*Hello, I hope the new year is treating you all well! Thank you once again for the wonderful response. I would like to add for anyone who has not seen the Notebook, there are further spoilers within this chapter, so please consider yourselves forewarned. Second, I don't own Glee it's characters or any other Movie/book/comic/Tv show or it's characters mentioned within this chapter. On the whole as always I sincerely hope you enjoy this next bit.*

Chapter 9: Stood outside your window

Wednesday Morning bought a new kind of warmth, even though outside the temperature had dropped below freezing officially marking the start of winter.

Mercedes woke earlier that day, smiling, remembering last night. They had watched The Notebook and admittedly-albeit bitterly-Mercy had liked it. But somehow she felt that that was more to do with the company she kept.

"Morning April"

Mercy cheerily greeted April.

April walked into the kitchen yawning as Mercy poured herself coffee, offering April pancakes she seated herself.

"Morning Mercy,"

And then April stopped, and looked concerned.

"You're ok aren't you?"

She rushed over to Mercy's side placing the back of her hand on Mercy's forehead,

"Well you're not burning up."

Mercy pushed April away.

"Seriously what is wrong with you?" April genuinely quizzed.

"You're actually chirpy and it's the morning. There is something very wrong with this picture."

Mercy just frowned at her sister, but it was true she was in an exceptionally good mood that morning, a factor she believed she had never before experienced. The one thing Mercy could not do was mornings. She had always been a night owl. Always.

"HAHA, can't you just be grateful that I'm offering you pancake's instead of biting your head off?"

"Oh I'm grateful alright but I don't want to get used to this bliss and then have you return to Wednesday Adams again."

April chucked to herself while Mercy groaned;

"It was one Halloween, can you let it go?"

April was still laughing when she responded.

"Aww but you looked so cute with your hair in pigtails and that purple lipstick. We really cleaned up that year trick or treating."

"I remember, I also remember how you raided my stash. I've still not forgiven you for that!"

"Morning Ladies."

Santana walked in to the kitchen, pouring herself coffee, she turned around to stare at Mercy grinning like a Cheshire cat. Mercy knew what was coming and groaned into her mug.

"SO tell me froggy lips is good with his mouth."

"Why do you have to do this Santana?"

Mercy had expected Santana to go into details and although Mercy was in a good mood it was far too early for this in the morning.

April looked from Santana to Mercy confused.

"Ok will one of you tell me what's going on?"

Santana raised her eyebrows at Mercy but before Mercedes could say anything she already began filling April in.

"Well let's just say, Mr Trouty, with your sister, in the living room using his lips."

April practically choked on the apple she had been eating.

"WHAT?! Sam? Here with you?"

"No, nothing like that April, all we did was watch The Notebook."

"WAIT WHAT?!"

For some reason the idea of Mercy watching the Notebook had April more shocked than her doing the deed with Sam.

"What is this? I'm dreaming aren't I? First the happy chirpy you in the morning and now you're watching the most romantic movie of all time. YOU. Of all people. You."

"Santana you are joking right?"

April then turned to Mercy and added;

"You're also kidding? You didn't watch the Notebook. Right?"

Mercy was baffled. Her sister was hung up on the idea that Mercy had watched The Notebook, not that Santana had insinuated that she and Sam had been up to something Un-PG.

Mercy grew restless, while Santana and April continued expressing their shock at Mercy watching The Notebook still not believing her. Until finally she yelled;

"Noah and Allie die in each other's arms. Duke is Noah, Allie has Alzheimer's...Oh and she may have waited but he wrote to her. He Freakin' wrote to her."

And with that Mercy got up and marched straight for her bedroom. Leaving both Santana and April with their mouths open.

Work flew by that day; looming deadlines and last minute revamps had that effect and genuinely Mercy was finally glad to be at home. She hadn't seen Sam all day he had been working outdoors again, and although Mercy did miss not seeing him around-she was not sure why-she was also slightly relieved especially after the morning she had just had.

Mercy was relieved to arrive to an empty house, she had been meaning to wrap Santana's and Aprils presents but with a full house and extra work now on her plate she just hadn't found the time. But more than that she was glad they weren't around, Mercy just knew their goading would have begun as soon as she stepped in and really she just wasn't in the head-space to deal with that right now.

Last night had been amazing. It felt so natural but more than that-and Mercy had to admit-there was definitely something there. She had definitely felt something, right from the onset, from seeing Sam at her doorstep, to the accidental brushing of their hands as she retrieved the remote to even the conversation. But the real issue here wasn't that there was something there. But rather that Mercy had no idea what that something was. Rather all she knew and for the life of her could not work out was that there something pulling her towards Sam. As if they were connected by some invisible tether. For some reason everything kept coming back to him. Back to Sam. Every time. Every single time.

Nothing had happened-mind, last night. Sam had left not long after the movie finished-but not before he presented his thorough analysis of the movie-something which Mercy had immensely enjoyed. She loved watching him talk, he was so passionate, but more than that he was sincere. A real empathy was visible in his every comment.

Mercy who had always been a quick-and accurate-judge of character found this quality of his very attractive but more than that admirable. She found herself respecting him more and more, and the more she got to see him and know him she realised he was a true gentlemen. Yeah he did all the chivalrous things-holding doors open, asking people about their day, caring and smiling at everyone-everything you would expect of a southern gentleman, but it was more than that. It was as though he genuinely couldn't for the life of him ever think ill of anyone and this Mercy found to be an endearing quality.

It was very late into the night- Santana and April and both gone to sleep, while Mercy remained wide awake, having decided that now was a good time as any to wrap the girls presents.

Mercedes stretched out on her bedroom floor unrolling the wrapping paper, she was all snug in her pyjama's the temperature she was sure had dropped below freezing outside, surely it was going to snow later that night.

That's when she heard it, at first she shrugged it off, thinking it must just have been the pipes or the central heating, but then it grew louder and rhythmic. She was sure it was coming from the window, she turned to look and then she saw it, a stone hit her window, not soon after followed by another.

"What the Hell?"

Mercy assumed it must have been some imbecile with nothing better to do. A moron that was about to get a piece of Mercy's mind-little did Mercy know there was an idiot outside her window, just not the kind she had envisaged.

Sam stood there, his cards laid out on the floor-ready, a flask in his hand. For some reason he had thought this was the right thing to do. That this way he was sure she would say yes. At first he thought about ringing her and telling her to come to the window but then the idea of throwing pebbles at her window had more of a romantic feel, and Sam, well he was a sucker for romance.

She appeared at the window, squinting down to see who had been throwing the stones.

"Sam?"

Sam hadn't heard Mercy-her window was shut, but he did make out that she had uttered his name.

Quickly opening her window Mercy called out;

"Sam what are you doing?"

Sam who couldn't help but notice that Mercy actually looked adorable in her pyjamas beamed back;

"I want you to read something."

Mercedes had heard him but she was sure she was missing something.

Did he just say what she thought she heard him say?

"What?"

"Will you read it?"

Mercy was sure he had lost his mind, it was freezing after all, may be Sam had gone mad in the cold.

Sam continued looking up at her with so much hope that even if Mercy had wanted to, she couldn't say no.

So Mercedes decided to humour him, it was now 12.23a.m and by the looks of it he was not going to leave until he completed whatever idiocy he had planned.

"Please Mercy, its FFFreeezing" Stuttered Sam as he mini hopped to keep warm.

"It looks like it's going to snow as well."

But rather than complaining Sam was smiling, and Mercy was sure (as she squinted to see his face from her now open window) he had just looked up at the sky as if praying for snow.

Little did she know that her suspicion was in fact reality.

Sam knew that this was a good idea; and that she would say yes, all he needed was that extra magical help and by the looks of it the weather wanted to play along.

"Come on, I have a sleeping bag and a flask of coffee on me, so I can wait all night..."

But before Sam could go on, Mercedes interrupted him;

"Fine, fine, just hang on."

Before Sam could speak, she disappeared. His first reaction was to run up to her door and see what was wrong, but then few seconds later she was back wrapped up in her gown and wearing her 'sexy' glasses.

"Alright."

Sam whispered, all too wisely, he had only just convinced her and though he claimed he would stand outside all night-and he would-he also knew Mercedes would make him do just that, just to prove a point.

Mercedes had heard him comment on her glasses (he did all the time and though she liked to lay on that she despised it, secretly she always got this odd sensation in the pit of her stomach when he did that) but before she could tell him to scoot, Sam pulled up a brown card upon which he had written:

"WILL" Mercy called out;

Sam quickly swapped the card to reveal the second

"YOU HAVE"

Mercy continued;

"DINER"

Mercy squinted a little, pulling her glasses off and cleaning the lenses.

"Diner? Huh?"

She repeated confused.

"Oh shiCrap, that was supposed to say Dinner, I swear I can spell, yeah I'm dyslexic but Dinner I can do...D-I-N-N-E-R"

Sam yelled back rambling, pulling the card down frowning at it then looking back at Mercedes, who was now trying her hardest to suppress a smile.

"Damn he's cute when he does that" She mumbled to herself.

"Did you say something?"

"No, no just carry on, so Will you have Dinner..."

Sam flashed the final card

"WITH ME?"

Before flashing his a hundred watt smile. Mercedes kicked herself, sleep deprivation obviously affected her abilities but she couldn't help feel that this dorky Sam had swag. Yet despite Sam releasing all kinds of swag, Mercedes too was determined not to be defeated and so remained silent.

A minute passed.

"So...still kinda cold, and I'm still without a response."

Sam began, not taking his eyes off Mercedes.

Mercedes watched him closely, in a heartbeat she would have said no and told him to beat it. In a heartbeat.

Had this been someone else.

"You couldn't have just asked me, it's not like we're talking now or anything?" she added sarcastically.

"No, because he doesn't in the movie." Sam added matter of fact-ly.

"Actually you do know that they don't end up together right? Juliet remains with Peter" Mercedes retorted.

"Oh Merciful Lord, Miss Mercedes Jones, are you telling me that you have seen The GREATEST romantic movie of all time?"

Sam's eyes were wide, this was gold. So the little minx had seen it, he should have known when she quoted the film a week ago.

Mercedes eyes widened. What had she gotten herself into;

"No I..just, my sister, you..."

She was struggling. Not one for ever having struggled to think on her feet before, she had to admit Samuel charming Evans had her stumped. This was embarrassing. And yet he was the one stood outside in the cold with a silly flask in his hand. But it was Mercedes who felt her cheeks redden.

"It's late I have work in the morning...Night!"

And with that slamming her window shut, Mercedes left Sam stood outside as the first snowflakes of winter began falling around him. Any other guy in this position would have been defeated, he'd have collected his cards and been on his way. But not Sam Evans. He just stood there, quietly confident that he would get his yes.

And he did.

Not soon after Mercedes had drawn her curtains Sam made out a silhouetted message

"Pick me up at 7."

*I'm aiming to get the next chapter up tomorrow. Hopefully! :) *