A/N: This chapter takes place in early August, after Mercedes and the Evans family get back from Yosemite. In my head, Mercedes and Sam have been getting a lot of pressure from New Directions about the whole Gayberry nonsense. The Glee family is divided by those wanting Samcedes to make up and be friends again (Blaine, Tina, Finn, and Britt), those wanting Mercedes to completely put her foot up Rachel's butt (Santana, Puck, Artie, and Quinn) and those who want them to pretend the situation never happened (Mike, and Joe). Sam and Mercedes finally give into peer pressure and decide to meet the two offending parties head on. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters. I wouldn't claim the hot mess this show has become for anything on Earth.

Mercedes POV:
August 7, 2012

Persona Non Grata- Pt. 1

The day after Finn left for boot camp in Georgia, Sam and I had plans to spend time with Rachel and Kurt. We had been talking on and off about possibly burying the hatchet with those two, but never really intended to do it. There were several reasons, though, for us to at least see them and find out what they had to say for themselves. First of all, Blaine was really pressuring Sam. Blaine felt like Kurt had a world of hurt feelings coming his way after Finn and Rachel left, and wanted to soften the blow for his boyfriend by rekindling important friendships. Second, some new information involving Ms. Berry had come to light, and it totally needed to be addressed. Finally, despite us spending a whole summer ignoring Rachel and Kurt; Sam and I aren't really the type to hold grudges. Even though neither of us wanted to be friends with those two anymore; we didn't want to be petty, either.

So we decided that Sam and Kurt would have a Hudmel-Home "lady-chat" while Rachel and I had dinner at this vegan restaurant in Columbus. We wouldn't be driving there together, but if dinner went well, Rachel and I would take in a movie…they were playing "Hairspray" at the dollar movie theater down the street from the restaurant. I got there first, and ordered an organic apple juice while waiting on Rachel to arrive. When she got there, I was actually kind of impressed with her outfit. Kurt's obviously had some influence on Rachel's wardrobe choices lately, because her look was really cute. Sort of Pretty-Woman-at-the-Kentucky Derby party, with this earth-toned sleeveless sheath and a really great floppy hat. It was really flattering.

"Hello, Mercedes… You look nice." I did. I decided to pay some homage to my girl Beyonce and wear my favorite Dereon ensemble. The top was this long tee with a cute silver and black crown pattern across the front, which I paired with a copper colored leather bolero. The jacket was really expensive but it looked it, so I justified the expense by telling myself I'd wear it all through college. I wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and black peep-toe killer heels. I wore really bold eye makeup with this great gold-colored lip gloss, and pushed my 'fro back with a headband to complete my look. I guess I must have given off a totally different brand of sexy than the one I usually have, because Rachel actually looked shocked into giving me a sincere compliment.

"Hi, Rachel; you too."

Then the waitress came over and took our orders.

"So how has your summer been so far?" Rachel asked.

"Really great. Sam and I have been having a blast."

I told her about our vacations and all of the busy work Sam and I had been doing, then I asked, "How about yours?"

"Good, I guess. A bit lonely, I suppose."

"Lonely?"

She got this really hurt expression on her face, before answering with, "I guess I never realized how big a role Finn and the rest of Glee club have played in my summers before."

"Oh?"

"I haven't really seen anyone other than Kurt, Blaine, Sugar and Rory. Everyone else has been having so much fun, and I've missed it. At this point, I'd pay to have Puckerman around making crude jokes or Santana to call me up and refer to me as "Hobbit'."

I told her what she wanted to hear and said, "I'm sure they miss you too…"

"But you don't?" Rachel asked in this timid voice.

"Rachel…"

"Please, Mercedes; hear me out…" she looked pretty downtrodden, so I quit talking and let her go on. "…I know I have a history of doing things in the name of achieving my goals, and that more times than not, I manage to hurt a friend in the process…"

I nodded and accepted my meatless, cheese-less lasagna from the waitress. Rachel ignored the dinner salad being placed in front of her.

"…but my friends have always forgiven me; which is why I found it so surprising this year that you guys actually made me suffer for my actions."

I kept on nodding while taking a bite of my food. It was actually really good.

"I know that when I posted those things online that I hurt you. I also know you don't want to hear me go on and on about how motivated I am and how much I hate seeing others get what I want. I am just going to apologize for competing with you, and hope you forgive me."

I guess she finally realized I hadn't answered her, because she quit talking and waited on me to reply.

"Honestly, Rachel? I don't believe your apology is sincere. Usually, you don't apologize until you've gotten whatever it is you wanted in the first place."

Then she changed the subject without even pretending to be surprised at my candor.

"Mercedes, what changed?" Rachel looked honestly confused. "Why did everyone, but especially you, cut me off this summer? Why didn't my friends just forgive me?

"You want the truth?"

"Please."

I took a deep breath and formulated my answer. "Because most of us have graduated. And your being happy is no longer necessary for us to keep doing what we love, anymore."

Rachel looked affronted, but she asked; and I wasn't through. She started to pick at her salad while I continued.

"Look, Rachel… I may have thrown a fit over you demanding all of the solos and Shue kissing your ass this past year; but even I can admit that you were a huge part of what made us New Directions great. I can't speak for everyone; but three years in Glee definitely helped me develop a genuine sense of fear that you'd leave us in the lurch if we ever quit giving you your way."

"Mercedes, I would never…"

"Can it Rachel, I'm talking. You left Glee club, back in sophomore year…just because Tina was given a song from a musical that you'd already claimed as 'property of Rachel.' I personally realized, early on, that you put a lot of effort into being completely indispensable to the New Directions. We all did plenty behind the scenes; but you were constantly pushing to have things go the exact way that you envisioned. You pushed Shuester, you pushed Finn, and you pushed us in the direction you saw us going. And your suggestions were usually good ones. So it was just easier to let you plan everything than it was to figure out how to make things work without you. It's why Artie was afraid to give me Maria, and it's also why we forgave you and Finn for the Superman kiss."

Then Rachel bowed her head sheepishly and pretended to push food around with her fork.

"But Glee is over for most of us, and the juniors and sophomores won't have you around now. You can't hold Glee Club hostage to your whims any longer, so none of us have any more reason to cow-tow to your crazy by letting your mess slide."

Apparently, the only part of my whole speech that penetrated her skull was the part where I admitted that we let her do everything; because she asked, "So you admit to using me to further your own agendas?"

"No," I shot back. "I admit that we made the best of the shitty situation we were dealt."

"Well, If you needed my voice so much, why did you leave New Directions?" Rachel inquired, looking confused.

I thought about it for a second before answering truthfully.

"Because of Sam. Last summer he showed me that I was so much more than what people let me be…that I was worth more than even I believed. I deserved every bit of the recognition you wouldn't allow me even a corner of. So I took my talent elsewhere."

I couldn't stomach any more food on top of this conversation so I waived over a member of the wait staff and asked for the check.

"But don't you see how hurtful it was for me to be all alone?" Rachel whined. "I'm the only New Directions girl who was never once invited to perform with the TroubleTones. You guys excluded me on purpose, the same way you did this summer!"

Hey, it's lonely at the top.

"Rachel, you and Mr. Shue managed to turn our last run at Nationals into a showcase for you! I understood that you wanted to impress Ms. Tibideaux; but in hindsight, don't you think you could have spared a little of your spotlight for Kurt? I mean, she might have liked to see a little bit more of his contribution to the group as well!"

This chick is completely lost…still doesn't get it.

"The fact is, Rachel; that if I had allowed you any part in the TroubleTone number, then all of the hard work I'd done all year would have been lumped in with your many accomplishments…and I earned my TroubleTone moment."

I guess by then Rachel had realized I came here for the express purpose of telling her about herself, because that's when she went on the defensive.

"I thought you were above selfish pettiness, Mercedes…I guess I had you pegged wrong. You wouldn't even help Kurt and me meet your new boss!"

"Kurt knows my reasons, and I believe them to be valid." I responded while smiling at the waitress for bringing the bill.

"Well, even you have to admit that, despite my very selfish reasons for posting what I did online; the advice I gave you was good on its face. You should be checking up on a music producer who hires you for a job before having ever met you!" After she said that, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to avoid my glare.

When she turned her head back, I shot her a knowing look and placed my debit card in the bill folder. "By now, I know that you have. So what all did you find out?"

She lowers her head petulantly. "That Mr. Chism is exactly who a budding recording artist should want to have in her corner."

"That's what I found out when I did my own research last school year," I crowed. That's when the waitress brought me my receipt.

"I feel that I should inform you that I have a meeting with Mr. Chism next week."

Finally, the truth…here we go.

"He told me…" I answered her. "…my boss said that somebody from my high school had been begging his assistant to schedule her for a meeting for the last month. Then he asked if the girl was a friend of mine…."

Bitch, I bet you're scared now.

"…I said you were the star of my competition show choir." I told her.

What I didn't tell her was that Sam may or may not have emailed Mr. Chism a link to JBI's blog and all of Rachel's comments.

"You didn't tell him that I was a backstabber…or, or a glory hog?"

Not that he wouldn't have figured it out on his own eventually or anything.

"Why are you projecting your crap onto me?"

"I'm sorry, Mercedes. I shouldn't have assumed…" Rachel started, looking too fucking pleased for words.

"Now, that apology I believe-now that you've gotten your way again!"

"Kurt and I were wrong; I admit to that now. I hope we can be friends again."

I picked up my bag and stood up before answering her.

"We were never friends, Rachel…you were an important cog in the wheel of my favorite part of high school. I was your support staff. So the answer to your question is Hell-to-the-No!"

Then I walked away from the table and away from Rachel.

Sam POV:
August 7, 2012

Persona Non Grata-Pt. 2

It's about 7 pm, and I'm about to knock on the door of Kurt's bedroom for our scheduled "lady-chat," or as Mercy calls it…our ManDate. Carol and Burt are in Fort Benning, Georgia; where they got a hotel room after dropping off Finn to his Army base. They wouldn't be back until Saturday, so this was a great time for Kurt and I to talk over some of the issues he's been having with my girlfriend. She and I agreed that another four-way outing or hang-out probably wasn't a good idea.

After Kurt lets me in, he leads me over to a small table and a set of chairs in the corner; it kind of looks like what a little girl would have for stuffed-animal tea parties, except its bigger. Mercy told me a "lady chat" would consist of snacks, your beverage of choice (though tea and warm milk were mainstays), and ice cream at the end. I wasn't opposed to a little dessert, so if Kurt wanted to pick my brain while feeding me goodies I was totally game.

Kurt poured me a mug of hot cocoa and dished up all of these little cakes and cookies before starting.

"How have you been, Sam?"

"I've been good, Kurt. You?"

"I'm okay…How is Mercedes?"

"Again, she's doing good…Having a lot of fun this summer," I mentioned while taking a sip of cocoa.

Damn this is good…is that caramel I taste?

"So I've heard. I guess I should be the first to make mention of the elephant in the room by saying that I really had no intention of causing so much drama at Blaine's house. I know my comments were unnecessary, but I honestly felt that they were innocent ones."

Kurt tried to look angelic while offering me a frosted pink cupcake.

"Come on, Kurt." I took one, then broke a piece off before continuing. "It was pretty obvious that you were jealous of Mercy and I spending so much time with our other Glee friends. You made that very clear, since every word out of your mouth had something to do with what you'd heard about it."

I bit into the cupcake and had to stop myself from shoving the whole thing in my mouth. Damn Kurt can bake!

"For a moment there I'd forgotten how very good at reading people you are, Sam Evans," Kurt laughed. "So, yes; I was jealous. I made the comment about you guys not watching movies with the others, and the "dirty laundry" remark because I hated hearing about those things from a secondhand source. It hurt…Most of what our friends told us about were things that happened last summer, things I had no clue ever even happened."

Things you could have found out about it you'd cared enough to give Mercy a call…

"Well, Kurt…last summer you weren't around much."

I finished my cupcake and started on a peanut butter cookie.

"I know, I know…I've heard it from Satan, Tina, and Artie alike. And I can admit that I got so wrapped up in my play, in Blaine, and in Rachel that I completely ignored Mercedes. By the time I started missing her, she'd found you…"

Like I'm a consolation prize?

"We actually found each other, Kurt."

I was making sure that Kurt knew I saw through his little jabs, and that he also knew I was going to call him out every time he tried that shit.

"I realize that…I really didn't mean it as snarky as it came out. Sorry…"

Kurt took a small bite of the cookie he had just picked up.

"…Sam, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Kurt."

"Are you the reason Mercedes won't forgive me? I don't mean that in a 'Sam's causing trouble' kind of way. But is your relationship with Mercedes why she won't accept bad friendship anymore? Mercedes was always so slow to anger where I was concerned. I was wondering why she's changed."

I took another sip so I could formulate my answer.

"I can't take credit for my girl finally knowing what she's worth, Kurt." I chided. "But on some level, we helped each other out in that way. See, Mercedes and I found one other when my world was crashing all around me, and she was really lonely. She was there to make me feel like I finally had some support, like I didn't have to carry everything on my shoulders by myself. And I was there to make her see how important she was to me, how much better my life was with her in it. When you can really look into the face of how much you mean to another person, it's really hard to take bullshit from anybody else."

Kurt listened to me, then took a sip of his tea after thinking about what I'd said.

"I get it; you can't go around making people feel like dirt if they finally know they're better than that."

"Exactly."

"Sam…Can I ask you another question?"

"Shoot."

"Do I treat Mercedes like dirt?"

"Yes, and no…" I answered him. "…You know, Kurt; some of our friends seem to think you latched on to Mercedes on purpose when you didn't have anybody else. They feel like you only befriended her so you'd be less lonely. Then when you fell in love with Blaine and finally found some common ground with Rachel, you ditched her for the people you really wanted to hang around…"

He seemed worried that any of our friends would think he'd ever used Mercy like that. "Do you think that? Does Mercedes?"

I assured him, saying "No, we don't. I know firsthand, how giving Mercedes is. I wasn't around when you two met, but I can totally see her going out of her way to help you feel less alone. If I know her, and I do; she probably sought you out, not the other way around. And it's impossible not to respond to her when she's showing you her loving side. So I know there was no way you could have resisted Mercy's friendship; you probably felt like you'd found an oasis in the desert."

Kurt smiled like he was having really fond memories. "You're right. She was the best thing in my life sophomore year."

"So that's the no part," I offered. "But I do believe you ignore her so much because deep down you know you can count on her loyalty. You had to work really hard to forge a friendship with Rachel…hell, you had to change schools! And from what I remember, Blaine rejected you before you two started dating as well. Mercedes' friendship was pretty much a given, and you've always taken it for granted. You never once thought she'd replace you as a best friend, even when you replaced her."

I could tell Kurt wanted to argue with me, but he resisted to keep me talking.

"And this summer?"

"This summer things have finally come to a head. You had a choice, when Rachel posted those things online. You could have defended Mercedes, you could have given her a heads up before the grapevine did. You could have tried to show her a little of the loyalty you've come to rely on her for. But you didn't. So she drew her line in the sand."

"I never wanted to imply that Mercedes was in any way less talented than Rachel…but you were in Glee. You know Rachel was our star. Forgive me for having the same assumption as the rest of the club about who would break out into show business first."

"No one agreed with your assumption other than Mr. Shue, Finn, and Rachel; Kurt. I don't even prefer R&B or rap music, but the first time I ever heard ya'll sing I wanted to buy Mercedes' album. She has plenty of star power, whether or not she's allowed to let it out.

I guess he couldn't bite his tongue any longer because the next thing he said was completely argumentative.

"But Rachel has proactively been trying to make her mark on the music industry since I've known her, Sam. She's dedicated and works harder than Mercy. Mercedes came to class one day dressed up, and sang a song she's heard a million times, while a boy who loved her taped it. It doesn't seem fair that she gets noticed when Rachel hones her craft every chance she gets. That's why I never defended Mercedes…good fortune just fell into her lap!"

Nice to know how you really feel…

"Number one: Mercedes doesn't sing for fame or because she thinks it will make her rich…she does it because she loves to sing. I would wager that Mr. Chism responded to the love Mercedes has for the music, rather than the reason her video was posted. Number two: thank you for never speaking those thoughts to 'Cedes out loud, because hearing that you felt like that would have completely crushed my girl."

Kurt obviously didn't want to look like he was jealous any more than he already had, so he changed the subject.

"And wasn't it just a bit petty of Mercedes to bring up things I said almost two years ago? People change, Sam… How does she know I haven't grown up since back then?"

He just doesn't get it…

"Kurt, you've managed to insult me at least twice in less than fifteen minutes, all because I represent someone you're having an argument with."

"But I apologized, Sam!"

"You never apologized to Mercedes, Kurt…"

"Okay, I get it." Kurt concedes. "But you have to know that I only said that stuff back then to help her out. She and I were finally popular, but if Sue had kicked her off the Cheerios then Mercedes would have lost that."

It was pretty obvious he'd spent the past few weeks coming up with a justification for his words.

"True. But she quit the Cheerios anyway, because she didn't like how popularity made people act. See, Mercedes didn't want to be the type of friend to suggest that another friend starve themselves."

Kurt seemed to be thinking about what I'd said, but I went on.

"And Mercedes had another valid point, Kurt…what about the things she could have said to you? Would you have just forgotten it if she'd said them out loud? Speaking as another straight boy you planned to hit on; the vibe I got from you when I first got to McKinley was a little off-putting, to say the least. She could have gone off on you for that, and justified it by saying she was keeping you from getting beaten up by a potentially homophobic jock. If Mercedes had gone all diva on you in the interest of keeping your face intact, would she have been in the right?"

"No…she wouldn't. Friends don't hurt each other for any reason, I see that now…"

Why don't I believe him?

"…But you have to admit that Mercedes could have done something to help Rachel and I when we asked. Jealousy obviously played a part in her turning me down."

Is that what all of this is about?

"You said 'turning me down' like Mercedes decided not to get a coffee with you because she had plans with me already. It's not the same thing. Her professional life isn't something she should include people in just because they're her friends. Mercy did the right thing…."

Yep, that's what all this is about…Kurt looks like his dog just died.

"…Besides, even after Rachel went on and on about Mercy's boss being disreputable; she still was able to finagle a meeting with him on her own for next week. Nobody needed an introduction from Mercedes."

"Rachel and I have a meeting with Mercy's boss next week?"

Well look who just perked up…

"Rachel has a meeting with Mercy's boss next week."

Hate to burst your bubble, Kurt…

"I guess I had that coming. And I'm not at all surprised. But could you please tell Mercedes I'm sorry, though… because I really am."

I took the last bite of cupcake on my plate and slugged down the rest of my hot chocolate before answering.

"Tell her yourself, Kurt…You're the one she wants to hear it from."

Then I stood up and went down to my own room.

A/N: I hope this gave everyone a little bit of closure to the whole Gayberry drama situation. They're going to b e civil and ignore one another when they can't. It's honestly the best I could do.