hey Hey HEY :D I'm BACK! I missed Sam and James even though it's been almost a week. That is a little long though… But I'm happy to say that this new story is like a new slate for ideas! It's begging for me to fill it up with chapters! I'm telling you in advance that I have no idea how long this story will be. I'll find out as I go :)

For any of you reading this, this is a SEQUEL. So, I strongly suggest you read "You Just Never Know" before this in order to understand the characters and story plot. It would make it easier for you to follow along. However, you can read if you want and review for me!

I hope to see the same names following this story, and maybe even more joining it too! So thank you all who read my previous story, and I hope you like the sequel to Sam and James.

I now introduce to you the first chapter in "What Happens Now?"

~Chapter 1: Coming Back to Reality~

"You Just Never Know" ending:

My breathing started to get ragged as I brought my hand to the middle of my chest to breathe. James grabbed the side of my arms as I began to wobble slightly. "Sam, what's wrong?" he asked in a worried and scared tone.

I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath, uttering out a weak "D-D-Drew" before dropping the gifts on the ground. The next thing I knew, everything went black. No light, no sound, nothing except total darkness. History seemed to be repeating itself, and I didn't think I'd be able to survive again this time. Not with my horrible past coming back again. I think this was the end of the road for me.

SAM'S POV:

I woke up in my bedroom, thoughts and past memories flooding me. The sheets were pulled up around me, tucking me in securely to the mattress. I had to blink my eyes a few times to adjust to the light shining through the windows. My head oddly didn't have any pain, even though I remembered blacking out.

Sitting up in the bed, I pushed the covers down and arched my back. My eyes wandered down and stared at the clothes I had on. Instead of the red evening gown, I had on some old grey sweatpants and a loose black v-neck. Bringing my hands up to my head, I felt my hair that was tied in a bun. I couldn't recall changing or feeling anything. James probably brought me up here and helped me change.

My feet hung over the edge of the bed as I rubbed my nose with my left hand. Glancing down, I noticed my engagement ring wasn't on my finger. Wait, WHAT? I held out my hand in front of my face and flipped it back and forth, frantically looking at the bare ring finger. Where did it go? I know I had it on when I came home! I jumped out of bed and ripped the covers back, throwing them in the air as I tried to search for my precious ring.

After tearing the entire bed apart, I finally decided that it wasn't hidden within the covers. Making my way to the bathroom, I checked around the sink to see if I took it off for some reason before. That's when I noticed some products missing. There was only one toothbrush, and the comb James keeps out on the side was gone. I raised my eyebrow and tried to think of why that was so.

Shrugging my shoulders, I walked back into the bedroom and rubbed my arms. It was freezing in here. Usually James turns up the heat for us in the morning. Maybe I should put on a sweatshirt. I made my way to my closet and opened the doors, expecting to see my sweatshirts hanging to the very right of my closet where James had his jackets too. But instead I was greeted with emptiness, the bare white walls staring back at me. James' jackets were gone. And so were his clothes. I scanned my entire closet and noticed only half of it was full. It was my side and only my side. James had no proof of staying up here.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I brushed the loose hair out my face and walked downstairs, letting the sound of silence soak in. I would have enjoyed the silence if it was a year ago, but now it was a warning sign. I didn't know whether to panic or call James. What was going on? Why weren't his clothes upstairs?

The living room felt cold and lifeless compared to the liveliness whenever James and I were in there together. The usual sound of the television wasn't blaring, and the smell of a home-made breakfast wasn't present in the air. The only thing I could smell was cologne, and it was faint.

Shuffling through the entire house, I searched for James, calling his name off of every wall. There were subtle changes that made me wonder, like the remote not on right arm of the couch. James always had it resting there when he got up in morning. That is, if he got up for me. Plus the doors were all wide open, unusual behavior for James. He always liked to have the doors half-closed for protection and comfort.

Once I ruled my search as hopeless, I decided that I should call James and see where he was. Just as I was going to pick up the living room phone, the doorknob rattled. Soon after, it swung open to reveal an emotionless James standing in the doorway. He had his brown coat on, along with a navy blue long sleeved shirt and jeans. His face was lifeless; I couldn't even read it.

Taking a relieving breath, I put my hand on my chest and smirked slightly. "There you are!" I tried to joke out, titling my head up again. "You had me scared for a minute. Where did you go?"

Once my head was fully straight, I stared at James' face. It made me want to retract and crawl in a corner. His eyes had absolutely no emotion, not one feeling coming through. The usual hazel eyes I fell in love with were replaced with two black buttons, acting like nothing but a black hole for me. Opening his mouth to speak, James replied with "At my apartment" in a monotone voice.

I stopped for a second and blinked, thinking I was hearing him wrong. "What?" I asked, pausing slightly. "What did you say?"

James sighed and played with the key in his hand, twirling it around his fingers. "I was at my apartment" he repeated in a slightly annoyed and quiet tone.

"Why though?" I questioned, curious and confused to why he would be there. "Do you mean the old one? Did we go there last night or something? Because I can't find my engagement ring and I'm kind of starting to freak out…"

Digging his hands in his coat pockets, James took a step forward and stared at the ground. "No" he contradicted, his face falling. "My apartment. The one I just got."

At this point I was extremely confused. "Wha-what do you mean?" I stuttered, playing with the strings on my sweatpants. "Why did you get an apartment? Is this place too big or something for you?"

"The house isn't the problem here" James revealed, not looking up at me. "I got the apartment for me…"

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, trying to make sense of it all. "Is there something we have to work on here?"

"No" James uttered, his voice getting deeper. "We don't have to work on anything." He sounded guilty but yet serious. I was getting kind of scared.

I could feel my stomach starting to tighten, thinking the worst was happening. I connected everything together in my head, letting my own face fall as I realized what was happening. "James…" I began, leaning my head forward to try and talk to him. "Do you have a problem with us?"

James sighed again and shifted his position in the room. Taking his hand out of his coat pocket, he held it up to reveal the engagement ring he gave me only the night before. "There is no more us" he stated in a low tone, holding the ring between his two fingers and staring at it.

My heart nearly stopped at that sentence. There was a lump in my throat, clawing and etching its way to the top. In between shortened, staggered breaths, I whispered "You're leaving me?" in a disbelieving tone.

James nodded in response and watched the tears build up in my eyes. "I don't love you, Sam" he told me, not letting his eyes wander away from the rug below him. "Not anymore. I can't. Maybe you should get back with Drew…" He added the last part in like a low suggestion. Like he was giving me advice. Like it was no big deal. But it was. To me.

"James" I pleaded, shaking my head and letting the tears fill up. "Please don't do this to me. Not now." My words were coming out in scattered shakes, my need for him showing. I couldn't handle these words. I couldn't believe them. I needed someone at this time, especially since Drew was coming back in the picture. And now James wanted to leave.

"No, it has to be done now" James firmly stated, pointing his finger at the ground. "This Drew stuff is coming back, and I know I can't deal with it. I just can't deal with us. I'm sorry to do this, but we're over. Goodbye." He bent down to place the key I gave him on the small glass table before walking away and shutting the door.

Now when Drew and I broke up, I thought I was going to die. The way my body was acting made it seem likely. But that wasn't a reaction because I loved him. It was because we were together for two years, and that was a hard thing to break away from. Standing here, however, I knew I was going to die. Not one exaggeration there. This was true heartbreak, and now I understood what they meant with "A broken heart kills." It literally does. James was the love of my life, the only love of my life. And now he was gone. Everything I ever lived for seemed silly. Last night seemed like only a dream right now, mocking me for believing that my life was actually going to be fine. They built my hopes up and took a step back to watch them all come tumbling down. Like an avalanche, charging full force. Most people would run from their doomed situation, but I didn't. I knew I was going to die someday, so might as well do so now. Because death was better than living with a broken heart. No blood to keep my body going. No pump to let me know something was inside. I was just an outcast of a person who was, Samantha Joneston nonexistent in this world. And soon to be like that permanently.

Most people would be scared of seeing Death, but I wasn't. I welcomed him with open arms, willingly sacrificing my old unneeded soul to him. He was the one thing I needed right now, the one thing that actually stayed with you forever. And that was exactly what I was looking for. Almost instantly, I felt the "unbearable" pain within my chest. I say unbearable in quotes because it wasn't like that for me. It was more of a numb feeling, my body slowly rotting away peacefully. It was quite relaxing falling to the floor and allowing full access to my wandering form, letting Death snakes its way up and down each limb before reaching my face.

Taking my very last breath, I let Death drape the black covers over my head, signaling my eternal sleep…

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Something decided to overwhelm me, making my body jerk in response. I could feel every part of my weak body shaking, twitching without my control. A sound filled my eardrums to the brim, creating a steady but fast rhythm. BOOM BOOM… BOOM BOOM… BOOM BOOM… It took me a moment to recognize my own heartbeat. My own music coming from within my chest. The beating grew stronger and stronger, the feeling of blood pulsing through my veins becoming greater. Every little thing in my body was moving, and I could feel it all.

Was this a sign? Was this really hell? Or did I miraculously survive? How could I after that terrible encounter with James? What about my soul? I sacrificed it to Death! Did he see how bad I pleaded to leave this place, seeing this as a sign of weakness? There was no challenge for him, and that's why I survived.

Specks of light began to cover my eyelids, decorating them like a starry night. The powerful sound of my heart slowly demised, my ear picking up slight murmuring instead in the background. It seemed faint and in the distance, but I could hear it.

I tried to lift up my eyelids, realizing they seemed to be sealed shut. After taking a moment to take a breath and let everything calm down, my eyes flew up. I was greeted by blackness all around me, some areas darker than other. My eyes glanced to the side where a lighter haze was a few feet away from me. Once my blurred vision became clearer, I could make out the faint outline of a person.

Mffm hm mfhm. I tried to make out what was being said, but my ears were only beginning to turn up their volume. Mhm I yemhm bmh shmesh ouhm! I began to flutter my eyelashes, trying to come back from what seemed to be my death sleep. This allowed for my hearing to become better. "Yeh likh I saih, I canht gehm hehr to wahm up! The words were starting to get translated, letting me clearly hear what someone was saying. "Logan! You need to help me! I've tried but she won't wake up! It's been like this for almost five minutes!"

Logan? Help? Five minutes? What was going on? I closed my eyes to focus all my attention on the voice coming from the room. "Yes I checked her pulse and have been monitoring her breathing! She's still here, but she passed out! Fucking Drew! I'm going to kill that son of a bitch, I'm telling you! After 9 months of fucking peace he does this shit! HE MADE SAM FAINT! AND I HAVE TO WAKE HER UP!"

No. It can't be. That can't be James. James left me. He said he couldn't love me anymore and deal with the Drew situation. But yet I knew that was James' voice in our house. My house now. Or was it still ours? Why was he here?

Thinking that I needed to tell him I was awake, I tried to open my mouth to speak. But not one sound came out. Even though my life my sparred, my voice wasn't. I couldn't get James' attention. My brain began to send signals to my arms, but they felt as heavy as stone. Pushing with all my might, I forced myself with every nerve in my body to move my right pointer finger. The only thing I got was the smallest hint of a fingernail against the cushion. That slicing scratchy noise didn't do anything for me.

I knew I had to try to speak again, no matter how much my throat burned from the icy air traveling down. The first sound that came out of my mouth was an animalistic screech, only loud enough for someone to hear if their ear was against my mouth. Taking another small but desperately needed breath in, I choked out a faint "Ja-" before letting my throat close again. The amount of strain I was using on myself was indescribable, but it wasn't working. This was it. I was awake and heartbroken, but yet I still needed James by my side when I passed on. When would he be able to see that I was alive and awake, waiting for him to pick me up and carry me upstairs in his arms? It seemed like never.

The weight of the past event and my condition now pushed heavily down on me. It was slowly crushing my stomach, not allowing enough air to come in so I could croak. Nothing. I was being held hostage by my own memories and past, enclosing on me every second my health decreased.

Just realizing this allowed my body to perform an involuntary action. A single tear slipped through under my eye lid, sliding down my cheek at the slowest pace. It was like my cheek was a window, and the tear was a raindrop making its way down. I feel the slight dampness, and I knew there was a small, thin line that showed proof of my life. I prayed James would see it. That's all I wanted right now.

There was a small crack exposed from my eyelid as I stayed down. It was still extremely blurry, but I could tell the difference in color. The dark glow of something to the right of me was moving, so I assumed it was James. His voice got slightly louder as he took one small step closer to me. "Logan, do NOT tell me to CALM DOWN! HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE PASSED OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES AND YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? WOULD YOU LIKE IT?... I thought so! So just help me!... Yes, I told you! I DID THAT ALREADY!... And that too! DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID OR SOMETHING?... STOP TELLING ME THAT! JUST ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION AND HELP ME! DAMNIT LOGAN I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE SMART ONE!"

The love of your life. Was he referring to me? It's amazing how I was still able to think even though my body wouldn't cooperate. James sounded like he was freaking out, and I felt terrible for doing this to him. But how did his attitude change when before he couldn't love me? Did my second blackout force him to help me out of guilt? Or did he really care?

"You do NOT get how I feel, buddy!" I heard James snicker into the phone. "I don't see you here, do I?... Then how would you know?... That's bullshit, Logan! Nobody can feel the way I do when I'm with Sam! DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY I'M DOING THIS? I CAN'T LET HER DIE, LOGAN! I ALMOST LOST HER ONCE AND I'M NOT LOSING HER AGAIN! SO TELL ME WHAT TO DO OVER THIS PHONE OR I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU!"

Guilt. That was the main thing I was feeling right now. It didn't matter that I was clinging on between life and death. It didn't when you couldn't be with the one you love anyway. James was panicking because of me. Because he loved me. And I knew deep down that I had to survive for him. So he wouldn't have to go through it again.

"GOOD!... And how do I do that?... Her eyelids?... I DON'T KNOW WHERE SAM KEEPS HER FLASHLIGHTS, LET ALONE MINI ONES!... I'll search then! Maybe she does in the living room!" Finding the inner strength I never thought possible, I croaked a small but loud enough James, causing him to stop what he was saying and turn around. "Well it's not in that draw so-… Wait, Logan. Wait a minute!... LOGAN, SH!..."

Did he hear me? Did he really hear me? Did James actually hear my voice? This gave me new confidence, opening my mouth again and stammering "J-James…" in the short second I had before my breath was gone again.

My eyes were still slightly open, and I watched as James turned around and held his hands out. His cell phone was tucked under his ear by his shoulder and chin for balance. "SHUSH LOGAN I SWEAR I HEARD HER!... OK I WILL, GEEZ!" I heard the soft patter of footsteps, somehow making my body freeze. Even though I knew it was James, the previous encounter with him had me cautious. The air was silent as James leaned his face closer to mine, his hot breath brushing against my lips and face.

Now was my time to tell him that I was still alive. Using all the air I had left in my lungs, I breathed out "James", making sure that my breath was heavy enough for him to feel it.

The air touching my face turned from warm to cool, letting me know that my breath caught to him. I felt James push closer into the couch, gasping for a second before reaching up and gripping the phone. "LOGAN!... LOGAN!... JESUS CHRIST LOGAN SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! SAM'S ALIVE!... OBVIOUSLY I THINK I'M SURE! I DON'T NEED TO CHECK HER GOD DAMN PULSE! GOODBYE!" I heard a phone slam on the floor as soft fingers smoothed over my face. The feeling was barely there, but I could feel the love within. "S-Sam?" James quietly asked, trying to see if I was awake. "Baby, are you there? Please give me a sign, something, anything. I can't lose you." The pleading and begging in his voice nearly broke my heart again, but this time involving love. It was overpowering each word, and my heart ached to know that he was so scared. His hand slid down to mine and squeezed, gripping tightly for dear life.

At that moment, I decided that I had to get up. I had to get up for James and our future. I had to come back into reality. Soaking in the last bit of darkness that was still covering my eyes, I fluttered my eyelids open and slowly opened my eyes. As my vision cleared, I saw James' head resting on the cushion staring down. Taking in my first full breath of air again, I whispered out "I'm here" faintly.

James' head instantly shot up, glancing around quickly before locking his eyes with mine. "Oh thank god" he mumbled, closing his eyes and breathing a sigh of relief. Letting go of my hand, he brought both hands up to my face and cupped it. "Baby, are you ok? Can you hear me?"

I groaned quietly and squinted my eyes at the bright lights. Since my eyesight was adjusting back to normal, I was over sensitive right now. But I still wanted to talk. My throat felt dry and parched, calling for a drink of air to heal it. Drawing it in through my mouth, I allowed every inch of my lungs to fill with oxygen. This was so relieving compared to the shorter breaths I was forced to take earlier. Taking in every bit of air I could, I opened my mouth and whispered out "You're here."

"Of course I'm here, baby" James replied back, his eyes getting slightly glossy. "I never left your side." He brought his hands down again to cup them in my own, rubbing them softly.

I never left your side. What? He left me alone and broke off our relationship what seemed like only minutes before. I took in a quick breath and scrunched my eyebrows, not comprehending everything. "But you-" I stopped talking when my eyes noticed something. James wasn't wearing the coat he had on the last time I saw him. His suit and jacket were still on from the night he proposed. Nothing removed or out of place besides his tie. Did he change? Something told me that my previous experience was not real…

I gave James the best smile I could, showing how much I loved him. I shifted my shoulders on the couch and grunted, noticing how weak I was right now. My eyes went from his down to our hands together. I saw his covering my own, rubbing each finger caressingly. Something shimmered on my hand, so I focused my vision on one little object sticking out between our fingers. There it was. The engagement ring James gave me. It never left my hand. Neither did my dress leave my body. I could see the silk red fabric to the left of our hands, draping slightly over the couch. That was only a dream. It was only a dream. Everything that happened before this moment and the time I passed out was a dream. But it seemed so real. I could feel the heartache, the pain, and the slow decomposition of life. Why?

James tapped my hands gently as my eyes redirected towards him. "Babe" he began in a soft but hush whisper. "We need to move."

My eyes widened, every memory of what happened once we got home coming back. The bedroom. The flower. The note. The thank-you. The reaction. The darkness. All I had in response to this comment was "What?"

So, as I said, A LOT more drama in this sequel! I really hope you don't kill me all for that, but it's a part of writing! Hope you didn't see that coming either! Reviews would be great :)