Title: Seeing is Believing

Series: Breakthrough

Author: Alan Hitchen

Email: darkmere2000@yahoo.co.uk

Archive: http://www.realmoftheshadow.com/alan.htm

Disclaimer: Popular is the property of Touchstone Television.

Pairing: Sam/Nicole

Rating: PG-13

Information: Follows on from Prelude.

Summary: Sam and Nicole have something to tell their friends.

I would not have believed you had I never seen
Now you and I are pictured intimately in my dreams
I could not forsake you or fall tumbling away
And if I live in wonderland I'm better off this way

Alison Moyet - Is This Love?

****

Nicole made to return the kiss when a sliver of doubt entered her mind and she pulled back from Sam. "This isn't a joke is it? Or the car? You're not doing this because of the car?"

Sam chuckled and a cold shiver ran down Nicole's spine. It was a joke. A cruel, sadistic joke just like the ones she used play.

"No," said Sam, a little grin appearing as she saw Nicole's relief light up her face, "it's not a joke. And it's not the car. Nice though it is. It's you, Nic. I kissed you for you."

Nicole couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. "You did?"

"Look," Sam went on. "I don't know what's going on here exactly, but the one thing I do know is that I want to kiss you again."

But as soon as their lips touched Sam became aware of a commotion outside. It sounded like Carmen was giving someone an earful of abuse and things were getting out of hand.

"Sorry, Nic. Duty calls and all that. We'll continue this later, okay?"

Nicole's happy smile spoke for her. "I'll be waiting."

...

Brooke's mind drifted from the conscious plane and entered the temple once again. She took her place at the feet of the sage. He regarded her with a knowing look.

"Your plan not work out?"

"No. Josh wasn't jealous; Carmen was furious; and Mr Krupps... But you know all this don't you?" He nodded. "I've lost him. I can't get him back. Tell me what to do." The sage remained enigmatically silent. "Then show me the way," she pleaded.

"Seek your heart's desire," he said simply.

"I did. He doesn't want me."

"Not him, her."

"Her?"

"One whose love you crave most."

"Mom?"

"Mom."

...

Ms Glass hated Mondays, but then she hated most days, and sophomore biology class she hated most of all. She looked at the assembled rabble before her and groaned. To her right sat Josh and Carmen, deeply in love and determined to make sure everyone knew it. Sam and Nicole sat quietly behind bearing secretive smiles. Harrison and Emory were busy discussing musical matters, a bored looking Bob and Carol were at the rear. At front and left sat Ted and Alice, then Lily and Poppy, Brooke and Mary Cherry, and finally, Sugar Daddy and Exquisite Woo - another pair of lovebirds - completed the roll-call.

"Right, my future minimum-wage slaves," she barked from in front of her desk. "Today we will tackle parthenogenesis. Which is nature's way of avoiding reproduction by sex by the use of cloning. Wake up, Miss Esposito, cloning could be your only hope for children."

Lily bridled at the suggestion. "Excuse me, Sir! I have no intention of adding to the world's overpopulation problem, but I do intend to have children."

"Oh, how so?"

"Adoption."

"Fascinating. Mr Cluck's staffing problem is thus solved. Now, parthenogenesis, which you will find described in chapter..."

"Do you want children?" Nicole asked quietly.

"Hold on," said Sam. "One thing at a time. We haven't even told our friends we're an item yet."

"But do you?"

"I... I haven't really thought about it. Do you?"

"No."

Ms Glass droned on. "The unfertilised egg..."

"Mary Cherry, you know people," Brooke stated suddenly.

"What sort of people?"

"People who can find other people," Brooke explained. The other blonde raised a questioning eyebrow. "I want to find my mom. Can you help me?"

"Sure thing, hun," replied the Texan, reaching for her cellphone.

"Not now," cautioned Brooke, catching Ms Glass' beady eye looking straight at her, "after class."

...

Lily was shocked by Sam's words. "You can't be. You're actually dating this peroxide whore?"

"Hey, Lily, you kiss Carmen with that mouth?" Nicole replied smartly.

"That was different," Lily protested.

"No, Lily," Sam interjected, "this is different. I'm not confused. I know who I am and what I want. And I want to be with Nicole."

"Is this some sort of twisted payback for my not telling you about the kiss?"

"No. But it is the reason why I have to tell you this."

"So. You've told me. Can I go now?" Without waiting for an answer Lily turned and left for the next class.

Josh was confused. "You kissed Lily?"

"Just the once," Carmen admitted with a blush, "but that's all it was, just a kiss."

"That's more than I got," Harrison mumbled.

"What was that?" questioned Sam.

"Nothing. I don't know what to say."

"That's not like you, Harrison. You normally have an opinion on everything."

"Okay. I'd like to say I'm happy for you, but that would be a lie. You know what happened to my mom and Ms Debbie. You have a hard road to travel. But..." He paused, then smiled at them. "I'll wish you both luck all the same."

Mary Cherry came around the corner - from where reception was better - to find Brooke at the water fountain quenching a nervous thirst. "What's goin' on over there?" she asked, somewhat annoyed to see that Joe was hugging Nicole and Sam and not her.

"Nothing important," Brooke said dismissively. "What did your man find out?"

"Enough. Kelly McQueen, nee Preston, is now livin' in the South Bay district of San Francisco and runs a small photo-art gallery."

"Great! You have the exact address?"

"Right here. You're goin' to go there?"

"Yes." Brooke looked up. "Mary Cherry, can you cover for me this weekend?"

"Ah'll do better than that. Ah'll go with you."

Brooke was surprised by the offer. "You will?"

Mary Cherry beamed. "Nothin's too much for my bestest friend. 'Sides, you won't have to lie to your 'rents this way. When you tell 'em you're spendin' the weekend with me it'll be true."

"Are we going to tell them next?" asked Nicole, staring at Brooke and Mary Cherry as Carmen, Josh and Harrison went on their way.

"I already did," Sam confessed. "Brooke I mean. I told her this morning. She heard but I don't think she was listening. She just said "fine" and that was it."

"Well, she hasn't told Mary Cherry yet, or else the whole school would know about us. So, how are you feeling?"

Sam shrugged. "Disappointed. I had hoped that Lily would understand like Carmen did."

Nicole responded with unease. "You don't think... it was you that Lily wanted to kiss?"

"So why didn't she?"

"Perhaps she was afraid of rejection." Nicole replied. "I know I was," she added softly.

Sam shook her head. "No... no, I would have known if she was interested in me. We lesbians have gaydar don't we?"

"So they say, but then I thought you were straight, so I'm thinking that's an urban legend."

Sam laughed. "I loved that film." Nicole looked askance at her. "Okay. I loved Alicia Witt in that film." Then just in case Nicole got the wrong idea about that remark she took her hand. "I thought you were a bitch. I'm glad that was just a legend too." Nicole smiled. "We're late for class," Sam added, and noting that the corridor was now empty she twirled Nicole into her arms and purred, "let's be even later."

A magazine article had once told Nicole that aggression and plum lipgloss were the keys to perfect passion, but Sam was using neither and this kiss was more perfect and more passionate than anything she had ever experienced.

Lily pulled her head back around the corner. She had hoped she was wrong about Sam and Nicole, but the kiss proved it. It was real. Now she could only hope that she was wrong about Nicole.