Disclaimer: characters and places belong to Ryan Murphy and to Fox Network. If you find this fanfiction similar to another one, it's nothing more than a coincidence.
Production: September 2012 / June – August 2014
Rating: G
Summary: The first thing he notices is her laugh.
Extra: sets in S2. Scenes aren't transcripted from the episodes and do not follow every single detail from them, as you'll surely understand during your reading.
This started out as something else, but I felt like writing something to honor Sam Evans and the awesome character he could have been if Glee had been a better show. You're still my favorite male, Sam – you'll always be better than whatever they think you are!
A/N: English is not my first language and I don't have a beta-reader at the moment, so I'm sorry for any mistakes, no one is perfect. Hope you enjoy this fanfiction as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)
MISS PRETTY
Maybe it won't take you too long
To see me as more than just another guy
Maybe by then it won't be too late
To take you away with me...
"Menina Bonita" (Pretty Girl), EZ Special
Part I
First impressions…
The first thing he notices is her laugh.
She's sitting at the nearby benches and is part of the strangest group of admirers he has ever seen. There are two cheerleaders jumping and waving their pompons in the air, a girl all dressed in black with streaks of blue hair, a brunette wearing clothes that could have been picked from her grandmother's closet and her, who seems like the most random person around.
But she's laughing and at some point he realizes he can't take his eyes off her.
She has a beautiful laugh. Her lips are wide open, showing a row of perfect teeth, her head is slightly thrown off behind and her dark hair is dancing around her face, following the rhythm of her chuckles. More than beautiful, her laugh seems happy.
Truly happy. Contagiously happy.
He can't hear it, but in that moment he's sure that her laugh sounds like music.
She looks away from the girls and suddenly their eyes meet. He can see the smile slowly disappearing from her face and for a second he can swear that she's frowning. He's only noticing now that he's smiling too and her reaction reminds him that, without a good reason, staring and smiling at people he doesn't know makes him look like a fool, which is definitely not the quickest way to make friends at this school.
But then she starts giggling again and he notices that she's now waving, even if a little shyly, at his direction. Maybe she just doesn't care about fools... His smile becomes wider and he's about to wave back at her, when some unexpected movement makes him turn his head. Those two guys from football tryouts – Finn and Mike, if his memory isn't playing tricks – are right behind him, already waving back and walking towards her and the other girls.
They pass him over without a word or a second look, and he feels like he should be thankful for the fact they didn't seem to notice what could have been a very awkward moment for the already awkward new transferred kid. He sees them approaching the girls and a lot of noise is heard in celebration when Mike takes the girl with blue streaks of hair on his arms and kisses her passionately.
He feels dislocated and he knows that it's his cue to leave. He doesn't know them and they don't know him. It's only September and there will be plenty of time to know those strange people, if both parts are interested. But not now. He starts walking away, throwing them a final glance because there's something about that group, though he's not sure what.
That's when he notices that the girl is still looking at him. She looks so tiny next to that gigantic Finn guy, but she's clearly staring over her shoulder – and looks away when their eyes meet for a second time, as a mischief-making child caught in the act. The distance is his enemy but he knows that she's laughing again, and for once he prefers to believe that her laugh has nothing to do with something that any of her colleagues might have said.
In that moment, Sam Evans is sure that he has to know that girl's name.
Mercedes is her name. Mercedes Jones. It takes him weeks, but it's finally revealed and he doesn't have to embarrass himself in order to know it.
Finn is the one doing the introductions, showing him a group picture from last year's Year Book when they're both leaving his first meeting with the Glee club:
"Mercedes is a wonderful girl and you can always count on her if you need a friend," he says, pointing a finger towards her image. "But don't be deceived by her innocent face, Sam, because she's totally capable of ripping your head off if you're being obnoxious!"
He trusts his words but they don't scare him, not even a bit.
A few meetings later, he hears her sing for the first time. She's performing with one of the cheerleaders he had seen her with at the football field and together they're amazing. But there's something about her that makes him forget the other girl. Her voice is captivating, it speaks straight to his heart, and her moves are wild, too wild for a girl of her size. He sees her dancing through the room – waving her arms in the air, shaking her ass to the crowd, lifting her legs to the rhythm of the beat – and he's not sure of how the shy girl from the back row transformed herself into a star, but he likes it.
He likes it a lot.
On the next day, he sits on the empty chair next to hers and tries to talk to her before the teacher's arrival:
"Hi! We weren't properly introduced yet. I'm Sam!"
"I know who you are." She doesn't add anything to her statement, but she's smiling when she answers back: "I'm Mercedes! Welcome to the Glee club!"
"You know, I saw you performing yesterday and you were… you were…" That was totally the most inappropriate moment for him to be speechless, but finding the proper word to describe her performance was harder than he thought. "Phenomenal! Yeah, that's it: you were phenomenal!"
She laughs at his enthusiasm, in the same way he had seen her laugh some weeks ago. And he was right: her laugh does sound like music.
"Well, thank you, Sam," and she seems really thankful for his words. "Don't forget to vote Sancedes when the time comes!"
"Yeah, sure…"
He doesn't know what a 'Sancedes' is but he assumes that she's talking about the duets contest and, after what he has seen, he's sure that Mercedes and her partner are going to be tough competition.
"Who are you singing with?" he hears her ask then.
"Uh, with Quinn."
They both stare at the blonde girl sitting in the first row and his heart skips a beat (again) at her sight. He's under the impression that Quinn is the most beautiful girl in the world and something inside him keeps telling him that being paired up with her right on his first assignment – especially when considering that Kurt was supposed to be his partner – is some kind of a bad sign. He knows something will go wrong with Quinn, he has never been so lucky before.
But Mercedes makes a small noise with her mouth, apparently interested in the news, and stares right back at him. Her eyes seem friendly when she says:
"Nice! Can't wait to see what you're worth. And good luck!"
He's not sure if Mercedes' words have something to do with it, but luck is clearly by his side during his time with Quinn. After the kiss fiasco, she comes back, decided to make that duet work – and it does. They win the contest, apparently by one single vote.
He still thinks his victory isn't fair and wonders who, besides them, voted for their song. Unconsciously, he looks at Mercedes. Deep inside, he wants her to be as amazed by his talent as he was by hers. Deep inside, he's bearing the hope that she was the one writing his name on the paper. But this time she doesn't look back: she's too busy trying to calm down her partner, who keeps mumbling about cutting him and Quinn in little pieces and feed them to the dogs.
He doesn't notice Finn and Rachel's exchange of looks, their silent commemoration once the winners are announced. When Mr. Schue passes the coupons to his hands, he holds them above the head like a prize and appreciates the sound of applause when the group congratulates him for his victory.
For the first time, Sam has a strong feeling that he's going to enjoy this Glee club.
TBC