Whatever had possessed him to do it he had no idea. He couldn't even believe it himself as the man behind the counter placed a black square box in his hands. Freddie opened it which revealed the most beautiful ballet slippers he had ever laid eyes on. They were brand new and yellow which he figured she would like. It was better than pink anyway. Freddie still wondered why he had done something so nice for a girl who could be so cruel to him. He closed up the box and checked his watch which read 3:47. He decided he still had some time to spare considering Sam was usually late so he stuffed the box in a bag and slowly made his way to the Sam's house, pondering his feelings.
Sam tortured him constantly, yet he was having these strange yet exciting feelings for her. He wanted to kiss her like he hadn't seen her in years. He wanted to hold her and never let go. He wanted her to be only his.
But…he also wanted to punch a hole through the wall when she was being stubborn. He wanted to scream whenever she was being a smart-aleck. He wanted her to just go away and never come back. It was all too confusing for Freddie.
He finally arrived at the Puckett's house, taking in the shattered windows and fading paint on the sides of the house. Freddie stared at the sad, little house for what seemed like an eternity, each minute making him more depressed than the last. It was then that he knew why he had bought the ballet slippers that lay in his hands. It didn't seem like anyone was home so he carefully placed the box on the doorstep, stepping away slowly, taking one last look at the pitiful home. Freddie walked away, his heart feeling a little lighter.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Freddie!" Sam called, bursting through the door.
She never called him by his real name. Freddie peaked over the book he was reading to see a livid Sam standing in his door way.
"What's up?" he asked sheepishly.
"Don't you 'what up' me, I know it was you," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"What did I do?"
"Oh, don't act like a total retard! You know exactly what you did," Sam yelled so loud her throat hurt. She threw the black box at Freddie's head, the beautiful ballet slippers falling to the floor. He saved them, gathering them in his arms, but Sam quickly snatched them back.
"Why did you buy me these?!" she asked angrily, shaking the dancing shoes in his face.
"Because, I thought, well, that you might like to dance in them instead of dancing in your bare feet," he replied, shrinking back a little.
"Well, I would, but I would like to buy my own, okay?! I don't need some guy, much less a dork, buying me shoes!" Then she dropped them to the ground, stomping on them with her feet, making her point.
"Do you know how much those cost?!" he asked in horror as he watched her destroy the once magical slippers.
"Yes, in fact, I do, which is why you shouldn't have bought them for me in the first place! I can buy my own! I am not some poor misfit!"
"Really? Then why do you always ask me for money?! Oh, wait, that's right, because you can't afford anything!" Freddie clasped his mouth shut, regretting the words once they flew out of his mouth.
"That's not true!" Sam assured him and herself, but deep down she knew it was the utter truth. She shook her head, frustrated, hot tears traveling down her face. Whether they were upset or hurt tears neither Freddie nor Sam could tell. She wiped at them quickly, but they kept coming.
"Are, are you alright Sam?" Freddie asked hesitantly, standing up, inching his body toward her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just, just never buy me anything ever again and we'll both be happy, 'kay?" They both knew that statement wasn't true, but they never said so aloud.
"I'll buy anything for you, but only if you ask me," he whispered, rubbing her back, hoping she would calm down. "Okay?"
"Whatever, dork," she said rather bitterly, but she couldn't hide the goofy grin spreading across her face. "Don't touch me!" Sam scooted away from him as if he had cooties. Freddie rolled his eyes, but ignored her reaction.
"Can you at least try on the ballet slippers?"
"Only if you give me some ham."
"Fine," he said, acting aggravated. He brought his hand to his mouth, trying to cover the smile creeping up his face. "Why do you like ham so much anyway?" Freddie asked, sticking his head into the fridge and emerging with a piece of ham. He slid it across the counter to Sam who accepted it with pleasure.
"Do you have to ask?! It's, like, devilly delicious!" she said, ripping the meat with her incisors.
"Devilly delicious? I've never heard that expression before," he replied wryly.
"Yeah, well, I made it up. It's a good expression, isn't it? I mean, ham is like the best thing in the world," Sam said, admiring the glorious meat she held.
"Oh, come on. Ham is not the best thing in the world."
"How dare you say that to mama and her ham," she said, shielding her ham from the crazy man. Freddie just rolled his eyes. She could just be so…Sam.
"Okay, so now are you ready to try and put on the ballet slippers?"
"Whatever makes you happy, Freddork."
She got up and walked to his room, leaving him there with his mouth hung agape. Since when did she care what made him happy? She was the one always trying to destroy his life. He shook off all thoughts and followed her into the ten-by-foot "dance studio."
"Do you have to play Vanessa Carlton though?"
"Yes."
"But it's so irritating!"
"Well, good, then Vanessa will be doing my job for me," Sam answered with a smug smile. She popped the her CD in, Vanessa's beautiful yet irritating (to Freddie) filling the room.
Freddie rolled his eyes toward the ceiling once again. He had a feeling this practice was going to be longer than the last one. Sam sat down on the floor, tugging on the slippers which were objecting to her feet. She pushed, she huffed, she heaved, she cried. It was as if she was giving birth to a new born child. Sam finally got the stubborn shoes on her feet, her hair hanging over her face. She blew a curl away, her face beet red, looking up at Freddie with an annoyed look. He just gazed back down at her with an amused one plastered on his face.
"Are you enjoying this, Benson?"
"Yes, in fact, I am."
"Well, wipe of that amused look of yours and help me up," she said, lifting her arm. He grabbed hold of her hand and heaved her weight off the floor. Sam started tipping back, but he caught her before she met face to face with the ground.
"These things are hell of a lot hard to stand on," she muttered, exasperated.
"Here take my hand," Freddie offered.
"I don't want to hold your hand," Sam retorted, disgusted.
"It will help you, Sam. Now don't be complicated."
"Since when have I ever been complicated?" she inquired, trying her best to put her hands on her hips, but failing miserably by tilting backwards. Freddie caught her in the nick of time, his hand behind her back, just above the hardwood.
"Plenty," he whispered, his breath tickling her cheeks.
It took her a while to respond, but she finally answered with, "Could you just get me back up to solid ground?"
He brought her back up, a bit embarrassed, blushing a light pink. Would it be a surprise to you if Freddie was thinking of kissing her at that moment? But like always, Sam had to ruin a perfect opportunity for him.
"Okay, now stand on your toes."
Sam attempted to do so, but instead ended up falling into Freddie. He gasped and he was sure she muttered something to herself about being a klutz. But he liked the feeling of her body against his. Freddie shook off all feelings and helped her up.
"Try again."
She did, but then she faltered into him, their legs getting caught up with each other, sending Sam falling backwards and Freddie following face forward, screaming like a girl. They landed with a thud, Sam groaning from under him. He opened his eyes to reveal her lips. Right there. In front of him. He gulped. Why was it that this was happening to him? Was it fate? He wasn't sure. Sam tried to move her legs, but couldn't because they were so entangled with the one and only dork.
"Fredwina, get off me," she managed to choke out despite the fact that he was crushing her lungs.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?" she asked, raising her right eyebrow.
"Don't you like me on top of you?" he asked, becoming bold.
"Of course not! I mean, you're crushing my lungs. I can barely breathe!"
Sam squirmed and squirmed, but he wouldn't budge. He looked into her eyes with the most serious look she had ever seen. She stopped moving. All that could be heard was her heavy yet shaky breathing. It scared her the way he was staring at her, just studying her features. But what frightened her most was the fact that she wanted to kiss him. Really bad. But she didn't have to worry any longer because Freddie already knew what to do. He started closing the short distance between them, his lips inches away from hers. Her eyes fluttered shut, ready for whatever was about to happen, frightening or not.
"Fredward Benson, what are you doing?!"
The two adolescents shot their heads toward the door where a very troubled Mrs. Benson stood. Freddie quickly and easily emerged from the floor, running his fingers through his hair. For a spilt second Sam smirked at him, thinking of how he "couldn't" do that before. She stood up as well, but not as fast as Freddie had did, smoothing out her clothes with her hands. She started stumbling into Freddie's side due to the horrid ballet slippers.
"Mom, it's not what you think," he tried to assure his frantic mother. But by Sam leaning into him so much it was hard to convince.
"I think it's exactly what I think, Freddie! Tell Samantha to leave before I explode," Mrs. Benson said through clenched teeth.
But Sam was way ahead of Freddie and his mother, tugging off the dancing shoes and throwing them into her bag. She scurried out of his room, but couldn't help hearing the conversation going on as she headed out the front door.
"Fredward Benson, we our giving you a tic bath!"
"But why?!"
"Because I think it will lessen your sexual desires!"
And with that Sam was out in the hallway, the cold cement meeting with her bare feet, and her laughter meeting with the air around her.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Ha, okay, so I know I said in my author's note that I would be putting up the second chapter in two weeks. Well, I got over my slight writer's block!!! YAY! I hope you guys like it....I didn't really like the beginning and middle, but I liked the end, for my taste anyway. Read and review please!!!
