DISCLAIMER: Look on first chapter. There is dialogue from the GLEE episode "Prom Queen". That material is owned by the writers of GLEE. I take no credit for it.

This chapter-gosh this chapter is my heart in words. I was actually crying while writing this, and knowing that it means so much to people, I don't feel like I've done it enough justice, but I know that if I wanted to do that-it would take me a lifetime to write. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Prom is coming up soon! This is just the beginning. :) Happy reading!


April 26, 2011 (Tuesday)

McKinley High School

Lima, Ohio

3:07PM

Sam was worried about Mercedes. It had been nothing but prom talk for the past two days, and he could see how badly it was affecting her. She was trying her best to keep everything together, but Sam could tell that she was more sad than angry. He wished all the prom crap would stop. He couldn't afford to go—even though he wanted to—and it made him even more miserable that he had no way of fixing his problem, much less Mercedes'.

After she'd stopped crying Sunday night, Sam had to leave about twenty minutes later, but he'd spent the night worrying about her and apparently for good cause. He arrived in the Glee room much earlier than usual in an attempt to talk with Mercedes before the other Glee members got there.

Unfortunately, Santana, Lauren and Brittany decided to walk in early too. He rolled his eyes heavenward as he heard their conversation.

"I've been to Ann Taylor Loft, Flynn's Basement and like six Forever 21s. And I cannot find a dress that fits. I'm going to be forced to make my own dress for prom," Lauren sounded pissed as hell. Sam groaned under his breath. Damn prom, again. He prayed that they would stop talking about it before Mercedes got here.

"Don't," Brittany said as she sat in her chair—only a couple of seats down from Sam, "You'll seem poor." Offended, Sam glared in her direction and the clueless girl shrugged apologetically. He loved everyone in Glee club, but they could be tactless at times.

Kurt patted Sam on the shoulder in consolation as Santana started talking, "You're up for Queen; you can't make your prom dress. Prom is like our Oscars—it's seriously like the most important night of our lives." The Latina looked upset that Lauren would even consider that as an option.

Lauren sounded confused as she spoke, "What about getting married?" That was a legitimate question to Sam. At least one of these girls wasn't insane.

When Quinn leaned forward and said, "Oh, you can get married as many times as you want—you only get one shot at your junior prom," Sam felt his stomach twist. How had he ever thought himself to be in love with her?

He shot the blonde girl a disgusted look and opened his mouth to say something about how dumb her comment was when he saw Mercedes. Her expression was downtrodden and he could see the defensiveness in her posture—her arms were crossed as she came into the room.

Sam hated seeing the sadness in her eyes. He hated it even more when she sat down in front of him and turned her back to him without so much as a hello. She hadn't said much of anything to anyone all day, and during lunch she just ate in silence.

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Prom dresses." Lauren answered and Sam saw her tense in her chair and her head bowed a little. Watching her, Sam felt like the worst friend ever. He knew what was wrong, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Thank God, I don't have to worry about that. I'm not going." She said firmly and he could see the disbelief on the faces of the girls around her. Kurt looked disappointed and surprised.

If he had the money, he would ask Mercedes to prom himself, but life was funny that way. It made his friend want a good prom night and made him too poor to make it happen for her.

Sam slumped back into his chair.

"Why not?" Kurt asked softly—his eyes staring at Mercedes. Sam noticed the moment Kurt figured out that something was wrong, because he straightened up in his seat and his eyes narrowed the tiniest bit.

"Because nobody's asked me," she muttered—Sam could hear the pain in her voice; buried under the angry nonchalance. Sam prayed that this would be the end of all the prom talk. She needed a break from all this crap.

His wish came true when Mr. Schue clapped his hands together to get their attention, but Sam was crushed when the man opened his mouth to speak.

"Alright guys, prom." Mr. Schue was grinning when he said it, but Sam's fists clenched. He was cursing up a storm in his head. Damn prom. What the hell was with everybody? Did they not notice anything?

"Please tell me we're not doing songs about prom," Sam said through gritted teeth. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, but Sam ignored it. He was so freakin' tired of all this. It was the second day of Prom week and he hadn't been able to help Mercedes at all. He stared at Mr. Schue with narrowed eyes. Things couldn't possibly get much worse.

"Nope," Mr. Schue responded and that would've been just fine if he hadn't continued, "We are the prom. Figgins has asked us to perform." Sam closed his eyes in an attempt to restrain himself from leaping out of his chair and wailing on the curly-haired teacher. Damn shitting fucktards. The curse words were bouncing around in his head like ping pong balls. This was just great.

"Let's do 'Run, Joey Run'," Rachel piped up from her seat next to Mercedes. Sam felt his eye twitch as the conversation continued.

"Now I know this isn't ideal with Nationals coming up but we really don't have a choice. And we could really use the money," Mr. Schue said, "But I know that prom is a special rite of passage, and I'll make sure that all of you guys get a chance to enjoy the dance."

Sam saw Mercedes' shoulders slump and her head bowed completely. He wanted to kick somebody. The urge to smack Quinn and Finn who were smiling sappily at each other was incredibly strong.

"So we're going to stagger the performances so that each and every one of you has a lot of time to dance with your dates." Mr. Schue let out a small laugh, but Sam saw Mercedes' shoulders shake. He closed his eyes as she stood abruptly.

"Excuse me," she mumbled, before hurrying out of the classroom. Sam was seeing red. He was so pissed. She didn't deserve to feel this way. The helpless rage Sam was feeling amplified as Mr. Schue stared after her.

"Is she okay?" the teacher asked as he looked over the remaining Glee club members.

"Mercedes doesn't have a date for prom," Quinn replied and Sam wanted to punch her.

She could show some damn remorse for her friend. It would shock the hell out of Sam if she thought about anyone besides herself. She had certainly done a number on Sam's self-confidence—talking him down at every turn, making him into something that he wasn't. She had never accepted a damn thing about him when they were together. He couldn't even fathom what he had been thinking.

"So, I don't have a date." Brittany said with a shrug, "I'm just going to dance. Then all your dates are going to ignore you and come and dance with me. So, all of your dates are really my dates." She fist-pumped the air for a moment and Sam couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes.

He needed to go see if Mercy was okay, so Sam started to stand, but Kurt placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'm going to go talk to Mercedes," the brunet said, but Rachel stopped him as she got up quickly.

"No, let me," she insisted, before she walked out of the choir room—not giving Kurt or Sam the chance to say anything. Sam sat there—worrying his bottom lip.

He hoped she was okay. He would have to stop by and visit her if he got the chance this afternoon. He had promised to help Lynn at her shop this afternoon though and then he had work at the pizzeria. And he needed to help Stacey and Stevie with their reading projects for school tonight—not to mention the pile of calculus and English homework he had to do for tomorrow.

Sam scrubbed a hand over his face. Now he had to work on preparing a song choice for prom. He would just have to call her tonight if he didn't see her again. Sam doubted that she'd be coming back to Glee club today though. She might have been roped into helping Lynn clean up for her shop, but Sam hadn't really seen her in the past couple of days—so he didn't know for sure.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed as Mr. Schue started giving them details. Damn prom.


Mercedes could feel the anger coursing through her veins. Her heart was beating faster and there was a rushing sound in her ears. She hated all of this. It seemed like every one was determined to rub prom in her face. And poor Sam—she knew that he had been trying to distract her from everything, but he couldn't rip down all the posters and flyers and he certainly couldn't stop all the conversations.

She knew she had hurt him when she ignored him today, but she was pretty sure that he understood. She had admitted the problem to him only two days ago.

Mercedes opened her locker and pulled out her backpack. She stuffed her history book, English book, Spanish text and Calculus book into her bag, before she spotted Rachel coming out of the choir room.

The brunette approached Mercedes timidly, "Hey," she began with a pathetic smile, "I don't have a date to prom either."

Mercedes paused for a moment as she stared into her locker. There was nothing remotely similar about her situation and Rachel's. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum—Rachel didn't have a date because she had broken up with her boyfriend and was still in love with him. Mercedes didn't have a prom date because no one was interested.

Even admitting that in her head caused a sharp pain in her chest. Mercedes couldn't tell if it was from shame of not being attractive to anyone or loneliness from having to watch everyone else fall in and out of love.

Before she knew what she was doing, she'd turned to look at Rachel who was giving her a sympathetic look.

"I know that I talk a good game about not needing a man and I don't," Mercedes confessed. And it was true. She knew that she had wonderful friends—most of the time—and a great family, talent, good grades, and beauty, but that didn't stop the longing for romance. It was human nature to want someone to come home to.

Mercedes turned back to her locker and said, "I just really wanted to take a date to the prom. I want the dress, and the guy—damn corsage." She tossed a broken pen from her backpack into her locker and slammed the door shut.

"Someone may still ask you," Rachel said with a stutter. Damn prom.

"It's this Saturday," Mercedes snapped, her voice cracking. There was a momentary quiet between the two girls. "I just wanted to be Cinderella—just for one night," she told Rachel—feeling the tears prickle at the back of her eyes.

For one moment, Mercedes wanted her fairy tale.

After everything—all the love and kindness she'd given and the hardship she had suffered—she wanted just one night to be appreciated. Was that really too much to ask?

"One night, where a guy would look at me under those corny crepe paper streamers and say, 'You look so beautiful' and then he'd grab my hand and ask me to dance." Mercedes looked Rachel in the eyes, "Isn't that what prom is supposed to be about?" she questioned and Rachel looked like she was about to burst into tears. Good, she could be the one to cry this time instead of Mercedes.

She was sick and tired of crying herself to sleep on nights when she felt lower than low and unappreciated. Rachel took a deep breath and said, "You're not going to go to prom alone. You'll go with me."

"That's even more depressing," Mercedes scoffed and Rachel looked panicked for a moment. Mercedes watched the facial expressions flit across Rachel's face in rapid succession. A gleam shined in Rachel's brown eyes when she looked up again. Mercedes would recognize that calculating look in her eyes anywhere.

"I have a plan." Rachel stated, before grabbing a reluctant Mercedes' arm and walking down the hallway. She began explaining rapidly.


April 27, 2011 (Wednesday)

The Motel Six

Lima, Ohio

1:02AM

It turned out that Mercedes had actually stopped by to help Lynn, but she'd done so while Sam was in an extra-long Glee rehearsal and she had left about ten minutes before Sam walked inside The Music Shop. So he stayed with Lynn for a couple of hours—helping her strip the bad floor boards in her restaurant space.

She and his dad still didn't have a design plan but Lynn wanted to open this summer which meant the renovations would have to be thorough and fast. So she was cleaning out the space beforehand to save time later. His dad had done a lot of work already. He had started tearing things out last week, but it was a lot for one person to do.

After being there for a couple of hours—Sam went to his actual job at the pizzeria. The night seemed to drag on as he delivered pizzas and worried about Mercedes the whole time. When finished, he had gone home—done his homework and looked over Stacey and Stevie's reading projects. They had done a decent amount of work, but it wasn't completed. Sam showered and then he went to bed.

He had only been asleep for about an hour when he felt his phone vibrate. His brain was still in sleep mode when he answered the phone, but he came out of it when he heard crying on the other end of the line.

Wide awake, Sam sat up in the bed. "Hello?" he whispered trying not to wake his family.

"Sam?" When he recognized Mercedes' voice, Sam's heart almost stopped beating.

"Mercy?" he asked as he threw his legs over the side of the bed. "What's wrong?" He could feel his heart beat speeding inside his chest as he waited for her to answer.

"Come outside," she replied through tears and Sam blinked.

"Give me a second," Sam told her, before he hung up the phone and got out of bed. He slipped on his discarded jeans and shoved his feet into his shoes. He made his way to the front door and grabbed his zip up jacket as he unlocked it. He pulled the jacket on and stepped outside. He wasn't surprised when he saw Mercedes' BMW parked in front of his motel room.

Moving forward, Sam went to the passenger side of her car and his eyes widened when he saw her sitting there—her head on the steering wheel. He opened the door and climbed inside.

For a second, he didn't think she knew he was there, but she looked up at him and his heart broke at the sight of her tears. "Mercedes," Sam said softly and she met his eyes before reaching into the backseat to grab a small box on the floor.

Without a word she handed it to Sam, who took it reluctantly. "What's this?"

"It was my mom's," she admitted. Sam looked down at it. It showed signs of wear along the bottom and the corners, but there were faded pictures glued all over it. "My mom made this box after she was molested."

Sam's throat tightened. He didn't like where this was going.

"She told me that she made this box to remind herself that even in her darkest times—there were people who loved her. She told me that she'd refused to let herself be consumed by resentment. That every single day was a battle—and she had to fight to smile most of the time," Mercedes' breath was catching and Sam could see that she was overwhelmed. "She said, 'Baby, strength doesn't come from making it to the happy ending. It comes from waking up on the day when you feel like dying would be a relief and forcing yourself to smile when you just want to cry.' She told me that there were moments when she could stand in a crowd of people and feel alone."

"And the loneliness was what drove her to tears the most. It wasn't the fear or the shame or the helplessness, but the feeling of having no one to make her believe in love again—that was the part that crushed her," Mercedes said. She was white knuckling the steering wheel—her head bowed forward.

Sam wished he could do something. Damn it all.

"She gave the box to me tonight," Mercedes sobbed, "And I think it's because she's noticed how lonely I feel right now." She looked so distraught that Sam wanted to cry himself. But he knew that him losing his cool wouldn't help anything-the least of all Mercedes. He took her hand in his and she felt him squeeze his fingers.

"Cede, I'm right here," Sam protested and Mercedes gave him a weak smile.

"I know you are, Sam," she told him, "I know you are. That's why I'm here. I just really didn't want to cry by myself tonight."

Sam placed the box gently on the dashboard of her BMW, before he got out of the truck. He closed his door and walked over to Mercedes' side. She stared at him as he opened her door and tugged her hand until she slid out of the vehicle. Sam pressed the unlock button on the door, before he slammed the driver's side closed and led her to the back of her BMW.

He lifted the trunk door and hopped up on the ledge with his legs swinging over the side. Sam finally glanced at Mercedes and beckoned her to him. She walked over warily. Sam helped her into the back before he pulled her into his embrace.

As her head hit his shoulder, Sam suddenly remembered that he was wearing a jacket with no shirt, but he ignored his blush as Mercedes' returned the hug. Sam felt her warm tears slide along his skin and he did his best to comfort her.

He ran his hands up and down her back. He hummed lightly and he just held her. There was nothing more he could do but be there for her. He didn't know how long he sat there trying to stop her tears, but eventually she fell into an exhausted slumber. It didn't take much for Sam to follow her.


April 27, 2011 (Wednesday)

McKinley High School

Lima, Ohio

12:07PM

"Is this a surprise party or something?" Sam asked warily as he followed Rachel past the stage curtain, "Because my birthday was last week."

Rachel looked shocked at that admission. "It was?" she responded, "Uh, no, Mercedes and I have a proposition for you." Sam glanced over by the piano as Rachel touched his arm. He was surprised to see Mercedes there. She had successfully dodged his questions after they'd woken up in the back of her truck when the sun rose this morning, but she looked happier and more nervous.

Sam stared between the two girls in confusion. Rachel and Mercedes were propositioning him for something—especially after the last couple of days?

"We were wondering if you'd like to go to prom with us?" Mercedes asked shyly and Sam had to forcefully stop himself from gaping at her in disbelief. Prom? With both of them? Did they forget he was poor in the last twenty four hours?

Sam couldn't buy a spare package of cookies much less rent a tux.

His incredulity must've shown on his face because Rachel spoke up—speaking faster than normal. "Sort of like a three way date, but not the dirty kind."

Sam couldn't stop the small smirk that appeared on his face and Mercedes rolled her eyes at him. She couldn't say anything—he was still a guy, a nice guy, but a guy. He let out a flustered laugh as they both stared at him expectantly.

"That sounds great, but I can't afford to take one girl to prom," he admitted, his face going red. Even though they both knew about his situation—it was still embarrassing to admit something like that to them. "I don't know how I'm going to take two." He looked between them—hating to crush their hopes.

Surprisingly he was the one taken aback when Rachel pulled out three twenty dollar bills. He couldn't help staring.

"What's this?" he asked. Were they planning on bribing him or something?

"Our prom budget," Rachel said with a smile.

"You're going to have to borrow a suit from your dad and we're going to buy five dollar dresses down at the Goodwill. We're going to make our corsages from the flowers in my mom's garden," Mercedes told him with a small shrug as Rachel handed each of them a twenty. His head snapped up to stare at Mercedes and she gave him a smile and a nod.

He couldn't help smiling at her. Not even three days had gone by and she was letting people closer. He was so proud of her. His attention was drawn to Rachel when she started talking.

"And we can walk to prom and use what's left to get the 8.99 all-you-can-eat pasta special at Breadstix," she said with a smile at Mercedes, before she glanced back at him. Sam chewed on his bottom lip, considering the offer.

He wanted to say yes but he'd feel guilty about borrowing money from anyone—much less one of his friends. He didn't miss the look Mercedes shot Rachel and the girl said, "But the twenty dollars—it's not charity—it's a loan."

Sam should've known that Mercedes would have that figured out. He laughed quietly to himself as Rachel and Mercedes stared hopefully at him. "So will you go with us?" Mercedes questioned.

Sam glanced at them both, before smiling.

"It would be an honor," Sam accepted with a lopsided grin.

Rachel squealed and danced a bit while Mercedes let out a relieved cheer and punched the air with a huge smile on her face. Sam laughed as the two of them moved forward and Sam threw an arm over each in a three-way hug.

The blinding smile on Mercedes' face made his day. He was happy that he'd been able to do something after all.

Rachel walked out of the auditorium not long after to go talk with Mr. Schue about a possible song choice for prom. As soon as the brunette girl had left—Mercedes threw her arms around Sam again. He laughed and returned the embrace.

"Thank you, Sam," she said into his chest. Sam tugged lightly on some strands of her hair with one hand.

"No problem, Nala," he replied and Mercedes pulled back a bit to shake her head at him. She and Sam started walking towards the exit—his arm over her shoulders and her still hugging his side. Sam didn't mind at all.

"You know this means you have to help me shop, right?" Sam asked and Mercedes looked up at him

"What do you mean?" Mercedes replied.

"I mean that you're going to have to help me find something to wear; I don't know if my dad's suit will work for me."

"You want me to help you find a suit?" she queried and Sam nodded. "Then you're modeling each one for me."

Sam groaned. "You just want to objectify me!" he protested and Mercedes laughed.

"You're objectification worthy, Blondie," she replied in amusement. Sam moved his amused gaze to the top of her head.

"Are you telling me I'm hot?" he teased.

Mercedes smirked up at him. "You wouldn't be objectified if you weren't," she said, "And you're still trying on all the suits."

Sam wanted to be irritated but he knew that she would make him look good, and he could put up with it—as long as she kept smiling instead of frowning.

"Fine," he grumbled good-naturedly as Mercedes finally stepped away from him.

"You're also coming with me to find a dress," she told him matter-of-factly as she stepped out of the door. It shut in his face before Sam could even think of a reply. Him? Looking for dresses?

"I'm what?" he cried before he hurriedly opened the door and chased after her. "Mercedes!"

Damn prom.


April 28, 2011 (Thursday)

Goodwill Store

Lima, Ohio

6:07PM

"Most people call this cruel and unusual punishment," Mercedes looked up as Sam swung the dressing room curtain open and walked out of the stall. She choked back a laugh at the sight of him in a bright orange tuxedo.

Sam looked at himself in the mirror and said, "I look like an ompalumpa with a bad dye job."

Mercedes burst out laughing and Sam couldn't prevent his own chuckles from escaping. She had been having a lot of fun at his expense today and he'd been really nice about it. Though she was pretty sure it was because he didn't have to do any serious dress shopping.

Mercedes had almost immediately found the dress she wanted. It was a beautiful shade of purple that offset her complexion. She had tried it on and Sam couldn't stop gaping when she'd walked out. His astounded expression had gone a long way to cheer her up and boost her confidence even more.

Now they just needed to find him a suit to wear. So far, they hadn't been able to find a single plain black suit for him to wear. They'd found some pretty strange stuff and Mercedes had enough pictures to blackmail Sam for life. But it had been a fun afternoon—the two of them shopping together in the thrift store.

The past few days had been so busy—she had finally been cornered by Kurt, who apologized for neglecting her and they'd spent all Wednesday afternoon just catching up. Sam had been working his usual pizzeria shifts, but with extra hours tacked on the ends because he was taking Saturday off. He had also been helping out at the shop more.

Mercedes was at the shop as often as possible too, but she seemed to have some other commitment that Lynn knew about, but wouldn't say anything when asked about her distraction. That was usually the only way he got to hang out with Mercedes besides their auditorium lunches, and they were usually cleaning so they didn't get a chance to really talk about anything.

It didn't help that the teachers were piling on the homework and rehearsals for Glee club were longer than ever—with them preparing for Nationals as well as the quickly approaching prom. They were all distracted and their song writing attempts were turning out to be incredibly pathetic.

Mercedes watched as Sam walked back into the dressing with a disappointed expression on his face. She so badly wanted to offer one of her brother's tuxes, but she knew that Sam's pride wouldn't let him accept. He was too strong for his own good sometimes. She pushed the worry to the back of her mind as she focused on the upcoming weekend.

Kurt, Rachel, Santana, Tina, Quinn, Brittany, and Lauren were set to have a sleepover on Friday night—so they could all do a pre-prom beauty marathon. Sam had mentioned that the guys were all going to Puck's house to play pool and video games—he had no idea if they planned on staying the night or not.

She was happy that Glee club was closer than ever. It was sad that Artie and Brittany had broken up, but she was glad that she wasn't the only single person besides Rachel in the club. Sam came out of the stall—dressed in dark blue and baby blue baseball tee and his usual faded jeans. He smiled at her as she gathered her bag with her dress and made her way over to him.

They walked out of the store with her arm in his. "That was fun," she told him and Sam smiled at her.

"It wasn't too bad," he replied, "I'm glad you found a dress, but now I have to go beg my father to let me borrow his suit."

"I'm sure your dad won't mind," she said and Sam shrugged.

"I know," he admitted, "I just wanted to do this on my own, you know. Make it seem like my life isn't defined by me being poor. I've failed at everything else I tried to do by myself."

Mercedes stared up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Sam's face turned bright red and he avoided her eyes. "I can't ride a bike." He told her sheepishly and Mercedes couldn't help but look at him in disbelief. "I tried to teach myself and I just couldn't get it."

He looked so ashamed that Mercedes wanted to wrap him in a hug and console him. It was the least she could do after all he had done for her in the last week.

Instead she squeezed his arm and stopped him. "You aren't defined by your financial status. The people who matter don't care about how much money you have," she stated, "I know I don't."

Sam searched her eyes for a moment, before she spoke again, "Asking for help doesn't make you weak, Sam. It takes a lot more strength to admit that you need help than to sit back and wallow in your problems." Mercedes gave Sam a smile that said everything. Looking at him, she knew that he understood her implication. She would never be able to repay him for holding her when she was coming apart at the seams. Sam had inadvertently rejuvenated her strength by being the amazing guy he was. He had reminded her that the love in this world was far stronger than anything she could possibly imagine.

"Your dad loves you, and I think he'd be happy to have you wear his suit to prom," she told him with a smile. The gratitude in his expression was enough for Mercedes and they continued walking down the street. She knew that something had changed about their relationship in the last week, but she couldn't tell if she liked the feeling of being vulnerable with Sam or not.

He could make her give in with a look, and he was starting to read her moods—something that honestly terrified her. It had been so long since she let anyone this close to her heart, but Sam Evans was addicting. She couldn't walk away from him yet she was afraid of being with him. He was learning her weaknesses—reopening wounds that had long since scarred over.

It didn't help that he was fast becoming a part of her family. If she didn't figure this out—Sam was going to become her number one weakness. And Mercedes didn't know if she could deal with that.


REVIEW! I'd love to hear your thoughts! :D Until next time!