So I came up with this story idea, while I was in a bus, listening (actually more like tuning out) to people sing bad karaoke. I hope the idea pays off. Lol.

Summary: Mercedes and Sam used to be best friends but they drifted apart after her sister's untimely death. Now eight years later, they have found each other again. Will they fix what was broken and possibly find something more?

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Glee or any of the songs that might be featured. I would be rich if I did. :)

It was the eighth anniversary of the death of Mercedes' sister, Melanie Jones. She couldn't believe that on that very day, eight years ago, her life had changed drastically. Long gone, was the young girl who had dreams of finding true love. The death of her sister had changed her, instead of dreaming she was now a realist. She knew that there was no such thing as a happily ever after, losing her sister so prematurely had taught her that.

It was a dreary morning, just like her current mood. Mercedes was standing at her sister's final resting place, holding on to her grave stone.

"I can't believe it's been eight years, I've missed you so much Mel." Mercedes said looking gloom.

"Life without you has been-" Mercedes broke off, too choked up by overwhelming emotions.

"I'm sorry... I know that I promised not to be sad, when I come to visit but I've been missing my older sister."

Mercedes walked into room 108, it was the hospital room that was provided for her sister. Melanie Jones was hooked up to wires that pumped medication into her body; she also had an oxygen mask to the left of her to be used when she had difficulty breathing. Mercedes noticed how gaunt and frail her sister looked, lying on the hospital bed. She missed seeing her older sister's bubbly personality; Melanie was always upbeat and happy before being diagnosed with stage four brain cancer.

Melanie was the beauty between the two Jones' sisters; while Mercedes was short and chubby, Melanie was the complete opposite. She stood at 5 foot 6 inches tall and had a body that girls would kill for but she never let her beauty get to her head. She was always Mercedes' champion whenever she needed one. Mercedes would be bullied in school but having a' tough as nails' older sister helped. People were afraid to mess with Mercedes out of fear of what Melanie would do to them for hurting her little sister.

Mercedes walked over to Melanie's bed and sat down on the empty chair next to her sister. Melanie opened her eyes and smiled at her, "Hey little sis."

"Hey big sis..." Mercedes smiled sadly at her sister.

"Why the sad face?" Melanie whispered with a raspy voice.

Mercedes' eyes started to water. She knew that the end was imminent but she could not bear to think that she would no longer have her beautiful sister there to face the tough world with.

"Hey, are you crying?" Melanie lifted her sister's face and saw the tears swimming in her eyes.

"I'm scared Mel, what am I going to do without you?" Mercedes' voice cracked as she sobbed.

"Listen to me; you are going to be fine… You are a wonderful person, who will do great things in life." Melanie said as she wiped the tears off her sister's face.

Mercedes was too bereaved to say anything, so she kept silent.

"I want you to promise me something." Melanie said as she took her sister's hand.

"Anything... I would do anything for you Mel."

"Promise me that you will never cry when you come to visit my grave. I only want to see you smiling and telling me about all the good things that are happening in your life because I know only good things will happen for you in the future." Melanie smiled as she weakly squeezed her sister's hand.

Mercedes knew that it would be hard to keep the promise but she didn't want to make her sister sad so she said, "I promise."

"Remember when we were little, and we would go up on the roof to look at the stars when either of us were feeling sad and the times when Sam would come over with treats? Somehow he always knew when one of us was feeling down. It's like he had a radar or something…" She said thinking about her best friend. Correction, her ex-best friend.

Sam Evans had been Mercedes' neighbor since she was seven years old, he like Melanie, was two years her senior. Since moving to Cincinnati, the Evans family had been like the Jones' extended family. They were still neighbors to this very day, except now Sam and Mercedes were no longer friends. She had not seen him since that fateful day, eight years ago.

Mercedes stood at her sister's freshly filled grave feeling numb; she was tired. It had been days since she last slept, Melanie had passed away three days ago and with the preparations for her funeral and consoling her mother, Mercedes didn't have the time to sleep.

She still couldn't believe that her sister was gone. She knew that this day was coming and she thought she had steeled herself for the worst but when the day came there was no amount of preparation that could brace her for the amount of grieve she was experiencing. The word sad was an understatement, she had lost her sister, companion, and best friend. There could never be another that could replace her.

Mercedes looked at her surroundings and observed that most of the mourners were now making their way back to their cars. There were a few that was left standing by her mother, giving what Mercedes thought were words of comfort.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mercy." A familiar voice said to her.

Mercedes turned around and saw that Sam Evans was standing there with a simple black suit, looking at her with sad eyes. "What are you doing here, Sam!" She boomed.

How dare he come here after disappearing on me for a month? She thought.

"I'm here to pay my respects, Mercy. I was friends with Melanie too you know." He looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh really, where were you for the past month huh? Where were you when she was lying in the hospital bed dying!" Mercedes couldn't contain her anger any longer; she was disappointed that her best friend was not there for her and her sister when they truly needed him.

"I tried to be there, Mercy… But you kept pushing me away! I was giving you space, I didn't want you to have to worry about other things, you had so much to deal with already!"

"You tried to be there? I pushed you away? I didn't push you away Sam, you were too busy entertaining your new girlfriend to worry about your best friend and her dying sister. So don't you try to blame this on me!"

"Don't you dare bring Quinn into this, Mercy! She had nothing to do with this or us." Sam said coming to his girlfriend's defense.

"There is no us, Sam. You made sure of it when you left me to care for Mel all alone. I needed my best friend the most during that painful month but you were with Quinn. You chose her over our friendship, so as far as I'm concerned we're through." Mercedes looked at him holding back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

"You don't mean that." He said sadly.

Mercedes kept silent, she didn't have the strength to fight for their friendship anymore. She was tired and all she wanted to do right then was to be alone. She needed to cry for the loss of her sister and when she couldn't cry anymore, she wanted to curl up in bed and finally catch up with the sleep that she had missed.

"I'm leaving, Mercy. I wanted to say goodbye and I was hoping that we could keep in touch." Sam said waiting for her answer.

"Good luck, Sam. I think for now, it would be best if we don't speak for a while. I need time to grieve and you have Quinn to worry about." Mercedes looked down as she said this.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mercy. I wish we could part under better circumstances but I wish you well, anyway. Maybe we can mend things in the future." Sam made a hasty exit after conveying this.

Watching Sam leave made Mercedes feel like she had lost another part of her. She knew that she should've said something when he walked away, but she couldn't bring herself to stop him. So she just stood there as he made his exit, with tears trickling down her face.

Mercedes ran her right hand along the writing of her sister's head stone and said, "I still remember all the things you said were going to happen. It never happened, Mel. I'm 26 years old, I'm still single, and I never did find prince charming, Mel. I could see all those things coming true when you were still here with me but now not anymore. I've long given up on those dreams."

Don't give up, keep believing and it will come true. She could hear her sister saying to her

"There's nothing left to dream of, Mel. I'm just plain old Mercedes Jones and I'm ok with that." She looked up at the grey sky and continued, "I have to go now. I will visit again soon. I love you, Mel." Mercedes looked back at her sister's resting place one last time before walking away.

When she got to the car she saw that there were a few miss calls on her cell phone, they were all from Santana. She unlocked her phone and quickly hit the call back button. The phone rang a few times before Santana answered.

"There you are, Merc... I was worried about you." Santana said concern lacing her voice.

"I'm ok, Santana. I went to visit, Mel. I'm on my way home actually."

"I'm glad you're doing fine. Anyway, I just wanted to know if you would join me and the gang for dinner tonight." The gang consisted of Brittany Pierce; Santana's girlfriend, and Artie Abrams a mutual friend of Mercedes and Santana. Santana had just passed the bar exam and was currently working at Andrea Jones' law firm. Brittany was an upcoming designer and Artie worked as an accountant at one of the most prestigious accounting firms in Cincinnati.

"I don't know, San... I'm feeling tired, I just don't feel up to going out tonight." Ever since, Mercedes moved back to Cincinnati, two years ago. Santana never failed to organize an event on the anniversary of Mel's death to entice Mercedes into coming out but every year Mercedes would refuse. Mercedes knew that Santana was just trying to help take her mind off of Melanie, but try as she may, Mercedes could not act like that day had no significance to her. That was the day that she lost the two people closest to her; her sister and her best friend and for eight years she grieved for them.

"Come on, Merc. It's just one dinner; I haven't seen you in a while. I've missed you. Don't you want to see your best friend?" Mercedes knew of Santana when they were both in High School; they never really bonded until they attended University of Illinois, Chicago together. They both were new to Chicago and decided that sticking together would be a good idea; from there their friendship grew into what it was today.

Go enjoy yourself, Mercy. Mel's voice spoke to her.

"Alright, San... I'll have dinner with you." Mercedes agreed after hearing Mel and feeling guilty for neglecting her best friend.

"Yay! I'll drop by your place to pick you up at 5."

"Alright, I'll see you later, San…" Mercedes said before hanging up.

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Mercedes was feeling tired when she got home, so she decided to take a nap before having to get ready for dinner with Santana.

"Mercy… Melanie…" Andrea Jones, called out to her daughters.

"Yes, mom…"Both sisters went running into the house to greet their mother. They were both wearing a pink flower t-shirt with pink shorts. Mercedes hated the outfit but wore it because her mom made her. Unlike her sister, Mercedes preferred wearing old t-shirts and coveralls; she never felt comfortable when she had to wear girly clothes.

"There you both are… I want you girls to meet the Evans family, they are our new neighbors."

Mercedes looked up and saw three people; a man; a woman; and a boy. The boy was about the same age as her sister; they all had fair skin and blonde hair.

The woman came up to the sisters and introduced herself, "Hi, you must be Mercy and Melanie. I am Mary Evans, you can call me Mary." She shook Mercedes' hand and pointed to the rest of her family. "The two men over there are my husband and son; John and Sam.

"Why don't the both of you bring Sam to the back yard and show him the swing set."Her mother instructed.

"Yes, mom..." The sisters answered.

Mercedes walked over to Sam took his hand and led him to the back yard with Melanie following behind them. "Wanna play catch?" The taller boy asked.

"Sure." Melanie said brightly.

Mercedes just nodded and smiled at Sam.

They were running around the yard when Mercedes stumbled on a piece of rock, fell and scraped her knees. "Ouch..." Mercedes yelped.

Sam and Melanie came running over to Mercedes when they saw that she was sobbing.

"Don't cry… I'll make it better." Sam sat down next to Mercedes and blew on her knees, "Is that better?"

Mercedes nodded and wiped her tears away. "No, but thank you..."

"Wanna go ask mom for ice-cream?" Melanie suggested.

Mercedes' mood brightened at the suggestion. "Yes please…"

BEEP…. BEEP…. BEEP….BEEP…

Mercedes' alarm went off, waking her from her dream. "That was weird…" She said.

She shook her head and looked at the digital clock. "4 o'clock, I better get ready for dinner."

Mercedes got out of bed, took a shower and got dressed. She looked in the mirror to see the aftermath and couldn't believe what she was seeing, she felt like she was looking at a different woman. Mercedes was wearing a navy blue wraparound dress which was accompanied by a pair of black peep toed heels. She had put on smokey eye shadow and nude lipstick, her hair was left down with loose curls.

At 4:50 pm her door bell rang, she opened the door and ushered in Santana, Brittany, and Artie.

"Wow… You look hot Merc." Artie said as he walked in and hugged her; he was wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans. Artie was considered short for a man but his charm and quick wit made up for his lack of height.

"Thanks, Artie…"

"Hot damn… You're definitely drool worthy tonight..." Santana piped in. Santana was donning a red strapless dress with red heels.

"I can say the same for you too missy…" Mercedes returned the compliment.

"You know Merc, you're lucky I'm with Santana or I'd be all over you in a heartbeat." Brittany stated as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. Brittany looked fabulous in a hot pink figure hugging dress and pink peep toe heels.

"I second that…" Santana agreed with Brittany.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you girls but I prefer sausage to tacos." Mercedes laughed at her girl friends.

"I have a sausage... Does that mean I stand a chance?" Artie asked winking at her.

"You're like a brother to me Artie; I'm grossed out just thinking about it." Mercedes cringed at his suggestion.

"Woman, we're not related by blood… You don't know how good it is, until you try it." Artie replied leering at her.

"Alright, Don Juan… It's time to get a move on; I don't want to lose our reservations." Santana pushed everyone out the door and into her car.

They pulled up at Sierra's restaurant and salsa dance club, fifteen minute later. Since it was a Saturday night the restaurant was filled with patrons. When they had ordered their food, Santana looked at her and said. "You wouldn't believe who I bumped into on Thursday."

"Who…" Mercedes raised her brow; curious.

"Sam Evans." Santana said. Santana knew Sam from High School; he was a football player while she was a cheerleader.

Mercedes gasped. What the hell was Sam doing in Cincinnati? When they parted ways, he was headed to New York to finish his bachelor's degree. Mercedes assumed that he never returned seeing as she never ran into him when she came to visit while she was in college or when she returned to settle in Cincinnati.

"Yeah… He told me that he just moved back, he also owns an architecture firm right here in Cincinnati… " Santana added.

"Well good for him…" Mercedes said with a fake smile. She wanted to ask if Sam was now married but decided not to.

"I also told him that you're back in town."

"You did what!" Mercedes had told Santana about her and Sam's history; so she couldn't believe that her best friend would tell Sam that she was now living in Cincinnati.

"Relax, Merc… Cincinnati is a big city; I doubt you'll run into him." Santana patted her hand as reassurance.

"If that's the case, how come you ran into him then? And his parents live right next to mine; I'm bound to run into him sometime…" Mercedes felt frustrated at this news. She knew that it had been eight year since their last meeting and confrontation but she felt like she wouldn't know what to say to Sam if she were to ever meet him again. Thank god, I haven't run into him. I can't even imagine how awkward it would be if I did.

The food arrived and they all ate as they chatted about their week. After dinner, the music in the restaurant started.

Artie got out of his seat, walked to her side of the table and said, "Can I have this dance my lady?"

Mercedes laughed and said, "Yes, you may good sir."

They walked to the dance floor together and started dancing. Artie was an incredible dancer; he could put a professional to shame with his moves. They danced for fifteen minutes until Mercedes got thirsty and excused herself from the dance floor.

As she got back to their table, she noticed a tall blonde man staring at her. When she stared back to get a better look, she gasped at who she was seeing. It was Sam Evans. Mercedes got up to try to get away but he was fast and was in front of her in what she felt like was a split second.

"Hello, Mercy..." Sam said.

Oh shit…

So did you love it or hate it? If no one reviews I might just scrap the story, so make sure you review if you loved it.

REVIEWS PLEASE.