| “Sam… you look… really good,” Brooke stated in shock as Sam had just entered the room donning her outfit for the evening. “Really?” Sam responded a bit surprised, looking down at herself and picking at selected areas on her clothes. “Yeah.” Brooke stood there, stunned. She didn’t know Sam was so, fashion-concious. “Thanks… Look, I know I keep taking your silver necklace, but I was wondering if I asked really, really nicely, could I wear it again tonight? It kinda goes with the outfit.” “Oh.. yeah.. hold on.” Brooke walked over to her jewelry box and took out a beautiful sterling silver necklace with a heart-shaped pendant dangling from the chain. “Here,” she said, handing it to her. “Thanks,” Sam began, positioning herself in front of the mirror to put the necklace on. “So, what are you wearing?” “I dunno yet. It doesn’t look good.” “Well…” Sam stopped in mid-sentence, still struggling to get the necklace on. “Here,” Brooke said, walking over to help. As she took the clasps from her, Brooke couldn’t help but notice how close she was to Sam. Instead of concentrating completely on the necklace, she found herself staring at the back of her neck, paying close attention to the few wisps of hair that strayed along the hairline.. the one little freckle towards the bottom, near her shoulders.. and the unbelievable scent of her perfume. Strangly, something about the whole thing just turned her inside out. But naturally she ignored it, instead focusing on getting the necklace on quickly before she had to endure anymore of this awkardly intimate moment. “Thanks,” Sam said after Brooke finally managed to get the necklace on. “So, I was saying, I could prolly help you pick out an outfit.” “Be my guest. But I’m telling you, I have nothing to wear. “Brooke, I’m sure your Saturdays spent cruising Beverly Hills with daddy’s AMEX were not of a totally unproductive nature,” Sam replied, walking over to Brooke’s closet. “At least as far as a supplying a sufficient amount of party-clothes anyway.” “I’m telling you…” Brooke trailed off, repeating herself. “Let’s see here.” Sam surveyed the clothes in Brooke’s closet, and eventually grabbed an ensemble for her to try on. “Anyway, since when did you become Leon Hall?” “Well, being that people are going to start showing up any minute, you just became a fashion emergency. So, put that on and meet me downstairs in five minutes.” “Okay, okay,” Brooke said, shooing her out of the room. After putting on the top and skirt that Sam had picked out for her, Brooke looked in the mirror at herself, relatively pleased with Sam’s choice of clothing. Who knew, she thought, chuckling to herself. She slipped on a pair of strappy-heels and checked her make-up and hair one last time before heading out the door. Sam was putting the pretzels and chips out when she saw Brooke glide down the staircase in her newly assembled outfit. ‘Wow,’ she caught herself uttering under her breath. Brooke was clad in a blue blouse unbuttoned to her chest and a form-fitting mini-skirt that wrapped around her in all the right places. If there was a more perfect outfit for Brooke, she couldn’t think of one; it was absolutely gorgeous on her. “See, I told you you had something to wear.” Brooke rolled her eyes with a slight smile. “Do you think it looks okay?” “Yes,” Sam stated, now rolling her eyes. “I mean on me.” “Brooke…” “You know, Leon always lets his clients know how they look before the big event. He even makes what some people would call, a ‘fuss.’” “Don’t be ridiculous, you look fine. Help me carry this stuff into the other room.” _______________________________ (The McQueen house is hoppin' with tons of people partying inside and out. Everyone seems to be having a good time.) “I can’t believe you guys actually pulled this off,” Lily said to Sam over the loud music. “Tell me about it, having a party is a lot more work than you would think,” Sam replied. “I’m just glad that everyone got invited, you know? I mean, since you and Brooke are sorta like, dare I say it… friends.” Carmen said. “Yeah, that and under my supervision, even people who “K.I.S.S.” got the invite.” Sam replied. “Case in point,” Lily laughed, looking pointedly at Emory Dick who was trying to sell something to Harrison that almost too convincingly resembled a toilet bowl brush. Sam and Carmen rolled their eyes and they walked out of the room, as Sam asked either of them if they wanted another drink. Brooke looked at her watch impatiently and figeted nervously on her feet. ‘Where the hell is Nicole?’ she almost blurted out loud. The only time she ever hung out with Mary Cherry was when it was at least the three of them, and for some reason she just didn’t trust being around the “Southern Hell” alone. And since Josh was out of the question given that he was hanging out with S.D., Brooke was stuck by herself. She’d promised Nicole that she’d wait for her to start drinking, but since it didn’t look like she was gonna show up anytime soon, she decided to walk over and get herself a drink. She was almost relieved when she saw Sam and her friends pouring themselves beer from the keg. “Hey guys,” Brooke said, approaching the girls. Sam smiled and both Carmen and Lily said their ‘hihowareyou’s.’ “Where’s your partner-in-crime?” Lily asked, not entirely innocently. “I have no idea… I called her cell like 3 times, but no one’s answering.” “Well, I’m sure she’ll show up,” Carmen offered. “Yeah.” For some reason unbeknownst to Sam, hearing them talk about Nicole suddenly made her extremely jealous. A conversation about Nicole made her naseous to begin with, but as Brooke’s closest friend, she couldn’t keep her stomach from churning at the thought of their insane relationship; why Brooke wouldn’t just drop the venomous bitch after she slept with her boyfriend and consistently used her for her own benefit was beyond her. Of course she’d had her moments with Brooke, but surely she realized that that was nothing compared to Nicole’s willingness to do anything and everything to destroy her the second she felt it was to her advantage. As much as she tried to deny it, for a second she subconciously admitted to herself that she would treat Brooke so much better than Nicole ever would – the mere thought of it however, was completely absurd and Sam just as soon banished it from her mind. “Well, I’m gonna go call her again,” said Brooke, looking directly at Sam. “Okay,” Sam nodded, suddenly feeling a little light-headed. Her eyes locked with Brooke’s for a little longer than a moment, after which Brooke turned around and left. It’s gotta be the beer, Sam shook her head. “What was that all about?” Lily asked, to which Carm nodded correspondingly. “Brooke wore the outfit I picked out for her,” she said, staring off in the direction the blonde went. Both Carmen and Lily look at each other and then at Sam. “What?!” “What?” Sam looked blankly at the two of them. Apparently, she was nowhere near this conversation. “Sam,” Carmen waved her hand in front of Sam’s face. “Yo, space cadet.” Sam finally stepped out of her daze to find Carmen ranting and raving like a lunatic right in front of her face. “What? Oh. Sorry. God... I think the buzz is kickin in already.” Both of her friends look at each other once again, but unsoundedly decided to drop it. The truth was.. here she was with two of her best friends in the whole world, and then Brooke shows up all of a sudden, leaving a huge hole inside of her that she couldn’t quite understand, much less get rid of. And gazing absent-mindedly in Brooke's general direction was the only thing that Sam could see herself doing right now. Yup, she thought. It’s definitely the beer. Part 2 |