Another City Of Lights.

Chapter 11.

Aaron's POV:-

I was pissed. I was beyond pissed, and even though it was Sam, I wanted to punch her.
I could feel the uneasiness radiating out of Dash and Hailey as the three of us tried to think of a way of answering her question without further humiliating ourselves. I left this part to my awkward friends, and turned my attention back to the person I once knew as Sam.

She was different, and it wasn't just the short hair or how everything she was wearing right now screamed expensive, but something about her felt off. I couldn't remember a time when she had been nervous around us, and yet here she was, fidgeting with her sparkly phone, trying to avoid looking at anyone of us.

"Well hello to you too", I said, and it came off just as rude and sarcastic as I had imagined in my head.
I was never rude to Sam, I was always beyond nice to her, but today she didn't seem like herself anymore.
I didn't think she was going to reply, she wasn't even looking at us, but she looked at me after a second with a fake smile plastered on her face, and muttered a simple 'hi'.
I didn't understand why she was trying so hard. It was almost embarrassing for me. I could see right through her, didn't she know that?

Hailey and Dash stopped glancing at each other and finally spoke up.
"We thought we could hang out today? If you want to", Hailey said, and I was amazed at how nice she was being.
Sam looked like a deer caught in headlights.
It was pretty obvious that she was thinking of an excuse to present to us, and I was waiting to see what it would be.

I could see her thinking, and I knew she wanted to say no, but she didn't. She agreed.
She even pulled out her phone and turned it off before throwing it in to her bag before hastily following us out the gate.
She looked relieved, maybe even happy. I couldn't understand what was going on with her at all. How can so much change in such a short amount of time?

To be honest, we didn't have a plan. We actually didn't even think we would make it this far but now that we had, we weren't sure what to do.
Dash and I were walking ahead, trying to think of something. Apparently Dash thought we should do whatever Sam would want to, because she was already uncomfortable. And I didn't particularly care, so I let him ask her.

Sam was laughing uncontrollably when Dash reached her and Hailey, and she tried to stop herself from laughing but that wasn't working. I didn't know what they were laughing at, but it was a damn good thing to see.
Whatever I was thinking about Sam before, vanished in an instant when I saw them like that, and I hated myself that I ever doubted her.
She may have changed in ways more than one, but she was still the only person who could make each one of us laugh this way. And I don't think that was ever going to change.

Somehow they made their way towards me, and Dash trudged ahead, his eyes gleaming, and a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"You were staring", He informed me, still grinning.
"I think half the town was. You all looked like psychos", I muttered.
"You know that's not what I meant", He laughed, and I just shot him a glare.

When it was 9, and dark outside, and when we probably should have been getting home, we ended up in a small, rusty diner in the most crowded street around.
We found a tiny table in the farthest corner, and we all sat squeezed in.
We ordered the biggest burgers they had, with ginormous helpings of french fries and cokes, and we avoided all the glares we were getting from every single middle-aged woman in there.
There was never a moment of silence among us. And the laughter never seemed to end.

I didn't even know what time it was when Sam suggested we needed to try this new icecream place she had found. Neither of us could say no to her in that moment, and we didn't.

She dragged us to a couple of streets away. Hailey couldn't even keep up, it was way past her bedtime apparently. But Dash was running high on adrenaline, so he ran ahead with Sam while I got the job of watching Hailey and making sure she doesn't fall down somewhere to take a nap.

Hailey however, seemed very awake after stuffing her face with icecream that she had no money left to buy.
And throwing snide comments my way which were making Sam and Dash laugh like never before.

Maybe it was the ungodly hour, or the amount of extra calories I had in me tonight, I don't know what it was, but I didn't even mind anything right now.
I enjoyed every minute of their crazy laughter, and I think I laughed along as well.

Apparently it got late when we sobered up and realised we had homes to return to.
And by the time we did, everyone of us was freaking out because it was nearly 1am.
It was a full on panic scene, all of us frantic, and trying to decide the fastest route leading to our respective houses.
I volunteered to drop Sam off, because I'm an idiot, and Dash and Hailey literally ran down the street to find a ride.

I hadn't really talked to her at all, and now I just volunteered to drop her off at her house, I had no idea what I was doing, or why.
For some reason, she didn't want to take a cab, saying we should walk.

"You can go home, if you want", She told me, and walked past me, smiling happily.
I sighed, mentally punched myself, and followed her.