Chapter 11: The Damn Lilacs
Chapter song: "Baby Driver" – Simon & Garfunkel
Time: September

Sam skipped down the stairs and went through the living room, where his parents were unpacking some boxes.

"Going for a ride, be home later," he said, already half way out the door.

"Sam, wait" his dad called. "Where are you going? It's almost 9 o'clock."

"I'm just going to take Mercedes out for ice cream…" He had done that numerous times over the summer, so he didn't see why it was a big deal.

"But it's September," his mother said, seeming rather confused.

"Okay, so maybe I'll take her for some hot chocolate." He was running late and not really interested in a dating lesson from his mother.

"Sam, it's a school night and your siblings will be in their beds in less than half an hour, so don't be home too late."

"Fine." He dramatically rolled his eyes.

The Evans family had moved to their new house at the end of July, so they were still settling in. After his dad had gotten a new job as a store manager of a clothing store for men at the mall, the family had been doing okay and they had finally been able to move out of the motel. Now they lived in a small row house not too far away from McKinley. It was a quiet road and because of the size of the houses, most of their neighbors were pensioners.

Sam started his car and drove out of the garage. After about 20 minutes he reached a road he knew very well. He'd been there numerous times at different occasions, always joyous ones. There were freshly cut lilac trees on each side separating the pavement from the street and all the houses were white painted mansions surrounded by white fences. Only one of the houses had a baby blue fence and that was the one house he'd actually been inside of.

He approached the house and began reminiscing how many times he'd parked his car in the drive way and walked up the little path to the front door with butterflies in his stomach and slightly sweaty hands. He would knock on the large wooden door, waiting to hear the familiar pattern of her footsteps. And then, the door would carefully be opened, and there, in her Cheerios outfit or in a cute little sun dress, his favorite little blonde would be standing with a shy smile and a twinkle in her eye. Sam felt his heart drop just by thinking about her.

As he drove by the house, he instinctively looked up at the window on the first floor where she'd sometimes be sitting, waiting for him. He slowed down.

And there she was. In all her glory. She was sitting in her large windowsill, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting upon her knees. Her hair was hanging down her back and as far as he could see, she was just wearing a white nightgown.

She still looks gorgeous though. She always does.

The night gown was pretty short and Sam could just about get an idea of the creamy skin of her thighs.

As he passed her house, he wondered if she'd recognize his car. Then he realized she wasn't looking down at the road, but rather at the horizon.

She's probably thinking about the future. He thought. She has a tendency to do that… I miss her.

Being totally swallowed up by his ex-girlfriend Sam wasn't looking at the road and almost ran down a dog. The dog was fine, but Sam had to pull the breaks resulting in his old car making a rather loud sound.

That caught Quinn's attention.

Sam quickly drove on thinking Shit, shit, shit. Don't do this man, think about Mercedes. You are going to see Mercedes. You are not going to destroy your car because of Quinn. That's just plain stupid. He stepped on the speeder and exhaled.

Was that Sam's car? Quinn thought as she stretched her neck, trying to see what had made that noise down on the street, but she couldn't see much because of the golden colored leaves of the trees. Damn lilacs, she mused before turning her gaze towards the horizon once again.

Sam drove for yet another ten minutes until he pulled up in front of Mercedes house. He went up the door and knocked. Shortly after, his girlfriend opened the door, looking a little disappointed.

"You're late Sam,"

"Sorry, my parents kept bugging me," he said pecking her cheek. "Wanna go for an ice cream?"

"Sam…"

"Right, it's September. What about a cup of chocolate then?"

"Mercedes," a deep voice called from the other room. "It's half past nine. You're not going anywhere at this hour on a school night."

"Oh," Sam whimpered. "Sorry."

"It's cool. Can we just stay in tonight? I want to talk to you about something."

Uh-oh, this can't be good. "Uhm, sure."

He stepped inside and followed Mercedes to her room, after waving at her father, who was sitting with a newspaper in the living room. The older man just nodded, not really seeming pleased.

Mercedes sat down on her bed and motioned for Sam to sit down next to her. As he sat down, he caught a glimpse of her bra and his thoughts went straight to Quinn in that nightgown.

"Look Sam, I wanted to ask you something…"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, sure…" he said, feeling a little guilty. Here he was, sitting alone in a room with this beautiful, funny and talented girl and all he could think about was a girl who cheated on him.

"Are you thinking about Quinn?"

"Wh-what? As in right now?" Oh shit, she's totally reading my mind, he thought, feeling his palms becoming sweaty.

"No, I mean like in general."

"I don't know. No, not really," he lied. "Why?"

"It's just… I don't know, it's like you can't really take your eyes off of her. And you wince every time she talks to Gus. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you still…"

"You'd think I still what?" Sam asked frowning.

"I'd think you still loved her." She immediately casted her gaze downwards.

He put a thumb beneath her chin and turned her face towards him. "Then it's a good thing you know better, huh?" he asked gently brushing her lips with his.

Mercedes gave him a small smile, but she still looked worried.

"Look, 'Cedes. I don't love Quinn. I don't. I wouldn't be with you if I did. But fact is that she's my ex-girlfriend and she was pretty important to me for a while. So yeah, I'm still kind of aware of her. I notice her in Glee club and I get a little strained when I find out that she's been throwing herself at some French dude she doesn't even know."

She's been throwing herself at what? Mercedes wondered. As far as I know she thinks Gus is gay.

Sam took Mercedes hand and held it in his own. "It's natural for me to still care about her. She was my first real girlfriend. But that doesn't mean I care any less about you."

"But you're my first real boyfriend, Sam. And I like being around you but fact is that you're not treating me very well."

Sam looked down at his hands, feeling slightly ashamed.

"I know I can be demanding and I'm a lot to handle at times. I'm a diva, I know that. But that doesn't mean you can get away with staring at other girls and keep lingering in your former relationships. We have fun and that's great, but I'm a woman and I need you treat me like one."

Sam sighed heavily. "You're right. I'm so sorry."

He put his arm around her neck and reluctantly she turned to face him so that he could hug her. He kissed her cheek and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I promise I'll do better. Just give me one more chance, okay?"

"Sure."

They smiled at each other.

She has such a cute smile. I really like that smile, he thought.

"You better get home now, though. Otherwise my dad is going to be up here in a minute ready to beat you up."

Sam chuckled. "Of course. I'll walk myself out."

He stood up and took a step away from her bed, but then he turned around, kissed her on her forehead. Then he headed for her door.

I guess he's gotten off to a good start, Mercedes mused while lovingly rubbing the place on her forehead where he'd kissed her.

When Sam got into his car he paused for a moment, thinking about what his girlfriend had said.

I've got to do better. I love Mercedes. I know that (or… I'm pretty sure I do). I've got to stop focusing on Quinn. We're not together anymore. She cheated on me like she cheated on Finn and now she's dating that Gus-guy. It's over between us.

Why don't I get that? It's not like I love her anymore. I don't even know if I loved her when we were together (yes I did. I loved her dearly).

I just need to think about me and 'Cedes singing together in Glee Club. That was so much fun, I love performing with her. I just need to think about that. I'm so lucky that she's my girlfriend.

And he thought about that as he drove… right until he reached Quinn's house. Then he began humming 'Lucky' and without even realizing it, he spent the rest of the drive thinking about his ex-girlfriend in that nightgown.

Thank you for reading!
Okay, so a short chapter this time. I apologize, but it's already late in my country. I feel I've kind of distanced myself from Mercedes in this story despite the fact that I love her character. So here's her side of the story :-) I promise another update before the weekend ends - and the next will definitely be a little longer. Have a lovely day!