Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/n: Please excuse any mistakes. It's pretty late, but I wanted to get this posted tonight.

Chapter 10

Sam's pov

"I've missed you," I said into Mercedes's ear before kissing her on the cheek. She was sitting in my lap and a camera flashed in our faces. It was the oddest thing to have so many people – people I don't even know – care about my relationship.

"That was great," the reporter told us in his high pitched, shrill voice.

I frowned. "I wasn't doing anything."

"You two just have chemistry together. You don't have to do much more than look at each other and it's like a private moment that we're all intruding on."

"Thanks."

"So what's with the camera crew?" Mercedes asked.

"I talked to TMZ about this opportunity you've presented me with, and because I'm the first to have the story straight from you, I may have a spot there. I owe it to you that I will now have my dream job."

"Wow…ah…what's your name?"

"Jacob. It's Jacob Ben Israel. Just ignore the cameras. We can start the interview now, if you'd like."

"What do you want to know?" Mercedes asked.

"For starters, how did you meet?"

We had our story rehearsed well. We'd repeated the very same one that we recounted to Will and Mr. Jones. No one needed to know that Mercy's parents practically outlawed pizza and it was a mission impossible operation to get it to her. In all reality, they didn't even need me for this, but Mercy insisted. When the word interview came about, she started freaking out. The most calm she's been all morning is now, sitting sideways in my lap.

"Sam, you had to be star struck by this girl. I know I am. Just to be in the same room with her…" Jacob said in awe.

I chuckled. "I was struck, but not star struck. In all honesty, Jacob, I didn't know she was famous." I shrugged. "I didn't know she sang. All I knew was that she was beautiful and she had a sense of humor. I had to get her number."

Mercy laughed. "Sammy was very persistent, but I didn't mind because I thought he was cute." She hid her face against my shoulder.

I kissed the top of her head. This girl was entirely too adorable. "Only cute?" I asked, messing with her.

She looked up at me with a smirk. "Yes. My father will be watching this. Do you want to die?"

"He wouldn't kill me. He likes me."

She raised an eyebrow and turned her attention back to Jacob. "Mercy, wait a minute. He likes me, right?"

"Yes, Sammy, of course."

"Uh uh, Mercy. I don't believe you now!" I pouted and that radiant smile I loved donned her features. She puckered her lips and gave me a peck. As she pulled back, I moved forward, kissing her again. I had forgotten the cameras and the audience we had in her living room.

"Sam, we have company."

"Oh no. A sex tape would get me even more of a promotion," Jacob assured.

Mercedes screamed before covering her mouth to muffle her laughter. I wasn't sure how interviews generally went, but I was pretty sure we were doing it wrong. Jacob was looking at me and I threw up a hand in surrender. "I'm not touching that subject with a ten foot pole. I really don't wanna die."

"You two, can we say are officially dating? I just want the clarification just in case rumors shall arise."

"I'm very much her boyfriend, Jacob." My arms wrapped around her possessively.

"I'm sorry ladies he's off the market," Mercedes said grinning.

"Mercedes, your tour is in the works. Is that correct?"

She nodded. "It is. I've got a lot of things coming up to kick the tour in gear. Some people will be surprised."

"I can't wait," Jacob added.

With the cameras off and pictures of us interacting being done, Jacob said, "You two are golden. I've never seen chemistry like yours."

Mercy shrugged. "We were just being ourselves."

"Exactly. To think, Rachel Berry approached me with a story about her and St. James after news got out that I had the scoop on you two. I've seen those two together and it's obvious that they are just a publicity stunt. You two are the real deal!" Jacob explained.

After Jacob and his crew left, Mercy came back to join me on the couch. "That was fun."

"I think we might have done it wrong."

She hit me on the shoulder and rolled her eyes. "We were Sam and Mercedes. We didn't put up a front and when the interview comes out I believe we will love it!"

"I just wish that this morning could've just been our time, because I've got to go meet Santana and Britt and you've got auditions to handle."

"Things might end early, or something. I'll call you when I'm done."

I stood, kissed her on the cheek and headed out. I was supposed to be meeting up with the girls at Brittany's house. I'd hung out here a lot, so much so that her parents treated me like family. When I arrived, Santana answered the door. "Oh look, Britt, it's that boy with the guppy lips that used to call himself our friend."

"Nice to see you too, Santana."

I couldn't even walk over the threshold before Brittany ran into my arms, hugging me. The force of the impact almost knocked me back. "It hasn't been that long since I hung out with y'all."

"It has, twin, and then I hear that you invited Artie to something and not us." Britt pouted.

"I didn't invite Artie. That was all Mercy. She doesn't know you guys yet. I'm sure she'll love you when she does hang out with you again."

Santana frowned. "How is she supposed to love us, if we never see her or you for that matter?"

Releasing Brittany, I held my arms out walking toward Santana. She tried to fight me off. "Hug me?" I asked, giving her the puppy dog face.

Sighing, she finally gave in. "The sex better be other worldly since you've deserted us for her," she said.

I felt myself blushing, but I didn't respond. Santana pulled back, giving me a long look. "You fucked her?"

"What? No! I haven't even gotten past second."

"Well why the hell not, Trouty? That woman's ass is magical. When she was dancing up on stage, singing I Wanna Dance With Somebody I was inwardly groaning wishing it was me she wanted!" Santana admitted, walking over to plop down on the couch. Brittany and I followed her and I took the arm chair.

Santana had this far away smile on her face. "You know it's probably a good thing I haven't hung out with her."

She looked at Brittany and she was smiling too. "Oh God, am I gonna have to watch my back around you two? Artie's already after her."

Britt cleared her throat. "Artie said you stole her from him."

"Clearly, we're getting off topic. Why aren't you hitting it?" Santana interrupted.

"I wanna take it slow, and last time I tried to go a little further, there was a bra issue."

Both girls were laughing at me, but trying and failing to be discreet. Santana had her hand to her mouth to hide it, but her body was shaking and Brittany's mouth was pressed into a tight line to hold back her outburst. That lasted for all of two seconds before they blatantly laughed in my face.

"If all you're gonna do is laugh, I can just go." And die of embarrassment at home, I finished in my head.

"NO!" Brittany yelled. "Tana, we have to help him."

"What are we going to do, Britt, teach him how to take off bras?" she asked her girlfriend.

"Exaclty."

Mercedes's POV

Auditions had me nervous. I would be aiding in picking band members that I would be spending a lot of time with. Not only that, these people had to fit musically as well. Mike had offered up his studio to hold the auditions. It was going to be a long day, but because I trusted Mike whole heartedly, the dance auditions were all up to him.

I pulled him to the side before we could get underway. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Waiting in the lobby area with other hopefuls was Artie. He smiled, walking toward me. "Hey, boo, what's up? You should know if you call, I'll come running."

I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "Mike, you as you know I leave the dance auditions in your hands, but I just have one request. I need Artie to be one of the dancers. I don't care if you've already picked, fire one of them because this man will be touring with me," I said with certainty. If I was going to be in charge of my tour, I was going to have this say.

Mike tried to scowl but wound up smiling. "Look at miss assertive. Artie, you must be something special if she's going to bat for you like this."

Artie shrugged. "I'm not all that sure why she's doing this, but I want to thank you!"

"It's not for the reasons you think. This has nothing to do with Sam. In fact, he has no clue about this. When I saw you dance at Finn's, it was something indescribable. I knew you were a talent that Mike would want to see, and the fact that I just met you and already love you to pieces made me want you with me on tour," I explained.

Artie looked like he was about to pass out. He looked at Mike. "She said that she loves me. My future wife, the bearer of my future children, said she loves me. So when are we breaking the news to Sam?"

"What news?" I asked confused.

"That we're getting married."

"Sam would kill you."

"I ain't scared of his trouty mouth ass!" He laughed.

"So you two exchange numbers. Set up whatever, because there's not really a need to audition. You're in because I say so."

He looked at Mike and Mike grinned. "You heard the lady. Welcome to the team."

After Artie freaked out and thanked me profusely, we finally got the auditions underway. We were seeing all kinds of musicians today. My father, Will, Mike and I were the "judges" of said talent. We had instruments set up and everything. My job was to note anybody that truly stuck out for me, but as we started with drummers, nothing really caught me. It just felt like my brain was rattled from all the drum beats and I couldn't think. So far I hadn't written down a single name, that is until a familiar face walked in.

Finn Hudson was wearing the adorably innocent smile, when I knew it was anything but. I tried to stay professional, but all bets were off when he was standing in the room. I stood, walking around the table toward him. "What are you doing here?" I asked as he took me into his arms for a hug.

"Trying out," he answered simply.

"And you didn't say a word when we were at your house last weekend!"

"I didn't want to influence you. Pretend you don't know me," he suggested.

"Well, I can't do that, and I can't say that I didn't note your skills on the drums last weekend, because I did. So, wow me and give me a reason to pick you."

Finn made his way to the drum set and my father and Will looked at me curiously. Apparently, they didn't realize I now had a social life. If I was being honest with myself, it was rather shocking to me as well. As Finn played, he did wow me, but in my mind, he'd already had his audition last Saturday when he was playing for fun. I wrote his name down and circled it for good measure. Like with Artie, I was prepared to stand my ground for him.

We went through more drummer auditions before moved on to others. Taking a break from just instruments, we went on to singers. I'd seen many with promise. A lot of them had the chops though some had personalities that seemed like they would over shadow my own, or not stand out in the least. There were a few though that were very note worthy.

"H…hi, my name is Tina Cohen-Chang." She was wringing her hands together like she was nervous. I admired her style though. She had blue streaks in her hair and she was wearing a cute black dress with fingerless black gloves.

"Tina, what are you going to sing for us today?" Will asked.

"My Funny Valentine," she answered before sitting down at the keyboard.

Tina had a beautiful voice. She had good control on her pitch and tone. There was nothing about her performance that I could even knit pick. It was perfect. Without a doubt, she not only caught my eye, but her voice nearly gave me an eargasm. I definitely needed her voice, and her keyboarding skills on my team.

The next person to walk in was like Tina in the way that she stood out. She had blonde hair with pink streaks and she was wearing a nose ring. She had a smile on her face that screamed innocence when everything else about told a tale of rebellion. "My name is Quinn Fabray, and I'll be singing Papa Don't Preach."

When Quinn opened her mouth, sweetness oozed from her. She had an angelic voice and she danced around the room with such confidence that it captivated me. This girl I had to have as well. As far as I was concerned, I would fight as hard to have Quinn and Tina as I would Artie and Finn.

Little did I know there would be another complete stranger that I would fight tooth and nail to have. He walked into the room, snatching my complete attention right to him. This guy was tall, lean, and handsome with dread locks. He seemed unreal, like he was a walking add for perfection.

When perfection, whose name was Joe, opened his mouth to sing Use Me by Bill Withers while playing his guitar, I found myself on my feet cheering for him. Joe had completely blown me away. I didn't care if he wanted to sing or play guitar, either of those things were fine with me as long as I had him on my tour. Without even consulting with my father or Will, I walked around the table and straight to him when he was done.

"Joe, welcome to the team. You've completely blown me away."

"No way? No way!"

"Yes!"

"Righteous! I…I don't even know what to say right now! Thank you!"

"Thank you, Joe, for gracing me with your talent."

When he left I looked to Will, Mike and my father. "I'm sorry, I didn't consult with you guys, but he –"

"This is your band and your tour. In the end you will have to spend most of your time with them, not us. We're just here to back you up. Help you make decisions. When I said I was giving you the freedom, I wasn't lying," Will explained.

I smiled. "Well, these are the people I've picked."

I gave him the list and he read them off. "Finn Hudson, Tina Cohen-Chang, Quinn Fabray, Joe Hart, and…" he stopped, frowning as he read that last name. "Sam Evans?"

"Yes. I want Sam as a guitarist."

I hope you guys liked this chapter. I know it was lacking Samcedes, but there will be more next chapter! So what do y'all think of Cedes's choices? And how do you think Sam will react b/c he still doesn't know she heard him singing.

Thanks again for all the reviews, alerts and favorites! And you haven't you should really check out the youtube video of Samuel Larsen singing Use Me.