Freddie's POV

Mom walked forward in a painfully slow manner. Not one person said a thing as she moved, the flowers still clutched in her bony fingers. Sam straightened up and looked ready to fight when my mother laid eyes on her. She never let people push her around—even the mothers of her friends.

Mom stood right in front of us. Her eyes scanned our bodies and our hands, which were still pressed together from when Sam dragged me. I was scared she'd rip me from Sam and haul me away to never see the sun again. But instead of blowing her stack, she did the most unexpected thing.

She calmly gave Sam the bouquet back.

"Fredward, Samantha, can I speak to you?" she asked, "In private?" Mom nodded in the direction of the crowd. I said sure, and the three of us walked through the pack back into the church.

Inside my mom sat on a gray stone bench, shaking her head. I sat beside her while Sam stayed standing. We both stared at Mom as she continued to shake her head, like she couldn't believe anything that had happened. Soon she stopped shaking and bore into me with her eyes.

"When you didn't get up for breakfast this morning," she said, launching into her story, "I figured you were still angry with me, but I couldn't let you starve. So I knocked on your door with a plate of food but you didn't answer. I opened the door to see something under the sheets but it looked too misshapen to be you. Sure enough, pulling back the covers there were pillows and your Galaxy Wars helmet." I heard Sam snigger a bit at the fact I owned a helmet of something so "nubbish". Mom said nothing to her and went on:

"The first thing I did was contact Spencer. You're always over at Carly's place so I had no doubt you'd be there again. There was an interesting message on the answering machine. And I quote: 'Sorry, but we won't be in today. We're going to Sam n' Freddie's wedding. Unless you're Mrs. Benson; then we're going to, um, the…er, the…grocery store! Uh, yeah! That's it! Grocery store…please leave a message at the sound of the beep.' And unquote." I groaned and put my face in my hands; only Spencer would be so moronic without trying.

"After that I realized something." Mom said, "If you escaped the apartment just to marry her"—she waved to Sam—"then I suppose you really do love her. Who am I to stop you?" Sam's blue eyes enlarged and my jaw dropped to my chest. Mom gave me permission to marry Sam? Was the apocalypse near?

"Wait," I said, "you're letting me marry her?" She nodded, her eyes wide as Bambi's.

"Yes, don't you want to?" she asked with worry. Quickly I replied with a yes and she settled down.

"In that case, I hope you're happy." She smiled weakly and I felt a smile come onto my own face. Not because she was allowing me to love Sam but because she was finally allowing me to be who I was—she was allowing me to be an adult. I would never be cheerier than when my mother let me be myself. I couldn't contain myself from giving her a giant bear hug, to which she responded by holding me tight. I felt like a little boy again to have my mom hug me without first checking for ticks. Sam seemed uncomfortable as we had a mother/son moment, so I said "Group hug, Sam!" She rolled her eyes but with a smile, and wrapped her arms round the two of us.

At the reception later that day I was standing idly by the punch. Everyone was mingling and having a ball in the pure-white room Carly booked the reception at. The tables had white tablecloths with gold embroidered; one had changed to red after Spencer spilt punch over it. Mom was scolding him as she attempted to clean it.

Carly and Gibby were talking and laughing and holding hands. A red rose was in Carly's hair whilst a blue tulip was in Gibby's shirt pocket. After we'd left the church, Sam again tossed the bouquet away and Carly caught it. Now she and Gib were conversing about when to plan their wedding. The rest of the guests were talking to each other and some were dancing a little to the absent music. Griffin and his girl were making out elsewhere, and I didn't care to know. The one person I didn't see was Sam.

I looked around for her when suddenly a light shined down on my face. I was so surprised I dropped my glass, spilling more Wahoo! Punch for Mom to clean. An announcer-like voice came on that rumbled "Now is time for the first dance for the newlyweds. Freddie and Sam, c'mon out and dance!" A song came on through the speakers then and I recognized it instantly: "Running Away" by AM. The song Sam and I kissed to.

And just like that, there she appeared in her silk white dress, another light shining on her like on me. The two of us stood in the center of the room, unmoving, not speaking. I didn't like everyone staring at us. Sure, we kissed in front of everyone, but Sam made the first move then. Now she wasn't making any move and I wasn't planning on making one either.

"Dance already, nubs!" someone shouted. Sam glared in the direction the voice screamed and I knew she was bent on killing them. In a flash I was holding her arms to keep her from the bloodshed she'd commit. Cheers and sighs came; I realized I was close enough to dance with her now—heck, I was holding her. A blush crept up on my face, but I couldn't back away when I was already there. I moved my hands around her arms and around her waist. She got what I was doing and maneuvered her arms around my neck, and allowed herself to rest her head on my chest. We swayed contently to the soft chorus of the song.

I don't know if I'm gonna change…wasting time and another day…

Others began to dance outside the circle Sam and I were in, couples and friends alike: Carly and Gibby, Melanie and Dave, Wendy and Fleck, Griffin and his gal-pal (they finally surfaced), Miss Briggs and Mr. Howard, Principal Franklin and Miss Ackerman, Gibby's mom and Socko, even Spencer and Mom. But Sam and I were the only ones with a spotlight and enough room.

Running away…even from the good things…

Sam burrowed her head deeper into my chest, and I just responded with hugging her closer. I gotta say it was so tranquil to be dancing with her. It felt so…right. Like Sam was the person I was meant to dance with forever. This tidbit fed the idea I might've been falling for her.

"Freddie?" she whispered, after a few serene minutes. No one else heard for her tone was quiet and we were apart from all the rest. She lifted her head from me to stare me straight in the face.

"Yeah?" I said. Her irises sparkled with fear, something she never had. Sam was never afraid.

"I…" she said, "I think…I think…your fly's open." She said this with a defeated sigh; that wasn't what she was going to say. She was going to say something else but chickened out. What was she going to say but was too scared to?

She nuzzled her head once more in the crook of my neck, so I reluctantly took her answer and put my chin upon her curls, and we continued to dance until the song ended.

I have a bad feeling this chapter sucked...