One Tree Hill: Proving a Point

Author: L

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Chapter 6

Häagen-Dazs chocolate chip ice-cream, Brooke thought with a smile. It was her favourite.

Every now and again, Brooke would glance towards Sam's bedroom and wonder if she was still in there. A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts and she set down the tub of ice-cream she was still holding before she got up to answer it.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming," Brooke whispered as she threw her arms around her best friends and hugged them tightly for support.

Peyton and Haley were caught off-guard by this and they shared a questioning look with each other as they followed Brooke into the living room.

"I found Sam with a pack of cigarettes," Brooke said after a short silence.

"Hey, you can't blame this on me," Peyton protested light-heartedly, holding both hands up defensively. "I told her to steal cars, not smoke cigarettes."

Brooke responded with a weak smile but Haley still appeared confused.

"Is Sam in her room?" asked Haley. She wouldn't put it past Sam to run away again if she had gotten in another argument with Brooke.

Sighing, Brooke whispered, "I hope she is." She shot her friends a desperate look. "Sam said the cigarettes weren't hers. She bumped into a friend on the way home from the store and they gave them to her but she won't tell me who the friend is."

"If Sam was smoking, we would have noticed," Haley pointed out. "I don't think it's possible to mask the smell completely and Sam doesn't seem like someone who would smoke."

"Do you believe her?" asked Peyton.

"I don't know." Brooke was now wearing a helpless expression. "Sam rarely gets into trouble anymore but when she refused to tell me who gave them to her, there was a hint of doubt. We got into an argument and I was ready to extend her punishment when I found the tub of ice-cream. Guys, she bought me ice-cream," Brooke said with a small smile. She was absolutely touched by the gesture.

Once again, Peyton and Haley shared a perplexed look. They didn't understand the significance of the ice-cream but they could tell it was important to Brooke.

"Do you guys think you can talk to Sam for me?" asked Brooke with a pleading tone.

"Brooke, honey, if Sam won't tell you where she got them from then she's less likely to tell us," Peyton said, sitting down beside her. "She knows you care about her. I think you should try and talk to her again."

"We'll be here if you need us," smiled Haley. She reached for the tub of ice-cream that was sat on the coffee table and added, "I'll put this in the freezer for you. It looks like it's starting to melt."

Brooke slowly walked towards Sam's room and let her hand rest on the handle for a few seconds before choosing to knock softly instead. "Sam, can I come in please?" The silence was not reassuring. "Sam, can you at least let me know you're still in there?"

The lack of response made her even more worried and it shredded the rest of her patience. Opening the door, Brooke felt a weight lift off of her shoulder when she saw a closed window and a shaking lump hidden underneath the covers.

"Sam," Brooke whispered. She made her way over to the bed and saw down beside her but Sam only shrunk further into the covers. "I want you to know that I do trust you. I just wish you would tell me who gave them to you. I need to know that you're hanging around with people who won't get you into trouble. I just want you to be safe."

The covers slowly pulled back to reveal Sam's face. Her eyes were red from crying but she still appeared angry. "Smoking's not illegal," she muttered.

"It is if you're only fifteen," Brooke reminded her firmly. "They can also cause serious health problems for you."

"Is everyone programmed to give the same speech about smoking?" asked Sam sarcastically. "I get it, okay? Smoking is bad for you. It can cause lung cancer. You don't want me to smoke and I'm sitting here telling you I don't smoke so are you satisfied now?"

Sam threw the covers over her head again and turned to her side. After a minute of contemplation, Brooke stood up and decided to leave the room in order to avoid an argument. As soon as she reached the door, a muffled voice called out to her.

"I'm sorry."

Brooke turned around to see Sam sitting up in her bed. Smiling softly at her, Brooke sat down again and rested her hand on Sam's shoulder.

"I'm not mad at you, Sam. I just wish you would talk to me. You could have come to me about the essay and I wouldn't have been angry with you. You're an amazing writer and every time you let me read your work, regardless of the grade, I'm proud of you. I trust you when you say you weren't going to smoke but you still would have hidden them from me and I don't want that. I want you to be honest with me."

Sam nodded and whispered through her tears, "I'm sorry for shouting at you. I just got angry when I thought you didn't believe me."

"Do you remember when you first started living here and you stole from me?" laughed Brooke. "I interrupted Haley's lesson and you just gave everything back to me without putting up a fight. Even though I was pissed off, I was impressed with your honesty."

"Well, can I be honest now?" Sam asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course," insisted Brooke. "Sam, what's wrong?" The serious tone that laced Sam's question was worrying her again.

Sam broke out into a grin and laughed. "I'm hungry."

They got up from the bed and walked out of the room. Brooke threw her arm around Sam's shoulder and pulled her close.

"Why don't we order some pizza and then we can share the ice-cream you bought for dessert?" Brooke suggested. She was enjoying the feeling of being close to Sam.

"Wow, pizza and ice-cream?" Sam grinned. "You are a really cool mo–"

Her sentence was instantly cut off when they walked into the living room. She had heard Haley and Peyton talking to Brooke before but she was stunned to see a third person sitting there. Tearing her gaze away for a tenth of a second, the shocked expression on Brooke's face answered Sam's unspoken question. Brooke had no idea he was here either.

Standing up nervously, he smiled shyly at Sam. "Hey."

Brooke had given them permission to talk outside as long as they didn't walk off. They were now sat in front of the house, occasionally sneaking glances at each other. There were so many questions running through Sam's mind and she tried to choose an appropriate one to begin with.

"Where have you been?" she finally asked.

Jack's gaze was fixed on the ground. "I stayed in Tree Hill and I just found a new place to sleep every night." He looked up and his eyes locked with Sam's. "After what happened with my... my... brother, I thought I would give you some space."

"Well you thought wrong," Sam told him. "I've missed you."

"I've you missed you too. That's why I came back. I wanted to see you." Jack dropped his gaze again and Sam could tell he was starting to blush. "When Mrs Scott opened the door, I was ready to turn around and run but she stopped me and... I'm glad she did."

His honesty surprised her and Sam surprised herself when she lightly placed her hand on top of his. Jack's eyes stared intently into hers and Sam could feel herself drawing closer to him. Instead of the gentle collision of their lips Sam had been expecting, she felt him pull away from her.

Sam opened her eyes and followed Jack's embarrassed stare, feeling hurt and confused. She turned her head just in time to see a wave of brunette hair disappear behind the curtain.

"So much for privacy," Sam muttered under her breath.

Jack gave a small laugh, although his gaze darted nervously towards the window again. "I should go now," he said quietly as he stood up.

Mirroring his action, Sam asked in a worried tone, "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know," Jack murmured.

"Why don't you stay here for the night?" Sam suggested. "Brooke won't mind. She'd rather have you sleep on the couch than out on the streets." If Brooke knew Jack had nowhere else to go, Sam was sure she would say the same thing as her.

"I can't risk social services finding me," sighed Jack. With a shy smile, he took her hand in his and promised, "I'll come back this time. I won't disappear again."

Raising her eyebrow, Sam said in a voice full of sarcasm, "I wonder why I don't feel the slightest bit reassured."

Jack squeezed her hand gently and the scepticism on Sam's face slowly faded, but their moment was interrupted.

"Sam!"

They turned in the direction of the voice and Sam saw Jo walking towards them with a handful of papers and an excited smile on her face.

"Hey," Jo grinned at Sam. Her attention immediately turned to Jack and her smile grew even wider. "Hey," said Jo, almost whispering the word. She eagerly held out her hand.

Jack shook her hand wearily. "Hi."

Sam thought it would be polite to introduce them, and it would also break the long silence as well. "Jo, this is Jack Daniels; Jack, this is Josephine Thomas."

"You can call me Jo," she smiled at him.

Jack was starting to feel uncomfortable with the attention Jo was focussing on him. Sam unconsciously gripped his hand tighter but Jo didn't seem to notice.

Pointing to the papers Jo was holding, Sam tried to change the subject. "Are those fliers?"

Jo's focus was instantly diverted. "I'm throwing a party tonight!" She handed each of them a flier and launched into an enthusiastic explanation. "It's going to be held at the beach. It starts at midnight and I've practically ordered all of the alcohol in Tree Hill. You two should totally come," she added, speaking more to Jack than Sam.

"I can't," Sam told her in a disappointed tone even though she wasn't interested in going. Grounded or not, Sam would rather hang out with Brooke instead. Did I really just choose staying in over going to a beach party? Sam shook her head, bewildered by how much she had changed.

"Well, if you're not going then there's no point in me going," Jack said softly.

The smile on Jo's face fell immediately. "Oh, you guys have to come," Jo protested.

"I'm grounded," Sam pointed out.

Jo raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Just sneak out," she stated matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious option. "If you want, I can pick the two of you up at eleven-thirty."

A surprised look sprung across Jack's expression. "You have your own car?"

Sensing an opportunity to impress him, Jo told them in a casual tone, "Yeah, my parents bought me a car for my fifteenth birthday. I only have a learner's permit at the moment but they let me drive around Tree Hill without an adult. So, am I going to see you guys tonight?"

Sam hesitated. If Jack went to the party then he would have an excuse for staying out all night and she didn't want to leave him on his own with Jo. Less than twenty minutes ago, Brooke had told Sam she trusted her and Sam wasn't going to turn around and abuse that trust. She had always been overlooked and ignored by her past foster parents but Brooke has never once done that to her.

"Sam?!" called Jo, trying to get snap her out of her thoughts. When she had Sam's attention again, Jo asked, "Are you coming to the party?"

"No," replied Sam with a small smile. "I'm not."

Author's Note: Five words: life is never that simple.