Popular (tv series) Fic: Clarity: Chapter 3/13 - A Sunday
Title: Clarity
Chapter 3: A Sunday
Author: emotionsovrflow
Rating: T
Feedback: Always welcome
Disclaimer: I do not own Popular or it's characters. I do not own Jimmy Eat World or their music. The only thing to which I can lay claim is the arrangement of the words herewithin.
Author's Notes: See Chapter 1
Link to Chapter 1 - Crush
Link to Chapter 2 - Table for Glasses
Clarity: Chapter 3 - A Sunday
Movie night had been fun. Brooke and Sam had watched Harry Potter as planned. The obligatory popcorn had been made, three bags to be exact. Most of it had gone to waste since they threw handfuls of it at the television every time Draco Malfoy had been on screen. After the movie they had stayed up watching horrible late night TV, laughing at the ridiculous infomercials until they had fallen asleep to the latest wonderful invention that was being offered to them at a fraction of the retail value.
Saturday had passed without much contact between the housemates. Brooke had gone off somewhere with Nicole quite early. That afternoon, Lily had called Sam asking her to come over because Carmen was having some sort of crisis. After a few hours of melodrama, Sam had reached her breaking point. She decided it was imperative to get home immediately to tend to her Trig homework, leaving a scowling Lily to deal with Carmen on her own.
Shortly after 6am on Sunday morning, Sam stumbled into the bathroom. Brooke, having been awake for a half hour already, heard her and hopped up off her bed. Waiting until the sink was running, she threw the door open and said, "Morning Sam!"
"Jeeze, Brooke. Next time, at least wait until I'm conscious to scare the crap out of me," she said, nearly jumping out of her skin.
"Sorry. I'm just happy you're awake so early."
"I'm not awake. It may look as though I'm awake. But trust me, I am not awake." Sam eyed her curiously. "Why?"
"Cause I thought we could take a road trip," Brooke responded innocently.
"A road trip? A road trip to where?"
"Well, ok, not a real road trip. But we'd have to drive to get there," she said, trying to convince Sam before she even really made her suggestion.
Sam chuckled softly. "Where do you want to go, Brooke?"
From the tone in her voice it was obvious that Sam was now fully awake and willing to do whatever Brooke would suggest. The blonde knew it and her earlier giddiness returned. "Well, Adventure Island opened last week."
Sam's jaw dropped and her eyes lit up. "Adventure Island? You want to go to Adventure Island? Right now?" She looked about as happy as a 7 year old on Christmas morning.
Fueled by Sam's excitement, Brooke abandoned all vagueness. "Yes, right now. It'll take us at least 2 hours to get there and they open at 9. The lines are SO short first thing in the morning. We can go on all the good rides first then take our time for the rest of the day."
Instead of responding, Sam ran back into her room to get ready. Brooke shouted at Sam's back, "I'll take that as a yes!"
Since she was already dressed, Brooke went downstairs to make the final preparations. She grabbed a few bottles of water out of the fridge, some granola bars out of the pantry, checked to make sure she had enough cash on hand, and then wrote a note to leave for their parents. Just as she was finished going through her mental checklist, Sam came down the stairs, practically bouncing with excitement. "We ready?" she asked.
"Yup. I grabbed some car friendly breakfast treats, I have the cash and now I have you. Let's go." And with that, they were off.
-----------------------
"Don't you listen to anything other than boy bands and Britney Spears?" Sam asked after finding nothing she liked in Brooke's CD folder.
"Um… Hello! That's a Jessica Simpson CD right there."
"Yes. Jessica Simpson: A member of the Britney Spears' clone army. Seriously, don't you listen to any real music?"
"Maybe you should look in my other case." Brooke said, pointing to a black CD folder in the center console.
"Oh," Sam said, feeling a bit foolish. "I didn't see that one." She picked it up and flipped through, searching for something that wouldn't make her ears bleed. Surprisingly, she found a diverse selection of music in her hands. "You listen to Simon and Garfunkel?" Sam asked, surprised.
Brooke sighed. She was getting tired of Sam putting down her music collection. "Yes! I listen to Simon and Garfunkel! They're wonderful. Don't make fun until you give it a chance," she said pointing an accusatory finger at the brunette.
"I love Simon and Garfunkel. I was just surprised is all. I don't know anyone else our age who listens to them." Now it was Brooke's turn to feel foolish.
Sam's choice of music had turned out to be perfect for their drive. It made for nice background music, and was easy to talk over. Two hours seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot of Adventure Island. They had arrived just as the park was opening and had managed to go on all of the four major roller coasters at least once by noon. After exiting their favorite of the bunch for the third time, Brooke walked over to a bench and sat down.
"We need to stop for a minute, Sam."
"You ok? You look a little green. I could go get you a Sprite if you want."
"Would you mind?" Brooke asked a little pathetically. Sam mused that pathetic looked kind of cute on the blonde as she walked over to the vending machine. After handing Brooke her soda, Sam sat on the bench and started looking over the map of the park. Brooke was sitting with her head between her knees, trying to will her stomach to stop doing somersaults. Once she had started feeling a little better, she asked if Sam had found anything fun to do.
"Personally, I could go for some lunch," the brunette replied. At the look she received from her companion, she knew that was out of the question for the time being. "Right. So I guess another ride is out of the question too. Well, over there," she pointed to a large blue structure to their right, "they have a water show called Aquatic Wonders. You know, where they make a seal balance a ball and make the dolphin jump through a hoop. Like Shamu."
"Shamu is a whale," Brooke pointed out.
"Well you know what I mean. Either way, it doesn't involve going really fast or being flipped upside down. I figure we could go sit and let your stomach rest a little. The next show starts in like 10 minutes."
"Sounds like a plan." They walked the short distance over to the stadium and found seats a fair distance away from the splash zone. Upon entering, they were greeted with the wonderful smell of saltwater and fish. Brooke had started to feel a bit nauseous again and laid her head on Sam's shoulder. The brunette's heart fluttered upon contact, and for a minute, the two just sat in comfortable silence.
"Hello ladies." they looked up to see two guys about their age standing in the aisle. "I'm Mark, this is my friend James," the brains of the operation said with a broad grin on his face. James, obviously shy, waved politely and ducked his head, appearing as though he would rather be having his teeth pulled than standing there at that moment.
"Hi Mark, James," Sam offered. "I'm Josephine. This is Eleanor." Brooke looked away and tried to suppress a giggle.
"Nice to meet you. You two look like you could use some company. Mind if we sit down?"
Sam looked to Brooke and raised a quizzical eyebrow. Brooke grinned and turned back to their gentlemen callers. "You know, I think we're doing fine on our own. Thanks anyway."
James seemed to be shrinking into himself as his over-confident counterpart continued. "Are you sure? It's a shame for two beautiful women such as yourselves to be all alone."
Brooke wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders, leaned in and lightly kissed her neck. Immediately, Sam melted into a puddle. "We're sure. Have a nice day, boys."
Wide eyed, James promptly fled the scene, followed shortly by Mark after a bit of stammering and a quick goodbye.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… Adventure Island is proud to present Aquatic Wonders!!!"
----------------------------------
The rest of the afternoon had passed by nicely. By the time 5 o'clock had rolled around, they had done all that there was to do and seen all that there was to see. Both tired, they had decided to leave and try to beat the mad dash to get home when the park closed at 8. Carrying the various souvenirs they had either purchased or won throughout the day, Brooke and Sam made their way to the parking lot.
"I'm exhausted, would you mind driving home?" Brooke asked. "I don't want to fall asleep and end up swerving off the highway."
"Sure. I'm not completely spent yet. I think I could manage."
"Thanks, Josephine. Where did you come up with those lame names anyway?"
Sam had to think about this for a moment. "I'm not sure. It was just on impulse, I guess."
"Well, next time you have an impulse to give me an alias, make it something from this century, please."
"I'll do my best," Sam laughed, as they reached the car. As soon as they were inside, Brooke reclined her seat and curled into a comfortable position, closing her eyes.
Sam started the car. "Thanks for inviting me today, Brooke. I had a great time."
"Me too, Sammy," Brooke said, then promptly drifted off to sleep. Sam smiled at the blonde, shifted the car into drive and started the long ride home.
Chapter 3: A Sunday
Author: emotionsovrflow
Rating: T
Feedback: Always welcome
Disclaimer: I do not own Popular or it's characters. I do not own Jimmy Eat World or their music. The only thing to which I can lay claim is the arrangement of the words herewithin.
Author's Notes: See Chapter 1
Link to Chapter 1 - Crush
Link to Chapter 2 - Table for Glasses
Clarity: Chapter 3 - A Sunday
Movie night had been fun. Brooke and Sam had watched Harry Potter as planned. The obligatory popcorn had been made, three bags to be exact. Most of it had gone to waste since they threw handfuls of it at the television every time Draco Malfoy had been on screen. After the movie they had stayed up watching horrible late night TV, laughing at the ridiculous infomercials until they had fallen asleep to the latest wonderful invention that was being offered to them at a fraction of the retail value.
Saturday had passed without much contact between the housemates. Brooke had gone off somewhere with Nicole quite early. That afternoon, Lily had called Sam asking her to come over because Carmen was having some sort of crisis. After a few hours of melodrama, Sam had reached her breaking point. She decided it was imperative to get home immediately to tend to her Trig homework, leaving a scowling Lily to deal with Carmen on her own.
Shortly after 6am on Sunday morning, Sam stumbled into the bathroom. Brooke, having been awake for a half hour already, heard her and hopped up off her bed. Waiting until the sink was running, she threw the door open and said, "Morning Sam!"
"Jeeze, Brooke. Next time, at least wait until I'm conscious to scare the crap out of me," she said, nearly jumping out of her skin.
"Sorry. I'm just happy you're awake so early."
"I'm not awake. It may look as though I'm awake. But trust me, I am not awake." Sam eyed her curiously. "Why?"
"Cause I thought we could take a road trip," Brooke responded innocently.
"A road trip? A road trip to where?"
"Well, ok, not a real road trip. But we'd have to drive to get there," she said, trying to convince Sam before she even really made her suggestion.
Sam chuckled softly. "Where do you want to go, Brooke?"
From the tone in her voice it was obvious that Sam was now fully awake and willing to do whatever Brooke would suggest. The blonde knew it and her earlier giddiness returned. "Well, Adventure Island opened last week."
Sam's jaw dropped and her eyes lit up. "Adventure Island? You want to go to Adventure Island? Right now?" She looked about as happy as a 7 year old on Christmas morning.
Fueled by Sam's excitement, Brooke abandoned all vagueness. "Yes, right now. It'll take us at least 2 hours to get there and they open at 9. The lines are SO short first thing in the morning. We can go on all the good rides first then take our time for the rest of the day."
Instead of responding, Sam ran back into her room to get ready. Brooke shouted at Sam's back, "I'll take that as a yes!"
Since she was already dressed, Brooke went downstairs to make the final preparations. She grabbed a few bottles of water out of the fridge, some granola bars out of the pantry, checked to make sure she had enough cash on hand, and then wrote a note to leave for their parents. Just as she was finished going through her mental checklist, Sam came down the stairs, practically bouncing with excitement. "We ready?" she asked.
"Yup. I grabbed some car friendly breakfast treats, I have the cash and now I have you. Let's go." And with that, they were off.
-----------------------
"Don't you listen to anything other than boy bands and Britney Spears?" Sam asked after finding nothing she liked in Brooke's CD folder.
"Um… Hello! That's a Jessica Simpson CD right there."
"Yes. Jessica Simpson: A member of the Britney Spears' clone army. Seriously, don't you listen to any real music?"
"Maybe you should look in my other case." Brooke said, pointing to a black CD folder in the center console.
"Oh," Sam said, feeling a bit foolish. "I didn't see that one." She picked it up and flipped through, searching for something that wouldn't make her ears bleed. Surprisingly, she found a diverse selection of music in her hands. "You listen to Simon and Garfunkel?" Sam asked, surprised.
Brooke sighed. She was getting tired of Sam putting down her music collection. "Yes! I listen to Simon and Garfunkel! They're wonderful. Don't make fun until you give it a chance," she said pointing an accusatory finger at the brunette.
"I love Simon and Garfunkel. I was just surprised is all. I don't know anyone else our age who listens to them." Now it was Brooke's turn to feel foolish.
Sam's choice of music had turned out to be perfect for their drive. It made for nice background music, and was easy to talk over. Two hours seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot of Adventure Island. They had arrived just as the park was opening and had managed to go on all of the four major roller coasters at least once by noon. After exiting their favorite of the bunch for the third time, Brooke walked over to a bench and sat down.
"We need to stop for a minute, Sam."
"You ok? You look a little green. I could go get you a Sprite if you want."
"Would you mind?" Brooke asked a little pathetically. Sam mused that pathetic looked kind of cute on the blonde as she walked over to the vending machine. After handing Brooke her soda, Sam sat on the bench and started looking over the map of the park. Brooke was sitting with her head between her knees, trying to will her stomach to stop doing somersaults. Once she had started feeling a little better, she asked if Sam had found anything fun to do.
"Personally, I could go for some lunch," the brunette replied. At the look she received from her companion, she knew that was out of the question for the time being. "Right. So I guess another ride is out of the question too. Well, over there," she pointed to a large blue structure to their right, "they have a water show called Aquatic Wonders. You know, where they make a seal balance a ball and make the dolphin jump through a hoop. Like Shamu."
"Shamu is a whale," Brooke pointed out.
"Well you know what I mean. Either way, it doesn't involve going really fast or being flipped upside down. I figure we could go sit and let your stomach rest a little. The next show starts in like 10 minutes."
"Sounds like a plan." They walked the short distance over to the stadium and found seats a fair distance away from the splash zone. Upon entering, they were greeted with the wonderful smell of saltwater and fish. Brooke had started to feel a bit nauseous again and laid her head on Sam's shoulder. The brunette's heart fluttered upon contact, and for a minute, the two just sat in comfortable silence.
"Hello ladies." they looked up to see two guys about their age standing in the aisle. "I'm Mark, this is my friend James," the brains of the operation said with a broad grin on his face. James, obviously shy, waved politely and ducked his head, appearing as though he would rather be having his teeth pulled than standing there at that moment.
"Hi Mark, James," Sam offered. "I'm Josephine. This is Eleanor." Brooke looked away and tried to suppress a giggle.
"Nice to meet you. You two look like you could use some company. Mind if we sit down?"
Sam looked to Brooke and raised a quizzical eyebrow. Brooke grinned and turned back to their gentlemen callers. "You know, I think we're doing fine on our own. Thanks anyway."
James seemed to be shrinking into himself as his over-confident counterpart continued. "Are you sure? It's a shame for two beautiful women such as yourselves to be all alone."
Brooke wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders, leaned in and lightly kissed her neck. Immediately, Sam melted into a puddle. "We're sure. Have a nice day, boys."
Wide eyed, James promptly fled the scene, followed shortly by Mark after a bit of stammering and a quick goodbye.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… Adventure Island is proud to present Aquatic Wonders!!!"
----------------------------------
The rest of the afternoon had passed by nicely. By the time 5 o'clock had rolled around, they had done all that there was to do and seen all that there was to see. Both tired, they had decided to leave and try to beat the mad dash to get home when the park closed at 8. Carrying the various souvenirs they had either purchased or won throughout the day, Brooke and Sam made their way to the parking lot.
"I'm exhausted, would you mind driving home?" Brooke asked. "I don't want to fall asleep and end up swerving off the highway."
"Sure. I'm not completely spent yet. I think I could manage."
"Thanks, Josephine. Where did you come up with those lame names anyway?"
Sam had to think about this for a moment. "I'm not sure. It was just on impulse, I guess."
"Well, next time you have an impulse to give me an alias, make it something from this century, please."
"I'll do my best," Sam laughed, as they reached the car. As soon as they were inside, Brooke reclined her seat and curled into a comfortable position, closing her eyes.
Sam started the car. "Thanks for inviting me today, Brooke. I had a great time."
"Me too, Sammy," Brooke said, then promptly drifted off to sleep. Sam smiled at the blonde, shifted the car into drive and started the long ride home.