Series: Memento

Title: My Happy Ending

Author: LLE

Email: saturnchild@hotmail.com

Pairing: *looks dubiously at you* Please tell me you're kidding?

Rating: Probably an R. Nothing graphic, just memories.

Disclaimer: Popular and all of it's characters belong to Ryan Murphy and Touchstone Television. 'My Happy Ending' belongs to Avril Lavigne and Arista Records. No profit made, no copyright infringement intended.

Summary: A prequel to 'The Piano Man', takes place between Brooke dumping Sam, and Sam leaving home.

Author's Notes: I really wasn't going to do anything more about TPM, but then I heard Avril Lavigne's 'My Happy Ending', and I figured it'd be perfect for what happens in this fic. Now look  at what's happened, I'm telling a story ass-backwards. Heck, might as well add a story about how the two of them hooked up in the first place, and call this series 'Memento'.

Let's talk this over
It's not like we're dead
Was it something I did?
Was it something you said?
Don't leave me hangin'
In a city so dead.
Held up so high
On such a breakable thread

Sam stared at the cell phone in her hand, the small screen mocking her with it's 'Call Disconnected' sign. Frantically, she redialled the number she knew by heart, listening to the phone ring on the other end, only to stop and be replaced by a computerized voice, who told her that this cellular phone was temporarily out of reach, and to please try again soon, thank you.

Numbly, the brunette let herself fall back on her bed, empty brown eyes staring at the ceiling as she ran the brief conversation through her head.

"Hello?"

"Sam?"

"Hey, sweetie." Sam smiled, hearing her lover's voice on the other end of the line. "When are you gonna be home? I just got us tickets for The Phantom of the Opera for tonight."

"It's over, Sam." Brooke's voice was cold and harsh.

"What do you mean?" Sam frowned, feeling a fist of ice grab her chest and squeeze.

Brooke sighed deeply, never wavering from the hard tone she'd started out with. "I'm not in love with you, Sam. I never was. We're through."

"But."

"Bye."

Sam curled up in the fetal position, wrapping her arms around her slim frame and swallowing convulsively as the bile rose in her throat. Brooke didn't love her anymore. Brooke never loved her in the first place. Every time they'd kissed, Sam had been the only one in euphoria. When they'd made love, and Sam had been crying out, moaning, begging and sobbing, Brooke had never, ever, loved her.

Silently, the brunette rolled onto her stomach, buried her face in her pillow, and cried.

You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be

Everything we shared was just a game to her.  Sam's face contorted into a grimace as she walked down the halls of Kennedy High. Graduation was two days away, and the brunette was on her way to her last exam of her High School career. She'd already been accepted into the journalist school at New York University, but even that couldn't seem to heighten her spirits.

Brooke had broken up with her the day before the Prom, which, of course, left them both dateless. Sam was fine with that, since she wasn't in the mood for socializing anyway, but Brooke had quickly arranged for an escort. Harrison John had been more than happy to rescue the blonde back on the 'right' side of the fence. Sam had seen red the next day, when Lily had told her that Brooke and Harrison had been making out heavily through most of the night.

Suppressing a growl, Sam glared at a passing student who quickly scurried out of her way. The fact that her last exam was in Biology didn't help matters any. Not only did she had to sit in the near vicinity of her ex and her former best friend, but she had to put up with the Claw's sarcastic remarks as well.

Sam entered the classroom, feigning ignorance at the victorious smirk Harrison directed her way from over Brooke's shoulder. He'd never liked the idea of her and Brooke as a couple, and had repeatedly wooed the blonde, trying to win her over. Finally, he'd succeeded.

"Sam?"

"What?!" The brunette snarled lowly, looking mildly abashed as she turned and came face to face with Lily. "Sorry, Lil."

"'S okay." The petite girl shrugged. "Can't say I blame you for being in a bad mood these days." She shot a dirty glance towards Brooke.

"Yeah." Sam nodded glumly, sitting down in her designated chair and pulling her notes out.

"Listen." Lily leaned over Sam's desk, lowering her voice. "Why don't we go out somewhere after this is over, huh? Just you and me?"

"I don't know, Lil." Sam hesitated. She really just wanted to go home and beat the crap out of the big, padded boxing bag Mike had recently installed in the basement. Nothing like a little pointless violence to let out your frustration.

"Sam." The activist gave her friend a reprimanding glare. "You need to talk, whether you want to or not. You'll end up losing your mind if you keep bottling it up like this."

Seeing the brunette nod at this, the Latina smiled encouragingly, giving the brunette a small pat on the shoulder as she walked off to find her own seat.

Sam sighed and silently placed her writing implements on the desk in front of her, wondering what exactly she'd done in a previous life to deserve this kind of heartache.

"I love you, Harrison." Kissing sounds.

"I love you more." More kissing sounds.

"Mmm, but I love you most." Smoochies galore.

Sam buried her face in her hands.

You were everything, everything
That I wanted,
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of the memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending

"So, really Sam. How are you coping?" They were seated with each their cup of cheap coffee in a small, out of the way diner on the outskirts of Santa Monica. Lily had chosen this spot since here, they would be safe from prying eyes and, more importantly, from Brooke and her posse.

"I'm not." Sam said simply. "I had all I'd ever dreamed of for three months, and now it's gone."

"You've got to get over her."

"Oh, yeah?" Sam snapped angrily. "No shit, Lily. Don't you think I've tried that?! I've tried to heal, tried to forget, and I can't do it. You know why?"

Lily shook her head, mildly frightened at her friend's anger but at the same time glad that Sam was letting it out.

"Because I see her, see them, every fucking day." Sam glared at the Latina. "Every time I turn around, they're there, kissing, holding hands, making eyes at each other." She let out a huff of air and sank back in her seat, sending her friend a sad gaze. "Did you know that every time I see Harrison, he does this?" She held up two fingers in the 'V' sign. "Or that every time they're in Brooke's room and I'm in mine, they make sure to make that extra noise, just so I know they're in there, together?"

"Sam."

"Thanks for the headphones you gave me, by the way." Sam smiled half-heartedly. "You wanna know what the worst part is?"

Mutely, Lily nodded.

"I heard them, Lil."

The petite girl tilted her head in confusion, then clapped a hand over her mouth in horror as she saw Sam's eyes well up. "Oh, Sammy. I'm so sorry."

"I know Brooke wanted me to hear."  The budding journalist felt her voice crack. "All the times we've. Even when it was the most intense, she never, ever made that much noise."

Lily scooted over in the booth and wrapped her arms around the now silently crying brunette. She rocked Sam gently, inwardly cursing both Brooke and Harrison for creating this open, raw, bleeding wound that had once been Samantha McPherson.

"I can't take it, Lil." The reporter sobbed quietly, burying her face in the activist's shoulder. "Seeing them all the time... It's killing me."

"Sshh, I know." Lily rubbed her friend's back slowly. "What are you going to do?"

Sam took a deep breath, pulling herself together somewhat. "I'm going to leave."

You've got your dumb friends
I know what they say
They tell you I'm difficult
But so are they
But they don't know me
Do they even know you?
All the things you hide from me
All the shit that you do

"Samantha McPherson."

Sam rose from her seat, the royal blue  cloth sweeping around her as she stepped onto the podium, receiving her diploma from the smiling speaker.

Alphabetical seating charts, the brunette idly mused as she retuned to her chair, had been a blessing for a while, but now it was just plain painful. Sitting next to Brooke for any amount of time was bound to be a pain in the ass, but having to suffer though it for over an hour, all the while listening to the happy couple whispering together was nothing short of excruciating.

Sitting down, Sam took a deep breath, pointedly keeping her head high as she stared at the stage. Almost over, she reminded herself, almost over.

You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be

You were everything, everything
That I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of the memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending

She took her time packing. Brooke was gone for the night, probably at the Graduation Bash at the Julian Mansion, and the parentals had left on a business trip right after the graduation ceremony had finished, taking Mac with them, for which Sam was grateful.

The house was eerily quiet, devoid of the usual level of noise produced in a home that houses two teenagers and a baby. Sam didn't like it, but she wasn't about to turn any music on. Just in case Brooke came home, the stillness wouldn't alert her to Sam's presence, and thus, the reporter wouldn't have to deal with any smug faces or hurting remarks about her apparent inadequacy as a partner.

Mike and Jane wouldn't be happy with the news, and Sam was perfectly aware of that. She also knew very well that it wasn't fair of her to leave like this. But the girl feared that the adults would talk her into staying for the summer, as they thought she would, thus keeping her around the blonde two months longer than necessary.

Sam absently shook her head at the thought, folding a shirt and placing it in her suitcase with the others. Not as long as I have a dorm room waiting for me across the nation. The further away I get, the better.

Her main hope, though she had a nagging thought that it was in vain, was that the added distance would heal her wounds, which still felt as open and raw as ever. Sam couldn't understand why the blonde had used her so cruelly, claiming that she loved her when she didn't, making her feel like she'd finally found her happily ever after, when in reality she'd only found the evil stepsister.

It's nice to know that you were there
Thanks for acting like you care
And making me feel like I was the only one
It's nice to know we had it all
Thanks for watching as I fall
And letting me know we were done

Once her bags were safely in the small trunk of her Beetle, Sam entered the house again, stopping by her own room to grab a small package. She proceed through their shared bathroom into Brooke's domain, and left the large brown envelope on the blonde's bed.

She stood for a minute, gazing at the hastily scribbled name across that surface of the envelope, wondering what would happen, once the blonde had gone through it.

The package contained one of Sam's many diaries. The special thing about the one she wanted the cheerleader to have was that it started around the time Sam had begun to realize that she was in love with the blonde, and ended a few days before their break-up.

Most likely, the diary would be used to mock the journalist. Sam was aware of this, but couldn't find it in herself to care anymore. She was leaving, and wasn't going to have to face most of the people who'd read it anyway.

"Goodbye, Brooke." She spoke aloud to the empty room. "I hope you and Harrison have a miserable fucking life. Thanks for nothing."

You were everything, everything
That I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of the memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending

The door clicked shut quietly behind her, and Sam pulled the handle to make sure it was locked, before checking her watch. It was still way too early for Brooke to come home, so she was in no hurry.

She gazed at the house, her home for the past three years, and wondered what life in the Kennedy Cliques would be like after she'd gone. The Populars and Harrison were probably gonna throw another party tomorrow just to celebrate it, and then forget all about her. Lily and Carmen would call and visit as often as they could, as they'd promised.

Mike and Jane.. Sam sighed. They were going to be hurt that she'd left them a letter rather than telling them face to face, and she was definitely going to have some fences to mend on that front, but in the end, they'd just have to deal with it.

Resolutely, Sam spun on her heel and climbed into her small car, turned on the engine and backed out of the driveway. Time to start again.

So much for my happy ending