Chapter Four: Sam's POV

"Right this way, m'lady," Freddie said jokingly, opening the door of the car for me like a chauffer.

"Shut up," I said, but I was smiling and laughing.

"Sure thing," he whispered, pressing his lips to my hair.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, sitting in my seat and waiting for him to come to the other side.

Once he'd gotten in, he said, "It's a surprise," and winked.

"So, uh, Freddie," I started, "did you ever think the nickname thing was like…annoying?"

"Not really," he answered honestly. "I actually kinda liked some of 'em. That might sound kinda weird, but it was like you were spending time coming up with those, which meant you must've been thinking about me."

"Uh, yeah," I said, getting more uncomfortable with the situation.

We drove in silence for a while down a dark street with trees surrounding us, as if we were driving through a forest preserve.

"Seriously, Fred-o, where are we going?"

"That's one I liked." He was avoiding my question, and seemed very pleased with himself about it.

"Dork! I'm serious! Forests freak me out!"

"Just be patient, Puckett," he said, patting my knee like I was a child. I moved it away, pouting and looking out the window.

Slowly, the trees began to part, and I began to see where we were going. A big hill emerged from behind the evergreens, with a spot not far below for parking cars.

"Freddie?"

"Yes, Sam?"

"Are we going to a hill?"

"Possibly. Is that a hill or a platueu?"

"Uh…I was absent the day we learned what that was."

He laughed, then pulled into the small parking lot below the hill. "We're here," he announced, pulling the keys from the ignition, killing the song off short.

"Seriously? A hill? You couldn't think of anything better? Like possibly a place with food?"

"If I'd taken you to a resteraunt, you would've complained for having to wear a dress. C'mon, this is romantic."

"Oh, yes. Being eaten alive by bugs is romantic. Ok."

He turned to me, grabbed my hands, and kissed me. Then, he gave me a smile and said, "Humor me."

That was all I needed. We walked up the hill, hands not relaxing their grip, in silence. When we got to the top, we sat on the edge. He was right. This was romantic. Despite the fact that sand was getting everywhere and bugs were swarming, the dark night sky was all I needed to be satisfied.

"Wow," I said, "I didn't think staring at the sky would be romantic. Guess you proved me wrong, Freduchinni."

"It depends on who you're with," he said, still looking at the sky. "I chose this spot since it's far from the city. If we'd been far in, we wouldn't be able to see so many stars."

We sat there in silence for a while, until Freddie broke the silence. "Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

I looked at him and said, "Um, I love you too, Fredefer."

He laughed. "Can you believe two years ago we were pretending to hate each other?"