Sam planned on fixing things with Jake...or at least find a solution. But she could never find the time. It was torture to be away from him for so long and to know that he was still probably upset with her. Her out of whack emotions drove her co-workers a little nut-so.

"Cut!" Kenny yelled once again, clearly aggravated now. Violette gave a little huff and matched it with an eye-roll. "Samantha! Darling...," he got out of his chair and stood in front of Sam. He wiped his face a little too roughly leaving red splotches on it. "You missed your cue...again."

Sam squirmed. There were so many people looking at her and now that she had messed up it was worse. Because now, everyone was aggravated. "I know, I'm sorry. I'll get it this time."

Violette snorted. "You said that last time. Maybe we should get like a bright 'go' sign that we can turn on for her..."

Sam glared at Violette taking back almost every good opinion she had scrounged up for her. "Gee, thanks for the support Violette."

"You know me...always thinking of others," she shrugged.

"Children!" Kenny snapped making Sam and Violette go quiet. "Could we stop bickering and get back to work please."

His patients was really waring thin...

"Yes sir. Sorry." Sam sat back down at her fake cafeteria table. This time trying to push all thoughts of Jake out of her mind. Instead she tried to concentrate on Violette, her lines, and the entire scene. She played it out, knowing what it should look like, she set herself into character. It was easier to concentrate when she became 'someone else'. It was like she wasn't acting but actually living the life of this character. If only everything in real life was as easy...

There! She didn't miss her cue this time and stood. She gave a worried glance in Violette's direction waiting for her to lock gazes. Then she ran. Jumping over the bench and scrambling through the crowd, tripping up a little to make it seem legit...true panic. She pushed through the double doors and stopped. Waiting...

"And cut! Thank heaven above." Kenny called sounding very relieved. "That's it for today, everyone out of my site."

Sam didn't protest one bit. She hurried to her trailer, finally trusted with her own golf cart, she didn't take her time flying through the set and slamming it into park. She climbed the stairs two at a time and stumbled into the narrow trailer, that still reeked of hairspray. She opened the drawer to the vanity mirror and pulled out her cell phone.

She had a missed call!

From Jen...

She slumped into the chair trying not to feel too disappointed...or surprised. She knew better than to believe he would call. She was definitely going to have to make the first move here. It was kind of her thought...

Hoping that it would take her mind away from it for a little, Sam called Jen.

"Finally! Jeez, talk about breaking some child labor laws."

Sam's heart felt a little lighter, at least she could always count on Jen to be complete sarcastic all the time. It was almost a relief. "Hello, Jen."

"So did you talk to zee papa yet?" Jen asked with a horribly imitated accent that Sam couldn't quite place.

"Zee papa?" Sam asked sounded like...Sam; totally country.

"Yes! About shopping? You know as tempting as it is I am not going to be wearing my birthday suit to homecoming."

"Why would you wear a suit?"

"Sam it means go nude...butt-naked...bare...au naturale...br-"

"Ok! I got it...that'd be hot."

"Shut it Forster and answer the question."

"Isn't that a...what do they call it...oh! A contradiction?"

"Don't try to be smart honey, it's not working."

"Just thinking like my best friend. Who I am going shopping with tonight." Sam said smiling and scrubbing the makeup from her face.

"Yeah, well, it works better for me...wait really? You really are going to go with me?"

Sam's eyes watered as she got soap in them and she tried not to yell some sort of profanity. "Sheesh, do I need to spell it out for you? Y-E-S I-"

"Ok don't strain yourself! Besides we don't have all night! I'll pick you up from...?"

"Set, pick me up from work."

"I will save you from your slave labors."

"What a doll."

She could hear Jen bouncing around, no doubt getting dressed. "Ain't I? Bye puddin' pop."

"Bye dollface." Sam hung up and gave a little whine. "Ow." She set to rinsing her eye out which was now turning an ugly red and tried not to think about Jake...for now.

x-x-x-x-x

"Whoa-ho. Now that's a dress." Jen picked up-in Sam's opinion-an ugly paisley printed dress.

She snorted. "Jen this isn't the rodeo, it's homecoming."

"You know paisley prints are classy Samantha."

"Ok," Sam replied with a smirk and heavy sarcasm. Jen rolled her eyes and hung the dress back up.

"You know why couldn't I have a friend who's always like 'OMG, that is so ca-ute heheh'," Jen asked doing a bad imitation of what Sam thought sounded a lot like one of Rachel's friends.

Sam started to giggle. "Because if you ever had to spend a minute with someone like that you would probably punch their nose into their brains."

Jen wrinkled her nose but smiled. "Too messy...but true." Jen began looking on a new rack and glanced up at Sam. "You know you're suppose to be helping."

"And here I was thinking you just brought me along for a laugh," Sam said rolling her eyes and pushing off the wall she had been leaning against.

"Hardy-har. Get to work."

Sam began rummaging through the racks of dresses. She really disliked shopping...a lot. There was so many dresses, in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Jen was never going to find one, she was so darn picky sometimes. And since Sam didn't agree to that paisley one...

"Samantha!"

Sam spun and suppressed a groan. Why was Rachel here? She'd never buy a dress from a department store. She wrinkled her nose at a dress Jen was holding confirming Sam's earlier thought. Jen blushed and put it back on the rack. Sam was ready to rip Rachel's throat out for embarrassing Jen like that.

Rachel walked up and rested a feather light hand on Sam's shoulder. "So funny running into you here."

Sam tried to shrug her hand off with out seeming to obvious. "Hilarious."

"Honestly, I was sure you wouldn't be shopping here." The way she said it made it clear that she was disgusted with such a thought. She glanced at Jen again. "Then again maybe you aren't."

Usually, Sam was sure Jen would have retaliated...but seeing as she was going to homecoming with her brother well...she stayed silent.

"Actually, Rachel it's amazing what you would find here. And so what if I am? Sadly, unlike Jen, I was ill prepared. You see, she already ordered a dress online. But she graciously agreed to come shopping with me anyway." Sam hoped that Rachel wouldn't notice Jen gaping at her.

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Rachel, what ever could you be doing here?" Sam asked deciding it'd be best if Rachel didn't start asking questions.

"Oh just a quick accessories run," she held up a tiny Jared's bag that Sam was sure held jewlery worth thousands in it. She never saw shopping at Jared's as a quick accessories run...then again she wasn't Rachel.

"Of course...accessories," Sam replied rather dumbly.

"Yeah and it's funny I ran into you-"

"We established that already...," Sam pointed out earning a slight glare from Rachel but she didn't comment on it.

"Because," she went on like Sam hadn't interrupted. "I was just wondering who you were going with."

Why would she be wondering that? Sam wanted to know. She was hoping most people had just assumed that she was going with Jake.

Rachel continued since Sam just stared at her a little dumbfounded. "I was sure you'd be going with Jake," she gave a little giggle that some would call playful, Sam called it evil. "So needless to say I was rather shocked when he asked me." She gave a little surprised huff. That totally bitchy kind of thing girls do when they try to play innocent when they know they just totally drove the blade into the heart.

Sam blinked. What was she going to say? She had no idea, she certainly wasn't expecting this. So she decided to reply with her most witty response. "You're going to homecoming with Jake?!" Yup, real witty.