Consider this me testing the waters for a multi-chapter (hopefully like 30-50k words) Sake/Phantom Stallion fic. I'll probably write it regardless but I won't post it unless Jealous attracts some attention. I assume I'm the only one still interested in Phantom Stallion but gosh dang it old habits die hard.

They were supposed to be dancing, but something was visibly grinding Jake's gears. His jaw was set and locked, and the stiff way he held onto Sam's hand told her all she needed to know and more.

As they choppily swayed back and forth to "Come On Eileen", Sam tapped him on the shoulder with her left hand. "Jake? Is something bugging you?"

In typical Ely fashion, he responded by ignoring her question and scrunching his eyebrows together. Sam rolled her eyes- she'd been playing this game for a long time, and it was no easier convincing Jake to talk now than it had been ten years ago.

"I can tell you're in a mood," Sam stated. She was his best friend and she could read him better than anyone. Also, it was really obvious this time. "And we're at a wedding. We're supposed to be having a good time. Think we could maybe try working through this while the night is still young?"

He was stubborn, but she was really good at goading him. He looked like he was going to explode.

Sam just rolled her eyes. "Come on, Jake, I can tell you're dying to tell me."

Finally, he gave in and snapped, "What're you thinking, Samantha?"

Her spine straightened with shock- whether it was the end of the silent treatment or the use of her full name, she couldn't tell. "What do you mean, what am I thinking?"

"You and that stallion," he growled, meaning the Phantom. "You chase after him, like- like he's all you got!"

Ah, so they were worrying about her personal safety again. Although she rarely saw Jake heated enough to talk like this (and in full sentences, no less) Sam forced herself to stay calm. "He's not all I've got. You know I put my family first, but why wouldn't I chase after him? After everything we've been through…"

It was like Jake hadn't heard her. Now that she'd convinced him to talk, he seemed to be on a mission to say anything on his mind, whether it hurt her or not. "And you know what, Sam? You're runnin' down a track that won't take you anywhere, because wild stallions? They ain't got much in the way of lifespan, especially the ones that can't quit picking fights!"

Now, Jake's words stung, and Sam felt like she'd been punched in the gut. What foreign upside-down world where they in, where she played the level-headed one and Jake was lashing out? She felt dizzy, she felt sick, because her oldest friend in the world sure knew how to hit her where it hurt.

Now, she was mad too.

Until then, they'd still been absently pretending to dance, but Sam stepped back and pushed Jake away from her. "What is wrong with you, Jake Ely?!" she demanded. Fury pumped through her veins, and what she really wanted was to shout at him, but on some level, she remembered that they were at a wedding reception. Causing a scene would be rude. "You're probably right, and I don't care, just why, why do you have to see the worst in him every single time?"

In Jake's defense, he did look apologetic now, but Sam pressed, even as her eyes stung with tears. "Why can't you let me love him?"

It seemed that losing his temper had taken a lot out of Jake; now he looked even quieter and broodier than usual. His dark eyes darted back and forth, refusing to settle on Sam. "I didn't…"

He trailed off before he could say anything relevant. Sam didn't know what she even wanted from him- an apology? An explanation? How could he possibly explain the vendetta he held against the Phantom, or the way he tried to protect her from everything under the sun?

When it came to Jake, Sam didn't really expect things to make sense, but the way he was acting now sure made it seem like deep down, something was making him tick.

Now, Sam zeroed in on him- on the lidded eyes, the shifting weight, and the slight scowl on his face that was so unlike his trademark Ely smirk. "Jake…" she said slowly, tilting her head. "…are you jealous of the Phantom?"

Jake spent a lot of time being silent, but this particular silence sent a pretty clear message.

"You are!" Sam marveled. "Of a horse! Jake! And you're supposed to be the mature one of us!"

"People are staring," he grumbled.

A couple of them were, indeed, staring. Sam couldn't stop shaking her head, but she did pick up Jake's hand again. "You don't have to be jealous," she told him as they halfheartedly swayed back and forth together, completely offbeat. "He's important to me. I'd go around the world for him. But, Jake, when I said family first, I meant you too."

She meant the words with every fiber of her being, but Jake still looked doubtful. If anything, he looked even more agitated. Sam cocked her head at him, but she knew she wouldn't have any luck goading him a second time. Patience was the name of the game with this one.

He kept looking furtively side to side- Sam wondered if he was looking for an escape route. But eventually, Jake's shoulders sagged, and he surrendered to talking about what was clearly weighing on his mind.

"Brat, I don't wanna be your family."

Was confusion the reaction he'd been looking for? Sam didn't think so. Jake confused her fairly often, but she was pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose.

Since Sam visibly had no idea what he was getting at, Jake, albeit reluctantly, elaborated. His eyes were still downcast, but he squeezed her hand in what was possibly meant to be a reassuring gesture. "I know…we've been friends for a long time, and our moms were friends for a long time too, and that means we are just about family. But Brat, I don't want to be your family, 'cause I sure don't love you like family."

For a moment, it felt like Sam's heart stopped, until it clicked in her brain that Jake had meant that in a good way. The way where he loved her more and not less. Loving her at all was news to her, actually.

In some sort of giddy trance, Sam didn't realize she hadn't replied until Jake scuffed the ground with the toe of his boot. "Didn't plan on tellin' you," he muttered. "I know what you're gonna say. I just…if you're mad at me, I want it to be for the real reason."

"I'm not mad at you," Sam said softly. She felt awfully shy all of a sudden, looking at her longtime best friend with new eyes. She'd never seen him blush so red before, and the sight on him in his crisp white button-down, looking down at her with mustang eyes, made her want to sing, to twirl, to throw her arms around him and kiss him on the mouth!

Jake's eyes widened, like a mule deer staring down an eighteen-wheeler. "You're…not?"

"Of course I'm not," she promised. "I'm in shock."

His look of alarm intensified. "We don't have to change anything."

"Jen says, for all practical purpose, you and I are already a couple," Sam said with a shrug. "All that's missing is some physical affection and cutesy pet names."

Jake wrinkled his nose at that last part. No matter how much he apparently loved Sam, it seemed unlikely he would come up with a nickname more affectionate than his current, "Brat".

Reading his mind, Sam assured him, "You can still call me Brat."

He gave a low chuckle and pulled her into a hug. It was only for a moment, but there was something euphoric in his arms around her, something that had never been in any of their hugs before.

When they picked up their dance again, they held each other just a little bit closer, and Jake no longer looked like he was doing the robot when they were meant to be waltzing. Sam rested her head on his shoulder, with a quiet smile that refused to leave her face. Although a lot of things were still uncertain, she knew that every change they made would be for the better.

"Damn," Jake said softly.

Sam perked up. "What?"

"If that horse could see me right now, he'd be so frickin' jealous…"

Hope you likey :) read n review