ReVAMPED | The Lost Boys

A Lucky Encounter

"Lucky me."

Sammy looked up to Marko, his eyes burning into her. Something told her that luck had nothing to do with it.

"What's on the menu tonight?" Sam quipped lightly, changing the subject. Leaning forward, she noticed Marko's eyes scanning her quickly, and she averted her eyes back to her soup. He held his gaze, noticing her attempt at small talk.

"An assortment. Take your pick." Marko smiled, leaning in. "I'll tell you a secret, Sam. My buddies and I are throwing a welcome party tonight." Him and his pals?

"And where are these friends of yours, Marko?" Sam jested, looking around. "No one's here, but just the two of us."

Just the two of us.

Sammy looked back at Marko, but his lips never moved. Catching his gaze he smirked; she thought she heard -

"Order ready!" The woman behind the counter boomed, and quickly Marko stood, marching his way to the cashier.

Sammy shook her head, pushing the now cold soup away. Was she insane?  She was hearing things, actually hearing things!  What was happening to her? Rubbing her eyes, she suddenly found herself drained from the day, and she slouched in her chair. Dropping her guard, she looked out the window, watching the crowd as a passerby. There were a couple of guys heckling girls as they passed across the street, one with his hair slicked back and the other with an unruly mohawk. She remembered them: they were both in front of the comic shop the day before. Sam caught the gaze of the one with slicked hair, and he winked her way, nudging the guy next to him. Looking away as quickly as she could, Sam shivered in disgust, shaking her head.

"Surf Nazis." She heard Marko whisper behind her. She didn't turn to meet him, but frowned.

"Who are they?" She questioned, more to herself than anything.

"Waste-oids who think they own the boardwalk. Posers." Marko's lips turned down in disgust, but his eyes had a certain fire behind them as he walked up to Sam and placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. 

 "Let me walk you out of here."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Marko pulled Sammy close. Casting him a side glance of concern, he tightened his grip in reassurance, that wild grin on his face, leading them out into the open. What did Sammy get herself into?

_____  

"Whaddya mean you haven't seen them? They're probably off screwing, big fuckin' deal. Just forget about it." Sam overheard mohawk man snap at his pal ahead of them.

"Yeah, but Shelly didn't show up for work either -" The other retorted meekly.

"I said forget about it. They're fine." Mohawk man griped. The other guy ran a hand through his hair, wiping the excess gel onto his pants.

Sammy noticed as Marko pushed out his chest, smirking as if he had heard the best damned joke ever, and she watched as the waves of people scattered ahead of them. Without realizing why, she pulled him closer as they passed the surf nazis, and when she thought the coast was clear, she felt a gruff hand pull at her arm. Turning, she broke from Marko's grasp.

"Hey, hold up man!" The surf nazi screeched at Marko. "The last I saw Greg and Shelly was when we were on the carousel a couple nights back. What did you and your friends-"

"Cool it, bud." Marko smirked, cutting him off. Cocking his head to the side, Marko looked much more menacing than she had seen. "I haven't seen 'em. Sounds like you should keep your ring leader on a tighter leash." He teased.

"Screw you, man. What did you do?" The surfer accused, causing a scene. Heads turned to look at the showdown between Marko and the waste-oids, and mohawk man watched from the sidelines, waiting for the other surfer to make a move. Marko's eyes glided past the surfer, only to stop and see he that his hand was still gripped tightly to Sam.

"Now that's no way to treat a lady." Marko scolded, shaking his head. He grabbed Sammy's hand, pulling her out of the surfer's grip and behind him, away from the surfers. "You better beat it, Buster."

She couldn't see his expression, but Sammy clutched onto Marko's hand to cool him down. His back was tense, and from seeing the scowls on the surf nazi's faces, he was probably going to throw down. Before anything else could happen, Sammy tugged at his waist, pulling Marko away from the commotion. He smirked in their direction once more, shook his head, and followed Sam through the crowd. Not looking Marko's way, she kept her gaze forward. Marko wrapped his arm around her tight, and they walked silently through the maze of rides and games, coming to a halt outside Video Max.

"This is my stop." Sam smiled, waving to a woman inside, causing Marko to raise a brow. He looked in the store, scouting, searching for something. Turning back to look at her, he removed his arm from her shoulder, Sam noticing his light scowl.

"Get home safe." Marko spoke slowly, before turning and disappearing down the boardwalk.

She spared a final look in the direction Marko vanished, before turning back to Video Max.

"Sammy!" Lucy chimed, waving from behind the desk. As she approached, she realized just how busy the store was. Kids were weaving in and out of isles running from their parents, groups of women were crowded around the latest movie poster of Kurt Russell, and she even took note of a group of surfers goofing off in the corner. There was a line of people waiting to check out the latest blockbuster hit, even as late as it was. She waited in line, people watching to pass the time. Looking back to her mom, she wasn't the only one working at the front counter. Towering next to her was another employee, helping her to knock out the line of customers. With his colorful clothes and fun glasses, he absolutely fit in with the atmosphere of the shop. He must have been similar in age with Sam's mom, and they chatted and laughed between scanning movies. She was next in line, and her mom was practically bouncing.

"And don't forget! Please rewind the tape before you bring it back." She waved at the customer walking out the door. "Well, what do you think?" Lucy asked her daughter, smiling as she put a movie back into the correct place.

"It's a pretty sweet place mom. You're doing great." Sam smiled softly, and Lucy was beaming back at her.

"You must have read my mind." A deep voice chuckled. Turning around, she saw the man her mom was working next to moments prior, looking at Lucy with pride. "Lucy is a natural. The customers absolutely love her."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far." Her mom chimed. "But I'm glad I can help. Sweetheart, there's someone that I'd like you to meet." Her mom motioned, looking back to the man with a shy grin.  Cocking her head to the side Sammy looked back to the man, now towering over the two of them with a wide smile.

"You must be Samantha. My name's Max."