A/N: Wrote this for my twinnie, keeponsmilingg's birthday, which was yesterday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, CHANI! LOVE YOU!

Mercedes was beginning to rethink her promise to do whatever Sam wanted for his birthday.

At most, she thought the worst scenario was that he'd use this opportunity against her to finally get her onto a campground—or maybe she'd wind up dressed up as the Korra to his Mako at a cosplay convention in the city—but, as yet another group of screaming girls ran passed them toward the arena they were headed into, Mercedes was thinking this was something else entirely.

Sam had been bouncing off the walls all morning, on the absolute top of the world. Mercedes would have wondered what had him chuffed to bits, but it was his birthday, after all. She couldn't blame the guy for the bright smile he couldn't seem to part with. She was just happy UCLA classes ended in early May and she could be here to share his birthday—prom and graduation, too—with him.

He'd given her an enthusiastic good morning kiss when she showed up at his door, and then dragged her back to the driveway to climb into his truck. All her protests to take some time and say a quick hello to the Hudmels fell on deaf ears as he practically lifted her into the passenger seat, buckled her in, and closed the door before running around to his side.

She'd asked a few questions then—seeing as he hadn't exactly let her in on where they were going—but, he'd declined to answer. "You'll see," was the cryptic answer he offered, flashing her a thrilled smile.

He'd proceeded to drive them into the city—a journey in which he'd been very uncharacteristically allowed full control of the radio by his girlfriend. Since it was his day, Mercedes even sang along to the country songs, where she'd usually have just uttered a succinct, "No, Sam," and that'd have been that.

Once they got downtown, Mercedes had treated him to a delicious lunch at nearby steakhouse. She'd also chosen that time to push his gift bag across the small space between them. It'd been her turn to sport an indelible smile as she watched him lose his shit over everything in his gift bag.

She'd gotten him an assortment of super-hero t-shirts that he would no doubt live in, some gum because he always seemed to be chomping on gum lately, and a few variety packs of lip balm to add to his collection. The homemade coupons for various personal favors had been his favorite, though, and she'd internally thanked heaven for the day she'd started pinteresting—or was it pinning?—because she'd found the best ideas there.

"I'm gonna need to use one of my coupons right now," he'd said leaning across the space between them and capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. "This is the best gift ever," he'd whispered when he pulled away. He'd rubbed his nose against hers affectionately.

"I think everything's on the house today. Happy birthday, baby," Mercedes had responded, intending to go for a peck to his lips. But Sam had mumbled something about it being the best birthday ever and gotten carried away with himself, taking her right along with him. It wasn't until their very embarrassed waiter cleared his throat to announce the staff prepared to sing him happy birthday that the couple pulled away from each other.

Mercedes had thanked the heavenly Lord for her dark complexion that hid her blush from the half dozen eyes staring at them. Sam had simply turned to them like a sugared up three year old, yelling out, "Awesome!" as the birthday song began.

Now, as they continued their way toward the arena, he sported the same expression as he practically dragged Mercedes forward, his grip impossibly tight on her hands. Another batch of screaming girls ran by her and Mercedes finally pulled Sam to a stop. She needed to know what the hell everyone was so damn excited about. She needed to know what she was about to get herself into.

Sam pouted, clearly put out that they'd stopped their forward motion. He tried to pull her, but she wouldn't budge and the look on her face said she meant business.

"Tell me where I'm going, Sam," she told him plainly.

"You promised," Sam whined. The corners of Mercedes' mouth twitched as she struggled not to laugh. All he needed was a hearty foot-stomp, and a stubborn cross of his arms, and his transformation to irritated six-year old would be complete. "You promised you would go!"

"I'm not saying I'm not now," Mercedes defended. "But I've seen like 15 gaggles of screaming teenage girls go by here, and I need to know what's going on in there. Are you taking me to Crazytown?" she asked him, letting out a chuckle when his smile once again spread across his lips.

"Maybe," he said slowly, smile still in place. God, why was her boyfriend so freaking adorable? She refrained from reaching out and pinching his cheeks.

"Justin Bieber's not in there, is he?" Mercedes asked.

"Nope," Sam said letting the 'p' pop as he enunciated. "It's better!" With that, he grabbed her hand and started moving again. His movement was unexpected so he was able to pull Mercedes from her spot.

"Whoa! Sam Evans just admitted someone is better than Bieber? I'm shocked!" She was nearly running on her short legs to keep up with his long strides. "Who could possibly deserve such an honor?"

Sam rolled his eyes good naturedly; he knew she was making fun of him. They finally reached inside the arena and Mercedes saw it. She now understood everything as she stood under the huge banner showcasing none other than fine boys of One Direction in all their teen idol glory.

Her immediate instinct was to run, especially as they moved further into the building and were immediately engulfed in a rapidly growing sea of giggling fangirls. People were walking in every which way, trying to find their seats or buy merchandise. Yup, they were definitely in Crazytwon—Mercedes' worst nightmare.

But, as they got passed security and walked into the arena, the look of pure joy on Sam's face was enough to convince her to endure it. Sam would have, and had, gone through just about anything just to make her happy. She could, and would, do this for him. Keeping him smiling that way was worth it—and the band wasn't that bad. Plus, that Zayn guy was really cute.

She rocked out with him, whether she knew the songs or not. She'd heard a few that he played in the car all the time or that he'd sent her in his weekly mixes while she was in LA. She certainly remembered the one from prom the year before. She'd never admit it, but she enjoyed the intimate moments during the slower songs when he'd wrap his arms around her and sing the lyrics into her ear.

He'd long ago dubbed Everything About You their song, so she let him spin her around and lose his mind dancing to it. The body rolls definitely made an appearance and Mercedes wasn't lost on the many fangirl gazes he'd managed to steal from the stage in their section—though he only had eyes for her and the band on stage that was rocking his world.

They were both breathless and giddy by the time the last note rung out from the stage. Sam fell back into the seat he'd totally ignored the entire night and reached to pull Mercedes onto him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as they tried to get their breathing back to normal. They both watched the throng of girls file out of the building in a comfortable silence, just thinking about the amazing day it'd been.

Their ride home was another One Direction concert, and this time, Mercedes gave up all pretenses of not liking them. She was dancing and singing just as loudly as he was the entire ride back to Lima.

It was hard say goodbye to the day when Sam finally pulled up in front of Mercedes' house. Today had just been another in the long list of reasons they worked. They made each other happy—incredibly so. No one would ever be a better fit.

"Okay, I'll admit it, that was fun," Mercedes said with a smile when Sam had stopped the car and turned to face her.

"You just let me play their songs for two whole hours on the drive home. I know you had fun," Sam informed her. She only laughed, because she couldn't deny it.

"Thank you," Sam said quietly, reaching out for her. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him in a strong hug, which he returned with just as much feeling.

"Have I told you I'm glad you're home?" Sam asked softly. He was currently nuzzling his nose into her neck so the words came out a bit muffled.

"Only about a million times," Mercedes teased with a smile. She ran her fingers through his hair lovingly, relishing in the ability to just reach out and touch him after their months apart.

"Well, I am. I missed you so much," he told her, moving back to frame her face with his hands. He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth to emphasize his point.

"I missed you," Mercedes replied, curling her fingers around his wrists. "But, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. Well, not until August…but, you're coming with me so that doesn't really count."

They shared another kiss before Sam noticed Mercedes' porch light come on. "Your dad just made his presence known. I'd better let you get inside before he doesn't let me see you again until August."

Mercedes giggled, but knew he was right. She may have been over 18 and living out in LA on her own all year, but her parents weren't about that 'I'm grown' bullshit—especially while they still footed the majority of the bills. Plus, there'd be plenty of time to stay up all night with Sam when they were 'roommates' next year.

Ever the gentleman, Sam walked her to her door, before kissing her goodnight.

The good mood he'd been in all day was still in place as he danced his way back to his car. He turned back to his girlfriend—who he knew was watching from her bedroom window—and blew her a kiss before disappearing inside his car.

BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER!

A/N: Did you like it? Please review!