19 | Sorry

Having gotten not more than four hours of proper sleep, Sam woke up feeling pretty muddled. He got up groggily and the first thing he saw was the mattress that was leaning against his cot, folded neatly, along with the two of his extra pillows right next to it. Charles, though, wasn't seen at all. Maybe he went for breakfast, he thought, sleep threatening to take over him again. But before it could, he heard the click of his doorknob and someone entered. He didn't bother seeing who, his eyes closing again.

"The exam isn't gonna write itself, moron," the person said. Kat?

"Hmm..."

"Get up, your friend is waiting for you."

"Yeah, two minutes..." he said, nuzzling his face into his pillow, which was snatched away seconds later.

"You look so sleepy, I almost feel bad for doing that," she said, "but you need to get up. This is your last exam, right? Just write it and sleep in all the other classes or something."

Sometimes he wondered if he really was the older one, because which younger sibling gave pep talks to their older brother about how he needed to get up and go to school?

"I know, yeah..." he said, slowly, lazily getting up from his beloved bed. No matter what happens, you're always there for me, aren't you? he thought, his mind totally focused only on how cozy his bed looked at the moment. I'll see you later, wait for me. Bye!

After getting out of his room and doing his daily stuff - the brushing, showering, eating - Sam walked out of his house like a zombie. Charles, who was walking beside him, was trying to hold in his laughter. Sam could see that, but his eyes weren't able to open any wider. "Want me to splash water on your face? It's pretty cold."

"No, thanks," Sam replied. He wasn't a fan of getting himself drenched in cold water the first - well, one of the first - thing in the morning. Charles just hummed in response. A few seconds later, he said, "After school, apologize to June, okay?"

"I know. I will."

"Good."

With that, they both walked towards their school, ready to finish off the month by writing their last exam. Upon reaching there, they were met with a huge crowd of people, running and roaming here and there all at once. It took them a while to find their friends - and when they did, their eyes landed on an anxious June and a smiling Madeline beside him. June was biting his fingernails, something he never really did - so it caught Sam by surprise. With full intention to walk over and spill everything to his best friend, Sam raced forward, only to be stopped by Charles. Because the second June's gaze fell on Sam, he sprinted past the students and came towards him, stopping right at his feet, breathless. "June-" he started off, placing a hand on June's now hunched shoulder.

"Shut up," he said, harshly. "Shut up."

Not too long after, Sam was captured in the most emotion-filled hug initiated by June and wasted no time in returning it back with the same intensity.

"You scared the f**k out of me, you know," June said, his voice sounding like he was close to tears. Though Sam had seen him cry many times, it didn't mean any of it hurt any less. June crying hit Sam like a boulder, because he usually knew how to keep his calm. "At first, I- I was f**king furious because you wouldn't answer any of my texts, or calls, but then as time passed, I just... got scared. Don't do this ever again, Sam, I swear to god..."

"I'm sorry," Sam said, his voice small. This was just the previous night he had with Charles all over again. "I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't mean to block you. It was just... my stupid mind going crazy as always and-"

"Okay. It's okay. You're fine now?"

Sam's head unintentionally turned itself over to where Charles was. Looking at him, Sam whispered, "Yeah. All thanks to him. And you, apparently."

"...that's good."

They stayed silent in each other arms for a few more seconds, Sam patting June's back in a soothing manner, his head resting on June's chest - he could clearly hear the loud beating of his heart - and then they heard the bell ring. June slowly, reluctantly pulled away from his best friend and wiped his cheeks. He was crying. "Time to go, I guess... All the best. I know you'll do well," he wished, giving Sam a small smile.

"You too," Sam said. He reached out to take June's big hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. This was Sam's love language - grabbing hands and squeezing them. June knew exactly what he was trying to convey and squeezed his hand right back. I love you, too.

With everyone parting ways to go to their class, Sam was left to do the same, but not without feeling the lingering, unsaid promise of coming together soon. Smiling to himself, he went into his own class, his heart and mind at peace with each other after a long time.

* * *

"I did well. Thank you. And sorry. I really don't know- I-I mean... I do know, it was j-"

"You don't have to thank me at all, shut up," Charles shushed Sam. The two of them were making their way towards their respective homeroom class after the exam was over, and Sam had a good feeling about it. I did well. For once.

"Okay..." he replied, not having much else to say, because who was he to argue with Charles after everything he'd said to him last night? I'm doing this out of my own will, no one's forcing me. I want to help you. I want to be you friend. The words echoed in Sam's loud beating heart, squeezing his chest in a funny manner. Since the time he'd come to a realization that he, in fact, liked the tall boy he was currently walking with, he wasn't able to make eye contact with anyone at all. What if they see and find out? Sam was like an open book - even people who didn't know him were able to see straight through him - how was he supposed to look at June or Charles in the eye without the fear of them-

Triiiiiinnnnnngggggg

Sam flinched so hard, he almost fell down. Charles caught him by the arm and had a surprised expression on his face as he said, "Woah there, be careful."

"I- y-yeah, thanks... I'll... um- go now, see you l-later!!" Stop stuttering, stop stuttering, stop-

"You seem troubled, wh-"

"Nonono, it's nothing, I was just thinking about y- what period I have next, and was surprised when the bell rang, that's... that's all..."

"Okay...?"

"Yep. I'll see you at lunch, bye!"

"Bye..."

With that, Sam raced through the corridors, getting as farther away from Charles as possible. Easy there, heart. I- I didn't tell June... I think he already knows, though. That guy always knows. With his heart racing a hundred miles an hour and his head giddy, Sam slowed down into a jog when he found himself lost. Wait, where am I? he thought, looking around to get an idea. He saw the lunch hall to his right. Facepalming, he broke into a sprint, running upstairs to reach his class on time.

When he there, he saw his chemistry teacher, Mrs. Singh, just entering.

"Ma'am, may I come in?" he asked, breathless.

"Yes, go sit down quickly," she said.

Sam went in, and to his luck, the only seat available was the one next to Brian. He heaved a sigh of frustration and sat next to him, clearly displeased. Please, let this class get over at the blink of an eye...

"SAM!!" Brian yelled.

Ah, please, shut up. "Yeah?"

"Good to see you, man. You've been pretty off for a few days, you good?"

Wow, was it that noticeable? "I'm alright, thanks for your concern."

"No problem! Besties gotta look out for each other, no?"

"Right..."

See, Sam wasn't so much of an asshole that he didn't appreciate people's kindness towards him. In fact, he went out of his way to repay a few genuine people for their kindness. But Brian - Brian was someone who was far from genuine. Sometimes it made Sam wonder if he actually had a problem and even got worried, because the poor guy didn't have a proper friend for crying out loud. Sam didn't force himself to be Brian's friend - of course he didn't - but for the first few days since he joined the school as a transfer student, he tried helping the guy. And even though Brian did appreciate the help with hundred thankyou's, he just used Sam as his personal notes-lending machine. And frankly, Sam was not fond of it, to put it lightly. He wasn't a fan of people using him for something, only caring for him when they needed his help. So, naturally, he grew to not like Brian, wanting to stay away from him as much as possible. But now, since he had amazing luck, he was stuck with him for a whole hour. The least he could hope was for Brian to talk to someone else in the room and leave him alone.

"So, you got new friends huh? That Charles guy?"

Of course not. Why the hell did I expect him of all people to leave me alone? "Um... yeah, you could say that."

"Not gonna lie, he's really helpful. We had this paired thing to do in political science and he did it all. I was like, 'bro, are you for real?' I was so happy I didn't have to do anything because honestly? Who even cares that much about political science?"

Sam's blood boiled. Why? Because he'd just found out that this ungrateful brat was leeching off Charles's work, and now that he knew both - Brian as well as Charles - to a good extent, he was pretty sure Charles, being the angel he was, said it was alright and that he'd do it all by himself and Brian (even thinking of his name made him angry), being the absolute shameless piece of crap he was, would've blatantly agreed.

Is using people for your own benefit the only thing you can do?

It was at the tip of his tongue, but he refrained from saying so. The last thing he wanted was to be involved in one of Brian's never-ending dramas that he was sure Brian would pull him into. So, he settled for the simplest answer, "Hmm."

"The way he looks at y-"

"Okay, I need to listen to ma'am now. You can tell me what the matter is later," Sam interrupted. He wasn't going to let this dumbass of a human ruin his learning. With that, the other guy finally shut up. For the rest of the class, he found someone else to talk to, just like Sam had hoped, and Sam paid keen attention to his dear teacher, thoroughly enjoying it more than he'd enjoyed the conversation one he had with Brian. Once the bell rang, he quickly grabbed his books and ran out of the class, away from the rest of them. On the way, he saw Simon, so he decided to go join him.

He walked over and lightly tapped his back, trying to get his attention. "Oh hey," Simon said, his expression softening. "You okay? You've been pretty M.I.A. lately." That was one way of putting it, he thought.

"I'm okay! Charles came over to my house yesterday and helped me with-"

"Yeah, I know. He told us," he said.

"O-oh, yeah, of course he did... Sorry..." Sam suddenly felt embarrassed, because of course Charles had told his friends. Now that he thought about it, Simon hadn't mentioned the way he worried June or the way it had affected the rest of them. And for that, he was thankful.

"Haha, d-"

"Sammy!!" a voice called out. Madeline? Why's she calling me 'Sammy'? Oh, wait. June and her are best friends now, so of course she'd call me that.

He whisked his head to the source of the sound, only for his eyes to witness her and June fighting for a pack of ice-cream. They can't even eat it now, what are they fighting for?

"Help! Your large best friend is- hey! Don't-"

"Aha, got it! 'kay, thanks. See ya soon," he said, walking out of everyone's sight. And Sam could do nothing but smile. He couldn't imagine the things he would've missed out on had Charles actually brought his lunch box the other day.

* * *

[ Madeline's chipmunks ]

_MaD_

ok I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before

this is a group with the five of us!!

this is a judge-free zone, so feel free to spam anything you want.

uk in case you have a crush on someone or smth,,

Charles_s

...wow

who said we're your chipmunks

and no thanks I'll pass

May__July

ohh this is fun

_MaD_

right?!?!

Simonster

oh nice a group chat with all of us

I've been wanting to do this for a while now actually

but you beat me to it

where's our beloved Sam?

Sammy

hi

Charle_s

hi!! :)

_MaD_

ahem

anyway

we're officially the best of friends now!!

like I said before, this will be a completely judge free zone. if any of you have anything to say, or any of you wanna b*tch about someone, or just send memes, feel free to do so. and friendship doesn't cone w/o fights. so, this will also be the place where we settle disputes, no matter who fights with who. and in case anyone wants relationship advice, pls come to me. that's it for now. enjooooyyyy

May__July

*claps* *bows*

Charle_s

s-spoken like a true leader...

_MaD_

yalls sarcasm could kill people if it were to be used as weapons

especially june

you brat

you're a whole half a year (yes that makes sense) younger than me and yet you steal my stuff?? AND MY BELOVED ICE CREAM AT THAT??

be glad I'm a generous older sister

May__July

who carries icecreams w them for a math exam?

and y would i not steal it,, its an ICECREAM for godsake

Simonster

. . .

god's sake*

Charle_s

...I was gonna do that

Sammy

...same

_MaD_

ah yes, the nerds of our group

not you tho sam

you're a precious cinnamon roll

Simonster

uhh this is fun and all but I need to go

Charle_s

same,,

I have this huge thing I'm working on atm idk if it'll be done on time

Sammy

ohh what is it??

Charle_s

its a secret ;)

you'll get to know soon

_MaD_

if yall dont mind

pls go priv

ty

bye simon

May__July

...and no ones gonna question how mad gave sam special treatment

ok,,

* * *

can you madeline's distant voice shout, "YOU BRAT! GIVE ME SOME RESPECT!" at june? cuz definitely I can 😂