Fly / I believe I Can Fly

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You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to

Thursday

I make it alone, when love is gone, still you made your mark, here in my heart
One day I'll fly away, leave your love to yesterday, what more can your love do for me
When will love be through with me…

Sam and Quinn stood in the doorway of the auditorium watching as Mercedes sang her heart out hoping to get a place on the summer showcase "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Quinn turned to look at him

"It is" he smiled at her through tears

"Sam" she turned shocked "What's the matter?"

"I…" he looked into her eyes "Nothing, it's just moving" he turned to walk away

"Hey" she ran after him and grabbed his arm "I meant what I said back in school" she smiled at him "You'd make the perfect father for Beth"

"I'm not Beth's father Quinn, Puck's…"

"Forget Puck, he's not who I want"

"But Puck wants his child, the two of you have been singing that song for nearly seven years now, and I have no intention of getting in the middle of it"

"I said" she stopped him from walking away "I don't want Puck, I want you"

"Like you wanted Finn, Puck, Finn again, Joe, that dickhead Biff and Puck again?"

"I've changed" she held onto him smiling "Seriously I've changed"

"Unfortunately for you so have I" he smiled at her "I can't be who you need me to be Quinn" he looked up at the rush of people crossing the corridor, Quinn turned to see what had caught his attention, irritated at Mercy being in the crowd

"She's never going to be that girl for you, you know that?" she frowned at him "Mercedes is destined for bigger things and sorry Sam, but you're not it"

"Thanks Quinn" he pulled his arm away from her roughly and walked away

"I didn't mean it like… Sam" she called after him

"She was trying again, wasn't she?" Blaine came to walk alongside him; he'd been watching them talking in the corridor "I thought you went to see…"

"She blindsided me on the way there" Sam snapped

"What are you going to do about that one" he nodded at Quinn stood watching them "She's used to getting what she wants?"

"She had me remember, she cheated and for me, there's no way back"

"There is a way back Sam" Blaine looked at him

"For you and Kurt yeah" he laughed "You two are the real deal" he looked at his friend "Quinn and I weren't, she just happened to like me when I was nobody and I enjoyed the ride, but she's got her own agenda and good luck to her"

"Seems like her agenda is you" Blaine laughed

"But my agenda is Mercy Jones" he rolled his eyes "That love that Kurt and you have" he looked at his friend "Well I think I have that with her; she was singing earlier, and no word of a lie, I saw a halo over her head"

"You are fucking whipped dude" Blaine laughed

"Maybe as much as you, about Kurt?" he looked at his friend

Quinn was an ex-girlfriend that wouldn't let go, he'd carried a light for her for a long while after things went south for them, because underneath it all she was the sweetest person, but the hurt had been real and deep, she'd cheated on him without any cause, and he couldn't forgive it. They'd stayed friends after he'd got over things, because she was the first friend he'd made at the school, he'd never had a friend of the opposite sex, plus she had insight into the way girls worked that helped when he needed advice.

Since starting at NYADA five months ago he tried several times to strike up a conversation with this girl he liked, he'd miraculously got the opportunity to work with her on an assignment, but for whatever reason it had never got off the ground. They'd ended up kissing, she flipped, told him she wasn't going there, he wasn't who she needed in her life, he was to leave her alone, put distance between them, he wasn't her type, and that was it.

"Are you listening to me?" Blaine knocked him

"What?" Sam looked at his friend his eyes vacant "What did you say?"

"Forget it" Blaine laughed "You know what, foods always good in situations like this" he pointed to the canteen "You must be hungry seeing halo's above girls heads and shit, anyone would think she's an angel or something" he laughed

"She is" he knocked his friend "Leave me alone"

"Leave you alone, seriously?" Blaine looked at him trying to work out his mood

"I was thinking of choosing a song for choir and asking her to sing it with me" he smiled "What do you think?"

"I think you'll go totally off topic and pick something soppy, declaring your undying love…"

"Don't be so dramatic" he laughed

"Halo's" Blaine reminded him "That's assuming you can get her in the same room"

"There is that" he laughed

"But look on the upside, you'll have to practice day and night to get it right" Blaine laughed

"But I will get it right" he warned walking away, doubling back on himself to find the auditorium, he needed to grab one of the guitars and get rid of the negative vibes Quinn had left him with, he sat strumming hoping to come up with the perfect duet. "How did I get here?" he asked himself, looking at the dilemma he'd found himself in

Sam's Thoughts

At the ripe age of fifteen I'd thought Quinn was everything I'd ever wanted in a girlfriend, and maybe if that was in another life, at another time, and there hadn't been the betrayal I might still believe it. At the core of my rejection of her offer, was the fact that I'd never trust her again, and I wasn't willing to live like that.

But there was also the fact that I have a friend, one close enough to be regarded as a brother, who I know is in love with the girl. And although the man had stood back and let her live her life, he along with all us guys, knew that girl and his baby belonged to him. So, there wasn't just the fact that I truly didn't want to start anything with her, but even if I had, my friendship with Puck wouldn't allow it

Then on the other hand, I'd met this girl in college, who I knew from the second our eyes met, I could only see as mine, that so far I'd spent a hot evening with and months adoring. We'd hooked up for our first assignment on a song from the original 1954 screen play of Carmen Jones and ended up having the deepest conversations, I found myself, debating, understanding and experiencing love for the first time as an adult.

I surprised myself as I sat talking freely to her, sharing things that no other living soul knew about me, she listened to me and more over I believe she understood me. It's hard to explain but in those moments, I knew the feelings, thoughts, and dreams we shared were meant to be experienced together, and because of that I knew it was never going to be easy to let her go.

Things got physical between us that last night, we shared a kiss, confirming for me it was more of a meeting of hearts and minds, than anything else, we made a connection, but for her it was the end, and I respected that, until two weeks ago, when my feelings just kept getting stronger

End of Sam's Thoughts

"Ha" he laughed strumming his guitar as he remembered her sat in front of him, asking him to do the assignment with her, apparently, she wanted to piss off some guy that was bugging her. Sam was on cloud nine when he walked her home that evening, she'd nearly fell over a loose paving stone, and she'd let him hold her hand, it was only for maybe half a second, but he was flying high, he strummed harder on the guitar trying to find a song.

But time, and maybe peer pressure had been cruel, he was still questioning how he'd let that happened. Now she was barely talking to him, rarely looked at him and was trying her best to avoid being in the same room as him, or at least in a situation that would force them to talk, and he wasn't happy about it.

He'd talked himself up for nearly a week to Blaine and just about got the balls to front her when he'd heard her singing, and he couldn't for the life of him imagine her singing a song like that and not thinking about him, but there she was doing exactly that, as if everything they'd been through hadn't even happened

Flashback

I'd come a long way to find the love of my life, well I didn't know it was her I was looking for at the time, but whatever my parents had sent me across the country for, must have been something better than what I had at home. My dad swore he'd never heard anyone play a guitar like I did, and although I didn't think I was all that, audition after audition had proved me wrong, the next thing I knew I was enrolling into NYADA one of the best music schools ever

It wasn't all easy street, I wasn't fitting in, I was through and through country, this place was popping in all sorts of ways, people talked different, dressed different, and danced a lot, it really wasn't my type of thing, but I'd stuck with it and made it through the first week. I'd resided myself to a life of loneliness unable to fit in anywhere when in the food hall one afternoon a guy waved to me from across the hall smiling

"Hey" I waved back smiling, he beckoned for me to go across to where a group of guys were sat

"Blaine" he held his fist out "You play guitar, right?"

"Yeah" I smiled knocking fists with him "Sam"

"Well Sam you should come join the musicians; we get most of the action around here"

"You do?" I laughed wondering how the hell that could even happen, they didn't look popular, huddled in their little group

"No shit, you stick with us" Blaine pointed to the table with four guys sat round it "We'll see you right" he brought me over to them "He doesn't believe we got the pick" he laughed telling his friends

"Watch this" one of the guys smiled at me banging the table giving a beat

One of them shouted and the guys just started jamming, beatboxing, playing guitars, anything they had near to be honest, the tune soon became familiar, heavy, and loud, the place came alive people nodding to the music, some got up dancing and then after about a minute of music the voices joined in. I smiled at being in the middle of one of those high school jams that only happen in movies or NYADA I remember thinking I could get used to it. A group of girls took the bait and started rapping, it was different, I was enjoying their rendition of Big Energy (Remix) by Latto, Mariah Carey Ft DJ Khaled. Then suddenly this voice joined, I heard it before I saw her, but when I did, she looked exactly how she sounded, I can't lie I was mesmerised, the guys were playing their hearts out while random people came up to sing something to the music, but this one girl sang that part every time.

…Oh, when you walk by every night talking sweet and looking fine, I get kind of hectic inside, mm

baby, I'm so into you, darling, if you only knew, all the things that flow through my mind
But it's just a sweet, sweet…

"Who is that?" I asked Blaine who'd been dancing as if his life depended on it the whole time

"Mercy Jones" he looked over at her "She's topping the bill for the main vocal artist at the summer showcase" he tapped my chest like we were friends "Told you we got the chick magnet cornered"

"Not at all surprised with those mad runs" I laughed as the song ended

"So?" a guy using the table as drums asked, "Are you in?"

"Yeah" I smiled, if Mercy Jones was going to rock up every time we played, hell yes, I was in

"Great" he held his hand out "Ryder"

And from that day to this, it had been party after party, girls throwing themselves at us, and music, so when Mercy finally asked me to hook up for the assignment, for me it was a major breakthrough, I fumbled my words, played the fool a lot, but that seemed to make her comfortable around me, and that's what I wanted.

The end of the assignment was bittersweet because I thought we were getting somewhere, moving forward into something special, but for her it was obviously just an assignment, we held hands, kissed, and parted company all in one night. Now we were here, in limbo, I needed her to know I felt something, unsure if it would even matter to her, because she'd already made it clear she needed distance, but I'd woke up knowing today was the day, do, or die.

End of Flashback

Well regardless of whether she wanted it to matter or not, he was going to let her know, today, that it mattered to him, he strummed hard on his guitar

"Things are getting serious" Blaine walked in on him smiling at how hard he was strumming

"It's happening today, I can't carry on putting myself through this, especially if it's for nothing"

"Good choice" Blaine smiled "Have you thought of a song?"

"No" he smiled "But that's not putting me off, I'm just going to tell her how I feel"

"What if she doesn't feel the same?"

"I guess that's something I need to find out, so if she knocks me back" he shrugged his shoulders

"Good luck"

"Thanks" he smiled putting the guitar down "I'm sure she has her next seminar in about twenty" he jumped up and left the auditorium, Blaine sat shaking his head, he wasn't going to be the one to tell him that girl was way out of his league

"Mercy" he walked into the food hall and across to the table she was sitting at with her usual group of friends "Could I have a word please?" he looked around the table "In private"

"Ohhhh" her friends jibed

"I've got a few minutes" Mercy got up and stepped a few feet away from her friends

"Just…" he carried on walking, across the food hall and out into the corridor, he passed a few classrooms before he found an empty one

"Should I be scared?" she asked watching him shut the door behind her

"No" he laughed showing her a seat "I just needed to talk to you"

"I know things have been funny between us since the assignment, I mean we kissed and then dismissed it…"

"I didn't dismiss it actually" he butted in "Actually that's what I needed to talk to you about" he took a breath "Since that day I've thought of nothing else to be honest and I woke up this morning determined I wasn't going another day without telling you how I feel" he smiled nervously "Feel free to slap me, or whatever it is you need to do when I've finished"

"I'm not going to slap you" she laughed

"I know it was an assignment, but I thought we had something going and then…"

"As I said I was a bit dismissive" she laughed nervously "We connected Sam, I don't want you to think we didn't, but…" she looked around the room "I feel like I'm breaking a code" she leaned forward

"About what?" he leaned forward eager to hear

"You don't come without baggage do you, and Quinn made it more than clear you two have unfinished business" she checked the door "I mean you have a baby together"

"I.." he gasped trying to take in what she was saying "Quinn and I were a long time ago, in high school and by the time I met her she'd already got her child with a guy who became one of my best friends, Beth; that's the child's name, isn't mine, and I have no ties with Quinn" he laughed "Who told you that?"

"Quinn did, but it was the word going around campus, when we started our assignment" she frowned "Everyone thought I was out of line, hence why I ended things so abruptly"

"She can be a bit full on" he frowned "And just to be clear, I'm not and never will be with Quinn again" he smiled "Because I'm very interested in you"

"And I'm very interested in you" she smiled

"So, dare I ask how interested?"

"I tried to sing a song for the showcase yesterday, and burst out crying because all I could think about was you" she laughed shyly "Total drama" she rolled her eyes "My friends rushed me off to the bathroom to have a good cry, I think they felt sorry for me"

"I heard the song" he smiled "I was pissed you weren't thinking about me"

"For two people who communicate well, we've not been doing too well lately"

"I was hoping we could do a collaboration for the showcase"

"I've already asked Jake to play for me" she bit her bottom lip trying to think of a way around it "But we haven't started anything yet, if you could join us that would be epic"

"So, what are we thinking, I mean what do you think about what I said?"

"What did you say?" she grinned

"Nothing really" he smiled after considering the conversation "I was wondering if we could hang out for a while, see if what we feel is anything"

"You know there's going to be drama from Quinn, she probably knows we're in here already, she'll be rallying up the troops, my name will be dirt"

"I can deal with that"

"How?" she looked at him suspiciously

"A phone call" he smiled "As I said Puck's one of my closest friends" he laughed "She's just different when he's around"

"You get your names unattached, prove to everyone what she said isn't true and we can talk again"

"I'm on it" he laughed "We'll be talking again by the end of the week" he stood up "That went better than I thought it would"

"I'm glad we had this talk" she smiled standing up "Remember what we said about how we show our emotions?"

"I remember" he smiled

"I'm going to be late for class" she stepped past him "And yes I do" she looked at his lips "But until all this is cleared up, I don't"

"As I said, I'm on it" he smiled and watched her walk away before punching the air for his victory

Friday

"Dude" Sam stood in his dorm calling Puck "Problem"

"Sup?" Puck's husky voice asked "Better be fucking life threatening, you woke me up"

"Your girl's walking around telling people you're not Beth's father"

"What?" Puck snapped "Who's her father?"

"You are dude" Sam laughed "But she's trying to tell everyone it's me"

"What's going on?" Puck laughed "She making a move for you again?"

"I don't know how your so relaxed about this" Sam laughed "Yeah, but I draw a line"

"So do I" Puck laughed "Beth's my daughter, so I can help with that, but Q's all on you, I'm not messing with that"

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"She knows how I feel, she's playing the long game" he laughed "I'll be there this afternoon"

"Okay" Sam smiled closing the call "Now I've just got to deal with Quinn" he shoved his phone in his pocket and went to collect some important tickets, before he made his way to his first class, he came out of that rolling his eyes at seeing Quin waiting "Quinn" he smiled at her

"Is that smile saying you've had a change of heart?" she asked

"Made a decision" he corrected her

"Oh" she turned to walk backwards in front of him "Excited"

"It's not going to happen for us Quinn" he stopped walking "Just to confirm, I'm saying no" he watched her face drop "And you lying about me, telling everyone I was Beth's father, that's just so wrong"

"I didn't…" the stunned look on her face made him smile

"You did" he frowned "And that was so low I had to tell Puck"

"You told him?" her eyes widened

"Everything" he nodded "You told the whole of NYADA I was Beth's father" he raised his voice at her

"I'm sorry" was all she had to say, obviously she wasn't looking forward to her conversation with Puck

"You might as well hear it from me, I'm…"

"That Mercy Jones?" she snarled, at his grin

"Yes, Mercy Jones" he nodded walking away, he had something he really needed to do, but first he needed courage, of course he grabbed a guitar, building himself up for his next move

"Hey" Mercy smiled at seeing him waiting outside her class "I'll catch you up" she told her girls "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Remember our conversation in the café that first evening, when you said you felt like you could fly"

"I actually said I believe I can fly" she grinned

"Remember what you said after that?"

"Not really" she looked up at him

"You said you'd trust your life to someone who was willing to take that leap of faith with you"

"Oh yeah" she laughed "I'm a handful, a mess, but you know all of that" she giggled

"I know all that, and I still want to take that leap with you" he held his hand out "Literally" he showed her two tickets "What better way to start this adventure"

"What are… No" she shook her head as she looked at them

"Leap of faith" he raised his eyebrows calling her out on what she'd said

"Figuratively not literally"

"Mercy Jones" he knelt in front of her "I'm asking you to fly with me?"

"Remind me to be careful what I say in future" she giggled "If I do this you'll sing for me?"

"Deal" he laughed at her grabbing the tickets "Does this mean we're hanging out?"

"I guess it does" she grinned walking away with the tickets, giggling with her waiting friends

He couldn't wait to tell Blaine and the others what had happened, they celebrated with music as usual, threw some food around and were about to get into it again when Puck turned up, Sam introduced him to the crew and then left with him, filling him in on the way.

"Meet in that café across the road after class, we can catch up" Puck told him when they finally found Quinn

Later all four of them sat in the café, Quinn flashing looks at Mercy, while Mercy held her own, Sam and Puck left them to it, it was up to them to sort their shit out "I need to hear that song, it's nearly six" Mercy finally piped up

"I guess he'll have to learn to share you with the music" Quinn smirked

"I'm singing actually" Sam told her "Bro" he fist bumped Puck "Do you want to come?"

"It's been a while since I heard those chords" Puck laughed "We're there" he grabbed Quinn's hand, giving her no choice

"Guys" he smiled when they walked into the auditorium to see everyone practicing "I promised that song" he looked at Mercy "Got to keep my word"

"Get up here" Blaine waved at him

"This is for you" he smiled at Mercy letting her hand go to climb on stage

Sam: You make me crazy, I swear to God, tearing my hair out when we don't get along
You say you hate me, I say I'm done, but it's a lie cause I never really want you to go

No, I can't play the villain in this scene, when you pull me back in so damn easy, honey, you do something to me, mm-hm

Blaine & Sam: Sometimes, I just want to fight, hard as I try, baby, I can't stay mad at you
One look in your eyes, I realize you got a way with me, you do, I can't stay mad, yeah, mad, no, I can't stay mad at you
One look in your eyes, I realize, you got a way with me, you do, (Blaine: you do, you do, you do)… 'Mad At You' by Drax Project

"This is insane" Mercy smiled at Puck

"Mr Smooth we call him" Puck told her

"I see what your girl sees in him" she looked at Quinn

"By the sound of him, he's all yours now"

"You got that right" she smiled

Saturday

"This is higher than I thought" Mercy stood at the top of the bungee jump bridge looking down "I'm scared" she grabbed hold of him "We're strapped together tight enough, aren't we?" she asked the instructor

"Everything's set" he nodded

"We face this together we can do anything, flying's just the beginning" Sam laughed "Besides you were the one who said…"

"I believe I can fly, I know" she rolled her eyes at him "Fly with me"

"Always" he nodded to the guy and grabbed hold of her, they screamed all the way down, only starting to laugh when they bounced back up

"Please tell me we get less adventurous after this?" she giggled as they hung upside down clinging to each other

"No promises just yet" he laughed "But kisses?" he pulled her close and kissed her

"I'll need more of that" she grinned

"Another jump?"