DISCLAIMER: Alas, I don't own the characters of Popular. They belong to Ryan Murphy, but hopefully he won't mind if I borrow them for a little while.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a bit of fluffiness. Written for Kauschi
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To mysensitiveside[at]yahoo.com
Perfect
By mysensitiveside
Brooke hated the snow. Especially when it was first falling. It was all pure, and soft, and perfect. Brooke hated perfection, too.
Because that's what Sam thought that Brooke was.
Perfect.
Brooke knew that Sam was wrong, though. If she were perfect, then she would have kept her mouth shut; would have let things be, instead of spilling her guts and ruining a perfect friendship.
The blonde tried desperately not to cry as she rushed away from Sam's side and out of their apartment. She didn't even notice the snow at first – she was too busy struggling not to think about the shocked look Sam had given her just moments earlier.
But winter in New York City was cold, especially without a jacket, so it wasn't long before Brooke noticed the soft snowflakes falling gently around her. Normally this would have been an exciting occasion – after growing up in California, snow still felt like a big deal – but right at that moment, Brooke couldn't help but hate the perfection falling from the sky. Rainfall would have been better, she mused, as a match for her crestfallen mood.
Brooke didn't know where she was going, but she merely wrapped her arms tightly around herself and moved forward, needing distance from the fool she'd just made of herself. Considering the way that Sam had looked at her, Brooke guessed that the brunette wouldn't mind the space either.
It took a full three blocks before the blonde registered that the shouting she had vaguely noticed in the background was actually directed at her.
"Brooke! Wait!"
Her heart beating a mile a minute, Brooke came to an abrupt stop. Afraid to turn around, Brooke only heard the squeak of sneakers slipping on snow before Sam came literally crashing into her, toppling them both over onto the ground.
Brooke could only look over in bewilderment as a winded Sam lay still for a moment on the sidewalk before she practically jumped to her feet and reached down to pull the blonde up as well.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to knock you over. I just tried to slow down and stop running when I saw you finally stop, but I slipped instead, and I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" Sam rambled, distractedly brushing the snow from Brooke's body.
Brooke blinked and took a step backwards, eyes drawn to the single snowflake that fell directly onto the tip of Sam's nose.
"Sam, what are you doing?" Shaking her head, Brooke didn't allow her step-sister to answer before she continued, "Go back home, Sam. You don't need to do anything. We'll just pretend that I didn't say anything, and things will just go back to how they were, back to normal."
With that, Brooke simply turned around and continued walking quickly away.
Sam was motionless for a beat, before once again hurrying after the blonde.
"Brooke, will you just wait a second? Please?" Sam kept pace with Brooke, who ignored her plea and kept moving. "I don't want to go back to normal, okay?"
That last statement got Brooke's attention, and the blonde once again made a sudden halt, with Sam very nearly slipping to the ground a second time as she pivoted to face her step-sister.
"What?" Brooke asked meekly, staring wide-eyed at Sam with a mixture of surprise and wariness.
"I don't want to go back to normal," Sam repeated. She took a deep breath. "You left so quickly back there, you didn't give me a chance to respond."
Brooke's eyes darkened as her gaze lowered. "You didn't need to respond. The look on your face said enough," she murmured.
"You just took me by surprise, that's all," Sam replied, reaching out to tilt Brooke's chin back upwards. "I could barely believe that what I'd heard was right," she admitted with a soft smile.
Brooke could feel herself starting to shake, but she couldn't tell whether it was from the cold, or from the way that Sam was looking at her.
Sam took another deep breath. "I love you too, Brooke. I have for a long time."
Brooke was sure that she must have imagined those words. They simply couldn't be true. She had been so sure that she'd ruined things with Sam forever.
But then Sam's cold hand came in contact with her cheek, and before Brooke could fully process what was happening, the brunette leaned forward and placed a soft, almost chaste, kiss to Brooke's lips.
Brooke's eyes instantly fluttered closed, and her own hand reached out to grab a tight hold of Sam. Then Sam's lips were back covering her own, more firmly this time, and Brooke couldn't do anything but give in and kiss back.
It felt truly surreal, and Brooke only barely resisted the urge to pinch herself to see whether this was really happening, or if she were dreaming.
The snow continued to fall around them as Sam wrapped her arms tightly around Brooke, and Brooke decided that she had been wrong earlier – she didn't hate the snow at all. It was pure, and soft, and perfect.
Perfect. Just like Sam.
The End