"But the planets all aligned,
When you looked into my eyes and just like that,
Watch the chemicals react."

"Crazy night, huh?" Sam asked, pushing the door open for Mercedes. It was only fifteen minutes ago that prom had ended, but aside from a few couples that decided to stay on grounds to make out, the McKinley High campus seemed to be deserted.

"I'll say." Mercedes smiled as she walked past Sam, out into the crisp night air that is usual for Ohio. She pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders. "But I had a nice time."

"So did I." he smiled back at her, shoving his hands into his pockets and falling into step next to her. "You know, I really hope that Finn and Rachel sort out whatever it is they've got going on."

They were on their way to the parking lot, to her car. Sam's only ride home. She had offered to take him as soon as he realized that all the others guys had ditched. Puck with Lauren and apparently Artie, Mike with Tina, and Finn, well, who knows where Finn ran off to? He disappeared right after his little fight with Jesse. And she figured she didn't want to bother Kurt and Blaine. They looked too happy to be bothered at all tonight.

Mercedes eyed the blond boy.

"You hope that Finn and Rachel sort out their relationship issues?" she shook her head. "I thought you of all people would be upset that he pressured Quinn into cheating on you."

He shrugged. "I guess…when I really think about it, Finn's not such a bad guy. I mean, he did invite me to the Glee club in the first place. And he brought me clothes so I wouldn't have to wear Kurt's old stuff, not that I minded, but yeah. And, if I'm being honest, I wouldn't have made such an awesome group of friends if I hadn't joined up anyway."

Mercedes smiled. She never would have expected that answer, though it seemed genuine, coming from Sam. "Well, we're glad you decided to stick with us."

"Me too." He said with a shy grin. She looked over at him, and his smile grew wider, spreading to the corners of his eyes. "And it helps because I'm able to do tons more impressions compared to the few I knew when I started. I can do Mr. Schue now. Wanna hear?"

Mercedes laughed, smacking his shoulder playfully. "You're such a dork, Evans."

They had reached the car, only one of the very few still sitting in the parking lot. Mercedes unlocked it and opened her door, stepping inside. She could see Sam hesitate on the other side, but then he silently did the same.

It was only after they were on the highway, heading towards the motel, that Mercedes noticed how quiet it had gotten. Sam wasn't speaking anymore. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He had his head turned towards the window, looking up at Lima's night sky.

"What's up?" she asked, wanting to break whatever tension it was that he felt. She wasn't the type of person to feel awkward, no matter the situation, but she understood how it was for others. Not everyone could have her fierce, confident attitude.

He still hadn't looked at her, but he hung his head slightly, looking down at his hands in his lap. His hair drooped over, covering his eyes, and he bit his lip.

"I always say the stupidest things." He whispered, more to himself than to her, she realized. "What's wrong with me?"

"What?" Mercedes said, frowning. She wasn't quite following him. "What are you talking about? You didn't say anything wrong."

"I'm such an idiot. That's exactly what Santana was telling me to avoid. And here I go again, completely screwing it up."

"Ok, what does Santana have to do with anything?"

"She basically made it known, plain and simple, that she thinks I'm a big dork. And that I had to stop with my stupid impressions." He was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Why can't I stop?"

Santana. Mercedes rolled her eyes. She had nothing against the girl. Aside from the brief period of time when she had that week-long fling with Puck, Santana never actually bothered her. Mercedes learned to ignore most of the girl's jabs, forcing them to roll right off her back. She wanted to be the bigger person when it came to Santana. Fighting and arguing with her would have never done the glee club any good.

She sighed, but kept her eyes on the road. She had only just realized why he grew silent after she called him a dork.

"Ok, you listen to me." She waited for a few seconds, and when he didn't say a word, she continued. "What you've got to realize is something like that, coming from Santana of all people, shouldn't have meant anything to you. Because, honestly Sam, that dorky, awkward guy that you're talking crap about right now? Yeah, he was my prom date. And I had a damn good time with him. And I certainly don't appreciate having to listen to any hate towards him."

She finished it all in only a few breaths. She could have said more, but decided not to go on any further. She was waiting for him to say something. But he just sat there, staring off into space.

She hoped he believed her. Because everything she said was true. Only a few days before prom, Mercedes had confessed to Rachel how much she was hoping to have that Cinderella moment, with the perfect dress and perfect guy. Sam was that guy for her, tonight. When he reached out to her, when he asked her to dance, it was as if everything she was hoping for suddenly came true. Literally in the blink of an eye. She wondered to herself if Sam could even begin to understand how much of a positive impact he had on her entire junior prom experience.

He still hadn't said anything. She opened her mouth to say something, ready to add more to her speech to try and make her point, but Sam beat her to it. "You…you like my impressions?" His voice was just above a whisper. He took a glance at her, his hair still covering his eyes.

Mercedes resisted a sudden urge to brush the locks of hair away from his face. Instead, she kept her hands firmly on the wheel. Eyes on the road, Mercedes. She thought, and pushed herself to answer him.

"Well, I think they're cute." She said, simply. At least that got a smile out of him.

In no time, or what seemed like it anyway, Mercedes had pulled up into the parking lot of the motel. She had never actually seen the place before, but her heart sank as the dingy building with its blinking sign came into view. Pulling into an empty space, she watched as a woman peered cautiously through a blind, one arm folded across her chest. The woman caught Mercedes' eyes in the darkness, and she smiled sadly. She seemed to let out a heavy breath and she let the blind fall again, disappearing from view.

"My mom." Sam said, gesturing towards the window. "She was worried that I wouldn't get a ride home and that I'd have to hitchhike." He laughed, finally running his hands through his hair, pushing it back. Mercedes let out a silent breath as she watched every lock of hair fall right back into place. "I told her not to worry. She doesn't understand, though. New Directions wouldn't let that happen."

"Of course not." She thought of how all the other guys had left early, but decided against bringing that up.

Sam looked over at Mercedes. The same sad smile his mother wore was now on his face, and she wished that there was some way she could turn it into a genuine one. Instead, he took a deep breath, looked at the window again, and then back at Mercedes.

"Thanks for getting me to come tonight."

"Oh, no problem. It was really Rachel's idea-"

"No, really." He shook his head. "I needed this. This…experience, I guess. I've been so stressed out with everything going on. Everything's been so crazy at home. I wasn't even planning on going."

She offered him a kind smile. "I know, but it didn't even cost you anything. I mean not really. The money was only a loan, remember? So you can pay us back whenever you can."

"Yeah, I know. But do you know what I was planning on doing this evening, Mercedes? I was going to babysit. All night. I have no idea how I got my mom to agree to giving up an evening of job hunting."

A laugh escaped Mercedes' lips. "But Stevie and Stacey are adorable. And they can't be that much trouble. They sure don't look like it, anyway."

"No, you're right. They're no trouble at all. But it's just that being with them, spending so much time with them…I don't know. It gets me thinking about how they're so young and they don't really understand what's going on and I keep wishing that things would get better, just for them. But it just doesn't. Things aren't getting better."

Mercedes grew quiet. She didn't know what to say.

That didn't seem to bother Sam though. Instead, he appreciated her silence and continued.

"But being with you tonight…you made me smile, Mercedes. More than I have in a long time. I love my brother and sister more than anything, but I was able to forget about everything just for a few hours. I laughed and danced and just smiled. So…thank you."

And right at that moment, Mercedes decided that he would be able understand that he had made her night a memorable one. Because she had made his just as memorable.

Silence fell between the two of them again as they caught each others gaze. However, this time, it wasn't awkward. No, this one was filled with rattled nerves and slow building tension. It was the kind of silence where you feel, deep in your gut, that something big was about to happen. And boy did Mercedes feel it.

Sam reached out and placed his hand over hers and squeezed it. Just once. Then he let go.

From this simple touch, a warm sensation made its way from her hand and up the length of her arm.

Her heart skipped a beat.

With a small smile, Sam unbuckled his seat belt, opened the door, and stepped out into the motel's parking lot. He closed the door behind him, but tapped the glass before walking away. Mercedes rolled the window down and he crouched in to face her one more time.

"And I meant what I said."

She shot him a confused look, her eyes narrowed. He knew she didn't understand what he was talking about.

"What I said when I asked you to dance. You really did look beautiful tonight."

If her heart had skipped a beat before, it was nothing compared to how it was reacting right at this moment. A hot blush crept up her cheeks.

Sam laughed and Mercedes panicked inwardly, hoping to God that he didn't notice the blank expression she was now wearing. She wasn't used to this kind of attention. Sure, she walked with her head held high and knew that she basically embodied the word 'diva', but compliments from a guy? Real, genuine compliments? The kind that only girls like Quinn and Santana get on a regular basis? No, this kind of attention was definitely new territory to her. And she didn't know how to react.

Before she could say anything and mess the moment up though, Sam spoke.

"Well, that doesn't really matter anyway, I guess. You're always beautiful." And after a final, fleeting glance, he pushed himself away from the car and waved goodnight. She watched him carefully as he made his way up to the door and opened it. And as soon as he did, his younger sister, Stacey, ran up to him, flinging her little arms around him.

Mercedes could just barely hear her over the purring of the car's engine.

"Sammy, you're home! I was worried sick!" Sam, shocked by the sudden charge of the little girl, had stumbled back a few steps. He righted himself and ran a hand through her blond curls, laughing. Sam reached down to pick Stacey up, whispered something in her ear, which made her giggle, and took her inside. It grew immensely dark outside after the stream of light coming from Sam's apartment was put out.

It was all Mercedes could do to drag her hands away from where they lay, frozen on her lap, and place them on the steering wheel. She backed up the car, drove out of the parking lot, back onto the highway.

The image of his hand on hers, burned in her mind.