It was Monday morning and Sam felt ready to confront school head on. She woke up earlier than usual and decided to make herself a bowl of cereal. She turned up her headphones and started doing homework that should've been done yesterday.
Julian came out of Brooke's bedroom and saw Sam. He smiled at the sight. There was Sam rocking out with her disheveled hair all over the place while busily scribbling down what seemed like an essay. He walked up to her and messed up her hair some more,
"What up Samson. Loving the bed hair you're rocking" he said in his infamous mellow voice
Sam rolled her eyes, "don't knock it 'till you try it boy toy." She chided
Julian smirked at her, "I have a name you know."
Sam laughed heartily, "right, right. Is it boyfriend? Playmate? Lover? Hmm? So which one is it Mr. Strange man in my kitchen?"
An annoyed maternal voice resonated through the house, "First of all Ms. Teenage Procrastinator with the scariest bed hair ever, this is my kitchen not yours. Second of all I think you're old enough to know what manners are."
Brooke walked in and Sam's confident and sneering face melted into embarrassment at her remarks. Julian just chuckled and gave Sam a "that's what you get" look.
"and THIRD OF ALL…Good morning Sammy" she said sweetly as she kissed Sam's cheek, then took off her headphones, "You're gonna go deaf Sam. More than you already are."
"sorry" Sam said not wanting to attract anymore unwanted attention.
"uhhh I have to go get ready" She tried to make her escape back to her room before Brooke scolded her for the unfinished homework. But it was too late, she felt a hand gently grab her arm and then a sharp smack to her backside,
"OW!" She turned around and Brooke was shaking her head in disapproval,
"Hey, you're the one that told me you finished your homework. You know I don't like it when you lie to me." She said matter of factly
Sam didn't know what to do, she looked to Julian but he wasn't planning on backing her up this time.
She stuttered trying to come up with an explanation, "uh, ummmm. I, well I um-"
Brooke chuckled to relieve Sam's tension, "Sam, just go get ready for school. It's okay honey."
She did as she was told. Happy that there was a sense of normalcy coming back to their home. She even liked Julian's presence in the house. It made her feel…safe.
… …. …. …. …. ….
Sam skated her way to Jack's. She was so happy that she didn't have to be driven everywhere like a little girl anymore. She hadn't talked to him in a couple weeks, but she needed to confront their issues. She got there way early, hoping that Mel wouldn't be there. Sam knocked and out came Jack. His goofy and unkempt hair matched perfectly with his nonchalant style,
He was surprised to find Sam at his doorstep, "Sam? What are you doing here?"
She was all business, not willing to beat around the bush, "Jack, you know why I'm here. We can't just avoid each other. I know Mel's gonna be here any minute now"
Jack intervened, "she went to New York with her mom. She's coming back tomorrow." He seemed embarassed
Mel was their "privileged" friend; she was always traveling with her parents.
Sam was thinking of how different Jack and Mel were, but she shook the thought away, "oh…well that's fine, but you have to make a decision about us. I need a yes or a no, but I'm not gonna hang around waiting for you."
Jack looked conflicted, "Sam, look you have to-"
"NO! I don't have to do anything. I did my part. I apologized for leading you on. I waited a good couple of weeks. Ball's in your court. Decide Jack. Stop playing with Mel's feelings. Meet me after school by the bleachers. It's now or never dude."
They both looked at each other,
"see you after school then" Jack said quietly
"See you later Jack"
She walked away feeling confident and scared all at the same time. What if he said no? That meant she'd be left with a Jack shaped hole in her heart. He just stared at her as she skated away. Self-assured and opinionated. That was Sam.
The day was a blur for both Jack and Sam. Haley had to snap both of them out of their trances during class. Haley made the connection and knew something was going to happen between the duo today. She was anxious for both of them, but decided against calling Brooke, knowing far too well that Brooke would stress just thinking about it.
The last bell finally rang, but Sam couldn't seem to get out of her chair. Everyone left and she was still sitting. Knowing full well that a big part of her future would be determined today.
"Ms. Davis? Are you quite alright?" Mr. Brown inquired
Sam jumped up, "Yeah! See ya Brown!" She skated out the classroom to Mr. Brown's great annoyance,
"Hooligan" he murmured.
She saw Jack waiting by the bleachers, he looked nervous, but she was nervous too.
"Hey Sam" he looked down pushing the dirt with his shoe
"Hey" she replied. She waited for a moment, but he wouldn't look up.
Maybe it was the Brooke Davis in her but Sam found authority within her bundle of nerves,
"Jack! Please."
He looked back up and stared directly in her eyes. He grabbed her hand and enveloped it in his. His heart skipped a beat when he felt her fingers tighten around his,
"Sam…it's been you, it's always been you. I've been thinking and I love it when you knock down my sugar cubes, when you yell at me for being stupid. When I look at you and nothing else matters, when we skate for hours. Everything! Sam I want to be with you. We may be young and maybe I don't know what love is, but whatever we have, it's something special."
Sam was speechless. Her dream had become a reality, but the silence didn't unnerve Jack. He slowly moved closer to Sam until there was no space between them. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment and they kissed. The kiss held all their bottled up emotions. Words were not necessary, the moment they shared was enough.
Slowly Sam pulled back, both of them smiled,
"wow" Jack said breathlessly
Sam just rolled her eyes and grabbed Jack's hand. They walked to the nearby diner and spent time together, just like old times. Jack had to leave early though, but this didn't hinder Sam's happiness. Once he left, she immediately thought of Brooke. She needed to tell her.
Sam paid and bolted out, she skated to Clothes over Bros as quick as possible. When she got there she pushed into some people going into the store, but it didn't matter. Brooke saw the commotion outside just as Sam was coming in,
"Sam!" Brooke yelled in awe at her rudeness
Sam didn't care, "Brooke! Guess what?!" she said with wide eyed excitement
"Umm What is it Sam?" she was so confused.
"Mom! He said yes! Jack said yes to me! Can you believe it?!"
Sam ran up to Brooke and hugged her. It took Brooke a moment to hug her back, just because she was taken aback by Sam's happiness.
"awww that's great baby! I'm so happy for you Sammy" she kissed Sam on top of her head. Knowing that Sam was so happy made her want to cry, but she held it in.
Sam squeezed Brooke as hard as she could letting tears of happiness fall down.
"I love you mom. Thank you. For the advice, for everything!"
"I love you sweetie" She pulled Sam from their embrace and grabbed her by the shoulders,
"alright Sam. I'm happy for you. You know that right?"
Sam nodded hurriedly. Her happiness made her appear like an overjoyed toddler
Brooke continued, "Great! I know you have a lot to tell, but I have a business meeting to get to. Can we talk more at home?" she didn't know whether Sam was going to freak or not, but she braced herself nonetheless.
Sam smiled to assure Brooke she was fine, "okay, I'll see you at home then!"
When Brooke got home she was ready to hear all the juicy details, but instead she found a distraught Sam at the table,
'oh no, what happened now?' she thought
She placed her things down and went to Sam, "Sweetie what's wrong?"
Sam looked up and there was worry all over her face. She had been crying,
"I forgot about Mel! She's gonna hate me Brooke!"
Brooke frowned and closed her eyes, she had forgotten about Mel as well,
"alright baby, come on let's go to the couch" She led Sam to the couch, aware that Sam definitely wanted to be comforted.
Sam laid her head on Brooke's lap, while Brooke stroked her hair. It always calmed her down. Sam felt better with her mom so close ,
"do you think she's gonna hate me mom?" she asked desperately
Brooke winced at the question. She couldn't give Sam a straight answer. And the answer she had was not a good one,
"I don't know Sam, but you and Jack have to be honest with her. That's all you can really do. Hope for the best. But Mel loves you and good friends always work things out. I know from experience"
Sam sighed, "I hate this. Why does everything have to be so complicated?"
Brooke kept stroking her hair, "Sammy life is complicated, but I'm here for you. No matter what."
Sam was quiet for a while Brooke heard her murmur,
"But Jack and me are together. I love it" she said slyly
Brooke laughed, "that is true!"
Slowly the hair stroking lulled Sam to sleep. Brooke eased her way up, but just as she was about to get up Sam's voice stops her
"Don't go mom"
Her voice sounded needy. It touched Brooke's heart. She went back and Sam placed her head on Brooke's lap once more.
"thanks mommy"
"you're welcome honey. It'll be okay."
Eventually Sam fell asleep. Brooke slowly got up and placed a blanket on top of her. She turned on the TV and put it on SpongeBob, Sam always had nickelodeon on before bed and as she slept, so Brooke turned it on whenever Sam fell asleep on the couch.
Things were finally getting better between them.
Please Review! What about Mel? Is Jack a jerk, or just an indecisive kid? Any thoughts, tell me :]…Also this story is going to be gradually ending, don't worry, there's still more chapters to come, in order to give it its proper send off!