Chapter 3
Samantha walked slowly to school with Roxy by her side. "I need to tell you something, and it's really important. And don't laugh at me, okay?" Samantha told Roxy. "Sure. What are friends for, anyhow? What's going on?" Samantha sighed. "I think I have stronger feelings for Ricky than for Brad. Do you think that's good or bad on my part?" "Umm. I'd have to say it was half good and half bad. The good part is that you don't have strong feelings towards Brad anymore. The bad news is that you have strong feelings towards Ricky, which you told me wasn't going to happen." Samantha groaned. "My life truly sucks. I can't believe this!"
At school, Samantha saw Ricky within the first twenty minutes of her arrival. "Hey, Sammy! How are you feeling today? Any better?" Ricky asked, concerned for his friend. Samantha cleared her throat. "Oh, I'm a lot better now, and I owe it all you!" She hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much for helping me yesterday. I truly owe you one." Ricky smiled. "Oh, I wanted to ask you. Did you have the dream again last night?" Samantha stared up at him uneasily. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Umm. yeah, actually I did." There was an awkward silence between them, which Ricky broke only moments later. "I'm sorry. You want to come over after school? Roxy can come too. I want you guys to meet someone." "Sure. We'll meet you outside after eighth. Tootles." As she walked away, she could feel his eyes on her. She walked into Spanish class and sat next to Roxy. "I have to tell you this. After you went downstairs that night we were all at my house, we kissed," admitted Samantha. "What? I'm confused. Who, now?" She paused. "Ricky and me. We kissed." "Did he kiss you or did you kiss him?" "I kissed him." "Oh. why didn't you tell me sooner than this? I'm your best friend. or so I thought!" She laughed to herself. "Roxy! You know you're my best friend. Shut up. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd freak." "Whatever, man. You're messed up." "Oh, we're going to Ricky's house after school. He said he wanted us to meet someone. he asked me, okay?" Roxy nodded and wrote down what the teacher said.
After school, Roxy met Samantha outside, and they waited patiently for Ricky to come out of the school. "Dude, you have to help me. Find someone that I'd like and set me up with them. I can't be with Ricky, for the sake of our friendship. I don't want to ruin that." She got on her knees and hugged her legs. "Please?" "Fine! Just for the sake of your friendship with-" She paused and looked over, only too see Ricky walking towards them. "With me." She poked Samantha with her foot. Samantha stood up. "Howdy, howdy, Ricky. Are you ready to leave?" "Yeah, lets go," he answered. As they walked along the same, traffic filled road, Samantha broke the silence. "So, who are we meeting today, Ricky? Anyone I should know?" "I doubt it, but you will soon enough," he said back to her.
They arrived at Ricky's house in a few minutes. When they did, Ricky dropped his book bag and picked up the phone. He dialed in ten digits and waited for someone to pick up. "Hey Travis. Can you come over right now? I want you to meet a couple people." He hung up the phone a moment later and turned to the girls. "He'll be over in a few." Roxy and Samantha nodded. As they all waited for Travis to arrive, Roxy pulled Samantha away from Ricky. "If you hit it off this Travis guy, am I off the hook for finding you a guy to distract you from Ricky?" Roxy asked anxiously. "If we hit it off. Otherwise, NO!" Samantha laughed and hugged Roxy. Samantha and Roxy moseyed to Ricky's bedroom and lied down next to each other on his waterbed. Samantha began to explain her horrible dream in more detail to Roxy. The doorbell rang, so Ricky went to answer it. "Hey, dude, are we just hanging out today or what?" Travis asked. "Hanging out, I guess. I want you to meet two people. Hold on." Ricky called over his shoulder, "Roxy! Samantha! Get out here! Travis is here!" He smiled politely at Travis. They both wondered out of the room, Samantha still talking to Roxy, frequently glancing up at Roxy's face while Roxy stared down at her feet, watching where she walked. "I could hear the music more and more clearly ask I floated down the hall," Samantha explained. The turned the corner and stopped. "I knew something was behind the door-something important, something that would change my life. It was right in front of me!" She extended her index finger, unknowingly pointing at Travis until Ricky cleared his throat. She glared up, first at Ricky, then at Travis, and lastly, at her finger. She slowly retracted her finger and smiled sheepishly. Roxy grabbed Samantha be the arm and dragged her closer to Travis. "Hi," Roxy greeted. "I'm Roxy. You must be Travis. It's marvelous to meet you." She extended her hand and smiled at him. He reached out and shook her hand firmly. "Yeah, I'm Travis. Who's that behind you?" He peered around Roxy and saw Samantha. Roxy stared back at Samantha and motioned with her head to walk up and say hi to Travis. When Samantha shook her head, Roxy walked behind Samantha and pushed her closer to Travis. "Hi." Samantha managed shyly. Travis smiled at her. "Hi. Ricky's told me a lot about you. as well as about you, Roxy." He glanced back at Roxy and smiled. Returning his eyes to Samantha, he smiled, making Samantha melt inside. Wow. This guy is really nice. He's cute, too. Guess Roxy's out. for the time being. Samantha gazed up at the ceiling and smiled to herself. She soon became lost in her wonderful dream world. Ricky coughed loudly. "What do you guys want to do? I'm getting bored, here." He rolled his eyes. "Can I go vomit now. Romance makes me gag." Samantha pushed him and stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up. I know you're a total SAP!" Ricky gave Samantha an evil look then started chasing her around the house. "Get back here, Samantha Walker! I'm going to catch you sooner or later!" Samantha was laughing. "SAP! SAP! RICKY'S A SAP!!" she screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the house. She stopped abruptly to listen carefully. I'm not afraid to watch it go. But it's sobering. I'm left to fend the world off on my own. And I still struggle with it almost everyday. 'Cause it's comforting knowing you're alone. The song rang in her ears. She sat down and put her arms around her legs. It's all right, Sam. Just calm yourself down. It's nothing to be freaked out by. It's just a song, nothing more. Don't freak out in front of Travis. You might ruin your chances. She turned back and looked at Ricky. "You win! I give up." She laughed and stood up. She walked into Ricky's room and sat on his bed. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Roxy, Ricky, and Travis all walked into the room and sat on the bed next to her-Travis to the left, Ricky to the right, and Roxy lying down behind her. Samantha smiled at Ricky. "Want to talk about. stuff?" she asked uneasily. Travis laughed. "Sure! Stuff is fun to talk about!" he said excitedly. "What kind of stuff, though?" "Our characteristics! Physical and. not?" Roxy said, smiling at Samantha as she turned around to smile evilly at her. "Good idea! I'll go first!" Ricky exclaimed. "Alright. I like my nose because it's not all weird and messed up. I like my eyes because they're really dark and." He stared at Samantha. "SEXY!" he screamed. "I like my hair because. I can! I like my personality because I think that I'm a pretty nice fellow, and also because I like being who I am and not someone evil and stupid. that's about all I like about myself." Samantha smiled at him. "Shut up! You're funny, smart, nice, special, and most importantly, SEXY!!" She laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll go now," Roxy said calmly. "I like my hair because it has red tips, and that's all special. I like my eyes because they're really light blue and special. I like my boobs because they aren't huge, but they're not tiny. They're just right! I like my sense of humor because. it's not bad?" she said confusingly. "That's about it." "I like everything about you!" Samantha added. "Me too!" Ricky said. "I'll go," Travis said, clearing his throat. "I like my eyes-almost black they're so dark brown. I like my dark brown hair. I like my personality. I like my vocabulary. That's about all I can think of." "I don't know you yet, so I can't really correct you like I did with Ricky and Roxy. but if I can add something?" Samantha questioned. "Sure." "YOU'RE SEXY!!!!!" She laughed and smiled at him. "Okay, Sam. That's enough hitting on Travis. What do you like about yourself?" Roxy asked. "Alright. I like my eyes. I like my hair. I like my personality. I like how I'm a Buddhist. I like how I have awesome friends. I like my name." She paused to look back at Roxy. "I like." She sighed. "I like playing guitar. Acoustic especially. I like listening to music. I like writing poetry. that's all. Period." She stood up; arms folded across her chest, and walked out of the room. Roxy stood up and walked after her. She stopped herself at the doorway and turned back to Ricky and Travis. "She's kinda of stressed out right now. She's going through a lot. Her life's rather hectic. Be right back." She walked away and stopped Samantha in the kitchen. "What's wrong with you? I thought you wanted this." Roxy was careful to keep her voice below a whisper. "I feel guilty," Samantha murmured. "I can't move on. He stole my heart a long time ago, and that's not going to be changed by just one guy. I'm sorry. I. I just can't be with Travis if I know, no matter how hard I try, I'll always be thinking about Ricky. I can't change that. and neither can fate. or Travis, for that matter. I'm sorry if I sound stubborn right now." She picked up her book bag and opened the door. "Tell Ricky that I'm sorry." "NO!" Roxy called. "You can't leave. Just give Travis a chance. Please. You need more males in your life. One isn't enough. Even if it's just friend wise, it doesn't matter. Just get used to him." Samantha sighed and nodded. She moseyed back to Ricky's room; Roxy behind her, making sure couldn't change her mind. "I'm sorry," announced Samantha as she entered Ricky's bedroom. "I'm just kind of stressed out right now. It's stuff that. I don't want to talk about, so don't ask." She sat on the bed between Travis and Ricky. Roxy took Ricky out of the room so that Samantha could "bond" with Travis. There was an awkward silence between Samantha and Travis. "So, what's going on? Is everything alright?" Travis asked. Samantha sighed. "No, not really. It's really complicated. I'm sure you don't want to hear about it." "No, no. Tell me. Please. I want to know more about you." He reached out and held her hand. Samantha smiled. "I think I really like you." She blushed. "Oh, that's all? I thought it was something more serious than that." "Trust me, it's serious." "Oh, is it, now?" Travis leaned over and kissed Samantha. Samantha pulled back. What am I doing? I'm practically going against what I told Roxy. She closed her eyes and smiled at Travis. "Sorry. I'm just kind of out of it today." He grinned at her. "It's alright. Do you want to do this. or are you not up to it?" He stared down at the ground. Samantha sighed. "No, no. It's not you. Trust me. It's fine. I'm fine with this if you are." She looked at him and smiled. Travis leaned in to kiss Samantha again. She didn't resist, though she knew what she was doing was wrong. Okay, this isn't terrible. At least he's a good kisser and all. But. Ricky. why can't I stop thinking of him? What's the matter with me? She pulled away from Travis and shook her head. "I'm sorry! What the Hell's wrong with me?" She put her face in her palms and curled up on the bed. "I'm going insane! Holy shit!" Travis put his arm around her and told her to calm down. "Why are you so. skittish? You weren't like this when I first saw you. What happened to you?" Samantha stood up and stared at him. "What happened to me? I met you and all of this is ruining my life! That's what happened, asshole." Travis glared at him, eyes narrowed. "At least I try and get some! I don't run away like a God damned two-year-old!" He stood, towering over Samantha, staring evilly into her eyes. She pushed him away and onto the bed. "Go to Hell, jerk-off! Get away from me!" She stormed out of Ricky's room and into his living room. She stood there, frozen with fear as she stared at Ricky's couch. Her eyes welled up as she ran out of Ricky's house. She stopped herself in the doorway. "And to think, you were my best friend, Roxy! How could you?" she screamed across the open room. She stormed out of the house and ran home.
Samantha walked slowly to school with Roxy by her side. "I need to tell you something, and it's really important. And don't laugh at me, okay?" Samantha told Roxy. "Sure. What are friends for, anyhow? What's going on?" Samantha sighed. "I think I have stronger feelings for Ricky than for Brad. Do you think that's good or bad on my part?" "Umm. I'd have to say it was half good and half bad. The good part is that you don't have strong feelings towards Brad anymore. The bad news is that you have strong feelings towards Ricky, which you told me wasn't going to happen." Samantha groaned. "My life truly sucks. I can't believe this!"
At school, Samantha saw Ricky within the first twenty minutes of her arrival. "Hey, Sammy! How are you feeling today? Any better?" Ricky asked, concerned for his friend. Samantha cleared her throat. "Oh, I'm a lot better now, and I owe it all you!" She hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much for helping me yesterday. I truly owe you one." Ricky smiled. "Oh, I wanted to ask you. Did you have the dream again last night?" Samantha stared up at him uneasily. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Umm. yeah, actually I did." There was an awkward silence between them, which Ricky broke only moments later. "I'm sorry. You want to come over after school? Roxy can come too. I want you guys to meet someone." "Sure. We'll meet you outside after eighth. Tootles." As she walked away, she could feel his eyes on her. She walked into Spanish class and sat next to Roxy. "I have to tell you this. After you went downstairs that night we were all at my house, we kissed," admitted Samantha. "What? I'm confused. Who, now?" She paused. "Ricky and me. We kissed." "Did he kiss you or did you kiss him?" "I kissed him." "Oh. why didn't you tell me sooner than this? I'm your best friend. or so I thought!" She laughed to herself. "Roxy! You know you're my best friend. Shut up. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd freak." "Whatever, man. You're messed up." "Oh, we're going to Ricky's house after school. He said he wanted us to meet someone. he asked me, okay?" Roxy nodded and wrote down what the teacher said.
After school, Roxy met Samantha outside, and they waited patiently for Ricky to come out of the school. "Dude, you have to help me. Find someone that I'd like and set me up with them. I can't be with Ricky, for the sake of our friendship. I don't want to ruin that." She got on her knees and hugged her legs. "Please?" "Fine! Just for the sake of your friendship with-" She paused and looked over, only too see Ricky walking towards them. "With me." She poked Samantha with her foot. Samantha stood up. "Howdy, howdy, Ricky. Are you ready to leave?" "Yeah, lets go," he answered. As they walked along the same, traffic filled road, Samantha broke the silence. "So, who are we meeting today, Ricky? Anyone I should know?" "I doubt it, but you will soon enough," he said back to her.
They arrived at Ricky's house in a few minutes. When they did, Ricky dropped his book bag and picked up the phone. He dialed in ten digits and waited for someone to pick up. "Hey Travis. Can you come over right now? I want you to meet a couple people." He hung up the phone a moment later and turned to the girls. "He'll be over in a few." Roxy and Samantha nodded. As they all waited for Travis to arrive, Roxy pulled Samantha away from Ricky. "If you hit it off this Travis guy, am I off the hook for finding you a guy to distract you from Ricky?" Roxy asked anxiously. "If we hit it off. Otherwise, NO!" Samantha laughed and hugged Roxy. Samantha and Roxy moseyed to Ricky's bedroom and lied down next to each other on his waterbed. Samantha began to explain her horrible dream in more detail to Roxy. The doorbell rang, so Ricky went to answer it. "Hey, dude, are we just hanging out today or what?" Travis asked. "Hanging out, I guess. I want you to meet two people. Hold on." Ricky called over his shoulder, "Roxy! Samantha! Get out here! Travis is here!" He smiled politely at Travis. They both wondered out of the room, Samantha still talking to Roxy, frequently glancing up at Roxy's face while Roxy stared down at her feet, watching where she walked. "I could hear the music more and more clearly ask I floated down the hall," Samantha explained. The turned the corner and stopped. "I knew something was behind the door-something important, something that would change my life. It was right in front of me!" She extended her index finger, unknowingly pointing at Travis until Ricky cleared his throat. She glared up, first at Ricky, then at Travis, and lastly, at her finger. She slowly retracted her finger and smiled sheepishly. Roxy grabbed Samantha be the arm and dragged her closer to Travis. "Hi," Roxy greeted. "I'm Roxy. You must be Travis. It's marvelous to meet you." She extended her hand and smiled at him. He reached out and shook her hand firmly. "Yeah, I'm Travis. Who's that behind you?" He peered around Roxy and saw Samantha. Roxy stared back at Samantha and motioned with her head to walk up and say hi to Travis. When Samantha shook her head, Roxy walked behind Samantha and pushed her closer to Travis. "Hi." Samantha managed shyly. Travis smiled at her. "Hi. Ricky's told me a lot about you. as well as about you, Roxy." He glanced back at Roxy and smiled. Returning his eyes to Samantha, he smiled, making Samantha melt inside. Wow. This guy is really nice. He's cute, too. Guess Roxy's out. for the time being. Samantha gazed up at the ceiling and smiled to herself. She soon became lost in her wonderful dream world. Ricky coughed loudly. "What do you guys want to do? I'm getting bored, here." He rolled his eyes. "Can I go vomit now. Romance makes me gag." Samantha pushed him and stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up. I know you're a total SAP!" Ricky gave Samantha an evil look then started chasing her around the house. "Get back here, Samantha Walker! I'm going to catch you sooner or later!" Samantha was laughing. "SAP! SAP! RICKY'S A SAP!!" she screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the house. She stopped abruptly to listen carefully. I'm not afraid to watch it go. But it's sobering. I'm left to fend the world off on my own. And I still struggle with it almost everyday. 'Cause it's comforting knowing you're alone. The song rang in her ears. She sat down and put her arms around her legs. It's all right, Sam. Just calm yourself down. It's nothing to be freaked out by. It's just a song, nothing more. Don't freak out in front of Travis. You might ruin your chances. She turned back and looked at Ricky. "You win! I give up." She laughed and stood up. She walked into Ricky's room and sat on his bed. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Roxy, Ricky, and Travis all walked into the room and sat on the bed next to her-Travis to the left, Ricky to the right, and Roxy lying down behind her. Samantha smiled at Ricky. "Want to talk about. stuff?" she asked uneasily. Travis laughed. "Sure! Stuff is fun to talk about!" he said excitedly. "What kind of stuff, though?" "Our characteristics! Physical and. not?" Roxy said, smiling at Samantha as she turned around to smile evilly at her. "Good idea! I'll go first!" Ricky exclaimed. "Alright. I like my nose because it's not all weird and messed up. I like my eyes because they're really dark and." He stared at Samantha. "SEXY!" he screamed. "I like my hair because. I can! I like my personality because I think that I'm a pretty nice fellow, and also because I like being who I am and not someone evil and stupid. that's about all I like about myself." Samantha smiled at him. "Shut up! You're funny, smart, nice, special, and most importantly, SEXY!!" She laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll go now," Roxy said calmly. "I like my hair because it has red tips, and that's all special. I like my eyes because they're really light blue and special. I like my boobs because they aren't huge, but they're not tiny. They're just right! I like my sense of humor because. it's not bad?" she said confusingly. "That's about it." "I like everything about you!" Samantha added. "Me too!" Ricky said. "I'll go," Travis said, clearing his throat. "I like my eyes-almost black they're so dark brown. I like my dark brown hair. I like my personality. I like my vocabulary. That's about all I can think of." "I don't know you yet, so I can't really correct you like I did with Ricky and Roxy. but if I can add something?" Samantha questioned. "Sure." "YOU'RE SEXY!!!!!" She laughed and smiled at him. "Okay, Sam. That's enough hitting on Travis. What do you like about yourself?" Roxy asked. "Alright. I like my eyes. I like my hair. I like my personality. I like how I'm a Buddhist. I like how I have awesome friends. I like my name." She paused to look back at Roxy. "I like." She sighed. "I like playing guitar. Acoustic especially. I like listening to music. I like writing poetry. that's all. Period." She stood up; arms folded across her chest, and walked out of the room. Roxy stood up and walked after her. She stopped herself at the doorway and turned back to Ricky and Travis. "She's kinda of stressed out right now. She's going through a lot. Her life's rather hectic. Be right back." She walked away and stopped Samantha in the kitchen. "What's wrong with you? I thought you wanted this." Roxy was careful to keep her voice below a whisper. "I feel guilty," Samantha murmured. "I can't move on. He stole my heart a long time ago, and that's not going to be changed by just one guy. I'm sorry. I. I just can't be with Travis if I know, no matter how hard I try, I'll always be thinking about Ricky. I can't change that. and neither can fate. or Travis, for that matter. I'm sorry if I sound stubborn right now." She picked up her book bag and opened the door. "Tell Ricky that I'm sorry." "NO!" Roxy called. "You can't leave. Just give Travis a chance. Please. You need more males in your life. One isn't enough. Even if it's just friend wise, it doesn't matter. Just get used to him." Samantha sighed and nodded. She moseyed back to Ricky's room; Roxy behind her, making sure couldn't change her mind. "I'm sorry," announced Samantha as she entered Ricky's bedroom. "I'm just kind of stressed out right now. It's stuff that. I don't want to talk about, so don't ask." She sat on the bed between Travis and Ricky. Roxy took Ricky out of the room so that Samantha could "bond" with Travis. There was an awkward silence between Samantha and Travis. "So, what's going on? Is everything alright?" Travis asked. Samantha sighed. "No, not really. It's really complicated. I'm sure you don't want to hear about it." "No, no. Tell me. Please. I want to know more about you." He reached out and held her hand. Samantha smiled. "I think I really like you." She blushed. "Oh, that's all? I thought it was something more serious than that." "Trust me, it's serious." "Oh, is it, now?" Travis leaned over and kissed Samantha. Samantha pulled back. What am I doing? I'm practically going against what I told Roxy. She closed her eyes and smiled at Travis. "Sorry. I'm just kind of out of it today." He grinned at her. "It's alright. Do you want to do this. or are you not up to it?" He stared down at the ground. Samantha sighed. "No, no. It's not you. Trust me. It's fine. I'm fine with this if you are." She looked at him and smiled. Travis leaned in to kiss Samantha again. She didn't resist, though she knew what she was doing was wrong. Okay, this isn't terrible. At least he's a good kisser and all. But. Ricky. why can't I stop thinking of him? What's the matter with me? She pulled away from Travis and shook her head. "I'm sorry! What the Hell's wrong with me?" She put her face in her palms and curled up on the bed. "I'm going insane! Holy shit!" Travis put his arm around her and told her to calm down. "Why are you so. skittish? You weren't like this when I first saw you. What happened to you?" Samantha stood up and stared at him. "What happened to me? I met you and all of this is ruining my life! That's what happened, asshole." Travis glared at him, eyes narrowed. "At least I try and get some! I don't run away like a God damned two-year-old!" He stood, towering over Samantha, staring evilly into her eyes. She pushed him away and onto the bed. "Go to Hell, jerk-off! Get away from me!" She stormed out of Ricky's room and into his living room. She stood there, frozen with fear as she stared at Ricky's couch. Her eyes welled up as she ran out of Ricky's house. She stopped herself in the doorway. "And to think, you were my best friend, Roxy! How could you?" she screamed across the open room. She stormed out of the house and ran home.