UNDER MY SKIN

two. pink band-aid

Sam sat in the grass, throwing Winston's cow, which he'd run to get and bring back. She smiled and scratched behind his ears when he dropped the cow into her lap, then she tossed it again. She looked over at Javi, who was sitting in the van, the side door open and his feet on the ground with his laptop in his lap.

Sam, admittedly, knew nothing about storms or any of the technology they were using. So she wasn't any help, but Javi didn't seem to mind, not even when she asked questions.

Just as Winston dropped the cow in her lap again, the radio buzzed a little before Addy's voice came through, "Javi, how's Dorothy's GPS?"

"Dorothy's coming in loud and clear." He spoke into the radio, eyes still on the screen.

"They're gonna be okay, right?" Sam asked, looking over at Javi as she held the stuffed toy in her hands. Next to her Winston sat with his tongue hanging out of his mouth waiting for her to throw it again.

"Yeah," he nodded, meeting her eyes with a soft smile. "They just gotta drop the trailer in its path. Then we'll all be eating really good barbecue."

She nodded, a smile tugging at her lips, then she threw the cow again and Winston took off after it. "Hey, Javi..." her voice shook a little, but she took a breath.

"Yeah?"

"There's this thing, um, a banquet in a couple of weeks. For the rodeo, it's a fundraiser type thing, and... I know it's not really your thing, but, uh..."

He smiled, watching as her cheeks flushed, "yeah, I'll go with you."

A wide smile tugged at her lips as she looked up at him, "you will?"

"Of course, I will." He nodded and she pushed herself up and happily made her way towards him before leaning down to press her lips against his. "Why were you nervous to ask me?"

She shrugged as she sat next to him, her focus on Winston as he ran over and dropped the stuffed cow on the ground at her feet.

"Never really had anyone want to go to those kinds of things with me." She leaned forward and picked up the cow, chuckling at the way Winston jumped up, his tail wagging.

"Now you got me, cariño." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Now, stop distracting me." He chuckled and she laughed as she rolled her eyes, then she tossed the cow and Winston took off after it.

It was quiet for a while, all but the music playing from the radio as Sam sat in the front seat, her boots kicked up on the dash and Winston laying down in the driver's seat.

"So do we just wait for-"

"We dropped the trailer, Javi!" Kate's voice cut her off.

"Alright, let's see if it takes the bait," he replied.

"That answers that," she mumbled, making the boy laugh. "I'm not good at waiting." She added, shifting in her seat.

"I know," He chuckled before taking a bite of his sandwich. "Whoo, baby!" He cheered, making Sam jump a little. "We just shot up 10,000 feet!"

Sam opened the door and hopped out, Winston following close behind her, "it is working?"

"Dorothy is," he smiled up at her as she sat next to him. She leaned over, resting her chin on his shoulder as her eyes scanned the laptop. "Sensors rising, 30,000 feet."

"Isn't it supposed to go down?" She mumbled, her eyebrows pinched as she watched the laptop.

"Are the winds weakening, Javi?" Addy asked, the radio buzzing with a little static.

"Dorothy can't tell you that. Lagrangian mechanics. A moving sensor can't give you the exact measurement of wind speed, but..." his laptop made a noise, drawing his attention to it. "Ah, yeah! 40,000 feet. Your tornado isn't shrinking, Kate. 50,000 feet."

Sam was getting worried, each time the number got bigger the more her hands shook. Winston let out a whine, rubbing his nose against her hand and she smiled small as she rubbed his head.

"Holy shit." Javi mumbled, not a sign of joking on his face, which sent Sam off. "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. This can't be right." He pushed himself up and climbed into the van, looking at the computer that was set up.

Sam stood up, a shaky breath leaving her as she watched her boyfriend seemingly freak out, "Javi, what's happening?"

"I don't - I don't know." He mumbled as he poked at a few things.

"Javi, talk to us." Addy demanded, her voice a little impatient. "Javi, talk to us! Talk to us!"

"Javi!" Sam nearly shouted, making him jump a little, but he was focused on the computer.

"Sensors just shot up 70,000 feet." He spoke into the radio.

Sam shifted on her feet, running her hands through her hair, "I don't like this." She turned, her eyes on the gloomy sky.

"Guys, whatever's in there, it's big. It's big and it's moving fast. Drive! You gotta get the hell out of there!"

"Oh, my God." Sam muttered, shifting on her feet as tears brimmed in her eyes. And the radio was quiet, they got no response. And that just put Sam even more on edge, so much so that Winston was whining as he sat at her feet, nudging her hand with his nose.

"Jeb, Addy, Praveen, Kate!" Javi shouted only to get no response "Guys, you gotta be out there! Do you hear me? Kate?"

"They're not answering. Javi, they're not answering!" She panicked, unable to keep her tears from falling down her face.

"Yeah, Sam, I know!" He shouted back, just as panicked as she was.

Winston whined, shifting a little before he took off towards the tornado, making Sam scream, "Winston!" She ran after him, but he was already a small spec in the distance.

"Sam!" Javi jumped out of the van and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "What are you thinking? You can't-"

"Winston, he – And Katie! Kate's out there!" She pulled her arm back.

"I can't let you-"

"You can't stop me!" She shouted before following after Winston, tears rolled down her cheeks and she had screamed her throat raw over the strong wind.

"Winston!" She struggled against the wind the closer she got to the tornado and just as she heard a bark, Winston's bark something hit her in the back of the head and she hit the pavement and rolled into that ditch.

>>>>> • <<<<<

It had taken a week, a full seven days for Sam to realize that Javi had lied.

She had been in the hospital for three of those days, one she was unconscious, one was nothing but tests. More than she cared for. And one was to check her vitals.

Kate had told her everything, leaving out the details as she told her that their friends – Addy, Praveen and Jeb – were gone and not coming back.

Cathy, her mother, had even broken the news that Winston was found, and, well, it wasn't pretty so she left out the details.

Sam cried for two days, grieving the loss of her friends and her beloved dog that she had grown so attached to. And even her sister, who had been a hollow shell of herself.

But even as she sat on her bed, her mother made frequent stops to make sure she was comfortable, that she had enough food, that she had water, and that she was okay.

She wasn't okay, but she didn't want to admit this to her mom.

And the most glaring of facts, one she hated so very much, Javi had lied.

That had to be the reason he hadn't visited her at the hospital. That had to be the reason he seemingly just vanished. He hadn't even stopped by the house.

He had, however, called Kate.

She didn't pick up, but he had left a voicemail.

Sam didn't get a voicemail.

She assumed that his absence was a break up, and that only was cemented when a month after that awful day, he still hadn't so much as sent her text.

Not only was Sam recovering from a concussion, a broken ankle, and a sprained knee... she was recovering from a broken heart.

One not even ice cream could heal.

>>>>> • <<<<<

two years later

Sam was on the bar, her cowboy hat placed perfectly on her head, a wide smile on her face, her hips moving as she stomped her boots on the wooden surface to the beat of the Brooks and Dunn song that played from the old jukebox in the corner.

"Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play somethin' country!" She sang along, the rest of the rowdy crowd shouting the lyrics as they raised their beers towards the very drunk blonde.

"Hey, baby, you got a name?"

She continued dancing, looking down at the man that stood before her, his green eyes on her as a smirk played on his lips.

"Tyler!" Her own smile grew then she moved to jump down, his hands quickly landed on her waist and he easily put her on her feet in front of him.

"What are you doin' here?" She shouted over the music as she stood on her toes, her arms around his shoulders and he laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Thought you were off doin' the college thing."

"You're in my neck of the woods, sweetheart." He smirked, and she rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at her lips as she fell back to her heels. "Saw you ride."

"You did?" She grinned, leaning against the bar as he nodded.

"You've gotten good," he mused before getting the bartender's attention, then he ordered two beers.

"Got a big 'ol buckle to prove it," she grinned, looking down at the giant silver belt buckle she wore. He laughed, shaking his head a little. She looked up at him, her eyes scanning his face.

He was handsome, she always thought so.

Especially when she was merely thirteen and he was fourteen. It was at a rodeo in Austin and she was riding her first saddle bronc – at least in competition. And he was moving up from steer riding to bull riding.

She'd had a crush on him the minute he strolled in decked out in his gear, a cowboy hat sat perfectly on his head and a smirk on his face. He even had a little entourage that came in the form of a boy with a small video camera.

He'd smiled at her, tipping his hat, which she returned, and when he asked what event she was in, he didn't laugh when she said broncs. He was the first boy that didn't laugh when she told him she rode broncs.

They usually laughed and made a comment about how girls should stick to barrel racing – something she also did, but bronc riding was her passion. And she was more than happy to talk about it when the boy with the camera asked questions and she didn't really mind that he had filmed it.

He claimed he was making a documentary about his best friend and the rodeo experience, and meeting a female bronc rider was so rare.

"We miss you around the circuit," she told him, accepting the beer he held out to her.

He smiled, taking a sip of his beer, "really?"

"No, not really. We're all glad you're gone." She hummed, "that ego of yours certainly ain't missed."

He chuckled, "how 'bout the rest of me?" He took a step closer to her, and she smirked as she looked up at him.

"Mmm, I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"She's a comedian," he rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "I missed you, ya know."

"I do now." Her smile was bright as she brought her beer up to her lips and took a sip. And he let his eyes scan every aspect of her face, there was a small pink band-aid just under her hair line that was mostly hidden by her hat.

Her eyes were the same shade of warm brown they'd always been, that the dim lighting of the smoky bar didn't even diminish. Her cheeks were a little rosy, he assumed it had to do with the dancing on the bar and the alcohol.

Her smile was huge and bright, rivaling that of the early morning sun. Her teeth were blindingly white, and just the slightest bit crooked – in a cute way, that he knew was from the time she had face planted when she was sixteen.

He reached out, almost like he couldn't help himself, then he curled a lock of hair around his finger.

Then his eyes met hers once more, "I kinda wanna kiss you," he mumbled, leaning down.

"So do it, cowboy." She reached up and knocked his hand back a little then she took her own from her head. He leaned down, a smile on his lips as he met her lips in a soft kiss.

He hummed against her lips, making her giggle as he pulled back just an inch, "I've wanted to do that since I was fifteen."

That was the year his hormones had really kicked in, and she just happened to be the prettiest thing he'd seen that entire season on the circuit or anywhere else. And she looked so damn good on a horse, even if her clothes were covered in red dirt, her arms were littered with bruises from a fall or two, and she almost always had a little pink band-aid somewhere on her face – again, because she fell a lot.

"Do it again," she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yes, ma'am." He smirked, pulling his hat from his hand as he pressed his lips against hers more firmly.

She moaned softly against him as he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her body into his, "I have a room across the street."

"That's good information to have." He mumbled, pressing his lips against hers again.

She chuckled, "you wanna see it?"

He gasped a little, a teasing smirk on his face, "is the Sam Carter inviting me back to her room?"

"Do I need to make you a poster?" She mused sarcastically. "Thought college was supposed to make you smarter."

"Call a man dumb, that's how you get 'em."

She laughed as she shook her head, "you wanna come or not?"

"The boys will be jealous."

"Tyler," she rolled her eyes, a smirk on her lips.

"Who'd believe that you, the famous bronc rider, is gonna let little 'ol me-"

"Tyler James, you say one more word and I'm just gonna have to go back to my room all by myself."

He chuckled, and she let her eyes trace over his face again. "Lead the way," he waved his arm out and she grinned as she grabbed her hat from the bar, then she grabbed his hand and led him through the crowd room.

Sam placed her hat on her head, her fingers laced with Tyler's and as they reached the door, he moved forward and pushed it open her. He grinned when she smiled up at him, and at the bar, Boone got a video as the cowboy leaned down and pressed another kiss to Sam's lips.

He just grinned, making a mental note to save the video in his for Ty's wedding folder he had started on his phone. It was mostly pictures and videos of Tyler and Sam from over the years. The first one was when they were merely teenagers meeting for the first time in Austin.

He didn't shut off the camera until after the two had finally made it through the door, both laughing as the door swung shut. Then he turned back to the bar, ordering a beer as he slid his phone back into his pocket.

NOVA SPEAKS

sam and tyler are my babies! i love them so much lol

just two chapters in and i'm obsessed with them!! also, if you haven't, please check out the graphic gallery. i've added a few gifs that i made of these two!!