Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 31st cycle. Now cycle 32!

Hear that little bird twitter! Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!

"First Kiss"
Sam/Mercedes
Firsts #3 (sequel to 'First Date')

[stay tuned at the bottom for a quick Name Poll! ;)
NOW IN ROUND TWO, SO NEW VOTE!]

At the end of their first date, Sam had accompanied Mercedes back home, the whole way debating whether or not he should kiss her. He wanted to, but he liked the pace they had, and he thought in the end this was a sign of respect to Mercedes, and a little wait would only make it more special when it happened. He took the smile on her face as a good sign that they'd get their shot at a next date, a moment for this kiss.

The next Thursday, Mercedes had passed innocently in front of Sam's desk in class and dropped a folded slip of paper on his open textbook before moving right along. Sam snatched it up as soon as it was there, just as innocent. The moment he had the chance, he peeked at the note.

'There's a rumor going around that I might be at Breadstix tomorrow night. If you want to look into that…'

He smirked to himself, composing again before he could look over his shoulder and give a discreet response – yes.

The next night, after going to change, he'd met her at the restaurant. They hadn't really spoken about the money situation, and he only then realized this, bringing concern as to what he should do. He had some money, though not a lot, and probably not enough for them both to have a decent meal. He started panicking just a bit, but then she arrived. His panic must have been clear to hear, because after greetings she had brought it up. He tried to stay gallant, but she insisted on pitching in. So instead they for pizza. They got individual slices, due to his desire for anchovies and her disgust for them. He tried to get her to try one, with any and all tactics from 'don't think about what it is,' to giving them funny voices, but beyond grossed out faces and some chuckles, it was a bust.

After the pizza, they sat around, discussing anything… Glee Club, concerts… desserts, birthdays… She could tell there were things he didn't want to get into now, and she got that, directing the conversation in safe territory.

When they left the restaurant, it was unsure what they should do. They could have stayed around the mall, go to the arcade, catch a movie… "Maybe a movie would be good…" she nodded.

"You just want to hold my hand again," he teased and got smacked for it. "I think we can do that," he told her and she beamed, the both of them heading to the theater.

They sat in the dark together and, yes, she took hold of his hand the first chance she got. She didn't let go and neither did he… And here the thought emerged, his mind telling him something he was just barely starting to think of: he would kiss her that night…

Before that could even happen though, there had been one moment… They had the theater to themselves, no one else around, so… she rested her head on his shoulder. He just smiled… fine by him… She dozed off, a couple of times, though she always denied it, and he didn't argue.

Once they left the theater, much like on their first date, they started for Mercedes' house. He noticed just as much as she did, probably, how they didn't seem in a hurry to get there. For Sam, it was a debate with himself… kiss or no kiss…

Mercedes Jones had been, without a doubt, someone he hadn't seen coming. She didn't fit his 'usual' pattern, made him want to be different, in a good way. And since their relationship had started, even if it was in secret, all he knew was that he hadn't felt anything like this before, and that he had wanted to kiss her for some time now, but the wait hadn't been agony in the way it once had. He was okay with it because everything else was wonderful, and it would be, too. At the same time he did want it so much he figured if it was meant to happen…

It looked like it was going to rain, and they still didn't try and hurry. Small droplets were falling when they finally reached her house. They faced one another. "So… that's it," he pointed at the door, and she nodded. "Should probably get inside before it gets worse."

"I'll be fine," she promised, still looking at him. He smiled, taking a step toward her. He looked into her eyes, touched her face… Their hands had met, at prom. Palm to palm and it was all it took. She made him happy, every day, doing so little, considering they were pretending to be apart for most of it…

He didn't kiss her… She kissed him, and then he kissed her back. He didn't know how to resolve the dilemma, and she'd gone and done it for him… She kind of did that a lot… He liked it.

There was thunder in the sky, so Mercedes and her massive grin told him to get going so he got home in time.

"What, so that's it?" he teased.

"Go!" she pointed, still grinning… blushing. He hadn't asked, but this about confirmed it: this was her first. With that in mind, he skipped back on to the lawn, taking hold of her and delivering their second kiss.

"Good night, Miss Jones," he smiled, bowing out.

"Yeah, okay," she told him, downright swooning. He continued up the street, knowing she was still watching him go… He didn't feel the rain.

THE END

PICK A NAME! - ROUND TWO
New character currently in development, and I'm being indecisive, so I'm putting it to all of you lovely people!
Please send via message if you can, the name you like best...

After the bottom three were eliminated, we get this! So you have a new vote!

Brendan
Ewan
Neal
Rory

Thank you! :)

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!