Wow, I have been really terrible about updating...

But thanks to all of you that have stuck with me!

I really hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Sam's senior year hadn't really turned out like he planned. First, she broke up with him, right before school started, which was in no way fair. They had both known that it was going to be hard to maintain a long distance relationship but what does it say about a relationship when you don't even try? There was no chance that Sam was going to give up on Mercedes that easily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We just can't okay," she decided. "I told you why but you won't listen."

"Oh, I've listened and all I heard was that you're giving up on us."

"I'm not giving up. I just think that it would be better if we'd end it now before we end up having one of those weird long distance relationships where no one calls the other and we just kind of fizzle out."

"What does that even mean?"

"People grow apart, Sam. And it wouldn't do either of us any good to have to go through that."

"Who says we have to grow apart?"

"Sam, we'll be hundreds of miles away from each other."

"So?"

"It's just-"

"Just what? 'Cedes, why are giving up on us?"

"It's not that, I'm just saying-"

"Well, I'm just saying that we should at least give it a try."

"You're going to be a senior in high school. My senior was incredible, thanks to you and I don't want to be the reason you don't enjoy yours."

"You think that having a girlfriend would ruin my senior year?"

"No, but having one that you'd never see just might."

"I'd see you."

"Yea, through Skype and on holidays but it's not the same."

"It's better than nothing."

"Is it really?" she asked earnestly. Sam shifted his position a little. He had to admit being apart for so long would be difficult but she was worth it. He knew that.

"I'm not going to lose you again."

"You're not losing me," she breathed. "We can still be friends."

"We can't be friends," he asserted, moving closer to her. "Tried it, didn't really work out."

"Well, we can try again," she said, taking a step back. Sam sighed.

"'Cedes, why are you doing this?"

"I don't want us to hold each other back."

"I don't know if you've ever noticed but I am always at my best when you're around. You'd never hold be back," he claimed, searching her face. "But now I'm being to think you don't feel the same way."

"What do you mean?"

"You think I'm holding you back."

"What? That's stupid!"

"Really? Because now you have a record deal and are going to California, I mean if I were you I wouldn't want some lame high school boyfriend either."

"Boy, stop being ridiculous."

"No, it's the truth. Admit it. You want to keep your options open, you want to be free, and you don't want me. I'd hold you back."

"No! That's not-"

"I get it," he claimed. "It was never me you were worried about, you don't love me anymore."

"Will you stop talking?" she pleaded. "You're not making any sense!"

"That's where you're wrong," he spat bitterly. "I've never made this much sense in my life. Goodbye Miss Jones, have fun in California," he concluded.

"Sam!" Mercedes tried to stop him but he was out the door in seconds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~no more flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He ignored her calls. Her texts. Her emails. Sam felt guilty about it for days but it was overshadowed by the depression that consumed him. He knew that he was in the wrong but he hadn't expected her to really go. Every time he tried to talk to her, he'd read one of her emails and get angry all over again. Sam went back to school he wanted to replace her. He knew that sounded terrible but it was true. She had just left him. Empty. And he needed someone to fill that whole in his heart and fast before it completely ate him alive. Sam tried to get more involved in glee club and hang out with his friends more, in an attempt to appear normal, but he was losing it inside. While in class, his fingers would always dance above his phone and everyday he would end up staring at her contact information. He refused to call her. Mostly because he didn't want to break down in front of her, if it had been so easy for her to leave, he couldn't show that everyday apart was killing him. Soon she stopped calling, which just strengthened his resolve. He had tried to date a couple of girls at school but they either were too much like Mercedes or far too different. Soon he had decided to give up hope; nobody would be able to fill the diva-sized hole in his heart. As he thought about it, it wasn't even really a hole. She had taken all of it, his entire heart and smashed into a million pieces, just to end up stepping on the broken shards with her beautiful but extremely sharp heels, which she also used to walk out on him.

The only time he felt moderately happy was when he was in glee. Singing with his friends and working on winning Nationals helped him feel closer to her without the pain of remembering that she was gone. It was that sensation coupled with the feeling that his friends knew what he was going through that helped him get through school. Well, kept him showing up to school, his grades had been slipping and he didn't do that well on his SATs but they didn't judge and that's really what he needed right now. Yea, the club had its drama, what with being disqualified and then re-qualified, all the break ups and new couples and a lot of Sam's original friends missing but this new glee group was his family now and he really didn't know what he'd do without them.

Now Britney, how could he explain Britney? It would be easy for him to say it was a mistake and that he never really liked her but that would be a lie. They both were suffering from a broken heart when they started to truly be friends. Then she lost the presidential election and the girl just seemed on the verge of tears and being the guy he was, Sam didn't like to see his friends cry. They truly did bond, supporting each other, making jokes, talking, hanging out and it was nice. It was nice having a friend he could talk to again without feeling awkward, everyone else to seemed to have an undertone to their words, like if they were holding their breath in hopes that he would mention Mercedes. But Britney was different. She lived in her own little world and only stopped by on Earth for short visits. She saw things differently, almost childlike but a lot of what she said were quite profound, you know, when it made sense. Sam assumed that he simply got swept up in her innocence. He was kind of envious how she was able to escape the pain of the real world sometimes, but he knew she wasn't some delusional freak. She understood the gravity of some situations and would sometimes slip into depression when she realized that her world wasn't real. That's when the glee club had to pitch in and cheer her up, but even after that, she seemed a little out of it and Sam decided to stay close to her to make sure it doesn't happen again.

After being around Britney for a while, Sam realized how lonely they both were. Losing Santana was sending the ex-cheerleader into a downward depression that was going to take the whole school down with it. Getting her to cheer up not only made Brittney feel better but Sam could tell that it was working wonders for the glee club. He had to admit that he and Britney got closer but he never intended it to turn into a relationship thing-at least not at first.

"Alright, we're here," Mike claimed as he pulled into the driveway of his home. By the time Sam pulled away from his thoughts and got out of the car, Mercedes was already inside the house. Sam had been to Mike's house before but he was still astounded. It was a modern building with wide doors and huge windows. As he passed through the grand foyer, Sam couldn't help but think about how different this place was from his home. His carpets were stained with messes caused by his siblings and himself, everything was out of place, dishes were piled up in the sink and almost everything was made out of some unbreakable substance. Here in Mike's home, Sam was afraid to turn to quickly or march to emphatically, fearing that he might break something that was worth more than his house. Finally, they reached Mike's room and the blond boy could relax. Mike's room was very simple compared to the rest of the house, it was carpeted and had a lot of empty space save for his bed, TV and a couple of gaming systems.

"Okay, time to work," Mercedes smiled as she tired to hook up her iPod to Mike's stereo.

"Right," Mike agreed, clearing a little more space before heading over to Mercedes and stretching out his hand. "But for the first number, I'll need a partner," he grinned. She smiled but before she could grab his hand, Sam was already front and center.

"I'll help you," he claimed, grabbing Mike's hand. Mercedes tried to hide back a chuckle while Mike did a slight double take.

"Um, Sam? I don't think-" he began. "It's not really-"

"What?" the blond demanded. "Didn't you say that this was a move you wanted us to try out at our next competition?"

"Yea, but-"

"So, it would make more sense to teach it to me, rather than her," he explained. "Seeing as I will be the one who is actually competing." Mike stared at Sam, but he didn't flinch. And when he looked over at Mercedes for help, she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright," Mike agreed. Sam smiled inwardly as Mercedes pressed play and took a seat at Mike's desk chair. At first, dancing with Mike was pretty simple. The boy led and Sam simply followed but soon the music began to pick up pace and Sam was forced to follow a series of body movements that didn't seem possible to anybody with a skeleton made of bones. Sam watched as Mike moves like a liquid across his room, spinning and bending in ways the human body wasn't meant to spin or bend. As he watched Mike, he also watched Mercedes, who seemed completely entranced by Mike's movements. Every time he shifted, her eyes would follow him and Sam couldn't have felt more invisible.

A/N: Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas! :)