Author's Note: HOLY SHNIKIES THIS CHAPTER IS LONG! I didn't even realize it until I made the separate chapter file and saw it was more than four pages long. Most of my chapters are 2-3 pages, so if that tells you how long this one is… Anyway, THIS is the Sam-kicks-butt chapter. Last one was just… bitter and anger and Paulina-must-die. This one is, I hope, a little funnier and light, especially toward the end. All you Tuckers out there, enjoy the details.
Chapter 6- Payback
Some people read to calm down. Some punch pillows. Some even burn things.
Sam took showers.
She took a deep, gasping breath, letting the steamy air fill her lungs. She let it out slowly, tilting her face so the water pulsed across her forehead and closed eyelids. She turned in a full circle, smoothing her hair into a slick sheet, and then stood. She stood completely still, leaning against the side of the shower, and felt each drop of water hit her skin, mixing with and washing away her tears.
Back at school, Danny and Tucker would be sitting through English class. Lunch had passed. They didn't know that since she got home, Sam had already taken four showers.
Sam slid down the wall, curling into herself at the bottom of the tub.
Never in her life had she thought this would happen to her. She was the girl who got left in the dark while everyone went to parties, dealt with high school drama, and freaked out over zits. She had always had her two best friends, and that was all that mattered, besides her individuality. When did all that change?
A week and a half ago, posters like that wouldn't have made her act like this. She would have been angry, yes, but not broken. This was her senior year! It was supposed to be the most exciting, not the most traumatizing.
The water ran cold, but she didn't care.
She ran out of tears, and that was the end of that.
It was time to start thinking. Would she be herself if she didn't get Paulina back? But she'd do it in her own way. The Goth way. The rebel way. No posters, no mass humiliation. This had to be both personal and public. Harsh, but with finesse.
This is war.
Sam agreed.
She stood up solidly and turned off the water. Stepping out into the bathroom connected to her bedroom, she toweled dry and slipped on silk pajamas, shorts and a tank. Black, of course. She walked out to her bedroom, finger-combing her hair, and dropped onto the bed. A breeze from the open window kept the room at a nice temperature, occasionally surprising her with a blow across her legs. She turned on the CD player by remote and settled down.
Every once in a while, it's good to just take a day off. Sam slipped into a light sleep, lulled by the music and wind.
The phone woke her up.
Sam reached over and slammed the speakerphone button, too lazy to do more. The bedside clock said 4:00 in the afternoon.
"This is Sam," she said automatically.
"Sam?" asked a strange, unfamiliar voice. "This is… ah… Dash." Dash? A burst of wind brushed across her arm and she shivered.
"Dash? Dash Baxter?"
"Yeah. Listen, I'm calling to say that… to say that I don't agree with what Paulina did. It was really low, and you didn't deserve it."
For a moment, Sam was too stunned to speak. She came back to herself quickly, though.
"Um, thanks! But aren't you Paulina's boyfriend?"
"Yes, but lately things have been… not so great. To be honest, I've been rooting for you this whole time." He sounded really nervous. "If Paulina and I hadn't been friends so long, well—you know."
"Yeah," she responded.
He coughed. "So, er, I was wondering… Did you maybe want to go out some time?"
Sam almost laughed. This was Dash, Danny's tormentor, asking her on a date. Irony didn't even cover it. "Actually, I'm not really feeling so great. I don't think it would be the best idea."
"Oh. I see. Well, it was worth a shot…" He fell silent.
"I have a question."
"What is it?" he asked instantly.
"Why are you being so nice? You always beat up on Danny."
This time, Dash chuckled. "Danny's a guy! When I push him, he just gets angry and wants to push back. What Paulina did to you was just cruel."
"Thanks, again."
"No problem. If you ever need anything, just let me know, okay? I'll talk to you later."
"Dash, wait! I need to know something."
"Anything."
"What's Paulina's worst fear?"
"Creepy-crawlies," he said without hesitation. "She hates them."
"Thanks a lot. See you around."
Sam hung up and lay back, biting her lip. Dash Baxter actually had some chivalry in him? Wonders never cease.
Within moments, she was completely relaxed again. Sam stretched, enjoying the brush of the breeze.
It flitted over her legs and curled around her toes before playing across her arms and neck. Tiny flicks found their way under her top and across her stomach, and Sam smiled. It tickled. Another gust came, fluttering her hair and caressing along her jaw. She felt like she had when Danny kissed her, and she imagined the wind was actually him, come to tell her of his undying love. She turned to her side and felt the breeze slip up her back, twirling the hairs on her nape. Sam shivered and sighed, reveling in the bliss of the moment. She fell onto her back once more and grinned as the breeze pressed on and shifted above her.
"Oh, Danny…" she whispered. "I wish you were here."
The breeze lifted for a split-second and she frowned, confused. And then it was back, pushing down on her thin form, holding her where she was. For what seemed an everlasting second, Sam felt real hips against hers, real hands crushing her to the invisible wind, real lips ravishing hers with real breath mingling with hers. And then it was gone.
Sam sat straight up, two quivering fingers touching her lower lip gently. Then she smiled.
He was here. I told you, you two are made for each other!
She knew. There was no denying it any more. But just for fun…
The next day, Sam's dress was midnight blue and slinky, but covered her sufficiently. No breasts hanging out, no legs as long as Texas, just a simple dress that showed off Sam's figure like an athlete shows a gold medal from the Olympics. The posters were gone, and Paulina was mysteriously missing from the hallways. Sam had thought her fan-base would have dribbled to nothing, but instead there was a mass of people crowding around her locker. She stopped short.
"What's going on?" she asked apprehensively.
The supposed spokesperson of the group stepped forward, a junior with messy red hair. He grinned. "We wanted you to know that just because Paulina plays dirty, we're not abandoning you. We know better than what those posters said. You've never been less than kind to even the smallest freshman, and that tells us way more than some stupid signs ever could. You're a good person, Sam, and for that we're sticking with you."
Sam smiled slowly. "Thank you, thank you all. You're all so great… I really don't deserve this. You don't have to."
"We know we don't. We are anyway."
The boy turned around and the mass of people dissipated. Sam shook her head, still smiling, and walked to her locker. She was stopped short again, as Danny leaned against it.
"Hey, Queen-bee," he teased, pulling out a single white lily and handing it to her. Sam's eyes widened.
"Danny! This is… unexpected. And you know I don't want to be queen."
"But the public seems to want you. I'm glad you're in school today," he commented, changing the subject. "I missed you yesterday."
"Well, you can understand why I left. Anyway, I'm much better today."
"Why's that?" Tucker asked as he came up behind her.
"You'll see," Sam intoned mysteriously, nudging Danny aside to get to her locker.
The morning passed quickly. Tucker was making jokes again, Dash was sending Sam funny looks, and Danny was glaring at him. Paulina made almost silent appearances throughout the day, hurrying into class just in time and leaving right away. Sam grinned. This was going to be fun.
At lunch, Sam proposed they sit at a different table, slightly closer to Paulina and Dash's. Danny wasn't too happy about having Sam in Dash's clear line of vision, but he agreed, only submitting to Sam's pouty look. They sat down and began eating.
"So, what did you kill today, Tuck?"
"Deer. It's veal parmigiana."
"Deer? Tucker! You're eating Bambi!"
"Well, actually, it's probably his mom. She's the one that got killed."
"That's awful… How can you eat that?"
"Like this!" he replied enthusiastically, shoving a large piece of meat in his mouth. Sam cringed but said no more, instead catching Dash's eye. She winked, and Danny caught it.
"Sam, what are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing."
"No, I just saw you wink at Dash."
Sam smiled at her best friend. "Yes, I did, but not for the reason you think. No need to get jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" Danny replied a little too quickly. And he sent an extra menacing glare at the bully. But just as Dash was returning it, a blood-curdling scream erupted from not too far away. Danny snapped to attention, looking for a ghost, but Sam grabbed his shoulder and guided his gaze back to the popular table. Paulina had stood up and was jumping up and down, waving her hands frantically.
"Get them off! Get them off! Mi Dio, get me out of here!" She screamed again and ran from the cafeteria, leaving the shocked students to look for what disturbed her. They didn't have to look far, because large, inch-long cockroaches were pouring out of Nasty-P's lunch bag. Almost everyone in the surrounding area scooted away, girls crying out in disgust. The guys were laughing until Dash shouted.
"Hey, there's a note!" he yelled and reached forward over bugs to grab it. Sam noticed he was smiling. "It says, 'Paulina, did you know that cockroaches can live for days even with their heads chopped off? In fact, the only reason they die is because they starve!' There's no name!" Dash announced, though he shot a look at Sam. Danny did as well, followed quickly by Tucker.
Sam was sitting quietly, still eating her lunch. Her two best friends plopped down beside her, each laughing his head off.
"That was amazing!" said Tucker, who could barely breathe as it was. "How did you do that?"
"I snuck into her bag before homeroom while she was in the bathroom. Some of them actually have their heads cut off."
"That is disgusting, but so cool," Danny exclaimed. "Some of your best work, if I do say so myself."
"Thanks," Sam replied, barely hiding her grin.
On Wednesday, Nasty-P opened her desk to find spiders had infested it.
By Thursday, almost the entire school—even the teachers—were waiting to see what would happen to Paulina. No one had punished Sam because, miraculously, no one had seen her do those things. There was no proof, so there was no case.
Danny was surprised when Sam asked him to tell Paulina to meet him under the tree in the school courtyard during lunch. When he asked what for, Sam simply said, "Just make small-talk, okay?"
He had agreed, wanting to see what Sam was up to. So, at lunch that day, Danny went and waited by the tree, not surprised when Paulina sauntered up to him seductively.
"Hi, Danny," she cooed. "I just knew you'd come to see reason. So, do you want to go out tonight?"
"Well, maybe, but actually I was wondering if you could help me. I'm doing an article for the school paper, and…"
He didn't get any farther, for a slim piece of paper had fluttered to the ground between them. Paulina bent and picked it up, here eyes scanning quickly over it. She looked nervous, her eyes darting from side to side when she had finished reading. It was then that Danny noticed something black descending from the depths of the tree, hanging by a string. It swung precariously, and as it drew nearer he saw that something was actually dripping from it. By the time it reached a foot above him, he could see tiny black eyes and silver spots running down its back. By the time it landed on Paulina's head, he was trying not to laugh.
The once immensely popular girl froze, not quite believe what she was feeling. The string dropped and landed across her face, splattering her with something that looked shiny and sticky. It was then that she screamed, running away once more. People stared as she went by, their eyebrows lifted. Moments later, Sam dropped out of the tree. Danny knelt to pick up the paper Paulina had dropped and read it quickly.
"Plethodon glutinosis is a kind of lizard, commonly known as the Slimy Salamander. This eight-inch bugger gets his name from a sticky secretion it emits when scared or handled roughly. Oh, and it's very hard to get off your skin. During courtship rituals, the Slimy Salamander lifts its hind legs and tail, showing off for the female. They can be found widely along the east coast of North America, all the way from Florida to New York and out to Texas."
Danny lifted his eyes. "How long did it take you to come up with this?" he asked.
"A while, actually. Getting the idea wasn't hard, but I had to have the salamander delivered."
He laughed and swung his arm over Sam's shoulder. "Come on," he said. "We need to tell Tuck about this one."
SetsuntaMew: Yes, Paulina is a bitch. I think I've clarified that pretty clearly. FLUFF HEALS THE SOUL! You yelled it? Good for you! Did it make you feel better? Because when I giggle and say it, it does. Anyway, rock on, Pittsburg! Read fan-fictions!
Squirt-Anne: You deadly can't wait for it? If anyone dies, please let me know. I'd like to pay my respects.
Hina: Woot! Keep reading!
SilverSummerMoon: THIS is the Sam-kicks-butt chapter. Thought I mentioned that… Anyway, piranhas and a hired male? Did you use the hired male to lure Paulina to a swimming pool full of piranhas? Or maybe the hired male distracted her with his male-ness and then shoved a piranha down her throat, and it ate her from the inside out? Gruesome, yes, but it's what I thought of.
Mike Jones frum da dirty south: Yeah, and here's Chapter 6. It's you reviewers, you keep me motivated.
NoLemonade: I'm glad you like the story! And yes, the D/S fluff is great. Do you know why? Because fluff heals the soul.
SamFentonPhantom: I know. I thought of killing her, but then whoever did it would go to jail, (cough, Sam, cough) and that would cause a host of problems. Actually, that might be a good idea…
Chris: Aw sweetie thanks so much for coming on here. I love you!
FLUFF HEALS THE SOUL!
--GS