I don't know what this is but it popped in my head and begged to be written. I hope you like it and it's not confusing. I'm thinking of making this a two-shot. Let me know what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Leave me alone.

Her

She stood in the church wiping the tears from her eyes. How could he do this to her? He promised he would be there, promised he would look out for her. Now she was hurt more than she ever had been before and it was all because of him. Well, not him really—her.

She should have known it was happening. He never wanted to talk about his past, always got a wistful look in his eye when he passed his old high school, or he heard her sing on the radio. It was only a matter of time before he was gone. At first she accepted it, knowing it was better to have half his heart than none at all.

She laughed bitterly in the now empty chapel. That was her first mistake. If she could go back in time she would shake her younger self, warn her that Sam Evans was a one woman man and she was not his woman. He gave his heart away a long time ago, and never bothered to get it back. She would have saved herself a lot of heartache.

But he proposed and everything seemed better, seemed brighter. She should have said no, should have prodded about why he seemed adamant on marrying her, but she didn't because he asked her to marry him and she felt that everything was right in the world. She thought she'd won. Even she had never gotten that far with Sam.

But the warning signs were there. They were always there, even as she tried to ignore them. It came when he tensed whenever someone mentioned her. How he smiled sadly when they passed carnivals, couldn't stand the taste of cotton candy although his mother said he loved it as a kid and how he would run his fingers over his tattoo.

It took her a while to see it, took him a while to be comfortable enough with her to show it but looking back he probably didn't want her to see it because it was their thing. It was small really—a few inches in length. She caught him one night and asked to see. It was a scepter with a purple 'M' piercing through the bottom. She didn't think much of it at the time and when she asked what it meant he dismissed it. She was foolish enough to take his word for it. Even more foolish for never bringing it up again.

And he'd been so happy lately. Now she knew why. It was because of her. She put the dumb ass grin back on his face and made him happy. But his happiness soon dwindled and he was depressed. Out of the blue he proposed and everything got better.

Or so she thought.

He still spent hours away from her doing God knows what. But she knew now. He was with her.

So when he pulled her aside before the wedding she half expected it really. She saw the guilty look in his eyes and the way he wrung his hands. It was over. She just waited for his confirmation. And he told her. He said he never got over his first love. That she recently came back into his life and he tried to be friends with her but he failed. He said he panicked. That he proposed so he wouldn't get hurt by her again. That he used her and that was unfair. That he was sorry and never meant for this to happen. That he would be doing her a disservice if he went along with the wedding knowing he wasn't in love with her. He kissed her forehead and walked away. Then it was over.

In the end she wasn't sad, wasn't angry. She knew she was fighting a losing game. Being in love with Sam Evans and not being Mercedes Jones was like swimming upstream. She could see why he loved her, see why he never let her go. She wanted to hate her but she couldn't. Mercedes was this light, this force that you couldn't ignore. She was kind, and everyone who met her instantly feel in love with her. She knew the girl kept her distance out of respect for their relationship, she knew she and Sam were that annoying forever type of love, but she ignored it. She was there for him during the break up, there to pick up the pieces she helped shatter.

Karma's a bitch. She just didn't know it would collect so soon.

Watching her perfect ivory dress billow on the floor she kicked it across the room and slid on her jeans. She wouldn't be needing it—not today. Never with him. Maybe she should wrap it up and send it to her—Mercedes would be needing one soon.