Home is where the Heart is

The Parents

A few days passed of Sam and Mercedes living together, and not one day did their parents even suspect another human was in there house. Although it was hard for Mercedes to sneak food upstairs, she pretended to be hungrier than usual, and Sam spent most nights on the floor of her bedroom with a sleeping bag that Mercedes provided. One night, Sam couldn't sleep, and by the sound of the constant tossing and turning coming from Mercedes bed, she couldn't either.

"Mercedes." He called loud enough for her to hear but quiet enough for her parents not to. Mercedes rolled over to face Sam and looked down at him lying on the floor with wide eyes.

"Can you sleep?" He asked.

"Well, my eyes are open and I'm taking to you so no." Sam rolled his eyes and ignored her sarcasm.

"I can't either. Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked. Mercedes got out of the covers and planted her feet on the ground.

"Sure, I'll get out my laptop." Mercedes went digging in her closet and came back with a black computer, she then set it down on her bed and patted on the spot next to her for Sam to sit. He took a seat beside her, and smelt a scent of roses from her perfume that she sprayed on earlier.

They've been partaking in movie night quite a bit, usually when the other couldn't sleep, which happened a lot. Mercedes didn't know if it was because a boy was in her room, but felt it was part of the problem considering she never had sleeping problems before. They say love keeps you awake. Mercedes then clicked on a movie without Sam's permission and turned up the volume.

"Hey, you didn't even ask me." Sam said. Usually they took turns deciding. Sam would pick an action packed movie or a comedy, while Mercedes enjoyed musicals. Sam then realized what the movie was. "Uh, we are not watching Frozen again, give me that." Sam tried to pry the laptop out of her hand, but she wouldn't let him.

"We are soo, watching this again." Mercedes said while laughing, keeping the laptop away from Sam. She knew he didn't like the movie, but his reaction was funny.

"Nooo, we are soo, not. You picked the movie last time, I practically have all these songs memorized!"

"Please." She said making a sad face. "It's so cute." Sam looked at her eyes, and something in them made him give in.

"Oh, alright."

"Really?" Mercedes said with a giggle. Sam enjoyed her laughter, it was contagious, almost spreading a warmth in his heart.

"Yes, can you just let it go." Sam's cheesy comment made Mercedes burst out with laughter, and Sam didn't even find it that funny, but her laugh really was contagious. She tried to hold it in, but just one smile from Sam and she started up again. They're loud laughter must of woken up her parents, because a few quiet steps outside her door soon grew louder. Mercedes and Sam both heard it, and so she quickly made a motion for him to get under the blankets. Sam did as she told, and covered up under the blankets while she went underneath as well, only her head stuck up and she pretended to be asleep.

After what felt like forever, the footsteps walked away and so Sam ripped the cover off his head, sort of out of breath.

"He gone?"

"I think so." She said, still a little scared.They paused for a moment and then Mercedes laugh made them snap out of their fear.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it in." Sam shifted his head onto the pillow to look at her, and then couldn't help but smile as he saw her. She was so close, their shoulders were touching under the warm blanket. Sam then grew sad as he noticed a tear on her face.

"Are you crying?"

"No, well yes, but from joy." She said. Sam smiled to know she was happy, and moved his hand to wipe the tear off her cheek. It was so soft, like her hair. Mercedes quickly noticed his touch, and looked over at him. They were both quiet as the gaze grew stronger between them, and then Sam broke their silent gaze as he reached across to meet her lips. They kissed for a moment, but it didn't last longer than a second, because Mercedes pulled away.

"Sam, I-I have a boyfriend-

"I know." He said softly. Their gazes fell back to the ceiling, same pillow both cushioning their neck. He whispered this time, "I'm sorry."

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The next morning, Mercedes woke up earlier than Sam and went downstairs. She wanted to erase what happened last night because of her boyfriend, but her heart clearly wants her to remember it, as her stomach grew butterflies when she thought of it.

"You're up early." A voice called from the sofa. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah, fine dad." She replied. Her dad got up from the sofa and set his newspaper down on a nearby table.

"You know, I feel like I haven't seen you in a awhile. Where's my baby girl gone?"

"I'm right here dad." She replied, while he went in for a hug and squeezed her tight.

"It's hard to know that when you've been skipping family dinners and studying more than usual." Her dad looked up to the ceiling, and then crossed his arms.

"Why don't we have a family dinner with Shane. We can invite his parents again. You two seemed to be happy."

Mercedes raised her eyebrows. It's not that she didn't like Shane, it's just she couldn't stop thinking about what happened last night, her parents even seem to admire Shane more because he's on the football team and follows the rules.

"He's so polite." Her dad began, "he's a very good guy Mercedes, you should be lucky. I'll invite them...well how about tomorrow night?"

Mercedes nodded her head because she didn't want to disappoint her dad, but all she could think about was Sam kissed me.

"Great, that sounds lovely. I'll inform your mother." He planted a kiss on her forehead and then went back to reading his newspaper in the dimly lit room.

Mercedes went upstairs and went to go tell Sam. When she got to his room, he batted his eyelashes open and turned his head to face a frazzled Mercedes.

"Shane's coming over."

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Stay tuned for the dinner party in the next chapter...things don't go as planned.