"…So in the end I went with the blue. Because the blue goes with my eyes. Don't you think the blue goes with my eyes Sam?"

Sam made a conscious effort to zone back into the voice of the Cheerio who was currently sitting on his lap. In all fairness, she did have pretty blue eyes which stood in contrast to her thick auburn hair. But he still couldn't even remember her name, let alone anything else about her. She was gesturing down to her dress, which was barely an inch longer than indecent.

The party was in full swing, yet Mercedes has still not arrived. Sam pretended that he hadn't been scanning the entrance for her every thirty seconds since his arrival. It had been a shitty week. He had checked his phone every five minutes for the duration of it, but the silence from Mercedes was deafening. Each time he relayed in his head how he had called being with her nice he wanted to scream and hit something. It was wrong. He was wrong. But he didn't want to be the first to admit it. Mercedes should never have thrown him out like that without letting him explain himself properly.

But this party wasn't the place for her. She was far too cute. Too sweet. Too innocent. Although the thought of how he had taken away a degree of that innocence caused a smile to pass his lips.

"Are you listening to me Sam?"

"Huh? What?" Melanie or Maria or Martina or whatever her name was, was talking to him. Again. She always seemed to be talking when all he wanted to do was think. Luckily it was so loud in the room that the most he got was the sight of her lips moving. "I said, do you want to dance?"

She had to practically shout in his ear due to the volume of the music.

"Sure. Why not." Sam really didn't feel like dancing, but the girl was practically bouncing on his lap (any other time, that wouldn't have been such a bad thing). Unfortunately today, rather than being hot, it was just plain annoying. He took her hand and led her to the makeshift dancefloor. Once there, she threw her arms around his neck and started to sway while pressed up close to him. It should have been sexy, but she was so skinny that there was very little for her to actually press up to him! He imagined Mercedes doing exactly the same moves and released a long ragged breath. That would be so hot! Her soft breasts would be squashed right up against him and the scent of her would fill his nose. Instead, he had this girl flicking her hair in his face. Sure she was pretty. She just wasn't Mercedes.

Sam looked longingly over to the drinks table. He'd been trying to grab a beer since he had arrived, but this girl had been in the way since the moment he had stepped through the door and he was getting thirstier by the second. He ran his hand down her narrow hips and attempted to get more into the dance. Turning his head yet again to the entrance, he caught the eyes of Marcus who santered over.

"Good to see you're having fun Evans! Hey Marie! I must say, all you ladies are looking mighty fine tonight!" That was it! Her name's Marie!

Marcus shot him a conspiratorial wink while Marie giggled at the complement and flicked her hair even harder, causing a strand to get caught in Sam's mouth. He was busy removing it when he heard Marcus' voice again. "Hot DAMN! Now that is what I'm talking about!" His eyes glazed over and Sam followed the direction of his eyes to see what the guy was talking about. The regret was instant.

There she stood. And his jaw definitely dropped. Her eyes were smoky, her lips glossy and her complection flawless. Hair cascaded down the sides of her face and her back in soft waves and her bangs were clipped to the side with a red rose. The dress was simple but effective. Mercedes Jones had come to dance. She had admitted to him that she had not expected to dance at prom, which is why she had worn a strapless dress. Great for sitting at a table, but not the best for dancing when you're generously endowed. This dress was very different. It was silver and sparkled like a firework. The not too skinny shoulder straps widened out to cover her breasts and criscrossed her waist, leaving a plunging 'V' neckline to which Sam's eyes were not the only ones drawn to. From the fitted waist that scrunched in at one side, the skirt of the dress fell more losely, skimming over her hips and ass, landing a high enough to show a tantalizing amount of thigh, without looking slutty. But the highlight of the outfit were the matching strappy silver 'fuck me' pumps that were so high they appeared to make her legs go on forever. His mouth got even dryer as his brain chose that very moment to play him a particularly vivid fantasy image of those heels pointing skywards while he pumped hard into her wetness, the sound of their colliding flesh drowned out by her screaming his name...

Shit Sam, get a grip!

But things didn't get any easier. Mercedes was definitely 'shaking her thang' on the dance floor. It was as if she was one with the beat and the music. What she had said to him earlier in the week was definitely true. Her dancing at prom was nothing like her dancing here. She was popping, locking and dropping all over the place. And whenever she shimmied and shook that ass... If Beyonce had been in the room she would have had to sit out a few dances so that she could watch and learn. The sexy silver dress gave her the confidence to dance with her arms raised, her booty bouncing, swaying and shaking with a rhythm and mind of its own, her breasts doing the same to their own beat. The eyes of every male in the room following them lustfully.

Tina Chang-Cohen was the object of many hate filled eyes. Hers was the body pressed closest to Mercedes on the dance floor. The way they two of them moved, pressed closely together was the stuff that would serve as fodder for many a fantasy in the future. Sam cast his eyes around the room in search of Mike to see if he knew what his girlfriend was doing. He caught sight of him standing behind the drinks table, mouth open, eyes glazed, crotch and hands suspiciously out of view.

Something smooth and sexy by Ussher started playing and Sam could have sworn there was an audible groan that went through the room as Mercedes dropped it down low then brought it back up slow. The skirt of her dress was loose yet he swore he could still see the definition of her ass cheeks through it as she moved. Or at least he liked to think that he could.

Finally it all got too much for Mike and he headed to the dance floor to cut in and drag Tina away, undoubtedly to find the nearest hard surface to fuck her brains out against. Santana was hot on his tail, squashing up close to Mercedes and shamelessly grabbing her ass. Everyone knew that Santana was handsy, but right now, her hands were the envy of every guy in the room. As if she knew what they were all thinking, she spun around and pressed herself into Mercedes' back, her hips now grinding into that magnificent ass. All eyes watched as her hands roamed and 'accidentally' brushed against those luscious breasts. Both girls broke out in a fit of giggles as Mercedes flicked her hand aside and shot her a look that said she'd gone too far and Sam had to bite down on his lip to prevent himself from making involuntary noises.

Finally his attention was drawn the fact that Marie was trying to say something to him.

"What?" he shouted down at her, trying to make himself heard over the music.

"I said… I feel sorry for her. I can't believe that fat ass used to be a Cheerio. I would die if I was getting that many pitying looks from everyone!"

Sam looked down at her, stunned. Maybe some of the girls were shooting her looks of mistaken pity. But the looks from the guys were something else altogether.

"Actually, I happen to think she looks pretty hot!"

Marie frowned up at him. "Why? Just because she's got big boobies? Any fool with a couple of grand can get those and still not have to shift all that excess belly weight around!"

Sam clenched he jaw and subconsciously backed away slightly. "I can't believe you're just dissing her like that!"

"Like what?" She flashed her blue eyes at him flirtatiously. "The whole outfit's not that bad. I for one, would kill for those shoes, but nothing is worth getting fat for!"

"Some men like curves!" Like me for instance!

"Oh please. Guys just say that so get into the big panties behind closed doors. You would never actually be seen out with that on your arm, would you?"

Sam stepped back away from her, the words stinging in his ears. It was exactly the kind of opinion that Mercedes had feared. The kind that he had never truly taken seriously until now. Mercedes had needed to be reassured and he hadn't done it. It was one thing hearing it coming from her as a hypothetical, and quite another to be faced with it from exactly the kind of girl who was her antithesis.

He couldn't look her in the eye right now without feeling violent. "I need to get a drink."

"Oooh babe! Get me some punch while you're over there!"

Sam mumbled a response that he knew she would never hear and made his way over to the table.

En route he nearly tripped over Artie in his chair. "Shit man! I'm so sorry!"

"No foul. I saw where you were looking. There should be a law against that kind of dancing!" Artie let out a low whistle of appreciation. Sam would have replied but he could see Artie's attention was elsewhere which is why he had absentmindedly wheeled himself into oncomig traffic. Although how he was even able to see anything through his steamed up glasses remained a mystery.

"Who the fuck invited Sexy Mama, and why the hell didn't they do it a long time ago?" Now Puck had appeared from nowhere and Sam really wished that he would just go away.

Sam shrugged in a way that he hoped conveyed indifference but Puck wasn't done.

"Coz I mean seriously, if I wasn't already here with two girls, I would totally be all up in that. It's like she's come out of her shell and I need to be the one to introduce her to the world!" He smoothed back his Mohawk lecherously with one hand while tossing snacks into his mouth with the other. "It's gonna take a Puckzilla to be able to handle all dat ass!"

Luckily, that was the moment that Puck's two bimbos decided to make an appearance, grabbing an arm each and pulling him back towards the dance floor. The last thing Sam wanted was for Puck to be introducing her to anything but he had to bite his tongue. This was his screw up and he needed to figure out how to fix it before he lost her forever. He stayed silent with his fist clenched. Puck was his friend, but he swore if another word came out of his mouth, that friendship would come to a rapid end.

Yet Puck had to turn around for the final word. "But, damn…"

Sam had to silently agree. "Looks like Marcus beat you to it!" he shouted after him, noncommittally before turning back towards the drinks table. The music had turned old skool and Marcus was dancing a scarily close salsa to Outkast's 'I Like The Way You Move' while she shook her hips hard enough to make a grown man weep. It was too much to take. He looked over to where Marie was and she was getting her grind on with another skinny Cheerio. It just didn't have the same effect. The girl had no booty to bounce!

Tonight Sam needed to get his drink on. But his extreme thirst meant his first cup was going to be water, first to quench and second to dilute the killer hangover that he already knew he was going to have in the morning. He swallowed it down quickly in a couple of huge gulps. Bending forward slightly he ran his hand through his hair and exhaled loudly. Gathering his thoughts, he refilled the red solo cup with beer for himself and was spooning some of the ominously cloudy looking punch for Marie when Marcus stopped beside him.

"Fuelling up?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. Something like that." He muttered.

"Me too." He grinned at Sam trying not to overfill the cup with punch. "After all, we've got to keep the ladies lubricated!" He laughed stupidly at his own joke and Sam forced a grin. Most days he would laugh along, or even be the one to crack the joke. But today he just found it annoying. He watched as Marcus poured a variety of clear spirits into a cup before adding a dash of lemonade and a random mix of fruit juices.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a cocktail! What does it look like I'm doing?" Marcus looked at him incredulously as if he should have already known this. "Your friend's pitched up looking mighty fine, and I promised that in return for a dance, I would bring a cocktail over for her."

Sam eyed the cup with suspicion. The guy's hand had been heavy with the spirits. He had only seen Mercedes drink once, at Rachel's party, and it hadn't taken much alcohol at all to get her into the happy zone. Then again, she wouldn't like him butting into her business, so maybe he wouldn't.

The temperature in the room got hotter and hotter as the night progressed, and couples danced closer and closer while others scattered around the house to find quiet corners for their own business. Sam continued to watch Marcus who had refused to allow an increasingly giggling Mercedes to dance with anyone but himself. She had finished her first 'cocktail' and was now drinking something blue from an unlabeled bottle. He didn't know why he was monitoring her drink intake, but something inside his head just made him do it.

The music was now a slower tempo and Mercy's moves weren't so much dancing as being propped up by Marcus while his hands got bolder and bolder by the minute. Occasionally her eyes would meet Sam's and they would silently dare the other to look away first. At first they had glared at each other. Then Sam had nuzzled into Marie's neck without breaking eye contact and he could have sworn a flash of pain passed over Mercedes' face. He was still pissed off with Marie but figured if Mercedes could hold it together with Mercedes, then he could do the same with her. Next time their eyes caught over their partner's shoulders, she had slid her hands down to Marcus' ass and it had taken all his power not to rush over there and snatch them off. Now Marcus' face was buried in her neck and she was giggling and whispering something in his ear. Catching Sam's eye again she stopped whispering and smiling but continued to stroke the nape of the other boy's neck.

Sam was strangely angry and aroused at the same time. He was sure that she would never actually go through with anything with Marcus. But then again, she had been drinking and Marcus did have a reputation with the ladies. Once more, the image of those 'fuck me' pumps pointing to the ceiling accompanied by those unique Mercedes cries flashed into his brain only this time it was Marcus' bare butt that was getting busy.

Marie clearly felt his confused arousal too and wrongly assumed it was all down to her. She ground in closer to his rapidly tightening crotch and whispered that they should make a move upstairs. He was about to decline when he noticed Marcus pulling a drunkenly stumbling Mercedes behind him. Quickly he grabbed Marie's hand and headed towards them.

As they approached, Mercedes stumbled on her heel and Marcus quickly caught her by the waist. She giggled drunkenly and stifled a hiccup.

"Going somewhere interesting?" The question was addressed to Marcus but his eyes were on Mercedes. The smile was instantly wiped off her face and Marie stared questioningly between the two of them who were now glowering at each other. Mercedes was seriously drunk but did her best to hold his gaze without swaying.

"We're just going outside for some air. It's too fucking hot in here!" Marcus was oblivious to the rapid change in mood. He was just happy that he was about to get lucky.

It was Marie that eventually broke the tension by speaking up. "Well we're just going upstairs to use the bathroom."

Mercedes' eyebrows arched at the intonation in the words and Sam pretended not to notice. Suddenly his sneakers were the most interesting things in the room. "Come on Marcusss," she slurred "I need some air!"

The boy shot Sam a wink and the two of them were gone. Sam turned to follow Marie who was already at the bottom of the staircase. Once they were in the bathroom she slammed the door shut behind them and locked it, her eyes shining with anger.

"What the fuck was that all abo-"

Sam was in no mood for a fight, opting to pull the trick he usually pulled at Mercedes' front door of swinging her around, pushing her up against the door and kissing her senseless. If Mercedes was going to get lucky tonight then so would he! Marie recovered from her initial shock quickly, throwing her arms around him and deepening the kiss. She was an experience kisser and it felt good. In Sam's state of angry frustrated semi arousal anyone would do and Marie was more than willing. Their tongues danced around each other hungrily and he nibbled at her bottom lip, noting that it wasn't nearly plump enough for his liking but carrying on anyway.

"Mmmmm Sam..."

"Me- Mmmmmm..." Her name began with 'M'. There was too much of a risk of getting it wrong. Sam decided he wouldn't be using any names tonight.

He closed his eyes and hissed with pleasure as her hands ran up the inside of his shirt, caressing his abs and grazing his nipples. In return he traced his thumbs down her sides. He wanted to grab her ass, but she was totally lacking in that department so he continued down with his hands to the hem of her clingy dress. Clearly I have joined the ranks of Puck and am now most definitely an ass man! In response to his hand movements she wrapped her legs around him, causing the already high hem to stretch up even higher, revealing a flash of panties and the warmth of her core. He stood in between her legs, grinding himself up against her and listening as her breath became rapid pants.

Suddenly she screamed as somebody banged on the bathroom door, the vibration of the door snapping them both back to their senses. "Hurry up in there!" came a muffled voice.

"Fuck off! We're busy!" was Marie's frustrated reply as she regained her composure.

"But I'm desperate!"

"So use the one downstairs!"

The handle turned a couple of times before the person clearly gave up and left.

Sam grinned. As her legs were already wrapped around him, he carried her over to the vanity unit and moved aside a couple of items so he could place her in front of the mirror. It would be pretty cool to fuck her in front of the mirror!

He resumed his kisses briefly before pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the side. Marie purred at the sight of his bare chest and began licking his abs before kissing her way back to his neck and collarbone and marking him. For some unexplained reason it annoyed Sam that she had marked him. Sure it felt good, but he wasn't exactly wanting a reminder of this.

Their new location had put them next to the open bathroom window, and by turning his head slightly to avoid being bitten again he had now had a perfect view of the yard outside. Voices flowed up towards them. The speakers were too far away for the words to be made out, but suddenly Sam could see Mercedes and Marcus on the loveseat outside. Or rather, mostly Marcus as he was practically lying on top of Mercedes. It broke his concentration and he fought to get it back, continuing to grind up against Marie and reaching for the zipper at the back of her dress before realizing that it didn't have one. It was a tunic dress and all he needed to do was pull the fabric down which he did on one side to reveal a perky pink nippled braless breast. The thing was all nipple and no substance. Sure it stayed up on its own but there was barely enough to fill his palm let alone his whole hand like Mercedes'!

With the name flashing back in his mind he stole another glance out of the window before being caught by Marie who had opened her eyes and was now glaring at him. "What are you looking at outside?"

"Nothing!" He quickly clamped her breast in his mouth causing her eyes to close again and a moan to escape from her lips. But there just wasn't enough of it. He should be able to take big mouthfuls of it while palming the underneath with his hand! He tried to re-shift his focus but immediately he knew that his heart wasn't in it. For the first time in his life, getting it on with a girl just didn't feel right. Unfortunately for Marie, she chose that precise moment to make a grab for his belt buckle and he pushed it away. She gasped and narrowed her eyes at him. "What the-"

"I'm sorry. I can't…"

Sam backed away slowly before grabbing his shirt and pulling it back over his head.

"What do you mean you can't?" She sat there stunned on the vanity unit, dress hitched up and one breast exposed. The sight didn't even turn him on.

He looked at her, backing away and biting his lip apologetically. "You're… Not my type!"

"Not your type? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm a Cheerio! You only date Cheerios! You're supposed to-" She stopped suddenly, realizing that he had unlocked the door and left, leaving her still perched on the vanity top with her breast exposed with everyone who had been standing outside the door staring straight at her.

The sound of her screams followed Sam as he fled down the stairs. If he couldn't do it with Marie then he sure as hell was not going to let anything happen between Mercedes and Marcus.

This was stupid. He had made a mistake.

And he needed to get to Mercedes before she made one too…

He would rather kill Marcus than let him have her...