Timeline 2

Sam's fist clamped tightly around the test, frozen in trepidation. She couldn't bring herself to loosen her grip and reveal her result. She had thought she was ready for whatever might show up, but she wasn't. What if the test was positive? She didn't think she was ready to face that reality if it was. Looking up, she saw Jen standing across the room, her lips pressed into a straight line. Sam pleaded silently for help, asking her with her gaze what she should do.

Jen sighed, and spoke softly, "Sam, no matter what, everything's going to be ok. You know I'll always be there for you."

She nodded, and looked back down at her clenched hand. She did know that. Sam didn't know what her life might have been like if she hadn't had Jen, if they hadn't met that day at the bus stop. Thankfully, she never had to find out. She looked back up at her friend sheepishly, and extended the hand that held the test, "Could you look, and tell me the result?"

Jen took the test from Sam's hand, eyes still locked firmly on her own, "You sure?" Sam nodded. She trusted that Jen would handle the result, whatever it might be, better than she would herself. Jen looked down at the test, and making sure to hide any inflection in her voice, relayed the result, "It's negative."

Sam stared blankly in front of her at the tiled wall, and out of her peripherals, saw Jen watching her carefully. She could feel the tears come to her eyes, and her mind filled with confusion. Why was she crying? This was what she wanted, wasn't it? She felt Jen wrap her into a hug as she sat on the closed toilet seat; there was no stopping the flowing tears running down her face. None of this made any sense. Sam knew she wasn't ready to be pregnant, she was in no way prepared to have kids anytime soon. Still, she felt like she had lost something, even if she had never actually had anything to lose.

Sam sobbed into Jen's shoulder, as she felt her hand rubbing her back soothingly, not able to hear anything she was saying. Finally, her tears subsided, and she pulled away from Jen still sniffling, "I need a drink."

Jen laughed and pulled her up to a standing position, "And where exactly do you think you're gonna get one? Last time I checked, liquor stores around here don't accept fake IDs."

"Well, last time I checked, I had a grad party to attend." Sam wasn't a big drinker, but today had been a rollercoaster. She knew there would be something at the party. Moving quickly to gather up her things, she looked at Jen, "You coming?"

Jen shook her head, realizing Sam was serious, "I don't think this is a good idea."

Sam shrugged as she turned to leave, "Fine. See you tomorrow." She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Jen standing there alone.

The night air felt cool against Sam's tear dampened face, as she walked towards the sounds of the party. She wasn't planning on staying long, just enough to lift her spirits, or at least distract her for a bit. The sounds got louder as she rounded the corner, and she came to a stop. The scene in front of her looked like it had been pulled straight from the movies. The music was deafening, the lights were blinding, and the people were everywhere. Sam took a deep breath as she moved into the crowd. She noticed that most everyone, even the DJ, had the classic red plastic cups in hand. She found herself in the heart of the crowd when someone bumped into her, nearly spilling their drink all over her.

"Sorry." The guy barely glanced at her as he pushed through the crowd.

Sam had always tried to stay away from parties while attending college, and now she remembered why. She moved off towards the edge, where the density of people lessened, and spotted the refreshment area, almost sighing in relief when she saw Jake standing there. She hadn't realized she had been searching for a friendly face.

Moving in next to him, she lightly elbowed his side to get his attention. He looked down, and she nodded towards his cup, "Got anything good in there?"

Jake raised an eyebrow at her, "I know you didn't just ask me for a drink after spending the entire day doubled over the toilet." His gaze softened the slightest bit, "You doing okay?"

Sam waved him off, "I'm fine, just trying to enjoy myself. I seem to remember someone telling me that I'll only graduate once." She smiled up at him, and watched a slow grin spread over his face.

"You would think someone with such a great memory would be able to remember she can't handle alcohol," his eyes shone with laughter, "Then again, I guess most people who got tipsy after eating tiramisu would try and forget it."

She couldn't stop the giggling that overtook her as she remembered that day at Gino's, their favorite pizza place not far off campus, "That's not fair, you know I've built up a tolerance since then. At least enough for one drink."

Still grinning, Jake lifted his head, shaking it softly. His eyes scanned the crowd behind her as he changed the subject, "Where's Jen?"

Guilt spread through Sam, "Uh, I sort of ditched her…" She reached for her phone and quickly texted her.

S: Sorry about running off earlier. I found Jake at the party if you want to come.

Jen texted back immediately.

J: I get it. Already settled in for the night, see you tomorrow.

She turned her phone off, slipping it into her pocket. Hopefully Jen wasn't too mad at her for leaving so abruptly. She just hadn't been able to stand being in that space any longer. Her eyes flicked back up towards Jake, who was staring at her now, "So, about that drink?"

Jake let out a stifled laugh, "Brat, I'm not getting you a drink. Besides, Wyatt would kill me if he found out."

Sam's brow quirked playfully, "Funny, not having my dad's approval hasn't stopped you before—" Her mouth snapped shut. Where had that come from? Neither of them had brought up "the night" since it had happened, and now Sam had gone and blown it. Maybe Jake hadn't noticed. After all, she hadn't mentioned it specifically. Risking a look at Jake she saw him watching her, an intensity in his mustang eyes that made her knees feel weak. He had noticed. What did that look mean? Sam was no longer interested in the party, or a drink. "Um… I think I should head back to my dorm."

Jake's gaze had returned to normal, and he simply nodded as she turned to leave. She was confused by his gesture. Since her first day on campus, he had always asked her if she wanted him to walk her back. Sometimes she refused the offer, but most of the time she didn't. It was those small moments together that she had come to appreciate the most.

After taking just a few steps she quickly spun back around, her words coming out in a rush, "Will you walk with me?" Jake hesitated, before nodding and tossing out his drink. Shoving his hands into his front pockets, he fell into step beside her as they made their way towards Sam's dorm.

They had walked for quite a while without speaking. She was surprised when Jake broke the silence first, and was even more surprised by what he said, "I think we should talk about it." She stopped walking and looked up at him, the shock showing on her face as he spoke again, "It's just… I wanna make sure you're ok. That you don't, like, regret it or something."

Sam could barely breathe, let alone speak, "Jake, that's…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say. Of course she didn't regret their night together. As far as Sam was concerned, it had been perfect. She wouldn't change a single thing, even knowing about the pregnancy scare. She shook her head as she continued, "I don't regret it, Jake." She saw his body relax, as a look of relief crossed his face. "Do you?"

His response was a low murmur, "No." Sam smiled, pushing down the lump in her throat, as he held her gaze. After everything they had been through, she should have known nothing would ruin their friendship. Not even spending one, perfect night together. She wanted to hug him, but instead turned back towards the path leading to her dorm.

They resumed walking, a comfortable silence settling over them. When they reached her building, Sam jogged up the steps and paused at the door. She turned around to see Jake already walking away.

"Jake!" She called to him, racing back down the stairs to meet him as he turned around. Reaching the end of the stairs, she walked right up to him and hugged him as tight as she could, "Thanks for being my best friend." Jake tensed a bit, and Sam realized she had probably hugged him for too long. She let go of him, taking a step back.

Jake wouldn't meet her gaze, and his voice was quiet, "I always will be." He glanced up, his small smile not quite reaching his eyes, "Night Sam." He turned before she could say anything, and headed back towards the party.

Sam made her way into her dorm, and crashed down onto her bed. She let out a heavy sigh, finally able to relax. A lot had happened today, and more big things were happening tomorrow. Jen and her would be leaving for their summer in Colorado. Sam's eyes fluttered shut, and before she could think one more thought, she was fast asleep.

I had just a few things I wanted to note at the end of this chapter. First, if you haven't seen it yet I set up a new "fic" where I will be putting up bonus chapters that go along with this story. The chapters aren't necessary reads, just extra content. So far there's a Jake POV, so if that's something that interests you, you can go check that out. Second, there were a couple personal easter eggs I put in this chapter. One was the tiramisu incident, which actually happened to me. It was definitely a little embarrassing, but I love laughing about it now. Another was the name of the restaurant, Gino's, which was the name of my grandpa's pizza parlor. He closed it before I was born but it had been a local favorite, so I decided to honor it here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please let me know if the italics were too hard to read for an entire chapter.