A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 3! Two more chapters til Mercedes breaks down fully! lol

Edit: It seems that ate some of my words... it should be fixed now.

Disclaimer- I own nothing.

Mission three- Fate's clever hand

Mercedes sat in a small booth alone at Breadstix on a Saturday evening. She was dressed in a mint green flowy top and a pair of dark wash skinny jeans. Her hair was pulled up in a wavy high pony, face made up, jewelry decorating her ears and wrist. She looked too good to be sitting there by herself as other couples enjoyed their dates. She took another look at her phone to check the time: 8:25. An annoyed sigh escaped her glossed lips. She and Shane was suppose to meet up after one of his other college football meetings in the early afternoon. They were going to have the whole day to themselves, reconnecting after the very busy post season and to celebrate the Titian's championship. Mercedes was looking forward to going to Lima's Winter carnival, dinner and just having a chance to spend some quality time with her boyfriend that didn't involve football. But when she was getting ready that afternoon, Shane called her saying that he's going to be with the recruiter all day for an impromptu "new players" lunch. So she just had to settle with dinner, which was still nice… she guessed. Shane was suppose to pick her up at 7:15, and dinner should have started at 7:30. But Shane was running late, so Mercedes hitched a ride with her parents, who were off to their own date night. She has now been waiting for him for an hour now and just got her second basket of breadsticks. Usually they won't give you another basket, but Mercedes though that her waiter thinks she gotten stood up.

" Can I get you anything else while you wait?" said the waitress

Mercedes looked up at the older woman and then at her watered down,half drunk ginger ale.

" No, I don't think he's showing up" said Mercedes, reaching for her wallet.

"I'm sorry sweetie" she said, " was this a first date?"

"No, it was my boyfriend…" said Mercedes through her teeth. She was really upset at the fact that she got stood up by her own boyfriend and could not wait to rip him a new one.

" 'Cedes?"

Mercedes looked over her shoulder expecting the only person she ever allowed to shorten her name like that.

" Sam? What are you doing here?" said Mercedes.

Sam was dressed in a basic white T, dark jeans and some chucks with his jacket in his hand. He wiped his hands on his jeans as he grinned down at her.

"I was going to ask you the same question, but since you look extra beautiful tonight, I'm guessing you have a date" said Sam.

Mercedes watched his green eyes take her in, from her ponytail to her black wedge booties.

" I did have a date, but my boyfriend seemed to have canceled on me with out telling me" muttered Mercedes

" What?" said Sam, his face scrunching up, " No, sit back down"

Mercedes gave him a confused look as he put his jacket in the opposite seat in the booth.

" Have a seat Cedes," said Sam pointing to her seat," their still having the special right, Val?"

" Already on it Sammy" said the waitress

Mercedes finally took a seat, now looking at Sam skeptically. Is this another attempt? What did he do to stop Shane from getting to Breadstix? Who could have told him I was here?

Sam took notice to Mercedes expression and asked her what was wrong.

" Who told you I was here? Kurt? Rachel?" said Mercedes squinting at him

" I had no idea you would be here" said Sam laughing at her, " I just got off of my dish washing shift"

" I didn't know you were working here" the accusation lifting from her voice

" Still have to support myself while I'm away from my family" said Sam

"Right…" said Mercedes, " How is your family? I miss them…"

"They miss you too…"

Sam was really surprised to see Mercedes there at Breadstix. He did over hear her saying something about hanging with Seamus over the weekend, but he must really be an idiot to neglect her like this. How do you stand up your own Girlfriend? It took all of his power not to give her his " I can treat you so much better that this guy" speech, the more he listened to Mercedes tell him about their failed attempts to get together during the post season and how Shane has been ditching her a lot. Sam had to admit, he wanted to bust out in a happy dance when she told him that. Her boyfriend is pretty much giving Mercedes back to him. But Sam won't count his chicks before they hatch, he was just enjoying his time with his Ms. Pretty, giving her the attention she deserved. They laughed while Sam told her stories of his time in Kentucky ( skipping over the parts where he missed Mercedes desperately), how his parents were doing and how big Stevie and Stacie were getting. Mercedes told Sam what he missed at McKinley while he was away. About West Side Story, her yelling at Mr. Shue, and the formation of the Trouble Tones.

" I can't believe that you didn't get the part for Maria" said Sam shaking his head, " what were they thinking?"

"My thoughts exactly," said Mercedes, taking a sip of her drink, " Technically they did give me the part, but I had to share it. I was sick of playing second fiddle to Rachel, so I didn't take it"

" If you did take it, you could have shown everybody that you're better than Rachel" said Sam, " I wish I got to see that"

He looked up at her, seeing realization washing over her face.

"Well they're going to start closing soon, wanna head out?" said Sam

" Yea sure", said Mercedes snapping out of her thought.

He helped Mercedes into her jacket and left a couple of bills on the table. They said goodbye to Val, who gave Sam a wink and mouthed She's beautiful. Sam grinned at her and walked out into the brisk night.

" Do you have to go home right away?" asked Sam

" Well I don't have a ride back home, so I was just going to see if my parents were back from their dinner" said Mercedes reaching for her phone

"I'll take you home, but not right now" said Sam.

He grabbed Mercedes hand and started running down the street. Sam heard Mercedes squeak his name and linked her fingers in his. He grinned at her and couldn't help but laugh at her expression as she tried to run in her wedges. He started to slow down to a stop.

"I forgot that you were wearing heels" laughed Sam, " You didn't hurt anything did you?"

"No, I'm fine" said Mercedes catching her breath, " Where are you taking me anyway?"

" You'll see, but we need to get there fast" said Sam. He bent down on his knee in front of her.

" What are you doing?" said Mercedes confused

"Get on my back" said Sam

" I am not getting on your back" laughed Mercedes, " I might hurt you"

" Girl, stop. We can both know I can carry you and do a lot at the same time…" said Sam, his voice deeper and a touch southern. Mercedes looked at him a little shocked and got on his back. Sam linked his arms around her legs, gripping her kneecaps. He made sure Mercedes was comfortable, then he raced down the sidewalk. Sam stopped at a little park that had a little skating rink in the middle.

" its not the Winter carnival, but I always wanted to go ice skating with you" said Sam, " I never thought I would get a chance after I moved to Kentucky"

They got their skates and shakily got on the ice. Sam was not the best skater but he held his own. Mercedes on the other hand, was holding on to the handrail. Sam skated over to her to see if she was okay.

" Having some trouble?" asked Sam

" I'm sure I have told you when you tried to teach me how to swim, that Black people and water DON'T mix? Thats including it frozen too" said Mercedes glaring up at him. Sam laughed but suddenly got really quiet. Over the loud speaker there was the quiet beginning of a song.

No, I can't take one more step towards you

'Cause all that's waiting is regret

Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore

You lost the love I loved the most…

Sam's heart skipped a beat. It was their song. The song where he finally built up the courage to ask Mercedes to dance, to act on the feelings he's had since he saw her. Sam noticed Mercedes for the first time a little bit after he got into the Glee club. It the football season was just about to start but it was still warm enough to have lunch outside. He was hanging out with Mike and Finn out on the field and then he saw her, all bright and colorful with a smile on her face. He couldn't help but grin at her, she was so cute. Sam never approached her because he got caught up with Quinn and his quest for popularity. If he never gathered up that courage, would he even be back in Lima fighting for her love?Green met brown, as their eyes locked on each other. Sam knew the same thing was on her mind.

" Mercedes, I just wanted to say that you look beautiful tonight and if you would like to skate with me" said Sam reaching out his hand.

Mercedes put her hand in his and he slowly pulled her out on the ice. She couldn't believe this was happening again. It was like having daja vu. It was too perfect. Mercedes couldn't really make her accusations now, because she was focusing on trying not to fall face first on the ice. She held on to Sam with a vice like grip with both hands.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall 'Cedes" whispered Sam

She slowly let go of his arm and just held on to his hand. They glided across and around on the ice by themselves. Mercedes was even confident enough to let Sam twirl her. When the song was finished, Sam pulled her in close and held her as they stood in the center of the ice.

"This was all apart of your plan wasn't it?" muttered Mercedes

" What plan?" asked Sam, placing his chin on the top of her head

" To some how get me out on a date… I don't know how you did it though…" said Mercedes

" Is it working? " asked Sam.

Mercedes took a breath, trying to decide if she should tell him it was or not.

" This couldn't be a date though, you have a boyfriend… I'm just showing you how a good boyfriend should treat you " said Sam, " If I was your boyfriend, I would never ditch you. I will never stand you up. I'd give you all the attention and love that you need. I see you with him 'Cedes, you don't really smile when your with him. You grin and bare it, because you not happy, you're just okay. Our summer together was the happiest I ever been ever and I know it was the same for you. I want to go back to that- I want to continue that"

Mercedes stared up at him speechless, " Sam-"

" I know that you have a boyfriend, and that you stay with him for some moral reason. I don't expect a yes or no now, I just want you to know that I'm not going after you just to play games. Your not a trophy to me just to stay on a shelf after a couple of "coco babies". I want a life with you, the good the bad, struggling music artist, Best new artist Grammy, Gold and Platinum album sales,- everything"

Tears started to fill Mercedes eyes and Sam began to lean into her. She closed her eyes and lifted her head, ready to meet his lips. But all she felt was a soft kiss on her forehead. Tears fell as he pulled away

" Come on, let me take you home" said Sam.

A/N:Oooop! Read and Review please!