Fate Can't Deny: The Aftermath

Sam's eyes fluttered open as the early morning sun filtered in through the open window. Her face was slowly becoming heated by its rays. She squinted, not being able to open her eyes all the way. Sam could tell by the dimness across the room where the sun didn't hit, that it was fairly early. Groaning she tried to go back to sleep but knew it was a hopeless battle. Sam had just resigned herself to get up and close the blinds on her window when she felt something tighten around her waist. Sam's eyes popped open, the glare from the sun completely forgotten as she recognized the room she was waking up in. It only confused her because she didn't recognize it as her own but as…

Sam's eyes widened, disbelief clouding her face. She slowly lowered her head, peaking through one eye. All she saw was her own bare shoulders disappearing under the blue fabric of a blanket. Closing her eyes again Sam let her hand grasp the cottony fabric and pulled it away from her. Quickly she looked down, opening her eyes and then just as quick letting go of the blanket.

"Huh," she said, laying her head back down. "Why am I naked on Tristin's couch?" Sam pondered.

Sam furrowed her brows and turned her head to the side, coming face to face with Tristin…literally.

"Oh…" Sam paused. "Well then," she said before the reality of what had happened the night before came back to her. "OH!" she said her voice raising and her hands going up to press the blankets tighter against her.

Sam quickly pushed herself up, pausing to remove Tristin's arm that was draped over her waist. She stepped onto the floor, taking the blanket with her as she stood. Sam glanced back over at Tristin, glad that he had another blanket covering him up from the waist down. Sam raised her hand to her hair, dishevelling it even more as she started to pace in front of the couch.

"Okay…" she breathed out trying to find a way to deal with the situation. Sam turned around spotting her shirt lying on the floor. "Gotta get dressed…" she trailed off, "Gotta get dressed."

Sam quickly searched the room for the rest of her clothes before she disappeared into his bathroom. After getting dressed and combing through her hair with her fingers, Sam made her way out of the bathroom, and let the importance of what had happened the night before hit her with a force.

"Oh my God," she whispered her hand going up to her mouth. "Uh…oh…okay…" she kept mumbling looking around the room and let her eyes rest on the door. Sam started walking to it but froze with her hand on the knob. She turned back and walked over to Tristin. She nervously bent down and leaned in, brushing a butterfly kiss on his forehead, careful not to wake him. Sam knew she couldn't just leave and have Tristin wake up alone, not knowing where she was. And so she searched the room for a pen and paper, trying to think of a reason why she would have to leave. Her brown eyes wondered around the room and found a newspaper lying on the counter. Sam quickly wrote a note to Tristin and then disappeared out the door.

Hey Tristin,

Sorry about leaving but I had to be at the paper. I'll call you.

Love,

Sam.

---

Sam had stopped back at her dorm, grabbed her book bag and some money before she set out again. Since she still hadn't gotten her new car, she'd have to walk across the campus to the bus stop. She didn't want this time by herself, where only her thoughts were keep her company. She only had one thing on her mind right now.

Get a load of me; get a load of you
Walking down the street,

And I hardly know you
It's just like we were meant to be

She still didn't know how she felt about last night, but she did know that that was definitely something she should have had figured out before Tristin and her… But last night had been an odd night, emotions had been running high and with the look in Tristin's eyes Sam could honestly say that her practical side had flown out the window. She didn't regret it, she knew that also, but she just didn't know if it would affect their relationship. Will it bring them closer? Will it ruin everything?

Is, this is just the beginning
We're already wet,

And we're gonna go swimming

But Sam couldn't help but let a smile grace her features when she thought about Tristin. She knew he was the guy; there was no doubt about that. When she was around him she couldn't breathe, and when she wasn't around him she wanted to be. She was completely in love with him.

Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you
Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you
It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it
So tell me,
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you

Her thoughts kept colliding as she crossed the campus on her way to the bus stop. She wasn't sure about the act itself and how the aftermath of it would play out, but at the same time her body yearned to be back on that couch with Tristin. Sam had never thought about being…physical…like that with a guy before, which was reasonable because she didn't know enough about that sort of thing, and Tristin was her first boyfriend. But he made her feel things she'd never thought she would feel. He had made her give herself to him mind, body, heart and soul. She was drowning in him, all wrapped up, and she loved it.

I'd love for you to make me wonder
Where it's going.
I'd love for you to pull me under
Something's growing
For this that we can control
Baby I am dying

Sam was lost in thought as she walked through the courtyard. She wrapped her arms around her waist, passing by a figure huddled on a bench. Sam continued walking for a yard or two when she came to an abrupt stop and turned around. She walked back over to the bench and kneeled down in front of it so she was face to face with Rory Gilmore, half asleep on the Princeton bench.

Rory had been mostly awake for a while now, what with the sun pouring down on her. She knew it was early morning, because of the lack of people outside. There was one group of freshman guy's that were up and about. She felt the person kneel down in front of her and answered the question that the guys had been repeatedly asking her.

"No I don't believe in love at first sight," she muttered, bringing her arm up to cover her eyes.

"Should I walk by again then?" Sam asked, amused with the situation, forgetting for a while about Rory's history with Tristin.

Rory's eyes popped open under her arm as she recognized that voice. She lifted her arm and turned to face the highly amused, smiling face, of Sam Montgomery. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of plum as she realized that Sam had found her asleep on a bench.

"Comfy?" Sam asked, trying to hold in her laughter and failing.

Rory had to laugh at that. "Not at all," she replied as she took Sam's offered hand and sat up on the bench, rubbing the side of her face where she was sure there was an odd pattern imprinted on her skin.

Sam sat down next to Rory for a minute, she watched the brunette rub at her skin, and let her eyes trail over her entire form. "Do you maybe want to come back to my dorm?" she asked, reaching over and picking out a stray leaf from Rory's messy hair. "Wash up?"

Rory laughed a little, smoothing down her hair and then meeting Sam's eyes. "Thanks," she said, pushing her pride down because she knew she must look like a homeless.

The two girls walked back to Sam's dorm in silence. Both were caught in thoughts about the night before, a big night for each girl. Rory didn't know how she should deal with what had happened. Did she confront Logan about it right away? Or did she just go on with her day, put the ball in his court and hope he keeps it moving? Sam on the other end had been instantly reminded of the story Tristin had told her about 'Mary'. She knew who Mary was, but she also now knew that Tristin didn't love her anymore. But how was she supposed to deal with it?

"Its right here," Sam told her, stopping in front of her door and quickly opened it, letting Rory walk in and then herself. Sam put down her bag and turned to look at Rory. "You can go in the bathroom to wash up," Sam told her, walking over to the bathroom door and opening it. "I don't know if you want to, but you can take a shower."

Rory smiled gratefully at the blonde and walked over to the door. "Thanks Sam, this is really nice," she said.

"You're welcome," Sam replied, watching as Rory went into the bathroom and closed the door after her. Sam looked around her room, trying to find something to occupy her time. She quickly situated herself in her favourite cushiony chair and started working on a paper she had for a class.

It was about a half an hour later when Rory came out of the bathroom, showered and at last presentable. She stood a little awkwardly by the bathroom door, not sure if Sam wanted her to stay or something. "Thanks again, Sam," she said.

Sam nodded and smiled simply, before she realized what Rory was waiting for. She motioned at the chair next to her. "Here sit," she said and then got up. "I have coffee if you want some?" she asked.

"I would love some," Rory answered sitting down in the chair and looking around Sam's single dorm. That was something Rory sometimes wanted, the peace and quiet of a single dorm room, without Paris around every day. But she decided she would actually miss the intense blonde.

Sam leaned back against the counter, waiting for the coffee to be done. She wasn't stupid; she could feel the tension in the room. Sam never really had been one for confrontation, even with her past telling her otherwise. Her first instinct was always to wait and see if things could solve themselves. She had done that, and things with her and Tristin had gotten better…much better. But now she knew that she would have to take the first step in working things out with Rory. "So how was the party?" Sam asked, her voice sounding somewhat curious.

Rory looked up at her, knowing that this was it. She wasn't sure how she felt, talking about Tristin, especially with his girlfriend, but she did owe it to Sam and so she drew in a deep breath to prepare herself. "Not so great. I ended up watching my boyfriend play poker," she told her, stressing the word boyfriend, hoping it might help.

"Sounds like fun," Sam said sarcastically, inwardly rejoicing at hearing that Rory had a boyfriend.

"Tons," Rory answered in the same tone, a smile spreading across her face. She couldn't help but think about it in a different way now. The party hadn't been that bad, because she'd gotten this chance to talk to Sam again. She knew that they didn't really know each other or anything but she felt a strange connection to the blonde and she hoped they were on their way to friendship. "So what'd you do last night?"

At that moment the coffee maker decided to signal that it was done making the coffee and Sam didn't have to answer Rory. She thanked whoever was up there that liked her so much. Still she couldn't fight off the blush that crept up her neck and fanned out across her cheeks. Sam busied herself with the coffees and then took one over to Rory and sat down opposite her. They both sat quietly, sipping leisurely at their cups, some of the tension leaving the room and making the hush not as awkward.

"Listen Sam, I know you probably have a lot of questions," Rory started, knowing the faster she brought the subject up the faster the end of it would come. "About me and Tristin."

Sam looked into her blue eyes, seeing many different emotions there. She couldn't quite decide how Rory felt talking about this. Was she confident? Weary? Did she regret her past with Tristin? Did she wish for a future? Or was she simply happy with her life now and wanted to reassure Sam? She hoped it was the latter. "Tristin told me about you…" Sam began, "well actually about 'Mary' but I guess…that's you," she trailed off again.

"It's what he called me in high school," Rory told her. "He never actually learned my name," she tried a comedy approach, and was rewarded with a small smile.

"He told me you two never…"

"We didn't," Rory said confidently. Her mind was suddenly assaulted her with memories of her past with Tristin. She focused on the night on the piano bench, at Madelyn's party. She looked up at Sam; not knowing if she should tell her about that but decided in the end that it would be better if she was totally honest about it…just in case Tristin told her about it later. "We did kiss, once."

Sam's head snapped up at that. She wasn't sure how to feel. She wanted to be able to tell herself that it was the past and she wanted to be able to accept it but she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of hurt. She knew it wasn't fair to Tristin or Rory, or even to her but that was the way she felt. She met Rory's blue eyes and suddenly wanted to know more, even if it might hurt. "When?"

Rory was surprised at her question but managed to answer it. "At a party." Rory crossed her right leg over her left and rested her mug on her knee. "I had just broken up with my boyfriend the night before, and he had just been dumped." Rory didn't know why she'd told her that. Was she trying to justify it?

Sam nodded along, working double-time trying to convince herself that it was more of a rebound kiss then anything else. She looked at Rory; it made it easier to win over her heart. She understood that with Rory it was something like that. Maybe not rebound exactly but she'd been hurting from the breakup. Tristin on the other…she didn't know if she could give him the benefit of the doubt. He'd told her what kind of guy he was in high school and she just didn't know if she could make herself believe that he'd kissed Rory because he was hurt and vulnerable. "You guys didn't try to make anything of it?"

Rory shook her head vehemently. "I wasn't sure how he felt about the kiss, I guess I'm still not quite to sure," Rory said briefly meeting Sam's eye before refocusing her attention at the coffee mug. "All I could think about was my boyfriend…we got back together after that, and I just kind of pushed the kiss out of my mind. I told Tristin that I didn't want him to say anything and just forget it. I told him it didn't mean anything and that I wished it never happened in the first place. I don't even know if I meant that. It was confusing you know?" Rory asked, suddenly feeling a lot more at ease talking about this.

Sam understood what she meant. She'd spent a lot of time confused when she was in high school, especially after the stunt Shelby pulled at the pep rally. She'd wanted answers and a solution but more then anything she'd really just wanted things to back to normal. She wanted to let them have their world…even if meant giving up on Tristin. It was then that Sam felt that small pang of hurt heal through. She'd given up on Tristin; she'd confronted him in the locker room. She'd done the same thing that Rory had but Tristin had come after her. He'd run out of the game, run out on his dad, and he'd gone straight to her.

"Sam?" Rory asked, the other girl had been quiet for some time now and she wasn't sure if it was something she'd said.

Sam broke out of her memories and let a real, full sized smile grace her face. She looked at Rory, having the sudden urge to tell her what had happened the night before. She knew she would have to talk to someone about it, or it would eat away at her. She just wasn't sure if talking to Rory was a good idea. "Thanks Rory," Sam said sincerely.

"For what?" Rory asked.

Sam just smiled more for a second and then brought her coffee to her lips, pausing before taking a sip. "I don't know…for all sorts of things."

Rory looked at her before she let out a laugh, glad that Sam wasn't mad at her or anything. The two sat in comfortable silence, before Rory saw a mischievous glint come into Sam's eyes. But before she had the chance to ask about it Sam started talking.

"So what were you doing on a bench?" she asked.

Rory rolled her eyes good naturedly. "I fell asleep last night, after I got off the phone with my mom," she explained. "Truth I swear. I'm not a hobo!" she laughed, holding up her hands like she was surrendering.

"How'd you know I was thinking that?" Sam asked, amused.

"I must be psychic!" Rory concluded her voice growing in volume.

Sam instantly thought: 'There's your opening!' She didn't want to jump right into this subject and so she tried to approach it carefully, every muscle tensed and ready to bolt in case it got ugly. "Hey Rory, do you think I can talk to you about something?" she asked.

Rory calmed herself down, noticing the change in Sam's demeanor. "Sure," she told her, trying to think of everything Sam might want to talk about.

Sam once again took her time to think of what to say. "It's about Tristin…and me," she finally decided on.

Rory's eyes grew a little wide. She hadn't been expecting that. Would she be able to talk about Tristin and Sam with Sam? She saw Sam was watching her apprehensively and Rory closed her eyes, the image of Logan popping into her head. She smiled at that and opened her eyes again. "Sure. Is anything wrong?"

Sam inwardly relaxed but left her body tense. "Um…well…" she started. She'd forgotten that if she was going to talk about this with Rory then she would have to actually say the words. It was okay thinking about it in her own mind, because, well there wasn't anyone to hear that. She racked her brain, trying to think of a way she could say it. She then remembered something the kids at school always used to tease her about… "Well, last night…we, uh, played…baseball," she finally got out.

"Oh," Rory said. She went over what Sam said, thinking she must have missed something because that certainly couldn't be what the problem was.

Sam knew Rory hadn't understood what she really meant and so she set her coffee on the table beside her. "We played… 'baseball'," she repeated this time using her ever so handy air quotes.

Rory sat quietly, thinking over the statement her eyes fogging with confusion. But then all of a sudden she remembered some random comment her mother had made when they'd –for some reason- been watching baseball on TV. Her blue eyes cleared slowly and she opened her mouth an odd amount of times before she got out one single, one syllable word. "Wow."

Sam breathed out in relief when she realized Rory had understood what she meant. She watched with fascination, as the Gilmore girl absorb the information. "Is this okay?" Sam suddenly asked, her voice squeaking slightly as she started to panic. "I'm sorry, I mean, I can't believe I thought I could talk about this with you! What with your history with Tristin…and we really aren't that close…We're just friends and…We are friends, aren't we?" Sam babbled on.

Rory had been broken out of her thoughts by Sam's questions. She couldn't stop herself from laughing, before she composed herself. "We are," she answered Sam's last question firmly. "And…" she paused for a second. "I'm okay talking about it."

Sam felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she looked into Rory's laughing blue eyes gratefully. "Are you sure?" she asked, giving her another chance to back out.

"I'm sure," Rory promised, feeling herself slip into serious girl talk mode. "This might be…overstepping," Rory warned her but Sam gestured for her to go on. "Did you…I mean how far?" Rory asked, feeling her cheeks heat up even as she asked the question.

Sam copied her action and lowered her head. She knew that she was saying more by saying nothing at all. Her body actions were speaking for themselves, but she quickly gathered all the strength she possessed and looked at Rory. "Homerun," she told her.

Rory let out a loud exhale of breath. "Wow," she repeated her earlier words as she digested what Sam had just told her.

"Yeah wow."

Rory was quiet for a minute. She was just watching Sam and she noticed the tenseness of Sam's position, and the confusion in her eyes. She furrowed her brow and then leaned in, making Sam meet her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, sounding more then concerned.

Sam rolled her eyes and tried to play it off like it was nothing but Rory's expression didn't waver. "Okay," Sam said, breathing loudly a couple of times before she started up again. "I'm not exactly, umm, sure how I feel about it yet."

"You're not?" Rory asked, surprised by the admission and leaned back in the chair.

Sam shook her head, her blonde hair spilling down onto her shoulders. She lowered her head for a split second but then leveled her gaze with Rory's, her eyes set with determination. "I should be, though, shouldn't I? I mean it's not just some small thing…it's this giant, possibly life altering thing!" she ranted. "I should have known if I was ready. I should have thought through it and analyzed it! It wasn't supposed to be spontaneous…"

"Whoa!" Rory interrupted her, bringing her hands up to stop Sam. "Okay breathe!" she instructed.

"Breathe?"

"Breathe," Rory repeated, and crouched down slightly, resting her open palm on Sam's leg, the gesture comforting the blonde. "Listen Sam, I know what you're going through. I've been there…well maybe not in the exact same boat as you but one close by."

"Really?"

"Really. I always planned what it would be like. I would be older, it would be romantic with candles and music and maybe even dinner before. I wanted to be in love, and I wanted it to be with my boyfriend of a very long time."

Sam tilted her head to the side, as she immersed herself in Rory's little story. "I'm guessing it didn't happen like you planned?"

"No, it didn't. It was like you said, spontaneous," Rory declared, her brain sifting through the details of her first time with Dean, deciding to cut out the parts that mentioned him being married. "We weren't even dating…he was my ex-boyfriend."

Sam's shoulders sagged a little at that. She couldn't help but feel guilty all of a sudden. Here she was complaining about how her first time wasn't like she planned, even though it was with her boyfriend, the man she loved and who loved her right back. "I'm sorry," Sam said, not knowing what else to say.

"I've accepted it," Rory told her, not going into detail how long it took her to accept it. "What you need to ask yourself Sam, is if you regret it?" Rory told her, expertly changing the subject.

"I don't, I know that," Sam responded firmly and without hesitation.

Rory smiled sweetly at her, her eyes sparkling. "Well then there's your answer," she said.

Sam was silent as she thought about that. She'd known all this time that she didn't regret what happened with her and Tristin, but it had taken someone else pointing it out, for her to finally be okay with what happened. She didn't know if it was just having another opinion of if it was admitting it out loud but she was glad she'd talked to Rory about it. "Thanks Rory, really, you don't know how much you helped me," Sam told her, her words coated in gratitude.

Rory just smiled, her expression saying everything she needed to say. She let her eyes wonder for a second and they found the clock mounted on the wall. "Umm, were you going anywhere when you found me?" Rory asked, glancing back at Sam.

"I was going to the paper…Why?" she asked, moving a little to look at the clock to. It read 8:30.

"I was just wondering if you had to be there by a certain time…" she trailed off.

"Oh no, I was just going to grab an extra shift. You know they always need another copy girl!" she joked, her and Rory both standing up at the same time, Sam taking their empty mugs to the counter.

"Actually I have to go to the paper today to," Rory said, a proposition lingering behind her words.

Sam quickly caught on. "You can come with me if you want. I'm taking the bus though, because my car broke down." Sam turned around to see Rory putting on her coat and copied her actions. "Unless you have a car?"

"Nope, I took the train last night," Rory said, an idle thought entering her mind, 'Should she call Logan and tell him that she was okay?'

Sam smiled, glad that they were going to get to spend more time together. "Okay great! We're off!" she exclaimed, breaking Rory out of her thoughts and opening her door after grabbing her book bag.

"Off to see the Wizard?" Rory asked, slipping back into their wit from the copy room where they first met.

Sam laughed following Rory out the room, her voice echoing throughout the halls. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

---

A strong feeling of guilt rested in his stomach. A weary recollection of what ad happened on the previous night hung above his head. As he stood in the elevator, slowly rising upwards, he could feel his heart pounding. Never in the entire time he'd known her, had he felt so nervous and regret in facing Rory Gilmore. A chime of arrival. The doors slowly opened revealing the Huntzberger heir to those before him. Of course, no one knew him, no one here had ever met him to be able to identify Logan. And he was thankful for this, he was glad.

Edging his way through the rush of people, he came face with Rory's desk. He'd learned early on where his father had stationed her. He convinced himself, that his father would somehow lock her up in a closet, letting her go upon his arrival. To be able to stare at her desk, was for his own protective boyfriend know-how.

Pounding her desk, he plopped himself down in her seat. Opening a few drawers, and spinning around in the chair playfully. He whistled an anonymous tune, and was surprisingly cheery considering his present situation. He's been lucky to knock the hangover early on.

He'd wait…He'd wait for her.

Rory had to leave Sam in the copy-room to begin duties of her own. Mr. Huntzberger, had designated her a few minor responsibilities at the paper; the other employee's welcomed the help and accepted her immediately.

Although a small crick in her neck remained; no doubtedly caused from her sleeping arrangements the night before. She couldn't be more thrilled to have a role in grand-scheme of things.

Looking up from her current trot down the hall, she could see, at a distance someone sitting in her designated area. She squinted in a valiant effort to recognize the perpetrator. Growing closer, a blonde socialite came into focus, immediately slowing her pace in approaching him.

He'd notice her during one of his spinning escapades in her office chair. He stopped mid-turn, his eyes fixated on her. Rory felt immediately and completely awkward which had never really happened to her around him. She felt herself tense up, v-lining her way over slowly, but surely. Logan stood up from his current position in the office chair, when she reached him.

Neither one said anything. Rory instead decided to walk around him, lacing papers in separate piles, in separate folders. Logan stood a few feet behind her, and watched patiently over her shoulder. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, each time expecting something to come out, but nothing ever did.

"Okay, so it was a bad idea." He finally managed.

"What was?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"Ace…"

"Oh yeah," she responded, as if she hadn't known. "that". The truth was she really wasn't that upset with Logan, she was a big believer in the whole 'Everything happens for a reason – Good karma/Bad karma' scheme. "It's quite all right…Kidd-o" she shot at him.

"I just wanted to be a part of that again," he began. "Ever since we were headlined "Girlfriend, Boyfriend' I've had to change my whole lifestyle for it." He regretted the fact this sounded completely opposite, to anything he really meant to say. Quickly he tried to redeem himself, once he saw a look of pain and fear erase the familiar shine of blue in her eyes. "Not that I'm saying it was bad. No No! It was for the better. And I can't thank you enough for that. I just really want us to last. For that to happen I guess… I'll have to quit the whole out-of-town partying" he told her, in all sincerity. "And I won't call you Kidd-o anymore…I picked up on the sarcasm" he added.

Her eyes returned to their normal shade of sky-blue. As his arm snaked its way around her waist, she could feel herself relax entirely as her doubts of moments before, faded indefinitely.

"So…Are you ready to go?"

"Can't. I'm working" she said pulling away, and turning towards her desk, as a playful grin settled on her face.

"Come on! I know the boss…I'll pull a few strings! He's got plenty of mindless zombies working for him. He doesn't need you too!" He smiled to himself. "All right! So… 4? 5?" he asked.

"6"

"Ace" he groaned.

"7:30…The latest" she told him.

"Fine!" he pouted. "I'll be…around…" he told her, trudging off down the hall to find the breakroom.

Rory scurried off in another direction, pleased with the outcome of their conversation.

Logan found no interest in the breakroom…and frankly it reminded him a little too much of his own kitchenette. Plus or minus, a few strangers preparing coffee. A frown marked upon his face, as he glanced down at his watch; a pricey one at that. Rory had given it to him on his last birthday. Going against his requests of, 'No gifts'. It was only 4, he'd have at least another 2 hours to explore his fathers empire. And somehow he wished he could do this, without somehow running into Huntzberger Sr. himself.

But looking up he instantly caught a glimpse of his father. In a desperate attempt to hide his presence, Logan jumped through the nearest door to his left. Closing it, almost completely. Logan peered out through the crack that remained. Watching with narrowed-eyes as his father passed. Although, a sense of relief surged through his body, due to the fact his father hadn't seen him.

A shuffling of papers and the hum of a machine distracted Logan. He turned around to find the source. Or better yet, identify the room he'd just burst into.

She'd heard his entrance over the copy machine. Her head turned and her eyes traced the doorway, landing persistently on his back. Hiding in the copy room has become quite the trend these days. Sam could easily tell who it was even though their last encounter had become blurry in her mind. Her heart began to beat rapidly, as her mouth went dry. 'Say something' her thoughts encouraged her, 'Say ANYTHING'. Her eyes frozen on him, she was unable to think of anything to say, and diverted her vision back to her task. She didn't really have a specific job, other than picking up the loose ends, others couldn't carry out…

'It's been too long' she told herself. 'He wouldn't remember… It's been way too long'. She let memories cloud her mind, as she zoned out, staring at the loose papers filing themselves out of the mechanism.

The time his dad had flown them out to Mexico with the Nanny; whose sister has become ill. Together they'd participated in 'The Day of the Dead' celebration. It was there, Logan had acquired the nickname 'Poncho'. She couldn't remember why, at this point in time. But she'd been the only one to call him that, forever after. It was a bond, they'd always shared. Well…used to.

When Sam's dad had passed away, she was 7. Never knowing her mother, whom had died during her birth. She'd been merely an orphan. Since her dad, never left a will, her stepmother got everything. The house, her dads independently owned diner, and to her dismay…Sam. Knowing this, her stepmother as evil as she'd turned out to be, shipped Sam off to stay with her Godmother.

Leaving everything behind she's ever known. Things she's come to love… The arrangement had only ended up lasting a summer. Sam ended up missing the Huntzberger residence, along with one Huntzberger in particular when she left…

Poncho.

She hadn't changed. Her uncanny ability to light up the must dull of rooms remained. Logan's eyes moved up and down her figure, her hair, and the side of her face. Her bangs falling gracefully onto her face, her golden colored hair, accented her fair skin. The boy inside of him returned; the feeling of that summer. The summer he'd come to forget. Excitement tingled inside of him. For a moment, everything after the summer disappeared, and now he was just a boy….standing in front of a girl, asking her to love him, as he did her.

"Hi, I'm Logan Huntzberger" he said, stepping forwards offering her his hand, in a desperate attempt at helping her remember him.

She turned her head, the sparkle in her brown eyes so intense, it almost startled him. Yet so familiar, it was.

"But… you can call me 'King'" he joked, flashing his trademark smile. He watched as the corners of her pink lips curved upwards.

"Hi, I'm Sam Montgomery" she said, taking his hand. "But you can call me 'God'" she told him firmly, releasing his hand from her grasp.

Logan's eyebrows raised as he chuckled a bit. She still managed to amaze him. "I always knew God was a woman!" he exclaimed. "And I know her…. I am SO asking for favors."

Sam giggled, directing her gaze to the ground, sheepishly. The sound of her laughter was contagious and brought a smile to the young socialite. He was desperate, "You know… You girls have everything! You're better looking, you can give birth, you talk better, you can run business', you're smarter than us! Hell, you're even killing your own bugs now! All us guys have is lifting heavy objects…and sports."

"Hey! We have sports!" Sam shout out.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Sure… you can have your 'synchronized swimming' and that thing, in the Olympics where you dance around with a ribbon on a stick."

She tilted her head inquisitively. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she really was, even on the verge of anger or confusion.

"Which…BY THE WAY, is not a sport" he continued.

"Oh, yes it sure is!" she demanded.

"Hey….Call Vegas…Put a bet on it." He encouraged.

Sam stepped forward her eyes narrowing in on him. "You'd better stop there, Poncho." She warned. "Or…I'll tell everyone you played with a doll until you were 7."

When Logan's eyes widened in fear, Sam couldn't help but laugh. "FEMALE ACTION FIGURE! IT WAS A FEMALE ACTION FIGURE!"

Sam smirked, turning her back to the copy machine, to collect her papers. "Oh yeah? With a dream house?" she asked threateningly.

Logan smiled. He'd forgotten how much he'd missed her. How much he'd missed her untouched ability to out-wit him. How she called him 'Poncho' like it was the most natural thing in the world. "What did you just call me?" He asked.

Sam had to use all her concentration just not to blush. "Poncho" she repeated, straightening her head up, to see him properly.

The sound of this one word flowing from her lips had the ability to make his heart flutter. "It's been a while since someone's called me that…"

"Yeah well…I always was the only one. And only YOU would think it was cool to wear one" she laughed.

"It's culture!" he argued, a gentle smile resting on his lips.

"It's tacky!"

"Rookie" he almost whispered, his arms out-stretched to her.

"Poncho" she said, advancing into his arms.

Their embrace was like a welcome home to both of them. Time froze….until, to Logans dismay she stepped back, and his arms were forced to break free of her, reluctantly.

Surprised , when he felt a blow to his right arm. She'd just punched him, with incredible force. "Ow!" he winced.

"You never wrote!"

"Have you been working out?" he asked, holding his now, injured arm. She punched the other. "Ow!" he repeated. "What was that for?"

"Same thing," she explained casually.

"But you already hit me, for that."

"It was a five whack offense!" she told him. He looked at her now holding the opposite arm. "You never called or wrote. If I hadn't known any better I'd've thought you dropped right off the face of the earth."

Logan really had no excuse, and he wasn't about to make one up to feed her. Knowing it was no use, his lies had always been transparent to her, He stared at her, his face blanked with panic. She sighed and returned back to her work, his presence still undeniably distracting to her.

"You think maybe you'd like to ditch this place for a while? For old times sake? I mean… I don't know why of for how long you're here. But I'd like to catch up. Maybe redeem myself?"

"Why would a nice guy like you want to ditch this all for a girl like me?" she asked. "Why would this time be any different from the last? When you let me go, with a thought." She didn't expect a response, and honestly couldn't tell where all this was coming from… Other than the face she was still upset with having to lose her parents and her best friend under the age of ten.

"Listen…" he began. "I'm calling in a favor with God. You know… Once upon a time, me and her, were inseparable."

When 7:30 rolled around, the young Gilmore decided to begin her own search for Logan. When she didn't find him, hanging around her desk, at the time she'd told him. She truly wasn't worried, she figured he'd probably unsuspectingly decided to take a nap in a storage room. But this was a whole lot of building, with a whole lot of doors that Rory wasn't so sure she should be opening. Especially in search of something so obscene, as her possibly sleeping socialite of a boyfriend.

'Maybe he went back to Yale' she thought to herself. She busied herself with a few more things. It was 8 o'clock the next time she glanced at down at the watched neatly placed on her small wrist. Her eyebrows raised in surprise, as she looked both ways down the hall… Logan was no where to be seen.

So now he'd heard it all… And he found it hard to believe that he could miss so much in the time he hadn't called, wrote or e-mailed. He regret not being there. Not being someone she could count on, not being her shoulder to cry on. The arms to hold her up, someone to lean on. He felt like he'd missed so much, as they strolled up and down the avenue, calmly nibbling on ice cream they'd bought at Baskin Robins halfway through their journey. He voice; smooth as honey pronounced every detail with clarity, that Logan's ears received.

Not even when they'd entered Baskin Robins did her tale falter. He'd ordered for them both, what he knew was her favorite… Pistachio ice cream. Personally he'd never had a taste for anything Pistachio, but around her it could be that much better.

When Sam had finished her sob-story, with a fairy tale ending and beginning rather. She took a moment to reflect, she knew well enough, that if someone were to get her going she'd never stop until every ounce of information has been lifted off her. So far the only person that had succeeded in getting her on that track had been Logan.

Her cheeks turned pink when she realized she'd been the only talking the entire time. Taking a deep breath, her eyes peered over at him. Logan was casually eating his ice cream, and she imitated him. They continued their walk down the avenue, as the sun set ahead of them.

Say goodnight and go….

Logan's eyes were drawn to her almost magnetically, as the last rays of sunlight bounced off her blonde hair, and flawless skin. Leaving her looking like an angel, a glow surrounding her. "You haven't changed." He finally told her, his tone soft.

She stopped and turned, facing him. Her ice cream, still pressed against her lips. Pulling it away, she was left with a Pistachio ice cream line on her upper lip. "What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head.

Logan laughed at her lightly.

You get me every time.

Why'd you have to be so cute?

It's impossible to ignore you.

Must you make me laugh so much?

It's bad enough, we get along so well.

Just say goodnight and go….

Mechanically Sam drew her hand up to her face "What?" She'd now managed to be rid of the mustache, but a smile still crept upon Logan's face as he looked down at her.

No mistakes,

Miss your train.

And come stay with me…

It's always 'say goodnight and go'

Talk about things…

Any excuse, just to stay awake with you.

A smudge still remained on her lip. "You've got a little…" he began. Motioning to where it was on his own face. Her eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion. "Here. I'll get it." He finally told her, his grin continuously widening. He stepped forward, wiping above her lip, with his thumb. " There" he said, his palm still resting on her cheek. Her skin warmed his, as his eyes locked in place with hers.

Sam felt a blush creep up onto her cheeks when she realized what he was doing. He stepped closer, as he was drawn into her.

You get me everytime.

Why'd you have to be so cute?

It's impossible to ignore you.

Must you make me laugh so much?

It's bad enough, we get along so well.

Just say goodnight and go….

"You haven't changed…" he repeated. "And neither have my feelings." He whispered into her ear. Sending a shiver down her spine, as his warm breath barricaded her ear. Her brown eyes widened, she felt as though her voice had just been ripped out of her chest, when she opened her mouth… nothing came out.

Logan's other had, that held his ice cream had made its way around Sam's waist and hugged her closer. Leaning down, he had it in his mind…. That kissing Sam, would be finally getting what he'd loved so many years ago, and still did.

Sam's panic had frozen her in place. This decision could either, end or begin it all…

Just say goodnight and go….

VOTE! Does Logan kiss Sam? Or does Sam save her relationship, and tell Logan that his childhood crush, has moved on. Tell us what you think… Or you may regret how it ends up. We're not going to start writing until you tell us. And a quick thanks to all of you that reviewed the previous chapter!

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