A/N: As the story progresses, this is honestly is getting more difficult to write. I want to give you all a good quality story so I'm not just jotting it all down really fast. I write pretty slowly. But here it is! A little over a week after my last update, that's still pretty good given my record on other stories... amazing actually. Enjoy!

In the morning, Sam thought that he deserved every bit of that headache that he was feeling right now. He woke up and immediately remembered what had happened last night. He mentally kicked himself over and over again. His head felt like he had been doing that all night. What he did was completely out of line and it scared Mercedes away.

She must think he was a drunken hormonal idiot that night.

But he couldn't help but think of what all led up to that moment. Well, first thing was first... she was too damn sexy that night. She was always beautiful but with that little black dress, the perfect curves of her body, that warm brown wavy hair, her scent, her eyes, her smile and... just everything. Damn it all, of course it wasn't hard to fall into temptation.

It was her actions too. He could have sworn that she got closer to him on purpose. First thing he knew was that he was staring at Mercedes from a few feet away. He just watched her ass sway in all kinds of ways that shouldn't be legal. He was barely paying attention to the girl from his English class who decided to talk to him. Then all of a sudden Mercedes was right in front of him. If he was barely able to keep his cool from a few feet away, resistance was futile when she was that close. He just let everything naturally take its course and before he knew it, he was completely against her.

His mind went completely blank when he felt her move against him. It was so familiar and yet it wasn't. It was like all of those moments long ago when he would make out with her and let his hands roam came back to him, but they were never this intimate. The feeling of her body completely intoxicated him.

It all felt unreal that Mercedes was there with him like this after so many years. He thought his feelings for her had completely disappeared like those of the other girls of his past, but what blew him away was how they had come back the moment he laid eyes on her again and how they continued to grow...

Sam snapped out of his thoughts when her hand reached for his neck and slowly moved down. He felt the warmth of her small hand, her nails lightly dragged against his skin. He short-circuited. He lost it. He wanted nothing more than to feel more of that skin against his. He bent over her shoulder and took her in scent. Under the floral note of her perfume, he recognized the scent that was just... Mercedes. The feeling of her skin under his lips was glorious. He never wanted to stop.

But he did stop when Sam realized that Mercedes grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the dance floor. He was still reeling from the moment but he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. Was she taking him somewhere to talk to him about how he was being out of line? No. Mercedes turned around and the look in her eyes told him otherwise. Her beautiful brown eyes were slightly glassed over with want. It made him burn even more... and he let that fire take over once they made it to the end of the hall.

Sam could feel the vibration from her skirt pocket and she completely froze. It was strange whirlwind when she suddenly shoved him away, weakly said a few words, and ran away.

"Sammy... I'm so sorry. I can't do this."

The way she used his nickname with those words cut him in his core. Maybe he read her wrong. Maybe for that small moment when he thought they were on a same wavelength, it was just an illusion made by the influence of alcohol. She snapped back to her reality. That reality didn't have Sam as anything more than a friend. He overstepped his boundaries He violated her and now he broke the trust that they built together. He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't want to talk to him again... But he didn't want that to happen. He was going to fix this.

Sam sat up quickly in his bed. He had to hold his head for a moment so that the room would stop spinning.

Shit.

He laid back down and held his forehead.

Why did their relationship have to get destroyed like this?

Over these past few months, they were slowly building their friendship back to how it once was. It was becoming just as strong. They could completely trust each other. Mercedes was the only person that he could talk to about all of his fears, his dreams and aspirations without feeling insecure. Even if he did start to feel doubt, she encouraged him and gave him strength. It was natural that all of this would be the foundation on which he built his romantic feelings for her.

It was same way when they were in high school. He truly owed the world to her for helping him emotionally when no one else could. When financial, family, and relationship problems piled down on him, Mercedes pulled him out of it and gave him a new perspective. She made him forget about the weight of his problems. She was beautiful in every sense of the word...

Her spirit was beautiful.

By the time Nationals had come around, Sam couldn't deny his feelings for the girl. And he had a suspicion that she felt the same way. It was the way she smiled at him, the way she swatted his arm when he flirted with her, the gleam in her eye, the bite of her lip. Something had to be there.

He had to go for it. It was now or nothing. There was no more time for him to doubt it anymore. Forget what he said to Finn about how he would do it if he wasn't homeless. Not having a home wasn't an excuse. Mercedes taught him that. There was nothing to hold him back.

The day before Nationals everyone was planning on going out that night for dinner. Sam was ready to go and so he decided to pass by Mercedes' room to check up on her. When he got to her hotel room, two doors down from his, he noticed it was already cracked open, and he took it as an invitation to go ahead and open it. He quietly opened the door and looked around. He almost thought no one was there until he noticed someone hunched over some luggage, rummaging through clothes.

There she was.

Sam let go of the door which quietly closed shut on its own. He smirked as he tiptoed over to her, crouched right behind her, and suddenly grabbed her sides. She let out a loud shriek and nearly toppled over if it wasn't for Sam catching her. He had to fight the blush that was trying to grace his cheeks as he felt her back against his chest.

Mercedes clutched her chest as she stabilized herself and stepped out of his arms."Sam! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Well, that's good. Means you're that much more heavenly." Sam smirked at his own joke.

She rolled her eyes. "Just shut up, will you? I'm in the middle of figuring out what I should wear out. It's a tedious process." She went back to picking up and throwing blouses out of her luggage.

Sam sat down on the bed behind him and tilted his head. "Why?"

"Why what?" Mercedes sat back up.

"Why change clothes? You look great in what you're wearing already." Sam nodded at her red blouse and dark jeans.

Mercedes quirked an eyebrow. "You think so?"

"I think right." Sam nodded. Mercedes chuckled at him and went to the dresser to brush out her hair touch up her makeup.

Sam leaned back on the bed, propped himself up with his elbows, and watched Mercedes from the reflection on the mirror.

God, she was gorgeous no matter what she did. Dressed in pajamas with no makeup because Stevie and Stacey wanted to have a PJ movie night or clad in a full length fuchsia prom dress... she looked amazing in any way.

Mercedes got his full attention again when she spoke up as she applied her lip gloss. "Do you really think we're ready?"

Sam sat there for a moment before shrugging. "As ready as will ever be at this point." After all of the struggling they had gone through to write a song in such a little period of time had wiped them all out. He was just ready to get it out there and just perform the thing.

Mercedes sat down beside him and fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "I'm just really worried. We've come so far and to prepare like this... I just don't want to blow it." She laid down on the bed.

Sam laid down as well, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. "It'll be fine. I'm sure we'll make it. I mean, we've got some amazing voices on our team."

"You mean Rachel." Mercedes said flatly.

"No, I mean Mercedes."

They sat in silence for a moment until Mercedes said in a soft voice, "I... don't really think I have what it takes. I'm always put in the background. I'm always turned down on the big solos. There must be a reason for it. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am and nobody bothered to tell me."

It tore at Sam's heart to hear her like that. She always the one full of confidence in herself. She was the one who gave confidence in himself. There was just no way he was hearing this right.

"Cedes... that's not true at all. Your talent is seriously off-the-charts. Do you realize how much you move people when you sing? You make people cry, heck, you make people pay for this whole trip for us... You make people forget that their lives are a mess in those few minutes. You make worthless people want to be something better. You make them remember what's important in their lives. You... make their hearts race, their palms sweat, make it hard to breathe, their stomachs feel like they're filled with those cliché butterflies...

Sam swallowed. "You make them fall in love with you..."

"Sammy..." He could hear her voice crack and finally turned his head to face her. She was laying here facing him, her hair splayed out in flowing waves, her warm brown eyes brimming with tears. "Do you really think that happens when I sing?"

Sam realized that tears were threatening to leave his eyes as well. Without realizing it, he just poured his whole heart out to Mercedes. It was always filled with love for her. It was just a matter of time before it would tip over. Now was the moment.

It was now or never.

He propped himself back up on one elbow, turned and leaned over her, resting his other elbow on her other side. He leaned down so that his face was inches above hers. Her breath hitched. The sight made his heart stop for a moment. He never was this close to her face before. Now he could see the beautiful curve of her eyes, the cute slope of her nose, every groove on her lips that was hidden behind her lip gloss.

Now or never.

"Cedes, you're always doing things like that... at least to me." His words left him in a whisper. With her eyes trained on him in a deep connection with his, there was nothing left but to close the gap between their lips.

Years after that moment, it never failed to make his heart skip. Laying on his own bed alone, his head pounding, Sam bit his lip as he recalled the feeling of her lips. Soft, warm, full... as if they were made to fit against his.

He could have felt them again last night... but he ruined it.

Completely destroyed it.

No... well, yeah you did but you can fix it... or at least try to.

Sam threw himself out of bed, grabbed at his drawer for some aspirin, and went to get dressed. About thirty minutes later, he stepped out of his dorm into the cold and walked in the direction of Mercedes' dorm. He had no idea what he would say but he had to make some attempt at patching this up by telling her that it wasn't his intention to cross that line, that their friendship meant too much for him to treat it like a worthless fling. What he did was wrong. Completely wrong.

He walked staring at the cobblestones as they passed with each step and tried to come up with some cohesive thoughts that would persuade Mercedes to forgive and forget. But he immediately froze when he heard the voice of the very girl that he wanted to see.

"Jeffery... why are you here?" Sam slowly peered around the tall bush. He could see Mercedes' back clad in a purple sweater. Sam leaned to the side slightly to see that there was a tall dark skinned guy with a short cropped haircut standing in front of him. The guy was intimidating with his stature that slightly towered over Sam's. He made Mercedes look pretty small.

"Baby, I've been looking all over for you." This guy said with a soft smile. So this guy is her boyfriend? Sam felt his heart drop.

"Well, I haven't been looking for you." Mercedes said coldly. Well, on second thought, it doesn't seem like he was. An ex, more likely.

Jeffery stepped closer. "Why have you been ignoring my calls and texts?"

"I don't see any reason for us to talk." Mercedes crossed her arms.

Jeffery sighed. "Can't we just forget all of that stuff in the past and just focus on the present? I graduated with that extra summer semester and so I moved... near here! Isn't that great? I can come see you... maybe you can come move in with me." He stepped closer and touched her arm.

Mercedes threw his arm off. "Now why the HELL would I want that? Huh? Why would I want you to have anything to do with my life?" The look on her face was of pure anger.

The smile on Jeffery's face dropped leaving an almost stern look. "Mercy..."

"Don't call me that. You're not allowed to call me that after all you've done to me." Mercedes stepped back.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, you did."

Jeffery took a deep breath. "You're testing my patience..." He grabbed her arm again.

"Is this what you wanted? To come to me to test your patience? Test your anger? For me to be your punching bag again?" Mercedes tried to throw his arm off again but he held on tight.

"I came back to get what we had again."

"Well, I don't want it!" Mercedes nearly screamed and thrashed more.

"Mercedes, listen to me!" His voice getting more aggravated.

"NO!" She tried to push against him.

"MERCY!"

Sam couldn't take anymore of this. From the beginning he was already pissed at the guy. Now this was too much. He rushed out from behind the bush, grabbed Jeffery's hand, pried it open, and pushed at his chest. The taller boy stumbled a few feet.

"Get off her, she doesn't want you touching her!" Sam was shocked by his own scream. He could feel that his face was red with anger.

Jeffery's face showed a similar expression. "And why do you have a say in this? Who are YOU?" He looked at Mercedes who simply opened and closed her mouth. "Your new BOYFRIEND?"

Sam spoke up. "I don't need to be her boyfriend to see that you were invading her personal space." He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. It wasn't like he was innocent of that offense. "She doesn't want you here. She clearly never wanted to talk to you." He could recall the multiple times within the past few weeks when she ignored calls.

"She doesn't know what she wants right now." Jeffery shook his head.

"Yes, I do. I do know what I want. And what I want is for you to leave and never let me see your face here ever again." Mercedes said dangerously. Sam gave Jeffery a piercing glare and stepped forward to make sure he did just that.

Jeffery's lip twitched in almost a snarl. "Girl, you will want me back. Trust me. And I will come back for you." He turned on his heel and walked away.

Sam took deep breaths to calm himself. He could tell from the corner of his eye that Mercedes was doing the same. He turned to her and his heart broke when he realized that he could see fear in her tear-brimmed eyes.

"Cedes..." Sam began but he honestly didn't know what to say.

"He was my boyfriend back at Byrnes." Mercedes started coldly. "I started dating him freshman year, second semester. I didn't really like the school and I'll be honest, he was one of the reasons I stayed even though I told people it was because of my scholarships there." She wrapped her sweater tightly around herself. "Sophomore year, it was like he changed... or maybe he decided to show his real side. But he would get angry easily. If I talked back at him, even if it was just a little comment, he would lash out at me. One day I got sick of it. I yelled and ranted back at him. Told him exactly what was on my mind... He hit me. Really hard. I fell and got this." She rolled up her sleeve to show a four inch scar on the inside of her upper arm. "Even after that, he didn't let up. He never hit me again but you could just tell that he wanted to. I had to leave that place... to do what I should have done even before I met him and leave. I was distracted and I got my punishment for it."

Sam felt himself get cold. Why would anyone treat such a beautiful, amazing woman like that? There was no way she deserved it. He never wanted Mercedes to experience that pain again... any kind of pain. He wanted to protect her from a whole world of pain. He cautiously stepped toward her, wanting to wrap her in a hug but he wasn't sure that he would be allowed to.

"Last night..." Mercedes blurted out. Sam froze in shock. "Last night... I don't know if you felt anything from it... but I did." His heart skipped. "I guess those feelings that I had for you in high school never went away. And I found them again when I started getting close to you here. You're the same Sammy that I cared about back then."

Sam opened his mouth to respond. She interrupted, "But there's no way I can act on those feelings."

"Cedes, I feel the same wa-" He started.

"Did you see that, Sam? What he was like? I CAN'T DO IT. Sam, I know you're not like him. You're nothing like him. But what he did to me... I may not have broken bones but he left me broken." Mercedes' voice cracked. "Yeah, the strong diva, Mercedes Patrice Jones is broken. I am so much better than I was before... but there are still parts of me that hurt. I can't look back on that past. I have to focus on my future and my future only. Absolutely no distractions..."

Mercedes stepped closer to Sam, held his face, and softly brushed his cheek with her thumb. She was so close that he could feel her warm breath.

"And you're my biggest distraction." She let go and walked away.

It wasn't until she was out of sight that he released a breath that he was holding. Mercedes had every reason to push him away. Her trust in a significant other was completely broken. He couldn't argue with her about it. It wasn't just a matter of him proving his love to her again. He could give her love but there was no guarantee she was ready to receive it.

Sam sniffed and looked up at the hazy gray sky. He wasn't allowed to love her... at least not now. But he sure as hell was going to protect her.

Mercedes was going to heal completely. Sam was going to make sure of it.

A/N: You guys have no idea how PIVOTAL comments are at this point! I need you all to let me know what you think so it will help me continue the story! I'm serious! IT'S IMPORTANT! Thank you so much for reading all of this story! I really appreciate it.