There for you in a telephone booth

We never ever told the truth

Never love you much as I could miss you

Dollhouse room to marble stairs

You tattooed me with the pen in your hand

You can rest assured the ink is still there

She giggled as the cool ink of the pen slid across her shoulder blade. His grip tightened on her arm, a futile attempt to hold her still. "Will you stop squirming?" He hissed with a hint of annoyance.

"I can't help it. It tickles!" She bit her lip in hops of stifling her laughter but it didn't stop her shoulders from shaking.

He sighed in exasperation, tossing the pen on the table. "I give up." There was just no point in continuing.

"Oh, come on, Sammy!"

Sam shook his head, leaning back against the worn leather couch. "It'd take a better artist than Michael Angelo to finish that." Drawing was one thing Sam always thought he excelled at. Naturally he assumed the infinity symbol with the phrase "we are infinite" should not have been the challenge it was presenting itself to be.

Her bottom lip slid out in a small pout. "Please?" She turned towards him, bright blue eyes big as saucers.

He raised an eyebrow at her in mild amusement. "Forget your visine, April? No tears." A smirk formed on his lips as her puppy dog expression quickly turned to a scowl.

"Go to hell, Sammy."

"After you, Ape."

Without another word, she hit the "play" button on the stereo.

Shut it down start it up

Didn't mean anything didn't mean much

Shut it down start it up

So I leave you in love

So I leave you in love

"You are going to get us in so much shit," he stated matter-of-factly but followed her nonetheless.

April rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. "No one's making you tag along, Sammy," she pointed out, glancing at him before walking on down the hall.

He scoffed, catching up to her. "Right and risk getting shit from you for the rest of my life for 'ditching you at some crucial moment in life.'" He emphasized the last part, quoting the exact words she used to justify her actions when she got a little vindictive.

"What makes you think I'm keeping you around that long?" She countered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sam shrugged, walking past her. "Not gonna get rid of me, Ape," he stated as he placed one ear bud back into his ear. She pursed her lips and caught up to him. Before she could say anything about his lovely little nickname, he stuck the other ear bud in her ear and she clamped her mouth shut to listen to the song.

You came over with a bottle of bleach

And dyed my hair blond in the kitchen sink

We learned how to kiss from magazines

And each night we shared a bed

You were talking in your sleep again

An ancient language I thought you said

They sat in the car in silence. His eyes focused on the road as she picked at the seams in her seat. Neither of them spoke and that was fine. She didn't want to talk about parents' unrealistic expectations and he didn't want to talk about his parents' impending divorce. They didn't have to. "Let's run away," she murmured, turning to look at him.

"Say that again," he spluttered, surprise evident on his face.

"You. Me. Drive off into the sunset. Leave all this behind us." She leaned back into her seat, folding her arms behind her head. "What do you say?"

"You serious?"

She nodded and he chuckled, reaching over to ruffle her hair.

"Just say the word, Ape."

Shut it down start it up

Didn't mean anything didn't mean much

Shut it down start it up

So I leave you in love

So I leave you in love

"You'd better have a good reason for this," she scowled as she hastily climbed into the passenger seat of the beat up civic.

He grinned, putting the car in drive. "Just get your seat belt on, April." Once she was settled, he sped off down her street.

She kept her eyes fixed on the road, looking for signs of where they were headed. A smile crept on her lips when he entered the interstate. "Where are we going, Sammy?" She finally asked after sitting in the car for half an hour.

Sam stayed silent. She eyed him curiously, noticing the tense muscles in his jaw. He was never Chatty Cathy but he at least answered direct questions. "We're running away," he said quietly, offering a careless shrug.

She blinked at him in confusion. Was he serious? "Funny, Sammy," she said, allowing a grin on her lips as she settled in her seat.

He raised an eyebrow at her and glanced briefly in the back seat. It was his way to say, "see for yourself." Curious, she leaned over to get a look. Sure enough, there was a duffle bag on the seat that she'd never seen outside of his closet before.

"You're kidding."

He shrugged again and turned up the stereo, a sign that he didn't want to talk.

We didn't move on

We didn't change

We didn't move on

We just moved away

"Why are you doing this?" She finally asked after a few hours of driving in silence. Bands of orange began to stretch over the mountainside, signaling sunrise.

"Why wouldn't I?" He countered, fingers tightening around the stirring wheel. "You suggest it."

She felt her jaw drop. "But I never meant it!"

There was silence then he let out a low chuckle. "I know. Relax, Ape. It's just for the week."

We didn't move on

We didn't change

We didn't move on

We just moved away

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"Nothing. Everything's great."

Silence. She turned to look out the window and he thought she would drop the subject. "You know how we always play BS?" She said quietly, leaning her forehead against the cool glass. "And I always win?" He didn't say a thing. "There's a reason for that. I know you, Sam. Don't lie to me."

He allowed a smile on his lips. "Right. Look, summer is almost over. I figured you'd want one last adventure." He looked at her momentarily then turned back to the road. "That's all, April."

Shut it down start it up

Didn't mean anything didn't mean much

Shut it down start it up

So I leave you in love

So I leave you in love

Sunburned but satisfied, she jumped out of the Honda with a blissful grin. A week away from everyday life was exactly the perfect way to end the summer. They spent hours on end playing in the water, night or day. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" She asked, grabbing her bag from the backseat.

"Probably not," he said with a bit of a shrug.

She frowned but nodded nonetheless. They never had the same classes and their extra curricular activities where as different as oil and water. "Okay. I'll see you eventually." She shut the door and started towards the house.

"April, wait." He jumped out of the car and walked to her. She raised an eyebrow at him. Without another word, he tugged her into his arms. "You had fun, right?" He asked, voice slightly muffled by her unruly blonde curls.

"Best time of my life," she agreed, tilting her head back to look at him. His hazel eyes bore into her blue eyes and she nearly stepped back at realizing the lack of distance between them. "Something the matter, Sam?"

He parted his lips, obviously ready to say something, then shut them again. She frowned but he gave her a small smile. "Nothing at all, Ape. I'll see you." With a kiss to her forehead, he was back in his car and on his way down the street.

We didn't move on

We didn't change

We didn't move on

We just moved away

"Where the hell are you, Samuel?" She hissed into the phone after a whole week of not seeing her best friend. Usually she would catch a glimpse of him in the halls, but there wasn't any sign of him.

An amused chuckle came through from the other side. "Well, hello to you too, Ape. I've been wonderful, thanks for asking. How about you?" He replied in a light tone, blatantly ignoring her question.

She growled, clearly not amused. "Where. Are. You."

Silence.

"Sam," she sighed in exasperation. "If you don't answer me right now, I am coming over."

"Really?" His tone was overly excited and she frowned. He had no doubts that she would do it too, but there was one problem. "That'd be real cool, April, but I doubt your parents would appreciate you going to the other side of the country on a school night." He was met with predictable silence.

"Where are you, Sam?"

"Isn't it obvious? California."

She nearly dropped the phone. "California!" She screeched, arms flailing wildly around her. "You can't be in California! That's … That's …"

"Nearly three thousand miles away."

"…yeah."

Silence.

"April," she could hear him shuffling about as she waited for him to continue, "…nevermind."

"No, no. You can't just say that. What did you want to say, Sam?" She grumbled. He was silent. "Oh, come on. You were like this last week too and look where we are. No more secrets, Sam."

He chuckled at that and she could almost see him nodding his head in agreement. She could practically imagine the auburn strands falling into his eyes then his fingers combing them back. "Yeah, I was just going to ask you to check if you packed away my jacket in your bag last week. I can't find it." She was silent, her gaze automatically drifting to the garment lying at the foot of her bed. "I'll take that as a yes. Do me a favor and empty out the pockets, yeah? I want it back eventually."

"Yeah, yeah."

She could hear a woman's voice filter through from the other side. "That's my mom. I need to go. Bye, Ape."

We didn't move on

We didn't change

We didn't move on

We just moved away

She scowled as she grabbed the jacket. Who did he think she was? His maid? With a scoff, she stuck her hand in the left pocket. Empty. Checking the right one, her eyebrows furrowed at finding the neatly folded paper. On it, in Sam's familiar scrawl, was her name. Curious, she opened it:

So how mad are you? If you're reading this, you've already attempted to chew me out for not telling you about leaving. Don't scowl at the paper, Ape. You're really just that predictable. And don't throw this note away! I do have a purpose for leaving this here. If you're reading it, I probably chickened out when I dropped you off. You see, April, there's something I've been meaning to tell you.

You know how we always play BS and you always win? It's because you look for signs that I'm lying. But the thing is, I know what signs you look for too. I never planned to lie to you for real. I never care for winning at card games. You'd give me grief for it. Anyway, it turned out pretty handy, huh? And no, I'm not writing to boast about how well I can lie to you. I'm stalling because you see, I can't even write it down. Heaven forbid I actually say it to you. Call me a chicken or what ever it is you'd like, I am.

I'm rambling again, aren't I? You should see all my other drafts. This pathetic attempt is what's fueling that little fire we've got going through the night. Ever wonder why I rarely tossed in fire wood? Ha.

Okay. Enough skirting around the subject. What I'm trying to say, April, is that I love you. I have for a while now, but I'm leaving. It wouldn't be fair to tell you that, right?

She felt her jaw drop as the paper slipped from her fingers. Scowling, she grabbed a pen and paper.

So I leave you in love

It was summer again when Sam came back. His first stop once the plane landed was his best friend's house. They kept in contact throughout the year, but she never said anything about the note. He thought about asking her, but he couldn't. Gulping, he knocked on her door. Unsurprisingly, she answered a minute later. Her blue eyes widened and he offered a small smile. "I'm back?" He said uncertainly after a minute or so of silence.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she promptly turned around and walked up the stairs. Sam stood frozen at her door step. Was he supposed to follow her? Was she mad? He didn't have to ponder long when she came down the stairs, his jacket in hand. "Here," she said snippily, shoving the jacket in his hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've actually got plans today."

The door was shut in his face and Sam blinked. Did that just happen? With a sigh, he sat on the front steps. His hand slipped in the jacket pocket, finding a neatly folded note where he left one. Curious, he opened it:

You're right. It is unfair. You are a chicken. So you know what? You deserve however I treat you the next time I see your face. I'm not going to beat around the bush, Sam. I love you. I have for ages. I've been patient. You have no idea how patient I can be. Well, I guess you do now since I'm writing this note right after you told me to empty your jacket pockets and if you're reading it, that means I've given you back the jacket.

Take that, asshole.

Now, take me to dinner tonight? Whenever that night might be.