Chapter 7
Wew finally, the 7th chapter. Here's a list of all the chapters just incase you didnt read one or you want to start reading them (they include chapter 7) Well... enjoy...
Chapter One- The ugly life
Sam stumbled off the sidewalk sprinting for her car. A convertible but the worst anyone could ever imagine. What used to be a fire engine red was now a rusty blood color. She forced the key in the ignition. "Start dammit!" she yelled. The car could hardly start. Not even the best mechanics could have fixed up this mess. Luckily, the car started up with a rawr as Sam drove angrily away from the club.
Sam drove to a near-by gas station, parking her car in the back. Grabbing her cell phone she called one of her best and closest friends of the moment.
"Hello?" a scratchy voice said from the other line.
"Mo, it's Sam. Dude I need your help! These 'want to be ghetto' people are trying to kill me, literally!"
"Ugh! I told you not to try to steal their diamond rings!" Mo laughed, "I'll meet you at the normal spot."
Sam laughed along, "Alright, later."
She hopped in her car once again and drove away to the beach. Once there, Sam took a deep breath, hoping no one had followed her to the hide-away. She stepped out but one of her chains hooked on to her key ring and made her spring back into her seat. She struggled to unlatch it but during her struggle Mo stepped up beside her causing Sam to jump.
"What the hell don't do that!" Sam said in a soft voice. Mo swung her hand around Sam to unlatch her chain. With one swipe she was free. "Thanks." Sam said, a little embarrassed.
"Eh, no problem. Now where's those thugs?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know. I just need a bodyguard to help me out. Just for tonight, you know?" Sam stood up as Mo slowly checked her over. She was wearing a black tank top, a plaid ruffle skirt, chains, fishnet tights, and black knee-high leather boots. "Special occasion?" Mo snickered. Sam pulled on her MADE sweatshirt, holding it close to her skin as if it were her only protection from the world. She looked almost helpless, like something had happened. Something had made her feel as if she should trust no one.
"What's up?" Mo said in a worried voice.
"Nothing."
"I have a feeling something more than just a few stolen rings happened tonight. Why won't you tell me?"
Sam ignored her curiosity, "I'm tired. Look I don't know why I even called you. There's nothing you can do right now. I'll sleep in my car."
"You aren't sleeping in that run down there, anyone could come around. Crash at my apartment for a while. Dave isn't going to be home for a couple of weeks. I insist."
"Fine." Sam said feeling as if Mo was only doing this out of sympathy.
They arrived at the semi-nice apartment. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll take Dave's bed, you can have mine. Sam sat down on the nice couch not knowing if she could get back up or not. Unlacing her shoes her cell phone rang. She let it ring a couple of times until she finally answered it.
"Hello?" She said, not knowing who it was because her caller-id had broken.
"Sammie!!" A loud voice screamed excitedly on the other end.
"Hey Minky." Sam smiled at the fact that it wasn't someone trying to get her.
"Are you still coming with me to the GC concert in NYC tomorrow?"
"Shit!" Sam said, her voice rising, "I..I.." she sighed, "Of course."
"Alright I'll meet you in the front of the arena tomorrow morning. 6:00 sharp, you better be there."
"I will, I promise." Sam said in an unsure tone. They hung up.
Later that night as Mo was sleeping Sam snuck out of the bedroom in pure darkness. She struggled putting on the same clothes she had worn the night before. Walking into the bathroom she saw all of Mo's makeup, the same makeup that Sam bought. Quickly putting dark eyeliner, blood red lipstick, and eyeliner going from her brow to the middle of her cheek she made sure there wasn't a sound just incase she woke up Mo. Sam wrote Mo a note..
Mo- Hey. I had some 'unfinished business' to take care of. I won't be back so don't wait up. I'll call you as soon as I can. <3 Sammie
She snatched up her keys and headed out the door. Jumping in her car she again struggled to turn it on. This time it took a few tries but it finally started. Driving for hours she thought of everything. She hated life, hated living life like this. Always hanging out with stoners and alcoholics. She hadn't done that until the 10th grade. Ever since the 9th grade she had been picked on, shoved around, and ignored almost making her get to the point of self-destruction. But she held on. She was always determined to live a better life even though she knew it would take years and years.
Seeing Michelle, she swerved off the road and next to Michelle's parked car. A nice car unlike hers. Sam stepped out looking dead.
"What the hell have you been up to?" Michelle asked.
Sam felt comforted. She always did with Michelle. Like she could tell her, her whole life without stopping and wondering if she would understand. "It's a long story."
"I have time. Who is it about? What is it about? Tell me!" Michelle said in a babyish whine.
"Who do you think." Sam said with a slight tear slipping down her cheek.
"Awe Sammie" Michelle said in another babyish voice hugging and trying to comfort Sam.
"I fucking hate him. I don't know why I need him, I just…"
"Do." Michelle said finishing Sam's sentence. "We can talk about Billy later, right now lets go see some GC. WOOT!" Michelle said crazily.
"Okay." Sam said breaking out of her tear mood and into a cheerful one. Michelle had a gift. When someone was down, she could always make them smile.
They walked up to the tall building but Michelle quickly took Sam by the sleeve and pulled her over the back. "I forgot the tickets, we'll have to sneak in." Acting like secret agents they slid through the doors. Almost to the mosh pit they felt someone pull them around but they closed their eyes. "It's a security guard isn't it?" Sam said with no surprise. They opened their eyes. "OH MY GOD!" Sam screamed as the person was finally revealed.
Billy leaned in and grabbed Sam's wrist. "You didn't say good-bye to me last night. You better have a good reason for this!" he screamed through his tightly clenched teeth.
"I..I..I'm sorry, I just thought you were busy." She managed to spit out in fear.
"So you left me there!!" He threw her down to the ground getting ready to kick her. Just then Michelle slammed her fist against his cheek with all her strength. "Back off you fucking cheep bastard!" she said staring into his brown eyes. He left with even more anger as Sam lyed there crying on the cold dusty floor.
"I need to talk to him. I have to say I'm sorry!" Sam said with heavy black makeup running down her cheeks.
"You aren't going anywhere. We came here for GC not for Billy." Michelle grabbed Sam by the arm pulling her off the floor. "Let's go."
They shuffled their way through the crowd, finally stopping a row behind the first. "Cool, second row!" Michelle said with tons of excitement. Sam just stood there. For once in her life she wasn't excited to see her favorite band. Her only love other than Billy. The people who she had looked up to for years and she didn't care.
Throughout the whole concert while Michelle jumped around Sam stood there staring at the floor, crying now and then to some slow sad songs. She felt lifeless and crushed. After what she had done there was no reason for her to be enjoying something.
The lights faded on as the crowd hurried out but they just stood there. Michelle didn't want to say anything wrong so she kept quiet. "Do you think we should go?" Sam said almost in a whisper.
"If you want to. Do you want to sit here and talk for a little while?"
"Sure." The two sat down in the seats that were pushed all over the place. There was awkward silence for about two minutes until Sam finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have got you into this."
"It's okay, really. But if you don't mind me asking," She paused, "what happened the night before last?"
Sam grew tense. She didn't want anybody to know anything bad about anyone she was around. "We were at a club." She started, "I drove Billy there like I always do because his car was stolen about a month ago. He bought me a drink and went off doing god only knows what. So being the curious person I am, I decided to follow him this time. He went into this backroom with a couple of his friends and this blonde chick. I think her name was Amanda or something, I can't really remember." She stopped and tried to hold back tears.
"And..?" Michelle questioned, wanting to know more.
"He was all over her and she was all over him. What could I do you know? If I spoke up he would hate me. I didn't want to hurt him either. He has given me everything I have ever needed; an apartment, money, food. Without him I would be living out on the streets. So I left making up an excuse that I stole some gangster folks' rings, which never happened."
"So why was he here? Why did he follow?"
"I guess he was worried. I never had the chance to call him last night and I was too afraid he'd find out I was spying on him. Sometimes I actually do want to kill him but then the thought that I love him takes over."
"You can't lo.." Michelle was quickly interrupted. Sam looked up, still with tears flowing down her cheeks. Michelle looked too.
"Sammie! Sammie!" she shrieked looking at the five members of Good Charlotte standing at the edge of the stage.
"Hey, you okay?" Paul asked with a caring voice.
"We didn't sound that bad did we?" Benji joked.
Sam pushed all her excitement away. "We should go."
"Hey don't you want to stay for pictures, autographs, free stuff, Benji?" Billy said with a laugh.
"BENJI!!" Michelle screamed
"No, you can stay Minky. I'll call you later." Sam said but was forced to turn back around and look at the band.
"You aren't going anywhere. We'll get at least an autograph and then we can go stay at some spiffalicious apartment. Sound good?"
Billy quickly stepped into the conversation. "Hey, want to check out our bus? This is our last show of the tour, we could take you around."
Michelle answered, "That would be awesome, lets go!" Sam had no say in this. Michelle wanted her to have a good time and to get her mind off of everything, so she had to. "We'll get cleaned up and then we'll meet you guys out back."
Sam and Michelle walked to the bathrooms.
"Here, a wet paper towel. You don't want Joel to see you like that do you? He would probably think you were a stoner. Hurry he's waiting." Michelle winked.
Sam slightly laughed, "Thanks. I could never pass down Joel. Maybe not talk to him, but pass him down? Dude that just wouldn't be cool!" she lied.
They walked out to the back and stepped on the bus. Right away Michelle and Sam's eyes lit up.
"WEEE!" Sam squeaked looking around the sitting area of the tour bus. "This is soo great!". For once, Michelle was the one being speechless. Then the guys stepped on.
"Alright where to first?" Joel asked Sam.
"It's your bus. You decide" Sam said in a little moody kind of tone. Michelle stared at her. What was she doing? One minute she's happy and the next she's giving someone she adores attitude.
Joel nodded with a fake smile on his face. A fan had never acted this way towards him before. Sam acted as if she didn't even know he was famous.
"I'm tired can you drop us off at some hotel. Or even on the streets, I've slept everywhere it doesn't matter." Sam spit out with a little less attitude.
"Well we for one I'm not leaving you guys on the streets. And two we don't stop until DC so you want to stay the night? We could drop you off somewhere tomorrow if you really want to." Benji stated.
"Fine." Sam said grabbing a pillow and heading for the floor in the kitchen area.
"You can't sleep on the floor. I wont let you sleep on the floor I mean." Benji pulled out a hat with little pieces of paper in it. "This is our voting hat but for now you each can pull out a name and the person you pull out is the one you will share a bed with."
Michelle instantly loved the idea so she ran over and chose first. "Benji!" she said, trying to stay calm. Sam threw her hand in not caring who she got. "Joel." She said starting to smile but also starting to turn away.
They all got ready for bed. Sam wore one of Billy's level 27 shirts and a pare of Chris's baggy jeans. Michelle slept in her normal clothes except for one of Benji's MADE t-shirts. Sam and Joel stood trying to figure out who was going in first but they finally came to the conclusion of Sam going in first just incase Joel pushed her off the bed. The lights went out.
"Do you hate me?" Joel asked with major curiosity.
"How would I hate you, I just met you and I've hardly said a word to you." Sam said in a voice as kind as she could get it at the moment.
"Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"This and that." She answered as the room became silent. About a minute went by as Joel heard 'I'm sorry' from Sam's mouth.
"For what?" he asked.
"For being a bitch. I meant nothing by it; I was just in a bad mood. I don't blame you if you were mad."
"Of course I wasn't mad. A little confused but nowhere near mad. You seemed like a nice girl but the fact that you treated me like you didn't even know who I was made no sense. Well, good-night."
"Good-night." Sam said quietly just as she heard the phone ring.
Sam didn't want to get up but she did anyway. "Hel.." she started but was immediately interrupted.
"Dude it's Mo. Why the hell is Billy so pissed off? He came to my house and started screaming at me saying that you were acting weird. So I screamed at him and told him I knew nothing about it."
"Oh my god I'm so sorry! What did you do?"
"I smacked him. Duh." Mo said emotionless.
"Well I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. It's been really crazy lately."
"Yeah, it's okay. But dude, where are you?" Mo said with a lot of curiosity in her voice.
"Um..uh..with..with Minky in..uh..uh..Massachusetts?" Sam stuttered out.
"Uh? Alright, sure. Well I'll talk to you..sometime. Later." They hung up and Sam turned off her phone. She didn't want anyone to call her just incase the words of where she was slipped. If Billy were to find out, he'd shoot her down.
She climbed in bed, hopping over Joel once again.
"Who was that?" Joel asked.
"My friend, Mo."
Joel nodded as he rolled over and fell asleep. Sam did the same. She had had one of the biggest and most tiring days of her life and she couldn't go another day with no sleep.
The next morning Michelle, of course, was the first one awake so she decided to go through the fridge and figure out what to make for breakfast. "Damn do they eat anything?". She moved up to the cupboards. Looking through them she found pancake mix. "Eh..this'll have to do." Michelle threw the pan on the stove and started mixing the few ingredients. She had never known how to make small individual sized ones so she just made one huge pancake.
Next, Sam woke up. She had been up for hours and could hear Michelle in the kitchen making tons of noise. Climbing over Joel she tried her best to not wake him. "Oh shit!" she said falling down to the floor, waking everyone up. "he..hey ya'll." She said trying to smile. The guys shook their heads and hid under their pillows giving Sam a perfect time to run for the kitchen.
"Morning Sammie."
"Hey." She said laughing at what had just happened.
"Well you're defiantly in a good mood today."
"Yep. OO pancakes. Just the way we always used to make them." She said with a warm smile. They used to have so many good times together but it all changed when Michelle moved in the 8th grade.
Benji came in rubbing his eyes as Joel slowly trailed in after him. The two sat down looking at the oversized pancake that lay on the table. "What the hell?"
"Breakfast, Sammie and Michelle style." She said in a playful way.
"We all share." Sam added.
"Well I'm not waiting any longer for those losers to come in so lets go." Benji said in hunger.
Sam and Michelle agreed. They all sat around one large pancake covered in syrup. Just as they finished Chris, Billy, and Paul stepped in. Before they could say anything there was a knock on the door. Joel went over to answer it just incase it was some paparazzi trying to get fake scoops on why there were girls staying with them. He slowly opened the door.
"Is Sam here?"
"Yeah, one second." Joel said in a confused way. He motioned Sam to go over to the door.
"Yes?" she said as she turned the corner. "Billy?! What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you." He said pulling her outside. "What's with this?"
"Who, the guys? Oh they're just doing us a little favor..i think. I have so much to tell you!"
"I don't care! Why haven't you been answering my calls? Have you found someone else? I bet they have something to do with it."
"Dude, my phone has been off. And no, I love you. They have nothing to do with it." She said going in closer to Billy ready to hug him.
"Bitch! I know what's going on and don't think you're getting off the hook! Not again, not this time!" Billy screamed pushing Sam into the door of the bus making everyone come out to see what was going on but Michelle stayed inside.
"Billy what are you doing!!??" Sam screamed in fear watching Billy's fist connect with her jaw. Hearing her shriek, Michelle ran outside only to find Billy running away with blood coming off of his lip from Benji's punch.
Michelle looked over at Sam who was being comforted by Paul on the ground. She gently pushed him away and looked at Sam. She had a black and blue mark starting to show up on the side of her face. Michelle threw herself at Sam giving her a huge hug.
"What did I do wrong?" Sam repeated over and over between loud sobs.
"You did NOTHING wrong Sam. He had no right to even look at you!" Michelle said trying to comfort her.
Joel ran out with ice placing it gently on Sam's swollen cheek. "This should help."
She looked up at him but couldn't dare to look him in the eyes. "Thanks." She whispered being pulled into a hug by him. Her tears fell harder. His hug was more comforting than Billy's and she thought it couldn't be possible. She didn't want it to. He let go letting Michelle help her up.
"Lets go back on the bus and sit for a while. We need to talk."
Michelle and Sam sat in the bathroom because that was the only room that no one could hear them.
"You have to end this with him. He's going to keep hurting you and if he makes you cry this bad, he's not worth it."
"But I love him."
"No you don't. I know you don't. You just think you do because he's given you a lot. You don't need that anymore we have these guys and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help us out."
"Give me my phone..please?" Michelle handed Sam the phone. Sam's tears fell more as she dialed a phone number.
"Who are you calling?" Michelle asked.
"Shhhh!" Sam hushed her. "Billy?..
"What?" Billy answered angrily.
"I can't see you," she paused "or talk to you anymore."
"What the fuck? What has gotten into you lately? First you run away from me and now you can't even talk to me anymore."
"You followed me to a place where I felt safe and beat me. Someone finally made me realize that I need to move on. I know this is the right decision."
"Whatever, fuck you! I never loved you. I never cared. I just felt bad for you so I gave you stuff. I trusted you. Go ahead and fuck off!" he said, slamming the phone down.
Michelle stared at Sam wondering what had just gone on. Sam kept a blank stare for almost a minute straight.
"What happened?" Michelle asked holding a caring hand out waiting for Sam to cry, but she didn't. She sat there with a smile on her face like nothing had ever happened. As if nothing had ever hurt her in her whole life.
"We're over." She said. "He said he never loved me just like I never loved him. I think this is good for the both of us."
Michelle smiled and hugged her and then they both walked out of the bathroom together. Waiting for them on the couch the band waited for the story of what had happened. Just as they were going to ask, Sam let out a scream of excitement.
"It's raining!"
"So?" Joel asked as everyone else just looked at her with confused eyes.
"I love rain, lets all go run around in it. Please, it'll be fun." She said with a sweet smile that no one could resist.
"Okay." They all said as they strolled out the door.
As soon as Sam's foot touched the ground she ran around, skipping and laughing like she had no worries. Michelle quickly followed and locked arm with her. "Lets run away together!" She said jokingly. Both of them laughed hysterically as they galloped around the truck stop jumping in every puddle possible. Soon Chris joined, locking arms with Sam and jumping harder into the puddles causing them to splash higher.
"Come on you guys!" He screamed trying to get the rest of the band members to join.
Benji joined next, locking arms with Michelle. Next, Joel jumped holding onto Benji as he glided around trying to force Billy and Paul to have a go of the fun. Of course Billy couldn't resist and he locked arms with Paul and then attacked himself to Chris's arm.
All of them laughed and smiled as they slipped, tripped, and drenched themselves in the soothing rain.
Then they all went inside to dry off.
"Anyone up for some hot chocolate?" Paul suggested.
"Me!" Michelle, Sam, and Benji said all at once. They looked at each other as if they knew they were going to say it.
"Me too." Joel said a little late.
"Yeah me too." Billy and Chris said.
Sam walked into the bathroom scanning the room for a towel to dry her hair. Just then Joel walked in.
"Looking for this?" He said pulling out a soft, blue towel.
"Thanks." She said with a warming smile.
"Are you having fun so far? You know, staying with us?"
"Of course I am! It seems like I've known you guys for my whole life. You're really great, I wish you guys could stay with us sometime." She said ruffling her hair around in the towel and then searching for a brush. "Crap, I don't have any of my stuff. No brush, no anything."
"Well I'm glad you're having fun. I am too. It's not everyday you meet fans who are…normal." He pulled a comb out of the drawer. "You can use this. We'll have to stop somewhere to pick up your stuff.
"My 'stuff' is at Billy's house. I'm not going back. Whose comb is this?"
"Chris's. Of course he doesn't use it so you can have it."
"Thanks." She said running the large comb through her long drenched hair. Joel picked up part of it and ran his fingers through it but she pulled away and walked out.
"Hot chocolate ready?" She asked in a perky voice.
"Yeah but be careful, it's still kind of hot." Paul said, always caring. She took the cup and plopped down on the couch next to Benji who was watching 7th Heaven.
"OO I love this show!"
"Yeah It's pretty cool." He said zoned into the TV.
"You don't seem like the kind of guy to like it. That's pretty cool."
"Mm.." he said not paying attention to what he was agreeing to.
Michelle sat down next to Sam nudging her to switch spots with her. Of course Sam switched knowing that Michelle had a HUGE crush on Benji. It was so adorable and they looked so cute together.
"You like this show?" Benji asked Michelle.
"Yeah, it's okay. I'm used to watching it with Sam."
"That's cool, now you can get used to watching it with me."
Sam rolled her eyes jokingly feeling ignored. "I can see when I'm not wanted" she joked, walking out of the sitting area and into the bed part. Sitting on Joel's bed she started to pray. She needed to thank god for all of this. Tons of stress was finally off her chest and she could relax with people who she had looked up to for years. She sat there with praying hands, not knowing Joel was standing in the doorway watching her. He backed up until she was finished and walked back in making it seem as if he didn't see anything.
"Hey what's up?" she asked.
"Nothing. You want to go eat out somewhere? There's a place right down the road where we can walk to. They have really good veggie-burgers."
"Sounds cool." She said, grabbing a blanket and heading for the door.
Joel laughed, "I'll give you a sweatshirt. You aren't taking that thing with us. And go change we're going to a restaurant not a gym." He joked around.
She smiled and didn't argue. Quickly slipping on the clothes that she had worn for days and a Mest sweatshirt, she threw up her hair in a messy pony-tail. Then, she hurried out the door with Joel. "Aren't the other guys coming?"
"Nah, they hate this place. I go here alone when we come around to this area."
"This area? I know this area! This is Connecticut! We're almost home! My home!" She said excitedly.
The two talked about what else they had in common besides Veggie-burgers and figured out that they did have much in common. Both of their dads had walked out and both had lived out on the streets at one point or another.
They were then greeted at the door by a host dressed in a dark suit. "Table for two?" he asked.
Joel nodded as they were led over to a large booth with wooden panels and bright-red, winding seats.
"A little big for two people down you think?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Am I fat or something?" He laughed.
"Far from it. Oh well, more room for us."
They both ordered a veggie-burger and fries. Just as they were going to eat they saw a bus pull up next to the window.
"What the hell?" Sam said surprised.
20 people piled out of the bus; 5 with cameras.
"Shit, get down!" Joel tried to say quietly, taking Sam's wrist and pulling her down under the table.
"What? Who are they?" she asked totally confused.
"They're paparazzi. If they find me with some random girl, it'll be all over everywhere."
"So lets get out of here. I'm not hiding every time I'm next to you guys. Lets go." She took Joel's hand and they both made their way to a back door. Motioning him to stay quiet, she pushed the door open and took his hand again. "Come on, I think we can make a run for it threw those woods. It's a worth a try." She whispered.
The two dashed across the parking lot and into the woods but they never slowed down until they reached the bus.
"Wew, we made it." Joel said out of breath.
Sam tugged her hand away from him. "Yeah, I told you it would work." She smiled.
The door swung open and Michelle was standing there with a look of relief in her eyes. "Sammie I thought Billy stole you or something!"
"Right. Billy stole me and Joel was missing too. I was with Joel the whole time stupid." She said jokingly like it was no big deal.
"Yeah, we're good. We got sick of jerks like you so we split." Joel played around.
The band, Michelle, and Sam were all on the road again. Chris and Billy played video games, Paul smacked them with yo-yos, Benji was teaching Michelle some guitar, and Sam kept Joel company while he was driving.
"These seats are so much better than my car's seats." She mentioned, rubbing the seats with her fingertips.
"Yeah they are pretty comfy. What kind of car do you have?"
"A Cadillac. I first got it when I was 16 and I thought it was the coolest thing because Tony had one. Now it's falling apart. I can't just give it up though."
"You like Mest? That's awesome."
"Yeah, Michelle got me into them before she moved in 8th grade."
"That's cool. Was it hard without her? If you mind me asking."
"Extremely. She was like my twin you know? She knew who I was and she knew the reasons behind what I did. We even had these twin-like vibes. I think it was the hardest for her though."
"Why? Wouldn't it be the same?"
Sam tensed up. "No." She said and walked out.
"Hey, where you going?" Joel said in the background.
She went and sat next to Billy who was still playing video games, alone now because Chris went to the bathroom. "Can I play?" she asked.
"Of course. Do you like racing games?"
"I am the master of racing games." She said in complete confidence. She sat down and played two rounds and lost both of them. "I give up!" She yelled throwing the controller to the ground and falling back into Michelle's lap.
"Poor Sammie." She said poking at Sam's head.
That's when Sam saw a squirt bottle and decided to have a little fun. She grabbed it and sprayed Billy in the back of the head.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.
Sam looked innocent and sprayed him again, trying to hold in laughter. Then Billy took a glass of water and poured it on her head.
"EE! Haha oh my god I'm going to kill you!" She said breaking out laughing, almost in tears.
She wrestled him to the ground. Michelle tried to run away but her foot got stuck in the mess.
"Ah! How come I always get stuck in the middle of stuff?" She struggled to get away.
When they finally got off the ground and were stable, they were thrown to the side of the bus and then the bus stopped.
"Hey bro, I told you not to stop the bus like that! Damn!" Benji could be heard from the bathroom. "I was trying to take a piss and well, I don't think you want to come in here anymore."
The bus filled with laughter to what he was saying.
"Awe did Benj miss the potty?" Joel teased and came to sit down on the couch. "So guys, do you want to hang with us in DC for a while? Me and the guys were talking it over before and we thought it would be pretty cool."
"Sure!" Michelle said in excitement.
"I don't know." Sam said unsure and was quickly nudged by Michelle. "I only have a skirt, boots, and this shirt thing. How do you think I'm going to get around like this?"
"We'll go shopping tomorrow. We could stop at the Providence Place Mall." Joel suggested.
"Okay cool. Billy probably burned my stuff anyway. Thanks." Sam gave in, nodding to Joel.
"Alrite well, I'm really tired from running and driving so I think I'm going to go to bed early." Joel yawned.
"Okay, good night." Michelle and Sam said at the same time, both receiving hugs from him.
After a few hours of watching TV with the rest of the band, Michelle and Sam stayed up.
"Wow, we're so fucking lucky. I mean, dude."
"Yeah I know." Sam agreed. "It's almost overwhelming to think about what has just gone on in the past few days."
"Mm," Michelle agreed.
The two fell asleep only a minute after having the mini conversation. No blanket, no nothing. They were out.
--the next morning-
Joel woke up first, quietly pulling together a breakfast they all could eat. Michelle, noticing everything, woke up and wandered over to Joel's side.
"Good morning." He greeted.
"Hey." She said while yawning.
"Pop tart?" he offered, waving it in her face.
She grabbed it and sat down. "Thanks."
"What do you want to do later?"
"Take a shower. I feel so gross." She said with a disgusting look on her face.
"Okay, we'll check-into a near-by hotel. We can stay there for a night if you'd like."
"Yeah sure. Me and Sammie can share a room."
"While we're on the subject of her," he started, looking at Sam and then motioning Michelle to be quiet, "What's up with her?"
"What do you mean 'what's up with her'?"
"Like, she never opens up to anyone. It's like she doesn't trust the world."
"That's because she doesn't. After Billy, I don't think she trusts anyone but me. Maybe she doesn't even trust herself."
"I wish she'd open up to me more."
"Why?" she asked with a confused look on her face.
"Because I want to learn more about her. Her past seems pretty rough. I want to be able to help."
"Give her time, it takes her a while to find trust in strangers."
"I never thought of myself as a stranger. I guess you're right."
"Of course I am." She smiled.
"Well enough about Sam, what's up with you and Benj. You guys have been spending a lot of time together." He said in a curious voice.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She winked and walked out.
"Dude, no one tells me anything."
Michelle quietly walked into the sitting area as Sam was just waking up.
"Morning sexy." Michelle greeted her jokingly.
"Hi." Sam said with a yawn, pulling up the blanket someone had given her during the night. "Who gave me the blanket?"
"Don't know. Get dressed we're going shopping today with the guys."
Sam immediately shot up. "We're in Providence already!"
Michelle laughed, "Yep."
Because he heard people talking, Joel walked in.
"Nice hair." Sam said laughing because it wasn't spiked yet.
Michelle looked at Joel and looked away in excitement. "Oh yeah and guess what Sammie!!" she said without even giving Sam a chance to say what. "We get to stay at a hotel!"
"YES!" Sam screamed. "I GET TO TAKE A SHOWER!"
Then Michelle grabbed Sam's hands and they skipped and twirled around like little kids as Joel fell on the couch laughing.
"I don't appreciate you making fun of me." Sam complained, looking him straight in the eyes with a sad face. His smile cracked but Sam interrupted the frown. "Just kidding!' she said falling on the cushion next to him. Then, she walked off to get ready.
In the bathroom, Benji was spiking his hair. "You need to get in here?" he asked not bothering to look away from the mirror.
"Yeah, as soon as you're done. Man, I need to straighten my hair." She complained again.
Benji took out a flat iron. "Here you go."
Sam stared at him like he was crazy, "Haha, that's so sad.". She took the iron and quickly heated and straightened her hair, which wasn't the easiest task. "Dude, push over you're hogging the mirror."
"No, I need the mirror." Benji said pushing her over.
"Come on I need it too."
"Well I was here first."
"Well guess what buddy, I'm here now." She finished, thrusting him over to the other side.
Benji finally gave in and laughed his way out of the bathroom.
Joel, seeing Benji come out, got up and walked into it.
"Don't tell me you need the mirror now." Sam said with a sigh.
"Nope. I have to brush my teeth."
Sam nodded and pushed back so Joel could be in front of the sink. She struggled to put eyeliner on over his back.
Joel, forgetting he was so close to Sam, backed up into her making her draw a dark black line up her forehead.
He turned around in shock. "Oh my god I'm so sorry!" He said trying not to get any closer.
Sam laughed, "It's okay, really. Can I please have a wet towel or something?"
Joel hurried to get what she wanted. "Need some help?" he asked, feeling bad.
Sam nodded, not being able to open her eyes because of scratching them with the pencil.
He pressed only hard enough to slowly make the dark line fade into nothing. At first, Sam was tense about the whole idea of someone even being that close to her but as he rubbed the wet towel across her head she felt... safe.
He finally finished and stepped away to see if it was fully gone. "Alright. All done."
Sam finally opened her eyes to see how good of a job he did. She smiled. "Thanks."
Within that 'thanks', Joel felt her slowly becoming comfortable with him and couldn't help but smile back.
"Guys we're here!" Billy yelled from the driver's seat of the bus.
Sam and Joel filed out of the bathroom and into the sitting area where everyone else was.
"Take you guys long enough?" Michelle said sarcastically.
"Shut up we had an incident." Sam explained.
Michelle's eyebrows went up. "I don't want know."
Joel rolled his eyes and grabbed his Mest sweatshirt. Then, he handed Sam his MADE one. "You can wear this since yours is pretty dirty from when we went to the restaurant."
Sam smiled thankfully and accepted the offer.
"Alright, alright lets get some shopping done!" Michelle screeched in a gay way.
Everyone laughed as they all stepped off the bus.
:: Walking down the halls ::
"Where do you guys what to go first?" Billy asked looking around at the many stores around him.
"Pac Sun?" Sam suggested.
"Okay, you guys can go there, I'm going to hit Hot Topic real quick." Benji said making his way to the second floor, taking Billy with him.
"We'll meet up with you guys there." Michelle added taking Sam's arm and locking it with hers. "Lets run away together!"
"Pac Sun away!"
By the time they reached the store, they figured out that no one had followed them.
"Stupid man-whores ditched us! Damn them!" She paused, "Okay lets go!"
They both bought two pairs of pants and bracelets and made their way out of the store.
"Where to next?" Michelle asked.
Just then they heard someone screaming "SAMMIE!! SAMMIE!!" from behind them. They turned around to find Kate, their old friend, running towards them.
"Kate!" Sam screamed, running towards her as well.
The two met and hugged.
"Oh my god where have you been?!" Kate asked.
Sam paused, "Uh… a lot of places."
Michelle came over giving Kate a hug as well. "Come hang out with us. Everyone else ditched us."
"Okay. Who are you here with?"
"Some guys." Sam answered, looking at Michelle with a smile telling her to keep it as a surprise. "Lets go to Hot Topic."
"Alright."
The group of now three people marched their way into Hot Topic only to find no one.
"Um… where'd everyone?" Michelle asked looking curiously at Sam.
"Hmm… Billy? Chris?"
"Billy's here! Wow I haven't seen him in a while either." Kate said with excitement.
"Haha, I'm sure." Sam sarcastically answered.
"I'm right here!" Chris yelled stepping out of the changing room.
Kate's jaw dropped in speechlessness.
"How… you... he... him... them… THEM… you… how!?"
Sam just smiled and walked over to Chris. She introduced the two. "Chris, Kate. Kate, Chris."
Kate was still completely speechless as she shook his hand. Then Benji stepped out of the changing room two doors down.
"Hey who's she?" he asked buckling his belt.
"This is our old friend Kate. We just found her." Michelle answered him.
"Hey I'm Benj." He introduced himself, holding his hand out for her to shake it.
"Where'd Billy go?" Michelle asked as she walked around to find someone else.
"He said he was going to Yankee Candle with Joel." Benji answered.
"Haha oh god. Well, to Yankee Candle we go." Sam grabbed Kate's wrist and led her out to the hallway. Kate stopped, pulling her back.
"What is going on!? How'd you meet them?"
"A concert. Look, it's a long story and I don't feel like telling it now so come on." She said pulling her to the store again.
When the reached the store Joel was just walking out with a small bag in his hand.
Sam skipped over to him. "What'd you buy?" she took the bag out of his hand.
"A big vanilla candle."
"Hmm… good choice. Oh yeah, this is my friend Kate. Kate, this is Joel."
"Hey." Kate managed to choke out.
"Be normal!" Sam whispered in Kate's ear.
As they all were almost to Hot Topic again they heard Drew running down the hall screaming Kate's name.
"YOU DITCHED ME FOR HER!"
"I ditched you for my sexy beast." Kate smiled.
"I'm leaving, lets go."
"Okay, fine. Bye Sam, Joel, Billy."
Kate walked away and the rest of the group finished their way to Hot Topic. There, Sam bought more pants, some shirts, and a bathing suit.
"Okay is everyone ready to leave?" she asked, struggling to hold all of her bags.
Everyone agreed to go and then drove to a nearby hotel.
"Welcome, how many rooms will you need tonight?"
Joel counted everyone. "Four."
"Okay, here's your keys, enjoy your stay."
Joel handed every other person a key. "Okay, now pair off."
Sam grabbed Michelle's arm at the same time Michelle grabbed hers. "US!"
"Okay then go ahead and unpack."
The two took the elevator to the 6th floor and opened the door to their very own hotel room.
"EEE!" Michelle screeched as she watched Sam run and jump on the HUGE king-size bed.
"This thing could fit like… like… six people!"
Michelle gave Sam a jokingly dirty look. "Oooooh Benji? Where are those handcuffs Sammie!?" She called playfully.
"I'm not even going to ask." Benj said from behind her.
Her dirty grin soon turned into a red-faced smirk. "That wasn't cool."
Sam ran over and kicked the door shut and ripped through a CD case she always kept with her. "Life House, Linkin Park, no, no, no, no. Woo I found it!" she threw the CD in the stereo that the hotel had set up in the living room. Turning the volume up to 25 she started screaming; "It's a new day but it all feels old… "
Michelle soon joined in, "It's a good life, that's what I'm told but everything it all just feels the same!"
The two jumped around on the bed to the songs they used to obsess over. Soon, there was a knock on the door.
"Delivery!" a man shouted from behind the door.
Sam went to open it. "Yes?"
"A delivery for a… Samantha Gillan?"
"Oh, that's me." She took the envelope and slowly walked over to Michelle. "I wonder who this is from." She said opening the envelope carefully.
The note read:
Dear Sam,
I miss you. I'm sorry for being a jerk-off the past times I've talked to you. Look, I need to talk to you so meet me outside of the hotel at 10 tonight. I'll be waiting.
I love you,
Billy
Sam's reaction to the note was quick and simple, "Shit."
"What? Who's it from?"
"Uh… my mom." She stuffed it in her sweatshirt pocket.
"Is something wrong?"
"No… no… uh… she just… uh… wanted to say hi."
"How'd she know we were staying here?'
"I don't know."
Sam suddenly felt uncomfortable and headed for the door only to find Joel standing in the way. She didn't care; she shoved right through him and outside to get some fresh air.
Quicker than usual, night hit and 10:00 rolled around and Sam found herself walking back to the hotel. She could see Billy standing up ahead under the streetlight. She tried not to look at him but found herself walking faster, aiming towards the one she thought she hated.
Billy recognized her in the shadows and ran to give her a hug. "I knew you'd come."
"Yeah… " She said, pulling away slightly.
"Do you want to take a walk?"
"No."
"Okay then we'll stay out here."
"What do you want? I know there's a reason why you came here." Sam threw out at him.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" she snapped again.
"For being a dick. For acting like an overprotective bastard."
Sam loosened up. "You got that right."
Billy stepped closer and kissed her softly on the lips. "Do you forgive me?'
"Maybe." Sam protested.
He leaned in and kissed her again only this time a little bit more passionately. "How 'bout now?"
Sam stood there not knowing what to say.
"Look, I'll call your cell tonight. I love you." He said giving her one more kiss, this time going all out on it, and walked away into the shadows.
She stepped into the hotel lobby, only to be pushed onto the nearby couch by Joel.
"What the hell?" she yelled in his face.
"That's exactly what I should say."
"Why?"
"Don't play stupid. I saw and heard everything out there. What the fuck? I thought you dumped him?"
"I did." She pushed up; trying get away but Joel pulled her back down.
"Sam, talk to me. Tell me what the hell you're going through!"
"Why? You're a fucking celebrity why would you even give a shit what I go through?" She held back tears. This wasn't helping and she was soon going to go into a breakdown.
"Because I want to be your friend dammit! Every time I try to talk to you, you either give me attitude or run away!"
A tear slipped down her cheek. "You don't understand."
Joel's voice softened and he put one arm around her to comfort her. "I know I don't. But can you at least help me try?"
She rapped her arms around him and gripped his shirt until her knuckles turned white. Tears streamed down her face as she buried it in his chest. "I'm sorry! I don't know who to trust anymore and just the thought of opening up to anyone fucking scares me!"
"Shhhh." He tried calming her, rubbing her back softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have flipped out at you now."
Joel helped her up and led her up to his room. When he opened the door Benji was sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Can I have a minute?" Joel asked, pointing to Sam who was still attached to his chest.
Benji nodded and made his way out the door and into Michelle's room.
Joel sat Sam down on the bed and went to get a box of tissues. When he found a box, he handed them to Sam and then whipped away her tears with his thumbs.
He laid her down and slipped a pillow under her head. In a matter of seconds, he found her asleep, still curled up against him.
Slipping away from her, he took a blanket and covered the both of them up. Soon, he fell asleep as well.
Man i guess 7 is my lucky number or something because i like this chapter the best. I dont know why it just.. *sigh* i dont know.
NOW COMMENT PEOPLE!!
Chapter One- The ugly life
Sam stumbled off the sidewalk sprinting for her car. A convertible but the worst anyone could ever imagine. What used to be a fire engine red was now a rusty blood color. She forced the key in the ignition. "Start dammit!" she yelled. The car could hardly start. Not even the best mechanics could have fixed up this mess. Luckily, the car started up with a rawr as Sam drove angrily away from the club.
Sam drove to a near-by gas station, parking her car in the back. Grabbing her cell phone she called one of her best and closest friends of the moment.
"Hello?" a scratchy voice said from the other line.
"Mo, it's Sam. Dude I need your help! These 'want to be ghetto' people are trying to kill me, literally!"
"Ugh! I told you not to try to steal their diamond rings!" Mo laughed, "I'll meet you at the normal spot."
Sam laughed along, "Alright, later."
She hopped in her car once again and drove away to the beach. Once there, Sam took a deep breath, hoping no one had followed her to the hide-away. She stepped out but one of her chains hooked on to her key ring and made her spring back into her seat. She struggled to unlatch it but during her struggle Mo stepped up beside her causing Sam to jump.
"What the hell don't do that!" Sam said in a soft voice. Mo swung her hand around Sam to unlatch her chain. With one swipe she was free. "Thanks." Sam said, a little embarrassed.
"Eh, no problem. Now where's those thugs?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know. I just need a bodyguard to help me out. Just for tonight, you know?" Sam stood up as Mo slowly checked her over. She was wearing a black tank top, a plaid ruffle skirt, chains, fishnet tights, and black knee-high leather boots. "Special occasion?" Mo snickered. Sam pulled on her MADE sweatshirt, holding it close to her skin as if it were her only protection from the world. She looked almost helpless, like something had happened. Something had made her feel as if she should trust no one.
"What's up?" Mo said in a worried voice.
"Nothing."
"I have a feeling something more than just a few stolen rings happened tonight. Why won't you tell me?"
Sam ignored her curiosity, "I'm tired. Look I don't know why I even called you. There's nothing you can do right now. I'll sleep in my car."
"You aren't sleeping in that run down there, anyone could come around. Crash at my apartment for a while. Dave isn't going to be home for a couple of weeks. I insist."
"Fine." Sam said feeling as if Mo was only doing this out of sympathy.
They arrived at the semi-nice apartment. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll take Dave's bed, you can have mine. Sam sat down on the nice couch not knowing if she could get back up or not. Unlacing her shoes her cell phone rang. She let it ring a couple of times until she finally answered it.
"Hello?" She said, not knowing who it was because her caller-id had broken.
"Sammie!!" A loud voice screamed excitedly on the other end.
"Hey Minky." Sam smiled at the fact that it wasn't someone trying to get her.
"Are you still coming with me to the GC concert in NYC tomorrow?"
"Shit!" Sam said, her voice rising, "I..I.." she sighed, "Of course."
"Alright I'll meet you in the front of the arena tomorrow morning. 6:00 sharp, you better be there."
"I will, I promise." Sam said in an unsure tone. They hung up.
Later that night as Mo was sleeping Sam snuck out of the bedroom in pure darkness. She struggled putting on the same clothes she had worn the night before. Walking into the bathroom she saw all of Mo's makeup, the same makeup that Sam bought. Quickly putting dark eyeliner, blood red lipstick, and eyeliner going from her brow to the middle of her cheek she made sure there wasn't a sound just incase she woke up Mo. Sam wrote Mo a note..
Mo- Hey. I had some 'unfinished business' to take care of. I won't be back so don't wait up. I'll call you as soon as I can. <3 Sammie
She snatched up her keys and headed out the door. Jumping in her car she again struggled to turn it on. This time it took a few tries but it finally started. Driving for hours she thought of everything. She hated life, hated living life like this. Always hanging out with stoners and alcoholics. She hadn't done that until the 10th grade. Ever since the 9th grade she had been picked on, shoved around, and ignored almost making her get to the point of self-destruction. But she held on. She was always determined to live a better life even though she knew it would take years and years.
Seeing Michelle, she swerved off the road and next to Michelle's parked car. A nice car unlike hers. Sam stepped out looking dead.
"What the hell have you been up to?" Michelle asked.
Sam felt comforted. She always did with Michelle. Like she could tell her, her whole life without stopping and wondering if she would understand. "It's a long story."
"I have time. Who is it about? What is it about? Tell me!" Michelle said in a babyish whine.
"Who do you think." Sam said with a slight tear slipping down her cheek.
"Awe Sammie" Michelle said in another babyish voice hugging and trying to comfort Sam.
"I fucking hate him. I don't know why I need him, I just…"
"Do." Michelle said finishing Sam's sentence. "We can talk about Billy later, right now lets go see some GC. WOOT!" Michelle said crazily.
"Okay." Sam said breaking out of her tear mood and into a cheerful one. Michelle had a gift. When someone was down, she could always make them smile.
They walked up to the tall building but Michelle quickly took Sam by the sleeve and pulled her over the back. "I forgot the tickets, we'll have to sneak in." Acting like secret agents they slid through the doors. Almost to the mosh pit they felt someone pull them around but they closed their eyes. "It's a security guard isn't it?" Sam said with no surprise. They opened their eyes. "OH MY GOD!" Sam screamed as the person was finally revealed.
Billy leaned in and grabbed Sam's wrist. "You didn't say good-bye to me last night. You better have a good reason for this!" he screamed through his tightly clenched teeth.
"I..I..I'm sorry, I just thought you were busy." She managed to spit out in fear.
"So you left me there!!" He threw her down to the ground getting ready to kick her. Just then Michelle slammed her fist against his cheek with all her strength. "Back off you fucking cheep bastard!" she said staring into his brown eyes. He left with even more anger as Sam lyed there crying on the cold dusty floor.
"I need to talk to him. I have to say I'm sorry!" Sam said with heavy black makeup running down her cheeks.
"You aren't going anywhere. We came here for GC not for Billy." Michelle grabbed Sam by the arm pulling her off the floor. "Let's go."
They shuffled their way through the crowd, finally stopping a row behind the first. "Cool, second row!" Michelle said with tons of excitement. Sam just stood there. For once in her life she wasn't excited to see her favorite band. Her only love other than Billy. The people who she had looked up to for years and she didn't care.
Throughout the whole concert while Michelle jumped around Sam stood there staring at the floor, crying now and then to some slow sad songs. She felt lifeless and crushed. After what she had done there was no reason for her to be enjoying something.
The lights faded on as the crowd hurried out but they just stood there. Michelle didn't want to say anything wrong so she kept quiet. "Do you think we should go?" Sam said almost in a whisper.
"If you want to. Do you want to sit here and talk for a little while?"
"Sure." The two sat down in the seats that were pushed all over the place. There was awkward silence for about two minutes until Sam finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have got you into this."
"It's okay, really. But if you don't mind me asking," She paused, "what happened the night before last?"
Sam grew tense. She didn't want anybody to know anything bad about anyone she was around. "We were at a club." She started, "I drove Billy there like I always do because his car was stolen about a month ago. He bought me a drink and went off doing god only knows what. So being the curious person I am, I decided to follow him this time. He went into this backroom with a couple of his friends and this blonde chick. I think her name was Amanda or something, I can't really remember." She stopped and tried to hold back tears.
"And..?" Michelle questioned, wanting to know more.
"He was all over her and she was all over him. What could I do you know? If I spoke up he would hate me. I didn't want to hurt him either. He has given me everything I have ever needed; an apartment, money, food. Without him I would be living out on the streets. So I left making up an excuse that I stole some gangster folks' rings, which never happened."
"So why was he here? Why did he follow?"
"I guess he was worried. I never had the chance to call him last night and I was too afraid he'd find out I was spying on him. Sometimes I actually do want to kill him but then the thought that I love him takes over."
"You can't lo.." Michelle was quickly interrupted. Sam looked up, still with tears flowing down her cheeks. Michelle looked too.
"Sammie! Sammie!" she shrieked looking at the five members of Good Charlotte standing at the edge of the stage.
"Hey, you okay?" Paul asked with a caring voice.
"We didn't sound that bad did we?" Benji joked.
Sam pushed all her excitement away. "We should go."
"Hey don't you want to stay for pictures, autographs, free stuff, Benji?" Billy said with a laugh.
"BENJI!!" Michelle screamed
"No, you can stay Minky. I'll call you later." Sam said but was forced to turn back around and look at the band.
"You aren't going anywhere. We'll get at least an autograph and then we can go stay at some spiffalicious apartment. Sound good?"
Billy quickly stepped into the conversation. "Hey, want to check out our bus? This is our last show of the tour, we could take you around."
Michelle answered, "That would be awesome, lets go!" Sam had no say in this. Michelle wanted her to have a good time and to get her mind off of everything, so she had to. "We'll get cleaned up and then we'll meet you guys out back."
Sam and Michelle walked to the bathrooms.
"Here, a wet paper towel. You don't want Joel to see you like that do you? He would probably think you were a stoner. Hurry he's waiting." Michelle winked.
Sam slightly laughed, "Thanks. I could never pass down Joel. Maybe not talk to him, but pass him down? Dude that just wouldn't be cool!" she lied.
They walked out to the back and stepped on the bus. Right away Michelle and Sam's eyes lit up.
"WEEE!" Sam squeaked looking around the sitting area of the tour bus. "This is soo great!". For once, Michelle was the one being speechless. Then the guys stepped on.
"Alright where to first?" Joel asked Sam.
"It's your bus. You decide" Sam said in a little moody kind of tone. Michelle stared at her. What was she doing? One minute she's happy and the next she's giving someone she adores attitude.
Joel nodded with a fake smile on his face. A fan had never acted this way towards him before. Sam acted as if she didn't even know he was famous.
"I'm tired can you drop us off at some hotel. Or even on the streets, I've slept everywhere it doesn't matter." Sam spit out with a little less attitude.
"Well we for one I'm not leaving you guys on the streets. And two we don't stop until DC so you want to stay the night? We could drop you off somewhere tomorrow if you really want to." Benji stated.
"Fine." Sam said grabbing a pillow and heading for the floor in the kitchen area.
"You can't sleep on the floor. I wont let you sleep on the floor I mean." Benji pulled out a hat with little pieces of paper in it. "This is our voting hat but for now you each can pull out a name and the person you pull out is the one you will share a bed with."
Michelle instantly loved the idea so she ran over and chose first. "Benji!" she said, trying to stay calm. Sam threw her hand in not caring who she got. "Joel." She said starting to smile but also starting to turn away.
They all got ready for bed. Sam wore one of Billy's level 27 shirts and a pare of Chris's baggy jeans. Michelle slept in her normal clothes except for one of Benji's MADE t-shirts. Sam and Joel stood trying to figure out who was going in first but they finally came to the conclusion of Sam going in first just incase Joel pushed her off the bed. The lights went out.
"Do you hate me?" Joel asked with major curiosity.
"How would I hate you, I just met you and I've hardly said a word to you." Sam said in a voice as kind as she could get it at the moment.
"Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"This and that." She answered as the room became silent. About a minute went by as Joel heard 'I'm sorry' from Sam's mouth.
"For what?" he asked.
"For being a bitch. I meant nothing by it; I was just in a bad mood. I don't blame you if you were mad."
"Of course I wasn't mad. A little confused but nowhere near mad. You seemed like a nice girl but the fact that you treated me like you didn't even know who I was made no sense. Well, good-night."
"Good-night." Sam said quietly just as she heard the phone ring.
Sam didn't want to get up but she did anyway. "Hel.." she started but was immediately interrupted.
"Dude it's Mo. Why the hell is Billy so pissed off? He came to my house and started screaming at me saying that you were acting weird. So I screamed at him and told him I knew nothing about it."
"Oh my god I'm so sorry! What did you do?"
"I smacked him. Duh." Mo said emotionless.
"Well I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. It's been really crazy lately."
"Yeah, it's okay. But dude, where are you?" Mo said with a lot of curiosity in her voice.
"Um..uh..with..with Minky in..uh..uh..Massachusetts?" Sam stuttered out.
"Uh? Alright, sure. Well I'll talk to you..sometime. Later." They hung up and Sam turned off her phone. She didn't want anyone to call her just incase the words of where she was slipped. If Billy were to find out, he'd shoot her down.
She climbed in bed, hopping over Joel once again.
"Who was that?" Joel asked.
"My friend, Mo."
Joel nodded as he rolled over and fell asleep. Sam did the same. She had had one of the biggest and most tiring days of her life and she couldn't go another day with no sleep.
The next morning Michelle, of course, was the first one awake so she decided to go through the fridge and figure out what to make for breakfast. "Damn do they eat anything?". She moved up to the cupboards. Looking through them she found pancake mix. "Eh..this'll have to do." Michelle threw the pan on the stove and started mixing the few ingredients. She had never known how to make small individual sized ones so she just made one huge pancake.
Next, Sam woke up. She had been up for hours and could hear Michelle in the kitchen making tons of noise. Climbing over Joel she tried her best to not wake him. "Oh shit!" she said falling down to the floor, waking everyone up. "he..hey ya'll." She said trying to smile. The guys shook their heads and hid under their pillows giving Sam a perfect time to run for the kitchen.
"Morning Sammie."
"Hey." She said laughing at what had just happened.
"Well you're defiantly in a good mood today."
"Yep. OO pancakes. Just the way we always used to make them." She said with a warm smile. They used to have so many good times together but it all changed when Michelle moved in the 8th grade.
Benji came in rubbing his eyes as Joel slowly trailed in after him. The two sat down looking at the oversized pancake that lay on the table. "What the hell?"
"Breakfast, Sammie and Michelle style." She said in a playful way.
"We all share." Sam added.
"Well I'm not waiting any longer for those losers to come in so lets go." Benji said in hunger.
Sam and Michelle agreed. They all sat around one large pancake covered in syrup. Just as they finished Chris, Billy, and Paul stepped in. Before they could say anything there was a knock on the door. Joel went over to answer it just incase it was some paparazzi trying to get fake scoops on why there were girls staying with them. He slowly opened the door.
"Is Sam here?"
"Yeah, one second." Joel said in a confused way. He motioned Sam to go over to the door.
"Yes?" she said as she turned the corner. "Billy?! What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you." He said pulling her outside. "What's with this?"
"Who, the guys? Oh they're just doing us a little favor..i think. I have so much to tell you!"
"I don't care! Why haven't you been answering my calls? Have you found someone else? I bet they have something to do with it."
"Dude, my phone has been off. And no, I love you. They have nothing to do with it." She said going in closer to Billy ready to hug him.
"Bitch! I know what's going on and don't think you're getting off the hook! Not again, not this time!" Billy screamed pushing Sam into the door of the bus making everyone come out to see what was going on but Michelle stayed inside.
"Billy what are you doing!!??" Sam screamed in fear watching Billy's fist connect with her jaw. Hearing her shriek, Michelle ran outside only to find Billy running away with blood coming off of his lip from Benji's punch.
Michelle looked over at Sam who was being comforted by Paul on the ground. She gently pushed him away and looked at Sam. She had a black and blue mark starting to show up on the side of her face. Michelle threw herself at Sam giving her a huge hug.
"What did I do wrong?" Sam repeated over and over between loud sobs.
"You did NOTHING wrong Sam. He had no right to even look at you!" Michelle said trying to comfort her.
Joel ran out with ice placing it gently on Sam's swollen cheek. "This should help."
She looked up at him but couldn't dare to look him in the eyes. "Thanks." She whispered being pulled into a hug by him. Her tears fell harder. His hug was more comforting than Billy's and she thought it couldn't be possible. She didn't want it to. He let go letting Michelle help her up.
"Lets go back on the bus and sit for a while. We need to talk."
Michelle and Sam sat in the bathroom because that was the only room that no one could hear them.
"You have to end this with him. He's going to keep hurting you and if he makes you cry this bad, he's not worth it."
"But I love him."
"No you don't. I know you don't. You just think you do because he's given you a lot. You don't need that anymore we have these guys and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help us out."
"Give me my phone..please?" Michelle handed Sam the phone. Sam's tears fell more as she dialed a phone number.
"Who are you calling?" Michelle asked.
"Shhhh!" Sam hushed her. "Billy?..
"What?" Billy answered angrily.
"I can't see you," she paused "or talk to you anymore."
"What the fuck? What has gotten into you lately? First you run away from me and now you can't even talk to me anymore."
"You followed me to a place where I felt safe and beat me. Someone finally made me realize that I need to move on. I know this is the right decision."
"Whatever, fuck you! I never loved you. I never cared. I just felt bad for you so I gave you stuff. I trusted you. Go ahead and fuck off!" he said, slamming the phone down.
Michelle stared at Sam wondering what had just gone on. Sam kept a blank stare for almost a minute straight.
"What happened?" Michelle asked holding a caring hand out waiting for Sam to cry, but she didn't. She sat there with a smile on her face like nothing had ever happened. As if nothing had ever hurt her in her whole life.
"We're over." She said. "He said he never loved me just like I never loved him. I think this is good for the both of us."
Michelle smiled and hugged her and then they both walked out of the bathroom together. Waiting for them on the couch the band waited for the story of what had happened. Just as they were going to ask, Sam let out a scream of excitement.
"It's raining!"
"So?" Joel asked as everyone else just looked at her with confused eyes.
"I love rain, lets all go run around in it. Please, it'll be fun." She said with a sweet smile that no one could resist.
"Okay." They all said as they strolled out the door.
As soon as Sam's foot touched the ground she ran around, skipping and laughing like she had no worries. Michelle quickly followed and locked arm with her. "Lets run away together!" She said jokingly. Both of them laughed hysterically as they galloped around the truck stop jumping in every puddle possible. Soon Chris joined, locking arms with Sam and jumping harder into the puddles causing them to splash higher.
"Come on you guys!" He screamed trying to get the rest of the band members to join.
Benji joined next, locking arms with Michelle. Next, Joel jumped holding onto Benji as he glided around trying to force Billy and Paul to have a go of the fun. Of course Billy couldn't resist and he locked arms with Paul and then attacked himself to Chris's arm.
All of them laughed and smiled as they slipped, tripped, and drenched themselves in the soothing rain.
Then they all went inside to dry off.
"Anyone up for some hot chocolate?" Paul suggested.
"Me!" Michelle, Sam, and Benji said all at once. They looked at each other as if they knew they were going to say it.
"Me too." Joel said a little late.
"Yeah me too." Billy and Chris said.
Sam walked into the bathroom scanning the room for a towel to dry her hair. Just then Joel walked in.
"Looking for this?" He said pulling out a soft, blue towel.
"Thanks." She said with a warming smile.
"Are you having fun so far? You know, staying with us?"
"Of course I am! It seems like I've known you guys for my whole life. You're really great, I wish you guys could stay with us sometime." She said ruffling her hair around in the towel and then searching for a brush. "Crap, I don't have any of my stuff. No brush, no anything."
"Well I'm glad you're having fun. I am too. It's not everyday you meet fans who are…normal." He pulled a comb out of the drawer. "You can use this. We'll have to stop somewhere to pick up your stuff.
"My 'stuff' is at Billy's house. I'm not going back. Whose comb is this?"
"Chris's. Of course he doesn't use it so you can have it."
"Thanks." She said running the large comb through her long drenched hair. Joel picked up part of it and ran his fingers through it but she pulled away and walked out.
"Hot chocolate ready?" She asked in a perky voice.
"Yeah but be careful, it's still kind of hot." Paul said, always caring. She took the cup and plopped down on the couch next to Benji who was watching 7th Heaven.
"OO I love this show!"
"Yeah It's pretty cool." He said zoned into the TV.
"You don't seem like the kind of guy to like it. That's pretty cool."
"Mm.." he said not paying attention to what he was agreeing to.
Michelle sat down next to Sam nudging her to switch spots with her. Of course Sam switched knowing that Michelle had a HUGE crush on Benji. It was so adorable and they looked so cute together.
"You like this show?" Benji asked Michelle.
"Yeah, it's okay. I'm used to watching it with Sam."
"That's cool, now you can get used to watching it with me."
Sam rolled her eyes jokingly feeling ignored. "I can see when I'm not wanted" she joked, walking out of the sitting area and into the bed part. Sitting on Joel's bed she started to pray. She needed to thank god for all of this. Tons of stress was finally off her chest and she could relax with people who she had looked up to for years. She sat there with praying hands, not knowing Joel was standing in the doorway watching her. He backed up until she was finished and walked back in making it seem as if he didn't see anything.
"Hey what's up?" she asked.
"Nothing. You want to go eat out somewhere? There's a place right down the road where we can walk to. They have really good veggie-burgers."
"Sounds cool." She said, grabbing a blanket and heading for the door.
Joel laughed, "I'll give you a sweatshirt. You aren't taking that thing with us. And go change we're going to a restaurant not a gym." He joked around.
She smiled and didn't argue. Quickly slipping on the clothes that she had worn for days and a Mest sweatshirt, she threw up her hair in a messy pony-tail. Then, she hurried out the door with Joel. "Aren't the other guys coming?"
"Nah, they hate this place. I go here alone when we come around to this area."
"This area? I know this area! This is Connecticut! We're almost home! My home!" She said excitedly.
The two talked about what else they had in common besides Veggie-burgers and figured out that they did have much in common. Both of their dads had walked out and both had lived out on the streets at one point or another.
They were then greeted at the door by a host dressed in a dark suit. "Table for two?" he asked.
Joel nodded as they were led over to a large booth with wooden panels and bright-red, winding seats.
"A little big for two people down you think?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Am I fat or something?" He laughed.
"Far from it. Oh well, more room for us."
They both ordered a veggie-burger and fries. Just as they were going to eat they saw a bus pull up next to the window.
"What the hell?" Sam said surprised.
20 people piled out of the bus; 5 with cameras.
"Shit, get down!" Joel tried to say quietly, taking Sam's wrist and pulling her down under the table.
"What? Who are they?" she asked totally confused.
"They're paparazzi. If they find me with some random girl, it'll be all over everywhere."
"So lets get out of here. I'm not hiding every time I'm next to you guys. Lets go." She took Joel's hand and they both made their way to a back door. Motioning him to stay quiet, she pushed the door open and took his hand again. "Come on, I think we can make a run for it threw those woods. It's a worth a try." She whispered.
The two dashed across the parking lot and into the woods but they never slowed down until they reached the bus.
"Wew, we made it." Joel said out of breath.
Sam tugged her hand away from him. "Yeah, I told you it would work." She smiled.
The door swung open and Michelle was standing there with a look of relief in her eyes. "Sammie I thought Billy stole you or something!"
"Right. Billy stole me and Joel was missing too. I was with Joel the whole time stupid." She said jokingly like it was no big deal.
"Yeah, we're good. We got sick of jerks like you so we split." Joel played around.
The band, Michelle, and Sam were all on the road again. Chris and Billy played video games, Paul smacked them with yo-yos, Benji was teaching Michelle some guitar, and Sam kept Joel company while he was driving.
"These seats are so much better than my car's seats." She mentioned, rubbing the seats with her fingertips.
"Yeah they are pretty comfy. What kind of car do you have?"
"A Cadillac. I first got it when I was 16 and I thought it was the coolest thing because Tony had one. Now it's falling apart. I can't just give it up though."
"You like Mest? That's awesome."
"Yeah, Michelle got me into them before she moved in 8th grade."
"That's cool. Was it hard without her? If you mind me asking."
"Extremely. She was like my twin you know? She knew who I was and she knew the reasons behind what I did. We even had these twin-like vibes. I think it was the hardest for her though."
"Why? Wouldn't it be the same?"
Sam tensed up. "No." She said and walked out.
"Hey, where you going?" Joel said in the background.
She went and sat next to Billy who was still playing video games, alone now because Chris went to the bathroom. "Can I play?" she asked.
"Of course. Do you like racing games?"
"I am the master of racing games." She said in complete confidence. She sat down and played two rounds and lost both of them. "I give up!" She yelled throwing the controller to the ground and falling back into Michelle's lap.
"Poor Sammie." She said poking at Sam's head.
That's when Sam saw a squirt bottle and decided to have a little fun. She grabbed it and sprayed Billy in the back of the head.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.
Sam looked innocent and sprayed him again, trying to hold in laughter. Then Billy took a glass of water and poured it on her head.
"EE! Haha oh my god I'm going to kill you!" She said breaking out laughing, almost in tears.
She wrestled him to the ground. Michelle tried to run away but her foot got stuck in the mess.
"Ah! How come I always get stuck in the middle of stuff?" She struggled to get away.
When they finally got off the ground and were stable, they were thrown to the side of the bus and then the bus stopped.
"Hey bro, I told you not to stop the bus like that! Damn!" Benji could be heard from the bathroom. "I was trying to take a piss and well, I don't think you want to come in here anymore."
The bus filled with laughter to what he was saying.
"Awe did Benj miss the potty?" Joel teased and came to sit down on the couch. "So guys, do you want to hang with us in DC for a while? Me and the guys were talking it over before and we thought it would be pretty cool."
"Sure!" Michelle said in excitement.
"I don't know." Sam said unsure and was quickly nudged by Michelle. "I only have a skirt, boots, and this shirt thing. How do you think I'm going to get around like this?"
"We'll go shopping tomorrow. We could stop at the Providence Place Mall." Joel suggested.
"Okay cool. Billy probably burned my stuff anyway. Thanks." Sam gave in, nodding to Joel.
"Alrite well, I'm really tired from running and driving so I think I'm going to go to bed early." Joel yawned.
"Okay, good night." Michelle and Sam said at the same time, both receiving hugs from him.
After a few hours of watching TV with the rest of the band, Michelle and Sam stayed up.
"Wow, we're so fucking lucky. I mean, dude."
"Yeah I know." Sam agreed. "It's almost overwhelming to think about what has just gone on in the past few days."
"Mm," Michelle agreed.
The two fell asleep only a minute after having the mini conversation. No blanket, no nothing. They were out.
--the next morning-
Joel woke up first, quietly pulling together a breakfast they all could eat. Michelle, noticing everything, woke up and wandered over to Joel's side.
"Good morning." He greeted.
"Hey." She said while yawning.
"Pop tart?" he offered, waving it in her face.
She grabbed it and sat down. "Thanks."
"What do you want to do later?"
"Take a shower. I feel so gross." She said with a disgusting look on her face.
"Okay, we'll check-into a near-by hotel. We can stay there for a night if you'd like."
"Yeah sure. Me and Sammie can share a room."
"While we're on the subject of her," he started, looking at Sam and then motioning Michelle to be quiet, "What's up with her?"
"What do you mean 'what's up with her'?"
"Like, she never opens up to anyone. It's like she doesn't trust the world."
"That's because she doesn't. After Billy, I don't think she trusts anyone but me. Maybe she doesn't even trust herself."
"I wish she'd open up to me more."
"Why?" she asked with a confused look on her face.
"Because I want to learn more about her. Her past seems pretty rough. I want to be able to help."
"Give her time, it takes her a while to find trust in strangers."
"I never thought of myself as a stranger. I guess you're right."
"Of course I am." She smiled.
"Well enough about Sam, what's up with you and Benj. You guys have been spending a lot of time together." He said in a curious voice.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She winked and walked out.
"Dude, no one tells me anything."
Michelle quietly walked into the sitting area as Sam was just waking up.
"Morning sexy." Michelle greeted her jokingly.
"Hi." Sam said with a yawn, pulling up the blanket someone had given her during the night. "Who gave me the blanket?"
"Don't know. Get dressed we're going shopping today with the guys."
Sam immediately shot up. "We're in Providence already!"
Michelle laughed, "Yep."
Because he heard people talking, Joel walked in.
"Nice hair." Sam said laughing because it wasn't spiked yet.
Michelle looked at Joel and looked away in excitement. "Oh yeah and guess what Sammie!!" she said without even giving Sam a chance to say what. "We get to stay at a hotel!"
"YES!" Sam screamed. "I GET TO TAKE A SHOWER!"
Then Michelle grabbed Sam's hands and they skipped and twirled around like little kids as Joel fell on the couch laughing.
"I don't appreciate you making fun of me." Sam complained, looking him straight in the eyes with a sad face. His smile cracked but Sam interrupted the frown. "Just kidding!' she said falling on the cushion next to him. Then, she walked off to get ready.
In the bathroom, Benji was spiking his hair. "You need to get in here?" he asked not bothering to look away from the mirror.
"Yeah, as soon as you're done. Man, I need to straighten my hair." She complained again.
Benji took out a flat iron. "Here you go."
Sam stared at him like he was crazy, "Haha, that's so sad.". She took the iron and quickly heated and straightened her hair, which wasn't the easiest task. "Dude, push over you're hogging the mirror."
"No, I need the mirror." Benji said pushing her over.
"Come on I need it too."
"Well I was here first."
"Well guess what buddy, I'm here now." She finished, thrusting him over to the other side.
Benji finally gave in and laughed his way out of the bathroom.
Joel, seeing Benji come out, got up and walked into it.
"Don't tell me you need the mirror now." Sam said with a sigh.
"Nope. I have to brush my teeth."
Sam nodded and pushed back so Joel could be in front of the sink. She struggled to put eyeliner on over his back.
Joel, forgetting he was so close to Sam, backed up into her making her draw a dark black line up her forehead.
He turned around in shock. "Oh my god I'm so sorry!" He said trying not to get any closer.
Sam laughed, "It's okay, really. Can I please have a wet towel or something?"
Joel hurried to get what she wanted. "Need some help?" he asked, feeling bad.
Sam nodded, not being able to open her eyes because of scratching them with the pencil.
He pressed only hard enough to slowly make the dark line fade into nothing. At first, Sam was tense about the whole idea of someone even being that close to her but as he rubbed the wet towel across her head she felt... safe.
He finally finished and stepped away to see if it was fully gone. "Alright. All done."
Sam finally opened her eyes to see how good of a job he did. She smiled. "Thanks."
Within that 'thanks', Joel felt her slowly becoming comfortable with him and couldn't help but smile back.
"Guys we're here!" Billy yelled from the driver's seat of the bus.
Sam and Joel filed out of the bathroom and into the sitting area where everyone else was.
"Take you guys long enough?" Michelle said sarcastically.
"Shut up we had an incident." Sam explained.
Michelle's eyebrows went up. "I don't want know."
Joel rolled his eyes and grabbed his Mest sweatshirt. Then, he handed Sam his MADE one. "You can wear this since yours is pretty dirty from when we went to the restaurant."
Sam smiled thankfully and accepted the offer.
"Alright, alright lets get some shopping done!" Michelle screeched in a gay way.
Everyone laughed as they all stepped off the bus.
:: Walking down the halls ::
"Where do you guys what to go first?" Billy asked looking around at the many stores around him.
"Pac Sun?" Sam suggested.
"Okay, you guys can go there, I'm going to hit Hot Topic real quick." Benji said making his way to the second floor, taking Billy with him.
"We'll meet up with you guys there." Michelle added taking Sam's arm and locking it with hers. "Lets run away together!"
"Pac Sun away!"
By the time they reached the store, they figured out that no one had followed them.
"Stupid man-whores ditched us! Damn them!" She paused, "Okay lets go!"
They both bought two pairs of pants and bracelets and made their way out of the store.
"Where to next?" Michelle asked.
Just then they heard someone screaming "SAMMIE!! SAMMIE!!" from behind them. They turned around to find Kate, their old friend, running towards them.
"Kate!" Sam screamed, running towards her as well.
The two met and hugged.
"Oh my god where have you been?!" Kate asked.
Sam paused, "Uh… a lot of places."
Michelle came over giving Kate a hug as well. "Come hang out with us. Everyone else ditched us."
"Okay. Who are you here with?"
"Some guys." Sam answered, looking at Michelle with a smile telling her to keep it as a surprise. "Lets go to Hot Topic."
"Alright."
The group of now three people marched their way into Hot Topic only to find no one.
"Um… where'd everyone?" Michelle asked looking curiously at Sam.
"Hmm… Billy? Chris?"
"Billy's here! Wow I haven't seen him in a while either." Kate said with excitement.
"Haha, I'm sure." Sam sarcastically answered.
"I'm right here!" Chris yelled stepping out of the changing room.
Kate's jaw dropped in speechlessness.
"How… you... he... him... them… THEM… you… how!?"
Sam just smiled and walked over to Chris. She introduced the two. "Chris, Kate. Kate, Chris."
Kate was still completely speechless as she shook his hand. Then Benji stepped out of the changing room two doors down.
"Hey who's she?" he asked buckling his belt.
"This is our old friend Kate. We just found her." Michelle answered him.
"Hey I'm Benj." He introduced himself, holding his hand out for her to shake it.
"Where'd Billy go?" Michelle asked as she walked around to find someone else.
"He said he was going to Yankee Candle with Joel." Benji answered.
"Haha oh god. Well, to Yankee Candle we go." Sam grabbed Kate's wrist and led her out to the hallway. Kate stopped, pulling her back.
"What is going on!? How'd you meet them?"
"A concert. Look, it's a long story and I don't feel like telling it now so come on." She said pulling her to the store again.
When the reached the store Joel was just walking out with a small bag in his hand.
Sam skipped over to him. "What'd you buy?" she took the bag out of his hand.
"A big vanilla candle."
"Hmm… good choice. Oh yeah, this is my friend Kate. Kate, this is Joel."
"Hey." Kate managed to choke out.
"Be normal!" Sam whispered in Kate's ear.
As they all were almost to Hot Topic again they heard Drew running down the hall screaming Kate's name.
"YOU DITCHED ME FOR HER!"
"I ditched you for my sexy beast." Kate smiled.
"I'm leaving, lets go."
"Okay, fine. Bye Sam, Joel, Billy."
Kate walked away and the rest of the group finished their way to Hot Topic. There, Sam bought more pants, some shirts, and a bathing suit.
"Okay is everyone ready to leave?" she asked, struggling to hold all of her bags.
Everyone agreed to go and then drove to a nearby hotel.
"Welcome, how many rooms will you need tonight?"
Joel counted everyone. "Four."
"Okay, here's your keys, enjoy your stay."
Joel handed every other person a key. "Okay, now pair off."
Sam grabbed Michelle's arm at the same time Michelle grabbed hers. "US!"
"Okay then go ahead and unpack."
The two took the elevator to the 6th floor and opened the door to their very own hotel room.
"EEE!" Michelle screeched as she watched Sam run and jump on the HUGE king-size bed.
"This thing could fit like… like… six people!"
Michelle gave Sam a jokingly dirty look. "Oooooh Benji? Where are those handcuffs Sammie!?" She called playfully.
"I'm not even going to ask." Benj said from behind her.
Her dirty grin soon turned into a red-faced smirk. "That wasn't cool."
Sam ran over and kicked the door shut and ripped through a CD case she always kept with her. "Life House, Linkin Park, no, no, no, no. Woo I found it!" she threw the CD in the stereo that the hotel had set up in the living room. Turning the volume up to 25 she started screaming; "It's a new day but it all feels old… "
Michelle soon joined in, "It's a good life, that's what I'm told but everything it all just feels the same!"
The two jumped around on the bed to the songs they used to obsess over. Soon, there was a knock on the door.
"Delivery!" a man shouted from behind the door.
Sam went to open it. "Yes?"
"A delivery for a… Samantha Gillan?"
"Oh, that's me." She took the envelope and slowly walked over to Michelle. "I wonder who this is from." She said opening the envelope carefully.
The note read:
Dear Sam,
I miss you. I'm sorry for being a jerk-off the past times I've talked to you. Look, I need to talk to you so meet me outside of the hotel at 10 tonight. I'll be waiting.
I love you,
Billy
Sam's reaction to the note was quick and simple, "Shit."
"What? Who's it from?"
"Uh… my mom." She stuffed it in her sweatshirt pocket.
"Is something wrong?"
"No… no… uh… she just… uh… wanted to say hi."
"How'd she know we were staying here?'
"I don't know."
Sam suddenly felt uncomfortable and headed for the door only to find Joel standing in the way. She didn't care; she shoved right through him and outside to get some fresh air.
Quicker than usual, night hit and 10:00 rolled around and Sam found herself walking back to the hotel. She could see Billy standing up ahead under the streetlight. She tried not to look at him but found herself walking faster, aiming towards the one she thought she hated.
Billy recognized her in the shadows and ran to give her a hug. "I knew you'd come."
"Yeah… " She said, pulling away slightly.
"Do you want to take a walk?"
"No."
"Okay then we'll stay out here."
"What do you want? I know there's a reason why you came here." Sam threw out at him.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" she snapped again.
"For being a dick. For acting like an overprotective bastard."
Sam loosened up. "You got that right."
Billy stepped closer and kissed her softly on the lips. "Do you forgive me?'
"Maybe." Sam protested.
He leaned in and kissed her again only this time a little bit more passionately. "How 'bout now?"
Sam stood there not knowing what to say.
"Look, I'll call your cell tonight. I love you." He said giving her one more kiss, this time going all out on it, and walked away into the shadows.
She stepped into the hotel lobby, only to be pushed onto the nearby couch by Joel.
"What the hell?" she yelled in his face.
"That's exactly what I should say."
"Why?"
"Don't play stupid. I saw and heard everything out there. What the fuck? I thought you dumped him?"
"I did." She pushed up; trying get away but Joel pulled her back down.
"Sam, talk to me. Tell me what the hell you're going through!"
"Why? You're a fucking celebrity why would you even give a shit what I go through?" She held back tears. This wasn't helping and she was soon going to go into a breakdown.
"Because I want to be your friend dammit! Every time I try to talk to you, you either give me attitude or run away!"
A tear slipped down her cheek. "You don't understand."
Joel's voice softened and he put one arm around her to comfort her. "I know I don't. But can you at least help me try?"
She rapped her arms around him and gripped his shirt until her knuckles turned white. Tears streamed down her face as she buried it in his chest. "I'm sorry! I don't know who to trust anymore and just the thought of opening up to anyone fucking scares me!"
"Shhhh." He tried calming her, rubbing her back softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have flipped out at you now."
Joel helped her up and led her up to his room. When he opened the door Benji was sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Can I have a minute?" Joel asked, pointing to Sam who was still attached to his chest.
Benji nodded and made his way out the door and into Michelle's room.
Joel sat Sam down on the bed and went to get a box of tissues. When he found a box, he handed them to Sam and then whipped away her tears with his thumbs.
He laid her down and slipped a pillow under her head. In a matter of seconds, he found her asleep, still curled up against him.
Slipping away from her, he took a blanket and covered the both of them up. Soon, he fell asleep as well.
Man i guess 7 is my lucky number or something because i like this chapter the best. I dont know why it just.. *sigh* i dont know.
NOW COMMENT PEOPLE!!