Her only defence was that she'd had a little too much to drink. It was hardly a reasonable excuse, but it was her only justification.

Mercedes was surrounded by her new 'music mates' as Sam called them ('alliteration is awesome Mercy! Don't mock it!). People she'd met whilst breaking into the New York music scene. She'd been in this 'artsy' bar for the past 1 hour and a bit, hanging out with some familiar faces (Kurt, Blaine, Mike, Tina) and some new faces (Henry, Evelyn, Jimmy, Angel), when Sam had arrived.

He'd texted her earlier to say his muse had struck and he had to get his new comic ideas down so he'd be late. But as he rocked up in his blue jeans, green button down and converse, heads turned. When he stopped in front of their table, Tina and Mike moved out of the booth so Sam could slide in.

"Hey Mercy!" He smiled cheerfully and kissed he on the cheek before turning and conversing with Mike. Mercedes giggled at the nickname that sounded slightly more amusing in her inhibited state, before one of her new friends caught the attention of the table with a question.

"So Mercedes, who's this?" Angel had asked the question. Her pale hand fiddling with the bright multi-coloured glasses perched on her nose as Kurt fussed over her natural red hair.

Everyone stopped. Mercedes Glee friends interested in hearing her answer, her knew friends genuinely wondering whom the strange, white, blonde dude was now sitting with them. Mercedes quickly swallowed the… well she wasn't quite sure what the drink was called, but it tasted delicious, before she answered.

She gave Sam a quick smile before turning to the group. "This is Sam. He's my…" And she froze. Her face stuck in that gleeful, yet panicked expression. She didn't know what to call him. 'Boyfriend' sounded too teenager, as if they'd start making out any second and be home past curfew. 'Partner' sounded as if they had just danced in a competitive waltz, and had Kurt and Blaine's relationship connotations stuck all over it.

Everyone was staring at her, waiting for an answer. Sam gave a polite cough from next to her. "Lover" instantly made everyone picture them having sex. "Soul Mate" sounded so pretentious that Mercedes would have rolled her eyes as she said it. Then it occurred to her, the only way out of this completely awkward situation was humour. Unfortunately for her, Mercedes definition of humour altered when she was slightly tipsy.

"He's my…bitch." Mercedes trailed off.