~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Men!! Aghh!! Stupid.......morons.........freaks.......," Sam continued to mumble as she let herself into her house. Thinking for a moment, she went, changed into her bathing suit and shorts and then decided to go for a jog on the beach. It being so early there wasn't anyone really out. Heading off in one direction she jogged about a mile before stopping. Sitting down in the sand, Sam sat and thought. She knew she had every right to be mad at Nick but she couldn't figure out why she was as angry and as hurt as she was. And she knew she was being a bitch about it all. Looking around, Sam saw how close she was to her friend, Sera's house. Deciding to go and see if her friend was awake, Sam heaved herself off the ground.
Peering into the window, Sam saw Sera sitting on the couch watching TV. Going and knock on the door, Sam waited patiently for Sera to answer it.
"Oh, hey Sam. What are you doing here so early?"
"Long story."
"Oh.....well do come in and tell. I just love long stories."
Joining Sera on the couch, she recounted the events of the previous night and this morning. When she was done, Sera was trying to control her giggling.
"What???"
"Oh come on Sam!! Anyone can see you've got the hots for him!"
"I do not!! Sorry, you're way off Sera. First of all, I've known him way to long. I mean, we used to bathe together! And second........he's..........Nick!"
"Yea?? He's Nick and he's gorgeous!! He's always been gorgeous. You know, he best relationships begin as friendships...........wait......you mean you've seen him naked then??"
"Sera!!! We were like 2! And me like Nick?? Yuck!! No way!!"
"Fine, whatever you say Sam."
"Sera, I DO NOT HAVE THE HOTS FOR NICK!!! No way, no how. Now I gotta go. Give me a call later, k?"
"Sure thing, bye."
Sam let herself out and back down to the beach. Glancing around, she took off jogging in the direction of home. She was about halfway there when she began to feel lightheaded. Slowing her page, she continued to head home. She was almost there when everything started spinning. Stopping, Sam fell to the ground and blacked out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Sam let, Nick just laid there, unable to get back to sleep. Groaning in frustration, he got out of bed and pulled a shirt on. Slowly he made his way downstairs and got some toast and juice. It was only 7:30, no one else would be awake for awhile. Walking out onto the deck, he contiplated calling Sam. He had no clue why she hit him this morning. Leaning against the railing, Nick looked out to the ocean. It was so calm this morning. Scanning the beach, he saw it was practically deserted. His eyes glimpsed something just below him. Looking he saw someone lying in the sand. Nick continued to stare. After a few minutes of looking without seeing any movement, he headed down the stairs for a closer look. Inching closer, he saw it was a girl with long dark hair.
"Hey, Miss?? You ok??"
He received no answer. No movement came from the girl either. Bending down, Nick turned the girl onto her back.
"Sam?! Oh my god.........Sam?? Are you okay?? SAM?!"
Nick checked for her pulse and found it beating strong. Next he made sure she was still breathing. Finally, feeling her forehead, he noticed she was burning up.
"Oh shit......come on Sam, wake up!"
Still receiving no movement, Nick carefully picked Sam up and carried her inside his place.
"BRIAN!!!"
A moment later, Brian stumbled into the den where Nick had laid Sam down.
"What........what's wrong,' he said drowsily.
"It's Sam."
Looking at her, Brian instantly woke up, "What happened?"
"I don't know......I went out onto the deck and found her laying in the sand at the bottom of the stairs."
Brian went over and checked her out, "She's burning up.....we need to cool her down, quickly. Take her shorts off while I get some cold water and towels."
Brian headed into the kitched while Nick just looked at Sam.
"Sorry Sam........," he mumbled as he took her shorts off. True, she was in a bathing suit, but he still felt weird. Moments later, Brian returned with a large bowl of ice water and some towels.
"Okay, soak the towel and then lay it on her. We need to cool her off."
Nick took one of the towels and soaked it. Picking it back up with trembling hads, he covered Sam's legs with it.
"Hey Nick........she'll be fine........this is Sam we're talking about. She's as tough as they come. Probably just got a small virus is all."
Nick nodded and then went back to work. It was a few hours later when her fever finally broke and they were able to relax. Covering Sam with a dry blanket, they went into the kitchen to get some food.
"What time is it Bri?"
"Um......about 11:30"
"Hm......Aaron's still sleeping......that's weird. He never sleeps this late.......even when he's sick. I'm gonna go check on him."
Leaving Brian to the cooking, he headed upstairs to Aaron's room. Walking in he saw he was still asleep. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he stared blankly at him. He must have been there for a few becuase the next thing he knew, Aaron was waking up.
"Hey Sleepyhead! How ya feeling?"
"Tired........my stomachs sore........," Aaron mumbled.
"Well, do you want something to drink?"
Aaron shook his head no.
"Well, why don't you go back to sleep. I'll come back up in a little while."
Nick looked at him and saw Aaron was already fast asleep. Slowly Nick made his way back downstairs where Brian was waiting with some food.
"Come on, eat up."
They both sat and began to eat in silence.
"So........how was your date Nick?"
"Hilarious."
"Oh.......do tell my boy."
Nick went into full detail about how he seduced and then dropped Abby. He hoped that if he treated her like crap she would finally leave him alone.
"Man......that's cold Nick."
"Yea well, you didn't see what she did to Sam. I was only evening the score."
"Then why didn't you tell Sam this? She thinks you actually like this girl."
"Cuz, I figured this would be the perfect way to find out if Sam really trusts me or not, as well as get revenge on Abby. Just killing two birds with one stone. Besides, torturing Sam is fun."
"You are one sick boy Nick."
"Brian......you didn't see what Abby did you Sam. After all the rumors she spread. I have never seen Sam really cry.......but once Abby was done with her, she cried like a baby. I swore I'd get Abby back for that."
"You really care about Sam, dontcha?"
"Of course, she's one of my best friends."
"So......when are you planning on telling her it was all a setup?"
"I'm not."
"WHAT!"
"Come Monday, she'll hear he whole story at school. If she goes in there knowing about it, people will think she put me up to it."
"Oh..........ok, so how's Aaron?"
"Tired and his stomach is sore."
"Think he'll be okay before your folks get home?"
"Yea he should be. So what do we do now?"
"Beats me...........pull out the Nintendo. I'll kick your butt!"
"You're on!! No one beats me at Nintendo."
They headed into the living room and began playing. They got so wrapped up in their game that they didn't hear Aaron come up behind them until he yelled "BOO". Nick and Brian both jumped about ten feet in the air. The look on their faces sent Aaron into a fit of giggles.
"Gee, looks loike someone is feeling better. How ya doing?"
"I'm feeling 100% better Nick."
"All that sleep must have helped. You hungry?"
"Starving. Where's Sam?"
"Sam? Oh, Sam. I forgot all abouther. Brian, why don't you go get some grub for Aaron and I'll go check on Sam."
Brian took Aaron off into the kitchen and Nick headed into the den. He walked in just in time to see Sam sit up.
"Hey Sam........how ya feeling?"
"Cold," she replied weakly.
Nick pulled another blanket off the chair and draped it around Sam's shoulders.
"Thanks."
"So, what happened Sam?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when you left here this morning, you were fine........pissed but fine. Then a little later I go outside and find you unconscious in the sand. What happened?"
"Oh, I don't know. I was fine. I went over to Sera's and everything was fine. When I headed back I started feeling lightheaded and naseous. Then suddenly everything started spinning and it all went black."
"Well, you were burning up! You need to be more careful."
"Geez, chill out Nick. I'm fine."
"No, I won't chill out. You had me scared to death. When I found you I thought you were dead!"
"Being a little over dramatic aren't we Nick," Sam said rolling her eyes. That pushed Nick over the edge, and grabbing Sam by the shoulders, he shook her while yelling.
"NICK!!!"
Nick stopped and turned towards a shocked Brian and a scared looking Aaron. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out the front door.
"You okay Sam?"
"Yea Brian, I'm fine. Surprised but fine. Hey Aaron, I see you're feeling better now."
"Why was Nick hurting you?"
"Oh he wasn't Aaron. We were just goofing off."
"He looked serious."
"That just goes to show you what a good actor he is. Really Aaron, we were just playing around. I don't think he realized it might freak you out a bit."
Aaron nooded but still looked slightly unconvinced. Getting up, Sam slowly approached and began tickling him until he was giggling uncontrollably. As mad as she was at Nick, she didn't want Aaron to think badly of him. After she was done tickling him, Aaron went upstairs to change out of his pajamas.
"That was nice of you Sam."
"What?"
"Letting Aaron keep his image of Nick as a good guy who can do no wrong."
"Well 90% of the time, he is like that. Besides, it's not my place to turn Aaron against Nick."
Brian just nodded.
"You think you can handle Aaron? I just want to go home."
"Sure thing Sam. Hope you're feeling better. Just call if you need anything."
"Okay, bye."
Sam found her shorts and put them on, then made her way home. Once she got there, she changed back into her pajamas and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nick crept into the house a few hours laer. He was hoping to sneak by anyone and just go to his room. He didn't make it though.
"Nick, get in here!"
Nick slowly walked ino the living room wih his head hanging down.
"Yes?"
"What in the world is your problem?"
"Noth..."
"DON'T even say it. Sit down! You've got a lot of explaining to do."
"Where's Aaron?"
"Sleeping. You owe Sam big time. It's because of her that Aaron doesn't hate your guts right now. She lied and said you two were playing around."
"She did?"
"Yes, now why were you shaking her like that?"
"I don't know........she just got me so........I was just trying to get through to her.......and I snapped. I don't know what's happening. All we do it fight now. I can't talk to her anymore. And every little thing she does, makes me want to knock some sense into her."
"Maybe you two are just growing apart. It happens. Maybe you guys are just too different now, to be as close as you were."
Nick nodded, stood up and slowly walked to his room. He hated to admit it, but Brian was right. Him and Sam were just too differnt now.......