Chapte 1 Damage Control

(FPOV)

She's not like other girls.

I've been saying that about Sam for over six years, but lately that's come to mean so much more than what it used to.

In the years since I first met Sam she's been my tormentor, my burden, and now a close friend.

She's savvy, witty, tough as nails, while at the same time loyal, devoted, and on a rare occasion even vulnerable. Sam's true to herself and doesn't let anyone push her around.

You don't have to tell me. I've got it bad. I've noticed.

I've noticed a lot about Sam lately.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one. It's the start of our senior year, and Sam has no problem finding guys who are interested in her, leaving yours truly stuck in the infamous "friend zone."

Sure, I can want more, but I've learned the hard way. I've been through this before. Why do I always fall for the girl who is totally unobtainable? Well not this time. I'm not setting myself up again for heart break. The universe doesn't have to drop another taco truck on me. Message received. Sam has to love me for who I truly am if we are ever going to have a real chance together.

And while Sam may be my friend, her feelings about me have never been in doubt. To her I'm a dork, a nub. No amount of wishful thinking will ever change that. She deserves better than what I can offer her.

I'm Vanilla and she likes Rocky Road. I'm baloney and she craves steak. I'm a…, well you get the idea. The point is Sam Puckett would never go out with someone like me. But she definitely deserves better than the jerk she's with.

At the very least, I can keep her from being hurt. Friends do that for one another.

I feel my gut clench as I watch Sam being pinned against a locker by Justin, her latest boyfriend. He's everything I'm not: popular, good looking, athletic, funny, owner of a classic muscle car, and the currently the center of Sam Puckett's world. And yet he doesn't appreciate what he has.

I duck behind my open locker door, turning away from where Sam and what's-his-face are kissing. The bell has just rung and the hallways were filling with students heading off to class .

"I'll always love you, Sam," I mumbled under my breath, "Even if you never love me."

I risk one more look to see them still going at it. But as much as I want to curl up and die, I have to face reality. I'm a dork. He's a jock. I can do the math. I can only close my eyes and shake my head at the unfairness of it all. The only comfort I can take is that at least this loser won't be around much longer.

Sam finally comes up for air and flashes a huge grin at her boyfriend. I love that smile and the way it lights up her face. Nothing should be allowed to blemish it.

"I've kind of got it bad for you."

Not the most confident "I love you" ever spoken, but coming from Sam, it's a lot.

"Right back at you babe."

Babe! Oh we're talking about a real Casanova here, I noted derisively. Where did she find this guy?

In that moment I hated him for making her feel that way; for setting her up; for lying to her. It would be so easy to just to confront him right now in front of her, but no, Sam doesn't deserve that. She has to come first.

I watch as she stares longingly into his eyes. If only that could be me. "I love you too, Sam." I whisper.

I watched as he pulled her in for another kiss, and then turned the other way. Why was I torturing myself? I duck behind my open locker door just as Sam passes by. For a moment she stops and I wonder if she has noticed me. But she just turns to look at her boyfriend once more, grins, blushes, and then heads off to class.

Justin is turning to leave when I catch him. I'm an AV nerd so normally I wouldn't rate the time of day. But I'm also Sam's friend so he can't just ignore me."

"What do you want, Benson?" he sneers.

How about your head on a platter for starters? That sounded pretty cool in my head but a little too harsh to say out loud. I regarded his smirking face. I'm going to enjoy wiping that look off of it. "I just wanted to know if Rebecca Burkowitz was worth it."

Justin blanches at first but recovers. "What are you getting at dork?"

"I hear she's lots of fun." I gesture with air quotes to emphasize that last part. "But did you really think that no one would notice the two of you under the bleachers?"

The picture on my camera phone says it all. Justin and Becky intertwined with one another like a couple of snakes. You can just make out his hand up her skirt as he latches on to her face.

Justin lunges for my phone but I dodge back out of reach.

"Uh..Hello! I have copies. But I wouldn't even have to show this to Sam. I'm one of her best friends. You're just the flavor of the month. She'd believe me over you any day."

"So what now? You haven't shown this to Sam?" He's confused.

"Look, I don't want her to see this. You think you're the first guy to mess with Sam? Well, you're not. But I will make sure you don't hurt her. You have a week to break it off with Sam or she finds out about your extracurricular activities."

He hesitates. I can almost see the rusty wheels in his mind turning; wondering if he has any room to maneuver. He doesn't.

"Believe me," I insist. "You don't want Sam to find out. Remember Jonah? She wedgie bounced him into the soprano section of the school chorus. If she's feeling generous, Sam might actually let you keep your cojones after she rips them off but I wouldn't count on it."

It's like watching the air go out of a balloon. His shoulders slump in defeat.

"Look, you know how Sam can be. Sure, sometimes she's all hug me and kiss me, but dude; mostly she's brutal and frozen. We only have fun when she wants to. She totally ripped on me in front of the guys the other day. Said I needed tweezers to…, well, you know. I have a rep to maintain. But I can't tell her this or she starts using me as her personal tackling dummy."

"Hey, I've been there. And thanks for taking some of the heat off me by the way. But if you want to date Sam Puckett, you have to deal with her baggage too."

"All I know is that I shouldn't have to put up with that in a girlfriend. She's mean and crazy and Becky is…"

"Yeah, I know, the whole school knows. Burkowitz is lots of fun. And you're right, Sam can be difficult. She's not easy to be with. But still, I've managed to stay her friend for six years. You couldn't even last a month without stepping out. You're so pathetic. I just heard Sam say she loved you. Do you know how much of an admission that was for her? I should just let her tear you apart."

"No, she's a crazy psycho…"

I interrupt. "And she was your crazy psycho! Look in spite of all her rough edges, Sam Puckett is the most amazing girl that you could possibly ever date. She certainly doesn't deserve to have her heart ripped out by a loser like you!" OK I yelled that a bit too loudly. We're getting a little too much interest from passersby.

Justin suddenly finds the need to study the tile floor. I'm enjoying watching him squirm, but I really need to wrap this up.

"Do we understand each other?"

"Yeah" he begins. "But how am I supposed to break up with her? You said you didn't' want her to get hurt."

"That's easy enough. The next time she punches or trips you or whatever; let her know that you're getting sick of her treating you that way. Demand her respect. Sam will know what to do next. Just keep insisting that as her boyfriend you deserve to be treated better and Sam will fall out of love with you real quick. Heck, if she dumps you, it will be even better."

Justin brightens up at this way out. "OK. I'll start at lunch. She usually steals food off my tray."

"Yep. That's my Sam."

We may never be more than friends, but I'll always have her back.

So did you love it, like it, or just want to tell me to keep my day job? Only way to let me know is leave a review. Come on, you know you want to! I'll even throw in a second chapter at some point in the near future.

Also, if you haven't already, you check out works of Tech-Man, KingxLeon21, JamesTheGreater, BaalRules,BoxOfTrinkets myjumpingsocks, and the General herself, pigwiz. A special thanks to Miss Piggy for the gentle prodding needed to finally get me to post. You can put the pitch fork away now. Also thanks to KingXLeon for your critique and insight.

An additional shout out to the Citrus Queen herself, iCarlyAngst and her partner in crime, aussiemma. Read their lemony goodness and enjoy!