Samcedes Week Day 1: Falling in Love

AU Inspired by song Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg. Please watch the music video on youtube for reference-make sure it is the ALTERNATE VERSION. FF won't let me link it. ^.^

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in June, inside of a small town coffee shop, he saw her for the first time. He'd been walking towards the local comic book shop when he'd saw her through the glass window, her eyes focused on the notebook that she tapped her pen on, chewing on her plump lips in thought. He noticed how her dark, curly and thick hair would fall and cover her face before she'd push it behind her ear. She was incredibly beautiful, and on first sight he felt the need to be near her. He went everyday for a two weeks after that at the same time. Sometimes she'd show up and other times she wouldn't, and it wasn't long before he learned the days she came in. Most days she seemed happy, and others not as much. Seeing her sad made him feel bad, and he wished more than ever then that he knew her, so that he could talk to her, comfort her.

He felt odd about it, showing up on each of those days just to see her-especially since he intensely hated the coffee. And most nights he tried to talk himself out of going the next day, but each day he went, she gave him more reason to want to come back.

He'd been curious about what it was she would write in her notebook that kept her so focused and yet distracted from the rest of the world. But then one afternoon he heard someone humming softly and beautifully in line behind him. And when he'd turned his head only slightly, he found it was her, standing behind him, her eyes fixated on the tiny notebook in her hand as she sang quietly. And he couldn't fight the smile that played on his lips as he looked forward again. That day he learned that she wrote songs and she sang them beautifully. And the next time when he saw her, he learned that she was kind as he watched her buy two bagels and a coffee before handing it all to a homeless man outside across the street.

Each day he learned small things about her, but never enough to make him less curious. He wanted to get to know her-just her name would be enough for a little while. Some afternoons he'd walk into the shop, his confidence high. He'd be determined to say something or do something to get her attention somehow. But each time he saw her, his self-assurance would falter and he would flop down instead at the table he always sat at, and watch as she lived her life without any notice of him. He wondered what she did at home, what her friends were like, how her laugh sounded at three in the morning, what she dreamed of doing, what inspired her and why she was always alone. He had many theories about her and the person she was, but he couldn't indulge in them because he didn't know if they were true.

He wondered about her.

And wondering was all his little courage would allow him to do.

On a Wednesday night, he lay on the couch of his apartment, his eyes staring blankly at the television as he thought of her and what she might have been doing at that very moment. He often thought about that-what her general existence was like when he couldn't see her. He only wished he knew her well enough to miss her.

"Sam?" his roommate and best friend Blaine called, interrupting his thoughts. Blaine moved to sit on the coffee table in front of him. "Why are you sulking?" he asked him.

"I'm not," Sam replied quietly.

"You look like a kicked puppy," Blaine retorted and Sam sighed. "Is this about coffee girl again? Have you still not said anything?"

"What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, I'm Sam, you don't know me but I come to this coffee shop to stare at you because I really think I might like you if I knew you but I'm too scared to actually say anything'?" Sam asked. Blaine shrugged.

"It's a bit long-winded." he replied sarcastically and Sam rolled his eyes.

"What am I supposed to say to the girl who I know nothing about? And besides that she doesn't even know I exist." Sam frowned.

"You don't have to know her to say something to her. No one ever knows anyone until they do say something to them," Blaine said.

"This is a coffee shop, Blaine. Okay-she goes there to enjoy her coffee and be alone obviously. She's never there with anyone." Sam told him. Blaine thought for a moment in silence before speaking again.

"Well, what does she usually do when she's there?" he asked him and Sam shrugged.

"Write, I guess. She always has this notebook with her." Sam said. Blaine's eyes widened as he thought of something.

"Why don't you just ask her for a pen?" he suggested.

"But I don't need a pen," Sam replied flatly, his expression blank. Blaine closed his eyes as he sighed.

"Yeah, Sam, I know you don't. This is just a way for you to get a conversation going with her, that's all." he explained and Sam nodded as he understood. "Next time you go there and you see her, just go to her table and casually ask her for a pen and when she gives it to you, smile, thank her, and introduce yourself. See where it goes from there. Sam, I know you're nervous about it but you can't just keep living in this world where the only version of this girl you know is the one you made up in your head. I mean what if she's actually not even a nice person? You'll have wasted so much time daydreaming about a girl who it turns out you don't even like." he said. "Just make the move and get it over with. Anything could happen." he told him. Sam listened to his best friend. He knew he was right. He'd always been afraid to find out who she really was because he already liked the person he hoped she was. And if she actually turned out to be someone he could barely stand to be around, what would happen then?

All that was left to do was find out. And as he entered the coffee shop that next morning, he fought to keep his momentum going. She wasn't there yet so he bought a cup of the horrible coffee and sat down at a table, thinking of all the ways this could go wrong and all the ways it could go so wonderfully right. He wondered as he stared down into his coffee, how he would say those simple words-if they would sound right and genuine coming out of his mouth or if he would make a mess of them. His thoughts were interrupted though when he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice in front of him.

"Excuse me," it called. His head popped up quickly and he was taken aback when he found her standing in front of him, smiling as she looked at him. He almost thought he was dreaming. His throat was suddenly blocked, no words escaping him. When he didn't respond, she continued anyway.

"Would you happen to have a pen?" she asked. And that was when his stomach flipped upside down. Had she just asked the same question he was meant to ask her? He'd never once seen her pen-less in all the times he'd seen her. She always had a pouch full on the table.There's no way she actually needs a pen. He thought. He could only wonder if this meant what he thought it meant-that she'd been sneaking peeks at him, too; and that she'd gotten the same advice from one of her friends, too.

A nervous smile pulled at his lips before he went to dig through his bag, quickly finding a pen and handing it to her. She smiled as she took it.
"Thanks," she said and he meant to say you're welcome but before he could she spoke again, sending his heart on a rampage. "I'm Mercedes," she introduced and he swallowed hard as he saw her hand extend towards him. The world around him froze as he looked at her, wondering if she knew how long he'd waited for this moment-wondering if she'd been waiting for this moment, as well.
Mercedes.

He finally knew her name.

There would be no turning back now, no panicking and walking away, because now she was here-standing in front of him, her smile almost impossibly more beautiful when directed at him. He grinned as he shook her hand, an instant thrill coursing through his body at the touch of her skin. Excitement quickly replaced the fear that once lived in his mind as he looked at her and spoke his first words to her-the girl he'd been dreaming of knowing for too long-

"I'm Sam,"