Name: Teara
Title: Things that Go Bump in the Night
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I certainly wish I did. Damn Ryan Murphy and his unrivalled genius.
Fandom: Popular
Pairing: Sam/Brooke
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Something weird is going on in the Palace on Halloween night.
Spoiler Information: Any and every episode of this show is far game
“So we have rice cakes, Tic Tacs and diet Evian for the scare squad, tofu jerky and a soy smoothie for Lily, gummy worms for Carm, and air popped popcorn and diet soda for me and Brooke,” Sam announced as she walked into the room balancing a large tray.
“Let’s just get this little movie night on the road, Spam. I have things to do. Besides, prolonged exposure to you losers, like UV rays, is bad for my skin. And they just don’t make SPF strong enough to repel you three,” Nicole said haughtily from her spot on the couch.
“Relax Satan, it’s only seven. There’ll be plenty of time for you to howl at the moon later,” Sam retorted as she passed out the snacks.
“So what movies did you guys get?” Carmen asked as she ripped open her new bag of gummies.
“We got Final Destination, Jeepers Creepers, Scream and some classics The Exorcist and The Shining.” Brooke replied excitedly.
“I heard that Jeepers Creepers was pretty scary.” Lily said.
“Oh don’t worry, Lil Lily. If ya git scared, ya can always come sit next ta me. Ah’ll protect ya.” Mary Cherry said, winking over at the Latina.
“Mary Cherry, I’d rather be hacked up in to little pieces.”
“Well Lil Lily, that can be arranged.” Mary Cherry said reaching for her bag.
“Whoa! There will be none of that tonight!” Sam said holding up her hand. “Let’s just have a nice, quiet, parent free evening.”
“Where did your parents go anyway?” Carmen asked around a mouthful of gummies.
“They took Mac to some costume party,” Sam answered in a distracted tone as she walked over to the dvd player.
“You guys should have seen Mac in her little bumble bee costume. She was so cute. I can’t wait for them to get the pictures developed.” Brooke gushed.
“Speaking of parties, how come you guys didn’t want to go out to one tonight?” Sam asked her friends. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a hesitant glance pass between Lily and Carmen.
“No reason, we just thought that since this is our last Halloween together before we go off to different schools, we should spend a quiet evening in,” Carmen answered.
Sam didn’t really buy it, but she knew now was not the time for her to press the issue. She pulled Scream out of its case and popped it into the player before grabbing the remote. She scanned around the room looking for a place to sit. Nicole and Mary Cherry were gracefully lounging on the long couch, while Carmen and Lily were sprawled out on the floor around the coffee table. She didn’t really feel like trying to squeeze in the between the two of them. There was a spot on the love seat next to Brooke. She looked over at the blonde for a moment, a question in her eyes as their gazes met. Brooke folded her legs to her chest and patted the cushion next to her. The blonde reached and switched off the lamp as Sam hit play.
_______________________________
Sam tried not to roll her eyes at the corniness of the movie. Horror films just weren’t scary anymore. If they wanted scary, maybe she should send that picture of Brooke’s worst day ever in, then they’d know what true horror was, she thought with a smirk. She had to admit though, that was not the case now, as she looked over at the blonde that had since moved closer and closer to Sam with every jump and gasp. Two more jumps and they’d be touching, not that Sam minded. No this little movie night seemed to be working out in her favor. It allowed her to revel in her new favorite pastime, seeing how close she could get to Brooke without giving in and touching her.
Discovering her budding feelings for Brooke had made Sam miserable for the first two months. Finding out that you’re in love with your very straight, soon-to-be stepsister was not something that happened everyday, and Sam had been beside herself because she couldn’t figure out what to do next. Eventually, she just accepted the fact that there really wasn’t a thing that she could do about it. Her feelings for Brooke, like her brown eyes and knowing smirks, were simply a part of who she was. Once she’d accepted that, she’d never felt happier. Her love for Brooke both crushed and thrilled her. She now understood what N’sync were talking about in their song “Tearin’ Up My Heart.”
Brooke knew she was playing with fire. This had not been her plan when she silently suggested that Sam sit next to her. There was just something so comforting about the brunette sitting next her, and truthfully some of the movie had been far scarier than she’d ever thought, so she’d moved closer to Sam. Now they were an hour into the movie, and she had no idea what was going on. All she could concentrate on was the warmth coming from Sam’s body and faint scent of honey and vanilla shampoo that the journalist used. Just then Carmen gasped and Brooke followed suit, inching even closer to the brunette.
The sound of Nicole discreetly clearing her throat caught Brooke’s attention. She looked over at her best friend, and the other blonde shot her a disapproving look that said, ‘I know what you’re doing, so stop it!’ Brooke quickly looked away with a sigh. Nic was the only one that knew of her feelings for Sam. Brooke hadn’t even told her anything. The shorter blonde had just figured it, leaving Brooke to wonder if Nic wasn’t also destined for a life in journalism. Her ability to sniff out a juicy story rivaled that of Sam’s. Luckily for Brooke their friendship was a lot stronger. Ever since her near death experience during junior prom, in which Nicole had just barely missed hitting her, and then had been injured severely herself, it had really put things in perspective for the both of them. The old Nicole would have had a field day with this information, but instead the blonde had been understanding, and while not a hundred percent supportive, this was still Nicole after all, she’d at least been tolerant of Brooke’s new love.
Brooke tried to refocus her attention on the movie instead of the desire to feel Sam’s body brushing against her own. But nothing worked so she decided to proceed on the path she’d been on before Nicole interrupted. Silently willing Carmen or Mary Cherry to scream in fright once more, she waited and wasn’t disappointed, taking the opportunity to bury her face in Sam’s shoulder. It took her a few more gasps before Sam readjusted and wrapped her arm around the blonde’s shoulder. Brooke sighed and settled back against the brunette.
_______________________________
The sound of the phone ringing in the otherwise silent house made everyone jump. Sam sprang from the love seat nearly knocking Brooke onto the floor. She raced to the kitchen and picked up the receiver. “Hello?” She got no response. “Hello?”
“Hello, Sammy,” the voice on the other end of the phone rasped.
“Who is this?”
“I can see you through your window.”
“Who is it?” Carmen asked cautiously.
“Is it a mass murderer looking to slash nubile teen dreams?”
“Mary Cherry, the only homicidal maniac out tonight will be you as you make your way home.” Lily responded, rolling her eyes.
“I can see you all.”
“Okay, so you can see us all. So what?” Sam asked in an irritated tone. She looked out of the glass door in the kitchen. It had begun to storm outside. There was no way anyone was standing outside their door.
“So why don’t you all strip down to your undies and have a pillow fight.”
“Eww, gross Harrison! You’re such a perv! Stop trying to crank call us!” Sam shouted hanging up the phone on Harrison’s laughter. “Boys…” she grumbled.
“Why that dirty lil Joe! I have half a mind-”
“You got that right,” Lily mumbled, interrupting Mary Cherry and causing Carmen to erupt in a fit of giggles.
“Hey Tweedledumb and Tweedlelardass, if I were you, I’d wipe those smug little grins off your faces before I make sure your faces match those jack-o-lanterns outside,” Nicole said, moving threateningly towards the two brunettes.
“Guys, would you just quit it!” Brooke said as she moved in between the two groups.
“She started it!” Mary Cherry exclaimed from behind Nicole.
“Actually it was your face that started it, Mary Cherry.” Lily added.
“You’re one to talk, lil Lily!”
“Oh yeah you wanna fight?!”
“There’s nothing but space and opportunity! I’ve been waiting to open up a can of whoop ass on you unpopular bitches for four years, and judging by those pathetic, ‘Leatherface,’ mugs, I’d consider it a mercy beating, thank you.”
“Oh yeah?!”
“You got that right, fatso!”
“Fatso?!”
“You heard me!”
“Well you know what you are, Nic?!”
“ENOUGH!!!!!” Sam yelled, holding her hands up to silence them. It was at that moment that lightening a big clap of thunder filled the air, illuminating Sam before the whole house went completely dark.
“Oh my gawd, y’all! I always knew Spam was possessed!”
“Mary Cherry shut up! I am not possessed. It’s probably just the circuit breaker.”
“Well, we expect ya to say something like that Spam.”
“Fine, don’t believe me. Brooke would you grab the flashlight from the laundry room and follow me to the basement?” Sam asked calmly.
“Don’t do it Brookie! It’s probably a trap!”
“Mary Cherry, I’m sure Sam is right.” Brooke replied in an exasperated tone.
“Then why did she ask you to go in the basement with her?” Mary Cherry challenged.
“Yeah Spam, what’s up with that? Have you finally snapped and decided to pay Brooke back for all those nights she spent having a life while you were stuck here with your merry band of losers?” Nic added.
“You know Satan, as much as I would love to see one you popular hags tumble to your death down the basement stairs, I don’t want to have to clean up the mess, and with a new baby we can’t really afford the lawsuit. So since Brooke is the only other person in the house that knows the layout in the dark, I’m going to go with her.”
Brooke ran to the dark laundry room and felt around in the drawer for a few moments before her hand connected with the flashlight. She met Sam at the door to the basement and proceeded down the steep stairwell. Brooke lurched forward and almost fell, but she grabbed the brunette’s hand to steady herself. The contact caused an electric current to race through Brooke’s hand and up her arm. She was pretty sure Sam felt it too, given her sudden gasp, and Brooke held her breath as she waited for Sam to say something, but she the journalist never did. Instead, she grasped the blonde’s hand tighter and they made their way down to the circuit breaker. Sam didn’t let go of her hand until they found the box along the wall.
“Okay, could you aim the light over here?” Sam asked quietly.
Brooke flung the light around, momentarily blinding the brunette. “Sorry,” she said quietly.
“It’s okay,” Sam replied with a slight smile before turning back towards the box. “Um could you bring it a little closer?”
“Sure,” Brooke said moving over to the brunette until their bodies were touching. She wondered for a moment if Sam actually shivered at the touch or if it was just her imagination.
Sam stuck her tongue in her cheek as she concentrated on flipping the right switches. Moments later the lights all flickered back on causing both girls to blink.
“Wow, how did you learn to do that?” Brooke asked with a big smile.
Sam blushed and looked away sheepishly. “After my dad passed away and it was just my mom and me, we just sort of got used to fixing things on our own.”
“Aww, I never figured Sam McPherson was a real Miss Fix-It.”
“I have many skills,” Sam said with a wink.
Brooke chuckled, utterly charmed by the journalist. A part of her wondered just how many skills Sam was hiding. That was certain to keep her awake many a night in the future. “Why don’t we get back upstairs before those four kill each other?” Brooke suggested.
Sam nodded her agreement and looked as though she were going to grab Brooke’s hand again, but thought better of it and dropped her hand back to her side. Brooke tried not to let her disappointment show. Instead, she led the way back upstairs. When they got back upstairs, Nicole, Mary Cherry, and Carmen were having yet another disturbing verbal spat.
“Nicole, you better get out of my face before I take this pin and deflate your implants!” Carmen growled.
“I bet you’d love that wouldn’t you, Carm? A chance to touch my perky, round breasts.” Nicole taunted running her hands over her chest. “I always knew that you had a thing for me.”
“In your dreams, Nicole.” Carmen replied, moving menacingly towards the shorter blonde.
“You guys, quit it!” Brooke said, trying to hold Carmen back. It was quite a feat, but eventually she managed.
“You guys?” Sam said in a panicked voice. The other four girls turned and looked at her expectantly. “Where’s Lily?”
_______________________________
“I’m not going to ask you again, Demon Spawn from Hell. What did you and Psycho Cherry do to Lily?” Sam asked, pacing around the kitchen.
“For the last time Spammy McNoChest, I didn’t do anything to that annoying little mouthbreather, but now I’m wishing I had.”
“Like I’m going to believe you, Implant Queen. I know you and Twisted Sister over there did something to her, now spill.”
“Brooke will you please tell Rain Man over here that I did nothing to her loser friend. It doesn’t seem to be getting through that rat’s nest she calls hair.” Nicole said turning towards Brooke for help.
“Okay guys this is getting us nowhere,” Brooke replied running a frustrated hand through her long blond locks. “There has got to be a logical explanation.”
“Yeah, there’s an axe murderer outside waiting to chop us up into itty bitty pieces! We’re gonna die y’all!”
“Mary Cherry, that’s ridiculous,” Brooke said, laying a hand on the panicking blonde’s shoulder.
“I don’t know Brooke. Maybe Mary Cherry’s right. What if there’s somebody outside right now, watching us, waiting until we’re alone, so he can grab us, cut us up, and sew us into a man vest.” Carmen added, her voice growing more and more panicked with every word.
“What is it with you and man vests?” Brooke asked rolling her eyes. “We just need to go over the facts again. Sam and I went into the basement.”
“And then Lily went after Mary Cherry for wearing leather pants in school today. Then Nic jumped in, and I defended Lily, which led to Nic getting into my face, and shortly after that is when you came upstairs.”
“See I told you there was no way for me to have done anything to that non shaving, tree hugging, animal loving freak.”
“We were all standing in the room the entire time.” Carmen added.
“Well that just doesn’t make any sense. She has to be here somewhere. I mean, it’s raining way too hard for her to have driven home. She has to be in the house,” Sam reasoned.
“Well, what do you want to do, Sam?” Brooke asked looking over at the brunette. Sam was so cute when she took charge of a situation.
“Let’s search the house. You and the Devil’s minions take down here and the basement. Carmen and I will check upstairs. We’ll meet back here in seven minutes,” Sam replied in a determined voice.
“Great! Wait, why seven minutes? “ Brooke asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“That’s how long it takes in the horror movies. Any longer and you become the victim, any shorter and your friend becomes the victim,” Sam said as if everyone should know what she was talking about.
“Right,” Brooke said before she and the other cheerleaders walked out of the room.
Sam turned to Carmen and nodded her head towards the stairs. She led the way up the stairs calling Lily’s name as she checked from room to room.
“Sam, what if someone really got Lil?” Carmen asked in a shaky voice.
“Carm, relax. I’m sure Lily is fine.” Sam said over her shoulder before coming to the door of her parents’ room.
“Yeah, but how can you be so sure? I mean he could have dragged her to some unknown region of the house, slit her throat, and then hung her up in like a closet for you to find weeks later.” Carmen said as they walked around checking under the bed and in the walk in closets.
“First off Carmen, ewww morbid much?” Sam asked throwing the other brunette a grossed out look. “Second, there are no unknown regions in this house. I’ve lived here for almost two years, and I’ve checked out every nook and cranny.”
“But Sam-”
“Carmen, drop it. There’s nothing sinister going on. No bad guys hiding just around the corner,” Sam declared pulling open the frosted glass door to the shower.
“Boo!”
“Ohmygod!!!” Sam yelped just jumping back as Lily sprang from the shower. “LILY!”
Lily and Carmen doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down their cheeks. It took them almost five minutes to compose themselves. They’d begin to calm, and then look over at the fuming brunette and lose it again.
“That was so not funny.” Sam growled.
“Oh, but it was!” Lily exclaimed. “You should have seen your face.”
“You two are so lame. First Harrison, now you? Why did you do that?”
“Because you said that nothing scares you, but that’s just not true.” Carmen answered.
“Whatever guys, it doesn’t count if you jump out of something. It’s easy to scare someone when you take them by surprise.”
“Someone is being a bad sport.” Lily said, imitating Sam’s pout.
“Whatever you two, let’s just get back downstairs and finish watching the movies.” Sam mumbled as she walked out of the room, not even bothering to wait for her two friends.
_______________________________
Brooke lay her head back on Sam’s shoulder as they began yet another movie. Sam didn’t seem to mind at all, and Brooke wondered if it was because she was still mad about the little prank that Carmen and Lily had pulled on her upstairs. It didn’t really matter to her because she would take Sam anyway she could get her, but she didn’t like the idea of Sam being upset.
Sam for her part had calmed considerably once they’d gone downstairs and started watching the movies again. Maybe it has something to do with the blonde that was tucked firmly by her side. She was struck by how natural it felt to just be with Brooke like this, and though she wondered why the blonde didn’t seem to mind being this close to her, she didn’t question it. She just chalked it up to the atmosphere of the moment.
She was still pretty pissed at Carmen and Lily, and as she absently ran her finger up and down Brooke’s arm, she thought of ways to pay them back. Nothing came to her, but she felt Brooke snuggle closer into her, and the light scent of the blonde’s vanilla body wash distracted her. She reached out her hand for a moment and was immediately reminded of the electricity that had sparked between them when they’d held hands in the basement. Hesitantly, she reached out her hand a little further, her intent to tuck a strand of hair behind the blonde’s ear. When she made contact with the soft skin of Brooke’s face, the cheerleader turned her face. Sam immediately snatched her hand back guiltily. Brooke’s hazel eyes locked on Sam’s brown ones and something sparked between them. There was a look in Brooke’s hazel gaze that Sam had never seen before and her breath hitched.
The sound of a loud crash in the movie and Carmen and Mary Cherry’s surprised yelps broke through the haze that had fallen over the two former enemies. Sam looked away sheepishly, happy that the darkness hid her blush. She tried to turn her attention to the movie, but she’d already seen it and Brooke was moving even closer to her. She noticed Nicole shoot them a dirty look wondered what that was all about, but was interrupted by more gasps from her friends. An idea formed in her mind, and she dislodged herself from Brooke, giving the blonde a devious smirk. She waited until she knew the next scary part of the movie was coming up, and then she grabbed Lily and Carmen’s shoulders.
“Boo!” She shouted, causing the two girls to jump with a scream. Carmen sent gummy worms all over the floor, and Lily nearly choked on her jerky.
“Sam?!” Carmen yelled.
“It’s not so funny, now is it?” The journalist asked with a smirk.
“That was so not fair,” Lily grumbled.
“Yeah well, paybacks are a bitch,” Sam chuckled before settling back on the love seat. Just then the phone rang, and she raced into the kitchen thinking it was probably her mother or Mike telling them they’d be out for the evening. “Hello?”
“Hi Sammy,” a voice rasped.
“Harrison, I told you to stop trying to crank us!” She said before hanging up the phone.
The phone rang again.
“Hello?”
“Don’t hang up the phone again if you value your life.”
“Yeah, whatever Harrison…this is getting a little annoying. Now quit it before I call your mother.” Sam hung up again.
The phone rang.
“Dammit Harrison! Don’t make me come over there and kick your scrawny ass!” Sam yelled into the phone.
“This isn’t Harrison, SAMMY!” The voice screamed, causing Sam to nearly drop the phone. Something in the caller’s voice let her know it was the truth.
“Josh?”
“Guess again, Mucky.”
“Emory? Sugar…Claw?!”
“Wrong again! Now you’re going to listen to exactly what I have to say, otherwise I will come after you and your friends one at a time. There’s nothing you can do to stop me. If you don’t do exactly what I want you to do, I’m going to start with the small one first.”
Sam looked around frantically. There was no way that the person on the phone was serious. Her friends had begun to gather in the kitchen around her, shooting her worried looks. Sam wondered if she looked as scared as she was starting to feel. One look at Carmen’s face let her know that she did.
Taking a deep breath, and trying to regain control of what was rapidly becoming a bad situation, she spoke again, “If you can see us, tell me what we’re all doing right now.”
“You’re all standing the kitchen. Mary Cherry is desperately trying to find a place to hide. Nicole is stuffing laxatives into Carmen’s pocket. Lily’s cowering behind Brooke-”
“Where the hell are you calling from?!” Sam yelled into the phone.
“The call is coming from inside the-” the voice was cut off by the phone line suddenly going dead and the lights going out again.
“Ohmygod y’all! We really are gonna die!”
_______________________________
“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! We’re so dead!” Carmen said in a panicked voice.
“Carm, calm down.” Sam growled as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. “This is just Harrison playing a stupid prank, but he’s gone too far this time. Wait until I get my hands on him!”
“Calm down?!?!” Carmen practically screamed. “You heard what the killer said. He’s not Harrison!”
“We’re gonna die y’all, we’re gonna die!”
“For once, I’m going to agree with Carmen on this one, Spam. This is serious.” Nicole said quietly.
“Not you too, Satan,” Sam said incredulously. There had to be some logical explanation for this. This wasn’t some horribly clichéd teen slasher film. As lightening continued to light the sky, she looked around at five other girls standing in the room with her. Carmen and Mary Cherry were huddled together shivering in fear. Lily and Nicole peeked from behind Brooke’s lithe form, and the queen of popularity herself, looked like she was going to freak at any moment. However, Brooke seemed to be the calmest. So Sam turned her attention to her. “Brooke, I’m going to go back into the basement and check the breaker again. I knew that summer Harrison spent at computer camp had been a bad idea. You stay up here and keep everyone calm, okay?”
Brooke turned wide hazel eyes on Sam. She looked frightened, and Sam wanted nothing more than to pull her to her and kiss all the blonde’s fears away, but now was not the time. Brooke said nothing in response just nodded her head in agreement. Sam grabbed the flashlight again and headed to the basement door. As she made her way down the stairs, she wished she’d asked Brooke to come with her once again. She liked having the blonde close by. It comforted her, and for all of her brave talk upstairs, she was starting to think this wasn’t a simple Halloween prank.
She made her way over to the breaker box, illuminating it with the artificial light. She saw that all the switches she’d flipped earlier were still in place. Sam frowned in confusion. That was weird. She tried flipping them all off and then back on again, but nothing happened. She tried five more times and still nothing. A loud crash followed by several screams sent her running back up the stairs to the kitchen.
Something was horribly wrong when she finally made it back to the kitchen. Things were quiet, too quiet save for the storm outside. She called out the names of her friends, but received no answer. As the lightening lit up the room, she saw that she was standing there alone. Fear gripped at her chest. She spun around frantically, grasping the flashlight she held in her hand. She switched it on and flashed it everywhere she could, but still saw nothing. She made her was slowly up the stairs.
“CARMEN…LIL? BROOKE? SATA- I mean NICOLE?” Sam called as she made her way down the upstairs hallway. A loud crash behind her cased her to jump and yelp in surprise. She swung around shining the flashlight down the empty hall. There was nothing behind her. “You guys this isn’t funny,” she said in a singsong voice. “Guys? Come on! This stopped being funny when we were in the fifth grade.”
Sam walked over to Brooke’s closed bedroom door. She was suddenly very afraid to open it. Her hand trembled as she reached for the knob. Taking a deep steadying breath, she turned the knob slowly. Once the door was completely open, she peered inside with the flashlight. Finding it empty, she let out the breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding. “See? You were worried for nothing. There was no one in there. Get a grip, McPherson,” she chastised herself.
She moved towards her own slightly open door, still calling out to her friends to no avail. She was vaguely aware of something slightly wet under her bare feet. She shined the light down at the floor before, and she saw a dark trail leading to her room. “I really hope that isn’t blood,” she said to herself in a panicked voice. After convincing herself that her friends were simply going for believability on this prank she proceeded on to her room.
The flashlight was shined into this room as well and she breathed another sigh of relief. It was short-lived however when the light fell up Lily’s prone body in the corner. “OHMYGOD LILY!! Lil, Lil, speak to me!” She yelled as she ran over to her friend’s still body and shaking it furiously. “OHMYGOD!!! Come on Lil, please!!!” Sam said rolling her friend onto her back. Then she saw it. Blood soaked Lily’s tank top and there was a knife sticking out of her chest.
Sam gasped and stumbled backwards, holding hands over her mouth and stomach as if she were afraid the popcorn from earlier that night would be making an encore performance. She didn’t know what was going on, but she needed to get the hell out of there. She reached blindly behind her for the light she’d dropped. Finally her hand made contact and she tried to pull it with her. She had a lot more trouble than she’d had previously. Sam stopped struggling and ran her fingers over the object in her grasp. Was that a hand?! She thought, though she desperately prayed that she was wrong.
She turned around hesitantly though her instincts screamed that she should just run. The moment her eyes fell upon Nicole’s bloody corpse she wished she’d listened. This time she did scream. She scrambled to her feet, snatching up the flashlight and running into the hall. She took off towards the stairs, running faster than she’d ever ran in her seventeen years of living. She’d almost made it to the top of the stairs when suddenly a door swung open and she was roughly pulled inside. She screamed and fought with all her might to no avail.
“Sam, Sammy, stop. It’s me! It’s Brooke! Come on Sam…STOP!!!” a voice said in a loud whisper.
It took a few moments for the words to register and she swung around the strong arms around her. Using her free hand she flashed the light in her assailant’s face. She saw the other girl move to shield her eyes from the sudden attack, and Sam had never been happier to see Brooke in her life. She threw her arms around the confused blonde, and almost sobbed in relief. Once she’d composed herself, she pulled away.
“I…I…sssaaw…I…” Sam stammered.
“What, Sammy, what did you see?” Brooke asked in a panicked voice.
“I…ohmygod…I saw Lily…and…and..and Nicole…and there was so much blood. I…” She sobbed.
Brooke took Sam into her arms, holding her tightly as the sobs racked her body. “Shh, shh Sam, I’m here now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
_______________________________
“Brooke, I want you to know that I never hated you.” Sam said quietly as she sat against the closet door with her legs pulled up to her chest.
“What?” Brooke asked looking over at her in alarmed confusion.
“You know, just in case we don’t make it out of here I want you to know that I never hated you.”
“Sam, don’t be ridiculous. We’re going to get out of this.”
“You don’t know that Brooke. For all we know, the killer is somewhere nearby just waiting for us to let our guard down.”
“Don’t tell me you’re giving up hope.”
“What else am I supposed to do? My best friend and former arch nemesis lay dead not even a hundred feet away from me, and I’m cowering in a linen closet.”
“We’ll figure out something.” Brooke said with quiet determination. She sat down across from the brunette, her face furrowed in deep thought.
“You got any ideas?”
“Nope…how about you?”
“Well the way I see it, either way we’ve got to bide our time. Mike and Mom won’t be out forever, and when they get home they’re going to know something’s up and call the police. I wish we got reception. I’d call the cops now.”
“I know it’s so weird. Right before everyone went running from the kitchen, we all tried our cells and none of them worked.” Brooke said her face frown in concern.
“I bet the killer put a reception blocker on the house.” Sam said shivering slightly.
“A reception blocker? Sam you read too many spy novels.”
“I’m serious. Some high schools and office buildings have them to keep people from using their phones. I saw an expose on Dateline.”
“Sam, when we get out of this mess, you and I are going to go out and I’m going to teach you what it means to be a teen. Seriously, what high school student do you know that watches Dateline?”
“Hey! I know how to have fun. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with Dateline.” Sam said with an indignant pout.
“It’s when you say things like that, that you prove my point.”
“Whatever…”
Brooke sighed looking over at the brunette. If she had to be stuck in a closet while some psychotic killer ran amuck in her house, there were worse people to be stuck with. Even though they were sitting there in awkward stilted silence, the blonde was still grateful for Sam’s presence.
“Brooke?”
“Yeah Sammy?”
“What do you think happened to Carmen and Mary Cherry? Do you think…they’re…?”
“Don’t say things like that Sam…”
“Why not? What difference does it make right now, in this moment? I should be able to say anything I want to say.”
“Sam…”
“No, I’m serious Brooke! Now is the time I should say all the things I’ve ever wanted to say and not have it matter, right? Like how I will never understand why Nicole hates me so much or why someone as nice as you could have her for a best friend.”
“I know for a fact that Nic doesn’t really hate you. She just hates what you stand for.” Brooke hesitated, wondering if she should go on. “I guess since I don’t really have to worry about keeping this a secret anymore, I’ll tell you. She once admitted to me that she admired your courage.”
“Really? Nicole “Wicked Bitch of the West” Julian said that she admired me?”
Brooke chuckled slightly, “Yes, and then she made me swear on my life that I would never say anything to you, but I guess that doesn’t matter now right?”
“True,” Sam said chuckling to herself. She looked over at the blonde’s face, which was illuminated by the dim glow of the flashlight. “ I guess I can admit that I never hated watching the Glamazons cheer. I always thought you were really good, the best actually.”
“Do you mean that? I always thought you hated me.”
“No, I never hated you or Mike for that matter. It was just that I didn’t really want a ‘new family’ and my anger was displaced. You were just easier to take it out on because we weren’t exactly friends, and I couldn’t very well hate my mom. She was all I had.”
“Yeah, I’m guilty of the same thing. But somewhere along the line you went from being the annoying journalist that lived down the hall, whose mission in life was to destroy mine and became…” Brooke let her words trail off. She wasn’t sure she should tell Sam her feelings even given their circumstances.
“I became what Brooke?” Sam asked not wanting to let the subject drop there was something in Brooke’s tone that had piqued her curiosity.
“It’s not important Sam. Just drop it.”
“No I’m not going to drop it. This is it, Brooke, your last chance to lay it all on the line. I don’t know about you, but I don’t intend to waste it.” Sam said taking a deep breath. It was now or never, and if she died tonight, she wanted to go with a clear conscious. She didn’t want to wonder what would have happened for the rest of eternity. “In fact, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for the past couple of months.” Sam said slowly.
Brooke looked over at the brunette. Something in Sam’s attitude had changed and it both alarmed and thrilled the blonde. She tilted her head in interest, telling Sam that she had her full attention.
“Well, I don’t know exactly how to say this. It’s not like I exactly had this planned or anything, and I mean really how can someone plan for something like this? I mean when I go I want it to be with no unfinished business. Everyone wants that, right?” Sam rattled off, suddenly very nervous.
“Sam, you’re rambling. Just tell me,” Brooke encouraged her quietly, wondering if she should be frightened that Sam’s normally eloquent speech had suddenly deserted her. It made her nervous and her mouth go dry as she speculated silently on what Sam could possibly have to say.
“Right, well I think given the situation I have to say this even though I’m pretty sure that even though you said you didn’t hate me earlier you’re going to hate me now.”
“Oh Sammy, I could never hate you.” Brooke replied, now she really was nervous.
“Don’t be so sure about that. You don’t know what it is I have to tell you.” Sam said and Brooke could hear more than see the self-deprecating smile that graced the journalist’s beautiful features. “Well basically Brooke, somewhere along the lines of pretending to hate you to begrudgingly respecting you to coming to really care about you, I…I…I fell in love with you. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear right now, and you probably think I’m some sort of frea-” Sam’s words were cut off by a pair of soft lips being pressed firmly to hers. Once the brunette got over the initial shock she kissed back, wrapping her arms around Brooke’s neck and letting her fingers slide through the blonde’s silky hair. Brooke nipped at her bottom lip, causing Sam to gasp as her tongue moved quickly past the journalist’s lips and into her mouth. Sam moaned as their tongues moved against each other, tasting, seeking, exploring. They stayed this way until the need for oxygen finally won.
Brooke pulled back first, resting her forehead against Sam’s as she tried to return the much needed air to her lungs. “I don’t think you’re a freak.”
“I…I…don’t know what to…to say,” Sam stammered.
“Lucky for you this part doesn’t require any words,” Brooke replied reclaiming Sam’s lips.
Sam maneuvered so that she was on her knees above Brooke, never breaking contact with the blonde’s mouth. Her body felt alive, and her heart was racing. Kissing Brooke was better than anything she’d ever imagined. She couldn’t get enough of tasting Brooke. She wanted more, needed to feel closer to the blonde. She crawled closer to the blonde placing her hand on either side of the other girl’s arms. She was almost where she wanted to be when her right hand came in contact with cold, wet, and metal. She tried to ignore it and focus on kissing Brooke senseless, but her hand kept slipping on the object. She reluctantly pulled away bringing the object with her so that she could inspect it in the light.
Brooke had completely lost herself in the sensations that Sam was causing in her body. Neither Josh nor Harrison had ever made her feel half as much as the journalist was, and she’d gone a lot further with both of them. She could feel Sam moving closer and her heart soared. Then she felt Sam’s body freeze and she moved away. Brooke opened her eyes just in time to see Sam examining the knife she’d been hiding behind her with the flashlight. Panic rose in the blonde’s chest as she saw Sam’s eyes grow big and she looked over at Brooke with confused horror.
“Brooke, what is this? Why…why were you-”
“Sam, I can explain.” Brooke started but she could already see the wheels turning in Sam’s head.
“Oh my God it’s you!” Sam yelled as she scrambled backwards.
“Sam, it’s not what you think. Let me explain.” Brooke tried again moving closer to Sam.
“No! Stay the fuck away from me you psycho! I should have known that the real Brooke had been just lulling me in a false sense of security so that you could enact your ultimate revenge.” Sam said with a shear look of terror on her face.
“No, Sammy it’s not like that. I…you…it was just a stupid-”
“You’re right I was stupid. Stupid for trusting you, but I never thought you’d go crazy and start slicing people up. Now it all makes sense. Lily stole Josh from you, and Nicole almost killed you. And let’s not even start on me, there’s the articles, Harrison, and let’s not forget the right sink.”
“Sam you’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?! Ha!” Sam said practically hysterical at this point. She struggled with the doorknob. It had a habit of sticking.
“Sam, if I were going to kill you, why would I have waited this long?” Brooke asked trying to use a different set of logic.
Sam paused for a moment considering the question, but still tried to open the jammed knob. “I haven’t figured that part out yet, but stay away nonetheless.” Sam said with a grunt as she threw her back into the door, and it opened suddenly causing her to land on her on her ass with a hard thump.
The brunette gasped as she tried to regain the wind that had been knocked from her due to her sudden and ungraceful landing. She tried to take hold of all the thoughts swarming around in her head. Nothing made any sense. Why did Brooke have a bloody knife in the closet? And what about that kiss? What was that about?
The sound of barely contained laughter from behind her broke through her thoughts. She turned slowly to see Harrison, Carmen, Mary Cherry, Emory, Josh, Sugar, and a very much alive Lily and Nicole standing there. They were all wearing identical smirks and looking down at her. Sam looked back at Brooke and saw an apologetic look on her face.
“This was all a prank?! Uneffinbelievable! Why? Why would guys prank me like this?”
“Come on Sammy, it was in good fun.” Harrison answered.
“Yeah Sam, after you kept saying how no one could ever scare you, Carm and came up with this plan, and we asked Brooke and she-”
Sam turned accusing eyes to the blonde that still stood in the closet her head turn away sheepishly. “You were in on this too?” Sam asked.
Brooke for her part seemed to be having trouble meeting the brunette’s eyes. This infuriated Sam further. She stood up quickly, ignoring the sting from her rear. She turned angry eyes on the blonde. “I can’t believe this was all a joke. How could you do that to me?!” She practically yelled before stalking off to her room and locking the door behind her.
“Should we…go after her?” Carmen asked looking at her friends with concern.
“You know Sammy. It’s probably best to just give her some time.” Harrison answered.
Carmen looked over at Sam’s closed door once more with uncertainty before nodding her head in agreement.
“You know Brooke, cranking Spam was a lot more fun than egging the Dicks’ house.” Nicole said with a smirk.
“Hey!” Emory shouted when Nicole’s words finally sank it.
“So ladies do you want to continue this little slumber party downstairs?” Josh asked waggling his eyebrows and earning him a hardy smack in the chest from his wife.
“Ohmygod, I’m a disgrace to all vegetarians. I’m married to such a pig.” Lily replied walking towards the stairs.
Brooke watched as her friends made their way back down the stairs, chattering and high-fiving each other. None of them were aware of the tears that now streamed down her cheeks in earnest. Tears that spoke of love that had been born and died in the matter of ten short minutes, all over a stupid prank.
_______________________________
“Come on Sam, you’re not still mad at us over the prank are you?” Lily asked when they walked up to Sam’s locker two days later.
Sam said nothing. She just glared at them before slamming the locker door shut and turning on her heels. She weaved through the halls, ignoring the calls of her friends as they scrambled to keep up with her. How could they think she was going to ever forgive them? She walked into the Novak, hoping to duck them. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found it empty, but that was short lived when the door swung open and a frantic Lily and Carmen entered the room.
“Guys, why can’t you just leave me alone?” Sam asked, exasperated.
“Sam, you haven’t talked to us in two days. We said we were sorry. It was just a stupid Halloween prank.” Carmen replied.
“A stupid Halloween prank?! How could you guys do that to me?”
“Sam it was just a bit of stage make up and bloody props. We really didn’t think you’d take it so seriously.” Lily said.
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it,” Sam said through gritted teeth.
Carmen and Lily looked at each other in curious confusion. “Do you know what she’s talking about?” Carmen asked Lily.
“I was going to ask if you did.”
“Haha, very funny guys, I love that you can joke so easily about this.” Sam growled
“Whoa Sam, you’re going to have to back up, and tell us what you’re talking about because we honestly don’t know.”
“Sure you don’t. I just have to know why you guys did it? I mean I told you about my feelings for Brooke in confidence,” Sam said through angry tears.
Alarm formed on her friends’ faces as she fought to hold her tears back. “Sam, yes you did tell us your feelings in confidence, and we haven’t betrayed that.” Lily said slowly.
“Yeah, what do your feelings for Brooke have to do with the prank?” Carmen asked.
“Right like you guys didn’t put her up to it.” Sam scoffed through her tears.
“What did we put Brooke up to?!” Lily asked, frustrated by Sam’s seemingly inability to answer their questions.
“The kiss…”
“What kiss?!”
“Ohmygod, did Brooke kiss you?” Carmen gasped.
“Yes! Like you guys didn’t already know.”
“Sam, we swear we didn’t know!”
“Ohmygod Sam, how could you think we’d ever put her up to something like that?” Carmen asked. “What kind of friends do you think we are?”
“You guys didn’t know?” Sam asked as she sniffled.
“We swear we didn’t know,” Lily answered. Carmen nodded her agreement.
Sam looked at their faces suspiciously, trying to see if they were telling the truth. They looked back at her with concern and confusion. They hadn’t put Brooke up to it. Then what was that kiss all about? Sam stuck her tongue in the side of her cheek and tried to figure out what to do next.