Chapter 3

I sat in my math class, glaring at the dry erase board in front of me as Mr. what's-his-face lectured the class about quadratic equations and square roots. Sam sat next to me, jotting down every word the teacher spoke with such speed I wondered if he had super powers. It seemed the faster our teacher talked, the easier it became for Sam to write. It amazed me how my boyfriend could be such a brainiac, and yet he had no clue how to work out the puzzle that was the female population. "Sam, you're going to run out of pen ink," I whispered over to him, and he glanced at me once to shush me.

"I'm trying to pay attention, Max," he muttered and I groaned, slamming my head against the desk in annoyance. I knew why Sam was so high maintenance about grades, what with his parents practically whipping him to death if he so much as got a B, but I missed having my boyfriend next to me. Whenever the teachers started talking he dropped the grin and the affectionate kisses, leaving me to wonder if maybe he cared more about math equations than me. Of course he didn't; his parents did. It still hurt to be brushed aside so easily for homework.

After what felt like hours the teacher finally shut his mouth for the last ten minutes of class, leaving Sam to switch back into boyfriend mode. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," he apologized immediately and I shrugged it off. I was used to it. "I just, I need to ace the next test and I- I can't-"

"Sam, you're stuttering," I pointed out quietly and he took a deep breath to calm himself down before smiling at me.

"Okay, I'm cool. So, how about you and I ditch the cafeteria food, huh? Let's go get some real steaks or something," he suggested and I grinned.

"Sounds awesome, but since when can you afford a steak?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Since I got my first paycheck," Sam spoke excitedly, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and tossing it to me. I caught it with ease and flipped it open, flipping through the hundred dollar bills.

"Whoa, how much is in here?" I asked, already beginning to count.

"About a grand. Being a waiter doesn't pay much, but the tips are pretty good. Especially with all the rich guys that pop in," Sam explained and kissed my cheek. "So, we shall eat steaks for lunch!" he declared. I chuckled and nodded.

"Let's not blow it all in one place though, alright Hotshot?" I warned jokingly and he nodded in agreement.

"Alright, so where should we-" The bell rang just then, obnoxiously cutting my boyfriend off as it blared on for a few seconds before silencing; letting the whole school know it was time to switch classes.

"See you in 45 minutes," I kissed Sam goodbye, deciding I'd think up a place in Culinary Arts, and he waved before walking off in the opposite direction I was meant to go. Normally he'd walk me to class and risk the tardy, but for the past week he'd been leaving me to walk down the hallways alone. I tried not to push the question in the back of my mind because I knew he was stressed out about the big state tests coming up and also finals which would happen soon after; and then colleges to apply for which he'd have to do next school year. It was all too much for me to even think about; but to have to do it? I would have ran away from that a long time ago.

Shrugging off the thoughts for now, I met up with Iggy halfway to my next class that he forced me to join, noticing the smirk on his face. "What's up with you?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Just excited to watch you try not to burn the whole school down today," he joked, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm never letting you sign me up for an extracurricular again," I mumbled, following him into the culinary arts classroom, thankful lunch was on Sam today so I wouldn't have to try and salvage whatever I burned up in this class.


"So, how's your lobster and steak?" Sam asked as I anxiously glanced at the watch on his wrist. Lunch was about to end and we were still off school campus.

"Huh? Oh. Oh, it's amazing. This is amazing, but shouldn't we be getting back? After Lunch don't you have some sort of ology to take care of?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at my straight A boyfriend.

"Nah, I've wasted too much time blowing you off for equations. Right now it's just you and me." He grinned over at me and I smiled back as our ankles locked together under the table.

"So, how's your steak going over there?" I questioned, looking over at the half finished meal in front of Sam.

"Pretty good. I don't know if I can finish it all though, honestly," he chuckled and looked back down at his lunch before stabbing a piece of meat with his fork and shoving it into his mouth with the grace of a three-legged hippo.

"Oh please, your black hole of a stomach could finish anything," I insisted before finishing off the lobster tail and moving on to the side dish of french fries.

"I don't know…" he trailed his voice off suspensefully and looked over at me. "So, you busy tonight? We could go on a study date together and skip the studying,"

"Sounds risky, what if your mom finds out?" I asked jokingly, and Sam snickered at me.

"Oh come on, my mom won't even know I'm out with you as it is since she hates you for some unknown reason," he muttered.

"Oh God, don't remind me," I growled out, thinking back to the first time I had met Sam's parents. I remembered an interrogation, name-calling, and being thrown into lots of different scenarios. It had been horrible. But at least I made it through alive.

"Yeah, some date we had, huh? You nervously sweating under the lights and me handcuffed into the kitchen to keep from protecting you. I think we missed the movie, dinner reservation, and wasted about two hundred dollars in less than four hours."

"Wasn't it more like three? Gosh, I don't even want to think about it. It was like I was in a kickboxing arena with my hands and feet tied up."

"Yeah, those are my parents for you," Sam mumbled before taking a sip of his sweet tea. "So, tonight?" He asked again.

"I'd love to but I don't think I can. I'm meeting up with JJ and I would take you along but I know you haven't had your meds refilled yet and there's going to be at least four dogs there," I explained, looking to Sam apologetically. We hardly ever got date nights anymore what with his schedule being school, school, and more school while mine was more focused on keeping my dog from taking a bite out of someone.

"Say no more or I'll start itching just thinking about it," Sam spoke quickly, itching his arm for dramatic effect. I laughed at him before taking a long swig of my coke and going back to my french fries.

After I finished and attempted to at least pay the tip, Sam and I walked hand and hand around all the restaurants and strip malls in the area, me leaning on his arm with a small smile on my face. I was glad to have this time even if I was skipping two classes.

"You know, I really am sorry I'm allergic to Fang," Sam spoke out suddenly, and I looked up to him questioningly.

"What? That's ridiculous. Don't be sorry-"

"Well I have to be. I mean, most people can't put up with a guy like me as it is and then you have to add "Allergic to Man's best friend" on the list along with every other thing wrong with me and it just adds up to undatable. So, I'm sorry you're stuck with an undatable guy," Sam explained, looking down at me from his his hazel eyes big and innocent and guilty.

"Sam, I love everything that's 'wrong' with you, and I am slightly irritated that you apologized for being allergic to Fang. You can't help that. Blame Mother Nature. I already hate her so adding more to the list will only fuel my need to buy books and kill trees," I grinned and stretched up on my tippy toes to kiss him on the lips. Our sweet kiss lasted about six seconds before an elderly woman riding on one of those elderly woman transporters smacked Sam upside the head with her golden cane.

"You damn kids need to use protection. Wrap that tongue up before you infect her," she growled out in her old, gravelly voice before riding off into the nearest supermarket. For a moment we just stared at where the old lady had disappeared to before looking each other in the eye and bursting into laughter.


After making it through the one class I got back in time for, Iggy and I headed over to JJ's apartment with Fang in the backseat howling along to the music the louder Iggy turned it up. Igster and I sang along in our horribly out of tune voices while Fang barked in the backseat like an angel.

"Soaring!"

"Flying!"

"There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach!"

"Ruff ruff ruff ruff!"

And that was when I managed to pull into a parking space and shut the car off, leaving a disappointed friend and dog to whimper and whine as I shook my head at them.

"Iggy, we were supposed to get rid of that CD ages ago. I'm not singing through the whole song with you now," I persisted, though I could feel my resolve breaking even before he said anything.

"But it's our song, Maxie!" Iggy whined, and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, on the way back we'll jam out, but come on, Fang needs to learn to not bite heads off," I told him, shoving my car door open and unbuckling my seatbelt. Just as I climbed out Iggy began to begrudgingly do the same all the while Fang wagged his long tail and set two feet in the passenger seat as Iggy began to shut his door. He stopped however, when Fang began to climb his way forward and out, standing right next to his duet buddy with his pink tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted joyously.

"If Fang did bite heads off that would be so metal. But he doesn't because he's a bunny rabbit in a horse's body."

"Yes, but a bunny with pointy teeth," I added, walking over to the other side of the car and patting Fang's head before turning to Iggy. "And can you please not flirt with her this time? She's a college girl and you're a junior,"

"What? Flirt? Max, what exactly is flirting to you?" Iggy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh come on Iggy. This is how it always starts. The sarcastic insults, the crude jokes, the small smirks. Then it turns into the blunt stuff and the pick-up lines, and before you know it she's pregnant and you're crying on the phone to your mom because you have no idea how to hold a child, let alone raise one."

"First of all, I have never gotten a girl pregnant, and second of all I've only ever cried on the phone to my mom after those three girlfriends claimed I knocked them up. Which was in fact false."

"You mean the same three you dated at once?" I asked.

"That would be the trio," Iggy nodded and I just rolled my eyes at the player I had for a friend before reaching down to pet Fang behind his ears. Only, instead of coming in contact with the warm, dark fur all over his body, I came in contact with fresh air.

"Fang?" I asked, looking down to see only the dark gray asphalt in my peripheral vision. "Fang!" I called again, slightly more urgently as I began to look around for my precious friend. Iggy immediately noticed my disgruntlement and began looking around for the dog that was impossible to hide.

"Max! Over there!" Iggy exclaimed and I turned around just in time to watch Fang snap at a butterfly as he trotted down the street, right in the middle of the road.

"Fang! Get back here!" I called just as a truck screeched into a turn. It was moving too fast, and Fang wasn't paying attention. And by the time my best friend turned to listen to me, it was too late. He was down for the count.


Cliffhanger! Review if you wanna see what happens next!

- VR