Hey all! Sorry for the long-ish wait. I've kind of busy with summer homework and all that boring jazz. Here's chapter 2, thank you all for reviewing, favorite-ing, and following! :)
"So I go home and the poor guy's still following me around, and he's licking me and rubbing up against me, so I had no choice but to let him stay with me," Sam said, sipping her smoothie (extra large, of course).
Brad laughed, "So that's the story behind the infamous Frothy."
"Yep," Sam nodded. "My mom threatened to get rid of him but I pointed out to her that at least he doesn't steal our money, and he keeps the house rodent-free."
Brad laughed again and smiled, "I love learning about you."
Sam's gaze softened. This guy actually liked her, like really liked her. And that terrified her.
Of course she knew that she was desirable (it'd been that way ever since she'd hit puberty- which admittedly came a little late), but guys usually didn't come up to her to say "Hey Sam, smoking hot personality you got there." No, it was more like, "Dude, did you see the rack on that Sam chick? Huge." Admittedly, the appearance-based compliments she got were still gratifying, and she'd be lying if she didn't feel somewhat validated by what guys said about her (after all those years of just being that cute girl Carly's friend, she was finally getting some recognition).
So yeah, she kind of felt taken aback, because for the first time, she saw Brad as a person, a person that for whatever reason really liked her. She sighed. Maybe dating Brad wasn't such a good idea. If he really liked her, and she was pretty much just using him to show Freddie how stupid he was for passing her up - well, there could be problems.
"Sorry, I probably just made everything really awkward just now," Brad smiled sheepishly. "I have that affect on, well, everybody."
She laughed, "No, you didn't make it awkward." She sighed. Okay, so she didn't have feelings for Brad right now. Big deal, she could develop them, right? He was cute and nice and he liked her. She thought back on all of the things in life that she'd loved and hurt her. Her dad. Her mom (this one was a mixed bag. Her mom alternated from being totally crappy to genuinely trying to be a better person). Melanie (also a mixed bag, but Sam was still a little hurt by her sister leaving for boarding school and leaving her all alone all those years ago). Freddie. She looked up at Brad. She could do this. She could learn to like, maybe even love, him. Sam Puckett is a tough cookie, she reminded herself. She could totally make herself like Brad.
Brad smiled, "Thanks, but I'm painfully aware of how awkward I am."
Sam reached over to put her hand on top of his. "Well maybe I like awkward." She smiled up at him, willing herself to develop feelings for him. She convinced herself that she could be with Brad, that her running away from Freddie wasn't a sign of weakness, but rather an act of empowerment. It was an act of love, right? She was trying very hard to make herself believe her own words.
Well, there's that. I know it's really short (don't shoot!), but I promise at least 2 more updates this week (they way be during the weekend, because I am a procrastinator). Don't forget to review and all that jazz, and if you'd like to tell me how you think Freddie would be feeling right now, you should (because I'm trying to decide what angle to approach his character by).