-PERCEPTION-

Jake rescues Sam and realizes a few things in the aftermath. Rather Sam-centric this chapter. Characters belong to Terry Farley Sam's friends are my characters. Will be Sam/Jake.

There you are, wild and free

Reaching out like you needed me

A helping hand to make things right

I am holding you all through the night

Chapter 6: Planes and Reunions

" Samantha!" The familiar voice rang out through the crowded airport the second she stepped off of the plane.

Sam plastered a fake smile on her face, as the woman approached. " Aunt Sue!" she said happily, surprised to find four other people standing behind her. " Kylie! Josh! Leigh! Eric!" she exclaimed hugging each one of them in turn.

After their reunion, Kylie smacked her old friend's good arm. " Sam! I'm disappointed in you! We haven't seen hide nor hair from you since you left us!"

Sam hugged the tall brunet yet again, in apology for her lack of communication. "I'm sorry, guys," she said.

"She's only teasing," Josh laughed, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist.

"Alright, kids, let's walk and talk simultaneously, please," Aunt Sue instructed, walking behind the group after Sam got her bags.

They nodded, picking up the pace a bit, the five friends walking side by side.

"So, Sammy, do you have a boyfriend yet or am I gonna have to fight you for Eric?" Leigh teased.

Sam frowned, suddenly finding the ground quite interesting. "No fighting will be necessary." She said, solemnly. "But – No, I don't have a boyfriend." Jake hadn't talked to her at all since he'd admitted that he loved her, he hadn't even come to say goodbye or shown up at the airport.

Kylie stopped, having always been good at detecting when her friends were stressed out over anything and turned to Sam. "Who is he, what did he do, where does he live and how do you want me to kill him?" she questioned.

"I don't need him killed, I need him kidnapped so I can talk to him," Sam laughed at her friend's outbursts of questions.

Kylie motioned for her to continue, seeing as she'd only answered half of the questions. "Is he the one you've been friends with since you were born?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, Jake. He's the one who found me after… well, after just about every injury I've had…" she said. She sped up a bit, trying to put some distance between them and her aunt. Not that she didn't trust her or anything like that, but because she didn't want the next piece of information to get back to her father. "He told me loved me."

"Aw!" the two girls gasped. "And?"

"And he hasn't spoken to me since. He didn't even say goodbye before I had to leave…" she finished, walking away.

The four others fell silent, surrounding their newly reunited friend and embracing her tightly in alarge group hug.

"I didn't even get to tell him that I love him, too…" Sam whispered.

Okay, that was kinda short, but I needed it that way. I'll update again soon, maybe on Saturday, I'm quite busy this week… Lyrics at the beginning are the Backstreet Boys…. Review and enjoy please!