After having tests in almost all of her morning classes, Samantha walked into the girls bathroom at school.
She sat her schoolbag down on the floor by the sink and pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time and see when Erica was coming to school that day.
Before she could read her text messages, she heard someone crying from one of the stalls.
Pausing she listened as the sobs grew louder.
"Um... hello?" Sam called out.
"Who's out there?" Lydia asked.
"Sam." She responded.
"Sam who?" Lydia asked, not able to hold her tears in from the experience she'd just had between classes.
Jackson had cornered her and said everything bad that happened to him was her fault, but she had no idea what he'd been talking about.
She also didn't understand why he'd have saved her life and carried her off the field the night of the formal if he didn't care about her at all.
"Samantha Evans." She answered, thinking Lydia probably wouldn't remember her.
"Oh, you're Allison's friend." Lydia realized, relived it was someone she at least kind of knew, "The new girl, right?"
"No, I'm not really..." She started to deny, then realizing details didn't matter at the moment she cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, it's me."
"Are you okay?" Sam was concerned.
She could feel so much sadness and distress in the room.
"It's just... I don't know why he's so mad at me, and he just kept going on and on about how I've ruined things for him." Lydia sobbed, a fresh wave of tears leaving hot streaks down her flushed cheeks.
She balled up more toilet paper to dab at her eyes.
"Who? Who said that?" Sam struggled to keep up without having all the details.
"Jackson!" Lydia shrieked, causing Sam to jump from the unexpected outburst.
Lydia opened her mouth to say more, then stopped when she heard the bathroom door open again.
"Who came in?" Lydia asked.
"It's just us in here." Sam assured her.
Looking down Lydia gasped when she saw a pair of men's feet covered in dirt.
"This is the girls room..." She managed to say through her tears.
"Lydia?" Sam asked, but she didn't respond.
A chill wrapped around her spine.
A few moments later the stall door opened and Lydia looked around the wall of sinks, not even seeing Sam standing there, she ran from the room.
Concerned and confused, Sam chased after her through the empty hallway and down a small set of stairs, until she came to stop in front of a trophy case.
"Lydia?" Sam asked as she lightly reached out and touched her arm.
As if being woken from a dream Lydia gasped and jumped back.
"Didn't you see him?" She questioned with eyes as big as saucers.
Sam looked around them, "See who? You just... bolted from the bathroom and then stood here staring at the trophies."
"No, I followed the man who came in the girls bathroom." Lydia argued her eyebrows raised.
She seemed so very sure of what she'd seen that the confidence left Sam questioning if she had missed a man walking into the room with them.
"I didn't see anyone." Sam shrugged.
She didn't want to argue.
"I... uh, I left my bag in there." Lydia said as she rubbed her watery eyes and headed back into the bathroom, with Sam right on her heels.
Silently, Sam pulled on her bookbag while Lydia dug through her own bag and sighed heavily.
Out of all days to forget her travel make-up bag, it had to be the day she'd resorted to crying in the bathroom.
"Do you have any mascara?" She finally asked.
"I think there's some in there, but I've had all of it for a while." She apologized as she handed Lydia small make up bag containing only a few items.
"Thanks for listening to me, new girl." Lydia smiled, as she glanced up at Sam.
Sam shook her head, Lydia still thought she was a new girl at school since she'd never noticed her before.
"I think that Jackson may have some other things going on right now..." Sam tried to make her feel better.
Lydia pulled the tube of black mascara from the bag and looked at her with raised eyebrows, "How would you know?"
Shrugging, Sam replied, "I mean, he'd have to, right? To be treating you like that. Lydia. I mean you're you-" Sam motioned at her, "Trust me, whatever Jackson is saying or doing... he's an idiot and it's on him not you. You don't need him."
Lydia pulled the wand from the tube and looked at the dry flaking mascara.
Quickly, she put the lid the back on and looked at Sam, "I like you."
"Thanks?" Sam said back, wondering if the statement was going to be followed with a sarcastic hurtful remark.
Crossing the bathroom Lydia dumped the contents from the make-up bag into the trashcan, causing Sam to gasp.
"Which is why I just did you a favor, everything in that bag was years old... not to mention the completely wrong for your skin tone." Lydia explained as she handed her the empty bag back.
Sam's blue eyes were wide as she continued to stare at Lydia in shock.
"We're going shopping after school." Lydia said as she gave her a smile.
"Oh...okay?" Sam said, still not sure how to react to her or even if she could believe her.
A few minutes later the bell rang signaling the end of the class they'd both skipped, and the start of lunch.
"See you after school, new girl." Lydia called over her shoulder a she left the bathroom.
~()~
After getting her tray Samantha sat down at her usual table by herself and finally read the text from Erica, saying that she was making her grand appearance at school during lunch.
Laying her phone down on the table she smiled to herself, she'd spoken on the phone with Erica before school that day.
And without all the side effects from her medication the teen had woken up truly feeling like a new person.
Sam was halfway through peeling her orange when she looked up and saw Erica walk into the doorway of the cafeteria.
She was wearing leopard print high heels, a black leather miniskirt, white tank top and completed her outfit with a black leather jacket.
Her hair and makeup were flawless.
The breakouts her medicine had caused were entirely gone. Her skin was clear and dewy.
She looked amazing.
More so, she looked healthy.
All eyes were on Erica as she strutted into the lunchroom, feeding from all the attention she was getting.
A feeling she'd never had before and one she didn't intend to let slip away.
Leaning over a table full of guys, she took one of thee apples from a lunch try and took a bite from it.
As she wiped her lip with her finger she looked over at Sam, as she gave her a wide smile and winked at her.
Sam smiled back, she could feel how estatic Erica was in that moment.
She was glad to see someone truly did wake up the next day after getting the bite to feel like a brand new person.
Erica left the room as quickly as she'd gotten there; only looking back once to take another bite from her apple.
Hearing chairs skidding across the floor she looked over to see Scott and Stiles running after her.
A little while later they came back in the room and headed straight for Sam's table.
"Erica now too What happened?" Scott asked her.
"You know it takes more than a few wolves to make a pack, especially a strong one." Samantha said nonchalantly.
Stiles looked around the room and asked, "Is Derek turning anyone else?"
"If they're willing." She answered.
"Willing?" Scott scoffed, knowing how dangerous it was to be a werewolf in Beacon Hills.
"We already told you that he's explaining everything. It's not like he's just going around turning people, they have a choice." She said shaking her head.
"And the terrifying hunters aren't enough to scare you all away?" Stiles asked her, as he looked back to where he had been sitting and wished he'd brought his lunch over with him.
"I know this may be a hard concept for you both to grasp, but sometimes the thought of going on day to day being more miserable than the last... is a scarier thought than death. You saw Erica, she feels amazing." Samantha defended her pack.
"She looks amazing..." Stiles said, his voice trailing off as he thought back to the other teenager walking into the room.
Sam nodded in agreement.
"How amazing is she going to look with a bullet in her head, Sam? You were in the woods that night, the hunters declared war. No one is safe..." Scott reasoned, his eyes drifting over the other students at lunch wondering who might be next.
"We're stronger as a pack, and we'd be a lot stronger with you."
Derek had told her how badly they needed Scott in their pack.
His eyes widened, "You're trying to recruit me now too?"
"Derek says..." She began to explain but he cut her off.
"What Derek is doing is wrong, don't you get that?" He argued.
She bit down on her lower lip, trying to keep her anger in check.
"Maybe you shouldn't be so judgmental, Scott. When was the last time you woke up feeling so trapped by life that you'd rather be dead? Or have your father beat the crap out of you with nowhere to turn? Or been bullied and picked on because you have epilepsy and your medicine caused acne and weight gain?" She asked, referring to everyone Derek had turned to be in his pack.
Scott looked down to the table and then back up to her as he said, "You're right. I haven't exactly walked a mile in anyone else's shoes. But I know what the hunters are capable of, and I don't want to see anyone get hurt... or killed."
~(After school)~
Sam was supposed to meet Derek after school, he was starting Erica's training that day and furthering Isaac's and he thought she knew enough now to help him train the others.
But Lydia said they were going shopping together after school and Samantha had never had a friend to go shopping with.
As crazy as it sounded considering she'd landed herself in a war between the wolves and hunters, being invited to hang out with Lydia Martin was the stuff dreams were made of.
She'd been putting in so much work with Derek that she thought she'd earned a day to just be a normal teenager.
A normal teenager with friends who do normal things like hanging out at the mall after school.
"Ready?" Lydia asked as she found Sam at her locker.
"Yeah... lets go."
As Lydia drove them towards the mall she noticed Sam kept checking her phone.
"Waiting on a call from someone?" She questioned as she turned the radio down with the buttons on her steering wheel.
"Sorry." Sam apologized, "It's just that I was kind of supposed to help someone after school but I came with you instead." Samantha explained, not giving much context.
"Just text whoever it is and tell them you had an emergency." Lydia responded, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Letting out small laugh Sam looked around the cars interior as she said, "Somehow I don't think he'd accept the fashion emergency excuse."
Lydia looked over at her and Sam beamed a smile back at her.
The redheaded teenager was someone Sam had both idolized and been terrified of since they were in middle school and Lydia became the it girl that every other girl wanted to be.
She'd expected spending time to her would feel awkward -but it was surprisingly comfortable being around her.
"Well..." Lydia drew out the word as she checked the mirrors and switched traffic lanes, "Once he sees you when I'm done, he won't be mad. Trust me."
Now it was Lydia smiling widely and Sam looked stunned.
"Oh... um, no... he's not like my boyfriend or anything." She quickly stammered out, realizing Lydia had the wrong idea.
"Well no, not yet... but once you look like a girl, he'll want to be." Lydia reasoned as she pulled into the mall parking lot.
"Look like a girl?" Sam repeated back.
"Mhm." Lydia hummed, "I'm fully convinced that under those bad, loose fitting clothes you have curves in all the right places."
Sam didn't say anything back, she wasn't sure how to even respond to her words.
It was such a strange conversation.
The words were insulting but she got the feeling that Lydia thought she was actually being helpful and not trying to hurt her feelings.
"So?" Lydia pushed, "Who's the guy?"
She pulled into the parking spot and shut the car off.
"Oh, he's, um..." Sam licked her lips nervously.
She was not about to offer up Derek's name.
Not when Lydia was one of the students in the school the night Peter Hale had attacked it, but in a moment of panic Scott had blamed the whole thing on Derek.
He'd been exonerated since then, but Sam knew name dropping him would probably bring up questions that she couldn't answer.
And might also dampen the friendly energetic vibes they had going.
"You know." She shrugged, "Just a guy."
"Really not going to give me a name?" Lydia squinted.
"It doesn't matter." Sam shrunk down in the passenger seat, "Sometimes he says or does things that make me think there might be something there... but at the end of the day, I'm just me."
She tossed in a chuckle to hide the pain.
"Oh, Sam," Lydia clicked her tongue, "Everyone is going to feel out your league with that attitude."
"Whoever this mystery guys is, you want him to notice you, right?" Lydia questioned as she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached back to where her purse was in the backseat.
"Why would you think that?" Sam stammered, caught off guard by Lydia's question and hoping she would just let the conversation go.
"Certainty not from the way you blush and start stuttering when you talk about him." She said raising her eyebrows as she got out of the car.
Scrambling to locate the door release handle in the car she wasn't familiar with, Sam jumped out and met back up with her.
Hoping to pivot the discussion away from Derek, Sam looked over at her, "Hey, thanks for this. It'll be nice to pick out some new clothes and have a second opinion."
"Oh, no." Lydia shook her head, "I'm going to pick your clothes your out. You clearly need help."
She once again eyed the clothes Sam was wearing.
Sam stopped walking.
That stung worse than her earlier comments.
She also couldn't help but wonder what it must be like to say what you're thinking without any fear of repercussion.
Noticing Sam had fallen back, Lydia turned around and called, "You coming?"
"I don't know much about fashion." Sam agreed as she slowly picked up her pace to meet back up, "But it's also never really been important to me. I work and I got to school and then I train with..."
Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat.
"Train, you know, work out. I've gotten athletic recently." She covered, "But I just don't have the time to worry about clothes and hair and make-up. i mean, I try sometimes, but It's just not a big deal for me."
"Wrong." Lydia cocked her head to the side, "How you present yourself to the world is important. And if you don't want to wear make-up or get a decent hair cut that's fine... but then why were you carrying a make-up bag around with you at school."
Sam looked around them as an older couple brushed by them to get the entrance they had stopped outside of the shopping center.
"It's more important than you want to admit." Lydia gave her a knowing look.
"I get up earlier than anyone else in my house to make sure my mom and brother are awake, I cook the meals and do most of the cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping and I-" Sam started but Lydia cut her off.
"Sounds like you're doing everything for everyone else and not taking any time for self care." She observed.
With a hopeless laugh, Sam tossed her arms to the side and then let them fall at her sides limply.
"Look at me." Lydia instructed as if Sam wasn't already facing her.
"I am..."
"This," Lydia motioned to her own full face of make-up, "Took me under twenty minutes this morning. That's it."
"How?" Sam practically yelled.
"Once you know what you're doing it doesn't take that long and I feel so much better after I've put myself together.." Lydia explained, "And l like to look at it like I'm putting war paint on for the day."
"Trust me, new girl." Lydia said as she pulled the door open for Sam go in and promised, "I'm going to change your life."
~()~
A few hours later they emerged from the mall, both of their hands full of shopping bags.
Lydia looked over at Samantha and smiled to herself at the makeover she was responsible for.
Sam was wearing a short, light gray dress, and a pair of dark blue heels.
Lydia told her since the color of her dress was subtle she needed her shoes to be bold and make a statement.
The redhead had also insisted she not only have her make up done, but also get her eyebrows waxed and have some low-lights added to her hair.
The drive back to the school was silent aside from the pop music blaring through the speakers of the car.
Sam mostly stared out the window, occasionally tilting her head to get a view of her reflection in the mirror.
She was learning a lot from her new friend in a very short time.
Friend!?
Sam glanced over at Lydia in disbelief. She was now friends with Lydia Martin.
Sam usually felt better after putting on make-up, or war paint as Lydia had called it and made an effort with her hair, but the more she took the adult responsibilities of the house -along with being stuck in survival mode, it felt so ridiculous to care about how she dressed or looked.
And for so long she hadn't cared about anything at all.
But things were different now and Erica's transformation had been inspiring to her on many levels.
It wasn't even just the physical changes either, but the air of confidence that Erica had gained over night.
Somewhere in the process of talking ton Lydia and trying not to choke to death on the harsh chemicals the salon had used in her hair, Sam had taken what Lydia told her to heart.
How she presented herself to the world was important, but even more so, was making the time for things that made her happy.
Self-care, as Lydia called it.
Sam decided she would put forth the effort to make time for the things that she liked and that made her feel better, like getting up in the mornings and putting war paint on.
Somehow she already felt better.
A little lighter and less weighed down.
Maybe it was the fumes getting to her head from the perfume Lydia made her try out, but Sam even dared to think she felt more confident already.
Lydia looked over at her once she parked next to where Sam's car was in the lot at the school.
"Thank you for this." She tucked her shiny hair behind her ear and looked over at Lydia with her glossed lips curling up into a smile.
A real smile and not just one for show.
"You're welcome." Lydia returned the smile and drummed her fingertips on the steering wheel, "I had fun. I needed this after the day I've had."
Sam got out of the car and gathered her bags, when she went to put them in her trunk and spun around when she heard Lydia clear her throat from behind her.
"These too." She said pushing the other half of the bags into her arms.
"What?" Sam asked confused.
"I got these for you." She clarified, looking at Sam like she should have already known that.
"Lydia, no... this is way too much... this was expensive." Sam argued trying to hand the bags back to her.
"Clothes, accessories and make up that are all wrong for my complexion and hair color." Lydia said as she took the bags from Sam and then walked around her to put them in her trunk as she continued, "But perfect for you, Sam."
"I don't know what to say..." Sam was baffled, "Thank you."
You're welcome, Sam." Lydia smiled.
"Did you really just call me Sam and not new girl?" She laughed.
With a laugh of her own, Lydia parted, "Now, I have to go. I'm meeting Allison, Scott and Stiles at the ice skating rink. See you tomorrow, and you better be dressed in your new clothes." Lydia called over her shoulder as she got back in her own car.
Sam thanked her again before she got in her own car.
She stayed in the parking lot for a while after Lydia was gone before heading to meet up with her pack.
She hoped Derek wouldn't be too made at her for being so late.
In all fairness, when she'd texted to let him know she wouldn't there right after school, she hadn't expected to e gone for hours.
Pulling to a stop near the entrance of the underground place that she liked to call the lair she took a deep breath and headed down the stairs.
"I was really starting to think..." Derek started to say when he heard her steps on the stairs.
His voice trailed off when he turned around to see Sam coming to a stop at the bottom of the steps.
Her blue eyes were wide as they all stared back at her.
A deer caught in the headlights.
Maybe a head-to-toe make-over wasn't the best idea for someone who disliked being the center of attention.
"I'm sorry I'm late. There were some things I needed to do." She apologized, "I really didn't think it would take that long. I should have texted and let you know I was running extra late."
Erica looked up from where she was sitting on the floor and gave her a wide smile at seeing her new look.
"I think it was worth it." Isaac offered some support that she badly needed in the moment.
She smiled at him with a nod of thank, finally exhaling the breath she'd been holding.
She glanced down to the floor, before looking back up to meet Derek's gaze.
Erica looked between the two of them and smiled to herself at how Sam had left Derek speechless.
She'd been sure there was something between the two of them since she first saw them together.
"Is everything okay?" Samantha asked, when Derek still hadn't spoken.
"You can't really help me train them in those clothes." He answered.
But his words came out much harsher than he'd intended.
Her face fell and he immediately regretted what he'd said.
Sam stared down to the floor with a hurt expression, she looked like she'd just been slapped across the face.
In truth, that probably would have hurt less.
""I... uh, I can change. I have some jeans in the car." She turned to leave.
"It's okay. I think we're done for today." Derek said, as he looked between Erica and Isaac both who looked exhausted.
"I work tomorrow, but I'll be here right after." Sam promised, her voice soft as she kept her eyes glued to the floor.
She was stunned at how quickly she'd lost every bit of confidence she'd been feeling.
Erica gave her an empathetic smile and squeezed her arm as she walked past her on her to the stairs, she whispered, "You look amazing, babe."
"You too." Sam whispered back with as close to a smile as she could manage.
Isaac waved at them before he headed inside of the subway car, he wanted away from the tense feeling building in the air.
Derek watched as Sam shifted uncomfortably and glanced around before she said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"We need to pick up a few things before the full moon." He picked his leather jacket up from the back of a folding chair and nodded for her to follow him up the stairs.
She pinned her eyes shut and let out the breath she'd been holding, as far as she'd come from her old self, it bothered her that it took so little for her to feel like a bullied kid backed into a corner.
Once she was up the stairs she made a beeline for her car.
Derek paused beside his Camaro and called out, "We'll just take my car."
"That's fine." Sam yelled over her shoulder, "I just want to change first.
Her voice showed a hint of anger as she pulled her jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing that day from one of the shopping bags.
So much for the war paint.
"Come on, Sam." Derek walked over to her, "What I said came out wrong, i didn't mean it like that."
Her laugh tasted as bitter as it sounded, "No, no... you're completely right. I look ridiculous, the whole 'look better to feel better' thing is myth." She mumbled as she fumbled fabric from the clothes to keep from looking at him.
Taking the clothes from her hand and threw them in her trunk before shutting it.
"I never said you looked ridiculous." He argued, "I told you that came out wrong. I just..." He shook his head, "I expected you to here and I really could have used your help."
He let out a heavy breath as he spoke. He didn't like how she wouldn't make eye contact with him now.
The truth was that he'd need to rely on her a lot with the pack growing.
Trying to teach the newest members everything he needed to would go quicker and smoother with her helping him since she'd already learned so much.
He'd gotten angrier than he should have when she bailed on them.
"Well, I feel ridiculous." She said as she started to open her trunk again, but he stopped her.
"You're not changing, you don't need to." He tried to assure her, still feeling guilty for bringing her mood down so much.
He'd gotten to know her very well in the time since they'd met.
With as strong as she seemed all the time, he did sometimes forget just how much she was struggling with.
Like when he'd had her go to Isaac's house to test how she was trusting and using her senses -and the night ended with her nearly in a panic attack.
He still felt bad about that too.
It just sometimes felt like the other werewolves weren't things as seriously as they needed to for the amount of danger they were all in.
His knee-jerk reaction was that being there to help her pack should have taken priority over going to the mall.
But after the initial burst of anger, he remembered just had much time and energy she'd devoted to the pack from pretty much the minute he'd turned her.
Even back when the pack was just the two of them.
She always showed up when she was needed and never complained no matter how exhausted she was.
It was easier than it should have been for him to lose sight of that at times.
Sam shifted in the uncomfortable shoes Lydia picked out for her.
One of the first things she'd learned about Derek was that his go emotion was anger.
With anything and everything.
She could feel that he felt guilty for snapping at her like he did.
But logically knowing that didn't make it hurt any less.
Especially not after she'd felt like she was flying so high just several minutes before.
Watching as she started eyeing the trunk of her car again, he said in a softer voice, "You do not look ridiculous."
"You're a guy. You don't understand."
Every second she stood there in that dress and heels she felt more insecure.
"I am a guy." Derek agreed with a half-smile that she didn't catch, "And as a guy, I'm telling you that you look great and don't need to change." She opened her mouth to argue with him again but then she realized what he'd said.
Sam finally looked back up at him, "You... think I look good?"
Nodding, his eyes locked with hers a he said, "The word beautiful comes to mind."
She was pretty sure her heart had stopped beating at his words.
By the time she managed to recover and get a breath, he was halfway to where his car was parked.
"The hardware store is going to close soon, come on." He yelled over his shoulder, as if he hadn't just indirectly called her beautiful.
Sam watched him for a moment before she followed.
This was what she'd meant when she told Lydia about how he'd say or do something that made her feel like there was something deeper than just the alpha/beta pack relationship there.
He was hard to read -which was ever the more frustrating for her when she felt like she was an open book.
The car ride to the hardware store was quiet.
Sam mostly checked out and spent the time in the car lost in her own head and trying to build back up the confidence she'd felt earlier.
By the time they made it to the store she was ready to talk to him, but also knew a decent amount of time had passed from what would have probably been considered an appropriate time to reply.
"If you were able to break out of the subway car your first full moon, it won't hold the others either. We need to get better chains along with things to secure the seats to the car. Probably new tools too."
"Okay." She said nodding as she grabbed a shopping cart and walked quickly to catch up with him.
Derek was looking at a display of electric drills when Sam finally mustered enough strength and said, "I think I need to do things are important to me outside of the pack too."
He looked at her with raised brows from over his shoulder.
"I just..." She breathed, "I spend a lot of time focused on that and trying to help you."
"I know." He agreed.
He looked back at the display.
"I know that keeping up on the training is important and that I could very well get killed tomorrow, I signed up for this knowing that. But I think should focus on living on while I'm still alive too."
Derek turned around and looked at her, then his eyes cut over where a store employee was just across the aisle from them.
Sam's eyes widened as she stared at the store worker who'd clearly just heard her talking about getting killed.
"Uh, hi." The worker took a few steps closer to the end the aisle and away from them as he asked, "You two finding everything okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Thank you." Sam smiled.
Once he was gone, she looked back to Derek who pointed out, "Maybe not the best place to talk about this?"
"I know." She nodded, "I just can't spend all of my time worried that you're going to be mad at me about it."
"I'm not mad at you about anything."
"But you were."
"And I was wrong."
Sam's face scrunched up as she stared at him.
"What?" Derek asked her with a small laugh, "What do you want me to say?"
His laugh put a smile on face despite her trying hard to keep a straight face.
"I don't need you to say anything." Sam stated, "I just don't like when you're upset with me."
Her cheeks twitched with a wasted effort of reigning the smile in.
"Not upset." Derek promised, "Not mad."
"Okay." Sam breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay." Derek repeated back, then teased "Can we get what we came here for - or were you planning on scaring off the other employees first?"
She caught sight of another smile on his lips before he turned and headed for the next aisle.
"I'm not the scary one!" She called after him with a laugh.
It was close to twenty minutes later that she'd wandered off on her own and got distracted by a paint display, she'd been wanting to paint her room for a while, and now seemed like a perfect time.
She was finally really starting to feel like a different person.
She picked up a strip with 4 shades of blue her eyes immediately going to the last one, "Calypso blue..." She said out loud.
"You know, the color blue is known for its calming effect." A voice said.
Looking over she saw Matt standing not too far away from her.
"Hey Matt." She greeted.
"Painting your room?" He questioned as he walked over.
"I think so... I just don't know which color." Her eyes roamed the large display, "There are so many choices."
Sam was staring intently at all the bright color options; but Matt was focused on her.
"You look really great, Sam." He smiled.
"Thanks, uh... Lydia Martin took me shopping." She explained as she returned the blue color strip to the display.
"I didn't know you guys were friends" He admitted as he saw her eyeing the shades of green.
"I didn't either, but surprisingly, hanging out with her for an afternoon has me feeling more like myself than I have in a really long time."
"You darkened your hair."
He reached out and brushed away the loose strands that had fell over the side of her face closet to him.
Caught of guard, Sam reached up and tucked it back her ear and said, "Just some... low-lights, I think she said they're called. The dye smelled awful."
"Whatever it's called, I like it." Her stepped closer.
"Thanks." Sam turned her attention back to the display.
"But i thought you looked great before too."
"So, what are you doing here?" She changed the subject and picked up a yellow color strip and then quickly returned it to its spot.
"My dad's replacing the sink in the downstairs bathroom." He explained, pausing he asked "What about you? Just looking at paint?"
"No, I needed to pick up a few things." She nodded to the cart beside her.
"Uh..." He said his voice trailing off.
Samantha looked down and realized how strange the contents of the cart must have looked, there were several heavy duty padlocks, an electric drill with a few boxes of large bolts along with some metal reinforcement pieces.
Letting out a nervous laugh she said, "I know it looks weird but I can explain."
He waited, but she she wasn't able to come up with an excuse.
"Okay, no I actually don't have an explanation, but it's not for anything weird." She admitted looking down to the floor.
"It's okay, I didn't have a reason when I bought the same stuff last week." He tried to joke.
"What?" She looked up confused.
"Nothing, it was just a joke... a really lame joke." He muttered under his breath as he shook his head at himself.
They stood in silence for a while before Derek showed up.
"This is the strongest chain they carry." Derek announced to her as he dropped a large amount of heavy, metal chain in the cart.
Sam's eyes widened and she nodded her head sideways to where Matt was standing.
"What?" Derek asked her, before he briefly looked the teenage boy over.
Matt looked between Derek and Sam, then cleared his throat.
"Hi, I'm Matt." He introduced himself a he extended a hand.
Derek looked at his hand and then turned his full attention back towards Samantha as he said, "I'm going to make sure they don't have any stronger locks."
"I told you I got the strongest ones they had." She yelled after him.
Matt lowered his hand awkwardly and glanced around.
Sam looked down to cart contents which now looked even more questionable with the chains added.
Still unable to come up with any reasonable excuse, she let out another small, nervous laugh and wished she'd made Derek take the cart with him.
"Friend of yours?" He asked a little surprised
Derek didn't seem like the type of person he'd expected her to be hanging around with.
"Yeah, we're pretty close." She answered nonchalantly as she picked up one of the green color swatches.
Matt's forehead lined and he stared off in the direction Derek had walked away in.
"Is he always like that?" He asked her, trying to see if she and Derek we're more than just friends.
She nodded and smiled to herself as she said, "He grows on you."
"Right..." Matt breathed out disbelievingly.
"What does green mean?" She questioned, remembering he'd explained the effect the color blue has on a person.
Smiling at her wanting to talk to him he said, "Well, brides in the middle ages wore green as a sign of fertility."
"Yikes." She breathed as she put the color-strip back.
"Maybe it's not the right time to paint my room after all." She reasoned.
Derek walked back up to them after checking the locks.
She was right, they already had the strongest ones the store had.
"What about this." Matt said as he handed her a strip of purple colors, purposely brushing his hand against hers.
"Purple, why? Just because I'm a girl?" She joked.
"No, I think purple is the perfect color for you." He said, watching her closely.
She gave him a questioning look.
"Purple represents strength, it's the color of royalty. It's also a feminine and romantic color. It represents a special kind of beauty because the color purple is rare in nature." He explained, his voice low as he leaned in and spoke to her.
Derek rolled his eyes as he watched Matt talking to Sam.
"Purple with a purpose." She read the name of one of the colors that caught her eye.
"Who names these things?" Matt joked back.
"I love it though. Thank you."
"Yeah, no problem. I better find my dad, but if you need any help painting your room... let me know." He said waving at her and glancing over at Derek before he headed off.
~()~
A/N- Thank you for reading. I hope you all liked the chapter.