Title: Best Friends

(Chapter 1/?)

Author: Jaycee

Rating: PG – 13

Summary: Josie and Sam were classmates in high school.

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine… and sadly, they never will be. They belong to the makers of Never Been Kissed. Okay, so a few of these characters are mine, but only those who are not in the movie.

Author's note: Okay. Since I loved how you guys welcomed my first NBK fanfic… I decided to put this up even though I didn't receive a hundred reviews. But this time… I have to have a hundred reviews so I would put up my other stories. And as a bribe for me to put up the next chapter, 10 to 15 reviews are okay! Remember, me posting the next chapter totally depends on the reviews! That's it! Have fun reading!

Josie Geller drove slowly through the familiar streets of Chicago. It was a beautiful and clear Friday night and she was on her way to Joanah Michaels' house, an old friend of hers from high school. Joanah was a year older than her, but they have always been close friends even though she graduated and went to college before her.

As she made a right turn, her thoughts began to drift back on her high school days. She was a new student at Lincoln High then, having been rezoned from Chicago Public High School for her junior year. She remembered being rejected by the students, since she was… well, quite different.

She never knew how to dress right, always behind on the latest fashion trends, her hair was a stringy mess, newly installed braces on her teeth, and to make matters worse, she was a walking dictionary, constantly correcting other people's grammar.

After her first week of 'hell' as she called her high school life back then, she was more that willing to quit school and become a waitress or something for the rest of her life, when suddenly, one fateful day, while walking through the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit, one of the most popular girls in school, Joanah Michaels, was waving at her and pointed to the empty seat in her table.

Josie looked behind her to see who she was waving at, when at her utter surprise, she then realized that Joanah was waving at her. She smiled shyly as she walked towards her table and sat down. "Hi I'm Joanah Michaels. This is my boyfriend, Michael Richards and our friend, Sam Coulson." Josie smiled as she introduced herself to both Joanah and Michael, and as she turned towards Sam, she sucked in her breath as she found herself looking at the most wonderful pair of green eyes.

"He…hey! I'm Josie Geller." She stammered nervously as she nervously tucked in a stray piece of hair on the back of her ear. "Hi! Sam Coulson." He replied as he offered his hand towards her for a shake. She took it and gasped inwardly as she felt a jolt of electricity pass through her veins.

As they released hands, he smiled at her and then included her into their conversation. Weeks after that, the four of them we're inseparable. Josie immediately felt at ease with the four seniors.

They we're all very down to earth and never did made fun of her or any other fellow student who we're different from them.

Only one thing was bothering her all throughout the friendship. It was her growing attraction to Sam. He was a very nice guy, sweet, understanding and he even shared her passion for literature. They had long talks about Shakespeare and she then found out that he wanted to be a teacher.

She loved the way his eyes sparkled every time he talked about his plans of helping students to value language and Shakespeare, to try to help other people. She was so proud of him, and felt herself falling more and more for this wonderful guy.

But, she never did get the chance to tell him how she felt. On the last party that was held before graduation for the seniors that year, she almost told him how she felt, but, she then found out that Sam has a girlfriend, something that he never told her.

The girl was Lara Patton, a friend of Sam's older sister. She was older than him, being in college already, but it never did bother Sam. Granted, Lara was a sweet girl, but it never failed to escape Josie that Lara never liked her. Maybe it was her geeky exterior, or her geekier personality, she didn't know.

All she knew was after that party; Josie stopped spending time with Joanah, Mike and Sam. It hurt her too much to see him spend time with Lara. She talked to Joanah on the phone, but that was that. Josie never attended their graduation, of fear that she might see Lara there.

Joanah called her frequently over the past six years, updating her about the things that have happened to the three of them. She found out that they all ended in one school together, Yale University. Joanah and Michael taking up Law and Sam taking up English Literature.

The only downside was, Lara. She was also in Yale, and according to Joanah, their relationship was stronger than ever. Josie snapped out of her reverie as she found herself getting closer to her friend's house. She parked in front of the quaint blue house and quickly smoothed out her long auburn hair. Checking her reflection on the mirror, she quickly got out of the car and went to knock on the door.

* * * Sam Coulson quickly got out of the sofa as he heard the doorbell ring in his friend, Joanah's, apartment. "I'll go get that Joey!" he yelled at her, as he walked over to the door. "Thanks Sam!" he heard her reply. He opened the door and smiled broadly as he realized who it was.

"Josie! Josie! How are you?" he asked the woman on the doorstep as he pulled her into a hug. "Fine. How are you?" she asked as she pulled away from him. "Fine. Now, won't you come in?" he asked as he ushered her into the living room. "Sam, who is it?" Joanah asked as she came into the room, wiping her hands on her jeans. Her eyes lit up as she realized who the person was.

"OH MY GOD!!!!! JOSIE GELLER! How are you?" she squealed as she hugged her friend. Josie laughed as she hugged her back. "I'm fine Joey! How are you?" she asked her as they sat down. Sam chuckled as the two women talked, totally forgetting about him.

As he looked at them, he found himself staring at Josie. She still looked the same…. But not the stringy hair and the braces. She looked better now, but still not overly gorgeous. She was still sweet, and it was like she always filled the room with such warmth and kindness that never failed to amaze him.

When he hugged her, he felt the familiar thrill he always felt when she was around. He liked her more than a friend before when they were in high school, and he almost told her exactly how he felt, but he never did, since he was afraid that it might ruin their friendship.

And besides, he met Lara Patton. He smiled as he thought about her.  She's very sweet, always making him feel so good about himself. They went to the same university together, but she graduated a year early, and then went to New York to work in a prestigious law firm there.

They communicated almost everyday on the first months she went away, but the letters and phone calls started to dwindle as more months passed them by. His smile began to fade as he remembered the last phone call they had. She said that she's gonna be in town for business and hoped that he had thought of going to New York to live there, to leave his job here, to grow up, and to stop trying to 'change' students' lives since its all pointless.

She changed drastically over the last few months, making him feel like he didn't know her anymore. He sighed audibly and then noticed his friends looking at him. "Hey there honey… what's wrong?" Joanah asked him, her forehead creased in concern.

"Oh, nothing Jo, just thinking about work… that's all." He lied, as he smiled at the women. "You shouldn't work too hard Sam. Cheer up!" Josie advised smiling at him. "Yeah, it is. Okay, I'll snap out of it." He agreed. "So, how's life Josie?" "Oh, it's fine. Did I tell you guys? I was hired last month to be Chicago Sun Times Copy Editor!" she announced enthusiastically. "What? But, how could that be? You're only twenty three years old!" Sam exclaimed.

"I thought they only give that kind of position to older and more experienced people? I mean, no offense Jos, I'm just really surprised." "Oh, none taken Sam. I mean I was surprised too, but, with the help of my English professor from Northwestern, they gave me the spot." "How did your professor help you?" Joanah inquired.

"Well, he said that I was his favorite student…." Josie explained, blushing. Sam smiled and probed her to continue. "And…." "He wrote a recommendation letter to the editor of the Sun Times, Augustus Strauss, saying that I do deserve to be the copy editor, saying how I got the highest grades in his class and how I graduated with flying colors." She finished, her cheeks now a dark shade of pink. Joanah laughed at her friend's blush.

"Wow Josie! That's some kind of a blush you got there." Sam laughed with her, "Come on Josie! It's okay. We do know that you're really good with words and that you deserve the job." He consoled her. "Oh, okay you guys! Now, enough about me. How are you two doing?"

Joanah smiled broadly. "Well, Michael and I are engaged!" She announced proudly as she showed off her engagement ring. "OH MY GOD!!!! Joanah! I'm so happy for you!" Josie shrieked as she stood up and gathered her friend into a hug.

Sam laughed as the two women hugged, as he stood up too, swept away with Josie and Joanah's happiness. He gathered the two of them in a three-way hug. "Okay guys! Stop it stop it! You're both crushing me!" Joanah protested laughing, as she disentangled her self from the hug. "Oh, sorry, sorry!" Sam and Josie apologized as they sat down.

"Where is Mike anyway?" Sam asked. "Oh, he's on his way here, he went to Matt's house first." Joanah explained. Sam nodded. "Matt?" Josie asked. "Oh, he's Matt Riley. Another friend of ours. We met him at Yale." Sam explained. "Oooh… you're gonna like him Jos. He's tall, handsome, athletic and a really nice guy." Joanah gushed, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Oh, Joey, you have that look in your eyes…. You're not thinking of fixing us up… are you?" Josie asked worriedly. "Come on Jos! He's a really nice guy. He's a coach at South Glen. I just know that you guys will hit it off." Sam persuaded her, a smile on his face. "Just one dinner… then if you don't like him… then you won't see him ever again." Joanah said, her eyes pleading with her. "Joey, no!" she said adamantly.

"Come on! We're all going out to dinner next week. Please…. Anyway, are you seeing anyone right now?" Joanah asked, eyebrows rose. "No…." she answered slowly. "Well, that's settled! We're all going out next Friday, with Matt as your date." Sam said triumphantly.

"Okay, okay! You guys win!" she said, defeated. "Yay! Now, lets go to the kitchen and get started on dinner." Joanah said as she stood up. Sam and Josie followed suit and they all went to the kitchen.

* * * Hours later, they we're finished with dinner. Michael came a few minutes after they started with dinner, and plans for their engagement dinner went underway. They decided to hold it within two months, in time for Christmas.

Josie felt comfortable around them, realizing that they didn't change at all over the past six years. She was so happy for both Michael and Joanah, as she was when they we're all in high school. They were so perfect for each other.

She had sneaked glances at Sam the whole night, still marveling over the fact that he was more gorgeous than before. He still has the same sweet personality, never failing to awe her with his compassionate nature. The way he talked about his students, the fact that he loved teaching them Shakespeare.

'He really is a great guy!' she thought giddily as she drove home. Her smile began to fade as she thought about Lara. Sam talked about her briefly that night, saying that she's asking him to move to New York. She was so surprised of him moving that she choked on a piece of bread. "Wha… what?"

"Yeah, New York. To grow up and all. She said that what I'm doing right now isn't important, and that I should try to find a better job. Like maybe, be a professor or something." Sam said, sighing. "But Sam! You love your job…" Joanah said.

"Yes, I do…. But then, maybe she's right. You know… maybe teaching high school kids is a waste of time." "No, it's not a waste of time. You seem so passionate about your work, why would you even consider what Lara is saying?" Josie said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, Sam. Think about it. If you do move to New York, would you be happy? I mean, you told me before that you didn't want to join the 'rat's race' there." Mike put in. "I hear you guys. I just… I just have to figure all of this out myself, okay?" Then, that was that. The topic was closed off. As she parked her car in front of her apartment, her thoughts we're still on Sam. She didn't know how she felt about him right now, maybe she liked him, and maybe she didn't. She just had to find out.