The reaction to the last chapter was beyond amazing. ❤ I appreciate each and every review; thanks so much, guys. :)

"They say if you love something, let it go. If it comes back it's yours; that's how you know."

Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity...

Sam tugged on the sleeve of her sweatshirt, blinking up from looking down at her smoothie. She turned her head against the concerned stare he was giving her, before picking up her Strawberry Splat and finally taking a sip.

Clearly, this hadn't been one of her better ideas.

"Good smoothie?"

She slurped through the straw loudly before setting it down. "Lovely."

Freddie let a moment pass before tilting his head at her and setting his own drink aside. "So, are you planning on telling me what's wrong, Sam?"

She put on a smile and shook her head. "Nothing. You've just been talking my ear off the whole day, alright? So, I have a little bit of a headache."

"A headache?" He nodded on a sigh. "That's what you're going with?"

"Yes," she answered, not bothering to glance up to see his disbelieving look. She grabbed her smoothie and took another swallow. "Yes it is."

He broke of a piece of his churro and took a bite. "Right."

She might have been perfectly capable of acting okay if the kid would just stop talking.

But with him right there across from her, smiling, laughing– rolling his eyes – looking through her like glass every time she uttered a word – she felt herself sinking further into everything she felt. Into him.

And it really needed to stop.

"Uh, I was thinking about Saturday," he started between chews, and she lifted her head to look at him. "If we leave early enough we could grab breakfast before."

"Yeah..." She trailed off, biting her lip and running a hand through her hair. "I, uh, I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to make it after all."

His face fell immediately.

"Something...came up," she finished, clearing her throat.

"Sam, I got these tickets a month ago."

She shrugged. "I'll give you back the money, alright? Don't sweat it."

"Wow." He shook his head. "Really?" He put his drink down, clearly growing frustrated."It's not about the money, Sam. I thought you really wanted to go."

"I did - I do - I just..." She exhaled and looked down avoiding his eyes." I told you, I just can't."

"Whatever; it's fine." He sighed with a bitter laugh that made her chest hurt just hearing.

"You know when Amy said no, and suggested I asked you-"

She blinked. "What?"

He gave a curious look and bent his head. "Well...I had asked Amy about it first," he explained, as if she clearly should have known.

"Of course you did," she muttered up to the ceiling.

"Oh-kay," he answered back, still peering into her. "Are you mad or something that I didn't ask you before I asked her?"

"I should get going, Benson. It's getting late."

"Sam, it's four-thirty."

She groaned. "Well, it's late somewhere!"

He laughed in that half amused, half frustrated way he always did with her that would usually make her smile. "Seriously, why are you so angry?"

"I'm not angry."

He hummed and pursued his lips. "You seem pretty angry."

"I said I'm not angry!"

"Okay then." He put his hand up in defeat and shook his head. "You're not angry."

They sat in a painfully thick silence for another minute before she finally spoke. "Freddie," coughed out his name, her voice barely a whisper. "I can't do this anymore."

He fake gasped and leaned forward, his hand to his chest. "Are we breaking up?"

"We already did that," she shot back, and the bite in her tone surprised even her.

"Sam, I was just-"

"I just think we need some space, okay? I need some space."

"From me?"

"From..." She stopped, helpless, and gestured into the space between them. "This."

The hurt look on his face was nearly enough to break her. "You're serious, aren't you?"

She sniffled with a slow nod. "I think it'll be good for us – to spend a little less time together. You have a girlfriend – who is not me – who you should be taking on Saturday. And I -"

"Sam-"

"I should be off trying to find some rebound post Parker to hook up with...Or according to Carly drowning myself in ice-cream and bad Taylor Swift songs-"

"Sam."

She huffed. "What?"

"You think we see each other too much?" he asked squinting, attempting to follow whatever logic she was spouting.

Hell if she even knew.

"Is that what this is?"

"I think," she brushed her hair out of her face and took a breath, "we've been in some sort of weird limbo since last year. And it's just...It's not working anymore."

He cleared his throat. "And that's how you really feel?"

No.

"Yes."

"So, after everything, Sam - we're just what? Not going to be friends anymore?"

She folded her hands in front of her lips, shutting her eyes for a second and letting out a strangled breath of air. "Give me some time, okay?"

He nodded, meeting her eyes. "If that is what you want," he answered slowly.

"It is."

She grabbed her backpack and her phone the familiar unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach only growing. "And now I really do have to go."

"Sam," he pleaded after her.

Standing up, finding breathing an increasingly impossible feat right now, she placed the money down for her smoothie and started to walk past him.

"Hey-"

She turned around slowly and swallowed. "Yeah?"

"I think you're making a mistake, you know?"

Funny, she'd been wishing he had said that the first time around.

...The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down.

Aw. Sam...It'll be okay, don't worry. ;) Reviews are oh-so-lovely, if you're so inclined. ❤