As Sam walked into the school building, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. She jumped up and down, feeling the weight of her bookbag slapping against her back. Okay, so she obviously had her belongings with her. She knew she wasn't missing any makeup because when she was putting her mascara on this morning she had stabbed herself in the eye with the wand. Now everytime she blinked her eye stung.
Sam suspired in exasparation, still not recalling what she had forgotten. She stopped by her locker, scratching her head as she shook her bookbag strap off her shoulder. The bookbag slumped to the floor, the zipper coming undone slightly and a small hole opening, revealing a jumble of books and paper. Sam knelt down, ripping the hole open wider and rummaging through the papers and books. Her fingers ran against a softer material and she stopped, puzzled. She pulled out the fabric and stared at.
Then it hit her. The thing she was forgetting wasn't anything she could carry in her bookbag, or anything she could wear. The thing she was forgetting was at home, snuggled up in a warm bed. She nodded her head in rememberance as she pulled her cell phone out and clicked to the message she had received the night before.
from: baby
sorry babe. not gonna be at school tommorrow. sick w/ a cold. come visit me when you can. i love you
Sam's green eyes reread six choice letters over and over again, her mind torn between two choices. The first period bell rang, and the jumble of kids in the hallway began to disperse as they went their seperate ways. Sam sighed; time to decide. She bit her lip, her eyes flickering to the door that led to her first period class then dropping back to her phone's screen. She slid her phone closed and stood up, grabbing her bag with two fingers and flinging it into an open supplies closet when she passed it.
She pushed the door open and checked for any wandering teachers, and when she saw none she darted across the school grounds, crossing the street and slowing down as she took her first steps onto the sidewalk. Sam couldn't surprise the smile she knew she was going to see on his face when he saw her. She could almost imagine what he would tell her. "You shouldn't be here. You need to be in school, getting an education for yourself so that you can grow up and be the beautiful talented young woman I know you can be."
She jogged up the stairs that led to the apartment. Lubert stared at her as she stepped through the lobby, and she stifled a terrified shiver. Lubert had gotten surprisingly creepier over the past weeks. Rumor had it that he had been emitted into the "funny farm" for a while after his ex girlfriend had found him. People checking into the apartment didn't make eye contact. People passing through the lobby didn't take their time, power walking past the desk to avoid Lubert. Sam was no exception, and she didn't even bother to take the elavator since it was closest to Lubert's desk.
Sam bounded up the stairs, reaching the first landing in three bounds. She glanced back down the stairwell, sneaking a peak at the doorman behind his desk. He had his head down on the desktop, his arm outstretched in front of him, his indx finger drawing imaginary circles on the desk.
Sam shook her head and continuied on her way, gripping the railway as she leapt up the remaining steps that led to his hall. Her eyes followed the pattern on the shag carpet underneath her. The lights that hung from the ceiling were dimly lit, giving everything an eerie glow, and after a while Sam had to drag her eyes away from the design of the floor. It was starting to make her dizzy.
The seventeen year old stopped in front of her boyfriend's apartment. She stared at the letters that marked the door as 8D before wrapping her fingers around the doorknob and twisting. The doorknob refused to turn around the whole way and Sam removed her hand. It was locked. Sam smirked; not a problem. She reached up, running her fingers through her golden hair until she found the bobby pin she had been seaking. She untangled the clip from her hair, some strands refusing to let go, tangling themselves around the pin. She used her other hand to unwrap her hair from the pin.
She inserted the pin into the door's lock, twisting it around and listening intently for the sound that would indicate an open door. Click. Sam cheered in jubliance, removing her "key" from the lock and tossing it in the floor. She pushed the door open, the hinges uttering a small creak. Sam peered into the empty living room, searching for any signs of Freddie's mom. Good, she was nowhere to be found. She must be at work.
Sam felt something brush against her leg, and she looked down. A pair of hazel eyes stared back at her. Sam bent over and picked the calico cat up, scratching behind its ears as she used her foot to gently nudge the door closed. The cylinder bore clicked together and Sam began to work her around the furniture. Her index and middle finger stroked the cat's muzzle and Sam watched as Snuggle closed her eyes to enjoy the attention, purring loudly.
Sam slipped into the hall, the weight of her body causing the floorboards to moan. A soft coughing followed by a more violent fit of coughs came from further down. Sam began to walk faster, kicking her shoes off as she approached Freddie's room. Sam stood in the doorway, staring into the darkness, cuddling the animal closer to her. Her eyes adjusted to the shadowed room and she saw Freddie's back facing her, his bed covers draped over his shoulders. Sam brought the cat closer to her face whispering something to the cat, and Snuggle's ear flitted back as if she understood her. Sam pressed her lips against the cat's cheek, then dropped Snuggle on the floor. Snuggle's white-tipped paws touched the ground and she bolted towards the sickened boy's bed, leaping up and landing on Freddie's side. Sam heard Freddie grunt with the cat's impact and she saw his hand reach around and pet the cat on the head. The petite-bodied cat picked her way down and nestled into Freddie; the cat had been rightfully named Snuggle because that's all she ever wanted to do.
Sam tippy-toed over to Freddie's bed, making eye contact with Snuggle. The calico's mouth opened up just enough to where Sam could see tiny white teeth and pink insides. Sam threw a finger up, tapping it against her lips, indicating for the cat to keep quiet. Snuggle reclosed her mouth, her eyes opening wide as she turned back to Freddie and stared at him. Freddie's fingers ran lightly over the cat's multicolored pelt. "Your such a beautiful creature," he mumured, two fingers working a path under the cat's chin.
"She's not the only beautiful creature here. I'm looking at another one right now." Sam placed herself on the edge of the bed, her hands folded and sitting on her legs. Freddie's body jumped in surprise at the sound of Sam's voice, but the astonishment evaporated as his eyes took in the sight of his girlfriend. "Sam? Baby, why are you here?"
"I'm not really Sam. This is just a figment of your imagination." Sam smirked, flicking the tip of his nose.
"Then I guess I must've imagined the past eight months with Samantha Grace Puckette.." Freddie playfully spat back, flinching as Sam pointed a finger at him. "You better watch it Fredwardo."
A giggle slipped past Freddie's lips. The frowned corners of Sam's mouth quivered, and a smile eventually worked its way onto her face. "Why is it the little things about you, Freddie?" She whispered, leaning forward until her face was just inches away from his, their lips brushing against each other. Freddie star-gazed at her, but as Sam moved in closer he dodged away from his girlfriend's puckered lips. Sam fell against the pillow where Freddie had been seconds before. Freddie surpresed a laugh as he explained his sudden duck-out. "Sam, I wouldn't kiss me if I were you. I'm real bad sick." Freddie hoped that Sam couldn't hear the laughter rising up in his voice as she sat back up, pulling hair and pieces of pillow away from her mouth.
Sam glared over at Freddie, who was now biting his lip in an attempt to keep his amusement bottled up. "Well, you're not me, are you? So there's nothing you can do about this." She grasped Freddie's wrist and held them down tightly. Freddie feebly struggled, but he was too sick to fight back as Sam advanced toward him again.
"Sam, I don't want you to get sick..." Freddie trailed off as Sam's lips met up with his, but he still tried to mumble the rest of his sentence as their lips worked against each other. Freddie closed his eyes as he fell into the kiss, and when the need for air became unbearable and Sam pulled away, Freddie slowly opened his eyes again. Sam smiled softly. "See, I told you I was just your imagination."
"Then I must be dreaming," he whispered, pulling her in closer once more.