DISCLAIMER: On first chapter.

I received a message letting me know that I've been using "hazel" instead of "brown" for Mercedes' eye color. I want to apologize for that! I'm so used to describing my own eyes as hazel that I let it slip into my writing. I didn't even pay attention to it while I was editing, because I'm so used to it. LOL. I apologize if I offended anyone! It wasn't my intention. My whole family had hazel eyes and I was used to using that to describe things. Sorry about that! Most of the chapters, Mercedes does have brown eyes. I'm fixing it now though. :D


April 23, 2011 (Saturday)

The Jones Estate

Lima, Ohio

2:37PM

"Cowabunga!"

Mercedes couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face when she heard Sam yell enthusiastically. She looked up just in time to see him take a running leap and land in the extra-large kidney bean shaped pool with a huge splash.

She had to hand it to him. His water displacement was incredible for being such a small guy. She figured it had something to do with his muscle making him weigh more than he looked. It could also be from the three plates he'd eaten of her mom's special made Mac'n'cheese that had been served for lunch. Sam had complimented her mother's cooking to high heaven and completely won her over. Her mom had been glowing by the end of the meal and Sam had obviously charmed another woman in the Jones family.

Annabelle, the cheap skate, had been won over the moment she saw him standing outside their front door. It didn't help that he called her sweetheart every time he spoke to her. She had been glued to his side since the beginning of the meal—and she finally got distracted when her mom had gone to help her get dressed for swimming.

It was funny because Sam didn't even realize that he'd won them over. He was so genuinely clueless about how adorable he was that it proved to be charming.

Sam's head surfaced from the water and he beamed at her.

His blond hair was plastered to his head, but his smile was dorky and magnificent. He looked so happy. Sam swam to the side of the pool and lifted himself out of the water. Mercedes had to consciously stop herself from ogling him, but damn, Sam Evans looked hot as hell in water.

And she didn't even think he truly realized how freakin' gorgeous he was. His hair and body dripping with pool water—she could see the droplets glistening in the sunlight as they ran along his pale skin. The dark green board shorts he was wearing highlighted the V of his lower abdominals and they molded to the curve of his bottom.

Sweet baby Jesus, she was going to die. If her mother heard her lustful thoughts, she would probably lock her away and toss the key.

Mercedes would never admit it, but Sam was a work of art. He was toned and sculpted and more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen before. She was so happy that she was wearing her huge beach sunglasses. Otherwise Sam would've been able to see that her eyeballs were practically falling out of her head. She'd thought he was cute before, but dang, white boy was sexy.

"Cede!" Sam called as he walked over to where she was sitting on a pool chair underneath a huge umbrella. He stopped when he was standing beside her. Mercedes calmed herself and removed any thoughts of him being the most handsome thing she had ever seen from her head.

"Are you done sitting in the sun? The water is so nice!"

"I don't know Sam, the sun is warm—it feels great." She replied and Sam ran a hand through his hair.

"Come on, Mercedes," he said with an over exaggerated pout. Mercedes laughed. "It's not like you need a tan—you have a natural one."

Mercedes could barely stop snorting after that. It was one of the most hilarious things she had ever heard him say. Sam was laughing too as he sat down on the ground beside her chair.

"Boy, this is Ohio. I couldn't get a tan anyway," she teased when she finally got control of her amusement. Sam grinned at her. She was suddenly conscious of what she was wearing.

Mercedes had on a navy 1950s' style bathing suit. It was a halter with a sweetheart neckline that was wrapped around her waist and seamed on the side with a line of rhinestones. The bottom faded into shorts at the bottom.

Her sunglasses were bright red and her hair was still in the same style as it was this morning. She knew she looked good, but seeing Sam look handsome without trying made her a bit self-conscious. After all, he was used to being around girls like Santana and Quinn. It wasn't hard to see why they wanted to be with him.

What she didn't know was that Sam thought she looked incredibly elegant and beautiful. She wasn't slutty or showing off more than she needed to. She looked like one of the coke bottle ads from the 50s—curvaceous and stunning.

"Please go swimming with—"Sam's question was interrupted as a small body crashed directly into his back.

"Sammy!" Stacey cried and Mercedes watch the boy laugh and reach behind him to swing his sister into his lap.

"What's up Sunshine?" he asked with a grin as soon as the small girl had dropped onto his leg. Stacey's wide smile made Mercedes want to smile.

He was so good with his siblings. She watched the two talk and tease each other, before Stacey stood up and pulled Sam up with her—at least it seemed that he let her think that she'd pulled him up. It didn't take much pouting for Stacey to talk Sam into jumping into the pool with her.

Mercedes couldn't help but laugh as the two ran to the pool and jumped in holding hands. Sam came up first and pulled Stacey above the water to hold her in his arms. Stacey was giggling as Sam started tickling the small girl.

Mercedes was taken aback when three blurs ran past her chair and leapt into the pool with loud yells. It didn't take long for Mercedes to realize that it was Trey, Annabelle and Stevie. And the boys were now wrestling Sam in the pool.

Watching the kids frolic and play helped Mercedes toss her insecurities out of the window. She took off her sunglasses before she stood up and walked towards the pool. Her pool did look welcoming and Sam's encouraging smile from the center of the pool convinced her that there was fun to be had and nothing at all to worry about.

"Cowabunga!" she screamed before she canon-balled into the water. When she resurfaced, there were cheers and laughter; the loudest coming from Sam before he was tackled by Stevie, Trey and Stacey.

Mercedes joined in on the fun not long after.


April 23, 2011 (Saturday)

The Jones Estate

Lima, Ohio

5:11PM

"That is one intense afro," Mercedes heard Sam say and she immediately reached over and smacked him on the arm. Sam laughed as he dodged her second slap. The two of them had spent two hours in the pool with the kids. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had that much fun.

Most of the time she was at a pool, Mercedes spent all her time comparing herself to the stick thin girls in bikinis and watching her brothers run around without a care in the world. They were what most girls called 'smokin' hot'—all four of them were muscular and handsome. So, pool time wasn't exactly her thing. But swimming with Sam was totally different. She hadn't once thought about how she looked while in the pool with him.

He had made her laugh and they had played games in the water. They tossed the kids back and forth—which they of course loved, but now that they were out of the water—Mercedes hair was curling intensely. And her self-consciousness came back with a vengeance.

"Shut it, Blondie," she told him before speeding towards the house where the kids had disappeared almost twenty minutes ago. Sam reached out and grabbed her arm, before she could get too far. Mercedes cursed him for having long arms.

"Cede, stop," he said and Mercedes stopped trying to pull away. Sam didn't let go of her as he walked in front of her. "What's the matter?" he asked.

She couldn't meet his eyes. Mercedes felt naked standing there in her wet bathing suit. And having a direct line of vision to his abs and chest didn't help her confidence. "Nothing, Sam," she replied, "Can I just go inside and shower now?"

"Of course you can," he answered and Mercedes almost sighed in relief. Until he said, "After you tell me what happened in the last two minutes that made you completely shut me out."

For a second, Mercedes was angry. How many confessions was this guy going to force out of her in one day? She didn't want to imagine what all he would learn by the time this weekend was over. And then she realized that Sam was just trying to be her friend. It was a good thing that he had noticed her sudden skittishness.

Glancing into his green eyes that were once again clouded with concern for her, Mercedes acquiesced. Feeling ashamed, Mercedes stared down at her feet. "I look ridiculous." She admitted shyly.

Sam took a step closer to her. "How do you look ridiculous?" he questioned. The sincere confusion in his voice had Mercedes looking up at him.

"My hair!" she told him. "It looks like I've been electrocuted. During school, I was made fun of for my afro hair do, and so I started straightening it."

"You straighten your hair every day?" Sam asked, and she could clearly hear the disbelief in his voice. "Why the hell would you do that?"

Mercedes stared at him. Sam stared back. "Are you looking at the same hot mess that I am?" she asked.

Sam shook his head as he released her arm. He took his hand and touched the soft curls on her head and trailed his fingers lightly over her hair.

"I see the hot," he began, "but I don't see the mess."

Mercedes was torn between laughter at his response and shock at what he'd just stated. "E-excuse me?" she stammered.

"I like it," he told her with a grin. His green eyes were sparkling as he looked at her.

"You do?" she asked in disbelief.

"I think it's beautiful," he admitted with a blush, "It's so wild and untamed and big; like a lion."

The laughter was bubbling inside Mercedes' chest. He was such a dork.

"If I was any other girl, I would be insulted that you just compared my hair to a lion," Mercedes said with an exasperated grin, "but I'm going to assume that lions are probably your favorite animal, so that was actually meant to be a compliment."

Sam's red cheeks and sheepish grin told Mercedes that she was right. She couldn't help but laugh at him. "I really do like it though," he said, "You should wear your hair like this more often."

Mercedes gave him a smile. "Are you serious?" she asked and Sam nodded.

"I like you just the way you are. You don't have to change who you are to be around me," he replied. "And your hair counts." She was sure she would have a cheek cramp if this boy didn't stop making her smile so much. At least her face was getting a workout.

"Boy, you are too nice, you know that?" she asked in amusement as she moved around him to walk inside.

Sam shrugged. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them as they made their way back into Mercedes' house.

When they were about to step inside, a mischievous Sam asked, "Can I call you Nala?"

She stopped and looked at him. "Why not Mufasa or Simba?" she asked and Sam looked at her like she'd lost her marbles.

"You're a girl." He replied, "And even though you're awesome as all get out and you could rule the jungle with an iron fist—you don't have junk in the right trunk—if you know what I mean."

Mercedes threw her head back and laughed.


April 23, 2011 (Saturday)

The Jones Estate

Lima, Ohio

6:04PM

"Daddy, that's cheating!" Mercedes protested as her father grinned at her from behind his cards.

"How am I cheating, baby girl?" he asked, "I won that fair and square." Mercedes gave her father a sarcastic quirk of the lips at his answer.

As soon as Mercedes and Sam had showered and redressed in the clothes they'd had on earlier—Mercedes straightened her hair again, but Sam wouldn't stop calling her Nala—the two of them and the parents had decided to play a game of Bullshit.

"There's nothing fair and square about this game, daddy. That move you just made was more sneaky and hexagonal," she told him and both Sam and her dad laughed at the pout on her face. The only reason she was pouting was because she was losing, and they knew it. You were supposed to cheat your way through the game, and the best cheater won. It was a game full of irony.

"You should be proud, David," her mother teased, "We raised a little girl incapable of lying." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. What he didn't notice was that her mother had totally peeked at the cards in his hand. Mercedes had to fight back a laugh.

But when the next round came to him and he laid down two jacks—her mother called, "Bullshit." And of course, she was right. He had to pick up the pile of cards in the middle.

He was grumbling as he gathered his new hand. "How'd you know that?" he asked, "I have the world's best poker face," he told them all. "I was in the military, damn it."

That got chuckles from Sam and Jeff.

"I know you were, honey," Delia admitted with a sly grin, "but that doesn't help when I see all your cards."

Her dad's brow wrinkled in confusion before he slapped a hand to his cheek—finally realizing what his wife had done. "You little sneak," he accused, "You looked at my cards when you kissed me!"

Everyone at the table burst out laughing until they heard a door slam and then, "Mercury!"

When Mercedes heard her oldest brother's voice shout her name, she took off running—not even paying attention to the fact that Sam was staring after her in shock and that she'd dropped her cards all over the table. She ran out of the peach parlor and into the hallway.

"Jason!" she yelled back as she skidded around the corner and into the foyer where her four brothers were standing. Jason, the huge nerd, had a gigantic smile on his face and he held his arms open for her when he spotted her racing towards him.

She crashed into her brother's chest and hugged him tightly. Even though he went to Ohio State University, he was still a four hour drive away from her and he lived on campus—so she didn't get to see him as much as she'd like to.

She was passed from brother to brother like a hot potato over the next few minutes, but she was beaming by the time they let her go. "It's good to see you, Mercy," Kyler told her with a grin. Her brothers all called her that except Jason, who called her Mercury.

He called her Mercury because he'd once told her that she was beautiful, but deadly—especially when she was pissed off about something. Despite her best attempts, she couldn't get him to stop calling her that and not that she would ever admit it—but the nickname had grown on her.

She was still grinning and chattering loudly with her brothers when her parents and Sam and Jeff came into the room.


In short succession, introductions had been made and the four boys had smothered their mother in hugs and kisses. Sam just kind of stood off to the side, staring. The family resemblance wasn't overt, but they shared the same nose and smile.

He eyed the twins first. Kyler and Joshua were tall—but only a few inches taller than Sam's six-foot one. They both had a mocha complexion with their mother's bluish gray eyes. Kyler had a mop of curls on his head, but Josh had his hair cut close to his head—the only sign of his curls were the slight waves at the top of his head. Both were lithe but muscular.

Derek was a little bit shorter than the twins, but he was the biggest. He had muscles everywhere and a very broad chest, but he had a kind smile and dimples to match. His eyes were brown.

Jason was the tallest of them all—and he had a muscular build that wasn't lithe but he wasn't huge either. He had a shape kind of like Sam's with a big smile, dimples and a head full of short dark ringlets and a mocha complexion. The thing that made Jason so different from his brothers was his eyes. They were two different colors. His right one was bluish gray and his left was hazel.

Bi-colored eyes were uncommon, but it happened and Jason Jones was a living example. Sam snapped out of his observations when Mercedes walked over to him and grabbed his wrist to drag him over. He didn't miss the sudden narrow eyes he was receiving and Mercedes apparently saw them too.

She rolled her eyes. "Guys, this is my friend, Sam Evans," she said, "He's the one that I've been telling you about."

Sam gave her a dubious look. She talked about him? To her brothers? He'd figured her parents, but he hadn't even thought about being a topic of conversation with her brothers. Though he had told his dad a lot about her, he hadn't thought she would do the same with her family.

"Don't look at me like that," she told him, "I didn't want to talk to people in Glee about you because that would just start a bunch of drama—so I talked to my family."

"Uh-huh," Sam teased her. "That's exactly why you talked to your family about me."

"It is!" Mercedes protested.

Sam just smirked at her. She slapped him on the arm, before looking back at her brothers. "He's cool when he's not being obnoxious."

"Cede," he whined in mock offense, "The ego." She grinned at him.

"It needs to be taken down a peg or two," she told him, "I don't like people with big heads."

"I don't have a big head," Sam huffed at her and she laughed. Sam smiled at her, before he stopped playing around and turned to face her brothers. He stretched out a hand to Jason, who shook it firmly.

"It's nice to meet you," Sam said, "I would say that I've heard a lot about you, but I only learned that you existed about seven hours ago."

Jason laughed at Sam's wry tone. Mercedes blushed and looked away from Sam. "Well, I've heard lots of things about you."

Sam blinked. "Good, I hope?"

"That's to be decided," Kyler threw in from the side as he walked up to Jason and tossed an arm over his shoulders. "I'm still trying to figure out what an Avatard is?"

Sam's eyes almost popped out of his head and he felt Mercedes inch away from him.

"Mercedes!" he said, "You told your brother that I was an Avatard?"

"Well you are one," she replied, holding her hands up in mock terror.

"I cannot believe you," he complained, "I haven't even gotten to that confession yet, but you already knew!"

"Sam," Mercedes said—he could hear the disbelief in her voice, "The first day in Glee club you spoke in Na'vi and you quoted a whole scene from the movie to Quinn in an attempt to impress her. What else was I supposed to think?"

Sam wanted to refute that, but he was known to pull out his fluency in Na'vi every once in awhile. So, he did the only thing he could do at the moment—he blushed and then he pouted. Mercedes burst into giggles at the look on his face and he truly couldn't stay disgruntled with her after seeing her laugh like that.

Jason, Kyler, Joshua, and Derek looked intensely amused when Sam turned back to face them. He floundered for words. He was sure that his face was bright red by this point.

"Did she at least tell you about my love of sports?" he asked—semi-desperately. He really didn't want Mercedes' brothers to think he was a giant nerd obsessed with blue people that lived in trees.

"Srane," Jason answered and Sam froze. Unbelievable! He stared at Mercedes' older brother in absolute wonder. Srane was yes in Na'vi. Mercedes' brother spoke Na'vi. "I'm a bit of an Avatard as well." Jason confessed.

The smile on Sam's face was almost blinding. It made the brothers laugh at his reaction. And from there conversation between the five boys took off at high speeds. Sam talked about his love of football and basketball with Jason, who was the quarterback for the Ohio State football team. Joshua admitted to being a huge Trekkie. Derek, Kyler and Sam bonded over talk of Call of Duty and Halo 3.

Dinner that night was loud and proud. Mercedes debated with Sam, Kyler, and Josh over who was the best receiver in the NFL. It got pretty heated. Jason was talking with Jeff and his father about school. Derek was chatting with Mercedes' mom about the classes he would take the next semester. The kids were off in their own little world.

Sam once again got to eat some delicious food. This time served by Mercedes' father, who had started grilling the food just after Mercedes' brothers arrived. Sam was shown how to grill when all of the guys went outside to help. Jeff and David spent a lot of time comparing their grilling techniques, but he was full of nothing but compliments as soon as they'd started eating.

Jokes were cracked and stories were shared around the table. Money didn't matter and camaraderie was prevalent. It was one of the best dinners Sam had ever had. He felt at home, which he found odd, because he hadn't even been there a full day yet.

The Jones family was a group of amazing people, he decided.


April 23, 2011 (Saturday)

The Jones Estate

Lima, Ohio

8:12PM

"Man, we're getting our asses handed to us," Kyler complained as he moved his thumbs furiously over the buttons on his wireless controller.

"You can say that again!" Josh stated with a groan, before his character was shot again. "Damn, white boy's got skills."

Kyler, Joshua, Sam, and Jason were all sitting on the connector couch in front of the huge television—playing a round of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Two on the PS3. Kyler and Josh were on one team while Sam and Jason played against them.

As far as Mercedes could tell from her seat on the floor next to Derek, Sam and Jason were kicking some serious ass. It was all she could do to keep the proud smirk off her face. Her brothers had doubted Sam's video game skills, but she'd seen him at Finn's party and she knew he had some talent. It was refreshing to see someone else kick their butts at their own games.

The younger kids were upstairs with the parents. Mercedes' mom had gone to give Jasper a bath and put him to bed, so her dad and Jeff were setting the kids up with movies.

The older kids had taken over the basement as soon as dinner had ended. A challenge of Call of Duty had been tossed on the table and they couldn't have finished their food faster.

Derek was laughing his butt off as he watched his brothers getting smoked in high definition.

"Come on, Ky," Josh yelled, "You're going to let a couple of Avatards beat us in a man's game."

And so the trash talking began.

"I am going," Kyler spat back. "You're the one that keeps getting shot. Why don't you pay attention to your character's big head and try to keep it on his shoulders?"

After ten minutes of intense playing, Sam's character cornered Kyler's in a room.

"You don't have the balls." Kyler insisted and Sam took great pleasure in aiming his gun towards the crotch of Kyler's character. He shot him.

"I guess I'll have to borrow yours," Sam said slyly, "Not like you were using them anyway."

Howls of laughter went up around the room. Derek was guffawing so hard that he looked like he was about to start crying.

Kyler clapped Sam on the arm—wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "That was hilarious."

"He just turned your CGI balls into mashed potatoes!" Jason said and the laughter erupted again.

"That was the most epic takedown I've ever seen," Josh stated before he fist bumped a pleased looking Sam.

The congratulations continued until Mercedes got tired of their chatter. She grabbed the wireless controller from Josh and said, "One on one—me and Sam. Winner gets to pick the next game."

That was certainly something Sam hadn't been expecting. Mercedes wanted to play a video game? "You want to play me?" he asked dubiously. He instantly knew something was up when all four of her brothers broke into laughter and gathered around them as Mercedes sat next to Sam on the couch.

"Yeah, Blondie," she told him with a grin, "You scared?" she asked.

Sam gave her a sarcastic look. "No," he said, "Let's do this."

They rebooted the game and started it over as a two player match. At first it was ridiculously easy to get ahead, and then Mercedes came out of the closet with a giant can of whoop ass. Sam knew his expression must've been one of pure shock because he heard cheers and laughter suddenly erupt from the boys around them.

He was desperately trying to keep up with her, but by the end of the game—she had truly smoked him. Mercedes played the game like a military genius—her strategies were awesome and she had excellent aim. When the game ended, Sam couldn't stop staring.

How amazing was this girl?

She could play video games—violent video games like a freakin' champion. And he knew that she picked the next game just to show off, but he wouldn't let her win that easily.


When Derek popped in the Just Dance 2 disc for Wii, Mercedes was smirking. She had thoroughly surprised Sam when she spanked him at Call of Duty. But she had to hand it to him—he didn't back down from a challenge.

With a teasing smile, she handed the Wii remote to Sam, who took it with a wink. "You can choose the song," she said and he smiled.

He scrolled through the options, but of course, he chose Katy Perry's "Firework". They got into position and when the music started, Sam danced his heart out. Her brothers couldn't stop laughing.

Mercedes couldn't stop thinking about how adorable Sam looked as he tried to follow the dance moves. He was so stiff and awkward and off tempo that it was hilarious. But he was having a blast—he didn't even care about the humiliation. He was laughing just as hard as the rest of them.

By the end of the song, Sam had beaten her by two points. He did his own version of a happy dance, which was of course, the robot.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized mockingly and Mercedes laughed. Sam laughed too and pulled her into a hug. When they separated, her brothers congratulated him.

"I can't believe you beat her!"

"She powns this freakin' game."

"Sam, you are now my idol, I bow down to a man who can't dance but can beat the dance master!"

The fun continued on for a long time. They played a couple more rounds of Just Dance 2, before they moved onto Rockband, where Sam owned the drums on expert level and Jason spanked everybody on guitar. Mercedes won the vocals though.

Around one in the morning, everyone except for Mercedes and Sam had cleared out to go to bed. Sam helped her clean everything up, but went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed when she started reorganizing the game consoles. It only took her about ten minutes to finish tidying everything up.

When Sam walked back downstairs to say goodnight to Mercedes, he didn't see her anywhere in the basement. Slightly sad that he hadn't gotten to say goodnight to her, Sam turned around to head up to his room. He was stopped by the faint sound of a piano playing. Curious, he followed the sounds until he reached a small hallway that he hadn't seen before.

It was partially hidden by the wall, because it curved behind the television. He continued following the music down the short corridor, and he came to a door that was partially ajar.

"Mercedes?" he called through the door while slowly pushing it open. The music instantly stopped, and Sam poked his head inside. It was a huge room with wooden floors and instruments lining the wall.

The black baby grand piano in the center of the room caught his attention, and he finally spotted Mercedes sitting behind it—smiling at him.

"Sam?" she asked. "I thought you had gone up to bed."

"I wanted to say goodnight, but then I heard you in here and I had to find out who was playing." He replied.

"Oh," Mercedes stated with a smile. "Well come in."

"I didn't know you played," Sam admitted as he walked into the room. When he reached her, he sat down on the polished bench right next to her.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Blondie," she told him and he chuckled. It was funny how true that statement was. He didn't know that much about her, but he was learning—today had certainly been a good start.

Sam looked around the room and finally noticed the shelves upon shelves stocked full of award ribbons, certificates and trophies. "What are all those?" he asked and Mercedes followed his gaze to the wall. She smiled.

"My awards," she replied and Sam had to take a second to comprehend that response. He turned his eyes back to her and she let out a breath. "Just because Rachel shoves her talent in everyone's face doesn't mean that I have to."

Sam couldn't keep the awe of his features. "All of these are for singing?"

"No," she told him. "A good number of them are from singing competitions and talent shows, but I have awards from piano concertos, violin playing and competitive orchestra."

"You play the piano and violin?" Sam questioned in surprise. He'd known she was talented, but he never thought about this.

"I play the cello and the drums also." She responded.

"No guitar?" Sam asked and she shook her head.

"I never had the time to learn. I did competitive music in Chicago, and I was just about to start guitar lessons when we moved to Lima. My dad bought the one I have for me, just before we came to Ohio, but I never tried to learn after that. I lost my passion for it."

Sam was honestly taken aback. He was finding out so much in such a short time that it hurt his brain. Mercedes—diva extraordinaire was amazingly talented. For a second, Sam wanted to know the name of the girl who had treated her so badly—so he could hunt her down and slap her, but he calmed himself down. Seeing the joy slowly draining from her eyes at the reminder of the past, Sam searched his brain for a change in topic.

"I have a song for Mr. Schue's uncommon love song assignment," Sam said suddenly and Mercedes looked up at him. "It's called 'Trouble' by Nevershoutnever." She gave him an interested expression as he stood up and grabbed the guitar off the stand that was next to the wall.

Sam sat down on the piano bench—his back to the keys as he strummed the chords. It made an awful discordant sound that made Sam wince. Mercedes laughed at the appalled expression on his face. He tuned the guitar as quickly as he could and it still wasn't too his liking ten minutes later, but he figured he should get on with playing the song.

"I'm in trouble," Sam sung, before he started playing the adjusted melody on the guitar, "I'm an addict.I'm addicted to this girl. She's got my heart tied in a knot and my stomach in a whirl."

Sam caught the smile that was growing on Mercedes' face and he couldn't resist making faces at her. She shook her head at him in amusement. "But even worse, I can't stop calling her.She's all I want and more.I mean damn," Sam paused long enough to shimmy his shoulders for a second, before continuing, "What's not to adore?"

"I've been playing too much guitar.I've been listening to jazz.I called so many times; I swear she's going mad.And that cellular will be the death of us; I swear, I swear," Sam voiced, before he stood from the piano bench and jammed on the borrowed instrument.

"And oh; O-oh, o-oh, o-ooh, Ooooh," Sam sang, and then whistled for a moment. "I'm running my mouth. Just like I got her but I surely don't."

"Because she's so", Sam winked at Mercedes as he danced around her and she laughed at him. "O-oh, o-oh, o-ooh; rock 'n roll and out of my league.Is she out of my league?Let's hope not!"

Sam did the dorkiest guitar dance move possible as he continued singing, "I'm in trouble.I'm so cliché.See that word just wears me out; makes me feel like just another boy to laugh and joke about." Mercedes' brown eyes were twinkling and Sam felt like he couldn't get enough. He danced even more with his guitar. Her amusement was infectious and he loved that he could make her laugh.

"But even worse; I can't stop calling her.I love to hear that voice. And honestly, I'm left with no choice. I've been playing too much guitar. I, I've been listening to jazz. I called so many times;I swear she's going mad. And that cellular will be the death of us; I swear, I swear." Sam sang loudly and Mercedes started clapping along. He smiled at her.

"And oh," he voiced, "O-oh, o-oh, o-ooh; Ooooh. I'm running my mouth just like I got her, but I surely don't.Because she's so," Sam sat down next to Mercedes again and bobbed his head so hard that his blonde hair was bouncing, "O-oh, o-oh, o-oohRock 'n roll and out of my league.Is she out of my league?Let's hope not.And oh, o-oh, o-oh, o-ooh,oooh, oooh."

When the song ended, Mercedes applauded him. "Mr. Schue is going to love it!" she told him honestly, and Sam grinned.

He was happy to see her smiling again. Mercedes glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "Wow, it's really late. We should probably get to bed." Sam glanced at the time and was just as surprised to see that it was nearing two in the morning.

"You brought your dressy clothes, right?" she asked as she stood up from the piano bench. Sam placed the guitar back on its stand before answering her. He remembered when she had told him Friday morning to pack a nice shirt and pants. She said that she was going to take them to her church on Sunday morning. It would be interesting.

Sam nodded at her. She smiled in reply. They walked upstairs in a comfortable silence; both feeling the exhaustion from the long and exciting day hitting them finally. Mercedes walked Sam to the door to his guest room. He was still surprised that he'd gotten a whole room to himself for the weekend. He barely remembered what privacy was.

She stopped and looked up at him with a tired smile on her face. And even though she looked exhausted and she wasn't wearing a speck of makeup—Sam thought she looked very pretty.

"Night Blondie," she said with a soft smile. Sam held his arms out to her. He wouldn't admit it, but he liked cuddling. No one could ever find that out though—he would be made fun of to high heaven.

Mercedes stepped into his embrace and hugged him tightly. He could smell her—she smelt like lilies and cinnamon—an odd mixture, but one that suited Mercedes; soft and sweet with a hint of spice.

"Night Nala," Sam told her and she laughed into his shoulder, before they let each other go. She gave him one last smile, before turning around and heading back towards the stairs. He watched until she had disappeared up the staircase, and then he walked inside of his room to head to bed.

Today had been beyond amazing, and he couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.