The Protagonists

Chapter Twelve - Sam

Sam grabbed his friend's wrists, holding him back. Oliver-normally remaining a calm, placid individual-was never normally like that; he would only ever get angry if something devastating had happened: his father losing his job, his mother becoming deathly-ill, and then, his soulmate-Jessica Victoria Ebony-dying. Sam knew as the boy was stumbling back in fear and pain, Oliver was only then being affected by the death of partner. "I'm..." Oliver finally ceased from pulling, allowing Sam to trustfully let go of his wrists. "I'm so sorry."

The boy-a trickle of blood drained down from his nose-looked up to face Oliver. To Sam's extreme surprise, he was not angry, upset, nor dismal; instead, the poor, bloody boy seemed okay with the fact that Oliver had punched him. Not to mention, Oliver was the starting offensive tackle, the toughest, strongest position on the varsity team; it had to have harmed him. "I don't know what took over me," Oliver admitted, looking down at the ground.

"It's fine," the boy replied, clutching his nose to clog the bleeding. As Oliver started to apologize even more-he did not understand the meaning "I'm fine" very well-someone else walked over to them; it was a girl with curly, brown hair and round, almond eyes. "Do you guys know Iris?" She questioned, looking back-and-forth between Sam and Oliver, completely disregarding the injured boy beside her.

Sam and Oliver, both completely unaware of this "Iris", shook their heads in unison. "Do you know where she is?" She asked, facing the boy, seeming uninterested in his swollen, bloody nose.

"She's not here," he replied, looking nervous and shaken all of a sudden. The girl nodded slowly and looked back over at the other two boys-Oliver and Sam. "Why are you two here?" She asked.

She seems like the talkative type, Sam thought to himself. He introduced himself quickly, wanting the conversation to end; Oliver was upset and he did not want anyone else to see his broken best friend. "Hey, I know you!" She suddenly spoke, pointing to Oliver. He looked surprised, as if he did not know the girl like she knew him. "You're Oliver, right? Oliver Davis?"

Oliver nodded slowly in response. The girl's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together quickly. "I know you!" She cheered, her eyes bright with pure happiness. "You're Jessica's boyfriend! You guys are so cute together..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened as she realized what had happened earlier that day. "I'm so..."

"It's fine," Oliver replied, frowning upsettingly. Sam, being his best friend and all, knew that Oliver did not actually think it was fine nor okay; yet, being a very kind individual, Sam remained quiet, since the girl-she was seemingly a fan-looked extremely upset and embarrassed. "N-No," she stuttered, looking down at her shoes, "it's not okay."

"Let's just take a picture and get along with it," Oliver told her, sighing and bending down to her size-the girl was a lot smaller than him, so bending down to her height was somewhat-difficult for him. "What's your name? I'll say it in a video if you want."

Sam and the girl both looked up at him in confusion; she had not asked for a picture nor a video. "Well, I'm Annalise," she continued to stare at Oliver in confusion, "but I don't want a picture or a video. I just came here to look for someone else; it was just a coincidence-"

Oliver rudely interrupted her, causing Sam to roll his eyes in annoyance-just as Oliver had calmed down after punching the other boy, he got all worked up by a fan offering support. "Then why are you here?" He bent down over her menacingly, causing Sam to flinch back, waiting for him to do something regretful. "You have no reason to be here or be sad and upset. You never knew Jessica; you just knew what she was like in front of the camera. You never knew her favorite color, her favorite movie, or the way her eyes lit up when you gave her roses! You want to know why you never knew any of these things?" Annalise stumbled back in fear. "Because you're just a fan! No one understood Jessica like I did! All her stupid fans are trying to reach out to me, but they don't understand!"