Eventually, Sam and Chris made it up to the lodge. On the stairs of the lodge, there was Ashley and Matt. Ashley looked up and happiness ran through her eyes when she saw Chris. Josh was standing near them and grinned when he saw them walking towards the lodge.

"Cochise! Sammy! Nice to see you guys. How was the trip up here?" He asked as he came closer.

"Long. Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it." Chris said, ruffling his hair.

"Really? It feels the same to me." Josh said, looking over at Sam.

"Oh, come on, you grew up here. It probably feels like it's shrinking." Chris said with a huff.

Josh was still looking at Sam, waiting for her response.

"It was fine, a little long but I think that was the anticipation more than anything." She said, shrugging her shoulders before tucking her coat more securely around herself.

"That's good, that's good…It's nice to see, Sammy. It hasn't been the same without you." He said, still looking at her and all over her, like if he stared enough then he would be able to unravel all of her secrets.

"It couldn't have been much different. I'm just one girl that just happened to be absent for the majority of this past year."

"About that, are you sure you're doing okay?" Josh quietly asked as the trio headed back to the porch of the lodge.

Sam nodded her head but then shook her head. She then just decided to shrug. She saw Josh looking at her with concern and confusion.

"Honestly, Josh, I don't know how I'm doing. I'm just taking it one day at a time and that's all I can do. Thank you for worrying about me and caring but I'm not going to break at the slightest mention of H-Hannah and Beth. It may be painful but I'm healing. I'm sure you understand?" Sam said, tilting her head to look up at Josh. Josh nodded, pain coming into his eyes as he was surely remembering his sisters.

Chris was grumbling next to them. "When you gonna install some cell towers up here? I'm getting withdrawals already." Chris asked Josh as he held his phone in the air.

Josh coughed and then raised an eyebrow. "You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up."

"Funny you should say that…Ah, I think I left it in my other jacket." Chris teased, acting like he was searching his current jacket.

"Bummer." Josh said, rolling his eyes fondly.

"Soooooo, let's get inside, I want to get warm already. I did not miss the bitter cold." Chris said, rubbing his hands together. Sam had to agree, crossing her hands to tuck her hands under her armpits.

"Well, come on, Mr. Impatient." Josh said, gesturing for him to follow. Sam didn't feel like standing alone in the cold, so she followed as well. They walked up the steps and she watched as Josh tried to open the door.

"Dammit…This freaking thing…" Josh muttered, irritated.

"It's iced?" Chris asked.

"What else?"

"Maybe there's another way in."

"There are a million ways in. They're just all locked."

"Well, there's got to be, like, a window around the corner we can get, like, 'get open' or something, right?" Sam said, joining in on the conversation.

Josh turned around and cocked his head at her. "Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?"

"Well…" She drawled out. "I don't think it's technically breaking in if you own the place, right?"

Chris nodded, clapping his hands. "Yeah, bro, what she said."

"Hey. Not if I don't report you." Josh said, staring at her blankly. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

Chris hummed, unsure.

Josh, in the next second, cracked a smile and lifted an arm to salute Chris. "Lead the way, Cochise."

The trio walked back down the stairs and Chris walked over to Ashley. They started talking, catching up and Sam caught herself smiling.

"My, my. Is that Samantha Giddings, truly smiling? I thought I'd never see the day." Josh teased, elbowing her.

"Hey!" She said, pushing him slightly. He barely moved with her push, but it still satisfied her nonetheless. "I can have true appreciation for awkward flirting and cute crushes. There's something so sweet and innocent about it, ya know?"

Josh nodded, looking back at the pair, before bringing Sam in for a big hug. Sam was startled, she wasn't expecting for him to do an action like this. Josh may be the healer of the group and cared for his friends, but he wasn't one to initiate contact of any sort.

"I know you don't want to talk about what's bothering you, but I worry a lot, okay? I just want you to know that…that I'm here. Whenever you need me. I don't care if it's because you can't reach something from the top shelf in the kitchen or you're having a full-on mental breakdown and need someone to rely on. I'm here for you, Sammy. Okay?"

Sam, completely caught off guard by his speech, felt her eyes start to well up with tears. She knew she had friends, a good support system, but it still felt good to be reminded. Especially with all the voices that talked in her head, telling her that she was going to be all alone. She nodded and hugged Josh tighter for a second before releasing him.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes and caught Josh watching her with a certain fondness in his eyes, as well as concern that raced though them as well. A few seconds later, Chris had finished catching up with Ashley and joined them once more.

Chris started to lead them up the path that led to the back of the lodge, looking at each window before stopping at the last once. He gestured for Josh to come help him and together, they pushed and pulled at a cabinet nearby until it was underneath the last window. Chris immediately jumps up on the cabinet and almost lost his balance, making Sam gasp lightly, before he steadied himself. He opened the window and climbs in, clearly overestimating his skills, seeing as he falls straight in. She then hears a loud groan and Chris proclaiming he's okay.

Josh climbs up onto the cabinet and pears in.

"I totally should have paid more attention in climbing class…" Chris muttered loudly.

"Uh, you mean 'gym'?" Josh said, clearly amused.

"Yeah, you know, with the climbing up the rope…"

Sam hears a loud CRACK come from within the lodge.

"Whoa." Josh said, staring inside intently.

"Did I do that?" Chris asked.

"I don't think so, bro. But here, take this." Josh reaches into his pocket and throws something silver at Chris. "I just got a brilliant idea right now."

"Your ideas are never brilliant, usually idiotic and sometimes speechless but never brilliant. Hit me with it."

"So, I'm at least 88% sure that we have deodorant in one of the bathrooms. You could use that and the lighter…"

"Bro, what's a stick of deodorant going to do?"

Josh stared at him, unamused. "Can. It's a spray-on."

"Ohhh…I gotcha. That's pretty neat, actually."

"Flamethrower, my dude."

"Just like the good ole days with the little army dudes."

"Just point it at the lock and FWOOSH. You got this, right? There's no need for two people."

"Nope. But I'll do it."

Josh salutes once more. "Godspeed, pilgrim." After that, he closes the window and jumps off the cabinet, grinning at Sam.

"So?" He said, kicking snow at her.

"So?" She said back, mocking him, kicking out at his leg.

"Hey, foul play! That's not nice, Sammy."

"All's fair in love and war." She teased, seeing a glint coming into his eyes. She reached down and grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it in his face before sprinting away, laughing freely as she did so. It had truly been a long time since she had felt so free and happy that she was just living in the moment.

She heard Josh sputter behind her and loud, crunchy footsteps as he chased after her.

"Give in, Sammy! Take what you deserve." He mocked, cackling as he chased her in the snow.

Even though she was a cross country runner, she wasn't paying attention and tripped over a branch that was sticking up out of the ground. She fell towards the ground and barely caught herself, rolling so that she landed on her back. She barely got a moment to stare at the sky above her before a weight straddled her lap.

She looked further down and stared at the grinning face of Josh. He winked and then proceeded to shove his snow covered hands up the back of her jacket, sweater, and t-shirt. She shrieked and tried to squirm away but was trapped by his legs that were tightly tucked against her hips.

"You're such a jerk!" She yelled out, giggling while also still trying to escape. Josh just huffed out a laugh at her before leaning down and sticking his cold nose right into the curve of her neck. She let out a yelp as the cold penetrated the warmth she so badly wanted.

"Josh, Joshy, Joshua! Please, I give, get up!" She said, not whined, arching away from his nose.

"Hmm. What do I get in return?"

"Anything, anything, just get off of me." She said, sticking her hands up and pleading. She blinked a few times innocently as she watched Josh contemplate her words. He nodded and got off of her, holding a hand down for her to grab. She grabbed it and stood up, looking suspiciously at Josh.

"I'll let you know what I want later, the suspense will kill you in the meantime. C'mon, let's go ahead and head back to the front of the lodge." She didn't like not knowing what he'd want, but she accepted it nonetheless.

She walked in front of Josh for a minute before turning around. "Now, Josh, don't take advantage of a lady's backside as she walks away without her permission." She said, teasing, knowing that Josh would lash back with his own perverted remark.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Lady Sam. May I have this opportunity to inspect thy booty?" He said, straight-faced before cracking up, grabbing her arm and tucking her under his arm. "Nah, I'd never do that to you, Sam. You deserve better than that."

Sam was glad that it was so cold out that the blush she felt internally was not showing on the outside. She shrugged her shoulders in response, tucking herself more so into the warmth of Josh's shoulders. It was only another minute before they arrived at the front door.

She smiled at Ashley and engaged with her for a minute, staring at the front door while Josh starting discussing something with Matt. Probably sports, knowing them.

Interrupting Sam and Ashley, they heard someone making a weird, ghost-like noise. She snickered as she looked at Ashley as the other girl rolled her eyes.

"Hi Chris, very funny." Sam said, leaning to look into the glass of the front door.

"Awe, how'd you know it was me?"

She ignored his question. "Shouldn't you be, like, getting the lock open or something?"

Chris nodded his head. "On it!"

She watched as he walked away before turning back to look at the pair of guys. They seemed very passionate, discussing whatever they were talking about. Before she turned around, she saw Josh turn towards her and lock eyes with her. She saw his face break into a smile as she quickly turned around, looking at the landscape, avoiding eye contact with him.

She knew that she had a huge crush on him, but that didn't mean anything. She had liked him since they were barely teenagers, but he had never shown a true inkling that he liked her. Sure, he flirted with her and teased her and acted like he did like her sometimes but every time that she thought that maybe he actually liked her, he would go and do the same things with another random girl at a party. She couldn't be special if all the things that he did with her was something he did with someone he didn't even know. She gave up on the notion that he could even possibly like her two years ago, back when she was 17 and he was 18.

Two Years Ago

With songs blasting in her ears, she made her way down the stairs of the lodge to the bottom floor. She was wearing ripped jeans and a blue, long-sleeved, crop top that hugged her chest in a certain way that wasn't the most comfortable. The top was also low cut, showing off some of her cleavage. Hannah had demanded that she wore that, that she would be so irresistible that even Josh wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of her.

Of course, Hannah knew that she had a crush on Josh. Hell, Hannah had been trying to get them to get together for a year, at least. Oh, but Sam really didn't want to wear something that showed off her curves when she just wanted to be comfortable.

She tugged at the bottom of the shirt as she got to the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to the wall and retied her shoes, which were high-heeled ankle boots. She stood back up and checked her hair in the mirror, which was down for once. She combed her hands through it as she double-checked her makeup, which was light and natural besides her eyeliner, mascara, and highlight. Her lips were a dark nude color that enhanced them, her eyeliner was smoked out making her eyes seem, somehow, sexier and the mascara made her eyelashes look full and luscious. Her highlight brought attention to the good parts of her face and she honestly was pretty in love with how her attire turned out tonight.

She turned around and faced the crowd of people. There was literally people everywhere. And these people somehow went to school with them? She didn't recognize a fourth of the people here. Sam sighed as she walked through the crowd, making her way to the kitchen, were the alcohol and, inevitably, Josh was.

Which, of course, he was. He was leaning against the countertop, a leg was bent and held in place on the lower cabinet door. He was holding a red solo cup and was talking very animatedly with some brunette. Her mood immediately crashed. He was leaning towards her and winked, sending an animated smooch at the girl. The girl was giggling and of course, he was flirting. That's what he was best at. Why did she ever think that she was special, and he was flirting exclusively with her? He was Josh and he was a flirter, he didn't want to be exclusive with someone. She sighed again and rolled her eyes, walking over to the bowl of punch, which was probably more alcohol than punch. Thankfully, it was on the other side of the kitchen which was a bit away from Josh.

She grabbed a solo cup and dipped it in, filling it to the brim with whatever it was and took a big swig, just wanting to have fun now. She took another big drink before she turned around and walked through the crowded area. She braved a glance at Josh from the side of her eyes and was surprised to see him watching her. His jaw seemed to be dropped and he was muttering to the girl beside of him.

Probably was just surprised to see her so dressed up. She took another drink and closed her eyes, missing the fact that someone was right in front of her. Sam stepped into a brick wall and quickly opened her eyes, seeing that the brick wall was, in fact, a person. Thankfully, her drink hadn't spilled on him.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching were I was going, I swear I didn't mean to run into you."

"Hey, it's fine." The guy laughed, clearly amused by her rambling. "Hey, have we met before? I'm Alexander Parsons, but my friends call me Alex."

She grinned. "Hi, Alex. I'm Samantha Giddings, but my friends call me Sam." She held out her free hand and laughed again as took her in fully.

"Well, my, my. I never would've taken you for a 'Sam'. You look more like Kendra or Patricia." She snorted as he picked up her hand and instead of shaking it, he turned it, so the back of her hand was facing him, and he kissed it lightly as he bowed to her.

"Well, Sam. I'm pleased to have meet you tonight. My night was rather bleak until I saw you." He said, staring at her with what seemed like stars in his eyes.

"Guess that you could say that I'm your saving grace, huh?" She inquired, sipping from her cup again.

"More like saving angel. And angel, that you are. Surely look like one." He said smoothly, as he checked her out from top to bottom. Sam felt flushed from her neck to her ears and she was sure it was on display, but he didn't say anything.

Sam saw in her peripheral that Josh was staring at them with an angry, mad, blazing look in his eyes and his cup was clenched in his hand. Chris was beside of him, talking to him, as he was looking over at the pair as well. Sam felt something like bravery swell up in her chest.

If he wasn't interested, she wasn't going to keep herself off the market for a guy that wasn't into her. He had no reason to be angry at her for not entertaining him tonight, she just wanted to have some fun and Alex…he seemed like fun.

"Hey…" Sam started, draining the last two gulps of her cup before placing her cup on the table beside of her. "Would you…would you want to dance? With me?" She asked, uncertain of what he would say.

She barely had gotten the words out before he answered. "I thought you'd never ask." He grabbed her hand and together, they walked out of the kitchen and into the main room, where the main dancing was going on.

She laughed as she tugged him into the middle of the room, twirling around. They started dancing with her back to his chest and she had never felt so moved by something. His hands were on her hips and one of her hands were thrown back to grab onto the back of his neck while the other hand grasped the hand that he had on her right hip a little tighter, bringing it towards her inner thighs a little more.

By now, she felt the alcohol racing through her veins. She never drank much so when she did, it affected her easily. She hung her head back and let Alex guide her hips against his own. Sam lifted her lidded eyes and once again, met with the view of a straight-faced Josh with his arms crossed who was dead-set on staring at her. When their eyes made contact, he smiled slightly, gesturing and asking for her to come stand beside of him. Normally, she would be all for that but right now, she just wanted to dance with Alex.

She held up a 'one minute' signal, ignoring him for the time being, missing his face fall as she turned around, so she was face first with Alex. The hands that were around her hips slid down, so they were resting on her ass and he gripped them a little tighter, bringing her in towards him. She gasped lightly as the fronts brushed each other and she lost her track of thought, of who was wanting to talk to her, of anything but Alex.

She raised her hands and looped them around his neck and stared into his eyes. They were so dark with…desire and she couldn't resist it. She tugged him down and kissed him, biting his lower lip, only savoring it for a second before pulling back. She saw the slightly shocked look in his eyes and moved to his left ear.

"Meet me in the hallway by the guest room in 15 minutes." She whispered hotly, kissing his ear before leaning back and winking before turning around. She saw Josh with a murderous look in his eyes, his gaze set on someone behind her. She didn't care though, she just wanted to know what he wanted before going to meet Alex.

"Hey, what's up?" She said, running a hand through her hair. Josh didn't reply for a second before looking at her. He quickly looked her over before staring at her.

"Sam are you okay?" Sam furrowed her eyebrows before nodding. She had never felt better.

"Just, you never normally drink, and you definitely don't kiss someone without a first date. You're just not acting like yourself." Chris had appeared at Josh's side and was also looking at her with worry.

"I'm fine, I've never been better!" She exclaiming, hearing a little lisp come out. Alcohol did affect her quickly. Thankfully, she only drank one cup. "I just want to have fun and to have fun with someone, is that a crime?"

"Well, no, but don't you think this could be the alcohol talking?" Chris asked.

"You know what, maybe. Maybe it is but I honestly don't care. There's a hot guy and he's interested in me. Me. Nerdy, sporty, ungirly Sam. I'm gonna take my shot and have some fun and make out with someone because they're showing me interest and I just…want to, okay?" She said bluntly.

"So, you're gonna show interest to anyone just because they saw that you have tits and are interested in what's between your legs? Wow, Sam, congratulations. You're just like every other drunk girl here. Not special." Josh hotly said, nostrils flaring. Sam knew that he didn't mean it, that he was lashing out because he was intoxicated and frustrated, but it still got to her and crushed her heart a little more.

She sneered. "Fuck you, Joshua. Fuck. You. Go eat a dick, you prick." She fiercely said, point at his chest as she said, 'fuck you'. She shook her head before turning on her heels, walking into the hallway where the guest room was to see Alex standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, there, hot stuff." She didn't say anything, just pushed him against the wall and planted her lips on him. She was so mad that she just wanted to focus on something else. Alex didn't mind though, grabbing on the back of her legs and lifting her into the arm. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned as he slightly slammed her into the wall behind her. She dug her hands through his hair and quickly started to alternate between kissing him, sucking on his tongue, or leaving bite marks on his neck. He left his own marks on her as well. One of his hands were held onto her ass while the other had travelled up her shirt and was grasping at her boob.

She barely heard the gasp of someone entering the hallway but her subconscious heard someone calling out. "Sam?!" Footsteps left the hallway and she forgot about it, the blasting bass of the music was ringing in her ears. Most of her senses were all filled up with Alex.

She heard the footsteps come back though and she internally groaned. She was just getting into the fun.

"You just have to see it for yourself." She heard the girl say. Beth. Her name came to mind. Two other pairs of footsteps joined her, and she didn't have a mind to stop and neither did Alex. He sat her down on the ground to put his other hand down her pants, grasping her bare ass and playing with her panties. Suddenly, Alex was tugged away from her and she gasped as his hand was violently tore out of her jeans. She opened her eyes to see Alex getting restrained by Chris. Josh was standing at the end of the hallway, nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily in and out. He stalked forward, passing Sam to stare at Alex in the eyes as Chris held him.

"She's fucking drunk, you know this. I haven't seen you take in a drop of alcohol the entire night. You're just going to go along with it?" Josh asked, obviously heated by the anger just dripping from his words.

"She fucking wanted it, you saw how she looked. Like a desperate little bitch in heat." Alex barely got the words out before a fist slammed into the right side of his head. Alex groaned as Josh let his fist fall again, chest heaving with exertion. He nodded at Chris. "Get him out of here, he can sleep in the cold or he can walk home, I don't care."

Alex protested as he was forced to leave and soon enough, they couldn't hear him anymore. Sam stood there, shocked at the turn of events. Her eyes looked between Beth and Josh. Beth was looking disappointed with her while Josh turned to look at her with angry eyes.

"And you? You're supposed to be the responsible one, the one to not be FUCKING stupid!" He hollered, the blasting music barely covering his voice. She said nothing but stared at him as he stalked forward, their noses were now touching. She didn't realize her lip was wobbling under she spoke.

"You ruined everything." She said, not thinking, shaking her head in disbelief. "Everything. I know he only wanted me because I was willing. I know he was taking advantage of me. Fuck, Josh, I fucking know!" She seethed, clenching her hands that were by her side. She didn't know what she was saying to be honest, she was just so mad that she was just spewing words. She didn't think that Alex was taking advantage of her, but even if he was…Sam wasn't sure if she cared much. She just wanted to be wanted for once.

Josh looked slightly taken back.

"I'm not that fucking drunk, I'm tipsy, sure, but I had one drink! ONE! You want to know why I've been so 'fucking stupid'? Because when I'm sober Sam, I'm fucking NO ONE! I'm no one and no one is interested in me. I wanted to have some fun because I'm fucking lonely but no, the moment I'm having fun is the moment that I'm being stupid so, forgive me, saints, for my blatant disrespect to myself and everyone else." She angrily said, leaning her head back to huff before walking away, bumping her shoulder into Josh.

"Sam, I'm sorry, it just looked like you were not all there in your head, ya know?" Beth said, talking to Sam as she walked by.

"Please, don't talk to me. Good for fucking nothing…" She muttered, holding a hand to her head as she walked away. She stopped outside the hallway, noting the two pairs of footsteps following her. She leaned down and untied her boots and yanked them off. Holding the shoes in one hand, she flexed her toes before stalking forward, turning to go upstairs.

"Sam, you don't have to go upstairs. It's barely 11 PM." Beth said, trying to fix whatever that had just happened.

"No. My fun's been ruined so I'm going to go upstairs to sit in the guest room, I'm going to cry because it's been a shitty night, and then I'm going to sleep. Goodnight." She plainly said, already feeling her tears come to her eyes. It wasn't even that big of a deal, it just felt like 15 times worse since she was slightly intoxicated. She heard pleading behind her once again, but she just ignored it, walking upstairs and into the room, shutting the door softly before sliding down it.

This night couldn't have gotten worse, she thought as she leaned her head against the wood.

The next day, she had woken up to puffy eyes and a pounding head. She remembered everything that happened last night and was so embarrassed by how she reacted to them. It was like a domino effect, she couldn't stand that Josh had been playing her with his words and flirting, so she lashed out and reacted. She found a guy who wanted her and wanted to just forget Josh for the night. Then she acted like a child.

She didn't go downstairs for pain medication or water or anything, preferring to stay in the room so she didn't have to face anyone. Sam made sure the door was locked before snuggling back into the bed, curling into a tight ball.

About three hours later, a hesitant knock landed on the door. She stared at the door and hoped the person would go away.

"Sammy?" It was Josh and she knew his stubborn ass wasn't going to walk away but she could only hope.

"Sammy? Please don't be mad. I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't try to control you and if you think that you're able to handle yourself, then I should believe you, but please don't ignore me and shut me out." He said, talking to her through the door.

She sighed, silently getting out of bed and walked to the door. She unlocked the door and barely opened it to look at Josh. He had dark circles under his eyes and was staring carefully at her. She knew she still looked like a mess when his eyes softened with sympathy.

"Don't…Don't apologize. I acted like a spoilt child who had her favorite toy taken away, so I lashed out. All you were doing was looking at for me. If anything, I should apologize. To you, Beth, and Chris. I'm sorry. I really am. You won't see me near alcohol for a long time. Not after last night."

Josh accepted the apology and they stood there in silence. He then gestured to his head.

"You look like slept good. Or at least, your hair does. It's…wild." He grinned slightly, staring at her head. She grumbled and swatted at him, glad that the awkward air was clearing up.

"Get cleaned up, I'll make you lunch, okay?" She nodded, going to shut the door. His foot got in the way and she pulled it back, confusion on her face. He reached in and tugged her close. "Let's never fight against each other again, okay, Sammy? I hate it. I'd rather fight with you than against you." Sam nodded, tucking her face into his chest for a moment before pulling back. She smiled before shutting her door, leaning against it again.

He may not like her like she liked him but at least he was still her good friend. She could live with that.

Current Day

Sam internally sighed. Even though she gave up on that dream, it was nice to think about it from now to then. She shook her head and heard something going 'FWOOSH" from inside the lodge. The door eventually opened, and Chris winced as he opened the door, probably from not waiting for it to cool off.

Ashley and Sam clapped to amuse him and watched as he bowed theatrically.

"Thank you, thank you thank you, I'll be here all week." He said, before screaming as an animal runs out of the house.

The girls laugh at the scared man.

"Man, that thing freaked me out. It was like a bear, or a tiger, or something." Chris said, huffing.

"Awe, it was just a cute little baby wolverine." Sam teased, mocking him a little bit.

"Baby? There's no way." Chris said in surprise.

"Don't worry buddy." Josh stated, startling her since he approached so quietly. "You're gonna be a big boy soon."

The people standing outside walked inside, taking it in.

"Home, sweet home." Josh muttered.

"Sweet is so not the word I'd use." Matt said.

Ashley sighed gratefully. "It is SO GOOD to be inside. Even if it's still kind of freezing in here"

"I'll get a fire going, don't worry." Josh said as he walked over to the fireplace, messing with the stuff around it.

"It really hasn't changed at all." Matt said, in disbelief.

"Nobody's been up here."

They discussed the flow of police that had once been swarming this place before Mike and Jess walked in.

"What's up party people!" Mike said loudly, greeting everyone.

"Heyyy!" Jess said, waving.

Everyone waved or greeted them back, the pair sitting down on the couch. Sam watched from the stairs as she took everything in. It was really weird to be back in the same place. The same place she really wanted to avoid.

But then everything crashed as Emily walked in.

"Oh. My god. That is so gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?" She bluntly stated, jealousy written on her face.

"Em…" Matt, her current boyfriend, said.

"Seriously, can she be any more obvious? No one wants in on your territory, honey!"

"Excuse me, did you say something?" Jess said, staring at Emily.

"Oh, did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?" Sam shook her head and looked up, wondering why girls had to catfight over a guy.

Jess stood up. "Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut."

"Yeah. It's all a 'big cattle' call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow."

"Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow."

Emily went to go reply but Jess cut her off. "Whatever, I don't give a crap what you think."

"At least I can think. 4.0, bitch, honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job."

"Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle?

"Oh please."

"You couldn't buy a moldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass."

"Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?"

"That bitch is on crack or something." Jess exclaims, turning around and looking at Mike.

"Jessica, you need to shut your mouth, okay?" Matt sound, firmly, trying to stick up for his girlfriend.

"No, you're the one who needs to keep your nose out of other people's business!"

"I'm about to get right up in your business you bitch!" Emily said with fire in her tone.

"Are we about to get real? Cause I am down to get real." Jess loudly says, and Sam was fed up already.

"STOP IT!" She yells. Everyone turns to look at her, even Josh. She's never one to yell or get angry but this was not why they were here.

"We're here to heal and to help each other after what happened last year. Stop catfighting over a guy that clearly has chosen what he wants. If you can't be friends, then you need to leave. At least, fucking be tolerant of each other. We weren't invited up to scowl and poke at each other, we're here to be together and be friends." She hotly said, glaring at the two girls as they looked away from each with a guilty expression.

Josh stepped in. "If we can't get along, then maybe we need a break? Mike, do you and Jess want to go to the guest cabin I told you about and stay there?"

Mike nodded. "Sure, alright. Jess, you want to go do that?"

Jess nodded, muttering something under her breath as she stepped away.

They leave, and Matt then imitates his head exploding. "Glad that's over." Sam nodded her head in agreeance. It was quite childish to fight over a guy that already picked who he had wanted. Matt got pulled away from Josh and started arguing with Emily about a bag, but Sam wasn't interested.

She walked over to Josh and poked him. He turned from the fireplace and smiled at her, tucking her under his arm once again. "I haven't seen you get so heated in a while, I think the last time was…"

"When I was drunk and wanted to jump into bed with the first person I saw, yeah. Fun times." She said, grinning at him before rolling her eyes.

He shrugged. "You said it, not me."

He eventually got the fire going and dusted his hands off on his jeans.

"Well, I'm gonna go help the exiled couple out really quick, tell them about the generator and stuff. I'll be back in a second. Would you want to help me with the boiler downstairs for the water?"

Sam nodded. "Sure, I'd like to take a bath anyways." She was desperately wanting to get warm and a nice bath sounded amazing. She also wanted to take her medication so that any symptoms of her schizophrenia wouldn't act up on this trip.

Josh nodded and walked outside to catch up with Mike and Jess.

She looked around the sitting area, taking in the photographs and details of the room. It was still engraved in her mind from being here at least once a year, but it was still nice to refresh her mind. Soon enough, Josh walked back in and gestured for her to follow him. They walked down the steps and he reminded her to watch her step. They silently made their way downstairs and were eventually upon the boiler.

She holds the flashlight in place as Josh fiddles around with the boiler machinery. After that, he steps over and increases the water pressure and then hit the button that would fire up the boiler.

"Hurray!" Sam yelled, throwing her hands in the air to be extra. Josh grinned at her actions, ruffling her hair as she neared him. She's not paying attention to him as he walks back to the boiler machinery but startles when she hears something behind her.

"What the hell is that…?"

Josh stared at her with confusion on his face. "Could be a lot of things… and none of them nice…"

"Hey, quit it." Sam said, pouting a tiny bit.

"I'm just…just 'Joshing' ya." Josh said, using his trademark excuse.

"Har har."

"You were really freaked out."

"I was not!"

"No, sorry, you just wanted to squeeze in some exercise on your tight schedule, yeah?"

"Don't be a jerk! All I said was 'what was that' which is a totally normal reaction to hearing something weird."

She stops as she looks over Josh's shoulder. "Oh…my god. Don't move, for fuck's sake, Josh, stay still." She mutter quickly, throwing a panicked look over Josh's shoulder, looking at nothing.

"What?"

"Something's right there." She said, joking at first but then something starts to show up, grey and lanky with tight skin and about nine feet tall. Her fake panicked look becomes very real and it must show up on her face because Josh whips around.

Sam knows that it's in her head, but she just wasn't expecting her symptoms to flare up so quickly.

Sam quickly cackles, knowing that Josh isn't seeing what she's seeing. She makes a note to call her psychiatrist in the morning to ask if she can increase her dose to 60 mg a day, at least while she's staying at the place where her schizophrenia was triggered.

"Gotcha! Thirty – Love."

"What? No. Where'd you get the first point?"

Sam cocked her head. "Doesn't it start at thirty?"

"No, fifteen."

"Oh, well, I'm more of a ping-pong gal."

The sound echoed through the basement once more.

"Okay, I know you heard that." She muttered, looking at Josh.

"Huh."

"The rhythm's weirdly regular…"

"Nothing regular about it…" He stated. Sam decided to be the hero and said, 'fuck it'.

"I'm gonna check it out." She stated, walking around Josh who had started to walk in front of her.

"What? Why?" He looked more freaked out now, staring at her with concern and worry in his eyes.

"What do you care, fraidyface?"

"It's probably nothing."

"Well, why don't you hold down the fort while I make sure."

"Okay…Your call, Captain Sam." He saluted and stood at attention. She laughed quietly before turning down the hall, walking through the hallway. As she got to the last room, someone jumped out and was wearing a mask. She screamed and ran away, throwing something down behind to slow the man down.

This was not doing wonders for her mind, seeing dark shows popping up in the corners and the wall started to turn into sludge. Josh ran in front of her, turning around to check on her every now and then. They ran up the stairs with vigor, trying desperately to escape. They tugged on the door, but it didn't budge.

"Oh, come on! Why is this door locked!?"

"T-To keep out strangers!" Josh exclaimed shakily.

The man behind them started talking. "Hey…"

"…What?" Sam said.

"Heeeyyyyy…" The voice was sounding familiar.

"What the hell!" She stated, staring angrily at the man.

Chris pulled down his hood. "Boom! You just got monked!"

Sam stared angrily at him. She knew he wasn't aware of her schizophrenia, but this prank made her schizophrenia act up and it was freaking her out.

"Why? Why would you do that?"

"There's all this cool old movie crap down here. What was I to do? Not use it to my advantage for a prank opportunity?

"Are you serious? You're serious. Were you in on this too, you putz?" She asked, turning to Josh.

"Nope, but I wish I was. That was so good." The two boys high-fived and laughed. She fake laughed as well and waited for Chris to unlock the door, who handed the key to Josh. Josh relocked the door and Sam quickly made her way to the stairs.

Ashley and Chris started joking around but Sam was not interested at all, she wanted alone time and her medication for the walls and the floor, which was turning into water and she was sinking sinking sinking, was messing with her. It felt like it took so much more energy to walk three steps than normal and she didn't dare get near the walls, for they were mush and touching them would just slow her down even more.

"Have fun, you guys." She said, not turning back, in fear of her expression being one of fear. "I'm going to go take a bath, I'll be down shortly." She rushed the words out, not seeing the concerned looks on the people behind her. She moved as quickly as she could up the stairs and up to the bathroom. She placed her backpack, which had still been resting on her back, on the chair and sat on the edge of the tub, breathing heavily.

She needed to take her medication. Right now. Her happiness quickly turned into a nightmare with her mind fucking with her.