You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

76. Sweet Dreams

Things since the shooting were weird, to say the least. Everyone had been off. Sure, they were all dealing with PTSD, but some were definitely handling it better than others.

Brittany had been acting especially strange because M.I.T. found out about her SAT score and started pressuring her for early commitment.

"They really want me to study string theory, but I'm not all that interested in arts and crafts," Brittany explained to Melanie and Tina.

"Isn't M.I.T. in Europe? That would suck," Tina replied.

Melanie nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention. Her eyes were glued to the floor, hands fidgeting anxiously in her lap.

Tina had started experimenting with a new fashion look—steampunk. Melanie didn't have the heart to tell her it was awful.

"Hey, Tina. Are you trying out a new look?" Marley asked, approaching with a polite smile.

"It's called steampunk. It's the next big thing," Tina declared.

"Oh." Marley blinked. "God, I love it," she added, nodding awkwardly.

She didn't. No one did. Melanie wasn't even sure Tina did. But hey, there were worse ways to cope with trauma than a questionable style shift. Ways like...

"Oh, hey there." Sam approached the group with an exaggerated Australian accent, wearing thick glasses and a sweater tied over his shoulders.

"You must, uh, be Marley," he smiled.

"Hi, Sam." Marley tilted her head, confused.

"That's not Sam," Brittany clarified. "That's Sam's smarter twin brother, Evan."

"Evan Evans. What a pleasure to meet you," Sam said, holding out his hand. Marley shook it hesitantly, glancing at Melanie with a raised brow.

Melanie said nothing. She just sighed and looked down. Sam had taken the incident pretty hard. She knew how scared he was during the actual shooting, but it wasn't until Blaine told her what had happened in the choir room that she realized just how much he'd unraveled. She figured this whole "Evan" persona was his way of dealing with the trauma—separation anxiety, maybe? Whatever it was, she didn't push him on it—no matter how frustrating it got.

Sam—or "Evan"—glanced at his silent phone. "Oh. Phone's ringing. Oh, it's my brother. Oh, hey, Sam, I was just looking for you..." He wandered off.

"So, have you guys heard who's taking over the Cheerios?" Brittany asked, as if nothing strange had just happened.

Melanie just nodded.

"Yeah, it's insane," Tina said. "And it made me realize I have no idea whether I'm on the Cheerios or not. Like, literally can't remember," she added tilting her head.

"Hey guys!" Sam returned, minus the glasses and sweater. "You seen Evan?"

"You just missed him. He went that way," Brittany replied, pointing down the hall.

Sam let out a dramatic groan, snapping his fingers and took off in the opposite direction again.

Melanie let out a slow breath and made her way to the choir room.

"Unique, what are you doing?" Marley called, rushing past her.

Then there was Unique, who had doubled down on living her authentic truth—though maybe not in the healthiest way.

"Are those birth control pills?" Marley asked.

"Shhh!" Unique hissed, looking around. "Don't blow a girl's cover. Kitty hooked me up with a prescription for Loestrin. I heard two a day will turn my Bs into Ds in no time."