Sam stood in her room reluctantly getting ready for work. The day before Janet had convinced her to go and now Sam was silently cursing her persuasive friend. Janet had told her that she would tell Andy and the others about what had happened so that she would be spared from the usual questions of what happened.

Sam sighed and finally decided on a white t-shirt over a purple long sleeve with a white skull pattern and blue jeans. She threw on her converse and headed down into the kitchen. Her cat was already patiently waiting for his food, which he got as soon as Sam arrived.

Just as Sam grabbed her jacket and prepared to walk to work her cell rang. She picked it up and Janet was on the other end.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Janet's voice said through the speaker.

"Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?" Sam said slightly confused.

"I'm waiting outside for you. Didn't want you to have to walk to work."

"Oh thanks I'll be right out." Sam said and closed her phone. She slid it into her pocket and grabbed her bag before running out of her house and to Janet's car.

Sam hopped in and was greeted by a smile from Janet. The car ride to the tattoo parlor was a short one. During the ride Janet informed Sam of the reactions of the people she worked with. Andy was generally pissed that she hadn't told him but understood why she wouldn't have wanted to. Everyone else just wanted to make sure she was okay.

Janet pulled into her parking spot and the two girls got out of the car. As soon as she entered the store, Sam was bombarded by frantic questions and hugs. She felt like she was going to be suffocated. Suddenly a very loud whistle quieted everyone and all eyes went to the source of the noise.

Andy removed his fingers from his mouth and looked around. "Would you all let the girl make it two steps into room before attacking her?" Everyone backed off immediately, realizing that they had been crowding.

Andy stepped forward and looked down at the small redhead in front of him. After a moment of awkward silence, he grabbed the girl into a bear hug and lifted her several inches off the ground. He put her down after a second and looked her right in the face. "If some guy ever tries to lay a hand on you again let me know and I'll make him wish he had never been born, understand?" Sam nodded and looked around noticing other people were nodding in accordance.

"Alright everybody, get your stations ready, we still have to work today." Andy yelled. People scattered off to their designated areas and Sam took her position behind the front desk. She was the one responsible for the appointment books. When she first applied for the job she really only considered it a way to bring in a paycheck but since she started working at Venom Inc. she had become great friends with everyone in the place.

Andy was the boss and anyone who walked into the store would know it. He was the biggest guy in the room and he was covered in tattoos. He looked like the kind of guy who would ride around on his Harley looking for trouble, when in reality Andy was the exact opposite. He was more of a teddy bear than a grizzly bear. He was the nicest guy on the planet but he wouldn't mind knocking a guy out if he deserved it.

Andy's wife Natasha was the one that kept everybody in line. She proved the saying true that behind every great man is an even greater woman. She was the only person that got away with telling the boss what to do.

The other people that worked at Venom Inc. were all really nice. Sandra was the second most mature person in the business and she could be bossy at times, but she always meant well. Geoff was born in Jamaica but moved to Haddonfield when he was relatively young. He was always up for a good time and could cheer up anyone in a bad mood. Blake and Shane were twins. They were the best at practical jokes, which Janet often helped with. Blake, Shane, and Janet were Sam's closest friends during her first year of work and were pretty much the reason she decided to stay. It had been two years since she first started working at the tattoo parlor and she loved every day of her job.

Work was pretty busy that day. Sam did her job without any problems. Her friends did come by to check up on her more than usual, which she enjoyed but also found a little distracting. She constantly felt Andy's eyes on her as if he were waiting for the moment she collapsed from the strain of an average workday.

By the time lunch rolled around Sam was starving. Blake had gone out for food only 10 minutes ago but Sam was getting impatient. Just when she was prepared to run after the boy just to get her food sooner, he walked in with two paper bags in his hands.

"Who's hungry?" He smiled as he set the bags on Sam's reception desk.

"I am!" She responded as she tore into the bags.

Out of common courtesy for her fellow workers she took their food out as she moved towards the bottom of the bag and her mango chicken. The entire crew sat around and started eating. Geoff cracked a bad joke and everyone laughed. Sam just smiled; she liked being back at work with her friends.