S A M

Cherry laid on her bed, her fingers playing with fabric of the blanket. I was sitting on my own, my fingers quickly and expertly typing in a code on the laptop. The light from the screen was the only source of light inside the room, the moonlight coming from the window being an outside one.

It was completely quite inside the room, save for the rustling of the blanket and the clicking of keys.

"Sam?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes?" I looked over at her.

Her eyes had a flicker of fear, but hope, as she asked, "Can you hold my hand until I fall asleep?"

I was taken aback by her request, but didn't let it show. With a nod, I reached my hand out. She took it. It wasn't that hard, since there were a few mere inches between our beds.

My thumb gently caressed her knuckle as she sighed softly.

I asked her, "Am I bothering you?"

"Oh no, it's not that," She mumbled.

"Then what is it?" Surely it wasn't the fact that she was sleeping in the same room as me, aka, the boy who taunted her basically every day. You know what, it probably was.

"It's nothing," She murmured, a glazed look falling over her eyes.

Of course I didn't believe that, but I decided not to inquire any further.

After a few minutes, the code was complete and I executed it. When the results came exactly as I had wanted, I let a self-satisfied smirk grow on my face. I quickly saved the file twice, just to make sure, and then shut the laptop. Placing it on the nightstand, I laid down, her hand still enclosed in mine.

"Good night, Cherry."

"Good night, Sam."

-----

C A D Y

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

I woke up at the sound of a shrill voice. I rubbed my eyes with my hand, prying the sleep away.

I looked over to Sam's bed. Ah, so that was the shrill voice.

Bellatrix was sitting on Sam's abdomen, bouncing up and down, her small fists banging on his chest.

"Get up!" She whined, tugging on his shirt.

"Mhm," He mumbled sleepily.

"Saaaaaaaammmmmm!" Bella bounced particularly hard this time and he let out an 'oof!' His eyes opened and he sighed with exasperation.

"Cherry, please, get this hurricane of a girl off of me," He pleaded, closing his eyes again.

"Cady is so much better than you," Bella said, clearly hoping to trap him into waking up, "She gets up before you. You sleep so late." Smart girl.

He let out an another sigh. He placed her on the bed and sat up, groaning as he stretched his muscular arms, my hand suddenly feeling cold.

"Brat," He shot a playful glare at her.

"You say that like it isn't your own fault," She retorted back.

He rolled his eyes and got off the bed. I chuckled and his eyes snapped towards me.

"Good morning," I chirped.

"'Morning," He replied back. He walked over to the chest of drawers and opened the one at the top. He pulled out some clothes and went over to the door that undoubtedly led to the bathroom.

"Don't give her too much trouble," He called over his shoulder to Bella who huffed and crossed her arms. He smirked and went inside, closing the door behind himself.

She hopped off the bed and said, "Does he annoy you?"

That caught me off guard.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Sam, does he annoy you?"

I thought about it. Does he? Well, he doesn't annoy me, I'm sure it's the other way round. He can be quite frustrating at times. But
that's just Sam, I suppose.

"At times," I admitted and she nodded.

"He tends to come out as intimidating to other people, people who don't know him," She said knowingly.

I nodded this time, "You're right about that."

"Are you two together?" She asked, her eyes glittering. I swear this kid-

"No, not really," I answered, glancing at the door of the bathroom quickly.

"Oh," disappointment lingered in her tone.

At the same time, the door opened and Sam stepped out, no longer in the clothes he wore before. He was dressed in a silk sky blue shirt, the top button left open, and jeans. He was drying his hair with a towel and looked up.

"You can go in now, Cherry, if you want," He said.

I opened my mouth to present my problem, when he cut me off, "If you're worried about clothes, then I'll just go get you some from Chrissy. Heaven knows that girl has a gigantic wardrobe."

My lips twitched into a smile, "She wouldn't mind?"

He snorted, "The only thing she'd mind is that I wouldn't let her choose what you'll wear."

Wait a second, does that mean he's going to be choosing my attire for today? I don't know if I should be happy or sad over that fact.

"Please don't choose anything revealing," I said, a small plea in my voice.

He reached out his hand and ruffled my scarlet hair, "Don't worry, I won't."

I swatted his hand away but smiled nonetheless. He grinned back; huh, what a surprise.

He reached his arms out towards Bella as she wrapped her own around his neck. He picked her up, wrapping his arms around her small frame.

"I'll leave the clothes on the bed. There's a towel inside in the cabinets, and feel free to use whatever you want. And if you need some... girl stuff," I rolled my eyes at that, "Just tell me or Chrissy, kay?"

"Okay," I nodded and got off the bed as he went out, pulling the door close behind himself. I quickly went over to the bathroom and shut the door. I walked over to the basin and opened the one of the cabinets above it; don't judge me, I have a bad habit of curiosity, okay? There was the usual stuff, razors, shaving cream, and one... questionable item, but I decided not to linger around too much.

I peeled off the clothes and folded them, placing them on a shelf built into a wall. It seemed like it was made specifically for that purpose, as there were Sam's clothes there too, folded neatly, stacked atop other.

I stepped into the shower and turned it on. The water- oh, the warm water! It felt so nice! Way better than the cold water at home.

I felt a smirk grow on my lips once I saw Sam's soap. It seemed he used scented soap. It smelled of lavender. And his shampoo. Oh ho ho, that was even better. Sam Carter's shampoo smelled of roses and apples. I made a good mind to tease him about it, payback for his teasing.

After I was done, I stepped out and took out a towel from the cabinets and wrapped it around myself, the fabric soft against my scarred skin. Scarred skin...

Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?

That's right! My concealer. I bit back a groan, I really hoped Sam had chosen something that covered everything.

I stepped out of the bathroom and my eyes fell upon the bed on which he had laid the clothes.

I can't lie, he had good fashion sense. I pulled on the clothes and looked down at myself. He had picked out a loose white top, along with a pair of white pants. He had also picked out a long grey shrug that reached down to my knees, and a matching belt.

I patted my hair with the towel a few times before hanging the towel on a metal rod, right in line of the light pouring through the window.

I opened the door and stepped outside, and that's when I realised: I didn't really know the way around this place. I mean, I remember a slight bit of how to get to Sam's room, but the rest? Nope.

I followed my instincts and walked down the hallway then turned left that led to a staircase. I climbed down and ended up on a floor with no walls, just the railings, and went down the small staircase there too. I finally reached where I had been last night. Sam was already there, discussing something with Jax. Bella was sitting on a stool, reading an encyclopedia as Chrissy did her hair. Severus was doing something on the computer, seemingly browsing through a website.

Sam looked up as I came, "There you are." There was a glazed look in his amber eyes as he stood up.

"You look nice," Chrissy complimented.

"You should thank Sammy here for that," He growled at the nickname, and I smirked in answer.

"I should say, he has a nice taste," Jax nodded.

"Of course, it is me, after all," Sam said proudly.

"Don't let it get to your head," His blonde friend slapped the side of his head.

"Hey!" He shouted, "What was that for?" Jax merely shrugged.

"Now that we're all here," Chrissy stood up, pinning the last strand of Bella's long hair, "Why don't we go get breakfast?"

"We're going out to eat breakfast today?" Severus asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Yep," Jax picked the child up. While holding him in one arm, he basically shut the computer down effortlessly.

Chrissy took Bella's hand in hers as the girl leaped off the stool. Sam held out his hand to me.

"Come on," He whispered.

With a smile, I took his hand. Who would've known that I'd be eating breakfast with Sam Carter and his friends?

Hey guys!

How are you all today?

I'm good.

How was the chapter?

Any mistakes you'd like to point out?

I loved writing it, and there is so much more I'm planning for this book/series.

I have a lot to talk about.

First off, I'm on Kingdom of Ash, and every other chapter makes me sob in happiness, or sadness, or at how foolish or Epic a character is being. Like seriously, Dorian!? Still though, that maneuver he pulled with Maeve had me shrieking in delight.

Secondly, I just watched Black Bullet, and oh my, did I shed some tears. I'm also watching Black Butler! And must I say, it's so much like Artemis Fowl. I also watched Camp Camp! And now I want a Ciel, and a Max!

Anything new you guys discovered? I'd love to hear it!

Well, sayonara!

Bye!