A/N: So this is a pretty long chapter-- but it is also a really important one. Now I know that I always say that I have fun writing the chapters (and I always do!); but the last scene in this chapter really was my absolute favorite! I am a hopeless romantic, so I can't help but love to write romance scenes. Any ways, I will stop drabbling and let you read the chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Why, Why Love
Chapter 15
The beauty round of the pageant was surprisingly ordinary; well as ordinary as a beauty round for boys could be. After the opening introductions, Sam was expecting them to have to do something ridiculous—such as prance around in ballroom gowns or something else of that sort. But, in reality, all the contestants had to do was walk the stage, stand at the end and do some kind of cute gesture or say a few words.
"That won't be too bad," Jin said, fixing the collar of his shirt backstage.
"There is no way that Dorm 2 can lose this round," Patrick said calmly, "after all this is based on looks and we are obviously the best looking of the group".
Sam looked at Jin, Killian, and Patrick and couldn't help but agree with the dorm leader's words. The three boys standing in front of her were some of the best looking people she had ever seen.
"It's all about electrifying the judges," Patrick continued.
"Electrifying?" Sam asked. Patrick nodded his head.
"Everybody has some feature that electrifies somebody," he said, "for example, for me it is my eyes". He turned and pinned Sam with a wholly seductive glare. The girl felt herself melt on the spot.
"Oh," she whispered. Patrick smiled widely.
"For Jin… I think it's his hair," he said. Sam frowned.
"How can hair electrify people?" she demanded. Jin turned towards the girl and flipped his golden mane, causing it to fall messily around his handsome, boyish face. Sam nodded her head—the movement had been odd, but for some reason it was fairly attractive.
"And for you…" Patrick said, looking down at Sam, "for you it would have to be…"
"His lips," Jin said quickly. Patrick looked at Sam's face and nodded.
"Yes, the lips are good. Especially when you smile. Try to do that up there," he said. Sam blushed a furious shade of red and nodded.
"And no fake smiles either," Killian added in, "you look absolutely terrifying when you give people a fake smile". Sam frowned deeply and smacked the boy on the shoulder.
"It wouldn't hurt you to be less frank sometimes," she said. Killian just shot her a grin as President Janice started calling out the names of the boys. One by one, each boy walked across stage and did some sort of ridiculous pose at the end. Sam, Killian, Jin, and Patrick all observed the boys from back stage.
"This win is most definitely ours," Patrick said again as he saw Dorm Leader Mike do some sort of frightening martial arts kick at the end of the stage. The SC girl judges winced slightly at the movement.
Finally, it was Dorm 2's turn. Killian was the first to be called up, followed by Jin. Both boys, judging by the expression on the SC girls' faces, did a quite exceptional job. President Janice then called out Patrick's name.
"Watch how a master does it," Patrick whispered to Sam. He then sauntered onto the stage in his normal slow and seductive fashion. He came to the end of the stage and gazed at the panel of judges with his "electrifying" eyes. Though she was a good distance away from the girls, Sam could swear that she heard them gasp.
"That boy is too good at this," Sam mumbled to herself as President Janice called her name. Breathing deeply, Sam walked onto the stage. She really didn't know what she was going to do when she got the end. She was a girl after all, and she really didn't know what kind of cute poses guys did to attract the attention of girls. Just the thought of doing that made her a little sick.
Sam reached the end of the stage and looked up at the audience. She was about to strike some pose when she noticed a very familiar figure sitting by himself at the back of the auditorium. Though he was half covered by shadows, Sam could still make out a head of jet-black hair and a pair of piercing blue eyes. Artemis had come to watch her after all. He did care!
Subconsciously, Sam's face broke out into a wide, bright smile that lit up her whole face.
"Oh my, what a cute smile from Sam," President Janice cried, "he really does look a bit like an adorable little girl when he smiles like this, doesn't he? How cute!"
Sam just nodded her head towards the judges, choosing to ignore President Janice's words. She then walked over to the rest of the Dorm 2 boys.
"Good job taking my advice," Patrick whispered to her, "I told you smiling would work".
After all the boys finished their walk down the stage, Dorm 2 was named the winner of the round, to nobody's surprise.
"I told you the SC girls wouldn't be able to resist our charm," Patrick said, blowing a kiss to the judges as they all made their way backstage. They had a 20 minute break until the talent portion began.
Sam, Killian, and Jin decided to use their time to scarf down some lunch before they had to go back on stage. Sam smiled widely as Killian brought over the lunchboxes. If there was one thing that the girl liked to do, it was eat. She dug into her lunch as soon as it was placed in front of her. That was one good thing about going to an all boy's school, she thought, you really don't have to use any manners while eating.
Suddenly there came a noise from the end of the room. All the boys looked up to see Melinda standing by the door of the backstage. She was wearing her school uniform and her caramel colored hair fell in a waterfall of curls down her back. Sam thought, enviously, that the girl still looked as beautiful as she had the first time she had seen her. No girl should be that beautiful, Sam thought ruefully as Melinda scanned the room with her sparkling blue eyes. She caught sight of Sam and broke out into a big smile.
Jin saw that movement and protectively stood in front of Sam. Melinda made her way over to the group, unaware of the fact that all the boys in the room were staring at her with gaping mouths.
"Sam!" Melinda said, her voice lilting, "a few of the girls told me to come over here and tell you what an amazing job you did in the first round".
"Oh, thanks," Sam said, feeling as though she was going to throw up. Though it was nice to hear that she had done a good job; it wasn't so nice to hear it from a group of fan girls.
"Who knew that you had such a dazzling smile," Melinda continued. Jin frowned deeply at the girl.
"Hey, who gave you permission to come back here in the first place?" he demanded angrily, "did you just come here to pester Sam?" Melinda turned and glared at him.
"Why are you trying to get in my way, Lion boy?" she asked sharply. Jin gaped at her comment.
"Lion boy?" he asked indignantly, getting closer to the girl.
"Yes—look at your hair, dyed gold and cut in a way that it looks as though you have a lion mane growing out of your head!" Melinda stated angrily, standing on tiptoes and looking Jin straight in the eye. Jin gave off a rueful laugh.
"Can't you see my hair is electrifying? Electrifying!" he demanded. He turned to the girl and flipped his hair as he had done to Sam earlier.
"Don't make me throw up with your disgusting movements," Melinda said hotly.
"Such hateful words coming out of someone who looks like a five year old," Jin said, narrowing his eyes and getting even closer to the girl.
"Five year old?" Melinda cried out in shock.
"Look at yourself, with your little girl face and your twig-like body! Are you even a girl?" Jin asked, smiling. Sam looked on the scene in wonder. Melinda and Jin were now scant inches apart from one other, murder written in their eyes. She was afraid that they would kill each other soon if something wasn't done. Suddenly, President Janice burst into the room.
"Okay everybody, time for the second round to begin!" she said, smiling, "everybody get everything you need for your talents!"
"Come on, Jin," Sam said quickly, pulling the boy away from Melinda, "we need to get ready for the second round."
"Good luck with your talent then," Melinda said to Sam before turning to Jin, "and I will deal with you later, Lion Boy".
"I will be looking forward to it, Twig Girl," Jin shot back icily. Melinda left in a huff and Sam breathed out a sigh of relief. Jin mumbled angrily to himself the whole time they were waiting for the other contestants to do their talents.
"I have a feeling Dorm 3 is going to win this one," Patrick said, warily eying the Dorm 3 boys. Oscar was practicing some type of opera. Sam had to admit that while he was slightly crazy, the boy was actually quite talented.
"What are you doing for your talent?" Killian asked Sam. The girl looked up at him wickedly.
"Well I don't really have any sort of special talent," Sam said, grinning, "but I do have one thing I am pretty good at".
"What?" Killian asked, genuinely interested now.
"Lying," Sam stated frankly. Killian let out a surprised laugh.
"I don't really see how lying can be considered a talent," he said, grinning. Sam shrugged her slight shoulders.
"Lying makes a person a pretty good storyteller," she said, "I am just going to weave a tale for everybody—like my grandmother did for me and my brother when we were younger."
"Unusual talent," Killian said, "but I suppose you could pull it off".
"Well, I have to," Sam said, "it really is the only talent that I have".
Sam waited nervously until President Janice called out her name. She sighed and walked out to face the audience once again. Jin had gone right before her, and he had dribbled six soccer balls all at once. It would be a hard act to follow. Slowly, she made her way to the front of the stage and grabbed a microphone.
She looked up to where Artemis was sitting, making sure he was still there. The boy was leaning back in his seat, surveying the stage. Then, as though he could somehow sense her nervousness, he leaned forward and looked straight at her. And though it was dark in the audience, Sam could swear she saw him smile at her. Sam smiled back and, with a new surge of confidence, started her story. The crowd reacted to it well, and when she finished, they gave her a loud round of applause.
Sam smiled and walked over to the Dorm 2 section. Patrick gave her an approving pat on the back.
But despite the effort, Dorm 3 still ended up wining the second round.
"As to be expected," Patrick said as they once again made their way back stage, "but Dorm 3 had no chance at winning the sports round. As long as we can beat Dorm 1 in the next round, then we will win."
"It will be hard to beat them at sports, though," Jin said, "they are the sports dorm after all".
"Have a little faith in your dorm!" Patrick said angrily, "I didn't pick all of you just because you are good looking! You are captain of the soccer team; Sam holds the school record for the 100-meter. My roommate is the captain of the track team,"
"What does your roommate being a sports captain have to do with you?" Killian interjected. Patrick chose to ignore him.
"What I am saying is that, we need to win this round because if we do not win I will lose my hair, and if I lose my hair I will have to be forced to kill every one of you," Patrick said darkly. Sam and Jin both shuddered a little bit.
"Oh stop being so extreme," Killian said, "you're scaring our two little babies."
"Who are you calling a baby?" Jin asked, glaring up at Killian, "you are acting as bad as that blonde she-devil".
"I actually though Melinda was rather cute," Killian said, shrugging. Patrick nodded in agreement.
"If you are into the obnoxious twiggy type, I suppose," Jin said, frowning at the thought of the SC girl.
Suddenly President Janice walked into the room. She smiled up at the boys.
"Alright, since we are running out of time a bit, we will make this round a little different," she said, "instead of each boy competing individually, you will each send one of your contestants to represent your dorm in the next round. The three boys you pick will go head to head against each other in a sports showdown. Choose wisely!"
And with that, the president left. The boys all stared at one another.
"I'll go," Jin said immediately. Patrick looked up at him, frowning.
"I am the captain of the soccer team," Jin continued, "and a star on the track team. Plus, this challenge will help me showcase my manliness and power to Sam."
"What?" Sam asked weakly. Jin turned towards her.
"Sam, I will win this challenge for you!" he declared boldly.
"Win this challenge for me, you idiot!" Patrick cried, "Win it so that I can keep my hair."
"Oh fine, that too," Jin said, waving away Patrick's comments. The Dorm Leader sighed.
"I don't like this idea too much, but I suppose you are the person most suited to do a sports competition, " he said, "but mark my words—if you mess this one up and don't win I will make sure that your life becomes a living hell".
"Hollow threats," Jin said, "what can you do to me?"
"Don't push my Jin," Patrick said, "just get out there and win!"
"Alright boys, let's go!" President Janice said, peeking her head backstage. Jin turned towards Sam and grabbed her hand.
"I will win this as a sign of our strong and eternal love," he said. Sam just nodded awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say.
"Alright, go already," Patrick said, pushing the boy onto the stage, "I swear every since he declared he was gay, he's been acting more like a nutjob".
"Do you think he can win?" Sam asked, nervously.
"Let's hope so," Killian whispered back, "or else all of our plans would be ruined. The three of them huddled backstage, too nervous or afraid to even peak out the curtain. They could hear President Janice's muffled voice from the other side.
Sam looked over at Patrick. The boy was staring at himself in the mirror, gently touching his hair.
"This might be the last time I ever see you," he whispered to his precious locks.
"Oh please," Killian cried, slapping the mirror away from him, "you're acting as though hair doesn't grow back!"
"You don't understand," Patrick growled, "some boys are good at sports; others excel at academics. I have my looks. Do you think any of my girlfriends would want to be seen with me if I am bald?"
"Girlfriends? Plural?" Sam asked. Patrick nodded his head.
"How could you expect someone as good looking as me to only have one girlfriend at a time?" he asked, "but if my hair is gone… it will be the end of me. That would be so wrong!"
"I think you're grasp on what's right and wrong is a little out of whack," Killian said bluntly. Patrick just ignored the boy and picked up the mirror once more, looking sadly at his hair.
Sam turned to Killian.
"Do you think Jin will be able to do it?" she whispered to him. Killian shrugged.
"I suppose he has a better chance of winning than any of us," he said, "plus since he seems to be playing for your heart, I think he really will try the hardest he can."
"You're right," Sam said, sighing. Though she was flattered that Jin cared so deeply about her, truthfully, she wished that it were another boy out there fighting to win her love. A certain black-haired, blue-eyes genius boy.
"You should just tell him," Killian said suddenly. Sam looked up at him, confused.
"Artemis," Killian continued, "you should just tell him that you like him".
"What are you talking about?" she said, frowning, "I'm not gay"
"I don't see how a girl liking a boy is considered gay," Killian whispered. Sam immediately looked around her, eyes wide. Thankfully, everybody was too nervous to be paying any attention to Killian's words.
"You can't just go saying those things in public!" she whispered harshly to him.
"I just tell it like it is," Killian said. Sam frowned. She knew that Killian, being a vamp, had a sharper intuition than most, which was probably how he found out that she was a girl in the first place.
"Do you really think I should tell him?" she asked. Killian just leaned back. It was obvious that Sam and Artemis loved each other. How could they be so blind to each other's feelings?
"How about this," Killian said, "if we win the competition you go and tell him exactly how you feel. If we don't win, then you don't tell him" Sam just sat there, thinking about the boy's words. She knew that she had to tell Artemis eventually, and she wanted to tell him before she lost him for good. But the way it was looking right now, seeing how distant he had become, if she didn't tell him soon then he would be lost.
"Fine," she said. Suddenly Jin burst into the room. Everybody looked up at him. His face was impassive, which as a first for the usually expressive boy.
"You lost," Patrick said, gasping, "you wouldn't be making that face if you won. You lost!"
"You really lost?" Sam asked, feeling a pit growing in her stomach. Not only had they lost their winter break, she might have also lost Artemis.
Suddenly Jin's face broke out into a huge smile. Sam felt the joy rise up in her.
"I WON!" Jin cried out. Patrick burst into tears and Sam ran up and hugged the boy. Killian slowly walked up and patted Jin on the back.
"Good job," he said. Jin hugged Sam back and started to tell the tale of how he totally clobbered the other two boys in the sports round.
"… and then I stole the ball when Mike wasn't looking and make the last basket. You should have seen the look on Melinda's face when I won! She looked murderous. It was incredible! " he gushed.
"Celebration now!" Patrick said suddenly, "fourth floor of Dorm 2"
"Of course," Jin said, grabbing Sam, "come on, let's go!"
"Sam has to go visit Dr. Murray first," Killian said, "she forgot to pick something up."
"Oh, well you will be joining the celebration afterwards, right?" Jin asked. Sam nodded. Patrick and Jin made their way out of the room, giddy about the win.
"He's probably back in the library right now," Killian said, clasping the girl on the shoulder, "good luck."
Sam nodded her head resolutely and made her way out of the room. This was it. This was her chance to get Artemis back before it was too late.
"Oh I hope it's not too late," she whispered as she started to run towards the library.
Sam walked into the library building and started looking around the stacks until she spotted Artemis sitting by himself at one of the tables. She slowly walked towards him, noting with amazement at how much the boy had changed over the past two weeks.
Sam frowned deeply as she noticed that Artemis looked a bit too worn and tired. He had lost a bit of weight, making his already defined cheekbones and jaw line stand out even more. His hair was messy and fell over his bright blue eyes. Even though he looked worn, Sam couldn't help but feel like he looked even more handsome than usual.
"Artemis," she said softly. The boy looked up immediately, his eyes widening momentarily.
"Thank you for coming to the pageant today," she continued. Artemis just shrugged.
"I had to make sure that you didn't mess everything up. Simple as that." He said.
"Oh…" Sam whispered, not quite knowing what to say. Was it too late?
"What are you doing here now, shouldn't you be off celebrating with Jin and the rest of them?" he asked, looking around. Sam shuffled in her place a little.
"I was wondering if you were going to come and join us," she said. Artemis just looked at her, frowning. What was the girl trying to do now? Shouldn't she have been ecstatic that Jin had won the pageant for her? Shouldn't that just make her love the boy more? Why was she here?
"There are many plans to be made before winter break," he said, "I don't have time to go and celebrate right now."
"Then let me help you," Sam said, looking at the stack of books in front of the boy, "I am pretty good with plans".
"I don't need your help," Artemis said sharply, getting up and walking away. He suddenly felt Sam grab his arm. Turning back slowly, he saw the girl staring up at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
"I lied to you," she said softly. Artemis didn't say a word. His impassive face revealed nothing.
"I lied to you when I told you that I liked Jin," she continued, "I just said that so you wouldn't fall in love with me". Artemis almost groaned with relief at the girl's words. He had thought he had lost her forever. He looked at Sam and knew exactly what she was about to tell him.
"And that isn't all I lied to you about," she said, her voice shaking. Artemis wanted to go hold her and tell her that he already knew, tell her it didn't matter. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I am a girl," Sam blurted out, covering her face and turning away from Artemis, "I came to SB because I wanted to find you and see a fairy and I didn't know any other way to do so!"
Artemis just stood there, not saying a word, so Sam continued on.
"I was originally going to tell you I was a girl on our way to Wakkanai, but when the time came I couldn't. I realized…" she breathed deeply, "I realized that if I told you then I couldn't stay by your side anymore. And that is all I have ever wanted; just to stay by your side!"
And with that, Sam finished. She stood where she was, back turned to Artemis, the tears that she had held back the whole time finally flowing down. The boy still said nothing. And why would he, Sam though bitterly. She had just told him her secret. He was probably disgusted at her. He would kick her out of the room, out of the school, out of his life-- and she couldn't blame him for that.
What have I done? Sam thought, the tears flowing down harder. She started to slowly walk away.
"Then stay," Artemis said quietly. Sam stopped in her tracks, breathing deeply. Artemis turned and looked at her—her tiny, quivering back.
"Stay by my side," he said softy. Sam turned around and looked at him, her face streaked with tears. Was this some kind of sick joke that he was playing on her? She looked up at him and was a bit taken aback by the sincerity in his eyes. He wasn't joking.
Sam's face broke out into a hesitant smile and she ran over to the boy, embracing him tightly. Artemis looked down at his arms, which were still by his side. Slowly he lifted them up. This was it. If he embraced her now, he couldn't go back. He looked at his raised arms for a few seconds before bringing them closer and wrapping them around Sam. He sighed slightly, amazed by how right the situation felt.
"I knew all along," he whispered to her. Sam looked up at him, surprised.
"What?' she gasped. The boy just chuckled at her naiveté.
"Since the first week of school, I knew that you were a girl," he continued.
"Then why didn't you say anything?" she demanded, a grin spreading on her face.
"I didn't say anything at first because I wanted to know your motives for coming here; then I needed someone to meet Holly with me, so I didn't say anything…" he said.
"And then?" Sam asked, her grin growing into a full smile.
"And then I didn't say anything because… because of the same reason you didn't say anything," Artemis said, a bit surprised at this girl made him utter such cheesy, emotional words. Sam's eyes lit up. He liked her! Even though she was a girl, even though she had lied to him, he liked her.
Sam suddenly rose up on her tiptoes and kissed the boy. Artemis's eyes went wide in shock, though he felt himself wanting to laugh. What a brash little girl he had on his hands! He held her closer to him and kissed her back. After a good minute, they broke the kiss and Sam rested her head against that boy's chest
"Hey Artemis," she said, looking up. The boy looked down at her, eyebrows raised.
"Let's not tell anyone else that I'm a girl, okay?" she said. Artemis just smiled and held her closer. Didn't she know that he would never tell? After all of this, she still didn't realize how important she was to him; how important it was for him to keep her by his side?
"If you insist," Artemis said lightly, resting his chin on the girl's head. The plans for the upcoming missions were not made; they had no course of action; they didn't even know for sure if Jin's father was Chairman Lai—but for the first time, Artemis didn't care about any of that. All he cared about right now was the girl in his arms. He finally had Sam, and he knew that he would never let her go again.
A/N: Aww, Sam and Artemis!! I felt that it was finally time for them to be together; they have been avoiding their feelings for quite some time now!
Next chapter the actualy mission will start-- and there are quite a few more surprises and twists up ahead (including one major one that I am pretty excited about); so hopefully things won't get too boring for you guys! I anticipate there being 5 more chapters as of right now. I think 20 chapters is a nice length for a story. But I am not 100% sure on the decision yet. Let;s just see where we end up.
As always, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter along with any suggestions you have for future chapters or any questions you have for me.
Till next time! Gracias y besos!!