A/N: Hello, all!

Sam and Mercedes are a couple on the show! :)

Enjoy!

On Monday, everyone in the glee club as well as the rest of the school was talking about Sam and Mercedes or 'Samcedes' as several of their classmates have referred to them.

Gossip often travels quickly at McKinley High School, and both Sam and Mercedes were used to being the topic of conversations throughout the school, so neither teenager was surprised to hear fellow students ask them questions about one another and about the two of them together.

Sam exited the locker room, after speaking with his friends whom were very eager to hear about his relationship with Mercedes. All of them assumed that, as usual for Sam, he and Mercedes were having sex, and he made a promise to her that he'd keep quiet about it to protect Mercedes' reputation, a luxury that he typically would not provide a girl with whom he was sexually involved.

Although it was easy to deny everything, it was not easy to accept that his own friends expected something like that from him, like it was impossible for him to ever want something more than just sex from a girl.

Sam shook his head with a chuckle as he thought about their assumptions.

As he walked down the hallway, he saw Mercedes as she walked out of one of the classrooms.

He hadn't seen or heard from her since Friday. He did text her after glee club practice was over to ask her if she was upset with him about the kiss, and she responded by ensuring him that she was not upset, which he was glad to know.

He picked up his pace as he continued walking, headed over to her.

As Sam walked up behind her, he grabbed her shoulder. "Mercedes."

She turned around and looked at him. "...Hi, Sam." She said with a smile.

"Hey," he smiled back. His eyes wandered from her eyes to her lips, as the memory of the kiss they shared formed. He looked at his feet for a moment before speaking again. "How's it going?"

She noticed that he'd been focusing on her lips, causing her to lick them as she looked downward as well. She answered him. "Okay."

The hallway steadily began to get more crowded as more students and teachers left the classrooms.

"Can we talk?" He asked. "Somewhere else, that is?"

Mercedes knew what he wanted to talk about. Slowly, she nodded. "Sure."

He grabbed her hand and together they walked over to a set of double doors, leading to a hallway that was smaller and secluded.

They opened the doors and walked about halfway down the hallway.

Once there, they stood still and faced each other.

Sam spoke first. "Mercedes…is everything,you know…good between us? I mean, I know that you already mentioned that you weren't upset about the kiss…I hope that you still feel that way."

Mercedes nodded. "Of course, Sam. And anyway, there is no reason to be upset. It's not like you went too far or did anything that I asked you not to do." She said. "You and I kissed each other."

Sam was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," Mercedes said.

He smiled. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

Mercedes felt guilty for ever giving him the impression that she was upset with him, especially about the kiss. "I'm sorry for leaving practice the way I did. I didn't leave because I was upset. I was just a little…overwhelmed by what happened between us." She said honestly. "I was just surpised by the kiss."

He looked at her. "No, no, that's okay. I understand." He said sincerely.

She smiled as well.

"Who wouldn't have been surprised?" He asked rhetorically. "I should've been more of a gentleman and less of myself." He said with a chuckle. "I mean, God, I practically stuck my tongue down your throat."

Mercedes laughed. "That's what I mean, though. You didn't force me to go along with anything."

"Still, I feel like I should be the one apologizing to you," he said.

"…I liked the kiss." Mercedes said quietly.

Sam slowly looked into her eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd heard her correctly, though he desperately hoped he had. "…What?"

Mercedes looked at him. "I liked the kiss…"

Sam smiled. He was excited by her statement.

"…which is why I left practice." She continued.

Sam was confused. "Wait…so…you liked the kiss…but, what? Did you…not want to like it?"

Mercedes shook her head. "Oh, no. It's not that." She said. "It's just that…I've had lots of feelings that I have had to face, and before you and I kissed, these feelings were only results of the car accident. I was sad, and at times, I thought I'd never stop feeling that sadness…until we kissed."

Sam wanted to know how she felt about the kiss, and about him. "And what sort of feelings do you have now?"

Mercedes smiled. "Well, I certainly know now that I am still capable of feeling something other than sadness."

Sam smiled back. "Good," he said as he held her hands.

She intertwined their fingers.

Sam came to a decision. "Well, you've told me how you feel, so I think I should do the same."

Mercedes did not have any idea about what it was that he was going to say.

"Mercedes, I like you. I like you, a lot." Sam said and he went on to tell Mercedes all of the things he'd wanted to tell her for weeks now. "And even if you don't feel the same way about me, I just want you to know that I would never want to do anything to ruin what we have. Our relationship, friendly or romantic, means a lot to me."

She was speechless.

He could not have been happier to finally tell her how he felt about her. He knew that she was going through a lot, and he had already known that if she gave him any reason to believe that they could make the transition from friends to more than friends, he would be willing to wait until she's ready.

She gave him a smile. "I like you too, Sam."

He wasn't sure which touched his heart more, her smile or her words. He smiled as well.

They looked into each other's eyes.

In this moment, the only thing on each teen's mind was to share a second kiss.

Sam and Mercedes leaned towards each other until their lips touched.

They kissed gently, enjoying the feeling of being able to do so and knowing that it is something that they each want just as much as the other.

Eventually, the kiss ended, though they slowly pulled their lips apart as they savored the flavor of the other's lips.

They were quiet for a while, only smiling and caressing each other's hands.

Suddenly, they heard the school bell ring.

Sam spoke. "We should get going before we get to our classes even later."

Mercedes agreed. "Yeah, let's go."

As they walked over to the double doors, they held hands, looking at each other with smiles as they did so.

The teens walked down the now empty hallway.

"I can't believe how wrong I was about how things would be today," Sam said with a chuckle. "I didn't even know if you'd still want to be friends, and I had no idea that we felt the same way about each other."

Mercedes giggled. "Well, to be honest, I did consider avoiding you for as long as I could." She said. "Even though I was never upset about the kiss, I wasn't sure if I was ready to see you yet, and face those feelings, as a result."

"I doubt that any of the gossip has made things easier." He said.

"So you've been hearing it, too?" She asked.

Sam nodded.

Mercedes found it all to be both common and interesting, common because the other high school students here at McKinley are clearly incapable of socializing without referring to gossip of some kind, and interesting because she was now involved in a second piece of gossip in only the last few weeks, in fact, ever since the new school year began.

She thought about some of the things that several girls have asked and told her about Sam, including questions about how he treats her and statements about his reputation regarding sex.

She laughed as she remembered some of the conclusions to which many girls jumped, unaware that they were false.

"We've got some serious 'Glee gossipers,' Mercy." Sam said.

"I guess so, Sammy." She said.

They continued walking down the hallway, until they approached their stop.

Since their classrooms were on opposite ends of the floor, they would now be heading in different directions.

Sam wanted to ask Mercedes a question. "Mercedes…can I ask you something?"

"You already did." She said before smiling and giggling. "Sure."

"…How long have you liked me?" He asked.

Mercedes wanted to hear his answer to the same question. "You answer first."

Sam shook his head and pointed to himself. "I am the one that asked the question first."

Mercedes sighed playfully. "Fine," she said. "For a few weeks. I should tell you though, there were three defining moments. The first was when you sang at the glee club auditions. I was amazed by your performance. The second was when you came over to visit me the day after the service for my family. I needed a friend, and since then, you have given me everything I could ever need from a friend. And the third was…well…our kiss during our duet. No explanation will be given."

Sam smiled.

"Okay, so now you answer the question." Mercedes said.

Sam told her. "I've liked you for a while." He said.

Mercedes wanted details. "How long is 'a while?'"

Sam spoke again. "Well, I will say one thing." He whispered in her ear. "I was 'amazed' by you too when I first heard you sing, and you've had me hooked ever since."

Mercedes smiled.

Sam looked at her with a smirk. "I guess there is such a thing as 'fate.'" He said before he kissed her hand and winked at her, then he turned around and began heading to class.

Mercedes grinned as she watched him walk away, and soon after, she began walking in the opposite direction towards her own class.

They each took a few steps before looking back at the other teenager, smiling during the glance.

Sam and Mercedes were excited that everything between them was not 'okay,' but…'perfect.'

A/N: With finals coming up, I'll be busy for the next few weeks.

So what did you all think about this chapter?

Let me know!