A/N: Hello, my lovelies! I'm back with my third short story for Lost Boys! This has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with my Lost Boy series. This is merely me having a bit of fun for myself and obviously, a bit for Felicia. I might have gotten a little bit carried away here. It's over 27 pages when I looked at it last and that is way over my usual typing experience for this website. I had fun and then depressed myself and then had fun again. This is a Lost Boys friendship story and I'm in it, so if you don't like that, you can back out now and I won't complain. You can notice some stuff in here if you want, I'm not that subtle. I don't try to be. Anyway, please enjoy! Warning for language, in advance!

OOOOOOOOO

"Sammy!" two loud voices called out into the night, rising above the sounds of people screaming on the carnival rides.

Samantha turned and brushed back the dark hair that blew in her face, letting out a small sound of surprise as she was swept up into the arms of two laughing blonds. "Paul! Marko! Let me down!"

Paul let out a hyena-like laugh and tossed his wild blond hair as he gave Samantha another big squeeze before setting her down. He settled his hands on her hips while Marko stood behind her, plucking at her hair with his hand. Paul's laughing eyes lingered over Samantha's body for a moment as if checking her out before returning to her eyes and he smiled.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy!" he chanted, jumping up and down. "You came back!"

Samantha nodded and smiled up at him. "I did."

"Finally," Marko said from behind her, still tugging at her hair. "What took you so long?"

"I've been busy, I guess."

Paul shared a look over her head with Marko and then poked her forehead. "With them, you mean, Sammy?"

Samantha flinched and snatched at his hand, catching it in hers. "Yes, Paul. With them. Again. You know that they won't go away. No matter what I do."

Marko sighed and patted her on the shoulder. "We're sorry, Sammy."

Samantha shook her head and lowered her eyes, staring down at the aged wood of the boardwalk. She hated that the Boys knew that she had mental health issues, but they did. They had caught her in the act during one of her episodes and she hadn't been able to explain it away like she had with some of her other friends. All of them, even David, had listened to her around a bonfire as she explained what kind of hell that she had to go through everyday for most of her life and then Paul and Marko had tried their best to make her laugh away her tears because every time she talked about it, she cried.

I don't even know why I cry about it anymore, Samantha thought, frowning. I've talked about it so many times, I shouldn't even cry about it, but I do. And that sucks. I can't believe that I cried in front of David! And he didn't even say anything about it. He just looked at me like it was natural and offered me a smile. He can be a sweet guy, sometimes.

"Hey Sammy," Paul said gently, touching her cheek with his fingertips. "Don't be sad."

"I'm not sad," Samantha lied, looking up at him.

Paul shook his head, obviously not believing her words. "When you're sad, we're sad. Right, Marko?"

"Right," Marko agreed and he wrapped his arms around Samantha's middle, resting his chin on her shoulder. "So, don't be sad, Sammy. We've got you. And those little voices of yours, don't tonight. So, don't listen to them."

"Yeah. Listen to our loud ones!" Paul sang, nodding his head. "We'll drown them out and make you smile all night long! I guarantee it, Sammy!"

Samantha smiled as Paul started jumping again. She slid a hand over one of Marko's and the cherub faced blond started slowly swaying with her. "So, where are the other two Boys and Laddie tonight?"

Paul stopped jumping for a moment and lifted an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

The brunette shrugged her shoulders as Marko continued to sway with her. "I was just curious. You guys are never without David or Dwayne and Laddie usually tails you guys around like a little puppy. So, where are they tonight?"

"Around." Paul shrugged his shoulders and put his tongue in his cheek. "But you're not going to see them any time soon, Sammy."

"I'm not?"

"Nope! Tell her, Marko."

"You're not," Marko agreed. "We're keeping you to ourselves for a bit."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." Paul reached out and pulled her from Marko's arms, crushing her against his own chest. Samantha gasped at the close contact, but the wild blond ignored it as he smiled down at her. "Because we haven't had you with us in forever! So, David and Dwayne can forget about seeing you for a while. Me and Marko are going to show you a good time, Sammy!"

Samantha stared up at Paul's eager face and sighed. She really had missed him and his stupidity. And he could make her smile. Him and Marko could anyway. Especially when she felt like nothing in the world could.

"Okay, okay," she said, putting her hand against his chest and gently pushing herself back a little. "We can hang out a bit, Paul. But please, stop humping me."

Paul laughed. "Humping you? Sammy, sweetheart, I ain't humping you. I'm hugging you. This is humping you."

Samantha let out a small noise and jumped back away from the wild blond as his hips gyrated against hers. Her cheeks flooded with heat under the bright lights of the boardwalk and she crashed back against Marko, who caught her in his arms. Paul laughed loudly and shook out his mane of hair, pointing at her as he held his stomach.

"Paul!" Samantha exclaimed. "That wasn't funny!"

The wild blond continued to laugh, wiping away a pretend tear. "Oh, yes it was! You should see your face, Sammy! You can tell you're a virgin!"

Again, Samantha's face reddened. "It's not my fault that no one wants to date me, Paul! I'm a freak, remember?"

Just like that, Paul's laughter cut out and his smile slipped away. He blinked. "What did you say, Sammy?"

"No one wants to date me."
"No, no. After that." He moved closer to her. "You said something horrible after that. Something untrue."

Samantha looked up at her friend as he moved to stand just in front of her and felt Marko's hands tighten on her arms. "I said that I wasn't going to get a date because I was a freak, Paul. And it is true. I am a freak. A crazy, schizophrenic freak."

"Bullshit." Paul shook his head and reached out, cupping her face between his hands. "Sammy, you are not a freak. You are simply sick. A little nutty, yeah. But who isn't?"

"We are, but you still love us," Marko said from behind her.

"But –!" Samantha began to protest.

"But nothing, Sammy. You're not a freak to us and you're not a freak to most of the people in your life. Okay?" Paul smiled a crooked grin at her. "You're our Sammy and we love you like a sister that we never got to have before old Max changed us. And we're not about to let you beat yourself down with nasty words because of what those voices tell you. So, don't listen to them."

"Listen to us," Marko told her. "We're the Voices of Reason."

Samantha laughed at that. "Voices of Reason? You two?"

Paul smoothed his thumbs over her cheeks. "See? We got you laughing again, didn't we?"

The girl nodded. "You did."

"So, no more calling yourself that naughty word again?"

"Not tonight, I won't."

"Sammy…"

"Paul, I can't promise that I won't call myself that word again." Samantha shook her head at his frown. "I can only promise that I won't say it again tonight. Or within your earshot." She turned her head slightly. "Or yours, Marko. I love you both too much to let you hear me say it again. Okay?"

Marko nodded. "Okay, Sammy."

Samantha's green eyes turned back onto Paul as he sighed. He nodded too and continued to stroke her face with his thumbs.

"Okay, okay. I guess I can deal with that promise too. But I don't like it. Thinking that you could call yourself a freak, Sammy. Because you aren't. You're too sweet and cute to be a freak."

"Okay, now you're getting weird." Samantha pushed his hands away from her and stepped out of Marko's arms. "Can we go do something now? Like ride some rides together? Since I haven't seen you guys on the boardwalk in forever, I want to have some fun with you before someone tries to tear us apart again."

"Like we'd let anyone take you away from us," Marko said, jumping next to her side and hooking his arm around hers. He bit his thumbnail, which he knew annoyed her sometimes. "Which ride do you want to ride with us first, Sammy?"

Samantha shrugged. "You guys decide."

Paul grabbed hold of her other arm and pulled her in one direction while Marko attempted to pull her in the other direction. Samantha made a small sound when she couldn't move in either. The two Lost Boys glared at each other over her head and then tried to pull her in opposite directions again to the same effect. Samantha rolled her eyes and shifted her arms until she had a hand grasping one of each of theirs.

"Okay, never mind that," she said, squeezing their fingers as she tugged them after her. "I'll decide where we go first."

"Yay!" the two blonds cheered.

OOOOOOOOO

Samantha walked arm-and-arm with Paul and Marko as they got off of the rollercoaster on the boardwalk, smiling as the two Lost Boys joked about how stupid that ride was. She had heard the same story a million times before, but she loved it every single time. Paul had a little skip in his step as he moved next to her, making her skip slightly too as they passed the line that had started to get onto the ride and Marko had to keep up next to them.

"That was fun," Samantha said, looking up at the laughing Lost Boy.

"We could go on it again," Marko told her.

"Yeah," Paul agreed. "We could just push everyone out of the way and tell them that the Princess demands that she gets to go on the front cart again."

Samantha shook her head. "But I'm not a princess."

"You're our princess, Princess." And as if to prove his point, Paul turned and made an exaggerated bow before her.

Samantha laughed at him and tapped him on his back. "Paul, straighten up. People are staring and it's weird. You know that I don't like it when people stare at me. You, maybe. But not me."

Paul wiggled his eyebrows up at her as he straightened. "Are you trying to say something, Sammy?"

"No."

"Really?"

Samantha turned to look at Marko. "Marko, help me."

Marko shrugged and lifted his arm. Samantha immediately ducked under it and leaned into his body. The cherub faced blond stuck his tongue out at Paul and held the girl against his side when the wild blond made a sound of protest.

"She chose me," Marko declared proudly.

"Well, she'd choose Dwayne if he were here," Paul stated, crossing his arms.

"I would not," Samantha muttered, sliding an arm around Marko's waist. "You're just jealous that I hung out with Dwayne more than you the last time that I came to the boardwalk, Paul."

Paul frowned. "Do you love him more than me, Sammy?"

Samantha shook her head. "I love you all equally. And for different reasons. I can't pick favorites."

Marko pressed a kiss to her temple and then lowered his gaze to hers. "Do you want us to get you something from the games, Sammy?"

"They're rigged, Marko. You couldn't win something for me if you tried."

That cherub's smile came onto his face. "We know how to beat them."

Samantha lifted an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yep!"

"How?"

"Magic!" Paul declared, wiggling his fingers mysteriously with a loud laugh. "We're secretly witches as well as you-know-what's."

Samantha shook her head again and looked back at Marko. "How?"

"Well, when you've lived on the boardwalk for so long, you know how to beat the cheaters at their own game," Marko explained, smoothing his hand along her side. "And you know us, Sammy. We're great at cheating."

"Oh, I know it." Samantha smiled. "I still refuse to play Hide-And-Seek with you guys ever again."

Paul stuck his tongue out at her and wiggled it at her. Samantha snapped her teeth at him, earning a loud, hyena-like laugh from the wild blond.

"Ooh! Sammy, I'm falling in love with you a little more every day!" Paul declared, putting a hand over his heart.

Marko made a twirling motion against the side of his head with his finger when Samantha looked back at him and she nodded to show that she understood. She leaned her head against his shoulder and let him start walking her away. Paul called out her name and began to hurry after the two of them.

"Paul!" Samantha cried out when the Lost Boy pulled her out of Marko's arms and dragged her towards the gaming area of the boardwalk.

"I'm going to win you the best prize ever, Sammy!" Paul declared, laughing as he looked back over his shoulder at her.

Samantha frowned at him as she tried to keep pace with him. She didn't bother muttering apologies to the people that Paul pushed out of the way to get them towards his goal faster. It wouldn't matter if she did anyway. People on this boardwalk didn't care much for apologies or niceties. If they couldn't be bought, they didn't care about anything.

Please just go away, Samantha thought as something buzzed angrily in her head. I just want one night alone with the Boys and not think about you guys. Please, just let me smile and have fun with my best friends. Please!

"Okay," Paul said, pulling Samantha up to a booth that was dedicated to baseballs and stacked up cups. He dropped her hand and rubbed his own together. "Which prize do you want me to win for you first, Sammy?"

Samantha sighed and looked up at all of the prizes hanging up around the booth, biting her plump bottom lip. She lifted a hand and pointed at a stuffed dog with large eyes. "I want…that one."

Paul followed her finger and laughed. "Of course!" He reached into his pockets and slapped some money on the counter in front of the booth's owner. "Give me something to throw. I wanna win something for my Sammy."

The booth man's eyes slid onto Samantha as he pocketed Paul's money and Samantha stepped back against Marko again. He tucked his cigar back between his teeth and handed Paul three irregular baseballs. "Good luck, punk," he ground out.

Paul put his tongue in his cheek and pulled his hand back, throwing the first ball. Samantha smiled as the ball crashed into the stack of cups, knocking them all down. The booth man swore under his breath. Paul let out a small cheer and started tossing the other two balls in his hand.

"Well?" he prompted, looking at the booth man.

"You have two more balls," the man said, shaking his head. "You have to hit two more stacks before I give you the stuffed animal."

"Fair enough," Paul said, shrugging a shoulder. He looked over at Samantha and smiled at her. "Do I get a kiss for good luck, Sammy?"

Samantha cocked her head to the side. "Do you promise to keep your tongue in your mouth this time, Paul? Because I'm not kissing you if you put your tongue in my mouth again."

Paul made a crossing motion over his heart. "I promise."

Samantha pushed herself away from Marko and stepped over to Paul. She bounced onto her toes and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips. "Happy now?" she asked, lowering herself back onto her feet.

"Nope," Paul complained, shaking his head. "That wasn't a real kiss. But it'll have to do." He turned and faced the booth again. "Let me win you that big old doggy, Sammy."

"And I'll win you that," Marko promised, pointing at a large panda stuffed animal hanging at another corner of the booth. "Because I know that you love pandas, Sammy."

Samantha turned to look at the cherub faced blond. "You didn't even know what a panda was until I met you, Marko. And now you're just as crazy about them as I am."

Marko smiled at her and pulled her to his side again. "I know. David's mad at you for that."

"He can deal with that. And if not, send him my way. I'll handle him on my own."

She watched Paul's ball knock over the next stack of cups to the dismay of the booth's owner. Marko leaned his head against hers and started humming to the music playing around them. Samantha smiled and tried not to focus on the voices that started whispering to her. She didn't want to pay attention to them. She wanted to get lost in the moment that she got to spend with her best friends. Because it wasn't often that she got to hang out with the Boys. Not with her job or her writing or her other life's obligations that took over her days. And with the Boys being vampires that could only go out at night, she didn't get to see them much.

Just let me have this one night with them for now, Samantha thought to the noise in her head. Please. Let me have this one night and then you can torment me for the next few days. Okay?

"Yay Paul!" she cheered when he knocked over the last of the stack of cups.

Paul snatched up the dog stuffed animal from the sour faced booth owner and laughed at the man before turning to face Samantha. He dangled the animal in front of her face for a moment before lifting it out of her reach. He danced backwards and laughed, tossing his hair.

"Okay, Marko," he sang, eyes dancing with laughter. "You're up! Win our Sammy her panda!"

Marko glanced down at Samantha and she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," he said gently, prying himself from her side and stepping up to take Paul's place at the booth.

"Good luck," Samantha said, though she knew that he didn't need it.

OOOOOOOOO

Samantha laughed as she walked with Paul and Marko through the crowds on the boardwalk, clutching her panda to her chest as she did so. Paul had her dog tucked under his other arm as he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and Marko had his arm wrapped around her waist, tapping his fingers against her hip. It felt perfectly natural to her, even though neither of her two exes had ever done that with her and she never wanted to think about those two assholes again. Not when she had her best friends with her.

I wonder what the Boys would do to them if they found out about what Paul and John did to me, Samantha wondered, glancing up at Paul when he laughed at something. Would they kill them like they've done to so many other people on the boardwalk? I've seen the Missing Person's Wall and I know that the Boys have done most of that. But would they do something like that for me?

"Hey Samantha," a familiar voice said, making Samantha freeze in her step.

Samantha looked towards the side of the boardwalk and saw the other two Lost Boys leaning against the railing, looking as gorgeous and deadly as ever. Her eyes landed on Dwayne first and he gave a little wave, his dark eyes smoldering as they roamed over her. She knew that he was just making sure that she was okay. He never checked her out, as far as she knew. Samantha had checked him out when she had first seen him, but how could she not? He didn't wear a shirt under that jacket of his and he was pretty hot. They all were. But he was Dwayne. Her protector first. And anything else could come way after.

"Dwayne!" Samantha exclaimed, breaking away from Paul and Marko to rush over to the dark-haired Lost Boy.

Dwayne opened his arms to her and embraced the girl, smoothing a hand through her hair. "Hey Sammy," he said gently. "We've missed you."

Samantha nodded and rubbed her cheek against his chest. "I missed you too, Dwayne. A lot. But I'm back. For the night, at least."

Someone cleared their throat next to Dwayne to get her attention. "Did you forget about me, Samantha?"

Samantha lifted her face away from Dwayne and turned her green gaze onto the platinum blond that was staring at her. "David…"

How could she ever forget about him? He was intimidating and perfect and dangerous all in one big package. And he rarely called her "Sammy" like the other Boys did. She was "Samantha" to him and she kind of liked that. Kind of. Her eyes lingered on his ice blue ones for a moment before trailing down his face, mentally noting that he needed to shave again, but not that she minded a little scruff on David's face. It suited him just fine. And she lowered her gaze further on his body before raising her gaze back onto his face just as he liked to do to her.

"I didn't forget about you," she told him, hugging her panda against her chest. "I've missed you too, David."

David looked at her hard. "Then where's my hug? Or do you only hug those fuckers?"

Samantha glanced back at Dwayne and the other two Boys. "I didn't think you'd want to hug me."

"Think again, Samantha."

Samantha watched him open his arms to her and she hesitated just a moment before stepping forward. She jumped into his arms and pressed her face against his chest and felt his arms close in around her, almost possessively. Samantha closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, taking in the light aroma of cologne and cigarette smoke. Normally, she hated cigarettes, but on David, it didn't bother her as much.

"You were gone too long, Samantha," David told her, running his fingers along her back, still crushing her against his chest. "Two and a half fucking months."

Samantha sighed. "I've been busy, David. Trust me, if I could have come back to the boardwalk and you guys sooner, I would have. But I couldn't. I'm sorry."

David pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. "Is it because of the voices, Samantha?"

She heard the other Boys press in closer, listening to her conversation with David. Samantha nodded slowly and looked up at David. She placed her hand on his chest and gripped at the front of his inner jacket.

"They're not getting any better, David," she admitted. "I mean, they're not getting much worse either. But my new doctor has put me on my old medication again since it's the only one that I can afford now. And it's kind of working." She shook her head. "I just can't stand this anymore, David. And I know that there's nothing that you guys can do about it, but you wish that you could. Everyone wishes that they could. But you can't. I can't. And it sucks like hell."

David shook his head and pulled her to him again. "We'll figure something out," he promised against her hair. "Samantha, you shouldn't stay away from the boardwalk or us just because of your sickness."

"Yeah," Paul agreed from behind her. "We can make you smile and laugh and party all night away just to make you forget about those nasty little voices for a bit, can't we, Sammy?"

Samantha nodded against David's chest, still breathing in his scent. She blushed when her stomach made an annoying rumbling sound and David parted from her again. His blue eyes glinted as he looked down at her and then narrowed as he looked at Paul and Marko.

"You didn't feed her!" he snapped.

"Nope," Paul said, shaking his head as he tossed Samantha's stuffed dog into the air. "We were too busy taking her everywhere. And humping her…Well, I did anyway."

Samantha shook her head and blushed at the memory. David let out a small growl and tightened his grip on her. "David…" she warned.

"Yeah," Marko agreed, putting his hands on his hips. "We took her on most of the rides and then over to the games to win her some toys. And her stomach wasn't complaining until just now, Davie. If we'd known our Sammy was getting hungry, we'd have fed her. Honest."

Samantha shook her head. "You don't have to feed me, David. Please, don't worry about it." Her stomach made that sound again and she clamped a hand over it. "Shut it, you."

David shook his head and grasped her hand tightly in his as he pushed himself away from the railing of the boardwalk. "We're feeding you. Honestly Samantha, why won't you let us take care of you?"

"Because I'm not used to being taken care of," Samantha admitted, glancing down at their joined hands. "Remember, my exes never took care of me like this. And no, I'm not telling you more about them. I know you, David. You'd go after them. And I don't remember much about the second one."

David shook his head again and looked down at her as they started walking. "What do you want to eat, Samantha?"

Samantha thought for a moment. "Ice cream."

"That's not a meal."

"Ice cream," Samantha repeated slowly, putting emphasis on each word. "With chocolate sprinkles."

"She wants ice cream, David," Dwayne said from her other side. "And you'd better get it for her or she won't be happy."

"And we don't like an unhappy Sammy," Paul sang from behind them, bouncing loudly on the boardwalk. "It's not a nice Sammy."

David cursed under his breath and steered the small group over to the nearest ice cream vendor, pushing people out of the way. Samantha pressed closer to the leader of the Lost Boys, feeling the stares of people on her skin, but not knowing if they were really staring at her or not. She knew that the Boys would back her up, they always did. They had from the moment that they had first introduced themselves to her. Well, Paul and Marko had been the first ones to come up to her one night on the boardwalk and dragged her around until David and Dwayne came upon them and demanded to know who she was. And now, she couldn't get rid of them and didn't want to.

"What can I get you?" the vendor asked when they made it the front of the line.

"Chocolate ice cream in a tub for the little lady," David ordered, still gripping Samantha's hand in his own. "With sprinkles."

"And four spoons," Samantha added quickly. David's eyes slid onto hers and she smiled up at him. "I'm sharing," she told him. "So, don't you argue with me, David. I'll win."

David rolled his eyes and passed over some money when the vendor told him the price for the sweet treat. The oldest of the Lost Boys collected the ice cream in his hand and the spoons before jerking his head in the direction of a collection of tables. Samantha let herself be pulled towards them and settled down on the table, setting her panda on her lap. David sat to her left while Dwayne sat on her right. Paul and Marko plunked down across from her and Paul immediately waggled his tongue at her, earning a laugh.

"Eat," David told her, shoving the ice cream in front of her.

Samantha sighed and dipped her spoon into the ice cream. "You don't have to be an asshole about this, David," she replied, earning a laugh from Paul at her use of language. She nudged the tub over slightly as she placed the spoon into her mouth. "Dwayne?"

Dwayne took some of the ice cream and smiled at her. Normally, Samantha didn't like sharing her food with other people. Something about swapping germs and spit bothered her, but with the Boys, it was different. Of course, there were other friends that she did it with too, but tonight, she was with her best friends and that was all that mattered.

"Aren't you a little old for stuffed animals, Samantha?" David asked while Marko and Paul helped themselves to her ice cream too.

Samantha glanced down at the stuffed panda in her lap and frowned at it, thinking about the other stuffed animals that she had in her room. It was true that she was getting older in life. Soon she would be older than the Boys when it came to their human years, but that didn't seem to bother them. To them, she would always be younger than them and their little Sammy, or Samantha, in David's case. But it bothered her that she was getting older and older while they remained untouched by the world.

"No," she muttered, shaking her head and running her fingers over the thin fur of the stuffed animal. "I like it. And it's not like I'm going to sleep with it." She pushed her ice cream towards him. "Eat."

David dipped his spoon into the ice cream and took a long, slow lick at the chocolate ice cream, keeping his eyes glued on hers. He smirked at her when she watched him and she shook her head, looking away. She hated it when he did that. Her spoon dipped back into the ice cream and she brought it to her mouth, eating mechanically while her friends laughed around her.

Her eyes widened slightly as the sounds of the boardwalk and the laughing voices of the Boys were suddenly not the only sounds that she heard. No, she could hear the raising voices of the sickness in her head and it was killing her. Samantha dropped her spoon and made a small noise, clapping her hands over her ears. She knew it wouldn't do any good to do that. The sound wasn't really coming from outside, but inside her head. But it didn't matter. She had to make it stop! It had to stop.

"Just go away," Samantha whispered, shaking her head as she looked down at the table, very aware that the Boys had stopped laughing and were watching her. "Please, just stop and go away. Please, please, please."

Dwayne slipped a hand onto her lap and squeezed her thigh. "Sammy," he said gently. "It's going to be okay."

Samantha shook her head and lowered her hands as the voices subsided in her head. "It's not, Dwayne. It's never okay. It's not going to be okay until something happens that makes these – these things go away for good."

Even Paul looked sad when she looked up at him and she hated that she had brought that to him. She wanted to curl up in a ball and die on sight. She wanted to leap across the table and wrap her arms around him and promise him that everything was going to be all right but, how could she? When everything about this whole damn sickness was uncertain, how could she promise one of her best friends that things were going to be okay? And bring a smile back onto his face?

David slipped a hand onto her back, startling her. "What are the doctors telling you, Samantha? What are they doing about this?"

Samantha stabbed at her ice cream. "The same thing that they've been telling me for years, David. Take my medicine. Stop stressing over simple things. Don't watch scary movies, but I love watching scary movies, so scratch that advice." She shook her head. "If something doesn't change, they might try to put me in the psych ward like they tried to when I had my problems earlier."

David's grip on the back of her shirt tightened slightly and he growled. "We're not letting that happen, Samantha. You're not going to any funny farm."

She lifted her eyes to his. "Even if it helps me? Finally?"

The leader of the Lost Boys shook his head slowly. "No. It wouldn't help you. It would take you away from us and change you into something that we wouldn't want you to be."

"Yeah," Marko agreed, nodding his blond head. "A blank-eyed, happy mindless zombie full of drugs and numb to the world."

"And that is not the Sammy that we want," Dwayne said, rubbing circles on her thigh.

"We prefer the nutty Sammy that let's us party around her," Paul told her, wiggling his tongue at her. "And hump her just to make her blush."

Samantha stabbed a finger in his direction. "You are not humping me again, Paul! The only person that is ever supposed to hump me is my future boyfriend-husband."

"And we get to help choose him for you, Samantha," David told her. "Because we're going to fucking kill any bastard that hurts you again. You don't deserve to have your heart broken over some idiot that's not good enough for you."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." She shook her head and dipped her spoon back into her ice cream, not really interested in it anymore. "I'm not as popular with boys as you are with the ladies. You guys are all sexy as hell and I'm well, look at me." Her cheeks burned with color as she realized what she had just said. "Don't read into that. And don't look at me."

"Too late," the Boys all said at the same time, smirking.

Samantha cursed under her breath and looked back down at her ice cream. "I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have said anything about that."

"Well you did and you can't take it back now," David told her, running his hand down her back and earning a shiver from the girl. "And there's nothing wrong with the way that you look, Samantha. We've been trying to tell you that for a long time now. You're just not looking in the right places for the guy of your dreams."

"Maybe not," Samantha agreed, ducking her head. "But I've got friends looking for him. And I've got an idea of what I want. Of who I want. It's just not happening. And my mom wants grandchildren soon."

Paul laughed. "And that means that our Sammy needs to have sex first. Lots and lots of sex. Kinky sex. Dirty, dirty sex."

Samantha's cheeks burned with heat as she looked up at the laughing blond. "Paul!" She looked towards Marko. "Can you hit him for me? I'm too far away to do it properly."

Marko nodded and punched Paul off of the table, knocking the laughing blond onto the ground. Paul rolled onto his back, still laughing. Samantha shook her head and leaned against Dwayne, embarrassed by what Paul had said. Dwayne patted her leg to show that he understood.

"Are you done eating, Samantha?" David asked, glancing down at her ice cream.

Samantha nodded slowly, still listening to Paul's loud laughter. "Why?"
"We're taking you shopping," David announced, popping onto his feet. "And if you argue, I'm not going to listen. We haven't seen you in forever and it's about time that you let us do something nice for you. And after what we've just seen, you deserve something. Okay?"

Samantha frowned at that. But I don't like having people spend money on me, David! And you know that, asshole! She watched him gather up her melted ice cream and chuck it into a trash can. "Okay. Whatever."

Dwayne helped her to her feet and Samantha hugged her panda to her chest as she settled close to the dark-haired Lost Boy. She wanted to stay close to Dwayne as they walked as a group towards the shopping portion of the boardwalk and didn't completely understand why. David growled at anyone who dared to look in her direction. Already in overprotective mode, she noticed. And she couldn't blame him. After her little episode, she knew that all of the Boys would be on her case for the rest of the night.

Why couldn't you guys let me have one night without freaking out on me? Samantha wondered to the voices that were buzzing lightly in her head. I'm trying to have fun with my friends and you just had to get out of hand, didn't you? Well, stop it! I'm not trying to earn their sympathy here. I'm trying to enjoy myself for once. And you're ruining everything. Again! And it's driving me crazier than normal. And it's getting them worked up. Just look at David! Look at him! He's twitchy and snarly and he's going to be an asshole to everyone all night. Perfect! Just fucking perfect!

Paul darted on a head of them and laughed as he disappeared into the crowd. Samantha shook her head as Dwayne pulled her to a stop next to David. David plucked at a backpack and glanced at her as if questioning something. He nodded and grabbed the backpack off of the hook.

"You're going to need this," he told her, swinging the backpack by one of the straps.

"Why?" Samantha wondered out loud, watching him exchange money with the clerk and rip the tags off of the backpack. "I have one back at home that I use for work."

"Well, you're not at work, Samantha," David said, shouldering the bag. "And this is for all of the things that we're going to buy you. So, shut up and let us treat you to some shit."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Language, David."

"English."

"Asshole."

David smirked at that. "Language, Samantha."

Samantha stuck her tongue out at him and he snapped his teeth at her. Dwayne pulled her closer to his side and shook his head at the older of the Lost Boys. David rolled his eyes at that and turned, heading in another direction. Marko nudged her with his elbow as he appeared at her side and smiled from behind his thumbnail. Paul popped up next to David as the platinum blond browsed through some t-shirts and whispered something into his ear.

"Really?" David asked, lifting an eyebrow. Paul nodded excitedly. "Well, go get the thing, Paul. And get it in the right size. She'll love it."

"Love what?" Samantha asked, watching Paul dart off again.

"You'll see," David said, turning and holding a shirt up against Samantha as if sizing her up. He tilted his head to the side and nodded. "Nice."

Samantha sighed. "Clothes? Really?"

"Yep. You'll like this one." He turned the shirt so that she could read the front. "See."

"Vampires Slay Me." Samantha read off of the front of the shirt and she noticed the heart with vampire teeth sticking on it. She smiled at it and reached towards it to check the size, but the vampire tugged it away before she could. "David!"

"Ah, ah, ah," David said, turning to grab another, different shirt for her before walking towards the clerk. "I know what size you wear, Samantha. In everything. We all do."

Heat blossomed in her cheeks. "I don't even want to know how you know that."

"Magic," Marko told her, echoing Paul's earlier statement.

Samantha shook her head and pressed her cheek against Dwayne's shoulder. The tall Lost Boy pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she sighed. It made sense that the Boys knew everything about her. It creeped her out sometimes, but they were always up to something. And if they could sneak around her house, they could have found their ways into her closet where her clothes slept.

David approached her after paying for her shirts and ripped the tags off of the shirts before stuffing them in the backpack slung over his shoulder. "Okay, next shop," he said. His eyes slid onto her neck. "Maybe we'll get something for that pretty little neck of yours, Samantha."

Samantha shifted her panda so that she could touch her neck with her fingertips. "Why?"

"Because I said so." He jerked his head in a seemingly random direction. "Come on. I know a place."

Samantha sighed and let herself be escorted after the elder Lost Boy. Dwayne rubbed her shoulder with his hand, grounding her in reality. Marko hopped along next to them, smiling at her from behind his thumbnail. She wanted to reach out and grab onto his hand, swing it between them like a child would, but couldn't with her grip on her panda. So, she simply smiled back and then looked towards David's back, trying not to look down at his ass because if he caught her staring, she'd never hear the end of it.

I don't check out my friends, Samantha told herself as David stopped them at another shop. I haven't done it since I met them and I'm not about to start now. That'd be weird and wrong. And I'm not interested in any of them that way. And Felicia would kill me if I hit on any of them without her.

David rifled through a bunch of black leather chokers, looking dissatisfied with all of them. Marko stepped up to help him while Dwayne stood next to Samantha, keeping an eye out for anyone that would bug her. Samantha looked towards a display of cheap rings and tapped her cheek against Dwayne to get his attention.

"Over there," she whispered, gesturing with her eyes at the small display. "Please."

He nodded and escorted her past David and Marko, towards the display of rings. "Which one do you like the most, Sammy? You can have any that you want?"

Samantha looked down at the cheap rings and sighed. She remembered getting some stuck on her fingers at another one of her favorite stores and how embarrassed she had been, even when the friendly clerk had told her that it had been okay. But this store had a sizing chart next to the ring selection and she knew her ring size better now, so she could make her decision before picking one out and wouldn't make that horrible mistake again. She ran her fingers over the rings and plucked up a couple – one with a bunch of bats on it and one with swirling tendrils of flames on it – and showed them to Dwayne.

"I like these two," she told him quietly.

Dwayne snapped them out of her hand and turned to David as he approached with Marko. "Sammy likes these, David," he announced, showing the platinum blond the two rings that Samantha had picked out. "What do you think?"

Samantha watched David scoop the rings off of Dwayne's palm and put them onto his pinky. The Lost Boy examined them and smirked. His ice blue eyes lowered onto hers. "Are you going to wear them?" he asked her.

"Probably," Samantha replied, settling back against Dwayne's side. "I'm not ungrateful for what people buy me, David. If you buy it, I wear it."

David nodded and held up a black leather, studded choker for her to see. "I want to see this on you the next time I see you, Samantha. Maybe even after I buy it for you."

Samantha nodded. "Okay."

David stepped over to the clerk and paid for the jewelry. He stepped back to her side and pushed Dwayne away from her, not that the quiet Lost Boy complained much. David's cool fingers brushed back her hair and he clasped the choker around her throat. Samantha wasn't used to wearing tight necklaces around her neck, but she would for him and the other Boys. She wanted to make them happy after everything that they did to make her happy.

"Good," he said gently, stepping around her and tilting her face up so that he could see the choker better. "It looks good on you."

Samantha smiled. "Thanks."

David nodded and looked past her. "About damn time, Paul! What the hell took you so long?"

"I got a little held up, okay?" Paul said from behind Samantha. "But I found her size and I think she's going to look so good in this!"

Samantha turned around to look at her wild blond friend and her jaw dropped at what was hanging in Paul's hand. "A leather jacket! Paul! Where the hell did you find that?"

"Over that way!" Paul said proudly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder as he passed the jacket over to David. "And I knew that you'd like it, Sammy. You've been dying for a leather jacket for years. I've read it in your diary and in your stories. You've got a real nasty craving for men in leather, don't you?"

Samantha shook her head, ignoring the fact that he had invaded her privacy by reading her diary. "You shouldn't have spent so much money on that for me, Paul!"

He pouted. "But we have money to spare, Sammy! And he told me to do it!" He pointed at David, who ripped the tag off of the jacket before she could see the price or protest. "Besides, you need a leather jacket. Like us. And think about it, you've wanted one since you saw that British guy in it on television. Admit it, you think they're sexy as hell."

"I'll admit nothing," Samantha muttered, turning her gaze back onto David. "David, seriously, me in leather?"

"Yes, Samantha. You in leather." He shook the jacket out and approached her slowly with it. "Don't you want to be one of us?"

The way that he said that made another shiver go down her spine. Samantha turned her back on him and let him slide the jacket onto her. The Lost Boy pulled her long dark hair out from under the collar and fanned it out around her shoulders, smoothing his fingers through the tendrils. Samantha sighed and almost leaned into the touch before turning to face the others.

"Well?" she asked, gesturing down at herself.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Paul sang out, jumping up and down as he fanned himself. "You're smoking, Sammy! I'm in love! Again!"

Marko smiled from behind his thumbnail. "You're cute, Sammy."

Dwayne nodded approvingly at her questioning glance, but said nothing and she was okay with that. Her green gaze slid onto David next and she saw him looking down at her, sizing her up again, ignoring the others.

"David?"

"You're good," he told her softly. "Almost one of us, completely. Without the vampire part. But that could change one day. If you want us to do it, Samantha." He reached out and tugged on her earlobe. "You want us to buy you something for those?"

Samantha reached out and touched his own earlobe, tugging at his. "How about something like yours?" she asked. "Not the double kind, obviously. I'm not ready to have double piercings."

David smirked. "Afraid of a little extra pain, Samantha?"

Samantha shook her head. "No. I just don't want to go through my ears trying to eat my piercings again." She frowned. "Remind me to never get my ears done at a cheap jewelry store again."

"We'll take you to a tattoo parlor next time," Dwayne promised, sliding an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side once more. "And we'll be right there holding your hand."

"And chanting something really loud while the guy shoots you in the ear," Paul said, still jumping up and down. "Bang, bang."

David shook his head. "Why don't you want something more like Dwayne's? You've always liked his."

Samantha's eyes lifted towards Dwayne's long dangling earring and she shook her head as she looked back at David. "Maybe next time. I want something like yours, David. Please? I think they're pretty cool."

Something changed in his ice blue eyes and he smirked as he shifted her backpack on his shoulder. "Okay then. We'll get you some big girl earrings, Samantha. To replace those cheap, little cutesy ones that you always wear." He shook his head and looked away. "Honestly, butterflies and penguins? I thought you were a Lost Girl?"

"Hey!" Samantha protested, following after him with Dwayne at her side and the two blonds right behind her. "There is nothing wrong with penguins!"

"Yeah, Davie," Paul echoed from behind her. "Penguins are cool as hell!"

"For flightless birds that don't fucking do anything," David muttered, shaking his head.

"They're cute," Samantha said, defending the birds that studded her ears at that moment.

"You prefer sexy, Samantha," David reminded her, tossing the comment over his shoulder. "You've grown past the cute phase a long time ago."

"Only in vampires and men, David." Samantha paused for just a moment. "And cowboys."

Paul and Marko laughed. "Maybe we should get her a vampire cowboy, Paul," Marko commented, tapping her on the hip from behind. "Won't that make you happy, Sammy?"

Samantha shook her head. "I can't attract a hot vampire cowboy, Marko. I can't even attract a normal, hot guy."

"It'll come, Sammy," Dwayne assured her, rubbing her shoulder. "And we'll be there to make sure that he doesn't do anything wrong to you."

"And kick his ass if he does," Paul promised.

"And then rip his balls off and shove them down his throat if he tries to hurt you," Marko added, nodding his head so that his curls bounced. "No one touches our Sammy."

"No one has, really." Samantha told them. "Except for my first boyfriend kissing me, no one has touched me before."

Paul laughed. "We couldn't tell, Sammy. Not after you reacted to me humping you."

"Marko?" Samantha prompted.

"On it," Marko said and she heard him hit Paul from behind her.

"Hey!" Paul whined.

David stopped them at an earring stand and pulled her away from Dwayne once more. He grasped her hand tightly in his and dragged her over to a display, turning it around and around, searching for any set of earrings that he liked for her. Samantha looked at the display as it turned, eyeing the jewelry and frowning at the prices.

They really shouldn't pay this much for me, she thought, watching him pluck up seemingly random pairs and set them down. This is more than my paycheck on any given week and I hate to think about how much they've spent on me since I've come to the boardwalk. It's too much sometimes, but they won't stop. David keeps telling me not to worry about it. But I do. I can't help it. The sickness won't let me stop worrying about anything.

"Found them," she and David said at the same time as the display stopped spinning and revealed the pair of earrings that almost matched his exactly.

David smirked down at her and she quickly looked away from him, hugging her panda against her chest. The Lost Boy plucked the pair of earrings from the display and set them down on the counter before turning the display one more time as if checking to make sure that he hadn't missed any pair that would suit her.

"David," she sighed, looking at him as he gave up on finding more pairs and scooped up his collection. "Are we done now?"
"Maybe," he told her, pulling her towards the register. "I haven't decided that yet."

"Please, can we be done?" Samantha begged, watching him exchange money with the clerk and the clerk slip her new earrings into a bag before handing it over to the Lost Boy. "Please, I think I have enough goods to last me for a while."

David slid the bag of earrings into her backpack and then turned to look at her, frowning. "And if I say no?"

"I'll argue with you."

"I could ignore you and keep shopping for you. I have all night, Samantha. We," he gestured at the Boys around them. "Have all night on the boardwalk with you."

Samantha brushed back a strand of hair that flew in her face and frowned back at him. "David, please. Stop. I want to do something else. Can we go to the beach and have a bonfire? We haven't had one of those in a while. Please?"

"Please Davie, please!" Paul joined in, jumping up and down beside Samantha. "We could dance with her and get her to finally drink beer with us!"

Samantha shook her head and stuck her tongue out at the mention of beer. "Nasty! Get some whisky or something and I'll drink that. But David, please? A bonfire?"

David nodded and reached out, taking her by the hand again. "Fine. We'll go do a bonfire on the beach. Just for you, Samantha."

Samantha smiled and swung their hands childishly as they started walking. "Thank you, David."

OOOOOOOOO

Marko and Paul stopped by a shop and got a box of cheap beer and a small bottle of whisky especially for Samantha before David led them down to the beach. Dwayne flanked her other side, keeping an eye out for trouble. Samantha kicked up sand, still swinging David's hand as they walked, earning a small smirk from the older Lost Boy. She hugged her panda to her side as she glanced at the bonfires around the beach, noticing the Surf Nazis and their drunken dates clustered around them.

"I don't see any open spaces," she told the Lost Boys as they walked along the beach. "Maybe we can't have a bonfire, after all."

"Like hell we won't," David spat, shaking his head. "I promised you a bonfire and you're getting one, Samantha."

"Yeah," Paul agreed, appearing in front of her and starting to walk backwards. "We can easily chase away some stinking Surf Nazis and get us a good old fire, Sammy. You just watch."

Samantha sighed, but nodded. "Okay. Just don't start a fight."

Marko winked at her and darted off with Paul.

David pulled her over to a fire that he seemed to like the most. The Surf Nazis gathered around it looked up as the group approached and the leader of that annoying group lowered his beer bottle.

"What do you want?" he asked and Samantha immediately hated the sound of his voice.

"Clear out," David ordered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "We want this spot now."

"Fuck off, mate," the same Surf Nazi said, flipping David off even as Paul and Marko flanked David. "We were here first."

"David," Samantha whispered, watching the fire and the people gathered around it.

David ignored her. "I said clear out."

The leader of the Surf Nazi's eyes landed on Samantha as he stood up and he smirked. "How about this? We'll let you have this spot if you let us have the chick?"

Samantha felt Dwayne and David press closer to her and she hugged her panda closer to her chest. She hated Surf Nazis particularly for this reason. They thought that every woman on this boardwalk belonged to them. Including her.

"You're not having our Sammy," Paul ground out, shaking his blond head as he stepped closer to David.

One of the other Surf Nazis laughed and threw his empty beer bottle into the fire, sending sparks up into the air. "Well, maybe we don't want her anyway, buddy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marko asked, his voice tight."

"Look at her," the Surf Nazi said, pointing. And something in Samantha's stomach tightened, bracing for his words. "She's fat and ugly."

Samantha's body shook as his words echoed in her head and she felt her Boys draw in sharp angry breaths. David's hand tightened on her and he let out a low growl, grinding his teeth together. Samantha pulled her hand out of his, recognizing the danger that the Surf Nazis had just placed themselves in by insulting her in front of her best friends, her protectors.

She raced forward before the Boys could react, something that impressed even her, and planted her foot in the groin of the Surf Nazi who had called her fat and ugly. He doubled over and cupped himself, his face going red in pain. Samantha gripped him by his dirty-blond hair and jerked his face back so that she could look into his pain clouded eyes.

"Leave," she ordered quietly. "Now." And don't thank me for sparing your life for the next few hours because I know that as soon as the Boys find you again, you're as good as dead. All of you are. For calling me something bad in front of them. Everyone that does it meets the same end, even if the Boys don't openly admit it to me.

The Surf Nazi lowered his hands slowly and backed away from her. "Bitch," he muttered and he turned, fleeing with his small group of Surf Nazis.

Samantha's body shook as she watched them go and her big toe ached from her kick to the Surf Nazi's groin. David let out a small growl again, cursing under his breath.

"David," Samantha sighed, turning to face him.

"They're dead," he told her, approaching her slowly with the other Boys flanking him, all looking serious. "All of them are fucking dead!"

Samantha shook her head and sat down on a log next to the fire, burying her face in her hand. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. There would be no reasoning with him when he got like this. If someone insulted her in front of him or he found out about it by one of the other Boys, he'd get pissed and that person would end up on the Missing Person's Wall the next day. Samantha couldn't stop him and she didn't know if she wanted to. The insults hurt, even after hearing them over and over again for most of her life. Even from her own lips in front of her mirror.

"David, David, David," she muttered, closing her eyes against her palm. "What am I going to do with you every time that someone insults me?"

"You could tell me and let me handle it," David told her and she heard him sit down on the log next to her. "In my own way."

"Your way is bloody and violent, David."

"And it should be. No one should insult you like that, Samantha. It's not right."

Samantha lowered her hand as Dwayne slid an arm around her, drawing her to his side as he sat down on the log next to her. She smiled half heartedly at him and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. Paul and Marko started dancing around the fire, already popping open a can of beer each. She watched them for a moment before realizing that David had flared up a cigarette and was taking a drag on it.

"I wish that you wouldn't smoke around me," she admitted, shaking her head slightly. "It's a bad habit."

"Then don't do it," he told her, glancing in her direction. He offered her the bottle of whisky and she wrapped her fingers around the neck of it. "It's bad for humans."

Samantha hummed in agreement and lifted the bottle of whisky to her lips, taking a sip. The liquid burned its way down the back of her throat, causing her to cough a little. Paul laughed at her and spun around, kicking up some sand. Samantha lifted a hand to shield her eyes.

"C'mon Sammy," he urged. "Take a bigger swig! You're a tough girl! A Lost Girl! Drink! Drink!"

Samantha felt David's eyes on her as she lifted the bottle to her lips again at Paul's challenge and tilted her head back, throwing back more of the burning liquid. She swallowed hard and shook her head as she fought back another coughing fit, not wanting to disappoint any of the Boys. Paul and Marko cheered for her as she lowered the bottle and high-fived each other as she smiled at them.

"I can handle the good stuff," Samantha told them, tapping her bottle against Dwayne's can before he lifted it to his lips for a swig. "I've done shots with my best friend's husband for a while now. And he's gotten me to drink some big glasses of bourbon before."

"Lush," David commented.

"Am not!" Samantha protested, shaking her head.

Paul reached out and pulled her from Dwayne's arms, twirling her around and around. "And now we dance, Sammy!" he declared as he kept spinning her around in front of the others.

Samantha crashed against Marko as Paul let her go and frowned, apologizing softly. Marko smiled and put his hand on her hip. Samantha smiled back at him and started dancing with him, not caring that she had no real dancing experience. With the Boys, it didn't matter. She could do anything she wanted with them.

Paul, not wanting to be ignored, popped up behind her and settled his hand on her other hip. Samantha turned her head slightly and made a small noise in the back of her throat as he moved his hips against hers, but he simply laughed and continued moving with her. Samantha glanced over the fire at David and Dwayne and saw them watching the three of them.

They never dance with us, Samantha thought, shaking her head as she looked back at Marko. Well, I've danced with Dwayne in my room. While the others watched. Until Paul interfered, as usual, but David has never danced with me. Ever. I don't think he's the dancing type. The kind of guy that talks to people and kills them and is a complete asshole at times, yes. But not the dancing with a girl kind of guy.

"Stop humping her, Paul!" David ordered from his perch on the log that she'd been pulled from when Samantha let out a small gasp. "Or I'm going to come over there and rip you off of her!"

Paul let out a small whine and stepped back slightly, but didn't stop moving against Samantha. Her cheeks flamed with heat, not for the first time that night.

"I don't want to stop dancing with her, Davie!" he complained, shaking his head. "You haven't let me dance with her in forever!"

"That's because you can't keep your dick off of her," David growled, eyes flashing when Samantha glanced over at him. "Honestly, don't you know that she's not interested in any of us like that?"

"She's saving herself for that vampire cowboy," Marko reminded Paul, still dancing in front of Samantha."

"Her future husband," Dwayne corrected, watching the three dance over the fire.

Samantha ducked her head, embarrassed by how easily the Boys could talk about her like that. Okay, maybe I am too innocent for my own good. How can they stand to be around such a shy girl all of the time? Maybe I need to change for them? But how? How can I not be me without doing something that I'll regret or make my parents question my sanity? I'm not about to become someone's booty call.

"Get. Off. Of. Her." David ground out, rising slightly off of the log.

Paul jumped back as David's beer can soared through the air, almost hitting Samantha. "Okay, okay! I'm off, I'm off!" He looked back at Samantha and smiled that famous crooked grin. "You okay, Sammy?"

She nodded and looked back at Marko as he stopped dancing with her too. "Is it okay that we don't dance anymore right now, Marko? I think someone is getting pissy."

Marko mouthed "oh yeah" and lifted his can to his mouth, taking a swig. Samantha turned on the ball of her foot and moved back around the fire. She pushed David back onto the log in passing and then settled between Dwayne's legs, sitting on the sand with her back pressed against his naked chest. His hands draped around her shoulders and he propped his chin on top of her head.

"I don't want to go home," she told the group as they settled around the fire. "If I do, that means that tonight is over and I have to go back to the nightmare that life hands me every day without you guys."

"You could come back to the boardwalk every night," Dwayne reminded her, his chin bouncing slightly on her head with each word that he spoke. "Or we could come visit you at your house."

"And have my parents complain about the strange boys in my room?" Samantha lifted the whisky bottle to her lips and took another swig. "Do you think they'd understand that?"
"They don't have to know that we're there," David told her. "Why? Are you ashamed of us, Samantha?"

Samantha shook her head. "Hell no! I love you guys! You're like my brothers! And I don't have any real ones!"

"You don't kiss your brothers, Sammy," Paul commented, wiggling his tongue at her. "But you do kiss us."

"Not on the lips, I don't," Samantha said, shaking her head again. "Well, not exactly on the lips. But my point still stands."

Marko lifted a hand and pointed at Dwayne and David. "You kiss them on the lips."

Samantha felt rather than saw David and Dwayne smile at that. "Are you jealous?"

"Nope. I know where I stand in this relationship, Sammy." He turned his gaze onto Paul as he lifted his beer can to his lips. "Don't you, Paul?"

"I'm jealous," Paul said, nodding his wild blond head. "I don't get to use tongue on you anymore."

"And you fucking won't!" David growled, throwing a fistful of sand at the blond. "She's not yours to touch!"

"I'm nobody's to touch at the moment," Samantha told him. "And probably won't be for some time. So, cool it down a bit, David." She reached out and placed a hand on his knee, stroking it with her thumb. "I'm fine. I can keep him from using his tongue on me. We've talked about it, haven't we, Paul?"

Paul nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Samantha closed her eyes as another wave of noises crashed over her, but she didn't clap her hands over her ears this time. She saw a flash of images against her eyelids and bit down on her bottom lip. Dwayne patted her on the shoulder and David pressed his hand over hers, smoothing his thumb over the back of hers.

"It's going to be okay, Samantha," he promised her as she opened her eyes once the moment passed. "We're going to figure something out and get this problem fixed. Somehow. You're going to have peace. Even if we have to pay the best doctors in the world to find that miracle drug that'll chase those voices away."

"David," Samantha sighed, but she knew better than to argue with him about this. His word was final and his promise was sweet.

She leaned her head back against Dwayne's chest and looked up at the few stars that peeked through the dark clouds in the sky overhead. Dwayne's fingers threaded through her hair and she felt herself relax under his touch. He smiled down at her as she sighed again, feeling herself grow tired the more that he played with her hair.

"I think someone is ready for bed," he said, glancing over at David.

"No!" Samantha protested, snapping her head up. "I don't want to go home and go to bed! That means that I won't see you guys for a while!"

"You'll see us again," Paul promised, nodding his head.

"Really, really soon," Marko added with a smile.

David tossed his second, finished beer into the fire and rose to his feet. "We're taking you home, Samantha. It's time for you to get some sleep. We've got some things to do before sunrise anyway. Things that you don't need to see."

Like handling the Surf Nazis that insulted me in front of you and feeding, Samantha thought, but she kept those comments to herself as she remained firmly planted between Dwayne's legs. "David…"

"Don't argue with me, Samantha." He turned and held his hand out to her. "We'll tuck you in, if you want. Will that make you happy?"

Samantha stared at his hand for a moment, knowing that if she took it, that it would signal that she was giving in and that her night with her favorite Boys was drawing to an end. Again.

David shook his hand impatiently in front of her face and Samantha sighed, reaching out to grasp it. He pulled her to her feet and took the whisky bottle from her hands, downing it for her without coughing like she had at first. His blue eyes stared into hers as he tossed the bottle into the fire and he reached out, tucking back a stray strand of her dark hair.

"You're so weird," she told him quietly.

"And you're soft," he replied, pulling her after him. "Maybe that's why we love you so much, Samantha. Hard things are for boys. Not for girls."

The other Boys immediately flanked her, taking up their roles so perfectly. Samantha swung her and David's joined hands again, knowing that it amused him. He led her through the crowded boardwalk and past the creepy Max's Video where the Boys' sire worked. She didn't like that man or the way that he treated her favorite Boys. And she was glad that he hadn't tried to talk to her that night. If he had, her problem could have been worse.

"Whose bike am I riding tonight?" Samantha asked as David escorted her towards the entrance where the four motorcycles gleamed proudly.

"Mine," all four Boys said at the same time.

David glared darkly at his brothers and then looked back at Samantha. "You're riding with me."

Samantha nodded slowly to show that she understood and let him pull her towards his motorcycle, ignoring Paul's whine of protest. David flipped out his outer jacket, the longer of the two, and mounted his bike before offering her his hand again. Samantha took it and climbed onto the back of his bike with more grace than she had when she had the first couple of times.

"Hold on tight, Samantha," David ordered and she wrapped her arms around his middle. He glanced down at her. "Tighter than that."

Samantha rolled her eyes and pressed herself closer to him, squeezing him tighter around the middle. "Like that?" she asked.

He nodded and patted her knee. "Good enough."

The leader of the Lost Boys kicked his motorcycle into life as the others did and turned his motorcycle onto the street that led away from the boardwalk. Samantha readjusted her grip on him as he sped out into the darkness, her hair whipping out behind her and laughed. She loved riding with her Boys, even if they were merely taking her home. Dwayne rode up next to them and smiled over at her. Paul and Marko drove on ahead and wove in and out of traffic, howling into the night.

"Be careful!" she called out over the roar of their engines, but she knew that they weren't going to listen to her.

She settled back against David and tried to enjoy the ride.

OOOOOOOOO

"Okay, how do you plan on getting in there?" David asked as the small group stood in front of Samantha's small house where she lived with her parents and two of her four sisters.

Samantha patted her pockets and swore. "I forgot my key!"

"I could knock on the door and call out for your parents to open the door," Paul offered, heading for the door as he spoke the words.

Samantha rushed after the blond and caught his fist, pressing a hand to his lips as he sucked in his breath. "Don't you dare!" she hissed at him. "If my parents find me with you guys, they'll flip on me! And I can't have that right now. I have to ease them into this friendship I have with you."

Paul slowly let out his breath and then licked her hand. Samantha made a face at him and wiped her hand off on his jacket. She turned and looked back at David, Dwayne, and Marko as they approached.

"I'm going to have to find another way into the house," she told them quietly. "I can't just wake up my parents to get into the house."

"And how are you going to get into the house?" Dwayne asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Your room is on the second floor, Sammy."

"Well…I could use the ladder around back," Samantha said, remembering the old one that her dad had used last week for minor repairs on the roof. "If you guys would put it right back after I climbed up it."

"You? Climb a ladder?" Marko laughed when Samantha nodded. "Aren't you afraid of heights, Sammy?"

Samantha scuffed the toe of her sneaker against the ground. "I wouldn't call it a fear, but a slight discomfort, Marko. But what other choice do I have? I'm not about to let one of you fly me up there." She looked up at them. "I'm climbing that ladder."

The other Boys looked towards David, expectantly. He nodded and pulled his cigarette from between his lips, this one unlit. "Get the ladder," he told Marko. "We're going to watch you, Samantha. Just to keep you from breaking your neck."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, David." Samantha headed after Marko and stopped when she reached her side of the house, looking up at her darkened window, judging the height. "Let's hope that I have some of that on my own, shall we?"

Marko appeared with the ladder and set it up against the side of the house for her. Paul took up one side of the ladder and Marko grasped the other side. Samantha put one foot on the bottom rung and took a deep breath, mentally psyching herself up before proceeding to climb that metal deathtrap.

"Looking good, Sammy," Marko called after her.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said quietly, not looking down.

Paul got the wise idea to start shaking the ladder and Samantha yelped, gripping onto the ladder tightly.

"Dwayne! David!" she called out, turning her head slightly. "Make him stop!"

"Paul!" David growled and she heard someone get slapped. "If she falls and breaks her neck, you're going to find your ass in fucking sunlight in the morning!"

Paul let out a small laugh. "Sorry Sammy!"

The ladder stilled and Samantha let out a small sigh of relief. She glanced down and saw that Dwayne was now holding the ladder for her. Paul was standing a good distance away from it, a red imprint on his right cheek. David was watching her with an intense look in his eyes.

"Thank you," she mouthed to him and he gave the slightest hint of a nod.

Samantha turned her face back towards her house and quickly finished climbing to the second floor of her house. Relieved to be on solid ground again, she danced over to her window and then turned to find the Boys standing right behind her. She had forgotten how fast they could be when they wanted to.

"Are you going to let us in?" David asked, gesturing towards the window.

Samantha nodded, but Dwayne beat her to the window, crouching down and sliding it open. "Thanks, Dwayne," she said, patting him on the arm as she ducked through the window and into her room.

Someone flicked on the lamp beside her bed, letting the room flood with light to reveal all of her bookshelves cramped with books that she'd written or bought. Her desk was covered with DVDs, video games, daggers that she hadn't put up yet, and her laptop. Her walls, which weren't blocked by her shelves, were covered in posters and pictures of friends and family pets and of course, her daggers. And her big zebra striped chair was still tucked away in the corner. Her closet and bedroom doors were both closed, blocking her room off to outside intruders.

"Ooh! Shiny!" Paul said, touching one of her newer daggers. "Are you sure you should have something so sharp, Sammy?"

Samantha nodded and watched Dwayne take his usual place against her bedroom door. Marko perched himself on her hooded headboard and bit down on his thumbnail. David popped into her walk-in closet before she could protest and started rummaging through her drawers.

"David!" she called out quietly, knowing that the vampire could hear her very well. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you something to wear," David announced, still rummaging through her clothes. "Hmm…Cute." He poked at something and then started rummaging again. "Don't you have something more revealing, Samantha?"

Samantha shook her head. "No! Why would I? I don't like showing off my body, David. I don't have anything to show off to anyone and Dad wouldn't approve anyway."

David shook his head and mocked her with his lips. He pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a tank top before reaching into her top drawer and withdrew a sports bra without really looking into the drawer, for which she was grateful. He turned and held the clothes out to her.

"Go change into these," he ordered. "We'll still be here when you come back."

Samantha took the clothes and watched him drop her new backpack onto the floor of her closet which she would deal with in the morning. She shrugged out of her new leather jacket and pulled off her leather choker, dropping it onto her dresser. "Okay. But keep Paul in here. I don't want him following me into the bathroom to see me change. Promise me that you'll all behave and stay in here. I don't want you to see me out of my clothes, David."

David's eyes lowered on her body for a moment. "Fine."

Samantha turned and hurried out of her closet, ignoring Paul's look of hurt and walked out of her room and down the hall to the bathroom that she shared with her sisters. She quickly changed out of her day clothes and into the clothes that David had given her. Her green eyes turned towards the mirror as she dropped her dirtied clothes into the hamper and she frowned at her reflection, not liking the way that her eyes looked back at her. She quickly did her usual human routine and then slapped off the lights before walking back to her room.

David was perched at her desk, thumbing through one of her newer novels in progress with a look of mild interest on his face. It was one of her racier ones, she had to admit. She was trying to grow bolder in her writing and her best friend, Emily, was telling her that it was okay to do that. Samantha hoped that David wouldn't comment about the mentions of fuzzy handcuffs that kept popping up in some of her novels.

"Hey Sammy," Paul said, waving around one of her diaries. "What's this about you thinking about having a crush on one of your former coworkers?"

Dwayne's and David's eyes turned onto her at that comment and Samantha snatched at the diary in Paul's hand, but he kept it out of her reach. "Give me that!" she ordered.

"Samantha," David prompted, dropping the notebook in his hand. "Is there something you want to tell us?"

"No!" Samantha gave up on taking the diary from Paul and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I don't."

"She has a crush on some guy named Nick," Paul laughed, waving the diary at David over Samantha's head. "And she told two of his friends that she did. She's waiting for his response to it."

David looked back at Samantha as she muttered something unintelligible under her breath. "Samantha, why didn't you tell us about this Nick?"

"Because I don't even know why I have a crush on Nick, okay?" Samantha shook her head. "He teased me when he was working with me and I never told him before he left. I don't even think that he could like me. So, what does it matter? He's gone and he's not going to come back before I go away from my workplace. I'll never see him again and he's not the kind of guy that I normally fall for. So, again, what's the point?"

"The point is, you were crushing on someone and didn't tell us, Sammy," Dwayne said gently from his post by her bedroom door. "What did you think we were going to do? Hunt him down and kill him for you having a crush on him?"

"I don't know. I just don't know." Samantha looked over at David as he stood up slowly. "David, can we please just forget about Nick? Nothing is going to happen between me and him. What's done is done. He's gone. You guys are here. That's all that matters, right?"

His blue eyes smoldered as he looked at her. "Fine. But I want to know the next time that you have an interest in someone, Samantha. So, we can check him out."

"Yeah," Paul agreed, dropping her diary onto the pile of notebooks beside her desk. "Because we get to decide if that punk is good enough for our little Sammy."

"Because we know best," Marko told her.

"Thanks," Samantha said, ducking her head. "I should get to bed, you know."

"You're forgetting something," Dwayne told her, spooking her slightly as he pushed himself away from the door. "Again."

Samantha watched him cross her room and reach into her desk. She sighed as she saw the three small orange bottles in his hand and shook her head. All of the other Boys seemed to grow sad too as they realized what Dwayne was holding in his hand.

"Oh," Samantha whispered, walking over to Dwayne. "Right. Those."

Dwayne shook out a few pills and held them out to her. Samantha took them from him and watched him screw the lids back into place. She stared down at the pills on her palm and wished for the day that she would never have to take them again. There had been a day that she hadn't had to take them before, but that had been a long time ago. Before things had gotten really bad. Before she had met the Boys. Before the nightmares had begun and the hell had started up.

"Bottoms up," she muttered more to herself than anything.

She tossed the pills back and dry swallowed, knowing that it bothered them when she did that, but she didn't care at that moment. She just wanted the pills gone from her life. But she knew that they wouldn't be gone anytime soon.

"Bedtime for Sammy," Paul announced and Marko pulled back her blankets, patting the space that he had made for her.

Samantha sighed and walked over to her bed, sitting down on the edge of it. "I hate that this night has to end."

"We'll come back for you," Dwayne promised.

"Tomorrow night," Paul added, nodding his head as he jumped around her bed. "And we'll party again."

Samantha shook her head slowly, a frown tugging at her lips. "I have to work late tomorrow night, Paul. Sorry."

"Then we'll see you the next night," David told her, standing at the foot of her bed. "You're not getting rid of us, Samantha. When you walked into our lives, you got us for life."

"And one day, you're going to change me, right?" Samantha asked, swinging her legs up onto her bed and sliding them under her blankets. "Through one of your bloods and not through Max's?"

"That was the deal that we made," David said with a nod. "And we're going to have to do it soon too. We can't have you growing too old on us, can we?"

Samantha flipped him off as she sat back against her pillows. Paul laughed and pointed at Samantha.

"I think she just offered you something, Davie," Paul joked, shaking his head.

"I did not!" Samantha shook her head. "Now come on! I want hugs! Lots of them!"

"And kisses?" Marko asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Samantha rolled her eyes and briefly rested her head back against her pillows. "Okay, okay! I'll give some kisses too, but no tongue. Absolutely no tongue whatsoever! Do you feel me, Paul?"

"Oh, I can feel you, Sammy!" Paul threatened, wiggling his fingers.

David growled threateningly. "Touch her and I swear to God, Paul -!"

"David, chill!" Samantha ordered, rolling her eyes at him. "I can handle him, you know. Maybe not all the time, but I can manage." She looked back at Paul. "You behave yourself, Paul. Or we're not going dancing again."

Paul looked mildly hurt for a moment, but his smile returned quickly. "Okay, Sammy. I'll feel you later."

"You'd better not," Samantha warned, shaking her head again. She lifted her arms up. "Marko, you're first."

Marko hopped forward and sat down on the edge of the bed. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Samantha, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Samantha tangled her fingers in his hair and pressed a kiss back on his cheek.

"Goodnight Sammy," he whispered to her, nuzzling his face against her neck. "Thanks for hanging out with us tonight, girly."

"Love you," Samantha told him.

"Me too," Marko answered, breathing in deeply.

Samantha nodded and let him part from her, not wanting to let him go. Marko danced backwards and let Paul take his place. Paul climbed onto the bed and straddled her legs with his. He waggled his tongue at her and Samantha gave him a warning look. He laughed again and settled on her lap for a moment before pressing a kiss to her cheek and wrapped his arms around her. Samantha turned her face and pressed a kiss to his cheek, almost catching him at the corner of his lips.

"I love you, my Sammy," Paul told her, twisting her slightly as he held her tightly against his chest. "We're going to see each other again real soon and have fun on the boardwalk. If Davie will let us, we're going to have us a good old-fashioned race on our motorcycles! Won't that be fun?"

Samantha nodded and squeezed him around the middle. "It sounds perfect, Paul. It really does." She sighed and rested her cheek against his shoulder, trying to ignore the fact that he was pressed against her lower half. "I love you too, you big idiot."

Paul laughed and squeezed her again before jumping off the bed. "See? I told you guys that she loved me!"

Dwayne ignored his laughing brother and sat down on the edge of Samantha's bed. Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips which he returned quickly before pulling her close to him. She felt him breathe in the scent of her hair and tighten his grip on her and she patted him on the back of his neck to show him that she had felt it.

"I love you, Dwayne," she whispered against his chest. "Thank you for being there for me. Always. And keeping me safe from perverts and…well, other things."

Dwayne nodded and squeezed her. "I love you too, Sammy. And I'm always going to be there for you. Always. Because that's what big brothers do. Even ones that sisters kiss."

Samantha shook her head at his teasing and let him part from her. David was still standing at the foot of her bed, watching. Samantha looked to him, staring back at him. The others stood back, waiting for the standoff to end. Unfortunately, Samantha had to blink first.

"Damn!" she cursed under her breath, rubbing her eyes when they smarted.

David smirked and circled around the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. His cool hand smoothed over her blanket covered leg and she shivered under the touch. "Samantha," he said gently. "Did you have fun tonight?"

Samantha nodded. "I did. Thanks to you and the others."

David smiled instead of smirking and she liked that. It wasn't something that he normally did. And it looked nice on him.

"Goodnight Samantha," David said, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.

Samantha rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the front of his inner jacket, jerking him forward. "Come here, you," she ordered. "If you're going to be a complete ass today, I'm going to be something right back at you."

She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, obviously shocking him as she shocked herself. She lowered her hand from his jacket and let it fall back onto her lap, right on top of his. Paul laughed and elbowed Marko, who also started laughing.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to tell you that I love you too now," Samantha said, looking at David to find an amused smile on his face. "So, I love you, David. Even when you're a complete asshole to me."

"I love you too, Samantha," David told her, lifting his hand and sliding the back of it down her cheek. "Now, get some sleep. We'll see you in a couple of nights."

Samantha slid down her bed and settled back on her pillows. She rolled onto her side and watched David rise to his feet. He reached over and flicked off her lamp, sending the room into darkness, but she could still make out the forms of her four best vampire friends. They moved over to her bedroom window, but didn't yet climb out of it.

"I guess I'll see you guys around," she yawned, already feeling the pull of her sleeping medication on her.

"Goodnight Sammy," Paul called out to her.

"Sweet dreams," Marko echoed.

OOOOOOOOO

Samantha woke up to the morning light touching her face and sighed, knowing that the Boys had long since departed and were probably sleeping in their cave for the day. She sat up on her bed and touched something that hadn't been there the night before. She lifted it into her line of sight and heat blossomed in her cheeks.

Dangling between her fingers were a bright purple set of fuzzy handcuffs.

"David!"

OOOOOOOO

A/N: So, what did you think about this? The fuzzy handcuffs thing is an inside joke between some of me and my inner circle and will be in my future novels, so if I ever get around to publishing them, think of them as an Easter Egg hunt for you guys. And yes, I do know there are things in here that could be confusing and revealing, but I'm willing to explain anything. I like talking about things to people. What did you think? Let me know! I'm still thinking about Paul's story for my Lost Boys story and of course, there will eventually be a Marko story because what kind of person would I be if I didn't include a story for all of the Lost Boys? Anyway, I look forward to any and all reviews that come with this little number! So please, review responsibly! Thank you everyone and much love for all things Lost Boys! -Scarlet