friends

chapter 3

"Happy birthday."

Those are the first words that Sam hears on his birthday. He opened his eyes, it was Ellie. She had a huge smile on her face and he pulled her close. He hugged her.

"Thanks, Ellie." Sam happily replies.

"Of course, why wouldn't I say happy birthday to my best friend?" Ellie said while nuzzling her face into his chest.

It was already 12pm. They overslept a lot. Ellie and Sam were gazing into each other's eyes, they hadn't realized what time it was because they were distracted by each other. Ellie began to mess up Sam's hair.

"What time is it?" Sam asked while Ellie was still messing his hair up.

"I don't know," Ellie said, still distracted.

Sam looked at the clock on his nightstand, only to realize how late it was.

"It's already 12!" Sam told Ellie.

"Is it okay if we just stay here for a little bit longer?" Ellie sweetly asked.

"That's fine. It's my birthday so we can do whatever we want. We don't even have to go anywhere today so it's fine."

2 pm...

Ellie and Sam started to get ready for the day after binge-watching their favorite show, High School Musical: The Musical The Series for two hours.

Ellie put on a light pink and white dress, her white jacket and her light pink sneakers. Sam put on a white shirt, jeans, and a black jacket. Coincidentally, they were matching. This made Ellie think about Sam as more than a friend again while staring at him.

"Ellie?" Sam asked, feeling embarrassed.

"O-oh, y-yeah?" Ellie replied, feeling even more embarrassed.

"Let's go," Sam said.

They rushed out of the door of Sam's house and quickly got into his car.

"Why did we even dress up anyway?" Sam asked Ellie as they drove down Epipha Street.

"Why not? You could have told me earlier that you didn't want to change." Ellie said with an attitude.

"Excuse me?! Why are you saying it like that?! I didn't mean to-" Sam stops talking because he doesn't want to make it worse.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I just meant that-" Ellie also trails off.

They would fight like this but rarely. Ellie sometimes gives Sam an attitude when she doesn't mean it. She just wants to be more assertive but it comes off as rude. She hates that about herself. Sam hates fighting with Ellie.

Soon enough, they arrive at Walgett. Sam pulls up to the closest parking spot. They sit in the car in silence.

"U-um. S-Sam?" Ellie said, her voice shaking. She was scared. She didn't know what to say.

"Y-yeah Ellie?" Sam said, nervous and scared.

"I-I'm r-really s-sor-" She bursts into tears. She felt terrible.

"H-Hey, it's okay. Ellie. You're okay. Ellie-" Sam tells her as he comforts her by hugging her.

"I-I'm just really sorry for already ruining your birthday," Ellie said while Sam wipes her tears off her face.

"No, no. You didn't- Ellie. It's okay. You didn't ruin it. I liked how you made an effort to look even more beautiful than ever for my birthday. C'mon' you're my best friend, I love you." Sam said, meaning every word he told her.

Ellie had no idea what to do. She once again remembered how much Sam was a great best friend and how much she loved him.

"Hehe. I'm so dumb. I love you, Sammy." Ellie said after hugging. They were now looking straight at each other.

"No, you're not. Are you okay now?" Sam said laughing.

"I'm good now. Let's go." Ellie said.

"God, you're so sensitive. It's adorable." Sam said.

They walked into Walgett. They were holding hands and giggling. Sam told her something funny before they walked inside.

"Sorry. It was kind of my fault how we started fighting. I was the one who yelled." Sam said as they walked into the snacks aisle.

"Well, whoever's fault it was, it's over. I love you, Sammy, don't forget that." Ellie told him while grabbing chips from the shelf.

"Aha. I love you too." Sam said, then pulls her close to kiss her on the cheek.

They pull away from each other, blushing.

"Ooh! Let's get more blankets!" Ellie excitedly suggested.

"Are you sure? Cause' we don't have a lot of money." Sam assured her.

"Yeah, I'll pay for it," Ellie said.

"Okay." He said and they went into the comfort aisle. Ellie grabs three soft blankets. She also grabs one stuffed animal.

"Babe- That's too much," Sam said, concerned and not realizing what he had just called her.

"B-babe?" Ellie said, confused.

"U-uh yeah. You call me baby, so I thou-" Sam begins to say.

"I'm just kidding, baby! You can call me anything you want!" Ellie cuts him off.

"Oh, sorry," Ellie said after realizing she cut him off.

"It's okay babe. But, are you sure you're going to get that many blankets? And a stuffed animal? What is that even for?" Sam questioned her.

"Oh, I don't know. But, do you like it?" Ellie asked, holding up the stuffed animal.

Sam looked at the cute gray rabbit stuffed animal that Ellie was showing him.

"Of course. It's a rabbit. I love rabbits. Why do you want me to like it?" Sam said.

"Well, yeah. I wanted to get it for you. Like a present before your- never mind." Ellie said sadly then put the rabbit away.

"W-wait. Ellie, I'm not saying that I don't like it. I'm just saying that I don't think you know how much money you're spending right now. You need to limit yourself." Sam told her.

"Okay okay. I'll just get one blanket and the rabbit." Ellie said, then removed two blankets from the cart and grabbed the rabbit again.