Missing Something, Maybe It's You
Sam stood and watched the expression on Carly's face changes from worried to annoyed. Carly snapped her phone shut and walked over to Sam.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, confused. Carly sighed and closed her eyes.
"Spencer got his foot stuck." Sam stared at Carly with a blank expression; one eyebrow eventually rose. 'What else is new?' her eyes seemed to say. Carly's eyes opened. She saw Sam's countenance and explained further.
"Spencer got his foot stuck in one of the display toilets at the House Depo." Sam stood still for a moment, processing the information. Suddenly, Sam burst out laughing. She fell to her knees and laughed till the tears came.
"Oh, Carly," Sam breathed, "I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!"
"Sam," Carly whined, "It's not funny, it's embarrassing! Now I have to get him in front of all those people!" Sam flicked her wrists, her hands moving back and forth.
"Well," Sam breathed, "have fun with that. I'll be here to laugh when you get back." Sam's earlier laughter was shown through the grin she couldn't keep off of her face. Carly threw her hands up, now exasperated.
"You're missing the point here Sam; colossal embarrassment! Besides..." Carly trailed off, becoming troubled and hesitant. Sam flopped back down on the couch.
"Besides what?" Sam asked. Carly shuffled her feet anxiously before giving in.
"I...promised Freddie I'd be here when he got back from his...date." Carly mumbled. Sam visibly tensed, and Carly didn't let is go unnoticed. Carly didn't know exactly why Sam and Freddie broke up, but she knew enough. She also knew that Sam wasn't a bit over him, but Sam wasn't about to admit that; she was way too stubborn for her own good. Until recently, Carly had thought the same thing about Freddie, but now she wasn't so sure. Freddie really seemed to be trying to move on, though Carly couldn't be sure his method was working. Freddie's newest date was named Amanda.
Sam really was not taking the "Amanda Thing" well. Amanda, of course, was everything Sam was not. Amanda was tall, tan, and green-eyed. Her long, black hair fell in flowing waves along her back, almost reaching her waist. In personality, Amanda was sweet' sometimes, a little too sweet for Sam's taste. Amanda was polite, mannerly, and kind.
Sam thought she could just ignore the fact that Freddie was going on a date. However, as soon as Amanda walked through the door in her mini Jean skirt and top that clearly left nothing to imagination, Sam knew she wouldn't be able to handle seeing Freddie walk out the door with her. Amanda greeted Sam with that sickly sweet voice. Sam forced herself to look up at Amanda, and found that Amanda's eyes swept over Sam's outfit, worn-out shorts and a penny-tee, with a satisfied look. Compared to Amanda, Sam was...ordinary, normal. Sam clung to those words, spoken in Freddie's voice all those weeks ago, and bolted up the stairs to the safety of the loft before she even gave herself a chance to punch Amanda.
Now, here Sam was, sitting on Freddie's couch, waiting for him in place of Carly. Sam's nonchalant response of "I'll wait for him. Freddie needs someone to talk to about what a bitch she is." To Carly was a total lie. Sam didn't want to be here, at Freddie's place, but as the numbers on the clock changed to 11:30, Sam was forced to remember what day is was; May 3.
At almost this time three years ago, she and Freddie would be outside on his fire escape and she would be apologizing to him for telling a bunch of people that he'd never kissed a girl. In just a few minutes after that, the statement would no longer be true.
Flashbacks of that day whirled through Sam's mind, and she put her head in her hands and just remembered.
"And sending your cellphone to Cambodia." Sam lifted her eyes to look at Freddie. 'He's actually smiling' she remembered thinking. Sam's eyes flickered to Freddie's lips, then back up to his eyes. 'No, I can't' she thought.
"I was just gonna say," Sam remembered Freddie's exact look; flustered and very nervous. His eyes wouldn't meet hers. 'Is he really thinking...I can't believe I'm going to say this.'
"That we, should kiss?" Sam finished Freddie's sentence. She realized then that they do this frequently.
"Are you gonna break my arm now?" 'God,' Sam thought, 'he's so cute when he thinks I'm going to hurt him. Wait, what am I thinking!'
"No." Sam answered truthfully.
Sam couldn't remember when the music changed, but she made a mental note of the song that was playing.
"Well, lean." She would have to take the initiative. The kiss, their first ever kiss, wasn't mind-blowing. It's wasn't hot, or fiery, or passionate. Sam didn't even see those "fireworks" or "stars". She felt the butterflies from her nerves though. To Sam, the kiss was...perfect; how a first kiss should be. Sam didn't feel all the things all the cliche books said she would feel, but what she did fell, she couldn't describe. The feeling of, hope, maybe; or, the feeling of a new beginning.
"Hate you too." The smile on Sam's face stayed there until she walked back into Carly's apartment.
Thinking back on it, Sam realized just how much their "Love you's" sounded almost exactly like their "Hate you's". Sam didn't have time to think on it long, however, because she was snapped out of her thought by the creak of the Benson's front door. Sam's sigh was inaudible. 'It's showtime.' she thought miserably.