A/N: Sorry for the slight delay. A lot of factors in that. One being I was busy with work this week. Another being the JOYOUS news that Chord might be back on Glee! I was thinking that if he returned that this basically screws up my story a little. I'm obviously taking into account that Sam left and never came back. And I'm not much for AU, I love being as close to canon as possible (even though this is a "future fic" in a way) so this throws me off a bit... but I'll continue like this. I can't really do much about it. Oh and I also noticed a lot of Tumblr future RPs that have Samcedes (power to you guys! I love sneaking in on your Samcedes convos) also have this kind of "format." I really shouldn't be surprised because when a pairing doesn't work out or happen in Glee and you don't want to make it AU... you bring 'em together in college! Kind of generic, I know, but hopefully all the content in this story isn't too generic... Thank you everyone that has read this and will continue to read it! You're awesome!

This one is a lot longer than my usual chapters, hope you enjoy!

As her iPod played one of her favorite songs, Mercedes smiled to herself. It was the weekend, the already gorgeous campus was made more inviting by the relaxed atmosphere. No one was in a rush to go anywhere, students were probably either out for a jog, hanging out at the cafe, studying on the lawn, or in their rooms sleeping in. Just as she predicted, Mercedes' favorite pastime was relaxing on one of the benches reading a novel. Whether it was for class or for fun, sitting by the trees just made it more enjoyable. It just relieved her stress and, boy, did she need it.

She struggled to keep up with all of the papers that she had to write for her midterms. She also hated having a math class. Seriously, why did she need it? College requirements be damned. Even her favorite class, music theory, wasn't letting up on her. Yeah, she was working hard and doing well so far but she just needed a moment to breathe.

… and this other problem wasn't helping at all.

Ever since that message that she ignored after her chat with Kurt that one night, she kept getting similar messages. She also was receiving messages on her phone from an unknown number, but judging from the number she could give a really good guess as to who it was. It was getting to the point that she was getting multiple messages a day. Without fail, she ignored every single one of them not even bothering to look at what it said. She was considering getting a new phone number and changing her chat account.

Dammit, just leave me alone...

Fortunately, she was strong enough not to let it get to her and dampen her spirits. She told herself to take it with the tiniest grain of salt. It was all in the past. The only thing that she took from it was the lessons she learned, the rest was tossed to the wayside.

As she sat down and propped her feet on her favorite bench by the east campus fountain, Mercedes pushed all of her worries aside. At this very moment, she didn't think about her papers, her tests, her homework, and those messages. She was in 19th century England with Elinor and Marianne of "Sense and Sensibility." Quinn used to rave about Jane Austen novels all the time during their weekly chats so she eventually started reading and surprisingly she was hooked. She plowed through "Pride & Prejudice," "Mansfield Park," "Persuasion," and "Emma" so now it was time for a new one.

She took off her ear buds and just let the sounds the rustling wind, the birds, and incoherent chatter of people accompany her as she read. She would hum to herself and mindlessly flick the corners of the pages as she read. She chuckled to herself at the witty humor. Once the plot was starting to really pick up, she brought the book closer to her face, nearly burying herself in it, both figuratively and literally. She was so absorbed in the book that she was barely aware of anything around her... almost.

"I never took you for a British literature kind of girl."

Mercedes nearly jumped. She dropped her book to see Sam sitting on the other end of the bench by her feet. He was wearing his football jersey with jeans. If it was possible for there to be some high fashion sports magazine, he looked like he stepped out of one.

But Mercedes didn't dwell on that as she put down her book and crossed her arms. "And I didn't originally take you for comic book kind of boy and where did that assumption take me?" She smirked.

Sam threw his head back as he laughed. "Hopefully that's the only game I lose today..." He clicked his tongue.

After their first real conversation at Richter, they were once again comfortable enough with each other that they could strike up a conversation if they ever encountered each other. Usually it was at the cafe, but sometimes they did talk if Mercedes was reading outside or if they were walking in the same direction. But all conversation was pretty casual. The "how was your day," "I hate writing papers," "I talked to Stacey and Stevie" kind of conversations. While they didn't mean much, Mercedes couldn't help be a little happy that Sam bothered to stop to talk to her. She supposed it was because when he talked, he gave her his undivided attention. He did it when they were dating, he was the same now.

But she didn't take it too seriously. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to him. There were many instances when she would see him talking to girls. They would usually giggle their heads off at something he said or flip their hair in a 'sexy' kind of way. Mercedes couldn't help but internally roll her eyes. Well, Sam was Sam. No matter how well she used to know him, the boy was still a really good looking popular jock. He could have slipped back into those old habits of dating cheerleaders and the like. She never pushed the issue with him. What he did was no longer her business.

Still, that thought seemed to trigger her curiosity a little."Well, are you still a boy of the comic book reading kind?" She tilted her head.

Sam grinned to himself as he looked down at his outstretched legs. "Yeah... I am. Lately I've been so busy with football and school I don't get that much time to read but once in a while I'll open up a new copy that my dad sent me." He sighed. "Not that many people know about it. I think my football buddies would be on my case if they knew about my inner geek."

Mercedes smiled and chuckled a little, "It's nothing to be ashamed about, Sammy..."

Sam half shrugged. "It's not that I really care anymore. I guess I just never bring it up. Other than keeping out of trouble in front of football media, I don't really care all that much about my reputation."

Mercedes couldn't help but smile. That was the Sammy that Mercedes grew to admire years ago. When she first met him, she could see that he was some new pretty boy that was fighting his way to popularity. She only saw that side of him until that fateful day when the glee club put him under fire over a stupid rumor. Popularity and girl troubles were no longer his concern. His family was first, and while protecting his family's dignity, he sacrificed his own.

Mercedes felt horrible about it. She had no justification for criticizing him like he did. Honestly, it was out of her own jealousy. She thought that yet another person was taking her best friend away from her. She was selfish and judgmental, things that she told herself that she wouldn't be. She couldn't live with her guilt...

So she went to apologize to him personally. She got his address from Kurt and drove herself to his motel the following afternoon. She apologized wholeheartedly and Sam readily accepted her apology. After that exchange she met Stacey and Stevie and immediately fell in love with them. To make further amends, she took the three of them to the park. Although she never really talked to Sam before, it was amazing how easily they fell into conversation. It was just natural.

"No way! As much as I love comics in general, Marvel rules them all! There is no contest!" Sam ran a hand through his longish blonde hair. He and Mercedes were walking along the sidewalk circling the playground that Stacey and Stevie were running around.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Really, Sam? Come on! DC Comics all the way! Superman? Wonder Woman? Captain America? BATMAN? They are superhero legends!" She was talking with her hands, she was so riled up at this point.

"Yeah, but the X-men? The Avengers? Spiderman? Fantastic Four? They are nothing to shake a stick at." Sam said a matter-of-factly.

Mercedes pursed her lips in typical diva-fashion. "Yeah, but Superman can smash a stick over Hulk's head."

Sam stopped and threw her with a dark glare. "Seriously? You're gonna start talking like that now?"

After a long pause and an intense staring contest, a lopsided grin grew on his face. Mercedes couldn't help but break out into a smile too. All of a sudden they started laughing.

Sam waved his arms in surrender. "Forget it. We'll get nowhere with this. I'll just talk about the fact that you actually know a thing or two about comics. Miss Mercedes Jones, I am shocked."

With a flip of her hair, Mercedes started walking again. "Yeah, well, just because I have a diva-tude doesn't mean that I can't like geeky stuff. Just like you, Mr. Popular Jock..."

Sam smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, if I learned anything from my shitty fall downhill is that popularity isn't everything. What did it get me? I looked cool? A lot of people knew my name? None of that helped me when my family lost our house. It didn't give me a girl that really cared about me. It's useless. I shouldn't care what other people think... I should just be myself." His voice got quieter, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Mercedes reached out to pat his bicep. "Exactly. You're Sam Evans. The loser Marvel Boy."

Sam smirked "You're not getting away with that epic fail DC girl..." Once Mercedes got a head start, he began his chase. And that day, a new friendship was formed... a friendship that would lead to something more.

The now matured young man leaned back and threw an arm over the back of bench. Sam took a deep breath. "I understand why you like reading out here. It's really relaxing..."

Mercedes nodded as they sat there in comfortable silence. Ever since they began their friendship, it was like this. Everything they did together, it was just natural. Nothing forced, nothing awkward. Their transition from acquaintances to friends flowed in effortless progression... their transition from friends to more than that was the same.

She let out small sigh and just took the moment for what it was... just two friends enjoying the fall wind.

Until it was interrupted by a screech.

"SAMMY!"

Sam flinched and sat up with a really irritated look on his face. They turned to see some of his football friends and a brunette in a cheerleading outfit. She often saw her walking around with Sam... his girlfriend perhaps? He never mentioned it but he never denied the existence of one.

"SAMMY! LET'S GO! IT'S GAME TIME!" She bounced.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there!" Sam yelled back. The group made their way to the stadium locker rooms. He leaned back again for a moment. "I kind of don't want to leave..." He mumbled almost to himself.

Mercedes smiled. "Come on. Go and win it. For all of us."

Sam stood up, walked to her end of the bench, and crouched down, his eyes level with hers. He was so close that it seemed like his body protected her from the fall wind chill. She could feel his warmth emanating from him. "So... you gonna come cheer me on?" He asked in a low voice.

Mercedes lifted a corner of her lips. "I don't know... I'm not much of a rah-rah school spirit kind of girl..."

"Oh come on, Cedes! For me?" Sam lowered his head, looked up at her with his bright green eyes, and pouted.

Oh no. It's over. Sam knew he won. There were so many things that Sam managed to convince Mercedes to do with that signature look. That boy was smart. "Fine, fine... I'll be there."

Sam broke into a big smile. The chest clenching happened again. "Great! I'll be looking out for you!"

"In that big stadium?"

"Yeah, no way I could miss you." Sam laughed.

Mercedes lifted an eyebrow. "Should I be taking this as an insult or..." She tilted her head.

He shook his head. "Far from it." He leaned in for a short hug. "I'll see you there."

The smell of him almost distracted her from responding. "Okay, Sammy, good luck." He smiled warmly before standing up and walking in the same direction as his teammates.

Far from it, huh?

Before Mercedes could wonder more about it, she realized another person plopped down on the bench where Sam once sat. Noelle.

"So...I've been doing some thinking." Noelle started as she fluffed her hippie style skirt.

Mercedes snorted and lifted her book back up to her face. "Amazing."

Noelle leaned over to snatch the book away. "No, you're listening to me, okay?"

"Okay, shoot, 'Elle."

She pushed her glasses up her nose. "So... I noticed you and the quarterback seem to talk to each other a lot."

"So?" Mercedes leaned back more against the arm rest. "We're friends."

"Uh huh. Right, you told me that you two were in Glee together in high school."

"Yup."

"I also remember that you told me a while ago that you have a thing for dating football players." Noelle twirled a piece of her short hair with her finger.

Mercedes scoffed. "I did not say I had a thing for football players!"

"Well, not exactly but you told me your three high school boyfriends were all football players."

Wow, three boyfriends. She didn't think of it that way. She always remembered always being the single girl in Glee. "Yeah..."

"You told me about these three boys." Noelle held her index finger out. "The first one wasn't really a boyfriend. More like an asshole who just wanted you for your popularity because you were a cheerleader at the time." She held out two fingers. "The second was actually a boyfriend. You had a short little relationship until he moved away." She added a third finger. "Then there was the boy who made some pretty big plans with you but it scared you away among other things."

Mercedes silently nodded along. Her friend was definitely a listener and had a hell of a memory. Although she seemed like an airhead at times, she had a really good head on her shoulders. "And your point is..."

Noelle smirked. "Which one is he?" She nodded her head towards the stadium.

Oh yeah, she was a smart one. Mercedes just stared at her for a moment thinking about what she should say to her. Judging from the intent look in her eyes, she made her decision.

Mercedes lowered her head and mumbled. "He was the second one."

"I knew it!" Noelle broke out into a huge grin. "So, he was like the best one out of the bunch."

Mercedes was about to adamantly object but then she realized... she was right. Puck didn't even really count. Shane was too controlling. And... forget that. The point was, Sam really was the best of them. He treated her so well. He was a best friend as well as a boyfriend. In their short relationship, she didn't find a flaw.

But they probably broke up before she could find a flaw in it.

"So you caught me. He's an ex. Good job, Sherlock." Mercedes spoke offhandedly.

"Yeah, an ex that doesn't seem like he will be an ex soon enough." Noelle smirked.

Mercedes shook her head vigorously. "Where did you get that from?"

"Before I got here, I could see two people on his bench talking. I could see him. He didn't look like he was just there to talk to a friend."

"Um, he was just talking to a friend. That's it." Mercedes snapped her book closed.

"A guy doesn't squat in front of her, leaning in, with that look on his face just talking to any random girl." Noelle crossed her arms.

She recalled the moment that passed not too long ago. It did seem a little more intimate than any normal conversation between friends. But that just might be how Sam is. He is a nice, warm, welcoming type of guy. It didn't necessarily mean anything more. Thinking about this was getting a little too uncomfortable for Mercedes.

She stood up and stuffed her book into her satchel and started walking to her dorm. Noelle raced after her. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Back to our room. I need to change, I'm going to the game."

Noelle chuckled. "I thought you weren't much of a sports fan."

"I'm not. I promised... I promised Sam I'd go."

"Aaah! Got it. Okay, we'll go! Rashad said he was getting some good seats up front anyway." She started pulling Mercedes. "Come on! Let's get prettified!"

"Prettified?" Mercedes repeated incredulously.

"Yeah, gotta look good for your quarterback. He'll be looking for you in the crowd!" Noelle nearly bounced as she walked.

"'Elle! It's a football game! I'm not dressing up for it and he WILL NOT be looking for me!"

Well, that was a bold faced lie but she didn't want to admit it.

Mercedes closed her eyes as she muttered to herself. For a second she would stop, groan in frustration, and open an eye to peek at her notes, then close it again to continue her little chant. Memorization. Her next Anthro exam was all just memorization. When it came to this kind of test, this was exactly how you would find her studying. She didn't care if she was in the middle of the cafe looking all sorts of crazy. This was how she was going to ace the exam.

But her chants were interrupted when she heard the loud squeak of a chair scraping the floor. She opened her eyes at the sound. Sam had fallen into the chair across from her, his face was already buried in his arms on the table. He made no move to get up. Mercedes put down her notes and leaned forward.

"Sammy... you okay?"

Sam sat there motionless for a moment before replying. "Yeah, but not really." A muffled voice came out of his arms.

"What do you mean?" Mercedes tilted her head.

Sam finally sat up, his hair slightly mussed up, his face clearly exasperated. "I talked to my adviser."

Mercedes immediately thought of the implications. Usually you met your adviser to discuss what classes you were going to take the next semester or discuss your future plans. What usually causes people stress during these meetings would be them calling you to discuss a class that you failed. "Did you fail a class?" She asked cautiously.

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "No, I'm doing fine."

"Then... what's going on?"

He looked around the cafe then started scooting his chair closer to Mercedes' side. He began in a low voice. "I went over there to talk about my career plans. He jumped to the automatic conclusion that everyone gets..." Sam's eye twitches. "NFL. No brainer, right? Well, did I tell him that? No."

Mercedes nodded as she listened. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Sam looked around again leaned in closer to her, their elbows resting on the table nearly touching. "Yeah, I like football. Sure, I'm not bad at it but does that mean I want to make a career out of it?... not really." He let out a sigh and he ran hand over his face. "At first when I came to Richter, I was pretty sure that's what I was going to do. But then I started taking classes. I really like my creative writing class, my professor says I'm awesome at it. Over the summer I wrote a couple drafts of some sci-fi story that I came up with. My professor wants me to take it to a publisher. And I'm really excited about it, like REALLY excited. But then I talked to my adviser about it a bit and he laughed at me! Like I would pass up earning millions of dollars and write novels that probably won't get anywhere past a grocery store book section. I'll be honest that scares the hell out of me, I do want to make a living... but at the same time, I think about publishing a book... and it's exciting. I never thought I could learn how to write my high school book report much less a novel. I can't see how going around to cities throwing a football around until I'm 30-something then retiring is fulfilling. But that's what everyone expects me to do. Everyone here is so proud of me and is pushing me in that direction. I know I shouldn't let them get to me... but I just... but right now I can't decide. The future scares me."

Mercedes patiently listened to his rambling, and nodded. After a moment of Sam collecting himself, she softly spoke up. "Yeah, I understand, the future is scary... but it's also really promising. You have so much potential that you can work with. If writing is what you want to do, then go for it, ignore what anyone thinks because you can't go living your life regretting that you didn't pursue your dreams. The only thing that is holding you back is yourself. Go for it."

As they sat there talking, she could immediately sense the shift in the dynamic between them. They reestablished that connection that they once had, not in a romantic way, but they were each others' support. That one semester in high school, they were able to help each other through their emotional hardships. Sam was asking for her help again, and she obliged because she knew that he would do the same. He was someone that she could be completely honest with, who wouldn't judge her and would help her if she needed it. No strings attached, they put their trust in each other.

Sam rubbed his temples. "I know... I just... it's all confusing. After every win, I'm pulled in this whirlwind of football media talking about my 'potential,' what to expect when I go to the NFL... they've all already started to place bets on my future. I know I shouldn't listen but it's like a constant buzzing in my ear, sometimes it's just really loud and I can't shake it! I can't-"

"SAMMY!" A familiar screech called out. That brunette walked up to their table.

Sam groaned and snapped in her direction. "Don't call me Sammy!" He nearly yelled. A few people looked in their direction. Mercedes nearly flinched back. The girl looking absolutely horrified. "I'm sick of you calling me that, Megan! You're not allowed to call me Sammy!" His stress was clearly getting to him. Sam was usually such an easy going guy. The only time Mercedes saw him rage this badly was when most of the Glee club started criticizing him over that one rumor.

This Megan girl shrank back, "I was just going to ask to if you wanted to go out with us tonight."

Sam shook his head, a trace of a snarl in his face. "No. No to tonight, no to Cancun. Just NO. I'll be honest here. I apologize in advance, I have a killer headache and problems that I don't want to deal with. I suggest you just go away."

Mercedes watched the girl basically run out of that cafe, it took a little bit of restraint not to laugh because the guy next to her clearly wasn't having it. "Wow... where did that come from?" She tried to lighten the mood.

Sam half shrugged and a hint of a smile graced his face. "I don't know... might have come from the girl next to me."

Mercedes chuckled. "That did sound like some diva-tude, huh?"

"I've always wanted her off my case. She's been on it ever since Chad set me up on a date with her." He put a hand over his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sammy... Oh wait, you don't like that name. Why didn't you tell me that before? I've been calling you that for the longest time." In her shock over his explosion, she didn't realize that mistake.

Sam dropped his hand revealing two wide eyes. "Oh." He didn't seem to realize it himself. "No, you can still call me Sammy."

Her eyebrows creased together. "But you just said..."

He nodded in the direction of Megan's exit, "She can't call me that. No one else can. There are only a handful of people who call me Sammy that I can tolerate. First is my family... next is you."

Mercedes suddenly felt her heart quicken. "Why?"

Sam looked straight at her, honesty once again shining in his eyes. "It just sounds right..."

A/N1: There were so many typos in that last scene, I was so tired when I wrote that! I just wanted to get this chapter to you so I didn't even bother really looking at it! But it's fixed! I'm typo Queen so there are probably more. Hopefully that didn't bother you guys too much.

A/N2: PLEASE REVIEW! You don't need to write much. Just let me know how it is! I write more when I see new reviews! No lie! Thanks again!