I'm kind of obsessed with Samcedes now.
I mean, can you blame me? It's adorable.

Anyway, this one has nothing to do with my first Samcedes fic, 'Slow Dance', in case anyone was wondering.

I still can answer my reviews, but review me anyway. It's nice :)

And I still don't own Glee. But I'm working on it.

Dork Appreciation

Ever since the Prom, Sam had been looking at Mercedes a lot differently. They'd been friends before, but now they were closer than ever. They never used to really talk or hang out unless it was with other members of the Glee Club, but now they were texting each other all the time and spending a lot more time together. Mercedes came over to the motel as often as she could help babysit and donate some of her brother's old clothes. Maybe it was all this extra time together that made Sam see her in a whole new light.

For starters, she had one of the most contagious laughs ever. Surprisingly, her sense of humour was just as lame and dorky as his, and he was able to make her laugh for ages with the corniest jokes and the nerdiest references, until they were both in fits of uncontrollable hysterics.

It was weird – he wasn't used to being able to be so... himself around a girl. Whenever he made a lame joke around Quinn she would just roll her eyes and smile, giving him a look that was usually associated with an endearing preschooler doing something cute. When he said anything particularly nerdy around Santana she would huff and look at him like he was stupid, calling him a loser and making a snide comment about the size of his mouth before going back to filing her nails or something. But Mercedes would laugh, she would join in. With her, Sam felt comfortable for once.

But it wasn't just the dork humour that they shared. Sam noticed for the first time that Mercedes was actually really pretty. It sounded kind of mean when he said it in his head, but he didn't intent to sound so surprised. He'd just spent so long looking at Mercedes but never really seeing her that it came as quite a shock that it had taken him so long to notice. When he'd said she looked beautiful just before asking her to dance at Prom he wasn't just saying it to be nice. She really did look beautiful that night. Ever since then, as their friendship got closer, he couldn't help but notice just how gorgeous her eyes were or how amazing her smile was. She really was beautiful. He just wished that he'd realised it sooner. It might have saved him a lot of trouble and drama and heartache.

Mercedes had come over to the motel after school to help Sam look after his little brother and sister while his parents were out looking for work. It was much easier taking care of the twins with an extra pair of hands, and a lot more fun with Mercedes. She made Stevie and Stacey laugh but still commanded enough respect that they did what she said, and she and Sam managed to keep them both entertained until they – finally – fell asleep.

They went outside so they wouldn't wake up the twins, standing by the barrier outside the front door that looked out into the parking lot. It was a warm night, the sun had just set and the first few stars were just visible around the glowing full moon. It would have been incredibly romantic, except from the fact that even the outside of the motel was a total dive. But Sam didn't want to think too hard about that.

"Thanks for helping out tonight," he said.

She turned to him and smiled, and his stomach felt kind of... swoopy. If that made any sense.

"No problem," she said airily. "I got a bunch of little cousins that are around the twins' age, so I'm used to looking after kids. And I figured you could use some company over the age of seven."

They both chuckled, and Mercedes rested her arms against the wooden barrier, looking out into the parking lot. Sam did the same, but looked at her instead. She looked gorgeous tonight, and he wasn't sure whether he would be able to keep it to himself anymore. She looked up at him again and noticed him staring at her.

"What?" she said with an awkward smile.

He blushed a little bit and looked away. "Nothing, just..."

He trailed off, mumbling under his breath.

"I didn't quite catch that," she said with a smirk.

He was blushing even harder now, looking down at his hands as his stomach twisted with nerves. Just say it.

"You... you look really pretty tonight," he said, almost a whispered.

There was an awkward silence that seemed to go on for about a million years.

"Seriously?" he heard her say.

He chanced a look at her, a little surprised that she didn't believe him.

"Yeah," he said, wishing that his stomach would stop doing that swooping thing.

Mercedes looked away this time, staring down at her hands. It looked as if she was blushing.

"I think you're the only guy that's ever said that to me," she said quietly. "Except for Kurt."

Sam chuckled a little, moving closer to her without even realising.

"Well, I really mean it," he said.

She looked up at him, right into his eyes – his stomach was swooping all over the place – and smiled kind of sadly.

"You know I don't believe you, right?" she said.

"Why not? You're gorgeous."

She smiled and shook her head.

"Seriously!" he insisted, taking hold of her hand before he could stop himself. "Why don't you believe me?"

She shrugged, looking down at his hand on top of hers. "I don't know. I guess I just ain't used to people seeing me like that. When you said I looked beautiful at the Prom I figured Rachel just told you to say it to make me feel better."

"She didn't," he said, holding her hand tighter. "I really meant it. You looked beautiful that night. You look beautiful right now."

He slowly reached over and gently turned her head to face him, and it looked as if she was about to cry. Unable to hold back anymore, he leaned down and kissed her softly. She gasped a little a first before she steadily began to kiss him back. He wasn't sure how long they stood there, but he honestly didn't care. He wished that he could freeze time and stay like that forever, with her lips against his. When they finally separated they looked right into each other's eyes, before Mercedes turned away, looking embarrassed.

"Oh my God, I cannot believe that just happened," she said with a nervous laugh. "That was crazy."

"That was awesome," said Sam with a goofy grin.

"Still crazy though," she insisted. "I mean... it's you. You're a gorgeous jock and you dated two smoking hot ex-cheerleaders. I just don't get what you're doing with me."

"You think I'm gorgeous?" he asked with a playful smirk.

Mercedes smirked right back. "Well, yeah. I ain't a robot."

They both laughed, and Sam wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I really like you," he said. "I like you because you're funny and beautiful and I'm actually happy when I'm with you, which so far I haven't had with a girl. Quinn was nice most of the time, but she was stifling. She kept on trying to change me into her perfect Prom King, she was obsessed with our status and popularity, and she ended up cheating on me anyway. And Santana... well, she was only with me to piss Quinn off, and she spent all her time calling me a dork and making jokes about my mouth. Lest we forget the Trouty Mouth song..."

Mercedes laugh in spite of herself. "For the record, I like that you're a dork. I can appreciate your dorkiness. And, as catchy as that Trouty Mouth song was, I think your mouth is all kinds of cute."

Sam grinned and kissed her again, before she wrapped her arms around him and they held each other.

"Damn, Sammy," she sighed. "Where you been all my life?"

"In a cupboard under some stairs."

She burst out laughing against his chest, that amazing, contagious laughter that he couldn't help but join in with. Nothing like a little dork appreciation to make the romantic moment just that little bit more perfect.

Hope you enjoyed, Humble Readers.
Reviews would be peachy :)

xxx