Author's note: Thank you so much for all the feedback, story alerts and favorites, I didn't know that people were going to receive this fanfic so well. To answer some of your questions: Like I said in my summary, this story will mostly be an original piece with bits and pieces of Season 2. As far as I'm concerned Shane will never be in the picture and Sam will not be moving out of Lima. I think that story line has been used way too many times and don't you think that it's time we switch things up a bit? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the 2nd chapter. Happy reading! ;)

Summary: Quinn Fabray has a crush on the new boy at school, Sam Evans, but is afraid to get close to him. So she decides to seek help from her best friend Mercedes Jones. Little does she know that Sam is interested in Mercedes. What happens next? This is a fun and angsty Samcedes fic with bits and pieces of season 2 but the story will mostly be original.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Glee or any of the songs that might be featured. I would be rich if I did. :)

Mercedes didn't know why she decided to ask Sam to join her and Quinn for lunch but she couldn't take it back, once she blurted it out. You're just trying to help Quinn, her mind stated. Are you sure it's about helping Quinn and not you wanting to get to know Sam? Her sub conscience questioned. I think you like Sam…. You're just afraid to admit it.

"Stop it!" She shouted at her sub conscience mentally.

She only noticed that she had said this out loud, when both Sam and Quinn gave her a stunned look.

"Stop what, Ebby?" Quinn quizzed looking at Mercedes with concern in her eyes.

"Oh, there was a fly buzzing around my ear." She pretended to swat an imaginary fly on the right side of her ear.

Before Sam or Quinn could comment, the bell rang, signaling that lunch hour had begun. Saved by the bell. Mercedes thought.

"So are we ready for lunch?" Mercedes smiled at both Sam and Quinn.

"Yeah, let's go." Sam finally broke his silence, smiling at Mercedes.

Mercedes led the way to the cafeteria, so she could give Sam and Quinn some time to get to know each other. She didn't know what Sam had said, but Quinn was laughing at whatever it was. She felt slightly irritated at her best friend's happiness but she brushed it aside.

When they got to the cafeteria, Mercedes was excited to see that they were serving tater tots today. She smiled widely and got in line to order her lunch. After buying their lunch, they made their way to the table where the glee kids normally sat. Mercedes saw that Artie and Puck were already seated at the table.

"Hi, guys!" Mercedes beamed at the both of them.

"What's up Sexy Mama, hey Quinn," Puck said as he inched himself closer to Quinn.

Mercedes set down next to Sam and accidentally brushed her leg against his. She felt sparks travel through her at the contact. Why do I always get shocked whenever I touch him? To avoid from reading too much into her thought. She looked up at Quinn.

Quinn looked uncomfortably towards Mercedes with a "Help me" look.

"So, um... Quinn why don't you switch places with me? I have something I need to talk to Puck about," Mercedes asked, feeling a little sad that she wouldn't be able to sit next to Sam.

"Yes!" Quinn answered quickly, before making the switch with Mercedes.

Puck looked a little hurt by this and if Mercedes had looked at Sam, she would've seen the disappointment on his face.

"What did you want to talk about, Hot Mama?" Puck said a little too closely to Mercedes for her liking.

"Um… Oh, I wanted to know how your summer went." She said to cover her earlier statement about needing to talk to Puck.

"It went well. I cleaned a bunch of pools like I did every summer." Puck looked at Quinn longingly as he said this. "Listen Hot Mama, I need to talk to you about something, can you meet me in between one of your classes to chat?"

Mercedes had a feeling that the something Puck was talking about had something to do with Quinn. "Sure, Puck, we'll talk later."

"So, tell us about your life in Nashville." Quinn asked Sam shyly.

Mercedes loved Quinn like her own sister but for some reason, at that very moment she felt like strangling her best friend. Why am I so annoyed all of a sudden?

Lunch went by with a breeze. They all talked about Sam and his life back in Nashville, TN. Mercedes found out that McKinley High was Sam's first coed school, before coming here he had always attended an all-boys school. He had two other siblings, twins, named Stacy and Stevie, aged 7 years old. She could tell that he was very fond of his siblings by the way he talked about them.

It was now 7th period, she was standing by her locker with Puck, talking about the something he told her about at lunch.

"There you are, I was wondering if I was ever going to see you." Puck said when he caught up with her after the bell rang at the end of the 6th period.

"Don't you ever go to class?" Mercedes said almost laughing. Puck was the king of truancy; it's amazing how he advanced to the sophomore class.

"You know me, I never go to class. I get by on my good looks and charm." He winked at her.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Quinn, she's driving me crazy! I've done everything to get her to go out with me, I even recited a romantic poem for her in English but still she refuse to go out with me!" Puck ranted. "Look I know that I can be an asshole. I'm really trying to change but she isn't seeing that." He continued looking sadly at her.

"I'm sorry Puck." Mercedes said giving him a hug to calm him down.

He embraced her for a little while, then looked up at her and said, "Will you help me Mercedes? Maybe you can talk to her or something?"

Mercedes looked at him with compassion and nodded. He really is a nice guy. I should at least try to help him. She thought. "All right Puck, I'll help you but only under a few conditions." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Anything, just tell me what they are." Puck said with hope in his eyes.

"First, no more screwing around. If you want to win Quinn you have to show her that you are committed to only her." Puck was the use 'em and leave 'em type. Everyone at McKinley High knew this.

"I haven't slept with anyone since regionals. I swear!" Puck said as he held up his right hand.

"Second, you have to start being nicer to people around you. This means no more taking other people's lunch money." Mercedes stated as she cross her arms.

"I'll try." He answered looking down at his feet.

"Third, and the most important condition. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Quinn, is my best friend and I know her like the back of my hands. Fortunately for you, you have me on your side. I do have to warn you now Puck, if you break her heart, you will have me to deal with and you do not want a pissed off Mercedes Jones." She finished with a warning.

"Thank you Mercedes, I'll do everything you ask of me." Puck finished.

He then picked her up in a hug and spun the both of them around. His action, made Mercedes squeal with delight. Before he left, he gave Mercedes a friendly kiss on her cheek.

Sam was conversing with Quinn at the auditorium when he heard Mercedes yell "Stop it!"

Confused, at what was happening, he turned to look at her. Mercedes looked embarrassed at her outburst and quickly told them that there was a fly buzzing around her right ear as she swatted at that general direction.

Before anyone could say anything else, the bell rang and they headed out of the auditorium towards the cafeteria.

Mercedes was walking a few steps ahead of him and Quinn. Why would she leave me alone with Quinn? Does she not like me? Maybe I smell bad… He pondered.

There was an awkward silence between the both of them, until he saw a burly guy wearing a varsity jacket, bend over to pick up something that he had probably dropped. As he was doing this, Sam noticed that the guy was exposing a part of his butt cheeks.

Trying to break the silence, Sam blurted out, "Look, a future plumber!"

Hearing this, Quinn burst out in laughter. He looked at Mercedes who was still walking ahead of them, and noticed her flinch. What was that about? He thought.

Quinn seemed a little more relaxed around him and they fell into an easy conversation. When he got to the cafeteria, he bought a turkey wheat sandwich, a bag of chips and cranberry juice. He looked at Mercedes' tray and saw that she had a large portion of tater tots and apple juice. She must really love tater tots. When they were done with buying lunch, they headed over to a table where Puck and Artie were already seated.

Mercedes greeted both Puck and Artie, and set down next to Sam. Sam could feel Mercedes' thigh brush up against his jeans clad leg, and felt himself shiver at the action. Please do that again. He begged in his mind. Before he could really enjoy what had just happened, Mercedes spoke up, she requested for Quinn to change seats with her. Her reasoning, she had to talk to Puck about something.

Sam looked towards Mercedes with sad eyes but she didn't look his way. When she set down, Puck got too close to her and started whispering something into her ears. Sam felt jealousy burn inside him. Back away from her Puck! She's mine! Sam was taken aback by this revelation. He knew that he liked Mercedes but he had never felt like this about a girl before. It was scary in a way. He'd only known Mercedes for 2 short days. Who the hell falls for a girl that fast?

He was broken out of his inner turmoil when Quinn asked, "So, tell us about your life back in Nashville."

They spent the rest of the lunch period talking about Sam. He told them about this being his first coed school and also about his family. He saw the look Mercedes gave him when he talked about his brother and sister. The way she was smiling at him gave him butterflies. If only she would give me that smile every time she looks at me. He smiled.

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He was walking towards his next class at the end of the 6th period when he saw Mercedes by her locker, except she wasn't alone. She was having a rather intense conversation with Puck. Why is he always around her? Sam wanted to like Puck, but the constant interactions between Mercedes and the mohawked freak was making it hard for Sam to like him.

Sam was about to walk away, when he saw Puck pick Mercedes up in a hug and spin the both of them around. When he heard her squeal in delight, it broke his heart. His heart broke a little more when Puck gave Mercedes a kiss on her cheek before leaving her.

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After school, Sam decided to try out for the football team. All of the glee boys were football players, except for Kurt. He heard that Kurt had joined the team last year but decided that football was just not his forte. Sam had always been athletic so try outs was not as draining to him as it would be to some people. McKinley High School's football team had been struggling for years which made getting into the team easier.

Through football he got to know Mike Chang better. Mike was an extremely gifted student and athlete. He was currently dating Tina Cohen-Chang, they met last year when they both joined the glee club. According to Mike, sparks flew and they were inseparable ever since.

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The next day, Sam decided to put distance between him and Mercedes. He was still reeling from what he had seen yesterday. He was restless all night, thinking about what had happened. He knew he had no right to be jealous but he couldn't help feeling that way. Sam figured that if he stayed away, then the hurt he was feeling would eventually fade and he would be able to feel normal again.

So at Algebra, he tried not to look her way. When he had a question, he kept silent instead of asking her for help. The only almost interaction they had at the class was when she looked at him and smiled. He returned the smile and looked down at his book quickly. He knew he was being childish but he couldn't help it. He had to get rid of the butterflies that were currently fluttering in his stomach.

When he walked in to his first glee class, he was greeted by Mike, "Hey Sam, come sit with us." He gestured to the open sit on the right side of him. Tina was sitting on the other side of Mike. They talked amongst themselves before the rest of the class piled in. Mercedes and Quinn were the last one to walk in. They took the seats upfront. Even though it was torture, Sam could not help but look her way. Instead of meeting her eyes however, it was Quinn's eyes that stared back at him. He quickly looked to the front.

"Alright guys, today we are having an open mic session. Anyone who are interested please feel free to speak up." Mr. Shue said while looking at us expectantly.

Before anyone could get a word in, Puck spoke up. "I have a song Mr. Shue." Walking down from his seat at the back row, he continued. "This one is for someone very special in my life." He said while he looked towards Mercedes.

He told the band his song selection, picked up the spare guitar and they started playing.

Where it began, I can't begin to knowin'

But then I know it's growing strong

Was in the spring,

And spring became the summer

Who'd believe you'd come along

He made his way towards Mercedes and stood in front of her.

Hands, touching hands, reaching out

Touching me, touching you

Oh, sweet Caroline

Good times never seem so good

I've been inclined to believe it never would

The rest of the class joined in the chorus.

Oh, sweet Caroline

Good times never seem so good

I've been inclined to believe it never would oooh oh no no..

When Puck was done with his performance, he took Mercedes' hand and kissed it.

Watching this, Sam's heart clenched. Somehow staying away from her was a very bad idea. It seemed to bring Puck and Mercedes closer together. She obviously likes guys who were bold and are not afraid to take chances. Why can't the guy be me? Maybe it's his stupid mohawk. Should I get my hair cut like that? No, I refuse to look like I'm wearing a squirrel on my head! So many thoughts were going through his head, that he felt like it was about to explode. He needed to talk to someone and he needed to do it fast. He looked to his left and knew who that person should be.

Before school began the next day, Puck came running towards Mercedes. They were supposed to meet, to come up with a plan for project Quick. That was the secret code they made up for this project.

"Good morning, Mercedes." Puck said politely.

Mercedes was slightly taken aback by this. "What? No Hot Mama today?" She asked smirking.

"Nah… I'm trying to be gentlemanly. Besides I read somewhere that girls like it when guys are polite to them," He replied with a shrug.

Mercedes chuckled at his reply. "Boy… You crazy!"

"So… Have you come up with a plan to woo Quinn yet?" Puck asked.

"I haven't thought about it. Yesterday was kind of a hectic day." It wasn't a lie. She went shopping with Quinn yesterday after school and when she got home, she was too tired to do anything else. So she went straight to sleep.

"I have a plan." Mercedes raised her eyebrow when he said this.

"Listen to me before you shoot me down ok." Mercedes just nodded.

"I was thinking that maybe I should pretend to like you, I could do all the stupid shit… I meant sorry stuff I've been doing to impress Quinn. I read that girls, hates it when guys who like them end up pursuing other girls." Puck said with a hopeful look.

"Since when do you read Puck?" She asked with a smile.

"Hey, I resent that… I do read you know, it's just most people don't know that I do. It's easier to act like the dumb delinquent when you're trying to uphold your bad boy image." He finished looking a little sheepish.

"Alright," Mercedes mumbled. She couldn't believe that she was going through with this plan. But what else could she do? She had already agreed to help the poor guy.

"What?" Puck looked at her puzzled.

"I said, alright. I will let you pretend to like me but if she doesn't buy it then we're stopping. You got it?" Mercedes said. She suddenly felt like she was in the twilight zone. The things that she was about to do was so unlike her.

"Got it… Thank you Mercedes." He hugged her after he expressed his gratitude. Mercedes knew she should feel uncomfortable with his constant need to hug her whenever she helped him. Oddly enough she doesn't. When she hugged Puck, she felt like she was hugging her big brother.

She heard someone clearing their throat, which made her pull away from Puck. She looked at the direction where the sound came from and saw Quinn standing there, arms crossed and her right eyebrow raised. Maybe she is interested in him. Mercedes thought.

"What are you two doing? Why are you hugging my best friend Puck? What… because you could not seduce me, you think that Mercedes will go for it?" Quinn stated looking pissed.

Ok, maybe I was wrong about Quinn being interested in Puck. Mercedes thought.

"It was just a hug Ivy. Chill out… I helped Puck out with his homework and he was just being grateful. Besides, I hugged him first." Mercedes lied.

"Whatever…" Quinn said still looking annoyed.

"I better go… Thanks again, Mercedes, for helping me with the homework." He looked at her and Quinn then walked away.

"That was rude of you Ivy." Mercedes gave her a chastising look.

"What? I didn't know that the hug was on purpose. For all I know he could've forced it on you. And when the hell did you get so chummy with Puck huh? Quinn stated.

"Oh my god… Will you drop it already? I told you that it was just a friendly hug." Mercedes was starting to get annoyed at her best friend.

"Unless, you are jealous… Are you jealous, Ivy?" Mercedes asked with a smile.

"Are you crazy? Why would I be jealous of that… that buffoon?" Quinn countered, looking down at her toes trying to hide a grin from Mercedes. Fortunately for Mercedes, she caught it.

Hmmm…. So she does like Puck. This is interesting. Mercedes smiled as she thought about how her theory was right.

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Something must be wrong with Sam. He refused to look at her in Algebra; the only time he looked at her was when she looked his way and smiled at him. He smiled back but the smile never reached his eyes.

At glee, Mercedes and Quinn were the last ones to walk in. They were in such a rush that Mercedes didn't look around the class to see if Sam was in the class with her.

Just then, Quinn spoke to her. "Sam looked at me; I think he likes me… I am so excited!"

At her best friend's statement Mercedes felt flutters in her stomach. So he is in class….

Then she thought about what Quinn had said and felt her heart drop. Oh no please not my best friend… She thought. She knew that most boys liked Quinn because she's thin and beautiful but for some reason, she was hoping that Sam Evans would be immune to Quinn's beauty. Just once Mercedes wanted a boy to like her, instead of her best friend.

Are you kidding? Why would he want you, when he can have Quinn? Her inner thoughts mocked.

Glee went by quickly, this week they were doing open mic. Puck sang Sweet Caroline to her in the attempt to make Quinn jealous. Which must have worked, judging from the look of anger on Quinn's face when Puck kissed Mercedes' hand after his performance.

When lunch time came Sam was nowhere to be seen. Mercedes couldn't help but feeling a little bit hurt by this. Is he sick? Maybe he doesn't want to be around me. He did act strangely during Algebra…. She didn't want to think too much into it. So she joined Quinn and the rest of the glee clubbers at the cafeteria table and ate her lunch.

So what did you think? Did you love it or hate it? Tell me your thoughts and input on how the fic should move forward. You never know, I might actually put it in the next chapter. Starting from the next chapter however, this fic will be updated every 3 days. I've had a pretty rough couple of nights, pushing myself to finish the 2 chapters. I'm glad my hard work is paying off though. Well till next time readers. Don't forget to review! (the more reviews I get the faster I write) Goodbye for now.

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