Guys, I'm so sorry but real life and others things came in the way of my update but here it is chapter 11, I really hope you'll like it. It was hard to write because a lot happen, so please bear with me, you're my inspiration...

Thanks for all the follows, the reviews, the favorites and the PM's, you truly made my day, week, even weekS lol, anytime I see a review, it keeps me going :)

Anyway, I won't talk to much and let you enjoy the story, don't forget to tell me what you think.

Disclaimer : I own nothing...what's the point?

Of course, a BIG, FAT, JUICY, NUMBER ONE THANK YOU FOR MY BETA, the amazingly and ridiculously talented sadhappygirl! Love you honey and once again, great job :)

Little author's note: Cory's death was unexpected and I took it hard...I wasn't even a big fan of his character but he was a great human being and I liked him as an actor, he was funny and protector towards his friends and love ones...I loved his friendship with Amber and I didn't try to imagine her pain or Lea's or the entire cast, I have to deal with my own...He will be missed dearly and be forever in our hearts- well personally in mine. I will remember him for the good things he did, anything more. RIP Cory Monteith...


Because it's been a month, I'll do a little previous...

Previously on Did I Try Hard Enough...

Sam knew he went too far, but he was tired of sneaking around. He wanted Mercedes to be his forever, why couldn't she see it?

"Then be mine," he said, taking a step closer to her. "Be mine, because I can't take being away from you."

"I'm right here Sam, standing in front of you, but we can't be together; we have to rebuild our…"

"Friendship!" Sam finished for her. He was beginning to hate that word. Sam huffed and sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. He grabbed her by the elbow and held her close to him. He brushed her forehead with his lips before kissing it. (...)

(...) Mercedes had no idea what was in store for her...

"Hey Tina, it's Mercedes…again," Mercedes said, leaving another message on voicemail for Tina to ignore. "I really, really wish we can talk about what happened…I know you're angry and disappointed, but T it's me. The same old me who was standing in the back swaying behind Rachel and Finn, the same old me who cried real tears because we thought Nemo would not survive and his father would be alone… I'm…lost and I need my best girlfriend to help me find my way…Please call me…"

Mercedes sighed, she can't seem to get anything right; instead of helping she is screwing up big time. Maybe it's time to go back to my life in LA. She said to herself. Probably that'll be best for everyone…

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter Eleven : I Think I'm Moving, But I Go Nowhere

"Mercedes! Please baby, answer your damn phone! I know you're upset and hurt but we can work things out. I know we can, it's you and me forever baby, don't mind what others tell you. Don't let them bring you down or make you doubt my undying love for you. Please Cede…Call me back! I'm going insane…"Sam cried frantically into the phone.


Two days before…

Mercedes was a shadow of herself, she didn't recognize what she was becoming, it upset her; and above all she missed her friendship with Tina and Mike. Thinking about it, if circumstances were different, she could have easily fallen for Mike; Mike was the sweetest guy she knew besides Sam. He was attentive, nice and loving – and those moves – damn it was something she would never get tired of seeing! But Mercedes knew it was impossible for her to imagine a future for her and Mike, she only had eyes for the one and only Sam Evans. That was no denying it, Sam was it for her and she was it for him; even with roadblocks in their way, true soulmate will always find their way back to each other. She was really sure of that.

Sitting at the piano, in the choir room, playing absent-mindedly, waiting for the New Directions to come in, she saw Tina enter first; Mercedes braced herself for another confrontation, but Tina walked past her like she wasn't there and Mike did the same, ignoring Tina as well. Mercedes sighed; this was definitely not how she expected things to turn out. She thought time would heal their wounds, but it only set them further apart. Suddenly, without warning she felt a kiss pressed against her left cheek and the tingles she always felt when Sam kisses her, soared through her body. She smiled sweetly before looking into his sage green eyes.

"Hello Miss Jones." Sam whispered, with a crooked smile.

"Hello Sam." Mercedes whispered back, getting lost in his eyes.

"Okay guys, sit down, we have a lot to do and Regionals are in few weeks so we need to settled all the things down." Mr. Schue spoke up.

"Mr. Schue," Tina began, rising from her seat "I would like to perform at Regionals and sing the lead…"

"Hmm…well Tina, that's great, but I think we should maybe audition and see if Marley or even Kitty might want to sing the lead…" he stumbled, trying to appear diplomatic without rejecting Tina's idea.

"Why? Didn't you hear my voice enough last year? Oh that's right; you couldn't because you were blinded and deaf by Rachel's star." Tina quipped, bitterly.

Everyone was shocked and speechless; Tina wasn't the same sweet and quiet girl they all knew; she changed, now she was vindictive and took no bullshit from anyone.

"That's not what I meant Tina…" Mr. Schue replied, but Tina held up her hand cutting him off.

"Really? What do you mean Mr. Schue? Because it seems like I'm not good enough to sing lead, but I'm pretty sure that I'm the one in this group of losers who has a bright future ahead of me and you're stuck…"

"Alright Tina, I think it's a good idea for you to sing lead," Mercedes cut in, hoping to defuse a confrontation between student and teacher. "You have a beautiful voice guaranteed to lead New Directions to victory." She knew things would really go wild if the conversation continued. She, herself had had her fair share of trials with Schuster and she didn't want Tina to say things she would regret later.

"I really don't need your approval Mercedes; I know what I'm capable of." Tina snapped, her way.

Sam groaned, frustrated.

"Cut Mercedes some slack." Sam chimed in, rolling his eyes at her.

"Fuck you Sam; I should have known Mercedes' puppy would come to her rescue." Tina smirked.

"Tina, I know we're not on good terms but please leave Sam out of our mess." Mercedes said through gritted teeth.

"What the hell is going on and why I'm not in on the fun?" Santana said, before standing up and walking towards Schuester.

"Santana please…" Mr. Schue pleaded.

Tina huffed; she was not here for their lies and fake friendships. She deserves to shine; she waited four fucking years and now it was her time to be the star.

"So I'm the lead yes or no?" She asked with her hands on her hips; tapping her foot on the ground.

"Well as Mercedes said you are a very good singer and it would make senses so…" Mr. Schue replied with a smile that Tina didn't return.

"So it's settled." Tina grabbed her backpack and headed towards the exit.

"Where are you going Cohen-Chang?" Santana asked, frowning "I know you just didn't throw a temper and quit like some big shit diva you think you are!"

"I can only afford one victory per day Santana," Tina informed her. "I can't stand in the same room with Mike and Mercedes being all lovey dovey towards each other and I can't stand to see Sam being manipulated…"

"Tina just shut the fuck up! It's not like that and you know it!" Sam jumped in. "Did you talk to Cede to get her version about what happened?" He didn't want any of his friends in a fight with Mercedes, because in the end he would always take his baby's side.

"No need, I see you already pick sides…" She said, shaking her head as she finally left the room with Mike hot on her heels.

"Well that was some Asian Horror Movie that Cohen-Chang…"

"Santana!" The entire room cried.


"Tina, wait up!" Mike shouted.

Tina sped up, but Mike being faster caught up with her and grabbed her by the elbow.

"This is ridiculous Tina, why are you being such a bitch?" he asked.

"Excuse you?" Tina glared at Mike and let out an incredulous laugh. She couldn't understand that the man standing before her; the so-called love of her life, acted as if it was nothing to be into her best friend, like their past relationship meant nothing. She didn't want to be the old Tina and cry in front of him, but tears were already burning her eyes. It was so hard to be rejected like that, to be the loser once again. "Why did you do that?" Tina asked with unshed tears in her eyes. "Don't you love me anymore?"

"Tina, please don't believe such things, you'll always have a special place in my heart but…" he shrugged his shoulders, wondering what to say next without hurting her even more. "I think I've moved on…sorry."

Tina slapped him hard across the face, she couldn't believe her ears. "Sorry?!How dare you say that to me when weeks ago we were trying to find our way back to each other?" She raged.

"I know and-and I really wanted to work things out, but I figured you didn't feel the same way, going after Blaine like that." he explained.

"Don't use my misguided crush on Blaine on me," she hissed. "You know why I did it; besides you knew that it was totally hopeless…"

"Really, Tina? Then what in the hell possessed you to do something so fucking stupid, knowing that it will make you the laughing stock of McKinley?"

"Because I didn't want to dwell on my pain, I had to focus on something besides you!" Tina said bluntly, it felt so good to be able to speak her mind without caring what others think! She had so much respect for Santana right now. "You do that to get back to me, don't you? It's sad. You do know that Mercedes is still in love with Sam, right?" she scoffed, almost pitying him. "You look so pathetic sitting there ogling her when she doesn't give a shit."

"Mercedes only have eyes for Sam and the feelings are reciprocated…reciprocated Mike! You know they're in it for the long haul even though they're acting like fools right now, they're each others forever lasting! And you and me? We're just little speed bumps in their road to happiness!" Tina continued; tears were now streaming down her face; she couldn't believe she was having this discussion with her ex-boyfriend.

She also thought they were each other everything and forever.

"Things change Tina." Mike said after a short pause. "I'm going back to Chicago and it's gonna be hard on you and on me. We don't want the same things any more and that's cool, that's why I think it's better if we stayed friends."

Tina shook her head in disbelief, weeks ago Mike was all for trying to rebuild what was left of their love and now he just wanted to be friends? She gave Mike one last glance before walking towards the parking lot. She was not here for Mike's dumbass.

Mike sighed deeply, he loved Tina, but he was confused about these new feelings he had for Mercedes and the need to explore them; at the same time he was so mad at Mercedes for dismissing him for Sam, she serenaded him and it hadn't mean anything to her?


Everybody was very uncomfortable after Tina's outburst but Mr. Schue managed to not let this incident slow down their flow. They made routines and perfected their songs and as promised Mr. Schue kept the solo spot for Tina.

Sam kept staring at Mercedes very intensely; he knew she was not her bubbly self. They were talking in a corner of the room, whispering so the others couldn't hear their conversation.

"Sam stop staring at me like that!" Mercedes whispered.

"I'm worried about you…" Sam began.

"No need, I'm fine so everything's okay, okay?" she stated a little annoyed.

"Yeah right!" Sam huffed, frustrated. Mercedes could be so stubborn at times.

She gave him a hard warning look and he rolled his eyes.

"Alright guys, that's all for today we will continue tomorrow; hmm… Mercedes can I...can I talk to you for a minute please." Mr. Schuester asked as he dismissed the class.

This couldn't be good. Mercedes thought.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Sam asked, softly. He hated to fight with her; he almost had her back but was feeling like she was slipping out of his hands.

"No its okay go home, you have to study, I'll call you later, bye" She said waving her hand. But he grabbed it and engulfed her in a bear hug, there was a time when she couldn't get enough of his hugs, now wasn't any different.

"See you later, Cede…"

She smiled and watched him grab his bag and head towards the exit. She already missed him, being in his presence made her feel so good and so miserable at the same time.

"Mercedes, I wanted to talk to you about some things, can we sit down?" Mr. Schuester offered.

"Of course, what is it Mr. Schue?"

It was palpable that Mr. Schuester was really uncomfortable talking to Mercedes and he didn't know how to find his words.

"Well, I didn't say anything because I thought you handled the situation but it's now out of control and I can't let it go. Mercedes, if there's going to be a conflict with one of my students each time we have class, I can't let you be their vocal coach…I didn't want this to happen because we really do need you, but I have no choice… Mercedes, I hope you understand." He ran his fingers through his hair, giving her a pitiful look.

So now Glee club was letting her down too? This was way too much even for her! Mercedes didn't know what to say or do so she just nodded.

"You're precious Mercedes and one of the best singers in glee club I have ever met…"

Try the best singer you'll ever meet.

"…But your personal life is interfering and I'm afraid we won't make it for Regionals."

"Is that all Mr. Schue?" Mercedes asked, in a nonchalant attitude. He nodded, completely taken a back by her demeanor and tone. He watched her stood up and gathered her things without another word or at look at him. "Thank you for this opportunity, I hope New Directions win Regionals." She hurried out the room.

"Mercedes wait…" Mr. Schue screamed but she was already out of earshot.

What else was left? She couldn't stay in Lima, things were too painful and she was going nowhere fast. She had no choice but to leave. She really didn't have anything keeping her there so why not go back to California? Mercedes went to the auditorium feeling sad but relieved at the same time, it was like she was freed of curtains that were holding her back. Her decision was made, she just wanted to throw one last look, to say goodbye to this place she loved so much, to pay one last tribute to that stage where all her hopes were up and nothing was impossible… she began to sing softly the only song on her mind…

This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us

It's time to make our move, I'm shaking off the rust

I've got my heart set on anywhere but here

I'm staring down myself, counting up the years

Steady hands, just take the wheel...

And every glance is killing me

Time to make one last appeal... for the life I lead

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Yeah I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be, oh

Stop and stare

You start to wonder why you're here not there

And you'd give anything to get what's fair

But fair ain't what you really need

Oh, can you see what I see

They're trying to come back, all my senses push

Untie the weight bags, I never thought I could...

Steady feet, don't fail me now

Gonna run till you can't walk

Something pulls my focus out

And I'm standing down...

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Yeah I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be, oh

Stop and stare

You start to wonder why you're here not there

And you'd give anything to get what's fair

But fair ain't what you really need

Oh, you don't need

What you need, what you need...

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Yeah I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be

Oh, do you see what I see...

"What are you doing?" Sam asked suddenly, breaking the silence after her heartfelt song; he came looking for her after waiting for so long in the parking lot. "What are you saying Mercedes?" He began to panic. "What do you mean that you're getting nowhere?"

Mercedes shook her head; she didn't think Sam would be here, waiting…

"Nothing Sam, it's just…I don't think I have a place here anymore. Mr. Schue just kicked me out of the Glee club." She laughed, humorlessly.

"What? Why? Why would Mr. Schue do that? He knows without you we don't stand a chance." Sam replied, completely shocked. "What did he say?"

"I don't want to talk about it, I just want to go home and just leave all of this behind me…" Mercedes tried to walk pass Sam, but he grabbed her by the elbow and held her firmly.

"Mercedes don't shut me out, we're friends you can tell me anything…"

Mercedes was tired of it all; she pushed him away from her. It was the wrong move, the wrong person but she couldn't see past her pain, rage and frustration. "Leave me alone Sam, you're suffocating me! Why can't you understand that I want to be alone! There is nothing you can do…" she burst into tears and ram away from him.

Sam watched her leave, completely crushed by her rejection. He knew her meeting with Schuester must have been bad for her to react the way she did. As always he will be there for her even if her words were like a knife, slicing his heart in pieces. Mercedes was his woman and she was hurting.


Mercedes didn't know where she was headed, but it wasn't home. She wanted peace and what better place than the park, where she could hear birds singing and people laughing? She parked her car and tried to find a nice spot to relax. As soon as she sat down, her phone began to ring, she had no intentions of answering, but it could've been important so without looking at the Caller ID she answered her phone.

"Hello." She greeted in a small voice.

"Mercedes! I'm glad to reach you, it's Rachel." Rachel chirped, sweetly.

Great, she would call at a time like this! "Hi, Rach!" Mercedes replied with false enthusiasm, "What do I owe this pleasure too?"

"Well Mercedes, I wanted to know if you were fine…I will not lie and turned around the bush, but a little birdie told me you were a little lost in the love and affection department." She sang. "Aaaaand I kind of want to help my former frenemy…" Rachel replied a little too happily for her taste.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. A little birdie my ass; I'm sure his name is fucking Kurt-I-run-my-mouth-too-damn-much-Hummel! "Rachel, even if I really appreciate your big ass nose in my business, I will pass on your "help" thanks." Mercedes said, her tone dripping in sarcasm.

"Wow, Mercedes is it that bad that you unleash your anger on me?" Rachel replied, incredulously. "Where are you right at this moment, in which town?"

"Lima…why?" Mercedes muttered, wondering why she hadn't hung up already.

"Exactly!" Rachel cried as if she had won the Tony. "You're stuck in Lima, pining for someone who doesn't want you anymore. Sam has moved on Mercedes, you have to deal with it… Remember our idols? They were all single when they won their Grammies and Emmys. I thought your career were more important than some silly ole boy who doesn't love you any more, I thought you were driven by passion to make it like I am. Also, I'm sure someone, somewhere will want you…Sam is not the only guy left on earth..." She heard Rachel chuckle at her own words.

"You talk too fucking much Rachel, I don't want to say things I might regret later, but oh what the hell… you don't know the situation between Sam and me so please keep my name out of your damn mouth and if I need advise on love why would I want any from you? You're just as sad and lost as I am!"

"I thought you put your jealousy aside and that we were true friends, but you have a long way to go. At least I'm ready for my big break on Broadway and what do you have?" Rachel said, snidely. "You don't know if you have a producer anymore…enjoy your life in loserville..."

Fucking Kurt Hummel!

"Fuck you Rachel Berry and I hope you break your fucking leg, in ten places!" She hung up as the tears freely poured from her eyes. She was done. Done with Lima, the drama, fake friends and lost love…

Yep, it was time to go…


Mike was tired of faking his feelings; he needed to talk to Mercedes. He knew he let his pride held him back, but he missed his friend and being this far away from her was intolerable. He needed to talk to her whether she wanted to or not.

He recognized her car on the road and decided to follow her; he couldn't put this off any longer. A confrontation would put an end to their misery. Mercedes pulled into her driveway; Mike jumped out his car and intercepted her before she entered the house.

"Mercedes…" he said breathlessly.

She stared at Mike, surprised to see him in her driveway. His heart melt when he realized she had been crying, all the frustration and anger he felt was gone. He took a step towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. Mercedes squeezed him just as tight if not tighter, she has missed her friend Mike so much…

After what seemed like an eternity, Mike detangled himself from her and wiped her tears away with his thumb. He lightly caressed her plump lips and gazed into her eyes adoringly. He had loved Tina fiercely, but with Mercedes this was something different - something scary but refreshing and almost surreal. He felt so good in her arms. He wanted to forget Tina's words; he could have something beautiful with Mercedes, something they both needed, he just had to take it one step at a time.

"I'm sorry!" Mercedes blurted, she had really missed her friend.

"I love you!" Mike blurted, smiling at a shock Mercedes.


...Please a review, you know that would make me happy, I just know you know it and I know you want it ... lol ok I stop...

Love, until next time...

PS: the song is "Stop and Stare" by One Republic if you want to listen and be in Mercy's head :)