Written while listening to Little Black Backpack by Stroke 9. Enjoy!
Originally a part of Things We Lost in the Fire but removed and re-uploaded as a standalone as it did not fit the tone I wanted Things We Lost in the Fire to have.
"What's going on here?" Lara asked, frozen in the doorway with her sports bag still slung over her shoulder. She had just gotten back from gymnastics practice and found Sam crying to herself on their couch. Frowning in concern, she shut the door behind her and approached her roommate, "Sam?" Sam sniffed and looked up at her.
"It's...it's nothing…" She said quietly, wiping her eyes even though the tears continued to flow, "it's just...it's stupid…" Lara sat down beside Sam and put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing her thumb back and forth across it while they spoke.
"Clearly it's not nothing if it has you crying like this," she observed, "Come on Sam just...talk to me? What happened? ...Was it James again?" The look on Sam's face told her all she needed to know, "Oh god...come here…" She pulled Sam into a hug, rubbing her back comfortingly as she continued to cry, "Hey, hey...it's okay…" Lara cooed softly into Sam's ear as the latter's body continued to convulse with every sob that escaped her mouth. Several minutes passed before Sam finally stopped; she'd been reduced to a red-eyed, sniffing mess… At least she's not crying anymore… Lara reasoned. She waited a few more moments before she broke the embrace and pulled away, giving Sam a few more moments to compose herself before she finally spoke again, "So what happened? Did you two fight again?" She asked.
"Yeah…" Sam sniffed and wiped her eyes, "We were out at lunch and everything was fine until he apparently caught me looking at another guy-which I swear I wasn't, Lara!" Another tear slid from her eye which she quickly wiped away. Lara was frowning again at this.
"What did he say?" She asked as a few more tears slid from Sam's eyes, "...Sam. What. Did he say?" Her tone was too serious for her friend to ignore.
"...H-he called me a whore i-in the middle of the restaurant…" Sam's bottom lip began to quiver again as she said this. Lara's expression, meanwhile, hardened into something of pure, seething anger, "...L-Lara…?"
"No. Hell no," Lara stood up suddenly, "I've had enough of this shit. He's not getting away with this, too!" She made for the door but Sam sprung to her feet in horror and chased after her.
"W-wait! What are you doing?!" She asked as Lara ripped the door open, "Lara!"
"It's about time somebody put that asshole in his place!" Lara shouted over her shoulder as she made for the stairwell. Sam followed her, head hung in despair.
"Lara-wait!" she pleaded, "please just let it go! It's not worth it!" She was shouting after Lara as she struggled to keep up, "Lara please!"
"If you think I'm just going to let that piece of shit continue to treat you this way then you're wrong! He had no right to say what he did!" Lara found the door she was looking for, and angrily banged on it with her fist. "James! Open the damn door, I know you're in there! Get out here, you eunuch cunt!" She continued to slam her fist into the door, "OPEN UP RIGHT NOW!" The door suddenly swung open, and Lara found herself looking up at the formidable, six foot tall rugby player.
"Christ, what the hell do you want?!" He demanded, rubbing his eyes as he looked between Lara and Sam. The situation finally seemed to register in his mind as he snorted in disbelief, "...seriously? You brought this slag with you? Unless she's here to apologize, I don't wanna hear it…" he began to shut the door but Lara caught it with her hand and shoved it back open, causing him to stumble back a few steps.
"Apologize? Are you taking the piss?!" She shouted as she crossed her arms over his chest and glared up at him angrily, "You embarrassed her in public and called her a whore! You should be the one apologizing to her!" James laughed as he drew himself back up to full height.
"Do you hear yourself right now? Everybody knows that bitch sleeps around! How can you seriously be trying to defend her right now?! She's just a spoiled rich girl with daddy problems! Whatever, she's not worth it…" Lara's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Take. That. Back. Now," she growled through gritted teeth as practically every muscle in her body tensed. Sam tried to pull Lara away.
"Lara seriously just let it go! It's not worth it!" She pleaded, trying to move her unyielding friend.
"See? Even she knows I'm right about her-!" Smack! His head jerked to the side as his hand flew up to his now bright red cheek, "What the fu-?" Smack! Lara wound up and decked him across the face again. His knees wobbled out from under him, dropping him to Lara's height. He groped for the doorway to keep himself upright, "Somebody get this crazy bitch off me!" He shouted. People began to peek out of their doors and into the hallway curiously to see what was happening.
"Right, listen here, tough guy!" Lara grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him out into the hall before shoving him to the floor, "First, nobody, and I mean nobody talks about my best friend that way do you understand me?!" James flinched as she clenched her fist again, "Second, she is anything but a whore, or a spoiled rich girl with daddy issues, and I sincerely doubt you'd even be near lucky enough to find another person like her! Because let me tell you something James...Sam is the funniest, kindest, most caring and generous person you will ever meet!" She took a moment to spit into his face. "You don't deserve her. She will go out of her way to make your day just a little bit better, even when she can't make herself happy. The only thing not worth it here is you." She lifted James by the shirt again and slammed him into the wall, "So you damn well better listen to me, and listen to me closely! If I ever and I mean ever see you near her again...or hear that you're bad-mouthing her? You'll have me to answer to, got it?" James looked terrified. He gave a very stiff and curt nod in response. "Good. Now get the hell out of my sight!" She shoved him aside, and he ran into his dorm, quickly shutting the door behind himself with a snap. A click indicated that he had bolted the lock. Smirking in satisfaction, Lara turned around and began to walk back to her own dorm. Sam, meanwhile, could only look at Lara in complete shock.
"Lara…" She breathed out in surprise.
"Come on, let's just go back to our dorm," she said as she gently touched Sam's arm and coaxed her along. All around her, people were still looking on from their doorways, "Show's over, people! Go back in your rooms!" Almost as if her words broke some sort of spell that was cast over them, they quickly withdrew into their dorms one by one. Lara, meanwhile, continued to the stairwell, walked up the steps, and eventually reentered her own dorm with Sam. Once she had shut the door behind her, she went about looking for her kettle. Sam, meanwhile, only stood there in shock.
"Lara, I…" She blinked and shook her head, "You didn't have to do that…" she muttered.
"Course I did," Lara responded curtly, turning her head to Sam, "Tea?"
"What?" Sam was completely caught off guard by the question, "Yeah...w-well yeah to the tea but no to you having to do that!" Lara put the kettle on the stove after filling it with water and waited for it to boil, "Seriously! I appreciate it but-"
"But what?" Lara asked, raising an eyebrow at her, "He insulted you. He always insults you. I was sick of it, and there was no way I was going to let him get away with it again. You can do so much better than that, Sam," the water in the kettle began to boil and she quickly bustled about making a mug of tea for herself and Sam.
"I mean…" Sam's face fell, "He wasn't wrong about some of the things he said…" she said quietly. Lara set a mug down in front of her and took a seat beside her.
"What do you mean?" Lara raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
"I mean…" Sam sniffed, "I am...just a spoiled rich girl..."
"No. Stop that. Right now," Lara cut in seriously, catching Sam's full attention, "You are anything but that. I meant every single word I said back there, Sam. You're kind, compassionate...I mean, you've never slept around, I was just a stranger with her nose in a book and you made a point of taking me around and being a wonderful friend. And any time I get hurt on my bike, or at gymnastics, or rock climbing, you come to get me. You don't have to do any of that," Sam stared at her blankly for a moment before her gaze drifted down to the ground.
"Yeah…" she sighed, "I guess, but what abou-?" Lara raised a hand up to indicate that she should stop.
"You're really stubborn sometimes, you know that?" She chuckled as she tucked a couple of loose hairs behind Sam's ears, "Look, I'd be lying if I said that I don't make a few mistakes from time to time that I'm not proud of...you don't think that I sometimes feel like I don't deserve any of the kindnesses that I receive in life because I'm such an awful person?"
"But you're not a bad person!" Sam protested. Lara only laughed and took a sip of her tea.
"And neither are you...really, you aren't. James is just an asshole," she smiled warmly and got to her feet, "Now then...I've got to study for an exam I have tomorrow...you should relax and drink that tea before it gets cold," she began to walk to her room before Sam called out to her from behind.
"Hey Lara...?" She asked.
"Hm?" Lara turned around to face her.
"...Thanks...I mean it," she said, smiling happily at her. Lara's only response was a grin before entering her room and shutting the door behind her. Whether Sam wanted to believe it or not, she really was a good person, more than she knew...she just sometimes needed to be reminded of that, and Lara was always more than happy to oblige. After all, Sam was her family and she'd do anything for her.