*Y'all don't be mad at me. I did something naughty. Its quick but naughty.*
Sam and Mercedes stood in front of each other in silence, whilst their eyes spoke volumes. He can see that she was happy to see him and he was happy to see her as well. He wanted to hug her and that caused him to subconsciously release Brittany's hand once again. He finally snapped out of his trance when she held his hand once again and gave it a slight tug.
"How have you been?" she asked when he didn't respond. Sam wanted to tell her that he'd spent weeks wondering why she never responded to his text message. Weeks wondering if she was upset with him over what he wrote. Weeks pushing away his feelings for her only to have them all return with just one look at her. He wanted to say so much, but couldn't find the words. Instead, Brittany took the opportunity to speak causing Mercedes to finally take notice that they were holding hands.
"Hey, I'm Brittany. I've heard so much about you." she said with a smile as Sam watched Mercedes step back and look at Brittany. "You're such an amazing singer." she added as Mercedes eyes went back to Sam then focused on their hands before looking back between them again. "When you sang and danced to Bust Your Windows, I practiced that choreo for days. I even bought your version on iTunes." Brittany admitted.
"Aww thanks. You've been killing it too, girl. I've watched you on the show this season and you're amazing on the dance floor." Mercedes said with a genuine smile. She wondered why Sam wasn't talking. She wondered why he wasn't hugging her as much as she wanted to hug him at that moment. Was he still mad that she never responded to the text? Did he no longer have feelings for her? "No way." she thought to herself. The way he was looking at her right now, there was still something there. She could feel it. There connection was strong. When she finally tells them they've been connected since they were born, she'd hope he'd come around.
"You gotta show me how to hit those high notes."
"You gotta show me that Beyonce routine." Mercedes responded before looking at their hands again then back at Sam. He was still holding her hand. "We should catch up soon." she added. Sam looked as if he was going to respond but before he could, Marley came and swept Mercedes away.
"Mercedes, I have to show you what we did to welcome you back to the show." Marley said as she guided Mercedes to her dressing room. Sam continued to watch Mercedes walk away with Marley and cursed himself for not saying a word. He never thought he would see her back on set. He'd thought about what he'd say the next time he saw her. And now that she was back, he couldn't find a word to say.
"Are you okay?" Brittany asked. "I thought you and her were friends?"
"We...were." Sam responded. "I think they're ready for us on set." Sam quickly added before Brittany asked any more questions.
Later that day, Brittany decided to spend the night at Sam's. This had become the norm for Sam that he felt as if she had moved in. He spent most of his time on his game console playing with Jake, but tonight he had so much on his mind. He decided to sit out on the balcony and look out at the scenery. His mind jumped from his family back in Lima, his bio-mom and Mercedes returning back to the show. He wished he could talk to her because no one else knew about his situation like she did. He debated calling her but he was still upset about her not responding to him. How was he going to ask her about her not responding without becoming angry? How was he supposed to be in a room with just her and not want to hold her and kiss her? He hated that he was having those thoughts when he now had a girlfriend. He wondered if this was the inner turmoil Mercedes went through after they kissed.
"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Brittany asked as she walked out and sat on his lap. Sam wrapped his arms around her and forced a smile for her. "You've been really quiet since we left set today. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just a lot on my mind."
"You wanna talk about it?" she asked genuinely. Sam knew he couldn't tell her about the feelings he had for Mercedes. That was something that even Brittany wouldn't be cool with. Sam thought about talking to her about his mother and bio-mother instead, then her cat came outside. "If you want you can talk to Lord Tubbington. Lord Tubbington has been known to take things off peoples minds. Just talk to him." Sam looked down at the cat then back at Brittany and knew she would never get it.
"Thanks babe. I will try that." he lied. She paused as if she had something else to say to him but instead she decided to get off of his lap. She made her way back inside then stopped mid way.
"You never talk to me about things that bother you." she stated without looking at him. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you want to talk." She didn't wait for him to respond as she continued back into the apartment.
Two weeks later, Mercedes tried to find time to catch up with Sam alone. Unfortunately, every time she found Sam, his new girl friend was glued to his side. Mercedes didn't mind Brittany, and if she was honest with herself, she saw what Sam saw in her. She was pretty, quirky, funny, a great dancer and she seemed so simple that it was adorable. She wondered if Sam told her everything that he'd told her. She wondered if Sam was as close to Brittany as he was close to her. She didn't want to feel jealous but there were times when she saw them kissing that she wished she never saw. Sam never noticed her looking but Mercedes couldn't help but see it and hate it.
Luckily for her Finn was finally getting Mercedes the time she needed with Sam. After waiting for her time back on set, it was finally time to film the scene where they would show how she'd return. Mercedes couldn't wait to dive into it because she knew this would finally give them time alone. Based on the script, Kendra was a bit more ballsy than Mercedes was. She had the confidence to shoot her shot and get the things she wanted. She was willing to just say straight up, that she was willing to fight for the man that she wanted. Any chance she got she took it to express that she wanted to be with Josh again.
"So, I'm supposed to just catch Josh walking down the hallway and hold his hands in front of everybody?" Mercedes asked as she looked between Sam and Finn.
"Yes, and of course Josh will tell Kendra that he has moved on since the kiss you all shared."
"I just feel like Kendra wouldn't just chase after Josh like this." Mercedes said even though she was speaking more of what she wouldn't do over what Kendra would do.
"Kendra's been gone a summer. She's senior now. She's not letting anything stand in the way of her having everything she wants her senior year. She's grown so much and this will show the viewers that." Finn explained. Sam looked at Mercedes and could sense that she didn't exactly like the story-line. If he was honest, the whole thing made him nervous. He wondered if he knew where to draw the line from what is on script and his true feelings. He worried that eventually it would be hard to see those blurred lines.
"Am I supposed to seem like I really moved on or as if I am struggling with it all?"
"Well, we want there to still be some feelings between the two of you that Josh will struggle with, so yes definitely struggle with it." Finn replied before looking over at Mercedes. "Kendra on the other hand, she has her mind made up and she wants Josh back. I want her to bold with her feelings for you." Finn responded to Sam with a smile. He was loving the script changes even if it put Mercedes' character in a position that made her a homewrecker. As far as he was concerned, angry or happy fans will still continue to watch the show.
"I don't know about all of this. I just feel like this kind of makes Kendra look like a homewrecker. Won't the fans hate her if she goes after Sam...I mean Josh." Mercedes added and quickly corrected herself. "Some fans loved Kendra with Josh while others gave me a hard time. I know I hide it well but there were some racist viewers that didn't like Kendra being with Josh. You don't think this will just fuel that hate in them for me?" Mercedes asked. She normally ignored all the hate but she wished Finn just made Josh and Britt character break up without involving her in the story.
"Mercedes, I didn't know you went through that." Sam said finally saying something directly to her.
"I always block and report them."
"Look, Mercedes, I get it. But I've learned that you will get trolls no matter what. I want to focus on the happy fans." Finn replied. Mercedes could tell that she was not going to get the change that she wanted. And although she hated to admit it, she knew he was right. "Trust me. We're doing this in a subtle cutesy way that will have the fans conflicted and eventually they will see that you two are meant to be together." Finn replied. "Regardless of race."
"You mean the characters are meant to be together."
"Whose to say." Mercedes quickly replied as she looked over at Sam. He tried to avoid eye contact as he pretended to look around the set.
"So, how long will this love triangle go?"
"Three episodes. The endgame is evident. Josh and Kendra are meant to be. We will not stretch the love story long." Finn made his back to his director chair then gave them the queue. Mercedes made her way to the spot where she was directed to stand and wait for Sam to walk down the hall before taking his hand. "ACTION!" Finn shouted. All the extras began to walk and talk amongst themselves then Mercedes made her way towards where they would intersect. Once she reached for Sam's hand, she felt a jolt of electricity that caused the both of them move apart. "CUT! CUT! What's going on you guys? That was almost perfect."
"Uh...I don't know what happened." Sam replied as he looked at his hand then back at Mercedes before giving it a quick shake.
"Um...I think it was static electricity. Can we try again?" Mercedes responded as she wiped her hands on her pants. "My bad." she added as she made her way back to her spot.
"ACTION!" Finn said as they both made it back to their spots. This time, everything happened in slow motion. She felt every step she took. Even though the hallway was filled with extras, Sam could feel Mercedes getting closer. When she finally placed her hand in his, based on the script he was supposed to pull away but for a brief second he held longer.
"What are you doing?"
"Holding your hand."
"Uh...Kendra." he pulled his hand away and faced her as the smile that was just on her face went away. "Look, I'm happy you're back but I'm with someone now."
"Oh yeah, I heard you were dating a cheerleader. What's her name?"
"Brit..."
"Yeah her." Kendra said cutting him off. Josh rolled his eyes and continued walking towards his locker.
"She's my girlfriend now. Whatever we had before the break..."
"Are you trying to say you no longer have feelings for me anymore?" she asked cutting him off again and leaned against the locker. They locked eyes and for a brief moment Mercedes could feel they were no longer their character. This was Sam and Mercedes looking at each other again. Even though they weren't saying anything, she could see Sam's eyes soften.
"Look we shared a quick peck..."
"It was more than that." Kendra replied cutting him off with a smirk. As Mercedes remembered it the kiss was definitely more than a peck.
"Yeah it was but I really like what I have with Britt right now."
"That's not answering my initial question." she replied with a smile as she leaned toward him. He stepped back and smiled at her before continuing to slowly step away from her before turning around and making his way to his next class.
"I have to get to class, Kendra." Sam stated. Even thought Mercedes hated this line, she still said it and delivered the performance as written.
"I don't believe what you're saying Josh! You still have feelings for me and I'm going to prove it to you." she shouted behind him as he walked away blushing.
"Cut!" Finn shouted. "Mercedes, that was not your line. You're supposed to say 'I don't care how cool your new girlfriend is, I'm gonna fight to get you back.' What happened?"
"I wasn't feeling that line, Finn. It didn't feel like Kendra to me." Mercedes responded. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as Finn replayed that last few minutes then sighed before nodding.
"You're lucky I liked it." he responded before smiling at her. "Let's get to the next scene. Where's my Stella?" he shouted as Mercedes looked back at Sam. She couldn't tell from where she was but it looked like he had a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Just like Kendra, Mercedes knew he was holding back his feelings for her. She was just going to have to be patient and wait till he was ready to face them head on.
After filming on set for hours, Mercedes couldn't wait to talk to Sam. She knew that Sam would be in his dressing room preparing to leave for the day. She knew today would be the best day to talk to Sam, since Brittany was not on set that day. She made her way towards his room and just as she was knocking he was already heading out. They both stopped and stared at each other once again. It was becoming a norm for the both of them at this point but she wanted to talk to him. They needed to talk.
Sam smiled at her and dropped his backpack on the ground before pulling her into his dressing room. He'd been thinking about this moment since the last time they kissed on set. This would be different. This would be Sam kissing Mercedes. He knew that as much as he wanted to, he just couldn't. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he took in her intoxicating aroma. He looked into her eyes and smiled as he placed his head against hers. Their nose rubbed against each other softly as he resisted kissing her the way he's wanted to kiss her. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. He hated that he could no longer resist and kissed her the way he'd always wanted to kiss her.
"Sam." Mercedes said repeatedly before deciding to snap her fingers in his face to get him out of the trance that he seemed to have been trapped in. "Hey...you in there?" she asked as she smiled at him as he snapped back into reality. She giggled as she wondered what he was thinking about before leaning on the his doorway. "Are you going to let me in or do I have to barge in?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Um...yeah, sorry I was just leaving." he replied as he stepped back and allowed her in. "Brittany's waiting for me at the apartment." he added as he watched her walk in. Mercedes didn't know that he was that serious with her that they lived together.
"She lives with you?" Mercedes asked as she turned to watch him stand in the doorway. Sam slowly closed the door and shrugged. He didn't know how to answer that question honestly. If anyone came over they would assume that she did live there. She rarely ever went home. "You guys are serious?" he took a deep breath because that was also a question he wasn't sure about as well. "So, you meant what you said on set?"
"Mercedes." he responded instead. She could tell that he was not liking what she was asking so she decided to back off a bit.
"I see." she replied before making her way over to him. "I thought you'd be happier to see me like I was happy to see you." she admitted. "When Finn asked me to return, all I kept thinking is how good it will be to finally see my friend again." she walked closer to him and placed her hand on his then added: "I missed you." he looked as if he was going to say he missed her too but instead he removed his hand from hers. "I don't want to come between what you have with Brittany. She's actually pretty cool." She admitted. As much as she knew in her core that they belonged together, Mercedes did not want to make Sam cheat. She truly just wanted to have Sam back in her life. "I just want my friend back." she finally said. Sam looked at her and had to admit he missed her as well. Just as Brittany said to him, he needed someone to talk to and she was always the right person to do that with.
"I want my friend back too." he finally admitted causing a smile to spread across her face as she pulled him in for a hug. "A lot of things has happened since you left."
"A lot of things has happened to me too. You have no idea how much. We have so much catching up to do. You gotta tell me everything."
Hey y'all thanks for being patient with me and continuing to read this story of mine. Sorry that I teased yall lol I just never wrote a fic that went 16 chapters without Sam and Mercedes already damn near married with children. This slow burn is getting on my nerves. Anywho, I'm trying not to rush it but dammit I want them to be together already lol.
Oh did you guys peep the gender swap scenes? Leave a comment if you remember which episode this was.
