didn’t give a shit. She didn’t want them to know of such private matters and she only knew that it would end up turning into bullying-even though she could reply with her own fists without being ashamed of it.

She gave him a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you too.” She replied extending her hand for him to shake. Even if they were poor that didn’t mean that they didn’t have manners. She shook her head as he questioned her about if she left in the motel or not. “I live in the apartment here.” Which was right next to it. She went silent after that, for a few moments considering that there didn’t have that much to add.

She raised her head at his proposition. “Sure, I guess, we don’t have much to do here isn’t it?” She asked him attempting to joke around to ease the atmosphere.

[Sam Evans]

Sam nodded when she mentioned where she lived. He knew the apartments that Alie lived in weren't the nicest. But who was Sam to judge they were both in a horrible situation. They were both broke and under the poverty line. He was going to ask why she was so broke, but realized that wasn't his place to ask her such questions.

Sam let out a soft sigh. "Yeah there isn't much to do here." He told her sadly. "If I had money I'd say we can do something, but I think you understand where I'm coming from." Sam said thinking of thinks to do. He wasn't sure what Alie liked, he would suggest a sport but he wasn't to sure how fond Alie was of them. "Hm," He said and paused in mid thought. "We can go to the park."

[Alie Bennett]

Alie was always awkward when it came to showing her true self, where she lived for good. She couldn’t hide that she feared that he would tell her ‘secret’ to the rest of the world. After all, she did tell to everyone that she was having a happy life with a happy family while it was the complete opposite. Her life was lame and not even worth to talk about. It was also why she had decided to invent one, as a protection from the bullies that were in school; she didn’t want to be like Hummel who was constantly tormented by people, well, not that much anymore but he used to be, what could they do to someone who was actually poor and lived into a crappy place with a crappy family? It would certainly be hell and she didn’t even want to think about that.

She gave him a small and awkward smile as he told her there weren’t much to do, agreeing with her statement. They were living in probably the poorest part of the town, what could they find interesting to do? They needed to have loads of imagination, like the kids, if they wanted to find life somewhat entertaining considering the fact they had to be living in such a poor place.

“We’re in the same both eh.” She stated with a nod. “May I ask you not to tell that to anyone? And I’d do the same with you..” she said, wanting to make sure she was safe and could trust him. She didn’t feel like having to make herself clear to him; he seemed like being a nice girl.

Ah, the park...she pondered about it for a few moments and nodded slightly. “Sure, that could work.” She said, starting to walk.

[Sam Evans]

Sam knew he was being awkward, only because of the fact he didn't know Alie so well. Small talk didn't come along easily as it did for other people. Plus, he understood where Alie was coming from when she was embarrassed with there living situation. Sam never exactly lied to people, he just was never completely honest with people about his living situation until he was outed by Jacob Ben Israel. His fellow New Directions members knew before hand when Finn became obsessed with spying on him, and spending time with Quinn. Sam was lucky to have his glee family there for him, because he needed it. He needed there support. It made Sam feel less shameful of his life.

Because of living in the poorest part of Lima, it wasn't exactly the safest. Sam knew it wasn't the best place to hang out. Sam valued his life and Alie's, he didn't want to make the first time they actually hang out a trip to the hospital. Sam was scared shitless because of where they lived. Some nights he would hear fighting in the streets, one time he even heard a gun shot. He told himself it was all in his head, but he knew he wasn't. Being outside with Alie creeped him out a bit.

"We are, and it's the worst." Sam said sadly. Sam looked over giving her a nod. "Of course your secret is safe with me." Sam wished his all of McKinley didn't know about how poor he was and living in a motel. "I wish it was like that. But all of McKinley knows." Sam shrugged it off. He was still ashamed of everything he was going through. But Sam always had a brave face on, he made it seem like none of this bothered him.

Sam slowly followed behind her. He caught up to her moments later. Sam looked cautiously as they walked. Making sure they weren't near any real danger. "You don't mind walking to the park near school?"

[Alie Bennett]

Since she had spent her entire life in this part of the town, Alie wasn’t scared of what was going on around; in fact, she was known to be one of the ‘tough’ kids around. She wasn’t scared to reply with her fists, to throw back witty comments when it was needed. It was natural for her since she had always been there, some people might find it odd to see Sam around, considering that he didn’t come from her clique. She knew how some people could be around people like him and if it was ever needed, she would stand up for him, she guessed that for someone who wouldn’t tell her secret, it was worth it.

Speaking of which, she was glad that he wasn’t going to tell to everyone that she was poor. She understood how he must’ve felt while everyone knew of the fact that he was poor. She felt bad for him on that part. After all, being poor wasn’t something you’d be proud of, yet, Alie found ways to survive in this miserable part of the town and somewhat have a decent life at high school. She learnt that life wasn’t easy, but at school, she also learnt that kids were harsh, just like in this part of the town and if they were to know about this, she’d probably be thrown down and tormented for the rest of her years. She didn’t want to see this happening at all. She didn’t also want to have everyone’s pity because of that, because of her family issues. She wasn’t part of the ‘weak’ people and she was going to stand up until the end, hide that dark part of her life, until she would go to college maybe, if she was ever able to have enough money.

She gave him a small smile as he reassured her, at least there was another person she could count on him if you included Addison. Maybe he was going to be worth of her time who knew, not that she positioned herself higher than him but she did feel awkward talking to a random student she didn’t know except that she knew he was in the New Direction choir. “You learn to make your way around here, it just takes some time to get used to it.” She said with a shrug talking about the town.

“If anyone annoys you, just tell me and I could let the message clear.” She told him, a small smirk gracing her lips at the thought. She nodded at him as he proposed to go to the school. “Y’know, I’m tough, what you learn by living here is that only the strongest get over it.” She said hoping to cheer him up somehow.

[Sam Evans]

Sam sometimes wished his dad never lost his job, and he was still living in his nice big house. A house that had tons of space. Where he could be a teen. Now Sam was scared to walk out. Sam wasn't afraid to throw punches to the people that lived in neighboring houses or apartments. He was afraid of what these people could do, if he actually got into a fight with him. I guess growing up rich and living in a really poor and unsafe neighborhood would make you think that way.

The thought of the whole school knowing Sam's situation was bad. Espically when Karofsky found out. He got his friends to throw coins at him for there enjoyment. Sam hated the living situation he was in. There was no way in which he could better it and he knew it. Minimum wage wasn't simply cutting it for the Evan's family. So Alie's secret was going to be kept safe for as long as it had to be kept. He didn't want to put her through the hell that Sam experienced during the year. Throughout everything going on in Sam's miserable life, his family was helping him get by. Sam was doing his best to remain strong.

"It's so hard to get around here." Sam said with a frown. Being dyslexic made it harder to walk around because some days it was harder to read then others. "That's only cause I'm dyslexic." Sam said letting the girl he had just met into his life. He knew the two of them can bond over how poor they are. He knew it's not the best thing, but Alie made Sam realize that people do get by with being poor.

A grin spread across Sam's over sized mouth. It was nice for someone to offer help in time of need. But Sam was an adult, ok only sixteen but he felt like one. He knew he would be able to take care of himself in case anything happened. Sam was able to throw a punch if necessary. "I can handle it myself." Sam said trying his best to sound confident he can take these people on. Sam let out a sigh. "How bad are the people here?"

[Alie Bennett]

Alie was glad there was someone else she could count on. At first, she had to admit that she wasn’t trusting Sam Evans completely; sure they were classmates and of course, they were in the same situation but she would’ve never thought that he’d be living next to her. It was an odd thought and obviously something that she hadn’t expected at all. However, she was having the feeling that he would understand her, well, if not her, he would at least understand the situation she was dealing with 24h a day. Sure, she had Addison who was one of the best supports she’d had in her entire life but she was rich; she had everything she wanted, had a car, had a nice family, and had everything that she knew she would never own of her entire life.

Sam on the other hand, went from Addison’s level to hers, it must be a harsh shock thinking about it but if he needed anything she’d be there to help him out…after all, he was her new neighbor apparently. She wasn’t going to laugh at his situation and was going to pay him the same respect he’d pay to her. She gave him a small smile and shrugged as he spoke of the place he wasn’t used to yet.

Hard? She didn’t think it was all that hard to get around. Well, if you were a regular that is. New people were always the targets at first but once you were used to how things were going, people didn’t bother you that much and as long as you knew where to hit if they ever came to bug you, you were going to be just fine. “You’ll get used to it; at first it’s rough but once they know you and you mind your own business, they won’t even remember you exist.” She explained to him.

Ah, Dyslexic? She would’ve never guessed so; she wasn’t going to judge him on that though. His next comment made the red head smirk slightly. “It depends on what is your qualification on the word ‘bad’. You could consider that I am bad, my father is in jail and my mom is constantly drunk. Am I still good?” She asked feeling odd about talking of her family to someone she barely met. “Just don’t hang around when it’s past midnight, things get rough around one am to three. Other than that, it’s pretty…normal I guess, for a poor part of the town.”

[Sam Evans]

When Sam was with Alie he felt a lot safer. Although it was still light out he felt uncomfortable. He felt as if this part of town was never safe. He was just glad to have Alie around. Someone who knew what they were doing in a town Sam had still never fully adjusted to. Sam was used to living the life of luxury, not the life of being poor. Sam felt the awkwardness slowly fading away. Sam could see a potential friend in Alie. She was someone who just understood him, and the finical problems he was facing.

Living in the ghetto, made Sam put a lot of things in perspective. Sam was now grateful with everything he had ever gotten. He felt he was being a humble person through out the whole situation. He knew this was life changing.

Sam always minded his own business. He felt as if people barely noticed the Evan's family. Since Sam never left his motel room, unless he needed something. Plus he never got involved with the people. "Oh, I guess that makes sense. I mean I hear a lot of fighting then, or some nights a gun shots." Sam told her knowing she must have already known all about that. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm scared shitless." Sam said about hearing the fights and gun shot. Sam feared one day it would be him who was killed.

When Sam said bad, he never considered Alie to be like that. There conversations felt less forced and more interesting. Sam felt he was learning more about where he was living. When Alie spoke of her family issues, Sam's heart dropped. He felt horrible. "Sorry," Sam said wanting to pull Alie in a hug. But he had a feeling Alie wouldn't want someone to pity her and feel bad for her. Just how Sam felt. "No it doesn't make you a bad person at all." Sam told her giving her a smile. "I meant the people that live here. Like how bad does it get? Is it worse then gun shots?"

[Alie Bennett]

Alie nodded as Sam talked about the gunshots and fights; it was the routine if you were living in the poor part of Lima. Nothing to be phased about but of course, if young children were around it might startle them. She, on the other hand, grew used to these. It became almost a routine even though it wasn’t quite pleasant to say. Who would like to brag about the fact that hearing gunshots while you sleep was usual? Certainly not anyone sane minded.

She knew how it was and quite a few times, she didn’t hide it, was found in the middle of a fight because of some annoying brats that were around. There was one thing she had learnt out of this; always keep an eye on your opponents’ hands; you never know if they’d end up pulling out a dagger or worse, a gun. Luckily, so far, nothing too bad happened to her besides a few burses.

A toothy smile appeared onto her lips as Sam told her that it scared him; it was normal, the ones who weren’t scared anymore were people like her; people who had always lived in that shit and people who would always remain there. She was quite a pessimistic while she thought about it but she couldn’t help it; that’s how she learnt life was. Harsh.

“I can’t blame you, had a couple of nightmares while I was young, it was horrible.” She admitted. She didn’t want him to feel bad for admitting that he was scared; it was only human she assumed and even if he looked like a tough guy, he might have normal fears like anyone else. “Your secret is safe.” She added with a playful wink.

Alie couldn’t hide that she was feeling a bit uncomfortable while talking about her father to a stranger. Well, Sam wasn’t a stranger anymore but he was still someone she just met and for her to open up that easily to someone was quite scary. At least he would keep her secrets…he was better or else… she blinked and gave him a small smile as he reassured her about the fact that she wasn’t one of the ‘bad people’ that were around. “Usually not but you never know, always remain on your guard around here, people aren’t worth a trust.” After all, her father did kill someone…