Darling You'll be Okay

How Does it Feel? Well it Feels Like I'm on Fire!

Tony's POV:

I wake up and Sam's still pressed to my chest. She subconsciously tries to move into me and ends up laying her arm across my torso. I smile as I lean my head back on her pillow, staring up at the ceiling. I'm so happy to be back home. I love tour but home is always better. Three months is a long time away from somebody you love.
"Tony?" I hear Sam mumble. I look at her. Her hair's messed up and she's squinting in the faint light.
"Morning sunshine," I chuckle and kiss her head. She lies her head back down and sighs. I grip her tight. I don't ever want to leave.



Vic's POV:

I don't know how I came across them but I did. They were on Sam's phone. She left her phone out and unlocked last night. I look at the messages with horror.
"What's wrong bro?" Mike asks me. In response I show him the screen. His eyes widen with shock as he reads the messages.
"Delete them, before she sees them," he says to me and I nod. I scroll up and my heart shatters. More of the same.
"There's more of them," I whisper.
"Morning guys," I hear Sam say. I look at her quickly, turning off her phone. Mike looks at me but doesn't say anything.
"Morning Sammy," Mike says to her. She comes over to where we are and cuddles up next to Mike, who wraps his arms around her.
"How're you doing?" he asks her softly.
"I'm good," she says. She's lying though, I can see it in her eyes. And so can Mike.
"Go get dressed quickly, I'm taking you out to breakfast," he says and Sam smiles.
"Okay," she says and hops off Mike, going down the hallway. I turn to him.
"I'll talk to her," he says and I nod, handing him her phone. He takes it and stands up, grabbing the car keys just as Sam comes out, dressed in one of Tony's tank tops. Tony follows her out.
"Have fun," he says, kissing her head before her and Mike walk out the door.



Mike's POV:

We hop in the car and I turn the radio on, quickly putting in an Owl City CD. He's one of Sam's favourites. She smiles and I start the car, backing up down the driveway and driving to a small, local coffee shop. I glance over at Sam who has her eyes closed, a small smile on her face as she traces the synths in the air with her fingers. She's perfectly in time. She softly sings along, her sweet voice harmonizing with the vocals on the CD. I smile and pull into the parking lot. We get out and walk inside, sitting at one of the booths.
"Get whatever you want," I tell Sam and she smiles, looking down at the menu.
"Hi, may I take your order?" a cheerful waitress asks us.
"Yeah, I'll just have pancakes please," Sam smiles up at the waitress. She writes it down and then turns to me.
"Make that two pancakes," I smile up at her and she walks away. Sam and I make small talk about tour while we wait for our food. I can tell she's aching to tell me something but I wait.
"Here you go," the waitress says, placing the food on the table. We thank her and then start eating. After a few minutes I break the silence.
"So, how are you Sam?" I ask, taking a bite of my pancakes. She looks up at me.
"I'm good," she says, going back to her pancakes. I finish my mouthful and look at her.
"Sam," I say gently. "How are you really?" She looks at me for a moment and then takes a deep breath in.
"I'm getting better," she says. "But it's hard." I nod.
"Vic, he um, found something this morning," I say quietly to her and she stops, scrunching her face up slightly before looking at me.
"You read them didn't you," she says quietly. I nod and she joins her hands together and rests her elbows on the table, looking out the window. I wait for a moment. After a few minutes Sam takes a shuddery breath.
"It's hard, y'know, keeping the urge in," she whispers. "So many times while you guys were away it got so bad that I couldn't take it anymore, and I actually had to go see Austin and say 'please help me.'" I nod and she continues.
"It just feels like someone has taken your humanity and attacked it until you no longer feel human anymore," she says quietly, a tear slipping down her cheek. "It makes you feel like you don't belong on the planet, like you are wasted space," she looks at me. "And literally the only thing that's keeping me alive is you guys," she says, her eyes full of sadness.
"Oh Sam," I whisper. "You shouldn't have to go through this."
"I know," she nods. I reach into my pocket and pull out her phone. She watches as I take photos of some of them and then clear all of the messages, blocking the number. I hand it back to her.
"Thanks Mike," she whispers.
"No problem Sam, I missed you," I say. She smiles slightly.
"Me too."



Sam's POV:

I was starting to feel better after talking to Mike. He's like an older brother to me. He was telling me some story from tour but I wasn't really listening. Because my worst nightmare just walked in the door.
"Hey Samantha," she says as her and two of her minions follow her over to where we are. "Slut," she whispers under her breath to her followers. Loud enough for me to hear. Mike's frowning and I look at him. Motioning to him to stay silent. He nods but glares at her.
"Hi Hailey," I say through my teeth.
"Hmm I bet you haven't though of a good enough routine for dance," she snickers at me. "Oh wait, you're too chicken to do it," she sneers. I look down, heat rising to my cheeks. I feel Mike's confused eyes on me. Hailey notices my cheeks and points it out to her clique.
"Oh look, Samantha's embarrassed, I guess she doesn't want her boyfriends to know," she cackles. I take a deep breath.
"Would you care?" I ask her quietly.
"Um excuse me?" She says.
"Would you care Hailey? If you came back to school tomorrow and they said I was dead? Would you feel so guilty, that you were the reason for that death?" I look up at her confused facials and continue. "Have you been made to feel like you don't matter every single day of your life? Like you're just wasted space? Have you? Have you ever been told that you're worthless, every single day of your life? That it gets to the point where you physically and mentally can't do things that others take for granted? If yes, then you will understand why I'm too 'chicken' to perform. But if it makes you feel better then I will," I say. Her mouth hangs open in shock for a moment then her face goes back to its normal self.
"Whatever, see you in class," she mumbles and stalks off with her groupies. I look at Mike. A small smile plays at the corners of his lips. I give him a half smile.
"You go girl," he whispers and I smile.
We finish eating and then leave, getting in the car. The CD picks up where it left off and I smile, tapping my fingers in time to the synth patterns, closing my eyes and letting the music wash over me. I smile.
"What time are you meeting Cass?" Mike asks and I check my phone.
"One-thirty," I say and he nods, turning onto a road that is vaguely familiar to me.
"Well, mind if we take a small detour?" he asks me, a smirk playing across his lips. I smile at him and he takes it as a yes, turning into a driveway. I recognize it instantly. Mike and Vic's mother walks out, holding out her hands as we both jump out of the car. "Mike! Sam!" she exclaims as we go up to her. She gives Mike a hug then holds out her hands and cups my face in them.
"My, how you've grown Sam since the last time I saw you!" she says and I smile. She gives me a big hug.
"I missed you Mama Fuentes," I say and she smiles.
"Oh Sam! I cooked nachos especially!" she says, ushering us inside. I look around. The place hasn't changed a bit. I spent so much of my childhood here, laughing and crying. It was a second home to me after my parents died. I breathe in the familiar scent of spices and follow Mama Fuentes into the kitchen.
"Michael, your padre will be so happy to see you," she says. "And Sam too! This is muy bien! Muy bien!" I smile and look at Mike who winks at me. He leaves me with his mother and together we set up the plates and serve the food, chatting all the while.
"Muchas gracias Sam," she says and I smile.
"De nada," I reply, taking the plates into the dining room. She follows with the rest of the plates.
"It's ready!" she yells and Mike comes in, closely followed by his father, who comes over to me.
"Sam!" he exclaims, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Papa Fuentes," I say smiling.
We sit down and eat. The conversation is loud, as always. I smile. We finish eating and I go help Mama Fuentes with the dishes. When we finish, she pulls me into a hug.
"Are you doing okay?" she asks me. I give her a small smile.
"I'm getting better," I reply and she smiles.
"Well if you ever need a break from those boys then come over and see me," she says and I nod.
"Will do," I say.
Mike and I head back to the car. He says goodbye to his parents and then they both hug and kiss me on the cheeks.
"You must come visit me more often Sam," Mama Fuentes says. I nod.
"Will do Mama Fuentes," I say and she smiles. We hop into the car and drive away, waving at them as the car disappears out of sight.
"Thank you. That made their day," Mike says and I smile.
"No problem," I answer. "I love them," I say and he nods, smiling.
"Yeah I know, you're practically family," he grins and I smile. We arrive home and get out of the car.
"Thanks Mike, that was nice," I say and he smiles.
"No worries Sammy, anytime," he smiles. My heart pounds though, thinking of the dance show for school. I suddenly get an idea.
"Hey Tony can I talk to you for a second?" I say as we enter the house. A second later Tony appears and I usher him into the lounge, closing the door behind me.
"So?" He asks. I take a deep breath.
"Can you dance with me?"