Sam was really bored. The Shays went to visit their grandfather in Yakima, and her mom… well who knows… she HAD to find something to do. She exited her apartment, and went out on the streets to find something to do, and someone to do it with. She walked about 2 blocks up the street, and turned to walk through an alleyway to get to her favorite restaurant.
She was almost on the other side of the alley when she dropped her mom's wallet, she bent down and picked it up, but before she could finish standing up straight, someone had picked HER up.
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" She hopelessly scrame. She was cut-off mid-sentence by a hand covering her mouth.
"SHUT UP!"
He let go of her mouth, and his friends came around the corner, and joined their leader in holding her down.
One of them held her upper-body tightly, one of them had her legs squeezed together, and the other one was grabbing whatever happened to escape the other ones' grasps. They tossed her around a few times, and called her horrible names and they threw her onto the ground and rolled her defenseless body through the mud and debris.
They threw punches, and kicks, and shoves. After a while they grew tired of their games and threw her down against the wet pavement, and walked away.
Sam's POV
I can't move, I'm alone, I'm defeated. I can't lay here, I might die, I have to do something. Fight the pain and make my way to refuge. I pulled myself up, wanting to throw up from the pain.
Normal POV
After she was on her feet, she leaned against the alley wall trying to decide where to go next.
"CARLY'S!" she thought, not remembering through the pain that Carly was out of town.
She pushed through the pain and after what seemed like forever, she was at the Bushwell Plaza.
She fought her pained tears as she walked up the stairs to go see her best friend Carly. She got up to the floor, and tried to open the knob, it was locked, and she couldn't break the lock in her condition. She just sat on the floor and yelled with her hands on her stomach to stop it from hurting, " CARLZ ARE YOU THERE?!" no response. So she just sat there staring at the wall fighting her sobs.
She could cry in front of Carly. That's it. No one else. EVER. Not even after being attacked and abused. Why? That's just the way she was.
She closed her eyes and cupped her head to stop her head from throbbing. It didn't work. She was in so much pain that she didn't realize that someone had walked out into the hallway, the last person she wanted to see.
"Hello?" said a voice.
The sudden noise startled her, and she jumped and yelped. It hurt, it hurt so bad that she couldn't stand it. She gasped for air, and the person found her sitting there, panting.
"SAM?!"
Sam's POV
I know that voice. Oh no. well this is just great, my worst enemy standing there, being stupid, as always.
Normal POV
She couldn't speak. It hurt, and she didn't want to give Freddie the satisfaction of the whole situation.
"Aw you look awful!" Freddie said, instantly regretting his choice of words.
Freddie's POV
Great, she's going to kill me. Wait. Is she bleeding? And why Is she so dirty? I know it's Sam but still. And she looks bruised or something
Normal POV
"Are you ok?" He asked
"Do you think I am?" she shot back
Freddie didn't say anything nor did Sam
"Look Fredwierd, I'm really not in the mood so if you don't mind could you um maybe GO AWAY!"
"I don't want you getting into any trouble… you're coming with me"
"NO!" she tried to say with force but it hurt, and it came out as a groan.
"You have no choice. Come on and make it easy for yourself." And with that he took her hand and pulled her up, and grasped onto her, it really hurt her but she couldn't show him.
She pulled away with every force that was left in her body, but fell flat to the floor. "Ok that's it, come on." And he pulled her back up, and dragged her to his apartment to help her out.
By the time he had her with him she had passed out from pain and exhaustion. He was suddenly glad that he had a safety-freak psychopath for a mother. "MOM! COME DOWN HERE!" he shouted. "FREDWARD BENSON!" she scolded, "DO NOT YELL INSI—" she was interrupted by the sight of a passed out Sam Puckett "WHAT HAPPENED" she demanded "I don't--" Freddie started, only to be interrupted, "GET THE FIRST AID KIT FREDDIEBEAR!" Freddie groaned at the nickname and did what he was told. She found Sam an anti-bacterial change of clothes that were surprisingly semi cute, and treated her bruises and cuts, and got her cleaned up.
"Ok Fredward, she should be fine for the time, I have to go to a "Defeat Bacteria Clinic" tonight, take care of Sam until I get back." "Yes ma'am" Freddie couldn't help but find "Take care of Sam" HILARIOUS! He suppressed his laughter until his mom was gone, "HAHAHAHAHA RIGHT! SHE NEEDS AS MUCH PROTECTING AS A JAGUAR AGAINST A RAT!" He was still laughing hysterically when Sam woke up.
He quit laughing when he saw Sam's eyes slowly start blinking open. He started to fill with panic, he had no idea to care for an injured person, especially Sam. She would probably kill him if he even tried to help her.
He eyed her nervously as it slowly started to click in her brain that she was in the Benson's apartment. "WHY ON EARTH AM I HERE!?" she pitifully tried to yell. "Ssshhhh. You were hurt. I helped you. Simple explanation." Freddie explained.
"What if I don't NEED help?!" she challenged and then stood up to walk out the door only to collapse in the middle of the floor.
"SAM!" Freddie shouted through panic and ran over to her and pulled her back up. He was expecting her to slap him or push him away or something, but nothing came she just stood there like a limp noodle lifelessly leaning onto Freddie for dear life. He pulled her closer to pick her up and he carried her back over to the couch and sat her down.
"Freddie?"
"Yes?"
"LET GO OF ME! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!" She tried to yell, but it came out as grunty breaths. But even that scared Freddie and he immediately dropped his hands from her shoulders, causing her to fall forward. He bent down and he was through with Sam's attitude. "Quit with the stupid tough girl crap, you are injured, so just shut up and accept a little help." He said a little harsher than he had intended.
"I can't"
"Well, you are going to HAVE to."
She wanted so bad to cry, but she couldn't in front of Freddie, no matter what he was saying about her being injured, she just couldn't do it.
"Sam?"
"What?!"
"What happened?"
Sam closed her eyes trying to remember but it hurt her head, she grabbed the sides of her head and squeazed it in an attempt to make it feel better.
"SAM! Just stop, it's ok I'll ask you later, take some Tylenol, I'll get it for you. Be right back… Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
Sam was taken aback by this comment, "What do you mean 'don't do anything stupid?!'"
"Ummm, like doing some criminal ritual and getting caught, and obviously not quite making it away from the law"
"WHAT?!! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! SO JUST SHUT UP!"
"Like it couldn't have happened. You don't even remember anything yourself! They probablyTAZED you or something!"
"I DO TOO REMEMBER!" Sam instantly regretted admitting that.
"O REALLY?!" Freddie was getting really mad at this point.
"No" Sam lied not convincingly at all.
I really hope Freddie bought that….
"Even YOU can't lie about that. So just spit it out already! I want to know what put you in this condition, and why you are so aggravated! NO SCRATCH THAT, aggravatING!"
Sam didn't want Freddie to know that she couldn't escape a few guys, that just wasn't anything like her, she could ALWAYS defend herself, against ANYONE. Why did she have to be such a WIMP? They didn't even have guns! They were un-armed and they weren't too muscular. But they did have a pretty good hold on her.
"WELL?!" Freddie shouted, Sam hadn't realized it, but she was completely dazed out of reality, and she liked it way better that way, so when Freddie called her down to earth she was madder than ever.
"DON'T YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE WITH ME!" Sam's anger broke straight through the pain… for the most part at least, and the other part she fought.
"YOU MAY BE TOUGH SAM PUCKETT, BUT YOU ARE THROUGH TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Freddie took a deep breath and started panting from anger. He was mad and panicked. Sam could kill him if she wanted to, but hopefully him standing up for himself would give her a little something to respect him about.
She forced her beaten body off the couch and pounced into action landing straight on top of him, and pushing him hard against the ground. The bad part was it hurt her more than him, but she couldn't show it.
"Get off!" he pushed her off and she fell back first on the floor, and curled up in a ball and gasped in pain.
"SAM! Are you ok?!"
"Never been better dork" She gasped, trying to sound like everything was fine.
"Stop. Just stop." He tried to reason.
"Stop what Freddork?" She asked, trying to give off a chuckle, it came out quite pitifully.
"Here, let me help you." He offered her his hand, and she stared at it like it was blue, no wait blue is too normal…orange and pink polka dotted argyle.
"It's a hand, not a Nevel." He chuckled.
She tried to laugh but it put too much pressure on her stomach and she jumped.
"SAM! JUST TAKE MY HAND!" He yelled.
"NO!" She spat venom in that one syllable. It was so ruthless it made Freddie shiver.
"Are you going to take my hand?" He asked smartly.
She lifted her hand to slap his wrist and he grabbed it mid-reach and pulled her up.
It stretched her bruised, cold arm ,that already had a pulled muscle from earliar that day, hurting her bones and her muscles from her neck to her fingers.
She screamed in pain, and it scared Freddie to the point of dropping Sam… straight to the ground on her injured back.
She burst into sobs in the middle of the floor gasping for air and trying not to look weak… not really working too well at this point…
He fell to the ground and tried to grab her in his arms to cradle her limp yet tense body, but she drew back and tried to stand up.
She started to fall again and clutched onto Freddie for support. He put his arms around her to hold her up.
"LET ME GO!" She gasped. "No, like I said, you're through telling me what to do."
"JUST LET ME GO FREDDORK!"
He clasped her tighter and she cried out in pain.
"Ok you have got to stop making me mad, I can't stand hurting you." He pleaded.
"You can't, can you?" she skeptically asked. "No" He said with compassion and care.
"Freddie?"
"Yes?"
"I can't breathe."
"O shut up. I'm trying to help you by holding you up, and you sit there criticizing me and making fun of me! I tell you to stop making me mad, cause I care about you being hurt, and you mock me. So Sam, just shut up!"
"Freddie!"she choked, "I really can't!"
Freddie felt like he had been punched in the stomach, he ran and grabbed his mom's first-aid kit, and rummaged through until he found an inhaler. He shook the inhaler, took the cap off, lifted Sam's head, and pushed the little button on top, breathing oxygen into Sam.
She coughed at the taste of the strange mist hitting her tongue, and gasped her first deep breath since earlier that morning.
"Thank you Fredwierd" she said after her coughing spell
"You're welc---"he started, "WAIT, did Samantha Jaye Puckett just say 'thank you'? You have got to be kidding me." He stated with astonishment
"NEVER CALL ME THAT!"
"Yes ma'am! Umm Sam. I meant Sam. Just now and earlier. Not that I don't like you name. Cause I um do and all, but I don't like you, well I do like you but um not like…like that... Um you know what I mean"
"Do I Fredward? Do you really think that I know what you mean?" Sam said trying to confuse Freddie. It would've worked had she not fallen backwards from the table she was leaning against.
"Sam!" he rushed over beside her and fell to his knees, and pulled her up to his level. She groaned, and started to cry again.
"Shhh." He tried to softly shush her, only to result in more frequent sobs.
"What's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.
"I can't take this!"
"What happened anyway?"
Sam was through playing tough at this point, "I was sitting at home and I went out and 3 men came out and attacked me and the next thing I remember is waking up on your couch."
She waited for him to laugh, but instead he grasped her in a hug. Normally she would kill him for being within a 5 foot radius of him, but she didn't care that time, she just sat there and sobbed into his blue polo.
"It's ok, no one can be tough all the time, no one's heart is completely protected."
"Mine is supposed to be! I am the person that TRAINS people like those men!"
Freddie suppressed laughter, she was serious about that statement.
A thought struck Freddie and before he could stop himself he asked her, "Where was your mom?"
Sam started crying again and gasped out an answer, "Who knows!? Who EVER KNOWS!"
"I'm sorr-"
"SAVE IT!" she got up and did her best to make a graceful, strong exit. However, on her way to the door, her leg gave out and she was collapsed…AGAIN!
Tears made their way into the corners of her eyes, eventually overflowing down her cheeks.
Freddie stood up and walked over to where Sam was sitting on the floor curled up in a ball crying, and lifted her back up to her feet. He embraced her in a hug again. She tried to push away, but she was too sore, she couldn't.
After a few minutes he pulled away, leaving his arms around her shoulders, "Ya'know Sam, sometimes a bad situation is all that we need to help us realize something that we never even imagined."
"Like what?" she asked following a sniffle.
"Like this" and he leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but it was more than Freddie and Sam had felt in their whole life.
"I love you Sam"
"I love you too Freddie."
He pulled her closer to him once more, and placed his lips over hers.