Take Me Back To That Day: Chapter 3
Title: Take Me Back To That Day
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Samcedes
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: On-going/Multi-chaptered
Spoilers: Season 2/3 (?)
Summary: Mercedes Jones, a strong-willed college student, decided to take control of her future by transferring to another school. She didn't know that the move would also take her back to the past.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
A/N: I feel like I made Sam's point of view a little denser than the past two chapters with Mercedes. I think that I'll be focusing on Mercedes's point of view a little more in this story. I'm still not sure about this, we'll see! I had fun writing this chapter! Enjoy!
Sam hurried down the staircase and pushed himself out of the front door. He immediately felt the warm summer breeze and he smiled to himself. He was so glad to be back at Richter.
As he walked from his dorm on the far east side of campus to the big field in the center of campus, Sam nodded to people who waved and said 'hey'. Despite their enthusiastic greetings, he didn't know half of these people, but it wasn't anything new to him. That was the life of a quarterback. He appreciated the recognition, it was a result of his hard work as a member of the football team, but he definitely learned to not let it get to his head. His past experience, especially his high school years, taught him that popularity wasn't everything. It could easily be taken away from you and you would be thrown to the bottom. Popularity really had no significance in his life especially when it came to familial hardships. It also didn't give him the people he cared the most about.
Sam learned to be thankful for everything that he had been given. Since high school, his family got back on their feet, Sam was able to focus on his studies rather than just working to keep his family afloat. He finally overcame his dyslexia and improved so much that he managed not only to get a sports scholarship but also a small but helpful academic scholarship that paid his tuition. He was so worried about having to be even more of a burden to his family after high school, but his prayers were answered.
When he started college, he managed to get decent grades and he worked hard on the field. In his sophomore year, he was bumped up to starting quarterback. It was a huge surprise to him as well as the whole college football division, but his coach made the right call and they soon became division champs. In just one year people were talking about him and the NFL draft picks. While that was flattering and honestly mindblowing, he wasn't completely enthusiastic about it. He wasn't so sure that was the career path that he wanted. As much as college life was treating him well, the prospect of life after college seemed almost a bit scary. He didn't want to tell anyone this. His family, his friends, and his school praised him too much to show his concerns. He didn't want to disappoint anyone... so he just kept it to himself for the time being.
Once he made it to the field, he noticed that two of his football buddies were already over there throwing the ball back and forth. He hurried over to them, wanting to talk about a few plays that coach told him after their last summer practice but he was stopped by a loud yell.
"SAM!"
Sam cringed. With a sigh, he turned towards the owner of the voice. A group of girls were laying out about twenty feet away. The brunette waved him over.
Gah, he was too nice for his own good.
He walked slowly towards the group of girls clad in shorts and bikini tops. "Hey girls. Hey... Megan." After the rest flirtatiously said their 'hey's, he directed his attention to the girl sitting up closest to where he was standing.
Megan lowered her glasses to show her gold makeup. "Hey, Sammy. What have you been up to this summer?"
DON'T call me Sammy. "Nothing much. Working. Practicing."
"That's cute." Cute? "The girls and I went on a trip to the Bahamas. Wish you were there!" The other girls nodded with big smiles adding their comments on how fun it was.
"That's too bad." Lies. I could care less.
"Well, we're making some big plans for Spring Break already. Can you say CANCUN?"
Sam fought really hard not to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I think I can say it... but I think I'll be busy that week. Ya know, football and all that." He hoped the disdain wasn't dripping out of his words.
The girls laughed. "You're so funny, Sammy!" Megan threw her head back. He looked up knowing that she was probably trying to show off her chest. Gag me. "Well, think about it. You have plenty of time. I'm sure you can get yourself around that schedule.
"Sure." Sam bluntly responded. "Okay, so I'm going to play ball with the guys. I'll talk to ya'll later. Bye!" He forced a smile, turned and left before they could properly respond. He didn't really care. He was making a beeline for Chad on the other side of the field. Once Sam got closer to the tall dark haired boy who was about to catch the ball, he ran over and made it just in time to intercept the ball.
"'Ey, that's not cool, Sam!" Chad threw his hands up.
Sam turned around and shoved the ball against the taller man's chest. "Don't you ever set me up on a date again." Sam threatened him. "You are shitty at it." Before he could scare his friend even more, he laughed and ruffled his friends hair.
Chad backed up out of the blonde's reach. "Well, hello to you too, dude..." He threw the ball over Sam's head to the short stocky, dark skinned boy.
"What's wrong with Megan, Sunshine mah boy?" Damon caught the ball. "She's hot and it looks like you two were having a merry ol' time over there." He threw the ball to Sam.
"On the contrary. She was just bragging about Cancun and the Bahamas to herself. No way I'm getting involved in that." Sam caught the ball and threw a perfect spiral to Chad. "You guys seriously need to stop throwing girls at me..."
Chad caught the ball. "Hey, the only reason we do it is because you don't go out there get a girl yourself! You're all work and no play. For a guy who could get any girl he wants here, you're scoring really low on the hit list." He noticed that few more of the guys arrived and threw the ball halfway across the field to their runningback.
Sam scoffed, "I don't need to score really high on your so-called 'hit list'." He made air quotes with his hands. "I don't think there's anything wrong with having one girlfriend and a few dates in the two years I've been here. Hell, I don't really care if I get another girlfriend in college."
Chad and Damon stared at him for a moment. "Seriously?" Damon looked at Sam as if just said he wanted to wear a pink leotard.
Sam shrugged and caught the ball their cornerback just threw back. "I'm just saying I'm not looking right now. Just whatever happens happens..."
"What are you women gossiping about?" Zach, their runningback sporting the long dreads jogged over to them.
"Sam's love life... or lack thereof." Chad smirked.
Their cornerback, Jake, caught up with them. "Oh yeah, Sam! You need to get you some ASS."
Sam threw a hard spiral at him. "What do you mean, I need to get me some ass?"
Jake shrugged as he threw the ball to Damon, "It's called taking care of our quarterback... We need another division win." Everyone else nodded.
Sam ran a hand over his face. "What does getting any and getting a division championship have to do with each other? I was single last year!"
Chad laughed. "Still seems like a good idea."
"I can't believe I have to deal with you guys everyday." Sam shook his head.
"You love us, don't deny!" Damon laughed and the others joined in.
It was over his teammates' laughter that he heard another laugh. It was definitely not one of the guys. It was higher, it was unrestrained but almost melodic.
He knew that laugh.
Sam turned his head towards that laugh. He saw the group of girls. It could have been one of them... No, there it was again. He looked farther in the distance and saw a couple of girls walking in their direction. There was a blonde with short hair and glasses and there was a shorter dark skinned girl with long straight brown hair.
He squinted. There was something familiar about that one girl. She laughed again. Yup, REALLY familiar. The pair walked around Megan and the others, and made their way through the group playing Frisbee towards them. It was then that he could really see her face.
No way.
It isn't.
Can't be.
Is it... "Mercedes?" Sam heard himself say.
Before the girl passed their group, she stopped and turned around making her friend unknowingly stop as well.
Ten feet away, there was no doubt that it was her. She looked so different... and yet the same. Her eyes. That nose. Those lips. "Sam..." Her voice.
That was Mercedes Jones. That girl he left years ago in Lima, Ohio.
"Mercedes..." Sam was struggling because he felt like his breath caught in his throat. "You... Long time no see."
Her eyes that were once wide open relaxed into her smile. That smile. Something he would never forget. It never failed to give him that feeling like he was given a hug. "Yeah, it's been a while, Sam."
His initial shock was fading away giving in to another question. "Are you a student here? I've never seen you around." He knew this was a big campus, but a girl like Mercedes who made her presence known would never be going around this campus invisible for years.
Sam wasn't sure how but for some reason she just looked different. He wasn't talking about her body. It was something in her eyes. "Yeah, you haven't. I transferred from Byrnes." Those eyes looked up at him.
His mouth couldn't help but form a grin at this news. "Well, that's great! Welcome to Richter!" It was amazing to have someone come back from his past like this. During that time when he truly got to know her, it was the most difficult phase he ever had to face in his life, but it was also a time when he went through the most growth. He learned so much. He never regretted going through it. Seeing Mercedes in front of him brought those memories back in full force.
"Thanks! I'm happy to be here!" That warm smile again.
Her friend tapped her on the arm. "Mercy? We should be going now. The others are probably on their way." If she just transferred, how did that girl know her nickname? Her family called her Mercy. He was the only one that called her Cedes.
"Oh, okay." Mercedes turned back to him with a flip over her hair. "I'm sorry. I gotta go. It was great seeing you again." He didn't like how she said that. It just seemed so... impersonal.
"Alright. I guess I'll see you around." Sam tried his best to toss aside what seemed like an attempt to push him away.
"Yeah, I'll see you around..." Mercedes smiled before letting her friend pull her away. That's a start.
Oh, and she may have changed her figure a bit but...
Damn, she still had that ass...
"Yo." Sam snapped out of it and turned to Damon. "Who was that chick?"
It was then that he realized that four guys were listening in on his conversation with Mercedes. "Oh... She... went to my high school back when I was living in Ohio."
"And?" Zach raised an eyebrow.
"And what?" Sam flinched nervously.
Jake crossed his arms and smirked. "AND... that look you were giving her when you were talking NOT to mention the fact you were giving her a good checking out of her backside does not tell me that you were just classmates in high school."
He never could to fool these guys. "Yeah." Sam let out a goofy grin. "She and I had some... history." He opened his hands, asking for the ball.
Damon threw it at Sam and let out a big cackle. "Chad! You were aaaall wrong!" He stomped at the ground. "You were throwin' the wrong stuff at Sunshine! He prefers CHOCOLATE!" The other boys started laughing with him. Zach let out a whooping laugh and fell over on the grass. Sam had to hold his face to hide the blush that was clear as day. He stood behind what he said about his frustrations dealing with those guys everyday.
Luckily with enough threatening they shut up just in time before more of the guys arrived. They played late into the night. Someone started a bet. Before he knew it, it was about 12:30am. Since practice was early in the morning, most of the guys went back to their dorms. Sam and a couple of the guys from the defensive line struck up a conversation on the way back. That conversation went a bit longer than expected so they stopped by the fountain to talk more. They were relaying the defensive plays and the offensive plays to each other with some jokes about the coach mixed in.
Mid-sentence, Sam heard a laugh. There was definitely no mistaking it again. He kept talking to the guys but he looked in the direction of the laugh. There she was again with her friend, this time they looked like... yeah, they were tipsy.
"Looks like people are starting early." Everett, their linebacker, quipped.
Sam laughed. Mercedes was always the happy drunk. "Yeah, looks like it." He looked up at her and realized she was closer... and looking straight at him. The alcohol glazed her eyes over a little, but there was no mistaking the sincere connection between them. He saw it again. That look in her eyes.
Before he could think more about it, Mercedes turned to her friend and was playing around with her. The look they shared seemed long forgotten.
Sam didn't know what it was he saw in those eyes... but he swore he was going to find out.
A/N: Reviews are my lifeblood... if there are no reviews, I die. If I die, the story dies. Take THAT into consideration. I'm all jokes (but really, they still matter!) Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter finished ASAP!
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Samcedes
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: On-going/Multi-chaptered
Spoilers: Season 2/3 (?)
Summary: Mercedes Jones, a strong-willed college student, decided to take control of her future by transferring to another school. She didn't know that the move would also take her back to the past.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
A/N: I feel like I made Sam's point of view a little denser than the past two chapters with Mercedes. I think that I'll be focusing on Mercedes's point of view a little more in this story. I'm still not sure about this, we'll see! I had fun writing this chapter! Enjoy!
Sam hurried down the staircase and pushed himself out of the front door. He immediately felt the warm summer breeze and he smiled to himself. He was so glad to be back at Richter.
As he walked from his dorm on the far east side of campus to the big field in the center of campus, Sam nodded to people who waved and said 'hey'. Despite their enthusiastic greetings, he didn't know half of these people, but it wasn't anything new to him. That was the life of a quarterback. He appreciated the recognition, it was a result of his hard work as a member of the football team, but he definitely learned to not let it get to his head. His past experience, especially his high school years, taught him that popularity wasn't everything. It could easily be taken away from you and you would be thrown to the bottom. Popularity really had no significance in his life especially when it came to familial hardships. It also didn't give him the people he cared the most about.
Sam learned to be thankful for everything that he had been given. Since high school, his family got back on their feet, Sam was able to focus on his studies rather than just working to keep his family afloat. He finally overcame his dyslexia and improved so much that he managed not only to get a sports scholarship but also a small but helpful academic scholarship that paid his tuition. He was so worried about having to be even more of a burden to his family after high school, but his prayers were answered.
When he started college, he managed to get decent grades and he worked hard on the field. In his sophomore year, he was bumped up to starting quarterback. It was a huge surprise to him as well as the whole college football division, but his coach made the right call and they soon became division champs. In just one year people were talking about him and the NFL draft picks. While that was flattering and honestly mindblowing, he wasn't completely enthusiastic about it. He wasn't so sure that was the career path that he wanted. As much as college life was treating him well, the prospect of life after college seemed almost a bit scary. He didn't want to tell anyone this. His family, his friends, and his school praised him too much to show his concerns. He didn't want to disappoint anyone... so he just kept it to himself for the time being.
Once he made it to the field, he noticed that two of his football buddies were already over there throwing the ball back and forth. He hurried over to them, wanting to talk about a few plays that coach told him after their last summer practice but he was stopped by a loud yell.
"SAM!"
Sam cringed. With a sigh, he turned towards the owner of the voice. A group of girls were laying out about twenty feet away. The brunette waved him over.
Gah, he was too nice for his own good.
He walked slowly towards the group of girls clad in shorts and bikini tops. "Hey girls. Hey... Megan." After the rest flirtatiously said their 'hey's, he directed his attention to the girl sitting up closest to where he was standing.
Megan lowered her glasses to show her gold makeup. "Hey, Sammy. What have you been up to this summer?"
DON'T call me Sammy. "Nothing much. Working. Practicing."
"That's cute." Cute? "The girls and I went on a trip to the Bahamas. Wish you were there!" The other girls nodded with big smiles adding their comments on how fun it was.
"That's too bad." Lies. I could care less.
"Well, we're making some big plans for Spring Break already. Can you say CANCUN?"
Sam fought really hard not to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I think I can say it... but I think I'll be busy that week. Ya know, football and all that." He hoped the disdain wasn't dripping out of his words.
The girls laughed. "You're so funny, Sammy!" Megan threw her head back. He looked up knowing that she was probably trying to show off her chest. Gag me. "Well, think about it. You have plenty of time. I'm sure you can get yourself around that schedule.
"Sure." Sam bluntly responded. "Okay, so I'm going to play ball with the guys. I'll talk to ya'll later. Bye!" He forced a smile, turned and left before they could properly respond. He didn't really care. He was making a beeline for Chad on the other side of the field. Once Sam got closer to the tall dark haired boy who was about to catch the ball, he ran over and made it just in time to intercept the ball.
"'Ey, that's not cool, Sam!" Chad threw his hands up.
Sam turned around and shoved the ball against the taller man's chest. "Don't you ever set me up on a date again." Sam threatened him. "You are shitty at it." Before he could scare his friend even more, he laughed and ruffled his friends hair.
Chad backed up out of the blonde's reach. "Well, hello to you too, dude..." He threw the ball over Sam's head to the short stocky, dark skinned boy.
"What's wrong with Megan, Sunshine mah boy?" Damon caught the ball. "She's hot and it looks like you two were having a merry ol' time over there." He threw the ball to Sam.
"On the contrary. She was just bragging about Cancun and the Bahamas to herself. No way I'm getting involved in that." Sam caught the ball and threw a perfect spiral to Chad. "You guys seriously need to stop throwing girls at me..."
Chad caught the ball. "Hey, the only reason we do it is because you don't go out there get a girl yourself! You're all work and no play. For a guy who could get any girl he wants here, you're scoring really low on the hit list." He noticed that few more of the guys arrived and threw the ball halfway across the field to their runningback.
Sam scoffed, "I don't need to score really high on your so-called 'hit list'." He made air quotes with his hands. "I don't think there's anything wrong with having one girlfriend and a few dates in the two years I've been here. Hell, I don't really care if I get another girlfriend in college."
Chad and Damon stared at him for a moment. "Seriously?" Damon looked at Sam as if just said he wanted to wear a pink leotard.
Sam shrugged and caught the ball their cornerback just threw back. "I'm just saying I'm not looking right now. Just whatever happens happens..."
"What are you women gossiping about?" Zach, their runningback sporting the long dreads jogged over to them.
"Sam's love life... or lack thereof." Chad smirked.
Their cornerback, Jake, caught up with them. "Oh yeah, Sam! You need to get you some ASS."
Sam threw a hard spiral at him. "What do you mean, I need to get me some ass?"
Jake shrugged as he threw the ball to Damon, "It's called taking care of our quarterback... We need another division win." Everyone else nodded.
Sam ran a hand over his face. "What does getting any and getting a division championship have to do with each other? I was single last year!"
Chad laughed. "Still seems like a good idea."
"I can't believe I have to deal with you guys everyday." Sam shook his head.
"You love us, don't deny!" Damon laughed and the others joined in.
It was over his teammates' laughter that he heard another laugh. It was definitely not one of the guys. It was higher, it was unrestrained but almost melodic.
He knew that laugh.
Sam turned his head towards that laugh. He saw the group of girls. It could have been one of them... No, there it was again. He looked farther in the distance and saw a couple of girls walking in their direction. There was a blonde with short hair and glasses and there was a shorter dark skinned girl with long straight brown hair.
He squinted. There was something familiar about that one girl. She laughed again. Yup, REALLY familiar. The pair walked around Megan and the others, and made their way through the group playing Frisbee towards them. It was then that he could really see her face.
No way.
It isn't.
Can't be.
Is it... "Mercedes?" Sam heard himself say.
Before the girl passed their group, she stopped and turned around making her friend unknowingly stop as well.
Ten feet away, there was no doubt that it was her. She looked so different... and yet the same. Her eyes. That nose. Those lips. "Sam..." Her voice.
That was Mercedes Jones. That girl he left years ago in Lima, Ohio.
"Mercedes..." Sam was struggling because he felt like his breath caught in his throat. "You... Long time no see."
Her eyes that were once wide open relaxed into her smile. That smile. Something he would never forget. It never failed to give him that feeling like he was given a hug. "Yeah, it's been a while, Sam."
His initial shock was fading away giving in to another question. "Are you a student here? I've never seen you around." He knew this was a big campus, but a girl like Mercedes who made her presence known would never be going around this campus invisible for years.
Sam wasn't sure how but for some reason she just looked different. He wasn't talking about her body. It was something in her eyes. "Yeah, you haven't. I transferred from Byrnes." Those eyes looked up at him.
His mouth couldn't help but form a grin at this news. "Well, that's great! Welcome to Richter!" It was amazing to have someone come back from his past like this. During that time when he truly got to know her, it was the most difficult phase he ever had to face in his life, but it was also a time when he went through the most growth. He learned so much. He never regretted going through it. Seeing Mercedes in front of him brought those memories back in full force.
"Thanks! I'm happy to be here!" That warm smile again.
Her friend tapped her on the arm. "Mercy? We should be going now. The others are probably on their way." If she just transferred, how did that girl know her nickname? Her family called her Mercy. He was the only one that called her Cedes.
"Oh, okay." Mercedes turned back to him with a flip over her hair. "I'm sorry. I gotta go. It was great seeing you again." He didn't like how she said that. It just seemed so... impersonal.
"Alright. I guess I'll see you around." Sam tried his best to toss aside what seemed like an attempt to push him away.
"Yeah, I'll see you around..." Mercedes smiled before letting her friend pull her away. That's a start.
Oh, and she may have changed her figure a bit but...
Damn, she still had that ass...
"Yo." Sam snapped out of it and turned to Damon. "Who was that chick?"
It was then that he realized that four guys were listening in on his conversation with Mercedes. "Oh... She... went to my high school back when I was living in Ohio."
"And?" Zach raised an eyebrow.
"And what?" Sam flinched nervously.
Jake crossed his arms and smirked. "AND... that look you were giving her when you were talking NOT to mention the fact you were giving her a good checking out of her backside does not tell me that you were just classmates in high school."
He never could to fool these guys. "Yeah." Sam let out a goofy grin. "She and I had some... history." He opened his hands, asking for the ball.
Damon threw it at Sam and let out a big cackle. "Chad! You were aaaall wrong!" He stomped at the ground. "You were throwin' the wrong stuff at Sunshine! He prefers CHOCOLATE!" The other boys started laughing with him. Zach let out a whooping laugh and fell over on the grass. Sam had to hold his face to hide the blush that was clear as day. He stood behind what he said about his frustrations dealing with those guys everyday.
Luckily with enough threatening they shut up just in time before more of the guys arrived. They played late into the night. Someone started a bet. Before he knew it, it was about 12:30am. Since practice was early in the morning, most of the guys went back to their dorms. Sam and a couple of the guys from the defensive line struck up a conversation on the way back. That conversation went a bit longer than expected so they stopped by the fountain to talk more. They were relaying the defensive plays and the offensive plays to each other with some jokes about the coach mixed in.
Mid-sentence, Sam heard a laugh. There was definitely no mistaking it again. He kept talking to the guys but he looked in the direction of the laugh. There she was again with her friend, this time they looked like... yeah, they were tipsy.
"Looks like people are starting early." Everett, their linebacker, quipped.
Sam laughed. Mercedes was always the happy drunk. "Yeah, looks like it." He looked up at her and realized she was closer... and looking straight at him. The alcohol glazed her eyes over a little, but there was no mistaking the sincere connection between them. He saw it again. That look in her eyes.
Before he could think more about it, Mercedes turned to her friend and was playing around with her. The look they shared seemed long forgotten.
Sam didn't know what it was he saw in those eyes... but he swore he was going to find out.
A/N: Reviews are my lifeblood... if there are no reviews, I die. If I die, the story dies. Take THAT into consideration. I'm all jokes (but really, they still matter!) Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter finished ASAP!