Baby Steps

1Brook changed three times before coming to breakfast the next morning, looking at the mirror for the first time in months with a view to how she'd look to the other students. Her jeans were rejected, finally settling on a more feminine skirt, followed up with more makeup than usual. It seemed to Sam that Brooke was trying to look as 'straight' as possible for the school.

Sam chuckled to herself at Brooke's nervous behavior, and calmly told Brooke she was going to her room to find a poor of army boots and a plaid shirt. Brooke glared at her for only a second before she started laughing.

***********

The girls walked into the school like the ceiling was going fall on them as soon as they got in. They were half-expecting odd looks – a part of each of them hoping that Harrison had kept his mouth shut.

They didn't see Lily and Carmen until third period.

"Oh my God guys!" Lily shrieked. "Are you okay?"

"What's going on?" Sam asked. "Did Harrison rat us out?"

"He didn't have to," Carmen answered. "Mary Cherry's been telling the whole school that you're gay Brooke – and that you're so 'desperate' to hide it that you're 'reduced to' sleeping with Sam."

"What!?" Brooke shouted. Why, she wondered, was everyone turning this into an excuse to attack Sam. It's my fault, she thought, not Sam's.

Sam's shouting interrupted Brooke's self-recrimination.

"What the hell does she mean 'reduced to' sleeping with me? – We haven't even..." Her voice trailed off.

Lily chimed in to fill the awkward silence. "She's telling everyone they have to help you 'come out of the closet' so you can get a 'decent girlfriend' – her words, Sam – not mine."

"It's okay Lil" Sam said, her jaw half-clenched. "I'm not mad at you – Mary Cherry, on the other hand, I plan to murder."

With that, she turned and marched down the hall like a soldier going to war.

"Not on your own, you don't," Brooke added, chasing after her.

***********

They found Mary Cherry outside of the Cafeteria. She smiled wide as Brooke approached.

"Well, hey y'all. How y'all doin' Brooke?" she drawled.

"Cut the crap Mary Cherry" Sam snarled. "What the hell have you been telling people about us?"

Mary Cherry sneered. "Well, Spam, if you must know, I have been informing the student body that they had all best be accepting of our dear Brooke's 'alternative lifestyle' choice if they know what's good for 'em."

"Of course," she blathered on, "I, as a Christian, feel bad knowing that y'all are bound for hellfire, but that's no reason to be picking on y'all in the here and now."

Brooke flinched at the mention of 'hell,' but Sam was so busy picturing her hands around Mary Cherry's throat that she didn't notice.

"Well, Mary Cherry, as much as we appreciate your concern," she hissed through clenched teeth, "we'd really prefer that our private life wasn't broadcast to the entire school."

The blonde Texan sneered again. "It's not you I'm worried about – it's our own poor Brooke – so ashamed of her secret, sapphic desires that she sneaks around with a nobody when she could surely do much better. If only the lez-be-annas knew she was 'available,' so to speak."

Turning to Brooke, she dug herself in deeper. "Now, everyone knows 'bout y'all. Now yeh ken get rid of moldy lil Spam and get a gal-pal that you ain't scared to show off to the world."

Brooke stepped up to Mary Cherry, staring the dimwit in the eye. Her next words spoken with such a fury that flecks of spit flew from her lips.

"You know what, Mary Cherry? I could do better – better than the shallow, insincere, back-stabbing, murderous 'friends' I've had. I could do a helluva lot better than the fake, plastic, miserable life I've had trying to please everyone but myself. But I will never – could never – in any world you could ever dream of, do better than Sam." She grabbed the brunette's hand as she said it.

"And I will not, for one minute, put up with anyone trying to hurt her, tear her down or tell her she's somehow less of a person because she doesn't wear the right clothes or do the right things or have the right friends. So if you're trying to make me choose between her and my 'image' you can go to hell."

The dumb blonde with the drawl looked positively indignant. "Well, if yer gonna be so damned ungrateful..." she said as she stormed off.

***********

Brooke was still shaking after Mary Cherry left – so much so that she jumped slightly when she felt Sam's arms wrap around her.

"Thank you Princess," she purred into the blonde's ear.

Placing her hands over Sam's, she answered, "Just the truth Sammy. I wasn't going to let anyone talk about you like that. You know damn well you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Sam sighed. "I can't even believe she'd even come up with something like this? Where does a moron like her..." Sam stopped in mid-sentence. She and Brooke just looked at one another. Of course the dimwit Texan didn't think of it. They both had an idea who could have put her up to it.

Sam was off again. Brooke started to follow her, but hesitated until Sam was out of sight.

***********

Sam barged into the Novak, where Nicole was primping.

"Ok Satan! What did you do? Mary Cherry's too stupid to have thought of this on her own."

"Hello to you too Sam. What're you on about this time?" Nicole asked, she didn't turn away from the mirror.

"You put Mary Cherry up to this... stunt, telling everyone about me and Brooke. What the hell do you what from us? Haven't you done enough?"

Nicole sighed, and turned to face Sam. "Look Sam, I don't give a rat's ass if Brooke – or you – are gay. That's been done. I hope Brooke finds herself a girlfriend – if that's really her thing – that's not going to make her a joke."

Sam folded her arms. "Oh! So I'm not worthy, is that it?"

Nicole, put her hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam flinched slightly at the contact.

"Oh honey, that's not the question."

Sam pulled away, turning her back on the other girl.

"And I suppose you're just worried about the girl you tried to kill!"

"Sammy, I can't take back what I did – I really wish I could, but Brooke's obviously not firing on all cylinders if she thinks this is a good idea for either of you. Come on! As far as everyone's concerned, you two are sisters."

Sam rubbed the bridge of her nose, her tension showing.

"We're not sisters – not biologically, and we weren't anything until two years ago."

"Be that as it may," Nicole interrupted, "and even if Brooke doesn't care what anyone thinks anymore, you two are still a Jerry Springer episode as far as everyone else is concerned – and how are your parents going to react to that?"

Sam gasped. "Oh God! You didn't!?"

"No Sam, I didn't, but someone will. Honey, you've gotta kill this thing before your family goes up in flames and takes Brooke with them – Not to mention the rep that baby sis of both of yours will end up with."

Sam just stared forward. Her eyes were starting to water when she ran out of the room.

***********

Once Sam was gone, Harrison peeked from around the corner where he'd been listening from the stalls.

Walking up behind Nicole, he leaned in close, whispering, "Good job."

Nicole snapped her face into full 'bitch' mode.

"So, are we done?"

Harrison couldn't help but smile.

"Almost. Just making sure that little Brooke comes to her senses."

"And what? Comes back to you? – Dream on, nerd boy."

Harrison's face went dark and his hand shot to Nicole's neck. Her head hit the wall, knocking several of the pictures off of the wall. She grabbed Harrison's wrist, her expression changing from rage to shock when she couldn't make his hand move. He just stared at her, his eyes betraying no emotion, but his clenched jaw showing his anger.

"Oh Nicole, always so superior, so smug, so completely, unjustifiably overconfident. Do you really think anyone's impressed with your bitch-diva routine? – Anyone who cares anyway?"

"Maybe your loving boyfriend? – Wait! You've never had one, not one that gave a damn anyway. Sure, they all enjoyed their turn on the pussy-go-round, but who wants to stick around after the sweat's started to cool? – They might have to talk to you."

"Maybe your friends – your loyal, true, sympathetic friends – the ones who are there for you no matter what? – No! Wait! None of those either."

"Well, let's see, family then? Family are always there. Your family'd never let you down, right? – No, no, don't have that either now, do we? Just a mom who's so sick with regret over what she picked up at the trailer park that she has to remind you every time she sees you – every time she has to see you – all about your many, many shortcomings.

"Then there's your darling biological mother. Wow! I bet she cared about you – she gave birth to you, after all. – Oh! Sorry! Not her either. She ready to drop you like a rock twice. First, when she excreted you in the first place – she ran like hell. Of course, once she figured she could maybe make a buck off of you, she dropped in for a bit."

"You know what? I bet that was a real eye-opener for Mama Julian. A great example of the rotten apple not falling far from the trailer-park tree."

Nicole would have been livid, if she wasn't on the verge of tears. She would have been in tears, if she wasn't finding it hard to breath with a hand squeezing her throat.

Harrison stared at her for awhile, daring her to break down. Finally, he let her slump to the floor, storming out of the room without another word.