A/N: I'm so horrible. I totally lied by saying that this chapter would be long, but I felt like their initial meeting/thoughts should be separate from the rest of the story. I hope you guys still like it and continue to have faith in me! Thanks for all the reviews! I love you all!

Chapter 4 ~ Rivers of Consciousness

Rory stood frozen for what seemed like forever. He was completely enamored with the man in front of him. He could not tell whether his mouth was open or closed, if he still had possession of his luggage, or even if he was wearing pants at that point. His mind was focused on Sam and nothing else. His wonderfully styled blond hair, his kissable lips, his muscular physique…everything about him was simply perfect to Rory.

When Sam started walking towards him, Rory had no clue what to do.

"Umm, hey. I'm Sam." He reached his hand out for Rory to shake, but he just stared at it. "Are you OK, dude? You seem kind of weird."

Rory snapped out of his stupor. "Sorry. It must be the jet lag messing with my head." Rory reached out his hand to shake Sam's. When their hands touched, Rory felt like fainting again. He felt like he was in some terribly cliché chick flick.

"Rory, dear!"

Rory jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Mary Evans put her hand on the young boy's shoulder.

After a bit of hesitation, Rory responded, "It's quite all right, ma'am. I suppose I'm just a wee bit tired from the trip."

"Of course. How could I forget? Anyway, no need to call me ma'am. Just call me Mary." She smiled jovially and then turned to Sam and said, "I'm going to go get the car and bring it to the entrance. Will you take Rory to get his baggage?"

"Yeah, sure."

I really don't fit in with these people, Rory thought. Sam seems so cool and his mother is so lively. They'll think I'm boring. Maybe this whole program was a bad idea.

Those sparkling blue eyes, though beautiful, were the scariest things Sam had ever seen. They belong to a guy. And Sam liked them. What the hell is wrong with me, Sam thought. Maybe I'm just tired or something. Just shake it off, Evans, and man up.

Sam headed over to his new roommate and reached his hand out, cleared his throat, and spoke, "Umm, hey. I'm Sam." He remembered how his mother had always scolded him for saying "umm" because it wasn't proper, but he decided not to dwell on it at the moment.

The boy in front of him tentatively shook his hand and looked a bit sick.

"Are you OK, dude? You seem kind of weird." As soon as Sam said that, he wondered if Irish people used the word dude or even if they shook hands. Maybe that's why he hesitated before shaking hands. Sam almost asked his mother but his mother yelled out, scaring Rory in the process.

After they talked for a bit, his mother asked him to help Rory get his baggage, which Sam was not happy about. He replied with a "Yeah, sure."

Sam really did not want to be alone with this boy. Not that he was scary or weird or anything, but because he didn't know what to do around a boy that had such beautiful eyes. Sam was used to being confused when it came to school but this truly was a new experience. He wanted just to stare at Rory's eyes forever.

"Let's go, Ror."

He received a confusing look from the smaller boy next to him.

"Is it alright if I call you that?"

Rory nodded vigorously.

Oh lord, you look like a little kid. What are you doing? Rory asked himself. You've just met this guy and you're already freaking out around him.

"Y-yeah. I'd like that," Rory murmured. He was still worried that he was embarrassing himself already. There was little time for him to worry about that, however. Sam was already starting to walk away so Rory had to jog to catch up.

The walk to the luggage carousel was silent and awkward. Sam seemed to be conflicted.

"Are you Ok, uhh, dude?" Rory felt awkward saying "dude" but he figured that it would make him seem less foreign.

"Yeah, dude. I'm just a little stressed out."

"Mind me asking why?"

"Have you ever…oh, never mind. Don't worry about it."

"I want to worry about it. If I'm going to be living with you I'd like to think I could help you out a little bit." Rory knew it was a bit risky but he put his hand on Sam's shoulder to show his support. Sam quickly pulled away, leaving Rory feeling horrible, like he had overstepped some crucial no-touching line.

Why does this kid's touch affect me so much? Wait, is that effect with an "e" or affect with an "a?" Oh well, who cares. Anyway, how come this is making me feel so weird? I never felt this weird when Quinn got close to me. What's going on here? Oh crap. Now look at him. I think I hurt his feelings. He must be sensitive. I guess it makes sense because he's scared, being in a new country with people he's never met being mean to him and all that stuff. Wait. I wasn't mean to him, was I? I just…was weirded out by him touching me. Why is that so bad? Gosh. Why do I even care that I hurt him? Ugh, I can't help it. He's just too cute! Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Sam, you need to calm down. He's a boy, remember. He's not supposed to be cute. Goodness, this must be what Mrs. Cavlin was talking about with one of those rivers of consciousness or whatever. I really should have paid attention when she was explaining that.

Good job, Rory. You are officially the most socially awkward person in the country. And you've only been here for ten minutes! That must be a new kind of record. I sure hope he likes me. Whoops. I shouldn't get too ahead of myself here. If he's freaking out just because I touched his shoulder, he's obviously not gay. Neither am I, though. Well, I wish I wasn't. I know mother would freak out about this. That's one reason I came out here. I hoped I could find more accepting people on this continent. Guess I'm not going to get so lucky. It's OK. I can just hide it. Like usual.