By My Side - Sam/Aomaris Fanfiction

17) Companionship

"Why are you not heading to school as well, Mx?" James asked me in surprise.
"Oh yeah, I don't think I ever told you. I got suspended yesterday." I replied, starting to eat. The cook of the family might have been Matthew, but Sam's cooking was gorgeous as well. Why were all of them such incredible cooks? James' eyebrows shot up in shock the slight disapproval made me uncomfortable.
"Whatever for?"
"I got beat up. Weirdly enough, only a couple of these bruises are from Malix. But because the girl who beat me up had like, fifteen people back her up, I got the blame." The disapproval vanished and I relaxed. Sam frowned slightly and James spoke again.
"Does your school not have security cameras installed?"
"Not anywhere useful. And Lisette only bothers me when she knows she won't be caught." James frowned but didn't press the matter.
"What are you gonna do today, then?" Matthew asked me. I shrugged.
"Fuck knows. I need to go into town and get some new glasses prescribed." I glowered at nothing, lamenting my lack of sharp sight. "Other than that... I have no clue."

One by one, the boys split off for their daily chores and to do whatever it was they usually did around the house while Mika and I were at school. Sam sat by me and I gave him a curious glance.
"You okay?"
"You think I'm gonna let you go out by yourself?" He replied.
"Yeah, I was kind of expecting that." I got up and took my plate into the kitchen to put it in the dishwasher. Sam had been dressed when he woke me up, so we set out as soon as I was ready. I did have to run upstairs and grab my hiking stick before we left, though. Sam stared at it in blatant curiosity.
"What the fuck is that for?"
"I'm not gonna lie, I don't even remember. I just know I started using it not long before I left England. My legs just don't hold my own weight very well anymore." Sam took hold of my hand again gently as we walked out into the pleasant heat, making me blush slightly. It took us about half an hour to get into town, but Sam was surprisingly patient with me and my slow walking pace. When we finally made it to the opticians, the staff member who served me when I first got my glasses recognised me immediately. She sent a curious glance at Sam.
"Miss Anderson! Back already? And who is this?"
"This is Sam. He's... He's a friend of mine."
"Oh, I wasn't prying. I just didn't recognise him. In any case, Miss Anderson, what can I do for you today?"
"I'm not an Anderson anymore." I held up my broken glasses. "This happened yesterday." I placed them on the counter and she picked them up, furrowing her brow in concentration.
"This wasn't an accident, you can see the point where something hit the lens. You only got these ones a couple of months ago. What happened?"
"I got beat up yesterday," I said flatly. I was getting tired of telling everyone this.
"Hmm. Well, they'll take about a week to make. We can fast-track them, but it does cost extra."
"Sure, fast-track them," I replied. "I don't like not having them."

I paid for the new glasses and the clerk sent me a smile. Thank god for the account my grandfather left me. Dad wouldn't have paid for them, and I definitely wouldn't have had enough money to pay for them without that account, even without the fast-track payment.
"They'll be done by..." She checked her watch. "Three o'clock."
"Awesome. Thank you." I left the shop with Sam and gazed at him. "I guess we're spending the day in town, then."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No... I just prefer being at home. But, I suppose... There is some cool stuff in town." I tugged on my hair uncomfortably. The heat was rising as the day went on, and it was times like that when I half wished I hadn't bothered growing out my hair. Sam watched me amusedly. "Since we're here, we may as well have a wander around. First things first, I guess: I need bobbles."
"You need what now?"
"Bobbles. I guess they're better known as hair ties in America. I haven't used one for years, but this heat is the worst I've felt since England had a really bad heatwave back in 2013."
"And hair ties will fix that... How?" My companion asked.
"It won't. But at least the back of my neck won't be so goddamn sweaty." Sam gestured at nothing.
"Lead the way, then."

The day was uneventful. It was the first time I'd properly spent with Sam that wasn't just him worrying about me or protecting me. It was strange but nice to see him happy. I could tell he'd forgotten about Diana and was, for the first time since I'd met him, truly letting himself relax. Without anything to worry him, he was cheeky, playful and apparently enjoyed saying and doing things that would make me blush. He wasn't anywhere near as flirtatious as Erik - far from it - but he knew what he was doing. l hated that my brain was slower than a computer from the 1990s because it meant I couldn't respond in kind. Despite the teasing, however, Sam spent his time gazing at me with an expression similar to how you'd react to seeing puppies cuddling each other. I, the naïve idiot I was, barely even noticed. Instead, l got lost in my geekiness and ended up rambling for hours about Zelda games, Harry Potter, and other inane crap that I was usually told to shut up about. Sam was the first person who'd ever just quietly listened to me.