Episode 12
Mercedes blanched, the blood draining from her face as she took in Sam's words.
'Your parents, parents?' she asked carefully, the edge of panic creeping into her voice.
'What? No! No!'
Sam caught his mistake in an instant and leapt to correct it, coming over to rest a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.
'My foster parents.' he clarified carefully. 'The mortal ones.'
Mercedes let out a deep sigh of relief and sat down heavily one one of the dining room chairs, her legs suddenly feeling like jelly.
'God, Sam!' she chastised. 'You need to work on your delivery!'
Sam smiled apologetically and sat down in the chair next to her.
'Sorry, I didn't realise you'd freak out.'
Mercedes shot him a dubious look. 'Like you wouldn't if you were me? Your parents are supernatural beings, Sam!'
Sam grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
'Honestly? Both sets kind of scare me the same.' he admitted, watching Mercedes' face with interest. Now the initial panic was over, she seemed to be seeing the funny side of the situation and her amusement, as always, was infectious.
'You would.' Mercedes shot back, poking gently at his shoulder. 'You can keep up.'
Sam's grin widened as he winked cheekily at her.
'I wouldn't be so sure.' he insisted, 'Mama Evans' looks are deceptive.'
Mercedes eyes widened again and she leaned over to smack her friend.
'You are not helping!'
'I know!' Sam grinned back at her almost gleefully, his body barely registering her smack. He wasn't exactly calm about this discussion himself- his fosters had already reamed him out for over an hour - but somehow, with Mercedes around, Sam felt far more capable of facing down the bad stuff.
Sam's head turned in the direction of the door moments before Mary Evans stepped through, her husband visible in the doorway behind her. She looked businesslike and commanding, and a lot less like the Soccer Mom Mercedes was used to. The smile she gave Mercedes only eased the young woman's troubled nerves until she heard Dwight Evans' deep voice tell Sam to go look after his siblings.
Sam's first reaction was to shoot a worried glance at Mercedes, who looked back at him with large, nervous eyes. Sam turned back to his parents.
'Y'know, I think it might be better if I-'
'Sam.' Mary Evans' tone brooked no argument as she glared down at her son, and reluctantly Sam stood up to go do as she asked. He paused to give Mercedes a comforting squeeze on the shoulder and looked like he might try to argue again before Dwight pointedly cleared his throat and nodded down the hallway. Sam gave Mercedes a final reassuring glance before trailing down the hallway to his brother and sister's room.
'And no listening in!' Dwight called after him and Sam grumbled an incredibly ungracious agreement.
Dwight turned back to Mercedes with a warm smile and made his way over to the table, pulling a chair out for his wife across from Mercedes and sliding himself into the one next to her. Mercedes tried to swallow down the lump in her throat as two sets of eyes turned to look at her with calm appraisal.
The couple exchanged a quick, communicative glance before they both turned back to Mercedes and Dwight began to speak.
'The way I see it,' he started carefully, 'there'd be no real point in us pretending you don't already know what this is about.'
Mercedes nodded and began to chew her bottom lip.
'Our son seems to have quite the big mouth on him when it comes to you, so I'm guessing Sam's already told you that we know he told you the truth about who he is.'
Mercedes nodded again, not quite knowing what to say to this.
'Yes, sir.'
'Here's the thing, Mercedes.' Mary jumped in, placing a stilling hand on her husband's arm. 'Sam's daddy and I are both mortal… but we also both knew exactly what we were getting into when we first took him in all those years ago.'
Mercedes eyebrows knit together as she processed this and tried to figure out where this was going.
'But I thought you just found Sam through the foster system…?'
There was another shared look between the adults before Mary spoke again, this time her voice was quieter, although it was still as kind and gentle as it had been before.
'Sam's birth parents came to see us, honey.'
'You didn't think they'd hand over a kid like him to just anybody did you?' Dwight teased, giving Mercedes a little good-natured chuck on the shoulder .
'Sam's special, and from what I understand, Aphrodite vetted a lot of people from her vantage point up there before she came to us. Now, why she chose us over everybody else is anybody's guess, but I suppose she saw something in us that let her know she could leave her son to our care.'
Mercedes nodded slowly again.
'That makes sense, I guess. So… Sam wasn't actually ever in the official foster system, was he?'
Mary tilted her head to one side, regarding the girl in front of her with an unreadable expression for a moment before she spoke. 'You know, Sam's right. You really do have an uncanny knack for getting right down to the truth of something.'
Mercedes shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her fingers fidgeting on the table in front of her nervously. 'I'm sorry, ma'am.'
'It's not something you should apologise for.' Mary advised. 'It's a good skill to have, especially if you choose to stay in Sam's world.'
Mercedes laughed despite herself, and then covered her mouth in embarrassment, ashamed that she'd let the sound escape in front of her friend's parents.
'I'm so sorry,' she said again, 'I just… I'm pretty sure my choice has been made for me.' Mercedes clarified, before laughing gently. 'I've even got the battle scars to prove it.' she let out a deep breath, more a sigh than an exhalation.
'I don't really have much say in the matter anymore.'
For the first time since they'd all sat down together, the expression on the Evans' faces became stern.
'You do have a choice, honey.' Mary pressed, her voice adamant, 'but you won't have it for much longer.'
/
'So, are you seriously not going to tell me what they said to you?'
Mercedes shot Sam a cursory glance as he leaned expectantly against the locker beside her, and then shook her head. It was two days after her talk with Sam's parents, and he'd been bugging her to find out what they'd talked about ever since. Closing her locker door with an air of finality, Mercedes studied Sam's face for a moment, wondering if she should just tell him what had been said, even if she hadn't fully processed it herself yet.
'Sam, they didn't ask you to be there for a reason.' she said finally, pulling her gaze away to focus on the textbook in her hand.
'Yeah, but what reason?' Sam asked, genuinely curious as he blinked the hair out of his eyes and re-shouldered his backpack. 'Like, why is it top secret?'
Mercedes sighed again and pushed away from the lockers, making her way slowly down the hall although she was in no real hurry to get to study hall.
'Sam, we just…' Mercedes groaned and touched the textbook to her forehead briefly in thought before she continued. 'we just talked about being mortal. And around you.' she added after a beat. 'What it means to be mortal and around you.'
Sam blinked, his step faltering with hurt and confusion as Mercedes' words sank in.
'Wait, so you and my parents had a meeting to discuss how much it sucks having me in your lives?'
Mercedes stopped abruptly, spinning on her heel to come and stand toe to toe with her crestfallen best friend.
'No, that is not what we did and don't you ever, ever think that any of us resent your presence in our lives, Sam!'
Mercedes' eyes were steely on his, but Sam was still having a hard time accepting her words. If that hadn't been what they'd been meeting about then why were they so against him being there? And why was everyone refusing to talk about it? When he'd asked his parents what had gone on, they'd both just answered with a cryptic, 'That's for Mercedes to tell you, if she chooses.' which hadn't told him anything.
Mercedes sighed and grabbed Sam by the arm, dragging him forcibly into a janitor's closet just off the hallway and closing the door behind them.
'Why do I always end up skipping classes with you?' she questioned conversationally as she pulled a cord and illuminated the room with dingy light, 'and in here…' she added as she watched the shadows dance across the room as the naked lightbulb swung above their heads. Sam's expression didn't change as he blinked back at her, his eyes still glistening with hurt.
'Look, Sam… your parents just wanted to make sure that I was aware of the… risks involved in being someone you confide in.'
Sam bristled, anger shifting the muscles under his skin as he refolded his arms and clenched his jaw.
'So they told you not to be my friend anymore? Is that it?'
Mercedes let out a frustrated sigh and pushed at the chest of the stubborn blond with the heel of one hand.
'NO! That is not what they're saying. Can you please just take a deep breath and listen to what I'm actually saying here? Please?' she demanded, mirroring Sam's stance and folding her own arms against her chest in irritation.
'They love that I'm your friend. They love that you have someone to talk to at last… but they also wanted to make sure that I knew what I was getting into.' Mercedes sighed and when she spoke again her voice was gentler than it had been before.
'They're concerned that I'm putting our friendship above my own safety, without being fully informed of the consequences.'
Sam softened slightly, his body sagging inwards as some of the fight seemed to leave him in a rush.
'You think they have a point?'
Mercedes shrugged, her short, round shoulders meeting her ears momentarily before she let them fall again, the motion heavy with confusion.
'I don't know, Sam…. What I do know is that I have a burn scar on my arm that I'll have for the rest of my life, and I know that for a moment… in the parking lot with those dragons… I genuinely thought I was going to die, Sam. I closed my eyes and I just knew that I wasn't going to make it out alive. And you know the hardest part? It was knowing that my parents, my brother, my friends… none of them would ever know what really happened to me. It would just be you. One person in the entire world who would know the truth about how I died.'
Sam averted his gaze, his heart heavy with guilt even though he knew Mercedes didn't blame him. She'd told him as much on several occasions, but it still didn't stop the ache of guilt that had taken up residence in his chest at the very thought of it.
'I know you're not happy about this.' Mercedes went on softly. 'I know it probably seems like we're conspiring against you or something… but honestly, Sam, your parents just wanted to be sure that I knew what I was doing before I made a decision this huge.' she lifted a small, brown hand and placed it lightly on Sam's arm, half expecting him to shrug it off, and feeling oddly pleased when he didn't.
'You are always going to be my friend, Sam, and I will always, always be honoured that you chose to let me see the real you, but… I think I need to follow your parents advice and take a little time to decide if the possibility of dying over this is something I can live with.'
There was a heavy pause, and when Mercedes swallowed she felt as though the movement was so loud she could hear it echoing off the walls.
'So… this is it then?' Sam asked quietly after a long moment, his eyes carefully averted from hers. 'Who would choose this life knowing how dangerous it is.'
He said the words flatly, without emotion, but Mercedes could see straight through his facade to the pain underneath. Taking Sam's head between both of her small hands, she gently turned him to face her, waiting patiently until he met her eyes to speak.
'Your parents.' She told him firmly. 'Your parents chose that, Sam. Mortals… are complicated. We do things that are wonderful, and terrible, and difficult to understand… and we do them for a whole host of different reasons,' Mercedes broke off and licked her lips, thinking carefully about how to finish this thought. 'I haven't stopped caring, Sam, and I haven't stopped being your friend… I just need time. Can you give me that? Please?'
Tension hovered in the air as Mercedes waited for a response, feeling as though she'd just tossed a coin in the air and was waiting to see if she'd made the right call on it.
'Ok.'
Sam's voice was a hoarse whisper in the quiet, but Mercedes still heard him, and shortly afterwards felt his strong arms wrap around her in a firm hug.
'I know this isn't easy.' Sam allowed. 'I know I didn't make your life better by letting you into my secret, and to be honest, I had no idea any of this would happen… but it has, and you don't deserve to be dragged into it just because you're being a good friend to me.'
Sam looked away, suddenly bashful as a rush of blood to his face stained the tips of his ears red.
'You're-' he cleared his throat and started again, 'you're my best friend, Mercedes.' he told her sheepishly, 'and I've been selfish, because once I'd found that in you, I wanted to keep it that way… but my parents are right, and you're getting hurt…' Sam gestured to Mercedes arm with a wince.
'You should take the time to decide if being a part of this is what you want.' he acknowledged with a slight nod of his head. 'Take all the time you need.' Sam shot Mercedes a lopsided smile as he took her hand in his, giving it a brief squeeze before letting it go again and turning to crack open the door. 'I guess I'll see you around, Miss Jones.'
Sam shot her a wink, and then just like that, he was gone, leaving Mercedes to think over what had just happened in the shifting shadows from the overhead light.
