A/N: This is the final part (the finale!) of this 4-part story. It's in third-person point of view again, so you can see pretty much into all the character's thoughts. I hope you've enjoyed it so far, and I really hope the ending doesn't disappoint you. But if it does, please feel free to tell me. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. This story can probably get pretty confusing at times, so I wanna make sure everyone understands it. I also want to hear any and all thoughts you have on the story, positive or negative. Warnings include: sexual reference (no actual sex scenes, though), teenage alcohol use, some cussing, and violence. (The violence comes into play in this chapter.)
Again, Mike is of my OWN creation, and I don't want anyone using him. Period. So is Heather, but I don't care as much about her. :]

But It Wasn't Just Jealousy
Part 4

"What are you doing, Sam?" Spencer asked sternly, trying to keep his voice steady. For the first time since his mom had died, he felt like punching something.

Sam stared back at him dumbly, still unsure of exactly what was going on. When she realized Spencer had just walked in on her in bed with Mike, she felt no better. She'd gotten her revenge, but at what cost? The pain was only deeper now, as she saw the hurt in his eyes.

It must've been the same thing he'd seen in her eyes. And now she felt terrible.

"Spencer…" she choked out, her arms still loosely wrapped around Mike's neck.

Spencer didn't say anything, he just stared, his mouth hanging open a little bit – Carly's jaw was on the floor – and then his eyes narrowed. He stared at the Mike kid, imagining all the things he could do to him at that moment.

"What… why is he here?" Mike asked Sam, turning back to her.

"I… don't know," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Then, before anyone knew what was happening, Mike was suddenly ripped off of Sam and thrown to the floor. He landed on the carpet with a thud. Blinking, he tried to understand what was going on while he pulled his pants up. But before he could even stand up, Spencer was on top of him. He shoved him back, pushing his back hard into the floor. Mike grunted, now lying on his back on the floor, Spencer on top of him, pinning him down.

"What the hell, man?!" Mike cried out.

But he was quickly shut up when Spencer grabbed a chunk of Mike's hair and brought his other fist to the boy's face. It connected with a painful punch, and before he could even recover, he was being punched again… and again… and again… and again.

Spencer couldn't stop himself now. With Carly and Sam watching in shock and awe, he pounded into Mike's face, still holding tight onto his hair to keep him steady. He was so angry and so upset. He was close to blacking out, but before he could get any closer to it or to hurting the boy more, Sam was behind him, grabbing him by the torso, trying her hardest to yank him off. She was in only her underwear and shirt, and she was still tipsy, but she was sober enough to find her strength.

"STOP!" she cried, frantic. She pulled on Spencer, but he kept pulling back, determined to remain on top of Mike and remain beating him until he was knocked out. Punch after punch, his anger was personified in the form of blood on his fist and tears on the boy's face. Mike couldn't even cry out anymore, he just grunted and cried, unable to get Spencer off of him. Spencer was stronger than he looked.

Carly rushed over to help Sam, grabbing the arm Spencer was using to punch Mike and pulling it back with all her strength. "Stop it, Spencer! Stop!"

With a cry of frustration, Sam finally yanked Spencer off of Mike and away from him. She pushed him across the room, trying to get him far away from the nearly unconscious body on the floor. She spun around and faced him, holding her arms out to try and defend Mike.

"STOP IT, SPENCER!" she screamed at him.

Spencer stumbled back, then stood still, blinking. He looked down at his sore fist to see it swelling up and covered in blood – but not his own blood. He looked back to Sam and Carly. Carly was on her knees on the floor next to Mike, trying to help him up and make sure he was okay, while Sam stood in front of them, her arms held out, afraid Spencer would try to jump him again. Her face was full of fear, and tears were running down her cheeks.

"Sam…" Spencer finally choked out.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!" Sam cried.

A crowd had gathered outside the bedroom door now, watching the scene. They'd heard the loud noises of someone being thrown on the floor and rushed upstairs to see who it was. None of them knew who Spencer was, but they were afraid of him now. Most of them were staring at Sam expectantly, wondering why she was in the middle of all this.

"I… I don't know what happened. I just got so angry," Spencer said weakly, defeated and exhausted now, the pain still in his chest.

Sam calmed herself down, taking deep breaths. She stared at Spencer, searching his face. She knew he wasn't lying – he never would have normally done something like this; he wasn't a violent person. But something about seeing her with another guy had made him so angry and upset that it had overtaken him. He'd never reacted like this to any of his past girlfriends that cheated on him. So why was he doing it now? What was so different about her that it made him angry just thinking about her with another guy?

"I know…" she said quietly, tears still rolling down her cheeks, because she did know. She knew what it was like to lose your temper and freak out and just want to beat someone's face in until they didn't even resemble a person anymore. "But you can't do this… It's not his fault."

Spencer stared at her, his eyes sad and begging her for comfort. Sweat ran down the side of his face.

"It's mine," she finally told him.

"What do you mean, it's your fault? This guy was on top of you and – " Spencer began to lose his temper again, pointing to Mike and thinking about what he'd just seen.

"No. Stop it," Sam demanded, and he shut his mouth, breathing in and calming himself again. "It's not his fault. I told him you and I broke up, and… and I wanted him to do that with me."

"Why?" Spencer asked, the tears showing through in his voice.

"Because! You cheated on me, Spencer! How am I supposed to feel? Huh? What am I supposed to do when I walk in and find you fucking some girl I don't even know on your couch?" Sam cried.

Spencer blinked and used his clean hand to wipe at his eyes. He looked down, away from Sam's eyes. "I know. But I swear… I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry, Sam…"

"I wanted revenge, Spence," she explained in a whisper.

He looked back up at her, surprised. "Revenge? For cheating on you…? So-so you came here and banged some high school boy?"

Sam sighed and looked down, resting her arms at her sides. "Yes. It was all I could think of… I was so mad. You don't even understand."

He was silent for a moment before saying, "I think I do."

She shook her head. "I-I saw you with that girl, and I flipped, Spencer. It's hard enough seeing all these girls that come onto you every single day, and then to walk in and find you with one of them? How do you expect me to react? You know how jealous of a person I am…"

He watched her, staring expectantly.

She took a breath. "But it wasn't just jealousy… I love you. I love you so much. And it hurt like nothing before to see you with her. Because… 'cause I thought you loved me."

Spencer's mouth dropped open. "Sam… I do. I'm so, so sorry for what I did. If I could take it back – well, I'd do anything to take it back. It was a huge mistake, and I know it was inexcusable. But it wasn't me… I wouldn't do that to you on purpose. I love you too much… I'm sorry."

Sam closed her eyes for a moment, trying to breathe steadily, but her lungs felt so tight. She opened her eyes again. "What do you want me to do? Am I supposed to trust you? Are you gonna do it again?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, never. I just want you to trust me - like you did before…"

She looked down at the floor, ashamed. She felt Carly's eyes burning into her back, as well as the rest of the party's. The house seemed dead silent now.

"I only did this for revenge," she muttered. "I'm sorry… I didn't know what else to do. I love you. I really do."

"I know. I can understand it… I messed up first. But-but I wanna make it up to you. I'll do anything, Sam," Spencer whispered, fighting down a knot in his throat. "Anything."

She raised her head again, tears still falling down her cheeks. "I couldn't ever let you go. I just don't want to be hurt again. Please, Spence… I love you, and I'd do anything for you. Please don't hurt me again."

He shook his head. "I won't, baby, I won't… I promise. I swear."

Sam sighed, exhausted. She looked behind her to see Carly still by Mike's side, but staring up at her with worried eyes. Mike had his eyes closed and his hands over his nose and mouth, half his face covered in blood, trying to steady his own breathing. She looked back to her boyfriend to see him suddenly holding his clean hand out, her broken necklace lying in his palm. He looked at her questioningly. She gazed at it, then smiled at him.

She knew none of what happened was about jealousy. It was about so much more. It was about something she couldn't explain, but that she felt completely. And it wasn't about revenge. She cared for Spencer so much, and he cared for her more than she even knew.

It was about love – it had always been about love.

end.