A/N: What would have gone differently if Phil hadn't landed in with the wrong crowd at school? Would have had turned out differently?

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Chapter 1

Sam wandered down the deserted hallway, not really paying attention to where she was going, she knew the route by heart and it was easier when there weren't other students around. Not that she planned to get a detention, it had just worked out that way, what with her geography teacher being an absolute prick and incapable of teaching. If he had actually passed in a teaching course at university as he claimed he had then he wouldn't be telling them that Mount Kosiosko was in Japan. Sam had pointed out in front of the class that it was actually in Australia and he had given her a detention for being rude, were teachers even allowed to do that? Sam started paying with a strand of her long blonde hair it was about five inches below shoulder length and dead straight, her short skirt offset her lightly tanned legs and her shirt was a shapeless piece of crap that didn't show off any of her curves, not that Sam minded, if it did her mother would have got in a complete strop with her and forced the school to change the uniform. She was already picky enough with the skirt. Sam heard a voice behind her and whipped her head around, "You make a habit of walking round with you eyes closed?"

"What's it to you?" she snapped recognising him as the new boy.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if, with your obvious amazing ability with direction, you could tell me where Turner Street is."

Sam grinned in spite of herself, he was uniquely charming in a way most boys failed in. Comic witty and casual at the same time. "Sure, I'm on my way there myself so I can take you if you want"

"That'd be great" the boy smiled and he offered her his arm. She took it laughing, "So you were watching the spectacle at lunch then?" she asked grinning.

"How could I miss it?" he asked raising his eyebrow. "So who was that guy?"

"That's Andrew, it's his ambition to start up his own computer business and become a millionaire. He was just repeating his dream where he walks into a crowded hall of people, all looking up to him, politicians and world leaders, conservationists and actors, and he had this gorgeous woman on his arm, that's where I came in obviously, though I'm not sure why he grabbed me, probably the closest to him" Sam remarked casually, she didn't want him thinking that she was over confident and up herself, and the truth was that probably was the reason why he had picked her. "And then he sees this amazing guy in the group of people and he's checking him out decides he'd rather have that, leaves the woman to descend the stairs on her own, and much to the horror of everyone in the room, walks over and kisses the guy. I am quoting by the way, I've heard that story a million times, Andrew has this way of -over emphasizing a point."

The boy laughed, "So that's why he pushed you aside and turned to that guy, I couldn't really hear from where I was. I thought he was mad or summat"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked confused

"Well honestly, who would pass up on you?" he smiled at her raising his eyebrow.

Sam giggled, flushing furiously, she wasn't used to boys being interested in her, they were usually more interested in her sister, who was eight months younger than her and absolutely gorgeous. "What's your name again?" she asked embarrassed.

The boy scoffed and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, "I'm flirting with a girl and she doesn't know my name, typical. It's Phil"

"Sam"

"Are you the same Sam that got detention for knowing where Mount Kosiosko was?" he asked grinning.

"Why else do you think I'm still here?" Sam asked

"You could be in trouble" Phil raised his eyebrow, he liked this new school, they were a lot laxer on the uniform, most girls had their skirts above the knee in varying lengths. Sam's was only a couple of inches, but there were some girls who had four or five inches above the knee.

Sam looked down at the ground, she was what some would refer to as a closet goody-two-shoes. In the school ground she was loud, and she had a big group of friends, but she worked hard at school, had never been in trouble and got good grades.

"You wanna do something crazy?" Phil asked his eyes dancing mischievously.

"Depends, what do you define as crazy?" Sam asked smiling mischievously.

Phil grabbed her hand and Sam felt a tingle shot up her arm, he pulled her down a side street and ran towards the river, Sam ran after him so she didn't fall over. Phil stopped near a paddle boat hire shop, Sam had always wanted to go on them but her parents never had time and her mother wouldn't let Sam on there on her own. When Sam had been seven her cousin had pushed her into the river as a joke and Sam had been fine but her mother had gone over the top, you'll catch a death of cold, you could have drowned. Phil grinned at the attendant "Alright Alfie?" he asked

"You right there Phil?" the attendant answered grinning, his grin looking a bit like Phil's.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna borrow a boat yeah" Phil didn't even bother waiting for an answer leading Sam onto a single boat, sitting her down on the seat and pushing her off. He got into his own boat which was blue where Sam's was red.

"It's just like a bike, you pedal forwards you got forwards, you pedal backwards you go backwards. Use the steering wheel to steer" he explained seeing she didn't know how to use one, "Come on, follow me" Sam tried but it was hard, especially trying to keep her skirt from riding up, eventually she didn't bother trying and by then she was completely soaked so it didn't matter anyway, it was stuck to her legs. She and Phil had been going somewhere but they got sidetracked and had ended up having a water fight. Phil had pulled up near an ice cream stand, it was so close to summer it was hot enough to get sweaty and he yelled out to the man tending it, "Can I have- what do you want?"

"Umm- vanilla thanks, not actually I'll have strawberry" she answered he grinned, "Two strawberry's thanks" he yelled. A minute later the man came down and handed Phil two strawberry comes, "It's one the house" he told them grinning, it was so sweet to see young love.

"Cheers mate, I owe you one" Phil beamed and leant over to pass Sam had ice-cream. It was almost dark by the time they got back to the boat shack and they pedalled the boats into the boat shed, Alfie was packing them away for the night. Phil and Sam walked down the street hand in hand, Sam stopped just outside her house, "Ummm, I should go" she murmured sadly, she had had a great time that day and she didn't want to go home.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow yeah?"

"Sure" Sam nodded

"Can I just ask one question, will you go out with me?" Phil asked, his eyes still dancing.

"Yeah" Sam grinned, a slight blush rushing over her cheeks, Phil smiled happily and leant in, pressing his lips against hers for a moment. Sam could feel them, warm and sweet, then they were gone, leaving a hole, but it didn't feel bad, it just made her anticipate their next kiss even more. Then he winked at her and walked back down the road. Sam watched him until he entered the house a bit further down and across the road then she went inside.

"Where have you been young lady?" her mother snapped as Sam closed the door.

"I got detention" Sam muttered rolling her eyes.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing"

"Well you must have done something"

"I got a detention for knowing where Mount Kosiosko is" Sam shouted. "Our geography teacher is an idiot and he though it was in fucking Japan"

"Don't speak like that young lady"

"Why the bloody hell not? What do you care you fucking hypocrite" Sam shouted, her mother was one to talk, she swore all the time.

"Why not? Because I'm you mother that's why" Sam's mother shouted back.

"That doesn't mean you get unconditional respect where everyone else has to earn it, you could try and earn it too, but then again you have no idea how, you never spend anytime around me unless it's to tell me what to do" Sam shouted, a tear running down her flushed face.

"That's not true, I spent time shopping with you last weekend"

"Yeah, telling me what clothes I should want to buy, you don't know anything about me"

"I know you like ballet"

"That was when I was six! I hate ballet, I've been learning guitar for three years now, and speaking of that I have a lesson tomorrow, I need to practice." Sam stormed up the stairs slamming her door. She plugged in her amp and struck a chord. The vibrations ran through her claming her down a bit and she tuned up, pulling her music stand over she started playing her most challenging song. It had a great instrumental but it was really hard, add that with voice and it took up all her concentration so she couldn't dwell on her argument with her mother. As long as she had it turned up to a reasonable volume. A minute later and Sam's mother stormed in, she turned the volume down on the amp and turned to Sam, "You don't walk away when I'm speaking to you, and you can't have given this –noise up for ballet. I'm re-enrolling you in classes"

"I won't go, like I said I hate ballet" Sam shouted, she couldn't believe that her mother would be so unfair.

"Fine, but your –guitar is taking time away from your studies, I'm not paying for you lessons"

"You refused to pay for them in the first place, I got a job remember" Sam shouted, she couldn't believe her mother cared so little about her daughter.

"That's taking time away from your studies too, you're quitting next time you go"

"No, I'm not, I love my job. You can't tell me what to do mother, I'm not five years old any more, if you try to stop me doing what I want I'll run away"

"I'm only trying to do what's best for you"

"No you're not, if you were you'd be doing to same to Caroline"

"She doesn't have your brains sweetie, you can do anything you want and I want to give you the best opportunity possible"

"No you don't you want me to follow in your footsteps and become an award winning surgeon, you want me to find a cure for cancer and you want me to acknowledge you at every awards ceremony so you can say, I taught her everything she knows and you can take credit for what ever I do. You want to live your life through me and you want me to do what you never could because you're just a lowly maternity ward attendant."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that young lady" her mother warned

"Debs-sorry, Deborah, leave her alone, let her practice her music, you're only young once" George had come to intervene.

"You know the whole point of a marriage is to support one another, why is it you always undermine me?" Deborah rolled her eyes and stalked out the room muttering, "Insufferable know it all"

George came over and sat beside Sam's bed, "She doesn't mean it sweetie, she'll be proud of you no matter what"

"No she won't" Sam murmured, he tried to think of something to say but came up blank, she was right. Pulling his daughter into a hug he let her cry into his shoulder, he had lost count of how many arguments he had had to break up between the two of them and he was getting tired of it.