just my luck || sam

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam chuckled, "Well I already bought a ring," he said witch mock seriousness but he quickly laughed. "You should see your face." He said with a shake of his head. "I'm kidding." He knew she didn't like the idea of marriage, and that was fine with him. Marriage was a fancy state process, it didn't change the truth about your relationship. Granted, Chloe seemed to think it was impossible to love someone forever, and Sam knew that if he was the one, she'd come around to it, even if she never married him. As long as she was his.

He smiled down at her, almost asking if he could get a crown that said boyfriend of the birthday girl, but then he figured that would be going too far, especially since she was so ridiculous about naming things, especially relationships.

But she didn't seem too disgruntled and looked up at him hoping for a kiss. "God you're cute..." He muttered before going in for a kiss. But somehow they didn't match up this time. Either she stood on her toes or he misjudged the distance, but hi chin ended up smack in her eye and he quickly pulled back, making a hissing sound with his teeth.

"Shit, you okay?" He asked her carefully.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

Her head spun at the mention of a ring. On some level, Chloe registered that he couldn't be serious. If he'd never given her any indication of the feelings he'd apparently been harboring for her, he certainly wouldn't have gone out to buy a ring! Besides that, Sam knew her well enough to know that she would never agree to marrying him at this point, and she was pretty sure he wouldn't push the issue. Even so, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a little in shock. It took several seconds for her head to clear, and when he laughed and assured her that he'd been joking, she frowned, narrowing her eyes at him in an attempted to look angry. "That wasn't funny," she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting at him. "You know how I feel about that. Just because I think you're cute and you happen to be my best friend and I kind of want to spend all my free time with you doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind." Heaving a sigh, she shook her head at him. In some ways, she wasn't sure if dating was going to make things easier or just more confusing. Either way, though, she figured it was worth a shot.

It was surprising how just a few minutes could change every element of the way they were together. She wondered vaguely if Sam had always been able to read her this well and just hadn't taken advantage of it before. Maybe he'd been every bit as oblivious to their mutual attraction as she'd allowed herself to be. Now, though, she saw no reason that they shouldn't take advantage of it. When her eyes pleaded for a kiss, he seemed to take the cue, and Chloe couldn't help but smile. "You sure do talk a lot," she murmured, her eyes fluttering shut as she instinctively moved to meet him. Apparently his eyes had been closed, too, and neither of them was graced with the ability to judge distance properly without their vision involved. Between that and the fact that her body instinctively moved to get closer to his, they'd somehow managed to place themselves in a less than suitable position. His chin collided with her eye, and Chloe winced a little before gingerly opening her eye. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, the word nearly masked by peals of laughter. A dull soreness around her eye told her that she'd probably have a bruise later, but she couldn't seem to keep herself from giggling. "That was awkward," she muttered, not bothering to answer his question. Obviously she was fine or she wouldn't have been laughing so much.

Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around Sam and leaned against him, her body still shaking with laughter. "Maybe we're not very good at this." Chloe was still smiling at the awkwardness of the situation, but somewhere under the surface she was more than a little worried that she might not be the person Sam thought she was. Not as a girlfriend, anyway.

[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Sam offered her a sheepish smile, he didn't mean to make that uncomfortable. His basic way to relate was through jokes. He would never force to do anything she didn't want to do, including marry him. That didn't matter to him. If the commitment was there, that was enough for him. He wasn't so naive as to think that things could never go wrong here, the seemed to be going wrong already. "I'm sorry." He said, and he meant it too.

And if he didn't feel enough like a terrible person before, he certainly did now. Her made him worried, were they over before they began? Did she not even want to try to date him anymore? The thoughts came faster than he could push them away. He didn't want Chloe to feel them. Sam wanted this to work, for however long it worked. He justhad to think about it that way.

This time he was thankful that mormor interrupted. "Maybe I should put this steak on your face instead of cooking it!" She called out of a window, causing Sam to snort with embarrassed laughter. His grandma the spy. He shook his head lightly but looked carefully at her eye.

"Maybe some ice?"

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

She could feel the sincerity in his apology, and Chloe immediately felt bad for having made such a big deal out of things. Truthfully, she really was bad at this whole dating thing. She supposed it was like anything else, and she would get better with practice. Besides, based on the panic she could tell Sam was trying to hide, deciding that dating wouldn't work for her would probably mean losing him entirely, and she couldn't reconcile that idea with herself. As much as she hated to admit to needing anyone, she knew that life without Sam was not an option, and she was just going to have to try to get past her own insecurities.

Silence wasn't usually awkward between the two of them, but as Chloe fumbled for words, she realized that this time, the silence between them was making her nervous. More than anything, she just wanted to say something that would make Sam his usual happy self again, but she wasn't entirely sure what to say. Before she had the opportunity to figure it out, though, Mormor was shouting to them through the window, commenting that she ought to put steak on Chloe's eye. Chuckling, Chloe shook her head at the old woman. "It's not all that bad, really," she called back before turning her attention to Sam, who was examining her face.

There must have already been a bruise forming as he suggested they get some ice for it, but Chloe wasn't quite ready to go back in. She wasn't going to be able to settle in and enjoy the rest of the evening until she could quell some of Sam's anxiety. "Maybe in a minute. I think I need that smoke I never got before we go inside," she replied, reaching for his hand and dragging him to a seat. Chewing her lower lip, she debated what she ought to tell him. Figuring a cigarette might help her focus, she offered him a small smile. "So… there are no pockets on my dress and I kind of didn't have anywhere to put my own cigarettes."

Once she'd had a couple of seconds to gather herself and enough nicotine to regulate her nerves, she let herself relax a bit. Sam was still her best friend. Putting a label on this new relationship of theirs wasn't going to change that, she reasoned. After what seemed like entirely too long, she managed to piece her thoughts together enough to talk. "You have to stop worrying," she told him, deciding she might as well address his odd emotional state first. "Seriously. Because if you don't, I'll always be too busy second-guessing my word choice to ever tell you anything. All I said was I thought we might be bad at this. I didn't say I was giving up, and I didn't say it wasn't worth trying. I just thought you had enough practice kissing to have better aim than that," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. "But maybe you just need more practice." Chuckling a little, she shook her head and let out a puff of breath. "But also... I know you haven't completely failed to notice my complete lack of boyfriends or my inability to flirt like a normal human being. Obviously I really do suck at this. So you're just gonna have to be prepared to deal with that." There. Even if it wasn't the most eloquent or encouraging speech, it at least felt better to have gotten it out.

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[SAMUEL JOHN HAYES]

Honestly, getting that smoke was a good idea, and after giving her one, they both lit up. The nicotine soothed his system and he realized what a spaz he was being. Chloe liked him, they were friends, and this would be fine. It was just new. Right? It had been sudden and make awkward way to get together but it wasn't all bad. They'd be fine.

And then Chloe gave him a little pep speech which made him chuckle. "I usually don't date munchkins." He teased her back, ruffling her hair lightly. But he wanted her to tell him things so he nodded, "And I'll stop worrying." He said. She'd just become such a staple in his life and it would be weird for her to suddenly disappear. He wanted to give this relationship and honest shot.

"Honestly, that's part of what makes you so adorable," He said with a little smirk. Chloe wasn't a good flirt at all, but the blush that accompanied her attempts was generally the cutest thing ever. Sam leaned over and kissed her forehead before taking a drag from his cigarette.

"And you have to stop being so touchy, you know me, I wouldn't do anything to push you anywhere you didn't want to go... except maybe to get ice cream." He said, combining a serious thought with a joke. A spoonful of sugar and all that.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

The beauty of being with a guy who happened to also be her best friend was that things couldn't stay too awkward for very long. After all, he'd already seen her at her worst. She took her time with her cigarette, letting herself readjust to things. Maybe labeling their relationship wouldn't be so bad. She just had to be reasonable about it. Talk herself through things from time to time. Her parents hadn't been best friends as far as she was aware, so she and Sam had one up on them there. Just because their relationship had failed, as had Mason's most recent serious one, didn't mean she had to resign herself to failing at love.

Her pep talk had been as much for herself as for Sam, really. She hadn't really processed what she needed from him until she said it out loud. As she'd come to expect, Sam handled it well, responding first with a joke. Wrinkling her nose, Chloe swatted his hand away and fixed her hair before sticking her tongue out at him. "It's not my fault you're abnormally tall," she retorted, chuckling at him and beginning to feel a bit more at ease. As he continued to talk, she continued to feel better about the situation. Maybe people were right and honest communication really was the best way to handle things.

At his insistence that he wouldn't push her to do anything except get ice cream, she burst out laughing. It felt so good that she laughed until tears pricked her eyes. When she finally caught her breath again, she turned a grin toward Sam. "As if you'd ever have to push me to get ice cream," she replied, shaking her head. "Really, though. I'll try. I think we can make this work," she added, her words punctuated with a satisfied sigh. Mentally, she told herself that it had to because she'd never find another guy like Sam. If anyone was going to be her forever, it pretty much had to be him. "Now, if you're not entirely opposed, I think we should go eat some of that steak before Mormor gets the bright idea to turn it into a mask for me." Without waiting to see if he was in agreement, Chloe hopped up and headed for the door. Sam's grandmother was quickly becoming her favorite person, and the woman's cooking could only serve to improve that opinion.

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