Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long a wait but my computer died on me, i made this chapter longer and as realistic as i could with a rather limited knowledge of what happens in the military, hope you enjoy it.
iDidn't Have To:
The ride home was awkward to say the least. I didn't want to talk to Freddie. I just sat there and stared out of the passenger window.
"Are you mad?" he asks me.
"Yes I'm mad." I reply quickly.
"Oh." He says and continues to drive. "Why?" he asks.
"Because I didn't want YOU to join the army." I snap at him. He looks at me with both confusion and anger.
"Really? I thought we were becoming friends." He says angrily. I look at him as if he just slapped me.
"We are friends." I tell him.
"Then why don't you want me to join?" he asks.
"Because… Because…" I can't tell the real reason. If he got hurt in battle or... worse, I'd probably die too, out of heartbreak. Yeah, I love the idiot, can we move on before this gets too mushy. "Because… your mom would kill me if anything happens to you." I tell him finally. He looks at me for a second, then seems to accept my answer and goes back to driving. I go back to starring out of the passenger side window and we stay silent the entire way back to Bushwell plaza. It's not until we're in the elevator that a question occurs to me. "Why did you enlist?" I ask him. "I mean, you didn't really answer me before, so why?" he looks at me and is unsure of what to say; I can see it in his eyes. After a moment of silence he speaks.
"I couldn't let you go to war by yourself. I needed to join to make sure you came back safely." I look him in the eyes and see the sincerity behind them. I throw my arms around him and hug him as hard as I can. He's hesitant for a second, but then hugs me back. I bury my face in his neck and breathe him in.
"You didn't have to do that." I whisper to him.
"I didn't have to, but I wanted to." He responds and pulls me in closer. I know he's Freddie and that I shouldn't be having these feelings, they could wreck our friendship, but I just needed this hug. I don't know what would have happened next, but the elevator's bell 'dinged' and we pull apart as we step into the Shay apartment. We are immediately greeted by a very cheery Carly.
"Happy birthday!" she cries and throws her arms around my neck in a hug. "Spencer and I had to eat your breakfast. What took you guys so long to get here?" she asks. I look over at Freddie and see that he is as hesitant as I am. "What?" Carly asks seeing us look at each other. "Did something happen between you two?"
"Um, sort of." Freddie answers.
"What do you mean sort of?" asks Carly, "Remember, no more secrets." She adds.
"We joined the army." I tell her. She looks me in the eye, and then breaks out laughing.
"That's hilarious." She gasps out between laughing fits. She continues laughing until she sees our faces. "Wait… you REALLY joined the ARMY?" she screeches.
"Now Carly, calm down." I say reassuringly while she hyperventilates.
"Why?" she asks after she calms down a bit. I look to Freddie and he nods. Freddie steps forward to answer.
"It's very simple Carly," he starts calmly, "Sam made me do it!" he yells and points at me. I'm still calmly looking at Carly when I throw a punch in his direction and feel my fist connect with his nose. There's a dull 'thunk' as he hits the ground and his moans fill the room with a sort of ambient noise.
"That's not true at all." I assure her evenly. "I signed up for…" I trail of as I glance at Freddie, "personal reasons." I finish.
"What about you Freddie?" Carly asks him innocently.
"I had a reason, but it's hard to remember it with a BLEEDING NOSE!" he shouts his last two words at me from the floor.
"Well, when are you leaving?" She asks desperately. I look at my feet with fear at her response.
"We're supposed to report to the Yakima training center at the end of the week." I wait for her outburst, but it never comes. I look up to see her smiling, tears in her eyes, but smiling nonetheless. Again, she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.
"I'm gonna miss you two." She whispers through her tears. She lets go of me and moves to hug Freddie, who has just got up off of the floor. She pulls him in and he accepts the hug. She whispers something to him and his eyes open wide in surprise, but then take on a look of understanding. They pull away and he nods to her.
"I will." He tells her and she smiles. I can't help but feel a pain in my chest when they hugged. I know they don't feel that way about each other, but it still hurts a little. It makes me think of our hug only five minutes before. At that moment Spencer bursts through the door with a box in his arms approximately the size of a cake.
"Is everybody happy?" he asks and upon seeing Carly with tears in her eyes and the sad looks on Freddie and I he follows this with, "What the Hell happened in here?"
"We'll tell you later." Freddie answers him.
"Is that my cake?" I ask pointing at the box in his arms. He looks down at the box and then back up at me with a look on his face that says 'Are you kidding?'
"Of course not, this is for Carly, Freddie, and me." He says and puts it down on the island between the kitchen and living room. He goes to the back door, opens it and wheels in a small cart with two large cakes in the shapes of a 1 and an 8. "This is your cake." My face lit up at the sight of the cake.
"You are the best brother ever!" I smile at him. He looks at me confused.
"Sam, I'm not your brother." He says gently.
"Yes you are." I tell him. "You take me in everyday, you feed me, you're there for me. You're the brother I never had." He smiles and walks up to me and wraps me in a hug.
"Happy birthday kiddo." He says.
"What is with all the hugging today?" Freddie asks aloud and we all look at him questioningly. "I mean, I'm all for it, but what is it about today that brings out the hugs in people?" I think about this and realize he's right.
"Maybe it's because we joined the army today." I tell him sarcastically. Spencer snaps to attention at hearing this. (Get it? Military humor).
"You joined the army today?" he asks looking at both of us.
"Surprise." Freddie adds lamely. The rest of the night and the week was filled with explanations, goodbyes, and cake… lots and lots of cake. Before I know what's happening, it's Friday and we're at the airport in our uniforms that we received in the mail. Spencer, Carly, and Mrs. Benson came to show us off. Mrs. Benson was crooning over Freddie in the corner and I was saying my last goodbyes to Carly and Spencer. Soon, Freddie pulls away from his mom and walks toward the gate. I quickly follow him over and walk next to him as we board the plane. When I know he isn't looking, I stare at him. I remember the day two years ago when we broke up in that elevator, looking back on it now, it was probably the worst day of my life. We take our seats on the plane and wait, soon our plane leaves the ground and I grip the arm rests and squeeze my eyes shut as the plane shakes with turbulence. There's a reason I didn't join the air force. I feel a hand on mine and look up to see its owner, Freddie smiles at me and just looking at him makes me feel better. "Don't worry, I'm here." He whispers. I'm not going to lie, that confused the shit out of me, but it made me feel better. I don't know if he's doing this as a friend or if he wants more. I decide to be bold and lace my fingers through his. I don't look at him as I do this and hope he doesn't make a big deal out of it. His hand tenses when I do it and I'm about to pull my hand away, but he squeezes my hand gently, and then relaxes. I keep my hand there and let the feeling of security wash over me. He gently rubs his thumb over the back of my hand and before I know it we're at the training site. We line up in rows and a tall black man in perfect uniform comes out in front of us. He says his name is Drill Sergeant Johnson, but we are to call him at all times as 'Yes Drill Sergeant', because that is all he wants to hear after he addresses us. He then told us that our 'Sorry little asses' would be put through the worst hell we have ever experienced and that when he was done with us we'd be 'crawling home to whatever ugly piece of garbage we call mama.' He then made us drop and give him twenty before sending us off to our barracks. What ensued was five weeks of mediocre food and what Drill Sergeant Johnson accurately described as 'Hell.' The only thing that made it all bearable was knowing that Freddie was right beside me all of the way. I learned how to stand, how to run, how to walk, how to shoot, how to fight and how to live. I also learned that Drill Sergeant Johnson's Grandmother was one tough ass lady, apparently, no matter how fast I was, how strong I was, how well I shot, or how far I threw a grenade, his grandmother could do it and do it better. After this period, we were all assigned to different military bases. I was assigned to a base in Nevada to complete my training and Freddie was assigned to camp victory… in Iraq. The only reason I got through basic training was because Freddie helped me through it. When Freddie heard we were assigned to different bases, no, different continents, he was just as depressed as I was. So, I went to Drill Sergeant Johnson and did something I'm not proud of. I begged him to get me to camp victory. I don't know what it was that I said, but I think it was when I mentioned Freddie's name; he turned on his heel and walked out. Freddie had always been some trouble for Drill Sergeant Johnson; he just didn't know when to shut up. That was yesterday, today I wake up and go to the mess hall for breakfast. I'm sitting at the table when Drill Sergeant Johnson comes up to me.
"Turns out that camp victory could use a few MPs if you're up for it." He tells me and I smile at him. "You've been reassigned. Hope you and your friend have…" he trailed off here, he doesn't seem too good with words, unless he's shouting them that is. I jump up and run over to Tony, Freddie hangs out with him a lot and I need to know where he is.
"I think he's outside, said he needed some air." Tony supplies and I almost sprint out the doors and look around. Sure enough Freddie's pacing back and forth a few yards away. I run-walk up to him to tell him the good news.
"Freddie I-" I start but he cuts me off by slamming his lips onto mine. I'm about to lose myself in the kiss, but he pulls back quickly.
"Listen Sam, I need to tell you now that I want to be more than friends, I think you feel the same way but I'm not sure, I just needed to tell you before I leave for Iraq." He says really fast. I stand there for a moment as what he says sinks in, and then grab him and pull him close, I press my lips onto his and slip my tongue in his mouth. I taste all of him for about a minute before I come up for air. Our faces are inches apart and I take a deep breath to get all the air back in my system.
"I just got reassigned to camp victory, we'll still be together for the rest of our training." I tell him softly. His eyes open wide and his mouth hangs open.
"Oh."
Thank you for reading this chapter, i hope you enjoyed it, but the only way to tell is if you click that little button that says review.