Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters. All rights go to their respective owners. Any similarity to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental.
Catcher twirled the quill between his fingers and tried to think. He'd been doing a lot of thinking lately, it seemed, but that was only because he wanted to get it right. No- no, he needed to get it right. This time he would succeed in keeping Mercedes and him apart.
This time he would not allow himself to lose. Not again.
After another day or so of thinking, Catcher was finally ready. He grasped the quill between his fingers, and began to write.
PRESENT DAY
'Sam! Would you care to address the rumours that you and Mercedes are dating?'
Sam shifted in his chair and let the response come spilling from his lips. He'd said it so many times now that he didn't even really need to think about it.
'The rumours are just that. I consider Mercedes a dear friend, but we are not in a romantic relationship.'
Flashbulbs went of in rapid succession as Sam licked his lips and leaned back in his chair, his gaze scanning automatically to seek out the face of his publicist. As usual, Mark's expression was stern, but he was at least nodding, so Sam figured he'd said the right thing.
As usual.
When the stupid tribute act he'd started to impress his then girlfriend, Quinn, had landed a record deal, Sam had thought it was a joke. Why would a record label want to sign a bunch of teenage boys in a Justin Bieber tribute band? But over time, they'd been coached, styled, "reimagined" and released on the public as the newest thing in pop.
They were huge.
Not, 'oh-I-really-like-that-one-song-of-theirs' huge, more like, sold-out worldwide stadium tours, random crap with their faces on it, fainting preteens huge.
It was a little overwhelming. Sam, Puck, Artie and Mike had had their lives changed pretty much overnight, and now everything they publicly said, or did, was picked apart and analysed, theorized, gif-ed and fictionalized. Everything related to the 'image' of the band went through the approval of the label's PR machine (or the damage control, whichever came first). Which was why Sam now found himself fielding questions about his love life while they were supposedly announcing their latest world tour.
'Is it true Mercedes will be joining the band on tour this year?' another reporter asked, her iPhone held out in case she missed a single word of the reply – even though she'd probably still misquote them anyway.
'We're not sure who'll be supporting us on tour this year.' Mike cut in, ever the diplomatic one. 'Whoever it is, we're certain they'll be amazing. It's going to be a really fun tour, we've got a lot of really exciting things planned.'
'Will you be playing any new material on the tour?'
'Are you writing anything new with Mercedes?'
Sam fought back the wince at the barrage of questions as reporters shouted over one another in an attempt to have their question be the next one answered.
'We've not sat down to write any new material since the last album, no. But who knows? We'll have to see what happens between now and then!' Sam answered, fighting off an internal eyeroll. He didn't even have to ask if the question was for him – it always was when it came to Mercedes. Of course, he was the main songwriter for the band, and Mercedes had been his songwriting partner since before their first single was even released, so it did make a certain amount of sense. The part that Sam really, truly hated though, was the politics of it all. A single glance at Mark showed the publicist's disapproval – but then again, Mark was always disapproving when Sam talked about Mercedes. Just thinking about the amount of meetings Sam had been hauled into because 'one too many' paparazzi shots had emerged of the two of them out and about was enough to give Sam a migraine. Or maybe that was just the flashing lights.
It was stupid, Sam thought, careful to keep his face placid as the rest of the band continued to field questions about the tour. Not that he was really even thinking about it, but what exactly would be so bad about him and Mercedes in a relationship? Ok, so Titans (As they had been renamed) were big with the teen girl demographic, and there was something to be said about allowing them all to appear single and attainable, but at the same time, Mike had been with Tina since high school and that had never seemed to present an issue. In fact, Tina had her own fans because of it. There were style blogs about her. So why would it be a problem if he and Mercedes-
'That will be all for today, Ladies and Gentlemen.' Mark's voice cut through the hubbub with all the authority of a schoolteacher controlling an unruly class. 'Thank you all for your time.'
Sighing with relief, Sam pushed his cheap foldable chair away from the conference table and stood, leading the way off the small platform as the other Titans trailed behind him.
'More questions about Mercedes.' Mark grumbled once the boys were inside the green room and safely away from press ears.
'She's an integral part of our success.' Sam countered, instantly on the defensive on Mercedes' behalf. 'It makes sense that she-'
'Spare me the soap box.' Mark drawled, holding up a hand to silence Sam mid-flow. 'I know the spiel. The problem is that you were photographed out with her again this week, and then you just very helpfully let the media know that you aren't working on new music at the moment.' Mark sighed and rubbed his forehead with steepled fingers. 'The gossip rags will be full of rumours about the two of you tomorrow.'
'Well, I don't care.' Sam decided petulantly, picking up a discarded magazine from the green room coffee table and flinging himself onto the ugly grey couch.
'The label cares.' Mark reminded him sternly, raising an accusing eyebrow at the other band members as they followed suit and arranged themselves on the various seats around the room. 'And in case you've forgotten - they're the ones writing your sizeable cheques.'
Four years earlier
"Mercedes!"
Mercedes turned at the sound of someone calling her name, and was surprised to see Sam Evans, of all people, jogging towards her down the hallway.
Sam slowed to a stop, his textbooks clasped firmly under his arm as he looked down at Mercedes and wondered how on earth he was going to say what he wanted to without coming across as a total freak.
Must be a Quinn thing, Mercedes thought as she watched Sam compose himself, she waited until he tossed his blond hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head and smiled warmly down at her.
'Hi.' Sam put a crooked arm against the locker beside him and leaned into it, hoping he looked cool. For some reason, he suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to impress this pint-sized woman. Mercedes' eyes narrowed just a fraction as she watched him and instantly felt tired. When Sam had first turned up at McKinley, he'd been all dorky jokes and comic books, and she'd genuinely liked him… but then, what felt like days later, he'd apparently tossed that all aside for popularity and a chance to date one of the most popular girls in school. Even if Quinn was one of her closest friends, Mercedes couldn't help but wish that this new, Southern kid would have the balls to just take a chance and be himself.
Weirdly, Mercedes found herself worrying about Sam. His face occupied her thoughts right before she fell asleep at night and she found herself wondering things about him that she had no right to wonder. Not in a 'wanky' way, as Santana would say if Mercedes ever decided to commit social-suicide-by-embarrassment and tell her, but in an affectionate way.
It was as though Sam were a childhood friend Mercedes half-remembered, or a beloved relative that was rarely visited. Mercedes cared about him in a way that came naturally, and it scared her. She had no claim on this boy, none at all, but Mercedes had listened to Kurt swear blind that Sam was definitely gay, his eyes shining with conviction, and had known without a shadow of a doubt that Kurt's assessment was wrong. She didn't know how she'd known it, but she had.
Mercedes had felt a little jolt, like a pull in her heart that told her that Sam Evans was more than the sum of his parts - that he was more than pop culture references and bleached blond hair and a desperate need to fit in. She'd felt it… but then she'd squashed it down inside her and pretended it didn't exist. After all, she and Sam weren't friends. They didn't even talk to each other outside of the choir room. Until now.
'Hi…'
Sam's smile widened and he clutched the edges of his textbooks a little closer to his side.
'Hi.'
'I was… um… the thing is,' Sam started. 'Do you- Hi, by the way. I should probably say that first, right?'
Mercedes frowned just a little bit and nodded slowly, wondering if she'd known conversation with Sam would be this awkward. 'You did start with hello.' she reminded him gently, watching with interest as Sam blew out a breath and looked deflated.
'Did I? Sorry.'
'It's ok.' Mercedes smiled generously up at him, and he blinked a few times before smiling tentatively back at her.
'Did you need me for something?' Mercedes prompted, and Sam nodded, his ears turning the faintest shade of pink as he cleared his throat and began to shuffle from foot to foot. 'Um…Yeah…'
Mercedes waited for the rest of the explanation to come, but found herself waiting in silence when Sam stopped speaking.
'You have to promise not to tell anyone.' he shot out suddenly, the sentence seemingly taking them both by surprise.
'Sure.' Mercedes nodded, unable to tamper the rise of curiosity that rose in her about what it was that had Sam tied up in knots.
'Ok, not here.' Sam insisted, suddenly spurred into action as he wrapped his long fingers around her hand and guided her out of the building, not stopping until they were sat high on the bleachers overlooking the football field, and far away from anyone who could possibly hear what was being said.
'Is this where you tell me about the Avengers Initiative'?' Mercedes joked as Sam finally sighed, satisfied he could talk freely, and turned to her.
He chuckled, more of the tension flooding his body seeming to leave him as he sighed and flicked his hair out of his eyes.
'No… sorry for all the secrecy, I just…' he trailed off, squinting his eyes in the sunlight to watch a flock of birds overhead. 'A few months ago I played this girl's birthday party as The Justin Bieber Experience,' he began, tearing his eyes away from the birds to look Mercedes square in the eye. 'and after the show her uncle came to talk to me-'
Mercedes' body tensed as her mind quickly ran through all the awful things Sam could say next.
'- and he turned out to be an A&R scout for Skitter Records.' Sam finished, giving Mercedes a strange look when she let out a sigh of relief. 'Anyway, he asked me to come in for a meeting this week and I told him that the solo act had become a group, and he was cool with it, but…'
'But what?' Mercedes prompted, studying Sam's face intently as she waited for him to finish. 'What's bothering you?'
Sam ran a hand over the ridges of his creased forehead and sighed.
'I don't know.' He said, thinking it over before speaking again. 'I think… I never expected this. I was thinking: get through high school, maybe college if I'm lucky or I can get a sports scholarship. Graduate… get a job… I didn't think about this ever happening.'
'But do you want it?' Mercedes asked quietly, resting a hand on Sam's knee because it felt like the most natural thing to do. 'Because you don't have to say yes, you know, Sam? Right now it's just a meeting, but if they offer you a contract - which they probably will because you're great – then you're not obligated to take it.'
Sam let out a long breath and stared out at the football field, his fingers absently curling around Mercedes' hand on his knee as he mulled over what she'd said, a little burst of pride surging in his gut at the realization that she thought he was great.
'I do want it.' Sam admitted quietly, as though afraid to speak the words out loud and somehow jinx them. 'I want this.' He said again, realization dawning fully as he turned to look at Mercedes' upturned face. 'But college and…'
'Doesn't have to be now.' Mercedes pronounced seriously with a shake of her head. 'Sam, if you want to finish high school then you can, if you want to get your GED then you can, if you want to go to college you can do that too, but don't talk yourself out of something you want because you think you have to follow along with everyone else's bullshit expectations and deadlines.'
Sam blinked, startled by Mercedes' language for a second before a wide smile split his face, and he found himself resisting the urge to lean over and plant a grateful kiss on her cheek.
'What did the rest of the guys say?' Mercedes asked after a moment, and Sam's smile faded as he winced and looked out onto the field again.
'Um… I kinda haven't told them yet?' He admitted. 'I kinda haven't told anyone yet. Except you.'
Mercedes eyebrows rose in surprise, but she only faltered briefly before nodding and taking it all in stride. It made a certain sort of sense if she didn't really think about it.
'You should tell them.'
'I know,' Sam agreed and then squinted into the sunlight again. 'I was just so worried about what they'd say.'
'When you tell them you got them a meeting with a rep for a major label? My guess is they'll be flattered.' Mercedes shrugged. 'Mike might worry about it, I know his dad is pretty dead set on him going to medical school, but Puck and Artie will probably be cool about it. Either way, there's no point worrying about things that haven't happened yet. Besides, how were you even going to get them there? Tell them it was a surprise party?'
Sam snorted despite himself and then shook his head again. 'No… I hadn't really thought about that part, to be honest.'
Mercedes nodded sagely and flipped her hand over underneath his so Sam was holding her hand.
'I know there's a lot to think about,' she told him, covering their joined hands with her other hand and looking earnestly into Sam's teen heartthrob face. 'And there might be some tough decisions ahead, but why don't you wait and cross that bridge when you come to it?'
Sam ran his free hand through his hair and nodded. He had an urge to press it against Mercedes' hand and just let her calming influence wash over him and fill him up… but he was pretty sure she'd find that weird.
'You're right.' Sam said, settling for smiling at her instead as he squeezed her palm in his. 'Thanks.'
'No problem,' Mercedes told him, returning the smile with one of her own. 'You do deserve this opportunity you know, Sam.' She added, 'don't let anyone tell you different, even if that 'anyone' is you.'
Sam's eyebrows furrowed for the briefest moment as he contemplated what Mercedes had said. The fact that she'd seen right through to the heart of what was worrying him was disconcerting to say the least, but he appreciated it. Her words had been exactly what he'd needed to hear.
'Thanks.' Sam said again, wishing he had another way of conveying his gratitude.
'So, how comes you picked me to talk to about this?' Mercedes asked as they got up to leave, keeping hold of Sam's hand as he used it to help her down the steep bleachers again. 'Why not Quinn or Kurt or one of the guys?'
Sam shrugged as they reached the bottom of the steps, finally letting go of Mercedes' hand to put his own in his pockets.
'I dunno,' he admitted, 'I couldn't really tell the guys, cause they're all in the band, and I kinda knew that the others would all try to make me do what they wanted, you know? Kurt would have tried to make me over, Quinn would have tried to coach me on what to say… I mean, I know they would only be doing it because they cared, but…' he shrugged again, 'I felt like you'd talk to me, help me figure it out without pushing me or sugar coating anything.'
'Oh,' Mercedes nodded a little alarmed to find that he'd noticed her after all.
'And for your wisdom.' Sam added with a smile.
'Right!' Mercedes quipped and Sam shrugged, suddenly looking bashful again.
'Hey, um… Mercedes?'
'Mmhm?' Mercedes looked up at him with a laugh in her voice, feeling as though the ice had been well and truly broken between them.
'Can I…' Sam broke off and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously before starting again. 'I mean, I'd like to maybe… call you… after the meeting, to let you know how it went. Would that – would that be ok?'
Mercedes' brow creased for a nano-second as she fought to keep the incredulity off her face, but then she laughed and held out her hand for Sam's cell phone.
'Of course.' she told him, taking the phone and punching her number in. 'I'd be disappointed if you didn't.'
'Thanks.' Sam took the phone back, but his gratitude wasn't just for her number, and Mercedes bobbed her head in acknowledgement of it.
'What are friends for?'
Ronnie Jones watched her daughter's happy face lit up by the computer screen on her lap and internally shook her head. This was going to turn into a damn mess, she fretted as she leant against the door-frame and waited for her child to notice her. Lord protect her child from the attentions of charming boys.
'How is Sam?' Ronnie asked eventually, realizing that her daughter wasn't going to be tearing her eyes away from the screen anytime soon.
'He's great!' Mercedes enthused, turning away from Sam's email to look at her mother. 'They're still in the studio, but the label is starting to push the single out to radio stations and it's getting a lot of airplay. He said someone recognized him on the street yesterday and asked for a photo.' Mercedes shook her head at the weirdness of having someone want to take a photo with her friend.
'He's a good kid.' Ronnie agreed, secretly hoping that Sam wouldn't break her daughter's heart if he got properly famous.
'Yeah, he is.' Mercedes agreed, 'You know he refused to back down when the studio tried to sign the band without Artie?' the young woman looked outraged again at the thought, all softness in her features gone when she remembered the affront to her friend.
'They didn't want him in the band because they weren't sure how to promote a group with a member in a wheelchair.' She explained, gratified to see her mother's face reflecting her own thoughts. 'So they wanted to sign Titans without him and maybe bring someone else in. Sam asked me not to say too much about it, because of how upsetting it was to Artie, but I don't mind telling you that they pretty much offered the other guys a lot of money to let Artie go.'
Ronnie kissed her teeth loudly, her tea towel clenched tightly in her hands as she bit back her anger. 'How DARE they!' she exploded after a few more seconds, unable to keep her rant contained any longer. 'That boy is a talent! And a gift! How dare they want to keep him out of it because he's in a wheelchair? Artie may not have the use of his legs, but he can still dance rings around that tall boy you're friends with!'
Mercedes sucked her lips into her mouth and nodded, agreeing with her mother but wanting to giggle a little at her brutal assessment of Finn's dancing skills.
'I should write them a letter!' Ronnie decided, straightening up and looking around as though a pen and paper might magically appear in the air around her. 'Or if Artie wants to sue…'
'He doesn't want to sue, Momma.' Mercedes soothed, her eyes softening with love as she looked up at her mother. 'Sam would never let them ditch Artie, and he made sure the others stood firm too. They made it clear that it was all or nothing, and the studio went with all.'
'Well…' Ronnie said, deflating a little at the news. 'That's alright then, I guess… But if he wants me to make sure there are some ironclad clauses in his contract about standards of travel and accessibility then you tell him to just give me a call, you hear? I'll do it for free.'
'Yes, Momma.' Mercedes replied dutifully, making a mental note to let Artie know exactly that - she knew he'd appreciate it.
'Well, good job your Sam stood his ground.' Ronnie concluded finally, running the towel through her hands again as she turned to go back into the kitchen.
'Can't believe they tried to do little Artie dirty like that.' She muttered as she went back to the kitchen. Mercedes shook her head fondly at her mother's retreating back, and then went back to reading Sam's email, eventually calling up a window to type out her own response.
Sam was just flicking through some of his old tracks on his computer when the little icon in the corner of his screen bounced to let him know that Mercedes was online. Relieved, Sam clicked the icon and opened up a message window.
SamIAm: Hey
HeyCedeSay: Hi Superstar!
SamIAm: lol not yet.
HeyCedeSay: Give it time :)
SamIAm: gonna need more than that.
HeyCedeSay: why?
SamIAm: label wants more songs for the album and I don't have anymore :S
HeyCedeSay: Then write some?
SamIAm: L I'm trying but nothing seems right.
HeyCedeSay: What do you have?
SamIAm: ... its stupid.
HeyCedeSay: I hope you can feel the force of my side-eye through the screen. Share.
SamIAm: jeez I actually can. How are you doing that?
HeyCedeSay: …
SamIAm: ok ok
SamIAm sent an audio file: Untitled song melody #12
SamIAm: I don't have words for it yet… I was just thinking about how like, loose all this stuff is, u kno, like it can all go at any second but I'm here and I'm trying to succeed… and idk this started floating around my head.
SamIAm: I guess the label pushing for more songs got to me.
SamIAm: u rnt saying anything
SamIAm: … it blows doesn't it.
HeyCedeSay: You know it doesn't. Now shh I'm thinking.
SamIAm: Thinkin bout wat?
SamIAm: …
SamIAm: Cede?
HeyCedeSay: Grow up, look up, time to be a man/Time to look into the future/Time to get a plan/Daddy, Daddy look how high I climbed/little Icarus son, you aint a man until you fly/Four years old/building wings out of paper/poster paint and craft glue/boy look what your made of/you'll fall apart in time/cause those wings aren't worth a dime/at least you tried/at least you tried…
HeyCedeSay: That's as much as I got right now. Can you use any of it?
SamIAm: holyshit.
HeyCedeSay: what?!
SamIAm: I mean
SamIAm: holy shit did you just write that?
HeyCedeSay: yeah…
SamIAm: holy shit!
HeyCedeSay: STOP SAYING THAT!
SamIAm: sorry. ur just… thats… ur REALLY good, Mercedes.
HeyCedeSay: oh.
HeyCedeSay: Thanks.
SamIAm: ur welcome ;)
SamIAm: so… you wanna help write the rest of it? I can call you on Skype?
HeyCedeSay:… You're serious right now?
SamIAm: as a tornado warnin in florida.
HeyCedeSay:…
HeyCedeSay: Sure.
Two Years Later
'So if you're just joining us this morning you're listening to Lie In with Lyons on KROK 141.2 with me, your host Jeff Lyons, playing you the tastiest tracks all the way up until lunchtime. Now, I'm joined in the studio this morning by four, very special, guests: they are arguably the biggest boyband in the world and - I'm gonna be honest - my inner teenage fangirl is going a little crazy right now… Please welcome to the studio: Titans, everybody!'
There was a smattering of applause from the various members of staff scattered around the studio before Jeff continued.
'How ya doin', Fellas.'
There was a general chorus of hellos before one of the guys spoke.
'That's quite an introduction!' Mike Chang smiled into the microphone on the desk in front of him, his eyes drifting first to his bandmates and then to the host across the desk from him.
'But it's true, right? You guys really are the biggest boyband in the world! I mean, let me read off a couple of your achievements right here; A sold out National tour, one multi-platinum album, three AMA's, six Teen Choice awards, seven billboard topping singles and the fastest selling song of the year. Not to mention the hordes of screaming fans I had to drive through on my way here. I mean, you guys really are on top of the world right now! That's gotta feel pretty good, right?'
'It's great!' Sam grinned at the same time as Artie said, 'It's still not really sunk in.'
'Let's talk for a minute about how y'all got started.' Jeff segued seamlessly, his patter smooth and perfect as he shifted in his seat across from them with controlled interest. 'So, for the people who missed out and are still catching up on you guys, can one of you explain how Titans got together? Did I hear that you guys started as a tribute act?'
'Yeah…' Sam laughed and ran a hand through his cropped hair self-consciously. 'I actually started it to impress a girl,' he began. 'I knew girls liked Justin Bieber so I started a tribute act- but after we'd been together for a while we started realising that we actually did just as well playing our own music-'
'So Bieber was out?'
'Bieber was out.' Sam agreed, laughter in his voice as he nodded, 'and uh, that's kind of it. The right people saw us perform, we got signed and here we are.'
'Wow. That's really an incredible story.' Jeff told them, sounding genuinely impressed. 'That's... I gotta tell ya, I don't think I'd have been so successful if I'd formed a tribute band. Or have as many screaming girls outside.' he added, 'I'm sure it helps that you're, dare I say it, a group of very attractive guys.'
'Thanks, Jeff.' Puck cut in, winking at the host, 'Keep that talk up. And might I just say that you have beautiful eyes.'
'He does have pretty eyes!' Artie agreed, turning to Puck with an appreciative nod.
'I-' Jeff started, giggling at the praise as the rest of his team whooped and teased him.
'I think this is the first time I've ever seen Jeff blush.' one of the on-air producers told the boys, laughing delightedly as she watched Jeff shake his head with mirth.
'Puck has that effect on people.' Mike told them all sagely, and Jeff snorted again.
'I'm sure that's true.' he nodded, catching his breath. 'But isn't that true of all of you though? I mean, it certainly seems like you could all get any girl you wanted.'
'At the moment we're just really focused on the band.' Artie said diplomatically, but Jeff scoffed.
'Oh come on, am I really supposed to believe you guys are single? Or do you just not want to upset the fans?'
'No.' Sam shook his head adamantly. 'We love our fans and we'd never want to lie to them. We're pretty honest people.' he insisted. 'We're not the kind of guys who hide the relationships we're in.'
'Well then, Sam, I have to ask...' Jeff said delicately. 'There have been a lot of videos and pictures on Instagram recently of you getting close to a girl by the name of Mercedes and I just...' he held up the sheets of paper in front of him as evidence. 'Twitter, email, our phones are just blowing up with fans wanting to know if she's your girlfriend.'
'Oh...'
'You guys are laughing.' Jeff interrupted, gesturing to Puck and Artie accusingly. 'For the benefit of those at home not watching on the webcam right now, two of Sam's bandmates have literally just started giggling at the suggestion that Sam might be dating this girl.'
'I get asked that question a lot.' Sam explained glibly, rolling his eyes at his friends. 'But no, she's just a friend.'
Shrugging, Sam ignored the faces his bandmates were making at him. 'Cede and I are really close but we're not in that kind of relationship.' Sam laughed. 'All of us have known her since high school.'
'So you're saying there's nothing going on between you?' Jeff pressed, 'Cause y'all would make kind of a cute couple.'
Sam shook his head, running a hand tiredly through his hair. 'Naw, I love her a lot but she's like a sister, really. I think... it's pretty cliche to say it, but when people start to recognise you and your name gets out there a little more, you start to find that there are a lot of people who didn't want to know you before who suddenly want to be your best friend. Cede - Mercedes, she was really there for me from the beginning. She's been with us through all of it, and that's something you really come to appreciate when the faces around you start changing.'
'So you were friends before you got famous?'
'Yeah.' Sam affirmed.
'He told her before he told us we'd been scouted.' Puck accused, and Sam scrunched up his nose in apology.
'Yeah, I did.'
'How did that go down?'
'I don't think any of us really minded, actually.' Artie supplied thoughtfully. 'I mean, Mercedes has been that person for all of us over the years so she's kinda like our unofficial fifth member.'
'She's the honorary girl in our boyband.' Mike grinned, and the others laughed.
'She's also crazy talented, though.' Puck put in, 'She ended up co-writing some of our songs.'
'Talking of songs, you've had a lot of big hits in, what seems to be, a very short space of time. Not to mention your newest single looks like it's going make it to the top of the charts too. Has the success surprised you at all?'
'Oh yeah, definitely.'
'For sure.'
'So, what's that like? Could you walk us through what a normal day is like for you guys?'
'It varies.' Mike began earnestly. 'It depends on if we're recording or doing a tour or promoting... but, like, today we were up at 5 to do this show, then after this we'll get in the car to go to do press interviews for about three hours and then we have to go rehearse and record a live taping of a late night show. Then we'll get back and go to bed.'
'And then it all starts over in the morning?' Jeff asked, and they all nodded.
'Pretty much.'
'When do you sleep?'
Artie laughed, 'Um, we sleep on the road a lot.'
'We're the kings of naps.' Puck added and Sam shook his head in amusement.
'That sounds like the least rock n' roll thing ever.' he teased, raising his eyebrows at his bandmate. 'Kings of Naps...'
'Dude. No.' Puck argued with mock seriousness. 'Naps are punk rock. The people who get away with the most outrageous stuff are nappers.'
'Like who?' Mike put in, 'Babies and Old people?'
'Dude, Babies and old people are the rock stars of every day life.' Puck explained, while Artie doubled over in incredulous laughter. 'Who gets special treatment? Who gets to hang out places for free and gets the best seats?'
'Babies and old people!' Jeff answered in a revelatory tone. 'You gotta admit he has a point, ladies and gentlemen.'
'Babies and old people are punk rock.' Puck concluded, with a final nod of his head, pointedly ignoring Artie's soft snickers in the background.
'Well, there you have it, everybody, Puck has spoken.' Jeff decreed bombastically as the others all shook their head in exasperation.
PartieFan02333 New Partie pics from the boys radio interview today. The way these two look at each other is just so asdfghjkl! Puck's jealous face when Sam goes to push Artie, lol! Could these two be any more obvious?
MrsEvans4EvaTitanic Sam looks so sad in those JustJared photos :( I wish the media would just leave him alone sometimes. Like, he's just a 19 year old boy trying to live his life but it's like they keep going after him for every little thing.
LivingaTitanicLife Idk why but I just don't get the appeal of Mercedes?! Like, why do all the Titans love her so much? She's ugly and fat :S
ArtieLikeARockStar How can some Titanics say they only like some of the Titans when they're ALL amazing?! I mean... look at them! #puppies #preciouspreciousbabies
'Artie, man, why do you continue to look at these things?' Sam asked as Artie scrolled through the blogging site on his laptop.
'It's interesting.' Artie explained. Pausing on a photoset of Instagram pictures of the boys with Mercedes. 'Look, there's one of us and Merce!'
Sam leaned over Artie's shoulder to look at the screen, smiling at the pictures of he and Mercedes making faces at the camera and one of the five of them looking delighted with Mercedes grinning at the soundboard.
'You should send her that one.' Sam noted, going to the mini fridge on the tour bus to grab a bottle of water. 'She thinks our fans hate her.'
'Some of them do.' Artie agreed, frowning slightly. 'Some of our fans be crazy.' He remarked warily. 'They go after all of the girls we're around, but they half respect Cedes 'cause she helps write the music and she's your best friend not your girlfriend.'
Sam sighed and screwed the cap back on his bottle. 'This is why I didn't want her engaged in this.'
Artie scoffed, 'Like you could keep her away from the music.'
Sam shook his head, but had to agree. 'She's such an integral part of this band and our success though.' He complained, flopping onto the bench seat across from Artie. 'I want them to love her like we do.'
Like you do, Artie thought, but kept his mouth shut.
'Most of them do.' Artie assured his friend, scrolling through and laughing at a photoset of his biceps titled 'Artie Abrams + Arms' complete with comments underneath reading 'ugh, asshole.', 'I hate him so much.' And 'life = ruined'.
'But some of them don't.' Sam muttered under his breath.
/
Sam had to resist the urge to cover his ears when the band's car drew up outside the television studio the following morning and was immediately swarmed by screaming fans.
'Here we go!' Puck sang happily as he slid open the door to the car and got out, waving to the hordes and posing for photos with a few lucky fans who'd managed to get to the front.
Mike followed, smiling the bashful smile that had him beloved by teenage girls and grandmas alike and raised a hand in acknowledgement. Sam winced as the resulting screams got even louder as Mike hugged some fans and gladly started signing the proffered posters of others. Next it was Artie - who had to wait for the ramp to be lowered for his wheelchair – but winked as soon as he hit the pavement and caused several young girls to swoon onto the sidewalk. Lastly, Sam exited, running a hand through his short hair self-consciously as the screaming got louder still and the hordes began to surge towards him.
'Move back!' The studio's security team moved fast, pushing the girls away from Sam as they quickly ushered him through the gap they were creating.
'Don't hurt them!' Sam insisted, ignoring the security man urging him to move forward and turned around.
'Are you alright, darlin'?' Sam asked a young girl who'd been shoved back into the surging crowd with enough force to make her stumble and fall.
Cameras flashed as Sam crouched down and helped the girl to stand, surprised to find that she was probably only about ten or eleven. The girl nodded, too overcome to speak, although Sam wasn't really all that sure if it was the fall or his presence that was doing that to her.
'You gonna be ok?' Sam asked her, putting a large friendly hand on her shoulder. The
girl looked like she was about to pass out as a result, but she managed to nod as she breathed heavily and tried not to hyperventilate.
'Good.' Sam gave her one of his trademark lopsided grins and straightened, 'Only happy tears allowed, ok?' he told her before turning to fix the security guard with a disapproving look. 'Be careful, will you?'
Without saying anything else, Sam waved at the remaining crowds before ducking into the building after his bandmates.
'Bleeding heart.' Puck quipped, and then quickly tried to duck out of the way when Sam put a hand out and shoved his head playfully while the others snickered, but they quickly got themselves together when a runner came to guide them to hair and make up. There was only so much roughhousing any of them could stand at 5am anyway.
'Coming up on Wake Up With Dawn,' the perky blonde presenter began, smiling into the camera with a chirpiness she couldn't possibly feel, 'They're the biggest boyband in the world and they're right here in the studio! That's right, Titans will be joining us right here for an exclusive live performance, ladies and gentlemen!' There were screams from the studio audience and Dawn paused to laugh delightedly at the response. 'There are a lot of excited ladies in the audience this morning, I can tell you that.'
'I think there are a lot of excited men too!' the weatherman quipped from across the studio, and Dawn shook her head as if he was too funny to articulate.
'Are you one of them, Bob?'
'I've got my Titanic shirt on underneath my suit.' Bob answered, shooting Dawn a flirtatious wink.
'Maybe we'll get a glimpse of that later.' Dawn flirted back, shooting Bob a sultry look before turning back to face the studio audience.
'Looks like there'll be something for everyone on the show this morning.' she sighed, a sparkle in her eye as she looked knowingly into the camera lens. 'Celebrity fitness guru turned author, Miles Vinicello will also be in to talk about his new book, 'Rabbit Food Fitness, and I'll be joined by the boys from Titans - Mike, Puck, Artie and Sam, who'll be coming in to chat with us about their latest tour, and to perform an exclusive song from their new album, Stones. That's all coming up for you on Wake Up With Dawn… after the break.'
Dawn's smile dropped as soon as the cameras stopped rolling and she shuffled her notes in her lap, her eyes not leaving the paper as she reached for the coffee cup in front of her and took a huge swig, wondering for the millionth time if she could get her agent to get her on a nice afternoon talk show.
It was way too early and she was way too old for this shit.
Squaring her shoulders, Dawn looked up from her paperwork and watched the AD as the crew brought out four stools and set them up next to her while the boys prepared for their performance on the soundstage across from her.
The camera panned over the masses of screaming fans outside the studio, focusing in on the handmade signs and excitable, glistening tears before sweeping around to settle on the boys standing in front of mics in the studio, looking annoyingly attractive considering they'd probably only had about four hours sleep.
'These sheets don't feel like mine…' Puck began, making puppy dog eyes at the camera as he hung off his mic stand, the exposed tattoos on his arms making him look a little bit rugged.
'Boarded a plane this morning
And my heart is hours behind
My head and my body are in
Different times
And you're still on my mind'
Next the camera panned in on Mike, who looked earnestly into the lens as he sang the next verse.
'We drive
From city to city
And my heart beats out of time
I feel it stopping and starting
With every passing line
And you're still on my mind…
On my mind.'
At this point they all lifted their mics to harmonise for the chorus, Mike even thumped his chest in anguish as he sang the next words.
'Cause you are my home.
And this world's not the same
When all of the sights I'm seeing alone
And it's you;
You're where I belong
No matter where I'm going
I'm coming back
So leave the lights on.
(Leave the lights on...)
Leave the lights on
(Leave the lights on)
Then it was Artie's verse, and he gave it the full R&B treatment as he looked forlornly into the camera and clenched his hands into fists to punctuate the riffs he was singing.
Your voice is on the line
Called you this evening
Just to make sure you're
Doing alright
When everything's changing
You're the calm in my life
You're always on my mind…
'Cause you are my home.
And this world's not the same
When all of the sights I'm seeing alone
And it's you
You're where I belong
No matter where I'm going.
I'm coming back
So leave the lights on.
Finally, Sam stepped up to the mic, eliciting a whole new round of squeals from the teenage girls in the audience and an excited scream of 'I LOVE YOU, SAM!'
Sam smirked at the girl who had called out, but then it was back to business as he crooned the bridge into the mic.
'And there are miles
And miles
Of white lines between
You and I
But
The sound of your laugh and
The warmth of your smile
Makes it all worthwhile…
'Cause you are my home.
And this world's not the same
When all of the sights I'm seeing alone
And it's you;
You're where I belong
No matter where I'm going.
I'm coming back
So leave the lights on.
… And you're still on my mind.
(You're still on my, on my mind)
On my mind
(Still on my, on my )
So leave the lights on.
(Still on my, on my mind)
You're on my mind.
(Still on my, on my mind)
I'm coming back.
You're still on my, on my mind.'
The studio audience whooped as the boys finished their song, and the camera once again panned to the crowds outside as Dawn welcomed the boys into the studio while fanning herself with her cue cards.
'With an exclusive version of, 'Still On My Mind (Leave The Lights On) from their upcoming album, Stones, it's Titans, Everybody!'
The audience applauded again as Sam, Mike, Artie and Puck settled into place.
'Listen to that!' Dawn implored, turning to face the audience with a look of shocked surprise on her face. 'Does that ever get old?'
'Uh…' Mike shrugged and looked at his bandmates before speaking. 'I think we're always surprised by the amount of love and support our fans give us.' He volunteered, lifting the mic in his hands to his lips. 'I mean, a couple of years ago we were just a bunch of guys singing together in a choir room and now we're here, and we know that's all down to you guys, so thank you.'
'It's crazy.' Artie chipped in, nodding along with Mike.
'I don't think any of us really expected it to be this big.' Puck added, looking to the others for confirmation as he spoke. 'But we really appreciate it. I mean, we wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for our fans.' He said, gesturing to the audience with an open hand, 'Like, everything we have now we owe to you.'
Dawn went to speak again, but had to pause as the audience broke into spontaneous applause in response to the band's words.
'So, you guys have had your album go to number one in 87 countries, over 25 million downloads… you're about to start the North American leg of your stadium tour right now… What would you say is the key to your success?'
'Our moms.' Artie quipped and then had to wait for the giggles to subside before anyone could answer the question seriously. This time it was Sam who lifted his microphone to speak,
'I think, um, I think it's because we… we don't pretend to be anything that we're not., you know? We are who we are, and we don't try to hide that. We write our own music and we mean what we sing, because that's just us, it's our lives, and I think our fans appreciate that.'
The others all nodded their agreement before turning back to Dawn, who looked intrigued.
'So, if you mean what you sing, then is it safe to say that the song you sang just now is about someone special?' she prompted, and the audience broke out into excitable whispers at the prospect of gossip.
'I'm gonna let Sam answer that one, since he wrote it!' Artie teased, folding his arms across his chest as he turned to look exaggeratedly at Sam, who laughed as a pink blush crept up his cheeks.
'Is it about anyone in particular?' Dawn repeated and Sam shifted in his seat.
'Um, well, sort of, I guess.'
'Oh my God, are you blushing?' Dawn exclaimed, inching forward in her seat to point out Sam's reddening cheeks. 'Take a look at that!' she instructed the camera operators, who dutifully zoomed in on Sam's pink cheeks. 'That is so adorable!' Dawn grinned, edging back in her seat again. 'Now we all want to know who she is!'
Sam shook his head, a bashful smile on his lips as he raised his mic again to explain.
'It's about someone special, but probably not in the way y'all think.' He amended. 'I wrote the song about my best friend, who's- she's pretty much my soulmate, I guess. We write together a lot and she's a producer, but she's still based in my hometown while I'm on the road a lot of the time. So it's really about that relationship, I guess. It's about the family and friends that you – that you're kinda forced to leave behind to pursue this dream. Don't get me wrong,' he hastened to add, 'I love what I do, I wouldn't trade it in for anything, but it can be hard to be away from he- from home sometimes.'
There was a pause that felt like a lifetime after Sam finished talking, and he felt the sweat on his forehead start to bead under the studio lights as he wondered if Dawn was going to call him out on his slip.
'So it's really a song about… family?' Dawn prompted, and Sam nodded, relief flooding his system.
'Yeah, it's about friendship and family and knowing that you have a person and a place to come back to at the end of the day.'
'It's about the people that keep you grounded.' Mike cut in, as the others all nodded their agreement.
'So there's no special girl in Sam Evans' life at the moment?' Dawn prompted and Sam laughed and shook his head.
'Well, I'm single if that's what you're asking!'
'Is that the same for all of you?' Dawn asked curiously, and there was a sudden mishmash of voices as they all tried to speak at once, while simultaneously pointing at Mike, who shook his head. 'I have a girlfriend.' He admitted, raising his hand and shooting the audience a mock pout when a few of them let out sighs of disappointment.
'Mike's the old man of the group.' Artie teased, putting up a hand to ruffle Mike's hair.
'He totally is!' Puck agreed, laughing as Mike shook his head and mouthed 'here we go.' at the audience. 'He's like our dad!'
'Mike's the one who will tell us to stop messing around and get some sleep on the tour bus.' Sam supplied mischievously, at which Mike just shrugged.
'Is that true?' Dawn asked and Mike nodded.
'It's usually me.' He agreed. 'I'm the eldest, so I feel a bit responsible.'
'Unless it's Call of Duty!' Puck interrupted. 'Then it's every man for himself!'
'Oh God, yeah!' Mike agreed, completely without shame. 'If we're playing COD then literally no-one sleeps until I've won.'
'Which is never.' Artie sassed grinning when Mike shrugged apologetically as the audience laughed.
/
Sam squinted into the camera on his phone and then leaned behind him and switched on the lamp beside his hotel bed.
'Can you see me now?' he asked, and on his screen Mercedes nodded.
'Yup! Nice hair, by the way.'
She giggled as Sam grumbled and reached up to try and fix his disheveled bed hair.
'So, you excited for the AMAs?' Mercedes asked once Sam had given up on trying to smooth his disobedient hair into place. 'A little birdy told me that you could stand to do very well tonight.'
Sam shrugged, but the nerves in his stomach kicked up a gear. 'Y'know, maybe...' he hedged. 'I'd not really paid much attention.'
'Liar!' Mercedes accused, her head tipping back as she laughed. 'You are SUCH a liar and I know you didn't think I would fall for that!'
'Ok, FINE!' Sam countered, dropping his nonchalant act and shifting restlessly against the headboard. 'So, I know we're nominated in like, nine categories including Best Pop Act and I'm kinda freaking out so let's not talk about it, Ok?'
Mercedes bit her lip as if she wanted to say something else, but then shrugged and nodded.
'K. So how's the promo tour going?' She asked, leaning in closer to the camera to cheekily add, 'Miss me yet?'
Sam groaned again, 'I love these guys, I really do, but sometimes I just really miss you. I mean, your calming influence.'
'Since when was I calming?' Mercedes snorted, and Sam chuckled as he shifted again.
'Ok, so sometimes you're the messiest of us all, but you were the best at keeping Puck in line for example. He doesn't listen to us when we tell him to chill out a little with the constant flirting... He just takes it as a challenge.'
'Sounds like Puck,' Mercedes sighed. 'I'll give him a call later. So how's everything else?'
'A whirlwind.' Sam admitted, a small smile playing on his lips. 'Wanna see something cool?'
Mercedes' brow wrinkled as Sam climbed off his bed and grabbed a shirt with one hand.
'I'm gonna have to put you down for a sec.' he warned, and then propped the phone on the bed as he slid the shirt over his head.
'Sam, what are you...'
'You ready?' Sam interrupted and unlocked the door to the hotel balcony. Holding the phone up beside him, Sam leaned over the railing and waved.
There was an explosion of sound so deafening that even Mercedes winced.
'I thought you said it was like, 7 in the morning?' She asked, shouting so she could be heard over the sound of the crowd below. 'Don't these children have homes?'
Sam shrugged and looked back into the camera. 'Someone must have leaked that we're here.'
He turned back to the railing and put his fingers on his lips, quieting the crowd so he could speak.
'This is my best friend, Cedes!' he explained once the hundreds of people outside his room had fallen silent. 'Will you say hi to her for me?'
Sam's grin turned into a grimace as the combined force of sixty die-hard fans screamed 'HI CEDES!' at slightly different times.
Sam waved again and gave the crowd a thumbs up, sparing a glance at his screen he saw that Mercedes was doing the same.
'Thanks guys!' Sam called out again. 'I have to save my voice for the AMA's tonight, but I'm gonna come down later and sign some stuff for y'all, ok?' The crowd screamed even louder and Sam blew them a kiss.
Sam waved again and ducked back into his hotel room, sliding the door shut and locking it before turning back to Mercedes with a pleased look on his face.
'How. Freaking. Cool. Is. That?!' he asked, his voice rising excitedly as he jumped back on the bed again. 'Doesn't it just blow your mind that all those people turned up outside our hotel just to maybe catch a glimpse of us?'
'Yeah.' Mercedes agreed, happy to see the spark of excitement in Sam's eyes. 'If only they knew the truth.'
Sam laughed and lay down, holding his phone over his head so he could continue to talk to her.
'Don't you drop that thing on your face while you're talking to me.' Mercedes warned, and Sam chuckled.
'Yes, Mom.'
'Shut up.'
'So how are you, Cede?' Sam asked after he'd stuck his tongue out at the camera. 'What's got you so busy that you can't come maybe win Song of the Year with us? I haven't seen you in, like, forever.'
Mercedes let out a loud, distraught noise and flopped her head onto her desk dramatically.
'I'm co-writing and producing about 70% of the new Remarks album, I have a couple of remixes I've been asked to do for Jessica and Marnee's album re-releases, and on top of that the label is "concerned"' Mercedes said, making the quotes in the air with her fingers, 'that one of their new artists doesn't have a single on their album, and they want me to recreate some of my 'Small Ways Magic' for them.' Mercedes complained. 'Sam, this girl basically sings showtunes. She's like Berry 2.0! They're giving me a cabaret act and demanding a hit!'
'And if anyone can do it, it's you.' Sam promised, taking Mercedes' mini meltdown in stride. 'I bet you next year we'll be at the AMA's with her. Whoever she is.'
'Lord, I hope so.' Mercedes grumbled, propping her head up with one hand. 'I really like my job, Sam. I don't want to lose it.'
Sam grinned, reaching out to affectionately trace Mercedes' cheek on his iPad screen.
'You won't.'
/
Mercedes shouldered her laptop bag and pulled her rolling suitcase behind her as she walked through the airport. She was beyond tired, but knowing that there'd possibly be paparazzi waiting for her at the terminal she'd been forced to put on make up and wear actual regular people clothes (rather than the comfy onesie she'd wanted to wear).
It was strange how her life had changed along with the fortunes of the band, Mercedes considered. She'd really not expected to have anyone know who she was, but then she'd started co-writing with Sam, and then produced a couple of the biggest hits on the album, and all of a sudden industry people were calling, and her Twitter had blown up with fans asking who she was and how she was getting to spend so much time with 'their Titans.'
Then Sam had gone out and innocently told the world that she was his "soulmate" and well… goodbye privacy.
'Mercedes! Mercedes!'
'Cedes!'
'Miss Jones, over here!'
Mercedes rolled her eyes behind her oversized shades and kept walking as the paparazzi flashed cameras in her face.
'Is it true that Artie Abrams is going solo?'
'Are you and Sam dating?'
'Have you met Mike's girlfriend? Do you like her?'
'When's there a new album coming out?'
'Why are you in town?'
'Did you know that Sam is dating Taylor Swift?'
Mercedes ignored their questions but plastered a warm smile on her face as she continued to walk and ignore the flashing lights. At least the label would have sent a car for her, Mercedes thought wearily, she wouldn't have to wait around fielding these questions and she'd finally be able to get some sleep on the way to meet the tour bus. Lord knows she probably wouldn't be getting any more for a while. The label was breathing down her neck, trying to pressure her and the boys into getting another album completed on the tour so they could push for an early release next year to ramp up ticket sales for another international tour. Up ahead, Mercedes could see more cameras flashing, and she dimly found herself hoping that it was someone way more interesting than her so she could get out of the airport in peace. However, when she got closer she found the cameras shuttering even faster as a blond missile came towards her and scooped her up, swinging her around and laughing as she squealed.
When her feet found the floor again, Mercedes was surprised to find that of all people Sam had come to get her from the airport.
'Oh my God!' Mercedes giggled, still in shock from the unexpected spin and from seeing her best friend making a spectacle of himself in a public place. 'What are you even doing here? You know these pictures are going to be all over the media tomorrow, right?'
Sam shrugged, bending down to pick up the snapback that his enthusiastic greeting had knocked off and popping it back on top of Mercedes' head again.
'Don't care. You're my best friend and I missed you.'
('SAM, how does it feel to be reunited with your girlfriend?'
'Mercedes, did you know Sam's been cheating on you with Taylor Swift?'
'Sam, is there any truth to the rumours that you and Mike are dating?')
Sam grinned, ignoring the fevered questions coming from the paparazzi and wrapped an arm around Mercedes' neck. He pulled her in close to his chest for a hug as he grabbed her suitcase with his other hand and started off, wheeling it behind him.
'You're an idiot.' Mercedes told him affectionately before wrapping an arm around his waist as the two of them headed towards Sam's rental car, adding in surprise. 'You bulked up.'
Sam shrugged. 'I'm a Country boy spending most of my time in small spaces… I got antsy.' He admitted as he shooed a photographer out of the way to help Mercedes into the car. He carried her suitcase around to the other side and tossed it into the backseat before climbing behind the wheel and locking the door behind him. Inside the luxury car, they both took a moment to breathe, letting their eyes get used to the camera flashes as Sam slid the key into the ignition. He let it sit there for a moment, grateful for the tinted windows and the thick glass that gave them the semblance of privacy, even though the cameras were still flashing like crazy outside.
'You really datin' Taylor Swift?' Mercedes asked after a moment, and Sam turned to look at her, his eyes meeting hers for a split second before they both burst into helpless giggles.
'Let's get out of here.' Mercedes suggested, and Sam dutifully started the engine and carefully pulled out of the parking lot.
MORE THAN FRIENDS? Mercedes read as she scrolled through the article her mom had emailed her, underneath it was a picture of Sam lifting her in the airport, both their faces goofy and happy as he swung her. Beneath the link her mother had written, 'IS IT TRUE?!' in all caps, followed by a bunch of question marks.
Mercedes sighed and hit reply, simply writing the word 'No.' underneath her mother's question before pressing send.
The page was flooded with adjacent links loaded with similar articles from the archives, with headlines ranging from the usual 'are they together?' fare to the obscure, to the downright insulting (SAM EVANS COSIES UP TO FAN.) this part, at least, was definitely nothing new for them.
Below the email from Mercedes' mother was another from Puck – but this one simply had an edit of the airport photo with Puck's face crudely superimposed onto Sam's body and the words 'much better!' written underneath.
That had made Mercedes laugh out loud.
Twitter on the other hand, was a different story. She'd logged on in the morning as usual, and had quickly logged out again about five minutes later. She was lucky that most of the Titans fans - Titanics, they called themselves - seemed to like her, but every now and again she'd do something to piss the scary ones off (like now) and her Twitter became someplace she didn't want to be anymore.
'You ok?' Sam asked as Mercedes stared at her computer screen, wondering why so many people would want to kill her for happily greeting her bestie at the airport.
'You look sad.'
Mercedes looked up at him and forced a smile, the gesture turning genuine as he handed her a cup of her favourite tea and slid into the booth of the tour bus opposite her.
'I'm fine.'
'Now, don't you lie to me, Cede J.' Sam warned, and raised a disappointed eyebrow at her. 'What's up?'
Mercedes shook her head. 'Just people being… people.' She said cryptically, and then sighed as Sam's smile dropped.
'Let me see.' He reached for her laptop but she quickly moved it away from him.
'No!'
'Let me see!' Sam insisted, turning her laptop around and opening it again to see the messages that filled Mercedes' feed. ' Je-sus.' He breathed, his eyes glued to the screen as he scrolled down the seemingly endless stream of hate. 'Are they always like this?'
'Mostly no.' Mercedes defended, pulling her computer out from under his hands and turning it around again. 'I mean, I get a few of the crazies but it's not so bad.' She amended. 'This is just because of last night,' she explained. 'I look like a threat now because you were so happy to see me.' She shrugged. 'They'll get over it.'
'Fuck that.' Sam swore, fishing his cell phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants and pulling up Twitter.
'Sam, don't.' Mercedes begged, but he'd already composed and sent the tweet. She sighed as her phone buzzed with the notification a few seconds later.
' RealSamEvans: I guess yall saw those pics today, huh? Wat can I say, I missed my bestie lol! B nice 2 her cos she's a little jetlagged! #newmusic #gethype'
'Oh.' Mercedes said once she'd scanned the message, 'I thought you'd…'
'You thought I'd explicitly ask them to leave you alone?' Sam asked, and then smirked. 'I've been doing this for long enough now to know better, Cede.'
'Well, thanks.'
Sam raised an incredulous eyebrow and regarded his friend seriously for a moment.
'You don't have to thank me for looking out for you, Beautiful.' He explained, the term of endearment slipping out easily. 'Give me your hand.'
Mercedes shot him a curious side-eye, but held out her hand anyway.
'I don't want you to hide this stuff from me anymore.' Sam insisted, his voice telling her that he wasn't messing around as he folded her fingers in to make a fist, leaving just the pinky up.
'No matter what happens, or where life takes us, I'm gonna be in your corner, ok? It's you and me against the world, Mercedes. Forever.'
Sam linked his little finger with hers in a pinky swear. 'Say it.'
'Are you serious?' Mercedes asked softly, attempting to cover the rush of emotion she felt with attitude.
'As a tornado warnin' in Florida.' Sam quoted back, his eyes sparkling as he remembered the conversation that had started their partnership.
'Now say it.'
'You and me...' Mercedes recited, swallowing back the tears pricking at the back of her throat as she focused on the conjoined hands between them.
'Against the world…' Sam prompted, and Mercedes dutifully repeated him, swallowing thickly as she added, 'Forever.'
'Forever.' Sam agreed, lifting their joined hands to his lips to plant an affectionate kiss on the back of Mercedes' hand before letting go.
'So what else is new?' Sam casually leaned back against the bench seat and picked up his mug again, holding it to his chest as he waited for her to reply, the intensity of the moment dissipating as Mercedes took a sip of tea and sighed. Dropping her head onto her folded arms on the counter top she took a deep breath before groaning again.
'Tired?'
'Exhausted.'
'Didn't you sleep on the plane?'
Mercedes shook her head without looking up. 'I was finishing up the new Sindy Lou single.'
'No freakin' way!' Sam sat up straight in his seat and poked Mercedes' shoulder. 'Can I hear it?!'
Mercedes sat up and raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. 'You're a Sindy Lou fan?'
Sam shrugged. 'We met her a few times.' He explained, 'She's cute… and talented.'
Mercedes rolled her eyes but opened her laptop again and pulled up the file, positioning the laptop between them as she hit play.
A lopsided grin spread across Sam's face as the beat kicked in and he couldn't help but groove to it, his face splitting into the excited puppy face he made when he really loved something.
'You write that too?' he asked when the song was over, and Mercedes bobbed her head in the affirmative before stifling a yawn.
'You are so freaking talented!' Sam growled, leaning back against the bench seat and scrubbing both hands over his face in mock anguish. 'How are you even real?! That was a freakin' ANTHEM, Cedes!'
Mercedes smiled shyly and let out a snort of laughter. 'Thanks. Gotta say, it was nice to write for a girl for once.'
'And now you're on tour with us.' Sam snorted, scratching a hand lazily along his bare washboard stomach. 'A Titan once again.'
Mercedes chuckled and rolled her eyes. 'I'd complain, but I know how many girls would like, totally die to be sitting across from a shirtless you right now.' She allowed, putting on a valley girl accent to sound more like one of the band's preteen fans. 'And I know that because they tell me.' She added. 'Every. Damn. Day.'
/
OMG! Can't believe I just met Sam Evans! I'm still shaking!
No way! How? Where? DETAILS!
He was just getting coffee, lol! Mercedes was there aswell. I went in and I nearly passed out! He's so down to earth and SUPER hot, omg! He's even better looking in real life!
SO LUCKY! What was Mercedes like? I've heard she's stuck up.
Noooo! She was actually really nice. I was like frozen in place coz I was so shocked and she asked if I was ok and then got Sam to take a picture with me. I think I love her now, lol!
/
Mercedes watched Lisa pull clothes from a railing and hold them out so Sam could look them over.
'I like the jeans.' Sam told her, fingering the fabric of the shirt she held out. 'I'm not sure about this.'
'Try it on.' Lisa insisted, putting the jeans back onto a railing and undoing the buttons on the shirt as Sam pulled off his t-shirt. 'It looks a little bit more wild on the hanger than I think it will look on. Try it. If you hate it we'll get you something else.'
'I like it.' Mercedes volunteered as Sam shrugged the shirt on over his bare torso. 'The colour makes your eyes look amazing. Nice find, Lise.'
Lisa shot Mercedes a warm, grateful smile as Sam softened and studied himself in the mirror as he did up the buttons.
'It's not as bad as I thought.' He admitted.
'We were going for a laid back California sun type vibe.' Lisa explained, handing Sam a pair of chinos and some shoes. 'It's a different direction for you, but I just want you to try it.'
'Thing is,' Sam began once he was dressed and looking at himself in the mirror again. 'Thing is though, that I'm not Californian.' Sam explained, 'I'm from Tennessee. This is all a little bit… not me. I mean, do I look like me to you, Cede?'
'Honestly?' Mercedes queried, and Sam nodded.
'I think Chinos and boat shoes are not really you, but if you kept the shirt and swapped the chinos for jeans it could work. You could do something with that right, Lisa?'
'Yep!' Lisa's face was set in a determined expression. 'No problem. Take that stuff off Sam and I'll give you something else to try.'
Frowning in concentration, Lisa quickly pulled a pair of jeans from the rack and looked through a stack of shoe boxes before selecting one and handed them both to Sam.
'Thanks for being here.' Lisa muttered to Mercedes as Sam changed into the new outfit and pulled on the boots. 'Usually he doesn't want to try anything too different from the jeans and t-shirt fare. He's a little more willing to take risks with you here.'
Mercedes shot the blond woman a surreptitious smile as Sam finished lacing his boot and stood up to take in the entire outfit in the mirror.
'No problem.
'It looks great, Lise.' He was quick to add, 'I really can't fault any of it stylistically… I just, I'm not sure.'
Lisa nodded and bobbed her head in a some you lose way. 'Ok.' She accepted, 'You can take it off.'
'What do you think, Cede J?' Sam asked, still examining himself in the mirror as he tried to figure out how he felt about it.
'Cede?'
Turning, Sam caught sight of Mercedes slightly dazed expression as she blinked up at him.
Finding himself blushing for some reason, Sam fingered the shirt and found himself reconsidering it.
'Do… um… do you like it?' he asked Mercedes, and watched as she forced her mouth shut and nodded.
'Yeah, it's um…' Mercedes began, and then winced at the unnaturally high pitch of her voice. 'You look very, um… yeah, I like it.' Mercedes finished shyly, her cheeks burning as she bit her lip and focused furiously on the floor.
She was so intent on examining the carpet that she completely missed the pleased smile that crossed Sam's face, or the knowing look Lisa shot them both.
'Well, um… maybe we should keep it. I think.' Sam pronounced, nodding in what he thought was an assertive way at Lisa. 'Thanks, Lise.'
'Mmmhm.' Lisa agreed knowingly as she grabbed the camera from the side table and gestured for Sam to stand against the wall so she could get a clear picture.
She really did love it when Mercedes came to the fittings.
/
Mercedes nodded politely as the suit she was talking to continued to bend her ear about things that Mercedes really couldn't care less about. Something about the average tax a studio has to pay per artist or something? Truth be told she'd stopped listening a while ago. She'd excuse herself to go to the bar, but everyone in the place knew she was too young to drink, and the only ones willing to look the other way were creepy and clearly wanted something from her, so she'd told herself she was happy with her orange juice and continued to pretend to listen to whatever it was the guy was talking about.
Finally, the exec moved off to talk to someone else, and Mercedes made her escape, finally settling on one of the tables in the corner where it was quiet. Sighing in relief, Mercedes took the weight off her heels and closed her eyes in bliss, intent on relaxing for a few minutes until she could sneak off home.
'No, fuckin' way, dude!' she heard a man exclaiming loudly to her left, followed by the sounds of a short scuffle, but Mercedes forced herself to keep her eyes shut. It wasn't her business, she told herself firmly, she didn't have to…
'Miss?'
Mercedes' eyes flew open at the sound of the same voice in very close proximity to her and found herself face to face with a tall, muscular, tattooed man looking down at her expectantly. Behind him, another man watched the first warily with his wiry arms folded across his lean chest.
'Sorry to bother you…' the first man said politely, looking like a little boy as he tried to contain his excitement. 'But are you Mercedes Jones?'
Mercedes frowned but nodded dubiously, wondering what the heck this rocker looking dude wanted with her.
'Oh fuck!' the guy exclaimed, turning to look at the man behind him and flexing his hands like he didn't quite know what to do with himself before turning back to Mercedes again. 'I… God, I'm like, proper sweatin' right now!' he broke off, laughing awkwardly as he wiped his arm across his forehead and took a deep breath.
'My name's Joel, this is my brother Don. I actually, my brother and I, we're in a band, it's like indie stuff…' he shook his head as he threatened to get off track and smiled, his brown eyes sparkling as he studied Mercedes intently. 'Dude, I can't believe I'm really talking to you right now. Can I show you something?' he interrupted himself, and Mercedes' eyes flickered to the man behind him, who somewhat reassuringly seemed to be maintaining his calm through all of this. Don raised a shoulder in a shrug and rolled his eyes slightly before jerking his head towards Joel in a gesture that said 'can't take him anywhere!'
Smiling, Mercedes turned back to her fan to find him lifting his cotton t-shirt to reveal his very well muscled torso and the tattoos that covered it.
'I got a line from that song you wrote for The Remarks, Ghosts, tattooed on my ribs. See!' Joel explained, pointing to it. 'And I fell in love with Icarus the first time I heard it. I didn't even know it was a Titans song at the time.' Joel shrugged apologetically and smiled sheepishly as Mercedes raised a delicate eyebrow before laughing and leaning in to see her words on his skin.
'This is kinda cool!' she admitted after a moment, looking up at Joel and beaming. 'Most people have no idea who I am.'
'He's been trying to get the label to let us work with you.' Don spoke up finally, coming over to wrap an arm affectionately around his brother's neck and ruffled his messy auburn hair. 'Joel's been campaigning for a while to get a Mercedes Jones song on the album.'
Mercedes laughed and shook her head. 'Boy, you playin'!'
'Course I'm not.' Joel disagreed seriously. 'Miss Jones, everybody wants to work with you right now, and since those songs you did with The Remarks are so good, even non-pop acts like us wanna get in on the action.'
This was news to Mercedes, but to be honest she kinda lived in a bubble between work, online college courses and traveling.
'For real?'
'Yep.'
Mercedes thought for a moment. 'What's your band called again?'
'Fawkes.'
Mercedes eyes widened in realization and she smacked her forehead.
'Don and Joel Fawkes! Of course! I know your work.'
Joel looked shell-shocked and he stopped completely when Mercedes added,
'I love your stuff!'
'I think you broke my brother.' Don remarked dryly as Joel moved his lips without any sound coming out.
Mercedes giggled, 'Sorry!'
Her phone buzzed on the table, and looking down at it Mercedes saw that it was a text from the car company letting her know they'd arrived to pick her up.
'That's my ride.' She apologized, standing up again and placing a gentle hand on Joel's arm in farewell. 'I really like y'all's music,' she admitted. 'Training Wheels was dope! I'll talk to the label about whether or not I can fit a collaboration with you into my schedule, k?' Smiling at Don, Mercedes waved her goodbye and left, leaving Don and Joel looking after her with equal expressions of wonder on their faces.
'I can't believe your fangirling might have actually got us the gig.' Don said finally, shooting a wry smirk at his brother who just grinned dopily, his eyes trained on the space Mercedes had just vacated as he nodded dumbly, still starstruck by the meeting.
/
'I don't wanna tell you things that aren't true/but when it comes down to 'us'/love/I'll never pick you/You're a little too young to understand/I'm a whisky away from getting out of hand/and/If I forget to breathe/It's not cause you're standing in front of me/no/ and I'm feeling better now/ howl at the moon and I'm on the prowl/ and I'm sorry if you think that it's too soon/ it's just the moon /just the moon/ It's just the moon/ Just the moon/And now we're underground/ six feet of earth between/ the stars and the sound of/'I'm sorry, it's you not me'/ and/ 'Just change everything you choose to be'/ 'my love is complicated'/ Smile for the camera don't look deflated'
Mercedes scrunched up her face in thought as Joel stopped playing and looked at her expectantly, watching as Mercedes scooped her hair up into a ponytail and tied it with the hair band that had been cutting pale lines around her wrist.
'Let's change 'just the moon' to 'over you'.' Mercedes suggested thoughtfully, chewing the end of her pencil as she looked down at what they had so far on the legal pad in front of her. Popping the pad and pencil down, she picked up her own guitar and quickly strummed the part she was talking about, singing the new lines over the top.
'I'm sorry if you think that it's too soon
but I'm over you
I'm over you
I'm over you
Over you…'
Stopping abruptly, Mercedes looked up to raise a questioning eyebrow at Joel, Don and the other two Fawkes members Chris and Brian.
'It's better.' Chris acknowledged, twirling a drumstick absently in his fingers as he nodded.
'Can we nix the whisky reference and just have it say 'I'm one drink away from getting out of hand?' Don posed, looking up from his own notepad to take in the rest of the group. 'It seems a little clunky right now.'
The band nodded and dutifully jotted down the changes as Mercedes frowned at her paper.
'I'm still not sure about that last part…' she stared down at the pad for a moment longer before writing something down, only to scratch it out again two seconds later.
'Nope!' She concluded a few minutes later. 'I need food and coffee.'
'Coffee run!' Brian cheered, standing and stretching his long, copper-coloured limbs with exaggerated slowness. 'I call shotgun!'
The other guys groaned, but Brian just cheered and playfully shot them the middle finger as he held open the door for Mercedes.
'After you!'
'I know y'all just wanna look at my butt!' Mercedes laughed as she walked through ahead of them, knowing full well that Brian, at least, was gay.
'When God gives you a gift,' Don began, as though reciting a lesson from Sunday school, 'You have to take the time to appreciate it.'
'And Lord, we are appreciative of the bounty before us.' Chris agreed conversationally as he followed after Brian, flicking his shaggy white hair out of his eyes and tonguing his lip ring as he held the door open for Don.
'Amen.' Joel called from the back, and all four men obediently raised their hands to the sky in praise.
'You ready to get back to work?' Joel asked once they all clutched coffees in their hands and looked about a million times more relaxed, the rest of the band all nodded, but Mercedes chewed her lip and looked apologetic.
'I have to make a phone call.' She admitted bashfully, 'sorry, you guys. I'll only be about 20 minutes, I just didn't realize it had gotten so late.'
'Is something wrong?' Chris asked curiously, his wrinkled brow and concerned expression lending him the air of a worried sheepdog.
'No, no!' Mercedes shook her head and buried her hand in her pocket, feeling bashful about the admission even though there was nothing really to be embarrassed about. 'I'm just… I have to…'
'She has to call Sam.' Don cut in drily, regarding the rest of his bandmates with measured patience. 'She talks to him like, every day, how did you not notice?'
'I'm sorry – what?' Brian voiced, holding up a finger in silent question. 'You talk to homeboy every day? I thought you said you weren't dating?'
'We aren't dating.' Mercedes insisted, scuffing her tennis shoe along the ground and clutching her coffee to her chest like a shield.
'But you talk to him every day?' Brian repeated, looking like he didn't believe her for a second. 'Honey… Denial is not a river in Egypt.'
'And that line was old ten years ago.' Mercedes sassed back, her cheeks heating at the sudden scrutiny. 'Sam's my best friend, ok? We talk.'
'I talk to my best friend once a week.' Joel volunteered. 'We're tight as anything, but I don't need to talk to him every day.'
'I don't need to talk to him every day.' Mercedes insisted, her blush deepening as she tried to defend herself against… what, exactly? The accusation that she and Sam were more than just friends?
'Oh yeah?' Brian countered, his chin tipped up in defiance. 'Then don't call him tonight.'
Mercedes frowned, 'But I-'
'Double-dog dare you.' Brian insisted. Joel and Chris both let out scandalized 'Ooooohs!'
'I guess...' Mercedes reluctantly agreed, feeling a sinking in her chest at the thought of not talking to Sam today.
'In fact, I dare you to not talk to him for a whole WEEK.'
The scorn on Mercedes face was plain as day.
'Fuck, no!'
'That's some dirty language coming out just cause you can't talk to your "buddy" for a few days, missy.' Don prompted, one eyebrow raised sardonically as he took in Mercedes' fluster. 'You sure that's all he is?'
'He's a friend.' Mercedes insisted, her stomach dropping like lead at the pronouncement. '-And I can't just not talk to him for a whole week, he'll worry.'
'Married.' Chris pronounced, and earned himself a death glare from Mercedes.
'No, not "married."' She insisted, slowly becoming aware that she was arguing a losing battle. 'We're just – he's a… you know what? Fine. I'll take your stupid bet.'
'Oop!' Joel pronounced, his eyebrows raised in an expression of sheer empathy. 'You gon' struggle, babe.'
'I'll be fine.' Mercedes shot back, and then added quickly, 'but can you let him know that's what I'm doing?'
'Am I being punished?' Sam asked when he got a text from Joel Fawkes (how that guy even got his number, he didn't know) explaining that he and Mercedes couldn't talk to each other for a week because of a bet of some kind. 'That's the only way I see this making sense.'
'What are you talking about?' Mike asked, watching Sam frown at his phone whilst stepping into the jeans Lisa had just handed him. 'Punished for what?'
'I don't know.' Sam sighed, putting his phone on the side table as the stylist handed him a shirt to put on. 'Cedes isn't allowed to talk to me for a week.'
Mike's face scrunched up in confusion. 'So? A week is nothing, especially with our schedules.'
Sam shot him the stink eye as he fastened the shirt and accepted the waistcoat being pushed into his hands. 'It's too long. How will I know if she's ok?'
'Why would she not be ok?' Mike asked reasonably as he fastened the jeans and then did an experimental backbend in the mirror. 'Dude, you're acting like it's the end of the world. How much do you even talk to her anyway? Once, twice a week?'
Sam mumbled his response as he busied himself pulling at the cuffs of his shirt.
'What was that?' Mike prompted, and Sam let out an exaggerated sigh and looked into his friend's eyes.
'I talk to her every day, ok?'
Mike blinked a couple of times, and then burst out laughing.
'What is so funny?' Sam demanded, riled more than he could have imagined by Mike's laughter. 'She's my friend.'
'Sam…' Mike began, his voice taking on a note of seriousness as he exchanged a look with Lisa and bit his lip to keep his chortles at bay. 'Sam, I'm your friend. Kurt is your friend, Mercedes is…'
'My best friend.' Sam supplied helpfully. Mike stared at him for a long few seconds before shaking his head and clamping his mouth shut. Obviously, he would have to wait until Sam saw the truth for himself.
'Yeah,' Mike agreed, 'But you don't feel compelled to talk to us every day.'
'I see you every day.' Sam insisted, an uncomfortable feeling settling like a weight on his chest as he started to comprehend what Mike was getting at. Perturbed, Sam shut those thoughts down and refused to dwell on them any more. If he didn't think about it, then he'd never have to think about what Mike's implications actually meant.
'You know what? I'll be fine.' He announced loudly, stopping Mike from saying whatever it was he'd been going to say. 'I don't have to speak to her. A week is nothing.'
/
A week was way too fuckin' long, Sam decided two nights in as he tossed in his bed and tried to sleep. Normally, he'd message Mercedes about now and talk to her until he finally drifted off. She was usually up, working on something, and they'd talk together until they both fell asleep with their phones in their hands… but without her, sleep didn't seem to want to come.
Irritated, Sam tossed the covers back and swung his legs out of bed, dropping to the ground, he positioned himself in the plank position and began doing press ups. After he'd lost count of how many of those he'd done, he flipped onto his back and started doing crunches, straight crunches at first, and then bicycle crunches, after those he shadow boxed for a while, did a few squats and eventually tumbled back into bed, too worn out to think about anything before he drifted into a dreamless sleep.
On the third night, Mercedes had sent him an email – no subject or text, just an attachment of her singing some song in Spanish. He didn't know how she'd known, but he played it that night as he lay in bed and managed to get to sleep normally.
However, even with the song he was a huge pain in the ass by day seven. He knew it, everyone around him knew it, but Sam refused to acknowledge that it might have something to do with not being able to talk to his Mercedes.
Sam watched the clock as the seconds counted down to midnight. He knew it was late, but he would try calling her anyway, just the once – to make sure everything was ok. If she didn't pick up, that was fine too. He could just call back in the morning. It wasn't like it was life or death, it was more like… life or nausea, as in, not talking to her made him feel uneasy and a bit sick. It was like he was on board a boat on choppy seas: He'd probably survive, but it wasn't pleasant.
As the last two seconds counted down, Sam went to hit the call button on Skype only for his computer to ring at him. Grinning, he clicked accept on the call and beamed at Mercedes expectant face.
Opening his mouth to speak, Sam was halted by Mercedes' hand as she watched the clock tick down the final seconds before lowering her hand and grinning at him.
'Hi.'
'Hi.' Sam smiled bashfully and licked his lips, suddenly finding his bedspread very interesting as his cheeks coloured for no reason.
'I sorta missed you this past week.' He blurted out, biting his lip to hold back any further instances of verbal diarrhea. 'Let's not do that again, k?'
'K.' Mercedes agreed softly, laughter in her voice as her eyes scanned the screen, taking every part of him in. 'I sorta missed you too.'
'But we proved the point, right?'
'Right.'
'Which was…. what, exactly?' Sam asked curiously. Mercedes thought for a second and shrugged.
'I don't know… that we don't need to talk to each other every day or something?'
'Right, right…' Sam nodded slowly before folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the headrest. 'Now that we've proved it can we never do it again?'
Mercedes laughed and then bit her lip, suddenly shy. 'Sure. So what I miss?'
