Sam ran down the stairs to the bottom floor of the dorm. Tears streamed down her face, but she wiped them away impatiently. I shouldn't be affected. I just got over him. How DARE he come back? The nerve of him acting like that…
Tucker stopped her on the stairs. He had been running up the stairs to check what was going on. His face hardened and he said in steely tones, "What happened?"
Sam's eyes narrowed. "It's none of your business. Danny got what he deserved." She tried to push past but Tuck didn't move.
"What happened?" He repeated.
Sam burst into tears and leaned against her best friend. "Why is he doing this to me? He should have stayed where he was or never left at all! I don't know what to do and I just yelled at him and he hates me now."
Tucker ran his thumb across Sam's cheek. They had grown to act like brother and sister without Danny around. They only had each other to lean on. All of their friends at college made jokes that they were separated Siamese Twins. He said, softly. "Sam, he could never hate you. Why do you think he came back? He wanted to see you so badly."
Sam hiccupped and wiped at her streaming eyes. "I hate crying!" She said, loudly. "I don't want to cry anymore! Especially over him. Why does he do this to me?"
"Sam, he doesn't want to. Just give him a second chance. He made a mistake and he knows it." He chuckled softly. "Either that or he's more clueless than we thought." Sam smiled and choked out a laugh. Tucker smiled at her. "Look, you told him off and you proved your point. Go back up and apologize okay? I'll be waiting right here."
Sam looked up at him with sorrowful eyes and nodded. "Okay." Tucker squeezed her hand and she headed back up the stairs. When she reached the door, Sam laid a hand on it and took a deep breath. Sam was proud. She didn't want to admit she was wrong, even to her best friend. But she couldn't live with the knowledge that she had driven off her best friend when he tried to apologize. Sam let the breath out and pushed the door open.
Danny was where she had last left him, except he was sitting down and was looking out over the campus. Seeing him sitting there, looking pathetic and helpless made Sam feel like the biggest jerk ever. She sighed again and walked over to Danny. She sat down next to him. Sam didn't speak for a moment, but just looked at him.
Danny had barely changed at all. His hair was a bit longer in the front and he had lost a little bit of the baby fat in his cheeks. Otherwise, he could have stepped out of the Casper High Yearbook.
Sam laid a hand on his back. "Danny, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was such a shock seeing you after all this time." She laughed bitterly. "You should have come back three years ago. Every single day I almost never took my eyes off the sky looking for you."
Danny hung his head. "Sam, don't apologize. I deserve any abuse you have. I was a complete jerk for leaving like that."
Sam was silent. She couldn't really argue. The two friends just sat there silently, looking out over the campus. She laughed as she saw a Frisbee hit a tree and a dead branch fell out. Danny raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"We're not allowed to touch the trees. Apparently they're under protection because some of them are over a hundred years old. It's just funny because the Freshmen get so freaked out about the trees that some of them never hang out on the quad. Look." Danny raised an eyebrow and looked at the perpetrator of the crime. A girl holding the Frisbee was wide eyed. Her eyes darted back and forth. She couldn't have looked guiltier. Danny started laughing. Sam looked at him surprised and then joined him.
"I missed you, Sam." He said. Sam blushed and smiled. Danny smiled back. "What's been going on with you guys?"
Sam rolled her eyes, grinning. "This could take a while. For starters, Tucks been labeled the 'cutie-pie' at college."
Danny's eyes widened. "You're kidding."
Sam shook her head, laughing. "I'm serious. He's the best friend of every girl on campus. Not that he can get a date. He's more like the guy girls have small crushes on but aren't serious about at all. Every girl comes to him when they have problems with their boyfriends. He's basically the walking shoulder to cry on. And he is pestered every single day with pleads from the masses to have him fix their laptops and cell phones."
Danny whistled. "Popular at last. He should be happy."
Sam laughed and continued. "Your parents are the same. When you weren't around, they used Jazz as the guinea pig and thought they were making huge improvement because she never set off the devices. But they actually have made improvements. Jazz married Dash, who is now coach of the Amity Ravens." Danny's eyebrows rose. Sam laughed. "I know. But Jazz has never been happier. They're going to have their first child in July."
Danny laughed, facing the sky. "That's hysterical. But what's going on with you?"
Sam blushed and brushed her hair behind her ear. "What do you mean?"
"Well, for starters, how are you? Who are your friends? Who's your roommate? Do you like them? Why aren't you wearing black?" Sam fiddled with her maroon top at this. Danny barreled on, sounding desperate for information. "What's college like? Who are you dating? What-"
Sam cut him off. "Whoa, cowboy. Let me answer these questions one by one. First, I'm fine. Second, I have a lot of friends but my three best friends here are Tucker, Chi and Will. Third, Chi's my roommate. We have contests to see who can wake up earliest and not wake up the other. Which is odd, considering both of our first class is at ten thirty. Fourth, I think I just answered that. So permit me to move on." A smile tugged at Danny's lips and he nodded. Sam acted mock serious and nodded. "Thank you. I'm not wearing black because I don't wear all black anymore. I don't wear pastels or bright colors, but I don't dress in all black. College is great. College is freedom. And, last but not least I'm not dating anybody. Not that I haven't been asked out. Ask Tucker about the Paul incident sometime when I'm not around. He loves retelling it." Sam stood up and pulled Danny up with her. "C'mon. Tucker is waiting for us. And I'm sure he'll want to see proof I didn't tear you limb from limb.
This is for the wonderful people who read The Life and Times of Danny, Sam and Tucker. Thank you for your support.