I wanted to get this to y'all sooner, but every time I logged into FF I got an error page. This is the first time I'm uploading from the app, and I hope it goes well.

Sam

What did Puck do?

Hurricane Quinn ripped through the office. She started early that morning, tossing over papers, chairs, a computer monitor and an intern. Thankfully, our office was on the top floor because she could have taken off the roof. She finally went out for lunch, leaving me to clean up the damage.

Quinn returned, and I was still on my knees cleaning up paper clips off the floor. She walked with her chin up, and her ponytail taunted me as it swayed behind her. She stopped after seeing the gift basket on the chair in the corner. She squinted her eyes as if she was being blinded by the large neon yellow bow on top. "What is this? I hate it."

"A few gifts were dropped off." I tried to be quick about getting to my desk, but I nearly took my arm off when I crashed into the bookshelf that was moved to cover the hole in the wall from the scissors that Quinn pitched. I returned with my note pad, a bottle of wine and no feeling in my left shoulder. The little wine talk I knew came from looking up every bottle that was sent to my boss. "Mr. Hale had this delivered. Red, Italian… and its average value is $110," I finished my long summary. After my research, I knew Quinn wouldn't take the gift, but I shared it because she needed to know that someone was thankful for her work.

"I get his alimony reduced, and that's the best he can do? Trash!" she ordered before shooing me out to make a phone call. "And take the tacky basket with you."

Finn

When I wasn't being bossed around by Mercedes, I was taking orders from Kurt. I'd work an eight hour shift and still stop by the theater, but after my toughest morning, I was sure that I couldn't do it. I was on the phone with Kurt as I returned from my lunch. I flipped on the lights as I continued through the office.

"Finn, please," Kurt stressed through the phone. "I can't put the track up by myself… Believe me, I've tried." He was so eager to get that piece up; curtains were an essential item for a theater, and hanging them would make his dream feel closer to completion.

I huffed, "Okay." It always started with one thing, but I couldn't leave him to make all the needed repairs alone. I would show up to help hang the curtain tracks but also help change out the rotten wood panels of the stage. "I'll come by after we close."

His smile was easy to imagine on the other end of the call. He would be counting down to six o'clock. "Thank you," he praised before ending the call.

Doesn't anyone say goodbye anymore?

"He can't do that to me!" Mercedes yelled from her office. She was on the phone with her lawyer: someone that was getting to know the dark side of her. Her eyes squinted, and her lips were pressed tightly together as she was riled by the response from the other end. "Well, counter serve him for serving me!"

I questioned whether that was even legally possible.

"You better do something… Tell him to light himself on fire," she fumed before slamming the phone down on its base. Her eyes shifted to me as I stood in the entrance of her office; I was too tall to hide. She roared, "Close my door!" Rage pumped through her like blood, and she was hunting for a way to let it out.

The rest of the day was filled with cleanings that I could handle alone, and I didn't have to watch Mercedes bite the head off any of our clients.

Puck

Rachel returned to the office with her chin up. "Noah, Tina, my office," she ordered as she strutted down the aisle. She left her door open, sure we were close behind.

We looked at each other. We were sure that the day had finally come. We could be Rachel's favorite one day and her least the next; it was a normal attitude for her. With all eyes on us, we began what felt like the longest walk of our lives.

Tina whispered, "Please let my job be safe. I just bought my Lady Gaga tickets." She was first into the lion's den. Taking her seat, she asked, "How was your meeting?"

"Profitable."

I wanted her to get to the point quickly. "If you brought us in here to fire us, just do it." I could've had my desk cleared out in ten minutes.

She just rolled her eyes. "I brought you here to give you these." She took two black envelopes from the drawer of her desk and held them out to us. She watched as our heads tilted. "You two have been with the company longer than most. This is a bonus for your hard work and dedication." When her hands were empty, she linked her fingers in front of her.

I peeked at Tina's check and saw more than two zeros. "Are you sure about this?" I wasn't planning on giving the money back. I just wanted to know how much time I had to cash it before she canceled the check.

"Puckerman, you've learned a lot while working here, but when someone gives you money, you take it." She had one more thing on the agenda and was sure that we were capable of spreading it. "If we reach our semi-annual goal, I was thinking of a long weekend for Independence Day."

Her tone was completely different in the past years. "This country was built on greed and capitalism, and that's the business we are in. Coming to work is the proper way to celebrate your country." She required that we were in the office on the 4th of July, or we would be in the unemployment line on the 5th.

"Only if we meet our goal," she repeated. She picked up her pen, ready to get back to work. Shifting her attention to her pad, she ordered, "Go." She missed the wide smirks we wore as we walked out.

Thank you, Finn!

Sam

After leaving the office, I stopped by Mercedes' apartment. I thought we could talk and drink the wine my boss didn't want: nice idea for a fourth date. I got to walk Mercedes up to her door after the second date, so I was sure that I could find the right room on my own.

I stepped back as the door opened, and two little kids, looking about 7 and 5 years old, blocked the way. I checked the plaque: 20th apartment on the 14th floor. I was in the right place. "Hi. I'm looking for your, um, your babysitter, your aunt… um, your mom?"

The boy stopped his younger sister from talking. He kept his arms crossed as he asked, "Why?" He looked me up and down like I wasn't an adult. "Who are you?"

"I am Sam, Sam I am," I joked, but they didn't laugh. "I'm a friend of Mercedes. Can you get her for me?"

"No."

Mercedes entered the room and noticed the kids. She warned, "I told you not to open the door when I'm not-" Her pace sped when she noticed me. She nudged the kids back and pulled the door closer. Through the narrow opening, she smiled at me. "I'm sorry. I should have been watching them."

"It's fine. You have kids?" I laugh before announcing, "The oldest has your attitude."

She shrugged off the question, but she snickered at my comment. Her glow dimmed when she noticed that I had planned a night with her. "Thank you for coming by, but now isn't a good time. Maybe you can call later."

"I should have called before I showed up," I confessed, "but sure, I'll call you tomorrow night." I said goodbye and decided to share the night with my friends.

Finn

Kurt sat at the edge of the stage. "Drinking wine out of a red Solo cup is the highlight of my week," he breathed; it was only Tuesday. Kurt had spent all weekend painting and repairing the crown molding in the auditorium. He was far from winning the award for the handiest man in New York, but he deserved to brag because the theater was coming together greatly.

Sam topped off our drinks. "Well, drink up. Quinn throws out any alcohol that costs less than $200, so I can surely get more." He looked between me and Puck, not sure who to address first. Sliding into a front row seat he asked me, "Why didn't you tell me that Mercedes has kids?"

"Because she doesn't," I answered, but I was unsure.

I had worked with Mercedes for years, and she hid the fact that she had two kids. She never talked about her life outside of the office. Again I mention, she didn't have photos in her office. She had a chubby face shape and always wore her lab coat closed, so I wouldn't have noticed if she was ever pregnant. She never left early or missed work for a sick kid, parent teacher conference or any other school activity.

Puck commented that we should have left the pact the way it was originally planned. "I would have had Mercedes in my pocket way sooner than you did," he bragged. "MILFs love me."

"Maybe," Sam agreed, "because you've messed up things with Quinn." He shared the horror story of Quinn's fit. "You were supposed to make my job easier."

Kurt couldn't continue to sit silently in the background any longer. He demanded that we tell him what we were talking about, and his mouth dropped after we finished explaining. "I shouldn't have to tell you how wrong this is." He criticized, "You're crossing every line. What is wrong with you?" He looked at me, believing that I didn't try to talk my friends out of the idea.

"We're trying to help them. They really just want someone to talk to."

"Then recommend therapy."

The conversation was like a parent trying to get his kids in line, but do the kids listen; rarely the first time.

Puck disregarded what was preached to him. He promised Sam that he had a plan. "She's a little mad right now, but after this award thing, she'll be too busy chasing me down to cause you any more problems." After failing to earn Sam's faith, he warned me, "Rachel hasn't been nominated for an award in years, but she always goes. You have to plan a date that is worth missing that event for."

I had an idea.