Mercedes rested on her bed listening carefully as her song played on her laptop that sat on her desk. When it ended, she remained frozen, staring at her ceiling as if she were waiting for something.
"Wow," a voice breathed from her laptop. The young woman sat up and smiled Mike's face on her computer screen.
"And what exactly does that mean?"
"That was good," he clarified, grinning. "Like, really good. When is it getting released?"
"I'm not sure yet," she admitted. "I still need a few more songs."
"Do you have some stuff almost done?"
"I wish," she claimed. "My mind's kind of just stopped writing. It's like I've run out of things to say."
"Ah, I get it," he friend agreed. "Sometimes writer's block lasts a whole lot longer than you'd like."
"Tell me about it," she chuckled.
"Well, don't worry about it," he assured her. "You'll be writing again in no time. Besides, you've got a really good start so far."
"Thanks, I'm really proud of this album," Mercedes grinned before continuing. "Of course I had to fight with the producers about a couple of things but I think it really sets the tone that I always dreamed my first album would have, you know?"
"I get it," Mike nodded. "People are going to love it, Mercedes and my autographed copy of your first album is going to be worth millions in a few years. So it's win-win for both of us."
"You know it," she laughed. They continued to talk about the album for a little while but soon Mike got interrupted by another Skype call from Jake. He offered to let Mercedes join in but she wanted to take a shower and get ready for bed so they said their goodbyes. Once she shut her laptop, Mercedes combed her fingers through her hair as she looked around her room. It felt so weird being back. She felt like Los Angeles had changed her so much but when she stepped back in her room, it was like traveling through time. Each picture that hung on her wall held a frozen memory that she couldn't help but smile at. Her bed sheets reminded her of the sleepovers she used to have with Kurt and Rachel. Her dresser was still covered in the beads and ribbons she used to accessorize some of the clothes she wore. She walked over to the window to touch her curtains and instantly she remembered the original ones that used to hang there. She had to replace them because Sam had ripped the first ones trying to climb through her window. Only he could be so romantic and clumsy at the same time, she smiled to herself. After going through a few more memories, she decided that it really was time to take a shower, grabbed her things and headed to the bathroom.
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"Dude! That was close!" smiled Sam as he wiped the leaves from his shirt. He fixed himself up and refocused his attention on the window above them.
"Close?" asked Blaine sarcastically as he got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "She barely touched that curtain! There was no reason to tackle me to the ground!"
"I had to be safe," the blond shrugged.
"Oh really?" his friend laughed. "You know what the safest way to watch Mercedes through her bedroom window is?" he demanded rhetorically. "Don't do it!"
"Whoa," Sam said. "When you say it like that it sounds creepy. I'm just checking up on her," he claimed as he moved closer to the house. Blaine simply rolled his eyes.
"Do you plan on staying out here all night because I then I should have brought a chair or something," he quipped.
"No, not all night," Sam assured as he examined the side of the house under Mercedes' window. "But you know what I should do!" he realized, grinning. Sam's smile gave Blaine a sinking feeling in his stomach. This was not going to end well.
"Sam, don't do anything stupid," he warned.
"I'm not going to anything stupid," the blond insisted. "I'm just going to climb up this wall and knock on Mercy's window." Blaine stared at Sam, wondering if his friend was not listening to him on purpose.
"That is the definition of 'something stupid'," the brunette claimed as he rubbed his temple.
"No, 'stupid' would be getting caught by her parents," Sam explained as he grabbed hold of some of the vines hanging from the wall and started climbing. "That's why you're going to keep look out."
"This just isn't going to end well," Blaine decided. "I know it."
"Will you stop worrying and do your job?" Sam asked.
"Fine!" The brunette stared at the downstairs living room that Mr. and Mrs. Jones were sitting in a moment before but they were gone. "Did they go into the kitchen?" he asked himself. Blaine switched positions but didn't see them in the kitchen either. "Where did they-"
"Hello Blaine," Mr. Jones stated from behind him causing the teen to jump.
"H-h-hi Mr. Jones," the brunette replied nervously. "And Mrs. Jones!" he realized as he noticed the woman standing nearby.
"Do you want to tell us what's going on?" the older woman demanded.
"Um, I just wanted to come over and talk to Mercedes," Blaine responded.
"Then why didn't you come to the front door?" Mr. Jones asked suspiciously.
"Uh, I came here to give her tickets to a concert and while I was walking up to the house, a gust of wind came and blew them right out of my hand."
"A gust of wind?" asked Mrs. Jones.
"Yes, ma'am," Blaine nodded.
"Well, where are the tickets now?" asked Mr. Jones and Blaine patted his jean pocket.
"I found them in the bushes, put them in my pocket and I was on my way to the front door."
As Mr. and Mrs. Jones eyed him suspiciously, Blaine watched his friend climb up half the way up the wall. If the adults turned around they'd have a clear view of Sam scaling their house.
"Okay then," agreed Mrs. Jones. "Let's go inside and you can give her the tickets." The brunette sighed in relief as they headed in the opposite direction of Sam to enter the house. As he and the Jones' made their way to Mercedes room, Blaine wondered what he'd do if they asked to see the tickets. "Did you tell Mercedes that you were coming?" asked Mrs. Jones as her husband knocked on their daughter's door.
"Um, I-" he began but was interrupted as Mercedes' door opened and the diva stood in her doorway in body towel with soaked black hair dripping onto her bare shoulders. She had definitely just gotten out of the shower.
"Yea?" she asked, unfazed. She glanced at her visitors with blank expression.
"Oh we didn't realize you weren't decent," Mr. Jones noted, already beginning to turn around. "We'll wait for you downstairs."
"Wait for me for what?" she asked, clearly perplexed.
"Blaine brought over your concert tickets," Mrs. Jones explained, nodding towards the brunette.
"Concert tickets?" she questioned again. Mercedes made no attempt to hide her confusion. "What's going on?"
"Could this get anymore awkward?" Blaine mumbled to himself and as if to prove that it could, three loud bangs were heard on Mercedes' window.
"What was that?" asked Mr. Jones, quickly looking past his daughter to scan her room.
"I don't know!" she claimed. That's when the banging continued but not quite as loudly.
"Neither do I!" Blaine added weakly, trying to play it safe. The bangs subsided to gentle knocking and Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jones moved towards the window. Mrs. Jones grabbed a bat from Mercedes' closet and Mr. Jones signaled to swing when he opened the window. Blaine held his breath as Mr. Jones opened the window without moving the curtains.
"Hey 'Cedes," Sam said as he entered the room feet first. "I'm so glad that-" He couldn't get any more words out as Mrs. Jones started to attack him with the bat and Mr. Jones wrapped him in the curtains.
"Stop!" yelled Blaine. "He's not dangerous, he's just stupid!" The Jones' stopped attacking but Sam was already wrapped up in the curtains and when he tried to move forward he ended ripping them from the window and crashing into the floor. He struggled to be free from his curtain cocoon for a few seconds and eventually his head was visible.
"Sam?" realized Mercedes.
"Hey 'Cedes," he replied dizzily before passing out. When the blond was knocked out, Mercedes and her parents turned to look at Blaine who began to chuckle nervously.
"So about those concert tickets…"
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"He what?" asked Kurt the next day.
"Exactly what I told you," Mercedes claimed as they entered the choir room. Mr. Shue had an afternoon History class, so he would be showing up for glee club around the same time as the kids. Mercedes, Kurt and Mike had offered to set up the room a little bit beforehand.
"What did your parents say?" he questioned. Mercedes rolled her eyes before setting her bag on the piano. She silently headed over to the chairs in the corner and began to unstack them. "Mercedes?" her friend pressed as he walked over and helped her. "What happened? You can't just drop this on me and not explain."
"Uh," she sighed. "My parents were cool when they realized it wasn't a robber or worse. They remembered Sam and when he came to, they suggested he just 'use the front door like a normal boy'."
"Oh," Kurt sighed. "They really let him off easy. The old Mr. and Mrs. Jones…" he trailed off.
"Well, I am an adult now," Mercedes completed. "As much as they'd like to know everything that's happening with me, they've got really good at giving me some space."
"That's nice," her friend smiled as he finished up the last row of chairs. "Ever since I've been home, my dad claims I've been smothering him."
"Burt would say that," she replied before going to the front to grab her bag. "I know you're worried about him, but you've gotta give the man some room to breathe. You called him three times on the car ride over here."
"I wanted to make sure he took his medicine," Kurt answered defensively. Mercedes raised an eyebrow at him and put her hands on her hips.
"And what were the other two calls for?"
"To…um, make sure he took his medicine," he continued hesitantly. He acknowledged her point with a slight flick of his wrist in her direction but then shook his head. "You can't blame me for being worried."
"I don't," she assured him. "And it's really awesome that you take care of your father so well but there's a difference between caring and coddling. Your dad doesn't want to be coddled."
"So I've definitely crossed the line?" he questioned and she nodded slowly. "Alright," he sighed. "I guess I could back off a little bit."
"Good, besides that gives you more time to hang out with me," she grinned.
"Right," he agreed. He smiled for a quick second before his face returned to a blank canvas. Mercedes noticed as her friend crossed his arms a little too tightly and glanced up at the ceiling. She sighed, realizing what he wanted to ask her.
"You want to know why Blaine was there, don't you?"
"What?" he replied rapidly.
"I mentioned that he was also there with Sam yesterday and you didn't ask about him."
"It's none of my business," he shrugged, trying to convincingly brush off the topic.
"Sure," she nodded sarcastically.
"It's the truth," he laughed. After a moment of silence, he began to pace around the piano slowly. "But if you want to tell me more," he began, grazing the piano keys without looking up at her. "I wouldn't be opposed to listening."
"Uh huh, sure," she chuckled. "What is going on with you two anyway?"
"I don't know," he responded, shaking his head lightly as he walked back up to her. "We're in a better place now, but it's still a little weird."
"Yea," she accepted. "I understand."
"Yea," he sighed. He thought for a moment before shaking his head. Everyone was going to be arriving soon, they had to keep the conversation light. "Anyway, how is that album coming along?"
"Oh, it's incredible," Mike grinned as he entered the glee room. He nodded at Kurt and gave Mercedes a quick hug. Kurt smiled as the other boy remained standing by Mercedes.
"Really?" he asked. "You've already heard it?" he questioned, glancing suspiciously at Mercedes.
"I played a bit of it for him yesterday," she explained, avoiding Kurt's smirks. She knew what he was thinking but she and Mike were not like that. At least right now. Besides all of their main focus should be helping Mr. Shue with the glee club.
"It was great," Mike raved. "Mercedes is really on to something," he smiled before resting his arm on her shoulder, giving her a little side hug. Mercedes couldn't help but smile as well. It felt good to have someone believe in her so certainly. The group continued to talk about her future album and Kurt promised to listen to it later that day when Mr. Shue finally arrived.
"Hey guys," he smiled as he entered the room. "Thanks for being here."
"Our pleasure," Mike shrugged and the other two nodded.
"Well, it means a lot to me," he claimed. "And I know it really helps the kids to learn from you guys."
"Being back here, really helps us too," Kurt claimed. "Sometimes life gets really busy and it feels good to take a moment and reassess."
"Good," their old teacher grinned. "Well, take as longs as you need. You guys are always welcome." Soon the students began to file into the room, so the graduates took their spots in the back of the room.
A/N: Hey guys! Long time no see! I've finally got some free time and laptop full of half written chapters so I'm trying to wrap a couple of them up. Luckily I have a plan for most of these stories so hopefully you'll be seeing a lot of me soon :) Feel free to PM me and tell me what stories you want to see updated. Thanks for reading!