"Do it."

"No."

"Do it."

"Hell no."

"Do it."

"Fuck no."

"Do it."

"Billy Pratt, I will rip your appendix out and stab it with a pencil."

"…You've got problems, dude."

I sighed. "Billy, I'm not doing it."

"What's wrong with telling a 'certain girl' how you feel on Valentine's Day?"

I paused, trying to find a good excuse. "She'll think I'm gay."

Billy snorted. "Bullshit. She'd never think you're gay unless you started sparkling. You're scared."

"Billy…" I warned.

He kept on trucking. "I'm going to write a card for Marissa and slip it into her locker. Why don't you do the same for Sammy?"

"Its cliché and cheesy. Sammy wouldn't want that."

He raised his eyebrows. "Every girl wants a valentine."

The final bell rand and Billy stood up. "I've got tutoring today for calculus. Think about what I said."

Dammit, Billy! I sighed. Back in tenth grade, the principal took pity on Billy and said that if he could pass a certain test, he could go back to the grade he should be in. And he passed. And now he is in all of my classes, telling me that I should tell Sammy that I like her.

I head out of English and walk to Sammy's locker, but on the way there, a tower of books comes barreling my way.

Sammy. Of course.

She scampers towards me and says. "Danny's back from Juvie and he's fucking pissed that Marissa had him arrested for sexual harassment and I need to find Marissa to tell her to go find Sargent Borsch so he can get a restraining order that says that Danny can't come within –"

I gently put my hand over Sammy's mouth. She glared at me. She hates being interrupted when she's on a roll. "Marissa is probably taking the bus home since Billy is staying after school, for some tutoring."

Sammy's eyes widened. "She's alone?"

I take the pile of textbooks from her arms. "Go tell Marissa to come back and I'll take both of you ladies home."

She smiled and asked, "Cold you take these books to my locker?"

I raised my eyebrows. "The lockers are on the second floor, Sammy."

Her face fell. Shit. "Only for you, Sammy. Only for you."

She squealed. "Thank you Casey!" as she ran down the hall, dodging students and faculty.

Lockers are all the way on the second floor and Sammy's locker (# 218) was conveniently located near several other guys. They pretty much ignore her because they know I'll kick their ass.

I know it's wrong to keep Sammy from meeting someone, but she doesn't need to know. All these perverts want nowadays are fucking one night stands.

I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping them away from her for three years, which was why I was so surprised to find a red, heart shaped card fall out of her locker.

OHHHHHH HELLLLLLLLLL NOOOOOOOOO.

SHIT IS GOING DOWN NOW. I opened it and found the sappiest thing ever written.

~Beloved Samantha,

For you, a fire blazes in my heart.

So strong that the embers alone could bring a thousand volcanoes to shame.

So strong that it causes polar bears all over the globe to despair.

Let the bonfire of my heart wrap you in its warmth.

Only your kiss could quench the flames that so consume me.

Love,

The Fresh Freshman

A freshman? Well this was going to be fun…

"Caseeeeeey! You still up here?" Sammy came running up the stairs into the empty hallway. She noticed the card in my hand and her nose wrinkled up in disgust. "Is that the creeper freshman?"

"Yeaaah…" I eye her. "He's sent others?"

She nodded. "This kid's a creeper. He knows everything about me…"

I tried to dissipate the tension in the air with a joking question. "Even the color of your underwear?"

But then she went pale white and didn't look me in the eyes.

My eyes widened. "Shit is going down now."

She gasped. "Casey, don't! Please, just calm down. The poor kid is just a freshman. Don't traumatize him. Besides, you'll get hell from the principal for harassing a freshman."

I frowned. "This kid is harassing you."

"Like I said, he's just a kid. He'll get over it and move on to someone else."

I sighed. "Fiiiiiiiiiine. You're such a killjoy, Sammy." I joked.

She laughed. "Marissa got a ride with Dot and Holly. Annd I didn't wanna ditch you so let's get going."

THIS IS A DIVIDING LINE. HIS NAME IS ELI MANNING. LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS :)

"So Mr. Hai was ranting in class today because of me. All I did was ask if it was really necessary to recycle."

I smirked. "You weren't, by any chance, intentionally trying to piss him off, were you?"

The corner of her mouth came up slightly. "He called me a smartass. It had to be done."

I raised my eyebrows. "And how exactly were you being a smartass?"

She looked down guiltily and mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"I asked him if he knew Chinese."

I went into a laughing fit and Sammy glared at me.

"He could know Chinese."

My laughing subsided into a chuckle. "Sammy dearest, he's Korean."

Her eyes widened. "Well then. That woulda been nice to know three hours ago."

"So what'd he yell?"

She said in an imitation Chinese (Asian) accent, "EEF YOU CAN'T GET YO' LAZY ASSES, OVAH TO A RECYCLING BIN, I WEEP FO' DA FUTURE."

I snickered. "Mr. Hai acts insanely ghetto after school."

"What? How? Because he's always saying how much more intelligent he is than all of us juniors put together."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah? Well after school the other day when me and Billy were talking about our college acceptances, he was all 'Nigga please! You wish you could be as smaaaart ass mehhhh!' And when he was on the phone with his son, he was all, 'Nigga, getcho ass back home before I beat it with the fucking Adobo again.'"

Sammy laughed but then stopped and looked at me curiously. "You got your college acceptance letters? You never told me that."

Shit.

"I don't… I don't think I'll be going to college yet. I'll probably just take a year off and go next year."

She laughed. "So funny how you think I'll let you get away with that. What colleges accepted you, Casey?"

I frowned. "Not important."

She raised an eyebrow. "Fine then." And she stayed silent. Not talking… it was weird.

I blurted out, "Arizona State University, University of Florida, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and New York University. Just… stop being so quiet. It's unnerving."

She stared. "Casey, you were going on and on about how those colleges have some of the best drama programs in the country and you're going to be taking a break? They're not gonna wait! When do you have to reply?"

"By the end of the month." I muttered.

"Well, which one are you going to?"

"I'm not going, Sammy."

She laughed. And then the laughter turned into a straight and stern face. "Casey, I will pack your bags myself and pack you in it and take you to school myself if I have to."

"Cute. No."

"Why not? This is all you've talked about since your sophomore year and now you're taking a break? I expected something like this from Billy, not Mr. Straight A's."

I love this girl, but she was trying my patience. "Sammy! Listen to me… its too far away." My voice sounded strained.

She looked surprised but quickly recovered. "I think you'll get over homesickness."

"No, Sammy, I do want to leave this place. So badly. But not yet. I'll miss you…"

She scoffed. "And you don't think I'll miss you? I will, but I want you to be happy, Case. That's why you're going. If you don't want to, too freaking bad. I'll sort everything out for you with Billy and I'm sure he'd be glad to get your ass to college."

It won't do me any good to argue with her when she's like this, all riled up. "Are we still going to see that movie next week? The Hunger Games?"

She grinned. "Only if you read at least the first book."

I groaned, "Sammy, if it's another Twilight trend, I shall force calculus upon you."

She tossed me an evil smirk before joking, "Team Peeta or Team Gale?"

"OH HELLLLLLLLL NOOOOOO. ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME? I THOUGHT IT WAS A FIGHT TO THE FUCKING DEATH."

"I'm kidding! They're not teams, they're just guys that desperately want her for his own."

I glared. "Sounds a hell of a lot like Twilight. Does one of them watch her sleep?"

She glanced at me sheepishly before saying, "No… but Peeta sleeps in the same bed as her."

I muttered, "Gale is another Jacob. Great. I hope he can keep his shirt on."

Sammy huffed. "Don't compare that bullcrap to The Hunger Games or I'll have to see if the 'Fresh Freshman' appreciates good literature."

The car screeched to a stop abruptly. I glared daggers at her. "What… did you say?"

She rolled her eyes. "A joke, Casey. Cool your heels."

I didn't laugh. "Stay away from this kid, Sammy. Bad enough that I have to deal with the older and more testosterone filled perverts, but now I have to worry about an obsessed freshman?"

"I'm pretty sure I can protect myself from a ninth grader, Casey."

"Of course you can. Because I'll be the one kicking his ass."

She leaned back in her seat and stared out the window. "Casey. You sound like an older brother. Like a very overprotective older brother. I thought that was Billy's job."

Ouch… she saw me as a brother? If I've been friend-zoned, I'm tossing the freshman into the lake… oh. Wait a sec…

I turned to her. "So I'm like a brother to you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to be to me?"

Fucccckkkk. It's a trap. Because Sammy knows that I love her. I've known Sammy for five years, I'm allowed to say love.

But anyway, Sammy knows that I love her. But she wants me to make the first move. You could say that we're both cowards.

But I will tell her. Just not yet. I want it to be special, not overdone and cliché. I need to tell her soon, though. The stupid freshman has reminded me that guys won't stay away from Sammy forever. And I don't know how long she'd wait for me. Hell, I don't even know if any guys have asked her out when I wasn't around to make sure they back off.

I pulled into the driveway of her dad's house. It was her weekend to stay with her dad. Her mom has her during the week. Which she hates. Her mom makes her sound like Sammy's a fucking possession.

"You haven't answered my question, Casey."

I sigh and turn to face her. And I'm instantly heartbroken at the look on her face.

Rejection.

"Sammy…" She didn't look at me. "Sammy, look at me." She picked up her bag from the bottom of the car.

No.

Not again.

Last time that she walked off like that, because of this, she avoided me for a week. And then I saw her at the movies with this guy.

~FLAAAAASHBAAACK~

A WEEK. A whole fucking week and she's still avoiding me. I could've just answered her. She would've understood. But no. like a damn fool, I said nothing and hurt her feelings.

Billy wanted me to try and relax so he dragged me off to see Tower Heist. I seriously hope no one sees us together and thinks we're gay.

If Sammy wasn't totally pissed at me, I would've gone with her. And the fact that freakin' Matthew Broderick was in the movie stung. Me and Sammy would watch him in Ferris Bueller's Day Off all the time.

"Hurry up, Casey! Or we'll be late!"

"Calm down, it starts in twenty minutes. I think we'll make it."

He dragged me to the back of the theater when I told him that I'd rather sit closer to the front. But no, he dragged me to the back where I was met with the oh-so-pleasant (can you feel the sarcasm?)sight of Sammy and Alejandro giggling and talking together.

Alejandro was Billy's cousin and he moved here from Mexico a week ago. Honestly, I don't remember what happened next. Only a few key points.

"What the bloody hell? We let you into our damn country and we introduce you to fries and Big Macs and you backstab us like this? If you wanna whore yourself out, don't think that I'll let you do it with Sammy!"

He took off with Billy, but not before giving Sammy a wink.

I have the sudden urge to become an immigration official.

I planted myself next to Sammy. She asked me, "Are you suddenly bipolar or something?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry." I whispered. I leaned forward and kissed her gently on her forehead. "Not yet, Sammy."

She closed her eyes. "When?"

"Soon… just-not yet."

~BYEBYE FLASHBACK~

And that was in freakin' November.

"Sammy, wait." I grabbed her shoulder. She still didn't look at me. "Sammy… do you want to go somewhere with me-on Valentine's Day?"

She looked back at me. "What?"

I swallowed. "I want to take you somewhere. Please?"

She smiled. And that one smile reassured me that I was doing the right thing.

"And before I leave, I want you to read this." She rummaged through her bag before pulling out a black book and handed it to me.

The Hunger Games

"Bloody hell! The book is black, just like Twilight!"

"Stop insulting it and read the bloody book, Case."

I AM A DIVIDING LINE. FEEL MY WRATH! OMG TARZAN HAS NO SHIRT. OR UNDERWEAR… PERVERT

Four hours later, I found myself at Sammy's front door in the pouring rain.

Crying.

She let me in and led me up t her room and gave me a blanket as we sat on the bed. She rubbd my back soothingly. "What's wrong, Casey? Heather? Your mom?"

I shook my head as another wave of tears fell.

"Tell me what happened."

"It was just so-unfair. Cruel. Shouldn't have happened. Deep in the meadow…under the willow."

She looked confused for a minute. I held out the Hunger Games book that I kept under my shirt so it wouldn't be damaged by the rain.

"RUE IS DEAD!"

She blinked. "Wh-what?"

"Rue! She was so young!"

"Casey… I think you're overreacting."

She obviously doesn't realize the importance of the situation.

"Besides, its better that she won't be there for the Quarter Quell or the Rebellion. And wait until Cinna is killed and Peeta is hijacked!"

I covered my ears with my hands and yelled, "Spoiler alert! SAMMY WHY MUST YOU DO SUCH HORRID THINGS TO ME?"

She yelled even louder, "Prim is killed by one of Gale's bombs!"

"What do you want from me? ANYTHING TO STOP THE SPOILERS!"

"Say that Twilight will never be as epic as Hunger Games!"

"That's what you needed to hear? Goddammit, Twilight pales in comparison to the sheer magnificence of the spectacular Hunger Games!"

She smirked. "And Gale got caught and punished severely. Okay, I'm done."

My eyes widened. "Wait what? He got caught? Doing what?"

"Sorry, you said no more spoilers."

A/N: I was gonna type up the whole story first and then publish it but I don't know if I'll be able to do that =/ and I at least wanna give you this.

DUDE MR HAI IS MY TEACHER. WITH A DIFFERENT NAME :D

And I know that Casey crying about Rue is pathetic but I was pissed.