Sam and Danny walked into the Nasty Burger, hearing the familiar ring of the bell as the door opened. Sam looked up at it. The small bell couldn't be to big, yet to Sam, it struck a chord. Sam almost smiled at it. That bell never changed. It always made the same sound for the same reason, to signal when the door was opening or closing. It had a purpose, it was always there. It would never change. Maybe it would be the only thing that seems like it won't change. With the conversation Danny and her are about to have with Tucker, Sam can't help but feel like everything around her is going to change. Sam didn't realize she was sat there staring at the bell for more than a few moments when she felt a warm hand intertwine with hers, giving it a small squeeze. She tore her eyes away from the bell and looked up at Danny, who was giving her a small reassuring smile. Sam didn't smile back, but instead bit her lip, her eyes darting over to the table where Tucker was.
As Danny started to walk over, Sam following suit, her mind drifted. She was scared going over to this table. Sam Manson was never scared, especially around her friends... especially because of her friends. In all the shit she had going on in her life, Danny and Tucker were usually her safe haven. But in the past few weeks, she was running. Running away from them, running away from everything. She didn't want to, but it's as if her metaphorical legs wouldn't stop. She liked running way better than turning around, and starting the slow climb uphill again. But, the slow climb was the right thing to do. And the first step is to stop running. So that's what Sam did. She stopped running. She stopped running but sliding into the booth across form Tucker. That's when her metaphorical legs stopped.
She hadn't realized her and Danny were still holding hands until her gave her one last squeeze, this time not meeting her eyes, but instead looking up at Tuckers. Sam swallowed, feeling her heart rate quicken as this started. There was no going back.
Danny looked at Tucker. His friend who usually provided the comic relief for once had a serious face plastered on. Danny was only half grateful. He was grateful he wasn't making a joke about it, but also, he needed that relief. This past night had been a roller coaster of emotions for him, and telling Tucker might just make that coaster crash. He honestly had no idea how to start this conversation. It was difficult for him to process, even less so to spew into words. You can't just spring this onto someone.
"So, uh, Tuck. We all know Sam's been acting a touch different." She starts, his voice shaky, not sure where to go with this. Tucker just nods, playing with the napkin. He sneaks a glance at Sam, who is looking down in her lap. He feels like a fist is around his heart and it's tightening. She doesn't deserve to go through this, no one does.
"I'm going to get straight to the point Tucker." Danny says, looking him dead in the eye. He hated playing games and dancing around the subject, especially for something as serious as this. "Sam's been hurting herself." He says in barley above a whisper, enough to make Sam cringe and Tucker dead pan.
"Sam... she's-" Tucker couldn't take it. Danny saw tears pool in his eyes. Poor Tuck, maybe he should of weened him into this better. But what Tucker did next surprised Danny. He didn't ask any questions, he just turned to Sam, reached across the table and grabbed her hand, in a very un-Tucker-like fashion, he whispered a few words to her that Danny couldn't make out. Sam nodded her head, whispers something back, barley above a mutter that Danny also could not read. After a minute or so of silent conversation, Tucker leaned back against the booth, his burger long forgotten. He had ordered Sam and Danny what they usually got as well ahead of time, and all of their food left untouched. The heavy silence between the three of them was almost unbearable, until Sam looked up. She didn't look up weakly, or with small eyes and a small voice. No, she looked both Danny and Tucker dead in the eye and said two words, two words that Danny didn't expect. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? please... don't apologize." He said quickly, if she apologized, it would only make him feel worse. Tucker still hadn't said anything else, leaning in the far back of his seat with tears in his eyes and on his cheeks. Danny couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It really hurt for Danny to find it, but with Tucker... it had to be really hard on hi. Danny knew what it was like to be depressed at times, to feel guilty about things. But Tucker could seem so innocent... at times. He seemed to be happy about everything and so content with life. And having this dumped on him had to be harder than he swallowed hard, feeling Sam's hand tighten around his own. Sam would punch him if she knew what he was thinking... but he thought she was scared. This was a new thing to her, it had to be the worse for her right now. Danny shifted his fingers so he could rub her knuckles his his thumb, ignore the sparks traveling from his hand down his spine.
He saw her shift, uncomfortable with the silence that has fallen. He wasn't sure what to say, you couldn't very well change the subject, so he let the heavy silence continue, his burger getting colder by the second. A waitress came by, and in a wordless exchange Tucker and her exchanged the bill and money. Danny started to pull out his wallet to pay, but Tucker just looked at him and shook his head, getting up to leave the second the waitress left. Danny swallowed, turning to Sam who's eye haven't left the Nasty burgers door since the bell rang, signalling Tucker's retreat. Danny left the booth, pulling Sam up with him by the fact they were still holding hands. He didn't know why, but it seemed like they were both desperately clinging to each other right now, and the only way to solve it was by staying together.
Ayye super sorry for super long wait, and sorry its not long like i promised. I figured i break it up into two, so i would be easier to read. Net one being uploaded tonight or tomorrow! Thanks for still being patient with me:)
-Savii