As always thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows. You guys are all amazing and I love hearing what you think, so thank you.

Took me less than two months to update, thank gosh for that. I won't say anything about this chapter. Okay one thing: We all knew this moment was coming and it might end it a way you expected it might not but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Excuse any grammatical or spelling errors and again I used Google translate, so if you speak Spanish, feel free to correct any mis-use to see. It'll be helpful.

Disclaimer: I do not own glee or any of the products mentioned in this story.

Chapter Eleven – When In Paris Part Deux

The birds sung a sweet tune, the sun had just begun to rise and whilst the day seemed promising, Mercedes sat in her bathroom heaving up the contents of the dinner she had previously indulged in. Her forehead felt far too warm, sweat leaked from her pores yet goose bumps rose along the skin of her arms. As she leaned on the sink beside her for support, she noticed the ache in her muscles and slowly made her way to her bed. The instant her head hit the pillow she was out like a light.

After a few hours her eyes lightly opened. She smiled slightly at Kurt who sat by her bedside dabbing her forehead with a wet cloth. "Diva I love you but why couldn't you get sick at any other time? Not here or now whilst we're in Paris. You know I have to spend this whole day with just the boys at rehearsals. I need your help, they don't know the difference between plaids and pleats. Plaids and pleats! How am I going to survive without you Mercy?"

Mercedes coughed a bit before speaking, her voice hoarse. "Boo, you know I wish I could come but you'll be fine."

"Well let's hope so. Get some sleep. I rang the doctors earlier, they're certain it's a slight fever but if you start to feel at all worse you call me. I don't care what I'm doing I'll be here okay?" Mercedes nodded and then kindly shoed Kurt out of the room.

She heard the faint sound of his voice on the other side. "It's just a slight fever. She should be feeling better tomorrow. I've told the receptionist to call in every couple of hours just to make sure she's okay and I've got an emergency key just in case I have to come back."

Her ears perked up as she heard that familiar southern drawl. "Are you sure we can't see her just to make sure. My brother and sister used to get fevers all the time, if I- we could see her it might help." Mercedes heart began to accelerate she couldn't let Sam see her, especially in the state she was in. She lay above her covers, her legs encased in a blanket with her untamed curly hair fanning against her pillow. Her face was free from make-up, she wore a plain white nightshirt and her eyes were puffy due to her lack of sleep.

"No Sam. It's fine. I wouldn't want you to catch anything." 'Thank the high heavens for Kurt' Mercedes couldn't recognise the tone of Kurt's voice, it seemed curious yet stern. Perhaps she'd ask him about that when she was able to actually leave her bed.

Despite having slept for hours, Mercedes was still tired, she had begun to feel slightly better due to the antibiotics Kurt had given her but her body still racked with ache causing her eyes to droop.

"Matt can you get me something from the pharmacy quickly, I think I'm coming down with something." Mercedes grabbed a tissue from the box that was placed on the coffee table opposite the plush brown sofa she sat on.

"The guys are coming over. They'll be here in five minutes. You think you could go make yourself look decent?"

"Seriously Matt? I didn't ask you for fashion tips, I asked you for one favour." Mercedes shook her head in disgust as she walked towards him.

"I already do enough for you. You're always asking me to do shit for you, always troubling me with your needs. Go ask one of your friends, like that loud-mouth Latina bitch."

Mercedes mouth gaped open in shock. "Oh hell to the no! She isn't a bitch unless she has to be and her name's Santana. She took the time to learn your name, you could at least do the same for her. You know what? I'd rather be with my friends right now than with you." She stated irritably.

"You say that now but that wasn't what you were saying last night when you were screaming my name." Matt laughed bitterly.

Mercedes scoffed before going into their joint bedroom. She took a quick shower. In the distance she could hear the loud uproar of Matt's friends barging through their dorm room. She searched through her wardrobe finding a short strappy black bodycon dress. She stepped into it and slipped on her black Louboutin heels. She peeked her head out to see the guys all huddled in a circle as they exchanged greetings, offering one another firm handshakes and brotherly hugs. This was the perfect time to leave or so she thought.

"Mercedes what the hell are you wearing?" Matt's voice boomed in her ear.

She rolled her eyes before turning to look at him. "What does it look like? Clothes." Matt's face contorted with rage. He placed his hand on her back leading her forcefully towards their bedroom.

He turned towards his friends, "Give me five minutes then we can start watching the game." Mercedes saw the predatory glares his friends were giving her. She'd hope this would go unnoticed by Matt but as she felt him tense and his grip on her strengthen she realised it hadn't. They walked silently into their bedroom, he lightly closed the door and then locked it. He glared angrily at her. He paced speedily towards her, forcing her into a corner. "You attention seeking bitch." The words left his mouth like venom. Though, the arguments had begun to increase drastically, this had been the first time he'd ever addressed her in that way.

"A bitch? What have I done Matt? You told me to go meet my friends so that's what I'm doing." She spoke sarcastically, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Don't play this fucking game Mercedes. You know I hate it when you do that shit. Why do you need to go out? You want to go out and look for another boyfriend? I told you, you're fucking mine." He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her towards him. His eyes scanned her figure, pausing once his sight met her cleavage.

"And you're mine right? You're mine and I'm yours, your one and only. Remember that's what you used to say." His grip on her loosened and his eyes finally met hers again. "I'm going out with my friends because I want to have a nice time."

"If I find out you were with any other guys Mercedes I promise you, both you and him will regret it. You're nothing without me Mercedes. You remember that." Before she could even speak, he'd already left, slamming the door after him. She sat on the stool opposite her vanity. She straightened out her curls and applied light-make up. She opened the door slightly but before exiting she stopped as she heard her name.

"How's things with Mercedes?" Shane asked.

"She's been distant."

"Distant? Like she aint putting out?" Azimio started to laugh.

"No we fucked yesterday. You might think she's a prude and I thought the same thing. The shit I had to do to even get her to look at me. She had me acting like some love-sick puppy. But after the first time, its easy access. If she's ever pissed, I give her my credit card and before you know she's back where she belongs, under me begging me for it. Besides if all else fails I've got other options."

"That cheerleader right? You fucked her?"

"What do you think? She was throwing herself at me. What kinda man would I be if I said no?" The men began to laugh boisterously and fist pumped one another, proudness gleaming on their faces.

Mercedes inhaled sharply and forced herself not to cry. She wouldn't dare let him see her cry. She exited the room, a leather jacket draped over her shoulders and a clutch bag held under her arm. "Don't wait up. I'm staying at Santana's."

"Alright babe. Be sure to remember what I said."

That night Mercedes remained fixed to the bar stool as she threw back vodka shots, allowing the taste to burn her throat. She watched on as Santana spoke flirtatiously to numerous guys, whilst Brittany and Tina danced wildly on the dance floor. "Más más" Her speech slurred noticeably.

"I think you've had enough." The bartender replied hesitantly as he cleaned the surface in front of him. Figures Mercedes would be served by the one bartender who understood Spanish.

"Voy a cortarte. Mi amigo tiene máquinas de afeitar en el pelo." She screeched noisily.

Santana laughed as she approached the bar. "She's kidding. She won't cut you and I don't have razors in my hair." Santana turned towards Mercedes. "Chica stop. You're clearly drunk enough as you're telling people things they don't need to know." Santana stroked Mercedes back as she noticed her best friend place her head in her hands. "What's wrong?"

Her speech slurred due to her intoxication. "Matt. He's cheating on me Santana. It's not even like I didn't already know, I tried to convince myself that he wasn't. All I ever did was love him. Maybe I deserve this, maybe I wasn't a good enough girlfriend." Mercedes eyes began to well up with tears.

"I'll kill him." Santana's voice was laced with malice.

"No. You can't. I need him, I'm nothing without him, I need to remember that." Mercedes whispered to herself. "I'm leaving." She screamed as she stumbled down from the stool.

"Wait I'm coming with you."

That night Mercedes sobbed uncontrollably. Her body shook with each piercing cry yet Santana held her and kissed her lightly on the forehead, whispering continuously that everything would be okay. When she woke the following morning, she left Santana's dorm without waking her and walked the short journey back to hers and Matt's. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge but as she went to set it on the kitchen counter there was a piece of paper left on the surface. "You know I'm sorry babe. Treat yourself, it's on me". Beside the note was Matt's credit card.

Hours later Mercedes was awoken by a loud thumping on her door. There was the faint light from her bedside lamp that illuminated her room. In her sleepy state, she slowly trailed her legs along the carpeted floor and lazily reached for the door handle without concern for who would be stood on the other side of her door.

"Kurt I told you I'm fine." Her voice was hoarse, caused by the fit of coughs she had suffered from the previous night. Her small fingers curled into a ball, rubbing her eyes as she tried to recover from her sleepy state. Once her sight cleared she was able to recognize the person before her. "Oh Sam."

He gave her a sweet lopsided smirk before speaking. "I brought you some chicken soup." He pointed to the Tupperware container that indeed contained the contents of a chicken soup. Mercedes could smell the delicious aroma and suddenly felt famished. "It has spice in it but since I couldn't remember which was for fever I put both chilli pepper and cayenne pepper in there. I've got some tissues, some vapour rub, lemon tea and some more antibiotics. Oh and I brought DVD's. So we should have you better in no time."

"Thank you Sam but you really didn't have to-"

"Kurt seemed really upset. He misses you. He loves us but he wants you around. If I can help, you can get better, it will be just a small token of thanks considering all he's done for me. Besides for some strange reason I like hanging out with you. I can't imagine why, you're kinda boring." Sam shrugged as he spoke in a teasing tone.

Mercedes playfully rolled her eyes and allowed him to step through her door. "You know I still have those heels Sam. Just because I'm ill don't think I won't use them. Oh and you love hanging out with me." They exchanged a few laughs before Sam offered the soup to Mercedes. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll just put this in the fridge and heat it up later. You can choose the film we watch." As Sam watched Mercedes walk towards the room's kitchenette it was only then that he noticed her attire. With each step her hips swivelled effortlessly causing her night shirt to rise higher above her legs. Sam averted his gaze and instead chose to peruse through the numerous DVD's his hands clutched onto. There were various Romcom's, Horrors, Sci-Fi movies and of course Avatar.

Once he had set up the film, Sam thought it polite to take of his shoes so he did so. He undid the laces of his Navy blue vans and sat hesitantly on the bed with his legs hanging over the side. After much debate with himself, he decided instead to indeed 'make himself comfortable' as he swung his legs on the bed and rested his back against the headboard. 'This is fine. Friends do this all the time. Sleep in each other's beds. Yeap.'

The room had a slight chill, causing a few goose bumps to rise on the skin of his bare legs. As the day had been quite warm Sam had opted to wear a pair of shorts and polo shirt but as the night drew closer, the temperature had dropped. He noticed the soft beige blanket and rested it on his legs, shielding his skin from the cold.

Sam heard the tell-tale patter of Mercedes soft footsteps. She had re-entered the room, with her hair in a messy bun and her face appeared relaxed. Sam had seen Mercedes in her best attire, her hair perfect and with make-up simply painting her face but he swore nothing compared to seeing her like this. She was breath-taking. He adjusted his position on her bed whilst she sat cross-legged beside him. She smiled shyly at him before speaking in a timid voice. "Sam seriously if you want to leave you can. I know you must be exhausted since you spent all day rehearsing. You brought me all these things and you made soup for me, I'm just grateful for that but I don't want to burden you."

Sam was not at all surprised after hearing Mercedes' words. He recalled her apologising for being a burden following her fright on the plane but he felt anger within himself for ever giving her the impression that she was at all a burden to him. Sam reached out to stroke her cheek but hesitated and instead softly held her hand. "You could never be a burden to me. You know that right?" Mercedes nodded giving him a kind smile in response. "So I put on Avatar. Now I don't mean to brag or nothing but I can recite every word from this film." Sam stated proudly.

He noticed Mercedes cock her eyebrow "Sam Evans, an avid Avatar fan? I'm impressed but I'll have you know I can speak Na'vi as fluently as I can speak English."

"Oh really? We'll see."

As the movie progressed on, Mercedes watched Sam completely immerse himself in the film and smiled widely as he adapted his voice to suit each character. He caught her staring and turned to face her. Mercedes looked away from his gaze and instead focused on the blanket that somewhat wrapped over her legs but completely covered Sam's. "Hey this is my blanket get your own!" She stated light-heartedly, holding her grip on the blanket.

"Have you ever heard of the expression finders keepers?" He quickly snatched back the blanket. They began a game of tug and war that left them both laughing until a look of mischief engulfed Mercedes' face. She released her grip on the blanket just as Sam went to yank it from her. The loud thud as he fell from the bed caused her to erupt in laughter. "Oh you think that's funny Nu'bia." Sam was quick to regain his position on the bed and began to tickle Mercedes' sides. In but a moment, Mercedes had widened the stance of her legs and Sam subconsciously moved between them. Mercedes face beamed and her eyes shut tightly as she continued to laugh, whilst Sam tickled her all over, he ran his hands over her full-figured hips, over the smooth skin of her arms and down the thickness of her legs. He only ceased once he saw her eyes watering from her incessant laughter.

Mercedes laughter began to die down and all she could do was stare at him. His tall figure towered over her body with his toned arms placed by her shoulders. Their heavy pants were all that could be heard. His eyes travelled to her lips, she knew he was staring so she bit her lip slightly causing him to release a soft groan.

The sudden sound of his phone caused him to move back slightly. "Sorry let me just take this." Mercedes simply smiled and nodded her head as Sam slowly got off her bed. He grabbed his shoes quickly sliding them on before he answered the phone call. "Hey mama. Is everything alright?"

"Yes sweet pea. I just wanted to hear my baby's voice and make sure you are staying out of trouble. I'm not calling to see if you've got me anything yet."

"Of course not. Although, I have got you something."

"Oh you didn't have to get me anything. So what is it?"

"Mama that'd ruin the surprise but my friend helped me pick it out."

"Oh lord please tell me Puck didn't help you, I love that boy but he's about as bad as you at picking gifts."

"No mama my friend Mercedes helped me." He noticed Mercedes perked up once she heard her name. He smiled kindly at her as he continued his conversation.

"Mercedes hmm?" Sam could sense his mother's teasing tone.

Sam walked further into the room out of ear shot so Mercedes was unable to hear him. "Mama it's not like that. She's Puck's girl." He leaned against the wall watching on as Mercedes began to tidy her bed.

"Puck has a girlfriend why didn't you tell me earlier? Why didn't he tell me? Does his mama know?"

"Well he didn't even tell me. Actually he still hasn't told me, I guess he just assumes I know."

"Puck tells you everything sweet pea. That's kinda strange, maybe you should ask him about it." Sam heard a loud crash in the background. "Dwight Evans I told you not to play catch in the damn living room! Now you've gone and broken one of my glasses. And you made me curse in this house. Samuel I'll call you tomorrow, I've got to talk to your father and Stevie." Sam hadn't paid much attention to the ending of the conversation as he was far more concerned with what his mother had mentioned to him earlier.

Sam realised Puck hadn't revealed anything about dating Mercedes and considering how eager he was when he'd first spoke about her, this surprised him. Initially Sam had chosen to ignore their relationship, he didn't ask about it nor did he focus on them whenever they were near one another. 'Out of sight out of mind' Sam had continued to tell himself. But as he replayed their times together, he noticed they acted in a friendlier manner. They'd perhaps give each other a friendly hug or chat amongst one another yet they showed no signs of intimacy. Puck had always been one to display excessive public affection yet he did not do so with Mercedes. He realised Mercedes hadn't ever mentioned Puck's name in a conversation unless Sam had stimulated her to do so. Not only this, but Sam's mother was right. Puck was Sam's best friend, they would always tell one another everything and Sam knew Puck would never keep something like this from him. It dawned on him then, he was certain. She'd lied to him. But he needed to know, why?

Sam walked closer towards Mercedes. He could tell she was about to speak but stopped once she saw the anger reflected in his green irises.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"What? Sam what are you talking about?"

"The least you could do is tell me the truth Mercedes. You're not with Puck are you?"

The shock was evident on her face as she stumbled on her words. "Sam what-why are you asking me this?"

"Just answer the question."

"No I'm not. I never was." He stood dumbfounded as her words sunk in. "Say something Sam."

"Tell me why?" His voice was laced with sadness.

"I'm sorry Sam. I never meant for it to go this far." Her voice faltered.

"That doesn't answer my question. Tell me why you felt the need to lie to me, to use my best friend as a shield? What was this some sort of game to you?"

"It wasn't like that." The tears had begun to form in her eyes.

"Just tell me why?"

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together before softly uttering. "You kept pushing me."

"What? Tell me you didn't want me. Tell me that you don't want me. Please Mercedes because it would make this a whole lot easier." He paced quickly towards her and lightly grabbed her cheeks and rested his forehead against hers awaiting her answer. He tightly shut his eyes and re-opened them. His voice had softened. "I let you in Mercedes, I shared things with you that I would never tell others. Not because you were some conquest, you never were just a conquest even from the moment I first saw you, I knew it even then. You know as hard as it was to watch you supposedly be with somebody else, I dealt with it because I just wanted you close." He watched as the tears cascaded down her cheeks but he lifted her chin so he could peer into her teary brown orbs. "You are always in my head. All the time, I can't get you out. You remember that? I care about you more than you know. I wanted more than your friendship. Even now when I should be mad at you, I can't be because I still want more. I still want you."

"Sam-"

"When you're at your happiest and you give me that smile, that smile that could light up the darkest room, I'll want you. But even when you're at your lowest and all you want to do is cry I'll still want you. Mercedes I want all of you. Even the parts that might seem broken." Sam stroked her cheek lightly. "I know you feel the same Mercedes. I know it. But you won't admit it." He gazed into her eyes, wordlessly asking her to confess something, to admit anything but the space between them filled with silence. Sam sighed woefully. "I need to go." Sam let his hand fall from her cheek and eased away from her. "Just remember you deserve to be loved Mercedes."

He turned to grab the handle. Once he exited the room, he finally let the tears fall freely from his eyes.

Mercedes stood in the same place for what felt like hours. She couldn't move. There was a knocking on her door but it sounded like a dull ringing in her ears. The door opened and she watched as Kurt entered her room.

One look at Mercedes, caused him to quickly run to her, he'd never seen her so motionless or void. "Mercy?" He received no reply. "Mercedes." He wrapped his arms tightly around her. As soon as his arms encased her she broke down in tears. "Mercy honey tell me what happened."

Mercedes mustered in a broken voice "I can't do this Kurt. I need to go home."

Hours later Mercedes awoke to the sun creeping through her curtains. She saw no sign of Kurt and assumed he'd gone to his room at some point after she fell asleep. He'd held her as she cried in his arms. She told him, she needed to leave and he'd booked an early flight at her request. He didn't question her decision and instead just told her to call him when she landed. He had helped pack her bags in the late hours of the night.

She unwrapped herself from the covers and turned on the shower before stripping down to her naked form. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water ease her aching muscles. After creaming herself in cocoa butter, she put on a white summer dress paired with wedged sandals and put her hair in a high ponytail, then spritzed herself with her rose-scented spray. After applying little make-up, she looked in the mirror and took a deep breath to prepare herself.

As she wheeled her bags through the lobby, she'd assumed Kurt had informed them all on her decision to leave. Ryder offered to carry her bags out which she greatly appreciated, as he did so she said goodbye to Kurt giving him a kiss on the cheek. She turned to Puck unsure on whether she should approach him but she was thankful he made the decision for her as he walked towards her wrapping his arms around her and twirling her around causing her to giggle. She whispered her sincere apologies and he replied "All is forgiven. Have a safe flight. We'll speak when you get there."

Sam and Mercedes eyed each other in the lobby unaware of how to react. Puck and Kurt exchanged a look and mumbled gibberish to one another. They made themselves scarce with Puck turning in the direction of the toilet and Kurt towards the receptionist's desk.

"I figured you'd need something to distract you from being alone on the plane." Sam handed her his book. Her fingers tracing the cover lightly, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. "Have a good flight yeah?"

"Sam you have to know how sorry-"

"Remember if you need a flight attendant to help you with your seatbelt don't be afraid to ask and after that just distract yourself with the book. I know that the turbulence scares you but just remember to breathe and drink plenty of water. But like I said have a good flight."

Mercedes couldn't help it, the tears cascaded down her cheeks. Even after she'd hurt him, he still remained in front of her, giving whatever he could just to make her feel safe. She lowered her head and bit her lip hoping the tears would stop. She felt his lips press against her forehead, as his hands traced the back of her neck. "I know you're sorry Nu'bia."

So tell me your thoughts and let me just say, remember the time when everyone disliked asshole-ish Sam in this story, oh how times have changed. The truth is finally out and I'm glad it is. So next chapter, who knows what might happen? Well I do.

Anyhow please leave reviews sweetpeas because you know I love them. Fave or follow if you haven't already. Next chapter should be up soon. Thank you guys for reading. Until next time xo

Translations:

"Más más." - More more

"Voy a cortarte. Mi amigo tiene máquinas de afeitar en el pelo." - I'll cut you. My friend has razors in her hair.