Nicotine | Ashton Irwin ✔

4.1

Sam sighed as she shrunk deeper into the cushions of Denny's Pizza Place. Her older sister Carla prattled about her college classes while her brother, Dan, tired to see how much of his pizza he could shove into his face. Her ten year old sister, Willow, looked at her. "What?" Sam asked.

"You look bored."

"How observant."

"Sam, don't talk to your sister in that tone." Her mother scolded. Sam rolled her eyes.

"How's school Sammy?" Carla asked.

"One, don't call me Sammy. And two, school's great." She explained.

"Make any friends?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I have a group of friends." Sam said, sitting up straight.

"Oh really?" Dan said. "People actually hang out with you?" Sam pursed her lips, and began drumming her fingers on the table top.

"Do you have anything to say?" Her father asked.

"Nothing nice." Sam replied. "I wanna go home." She added.

"No. It's family day." Her mother stated.

"Well, last time I checked, family doesn't single one person out just because of their personality, or how they look." She said, hotly.

"Samantha's gonna have a temper tantrum." Willow said in a song song voice. Sam snapped her head in the direction of her younger sister when a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Easy there fireball, no need to get angry." Sam's family stared up at the boy with bright green hair, and his two friends.

"Saved by the bell." Sam muttered. "You look like a skittle by the way." She smirked.

"It looks like Christmas threw up on you two." Luke laughed.

"Shut up Luke!"

"Sam," her father said. "Who are these men?"

"Men? No, not men. Five year olds in teenage bodies more like it. Well, maybe not Calum, but you get the point." Sam said, standing. "But these, are my friends. You know, the people who actually want to hang out with me. You guys can go back to family time, I'm gonna hang out with the three stooges." San grabbed Michael by the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him out of the pizza joint.

Sam left out a breath of relief when they were outside. "What was that about?" Luke asked.

"My family is not the nicest group of people. Hell, Willow has my parents so wrapped around her finger that she could tell them to hire a hit man to kill me and they would." Calum grimaced.

"Why?"

"Because they hate me. I'm the black sheep of the family." Sam sighed. "Thank god you guys showed up, otherwise they would have gone on this long rant that my friends are imaginary and- wait, you guys are my friends, right?" She suddenly asked worried.

"Of course." Luke said. "Unless you think otherwise."

"No, but- the only people I really hung out with was Ara and Teddy, so I didn't just want to assume anything-"

"Sam," Calum said, cutting her off. "You worry too much." He wrapped and arm around her shoulder. "Just breath." She nodded.

"What were guys doing in there?" Sam asked as they wandered down the street.

"Michael was hungry." Luke explained.

"Doesn't surprise me." Sam laughed. Michael playfully shoved her.