A/N: I am a huge Cammy fan and this is my one of my first fics. It may not be any good, but I hope it is. I am a writer and well, enjoy! Oh, and the POV switches each chapter from Sammy to Casey. Getting inside Casey's head was a blast. Anyway, enjoy!
I do not own Sammy Keyes but the plot in this story is mine.
My alarm buzzed at 6:30, jolting me from a disorienting dream.
"What time is it?" I mumbled to myself. I took one look at the clock and scowled, wondering why I would set my alarm for so early in the summer.
"Good morning Samantha. Are you ready to take on high school?" Grams was awake, making her specialty, oatmeal.
"Oh! It's my first day in high school! I forgot!"
"How could you forget. I've been fretting over this day for weeks!" Grams teased.
"Grams! That smells good! I'm getting in the shower."
"OK and thank you."
After my shower I quickly ate my oatmeal. As I tried to decide what to wear Grams cleared her throat.
"I got a few things for you, to help you start the year right."
"Grams, you didn't need to," I protested as she pulled a box from behind the kitchen table.
"I wanted to as did Hudson and your mother."
"Lady Lana? Really? That's so unlike her."
"Well, she wanted you to look sharp on your first day of high school. Open it!" I did just that, inwardly surprised and pleased that my mother had decided to do something for me.
Inside the box were two new hoodies, a couple new shirts, three news jeans. Buried under all of this were faded, blue high-tops.
"Grams! Thank you so much! I love this!" I hugged her and told her: "I'll thank Hudson after school and call Lana after school."
"They'd love that. Now, here's your lunch. Get dressed now. You don't want to be late."
I picked out one of the new green shirts, a pair of jeans, a red hoodie and laced my new high-tops. I was ready to go and excited.
"Bye Grams!" I said, kissing her good-bye.
"Have a great day sweetheart."
As I torn to school on my skateboard I was excited. I was so glad to be leaving junior high. High school was something to look forward to and since two junior high schools filled William Rose High School I had a good chance of not running into my archenemy Heather Acosta.
I got to the steps of the high school and I rolled my eyes as I saw one of my best friends, Marissa McKenzie, staring at the high school.
"Hey. It won't bite you know," I said, laughing at her expression.
"Don't you remember how we started a new school last time?" Marissa reminded me.
"Yeah I do, but I'm sincerely hoping that doesn't happen."
"Good, there's Dot! Dot!" Marissa called as one of our other best friends pulled into the school, courtesy of her dad.
"Hey guys, long time no see!" Dot called. We laughed. We had spent so many nights over the summer at each other's house. Hudson even let me have a sleep over at his house, to make it fair. As we approached Dot our other best friend, Holly, rode up to us on her skateboard.
"What's up guys?"
"Marissa is freaking out over high school," I said, hitching my thumb at Marissa who was chatting with Dot.
"I am not," Marissa insisted. Holly and I laughed.
"Does nothing scare you?" Dot asked.
"Nope. Especially not high school."
"I'm still remembering when we started junior high," Marissa muttered as people began to file past us.
"Uh-huh. Can we stop over dramatizing this and just go inside?" I asked and marched inside.
The day passed quickly. We got our schedules, went to homeroom and got lucky. We all had the same homeroom and same lunch and same math class at the end of the day.
The school was huge! The cafeteria was twice as big than the junior high and filled with teenagers. Marissa came up to my locker after 2nd period, her face glowing. Apparently there was a really cure guy in her art class. Finally, she was moving away from Danny Urbanski.
Right before lunch Dot and I had class together. We went to our lockers to get our lunches. Dot had to stop by the bathroom and I began to worry that there would be nowhere to eat.
"Dot, hurry up!"
"Sorry, Sammy, I got my period," Dot said as she slid out of the stall to wash her hands.
"Oh, thanks Dot."
"You asked!" Dot laughed.
"No I didn't. Can we just go?"
"Yeah, yeah. Do you think there will be no seats left?"
"There will be no seats left."
We entered the cafeteria together and we looked through the mass of people. How could we find our friends in this chaos? Every table was taken, but thankfully I didn't see Heather or her cronies. They must have another lunch.
"I don't see anyone, not even Heather."
"You are complaining?" Dot said, sounding horrified.
"No way!" We walked around a little and went outside to the other tables. It was the same as inside, just with fresh air and blue sky. We glanced around, not seeing anyone with the mass of faces entering our vision.
"There they are!" Someone cried from a table to the left of us, "Sammy, Dot, over here!" Marissa was waving at us, a huge smile on her face. She was at a table with Holly, Billy, Cricket, Nick, and Danny. My face fell a little. She obviously was still crushing on Danny, I thought bitterly.
"Why is he sitting with him?" I grumbled to Dot.
"It looks like they found her. Maybe he's reformed?" Dot replied, then her eyes bugged out and she gasped.
"What?" I said, sounding angry, praying that Dot hadn't seen Heather, or worse, Danny touching Marissa.
It wasn't worse; it was something, or rather, someone I'd forgotten would be here, at my, our, high school.
It was the reason why Marissa had sat with Danny and the rest of his friends. She and Holly sat there for me and Casey Acosta's benefit.
"Hey Sammy! Hey Dot!" Billy Pratt called to us, waving us to two empty seats, one next to Marissa and himself, one next to Casey.
I looked over at Marissa and Holly who were grinning at Dot. I rolled my eyes, bit back a grin and then turned to Casey.
He had gotten taller. I could tell just when he was sitting down. I had barely seen him last year. He had come to my softball games and we had hung out sometimes if we ran into each other at the mall or in Sisquane. I went to his play, but only because he called me and invited me to go. He even came to our 8th grade graduation. Over the summer we had run into each other at the 4th of July and hung out, just the two of us. We had never actually gotten to kiss…even though I finally admitted to myself that I liked him.
As I looked at him, our eyes met and he smiled widely, happily. My heart skipped around. I hoped, truly hoped, that nothing had changed between us. I definitely was grateful to Marissa and Holly now. I was so glad to see him.
I sat down, depositing my backpack on the ground.
"Hey," I said happily to Casey.
"Hey yourself. How've you been?" Casey asked, his eyes locked on mine.
"Pretty good."
"How's high school treating you?"
"I like it actually. I haven't gotten into any fights," I said.
"Yet," Marissa said conspciously. That got laughs from everyone.
"Does everyone think that I'm incapable of starting a new school without getting into trouble?"
"Yep, you are a danger, trouble magnet!" Billy said.
"Oh yeah, I'm so dangerous!" I mocked Billy. Casey shook his head.
"I dunno, he has a point…"
"Oh c'mon, Casey," I complained, looking back at him. Marissa began to strike up a conversation with Danny and Billy, knowing Casey and I would be talking for awhile.
"I really do think he has a point. How was your summer?"
"Pretty low key. No camping for me though. How about you? How are you? How was your summer?"
"I got to go to this acting convention! It was so cool. I went to all these workshops and learned a lot."
"Didn't you already know a lot?" I teased, remembering his acting skills at the Renaissance Faire last year and in the plays.
"Yeah, but still, I'm only an amateur." I laughed. I crossed my legs and my leg brushed Casey's calf. I turned away a little and Casey chuckled quietly. He leaned toward me: "You're fine, at least for me."
I smiled at him and bit my lip. I rested my hand on my crossed leg and inclined my head towards Casey. He smiled back and kept talking to me as he gently took my hand.
"You have no idea how excited I was for today."
"Why, because you are no longer a wimpy freshman?"
"I was never a wimpy freshman!" Casey said indignantly.
"Oh really? Never got stuffed into your locker or a trashcan?" I teased, remembering how much fun it was to talk to Casey.
"Never. Those are just rumors. No, I was excited because I got to see you again," Casey said, blushing lightly and then said something else.
"What?"
"I missed you. School is a drag without you. Plus, I love hanging out with you," Casey said, meeting my eyes.
"Oh. I have to be honest: I had forgotten about you when I got up this morning and that you went to school here, but it is only because I got new clothes. I never get stuff like that. I did, however, have a dream about you last night."
"Really? Are you trying to redeem yourself for forgetting me?" Casey laughed.
"Yeah, but I did have a dream about you."
"Hmm, about what?"
"Uh…," I hesitated just as the bell rang.
"Another day then?" I said, cocking my head at Casey.
"Try after school. Meet me out front. I'll find you, if that's OK…," Casey trailed off as we got up and headed to the trashcans.
"Oh, sure, but I'm heading over to Hudson's…," Now I trailed off.
"Can I tag along? I liked that guy."
"Sure. See you later," I said, waving to the rest of our friends.
"So? What were you guys talking about?" Marissa asked as she followed me to our science class.
