A/N: This is more in Mercedes' point of view but in the next chapter we will have Sam's side of the story. Originally I was going to let it be just all be Mercedes but I figured it would be more interesting this way, seeing a contrast between the two of them. Enjoy! Reviews are the fuel that keeps me going!
"Mercedes?"
Mercedes stopped to turn around, wondering who else but her friend linked to her arm would know her name. Noelle was tugged to a stop.
A group of people stood in her general vicinity but her eyes immediately fell on the owner of the voice.
Green eyes.
A familiar face.
Tall but not intimidating stature.
Her mind fought to make the connection.
In a split second, her mouth found the name first.
"Sam..."
It took a moment for her mind to catch up and actually feel the shock of seeing Sam Evans for the first time since...
since...
That summer in high school.
For a split second a memory flashed in her mind. Her front porch. Darkness. Just the gleam of his green eyes reflected by the dim moonlight. His hand tightly grasping hers. A single tear streaming down the side of her face.
But soon enough that disappeared and she was back in the middle of a field on a sunny day, her friend standing next to her with an eyebrow quirked up, some guys noticing that their game was on pause, and Sam showing clear confusion on his features.
"Mercedes... You...Long time no see." He breathed out.
She did her best to give him a warm smile. "Yeah, it's been a while Sam."
He was exactly the same and yet he was different. His hair was much shorter, a more dirty blonde. His face remained the same but something about his eyes exuded some sort of maturity. His frame was the same but he stood a little differently, less of the awkward teenage stalkiness, more confidence.
Sam's head tilted. "Are you a student here? I've never seen you around."
"Yeah, you haven't. I just transferred from Byrnes." Mercedes shifted her weight to her other leg uncomfortably and crossed her arms. She felt so self conscious, wondering what changes he saw in her. She knew that because she laid off the tater tots and started working out once in a while she lost a bit of weight since high school, but there was no doubt that she was still a girl with curves. Other than that she couldn't think of anything worth noting. Nothing especially positive.
Sam nodded slowly with an 'oh' that he didn't voice. "Well, that's great! Welcome to Richter!" A big smile grew on his face. Mercedes felt something in her chest clench. She knew exactly why. That smile. She was definitely no stranger to feeling weak in the knees when that lopsided "trouty mouth" was directed at her.
But there are no feelings, right?
No heart fluttering, right?
That was a long time ago, Mercedes... Past is past.
Mercedes gathered up a big smile. "Thanks! I'm happy to be here!" Although at that moment she wasn't sure if she was.
She felt a touch on her arm. "Mercy? We should be going now." Noelle pointed a thumb in the general direction of the music building. "The others are probably on their way."
Mercedes held in what might have been a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay." She turned to Sam. "I'm sorry I gotta go. It was great seeing you again."
Sam nodded again. "Alright. I guess I'll see you around." He gave her another grin.
Her chest needed to stop clenching.
"Yeah, I'll see you around..." Mercedes gave him a final smile before letting Noelle tug her away again.
Once they were out of ear's reach, Noelle asked, "How do you know the star quarterback of our school?"
So he was still a popular football player here too. No surprise.
"He was... We were in Glee Club together in high school." Leaving out a few details seemed appropriate for the time being.
Noelle raised her eyebrow again. "He was in Glee Club?"
Mercedes laughed. "Yeah, he was pretty good. Sometimes played the guitar for us."
"Well, that kills a stereotype. Wonder if he could join us in the off-season... we're short on male vocals."
Before Mercedes could think if that was a good idea or not, they made it to the door of the music building. As they went up the stairs, Mercedes couldn't help but notice that the building was a bit old and outdated. But for some reason, she couldn't help but think that it had it's own charm. She knew that soon this would be a regular rendezvous of hers and she knew that she wouldn't mind.
Noelle chuckled to herself. "Ah, some of them are up there I bet." They could hear the strains of a piano coming from upstairs. "Sounds like Andrew. Nicky is there too, no doubt."
Mercedes could feel knots forming in her stomach. She wasn't a shy person by any means but there was something about meeting people for the first time that put her on edge. Noelle constantly reassured her that they would "love her." But you really never knew until it happened.
Once they made it to the third floor, they turned left and met a set of double doors. Noelle pushed them open. "Heeeeeeello, my beautiful people! Looks like we are a little later than I expected."
Mercedes followed behind her into the room and noticed not two but eleven people were in the room. Two of them were sitting at the piano in the corner playing an upbeat jazzy song, a few of them were dancing along to the music, some where messing with the TV and what looked like a kareoke mic, and a girl was putting some bottles next to some cartons of ice cream on the table next to the window.
Noelle latched on to Mercedes again. "Everyone, stop what you're doing because she is finally here! PAUSE. LIFE." Everyone turned their attention to her. "May I introduce you to the legendary, gorgeous, amazing, lovely Miss Mercedes Jones!" She exclaimed with an exaggerated flourish of her hand. "The coolness of this group just got multiplied ten fold... maybe a hundred fold."
Everyone either smiled or laughed at her comment. "Mercedes, this is Richter's very own Goldtones!" She pointed at the redheaded boy at the piano. "Over there is Andrew, next to him is his girlfriend, Nicky." The girl with the long dark hair waved cutely. "That loser over there is Rashad, our bass vocal." The tall black guy winked at her. "There's Caroline, Little Miss Alto." The short Asian girl smiled shyly. "Cliff. Baritone." The boy with messy dark hair nodded. "Heather, Madison, and Tiffany. Soprano, Soprano, Alto respectively." The girls by TV waved. "Joey and Stephanie. Kickass beatboxers." Stopped looking over the kareoke song list book to acknowledge her. "And our resident alkie, Valerie." She pointed to the girl with the booze. Everyone laughed as she sassed back. "Shut up or you ain't getting any of it!"
Tiffany, the dark skinned girl with a big smile, backed away from the TV. "Okay, come on girl, let's see what you've got." She took the mic from Joey's hand and pointed it to her.
Mercedes laughed nervously, looking to Noelle for some help. "Oh no... it seems too soon. Maybe after you all take a whack at it?"
Noelle shook her head. "No, you've got to do it! Call it your audition before officially joining the Goldtones."
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Great, well if you put it THAT way."
"Come on Miss Mercedes Jones!" Joey said in what seemed like a British accent. "From what Noelle has told us, we have been waiting our entire lives to hear someone like you!"
"Okay... fine. For all you guys, not this loser." Mercedes playfully shoved Noelle before stepping up to take the mic.
Without fail, Mercedes brought the roof down in one song and the party began in full force. There was ice cream, booze, and a hell of a lot of singing. She knew immediately that they would be a fun group to work with. She just hoped that she would form a bond with them that they seemed to have with each other. She knew that show choir could be like your second family. It seemed they were now on a fast track to making her their newest family member.
They called it a night early for college standards: One o'clock. People still had some unpacking to do, some of their parents were still in town. It was enough time for Noelle and Mercedes to stumble out of the music building tipsy. They kept giggling at just about anything, holding onto each other for dear life. They crossed the field, which was now empty and illuminated by the lights lined up along its
parameter.
"Oh man, Rashad and that falsetto bit! I don't know if I should be amazed or scared of him!" Noelle gasped. "It was like a little boy possessed him!"
Mercedes couldn't stop laughing. She leaned against her friends shoulder. "Yeah, that was crazy! That boy is something! I like that kid!"
Noelle swaggered to a stop. "Wait, does that mean you LIKE him?" She squinted.
Mercedes shot her an incredulous look. "No... I think he's cool, that's what I meant." She stuffed back a giggle. "Hold on, do YOU like him?" She smirked back.
Noelle looked at her wordlessly for a moment before continuing to walk. Mercedes broke into a huge grin. "Ooooh, so you DO like him! That flirting wasn't just my imagination!" She threw her head back in laughter.
"No, no no! He's just a good friend! He's a cool guy but I-" Noelle paused as she tripped on a cobblestone. "I just..." She kept rambling and Mercedes kept silently laughing at her. On their way back to their dorm she took another moment to appreciate the campus, especially at this time of night when it was a full moon. She saw in the distance a few guys chatting by the fountain. As they made progress across the field, she realized that she recognized the familiar silhouette of one of them. A few moments later it was clear... it was Sam.
She couldn't help but stare as he laughed with his friends. That bright smile she once loved years ago flashing even in the middle of the night. As if her gaze called him, his eyes raised to look straight at her. She knew that the situation called for her to look away, but the haze of alcohol threw her inhibitions out the window and she continued to stare back at him.
She didn't know what this meant, Sam appearing back in her life. That short period of time with him honestly felt like a blip on her radar. She hardly remembered what went on between the two of them. But she did remember that smile... she remembered those eyes. And that was what was keeping her rooted to him at this particular moment in time.
"Oh shoot, I might have left my key back in the music room." Noelle groaned as she fumbled in her small bag.
Mercedes turned to her friend and threw her hands up in the air... typical Noelle.
"Oh never mind!" She giggled. "Here it is!" She took her keys out of her back pocket and dangled them in Mercedes' face.
"You little fool! Let's go back before you start embarrassing yourself even more!" Mercedes slapped Noelle's butt and swaggered ahead of her.
"Hey! Do you even know where you're going?" Noelle called after her as she rubbed her bottom.
And the moment was gone. Tucked away just like those other lost moments with him.