1 : Backing Out
"No."
"Yes."
"No! I'm not going and you can't make me," Damien braces himself on the counter in my kitchen as my mother laughs at us quietly in the back. "I don't want to go!"
"Sammy," he says eerily calm, "you don't have a choice."
"Bull! Everyone has a choice!" Again, he is too calm for me and I start to get scared.
"Not on this." Taking a deep breath, he begins to jump the counter and I run out the back door. "Damn it, Sammy! You know I'll catch you!"
Not even ten seconds later, a pair arms wrap around me and lift me off the ground and back toward the house. Calling out for my mom to help, she just warns D not to hurt me to which he scoffs; mom and I both know that Damien would never intentionally hurt me, we've been friends since I moved here when I was eight. D walks right into my room and plants me on the bed before quickly locking my door and going to my closet to find something for me to wear; laying back, I pick up one of my cameras that Damien boight me last year for my birthday and take a few shots of him moving around my room.
"Damn it," I mumble while looking at the camera and D just smiles. "Shut up you photogenic bastard."
"What? I didn't say anything." Even with his back turned, I know that he's smirking. "Besides, it's not my fault you continuously get my good side. You just know what to look for from behind that lense."
Rolling my eyes, I go through the photos that I just took and pick my four favorites before printing them out. Damien pauses whatever he's doing in my closet to look at the photos I just printed off; smiling, he looks up at me with a picture of him streching upwards toward my topshelf. Leaning up to pin the photos to my clothesline, he leaves the image of him stretching off as he walks closer to me, smiling something secret. Putting camera away, Damien crawls onto the bed and lays on my thighs while looking at thel photo.
"My dearest Samantha--"
"Don't call me that." He laughs a bit.
"Do you have a thing for my abs?" I laugh with him and point to the small writing on his hip with a small smile.
"You can see my tattoo from that angle." Damien smiles and I start to play with his hair. Damien, when he turned sixteen, had one of his friend's uncles tattoo 'Till forever, mine on his left hip without either one of our parents knowing. I was pissed at first because we promised to get our first tattoos together, but then he told me that it was for me showing that I would always be with him no matter where either one of us are. That weekend was full of ice cream and movies to make me smile, he made me feel better after I apologized for ignoring him for two days.
"Forever yours, Sammy." I am about to say something when my bedroom door bursts open and my father walks in. "Hey, Dave."
"Damien, why are you laying on my daughter?" Both my father and Damien know that I don't really like people touching me, let alone laying on me. "Sam?"
"I'm fine." At this, Damien jumps up and goes back to the closet. "Shit."
"Wait. What?" Damien soon comes out with a pair of black skinny jeans, a black loose tee that clearly isn't mine, and a pair of thick heels. "Oh yeah, the banquet is tonight."
"You knew?!" My dad slowly backs out of my room as I begin to throw pillows at him; looking at D, I glare playfully. "What time?"
"You're going," he asks hopefully and there is a glimmer of hope in his green eyes; I nod and he yells with glee. "Yes!"
"You're buying me dinner," I say halfheartidly and he grins like a child.
"Anything for you, darlin'." He tries to kiss my cheek but I push him away laughing. "Absolutely anything to make you smile like you are now."
"How do you not have a girlfriend?" He goes stiff for a moment before relaxing and I snap in remembrance. "Oh yeah, you just haven't met a woman who is to your 'standard of awesome'."
"Exactly!" He says looking at me with an evil glint. "Now, you have two hours. Get you ginger ass into the shower so we can show off your curls."
"What does my ass have to do with my hair?" He stands and glares at me playfully. "Oh! I get it. You're calling me a ginger and telling me to--"
"Get your ass into the shower. Yes." I smile at him before running out of the room and to the bathroom with my clothes before he could force me into the bathroom.
"Do I have to be here?"
"Yes," he says sternly while fluffing my hair and fixing my scarf. "I told you that I want you to be here, I know you don't like people but you know every single person in there."
"Exactly," I whisper loudly. "Every single woman in there thinks that you only hang out with me because you feel bad for me. I don't want to face them tonight, D, not when I need to be there for you and...and..."
"Breathe," he says while holding my face in his hands, "Sammy breathe for me please. Please, darlin', I need you to calm down for me. You know the guys won't let you get hurt, and you sure as Hell know I won't."
"D," I whisper as if someone is listening in, "I don't know if I can sit with them and be pleasent."
"You will be fine," he smiles warmly and begins to guide me to the doors. "Besides, there's food involved and Dr. Peppers."
I laugh and wrap my arm around his waist lightly as we enter the cafeteria when the banquet is being held. The theme for this year is Golden Victory which means everything is draped in gold and black to show off the talent of the football team and promote next year for those who will be staying on the team. Fingers twitching, I reach for my camera only to realize that I don't have it; my fear, however, is soon cast aside when Damien pulls out one of my extra cameras. He smiles down at me and follows me to where all of the players are; seeing Damien, they all smile before seeing me and gathering me into a group hug.
Growing up in a small town has its advantages, especially when you're best friends with the co-captain of the football team. Everyone on the team knows me and have become like brothers to me, even the ones that graduate still visit me every once in a while and I find it comforting that I am loved by so many. Ending their hug, I get all of them in a picture in their suits with large smiles on their faces; none of them ask for acopy because they know that I'll make them one before the week is out. Standing around for a bit, I become a bit peckish and escuse myself from the converstation to head over to the snack bar; picking up a plate, I start to set everything that I want when I begin to hear voices from behind me.
"Oh my God, who the fuck invited the pig?"
"I think it was her, and I quote, best friend that brought her here." A chorus of laughs echo and I clench my plate tightly. "I can't believe he actually hangs out with that, its utterly ridiculous that he thinks he needs to support someone like," there is a pause, "her. I think he would much rather prefer someone like me."
"What," a new voice asks. "A snobby bitch who can't respect anyone to save her life. Hell, half the school knows you shag the teachers to actually pass your classes."
"That's right," another joins in and I almost break down. "You don't know anything about Sam, and if you did you would know that she is one of the most creative and intelligent people that I know." Damien walks over to me slowly. "She's my best friend and pretty much the only girl in the room that deserves more than a glance from me. Katie and Janie are different because they're like my sisters, but everyone can back the fuck up."
"D," I say calmly, "are you okay?"
He mumbles something and burries his head into my shoulder so that I am immediately wrapped in warmth as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. Pulling him into me, we comfort eachother as we usually do with situations like this; Damien usually gets pissed when someone talks about my weight while I usually just try to ignore it. Our school is usually not that hard on bullies which leaves the students to fend for themselves; the football players and most of the cheer squad became the "police" of the halls due to the fact that they saw what was going on with myself and others that would usually be considered to be the "lower class" of the high school.
"D, I want to go home." He nods but moves me over to a chair with his name on the seat. "I need to get a few shots of them and then I'll put it away for thd night."
"Not yet," I am now sitting on his lap as he continues try and calm himself down. "I don't want you hurt."
"Eh, they're just jealous of my rockin' thighs." He laughs and looks up at me.
"As well they should be, Darlin'." Kissing his tan skinned cheek, I got up and began to take photos of the entire event while staying within eyeshot of D. Everything is going as I hoped it would, I thought while looking towards the two girls who were going after me earlier. Snapping a couple of shots, I smile and walk back like nothing happened. "What'd you get?"
"The usual," I say casually showing him the picture of both girls eating cake and drinking soda. "I could have sworn carbs were put this month."
"You are brilliant," he says quietly as the Coach steps up onto the platform to begin the long night of awards and speeches.
