THROUGH THE YEARS
a/n: I was only 6 in 1982, so any mistakes I make about the 80's, I'm apologizing for now.
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Chapter Two: Cold Comfort
The next day, Jack was unusually anxious for his sister, Lizzie, to get home from school. Robby and Sean had gone off with some friends, offering Jack to go with them. Jack declined the invite, telling them he was going to stick around the house for the day.
Jack chatted with Kelly on the front porch, right around the time Lizzie and Sam had come home the day before. "So, when does mom get home on Fridays?" Jack asked.
"She doesn't get home until late. Sean and I have to make dinner tonight. Mom stays at work to help with the Varsity Football game."
"What about Lizzie?" Jack asked.
"She's a varsity cheerleader. She has to stay on Friday's, too," she answered, the disappointment on Jack's face not passing by the young girl. "Oh, look! Here comes Sam."
The disappointment was immediately gone from Jack's face as he looked up to see Sam walking down the sidewalk. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her backpack was hanging over her right shoulder. She looked towards the O'Neill house and her face broke out in a huge smile as she saw Jack and Kelly sitting on the porch steps.
"Hi, Sam!" Kelly yelled.
"Hi, Kelly! Hi, Jack!" Sam yelled back, smiling.
Jack stood up from the porch and started walking down the steps, his hands finding their way into his pockets. "Hey, Sam. Have a good day at school?"
"Yeah, it was okay," she replied, stopping at the end of the path to the porch.
Kelly watched as her brother walked down the path towards Sam. "So, you must have a ton of boys calling you to take you out on Friday night," Jack said, in almost a question.
Kelly rolled her eyes.
"Um, no, not really., Sam replied, lowering her head in shyness. "Most of the boys at my school think I'm a geek."
"You're kidding!" Jack exclaimed, stepping a foot closer to Sam.
"No, I'm serious. Just ask Robby, Sean or Liz," Sam said, looking back up into Jack's warm eyes, her heart melting at the look on his face.
"So….no hot date, then?" Jack asked softly, watching her cheeks turn that pretty shade of pink he was really starting to love seeing on her.
"No," she said, smiling at him, not breaking eye contact. Her heart was racing in her chest. 'Oh, God! Ask me out! Ask me out!' was chanting in her head.
"Too bad," he said to her softly. "Those boys don't know a good thing when they see it."
Sam smiled at him, trying to hide the disappointment that he didn't ask her out.
Kelly, who was quietly observing the obvious flirtation between her tutor and her brother, broke in to the conversation. "You want to go to the game with us tonight, Sam? We're leaving at 6:30."
"We are?" Jack asked, completely unaware that they had plans tonight.
"Robby, Sean and I are. You can come, too, Jack. If you want."
Jack looked at Sam. "What do you say, Sam? You up for some football?"
Sam's face blushed deeper. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Good!" Jack smiled at her. "We'll pick you up at 1830."
Kelly groaned. "Jack! I don't know military time!"
Sam and Jack laughed at the younger girl's outburst. Then, when their eyes connected again, Jack smiled at her. "Well, see you then, Sam., he said, softly to her.
"Okay. Bye," she replied, and after one more small smile at Jack, turned and headed home to get ready.
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Jack was surprised by the huge turn-out at the school. This school was about three times the size of his high school back in northern Minnesota! He followed behind his siblings and Sam as they made their way up the bleachers. Rob and Sean headed to the top where a group of their friends were already sitting. Jack noticed Sam hesitate a minute, but, Sean motioned for her to follow, so she climbed the rest of the steps and sat down next to Kelly. Jack, happily, sat down next to Sam.
Jack leaned over and whispered in Sam's ear. "So, these really aren't your friends?"
Sam leaned into Jack to whisper back to him. "Not really. I know most of them, though. They're all seniors. I have most of my classes with several of them."
"So, what's Sean doing hanging out with seniors? He's only a junior," Jack asked her.
"Sean always hangs out with the seniors. He's one of the most popular juniors because of his 'connections' with the seniors," Sam informed him.
"Ah!" Jack said, not really surprised by the news. Sean had always been a very likeable kid and often made friends with everyone.
Jack noticed a few of the seniors eyeballing Sam. For some reason, this bothered him and he felt the need to stake a claim on her. Once he saw her shiver slightly, he made his move. He scooted a little closer to her and put his arm around her. "You're cold."
Sam smiled at him and leaned into him slightly. "A little. I should have brought a blanket. I forgot how cold it was out here at night. This is the first game I've been to."
Jack stroked her arm on the other side of her body. "Don't worry, Sam. I'll keep you warm," he whispered into her ear in such a soft, sensual voice, Sam got goose bumps all over her body. She shyly smiled at him, leaning into him just a little more.
During the game, Sam's arm had somehow come to rest on Jack's leg. A position that was doing things to Jack's body that really weren't appropriate at a high school football game! Without Jack realizing it, his hand started stroking Sam's side. Sam's heart was beating fast at the feel of Jack's hand stroking her body and her mouth was dry from the excitement he was putting her in.
By the end of the football game. Kelly had laid her head down on Sam's lap and fallen asleep, the blanket she was smart enough to bring, wrapped tightly around her little body. Sam was completely snuggled into Jack's side and Jack was still rubbing his hand all over Sam's back and side. "Hey, sleepyhead! Wake Up!" Sean said, shaking Kelly when the game was over.
Kelly opened her eyes and sat up. "Sorry, Sam. Didn't mean to fall asleep on you."
"Don't be, Kelly. You were keeping me warm," she told the girl, her arm still resting on Jack's leg.
"Really?" Sean asked. "I thought Jack was keeping you warm." He grinned at the two.
Sam's face flushed red and Jack glared at his little brother. "I was!" he said to him in almost a growl.
Sean laughed.
"We should probably go find Lizzie," Kelly said, standing up.
"Yeah, we should," Sam agreed and reluctantly stood up out of Jack's warmth. The cold air hitting her warm skin where Jack's body had been causing her to shiver.
"You're still cold," Jack said, warmly.
Sam smiled at him. "Yeah, you were so warm."
"Come here then," Hetold her and wrapped his arms around her waist. They walked down the bleacher steps together, with his arms still wrapped around her, making it a little harder to walk, but, Sam really didn't care!
Lizzie saw Jack, Sam and Kelly approaching.
"Ooh! Look everyone, Sam Carter snagged herself some really hot looking dude!" one of the other cheerleaders exclaimed.
"That's my brother, you reject!" Lizzie yelled at the girl.
"Oh, sorry," the girl said to Lizzie. "So, are they going out?"
Lizzie looked at her brother with his arms around Sam. "Well, it looks that way."
The other cheerleaders giggled. "That is so rad!" one of them announced, just loud enough for Lizzie to hear her. She rolled her eyes at the other girls.
"Hey, Liz. You ready to go?" Jack asked as the three stopped in front of the group of cheerleaders. His arms coming off of Sam's waist, yet, still putting one over her shoulders and pulling her into his side.
Liz noticed Sam went easily into him and even wrapped her arm around his waist underneath his jacket.
"Yeah, I'm ready. What about you, Mom?" Liz asked, looking right behind Jack and Sam.
Jack and Sam immediately split apart.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Maggie O'Neill said, a smirk on her face. "Jack, Samantha, are you two ready?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sam replied obediently, lowering her head.
Jack coughed lightly. "Yeah," he whispered, avoiding his mom's gaze.
Maggie continued to grin at the couple. "Well, then. Let's go."
Jack, embarrassed about his mom catching him with his arm around Sam, left the girls to ride home with his mom while he ran off to catch up with Rob and Sean. The boys, who had managed to pick up a few extra people on the ride home, teased Jack mercilessly all the way home.
"I can't believe you were groping Sam!" Sean exclaimed once they pulled out of the parking lot.
"I wasn't groping her," Jack squawked. "She was cold!"
"You are one lucky SOB!" one of the other boys in the car exclaimed. "I'd give my right arm to touch Sam Carter the way you were!"
"Yeah, well you just keep you and your right arm away from her," Jack replied before he realized what he was saying.
"A little jealous there, big brother," Rob laughed as he pulled up to a stop light.
"NO!" Jack argued. "You were right before, though. She is way out of all your leagues."
"Oh man, Jack, you've got it bad!" Rob teased his brother while the rest of the boys laughed.
Meanwhile, in the O'Neill station wagon, Sam was very, very quiet. Her cheeks were still flushed with embarrassment at being caught with her arm around Mrs. O'Neill's 22 year old son! She really just wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear!
"Mom, can Sam spend the night?" Lizzie asked from the front seat.
"Oh, that's ok, Lizzie. I'm really tired, I'm just going to go home and go to bed," Sam quickly announced from the back seat, still worried about what Mrs. O'Neill was thinking of her.
"Come on, Sam, please! We'll stay up in my room, just you, me and Kelly. We'll have fun," Lizzie pleaded, trying to talk Sam into it.
"Liz, if Sam doesn't want to stay, you can't force her, dear," Mrs. O'Neill told her daughter.
Liz turned around to look at Sam. Sam's face was still flushed and she had her head lowered in embarrassment. "Sam, no one cares if you have a crush on Jack!" Liz announced in an indignant tone. She was getting frustrated over her best friend's shyness.
"Elizabeth Ann O'Neill! You apologize this instant to Samantha!" Mrs. O'Neill yelled at her daughter.
Sam's face was redder than ever before. She really wanted to crawl up in her bed and stay there for a week!
"I'm sorry, Sam," Liz said, looking at her friend. "If you stay the night, I promise we won't tease you."
Sam looked up at Liz, she could tell her friend was genuinely sorry and even though she really, really didn't want to stay, she didn't want her friend to be mad at her either, so she caved. "Okay, I'll stay. If it's okay with you, Mrs. O'Neill."
"Of course, dear. You're always welcome," Maggie told the young girl as she pulled into their drive way.
Kelly, who had been sitting next to Sam remaining quiet the whole time, let out a small laugh. "This is going to be great! Jack's going to kill Lizzie!"
"Why?" Sam asked, feeling self-conscious again.
"Because Jack likes you," Kelly announced, hopping out of the station wagon and running up the path to the house.
Lizzie turned around to gauge her friend's reaction to Kelly's announcement. Just as she expected, Sam's cheeks were, once again, inflamed. Liz rolled her eyes, playfully, and hopped out of the vehicle. "Come on, Sam. We'll pop some popcorn and then head up to my room."
The girls made their way into the O'Neill house and headed for the kitchen. Liz pulled out a pot, set it on the stove and then grabbed the container of popcorn kernels out of the cupboard. After covering the bottom of the pot with kernels, Liz turned on the stove and put the lid on the pot. Then, she grabbed a smaller pot and stuck a stick of butter in it and set it on another burner. "Okay, you two keep an eye on the popcorn while I go change out of my cheerleading outfit. Okay?" Liz told the other two girls as she headed up to her room to change.
"Okay," Sam and Kelly both responded to Liz's retreating form.
The popcorn started popping, so Sam started moving the pot back and forth on the burner. A few seconds later, the girls heard the front door open and male voices come into the house.
"Will you please just drop it! So what if I like her! She's only 16! It's not like I'll actually do anything with her," Jack's voice carried all the way to the kitchen.
Kelly looked over at Sam who had closed her eyes as if it would make her disappear.
"What, you mean besides what you two already did at the football game?" came Sean's teasing voice.
"Sean! I already told you, I wasn't groping Sam!" Jack yelled at his younger brother.
Sam's face was beet red as she tried to ignore the boys' conversation. Kelly watched Sam, feeling really bad for her. She was starting to understand why Sam hadn't wanted to stay.
"Oh! Hi, Sam! What are you doing here?" Robby said, as he was the first one to walk in view of the kitchen.
Jack and Sean's bickering ended abruptly.
"She's spending the night. We're making popcorn and then going up to our room," Kelly told her brother, a mad look on her face.
"Oh," Rob replied, looking shame-faced. He could tell by Sam's posture that she heard what they had been saying when they came in the house.
"Sam," Rob said in a soft voice, not sure what he was going to say next. Sam turned her head to look at Rob, her face still a nice shade of red. "Uh, just ignore anything we say, okay? We're just ragging on Jack."
Sam gave Rob a small smile. "Okay," she quietly croaked out and then turned back to the popcorn.
Kelly glared at her brother in the kitchen and then at the other two who were hiding on the other side of the kitchen wall.
Liz walked back towards the kitchen in her pajamas when she saw Jack and Sean up against the wall. "Oh great! What did you guys do?" she asked them, in a rather loud voice.
"Nothing!" Jack and Sean yelped at their sister, who at times like this, acted just like their mother.
Rob watched as Sam's back stiffened when she heard Jack and Sean's voices so close to the kitchen. He felt bad for embarrassing her. He really liked Sam and not just because she was pretty, but because she had a great personality and was just an all-around nice person to hang out with. He turned around and walked out of the kitchen.
"Come on, Jack. Let's go up to my room. I've got the new Van Halen record," Rob said, as he approached Jack and Sean and motioned for them to head up to his bedroom. Jack took one look inside the kitchen as he walked by. His heart leapt in his throat as he saw Sam's back turned to them while she cooked the popcorn.
Lizzie walked into the kitchen. "What happened?" She asked Kelly, knowing the girl enjoyed tattling on her brothers.
"Sean was teasing Jack about Sam before they knew she was here," Kelly told her, still upset about the situation.
"You okay, Sam?" Liz asked her friend.
"Yeah," Sam said quietly.
"Well then, let's finish the popcorn and get up to my room."
The girls finished in the kitchen and headed upstairs. They shut the door behind them and wasn't seen again until morning. The only sound coming from their room was giggling and Olivia Newton-John singing "Let's Get Physical!"
Jack hung out with his brothers for a bit and then headed down to the basement where a small bed was set up for him. He laid down to go to sleep. His last thought of the night was of the pretty blonde up in his sisters' room.
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a/n: Before anyone says anything, yes, they have a station wagon! And, I'm sure it's probably very ugly! But, station wagons were popular in the 80's and with 5 kids, I think the O'Neill's need one. And, on another note, aren't we all glad microwave popcorn was invented!