"So, you're doing it again, huh?"

Sam turned to the side and groaned. Considering how long she'd been trying to get into Jason Quartermaine's pants, she probably should have smiled. Part of her did want to smile. After all, she was alone in Kelly's and Jason was sans Keesha. She was free to flirt if she wanted to. Problem was, right then, she didn't really want to flirt.

It was going to be pretty hard to steal Jason away from Keesha if she couldn't look at him and groan with the thought of Ms. Ward. He just seemed to have the girl's taint on him. Like it was going to be hard as hell to get him away from her because she'd rubbed her perfection off on him. That was just too much perfection for one person to take. That was like, perfection squared.

But, she still wanted him. She wanted to take Jason, and get rid of about seventy percent of the perfection. Just wipe it off and dirty him up some. Yet, she didn't want to completely change him. She still wanted him to have a good heart. She still wanted him to be smart and caring. She just wanted him to be a little more like AJ. Not a functional alcoholic, but a little more free. He was so damned uptight sometimes, usually when Keesha was around, and sometimes he could be so condescending. But, still—

"And what would that be?" She turned back around and slouched in her chair. "Drinking coffee? I drink coffee all the time."

"AJ." Jason sat across from her and Sam sighed. "You remember the last time the two of you hooked up? It wasn't pretty."

"Well, it's not really any of your business, is it?" She rotated her cup in her hands. "You don't have any say in who I see, and you really don't have a say in what AJ does. Maybe we like each other. I realize that none of you people like AJ, but it's a novel concept, don't you think?"

"It's got nothing to do with. AJ—" Jason shook his head. "AJ's fragile, Sam. I don't know if he can take another round of McCall rejection."

"You're telling me about AJ being rejected? Please." She rolled her eyes. "Don't come at me like you give a damn what happens to AJ."

"He's my brother, Sam. Of course, I care."

"Oh, that's right. You always care. You love everybody, and you want everybody to have the perfect life." Sam sat up straight, then leaned forward, elbows propped on the table. "Or maybe you're jealous. Is that it, Jason? Are you jealous that, for the second time, AJ gets me, and it's too late for you?"

"I have a girlfriend."

"Oh, believe me, I know." She sighed and shook her head. "What is it, Jason? Am I not good enough for you? Am I not perfect enough? Let me tell you, I'm really tired of not being perfect enough."

She probably should have just stuck with AJ. They had enough in common. Neither was perfect enough for their families. Neither was perfect enough for the one they really wanted. But, they were too much alike. If they didn't drive each other crazy, Sam would, at least, drive AJ to drink. In the end, they wouldn't just get on each other's nerves. They would know how much alike they are and get on their own nerves. If nobody else liked them, they at least had to like themselves.

"What's with this need to be perfect, huh?" Jason ran his hands through his hair and Sam forcibly stopped herself from going to mush. His hair was soft, she knew that from when they all played as friends and she'd given him a thunk on the back of the head. But, when he pulled it back from his face, his eyes seemed brighter. "It's not all it's cracked up to be, ya know."

"So, you're with Keesha because you can both understand the difficulty of being perfect? I feel so sorry for both of you." Sam rolled her eyes. "Ya know, it wouldn't hurt you to stray from perfection once in a while."

"What was I supposed to do, Sam? When you wanted me, I wanted Karen. When I wanted you, you were with AJ. Then, AJ did his thing with Brenda, and you thought it'd be fun to get in the middle of that. Now that I'm with Keesha, you act like I've done you wrong. What was I supposed to do? Wait around? Or better yet, fight AJ for you?"

"Yes!" Sam growled and shook her head. "I don't know. I just-- I don't know, Jason." She let out a heavy breath. "It's the principle of the thing, now. Keesha can't have you all to herself because I was here first. Or maybe it's because I wanna be a better person. Me and AJ…"

She stopped and Jason prompted her, "What?"

"AJ and I are going to self-destruct. We always will when we're together, because we're not going to push each other to be more, to be better. We know we're screwed up. We know each other is screwed up. We're too eager to let the other one be whatever they are, because if we change them, we have to change ourselves."

"So, it's not work to be with AJ?"

"No, it's not, and ya know, I think you think the same with Keesha. It's not work. She's easy to be with because she's just like you, and AJ's easy to be with because he's just like me. But, maybe, you could make me be better."

"You don't need me to be a better person, Sam. You can do that all on your own. You're strong enough for that. And if you think you're not, what about Robin? I know she's tried to help."

"Robin's family. I'm used to ignoring what family wants me to be." She shrugged. "Besides, I think I've done the corrupting there. Sure, Stone's gotten her to do a lot of things she shouldn't do, but I help her get away with a lot of it. I'm not exactly the most responsible person. Instead of becoming more like her, she's becoming more like me."

"You both need to stay who you are. You're just fine exactly the way you are. There really isn't a need to change."

"Then why wasn't I ever good enough for you?" Sam sighed, then waved a hand. "I know, you say that the timing was never right, but if you really were interested in me, you'd have done something."

"I'm not going to fight AJ over you."

"Why not? You did for Keesha. You knew he was interested in her and she just—She started off all googly-eyed over AJ, and then not ten minutes later, she's ready for you. AJ wasn't good enough for her, but you know what? She's not good enough for him. She's not good enough for either of you."

"But you're good enough for both of us."

"Damn right, I am." Sam picked up her cup and blew on it unnecessarily. It had sat long enough to be cooled on its own. "I should get my pick of the Quartermaine boys, but instead, I go with the one that actually shows that he doesn't mind me the way I am instead of the one who tells me that he doesn't and makes excuses for why I've never been good enough in the first place."