AN: I really wanted to get this up tonight. So, I did. It's probably not my best, but I like it enough. That's got to mean something, right? Who knows.

Anyway, if you're waiting for a We Danced update, it's coming. I promise. I'm so close to the end of the story that I need to really concentrate on getting from where it is to where I want it to end. The next chapter should be up by early next week, if not sooner.

Sam hurried across the parking lot and then turned onto campus. It was pretty chilly out, autumn had snuck up on everyone over the week, but there were still plenty of underclassmen hanging out on the lawns and littering the sidewalks. As he crossed over from one sidewalk to another, he noticed a group of familiar freshman and made his way over there.

They were sitting in a circle, not really talking or even paying attention to each other. They were just there with books and notes scattered around them. Sam used his foot to get one's attention.

"What the hell?" Andy said, pushing a book off her lap. When she looked up her face went from annoyed to amused and Sam smiled at her. "Hey, pal," she said and his smile grew.

"Hey, buddy," he said, extending his hand. Andy took it gratefully and let him pull her to stand. They took a few steps away from her friends whose noses were still in their books. "Aren't you cold?" He asked, nodding to her bare legs. She pulled on the bottom of her shorts and shrugged.

"Chris and I just finished a game of basketball in the gym," she explained. "I'm actually kind of sweaty."

He laughed quietly at that and she smiled at him again. They kind of watched each other for a few seconds and Sam wondered what she was doing studying outside when she could have been in her dorm or the library. "It's too nice to be inside, don't you think?" She asked him as if she just read his mind.

"No," he laughed again. "I'm actually on my way to the library."

"Ah, I was wondering what you were doing on campus on a Saturday," she nodded. "Wait, why don't you just do homework or study in your apartment? I thought that was one of the perks of being able to live off campus."

"Normally, it is," he insisted. He thought about his apartment and the exact reason he wasn't studying there, why he couldn't study there. "There are way too many distractions at my place right now."

"What, you couldn't get that girl from last night out?" She joked and Sam could see that there was a part of her that believed it to be true. She had seen him talking to a girl from one of his classes at the bar the night before and now she thought that he brought her home and couldn't get rid of her fast enough.

"That's cute," he smirked and she smiled tightly. "No girls, just a, um, dog. My dog, I guess."

"You have a dog?" She asked, her voice higher pitched than he'd ever heard it. "We've known each other for almost two months and you never told me that you have a dog?"

"Well, I didn't always have one, McNally," he told her and her eyes narrowed. "My sister decided she couldn't take care of it and dropped it off with me a couple of days ago. Now he's mine and he demands a lot of attention. Which is why I needed to leave him at home for a few hours and come to the library to do my homework."

"Well, you're bringing him to Jerry's bonfire tonight, aren't you?" She asked, twisting her hands in between their bodies. He could feel the excitement coming off of her and he couldn't help but shake his head with an amused smile.

"I didn't know you were coming tonight," he said, letting her stew about the dog a little longer.

"Yeah, he invited us last week," she explained. "I hear his roommates kind of suck, though."

"They do," Sam promised and she twisted her mouth in disgust. "But Oliver and I will be there. And Boo."

"That's the dog's name?" She asked, her whole face lighting up.

"Boo, as in Boo Radley," he nodded and Andy's wide eyes got even wider.

"I love that book."

"Yeah, so does Sarah," he shrugged. "And so do I. It's one of the few things we agree on."

"Are you going to be able to take care of a dog?" She asked suddenly and he, honestly, felt a little offended at the suggestion that he couldn't.

"Of course," he said sounding defensive.

"I don't doubt that you are able to take care of a dog," she said quickly, taking a small step toward him. That step brought her the closest they had stood in almost a month, since they decided to be friends. "You don't have a lot of time on your hands. You're a busy guy, Sam."

"I know," he agreed. "But it's important to Sarah and I actually kind of like the thing. It'll be good to have some company."

"Okay," she smiled, shuffling her feet. "Then, I can't wait to meet him."

"I should go," he told her quietly and she nodded, stepping back. "I'll see you tonight, Andy."

"Yeah, have fun at the library," she smiled.

"Have fun here," he said and she nodded, rubbing her arms up and down."Oh," he said, unzipping his sweatshirt. "Take this. I'm going inside anyway."

"Sam, it's fine," she said, pushing his hand, and the sweatshirt, against his chest.

"Take it," he said, pushing back and she bit her bottom lip before slowly taking the sweatshirt from him.

"Thank you," she said, sliding it on. "It's a little big," she said, tilting her head and squinting her eyes as the sun broke out from a cloud.

"Well, I am a man," he smiled and she laughed, looking down. "You are a freshman."

"I guess that's true," she said with a roll of her eyes and he shrugged smugly.

"All right, well I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight, Sam," she smiled. After a sigh, he walked past her and headed toward the library, a little colder than when he got out of his truck.

"Are we walking?" Andy asked, pulling her head out of the set of drawers beneath her bed. Traci and Gail were rummaging through their own on the other side of the room. "Or should we take a cab?"

"We should walk there," Traci said, holding a shirt out in front of her before throwing it back in her top drawer. "You guys should take a cab back here, though."

"You're spending another night at Jerry's?" Gail asked, pulling a shirt over her head. "That's, like, four in a row."

"It's young love," Andy teased wistfully and Traci scoffed. "Well, it is. She just won't admit it."

"It's not love," Traci argued. "It's new."

"Not really," Gail reminded her. "This has been going on for almost two months."

Andy nodded, her back to her friends again, and pulled out a shirt she deemed appropriate for a bonfire. It was a sweater, really, but it was cute and she could make it work with her new boots. After she put it on, she looked back to find Traci and Gail completely dressed.

"Don't forget Sam's sweatshirt," Traci said and Andy reached for it on the back of her desk chair. Traci and Gail smiled knowingly at her and she rolled her eyes.

Over the past three or four weeks, ever since she and Sam decided to slow down and just be friends, Traci and Gail wouldn't let up on teasing her. Even though they agreed that them being friends was for the best, they knew how she felt about him. They knew how hard it was for her not to touch him. And she hadn't, not since that day in the quad.

They were actually getting pretty good at being friends. She knew a little bit about his older sister—she had a rough childhood and she and Sam weren't as close as they had once been. He knew that her dad was a detective in Toronto and that he was probably close to retiring. He did not know the reason for that, though, and she wasn't quite ready to share it with her new friend. She knew he could fix his car with no help and that he could cook when he needed to. In fact, he brought in leftovers for lunch once and she stole some chicken off his plate only to eat the rest when he was sick of her fingers grabbing at it. After CJ 101 and lunch, when they had classes in the same building, they sat together in the hallway and talked or, sometimes, just studied in silence.

"We should go," Andy said, checking her watch. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Chris and Dov waiting and she smiled. "Ready?"

"Ready," Dov nodded and she followed him out.

Traci looped her arm through Andy's while Chris and Gail took up the rear. They had kissed once more—she had kissed him again—and now the ball was really in Chris's court. Gail had a date with Luke Callaghan, the senior that asked Andy out on their first day. When Andy looked over her shoulder, Chris was looking at Gail and Gail was looking at her feet with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

The walk to Jerry's wasn't far and it wasn't too chilly out. The sun had set a while ago, but the stars were bright and the moon was almost full. Andy listened while Chris and Dov talked about their videogame and Traci and Gail talked about their upcoming Sociology test. She ran the sleeve of Sam's sweatshirt between her fingers and smiled at his earlier kindness. She was giddy at the thought of meeting his dog—Andy had always wanted one for herself, but her dad worked too much and her mom was, well, her mom was gone.

Traci led them down a side street and to a house just big enough for the three people that lived there—if that. But once they reached the backyard, Andy's mouth gaped at the sheer size of it. The bonfire was set up in the dead center, already burning, Sam's truck was backed into the yard with its tailgate down, and there were lawn chairs and some blankets set up around the rest of the grass. Andy smiled at Oliver and then her eyes traveled to his feet where there was a grey and black dog resting and she smiled even wider.

"Hey," she heard from behind her and she turned to find Sam carrying a six-pack.

"Hey," she said. "Here," she smiled, stretching her arm to give him back his sweatshirt.

"I have a feeling you might need that later," he told her, waving her off with his free hand. "Want to meet Boo?"

"God, I thought you'd never ask," she laughed, walking ahead of him toward Oliver and the dog. "Hi, Oliver."

"Andy," he smiled with a nod. "You're clearly not here to see me," he said when he realized her eyes had never met his, but instead remained on the dog who was now on his feet and sniffing around her lower body.

"Andy, this is Boo," Sam said, handing Oliver a beer and cracking one open for himself. "He smells things."

"Hi," she cooed, resting on her knees to be face to face with the dog. "You're so cute. I love you."

"I told you he would get you laid, man."

Andy's face contorted and looked up to see who said that and then her face fell.

"Andy McNally?!"

Sam looked between Jerry's roommate and Andy who was still on the ground with her hand mindlessly ruffling Boo's fur. Andy looked like she had just been punched in the gut, but Mike looked like a smug son of a bitch—more so than usual. When Andy dragged her eyes from Mike to Sam, he extended his hand and pulled her to stand. He also handed her his beer because she looked like she needed it.

"What are you doing here?" She asked after taking down half of the beer. Sam stood to one side of her and Oliver got up from his seat and stood on her other side. Boo took his place right in front of her.

"I live here," Mike answered and Sam noticed Andy's eyes widen before swinging to his. He nodded his confirmation and he physically watched her deflate. "What are you doing here? And how do you know anyone here?"

"She's my best friend," Traci said as she and Jerry joined their group.

"You two know each other?" Jerry asked, looking between Andy and Mike before glancing at Sam to gauge his reaction. Sam just stood there, with a hand on the small of Andy's back.

"She cheated on my brother," Mike laughed and Andy took a step forward and Sam was scared she was going to lunge at him.

"That is not true and you know it," she said as Sam dragged her back toward him with a hand on her shoulder.

"You slept with Matt," Mike reminded her and Sam looked at her. She was fuming as she handed Sam his beer back.

"Tanner and I were broken up when I slept with Matt," she argued, pointing at his chest, and Sam continued to watch her as his fingers idly peeled off the beer's label. Traci had left Jerry's side and had moved to where Oliver had been originally.

"Yet, you never told him when you got back together three months later," Mike continued and Andy ran her hands over her face.

"Okay," Jerry said now, stepping between them, his back to Andy and Sam. "It's over now, okay? Didn't you just tell me that your brother is dating someone? That's he's madly in love with her? Let him be happy and leave Andy alone. She's my guest and she's not going anywhere. Play nice."

"Fine," Mike said, raising his hands in defense. "Welcome to my home," he said to Andy once Jerry stepped out from between them.

"Thank you," she said coldly before walking over to Chris, Dov, and Gail.

"You're kind of an ass, huh, Mikey?" Sam asked and Mike shrugged. "Just leave her alone."

"I left her alone, Sammy," he reminded him and Sam sighed before walking away, nodding for Boo to follow him.

"Sorry about that," Sam said when he walked up to Andy and her friends.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I didn't cheat on him, you know?"

"I believe you," he promised and she smiled. "You want to talk about it?" He asked quietly and she nodded. "My truck?"

"Okay," she smiled again and he led them to the back of his truck. After a single sweep of his hand, Boo was resting in the bed, his head on the lowered tailgate. Sam sat on one side as Andy slid onto the other before petting down his head and his back.

"Tanner and I dated forever, or, you know, like two years," she started and Sam nodded for her to continue. "He broke up with me right after homecoming senior year. I wasn't really that broken up about it, so I started dating some kids I went to school with. Nothing happened and they all kind of sucked. Matt has been my friend forever and we got drunk and slept together over winter break. It happened a couple of more times once school started and then we just stopped and it was good because it was like it never happened. Everything went back to how it always was. I wasn't, like, in love with him. So, around March, Tanner asked me to get back together. I thought I missed him, so I said yes. I never told him about Matt. It didn't come up. I didn't even think of it, really. Is that weird?"

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "If it didn't mean anything, that makes sense."

"That's how I felt," Andy agreed, rubbing Boo's ears mindlessly. It made Sam smile when his head landed on her lap. "So, anyway, we all got a beach house after prom and Matt got drunk and brought it up for the first time ever. Obviously, Tanner heard and he broke up with me. But he broke up with me because he realized that he didn't care and he realized that I didn't care whether or not he found out. Tanner and I were never going to stay together. It was a relationship of convenience and familiarity, you know?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I don't know why Mike is more upset about it than Tanner was," Andy shrugged and finally looked up at Sam. "I'm sorry… I just rambled so much."

"I asked if you wanted to talk," Sam reminded her, laughing. "I wanted you to ramble. That's what friends are for."

"Well, you know where to find me if you ever need to ramble," she offered and he nodded.

"Go hang out with your friends," he said, nodding to the group of them around the fire and she smiled at him.

"I am."