If It's For Her,
Written by WickedSong.
Disclaimer/Note : In chapter one. As in previous chapter there's a spoiler warning. So I'm not doing the We Found Love scene but I am doing the pre/post of the scene (or at least what I imagine would happen in my ideal world pre/post this scene obviously). Again, some of this (the Finn and Sam scene) is based off of the promo. "Swimming is sexy." "Not if it's synchronised." Keep that exchange in mind.
"Look Evans you were a strong quarterback and if you had been here for the start of the season who knows," Coach Beiste began and Sam knew he would facing rejection in his mission to regain his place on the football team, "but there's only one game left of the season and there's no space on the team. " She sighed. "I'm sorry."
Sam nodded his head, understanding where she was coming from, even if he was frustrated that what he needed to do was not going to plan at all. He turned to leave the locker room but was surprised by Coach calling him back.
"Why do you want back on the team, if I can ask," was her question.
Sam thought for a moment and then replied, not a complete lie but not the complete truth either. "I like football. I enjoy playing it. I just wanted to be back on the team, that's all."
Coach Beiste took some of the weights which had been left on the bench press off and then sat down, thoughtfully looking at the boy before her. "You know, Evans, I like to think that I'm more than a Coach, at least to some of you guys, you know, Hudson, Chang, Puckerman, Abrams. Like a back up guidance conseuler. So I'm going to ask you again. Why do you want back on my team?" He sighed deeply. He didn't want to tell her. It didn't feel right to just be opening up to a teacher about matters of the heart but she spoke up again before he had the chance, laughing a little before she did. "I even talked to Abrams about my non-existent love life while we were working on West Side Story, if you can believe that."
Sam gave an odd look to that, which she responded to by laughing at. She kicked a chair in his direction. "Sit down, blondie."
He complied. "I was being honest when I said I miss football and being on the team but I also want or more like need my letterman jacket back." When the Coach only nodded as if to tell him to go on, he continued, "When I left I left someone really important to me behind and I want her back. I'll do anything."
"So this all about impressing some girl?" Beiste shot up. "Come on. I'm sure we can find some sport that you can do. Maybe I'll even talk to Coach Washington, see if she'll let you join synchronised swimming. She needs new recruits anyway. Leave it with me, Evans."
Sam jumped up from his seat, happily. "Really? Thanks, Coach!"
"Now, now, I said I'd try. I can understand fighting for love," she said, not looking as if she was going to expand on that subject and Sam was fine with that. He already felt weird enough divulging his feelings to a teacher anyway. "Although if this girl means this much to you maybe the letterman doesn't matter. Just something for you to think about. Come see me tomorrow after school."
"You need to do something sexy," Finn advised later on that same day, after glee rehearsal as they walked to his car. "You know, according to Santana and Brittany she was pretty impressed with The Windy City at Sectionals."
Sam nodded. "Noted."
The boys got in and Finn started the car. As they drove Sam thought about what he had said until Finn brought him out of his thoughts and into reality when he started speaking.
"So tell me about you and Mercedes. How did it even happen? Rachel swears it was prom-"
"New York. It was actually thanks to you and the way you kissed Rachel on stage in a way," Sam interrupted, not looking at Finn, and instead focusing his attention on either his feet or looking out the window. "At first I wasn't going to go for it with her. Yeah, I had a crush and she liked me and it was great to be with her because she would be there to listen, to help but I couldn't afford a girlfriend-"
It was Finn's turn to interrupt. "You know she doesn't care about the material stuff."
"Of course but you know where I'm coming from." Finn nodded and Sam continued, "But then I could see you laying it all on the line for the person you loved and I-I realised that if I let Mercedes get away then, I would probably never get another chance."
He was lost in that moment as if it had only just happened. The deserted hotel room. His nervous stumble around the words 'will you go out with me', her demanding yet soft tone when she was asking what he meant, and then finally their first kiss. He smiled at the memory from just under seven months ago.
His life had taken turn after turn in the whole year and she had been one of the few bright lights.
Until fate had put an end to that.
Finn didn't question him anymore and continued driving in silence.
"Come on guys, it's easy!"
"You've been doing this for two weeks, we haven't," Finn replied to Sam's insistence as the guys assembled got in a last minute rehearsal of the routine. The girls were taking longer getting their swimsuits on and so they had taken the extra time to perfect the moves. Artie sat at the side, calling out instructions like a drill sergeant, obviously unable to take part in the actual routine.
"So, I'm lost, how exactly will this help in the plan?" Rory asked, as he almost slipped but managed to regain himself in enough time.
"Well, Irish-"
"Hello Santana."
Santana didn't waste any time with greeting Rory, getting straight to the point. "-at this point we're not being direct in our efforts, no, this is just to remind Mercedes how much she loves Guppy Face over here."
"And how does this song do that?" asked Mike.
Sam had to be amazed at how everyone in glee club had basically pulled through for him. They had all agreed with Santana in their assessment of Shane and the girls and Kurt had been especially won over by the fond way she spoke of Sam when they had had their lunchtime chat.
Rachel was the next one to walk beside the pool. "That is an excellent question. The lyrics of the song will appeal to her romantic side while reminding her of the amazing summer romance she and Sam shared."
"Plus, hopefully Ms. Pillsbury will accept Mr. Schue's proposal. Two birds with one stone," Finn added.
Mr. Schue walked into the hall with the pool and looked around in amazement. "Perfect!" he exclaimed clapping his hands together. "This is perfect! She's going to love it!"
Rachel walked over to the adjoining locker room and knocked on the door. "Come on ladies, we have a wooing...I mean a proposal to pull off!"
The girls all had on identical swimsuits, red and white striped tops with a white bow, and a flowing blue skirt that went to the knees. They were tied at the neck and all girls had their hair to the side in buns, held in place by white flowers.
Sam's heart almost skipped a beat when he saw Mercedes. Not that she didn't always look beautiful but there was something about the swimsuit that made him unable to take his eyes off her.
"Sam," Santana warned, "either stop staring or go talk to her or I'll force you to go talk to her."
"Sorry, focus," Sam said, tearing his eyes away to catch Santana giving him a pointed look. When he turned his head back around Mercedes was still in his line of view and he was faced with his predicament once again.
"Boys," dismissed Santana as she shook her head and pushed Sam so that he was face to face with Mercedes. "I wasn't joking around, loverboy," she muttered, before stalking off to go speak to Brittany and Sugar.
"Oh hey Sam," Mercedes said, when she saw he was standing right in front of her. She took her hand and tried to adjust the flower in her hair.
"It's fine," Sam assured her.
"Habit, I guess."
He nodded. "You look...you look..." Trying to find the word was difficult. It was beautiful. But it was somehow more than that and why he couldn't put his finger on it he couldn't figure out. Maybe he was just nervous because her looking this good around him made him feel things he shouldn't be feeling about a girl with a boyfriend, especially a bulldozer like Shane.
"Right guys! Time to get into position."
"Damn, Mr. Schue, talk about bad timing," Sugar cursed out loud, before walking to the side of the pool, with the rest of the glee clubbers, all hidden from sight. Mr. Schue gave a confused glance to the girl but she didn't elaborate on the reasoning for her outburst.
Sam and Mercedes gave each other small smiles before going to their opposite sides of the pool, as they waited for Ms. Pillsbury to arrive.
"Oh Will, of course I will!"
Ms. Pillsbury had the brightest smile on her face, bright enough to fill an entire room as Mr. Schue placed the engagement ring on her finger. She looked down at it with tears clear in her eyes before she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.
Everyone in glee beamed at each other, Finn pulling Rachel into a tight hug whispering something in her ear, Brittany placed a small kiss on Santana's cheek, and wrapped her arms securely around her, something which Santana returned happily. Sugar jumped up and down excitably with Rory, who looked content to let the girl do so while Puck and Artie high fived. Mike and Tina had their arms around each other's waists, as did Kurt and Blaine and Quinn and Mercedes were laughing happily with each other at this development.
Sam stood by himself at the side, smiling on as he watched the teachers and everyone around him interact with each other. He felt slightly alone, not because he couldn't join in with the celebrations but because he couldn't hug or kiss the one person he wanted to. Finn could hug Rachel that tightly because she was his girlfriend, Brittany could kiss Santana on the cheek because she was her girlfriend too but he was doomed to be so close but so far to the one person he wanted to be with. How was that fair? Life isn't fair, Evans, you know that.
Before he could gather the nerves to actually talk to Mercedes again though, the girls had already all shuffled inside their locker room to change and the guys were leaving the gym with the pool to go to a different locker room. Sam trailed behind the rest of the guys, only to find himself surrounded by the hockey team.
"We thought the last slushie would have taught you something about doing something much lower on the food chain than glee club," Rick, who had miraculously recovered from his coma over the winter break, commented, slushie in hand.
"Oh, so that was you. Good to know," Sam told them, a smirk on his lips. He held his arms out. "Well, you may as well do it now. I'm going to get changed anyway."
"How the mighty fall don't they? First on football, quarterback, then dropped for Finn Hudson. Cheated on by one girlfriend because of the same guy, then it turns out the next girlfriend is a lesbian. Embarrassing much?" Rick seemed to be enjoying this slow taunt.
Why, Sam wasn't entirely sure but none of the stuff Rick was saying hurt much anymore. It was a small wound, one he was sure would never heal but it didn't affect him anymore.
"Then you leave and within a month your next girlfriend manages to move on without-"
Sam didn't realise he had knocked the slushie out of Rick's hand until he did it.
The next thing he felt were the other slushies. The previous week it had only been two, this time it was four or five and the increased amount was felt. He just stood in the deserted hallway for a long time, wondering when he'd want to move again when he felt a hand slowly guiding him. To where he didn't know but he knew he could trust whoever it was.
When he opened his eyes he could see Mercedes, running a tap in the girls bathroom.
The scene gave him flashbacks, oddly enough of the first time he met Quinn but it was different this time. Something right clicked this time.
"You're not going to give up, are you?" was all she had to ask.
He wondered if she expected him to answer.
"I'm not worth this. Why can't you just make your life so much easier. Find someone who...who...doesn't make you do stupid things like join synchronised swimming and get slushied!"
"I've told Puck and I'll tell you," he said, and it came out as more a frustrated growl. It wasn't intentional. It was probably because his eyes were burning and she was standing right next to him and he could hear her concern but he wasn't going to give up. And his head was just spinning, "I don't care if I leave this bathroom and Rick is standing there with his cronies and hundreds of slushies. It doesn't matter. All that matters is showing you how far I would go."
"And when would you stop?"
This time she was definitely expecting an answer.
He lifted his head, and dried his face, which was dripping wet with water, hastily, before looking straight into her eyes and telling her, "I've told you this too. When you can tell me you're over me, really over me. Like you can look at me without that hint of a smile, or you can tell me to move on without that slight waver in your voice or...or when you don't have that sadness in your eyes whenever I see you in the hallways with Shane."
"I'm not unhappy with Shane."
"But are you happy?"
She put the towel down and rubbed her temples. "You're not making this easy for me, Evans."
"All part of the fighting for you, I'm afraid."
She nudged his shoulder lightly. "I honestly thought you were joking about that."
He gave a smile. "Never." Suddenly it hit him. "Like a goddess," he mumbled.
"What did you just say?"
"Before the number. I couldn't find the right words. But like a goddess." He nodded his head, as if sure of himself. "You looked like a goddess."
She didn't answer, only looked down. Was she blushing? He couldn't tell easily but he would have bet anything that she was.
"Not that you don't always look beautiful."
"I'll see you later, Sam."
She turned and walked away from him but it was just like that day in the hallway.
She was smiling, he noted, while he also grinned.
It still wasn't over.
I promise, promise, promise, next chapter will be more from Mercedes' POV and Shane will pop up. Can't say now how brief or long it'll be for but he'll be there (again, the things I do for you guys). I've realised I've basically wrote my Samcedes wishes for Yes/No and it's scary because I know half of this won't happen. Also next chapter, I'll get some Quinncedes, maybe Kurtcedes and Quam friendship in there. Because I love those friendships.
I made up how Sam came to be in swimming by using the promo and his brief bit with Finn in that as well as something I saw that Chord was filming with Dot. I don't know where I saw that and if it was legit but I think it'd be pretty awesome if Beiste was helping him with his fight for 'Cedes' heart because she's going through that whole thing with Sue and Cooter. But anyhoo.
Please tell me what you think of this chapter. I think there's only one or two (at a push maybe three) left so please, please, please review! All the reviews I've had so far have been so encouraging and fill me with so much joy you have no idea! And thank you for the favourites/alerts as well!
WickedSong x
P.S. It's almost midnight here in the UK so I wish you all a Happy New Year wherever you are! 2012 brings us Summer Nights and Samcedes, let's rejoice and have a party! No but seriously wherever you are I hope 2012 brings you nothing but the best! :D