Title::..Aftermath
Spoilers::..Funk
Rating::..G
Genre::..Fluff
Characters::..Mercedes, Puck and Finn
Pairing::..Pucedes
Author's Note::..This fic looks at the interaction between Mercedes and Puck after their split. I guess you could consider me as a shipper of these two now. When watching the awe-inspiring Good Vibrations performance in Funk I couldn't help but wonder how the trio would have gotten along during rehearsals. Puck and Mercedes had broken up and Puck had slept with Finn's girlfriend, yet despite all of that they pulled out an awesome performance. I've made Mercedes a little up herself in this fic, probably because I hate how rude she was to Quinn in the first half of the episode, no need Mercedes, no need.
Summary::..Mercedes is very surprised when Puck asks her to perform with him and Finn.

Mercedes had worried Puck would break her heart. He had built up the reputation of a player. She doubted he could remember his first kiss, the first time he had held someone's hand and all of the other important moments Mercedes continued to wait for. She had known the whole time that their relationship didn't mean the same thing for him it did for her. She had kept a guard up around her heart, making sure it was protected, as she had waited for him to change his mind and decide he didn't want to go out with her anymore.

Then when it ended she wasn't hurt. Instead she was happy. Without meaning to Puck had taught her something about herself she had forgotten. It was an important thing for her to rediscover how much she enjoyed simply being herself; she couldn't believe it had taken going out with Puck for her to realize this. In the end she had felt better leaving the relationship than she had ever been in it.

Mercedes enjoyed being single. She liked who she was and she enjoyed her own company. She didn't need a boyfriend, it would be nice but she didn't think her life wasn't worth living until she got one. She certainly didn't need Puck feeding off of her popularity and gabbing away about video games. Being single was not the worst thing in the world, she realized this now.

She lamented the end of the relationship. Not because she wanted to stay with Puck. But when she thought of all the things she would miss out on it did get her a bit down. She would have to wait a little longer to experience everything that came with a relationship. She had hoped she could share some magical moments with Puck. She hadn't been so lucky.

It had taken her only a couple of hours to get over the break-up. The attraction she had felt for Puck had quickly disappeared. Life had returned to normal. He went back to hardly acknowledging her presence and she went back to spending all of her time with her 'freak' friends. Her relationship status on Facebook returned to single. It was almost as if she had never been with him.

Saying Mercedes was surprised when Puck approached her for help was an under-statement. She had been on her way out of the choir room, but now she stopped dead. "You wanna sing with me?"

"Yeah, me and Finn need your chocolate thunder for this song. And who knows more about funk than you?" He explained.

"That's all very flattering." She stated. "But I don't know about singing a funk song with a couple of white dudes from the 'burbs."

"I'm not just a white dude from the 'burbs, I'm bad-ass." He defended. "And we both know what amazing musical chemistry we have. A song like this will pump everyone up; get them ready to kill Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals." He bowed his head, looking up at her in his best attempt at a puppy dog look. "I really need your help Mercedes."

"I'll think about it." She dismissed, walking by him.

She knew before she left the room she would say yes. She felt flattered. Her talent was recognized. She was finally getting a solo. She couldn't deny the attention. But she couldn't say yes instantly. She had to make him wait. As he waited he might think she would say no and this would make him even more grateful for her help.

The idea was brilliant. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch had smashed the charts with Good Vibrations. It was an awesome song, a mood-lifter. It was the kind of song the depressed club needed to inspire them. Puck and Finn could share the rap so neither was overwhelmed. With them handling the rap Mercedes could rip up the vocals. It was a red-hot number the trio could easily set on fire.

But when they began rehearsing (the day before they planned to perform) they ran into so many problems Mercedes began to question why she had agreed to this. Puck and Finn hadn't yet forgiven each other for their competition over Quinn. There was tension between them, with tiny differences in opinion causing spats. She supposed this was because they were both alpha males, struggling for the position of leader. Whenever Puck suggested something Finn would explain how he didn't think it would help. Meanwhile all of Finn's ideas were struck down by Puck's mockery. This forced Mercedes to make all of the decisions by herself. She knew exactly what she wanted, but getting the boys to agree was difficult.

Finally (after much discussion) they worked out a routine all three of them could work with. They started to run through it. Finn was not an expert rapper and this prompted much laughter from Puck. Then the guys tried to give her advice on her singing and she didn't take this well at all. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

By the end of the rehearsal Mercedes felt terrible. They had done nothing but bicker with one another. The only time they hadn't been spitting at each other was when they were practicing the number. When practicing they hadn't been able to connect. This left her feeling they would be wasting their time performing such a thing in front of the others. She was ashamed of how lame they were.

"I give up!" She proclaimed. "I can't take any more of this. The sooner we perform this shit the sooner this torture can end." She collected her bag and began to leave the choir room. "I'll see you chumps tomorrow morning." She felt completely defeated. She wouldn't be sad if she felt too sick to go to school in the morning and missed out on singing with the boys.

The next morning Mercedes arrived in the choir room dressed in the specially styled outfit to match Puck and Finn's. She had considered not wearing it, pulling out of the routine. But she was pleasantly surprised to find both guys dressed in their outfits as well. She swallowed her pride as she walked across the room to sit down with them.

"Are we really gonna do this?" She hissed at them.

"You're damn right we are hot mama." Puck replied with his usual cockiness.

The music began and she expected the shakiness they had been plagued by in rehearsals to cripple them again. But by some miracle they connected with the song and electricity came out of them. She watched the faces of the other Glee members transformed from despair to joy as the song played.

It was working. The song was everything they had hoped it would be. When Mercedes looked at Puck they shared the same energy. They played off each other, boosting the excitement of the performance. It was a million times better than every rehearsal.

When they finished the routine was greeted with grateful applause. She felt elated. She couldn't take her eyes off of Puck. She had forgotten all about Finn. She knew Puck had made her performance better. There was something about singing alongside him that elevated her talent.

Their relationship may have been over. But the musical chemistry could not be so easily dismissed. She was so filled with adrenaline she wanted to go over and kiss him.

The End.