Author's Note: This chapter is a little different because it's from Mercedes point of view, it's meant to show how Kurt and Blaine's relationship looks in season 3 from the perspective of their friends. This piece tracks most of the "Michael" episode for Mercedes and features Kurtcedes… also Klaine.

A Place to Belong (Mercedes POV) 3.11

All this engagement nonsense is ridiculous, Mercedes thought to herself while sitting in the rowdy choir room. We're in high school for crying out loud. She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Kurt stare at Blaine, the two of them looking punch drunk, sharing whispers. Rachel was sitting on Finn's lap, talking animatedly while he stared at her boobs. Tina and Mike were huddled in a corner, kissing fiercely in a way that Mercedes could honestly say she'd never done. Brittany and Santana were picking at Sugar's hair like a couple of monkeys. And at the piano Sam, Puck and Artie had pulled out guitars, raising the noise level in the room by at least seven decimals.

Sam was the real problem. Blonde, gorgeous, stupid Sam, who had swooped back into town and ruined everything. She thought she liked Shane, she had even thought she was over Sam and moving on and all that stuff that people say you should do. But now the whole thing was a confused blur in her head. She envied these happy couples, trying to pinpoint what they had that she didn't have with Shane.

It really is ridiculous, she reminded herself just as Blaine stole a kiss from Kurt and the latter blushed to the tips of his ears. They were sitting close enough together to hide their linked hands between them. They really were very cute when they thought no one was paying attention. Most of the time they were self conscious about affection. They had all experienced the hate the two boys had directed at them when they let their guard down. But there was still something undeniable about them, something fundamental that Mercedes couldn't figure out.

Later that day, She was on the phone with Kurt, discussing outfit choices for the following day when she decided to bring it up. It felt like an odd thing to talk about, but she knew the only person she could trust to discuss her situation with was Kurt.

"Can I ask you a question about you and Blaine?" She prompted, cutting him off as he ranted about leggings.

"Oh, um…" Kurt stopped. "Well sure, what's your question?"

"I'm not sure how to word it," She admitted, nervous at having to explain. "Okay, here's the thing. You know I'm seeing Shane and I like him and all that. Well a few days ago Sam told me he was going to win me back, well, he more screamed it down the hall as I walked away. And I guess my question is, how do you know you want to be with Blaine?"

"You think my answer will help you choose between Biggie and Eminem?" Kurt asked and Mercedes fake chuckled. "Well, I love Blaine for one."

"Right," Mercedes said, remembering how her mind had gone straight to Sam when Mr. Schue was talking about proposals. The way Sam made her smile, the way his eyes on her made her feel. She couldn't deny that Shane didn't have the same effect, or at least it was stronger with Sam, but was that love?

"I don't really know how to explain it," Kurt admitted sheepishly and Mercedes imagined him blushing. "Look, if I had to be trapped on a deserted island with one person for the rest of my life, that person would be Blaine. That's how I think you should feel, do you want an island with Shane or with Sam? Or neither, you don't have to chose anyone girl. Don't forget that."

"You're right," Mercedes sighed, suddenly desperate for a different conversation. "But more importantly, since when do you know about Biggie and Eminem?"

"Since I started hanging out with you," Kurt mocked, and they both laughed. "You're a bad influence, Ms. Jones. I mean you have two boys on the hook!"

"Very funny," Mercedes chuckled, contemplating Kurt's words. "But you do have a point. I can't say I don't miss being left alone."

"Maybe that's your answer," Kurt said poignantly and Mercedes sighed, feeling as though she nearly had had her thoughts in order about the whole thing.

"Thanks," She said, sighing. "What are you doing later?"

"I sort of have to go actually, Blaine's picking me up in half an hour and I haven't even touched my hair." Kurt's voice grew panicked. Mercedes chuckled, thinking that Kurt's hair probably looked the same as it had at school, not a strand out of place.

"You two really are adorable," Mercedes said without thought. "Have a nice night, Kurtsie."

"For the record, he has never called me that." Kurt pointed out, slightly annoyed but Mercedes could hear the smile in his voice. "Goodnight brat."

Pressing the end call button, Mercedes dropped her phone on the bed and fell, sprawled out next to it. The answer to her question seemed to be staring her in the face, but she wasn't ready to accept it. For a moment she thought of Kurt and Blaine, of the relationship she had a front row seat to. They had gone from close friends to deeply in love in no time at all, and now, months later they were often insufferable to be around. It had become common for their friends to catch the two making out in odd places, suddenly absent from groups and disappearing from social events.

Kurt always brushed it off, they hadn't been gone long, but Blaine blushed hard, claiming he couldn't be expected to forego any available second to be alone with his boyfriend. The intensity of their romance was felt by everyone, so no one faulted them much for something they couldn't seem to help. Well except Santana, who called them out loudly every time they were found in an empty classroom, locked in a formative embrace.

In truth, Mercedes liked having a boyfriend. She enjoyed no longer being the odd one out, the third wheel, perpetually on her own. But she longed for that intensity, the passion that her friends shared. Even Rachel and Finn had it and Mike and Tina overflowed with enthusiasm for their connection. Mercedes felt that the only time she'd experienced that was the quick summer romance she'd shared with Sam before his family moved away. They had spent his last day in town locked in her family van in a quiet parking lot, swapping kisses and sharing a charged silence that seemed to contain a million words they had both been afraid to say. And it was her left standing in his driveway as his parents drove him out of town, waving back to her. Waving Goodbye.

Snatching back her phone she hastily pressed the symbol to call Shane. It was a Friday night after all and she needed a night out too.

Days later and Mercedes was hauled up in her bedroom ignoring her ringing phone. She knew it was either Sam, who had kissed her mere hours ago, or Kurt who lived with Sam and would likely know what happened by now. In truth she had kissed Sam back, they had spent several long minutes standing at center stage, sharing affections while ignoring the implications of their actions. She had cheated on Shane, she had let Sam kiss her, she had enjoyed it and worse of all, her body was alive with electricity at the thought of doing it again.

She would have to tell Shane, there was no other option. She respected him too much to try to hide this, as if she could pretend it didn't happen. In a moment of nervous anger with herself, her phone ringer split the silence again and she picked it up, inwardly praying for Kurt's voice on the other end.

"What in the world happened today?" Kurt shot out, his voice loud enough to hurt her ears.

"I don't know," Mercedes admitted quietly, her face coloring. "He wanted us to sing a duet and I refused so he just starting playing. It was like I couldn't resist and by the end of it we were kissing. I don't know what happened."

"Mercedes," Kurt responded scathingly, his voice full of accusation.

"Okay, so maybe I wanted to kiss him," She admitted, her voice rising. "I wanted it okay? But that's just so wrong, I have a boyfriend. I thought I had moved on from this."

"Did you really?" Kurt asked knowingly, his voice still accusing. "I saw the look on your face when he showed up again and you were great together. I mean once you actually told me about it."

"I told you I was sorry for that," Mercedes shot back at him, annoyed. "We didn't tell anyone, we didn't want the opinions of people like Santana getting between us."

"But she's such a lovely girl," Kurt said sarcastically and they both laughed aloud. "Look M, if you want to be with Sam, don't let anyone stop you. Especially Santana, I mean if I listened to her I'd have dumped my gorgeous, amazing, slightly hobbitish boyfriend months ago."

"He's sitting right next to you, isn't he?" Mercedes observed, a smile playing across her lips.

"He's at the computer across the room, he's researching some stuff for homework. But don't change the subject, are you okay with what happened?" Kurt pressed, his voice shifting to concern. "And what are you going to do now?"

"I'm fine, I mean I'm angry of course. Both with myself and with Sam." Mercedes admitted quietly, taking a deep sigh as she added."I don't really have a choice at this point, I have to tell Shane what happened and that will obviously end our relationship."

"Are you okay with that?" Kurt urged and it occurred to Mercedes that he was worried about her. She wasn't used to people worrying about her at all, her parents had so much faith in her it was hard to show them weakness, and she knew what they would say anyway. They would tell her that she was too young for a relationship, that high school boys only wanted one thing and she should wait for marriage to get too close to anyone. And the thing was, she agreed with them.

"Does it matter?" Mercedes asked, miffed by how very not okay she felt at the present moment. "I can't not tell him."

"Suppose not," Kurt agreed with sharp exhale. "I just want to make sure you're okay. Sam is confused and ranting at Finn about how he's already got the girl so he can't talk. It's actually kind of funny."

"I'm fine, I just need to think," Mercedes offered, chuckling gently as a picture of the scene formed in her mind. Kurt's house, with Sam shrieking at an oblivious Finn and Kurt and Blaine hiding upstairs, giving up their alone time to talk to her. "Go jump on your hobbit."

"Well if you say so," Kurt conceded, snickering in an excited way."Love you!"

"I'll call you later." Mercedes said trying to hide the sadness that had crept into her throat.

"Sounds good, don't beat yourself up too much." Kurt told her simply, a note of concern still lingering in his tone.

"I won't, bye." She said, hanging up the phone with a watering smile.

Imagining Kurt jumping on Blaine in a computer chair, Mercedes laughed lightly, shaking her head as she dropped her phone next to her. She had been right to take the call. She felt less angry now and as she thought of Sam talking to Finn about it, she giggled, knowing that he would refer to her as "my girl" at least a hundred times. She liked being his girl. Though she wondered if she was really ready for a relationship at all. Less than a month after she started dating Sam, his family announced they were moving to another state, slapping an expiration date on any plans they made. After only a few weeks of Sam being back, she had cheated on Shane. And the honest truth was, she still didn't know what she wanted.

The next day at school Mercedes pulled them both aside, separately, and told them the truth. Her actions proved that she was not ready for any relationship and, after many apologies she felt better. Single, but better and when it was all said and done she sought out Kurt, knowing he would understand. She found him at his locker, watching as Blaine was headed off to classes, their hands reaching toward each other in the crowd made her smile. The two of them knew what they want, they were sure in each other and that was the difference. She wasn't sure with either of her choices, so she decided it was better to be alone.

"Hey," She said as she approached Kurt, thankful that they had their next class together.

"Oh, hey," Kurt squeaked, tearing his focus away from Blaine. "How's it going?"

"Well I did it," Mercedes said solemnly. "I talk to them both."

"Oh," Kurt squeaked again, slamming his locker shut. "Did they cry? Threaten dramatic attempts to win you back? Profess that they can't live without you? I mean, losing you must be devastating."

Mercedes laughed lightly, surprised at the sound, "well Shane was upset, of course. He didn't appreciate Sam kissing me and he kept insisting that it wasn't my fault. But I told him point blank that I had kissed Sam back and that pretty much ended the conversation. It's over, and well, Sam doesn't understand why I won't get back together with him immediately."

"Of course he doesn't," Kurt said, his voice full of the understanding Mercedes had hoped for. "But I think you made the right choice."

To be fair, Sam had a hard time comprehending how bread becomes toast, he could hardly be expected to know Mercedes reasons for the decisions she made.

"It feels like the right choice," Mercedes admitted, lacing her arm through Kurt's. "For now I'm alright just being your girl."

"My best girl," Kurt concurred as they walked into their buzzing classroom and conversation shifted to other topics. With the issue of relationships only occasionally popping up as they talked through class, Mercedes found that she was happier than she'd felt in weeks.