Mercedes' plans for the day had changed so many times that she didn't know if she was coming or going. First she was supposed to be babysitting Sam's brother and sister but eventually wasn't needed after all. Then Rachel had invited her to come round for lunch. She'd been at the point of nearly being ready to leave when Rachel called to say that there were unexpected visitors to the house and could they please do tomorrow instead.

She was just starting to relish the idea of having not only the rest of the Saturday to herself, but also the house as her dad was attending a dental conference and her mom had decided to join him when there was a sudden there was a knock at the door. She was amazed to see Sam standing there and invited him straight in. It turned out that he'd swung by to return her Tupperware container which had been filled with home baked muffins and cookies for the kids on her last babysitting session. Without an oven in the motel room they'd missed out on little treats like that and Mercedes loved to bake.

"So are you on your way to work?" She noticed that Sam wasn't wearing the usual pizza restaurant shirt that she was used to seeing him in outside of school.

"Not til later. There weren't any spare shifts until tonight so I actually get most of the day free. I'm just on my way to Kurt and Finn's to watch a movie. Blaine and Mike are going and we're making it a boys thing."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, knowing all about Kurt's DVD collection and accurately predicting that there would be nothing in it which would be of any interest to Sam or any of the others except maybe Blaine. "And have you actually seen Kurt's movie collection?"

"No. Should I be worried?"

"I don't know… Maybe Finn might have something you guys'll like. Or why don't you take something from here with you." She pointed to the extensive collection they had in her home.

"Kurt will never let me suggest something." Sam looked horrified at the idea.

"Don't be so silly. He won't mind. I've been drip feeding him good movies for years and believe me, Finn and Mike will definitely thank you for it.

Sam seemed unsure so Mercedes decided the easiest thing to do would be to ring Kurt and tell him that she was sending Sam over with a movie so that hopefully by the time Sam reached there, Kurt's dramatic huffing and puffing would be over.

It took several rings for him to pick up and when he did he sounded like he's just woken up.

"Hey Kurt! Why aren't you up yet?"

There was a pause on the line "I've been up since 2am. Clearly something I ate is having a disagreement with my belly. I spoke to Blaine earlier and he says the same. I've taken to my sick bed and need someone to mop my brow."

Mercedes laughed. "Well I'm certainly not volunteering for the job! I won't keep you on the phone. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sending Sam over with a DVD so that he doesn't have to sit through any of your ones."

"Oh my god…" the tone of voice and groan conveyed the message that Kurt had totally forgotten about the DVD plan for the day. As it had turned out, Finn had gone out early, Mike had texted to say that he had to go to some Asian event with Tina at the last moment and he and Blaine remained sick in their respective beds. Somehow Sam, without a phone, was the only one who wasn't in the loop about the change of plans.

"Don't worry I'll tell him. You just concentrate on getting better!"

Sam was busy fingering her brother's 3 disk collector's edition box set of Avatar when she approached him. "I have some bad news. Kurt's sick and the whole movie afternoon thing's fallen apart."

His face immediately fell. "Oh! Well... I guess I should just get back and make the most of having some rest time before my shift tonight." He sounded disappointed and forced a smile as he put the case back into its place. "Glad I found out before I walked all the way over there!"

Mercedes felt sorry for him. This was probably his first chance in ages to let loose and have some social time and it had fallen through before he'd even got there. Then she had an idea. "Look. Rachel's just cancelled on me for lunch. I was just going to hang out on my own with a big grilled cheese, some munchies and a movie. I know it's not as exciting as an afternoon with the boys but do you, you know… to join me?"

She stopped breathing for a few seconds. I can't believe I've just asked Sam Evans to hang out with me!

Sam looked unsure and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Unless you have other plans…" She knew for a fact that he didn't. His mom had cancelled her babysitting as she was taking the kids to spend the day with one of their friends so there would be nobody at the motel.

Sam shook his head slowly. Of course he didn't have any plans. And he liked spending time with Mercedes Then he looked back over to where he'd replaced the Avatar DVD and shot her one of his lopsided grins, knowing she would be able to read what was going through his mind at that moment.

She beamed back at him. "Well go grab it then! I'll get the sandwiches on!"

Suddenly feeling shy she fled into the kitchen where she paused for a moment, thinking about what she'd just done. Somehow, she had asked Sam to hang out with her, hand he was actually going to do it. Avatar was a long ass movie and it would just be her and him for the whole time! The thought made her anxious and excited at the same time and she couldn't believe the way that her hands started to shake as she put together some food for them.

By the time she went back out with a tray of goodies the blinds were shut, the DVD was on the menu screen and he was comfortably sprawled on her couch reading through the booklet that came with it. She paused for a second at the weirdness of the situation. Sam Evans, one of the coolest guys in school was in her house, sitting on her couch, about to spend the afternoon with her and just her. It had been several days since their conversation at the Lima Bean and they'd barely spoken as their paths simply hadn't crossed, but she felt that there had been a subtle shift in their relationship from that moment. The intimacy of a shared secret.

And she really liked the way that he had instantly made himself at home at her house.

"Budge up!" Sam made space for her on the couch and she sat down, enjoying the feeling of being alone with a guy. She only ever got to do this kind of thing with Kurt but it would be a with musical not sci-fi. Plus Sam was taller and his physique was more 'manly'. And for some strange reason, the killer was that he smelled of soap. Nothing fancy. Just soap. Like he'd just jumped out of the shower or something! Such a simple thing. Yet strangely masculine and HOT!

For such a long movie the time passed frustratingly quickly. Sandwiches and fruit were eaten, drinks were refilled and she was blown away by just how much Na'vi Sam could actually speak. And of course by his ability to keep making her laugh shone through. So many times he could recite a scene word for word. She saw every emotion pass over his face during the course of the movie and he got excited when he pointed out his favorite parts and she responded because most of them were hers too. And she could have sworn he teared up a little right near then end!

Plus she was really enjoying the feel of him sitting on the two-seater beside her. They were close enough for their sides to be touching and she was overwhelmingly aware of his manliness.

But it did eventually finish and the credits rolled. Now was the decision time. How much longer could she keep him here before this magic afternoon ended? "Shall we watch the extra-"

Sam already had the remote and the second disk. He seemed in no hurry to leave either.

But at 5pm he finally started to stir. "I'm really sorry but I managed to get one late shift for tonight so I'd better get going." He said the words but didn't really look like he actually wanted to leave. "Thanks for today. I really enjoyed it." She looked at him carefully and he seemed to genuinely mean what he was saying.

"I enjoyed it too Sam."

"So I was thinking… We should hang out more often…" Again he seemed surprised at the way the words escaped his mouth, and he was quick to clarify, "To watch sci-fi I mean!"

Mercedes smiled. "Yeah that would be cool." She hit him playfully on the arm before realizing she was touching him. Why the hell did she keep doing that? As fast as possible she turned to pick up the glasses to hide her blush. "Hey, don't forget I said at prom that you can borrow any DVDs you like till you get your collection back. Do you want to take some with you now?"

Sam looked unsure but she assured him that if she hadn't meant it she wouldn't have offered so he took a small selection. "Not that I have time to watch much now," he said ruefully.

Mercedes followed him out the front door and really felt for him with the long night he had ahead of him. "Can I drop you off anywhere?"

He shook his head. "I have to walk off all that cheese and soda! Thanks so much for everything Cedes!" That lopsided grin was back and he held out his arms for a hug.

She closed her eyes as he gave her a squeeze. Yep. She could definitely get used to this!

After watching him walk away with his hands stuffed in his pockets she sank back on the couch. But this time on the side where Sam had been sitting.

She couldn't deny it. She liked the boy. Not because he was a jock, but because as a person he was pretty cool. Obviously not in the literal sense because he was actually a total dork even if he did tend to hide it well. Sam Evans was a complete and utter comic and sci-fi freak! But that's what made him so likeable. He was cool because he was real. At least when he was with her he was. At school she could see that he was trying hard to impress. Sometimes a little too hard. But with her he seemed to relax and be himself. They could talk about anything, whether it was stupid or serious. And no, she didn't mind the inner geek. Not when she was one herself!

Ok so he had that floppy Bieber blond hair - nobody's perfect - but he also had those lips. Oh those lips... Every time she looked at him she just wanted to bite them! Why was that?

And he had said that he liked hanging out with her!

Despite herself she allowed herself a few minutes to wonder what it would be like to spend more time with him...

But reality then struck. Guys like him hung out with girls like Quinn. It was just part of the natural order of things. She just didn't belong with that crowd. As it was, her friendship with Quinn only blossomed when she moved lower down the chain due to her pregnancy. No, Mercedes saw the kind of girls that came on to him at school. She could never compete with that. She knew her place.

She was always the girl who was the friend.

But never the girlfriend.

And after what happened with Kurt she was never going to talk herself into liking a guy and allow herself to get hurt again!

Mercedes sighed, put the DVD back on the shelf, straightened the cushions on the sofa and went up to her room to call Kurt and see how he was feeling.