Parallel » Sam Winchester

»9

Almost as soon as the clock turned from 7:59 to 8:00, there was a knock on my door. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered wildly, but I tried my hardest to keep my face neutral. I was determined not to frighten Sam off.

When I opened the door, I almost gasped.

There he was, wearing a red and black flannel and a pair of dark denim jeans. His medium length hair was adorably messy, and his smile was wide, showcasing his perfect teeth. His greenish eyes flickered with something, maybe excitement? Or maybe they just always looked like that, I wasn't too sure. In his left hand, he held a single long-stemmed red rose. "Hi Sam," I greeted him, leaning against the doorframe and smiling. "You look beautiful, Hazel," he murmured, gazing at me up and down. I felt my cheeks burn, and it was like I'd been transported momentarily into one of those cheesy high school movies, feeling like the shy girl who had just been asked out by a guy who was way out of her league.

"Thank you," I managed, grinning like a fool. A moment of silence passed between us before he handed out the rose. "Oh yeah, this is for you. I uh, I wasn't sure if you liked roses or not, but I figured it was worth a shot."

I laughed, accepting the flower and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I love it. Thank you, Sam."

I stepped aside, inviting him to come into the apartment while I grabbed a jacket and placed the rose in a small vase near the kitchen sink.

"It's not much," I murmured, watching as he gazed around the front room which I had painted white and adorned with old photographs and a few old record covers, "but it's home."

"Actually, I love it." Sam smiled, gazing at me with sincerity. "You have a really great taste in music," he added a second later, taking in all the records. I watched as his eyes canvassed the wall I'd put together in order to make the space feel more like my own.

"You like Journey?" He asked, surprise evident in his tone as he pointed to my copy of Frontiers.

I giggled, "are you kidding? They're my favorite. My dad and I... We used to listen to their music religiously."

"You have all of their best albums too. Raised on Radio was my favorite." He admitted.

"Mine too! God but I can never get enough of their Infinity album. Oldie but goodie."

Sam looked at me as if I was the most interesting and astonishing person he had ever met, and once again, I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Are you ready?" He asked finally, offering me his arm. I smiled and took it, locking the apartment as we headed out.

As we did, we passed Sylvie's door. I took a quick glance at it. Maybe I should stop and check on her, I thought, frowning. However, I was too excited for my date with Sam, so instead I chose to follow him out of the building.

I should have checked.

::

When we stepped outside, Sam turned to me. "So, we've got two options: we could go get ice cream and walk around, or we can grab a pizza at Muldoon's." "Are you a milkshake sort of guy?" I inquired, smiling. Sam grinned, "of course." "Well, unless you were dying to try Muldoon's, I was going to suggest Carlo's Diner. It's just a few blocks away, and I know the owner pretty well, so we could probably get a seat right next to the jukebox?"

The smile that spread across Sam's face was perhaps the biggest one I'd ever seen from him. "That sounds amazing." He replied, his gaze never leaving mine.

As we walked side by side to the restaurant, Sam and I filled the silence with a few details of how his day went.

"Getting out of the motel was surprisingly easy," Sam said as we waited at a crosswalk. "I was sure Dean would be all over me about who I was going with, where I'd be, that kind of thing." I smiled and shook my head, "he's your older brother, it's his job to worry," I laughed.
"I know," he agreed, "I just don't want him to go insane worrying about me. He's got his own life too, I want him to live it. Well, what he can, anyway." He murmured. I nodded, though I wasn't sure what he meant by the last part. I didn't ask however, because the neon orange glow of the diner's logo sign loomed in front of us.

I smiled and thanked Sam as he held the door open for me, and a bell dinged the moment we stepped inside. "Hazel!" A man's voice with a thick Belgian accent exclaimed. "Carlo!" I grinned when the man stepped out from behind the counter. He was an older man, tall and a bit outspoken, with a thick white mustache and brown eyes that had seen more than his fair share of both happiness and sadness. Yet somehow, he was still one of the most lively people I had ever known.

"How are you?" He asked, ever the grandfather type. "I'm well! I've been busy with work, but I'm well! How are you? And how's Mrs. Viv?" I asked, referring to his wife. "What have I told you about being busy?" He asked sternly, and I laughed: "it leaves no time for fun in one's young life." "That is exactly right," he nodded, ignoring my previous question when he noticed Sam lingering behind me. "And who is this handsome fellow?" Carlo demanded, and Sam laughed, taking the hand Carlo had outstretched toward him and shaking it kindly. "Carlo, this is my friend, Sam. Sam, this is Carlo." "Ah, Sam. Short for Samuel or Samson?" He inquired. Sam grinned, "Samuel." "Wonderful, wonderful! Any friend of Hazel's is a friend of mine! And what can I do for you two this evening?" His loud voice rang over the 50's style music that was playing, and a few customers gazed at us from their booths. "We were hoping to get a table by the Jukebox. Sam shares my music taste and-" "Say no more," Carlo called, grabbing two menus and leading us to a window booth in the back of the restaurant, directly beside the jukebox. "Enjoy!" He replied once we were seated. Sam looked at me and laughed, "I like him." "He's a character for sure, but he's one of my favorite people." I replied with a grin. "What do you usually get here?" Sam asked as he browsed the menu. "You're gonna laugh," I answered, biting my lip. "No I won't! Tell me,"
"A bubblegum milkshake and French fries." I replied, covering my face at Sam's incredulous stare. "Bubblegum? That's a thing?"

I giggled and nodded, while he made a face. "That sounds.. Different."

I smiled and leaned in, "maybe I'm different."

"Well, in your case, I like different," Sam replied.

::

GUYYYYYS HI! Once again, I'm baaaaack! It's been way too long, I'm so sorry! But I read all of your comments and I cannot express how happy reading them made me! I can't wait to get more of this story out there for you guys❤️

On a different note, this isn't my best written chapter, but I had to get all the extras out of the way in order to get to the good stuff. I promise it's coming.

Thank you all so so much for reading and voting, you guys are the absolute best❤️

All my love,

-Lex