Rating: R [for attempted rape and alcohol use]
Spoilers: "It's Greek To Me"
Summary: What if Sam and Lily never got caught and they had gone to the frat party with Brooke and Carmen?
*Note* The gang's past is changed in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Popular, the characters and the episode "It's Greek To Me" belong to the WB but the dialogue belongs to me.
Send comments, suggestions or criticism
to Soulfire Stories@aol.com
[McQueen/McPherson household]
"Sam..."
Brooke finally managed to get Sam's
name out of her name; They had been home for a few hours now and Harrison
had just left. Brooke had watched in silence as Harrison comforted Sam,
she saw the angry/saddened/confused look on his face and she fought back
the urge to comfort Sam too but Sam had made it clear that the only person
she wanted to be touched by was Harrison.
*start of flashback*
Don't let me go"
Harrison looked down at Sam.
"Okay I won't"
Sam buried her face into Harrison's
chest and started to cry again.
*end of flashback*
They all had stood there for a while in the middle of the room and watched as Harrison held a crying Sam in his arms, they didn't say a word... not even George, they just watched in silence. Maybe they were afraid that if someone said something that things would get even worse, so they just kept their mouths shut and watched, not knowing what else to do. Brooke had been through a lot of things in her life: popularity, unpopularity, eating disorder but seeing her best friend and sister to be crying after almost being raped by some college creep was all new to her and it was the most terrifying thing she could have seen and all she knew was that the horrified look Sam had on her face would be branded into her memory forever. After a few minutes Harrison suggested that they take Sam home; Harrison held Sam in his arms on what seemed to Brooke McQueen the longest car ride home. Sam's cries were heard throughout the whole car even though they weren't loud, the cries echoed in everybody's ears and all they could do was try to remember that time would heal this experiment gone terribly wrong. George had let Harrison hold Sam, it was what she wanted and if Harrison was the key to make Sam to be able to smile again then George would back away until she called for him to come back... she would call him back, at least he hoped she would. Lily and Carmen had insisted on coming with Harrison and Brooke to be with Sam too but Harrison told them to go home and get some rest, that all Sam needed right now was some sleep and that they could see her in the morning. Harrison had stayed with Sam for a few hours and then Sam insisted he go home so his mother wouldn't worry, Harrison had tried to protest but Sam told him she still had Brooke and she was okay and then he had left too. Now it was just Brooke and Sam in their room and neither one had said a word since Harrison left... until Brooke managed to force out Sam's name; The silence was killing Brooke, the awful silence in the room was deafening and Brooke needed something to break the ice, she needed conversation even if it was Sam screaming at her and hitting... anything was good.
"Huh?"
Sam tore her dazed stare away from
the ceiling and turned on her stomach facing Brooke; she saw the saddened
look on Brooke's face and she felt like telling Brooke everything was going
to be alright but she couldn't since she didn't know if that was the truth.
She had almost been raped tonight... if it wasn't for Harrison, she would
have been raped and Sam couldn't just dismiss that to make Brooke or anyone
else feel better. She knew that what happened tonight was nobody's fault
but it still hurt and she didn't know if it was ever going to stop
hurting, she couldn't even look George in the eyes without tearing up but
it was just different with Harrison. She had felt some of the pain go away
as she laid in Harrison's arms, his tight arms around her gave her some
comfort and just the way his breath felt on her face made all the pain
she was feeling not so painful--- it felt like old times, Harrison comforting
her and her pain disappearing slowly... it felt like his whole declaration
of love and his vow never to speak to her again never happened, that they
were still best friends and nothing had changed.
"It's all my fault you know that
Sam? I wanted so badly for you to get your mind off of Harrison, George
and all your problems and in the end I just caused you more pain... geez
I suck at this comforting thing"
Sam let a shy smile crawl itself
across her face.
"Like Harrison said tonight was
nobody's fault... especially yours"
"But..."
"Nobody's fault"
Brooke and Sam looked at each other
in silence for the longest time.
"Sam?"
"Hmm?"
Brooke sat up in her bed and faced
Sam.
"Then why do I feel so bad?"
Sam opened her mouth to respond
to Brooke's question but she couldn't come up with anything to say so they
just sat there on their beds in silence, until they eventually both fell
asleep.
*Beep Beep Beep*
Sam let out a tired moan as the shrilling sound of her digital alarm clock went off; Sam grabbed her pillow and put it over her face trying to block out the beeping of the alarm clock, she didn't want to get up, she just wanted to stay in bed all day.... hey it sounded like the reasonable thing to do to Sam.
*Rise and Shine residents of----*
Sam pushed herself out of bed groggily and turned off the alarm clock cutting off Janet Louis, the news broadcaster over the radio's voice. Sam rubbed her eyes sleepily, she blinked a few times and then finally she walked over to her closet, she opened the closet door slowly and let her brown eyes scan over all the clothes in the medium sized closet. Sam grabbed a blue short sleeved shirt and also grabbed a long-sleeved white shirt and then last but not least to complete her wardrobe she grabbed her favorite long black skirt and on her way to the bathroom she grabbed her black combat boots; she held on to the contents of her wardrobe and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Sam set her 2 shirts, black skirt and shoes down on the toilet seat and walked over to the large mirror in the bathroom and stared back at her reflection in it; her hair was a little messy--- usual Sam bed hair--- she had pillow creases on the left side of her face and her lip was now partially cut, the cut on her lip was a reminder of the night before. Sam sighed; why did this have to happen to her and now of all times? She was already having a hard time with the fact that she had to choose between her boyfriend, whom she loved very much--- wait... Sam stopped in the middle of the her thoughts--- *did I just say--- think I loved George very much? What is it with the past tense?* Sam shook her head--- where was she? Oh yeah, she had to choose between her boyfriend, whom she LOVES very much and her best friend since she was a little girl who has suddenly grown romantic feelings towards her.... who said the life of a teenager was an easy one? And now she had to deal with the outcome of going to a stupid lame fraternity party which was supposed to get her mind off of her problems but which in the end caused her more problems; Sam had thought she could had trusted Alex... after all he was an adult, but that just shows and proves the point that just because you are given the title of 'adult' doesn't mean that you are actually one... they're just labels... like popular, unpopular, pretty, ugly, fat, skinny and so on--- they were just labels, they didn't mean a thing, because in the end-- after all is said and done labels don't mean shit, it's what you got inside, it's the personality that counts. Sam shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair, she winced as she touched a bump on her head that had transformed over night from when she had hit her head on the wall; Sam shook her head once more and grabbed for her clothes.
[Downstairs-Kitchen]
Sam hopped down the last step and
walked into the kitchen where Brooke, Jane and Mike were sitting at the
table talking busily about something that obviously was funny, Sam only
guessed that they were talking about something funny by the way they were
all laughing.
"Hi guys"
Brooke stopped laughing and looked
up and smiled at Sam; she certainly looked better then she did last night,
Sam looked beautiful. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a
blue short-sleeved shirt on top of the white one, she wore a long black
skirt that reached all the way down to her black combat boots, she had
a black choker on and her hair was down.
"Hi honey"
"Morning Sammy"
Sam waved to Jane and Mike and walked
to the kitchen table and grabbed a bagel and reached for the cream cheese
and spread the cream cheese on the bagel with a butter knife with such
care, once she finished the task Sam hefted her backpack up and slung it
over her left shoulder and held the bagel in her hand.
"Ready to go Brooke?"
Brooke nodded and kissed Mike on
the cheek and hugged Jane and walked out the door right behind Sam who
had taken a bite of the bagel.
"Josh said he would pick us up,
he said he would pick up Harrison first"
Sam nodded and leaned against an
old oak tree and turned to Brooke.
"It's funny how things change---"
Brooke instantly lowered her eyes
thinking Sam was talking about the events of last night.
"I mean a year ago me, you, Josh,
Sugar Daddy, Harrison, Lily, Carmen, Nicole and Mary Cherry were in such
a different place. We were all so worried about popularity, we all wanted
so badly to be unique and we were all fighting so hard against the one
thing we wanted---"
Brooke finally looked up.
"Which was?"
"Fitting in. Real friendship. Trust.
Once we all stopped fighting against the labels we were given we realized---"
Sam stopped. Brooke continued to
look at Sam, the words she was saying were so meaningful, she didn't want
her to stop.
"Realized what?"
"That we're not that different,
we're more alike then we think"
*Honk! Honk! Honk!*
Sam and Brooke looked away from each
other when they heard the beeping of a car horn; Josh leaned his body out
of his car and waved his arms to Brooke and Sam motioning for them to come
over; Sam and Brooke looked at each other.
"To think you actually went out
with him"
Brooke shook her head.
"Don't remind me"
Brooke and Sam shared a laugh and
walked towards the car; *Was I just laughing?* Sam smirked to herself---
she had been laughing and it was a real laugh, not a laugh to make Brooke
think that she was better, it wasn't a sad laugh, she had been actually
happy when she had laughed... the pain wasn't totally going away but at
least it was getting better with each passing moment.
Harrison looked away from Josh who was tapping his fingers across the side of the car impatiently waiting for Sam and Brooke to get into the car; Harrison felt his throat go dry once his eyes came in contact with the girl who had him always feeling clammy and nervous, who always had him in this dazed state--- the same girl who he had once confided his obsession for Brooke McQueen to, the same girl he had fought and made up with a million times, the same girl he had grown accustomed to seeing everyday, the same girl that was such a part of his life that one day she ventured across the line of just being the friend into the girl he had fallen uncontrollably with--- Sam McPherson. *She looks beautiful* Which she did, but of course she always looked beautiful to Harrison John, she was the apple of his eye, the object of his affection, at times he had expected to see this shining halo to appear above her head because everything about Sam, at least to him, seemed angelic. If someone would go up to Harrison John at this exact moment in time and say:
"Excuse me Harrison, can you tell us when you exactly fell in love with Sam?"
Harrison would be a loss for words,
he didn't know when he had actually fallen for her, maybe he had always
loved her but was too oblivious, blind, stupid, etc. to see the love he
had for her. He was always so busy chasing after Brooke that he hadn't
realized that the girl of his dreams was right under his nose the whole
time and she had been Sam McPherson and when he finally did, she had found
someone else. George Austin, *god what does she see in him?* George was
everything Sam despised, she hated jocks, she liked the original type of
guys, you know the type that came up with creative ideas... guys like him---
but yet he wasn't what she wanted, he was and that was killing him inside
slowly.
"Hey Harrison"
Harrison pulled himself away from
his thoughts when he heard Sam's voice enter his ears, Harrison turned
around to see that Brooke and Sam were already in the backseat of the car
and Josh was re-starting the car, getting ready to take off.
"Hey Sammy, do you feel better?"
Sam opened her mouth to respond
to Harrison's thoughtful question but shut her mouth suddenly when she
heard the melody of the song that had just started playing on the radio.
Sam turned to Brooke and smiled.
"Oh my god, I love this song turn
it up"
Josh looked at Sam oddly but then
turned it up and then smirked as he recogonized the song, Harrison leaned
back in the car seat as he also recogonized the song.
"Journey down memory lane..."
Brooke and Sam nodded at Harrison's
comment.
*start of flashback*
"Okay so me and Brooke are the lead
singers and you two---"
An 8 yr. old Sam who had her brown
hair in braided pig-tails pointed to Harrison and Josh.
"Are our back-up singers, and don't
even ask why"
Harrison nodded and held on tight
to the the hairbrush as Josh held on to the stick; Brooke and Sam held
on to their big wooden spoons, they whipped their heads back as the song
began, they listened to the rythm for a second and then began singing to
it.
"Oh
Why you look so sad
tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me, now
Don't
Be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
Cause I've seen the dark side,
too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
So
If you're mad, get mad
don't hold it all inside
come on and talk to me now
Hey
what you got to hide
I get angry too,
Well, I'm allowed, like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to
choose
Let me come along
Cause even if you're wrong
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you.
And when
When the night falls on you baby
You're feelin' all alone
You won't be on your own
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour
and I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour
and I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you"
The voice of 'The Pretenders' echoed through Josh Ford's house but the laughter of the four children was louder then the music.
*end of flashback*
Josh smirked at the memory, that
was one of the last times they had all hung out together, a few years later
Josh and Brooke had become popular and that meant they couldn't hang out
with Sam and Harrison who weren't exactly on the popular list.
"God we made so many mistakes during
that song, we just gave up"
Sam giggled and remembered how much
fun that day was and then her face became serious.
"I wish things were like how they
were back then"
Harrison and Brooke faced Sam and
Josh listened to her voice as he drove up to their school.
"Everything was so simple back then,
we were just little kids having fun, without any worries or problems with
the world, we didn't understand what pain was because we were sheltered
from that part of the world. In a way we were like in this plastic bubble
and then the minute we entered junior high that bubble was bursted---"
Harrison let a frown come across
his face and finished speaking for Sam.
"And then we learned once you get
out of that bubble, you can never go back. It's the end of everything simple
and the beginning of everything else"
Josh nodded silently and stopped
the car and pulled the keys out; he stared at the entrance of their high
school as if it was the first time he had even been there. Josh heaved
a big sigh and jumped out of the car and waited for his three companions.
Josh looked over at Sam and pondered for a minute if she was dying inside,
she looked alright but he knew there had to be pain left over from what
happened, that their had to be some residual heartache, something that
still wasn't right. Brooke, Harrison and Sam spilled out of the car; Sam
looked over at Harrison and leaned her head on his shoulder; Harrison was
taken by surprise at first but then he let his body relax underneath Sam,
he knew she was hurting inside, he could see it in her eyes and whatever
he had to do to make her feel better, he would do it.
"Come on guys"
Brooke's voice brought Harrison
back to reality; Harrison took Sam by the hand as they walked into their
high school.
[Science Class]
Sam, Harrison, Josh and Brooke ran past the left over crowd of students that were just hanging out in the halls becuse they couldn't find anything more interesting to do, and thinking of actually going to class would just be obsurd to them; Josh looked down at his watch and let out another annoyed sigh. They were late and for the worst class to be late for--- Science Class. Which was taught by Bobbi Glass who at times seemed to be one of the most unique teachers could also be the most evil teachers. Josh, Sam, Harrison and Brooke stopped at the entrance of Science Class and stared at the door for a second before pushing the door open and walking in slowy, they noticed that Ms. Glass had her back turned to the class and they were only a few minutes late so they tip-toed past her and walked over to their desks and sat down without making a sound, hoping that Ms. Glass wouldn't notice their tardiness.
"Nice of you to join us Miss McQueen,
Miss McPherson, Mister Ford and Mister John. I hope we didn't upset your
very busy social schedule by starting my science class on time, if you
decide on the time you four would like the class to start please come up
and tell me---"
Sam lowered her head as some of
the students started to snicker and giggle at Ms. Glass's sarcasm, Sam
looked up when she felt someone touch her on the back--- it was Lily.
"Hey Sam---"
Lily lowered her voice as Ms. Glass
continued to lecture them for being late.
"Are you okay?"
Sam nodded.
"Getting there, you know---"
Ms. Glass walked over to Sam and
slammed her hand on the table.
"Can you two chatterboxes give me
about 15 minutes of your time so I can teach you something that will actually
won't help you in life because you're probably just going to end up lying
in front of the coach watching Jerry Springer and then you will drift away
imagining when your big day to go on Jerry Springer will be, and you picture
the beautiful outfit you will wear---- where was I? Oh yeah shut up!"
Lily and Sam gave each other looks
and turned their attention to Ms. Glass.
"This day has to get better, it
can't possibly be worst"
Sam muttered to herself, she turned
her head and saw George.
"I could be mistaken"
[end of chapter 2]