Sammy Lawrence x Reader (The Not-so-Normal Music Director)

Chapter 26: The More You Know

Sammy's POV:

"Well, I'd say today was a good day. Don't you think?"

Y/n grinned. "I'd definitely say so!"

"You wanna go somewhere before I drop you off?" I asked her.

"You read my mind. I'd love to!" she exclaimed. "How does ice cream sound?"

"Good pick. We haven't had that in a hot minute."

Y/n laughed a little as we both stood up, grabbing our stuff. "We've only been carpooling for like, two weeks. By a 'hot minute', you mean we haven't gotten it since last Friday."

"Well, there's some places we go to more than others. Ice cream not being one of them," I said with a shrug. "And besides, whenever we go to coffee shops, you always get caffeine. The amount of that garbage you consume can't be good for your blood pressure. I don't know why I keep letting you convince me to take us there."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Lawrence."

We continued to make our way out of the sanctuary and out of the studio. I couldn't help but notice her looking more excited and happy than usual. She had perfect posture, she had a big smile on her face, and just looked happier than she normally did. She always acted bubbly, but tonight, she seemed even more giddy. I assumed it was because of what happened between us earlier.

I was just as happy as she was. Maybe even more so. I'd been hoping for this day for a long time now.

Once we were out of the studio, we headed towards my car and made our way to get ice cream. The same routine as always.

The same routine that I could never get sick of.

•••

"Thank you for the ice cream! It was delicious!"

"No problem. Anytime."

"And thank you for always offering to pay for me," y/n added as we continued walking up to her place. "I'll pay you back one of these days when I actually have the money."

"Nah, you don't have to worry about that," I insisted. Just then, we stopped in front of her door and turned to look at each other.

"Sammy, can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"Thank you for all the rides to and from work," she said. "You and Wally are the reason I don't have to worry about taking the bus every day. Because sure, the bus is cheap, but it's nice to not have to worry about paying for one more thing."

"Of course. I'm happy to. I love spending time with you," I said. I paused for a moment. Now that the topic of me driving her around came up, I had to finally ask her about it.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"Yeah. I guess I do have a question, now that you mention me driving you around," I said. "I guess I'm just curious to know, why don't you ever drive yourself to work? And I'm not complaining! I enjoy your company and I love driving you around and spending time with you. But I can't help but notice that I've never seen you drive yourself anywhere. You seem to always either be driving with someone else or walking."

She gave me a confused look. "I haven't told you?"

I shook my head.

She sighed. She unlocked her door and opened it, then stepped to the side and gestured for me to come into her apartment. "Do you have a moment?"

Dang. This must've been some big story. "Yeah."

She walked inside and headed towards the couch. I followed her and took a seat beside her. To be honest, it was a little weird to be back here. The last time I came into her apartment was that time when I walked her home after I caught her in the rain. It felt just like then, where we were both sitting on the couch, waiting for the other person to say something.

Except this time, instead of me being the one to vent about my problems, she ended up doing just that.

"I can't afford it," was all she said.

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm broke. I can't afford a car. I can hardly afford my basic, everyday needs. Before I started working at the studio, I was so close to being evicted because I couldn't afford to pay rent. I still can hardly afford it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because what reason did I have for telling you?" she asked.

"Because you're my friend and... maybe something more," I insisted. I held her hand in mine, causing her to look up at me. "I can help you. I'm here for you; you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to start making my financial troubles other people's problems," she scoffed. "I have so many student loans, tons of which have completely gone to waste because of classes that I've had to drop. I can't keep on taking loans from the bank either. I'm so close to bankruptcy by this point."

"You've had no one to help you?"

"No. Nobody. My parents can't help. The only money they have is just barely enough to get by. And even if they could afford to help me, I highly doubt they would, since they want me to learn to 'be on my own'. I don't have any siblings or other family to help. I'm completely on my own," she vented.

"NYU provides financial aid. Have you tried that?"

"I have. But that can only do so much," she sighed. "Not to mention, we live in one of the most expensive states. I would move to a cheaper state, but there's no way I can do that. NYU is a hard school to get into, and I'm not going to throw away all the hard work that I put into getting into my dream college. And they have one of the top music programs in the US. And there's no way I'm giving up my job; it pays well, and I love everyone there. But most importantly, there's no way in hell I'm going to move away and say goodbye to you. No amount of money is worth that."

"Wow, I— I don't know what to say," I murmured. "I'm sorry, y/n."

"It's fine. There's nothing you can do."

"Are you sure? If you need anything, I can help," I offered. "I'm no millionaire, but I can do what I can to help you financially, even if it's just a little bit."

"I'm not going to make you do that for me," she retorted. Then she sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dumped all of this on you."

"No, I'm glad you told me," I reassured her.

She looked up at me and gave me a bit of a smile as she rested her head on my shoulder. "Thanks."

"Of course."

Things went quiet for a little bit. Neither of us really knew what to say after that. But after a minute or two she cleared her throat to speak up. "So, uh... do you want to stay for a bit? We could watch a movie, or I could make dinner, or we could play a card game or something... only if you want to though! I mean, it is getting kind of late, so if you want to go, or have somewhere to be, or—"

I interrupted her with a laugh. "Don't you have homework to do?"

She groaned and tossed her head back. "Don't remind me. I have so much, it's insane."

"How about this," I declared, draping an arm around her shoulders and leaning back. "How about I stay here while you work on homework so that I can hold you responsible to stay on track? I'll make dinner for you too."

She looked up at me and grinned. "That sounds perfect."

A/N: Happy (almost) Valentine's Day everyone! Anyone else spending it with Sammy as their Valentine?😍
(It's my 5th year in a row spending Valentine's Day alone💀)