Check out Sam's outfit for the interview! Link is in my profile bio!
Brooke and Julian were in the kitchen watching Jack and Sam closely. The two teens sat watching tv in the living room. Michael went to Sawyer's after school and jack had gone to Sam's.
Jack looked at Sam as he held her, "I'm sorry about what happened today." He whispered.
"Can we not talk about it?" She said quietly.
He nodded, "You threw down though, can we talk about how much of a great fighter you are?" He said jokingly. Sam smiled, "Well it only took a couple beatings at Cinthia's house to learn how to fight. Remember her?" She asked him. Jack started laughing, "Dude, she hated me! Her kids were always fighting us and destroyed us at first HAH." He said. Sam sat up and soon enough they were reminiscing and bonding the only way that two kids like them could.
Brooke snuggled into Julian as she saw Sam smiling and joking with Jack. Julian held her, "We're gonna be okay." He said to her.
…. …. …..
SATURDAY
"Mom can I go to Sam's house today?" Sawyer asked her mother apprehensively.
Peyton looked up from her computer, "Not today Soy, they won't be at home."
Sawyer lifted her eyebrow, "Where are they going?" She wondered if this was something that Sam would've told her had she been paying more attention.
"They're being interviewed." Sawyer leaned onto the door frame, "Oh." She sighed, "That means I can't go fix things."
Peyton saw her daughter's disappointment. She closed her computer, "Well, this may not be as appealing but you can come into the studio with me for a bit, and then we can go to the mall."
"The mall, with you?" Sawyer said half surprised.
Peyton suppressed a chuckle, "Yes, with your mother."
She shrugged, "I guess so. What're you going into the studio for? It's Saturday."
"Well the mayor wants to run for senate and he's trying to get the support of local companies and businesses and since the studio is pretty well respected he's trying to get me to support him publicly."
Sawyer stood up straight. The mayor was Chase's dad, "Wait, you mean like Mayor Hamilton?"
"Mhm." Peyton said getting her things together. She then looked at her daughter still dressed in pajamas, "Sweetie I'm leaving in an hour, go and get ready."
"Is dad coming too?" She asked.
"No, your dad's outside working in the backyard."
"Momma?"
Peyton could hear the nerves in her daughter's voice. She stopped and looked at her, "What's wrong Soy?" Although she already knew what it was.
She toyed with the hem of her shirt, "You guys are disappointed in me?"
Peyton took a deep breath, "Soy I just need to see you make an effort to care more about others. You need to stop focusing on yourself so much."
Sawyer looked down, feeling a bit ashamed, "Do you think I'm selfish?"
"I think you get caught up sweetheart, caught up in your own life."
She nodded, "I know." She said glumly.
Peyton went over and gave her a squeeze, "You're still my sweet girl, we all make mistakes, it's how we fix those mistakes that matter."
Sawyer smiled, "Thanks mom, just honk when you want me out."
"Alright then, get going!"
Sawyer walked back to her room, feeling a bit anxious about meeting Chase's dad, but her dad caught her eye. She went out, but stood by the door, "Hi daddy."
Lucas looked up from the sprinklers he was fixing, "Morning sweetie."
She moved her foot around, "Are you mad at me?"
He shook his head, and went over. He picked her up in his arms, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "All forgiven." He said smiling at her.
"I wish Sam thought the same."
He put her back down, "Sometimes time and distance is the best medicine."
"I don't know about that." She mumbled, "Sam's big on pride and I totally exposed everything in front of everyone."
Lucas looked pensive for a moment, "You know baby, your mom and aunt Brooke have always been best friends, but there were times when they didn't talk for long periods, but they always came back to each other." "Yeah, I guess." Sawyer said. Lucas rubbed her arm, "Really Soy. The bond you two have isn't just gonna dissolve because of one fight, if that was the case then your mom and Aunt Brooke would hate each other right now."
He patted her head, "Now go change sweetie. Just think about what I said." She nodded and off she went. Her dad's words really gave her some hope that everything would work out in the end.
…. …. ….
Sam walked uncomfortably into the building where they'd be interviewed alongside her parents and Michael. She was determined not to screw this up for Brooke. She even wore a skirt and pointed flats. Her hair was down and only pulled slightly back with a small clip. "I hate this thing." She said pulling at her skirt. Brooke beamed, "Sam you look like the most beautiful girl in the world right now." Michael agreed, "You look amazing dude. You're even rockin' those nice shoes!"
"Yeah, yeah." Sam mumbled.
"Well, well we finally got the coveted interview with Brooke Davis and the whole family!" Scott, the interviewer excitedly said. Brooke chuckled, "Congrats I guess."
He shook his head enthusiastically, and went straight into the meat of it, "So, you and Julian at some point were the Beyonce and Jay-Z of the behind the scenes in HollyWood. I mean you with your designs and Julian, you with your directing."
Julian cleared his throat, "At some point, yes."
"So what happened? I mean your movies have slowed down considerably, and Brooke you've stopped designing for the stars...and let me just say they miss you."
Sam watched the exchange. It was hard to believe that her parents had a reputation of being "cool," of being respected as something other than parents. She turned to Michael who flashed her a smile.
"Well, Scott," Julian started, "I do a lot more writing and consulting on movie sets now, and well, we kinda made all these things second priority we have a family now, ya know, kids, and we love them to death."
Scott then turned to Sam and Michael, sam felt herself tense up immediately.
"Ahh yes, the infamous Sam!" He leaned in, "The whole fashion world is in love with your illusive daughter Brooke! Please give us something!"
Brooke looked over and could see the discomfort in Sam's eyes although she was smiling at Scott, "Well she's amazing, I can tell you that much, and we adopted her at age 13, she just recently turned 15."
Scott looked at Sam, "If I remember correctly in the last and only interview, you said you were Brooke's foster daughter first. What we didn't know is how that happened, do tell."
Sam sat up straighter in the chair, "Well, uhm…" She turned over to Brooke who gave her a wink.
"I, I had a couple run ins with her and she found out I needed a place stay."
"And you just said yes?" He said looking to Brooke.
"I" She then looked to Julian, "We always wanted a family and Sam needed a place to stay, people to love her, and I knew we could provide that, so yes, I just said yes."
"Now Sam, what do you mean by run ins? Please give us something a little more concrete."
Sam nodded and swallowed, "Well I was sort of-"
Brooke stopped her, "Sam you don't have to answer that if you dont' want to."
"Right, right of course Sam, if that made you uncomfortable we can move on, but you know, that's the point of interviews to give something juicy to the people." Scott chimed in.
Sam bit her lip, "You're doing it for mom." She thought to herself.
"Well I went to her store and tried shoplifting, and that kinda set the rest off. Then one of the teacher's at the high school connected to the middle school I started going to was her best friend and asked if she could take me in, since she had already fostered a baby."
Scott smiled an almost fiendish smile, "But you weren't a baby, you were 12 years old."
Sam frowned, "Yeah I guess so."
Brooke spoke up looking at Sam's frown, "But she was just what I needed, and I don't regret a thing." She said looking at Sam.
Michael kept observing Scott and instinctively knew that the guy was a jerk. He wanted him to change the subject to someone besides Sam so she could catch a break.
"And your name is?" He said looking to Michael. He jumped at the chance of a change in subject and extended his hand, "Nice to meet you I'm Michael. I'm their foster son." Scott laughed, "Jesus are y'all Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? You're pregnant too!" Brooke and Julian chuckled nervously, hoping the comment didn't offend the two kids. Sam's fist clenched and she cleared her throat, but said nothing, "And how did you end up under these two?" He said asking Michael.
"Well I was Sam's friend and my mom, well she had to get some things fixed with immigration in Mexico, so they're taking care of me until then."
Scott theatrically put his hand to his mouth, "Wow." He then looked at the parents, "Such humanitarians the pair of you, taking in two kids."
Sam couldn't hold it any longer, "Humanitarian? They're not saving us from death." She said with attitude. Scott realized he said the wrong thing, "Well I didn't mean it like that sweetie." He said trying to fix his mistake. Brooke looked at Sam and Michael, feeling a bit proud of Sam's defensiveness, they knew she was right. "I'm not your sweetie. We" She said pointing to herself and Michael, "are not strays." She then pointed to her parents, "They are not Jolie, or Bono, or Madonna, they're my parents and are no different from other parents. They didn't pick me up from the depths of hell….Scott." Scott blushed, but Michael spared him, "They're great parents, and the baby's gonna be lucky to have such loving parents. "Right, the baby! You guys must be so ecstatic. How excited are you to have your first baby?"
Brooke chuckled, "Well we're all excited. I mean, Sam and Michael both came to us as teens, like you said, and I never got to see Sam grow up from a cute child to a wonderful young woman." She looked at Sam and looked at her longingly, "I wish I did though."
"And Sam are you happy about the baby?"
She nodded, "Yeah. I'm happy that Brooke and Julian finally get a baby, they're gonna be awesome at it, and like Michael said that kid is damn lucky." Sam answered still uneasy with Scott.
"Damn lucky he or she will be." Scott repeated, "So Brooke you said a couple years back that you could never imagine having kids, what changed?"
"I grew up. I was living the fast life, but I was wrong, now I can't imagine myself without kids. You know motherhood when your daughter's smile can brighten up your worst days." Sam tried to suppress a smile. Brooke looked at her and swallowed, "And her pain, her tears when you see them….well, they become yours." Sam felt her her eyes get watery. She took a deep breath. Scott noticed the tension, "That was beautiful Brooke." She gave him a small nod, "Just words from the heart."
Not missing a beat he continued, "And Julian looking through old interviews there was a certain comment you made that I found so contradictory to your position now." Julian looked surprised, he felt his whole family look at him, "What're you talking about?"
"Well when the topic of family and kids came up, you said you'd love to have your own, but adoption was out of the cards, you said that you'd never bond with a daughter or son the same way you would if they were your blood, and this was only a couple months before you took Sam in might I add."
Julian felt heat hit his cheeks, suddenly ashamed of his comment. Brooke's mouth opened, "Whoah, whoah Scott hit the brakes. That was definitely out of left field and unfair. What're you implying?" She said. Julian put his arm out to stop her from getting up. "I did say that." He said. Sam looked at him, "Julian, you said that?" She said in a hurt voice. Julian tried to grab Sam's hand but she pushed the chair back a bit. "Sammy that was before I met you."
Her eyes glistened with tears, and she nodded hurriedly, "Okay." She wasn't trying to cause a scene. She tuned out Julian trying to qualify his statement, and Michael who was trying to tell her something. She was going to break down and couldn't do it in the interview. She felt her mother grab her hand, "Samantha, dad doesn't feel that way. You have to understand that he didn't know he could love someone who was once a stranger like a daughter, the way it happened with you."
Sam already in a volatile state from everything that was happening ignored her mother's words, "Mom I have to go to the bathroom, please let me go. Please." Brooke was about to say something, "Baby-" But Sam abruptly stood up, "I'm sorry, I have to go to the...I just, I have to go." She closed the door and ran into the bathroom. Julian and Scott stopped arguing and Brooke grabbed Michael who was about to leave. She turned to Julian, but he was already thinking the same thing, "I have to go talk to her." He got up and followed Sam. With Sam now out of the room Brooke turned furiously to Scott, "Listen you sleazy low man on the totem pole jerk." Scott looked stunned at Brooke's quick change in demeanor, but Brooke wasn't deterred, "This interview is over."
Scott smiled, "You signed a contract. It's not over until our hour is up." Feeling as if her got her there. She leaned in closer to him, "Well have Style Magazine call my lawyers then. You DO NOT mess with my children, and by the way your stupidity successfully broke my ties with this company. Good luck with unemployment SCOTT."
She grabbed Michael's hand as he stood up, "Let's go bud." She said to him. Michael turned around and mouthed the words, "Fuck you." to a terrified looking Scott.
They walked towards the exit, allowing Brooke to compose herself. Michael stopped walking, "Brooke we have to go see where Sam is, now!" He said once by the door. "Sweetie, Julian has to fix this. We'll be there for her right after, but this is something that Sam and dad have to talk out."
"Let's just wait for them right outside here then." Michael offered.
/ / /
Julian, not caring that he was about to enter the girl's room blasted in, "Samson?" He said looking for Sam frantically. The woman who was washing her hands jumped in surprise, "Get the hell out!" She screamed. "I'm sorry, have you seen a girl come in here about ye' high? Wearing a burgundy skirt and black sweater?" The woman looked at him slightly terrified, "She's my daughter!" But she scoffed and left. Julian noticing the quiet locked the restroom door. "Sammy?" He called again. Nothing, but he finally heard a sniffle come from the handicapped bathroom stall in the far corner of the large restroom. He walked over, "Sammy please, I'm sorry!" Sam pulled herself in closer, hearing her dad's voice.
Panicked that she might have a sharp object with her he went down and crawled through the opening. He saw her huddled in the corner. He stood up, "Samson?" He said softly. She looked up at him, "I didn't mean to ruin the interview. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her face crumpled. He went over and kneeled down, "Hey, hey, look at me." She looked up at him with hurt in her eyes, "I love you. I love you more than you'll ever know. I was an idiot when I said those things." His own tears started to form as he saw Sam's pained face. "I didn't know I could have this love that I have for you kid. You're my sweet Samson, who's growing up right before my eyes." His words caught in his throat, "You're my daughter, and always will be... Please believe me."
Sam threw her arms around his neck, "Dad" She said breaking into a sob. Feeling her arms around him he wrapped her up, "I'm right here. Daddy's here Sammy." He stood up with her still in his arms, "I love you." She said still broken, "So much, I love you so much." Her words made Julian cry as well and he hugged her tighter, "My girl. I'm so proud of you." He rubbed her back and waited for her to let go. It was a moment of healing for Sam.
They found Brooke and Michael. Brooke pulled Sam in for a hug, and kissed the top of Sam's head. Noticing her red eyes she whispered into Sam's ear, "It's okay to cry."
"I think I cry too much." Sam mumbled quietly back. "Sometimes you have to cry out all the tears to make room for a heart full of smiles." Brooke said. Sam felt Brooke give her a kiss on the cheek and grab her hand. Michael stood to the side with his hands in his pockets, but Julian wrapped an arm around him, "How 'bout we all go for something to eat?"… …. ….
Sawyer sat in the back room of her mother's studio checking her phone constantly. She was bored out of her mind waiting for the senator, but she heard her mother's voice with another strange voice and instantly sat up. She strained to hear what they were saying,
"Hi Mayor Hamilton, nice to meet you!" Peyton enthusiastically answered.
"Mrs. Scott, it's a pleasure. Now, I hope you don't mind that I brought my son along."
Sawyer felt herself tense up when she heard him say that. "Are you kidding?" She thought to herself, "It's like this guy and me always run into each other."
Her thoughts were cut off when her mother came into the room,
"Sweetie can you come here please? The mayor brought his son and I'd like you to keep him company while I talk to his dad."
She followed her mom. When Chase saw Sawyer he smiled his 100 watt smile, "Sawyer, what a surprise." He said smoothly.
The mayor looked at both kids, "You know each other?"
Sawyer nodded, "He's friends with someone in my circle."
Chase chuckled, "Yeah, something like that." Sawyer gave him a warning glare as if to say, "Stop talking now."
Peyton caught the glare and felt a little unsure of what was going on, but didn't want to bring it up now. "Well how about you and I step into the office in the back and talk?" Peyton asked the mayor with a smile on her face.
The mayor nodded, then turned to his son, "Alright Chasey, be good now." Chase blushed at his dad's words. Sawyer teased him, "Chasey huh? A big shot like you, sure doesn't come off as a 'chasey'."
"My dad still thinks I'm 10, but don't all parents still see their children as little kids? I'm sure your parents do the same."
Sawyer rolled her eyes, "Tell me about it. I'm sure if they could they'd keep me in a stroller that way they'd know where I'd be at all times...with them, ALL THE TIME."
Chase chuckled, "So you understand where I'm coming from, I see." She laughed, "Pretty much."
They sat down, "How long do you think this'll take?" He asked Sawyer.
Sawyer shrugged, "I don't know." She noticed that he kept staring at her. She blinked, "What?" He smiled, "You have the most beautiful, bright eyes." She felt red in the face, "Thanks...I guess." He could sense her uneasiness, "How's Michael?" She turned to look at him suspiciously, "Great, he's doing great. He's an awesome guy."
He cleared his throat, "You know Sawyer it's refreshing to be around someone so, so, normal." She rolled her eyes, "Is that supposed to woo me?" He laughed, "Hah! No Sawyer. I'm just an honest person. Listen, I know that you wouldn't want to go anywhere with me unless Michael was there, I can tell you really love the guy."
She looked away thinking about how great Michael's been, "Yeah, I really do."
He started playing with his phone, "It's pretty obvious."
She looked him in the eye, "So what's your deal? Why are you here?"
He narrowed his eyes trying to get a read off her. 'She'll be easy.' He thought to himself.
"Just keeping my dad company, and to be fair, I didn't know Mrs. Scott was your mother, although I guess I should've figured that."
She just raised her eyebrow at him, "Alright."
He sat up a little more, "If your mom accepts to support my dad, your family's probably gonna get to go to the benefit in two weeks." That caught Sawyer's attention she loved dressing up, and imagined Michael looked handsome in a tuxedo, "That's awesome! Well now I hope she says yes."
"I bet you do."
"Michael would look so good in a tux." Sawyer said laughing a little, since he hated dressing up. He stopped her, "Oh, Michael wouldn't be able to come, it's family only, very private affair, ya know?"
Her shoulders drooped in disappointment, "Oh. That really sucks then. So I'd have to hang around my parents the whole time."
He chuckled, Of course not, I'll be there. It'll be at my house in the courtyard, we can just hang inside the house, It'll be fun."
She thought about it, "Yeah, I guess we can do that. Are there gonna be other people our age?"
He nodded, "Yeah, and we'll I'll be in the house, so it'll be a make up for the party you missed."
She was excited, hoping that her mom agreed to support the mayor, "It does sound like fun."
"So tell me about yourself." He said in a gentlemanly manner. And the two hit it off, as Sawyer divulged a lot of her story, feeling very comfortable around him.
'Gotcha Sawyer Scott.' He thought to himself as she talked. Unbeknownst to Sawyer the rivalry between the private school, Buckley, and the public school Tree Hill High was about to affect her personally. Chase had made a bet with his friends that he could get a Tree Hill cheerleader to sleep with him in a matter of a month. Sawyer was the perfect catch. And his plan was set in motion.
Peyton came out laughing with the Mayor, "Looks like good news." Chase whispered to Sawyer.
"Alright Chasey let's go. We're headed off to the local farmer's market." Peyton nodded, "You guys have fun."
"It was nice meeting you young lady." The mayor said to Sawyer. "You have beuaitful daughter." He said to Peyton. "Yes she is." Chase echoed. Peyton bit her tongue. He was rubbing her the wrong way, "Thank you." As they walked out Peyton put her hand on her hip, as Sawyer walked away, "Soy come back here please." Sawyer turned around, not aware that she did anything wrong, "What's up? Are we going now?"
Peyton sighed, "What's up with Mr. Hamilton's son?"
Sawyer was genuinely confused, "What do you mean?"
"There's something about him that I don't like."
Sawyer scoffed, "Mom stop being so paranoid. He's cool."
She shook her head in disagreement, "Just be careful with him Soy, please."
"I will, geez. Can we go NOW?"
Peyton gave it up, "Alright, let me get my purse."
And let the drama begin. Please continue to review, once I get five I'll write the next one immediately! Hope you keep on reading. This story will end soon :(. So enjoy it while you can! I'm sorry if it seems long winded to others.