Part IV
Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the great reviews! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Samcedes would alive and kickin'!
The week following her fight with Kurt was one of the strangest Mercedes could remember. Out of nowhere, the students of McKinley seemed to have quadrupled their interest in Mercedes and Marcus's relationship. They both had flown under the radar so effortlessly apart, but as a fake couple, they apparently had flashing lights attached to their heads. People watched them. Really, they stared and talked about them as they passed, not even trying to whisper. Are they sleeping together? Mercedes didn't know why any of these random people cared and the only person she wanted to talk to about it was Kurt. But that didn't happen. Her best friend wouldn't talk to her. He avoided her most of the time and sat as far from her as possible during Glee.
On Wednesday afternoon, the drama came to a head at the end of Glee rehearsal.
Rachel turned to Mercedes, who was sitting in the last row of chairs, and asked her, "Have you been preparing for your first live show?"
Mercedes rolled her eyes, "It's not exactly my live show, Rachel. People are going to be there to support the football team."
"Well, that's the real challenge, Mercedes. They're going for the football team, but if you're good enough, they'll leave talking about you. You have to make them believe you."
Mercedes sat back in her chair and thought about her words as Rachel whispered to herself, "Though I'm still not sure why Figgins picked you, but whatever. He must have known I need to rest my voice for Sectionals."
"That's like two months away," Tina pointed out then turned to Mike with a slyly victorious smile.
Rachel called across the room, "I'm right, right, Kurt? This is a true test of Mercedes' star quality? If she can sway a bunch of sweaty Neanderthal meatheads with her music, she can win over anyone."
"Hey…" Finn said quietly next to her.
"Oh not you, honey," she patted his knee, "The other people." Finn nodded tentatively.
"But you agree, right Kurt?" she badgered.
He linked eyes with Mercedes for a quick moment then shrugged.
"Kurt?" Rachel asked again, oblivious to the tension other people were picking up on.
"Mercedes has a big future ahead of her, Rachel," he finally said in a cold tone, "And this performance is just a small step on her path to college in Chicago then a professional diva career. She can make that crowd believe her. She's great at that."
Brittany openly gaped at him in confusion and Santana awkwardly added, "Um what's going on here?"
"Alright, guys," Mr. Schuester broke the tension, "Back to work." He turned to the dry-erase board to write out instructions for the next week's assignment.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mercedes watched Blaine grab Kurt's hand and squeeze it gently. Kurt was mad at her, but he hadn't spilled her secret when he easily could have. She knew, deep down, he still loved her.
That night, Mercedes' parents told her that they wanted to cook a big brunch on Sunday after church and before the pep rally. Her mom told her to invite whomever she wanted. She realized this was an opportunity to get Kurt and Marcus together in the same space and possibly get Kurt to understand.
Mercedes approached Blaine in school the next day. She told him about the brunch on Sunday and he winked at her, promising to get Kurt there.
Mercedes usually met Marcus at his locker before school and walked with him to their first classes, but on Friday, he never showed up. Then, they normally crossed paths in the East hallway after 3rd on her way to English and his way to Biology. But she never saw him. When he didn't appear at her locker before lunch, she texted him.
"Where are you? Are you home sick?"
After a few minutes, he answered,
"No, I'm here. I'm not hungry. I'll see you after lunch."
Mercedes couldn't help but wonder what was going on. He never skipped class and definitely never skipped lunch. She grabbed a seat with Mike and Tina. After finishing her sandwich and yogurt, she sneaked out of the cafeteria early, narrowly escaping the lunchroom monitor and headed to her locker on the second floor. As she approached, she noticed that Marcus was already there.
"Hey," she called out to him from down the hall. He turned to face her direction and she instantly knew something was indeed wrong. His face was drained of its ordinary vivacity.
"Hey," she repeated again, as she reached him, "What's going on? Where have you been all day?"
He said quietly, "Uhh I've been hanging under the bleachers by the field for a while."
"What's going on, Marcus?"
Just then, the bell rang announcing the end of their lunch period. The hallway was immediately flushed with students. Marcus breathed deeply and watched people pass, avoiding eye contact with Mercedes. As a pack of hockey players in letterman jackets strolled by, one of them loudly wolf-whistled in Mercedes and Marcus' direction. She rolled her eyes at them then turned to Marcus. His eyes were full of tears.
"Hey, whoa," she said, getting closer to him, "What's wrong?"
He shook his head and she grabbed his hand, pulling him forcefully into the janitor's closet that was about ten feet down the hall. They only had a few minutes before 6th period started, but she needed to make sure he was okay. Marcus kept his eyes towards the ground until they were inside with the door closed.
"Marcus?" she said, rubbing his shoulder gently.
"I told her," he finally answered, tears choking his voice, "I told my mom."
"You mean you…"
"I came out to her," he said slightly louder.
Mercedes looked up at him, her eyes widened and her breath changed. "What happened?"
He plopped down on a large box and sighed, wiping his eyes with his shirtsleeve, "Last night, I had just gotten home from practice and my mom starts telling me about this conversation she had with my Auntie Pam."
Mercedes sat down on a crate next to him and patted his knee as he went on, "They were talking about Vince. I guess he's staying in some shelter in Toledo. A normal aunt would be worried about him and maybe offer to help, right?"
He looked up at Mercedes and she nodded.
Marcus shook his head and said, "Nope, my mom told me this and then starts saying things like 'that boy needs to make better choices' and 'if he was praying harder…" and I couldn't hold it in any longer. It just sort of fell out my mouth. I said, 'Ya know what, mom, I'm gay, too.'"
Mercedes looked up at him for a long moment then asked, "What did she say?"
He wiped his eyes again and answered, "She refused to listen. She started washing dishes and telling me I was 'just confused.'"
Mercedes stood up and wrapped her arms around Marcus, hugging him tight to her chest. He sobbed a few times then sat up and looked at her.
"They talk about the endless love of Christ, but they don't think that love could include Vince? Include me? The real me. Does she want me to lie to her? To myself?"
Mercedes shook her head and whispered, "I don't know, but I am so proud of you, Marcus."
"Thanks," he said, "but now I have no idea what's going to happen to me. I don't know if she's going to punish me or ignore me or make me go live with my dad in Cleveland."
"Well I'm here for whatever you need," Mercedes vowed.
"I know you are," he leaned his head on her shoulder, "We should go to class."
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked him.
"Not really," he sighed, "But I'm pretty good at faking it."
Mercedes grabbed his hands, and pulled him up and out the closet door, into the hallway.
They were immediately met by the captivated eyes of dozens of McKinley students, who had apparently gathered when word spread of Marcus and Mercedes' disappearance into the janitor's closet. The crowd started to hoot and cheer, forming a barrier that forced the two teenagers to stay front and center.
"I hope you used protection, Marcus!" somebody yelled out and the mob broke out into cackling laughter.
Mercedes gripped Marcus' hand tighter and pulled him quickly towards an opening between two people. Never looking back at the spectators, they dropped hands and shuffled silently towards the Journalism room, where they had class together next period.
Marcus sat in his seat towards the back of the room and laid his head down on the desk. Mercedes plopped into her seat next to him, taking out her phone to text Sam,
"The shit has officially hit the fan."
Mercedes spent most of Saturday in the school auditorium rehearsing for the pep rally. She had expected to have to beg Mr. Schue for the key to use it on a weekend, but he gave in pretty easily. Maybe it was because she wasn't usually one to practice like this, especially when it was a song she had sung a million times before. But Homecoming was a big deal in Lima. Titan alumni from the last 30 years would be there and all ears would be on Mercedes. With the way the entire school seemed to be wildly obsessed with her relationship with Marcus, she had no idea what they would do when she stepped on stage. But she was finally getting her chance to shine and she wasn't going to blow it.
By the time Mercedes decided to head home, it was already dark outside. She walked in the front door of her house and went straight for the kitchen. Pulling open the refrigerator, she was looking for something to eat when she heard her name.
"Mercedes!" her dad called from the living room, "Mercedes, baby, come in here."
She shuffled to the living room and found him laid out on the couch with his book.
"Hi, sorry I missed dinner," she told him, "Where's mama?"
Dr. Jones set the open book down on his chest and took off his reading glasses. "It's okay, sugar. She ran to the market to pick up a few things for the brunch tomorrow. Do you mind letting Bosco out into the yard? He's been barking for a while."
Exhausted, she sighed then obligingly scooped the schnauzer up into her arms and headed for the backyard. She opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck, setting Bosco down. Her eyes followed the small gray dog as he ran into out the yard and past her father's old red tent set up about thirty feet from the deck. Standing in front of it was Sam, a bundle of purple tulips in his hand and a solitary candle flickering at his feet.
"Oh my god," she said to herself and moved hesitantly down the steps toward him, "Are you real?"
He laughed his perfect Sam laugh and replied, "What else would I be?"
Mercedes must have worn her shock on her face, because he grinned amusedly then ran the rest of the way to her and wrapped his arms around her. She stared up at Sam, taking him in, and clasped her hands tightly behind his neck. She had no idea what he was doing here, but for this minute, she didn't care.
"Sam," she whispered and pulled him down to her lips. He kissed her eagerly and tugged her flush with his body.
They stood there kissing for a few minutes. Or maybe it was a long time. Mercedes' head was a blur of Sam's touch and Sam's taste and Sam's scent. They had been apart for a month and a half and she had somehow forgotten how easily he inundated her senses.
"Baby," he mumbled against her lips, along with a nonsensical string of other endearments.
Reluctantly, she pulled back. Sam tried to follow and pick up where he left off, but Mercedes laughed and put her fingers to his lips. Sam would kiss her all day and night if she let him. It wasn't a quality to which she objected, but sometimes they had to actually live their lives.
"Sam!" she said, "What are you doing here?" She literally had to walk backwards to keep him from kissing her long enough to talk to him. He moved hungrily after her.
"Well there's a few reasons," he grinned at her coyly and paced a half step behind her, running his right hand up and down her side. He trailed her with this devilish look in his eyes until they had made a full circle around the tent.
"Sammy," she cooed, "You need to behave for like two minutes and tell me what the hell is going on!"
He stopped and nodded his head towards the Jones' picnic table across the lawn. Mercedes followed him, grabbing his hand as they sat.
"Okay, Reason Number One," he grinned at her, "I couldn't spend another night away from you. Especially when there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight." Mercedes melted a little as he turned up towards the sky and studied it with narrowed eyes. She lifted their entangled fingers to her lips for a quick kiss.
"And Number Two," he went on, "There's no way I am missing your performance tomorrow. I'm so psyched to see you kick ass and I'm prepared to kick ass with you if anyone gives you any trouble." She had come home from school the night before and told Sam the entire story of what happened with Marcus inside and outside of the janitor's closet. Sam had seemed worried, but she never imagined he would get in his car and drive all he way to Lima. Mercedes smiled at him then leaned forward to brush light kisses against his warm cheek then the tip of his nose and finally the spot just over his heart. When she sat back, Sam was looking forcefully into her eyes.
"And Number Three is this." He leaned forward to reach into his back pocket and handed her a white envelope that had been folded in half.
Mercedes opened it and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. A letter. "Dear Mr. Evans, Columbia College is pleased to admit you to the Columbia School of Music…"
"Sam! This is amazing!" she beamed at him proudly. Looking back at the letter she asked, "But Columbia College. Where is that?"
He met her eyes and rubbed his palm across her knee, "It's in Chicago, baby."
"Really?" she asked softly.
He nodded and leaned in to kiss her gently, cupping her chin with his fingers.
"But what about money?" she said, cutting the kiss short, "How can you afford this?"
"I started looking into schools in Chicago last spring. I always knew you'd get into Northwestern," he told her.
Mercedes eyes grew wider and Sam went on, "So I submitted a few of my songs to Columbia a while back when I started getting into making my own music. Just some stuff I had been working on over the last few months, nothing I thought would mean anything, but they loved them. I'm going to be in their Songwriting and Composition track and I'll have an internship that will pay for a good portion of my tuition."
Mercedes shook her head and stared at him warmly, her eyes filling with tears. She didn't have words for how happy she was for him.
"I'll have to get another part-time job to afford a studio apartment somewhere and, ya know, food, but I'll be just fine," Sam lifted his hand to graze her cheek, "I'll be close to my pretty girl, so I'll definitely be fine."
She leaned into Sam and held him snugly in her arms, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. He rocked them back in forth soothingly, in the same way she had seen him hold Stacey and Stevie so many times before.
Loud barking brought Mercedes back to reality. "Oh my god, Bosco! Oh my god, my dad! He's going to think I disappeared!" She leaned over to pick up the small dog then started quickly towards the house.
Sam laughed and caught up to her, putting his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her right shoulder. "He knows I'm here, Mercy. Did you think I broke into your house and stole his tent? I called them this morning to ask if it would be okay for me to come stay."
"So you and my parents have been conspiring, Mr. Evans? You're in cahoots, eh?" She smiled over her shoulder at him. Sam kissed her cheek then she leaned over to set Bosco on the ground, forcing him to break his hold around her waist.
The dog trotted over to the deck and climbed up the stairs, barking once at the door. Mercedes' father opened it a minute later, letting Bosco inside. He nodded his head in greeting to Sam and Mercedes in the yard.
"Mercy, you can stay out here for a while, but when I flip on the light, it's time to come inside for bed. Tomorrow is your big day."
"Yes, daddy," she responded respectfully.
"Thanks, Dr. Jones," Sam waved. As her dad went back inside, Sam reached for Mercedes' hand and pulled her towards the tent.
He picked up the flowers that he had dropped at some point along the way.
"These are for you," his green eyes shined boldly.
Mercedes took them and held them against her heart, "Thank you, Sammy. Purple tulips are my favorites."
"I know," he said confidently and sat down on top of the sleeping bag, which had been sprawled out on the grass in front of the tent. He reached up to pull her down onto the space in front of him.
She scooted in between his knees and leaned back against him. He swallowed her up in his arms, gently moving her hair to the side to nuzzle the back of her neck.
"I can't believe you drove all the way up here to see me and show me that letter," Mercedes whispered, "But I'm so glad you did. I'm so proud of you and I would've hated not being near you when I heard this amazing news." Sam hugged her tighter.
They sat in easy silence for a long time, sharing their bodies' warmth until the late September night got a little too chilly and they had to wiggle into the pocket of the sleeping bag. Sam lied on his back, propping himself up on one elbow, and Mercedes snuggled into his side, nestling her nose cozily into the nook between his neck and his chest.
He chuckled, "Well, you're going to have a hard time watching the stars like that, Ms. Jones."
"I've got better things to look at," she answered and kissed softly up his neck. Sam lifted her chin to meet her lips with his own, but after a minute, she stopped him.
"Oh my god! Stacey!" she said.
"I don't think we have to worry about her interrupting us right now," Sam said in response, his voice low as he leaned in to nibble on Mercedes' left earlobe.
Mercedes giggled, "No, I mean we promised her that you'd bring her for a visit!"
He stopped what he was doing and smiled at Mercedes, "It's okay. I told her this is a beau's only trip. Best friends can come next time."
"And she believed that?"
"She's six, Mercedes, she believed me when I tried to convince her and Stevie that I'm really a robot."
Mercedes cackled with laughter and playfully slapped his chest before snuggling back into it.
"How's Marcus?" he asked a minute later.
"I honestly don't know," she whispered, "I'm just glad you're here."
Sam pressed a kiss to her forehead and squeezed her closer to him.
Eventually, the bright light on the side of the house flashed on and sucked Sam and Mercedes out of their blissful little cocoon. Without a word, she squirmed out of the sleeping bag and stood while Sam followed. He intertwined his fingers with hers and they walked slowly towards the backdoor of her house.
As they approached the deck, Mercedes felt a strange mix of emotions. Over the summer, these goodnights had become routine, but part of this routine was the lingering fear of a real goodbye. Those old feelings were now jumbled in with a new sense of excitement and relief. Chicago. Less than a year. They would be together: physically near each other in a calculable amount of time. They actually had a real chance at a real future, but they had to spend months apart before that would begin.
Mercedes stopped on the first step and turned around, meeting Sam's eye-level.
"Will you come to church with us tomorrow?"
He nodded, "Of course."
"And then my mom's making that big brunch. I'm going to need you for that."
"I'm hungry already," he smiled and grasped at her hips, moving closer to her.
Mercedes leaned forward to capture his lips, kissing him deeply and raking her fingers through his soft short hair.
Sam wasn't quite finished kissing her goodnight when she pulled back hastily and declared, "Mr. Schue is going to be so proud of you, Mr. Songwriter! You have to tell him about this program and internship tomorrow."
Sam sighed deeply, "Well, he did buy me my very first rhyming dictionary… But he has also found a way to stand in the way of my macking, even though I don't go to McKinley anymore."
"Oh, stop," Mercedes giggled, rolling her eyes before she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in to finish their goodnight.
Thanks for reading! REVIEWS ARE LOVE! :)
I want to give you guys a head's up that the next chapter will be the end of this story. I would love to keep it going, but I'm starting a new job next week and I won't have a lot of time for writing. I decided I'd rather have a resolution to the story than drag it out for chapters and kill you guys with long waiting periods. But fret not, I may do two things (1) write an epilogue one-shot that takes place a year later and/or (2) write another short story in this AU that takes place later in their senior year. I'm pretty sure I'll at least do the former because I have a plan.
One last random note: For a while, I've had a bit of a crack!ship obsession with Sam/Rhyming Dictionaries. That'll probably come up again… Prepare yourselves.