Disclaimer: I don't own, oh how I wish…

Warnings: Rated K-T. Sad, but you won't really be surprised by the ending.

AN: I really like Jess, and I wished we got to see more of her.

Enjoy!

Ocean Avenue:

The first time he met Jess he didn't know her name. They had a class together, a basic chemistry class they both needed for their major. Sam was in the seat behind her, and all he could think was that he couldn't see past the thick waves of blonde hair. To be honest, it kind of annoyed him. It was hard to see, and whenever her hair accidentally brushed his textbook, her perfume would stick to the pages. It smelled nice, and then he'd always feel like a creep for thinking that.

The next time he'd see her was at the party that Brady dragged him too. It was at a senior's party for the Christmas break. It wasn't considered cool to go home for the holidays. Not that Sam cared about that sort of thing, but Brady dragged him along, and he did meet Brady on the very first day, and Sam really had nothing better to do. Besides, maybe it would be easier to keep an eye on Brady if he just went with him…

Besides, Sam knew quite a few people at this party. It was at Stephen "Effin' Crazy" Fitzgerald, the guy whose apartment they were partying in. He was a senior, and he was famous for his marathon parties-were people went to go on the extended weekends to party for at least three days straight. Stephen got his nickname because on the first day of class he stripped down naked and impersonated a professor, and somehow got away with it. To this day, no one knows how.

Stephen wasn't the only infamous classmate that Sam had. There was Black Betty (by now everyone had forgotten her real name) who danced on a table wearing nothing but her shoes. There was Joe, Sid, and Tommy who stole a cadaver out of the science block and put it in the trunk of some jock's car. They and half a dozen others had such notoriety, and many were following in their footsteps, including Brady. Since Sam was pretty much Brady's closest friend, he was invited along for the ride.

So Sam went. He saw a two twin girls playing pool, and the girl, Jess watching them, laughing as the twins ribbed each other. Sam saw Brad's eyes light up, and Sam resisted the urge to tell his friend not to drool. Instead, Brady raised a hand and yelled.

"Jessica!"

The blonde turned and waved when she saw who was shouting her name. Sam blinked in surprise.

"You know her?" he asked.

It turned out that Brady knew Jess from the blood drive volunteer program they had on campus. Brady teased Jess, saying she'd never learn how to play pool if she watched the twins.

"This here's my best buddy Sam, and he's kicked my ass in pool more times than I can count!"

So Sam ended up teaching Jess how to play pool. He figured at least one of his skills could be put to good use. Jess learned fast, and Sam had a hard time concentrating whenever she bent down to aim her cue stick. A couple of games later and she could give him a run for his money. Sam hadn't had that much fun in a long time. It wasn't until he had to drive Brady back, and Jess had her two twin friends, Sally and Katie with them, since Jess's car died. So, Brady was crammed in the backseat of his car with the twins, while Sam drove back, Jess riding shotgun.

He found out that aside from the fact they both couldn't stand chemistry, they had no other classes together. Jess was a bit more undecided then Sam was, wanting to go into medicine, and if nothing else, social work. Sam noticed that whenever she talked about it, she would smile, and it was contagious.

The only downside was that night one of the twins threw up on his shoes.

The next time Sam saw Jess again was during the midterms, and they met up by accident when they went to the same study group. Sam could see she was surprised, and he felt a nervous flutter when her green eyes looked back at him. They ended up staying the longest, until they were the only two left. Their conversation moved to a coffee shop down the block and from there, Jessica gave him her number.

Sam promised himself he'd call her as soon as he passed the test, if he didn't get a C or higher, he wouldn't call. It was a strange thing to promise himself, but in a way it was something to look forward to. Needless to say, on the day of the test, Sam got an A.