Harry Owens- Ernie Hudson
The couples had left the art exhibit and were on their way to the restaurant, but it was taking forever.
"Jesus," Quinn complained. "You'd think that with all the work they're constantly doing on these roads, they'd create a more efficient way for people to travel on them."
Noah agreed. "Right? I don't know if you know how much money goes into actually re-paving roads, but there's plenty of that money and money from other places that could be used to just add a lane to the freeway. The money's there, but that's not something that people are concerned about until it affects them. When my mom was a councilwoman, mayor, and state senator, she tried to get another express lane opened, but people turned her down every time. "
"Oh, I bet. Especially at the state level. Our legislature is virtually useless. No offense."
"None taken. You're absolutely right."
While they were talking, Sam noticed that Mercedes had gone quiet, not saying a word since they got back in the car. He nudged her and she looked over to him. He made faces as their significant others talked, mocking them.
Her smile reached her ears.
Then, he sent her a text.
Noah- My mom's a US Senator.
Quinn- Ugh, state senators SUCK.
Noah- They do. Let's talk more about politics while our girlfriend and boyfriend make fun of us the whole time because they have no idea what we're talking about.
Upon reading it, Mercedes let out a loud laugh.
This caught Noah's attention. "What's so funny, babe?"
"Oh, nothing. Just a video I saw."
"Really? Let me see."
Max rolled down the partition, prompting Mercedes to let out a relieved sigh. Saved by the driver.
He said, "We've got a bit of a problem, Ms. Fabray."
"What is it?"
"I just got word that there's an accident up ahead. Traffic's backed up for miles. Even with a detour, we won't make it in time for your reservation."
She groaned, "You're kidding me."
"Sorry. If there is anywhere else you kids would like to go, I'll be glad to take you."
"You know what's just off this exit?" Sam looked at the other two passengers before looking at Mercedes.
"Seriously?" Mercedes gave him a questionable look. "Sam, look at us."
"So we're a little overdressed. What's the big deal?"
"I'm sorry," Quinn cut in, "what exactly are we talking about here?" She directed her question to Noah.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Sam. You're not seriously suggesting that." Mercedes looked out of the window. They were still in range to make it to the exit.
Noah frowned. "Not seriously suggesting what?"
"This night is about having fun right? Tell me what's more fun than that."
Noah raised his hand. "Hey. Question: When did we say this night is about having fun? I mean, I agree, but—"
"Guys, my dad had to pull some serious strings to get us this reservation. And we're what? Throwing a wrench in it 30 seconds after we hit some traffic?"
Sam pointed outside. "Quinn, do you see this? We're dead in the water. The wrench has already been thrown, but we can salvage the night. What do you think, Cedes?"
"This is going to be a disaster," she responded.
"I'll take that as a yes. Hey, Max." Sam turned around in his chair, using Mercedes' shoulder to help push himself over the partition.
Mercedes, not expecting to be used as a crutch, cackled as she grabbed onto his hand.
"Hey, Max. How's it going?"
Max tried to conceal his smile. "It's going good, Mr. Evans. How can I help you?"
"Oh. You know my last name! Nice. So, we're gonna switch it up a bit." He whispered their destination into his ear. "Think we can do that?"
Max nodded affirmatively. "We can."
"Awesome. This next exit is ours. But you probably know that already. Alright, thanks." He smacked Max lightly on the shoulder before returning to his seat and buckling up.
While Mercedes was in shambles, Noah and Quinn looked in between their dates and each other, lost.
Mercedes couldn't believe Sam was completely hijacking date night. Quinn had to be pissed.
They pulled into the parking lot and Quinn's brows went up with worry. "Harry's? We're going to a pizzeria?"
Sam didn't see the problem. "It's not just any pizzeria. It's our favorite pizzeria. Mercedes has taken you guys here before, right?"
While Quinn nodded, Noah's head went along the opposite axis. "Babe," he said quietly as if his volume would conceal their conversation from the couple on the other side of the cabin, "you never told me this was your favorite pizza place. Why didn't you tell me this was your favorite pizza place?"
She looked at Sam and Quinn, unsure of why he was whispering. She leaned in to join him. "Does it really matter?"
"I mean, it looks kind of bad for me when we've been together for almost 4 months and we've never been here."
"Bad for you?"
He cursed himself. "That's not what I meant. It's just—"
"Okay," Sam yelled, eager to end the awkward encounter, "let's head in. Yeah?" He got out and opened Quinn's door for her.
Mercedes led the group into the building and smiled when the owner of the pizzeria strolled up to them.
"I was wondering who was pulling up to my restaurant in a stretch limousine." He laughed. "Mercedes." He went in for a hug.
She returned it. "Hi, Harry."
Harry had been a longtime friend of her family, specifically her grandmother's. They both grew up together and now owned businesses in the city, so it was safe to say that they were pretty close. There was even a rumor (or three) that both Harry and her grandmother, becoming widowed at around the same time 6 years ago, leaned on one another and were now slightly more than friends and fellow business people. But you didn't hear that from her.
Harry had also been there for her and her siblings, treating them to free pizza when they were going through tough times. That was how Mercedes discovered her favorite pizza in the first place. He always treated her great when she came here. After her grandfather passed, Harry accompanied her to her school's father-daughter dances. She stopped going to them once she hit 9th grade, but she still considered him to be the closest thing she had to a father figure nowadays.
"Mercedes' friends," he spoke to them before recognizing Sam. "You're the new quarterback at McKinley, right? And you're staying with the Joneses?"
"Yes, sir, I am. Sam Evans."
He approved of him with a nod. "Nice to meet you, son." He extended his hand. I'm Harry. Surprised we haven't met before today. Line, Ms. Abby, she's told me a lot about you," After shaking Sam's hand, he eyed the other two. "Now, I've seen you before. Quinn, right?"
Quinn said yes.
"You're Sam Evans?" An employee spoke up from behind Harry.
Sam confirmed it. "I am."
The employee smirked. "Well, I'll be damned. I used to play ball at McKinley a long time ago. The last time we won a state championship. It's nice to finally put a face to the name. Nice to meet you, kid."
"You too," Sam trailed off as he waited for the man's name.
"Eric. Sorry about that. You know, since you showed up, people have been more excited about high school football than when I played. They said I was good, but they're saying you're great, man.
Mercedes beamed watching Sam receive his praise.
"You're doing a lot of great things for that school and this city. Keep up the good work."
Sam smiled, shocked as he thanked Eric. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but every time it did, he could never fully process it until a couple of days after. People knew him. Not only did they know him, but they knew what he could do. He stammered, "Th- thank you, sir."
Harry started dully at Eric. "I don't pay you to harass star quarterbacks, King. We've got food that needs to be made. Now," he turned his attention back to the four teenagers and pointed at Noah, "I don't think I've met you before, but you look familiar."
Mercedes introduced him. "Harry, this is Noah Jackson."
Harry snapped. "Senator Jackson's son. I knew I'd seen you somewhere."
"Yes, sir. It's nice to meet you." Noah initiated a handshake.
He smiled, surprised. "Nice firm grip you got there. We're big fans of your mom around here. The local business grant she announced when she was mayor helped us stay afloat during the recession. We've been keeping her past campaign posters up almost year-round. Matter of fact, we even keep her picture up on the wall over there next to our other hometown celebrities."
"Thanks for your support, sir. I'll be sure to tell her you said hello. Would it be too soon to say I'll make this our first stop when we're canvassing for re-election next year? Maybe even ask you to host a voter registration drive?"
He laughed. "You just let me know what you need, I've got you."
Noah glanced over at his girlfriend. "I will say, though, I'm not just here as her campaign manager in training. Right, Mercedes?"
"Right!" She nodded. "Noah's also on the football team. He's the head running back at McKinley."
"And." He opened his hand, signaling for her to interlock their fingers.
Mercedes followed the signal and smiled awkwardly. "And he's my boyfriend."
Harry's face lit up with his epiphany. "Oh, I see. We've got a little double date situation going on here, huh? But surely you four aren't dressed up this nice to come to a pizza joint?"
"Cancelled dinner reservations," Quinn explained.
"Gotcha. So are we going with the usual, Mercedes? Double pep with extra cheese and grease?"
"Actually, Harry, could we get some menus? We may want to have something a little fancier than pizza tonight."
"Of course. How about this? Y'all go find yourselves a place to sit and I'll have someone out to you in a bit? We'll take good care of you."
The kids thanked him and found a table. As they went to sit down, Quinn said, "Why don't we switch things up a little? Sam, I'll sit beside Mercedes and you can sit beside Noah."
Sam was fine with that. "Sounds good to me."
Mercedes silently thanked God. Now, it'll be harder for him to mess with me all night.
But boy, was she wrong. Sam never let up, not even as they sat diagonally across from each other. He would sneak in jokes that only she understood or make fun of their dates when they got really deep into conversation that they couldn't understand. Even as they got their food, he would. Not. Stop. She wasn't annoyed by it or anything. She actually really enjoyed it and ironically, it was really helping her take her mind off of… everything. Realizing that she loved Sam in that elevator, it'd done a number on her. Nothing felt unclear now. From her initial feelings about him, to why they gelled together so well, to why she just felt comfortable telling him things she'd never told anyone and taking him places she never went to with anyone, everything made sense. And while that should've been a good thing, it also meant that she had a very real dilemma on her hands. How could she love another guy when they're both in relationships? Relationships that she encouraged? She just hoped Quinn and Noah hadn't noticed how suddenly weird she was feeling.
From the looks of things, they didn't. Quinn and Noah were enjoying themselves, too. Mercedes hadn't realized it until that night, but they both had a lot in common. They were both rich, they both knew a lot about politics… Okay, that was as much as she knew they had in common. But it seemed to be enough for them. When the four of them weren't talking, the two of them were talking about politics. In the end, Mercedes didn't feel nearly as bad as she thought she would about the double date thing. Everyone was comfortable and having a good time. Coincidentally, both Noah and Quinn left to go to the bathroom at the same time, leaving Sam and Mercedes alone.
Sam saw an opportunity. "Wanna make a bet?"
She gasped and laughed. "Sam, what bet could we possibly make in such a short time? They only went to the bathroom. They'll be back soon."
"I know, which is why we have to make the bet quick or it won't work. Duh."
All in, she asked, "What are we betting on?"
"Who's gonna take longer looking at themselves in the mirror." He pointed at the mirror beside the bathroom hallway.
"Oh, god. Okay."
"So, who's going for the longest all-expense-paid trip to the mirror dimension? Your pretty boy boyfriend or my girlfriend who's wearing three different shades of blush?"
She squinted. "How did you know Quinn's wearing three different shades of blush?"
"Is she really? I was just guessing." He continued talking as she laughed. "I'm going with her for the win."
"I'm going with Noah."
"What?" He couldn't believe his ears.
"Oh, yeah. Quinn may be wearing makeup but like you said, Noah's a pretty boy. Pretty boys primp a lot more than pretty girls. So what are we wagering?"
He thought about it. "If you win—"
"When," she said calmly.
"If you win, I'll do all your baking duties for a week."
"All my baking duties?" She gave him a look. "It took you two weeks to figure out how to work the timer on the proofing cabinet."
"How was I supposed to know you have to turn the dial and THEN press the button? Since when is that how timers work?"
"Whatever. You can't take it back now. If by some bizarre chance you win, I'll… do your laundry for a week."
"Even my sweaty socks and gym shorts?"
She shrugged. "That's laundry, isn't it?"
"Oh, you're confident. Some might even say cocky."
"It's not cocky if you know you're going to win." She winked at him.
"Ok. Deal." They shook hands.
Noah came out of the bathroom first.
They both started counting as Noah checked his appearance, his hair, his suit, and his teeth, for a total of 10 seconds.
"There's no way Quinn's going to beat that," Sam said quietly. He was too excited to have no laundry for a week.
As if on cue, Quinn stepped in front of the mirror as Noah was walking away from it.
Seconds felt like hours, but she eventually left the mirror and a winner was decided. 3 seconds.
"Ha!" Mercedes cheered. "What did I tell you?"
"You can't be serious."
Quinn smiled softly as she and Noah arrived back at the table. "What are you two laughing about?"
"Nothing," Sam replied. "This woman and her husband were arguing outside. It was hilarious, but they're gone now."
The couples finished their meal and Noah asked for the check, but Harry waved him off. "It's on the house. Think of it as a gesture of good faith. You, Mr. Running Back and you, Mr. Quarterback take care of my girl and bring home a state championship tomorrow and we'll call it even. Capiche?"
Both Sam and Noah graciously accepted.
"But be careful; if I find out that you failed at either of those, you'll both be washing dishes for three months," he joked. "You kids stay safe out there."
They thanked him for the dinner and went to leave.
"Hey, Mercedes, hang back for a sec?" When her friends left, he gave her a bag. "Some slices of cheesecake for the four of you. Don't you go stealing your sister's, now."
She laughed and accepted the bag, knowing she was going to do exactly that.
He then gave her a side hug and said, "I wouldn't be a good grandfather figure if I didn't tell you this." He said quietly, "Whenever girls come here on double dates, I can always tell who they're actually on a date with. You know how?"
"How?"
"That's who they spend the night laughing and joking with." Still in their hug, he squeezed her shoulder. "Just a thought."
He could see what was going on between her and Sam. His look said it all. Hoping to leave his insight at that, she smiled sweetly and said, "Thanks for the dinner, Harry."
After they got back home and into regular clothes, Sam and Mercedes went straight to her room where they continued talking as if they hadn't spent the whole night together. They were also splitting Amaiya's cheesecake.
Sam had a question for Mercedes, "So, whose cheesecake are we eating right now? I saw four in the bag."
She fought her smile but ended up losing. He caught her. "She's 8! 8-year-olds don't eat cheesecake. Even if they do eat it, they don't like it."
He eyed her. "You sure about that?"
She nodded and lied as she stuck another forkful in her mouth. "Their taste buds aren't developed enough. It's, like, scientifically proven."
"Oh. Well, given how outrageously smart you are, if you say something is 'like, scientifically proven', I simply must believe you no questions asked."
They finished Amaiya's dessert and laid back on her bed, filled to the brim.
"So, tonight was something, huh?" She asked after a while.
"Yeah. I ended up googling that restaurant Quinn had the reservations for. She was right. Swanky."
"Certainly not as swanky as Harry's, though."
"Oh, of course not. Are you crazy?" He smiled. "I wouldn't dare recommend Harry's if it wasn't just as… okay, I need another word. I can't keep saying 'swanky' over and over again."
Chuckling, she offered, "I can help you with that. Let's see." She stared up at her ceiling as she conjured up some decent synonyms. "You can say luxurious. Or ritzy. Or my personal favorite, posh."
"Would ostentatious work?"
She rolled her eyes. "It would."
"I think I'll just go with that, then. Because not to be mean or anything, but the whole night was pretty showy and snobbish. Like, I knew Quinn had money, but I didn't even know you could get cars with backseats that face each other."
She grabbed his wrist in excitement, nearly wringing her neck with how quickly she looked over to him. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"
He laughed aloud. "Whoa. Seriously? Because I thought maybe I was being weird because no one said anything."
"No, it's not just you; I'd never seen it before. And the partition? I thought those only existed in movies and Beyoncé songs. I just didn't say anything about it."
"And let's not forget that the art exhibit tickets were $55. $55! Thank god she paid for it because if it were my money, we would've done anything other than that. Rich or not."
She agreed. "Same. But Quinn's not just rich, she's 'daddy's money' rich. She does stuff like that every weekend."
"And of course Noah didn't say anything. He's probably been in multiple cars like that. You know, with his mom, the councilwoman, mayor, state senator, U.S. senator, and president? Was president the other thing that he said?"
Despite knowing he was joking, Mercedes couldn't let him slide. "I know what you're doing."
He looked offended. "What am I doing? It was a joke!"
"Taking jabs at Noah. You said you'd stop that."
"I said I'd respect your relationship. Which I have." Despite how hard it's been. "And I haven't even been that hard on him."
"You called him a pretty boy at the restaurant," she said, rolling her eyes at the doubtful look he gave her just as the sentence left her mouth.
"Isn't that kind of common knowledge, though?"
"It doesn't matter, Sam. You need to be nicer."
"Fine! But I can't act like I love him forever. Eventually, I'm going to have to comment on how much substance I think he lacks."
"That's fine. You can just be my friend who isn't fond of my boyfriend. But that's all. Understand?"
"I understand."
"Please, don't make this any harder than it needs to be, Sam."
"I said I understand." He sat up. "Scout's honor." He saluted her with his left hand.
"Right."
"Mercedes, I'm serious, oka-"
"No, I mean the Scouts salute with their right hand." She smiled a little before taking his right hand and shaping it into the salute herself.
"What would I do without you?" He laughed.
They locked eyes and Mercedes felt it again: that feeling. Why couldn't she shake it? Was this really love? Is this really what it feels like?
A knock at her door interrupted them.
"Time for bed, you two," Abeline said on the other side. "I feel like I say this every night, but you've got school tomorrow."
She wasn't wrong about saying it every night. Since Mercedes and Sam had their rewind, they were inseparable. They would spend all night in her room talking, dancing, laughing, you name it. During the day, if they were at school, they were talking and texting whenever they could, though Mercedes refused to routinely text in class. After school, when they were both at the bakery, all their individual tasks became something that just couldn't be done without a partner. Maybe that was why tonight felt like just another night for them. Well, for him. For Mercedes, tonight felt different. She didn't think she would ever have 'just another night' with him again.
Forgetting the instructions they'd just received, they laid back down.
"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"
Sam turned his head toward hers as he slowed his breathing. She had no clue how nervous he was, but it had next to nothing to do with football. Sam decided that tomorrow would be the day. After he won the state championship, he would tell her that he was in love with her. Sam wasn't fooling himself, though; in order for things to go as planned, he knew he had to win the game first. "You wanna hear what I'm telling everyone else or the truth?"
"Surprise me."
He smirked before saying confidently, "Hell no, I'm not nervous. We're gonna hand the other team their asses on a platter and bring home the championship trophy. You know why? Because that's what we do."
She gave a surprised look. "Wow. Very macho."
He chuckled at her.
"Now the truth?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't think I've ever been so nervous about anything in my life." He paused before elaborating. "Sure, I wanted to play football, but when I moved here, I never thought I would've gotten to this point. I couldn't have even dreamed this for myself and now it's happening."
"But that's a good thing, right?"
"It is, don't get me wrong. But it could make or break my football career. You heard Harry today. And that Eric guy? Everyone's putting all this pressure on me to bring some 'honor' back to the school and the city. Random people I've never seen before are calling out to me on the street." He smiled through his confusion. "Coach Beiste has spent the last five weeks telling me that this is gonna be one of the biggest nights of my life."
"But you feel ready, right? You should. I mean, you've been practicing overtime almost every day this week. And I know you've been sneaking my protein bars from the pantry, so that's sure to have helped some." She eyed him playfully.
His cheeks went blazing red. "Yeah, I'm ready for it. But it could mean so much for me either way. What if we don't win? To get everyone's hopes up just to let them down—"
"Is not something you're going to do. And even if that were the case, who cares?" She sat up. "You get to do what you love tomorrow, Sam. Focus on that. You've got this." She gave him an encouraging nudge. "And if you do lose, at least everyone else in this city will leave you the hell alone."
"That or an angry mob will show up and demand that we give them all the chocolate croissants they want for free."
They laughed before being interrupted by Abeline for the second time.
"Bed. Now."
Still laughing, Mercedes winced. "Sorry, Grandmother! We're going!"
On the other side of the door, Abeline smiled, heartwarmed. Sam being here was proving to be a good thing for both of them; her granddaughter hadn't laughed so much and been so talkative in a long time. She didn't even expect it to, but having him here was changing her for the better.
Mercedes lowered her face down to his and said quietly, "You should go. She doesn't get angry that often, but when she has to repeat herself more than once, things can escalate pretty quickly."
Sam's eyes found hers once more before he got up, his heart pounding. He'd really come to love this girl in front of him. Some days he felt bad about it because he'd already promised to stay out of her relationship with Noah, but on all others, he knew that he was right. Today had been one of those days. He made his way to the door. "See you tomorrow?"
"Bright and early."
He only hoped she would believe he was right too. He couldn't bear to lose her again, but he also couldn't bear to sit on his feelings any longer.
"Hey, Sam?" she called out to him just as he reached the door.
"Yeah, Cedes?"
"You're going to do great tomorrow. Stop stressing."
Part 2 (finally)! I haven't gotten a chance to read y'all's reviews yet, but I see that there have already been quite a few, so I'm thanking you in advance. I'm also looking forward to what you'll have to say about this chapter! The next update is going to be pretty big for Sam and Mercedes individually and as a unit. It'll definitely be another two-parter, but I'm not quite sure if I want to post them back to back or with time in between like my others. I welcome any thoughts/suggestions y'all may have on that. Hope you all enjoyed the double date!