The young woman fumbled with her keys in frustration as she tried to balance the groceries that hung painfully from her skinny tanned arms. She grunted in annoyance and kicked the front door with the toe of her shoe, "Mercedes! Can you open the door?!" She yelled out loudly, her voice echoing around the empty hallway. After a moment of waiting, she rolled her eyes, dropped her items to the ground with a harsh thud and plunged her key into the lock mercilessly. Without even bothering to pick up the groceries at the door, she stormed into the apartment and made her way to her roommate's door, flinging it open, which resulted in it smacking against the wall with a bang. Santana stared open mouthed at the empty room, her anger mounting as she realised that Mercedes wasn't home. In fact, it had been a very long time since Santana had actually seen the shorter woman. Pursing her lips, she spun around, grabbed her things by the front door, and settled them on the counter. "Where the hell is she?" She gritted out between clenched teeth as she put her items away, shoving the cereal into the upper cupboard a bit too harshly. A small sigh escaped her lips as she fingered the dent now visible along the cardboard's edge of the box. Yes, they were arguing, and yes, they had hardly spoken to each other in weeks, but that didn't necessarily mean that Santana didn't want to see Mercedes. She just didn't want to have to open up and talk about her feelings, just thinking about it made her cringe. What if Mercedes didn't understand? If she couldn't accept what she needed...no, what she wanted to tell her. Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment as she fought to regain her composure, anger surging through her again at the realisation that Mercedes was avoiding her. She might have been a lot to handle at times, but there was no need for Mercedes to go into hiding as if Santana was the damn bed intruder or something, what did she think she was? Shaking her head, she squeezed a banana a bit too firmly as she spoke to herself, "She's probably over there at her little boyfriend's right now, signing away about all the things I did to her and...and about how I'm probably crazy." She flung the now bruised banana on to the counter and smacked her palm down on the surface, "I'm going over there right now, and I'm going to show her crazy. Imma be Solange crazy today, she best not see me in any damn elevator!" She huffed as she psyched herself up and grabbed her house keys from where she had dropped them. Moving quickly to the front door and slamming it behind her as she left, "Sam better play his role like Beyonce and just stand there if he knows what's good for him or I swear...ninety nine problems and Santana will be one..." She continued to mumble under her breath as an elderly lady passed quickly behind her, fearful of the crazed woman mumbling quickly under her breath. Santana turned around and rushed past her, leaving the woman startled behind her in her wake.
Puck stared into his bathroom mirror with a scowl on his face as he rubbed his hand over his fresh buzz cut. He was somewhat aware that he couldn't exactly sue the barber shop, but at the same time, he did know that he was about fifty pounds heavier than the barber who, in his opinion, had mutilated him. His lips slightly quivered as he mourned the hair that had laid atop his rounded scalp since he was in his mother's womb, or something like that. The pounding series of knocks that came from his front door caused him to slightly jump, before he quickly made his way to his bedroom and grabbed his baseball bat. He walked to the front door slowly and peered through the peephole. Rolling his eyes, he pulled the door open and stared at a very agitated Santana. "Where's Jay Z, I mean Mercedes?!" She asked, slightly out of breath as she tried to see around Puck, "I know she's here with little Helen Keller."
Puck raised a brow, "Okay...first of all, are you on drugs? And secondly, did you bring some to share?" Santana looked at him in disgust before pushing past him into the apartment. "Sure, come on in. Glad to have a psychopath in my home."
She quickly glanced at him and shrugged, "Well, you already have a baseball bat in your hands, so at least we'd have an even fight now." He grinned at her and put the item down, leaning it against the wall as he moved towards her. "Seriously, where is she?" She spun around and tried to see into the rooms behind her.
"I don't know, I think she went somewhere with Sam this weekend." He gave her a curious look and then plopped down on to the couch, patting the seat beside him for her sit. She took one look at it and leaned against a wall instead.
"Of course she is, they're practically married now aren't they? Madly in love with each other and all that pathetic romantic crap." Santana folded her arms across her chest, "It won't last you know...that stuff never does and it's ridiculous that people allow themselves to be stupid enough to even buy into that shit."
Puck kept his gaze on her for a moment as she ranted, "Wow...who pissed in your vodka this morning?" He cocked his head to the side and leaned back against the couch.
"Shutup."
"No, seriously. What's your problem?" Santana bit her lower lip and looked away for a moment, "...do you...do you have a thing for Sam? I mean he's a good looking guy, and surprisingly a great listener so if that's what the problem is...then...mind you, I've seen him naked and I'm not gay or anything but, I have to admit that the dudes pretty h-"
"God! Would you please just stop breathing for about ten minutes, alright, I'm not trying to get into fish lips pants. Trust me, he does nothing for me. When I see him my lady parts shrivel up and die, it's like the damn Sahara has moved in to my underpants. I try not to walk too fast in case of a fire, kind of deal." She scoffed, "You know what a venus fly trap does when a fly lands on it? It closes the hell up. My vagina is that fly trap and Sam is the fly."
Puck grimaced at the image, "You know,I honestly thought you were pretty hot literally until you just said all of those things to me and now I just look at you and think...wow, I'd get more of a boner from Betty White right about now than you." He looked to the side for a moment, "...she is pretty hot for a granny though...definitely GILF material..." Santana began to dry heave, but stopped when she heard the door open. Puck turned to look and smiled at the person coming towards him, "Hey there mama." He grinned as Lauren walked towards the pair, eyeing Santana carefully after what had happened the last time.
"What's going on?" She looked between the two and her lips squeezed into a firm line as she eyed Santana a bit. Since the morning that Lauren had found Puck and Santana in bed together, things had been a bit awkward between the two women. Which was another reminder to Santana that she would always struggle with relationships, especially the ones with other women.
"Nothing, I was just about to leave."
"Well that doesn't look suspicious," Lauren mumbled under her breath. Santana narrowed her eyes and laughed harshly.
"Trust me, there is no amount of money in this world that would ever make me want to hit on Puckerman." She shook her head in disgust, "Why does everyone think I'm after somebody's significant other?!" Lauren and Puck stared at the other woman in surprise, "I might love sex and trust me, I love it a lot, but that doesn't make me a hoe, and it doesn't make me straight." The look that the other two gave her made her laugh, "Surprise bitches, I'm a lesbian and if you have something to say about it, do it right now."
Lauren gave her a slow blink, "You know, that would have been a good thing to tell me when I almost murdered you that day, but hey, better late than never I guess." She laughed and pat Puck's shoulder, "The movie's going to start soon." She looked over at Santana, "Want to come?"
Santana let her fingers painfully unclench from the fist they had defensively curled into. She was thrown off with how nonchalant Lauren had been about it, "What, you have nothing to say Puckerman?" She glanced at him and he shrugged.
"No matter how hot the lesbian thing is, I can't get over that whole Sahara thing you said earlier. Sorry man, Betty White all day every day." Santana laughed and rolled her eyes, "Seriously though, you want to come with us or no?"
The long haired woman shook her head and moved slowly towards the door, "Thanks, but I'm fine...I'm going to just wait and see if Mercedes shows up." She looked to the side, "I kind of miss her a bit, you know."
Puck and Lauren exchanged a look between them and then looked back at the woman before them, "Oh?...you miss Cedes?" Santana looked at him and narrowed her eyes.
"No, I don't. I just...she owes me money. I miss my money." Clearing her throat she stepped into the hallway, "I have to go. " Without another word, she stormed off towards the stairs and ran down, not even bothering to look back as she got lost in her own thoughts on her way home.
She held his hand firmly as they waited at the front of the church, trying to avoid people walking into them as they stood there waiting. People she hadn't seen in months came up to her with smiles on their faces, giving her brief hugs, and glancing over at Sam, who stood nervously beside her. She warmly introduced him and he politely shook hands with a smile as they said hello.
Are you okay? I know this might be a lot to handle. She signed quickly to him before she gestured to the large crowd heading into church for the morning sermon.
Sam nodded and smiled at her, Yea, this is pretty cool. My family never really went to church, so...this is nice. Different, but nice.
Yea, my dad is always here, sometimes even during the week. She smiled and glanced over at her father who was being surrounded by a ring of women, who were lightly touching his muscled arms and laughing at his jokes. As you can see, the ladies love him.
The blonde gave a small snort of a laugh and nodded, You think he'd ever remarry?
I don't know. She shrugged, Maybe, some day. He nodded and then looked over her head to wave at somebody behind her. Before she could even turn around, she felt someone lean on her head. Throwing a kick backwards, she wasn't surprised when she heard Mike's voice ring out in a pained 'ow'.
"We are at church Mercedes, a place of the Lord and you believe that violence is acceptable?" Moving in front of her, he gave her a fake look of disapproval as he reached forward and pinched her cheeks tightly. "God doesn't like ugly Mercedes. He does not."
She pinched the firm flesh of his stomach, forcing him to jump back with a laugh, "He also doesn't like evil, but here you are satan." The taller man roared a laugh and moved over to shake hands warmly with Sam. Mercedes shook her head and watched as her father, sister and her family walked up to them.
"Time to praise the Lord! He can do all and without him..." He paused for an insanely long amount of time as he stared at the group in front of him, "...we can do nothing." Her father said proudly and loudly, "He might even let Sam hear today Mercedes..."She gave him a look as if to say stop, "I'm just saying...he did help bring a man back from the dead. Just because you didn't go to church in your fancy city, does not mean that his miracles did not happen!" Before she could get a word in, he herded the group into the church, kissed Bella on the forehead, and then proceeded to go to the front pew of the church since he was a helper. Sam placed his hand on her knee and rubbed it slowly as he looked around the fairly large church. As if her dad had eyes on the back of his head, he turned around and gave Mercedes a look. She promptly took Sam's hand off of her knee and placed it back on his own. He gave her a look of confusion, so she laced their fingers together and smiled at him reassuringly. The blonde smiled back and stared straight ahead so that he didn't miss anything. She couldn't help but look at him in astonishment that he was actually there with her through all of this and that he had even stayed after the whole insanity with her dad. Happily she squeezed his hand and leaned against his shoulder as their pastor began to welcome everyone to the church.
Time went on as they sat their listening and as people prayed. Mercedes had her phone out as she wrote endless memos about what was happening so that Sam wouldn't feel completely lost throughout. He was pretty good at following the crowd and standing up when everyone else did to sing. Everything was going smoothly and quickly, until the unthinkable happened. She looked straight ahead to see her father shuffle out from his pew with his church whistle in mouth and a bible in each hand as he began to pop and lock at the front of the church with a few other individuals who had risen from their seats and out into the aisles. Mercedes couldn't help but groan loudly in embarrassment as her father got down in front of everyone that she had known and grown up with. When she turned to convey her discomfort to Sam, she found that he was no longer beside her, but watched as was dragged down the aisle by Mike to the front to join her father. Her jaw dropped and her heart raced as Mike started dancing with her father, break dancing in a more professional way, as Sam laughed and clapped his hands. She tipped her head back and sent up silent prayers that it would all be over soon, when her sister quickly shook her and pointed at Sam who was having some type of convulsion at the front of the church with the other males in her family.
"Girl, is he having a fit?" Her sister laughed and inquired as she watched Sam shake his hips and body in a circular motion. Mercedes stood stunned with horror and shook her head.
"No... I think he's doing body rolls." She pinched the bridge of her nose as she fought the loud laughter that was threatening to overtake her, "I don't think I can watch this anymore." Both she and her sister looked at each other, no longer being able to control it laughed up a storm as they Sam and Mike get down at the front. Once the song was done, Mike clapped Sam on the back and led him to sit beside Mercedes dad at the front. Her friend whispered something quickly to the pastor and then plopped down between Sam and the tall bald man.
"Well, wasn't that a fun and festive time for everyone." The pastor laughed and wiped his head with a cloth as he continued to chuckle. "Coming to church should always be a happy occasion where we feel free to welcome everybody and anybody who comes through these doors and the differences as well as the talents that they bring. He glanced over at Sam's pew, which made Mercedes tense up that Mike had said something to single Sam out. She slightly hovered in her seat before the man in the front turned his attention to her and smiled warmly, "Now having said this, I would like to welcome our one and only Mercedes Jones to the front of the church so that she may grace us by leading the choir in song." He clapped loudly and was followed by the rest of the congregation. She stood up slowly and excused herself as she made her way to the aisle and up to the front. Her body slightly shook with nerves as the pastor gave her a firm hug, "We've missed you young lady." He whispered beside her head before offering her the microphone he had been holding.
"Wow..." she breathed out, "let's see if I remember how to do this." She gave a light laugh and looked out at the people in front of her. When her eyes landed on Sam, she noticed a look of confusion on his face and hoped that he would understand what was happening soon enough. She looked back to the choir and they began to sign the first verse to Bridge Over Troubled Water, soon enough she joined in and sang from the very depths of her soul. The rest of the church stood up once again and clapped along to the song, singing proudly of the little starlet that had returned back to their church for the weekend. Singing wasn't necessary a career that Mercedes intended on pursuing, but it was one of the loves of her life and she couldn't imagine a life without it. As she sang, it suddenly pained her to realise that Sam would never be able to hear her sing and as much as it wasn't fueled by conceitedness, it was punctuated by the fact that she wouldn't be able to share a big part of her life with him. Once the song was done, everyone clapped happily and she smiled widely, slightly out of breath, and out of practice. "Thank you all so much." She giggled as she handed back the microphone and stepped down. She was surprised to see Sam looking less than happy as he stood beside Mike.
At the end of church, she took Sam's hand and led him towards a tree away from the groups of people who were either leaving or mingling with one another. He gave her a sheepish look and then glanced down at the ground. She tipped his head up and looked deeply into his eyes, there was no need to sign her confusion to him. He lifted his hands hesitantly, I'm sorry.
Sorry for what?
He shrugged, For being upset. He paused for a moment as he thought, you looked amazing up there and I couldn't even hear. I know you must have been amazing though, I could tell with how happy you made everyone around you.
Well everyone except for you I guess. She frowned for a moment and then gave him a half smile, It's okay, I'm definitely out of practice anyway. You didn't miss much.
Sam shook his head before he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, Every day I miss your voice, and I've never even heard it. But if your singing is as beautiful as I imagine how you already sound in my head, then I'm pretty sure I missed a lot. Her eyes held his for a long moment before Mike sprung out from behind the tree they were standing beside, startling the pair.
"Save room for the spirit you too." He laughed and draped his arm over Mercedes shoulders.
"Heathen, what do you want?" She asked rolling her eyes at his intrusion.
Mike squeezed her tightly against his side, "You're very rude today, what has the city done to you?!" He laughed and then turned her to face her dad who was beckoning for them to come over, "Unc has invited us to brunch, so you love birds are going to have to tone it down for a few hours before you head on home." He kissed the side of her head quickly, before he bolted off towards her car.
Hungry? Sam nodded with a small smile before he took her hand and they walked over to meet up with her dad and the rest of the family. After a fun brunch, her father took them home so that they could pack up their things and catch their bus. Sam folded his things quickly on the couch he had been sleeping on and only stopped when he felt the prickle of someone watching him creep up his neck. He turned around to find Mercedes' dad watching him carefully. The older man pointed to the couch and Sam immediately sat down.
"Now look...I know you can't hear a damn thing I'm saying. But I hope if I speak slowly enough you'll catch something." He sat down on the edge of his bed and rubbed the back of his neck, "My daughter is a good woman, very bright, talented...has a lot ahead of her and I don't need anyone messing that up." Sam stared at the other man's mouth and nodded slowly, "...I'm not with her when she's away and I'm worried for her all the time, sometimes I don't even sleep I'm so damn worried about her and if she's happy." Her father sighed, "You seem to make her happy...I don't know why, but you do...don't mess that up." Sam leaned back against the cushion as he let the words settle on him, "What you did today at church took guts, not every man in strong enough to look like a fool in front of the Lord and as long as you don't try putting those moves on my daughter, I won't put my Street Fighter moves on you." He nodded, "I'm like Afro Samurai without the hair, but I'll still mess you up. The lack of hair just gives me better wind resistance." He paused for a moment and then grabbed a picture from off of his night table and handed it to Sam. The blonde took it and smiled down at the picture of a very young Mercedes smiling up at him. He was about to hand it back to her dad, but he put his hands up, "It's yours. Watch over it and her for me." The taller man stood up and extended his hand to Sam, who quickly hopped up and shook it. He gave Sam a quick nod and left the room to let him finish packing up.
When the couple were done everything, her father packed them into the back of his car and took them to the station for their bus. He kissed Mercedes on the forehead and nodded at Sam once again before he left. Awhile later, the bus pulled in and they boarded it happily, but very tiredly.
Well that was fun, She smiled and kissed him firmly on the lips. It was almost hungrily since they hadn't really had a moment to be together all weekend. He kissed her back just as passionately, leaving them out of breath. Biting her bottom lip, she snuggled against his side and closed her eyes for the long trip home. Sam held her close and kissed the crown of her head. Once he could feel her grow slack against him, he extracted the picture her dad had given him from his pocket and smiled down at the cherub face. Things were still really new between them, but he would do his best to look after her, he could guarantee that. Curiously, he turned the picture over and noticed that there was writing on the back. Frowning, he slowly read the words:
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you
His face paled as he slowly turned his head and looked out the window into the setting sun. He could swear that he could see a tall bald man looming off in the distance as the bus pulled away into the night.
A/N: Thank you so much to the readers who might read this short installment, I'm sorry that updates are months in between, a lot had been going on in my real life and I've just been dealing with that first. I hope that whoever is left, will enjoy this, and if you have time I'd love to read your thoughts and opinions. Thanks to J.G. for being my partner in crime.
How I envision her dad dancing at church:
Mercedes singing at church