A/N: you'll notice that not only is this chapter longer, but it's a little more well-written. it's because i forced one of my friends, Green, to beta for me. thankfully, she's a sweetheart and elected to help me beat, not only this chapter, but the others into submission. those will be updated throughout the week as we get to them, so be on the lookout!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom Stallion or any of its characters. Those all belong to Terri Farley, I'm just respectfully borrowing them. Don't sue me, I'm a broke college student with nothing but some books and a grouchy dog.

ATTRACTION

Sam

Sam didn't know when it had really started, but one day she couldn't help but notice how incredibly handsome her best friend had become. Or, she mused later on, once she was alone and able to think things through more logically, maybe he'd always been good-looking and she'd just never noticed? She didn't know how she could have missed it; it wasn't like Jake had just become undeniably attractive one day out of the blue, but she couldn't come up with any other rational explanation as to what had so suddenly brought about the changes she'd noticed recently.

But the day it hit her, or rather, jumped up and smacked her in the face was, for all intents and purposes, a normal day. The ever-present Arizona sun shone hot overhead and a cool breeze had kicked up from the east earlier that day, carrying the comforting scent of horses and the gentle clucking of Gram's chickens across the ranch yard. Having just finished her usual morning chores, Sam walks back up towards the house, cheerfully humming a song she heard on the radio earlier that week and completely oblivious to anything around her. A sudden noise from off to her left makes Sam turn her head. Coming over the bridge are Jake and Witch, same as always, but today… today, something is different.

Jake looks just as he usually does - blue jeans and a flannel shirt, hair pulled back and black Stetson perched on his head. For some reason, though, Sam can't help but fixate on the muscles in his forearms as he guides Witch closer, or the way his white smile brightens the entirety of his face like the sun coming out after three days of rain. His cheekbones seem higher, his entire face just slightly more angular in a way that Sam's never taken notice of before. For some reason, something in her belly flutters as if there's a little bird trapped inside and she presses a hand there in an attempt to stop it from escaping.

He's talking to her now, she can see his mouth moving as he props his arm on the front of the saddle, leaning down closer as if he thinks the light breeze has snatched his words away, but despite all of his efforts she still can't hear him. It takes him a full minute to realize she's been completely dumbfounded, but he takes it in stride the way he does just about everything.

"Brat? You alright?" Jake calls, his deep voice thick with amusement, and the sound of that ever familiar nickname shocks her from her trance, restoring her hearing in a rush of sound. She can feel the heat of her blush flooding her face and she just knows her ears have gone bright cherry red, the way they always do when she's especially embarrassed.

"I'm fine," Sam mumbles, and a little frown momentarily crosses Jake's face before he decides she's being honest and puts it completely out of his mind, continuing the conversation. Sam listens intently this time and shoves her feelings way, way, way down. Because, as much as it makes sense, (and honestly, who isn't just a little bit in love with him?), there is absolutely no way she's attracted to Jake Ely.

Jake

The day Jake realizes he's attracted to Sam, it feels like a metal baseball bat has whacked him across the back of his head. He's always known she was pretty, of course, but in a sort of abstract way - it was something that he had never really thought too hard upon. It was just one of those things that just were; the sky was blue, he had six older brothers, he went to Darton High, and Sam was pretty.

They're out for a ride, as is their usual routine during summer, but it's one of those rare occasions when Sam isn't riding Ace (who had a minor but unfortunate run-in with some barbed wire a few days previously). Instead, she's brought Popcorn to give him some much-needed exercise, and if she finds it strange to ride the taller horse she doesn't say anything about it. It's obvious that the albino mustang is greatly enjoying the chance to get out and stretch his legs as well, frisking about as if he's a young colt and not a fully-grown gelding, though Sam is gentle and firm and expertly keeps him under control.

Sam's just turned around in the saddle, having ridden slightly ahead of him in an attempt to jeer him into one of their infamous races, when he is suddenly struck by the fact that, somehow, in the last few years, Sam has gone from simply pretty to downright gorgeous.

Her blue eyes are bright with mischief, sparkling in a way he knows they've always done but he's never noticed how they brighten her face before now, and her auburn hair, grown out since the hack-job she'd done on it when she was barely fourteen and just coming home from her time away in San Francisco, is rippling in the wind. She's still Sam; short, spunky, animal-loving, self-sacrificing Sam, who's been his best friend practically since the day she was born, but somehow… somehow, now she's this woman and he doesn't know when it happened but he isn't so sure he's upset about it.

"Jake, are you ignoring me?" Sam teases playfully. Hearing the laughter in her bright voice shakes Jake out of his stupor, only to realize he's pulled Witch to a stop and is currently gaping at Sam as if he's never seen her before. Thankfully, Witch is well-trained enough that she doesn't seem to mind her rider's temporary bout of insanity and stands placidly waiting for a signal to move.

"Course not," he replies, though he knows his voice is a little bit too stiff, too emotionless, because she gives him a confused frown in response. If he's being honest with himself, he thinks he sounds fairly coherent, considering he's been thrown the biggest curveball in his life so far.

Without thinking about it any more, and resolutely shoving his realization to the back of his mind to contemplate later, Jake urges Witch into a gallop before Sam has time to mention how odd he'd sounded. Her cry of outrage makes him grin to himself, and think that maybe being attracted to Sam isn't all that bad.