I am so proud of myself. This one-shot is so much better than my Big Time Rush one. Anyways, in these couple of weeks, I disposed some of my horrible story ideas. And my third one-shot was one of them. Sorry! Though, I'm happy to say that I'm starting a new story in exchange! I hope that's good enough. :) Anyways, a few things to say.
1: In the flashbacks, it's still Sam's POV!
2: It seems like I've been writing a lot of flashbacks lately.
3: I don't own anything except the plot!
4: This is AU, so some of the character's are OOC. Sorry!
5: Please favorite and review!
Now let's finally go to the one-shot!
Sam's POV
"Sam. Sam. SAM!" my mom yells in my face.
I look at her boredly. "What?"
"I'm pretty sure you're the reason why we're homeless!" my mom yells, gaining the attention of a few passerbys.
Why should I care? They still have their designer clothes and accessories from Gucci or Prada or some other design company I don't care about. They still can afford food from the most expensive restaurant and a nearby hotel.
But us; we only have a carry-on each filled with things we need.
While my mom filled it with makeup and all of the engagement rings she got from her exes, I filled mine with clothes, my phone and phone charger, my laptop and hundreds of Fat Cakes.
What? I had to make sure I don't miss the cakey deliciousness.
"Oh yeah, I'm the reason we're walking around the street with almost no money!" I yell at my mom.
My mom was slightly taken aback. "Sam, just tell me what you did." She tried to be calm, but anger was obvious in her fake tone.
"Fine. You'll hear the whole story, Pam." I say coldly. I said my mom's first name because it aggravates her like crazy. "Look, a week ago..."
Flashback
"Sam, I'm home!" my mom yells.
She was yelling pretty quietly, but I could hear it clearly since we lived in a one story apartment. One kitchen, one dining room, one living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Yep, our place is tiny, but that's all we can afford. With my dad abandoning my mom when I was just born, my mom struggles just to put food on the table. She only manages to take two part-time jobs that pays minimum wage, a few alimony checks from my dad and some cash from her past boyfriends.
"I know, mom." I say, coming up to her and hugging her softly.
"How's your day?" my mom asks in a cheerful tone.
It's like that everyday. My mom tries to stay cheerful, even though she's really not too cheerful. She's just trying to keep me happy, which I am appreciative for.
"It was good." I tell her. "Same old, same old."
My mom sets a lot of bills down on the dining table. "I picked up the mail, after my boyfriend dumped me."
That'll be boyfriend #83. I just feel too lazy to give them names, so I just give them numbers based on when they dated my mom. This guy was the 83rd, so he's #83.
Simple as that, right?
But I am wondering, who would date my mom? Because, no offense, she isn't the prettiest fish in the sea.
Well, I shouldn't be asking. I'm not a guy.
"Aww, your boyfriend dumped you?" I ask, trying to be as sympathetic as possible.
"Yeah, but no biggie, right?" my mom says. That's my mom; always trying to be positive about everything.
"Yep, none." I nod, trying to keep all of my mom's positivity intact.
My mom points towards her room. "I'm going to change into my pajamas. Don't do anything that can get me murdered, OK?"
I could tell from her tone that she was joking, so I smile. "No promises."
My mom sends me a smile and a thumbs up as she walks into her room.
I grasp all the bills my mom picked up earlier and quickly run to my room. Then, I drop them on the floor and grab the paper shredder I've been saving up for.
RENT BILLS
SHRED!
ELECTRICITY BILLS
SHRED!
GAS BILLS
SHRED!
WATER BILLS
SHRED!
SEWER BILLS
SHRED!
TRASH PICKUP BILLS
SHRED!
CAR PAYMENT BILLS
SHRED!
INSURANCE BILLS
SHRED!
CABLE BILLS
SHRED!
PHONE BILLS
SHRED!
CREDIT CARD BILLS
SHRED!
TAXES
SHRED!
In other words, I just shredded every single bill.
"Sam?!" my mom yells. "Where are you?"
I hide the paper shredder in my closet right before my mom bursts in my room.
"Sam, dinner's ready." my mom says simply.
"Got it." I smile, and we head over to the dining room.
Flashback Ending
"Mom, we needed to get rid of them. You were too stressed, and you barely have enough just to put a roof over our head!" I tell her loudly. "I needed to get rid of them for you, so I shredded them. I shredded them all."
I start panting after my monologue (well, kind of monologue) It was long, loud, and now we have a huge crowd of people watching us.
"Sam, doing that is ILLEGAL!" my mom yells at me.
"Mom," I whisper quietly. "I just wanted you to be relaxed. I wanted you to be happy and upbeat and always smiling."
"That's what I was like before all of this happened!" my mom yells.
She did have a point.
"I messed up. I messed up bad." I tell my mom quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Sam, it's fine." my mom tells me in the same tone I used before. "I just hope we find somewhere to stay for the time being. We have nothing except for our possessions."
I look at our carry-ons. Mine are filled with my essentials, while my mom just brought makeup and her 47 engagement rings. All of her engagement rings have diamonds or rubies or sapphires and they're all made out of silver or gold or platinum. They must cost a fortune.
Wait, the engagement rings!
"Mom, why don't we just sell the engagement rings?!" I exclaim. "Each of them must be worth a few thousand dollars, give or take a few!"
My mom stops walking and hugs her carry-on tightly. "No way! Those engagement rings are my babies!"
"Wow, dramatic much?" I mutter sarcastically. Then I sigh. "Fine, then what if we just sell one at a time?"
My mom ponders on it for a little while. "OK, but we won't be wasting our money, so no video games."
"Ugh, you're so evil!" I tell her, but both of us know that I'm joking.
We then walk over to the closest space that would buy engagement rings, which is hard to find in the middle of the streets in Seattle. It took an hour, asking a few pedestrians that didn't seem to care and lots of energy on an empty stomach, but it all worked out!
We walk in to see a woman in her thirties. She has auburn locks of curls and green eyes.
Both my mom and I glance at her quickly before opening my mom's carry-on. We find the plastic Zip-Loc bag full of engagement rings and I grab a random one from the bag.
"No, not that one!" my mom shrieks, snatching the ring out of my hand. "This one!" She hands me a less pretty one; one that doesn't shine as much.
I nod as I head to the redhead or brunette (is auburn a shade of red or brown?) "We'd like to sell this ring, please."
The lady (I feel too lazy to call her a redhead or a brunette) takes the ring out of my grasp. "Hmm, this ring is probably worth $6,700."
"Really?" My face instantly lights up like a Christmas tree. "That's amazing!"
"Yes it is. This ring is made out of the finest silver and has a beautiful ruby implanted in the middle." the lady tells me, which is pretty tiring. "Now, why are you ladies thinking of selling it?"
"We don't feel like divulging our life story to a stranger, so if you would just give us our money, we'll be heading off." my mom says coldly.
The lady reluctantly gives us the check for $6,700.
My mom and I used it all in three weeks at a cheap hotel. So we kept doing this process every three weeks. We kept using the engagement rings, one after another, until we were down to just one. This has been going on for more than two years.
So we slowly walked into the ring seller's building, which would probably be our last time. I already ate all of my Fat Cakes, so sadly, no more sweet deliciousness for me.
"Hi ladies!" the lady says happily. "So another ring?"
"Yep." my mom nods. "The last one."
"Aw, that stinks." the lady says. "I really like your presence here."
My mom and I smile faintly and we say in unison "Thanks."
The lady looks at us with sympathy. "Are you guys OK? Is there anything wrong?"
My mom looks at me with a look that read "Should we tell her?"
I ponder about it for a little while. Should we? If we tell her how we're homeless, and we've been living off the rings for more than two years now, wouold she believe us? Would her opinion of us change, even though we barely even know each other?
I shut my eyes tightly and nod.
"Actually, yes." my mom says. "We're kind of homeless."
"Oh my god, you guys are?!" the lady asks. She was obviously shocked; it could be read in her tone of voice and her expression printed on her face.
"Yes, we are!" I snap at the lady. She was taken aback a little bit, but regained her sanity shortly after.
"OK then." she says. "Continue. When did this start?"
"More than two years, a day before we first came to your store." my mom says. "You see..."
Flashback
"So how was work at the dog pound?" I ask my mom.
We were eating dinner, mac and cheese and broccoli to be exact.
I was trying to make conversation with my mom, so I mentioned her work. She works at the dog pound every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. She also works as a waitress at BF Wangs, which she would work at every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
We both love BF Wangs. We would go every Saturday, after her work at the dog pound. And since my mom works there, we get a slight discount!
It's been almost two weeks since the bill shredding. I don't regret it at all. My mom seems more relaxed and surprisingly, more fun.
"It was boring, as usual." my mom frowns. "It's always the same thing; watching poor, innocent dogs being trapped in a small jail cell."
My mom loves animals. Let's just put it like that, because I feel too lazy to tell you everything.
"That stinks." I attempt to be sympathetic. Personally, I really don't mind, of course unless they're cooked medium rare.
Right after that thought, some random dudes bust into our apartment. They start breaking the furniture.
What the heck?!
"Excuse me, what are you guys doing?" my mom asks in an angry tone. She wasn't scared to show it.
"You haven't paid your rent, so we're kicking you out." one of the men explains.
My mom and I look at each other.
Oops.
Well, I didn't expect this to happen! I thought that everyone would be happy!
"What do you mean I haven't paid my rent?" my mom asks, her anger obviously boiling inside her.
The man sighs. "You haven't paid this month's rent, so we're kicking you out. It's as simple as that."
My mom looks at me madly. "Did you do any of this?!"
"No." I answer blandly.
"Well, fine, we'll leave you two alone." the man says. His group starts to leave our apartment, but he turns around to add "And if you two aren't gone by dawn tomorrow, there will be some consequences."
Once the man finally leaves, my mom and I look at each other. I could tell that she was scared.
But more importantly, so am I.
I can't believe that I was the one who caused this. I feel so guilty. I can't believe that we're being kicked out.
I look at my mom, tears threatening to burst out of my eyes. "What are we going to do?"
I could tell that my mom was almost going to burst into tears as well. "I don't know, Sam. I don't know."
Flashback Ending
"And that's how it all started." my mom tells the lady.
I look at the lady to see her in the same expression as we were when we were being kicked out of the apartment. "Oh my gosh, that's horrible!"
"No kidding." I mutter.
My mom glares at me, but I try to ignore it.
The lady sighs. "My name is Marissa Benson."
"OK, so?" I ask, beckoning her to continue.
"So I'd like to take you guys in, with a friendly rent." Mrs. Benson says.
OMG! She wants to take us in?! Yeah! We won't have to go back to the streets!
"You don't have to do that." my mom tells Mrs. Benson.
Is she crazy?! Just accept the offer already!
"But I want to." Mrs. Benson insists. "Besides, you guys can stay at our place for two ears just for that ring."
Mrs. Benson motions to the ring, which my mom instantly gives her.
"Thank you so much." I say. "This means a lot."
"No problem." Mrs. Benson says. "Oh, and I never got your names!"
"I'm Pam Puckett and this is Sam Puckett." my mom says.
Mrs. Benson chuckles slightly. "That's funny! You're first name's rhyme! Well, it's not funny-funny but it's interesting-funny."
"OK?" I tilt my head slightly.
Living with this girl is going to be a handful.
"I'll show you guys to my car." Mrs. Benson says, grasping our carry-ons.
My mom and I smile at each other, before following Mrs. Benson to her car.
"So how old are you, Sam?" Mrs. Benson asks me.
We were driving to Mrs. Benson's house in Mrs. Benson's jeep. It's decently far from downtown Seattle, as we've been driving for almost 20 minutes.
"I'm 15." I tell Mrs. Benson. I look in the rear-view mirror to see Mrs. Benson smiling.
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaims. "I have a fifteen year old boy!"
My mom's face elates to the exact same perky expression as Mrs. Benson's. "That's great! Maybe him and Sam could hang out together!"
Not helping, Mom.
"That's a great idea!" Mrs. Benson exclaims. "Telling you two now, he's not too lucky with the ladies."
Mrs. Benson wiggles her eyebrows as I groan. This is just perfect. I'll probably be forced to hang out with a loser nerd that only cares about Star Wars or other geeky stuff like that.
"Same with Sam." my mom tells Mrs. Benson.
OK, it's official, I'm going to barf.
"Oh, we're here!" Mrs. Benson says, bringing her jeep into a halt.
She parked the jeep in front of the driveway, and the view was spectacular. It was an ocean view, and it was beautiful. The water was glistening blue, and I loved it.
"Wow, Marissa, this is beautiful!" my mom exclaims.
Yeah, join the club.
"Well, I do live on the coast of Mercer Island, so I guess it would be expected that I have a good view like this."
Ohh, Mercer Island. That's the reason it was a decently long drive.
"Anyways, come in!" Mrs. Benson says, passing us our carry-ons.
My mom and I follow Mrs. Benson into her house.
Once we got inside, it looked like a regular house but with more windows than usual. Honestly, I was shocked. I thought it would be more impressive, but this is perfect just the way it is.
"Freddie!" Mrs. Benson yells. Huh, must be the geek's name. "Come down here! I want you to meet a few people!"
"Mom, I'm coming!" I hear a boy's voice, who I expect to be Freddie. "Is it really important, because you interrupted a new episode on the Tech Channel!"
Like I said, geek.
"It's very important." Mrs. Benson states.
I watch as a boy lugs down the stairs, and I have to admit, he's not as bad looking as I thought. With the dark brown locks, the brown doe eyes, and most importantly, that dimple, he would be... how do the kids say it? Cute?
But he looks WAY too innocent for my taste.
"Freddie! We have guests!" Mrs. Benson says.
Freddie's glances at my mom and me, carefully examining me. I look at him like he's a creeper. What the heck!
"I see that." Freddie says, grasping my hand. "Freddie Benson. Straight A Student. Tech Savvy, And Lice Free." He said "Lice Free" looking dead on at his mom.
Maybe she forces him to say that or something.
"Sam." I wave at him. "Straight D Student. Not So Tech Savvy, And Definitely Lice Free."
I try to mimic Freddie's tone, and he chuckles a little bit. I have to admit, that dude isn't as bad as I thought.
"Aww, I see that you two are getting friendly!" Mrs. Benson says in a sing-song tone.
I mentally slap my head, and I could tell that Freddie was annoyed. But my mom and Freddie's: no. They were enjoying every single second of the "Sam & Freddie Show"
And remember, my name goes first, no matter what.
"I'm just going to prepare dinner." Mrs. Benson says. "Pam, do you want to come with me?"
"I'd love to." my mom says. Then, they both hastily leave the front door, leaving Freddie and I alone.
Could they be any more obvious?
"Want to go up to my room?" Freddie asks nervously. "I have a few tech things I could show you."
Two things I have to say. First of all; did he totally skip over my introduction? I'M NOT TECH SAVVY. And second of all; why would he be nervous?
"Don't you remember I'm not that tech savvy?" I look at him dead in the eye and cross my arms across my chest.
Freddie scratches the back of his head. "Then I guess I could teach you everything I know."
I glare at him, and in response, he does a puppy dog face. "For me? Please?"
I sigh. I really don't want to, but look at that face! "Fine. I'll try."
"Awesome!" Freddie exclaims, and he grasps my wrist and runs upstairs, dragging me along with him.
Wow, he sure is energetic.
"Sam, what do you mean you're not tech savvy?" Freddie exclaims. "You are a natural!"
We were in Freddie's bedroom, which was full of tech stuff. Even his bed can massage you, and he added that component!
I flip my hair a little bit. "Thanks." I shrug. "I guess I never devoted my time on tech stuff."
"You should." Freddie smiles. "You're really talented."
I smile and open my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted by Mrs. Benson's voice. "Freddie! Sam! Dinner's ready!"
Freddie looks at me. "Want to do this again sometime?"
He was nervous, as if he was asking me out on a date. But no; he could never like me like that. We're only housemates; housemates that parents beckon us to be together. Nothing can happen.
"Actually, I'd like that." I smile, before getting up from his bed and walking to the dining room. The house wasn't really that hard to navigate yourself through.
"Sam!" my mom exclaims. "Where's your boyfriend?"
I groan and let out an "ugh" sound. "Freddie and I are just friends."
"For now." Mrs. Benson says in a sing-song tone.
I mentally slap my forehead as Freddie walks into the dining room.
"Hi Freddie!" my mom says. "Sit down, sit down!"
I look at Freddie to see him really weirded out. Trust me, if I was in Freddie's position, I would be as creeped out as he is right now.
Both Freddie and I hesitantly take a seat across from each other, and naturally our parents sat next to its respective son/daughter.
"So..." my mom starts while digging into her lasagna. "How was the date?"
"What do you mean?"
"We were never on a date."
Freddie and I end up saying those two phrases at the same time, well, Freddie saying the first while I say the latter.
Mrs. Benson and my mom laugh.
"You two are too cute!" my mom manages to say in between laughs.
"I know right!" Mrs. Benson says.
I just glare at them.
"What we meant to ask is how was your time up there." my mom clarifies.
"Oh..." Freddie says, but I just stay mute.
Would I prefer to say how my time was upstairs in Freddie's room? No. Would I be forced to? Probably.
Unless, of course, I chug down my food!
I grasp my fork tightly and stab the lasagna, hastily placing it in my mouth afterwards.
"I'm full." I say with a full mouth.
Freddie, Mrs. Benson and my mom chuckle.
"OK then!" Mrs. Benson says. "Go. I'll torment Freddie."
I chuckle slightly, still trying to digest the huge lasagna that was recently in my mouth. I look to Freddie, who looked scared.
Oh come on. His mom can't torture him that much.
I run up to my room, which had two twin beds. Yep, I'm sharing with my mom. I hop onto my bed, wrapping the blanket around me tightly. Then I somehow slowly drift to sleep.
I slowly wake up with a huge stomachache.
Guess I shouldn't have chugged down that piece of lasagna.
I sigh and look at the alarm clock. 2:30 AM.
It's this early?! UGH!
I lug myself to stand up, ending up barely even able to walk. With my eyes barely open, I attempt to walk to the bathroom.
Where was it? I'm pretty sure my mom said it was the second door on the right.
I touch the right wall, feeling where I was. I could feel a doorknob, and then another.
Open the second one.
As I lug myself into the room, I feel myself being pushed back into the door. My eyes instantly jolt up, my stomachache feeling worse by the second. My wrists were being squeezed by someone, but I couldn't make out the figure.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in Freddie's room?!" I hear a robotic voice say.
This is Freddie's room?! Oops.
"I'm Sam, and I'm just trying to find the bathroom." I answer awkwardly.
"Gobot, it's fine." I hear Freddie's voice say. "Let her go."
I feel my wrists being dropped from the robot's hands. My stomachache was easing up a little bit, but the pain was still very strong.
The lights turn on, and my eyes hurt before they adapt to the recent lighting of the room.
"Sam, the bathroom is just across the hall." Freddie tells me, pointing at the door.
Ohh, it's the second to the left. Like I said before, oops.
"Thanks Freddie." I say.
I was about to leave the room before he says "Wait. Stay."
I follow Freddie's demand and sit down on his bed.
"Are you OK?" he asks.
"Just a stomachache." I tell Freddie. "No biggie."
"Sam, stomachaches hurt." Freddie tells me in a matter-of-factly tone.
Yeah, no kidding, Einstein.
"Your point being?" I ask, motioning him to continue. I guess the Benson's really know how to leave a girl hanging.
"Let me help you." Freddie says, kissing my stomach slightly.
The small motion sent shivers throughout my body, but I don't want to show it. I'm a tough girl.
Once Freddie looks at me, I could tell that regret washed throughout his body. "I'm so sorry!"
See, this is why you don't where your heart on your sleeve!
"No Freddie, it's fine." I say.
Freddie takes a deep breath. "I'm probably going to regret this question, but how was the little technology lesson? You know, the one that was today?"
I didn't think that Freddie would ask that question. In fact, I didn't think he'd ever mention it, because of dinner today.
How was the lesson? The lesson was amazing. It was like we just clicked; like we've been childhood friends. And I can't really deny the fact that I kind of like Freddie, in "that" way.
But should I be honest, or should I lie?
The answer is simple.
"How's this for an answer?" I say, before capturing his lips in a kiss. I could feel him reciprocating the kiss, our lips moving in pure sync.
I broke the kiss around ten seconds later. I look at Freddie to see his face elated.
"Wow." He manages to choke out. "That was amazing."
"I know." I nod.
I look at Freddie, who was leaning in. I push him away though.
"Freddie, I may barf on you." I tell him.
That's when he backs away from disgust. "Eww!"
I chuckle. "Freddie, you kind of sounded like a girl."
Freddie rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue. I mimic his actions, before leaving and waving goodbye.
"See ya tomorrow." I say.
He smiles and waves before I walk across the hall to finally reach the bathroom. There, I could only think one thing.
Oh my gosh.
Like I said before, I really like this one-shot. Sure, the ending was a little messy, but you'll get it when I tell you that Mrs. Benson and Sam's mom always says "Oh my gosh" I hope it makes more sense now. Anyways, review and favorite! It'll mean so much!