For Nevermore Season 1

know. I think I do.”
    She closed her eyes and put her sleeve against her cheek to soak up the fresh tears.
    “I’m sorry I said anything. I didn’t mean to make things hard for you. That wasn’t fair.” She shook her head.
    “Don’t be sorry,” Sam said. “I’d rather know than have you keep it inside.”
    “Why? It’s not like it changes anything, right?”
    Again, Sam paused. “No, I guess not. But still, you’re my best friend, Noella. You should be able to tell me anything. Even this.”
    “Are you sure you can still be friends with me?” she asked. “Becca hates me.”
    “No, she doesn’t,” Sam said.
    She wasn’t sure if Sam really believed that, but wasn’t about to detour into a different discussion. And she wasn’t going to snitch on Becca and tell him how things went down at lunch the day before. If Becca wanted to tell him, great. But Noella didn’t want to add drama to Sam’s life. She liked him, and he didn’t deserve that.
    Sam added, “Well, maybe she’s a bit jealous.”
    “Jealous of me? Why?” Noella said, still turned from his gaze and staring out the passenger window at a frozen merry-go-round a hundred yards away.
    Sam waited an eternity to answer. “Because she knows she can’t replace you. You’ll always be my best friend. Girlfriends and boyfriends may come and go, but we’re gonna be friends forever, Noella.”
    She cried again, harder, but with saltier, happier tears. Sam always had a way of saying things that should have come out cornier than a Hallmark card, yet managed to sound deep and powerful. Perhaps it was his acting skills. Or maybe he was just that genuine of a nice person, that when he said such things, they meant something.
    Noella drew her breath, then turned from the window to finally meet Sam’s eyes. He was already staring, his smile sweet and dimples adorable.
    He reached across the car and hugged Noella, pulling her toward him and holding her tight. She squeezed him back, never wanting to let go, sobbing into his shoulder.
    “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I didn’t mean to make things hard for you.”
    “Don’t be sorry for saying what’s in your heart. Never apologize,” Sam said, pulling away and wrapping his fingers around the steering wheel. “Do you think we can still be friends? Will it be too weird?”
    “It’s gonna be totally weird,” Noella said, cracking into a laugh. “But I’d rather have you as a friend, weirdness and all, than not have you in my life. And who knows? If we had gone out, it might have been even weirder!” She shook her head. “I’d rather have you as a friend forever than a boyfriend for a little while.”
    “Me too,” Sam said. They hugged once more, then Sam opened the glove box and pulled out a package of Kleenex. “I knew it,” he said. “Ash is always prepared!”
    Noella took the tissues, said thank you, then dabbed her eyes and blew her nose, feeling a small wave of relief wash through her body. Though she was sad, she meant every word of what she said. She didn’t want to ever lose Sam as a friend. She loved him enough to want to see him happy, no matter who he was with. Even Becca.
    “We better get to school,” Sam said, glancing at the clock on the dash.
    “Yeah,” Noella nodded as Sam put the car in reverse and pulled the Beetle from the parking space.
    Noella stared at the passing scenery as they covered the few blocks to school, each one blurring by the frosted glass. She was no longer as sad, but was deeply relieved to clear this conversation from her mind. There had been too many uncertainties in her life. She needed the solidity of Sam’s friendship more than ever. Noella could even see opening up and telling Sam about some of the things that had been happening to her recently. Even if he thought she was crazy, it still might be easier than telling Mako.
    Maybe she’d even tell him about Dante.
    Maybe.

    **

    Sam swung into the school parking lot, finding a space in the back row. As they walked toward the school fence and away from the Beetle, Becca and Vicky pulled into the parking lot in Becca’s Jetta.
    Noella’s stomach turned, then sank several feet. “Uh-oh, she saw us together. You’re a dead man,” she said, trying to hold her smile.
    A part of her was happy that Becca had seen her and Sam together. Becca might have him for now, but Noella would still be holding him long after he got smart and dumped her.
    “I’ll handle her,” Sam said. “You