Doo Wop (That Thing)
Success is no accident, it is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
I don't want to plagiarise, so I'll just quickly set the scene, Mercedes performed for the polyester suit competition, so jump forward a few scenes and we're in the classroom, Sam's just shown her the video of her singing, telling her amongst other things that she's cream rising to the top, then their kiss...
"I wasn't lying in class" she pulled away from his unexpected kiss
"About?"
"I really don't know the first thing about the music business"
"I've been there, where you are right now, sitting in that uncertainty, and I can help" he smiled pulling her face back to his "Let me help" his eyes begging
"Sam" she moaned at the tempting situation, trying to pull her face out of his hand
"Just trust me" he held her face firmly and looked deeper into her eyes "Do you trust me?"
"Yes"
"Okay" he smiled letting her face go "I'll come to yours tonight about seven?"
"What are you up to?" she grinned
"Seven" they both looked at the noise coming from the corridor "I better get out of here; we don't want Mr T getting ideas" he headed for the door
"Shane already knows, remember?"
"I know he knows; he just hasn't done anything about it yet, I'm on my guard"
"He's not like that" she smiled, shaking her head at the two guys fighting over her, that was never going to happen, she'd never been that serious about Shane, she just never liked hurting him.
"For the record" he popped his head around the open door "None of us are like that, until we have to be"
"Is that a fact" she giggled
They hadn't spoken for nearly two months but somehow that brief encounter had got them back on track, by the end of class he was sending messages again, emoji after emoji, just like the days gone by. The afternoon went quickly, as usual she walked home with Kurt, Mike, and Tina, but without telling them about her conversation with Sam. All the way home she felt anxious about spending time with him, she knew how she felt about him, but her mother had said it so many times infatuation isn't love, and you can learn that the easy or the hard way, she knew only too well her way was definitely going to be hard.
19:00
"Hey" he smiled at her waiting at the door, he lived half a block away, so he'd got the journey to her house timed to the second
"Hey, on the dot" she smiled moving to the side to let him in "This better be good" she was drawn by his teasing eyes when he stopped in front of her his heated breath hitting her face
"Sam" her mom came walking towards the door forcing him to move to walk towards the woman "Great to see you two back together again" she hugged him, "She's been terrible to live with"
"Mom" Mercedes rolled her eyes
"Good to be back Mrs Jones" Sam grinned at Mercedes over her mother's shoulder
"We're going in the back room" Mercy snapped pulling him off her mom to follow her "Why didn't you let me put her straight?"
"If you'd have wanted to, you'd have told her" he laughed
"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to embarrass you, smart ass" she snapped at him "So, what's this plan?"
"Are you going to be salty all night?"
"What's the plan Sam?" she rolled her eyes, signalling she wasn't about to get into that with him
"Okay" he walked into the back room, watching her close the door as he sat on the familiar couch "Remember my Justin Bieber experience?"
"No" she snapped
"You don't remember it, I thought..." he sat forward
"No Sam" she laughed "I mean no way am I doing that" she shook her head defiantly
"Why?" he laughed "It went well, you girls were rocking, the guys decided to take on the experience, it was a good idea"
"You're talking Justin Bieber?"
"Not for you" he laughed "I mean take one of your icons and rock the hell out of them, get that confidence you need, when you feel you've done your best, we could do another video, professional this time and just send it out"
"That's your plan?"
"That's my plan" he sat back pleased with himself "And it's going to work"
"Work?" she asked unsure
"It will, trust me, maybe we won't do any of your usual stuff, you could try something new, versa whatever that word is"
"Versatility" she laughed "I can't believe this idea's going round my mind" she held her head "Sam" she looked at him in disbelief
"Trust me"
"I can't believe I'm putting my whole career in your hands"
"They're good hands" he held his hand out "You know" his tone deepened "We're going to be in each other's pockets for a while, until we get this right?"
"I know" she smiled
"So" he looked at her coyly "As we'll be together, and..." he looked around the room nervously before sitting up "Prom will probably happen in the middle of this experience thing..." he looked into her eyes "Will you be my date?"
"You asked that already" she laughed
"And you said no because you didn't want to hurt Mr T, but I saw him..."
"I know, he's with someone else now" she moved uncomfortably at the mention of the man, reminding her of her actions
"So, that changes everything doesn't it?" he watched her face as she questioned the question wondering which way she was going to go
"So" she smiled at him "Will you be my date?"
"Yes" he laughed "Mercedes Jones, you had me fretting then"
"It's kind of a tradition for us, isn't it?"
"Two out of three isn't bad, promise me you'll come back for my final prom next year"
"We'll see"
"Remember I asked" he smiled "And since we'll be going to prom together, it makes sense that we should..."
"Sam" she frowned "You're pushing it now"
"You know you want to be my girl Mercedes" he frowned back "And you also know I'm helping you right now because I want to get you the hell out of here, so, I understand what this is"
"As long as you understand" she moved back at him moving closer to her "You're doing that thing again" she giggled
"I'm about to make these the best two months of your life" he smiled, before grabbing her lips with his
"I'm going to hold you to that" she laughed when he let her mouth go "Now this not Justin Bieber experience, what do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking you've already done the hell out of most of the Diva's although we can never have too much of those" he smiled "So, what don't you listen to?"
"That's a hard one, you know Mr S has us doing everything from the dark ages to today, I listen to everything"
"Anything you don't like?"
"Nothing" she shook her head "Choose something for me, what do you think might suit?"
"You're not getting me like that, you choose your song" he laughed
"Okay" she frowned "At seven thirty we turn the radio on, whichever female comes on, I'll do a song by them"
"Songs" he grinned at the look on her face, turning his head away to deliver the next bit of the challenge "It has to be like a mini concert"
"To who?"
"Oh" he looked back at her "I probably never told anyone I performed for a bunch of school kids, bar mitzvahs, birthdays and stuff, before I actually did that Bieber number in front of you guys"
"No way"
"Yes way" he laughed "You've got to find your audience"
"This is a prank, isn't it?" she giggled "You nearly got me"
"No" he looked deep into her eyes "I wouldn't do that to you" he grabbed her hand "Everything will be alright, I promise" he watched her eyes moved around the room, trying to find an excuse not to do this
"It's seven thirty" she finally announced, getting up to go see what hand the radio was going to deal her
"Whoever comes first, we agreed"
"Now I'm scared" she laughed nervously
"I got you" he smiled and somehow, she knew he had
"Who's this?" she asked at the unfamiliar intro blasting at them "No way"
"Yes way" he laughed "You can do this" they sat listening to the song "You can make anything work"
"Will you play guitar for me; I really don't fancy being up there alone" she pointed at him
"That wasn't the purpose of this little project"
"It was, I need to get my thing on, and you said you'd help me"
"I meant to get you doing your thing"
"I do my thing better with you there" she winked
"Stop playing with me" he laughed "I barely get to touch your ass; on top of your clothes, I might add"
"Don't tell me you're not enjoying the wait?"
"I'll tell you I'm up to rubbing one out three times a day now" he grinned at her blush, he did that on purpose, she loved to start these conversations but had no idea how to close them down
"Sam" she screwed her face embarrassed
"You asked" he laughed
"The singer?" she changed the subject fast
"We both know it's the very talented Ms Keys, and I must say her sound suits your voice"
"You say that about every artist" she laughed
"Because it's true" he laughed "Listen, I've still got a couple of contacts from my Bieber days, I'll feel around see if anyone's interested, we'll find a couple of songs and we can practice the hell out of them, just in case"
"Why do we need a couple?"
"I was in demand back then you know, one song isn't enough sometimes"
"I can imagine twelve-year-olds going wild over your ass"
"It wasn't just them, their mothers were worse" he laughed
"And we all know you have a thing for cougars"
"Don't start all that" he rolled his eyes "It happened, I apologised, you forgave me, case closed" he grabbed for her, smiling at her being too fast for him "Come here" he raised his eyebrows at her seductively
"Here you go" she laughed, walking towards him
"Yep, I'm doing that thing again" he smiled "I grab those lips at every opportunity I can get" he pulled her into him and kissed her again "I call dibs on those you know that, right?"
"Now my lips belong to you?" she sat back
"Both pairs" he looked down her body
"Sam" she tapped his chest and got up "You always have to smut the mood"
"It's not smut, it's sex" he laughed "Say the word"
"Smut" she giggled
"Prude"
"I can say the word sex, I just choose not to"
"Why?" he grinned "Because you'll start thinking about it?"
"I think about it, I just refuse to act on it"
"How many times a day?" he pulled her back to him
"Every time I think about you" she giggled
"Tease" he laughed
"Don't believe me then" she giggled, letting him kiss her again "The songs" she made to get off his chest
"Hey" he grabbed her attention "We're end game, whatever happens, we're it"
"You say the craziest things" she laughed "You're only eighteen, how do you know what's going to happen with us?" she huffed
"I know you're going off to college, and I'm going to do my modelling thing, I believe that"
"I believe that too, but"
"No but's we speak truth to it" the smile on his face turned to that serious look he had when he wanted her to take him seriously
"You get so serious sometimes" she looked into his eyes "Song" she brought the conversation back to topic
"Yep" he let her up and jumped up himself "I better get going before your mom comes in accusing me of giving you your first orgasm"
"Sam" she smiled slapping his chest, not willing to tell him she'd had multiple orgasms from him already, suddenly, as if on timer, her mom interrupted before they could get one more kiss, and then he was gone.
Two Weeks Later
Over the next weeks practice went pretty much as they'd expected it to, more making out than putting things together, she'd chosen her song, he'd contacted some people he knew, who were interested in booking them, and everything was set.
By the time prom came about they had nothing else to think about but dresses and suits. "So" Kurt hugged his books as Tina, Mercedes and he walked through the corridor to their lesson two days before prom "Prom, have you decided if you're coming with us or T and Mike?" he asked Mercy
"Sam asked" she smiled "Well actually I asked him" she rolled her eyes moving her head with the action
"I thought you two weren't speaking?" Tina turned to ask
"Well, he asked first then I asked, and we both said yes so, it's nothing, I mean I leave in two weeks, so you know" she shrugged her shoulders
"You two not up for the long-distance thing then?" Kurt asked "Blaine and I are..."
"I know Kurt" Mercedes stopped him "That's not Sam and I, he's young, fit, he wants to be a damn model for god sake, he might not understand what that means, but I do, and I don't want to be the one holding him back" she huffed "And he doesn't want to hold me back"
"I thought you were going to our local college, what's to hold back?" Tina asked puzzled
"I want to go to LA, I want to sing big, fat..."
"Juicy, number one songs that inspire people" Kurt nodded "I was listening to you Mercedes, and you're going to do that"
"No doubt" Tina smiled "But I heard it's lonely at the top, you need somebody"
"Are you saying you don't think that someone is Sam?" Kurt questioned Tina
"Of course, it's Sam, but not right now" Mercedes confirmed
"And what if he finds someone else in the wait?" Tina asked
"If that's what I'll be worrying about, then he's not the one, is he?" she looked from one to the other "I trust in our love, and he does too"
"Okay" Tina and Kurt looked at each other unsure if they were satisfied with her response
"Prom is going to be off the chart" Tina snapped, changing the mood as well as the conversation
"We're starting off at the Anti-prom party Rachel and I cooked up" Kurt informed them
"Note to Kurt, you won't be seeing me there" Tina told him
"Sam and I might pass by after prom finishes, Rachel did say it was on till the wee hours" Mercedes reminded them "But it's going to be weird not seeing you and Blaine at our very last prom"
"I feel bad" Kurt frowned "I'll ask him if we can pass through"
"Great" Mercedes smiled as they walked into class.
Prom went as it should have gone, they were all proud of Finn and Rachel being Prom king and queen, but the fact that she wanted to dismiss the whole prom thing for some alternative, left a bit of a bitter pill in some mouths, Santana went to the Heights again. Then as quickly as the excitement of their prom came, it was gone and Mercedes was stood sweating behind the heavy green velvet stage curtains waiting to be introduced to a crowd of forty somethings, hoping she wasn't about to mess up their reunion. At the last minute they'd asked for something lively, so Sam had chosen a second song, he called it the song of the summer, to get them moving.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Samcedes" a man yelled at the rowdy crowd
"Who are they?" Mercedes asked Sam
"Us" he laughed "We needed a name"
"Sam..."
"Come on" he grabbed her hand "They're waiting" she couldn't argue, she squeezed his hand and followed him onto the stage, as if things weren't already tense, the band started playing the wrong song "Go with it" Sam hissed grabbing his guitar. At First the silence made her nervous; she looked at Sam, his smile made her carry on, then suddenly the room came alive, everyone started dancing. By the end of the gig she was a success, on all level's she felt like she'd got her gratification, they'd been paid, and with that first wage they went for a celebratory meal to breadsticks.
Two Weeks Later
By the second weekend performing was old hat to them, after four performances and nothing else booked he finally said what was on his mind "I think you're ready" he smiled as they sat huddled in the booth, surrounded by their favourite eats "We have no more gigs, you're ready"
"Do you think?"
"Mercedes" he leaned towards her "You've always been ready, the only thing holding you back is you" he grabbed her hand "And I was hoping you'd feel that after doing all these gigs"
"In the moment I do" she assured him
"You know, our whole lives are full of moments" he squeezed her hand "We need to treat every performance as a moment, crave those moments, and trust me, you'll always bring out the best of you, you have no other speed"
"Why do you believe in me so much?"
"When you sing, you make me, and everyone that hears you believes in you too, I told you that already"
"Babe" she smiled "I'm going to miss you"
"So, don't dump me" his eyes begged
"Sam" she moaned "I'm not dumping you; I thought you said you understood?"
"I do" he smiled "Doesn't mean I have to like it, and for the record, I don't"
"I got that" she rolled her eyes grinning at him
"You got me too, when you're ready we'll have this conversation again" he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, she let him for a while, but when she noticed Blaine stood at the table, she pulled away
"Dude" Blaine snapped Sam spun round surprised
"Dude" he bumped fists with his friend
"I thought you were meeting Mike and me to go through that routine for nationals?"
"I am" he looked at his phone "Totally lost track of time" he looked at Mercedes "I'll get Mercedes home and get straight there"
"I thought you were spending the evening with Kurt and Tiina at hers?" Blaine looked at Mercedes
"Nine" she checked her phone "I've got a few minutes yet"
"I'll walk you to Tina's" Sam got up
"I might as well walk with you" Blaine invited himself, Mercedes got up and followed them out of Breadsticks
There was nothing hidden about Blaine's gripe of Finn always getting the lead, when he thought he was a much better singer than Finn and deserved that male lead spot. He found it hard to have the mundane conversation with Kurt, them being kind of related and all, so Sam's ear was the next best thing.
"Am I wrong?" he suddenly asked, Sam had no idea where he'd got to in his rant Mercedes and he were busy having their non-verbal conversation, looks, facial expressions, hand gestures, they'd grown used to that kind of communication with the on and off secret relationship thing they had going on.
"About?" Mercedes asked knowing Sam had no clue
"Asking Mr S for the lead spot on the duet with Rachel"
"You'd have a better chance trying for one with Kurt, Finn is not going to see his girl singing to someone else" she told him
"Good idea" Blaine walked along pondering the possibility "Afterall, Kurt is a great singer"
"Exceptional" Mercedes corrected him "This is me" they stopped outside Tina's house
"I'm leaving Mike's around eleven, I'll pick you up on the way" Sam told her
"Great" she smiled at him before walking towards Tina's front door, five more steps and they were at Mike's
"So" Blaine had decided to wait until Mike was there to broach the subject "What's the deal with Mercedes and you?"
"You're with Mercedes again?" Mike asked surprised "Makes sense really, she's staying local, isn't she?"
"No, she's going to LA" Sam told them
"I thought she said..." Mike looked puzzled
"I'm, well, we're working on that" Sam told them
"Pray tell" Blaine's ears perked up
"She'll tell everyone when she's ready"
"Why is she always so secretive?" Blaine asked "One minute you two look like you're a thing, the next you're sitting in opposite corners, you need to sort this whatever it is between you out"
"We know what we are, she's complicated"
"Is that really what you need going into your final year?" Mike asked "I mean T and I have talked about it, and I personally think a clean break is best"
"I thought you two were solid" Sam's jaw dropped
"We're teenagers dude" Mike frowned "We've got so much life to live before we start thinking about settling down, my high school sweetheart?" he asked "Dude please"
"I'm going to marry Kurt" Blaine announced
"And that's great for you and Kurt, it's just not for me, not right now"
"I don't know how, when, or where it's going to happen, but I know Mercedes and I are endgame" Sam laughed "She's going places, got things to do with her life, but when she gets where she needs to be, I know in my heart she's mine"
"You sound like love drunk Puck" Mike laughed "Or worse still brain crushed Finn, they are totally whipped"
"Love tends to do that to you" Blaine laughed
"The song" Sam brought the conversation back to topic, business was sorted out fast, the cab was called, and everyone went home
One Week Later
After their last performance, Sam had finally talked Mercedes into performing for the class, so he could get it all recorded and uploaded, because there isn't much time left. He'd already got her to agree to sign up for some extension classes at UCLA, all he needed now was to get her into the music thing so he could sit back and watch her rise to the top.
"I'm not sure about this?" she stood in the doorway watching the choir messing about "They don't look in the mood for an impromptu session"
"Come here" he grabbed hold of her and pulled her close "I'm about to do that thing again" he grinned, she closed her eyes and took his kiss, she needed it, her stomach was doing its usual summersaults.
"My stomach" she held it trying to control the churning
"I'd be worried if you didn't have any nerves" he peeped through the door "Everyone's settling" he took her hug, while they listened to Mr S telling the class to be supportive, then they were up
"I can't" she pulled back
"You can" he held her hand
"No" she snatched her hand away "I can't"
"I'll do it with you" he caved in not wanting her to give up
"You will?"
"Come on" he walked in, found a song, and gave Blaine the phone to record "This is iconic for us because Mahalia is such a trail blazer" he looked at Mercedes "And my girl's going to be one too"
Mercedes (Sam): Don't want to close my eyes for a minute, cause I miss you every time I go to sleep
And dreaming's not as good as life with you in it, uh, so I lie awake and try not to blink
I can offer you my word (offer you), I'll love you even if you hurt me, and you might, yeah, you might
I'll keep a picture of you in my purse (in my purse) In case you leave me on this earth cause you might, yeah, you might
Chorus
I'll be right there till the flame turns to an amber, I'll be right there until you can't remember
How we met that winter night back in November (Yeah), I'll be right there, I'll be right there forever (Sam: Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
Sam (Mercedes): I'm in love (I'm in love), I'll admit it, this feeling runs deep in my soul
And they said we wouldn't last (wouldn't last) but we did it (Yeah, we did it, babe) you're my angel, your light guides me home
I just want to see you shine, I'll love you till the end of time and then I'll write it, yes, I'll write it
In every verse and every line (In every verse and every line) to let the world know that you're mine
(Sam: oh, girl, don't) girl, don't fight it, girl, don't fight
It wasn't about proving herself to everyone, she felt she did that every time she opened her mouth in this room, it was more about her acknowledgement of what was potentially her own greatness.
Both: I pray things never change And I hope you feel the same, cause I could never imagine seeing better days without you I'll hold your heart to share the weight I'll be there to take the pain away, yeah, I'll be right... 'November' by Mahalia & Stormzy
Suddenly they were done, she watched Tina and Kurt coming towards her, they were her best friends, she loved them dearly, but in that moment, there was only one opinion that mattered, her eyes searched the room to find his, he was already tending to the video.
He looked at her, his whole face smiling "Good?" she mouthed
"Perfect" he smiled, putting his phone away to make his way to her "I'm about to do that thing again" he smiled grabbing hold of her to everyone's gasps
"When did that happen?" someone asked, they paid no attention, because she really didn't mind going public
Two Weeks Later
"I can't believe you got me here" Mercedes hugged Sam as they stood at the train station
"You got yourself here, and I knew you could" he hugged her tighter "I'm going to miss the hell out of you" he whispered in her ear
"How much you'll never know" she whispered back "But I'm coming back for you, don't know when or how, but when I do" she lifted her head and tapped his chest "You better be ready for it"
"Oh, I'll be ready" he laughed as the train blew its whistle "It's that time again" he warned
"We're going to do that thing" she giggled grabbing his top to get her kiss