Somewhere deep in Michigan, hours away from Royal Woods, a small, smoky concert venue and bar was blasting with rock music. On stage was Chunk on the electric guitar with the current band he was playing with. As the band consisting of mostly middle-aged veteran rockers played their hearts out, most of the small audience was preoccupied with sitting at the bar, staring at the TVs playing the news. In front of the stage, only two people stood, and they were the only people who seemed to care a band was playing.
"WOO!" Luna cheered with both hands in the air with devil horn signs.
"YEAH!" Sam joined in, hands held at the sides of her mouth to amplify her voice.
Once the band finished their song, the two enthusiastically applauded and shouted, voices echoing in the empty and dreary venue. However, their efforts managed to get a few patrons to half-heartedly clap along.
"Thank you, good night!" Chunk said into the microphone.
Luna grinned and climbed the stage, turning back and offering Sam a hand up. Once she helped Sam onto the stage, she looked up at Chunk excitedly.
"Dude! I think that was your best set yet!" Luna proclaimed.
Chunk laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around at the empty, unenthusiastic bar. "Yeah, well, thanks, Kiddo. I appreciate you and Sam comin' all the way out here with me to be our support group. 'Specially on the night before your first Valentine's Day together."
Sam waved him off. "Please, Lunes and I love to hear you play!"
Luna nodded. "Besides, V-Day isn't anything special. 'Just a corporate holiday invented by the Man to make us consume more things we really don't want or need."
Sam looked over at Luna with a laugh, "Yeah, what she said."
Chunk laughed too and then beamed at the two girls. "Well, we really appreciate it. Lemme get my stuff together and we can head back to Royal Woods before that snowstorm we're supposed to get starts." He reached into his jeans pocket and tossed Luna a set of keys. "'Ere, Luv. Get the van warmed up. I bought some Valentine's Day candy you girls can dig into too."
"Nice, I always take candy from an older dude in a van," Sam joked as the two hopped off the stage.
Chunk laughed as he watched the two girls hurry towards the exit, but then he paused, and then his face fell. "…Ooo…I never realized how unintentionally creepy this is…"
The bass player, an older man with a grey beard so voluminous that his facial features were buried within in, looked at Chunk. "Hey, Man, be careful out there."
Chunk looked over at him, confused. "Huh?"
"WOAH!" Luna's voice yelped from the exit.
Chunk spun around just in time to see Luna and Sam buried in a pile of snow that came through the open exit door. He gasped, put down his guitar, and rushed over to the door. Chunk winced as a violent wind stung his face as he grabbed hold of the banging door. With much effort, he pushed the door and finally slammed it closed.
Sam popped out of the snow first, looking baffled. "When did this happen?!"
Luna sat up too, looking nervous. "I-I thought it wasn't suppose to snow until later on!"
Sam stepped out of the snow, almost falling over before catching herself. She turned back to see if Luna needed help, but Luna was already out of the snow, brushing off snow from her clothing. Sam pulled out her phone and began to text Mazzy.
"Yeaup," the bartender called to Luna and Chunk. "We always get the snow first, the fastest and the hardest. Soon we're gonna be buried in it."
Luna chewed on her fingernails. Although she had made a big deal about Valentine's Day being no big deal, it was just an act. She had planned their Valentine's Day date and was dreaming about it for over a month now. Sam was chill about the holiday like she was chill about everything else, so Luna didn't want to act like it was anything special until the big night. In Luna's mind, Sam would be so surprised and touched that Luna surprised her with a nice night.
"Mazzy says it's not snowing there, so I guess he's right," Sam announced.
Chunk facepalmed. "Oof! Blimey! I've been using Royal Woods weather not the weather up here!" He hung his head with shame. "I'm sorry, Girls."
Sam touched his elbow. "Dude, it's okay. It's not the 1700s, we're not going to be stuck here for days. We can just stay at a hotel or something and leave tomorrow." She looked back down at her phone. "I'll ask my mom if she can lend us some money and-"
Chunk shook his head once and hard, holding out an enormous hand to cover Sam's phone. "Nope! This was my fault! I'll get us to a hotel and you two can order room service, get snacks, whatever you want because I'm buyin'! I'm not going to let you stress out the night before your special day."
Luna and Sam exchanged unsure glances before looking back up at Chunk.
"Thanks, Dude," Luna said with a twisted grin. "Sam and I will get our jackets from backstage and meet you in the van."
When Chunk nodded, Luna and Sam hurried to the back of the small stage and put on their winter gear.
"Lunes," Sam whispered. "Chunk doesn't have this kind of money…"
They peeked out from behind the curtain to see Chunk collecting the band's pay from the bartender. It was a very small stack and when Chunk turned, his band members reached out, took their shares, and left, leaving Chunk with a single bill in his hand.
Sam stepped back with Luna. "I'm calling my mom."
Luna reached out and stopped Sam from doing so. "Dude, no! Trust me – I've known Chunk for a long time. He'll be super offended if we don't take his offer…and I don't think we should offend our ride home."
Sam pushed out her lips with thought and then sighed. "Yeah, you're right…"
Luna pulled Sam into a hug and reassured her, "We'll be real cheap-o's: it's almost the time we go to sleep anyway. A-and it's like you said, we won't be stuck here. They'll have the streets plowed by tomorrow!"
Sam smiled and pulled away from the hug to look Luna in the eyes. "Okay, now I feel a little better. C'mon, let's warm up the van."
+0+0+0+0+
After a harrowing drive through the stormstorm to a small hotel, Chunk turned to Luna and Sam seated in the back of the van with his equipment.
"C'mon, Luvs. Let's go on inside – you two can get warm and I'll try to get us some rooms," Chunk instructed.
The three made their way out of the van and through the wind and snow into the hotel. Once inside, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Fireplace!" Luna gasped and shot over to the front area where seats were arranged near a warm fireplace.
Sam grinned and jogged after her while Chunk walked over to the front desk. The woman at the counter smiled at him as he approached.
"'Scuse me, Ma'am. I need two rooms: one single and one double," Chunk said.
The woman frowned slightly as she checked the computer. "Well…we're close to being completely booked because of Valentine's Day tomorrow, but, let me see what I can do."
Chunk thanked her and let her search on her computer. He turned and leaned back on the counter, crossing his massive arms over his chest as he watched Luna and Sam by the fireplace.
"Ah! We have a few singles available…but…no doubles," the woman reported.
Chunk frowned and turned back to her. "Oh, well, I guess we could each get a room, but I really wanted to keep the Kiddos together…"
The woman perked up. "Oh! The double room is for two children?" She looked down and typed something on her keyboard. "Okay, yes! Then I have a double for them."
Chunk brightened. "Really? That's perfect!"
Meanwhile, by the fireplace, Luna took off her purple hat and shook out her hair, running her fingers through it to get the last remnants of snow from it. Sam watched her from her seat on one of the fancy, red cushioned chairs with a small smile on her face. Luna caught Sam staring and looked at her girlfriend.
"What?" Luna asked with a laugh.
"Jeez, can't I look at my pretty girlfriend?" Sam joked.
Luna laughed with a small blush on her cheeks and turned back to the fire. In truth, Sam was trying to play cool about the situation, even though her heart was thrumming in her chest. The idea of sleeping in the same, private, hotel room with Luna was…tantalizing. But no, it couldn't be like that...could it?
Suddenly, Chunk rushed over, snapping Sam out of her thoughts. He presented three room cardkeys in his hands.
"I gottem!" he announced proudly. "One room for me, and one room for you Luvs."
"Thanks, Brah!" Luna said as she and Sam accepted their keys.
The three made their way towards the elevator, past the front desk. The woman behind the counter looked up at them with a worried expression on her face.
"Oh, uh…are those the two…children?" she called out to Chunk, causing Chunk and the girls to pause.
Chunk looked confused. "Uh…yes? Is there a problem, Ma'am?"
The front desk woman looked between Sam and Luna before grinning nervously. "O-oh, uh, no…just…uh…let me know if there's a problem."
Sam and Luna exchanged confused looks before they continued onto the elevator.
"What was that about?" Luna wondered after the elevator door closed.
Chunk shrugged. "Beats me, Luv. Maybe I should walk you two to your room, just in case."
+0+0+0+0+
Chunk held the sides of his head. "Oh no… No, no, no!"
The room the front desk woman had booked was a room for children. Small beds with headboards shaped like castles, painted characters all over the walls, tables with coloring books, and a toy box.
Luna's voice called from the bathroom. "Dudes! Check out the bathroom!"
Sam hurried into the bathroom while Chunk continued to stare at the room in horror. Once inside, Sam's mouth dropped open. The bathroom was decorated like a rainforest, with plastic frogs scattered about the sink area and stuffed birds seated in the ceiling corners of the room on fake branches.
"Wow…" Sam whispered as she leaned over to look at the largest frog decoration seated by the toilet. "…Poor placement…but so cute…"
"Sam! Check it!" Luna called from squatting by the tub.
Sam turned and went over to Luna to see what her girlfriend was looking at: the water faucet on the tub was shaped into a lizard with its mouth open and pointing down. Luna turned on the water, making it look like the lizard was spitting out water. Luna imitated a vomiting noise as the water poured out of the lizard's mouth and looked at Sam with a grin. Sam tried to give Luna her best 'seriously?' look but she couldn't stop the amused smirk that spread across her face.
"Hysterical," Sam dryly said with a chuckle, playfully pushing the now laughing Luna's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go see if we can fit on the beds!"
The two girls raced out of the bathroom and past the still devastated-looking Chunk. Luna leapt face-first onto the closest bed and Sam on the other bed by the window. Luna turned onto her back and giggled as her toes almost touched the end of the bed.
"I barely fit!" Luna laughed. She turned her head to look at the castle headboard and said in a snotty royal voice. "Hardly a castle fit for a princess!"
"Ouch!" Sam yelped, sitting up from her bed. She dug into the blanket and pulled out a toy crown.
Luna blinked and rolled to her side, revealing a toy crown stuck in her stomach. "Huh. So that was what was poking at me…"
Sam grinned as she put hers on her head. "You may all refer to me as 'Your Highness' from now on."
"Yes, Your Highness," Luna said with a mock twirl of her hand and a bow of her head.
Chunk wasn't finding any of this as funny as Luna and Sam were. "This ain't right! I'll get you girls a new room…"
Luna and Sam exclaimed at once, "No!"
Chunk looked at them with a perplexed expression.
"It's okay! I've slept in weird places before. One time I had to sleep in a bathtub, so I'm pretty sure I can handle a small bed," Sam reassured.
"Yeah! And besides, it's only one night," Luna agreed. She unstuck the crown from her body and placed it on her head, lying back and putting one arm behind her head. "We'll be Queens for one night."
Chunk sighed and reluctantly agreed. "Alright… I'm sorry about this, Girls. Make yourselves as comfortable as possible and order some food! I'm payin' so don't worry about it."
Sam and Luna exchanged glances before they looked back at Chunk with strained smiles, knowing they had mutually agreed to not spend a lot of his money.
"Thanks, Chunk," Sam thanked the man.
"Yeah Dude! And don't worry about us, we're good," Luna reassured.
Chunk nodded and bid them good night before leaving to go to his own room. Once the door shut behind him, Luna sat up and looked at Sam.
"It's getting pretty late, but, we can see what they got," Luna said.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I mean, we can always go to sleep and go to the free breakfast buffet tomorrow morning."
Luna agreed and reached over to the nightstand by her bed to retrieve a large, laminated room service menu. Sam did the same from her nightstand.
"YEOW!" Luna shrieked. "Thirteen bucks for a burger with no fries?!"
Sam cringed as she looked down at her menu. "Twenty dollars for a salad? …And an extra three dollars for croutons? Yikes…"
Luna put the menu back on the nightstand, grinning nervously at Sam. "Um, well, I don't know about you, but I'm good. I'm just going to take a bath and hit the hay."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'll take one after you."
Luna nodded and then went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Sam sat on her bed and stared hard at the bathroom door. Faintly, she heard Luna's clothing pile onto the floor and then the ridiculous lizard faucet being turned on. Sam got up and found herself at the bathroom door, staring into it as if she could activate some unknown x-ray vision power she had.
She and Luna were close, but often, Sam felt a need she couldn't explain. Kissing was nice, very nice, but often her body screamed for something else, something that she couldn't put her finger on. Something she wanted...but deep inside, knew she couldn't have it.
Sam spun on her heel and grabbed her head. "Gah…! What am I thinking? Bad Sam! Bad!"
Sam sighed and returned to her bed, flopping back down onto the twin-sized mattress. She turned her head to look out the window. The snow was pouring down from the sky in blankets, once in awhile the heavy gusts of wind breaking the steady fall to make it look like a snow tornado.
"Sam?!"
Sam woke up with a start, not realizing she had drifted to sleep. She frantically sat up, heart pounding, and looked around in a confused haze. The clock on her nightstand revealed she had fallen asleep for 45 minutes.
"Lunes?! You okay?!" Sam called back.
"Dude! I just remembered, I-I don't have any PJs!" Luna's voice echoed from the bathroom.
Sam's eyes widened: neither did she. She jumped off the bed and checked around the room. Sam opened some drawers to reveal nothing but a Bible and some different menus for television and movie options.
"Hold on, most hotels have bathrobes somewhere!" Sam called as she threw open another dresser drawer.
"If not, I guess I'll wear my clothes," Luna's voice replied. "I'd prefer not to though."
Sam rushed over to the large closet by the door and opened it. Inside were some fluffy white robes hanging from clothes hangers: two child-sized ones and two adult-sized ones. Sam was tempted to give Luna a child-sized one for her own amusement, but decided against it and grabbed one of the adult-sized ones. She turned and approached the bathroom door, knocking on it with the back of her hand.
"I'll hang it on the doorknob!" Sam called.
The door opened slightly and Sam jumped, freezing in place. Luna's face peeked out and Sam could see she had a towel wrapped around her.
"Thanks, Sam," Luna said as she reached her bare arm and shoulder out the door to take the robe.
Sam blushed and offered her a twisted grin with fingerguns. "H-hey, that's what girl-dudes-uh-dude-dudes-um-dude-friends do…Dude…"
Luna laughed and closed the door to change while Sam stood in place for a second before hanging her head. She trudged back to her bed and fell face-first on it, hoping the pillows would end her life. What the heck was that? She stopped breathing when she heard Luna exit the bathroom and approach her bed. Sam lifted her head up to see Luna looking out the window at the snow.
Luna bit her bottom lip and turned to Sam, a worried expression on her face. "Y-you think it will stop soon?"
Sam got up from the bed and walked over to Luna, her booted feet feeling heavier and more clumsy than usual.
She masked her new, strange behavior by teasing Luna. "Even if it doesn't, they have these cool inventions called plows and salt."
Luna laughed and put her head on Sam's shoulder. "Yeah, you're right."
Sam froze as her heart began to pick up speed again. What should she do?
"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. Don't worry about waking me up when you get out of the tub, I'm a heavy sleeper," Luna said, pulling away from Sam and heading towards her bed.
Sam breathed out every ounce of oxygen she was withholding and held her chest. "O-okay…see ya in the morning then, Valentine."
Luna laughed again and grinned at Sam. "Your Highness."
Sam couldn't help but grin as she tried to walk as casually as she could into the bathroom. Once the door shut behind her, she sunk to her knees and held the rim of the tub. She lifted her head to the lizard faucet.
"Feel free to drown me in water," Sam said to the inanimate object.
She turned on the faucet, let hot water pour out of the lizard's mouth, and made a soft vomiting sound. "Ble-e-e-e-eh…"
+0+0+0+0+
Luna's eyes flew open when she heard what she thought was pounding on their door. In a flash, she sat up and looked towards the door. However, when the loud sounds echoed in the room again, Luna turned to the window to see nothing but white outside and the windows rattling.
"Oh no…no, no, no!" Luna pleaded as she fell out of bed and crawled towards the window.
She pushed herself up on her knees and hung onto the windowsill, looking out into what appeared to be a huge snowstorm, even bigger than last night's. She tilted backwards and landed on her back, staring up at the ceiling with tiny eyes: Valentine's Day was officially cancelled. Well, she thought, at least her Valentine's Day plans were.
"Lunes?" Sam's sleepy voice croaked from her bed.
Luna turned her head to see Sam rubbing her eyes, fresh from sleep. "G-go back to sleep, Sam, I'm sorry."
Sam scratched her head through her messy hair and then looked out the window. She paused for a second as what was happening outside registered in her brain.
"Oh Dude," Sam whispered as she climbed out of bed and stood to look out the window. She peered down into the parking lot to see the snow piled so high, the van was half-buried. "Oh Dude…" She looked at the roads that looked as if the plows had given up after trying to clear them several times, evidence of dirty snow piled up on the roadsides. "Oh Dude!"
"That's what I'm saying, Dude!" Luna proclaimed, flipping over and getting up to grab the television remote on the TV stand.
Their hotel room phone rang and Sam hurried over to answer it while Luna searched for a weather channel. She turned to a channel with a reporter bundled up in so many layers of clothing that her body remained in a stiff T-pose position. She was standing in what looked like around 3 feet of snow outside by a highway.
"-State of emergency. Officials are advising everyone to stay off the roads and remain indoors. Sorry Valentine's Day lovers – it looks like you'll have to skip your dates!" the reporter said far too cheerfully.
Luna whimpered and turned off the television.
"-It's okay, Chunk! Really! We're fine!" Sam spoke into the phone. "We'll meet you for breakfast in a few mins, okay?"
Luna was not fine – it was unbelievable how bad their luck was sometimes. Their first Valentine's Day was ruined.
"Lunes?"
Luna jumped when Sam's hand rubbed her shoulder. She turned to see Sam watching her, face full of concern.
"Are you okay? You look pretty upset," Sam said in a soft voice.
Luna forced a laugh and waved Sam off. "Nah! I'm just tired! Oh! If we're gonna meet Chunk for breakfast, we gotta change!" She pushed the confused Sam towards the bathroom. "You take the bathroom and I'll change out here!"
Sam turned to say something to Luna, but Luna shut the bathroom door. She grabbed her hair and began to pace up and down the room.
"Don't panic, Luna," Luna whispered to herself.
+0+0+0+0+
When Luna and Sam stepped off the elevator and into the lobby, the first thing they saw was Chunk at the front counter, looking worried. The front desk worker shook her head at him and handed back what looked like a credit card. Chunk quickly pulled out his wallet and handed her another credit card, taking back the other one. The woman typed on the computer, swiped the card, and then nodded with a smile, much to the apparent relief of Chunk. Luna and Sam exchanged worried glances.
"How much cash you got just in case?" Luna whispered to Sam out of the corner of her mouth as they made their way towards Chunk.
"I got thirty-three dollars," Sam whispered back.
"Okay, I got a twenty and a few singles," Luna whispered again.
"We can always call my mom too," Sam reminded. "I texted her after I changed and she said she'll help us out if we need it."
"Dude, please, don't…n-not yet, at least. Chunk feels really guilty about all this. M-maybe we can find him a gig or hire him for one of our own to make up for this," Luna replied through her teeth and a fake smile to the Chunk who had noticed them and was waving.
Sam plastered her own fake grin on her face and whispered back through her teeth. "Fine, but let's still keep to the cheap-o plan."
"Morning Luvs!" Chunk cheered as he gathered them into his arms to give them a spine-cracking hug. "Happy First Valentine's Day!" He placed them back down so they could rearrange their bones and looked down glumly. "…Which is what I would be sayin' if we could go back to Royal Woods today…but it looks like we're stuck 'ere. I'm really sorry…"
"Pssh! We're good!" Luna reassured a little too loudly. She grabbed Sam into a side hug. "As long as I got my girl by my side, Valentine's Day is going to be…great!"
Sam looked over at Luna with an eyebrow raised. Luna's voice was cracking and she was practically shouting: she was lying.
Chunk smiled sadly and put his hands the girls' shoulders. "Well…let's get you two some breakfast and then I'll leave you both alone to celebrate. Remember: I'm buyin'…" He pointed an enormous finger in their faces and said a little too darkly. "…Don't hold back nothin'."
Luna and Sam nervously grinned up at him. "S-sure, Chunk."
They entered the mostly empty dining hall and began to gather their breakfasts from the buffet. Chunk was ahead of Sam and Luna who hung back to continue their discussion.
"Alright, all we gotta do is stuff ourselves with breakfast so we won't eat anything else all day," Luna whispered. "That way we won't have to order room service."
Sam nodded. "Good idea."
They piled plate after plate onto their tray, earning stares from the few people that were also getting breakfast. Once they were satisfied, they joined Chunk at a table. The older man eyed their huge amounts of food and looked up at them suspiciously.
"Hungry, are ya?" he asked.
Luna chuckled, "Oh heh…y'know us teenagers…always eating!"
Chunk stared at them hard, causing both girls to twitch nervously and continue fake smiling at him. But then his face brightened and he laughed.
"True that!" Chunk chuckled as he began to eat his own food.
Luna and Sam glanced at each other with relief and then began to eat their own.
+0+0+0+0+
"Ugh…Lu-u-u-unes…" Sam moaned, curled up on her bed and holding her stomach. "That…was the dumbest idea we've ever had."
Luna covered her mouth to hold back her breakfast. She gulped it back down and then closed her eyes. "Dude, we're both lumps. We lingered last in line for brains…and the ones we got were sorta rotten and insane…"
"Ba baw," Sam agreed, quoting the same song Luna was quoting. She rolled her head to look down at the huge bag of candy on the ground. "When Chunk got that bag out of the van, I almost hurled… I never want to look at food again…"
Luna managed to wobbled up and reach for the remote on her nightstand. "H-how about we watch a movie?" She opened the nightstand drawer and retrieved the movie rental list. "Maybe we can find something romantic."
Sam could only manage a nod so Luna looked through the list. Every movie on the list they've either seen or Luna knew they wouldn't like. Then, she flipped the page to see movies with odd titles and all in red.
"Ha! Listen to the name of this movie," Luna laughed. "I think it's up your alley…"
Sam managed a laugh and rolled over to look at Luna. "Yeah? Hit me."
Luna read, "'Lesbian Pool Party Part 5!'"
Sam's eyes popped open and her entire face turned red.
Luna laughed, "That sounds like a spoof of those college movies. We should watch it for a laugh."
"NO!" Sam gasped, reaching out towards Luna. "T-that's not…uh…it's a…mmnn…"
Luna blinked at her girlfriend and then her face fell with realization. "…Oh…"
They both blushed hard as Luna stuffed the movie list away back into the nightstand. Suddenly, the windows rattled violently and the howl of the wind snapped them out of their mutual embarrassment.
"Ugh…" Luna groaned. She got up and looked out the window. "Figures…"
"What figures?" Sam asked.
Luna shook her head and then subconsciously reached over to the mini-bar for a bottle of juice. "…Nothing."
Luna opened the top and took a swig.
"Lunes! That juice costs seven dollars!" Sam gasped.
Luna froze with her cheeks puffed out and filled with juice. She opened the lid again, put her mouth over the opening, and let the juice drop out of her mouth back into the bottle. She twisted the top back on and put it back on the mini-bar, hiding behind the taller drinks.
"They got some nerve!" Luna declared.
Sam shrugged. "We're trapped in here and they know it."
Luna put her hands on her hips. "Well, we might be trapped in the hotel, but we're not trapped in this room. Wanna go find something to do?"
Sam groaned as she got up. "Yeah…I need to walk this off."
+0+0+0+0+
They wandered around the quiet hotel until they came across a gift shop decorated for Valentine's Day. When they entered, they saw even more decorations and Valentine's Day gifts for sale.
"Woah, they still have Valentine's Day stuff," Luna observed, surprised it wasn't all gone.
The cashier sighed, "Yeah, the snow has really put a damper on sales. Feel free to look around, Ladies."
Sam and Luna thanked the cashier and began to wander around the store. Luna spotted a stuffed animal of a Golden Retriever, holding a heart that read 'Woof You Be Mine?' She laughed and began to turn to show Sam, but was stopped by Sam standing right infront of her. Sam placed a flower crown that was for sale on Luna's head and giggled.
Luna blushed with a laugh and joked, "It's not as good as my actual crown back in our room, but it's pretty."
"Aww! It's so cute!" Sam cooed, taking the stuffed animal from Luna's hands. She turned it over and looked at the price. "…Yikes…"
Luna took it back and marched to the counter. "Don't worry about the price; I'm buyin' it for you."
Sam looked confused. "Why?"
"…Because it's V-Day and you're my girlfriend?" Luna replied, confused. "You know how this day works, right?"
Sam laughed and insisted, "Lunes, you don't have to buy me anything."
Luna ignored her and let the cashier ring it up. "Well, I am." She secretly cringed when she saw she was paying almost twenty dollars for a small stuffed animal, but paid it anyway. "Done!"
Sam removed the flower crown off Luna's head and put it back where she found it. "Thank you, Babe."
Luna proudly strode back to Sam and gave her the stuffed toy. She smiled happily when Sam gently took it into her arms like it was her baby. Her eyes caught something she liked on the shelf: a Mick Swagger bobblehead. Sam blinked when she saw Luna practically drooling and looked to see the bobblehead.
"Aaah, the one person you would leave me in a heartbeat for," Sam joked as she took the bobblehead.
Luna pouted as Sam brought it up to the cashier. "Not true!" Sam turned her head to Luna with a playful smirk and her eyebrow raised. Luna winked and said as smoothly as possible, "Baby, you're my Forever Girl."
Sam grinned and pushed the bobblehead into Luna's arms. "You big flirt…and liar-liar-pants-on-fire."
Luna laughed as they turned to leave the store.
"Oh! Did you girls get your free root beer float in the dining room?" the cashier asked. "They're free for couples today."
"Ooo, free… I like the sound of that," Luna said, pointing at the cashier. "Let's go check it out."
+0+0+0+0+
Soon, the girls were sipping on root beer floats at a small table, chairs facing each other. Sam paused from drinking and watched Luna down her second one. Luna wiped her mouth with the back of her arm and sighed contently. Sam smiled at her and continued to stare at Luna.
Luna looked at Sam with a laugh. "Dude, you okay? You've been acting kinda strange since we got here." She looked down and rubbed her arm. "Is it because you're upset about our first Valentine's Day being a bust?"
Sam snapped out of it and then reassured Luna, "No! No… I'm sorry, I'm just…" She paused to collect her thoughts and try to figure out how to explain what she's been feeling since they arrived. "It's just…"
Luna paled. "...You wanna break-up?"
Sam shook her head. "What? No!" She sighed and sunk into her seat. "Urgh, I can't even explain it…sorry… L-let's just forget I even said anything, please?"
Sam blushed and slid down into her seat, burying her neck into her jacket. Luna blinked and watched the scene in awe: did Sam feel insecure about something? Sam was always so confident, taking life in stride, and was the one always reassuring and calming Luna. Luna felt her heart in her ears: what was Sam thinking about? Before she could ask, a hotel employee approached them.
"Excuse me, are you Luna and Sam?" he asked.
Sam sat back up in her seat and looked at the employee with wide eyes. "Uh, yes sir."
The employee smiled and nodded. "Your guardian, Chunk, I think, wanted me to retrieve you two for a surprise in your room."
"A surprise?" Luna asked.
+0+0+0+0+
Luna sat on her bed, staring down at the dinner tray in horror. Sam sat on hers, a similar expression on her face. The plates on each of their carts were covered, and there were a lot of plates.
"Dude…I'm afraid to look…" Luna whispered, eyes wide. "How much money did he spend?"
Sam held her stomach which made a loud noise of protest. "W-well, it's too late now…we can't return the food."
Luna nodded and gulped thickly. "Y-you lift your covers first…I'm too scared…"
Sam groaned. "I'm going to throw up breakfast…"
With a shaking hand, Sam uncovered the largest plate. It was a large salmon meal with potatoes and green beans. She looked up at Luna whose face dropped. Luna slowly uncovered her plate to reveal a steak dinner.
"Dude! Steak!" Luna whimpered.
Sam reached for the room service menu on her nightstand. "Salmon isn't cheap either! How much did he spend?!"
Luna reached out her hand. "Sam, don't look! Like you said, it's too late, and it'll just make us feel worse. We'll call him and tell him that we're really full after this and to not send anything else over!"
Sam nodded as she stared down at her food. "…I guess…we need to eat this…"
Luna groaned and held her stomach. The two girls forced their main meals down their throats, and then uncovered the other plates to reveal bread and other sides that they also ate. Once they were done, Luna flopped off her bed and landed facedown on the ground. Sam fell backwards onto her pillows and weakly reached for her cellphone on the nightstand.
"Ugh…must…stop…this…madness…" Sam groaned.
Suddenly, a loud and cheerful voice came from behind the door. "Room service! I have your desserts!"
Sam flew off the bed and into the bathroom, holding her mouth. After the bathroom door slammed behind her, Luna dragged herself to the door to answer it.
"He…he had to have done this on purpose to get back at us for lying about breakfast…" Luna murmured.
+0+0+0+0+
The heart-shaped pink cake that was surrounded by cupcakes was hastily shoved into the mini fridge by Luna. There was no way they could eat anything else now. Sam was facedown on her bed, and Luna wondered if she was even breathing at this point.
Luna had been convinced after their shopping and drinking their root beers that she could salvage Valentine's Day night. But thanks to them being concerned about Chunk and not themselves, the night was pretty much done. Her face turned red and she kicked the mini fridge in frustration. Sam lifted her head up with surprise.
Luna threw her arms into the air. "Ugh! Why do we always have such bad luck?!"
Sam turned to Luna, still holding her stomach. "Bad luck?"
Luna began to pace up and down the floor. "Yeah! Haven't you noticed that any plans we make always get destroyed?! I'm sick of it!"
Sam raised an eyebrow. "But…we didn't have any pla-" She stopped as everything Luna had said the entire time they were here finally clicked. "…Oh… You had plans for us back at Royal Woods, didn't you?"
Luna quickly wiped away some tears of frustration and nodded. "Yeah… I had this whole big plan that we were going to go out to a nice place to eat and then spend the rest of the night sitting outside on my porch with some warm drinks and look at the stars, b-because that's something we both like to do."
Sam sat up, eyes large. "Lunes… Those plans would've been ruined anyway because of the snowstorm Royal Woods is getting too."
"Yeah, but, at least we would've been at home and comfortable!" Luna responded, face getting redder and redder. "We're stuck here and have to worry about someone else, as usual! That's been my whole life: getting all my plans ruined because I gotta watch of my sisters, watch over my brother, watch my dad because he cries if we don't have our Valentine's Day dinner together! A-and I finally find someone I want to spend all my time with, and I can't even get one day?! Look outside, Sam! Nature hates me!"
Sam could barely move and was afraid that if she got up she would hurl again, so she stayed on her bed. "Luna…it's okay. We're spending time together, right? We just got to make the best of our situation."
Luna threw back her head with a groan. "Dude, that's your problem! You never want to get angry at anything! You just go with the flow and let the flow drown you while I look like an-!"
Luna froze and looked at Sam with horror, realizing what her anger made her say. Sam with staring at her with a mix of surprise and another emotion on her face that Luna couldn't interpret. Luna looked away and turned red with embarrassment instead of anger. She quickly grabbed her phone from her nightstand and hurried towards the door.
"I-I need to call my Fam, I can't get any reception in here…" Luna lied as she opened the door.
"Wait, Luna!" Sam called, but Luna was gone and the door closed behind her.
+0+0+0+0+
Luna gulped down her sixth root beer float as she leaned heavily against the hotel bar in the dining room. She slammed the heavy glass back onto the counter and put her forehead against its cool surface.
"Ugh…I can't believe I said that! On V-Day!" Luna bemoaned. "I-I didn't mean any of it! I swear!"
The bartender patted her back and slid over another root beer. "There, there, Kid. Have another one."
"Luna?"
Luna blearily turned in her seat to see Chunk standing behind her, a concerned look on his face. "Oh…did Sam call you?"
Chunk shook his head and sat down beside her, putting a giant hand on her small back. "No, I knocked on your room door and you two didn't answer. I got a key to your room and went inside, but you two weren't there."
Luna sat up, panic setting in. "Wait…Sam wasn't there?!"
Chunk's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "She's not with you?!"
Luna's mouth twisted and her eyes welled with tears. She put her forehead back onto the counter. "I don't blame her…she probably called her mom and got herself another room to get away from me…"
Chunk's eyebrows lowered with concern. "Why would she do that?"
Luna explained what happened to him as Chunk nodded and listened attentively.
"Can I ask you one thing, Luv?" Chunk asked, smiling.
Luna wiped the snot and tears off her face and nodded weakly, eyes huge and watery.
"What's Luan doin' today? Or Lori?" Chunk asked.
Luna sniffed and looked down with thought. "W-well, I guess nothing now…" She let out a laugh. "Luan had all these big plans a-about going to a fancy restaurant with Benny and then trolling everyone with her jokes and pranks and-" Luna paused. "-Oh…"
Chunk nodded. "Listen, Luv. Life never goes the way you plan it to go. Sure, there are people who are born knowin' what they want to do, and work hard to achieve it…but those are also the people that sit behind their big fancy desk with everything they want and say to 'emselves…what next? Why am I not satisfied?"
Luna sniffed and listened closely with a hard expression on her face.
"Do a search on…uh…what's it called? Uh…Oogle? And type 'nothing ever goes right for me' and see how many people are sayin' the same thing, because life is just difficult for most people," Chunk continued. He patted Luna's back. "Sam is the kind of person that understands that and tries to make the best of things, always thinking positive."
Luna let out a strained laugh. "Yeah…that's why I fell in love with her…but sometimes, that part of her just makes me crazy too. Sometimes I wonder if she's passionate about things, a-and I want her to be."
"Luv, she sat in the back of a bumpy van for hours, almost gettin' squashed by me instruments multiple times, just to hear me play rock music at some crummy venue…and to be with you. I think she's pretty passionate about music and you, don't you agree?" Chunk chuckled.
Luna slammed her hands on the counter and wobbled up. "Yeah…yeah!" She grabbed at her hair. "Chunk, do you think she'll forgive me?!"
Chunk smirked and finished off the best of Luna's root beer float. "'Won't know 'til you go find her now, will you?"
Luna raced off. "Thanks Chunk! I owe you big time, Dude!"
Chunk laughed to himself and shook his head. Maybe he should have been a therapist.
+0+0+0+0+
Luna dragged her feet back to her room, completely stumped and depressed. Sam hadn't gotten her own room, but Luna couldn't find her anywhere in the hotel. When she wanted to go outside to check the van, the hotel staff blocked her and told her they hadn't let anyone leave. She lifted her hand and put the keycard in the slot. It blinked green and unlocked the door. Luna trudged into the room, eyes closed.
"Hey you!"
Luna's eyes flew open and her jaw dropped. Sam was dressed in her robe, lounging on a large beanbag that Luna was sure wasn't in their room before. In her hands, Sam held a purple globe that was plugged in somewhere.
"B-b-b…! Wha-wha-wha…?" Luna stuttered in shock. She shook her head and then beamed, racing over and sliding onto the ground to hug Sam. "SAM! Aw Luv, I was so worried!"
Sam laughed and stroked Luna's hair as the brunette buried her face into the soft white robe, tears pouring down her eyes. "Sorry, I figured you would be gone for awhile to cool-off so I went to get some supplies."
Luna sniffled and laughed through soft sobs. "Like this beanbag?"
Sam grinned. "Yup! Turns out, when you have a children's room, they basically bend over backwards to give you stuff. All I had to do was put on a little girl's voice and ask for a…" Sam put on a little girl voice. "A-a-a bweanbwag a-a-and staws."
Luna laughed but then looked up, confused. "Staws?"
Sam put the globe down beside her and wiped the tears from Luna's face with gentle fingers.
She smiled down at Luna. "Stars."
Luna stared up at her, a blank expression on her face and tears still in her eyes.
Sam kissed her forehead and whispered, "Get the lights."
Luna shot up, turned off the lights, and then stumbled back to Sam in the dark, almost falling on top of her. They laughed as Sam caught Luna in her arms, both of them sinking into the beanbag. Luna rolled onto her back in Sam's lap and waited as Sam reached over to the globe. Suddenly, the room was lit up with yellow stars and multiple colors which represented space.
"Wow, this looks better than I expected," Sam said with a small laugh, taking Luna's cheeks into her hands.
Luna stared up at the stars and the fake universe quietly, nodding in reply. They sat in silence for awhile before Luna spoke.
"Sam…I'm really sorry for what I said. I-I can't believe you keep forgiving me for being such an idiot and saying stupid things all the time," Luna sighed sadly.
"It's okay, I happen to like idiots," Sam joked.
Luna sat up and placed herself on Sam's lap so they were staring eye to eye. With no light in the room, the only things reflected in Sam's eyes were the fake stars and the glowing colors from the globe.
"Please stop forgiving me so easily," Luna begged.
A small smirk lifted onto Sam's face. "Mmn… Nope. I know my faults, Lunes. Mazzy has been calling me a human doormat since we were nine, I get it, and I'm honestly okay with them. But…you were right. Without what you said, I would've just been lying in bed in agony and trying to convince myself I don't care about Valentine's Day. But you know what? I'm a liar too."
Luna giggled and sunk deep into Sam's lap, pressing herself against her girlfriend's body. "That's okay, I happen to both be a liar and like liars…"
Sam grinned as Luna inched her face closer. "I'm not going to lie now… If you don't kiss me soon, I'm going to go crazy…"
Luna smirked and pressed her lips against Sam's. Maybe it was the dozen root beer floats she had, or that the fact that it was Valentine's Day night and it was exciting, but the kiss quickly deepened. Luna ran her hands up Sam's sides and into her hair. She then stroked her hands down to the sides of Sam's neck, fingers tickling the sensitive jawbone. Sam stiffened underneath her and Luna wondered if she was doing something wrong. She broke the kiss and looked down at Sam.
"Whup?!" Sam yelped as she suddenly tumbled off the beanbag with Luna on her.
Luna flopped over Sam and laughed. She pushed herself back up and saw that Sam was blushing and grinning timidly at her.
"Sorry, lost my balance," Sam chuckled weakly.
Luna bent over and kissed her nose. "Maybe we should lie in bed, then."
Sam's body stiffened again, but the girl gave Luna an eager nod anyway. Luna helped Sam up and then Sam sat on the edge of her bed, finding her feet very interesting suddenly. Luna laid them onto the bed and curled into Sam's warm body. She felt Sam's heart even through the thick robe and listened to how she held her breath and saw her slowly turn blue-
"Woah! Sam! Breathe!" Luna gasped, sitting up and shaking Sam's shoulders.
Sam gasped and wheezed loudly as the color returned to her face. She coughed a few times and gulped in some more air.
"Okay, now it's time for you to tell me what's wrong with you," Luna said with a laugh.
Sam sighed and put an arm over her eyes. "I…ugh…this is going to sound, like, super dumb…"
Luna pulled Sam's arm away and looked into her eyes. "Tell me."
Sam looked away from her girlfriend's sincere eyes. "Well…you know I'm a lesbian, right?"
Luna slapped her cheeks with her hands and opened her mouth in a tight 'o' shape, feigning shock. Sam laughed at her expression and Luna grinned.
"Anyway…! I've pretty much knew my entire life that I looked at girls differently, and that I, was different. So if I got invited to a sleepover or something, I would feel like I was invading if I slept in the same bed with someone or even next to them on the ground. And when I was with people who knew, like, at a school trip or something, they would treat me like I was some kind of pervert, wanting to grope every girl I saw. Sometimes they would try to use me to figure themselves out, but I was always to afraid to go along with it because…I dunno…," Sam said. She let out a sad laugh. "…Dumb, I guess."
Luna listened intensely, finding herself loving this vulnerable side of Sam and wanting to protect her. Sam wasn't afraid to express her feelings, especially when she was upset, but most of the time she covered up her problems and insecurities with jokes or teasing. Luna wrapped her arms around Sam's sides and listened quietly.
"So…I think sometimes, I try to hold myself back from you. I guess it's that old feeling that comes back and tells me that I shouldn't be close to you, but I really want to. Like…really, really want to...and maybe being alone together is just bringing out these desires I never wanted to feel," Sam said, blushing. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is…"
She pushed herself up a little on one elbow to look down at Luna still cuddled up to her.
"…I love you. Is…that okay?" Sam asked quietly.
Luna gawked up at her girlfriend: love. Sam said "love!" Luna was dying to say it, but as usual, she was too scared and too insecure to say it. She said it freely to her siblings, her friends, and just now to Chunk – I love Sam – but never once had actually said it to Sam. It was always "really like" or "like" or some dumb pick-up line or one-liner Luna found to say the same thing.
Sam's face twisted and she looked away. "S-sorry, I-"
Luna tugged the front of Sam's robe and pulled her in for a long kiss. When they separated, she grinned at Sam's shocked, red face. "I love you too, Luv."
Sam beamed and laid back down so Luna could curl back into her. "And…you're okay with being this close?"
"Yup!" Luna confirmed with a note of naughtiness in her voice.
They giggled and then fell into silence. Sam stared at the stars and Luna buried her nose into Sam's robe. Luna had never felt so comfortable in her entire life.
"We fit," Luna murmured.
"Yeah, I'm surprised. Luckily we haven't hit puberty all the way, otherwise there would be no way both of us would fit on this bed," Sam laughed.
Luna smirked and rolled her eyes. "No, I mean, us. Like this."
"Oh…" Sam said, her voice indicating surprise. She was silent for a moment and then brought one hand into Luna's hair. "Yeah…we really do."
Luna looked up at Sam with an amused grin. "What do you think we'll look like when we do hit the Big P?"
Sam laughed, "Well, if I have my most of my mom's genes, I'll look like a big scarecrow." She playfully grinned down at Luna. "I hope you have your mom's…features."
Luna's eyes widened and she let out a shocked laugh. "Ew, Dude! Are you creeping on my mom?!"
Sam teased as Luna grabbed one of the pillows. "Hey, I'm appreciating, not creeping."
She shielded herself with her arms as Luna playfully whacked at her with the pillow, both laughing.
They continued to talk and laugh until the stars on the ceiling faded away from the sun breaking in the new day.
+0+0+0+0+
Chunk sat in his van the next afternoon, trying to bring it to life. "C'mon, Luv…c'mon…!"
The van spat and then roared to life. Chunk threw up his arms victoriously and then jumped out of the car into the snow. The roads were cleared and the snow had stopped early in the morning. Thankfully, Royal Woods closed all their schools so Luna and Sam wouldn't get into trouble. They had already pre-closed them for tomorrow too, but Chunk knew the girls were eager to return home.
He jogged back inside the hotel and looked towards the fireplace. Luna and Sam were seated next to each other, talking with the biggest smiles Chunk had ever seen them wear. He nodded approvingly: Luna got her forgiveness and then some.
"You Luvs ready to go?" Chunk called out. "We got a long ride ahead of us!"
Luna and Sam got up and looked into each others' eyes. They turned to Chunk with matching grins.
"Can't wait!" Luna proclaimed, throwing one fist into the air and taking Sam's hand with her other hand.
"Let's rock and roll!" Sam agreed.
Chunk smiled and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. Luna and Sam walked up to him and smiled.
"Thanks Chunk. We really had a great time," Sam said.
Luna nodded. "Yeah, Dude! You're our savior!"
Chunk looked unsure. "Really? I didn't ruin your big day?" He eyed them suspiciously. "You two didn't buy anything fun like I told you to..."
Luna shook her head. "Naw, we made it work, and it turned out to be a pretty awesome day."
"And I got to take a bath with all kinds of animal friends," Sam joked as she led Luna towards the door.
"Dream come true, huh Sam?" Luna's voice laughed as they exited the building.
Chunk smiled. "Ah, young love."
He sniffled, wiped away a tear, and followed them outside.