A/N: Hello! I've been an Uncharted fan for quite a while now. Like, as far back when Drake's Fortune came out. Anyway, a couple months ago after watching something, I got to thinking about this creation, and here we are now! I won't lie, I've had this part done for at least a month, and I was going to write at least this and the next part, but after hitting a block I said "You know what. Publish it." So here I am now!

Part one is not too long, about twenty pages, but it helps ground the story I think. The next part will also be a prologue type of sorts (as in: more backstory before the events of U4) as well. Part one is also in Sam's POV, but the he won't be the only narrator in this story. I hope I did justice to it, as it's also not too hard to put Sam into character here as well lol. Please enjoy this! I've worked hard on it.

SIC PARVIS MAGNA

Greatness From Small Beginnings . . .

1990

They had to go on the run. Neither brother particularly enjoyed it, but they had to. There was no way that they could explain the police why they were in that manor, and how that old woman had just dropped dead due to her frail health. There was no way that they would ever believe them.

So, they ran. They were almost caught a few times, but they had managed to escape. He was able to get his brother and himself out, going as far away as possible on his motorcycle. It was only hours ago he was so excited to show off his 500cc twin, telling his brother that he actually bought something for once, taking the kid on it...before they ran off.

They had to get away as far as they could. The authorities would have never believed them, especially since that poor old woman had died when they were still there. If they had gotten caught….oh man, they would have been in big trouble. Samuel Morgan could not afford that. He couldn't do that to Nathan, either. The kid's life would have been shattered. Sam refused to let that happen.

After a long, silent ride of escape, Sam eventually mounted his bike on the side of a river bank, under the bridge. No one was in sight. Good.

"I'd say we're clear. How about we catch our breath for a second. Huh?" Sam broke the silence, as he turned the ignition off. Nathan didn't respond verbally, but he got off the bike, sliding down and walking forward, staring at the lights from across the bay. Sam stayed back, getting off his bike but leaned against it.

"Some night, huh?"

Nathan's voice was quieter than usual. He didn't look back to Sam as he agreed, "Some night."

Sam didn't respond. He was trying to figure out what to say to Nathan, but he couldn't figure it out. Before Sam could try to say something, Nathan spoke up again.

"That old lady. . ." Nathan's voice trailed off, and Sam knew what his brother was thinking and feeling at that moment.

"Hey," Sam stood up. He began walking over towards his younger brother, already wanting to ease his pain away. "Hey, you listen to me, that wasn't our fault back there. I mean, that lady she-she was um...sick."

Nathan peered up to him, and Sam could tell that his brother wasn't convinced. Sam knew he was right, though. It wasn't their fault that she had died in their presence. She was sick, and it was just their luck that they were there when it happened. Sam sighed.

"I mean, it's okay to feel bad but there was nothing we could do about it," Sam told his younger brother, bumping him lightly in the shoulder. A sign of comfort. Nathan still looked crestfallen, and Sam found himself turning in his spot, trying to decide what to do next.

"So what are we going to do now?" Nathan asked. "I can't go back to the orphanage. You can't go back to your job."

Sam could feel the corner of his lips begin to twitch, as he had an answer.

"Then we don't."

Nathan scoffed. "Sure."

"No, I'm serious," Sam said, looking down to his brother. Sam could feel his voice growing stronger. "We get far away from this place as we possibly can." Sam had begun walking back to his bike at this point, leaving Nathan where he stood.

"Yeah? And how long until the cops find us?" Nathan asked. He couldn't believe Sam, not right now.

"Oh, I think they'll be looking for Nathan and Samuel Morgan," Sam began.

"Yeah, that's us," Nathan agreed.

Sam could feel the smile on his face. "What if it wasn't?"

That had Nathan turning his head to stare at Sam. Sam couldn't help but feel satisfied by this. He got his brother's attention. Excellent.

"Nathan-back at that mansion, you knew just as much about that stuff as that poor old lady," Sam pointed out, literally as he gestured to direction where they had just came from. He began to walk back to Nathan.

"Here," Sam stopped a few inches away from Nathan, shrugging off his book bag and unzipping it. "I always felt that we were destined for something great."

Nathan watched his brother from where he stood. Sam had knelt down to the ground by this point, rummaging through his bookbag for something. Nathan's widen as he saw what Sam had pulled out.

"But until tonight…I didn't know what that meant," Sam had confessed, as he held out their mother's journal to Nathan. "But this...mom's unfinished work...this is our chance to restart our lives. With brand new identities."

Nathan's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?"

Sam shrugged. "I know some guys. Pretty good at forging papers, too." Sam didn't wait for Nathan's response, as he began to flip through their mother's journal. "Now as for our new name...Mom believed that Sir Francis Drake had heirs," he looked back to Nathan. "Who's to say he didn't?"

Sam watched Nathan's expression change from disbelief to astonishment.

"You're serious, aren't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Nathan, we were meant for this," Sam said. "And I promise: you and me, together? We're gonna go far." He stopped for a second to let Nathan soak in his words. "So what do you say...Nathan Drake?"

Sam held out his hand for Nathan. For a moment, Nathan said nothing, letting his face explain what he was feeling. Finally, he grinned. Just what Sam was hoping for.

"I'm in."

It was somewhat of a challenge for the first months after Sam and Nate became Drakes. Sam had found a new goal in life: to honor his mother's legacy; to finish it. However, his number one priority was to support and take care of his younger brother.

Nathan was able to ease into his new life, although there were bumps along away. Sam had to teach him a few tricks of the trade; pickpocketing was one of them. Now, Nathan did have a talent in swiping things, but his conscious would get the better of him. Some days were better than others, when the guilt would eat him up.

Sam couldn't help but sigh. He knew Nathan was much brighter since leaving St. Francis, and while Sam knew that they were destined for something great, Nathan had a lot to learn about this life. Hell, Sam had a lot to learn, too. Especially when it came to his mother's work. He had a knack in history, sure, but he was nowhere near his mother's work. Nathan was, however. That was a good thing. Sam could live with being in operation while Nathan was the brains behind it. The kid was smart, and Sam would gloat to anyone that listened.

While Nathan was the brains of many of their odd jobs or activities, there have been a few busts. Their semi-foolery was no exception.

They were new to this town, coming in about a week before. It was summer, and there was a fair. Sam decided that it was worth to have fun and splurge once in awhile, so he decided to take Nathan out. No thievery...well, Sam kind of broke that rule. He was sitting down at a table with Nathan, who was stuffing his face; going to town like there was no tomorrow. Sam had glanced away for just one moment-one moment that would change his life.

She was shorter than the rest of her friends, although not by much. She was perhaps 5'3 or 5'4, with dark hair, a round face, and just beautiful. She was wearing shorts and a loose, flowy, but nice tank top. Her dark hair was pinned back...Sam had no words. He had to talk to her, but how? It took him less than a second to come up with a plan. He grinned.

"Hey, Nathan," Sam said. Nathan looked up, an eyebrow rose.

"See that girl over there?" Sam discreetly pointed out the girl over Nathan's shoulder. Nathan glanced briefly behind him before looking back to Sam.

"Yeah?"

"Watch this," Sam told him as he stood. He exhaled, feeling mischievous yet nervous at the same time. Relax, you got this. You're Samuel Drake.

Sam ignored how tense he was as he made his way over. Her back was turned to him, so she couldn't see him. Some of her friends had congregated ahead of her, and didn't notice him either. Good.

Sam was so close to her now, almost towering over her. Carefully, he reached out to her, his hand hovering over her purse. Easy does it-

Sam jolted as he felt his wrist being grabbed and turned upwards. He looked down, seeing the girl glare up at him. It briefly made Same think of Nathan. It was a cute-kind of mad. Sam grinned. "Hey…"

"Who do you think you are?" she asked, thrusting his hand away from her.

"Samuel Mor-Drake. Samuel Drake," Sam answered. "You?"

"Not interested," the girl replied.

"Oh, come on," Sam whined. "I saw you and I just wanted to say hi."

"'Wanted to say hi'?" the girl repeated. "By stealing?"

The more she spoke, the more Sam felt sheepish...and stupid. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah?" his voice rose an octave. "I mean, I wasn't going to steal...I was going to give it back?"

The girl's facade seemed to break. Her stony glare broke into small laughter. Sam felt elated, but confused.

"You have a funny way of getting a girl's attention, don't you?"

Sam couldn't help but break out into a grin and chuckle of his own.

"Yeah. And your grip is pretty strong, by the way."

The girl took pride in that. "Thank you. Took years of practice. I have a sixth sense, you know."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I know...but I wasn't really trying."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Diana! Let's go!"

Sam looked on to the girl's group of friends as she too glanced at them, before turning back to look at him.

"Looks like you should go," Sam said, feeling disheartened at the thought. Diana, however, gave him a smile.

"Yeah, but you don't want me to, do you?"

"Not really, but I don't think you'd want to hang out with me and my kid brother," Sam found himself saying, surprised that he even admitted this to her. It was true, he knew that there was no way that this girl would want to-

"You mean that kid staring at us?" Diana asked, nodding her head towards Nathan's direction. Sam found himself turning just enough to see that she was right. Nathan was staring, watching them. He had probably watched them the entire time. Damn it. Sam turned back to Diana.

"Yeah, that's him."

Diana had opened her mouth to speak, but her friends yelled for again.

"Diana! Come on!"

Diana gave Sam a look that almost made him want to melt. God, why was he feeling like this? No one had ever-

"Go on without me!" Diana shouted to her group of friends. "I'll catch up with you later!"

"Are you sure?" a different friend asked,

"Yes! Now go!"

"Alright, see you later!" one of the girls shrugged as she and the rest of the group waved bye, which Diana reciprocated, before turning back to Sam who couldn't help but feel stunned. His ears had also perked up as his facial expression changed. This girl was…

"I'm Diana, if you haven't heard. Diana Davenport."

"I'm Sam Drake," Sam found himself saying.

Diana grinned. "I know."

Sam felt his face burn, as he found himself mentally cringing.

"Right," he said. "I forgot."

"It's okay," Diana assured. "Your brother's looking a little impatient. Maybe we should...go over there?"

"Yeah, okay," Sam nodded, getting out of her path and allowed her to go ahead in front of him. "Ladies first."

"Thank you, kind sir," Diana played along, pretending to curtsey before walking ahead with Sam following, who eventually at her side walking along with her. By this time Nathan had ran up to them. He was probably tired on waiting.

"Hi," Diana greeted him. "I'm Diana, you must be Sam's brother?"

"I'm Nathan, his cute little brother," Nathan replied with a rather mischievous look in his eyes. "I saw you yell at him. He deserved it, his technique was so sloppy-"

"Nathan!" Sam scolded, wanting to throttle his younger brother. Diana only laughed.

"I didn't yell at him. I just...told him off," Diana said, unable to contain her laughter or smile. Sam thought she had a beautiful smile, compared to his own, very crooked teeth. He still couldn't help but feel clammy, and-

"Sam?"

Sam returned to reality, finally taking notice that Nathan and Diana were staring at him.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go walk around!" Nathan exclaimed before jetting off. He wanted to give the older teens some alone time, and Diana had said she would get him tickets and more food. Nathan had liked her instantly. She was way cooler than Crystal, Sam's last girlfriend.

"Nathan!" Sam yelled after his brother. He was about to run after Nathan, but Diana had wrapped one of her hands around his bicep.

"He'll be fine. We'll follow him. Look, he's waiting for us ahead, see?" Diana pointed Nathan out, who waved and gestured for them to follow.

"Well, let's not keep him waiting."

Sam and Diana lagged behind Nathan, getting to know each other.

"So, are you new to town? I've never seen you around before."

"Yeah, me and my brother arrived a few days ago."

Diana nodded. "I see. Is it just you two?"

Sam nodded. "Yep. It's been the two of us for awhile now. Mom died and dad bailed not too long after."

"O-Oh," Diana stammered, as an awkward silence filled the space between them.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Sam assured her. "It happened years ago."

"If you say so," Diana said, still feeling unsure.

"What about your family?" Sam asked. He could see that had darkened her mood a bit. Sam couldn't help but grimace, she must not-

"I have two older parents, and an older sister and brother," Diana answered with coolness.

"So you're the baby of the family, I would not have pegged you as that," Sam said. A smile, a laughter even, flickered in her expression, but it disappeared quickly. Sam gulped. Now he felt like an asshole.

"Not many people do," Diana eventually agreed. "Enough about them. How do you like it here so far?"

Sam and Diana had really kicked it off that night. They couldn't stop sharing what must have been everything with each other, and for once Sam felt...well, happy. A different kind of happy, something he had never felt before.

Sam had met Diana again soon after the fair. It was rather ironic.

Sam was still doing the same work he had done before he became Drake. Thieving, and his client wanted him to take something big-Sam couldn't pass it up.

When Sam arrived at the location, he couldn't help but feel awe. The place was grand! Not quite like Evelyn's-but it was nice. With perfect pickings, no doubt.

Sam went in, pretty stealthy too. It was dark and no sign of life was around. Jackpot.

Sam went around the house, exploring a bit. While Sam peeked around, his heartstrings tugging a bit. This house was so empty, so vacant, yet there were signs of life-

There was a clock and the lights came on. Sam cringed, cursing under his breath and turning around to face who caught him. To his complete and utter surprise, it was Diana. She stood in the doorway, right hand on the lamp, and not looking very pleased. Sam couldn't blame her.

"Um. Hey…" Sam greeted sheepishly.

"Not stealing from me, are you Sam?" Diana quipped.

Sam faltered. "Uh...no?"

"Then why are you in my house?"

Sam didn't speak for a minute, debating on what he could say.

"I'm...here to pick something up for a client?"

"Oh my God," Diana groaned, her left hand reaching up to massage her temple. Her right hand had yet to leave the lamp.

"I am!" Sam insisted, his hands still up in the air. "He wanted me to...wait, you live here?"

"Yeah," Diana responded with sarcasm laced in her tone.

"Wow. Nice house!"

"Thank you, but you still haven't answered my-you're stealing something pricey from my dad, aren't you?" Diana realized.

"Yup," Sam confirmed. Diana found herself relaxing.

"Oh, well in that case," she began, lifting her hand off the lamp. "Go ahead."

Sam was perplexed. Go ahead?

"Go ahead?" Sam repeated. "I-what-wait, were you going to hit me with that?"

"Yeah, figured I could nick you in the neck," Diana shrugged. Sam wasn't sure what to say or how to respond to that. She had honestly considered knocking him with a lamp.

"What are you stealing?" Diana asked.

"Something pricey," Sam answered, repeating her words from earlier. He was still standing in the same spot where Diana had caught him, but by now his arms were down, stuffed in his jacket pockets. Diana rolled her eyes.

"I know that, but what is it?"

"I don't know if I should tell you. You gonna rat me out?"

Diana's eyes widen. "What? No! Maybe I could help you…"

Sam scoffed. It was a sweet gesture, but no.

"No way. Why would you help me?"

"Because I like you and dislike my father?" Diana tried. Sam's mind briefly flashed back to a week ago, remembering their conversations about their families. Sam remembered how...eerie it felt when he was in the manor. There were signs of life but it felt lifeless, and it wasn't because he had broken in. Eventually, Sam simply shrugged and said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Diana repeated.

"Okay, you can help."

Sam told her what he needed. At least, what his client had told him. Lucky for him, Diana knew what he was talking about.

"My father was boasting about it for weeks," Diana explained as she shuffled around.

"What does your father do, exactly?" Sam asked.

"He's...he's well...mafia work," Diana answered, not looking at Sam.

"Like...Godfather mafia?"

"Eh...I don't really know. He's a mysterious guy by all means-aha!"

Diana had paused in her answer, sounding triumphant as she held up what Sam needed. "Looking for this?"

"Hell yeah," Sam grinned, taking it from her hold. He examined it. "Wow. Thanks a lot, Diana. Really, you helped me out on this. The guy who wants this is pretty dangerous from what I've heard."

"Who is it?" Diana asked.

"Some mobster guy. Can't pronounce his last name."

"I see," Diana said as she stood, wiping her hands on her jeans. "So...how are you getting out?"

Sam blinked. "Um, I don't know. Haven't thought about-"

"Diana!" a voice yelled out for said teenager, as a door slammed from downstairs. Sam and Diana shared panicked looks with each other.

"Shit," Diana swore, yanking Sam by the hand and exiting the room, but not before turning the lights off and shutting the door. Diana began to drag Sam off to somewhere.

"Diana-" Sam began in a hushed tone, but Diana shushed him, pulling him into a room and letting go of him. Sam took a quick glance around and realized that they must be in her room.

"Wha-" Sam started, but stopped when Diana pushed up a desk chair and forced him to sit in it, with his book bag to the side. She handed him a random textbook as she sat down on the floor, back pressed against the bed as her knees rose to chest, with study materials strewn around her and balanced on her knees.

"So, Cortez came to the Americas in 15-"

"Diana! We-oh, you have a friend here."

Sam had jumped at the sound of the voice, but turned just enough to see who it was. The woman seemed young and looked a lot like Diana.

"Sorry mom," Diana apologized, and Sam couldn't help but think: that's her mom? She must age well. "We got focused, guess we couldn't here you. This is Sam Drake, one of my classmates. Sam, this is my mother."

Sam offered a tight lipped smile and curt wave. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was scared as hell in that moment.

"Hi," Sam said. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Diana's mother replied, but didn't mean it. It was curt-too curt. She looked at her daughter. "Diana, you didn't tell me you were having...a guest over."

Boy. Street rat. Sam knew he looked like one.

"It wasn't planned," Diana answered, and Sam almost snorted. "I got stuck with this, and Sam is an expert with history-Spanish, to be more precise-so I called him and he ended up coming over. At least I left the door open, right?"

"If you say so," her mother sounded airy, and Sam decided he didn't like her. "Tell us, next time. In fact, he should have dinner with us soon. I'm sure your father would want to meet him."

With no more to say, Diana's mother left them be. Sam let out a breath he didn't even realized that he had held in. He let out a nervous chuckle.

"Wow, she's scary," Sam joked. Diana didn't respond. She was still staring out of her doorway, an unreadable expression etched upon her face.

"Diana?" No response. Sam snapped his fingers in front of her. "Diana."

Diana flinched but her attention snapped back to him.

"I am so sorry," Diana apologized, almost too quickly. "I panicked and I didn't know what else to say-God, I must sound like an idiot."

"Hey, it's okay. I mean, I did break in here after all," Sam joked. Grace shot him a glare.

"That's not funny," she said.

"Sorry," Sam apologized, before glancing quickly at her study materials, including the book she had hastily shoved into his lap. "So, what are you doing, anyway?"

"Summer work. It's for one of my classes this upcoming year."

"You still in school?" Sam asked.

Diana nodded. "Yup. I'll be a senior this year. All honors and AP courses."

Sam nodded, pretending to understand what she was talking about. "Cool. So...what are you doing now?"

Diana found herself scratching her head as she replied. "Well, I'm supposed to cover about...the early beginnings of the Americas to make a long story short. So like, you know. Spanish explorers and all that."

Sam found himself perking up at this. "Do you like it? History?"

Diana found herself nodding. "It's not my favorite, but yeah. I find it very interesting."

Sam found himself grinning. "Can I help?"

Diana looked up from her paper to stare at him, almost dumbfounded. "What?"

"Can I help you with this?" Sam repeated. "I mean, I'm sure you can do this all on your own, but I enjoy this stuff so…" Sam trailed off, not knowing what to say and feeling sheepish at this point. First, he had came to this house to steal something, just to run into the cute girl he met last week and now he was wanting to do homework with her?

"Um...if you want to, I guess."

Sam was never much of an academic person but for Diana, he did as much as he could. He offered so much information, and often went off in tangents which he would not realize until he would see that Diana was staring at him, smiling.

"You're cute when you get all passionate."

Sam couldn't help but heat up when she said that. No one had told him that before.

"Thanks," Sam chuckled, a hand reaching behind him to scratch his neck. "I'm kind of an expert at this stuff. My mom was a historian, so growing up we would just talk about…well, you know."

There was a different tone in Sam's voice when he mentioned his mother. Diana noticed, but did not comment on it.

"Well, if I'm hearing it correctly, it sounds like she was a brilliant woman."

Sam smiled softly. "Yeah, she was."

It was almost three-thirty in the morning before Sam decided that he should probably go.

Sam and Diana were long past done with whatever Diana had to get done, so they had talked for hours. Again. It was nice.

Sam had snuck out of Diana's window (no one bothered to come check on them again for the rest of the night after Diana's mother), but not before asking Diana out. Well, he stuttered more than asking, but Diana just gave him a sweet smile and nodded.

"Of course I'd like to go out with you, Sam. Do you want my number?"

"I-uh-yes, I would like your number," Sam nodded. "I was thinking maybe sometime next week?"

"That's fine with me," Diana answered, as she slipped him a small piece of paper with her number on it. "Don't lose it, because then that means you would have to break into my house again."

Sam's face flamed up again, as if he was embarrassed. He felt like it. "Oh, har-har. Very funny, Diana."

"I'm only teasing you. I wouldn't mind meeting like this again, you know."

Sam felt like he was on fire. Even more so.

"Me too. I should get going, though. Good night, Diana."

"Good night, Sam," Diana said. Then she did something that shocked Sam. She had kissed him on the cheek.

Even after leaving her room and was far away from her house by this point, Sam was caressing the spot on his cheek where she had planted that kiss.

Oh, he had it bad.

Their date actually happened less than a week after that interaction. Sam had found the free time so he had called up Diana, asking for her to hang out. She said yes.

Sam, like the gentleman he was, had gone to her house to pick her up. He decided that he would meet her the proper way this time, and knocked on the door. An older man answered.

"Hello," the old man greeted. Sam was sure that this man was the butler or something like that.

"Hi, is Diana here? I'm here to pick her up."

The old man raised an eyebrow, as he inspected Sam. It was hard for Sam to tell what the old man was thinking.

"You're here to take Diana out?" the old man assumed, looking around Sam's head and eying his bike.

"Yep."

"You won't take advantage of that girl, will you?"

Sam's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. "What? No! I would never do that!"

"Charlie, stop," Diana ordered, rolling her eyes as she kissed the old man on the cheek. "I promise, even if he did try something, I would break his hand."

The old man chuckled, and even Sam couldn't help but do the same. It wasn't that he didn't believe that she would because after all, she had considered smashing a lamp into his head. It was somewhat hard to believe that Diana could be violent, giving the fact that she was probably at least a good foot shorter than him.

"Of course, Diana. Have fun, your parents would expect you home around dinner time. There are some...special guests coming over tonight."

Diana groaned. "Which means I'll probably come home late. Bye, Charlie, I'll see you later. Come on Sam, let's go!"

Diana had grabbed hold of his hand, dragging him off to his bike, but not before turning back to wave at Charlie, who reciprocated before shutting the door, whistling to himself.

"So...is that your dad?" Sam asked.

Diana snorted. "I wish."

"Oh," Sam said.

Diana sighed, knowing she should explain. "He's pretty much the only one who offers me emotional support in that household. That, and my nanny."

"You had a nanny?"

"Until I was about...eleven? I think. I keep in touch with her, but she had to leave. My brother was the other one who was there for me but…" Diana suddenly faltered, and Sam assumed the worst had happened to said brother. He wouldn't ask. She would tell him when she was ready.

"It's okay, I think I get it," Sam told her. Diana looked up at him with a small, faint trace of a smile.

"Thank you, Sam. Now, come on. Let's go do something!"

Their first date was a blast. Neither teen could not remember having that much fun in a long time. The next time they hung out, Diana had told him she had gotten into a lot of trouble for skipping over that dinner, but to her it was worth it.

Sam and Diana went on a few more dates, some of them with Diana staying out late albeit having school in the next couple hours. To her, it was worth it. Sam made life...well, not bleak for her. Nathan, too. Sam was both, in dismay and joy about that. Sam was happy that Diana and Nathan got along great, but Sam was also tired of the two ganging up on him and tease him...and he may or may not have been just a little jealous of Nathan getting Diana's attention as well.

However, Diana made it up to him by kissing him.

Sam had been sullen on one of their dates, and it was for more reasons than his childish jealousy on his kid brother. Some of his jobs had been a hit and miss, and he had just been feeling down a little more lately. Diana had noticed, and they went somewhere private to talk about it.

This was one of the many things that Sam liked (and later, love) about Diana. She was quick to spy an issue and was quick to try to help. Not to mention that she was kind to practically everyone she met, and she was just amazing.

"You have nothing to worry about, Sam," Diana had promised him. "I promise, you have nothing to worry about, especially when it comes to Nathan. I like you and...if you need help, I'll be there."

Sam's heart fluttered and God, was he about to have a stroke?

Before Sam could register what was happening, he felt a soft pair of lips and then kissing. He was kissing Diana Davenport. Technically, Diana had kissed him first but did that matter? No. They were kissing!

Then Diana pulled away, face red and she looked just as scared as Sam had felt moments ago.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Sam, I should have asked-"

Sam didn't let her finish, as he pulled her back in for another kiss. She had felt tense, but quickly she relaxed. Sam couldn't help but smile in their kiss. Again, Diana pulled away.

"Wow," Sam breathed heavily.

"I know," Diana agreed.

After a month or so of them being "official", Mr. and Mrs. Davenport had found out. Neither parent was pleased, but they informed Diana that they must meet Sam so therefore she must bring him over. Diana didn't want to, knowing how it would go, but Sam insisted that he should meet the Davenports.

Until he realized he had to dress up.

A few hours before, Nathan found Sam freaking the fuck out, saying something along the lines of "not having anything nice to wear."

"Sam, chill out. Diana likes you a lot, I don't think she would care," Nathan pointed out.

"Nathan, I'm meeting her parents."

That was when Nathan realized how serious all of this was to his older brother.

"Shit," Nathan swore.

"I know, and I-" there was a knock at the door. The two brothers shared a look before Nathan had gone to answer.

"Is this where Samuel Drake lives?"

Sam recognized the voice. It was Charlie, the butler-slash-Diana's-father-figure. Sam and Charlie had talked quite a few times since they met, and it was nice to know that Charlie did like him, albeit his concern for Diana. Sam couldn't blame him on that, he knew he had gained a reputation in the town already.

"Charlie! How's it going?" Sam came up behind Nathan, who almost jumped at his older brother's presence.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. Diana informed me that you would be meeting her parents and well..." Charlie thrusted a box outwards towards Sam, who took it. "Diana had a feeling that you would need something to wear."

Dear God, that girl really did know everything.

"Yeah, uh..."

"He's been freaking out," Nathan offered the older man. Charlie grinned at the younger Drake.

"You must be Nathan," Charlie recognized the boy from Diana's descriptions. "Tell me, how bad has he been?"

"He's in love."

"I am not!" Sam fired immediately, then he backtracked. Why did Nathan have to do this to him? And right in front of the old man? The old man that Diana saw as her father figure, who no doubt saw her as a daughter? Was Nathan trying to get him killed? "I mean, uh...I really, really like her, sir."

Charlie looked at Sam, and he could tell that the boy really had it bad for Diana. He and Nathan shared an amused look with each other.

"I'll leave you to it, then. Remember: six o'clock. Although, you might want to be there a little earlier."

"Alright. Thank you so much, Charlie. I appreciate it, really."

Sam was late by about ten minutes. It wasn't intentional, as he got stuck in traffic, but he still felt judged as he entered the house. Diana gave him a kiss on the cheek to reassure him, before he handed her flowers. Diana was genuinely surprised, and was even more so when he gave a bouquet to her mother as well.

"You're very sweet," Diana whispered to him, as they walked to the dining area. Sam and Diana sat next to each other, as Mr. and Mrs. Davenport sat on opposite ends of the table. Diana's sister and her husband, who Mr. and Mrs. Davenport invited as well, were seated across from the teenagers. Sam felt even more nervous than before, but slowly eased as he felt Diana grab a hold of his hand.

Dinner was somewhat of a quiet affair. The Davenports did not speak much, and whether that was on purpose or not Sam did not know. However, Diana's parents did ask him questions.

"Who are you?" Mr. Davenport had asked, and Sam knew that Diana must have been rolling her eyes at her father's question. She had introduced them as soon as Sam had entered the house.

"Samuel Drake, sir," Sam answered.

"Where you are from?" Mr. Davenport asked again. His eyes were glued onto Sam like a predator watching its prey.

"Boston, sir," Sam said.

The adults looked rather intrigued by his answer.

"Boston? Really?" Mrs. Davenport questioned. "Diana didn't tell us that."

"You never asked," Diana pointed out. She looked moody, Sam noted.

"What made you decide to come here?" Mrs. Davenport asked him.

Sam had to think about it, deciding he needed to be careful with his response.

"Well...my brother and I decided that we needed a new start," Sam began. "We're orphans, you see. Our mother died when I was ten, and from then on it was just me and my brother." Sam didn't even bother to mention his father.

"What about your father?" Mr. Davenport asked. Sam almost groaned.

"He, uh...he...left us," Sam began. "He surrendered his custody of us to the state after our mother died."

Sam felt Diana grab ahold of him again. A small, brief smile flickered on his face. Diana knew it was difficult for Sam to talk about his parents, about his situation.

"Oh, that's terrible," Diana's sister spoke up. "I'm so sorry."

Sam waved it off. "Nah, it's fine. It happened a long time ago."

"How do you live?" Mr. Davenport asked.

"I take on jobs to help support my brother," Sam said.

"What kind?"

"Hands on kind," Sam answered. "Movement, shipment, all that."

"I see," Mr. Davenport nodded, clearly not interested in Sam at all. Sam knew how these type of people were: they were wealthy rich folks while he was a street rat. He wasn't going to be good enough for Diana. Not now, not ever.

"He's really good at what he does," Diana spoke up. "For what he does, he does well and because of that, his brother is getting the best support he possibly could."

Sam and Diana shared a brief look with each other. Diana was not going to let anyone think of Sam as less.

"How do you two have the time to hang out? Where did you meet?" Diana's sister's husband inquired.

Both teens didn't know what to say. Sam had not thought about that, but apparently Diana did.

"We met at the fair. I had tripped, but luckily Sam was there to catch me," Diana said. "And we hang out whenever we have the time. His brother is with us sometimes, which I do not mind at all. I love that kid. Nathan's a very sweet boy."

Diana Davenport was on the top of Sam's favorite people list. She was funny, intelligent, cute, and liked both him and Nathan?

That's when Sam knew that he was absolutely fucked. He found himself not minding that one bit.