-PERCEPTION-

Jake rescues Sam and realizes a few things in the aftermath. Rather Sam-centric this chapter. Characters belong to Terry Farley Sam's friends are my characters. Will be Sam/Jake.

---

There you are, wild and free

Reaching out like you needed me

A helping hand to make things right

I am holding you all through the night

---

Chapter 8: Plans

He walked by her side, his hand tentatively reaching out for hers, unsure as to how she'd react. He smiled to himself when she laced her fingers with his, flashing him a grin.

"When are you gonna tell me why you're here?" she asked, pausing at a stop light and waiting for the continuous flow of cars to stop.

Jake shook his head. "You're not going to stop asking are you?"

Sam stubbornly shook her head 'no'.

He laughed, leaning closer to her. "You can come home," he whispered in her ear. "I convinced your dad to let you come home. He sent me to get you."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," he nodded.

"Thank you!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him. "I love you!"

He smiled, spinning her around quickly before leaning in to steal a kiss.

"Ahem…" a voice from behind them interrupted.

Sam turned to see her for old friends looking quite amused. "Hey guys," she smiled. "Guess what?"

Kylie pretended to think for a moment. "You're getting married?" she teased.

Sam blushed at that comment but shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of…."

"You're going back to Nevada?" Josh suggested, rolling his eyes at Kylie's level of maturity. "Ky, you're such a dork."

The brown haired girl turned to him. "Why, Thank you, love…." She replied, punching him playfully in the arm. He wisely pretended it hurt.

Jake laughed, watching the group of people before him, his arms wrapped around Sam's waist. He usually wasn't much for conversation, or public display's of affection, but with Sam.. He'd already almost lost her more times than he wanted to count and he didn't plan to let her go anytime soon.

"Jake…" the sound of his name pulled him out of his thoughts. Kylie was pointing toward the street, apparently they had decided to continue this meeting inside the local pizza place.

---

After they'd all eaten their fill of pizza, they ordered ice cream, enjoying the silence that came with being the only customers in the place.

"So…" Leigh sighed. "When are you two leaving?" she asked.

Sam looked to Jake.

"Tomorrow morning," he replied.

Kylie looked up. "We can still do something tonight. Any ideas?"

---

And that, is where I shall leave you for this chapter. Any ideas for what they could do are welcome, Remember to review! I won't be home much the rest of this week, I'm going to an anime convention on Friday, which lasts til Sunday, then I have to stay at my cousins house to dogsit for an entire weekend, so, unless I can get on the computer there, I won't be able to update anything.