Chapter Text
Sam has never in his life seen a house like this before. There were moments before when they first drove into town, passing by the neighborhood briefly, where he glanced up as his siblings would gasp and come up with stories about how witches lived in these places long ago, but otherwise this was the first time he ever really got a good look at the Blake residence.
Not only that, but they were walking inside. Bringing their stuff too.
He’s a big guy, so the space wasn’t exactly daunting , but it was very obviously an old house. For all of Stevie and Stacey’s ideas too, they were silent as their older brother helped their parents grab boxes and designate a room for them. There weren’t even very many boxes anyway. They didn’t have much.
“Hey guys… you want some ice cream?”
Sam was still carrying a suitcase halfway up the stairwell when he heard that and he stopped to watch as Cassie approached those same younger siblings of his. They hadn’t in fact moved from the corner of the doorway all afternoon.
He watched as his half second-cousin, because that’s what she was to him and he’d only found out a few months ago too, she scrunched her nose and shook her head, “What am I saying, it’s too cold out for that.” Cassie grinned quickly, still bent down to their level. “Hot cocoa then? I make the best kind too.”
She threw Sam a wink as she led the two down a long creaky hallway into a warm kitchen and he smiled back gratefully. One less problem to worry about.
Their dad lost his job just before the summer and they moved from Lima, Ohio to Chance Harbor all the way in Washington sometime at the end of July. Sam had been busy helping out any way he could, while they scraped by at first in a motel, and then thankfully in a small apartment by the time school started up again. He worked two jobs (although his parents didn’t know about one of them and he’d like to keep it that way), he helped take care of his siblings when he wasn’t worrying about his own classes too.
He missed his friends in Ohio, but life in a completely new environment really had turned into a blur. School and work and work and school and the only upside really was entertaining his younger siblings, because it was just so easy making them happy.
It wasn’t until after that Armstrong guy he’d met a couple of times in science class died that Sam’s parents finally noticed how much he’d been doing for them. Not that he was expecting gratitude or a prize or something, he really did love doing stuff like taking Stevie and Stacey to school. But he also hadn’t expected them to inform him about Cassie Blake’s family.
They sat him down after the wake of Nick Armstrong’s funeral, where most of the town had seemed to attend it too. All of them in the Evans family were quickly sitting together in the apartment. Jane, Cassie’s grandmother was there, but Cassie herself was out consoling her friends. (Or something, he figured it was that anyway.) And Sam’s parents told the three siblings - two of which were still too young to understand - that Jane’s cousin was their grandmother.
Alright, Sam barely understood how that mattered too. He and Cassie were basically second cousins. Maybe.
His parents later, once Stevie and Stacey were out of earshot, told him that Jane helped them move into the apartment. They didn’t want him worrying about it.
Which, naturally, had him worrying. Could you blame him? Here he’d been scraping by at that coffee place, at another job that must not be named too, and he found out they’d moved all the way to Washington because they actually did have family living just around the corner.
From the way he just had to deal with school again and how Cassie acted the same as always towards him (they basically continued to not acknowledge each other), Sam figured she still wasn’t aware. That Jane was silently helping them and it’s sort of mortifying not being the man you thought you were in the house this whole time.
His father caught him sulking around the apartment one night about it and they talked, letting that weight on Sam’s shoulders finally die down a bit. He’s sixteen, he shouldn’t have felt obligated to take care of everyone, and it hit him that his dad had probably been dealing with his own self-worth too. Adults. They could be complex too. Go figure.
He was told to go and be a teen already, it’s why they had wanted him to know everything. They saw someone from his class die and it was a wakeup call.
“Life’s too short, Sam. You’re only ever young once. I know this isn’t Ohio, but please try and have some fun.”
No, Chance Harbor was nothing like Lima. It was colder here, close to the ocean, and more forested and green too. There were sports teams and choir groups, but they kept to themselves and it was frankly pretty nice not having to worry about getting slushied for simply breathing next to a gay kid. Sam was even surprised when Jane needed to leave town for work one week, and that Melissa girl swivelled from her conversation in history class with her raven-haired friend and caught him eavesdropping with a smile.
“You can come to Cassie’s party, if you want.”
Sam immediately blushed, he had been trying to read the same sentence in his textbook over and over, but mentions of the Blake residence caught his attention more those days.
“I-I wasn’t–”
“Look at him all flustered–” the other girl, Faye, mused, barely even looking at him too. But just by her peripheral vision, Sam knew she had a sharp gaze that he wouldn’t want trained fully on him anyway, “You better dress up as something good.”
And it was at that party, dressed as a sailor because he still owned polo shirts and it was easy and cheap, where Sam realized his dad was right. It had been fun not having to worry about what kind of candy his siblings were getting that night, now that his parents were spending more time with them. It was nice not worrying about what he’d do for work tomorrow, or what essay was due in school.
There was also something very creepy and exciting about that night, a shiver going up his spine every time Cassie’s friends so much as walked by him. He found his half-cousin late after the party, still tired and cleaning up on her own. He grabbed her mail and told her they were related. Simple as that.
She was surprised, but not upset. Sam admitted it was a shock to him too, he told her to thank her grandma for all the help she’s been, and honestly he could see the family resemblance a bit when Cassie grinned fondly.
They still didn’t talk much, he still had work and school and helping his siblings navigate around so many new and different spaces. The weeks almost went back to molding together again, until Cassie one day approached him with a haunted and shy look in her eye and asked him about his parents.
“Grandma isn’t doing so great. I think maybe she might’ve hurt her head and can’t remember, she’s so proud.”
Sam told his parents, his parents talked to Jane. Now she was staying for a couple more weeks at a facility, getting her bearings, and the Evanses were finishing with the boxes. She had asked them too, Cassie was there for it this time, if they could keep her company.
At first Stacey and Stevie jumped at the chance to so much as look inside what they deemed a haunted house. It was cute how they’d reverted into shy shells the second it actually hit them that they’d get a bigger room to share, and Sam was grateful that Cassie had noticed and made an effort to make them comfortable.
Once he finished carrying the last suitcase, he had a short moment of reprieve where he finally did understand why his brother and sister had been so quiet and taken aback. There were three bedrooms altogether, he insisted it was fine that he could stay with his siblings in one of them. And really, it wasn’t the same as when they lived in the motel or even the apartment. Not even remotely.
There was so much space , so much history. He couldn’t imagine how lonely it would’ve been for Cassie if she’d been stuck here all on her own. He only hoped she wouldn’t be too shocked by the sudden noise from a new family.
“Sam?” He broke out of his thoughts, still sitting in the guest bedroom, by the window, and blinked up as his dad softly knocked at the open door. “We’re gonna pick up some groceries. You good here?”
After his parents left, he ventured back downstairs, wincing a bit at how much the floors would creak at every step. Sam peered around, eyebrows quirked, at the complete lack of Christmas decorations too. It was two weeks away, did Cassie not celebrate?
Stevie’s voice echoed down the hall first from the kitchen, “You gotta hear him do Darth Vader!”
The voice that replied with mild interest, on the other hand, was most certainly not Cassie. Neck getting very warm, Sam listened to Diana Meade humor his younger siblings with “I hope one day I get to!”
Of course, he had to walk in and prove them right. Come on, he’s only human.
“ You don’t know the power of the dark side! I must obey my master. ” Sam quickly dropped the voice once he walked into the room and smiled, “Hi Diana.”
“Hi Sam.”
She had her long chestnut waves down in a low ponytail, snug in a red cardigan, holding some sort of basket. So far she was the only one of Cassie’s friends that didn’t scare the absolute goddamn hell out of him, in part also because she was the most beautiful girl he’s ever met next to Mercedes Jones. (Not that he’d ever say that out loud to her.) But ever since Sam found out about his family and their relation to Cassie, and especially after he told her about it as well, he did try a few times to get to know her better.
From his observations, most times she seemed busier than him, if that was even possible. Always running off just as he’d be about to approach her in a hallway, or hell even at the coffee place where he worked. She seemed to rely on her friends a great deal, which was nice to see. Sam missed his back in Ohio pretty often enough.
But if they didn’t look ready to set him on fire just from a look for the fun of it, then they were brooding, and the only one who seemed confident and vibrant and friendly, at least to him, was Diana.
He offered to help at the gala a few weeks ago, before Jane had to leave, even though he hadn’t been invited. Just setting stuff up before heading off to work. Alright well, offered isn’t exactly the right word here too. He sort of just… happened to be in the area when Melissa shoved a vase in his arms.
Her cousin Holden had been in town briefly to visit after Nick’s death, and Sam accidentally happened to overhear the way she snapped as he approached to see what else they needed. “He’s not a rebound guy, Diana.”
At Diana’s dumbfounded expression, at the surprisingly harsh tone from such a petite girl too, the words came rushing out of Sam’s mouth before he could stop them, “No, but I can be.”
And that somehow produced another startled look, but at least both girls didn’t seem as annoyed anymore.
“I’m kidding.”
To his surprise, they’d invited his parents to the gala after all. Sam mostly sat and watched everyone, texting Finn about how he felt so weird in a suit, when he noticed Melissa eyeing her friend across the room.
He sat with Diana before Holden inevitably gave her a dance and then she suddenly had to run off, but the conversation they had was enough. It seemed like Cassie had told her friends about his relation to her after all and Diana had the friendliest smile when he sat next to her.
“So what was Ohio like?”
Sam shrugged, “Nothing crazy. Shockingly conservative.”
“Did your siblings like it at all? Do you guys like it here?” She sighed, staring up at the glittering chandelier above them, “I always wondered what it’d be like to have a little brother or sister.”
“Come babysit mine sometime, I’m sure they’d love you.”
Diana Meade had this wide and infectious smile that could and definitely did light up a room, this one in particular. And now she was in the Blake kitchen, chatting so easily with those same siblings of his. Showering them with that smile. Lord, Sam found it difficult to even look away, leaning on the chipped and worn wooden kitchen counter.
Stevie was still going on about the impressions, babbling excitedly, having already forgotten the cocoa on the table that Cassie had made, “And he can do Thor and Batman and he knows that language from Avatar. You should really marry him.”
Startled, Sam reached over and ruffled his brother’s hair, trying desperately to hide the new blush that made the whole damn room hot suddenly. Tried to ignore the fact that Cassie had dropped a cup and had to stifle a laugh by the sink, while Diana broke into another smile.
“Ignore him. Please ignore him.”
“Oh? I thought you were a rebound guy.” She teased back cheekily.
He met the twinkle in her eye and dimpled, “That’s not marriage material!”
“What’s a rebound guy?” Stacey asked from next to them, lips caked in cocoa and marshmallow.
Cassie interrupted then, thankfully, since Stevie also expected an answer to that question. Sam hadn’t even realized the trajectory of this conversation had changed so quickly, that he was actually flirting with someone openly in front of his siblings, until he saw the smaller blonde relative glaring at both of them.
“What’s in the basket, Diana!”
“Just some housewarming stuff. As a thank you for helping with the gala too.” Diana, abashed slightly, handed over the wicker basket with its contents covered by a plaid red and black blanket.
She slid it over, taking care not to let her hands make contact with his, and Sam had to stifle another smirk at that. Poor girl, getting reprimanded by everyone just so she could move on from a bad breakup.
Over the weeks, he pieced it together. Adam was one of those friends Cassie ran around the city with who, like Faye, looked ready to murder you with his eyes. Sam didn’t really care so much if his relative liked the guy, he just quickly understood that Diana was having a tougher time trying to find herself again.
At William McKinley, everyone was dating everyone. There were jocks dating his friends in glee, then getting slushied about it. Now here in Chance Harbor, everyone was so much more insular. Like Sam was invading their space in some way.
He shook himself quickly from the thought and decided to observe Diana’s basket. It held jars of jam and honey and even some homemade ornaments that his siblings ogled over, forgetting about the earlier conversation. Sam pulled out a chubby and porcelain bumblebee with a red and green hat on it, somehow drinking Coca Cola. He dangled it with the lacy golden bow on his finger.
“Hey, Cassie… there’s probably still some trees out there. I can help find one and put it up too.” He waited, glancing her way expectantly. “For Christmas.”
Somehow he still managed to misstep, but at least Stevie and Stacey looked eager and excited at the suggestion. Otherwise, he would’ve thought he’d gone crazy at Cassie and Diana’s confused expressions.
The former blinked quickly, “Oh, you don’t have to go to all that trouble. I never really celebrated back in California and grandma didn’t mention anything happening here.”
“Really? But you went all-out for Halloween.”
“That’s different,” Diana continued, trying her best to help, “Halloween is right on par with our families, Christmas isn’t so much.”
“Our families?” Sam slowly and gently placed the ornament back in the basket, curious. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t know?”
And at a sharp look from Cassie, at that quick shake of her head, Diana shut right up. A war of emotions played on both their faces before they clouded over, but then Sam may have just imagined it. He had a big imagination, he’s been told. The impressions were proof of that.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Cassie replied with a friendly and almost lonely grin, “we just don’t celebrate it here.”
They’d almost forgotten that Stevie and Stacey were still there in the same room, but the two younger kids made sure they’d never actually do so again when those big blue eyes pierced through the awkward air. Sam had grown used to their identical puppy-dog looks. The girls had not.
“No Christmas?” Stacey whimpered, having wiped her lips on a lacy napkin. “Santa forgot us again?”
Sam squinted her way. He’s seen them both do this before, not often since they had to start living in motels and apartments and his siblings knew not to hound their parents. But once in a while, they knew when they wanted to pull at someone’s heartstrings. Santa forgot us? Jesus.
Cassie didn’t stand a chance. The second she heard those words, the second she recognized that heartbroken look in their big blue eyes, she immediately fumbled and exchanged a heated look with Diana. Sam recognized the terror in that too.
“No-no-no that’s not what I meant!”
“Cassie…” Diana warned, voice low, and Sam rose his eyebrows when the tap behind her suddenly started up again.
His shorter blonder counterpart smiled quickly and whirled, shutting it off while murmuring “Old house”.
“Aren’t you two a little too old to still believe Santa gets you gifts?”
Stevie gasped, but it was the most obnoxious kind there is, producing a knowing smirk out of Diana after all. Sam matched it with his own, because she had a nice dimple when she did that. One good thing came out of his siblings embarrassing him.
“We told them both last year. Don’t guilt-trip people into celebrating a holiday guys, it goes against the whole meaning behind it.”
Chastised, both peered down at their drinks. Sam did feel bad though, he loved Christmas just as much as they did and he was surprised to hear that people in this town, including his own relatives, didn’t care for it.
“How about… you guys come by this address instead?” He quickly found a notepad that Cassie and Jane had left lying around with some old grocery lists scribbled on it, and found a clean piece, writing away.
When he handed it over, this time his fingers did gently brush against Diana’s. She eyed the small paper, intrigued, and Sam had to force himself not to flex his hand under the table, just relishing in how soft her skin had been even with that minimal contact.
“It’s on the 25th, early in the morning. Since you don’t celebrate.”
And when Diana left, she was still holding the paper, glancing down at it, waiting for it to fly away in the chilly air or combust into flame, or something . She’d never heard of that address before too, living her whole life in Chance Harbor, but then she didn’t visit the religious areas anyway. With good reason.
It started snowing as she made her way towards the pier, where her friends had sent her texts asking if she had time for drinks. She’d tell them about this conversation too, but she would omit the part where she almost told Sam that his cousin was a witch.
Of course that wholesome blonde family knew nothing about it! Their relationship with Jane was pretty complicated, and Diana knew she’d be kicking herself about what could’ve really been a disastrous mistake, but at the very least she was glad Cassie had company now. Company that didn’t need to involve themselves with all the craziness around the Circle.
Months ago, when Cassie had first arrived, Diana was thrilled and even desperate to include her into the Circle, to finally bind them all together. It wasn’t a stretch that there were more family members out there who could be witches, who deserve to know they may have powers, like Melissa’s cousin too. But there was something about Sam that had Diana’s heart skitter warmly in relief when it turned out he obviously knew nothing about any of it.
Keep him away from demons, keep those siblings of his innocent and unaware of it. And keep that touch of his fingers against hers always on her mind, just as a treat. For someone who looked like a goddamn cherub, his hands were surprisingly callused too, like he’d been playing instruments all his life.
Why was she thinking about that?
Diana had indeed seen him working at Java Brew since his family’s arrival, before even Cassie came to town. Sam mostly kept to himself, but it wasn’t until after Nick died that he made his presence more known. Taking her orders, even sitting with her when she was alone, helping at functions like the gala. He probably did the same with Faye or Melissa or even Adam when she wasn’t aware.
She did like it when he smiled. It was embarrassing being scolded for flirting with people’s cousins, but she did like his smile. It took a lot out of her not being able to complement those lips too, he probably heard enough about them as is.
Diana brushed the flurries off her hair and woolen coat, pulling it off her cardigan. She quickly walked out of the cold and into the warmth of the coffee shop. And as she did, Melissa snatched the paper right out of her hands.
“What’s this!”
“Can I sit for a minute first?”
She did so across from Melissa, who handed the paper over to Faye with a smirk. The latter held it between her two manicured fingers and quirked an eyebrow, otherwise uninterested and handing it back.
“Rendez-vous with a secret lover? Finally ?”
Despite the fact that it wasn’t the case at all, Diana’s face instantly reddened and it was suddenly very hot in that coffee shop. “Unlikely. It’s a Christmas thing.”
“Ooh, how taboo of you miss Diana.”
That did make her laugh, Faye had a way of doing that lately, surprisingly. Relish in this moment, Diana had to tell herself, because in a week the same girl would probably be annoying her again.
“Actually, I was thinking we should do something. We haven’t in years and Cassie’s got this new family to entertain. They celebrate Christmas.”
Diana quickly noted the way the two smirked and exchanged a glance. She rose her own eyebrows this time, waiting, and they were still staring at each other knowingly as Melissa spoke first.
“I don’t know, what if we walk into a church and get smited on the spot?”
Faye’s sharp eyes met hers now, always the one to say what the two were really thinking, “You sure it isn’t about one person in that family?”
But Diana was just as quick, “Look if you guys wanna stay home exchanging the same two gifts with your parents, fine by me. I wouldn’t mind decorating and drinking some eggnog.”
“And kissing someone under the mistletoe?”
It didn’t matter who even asked that .
Regardless, Melissa was there at that address with her even while the others were busy. They spent those next few days shopping and decorating the Blake residence. There still wasn’t a tree, but they used subtle placements of red and gold and green that didn’t pop , but at least helped the place look lived-in and festive.
It was easy, what with their magic, to do so since most days the new residences were still out working or in school. Sam did catch them once, as he was picking his siblings up from school, pointing and warning his sister in particular at the mistletoe hanging over the kitchen doorway.
He caught Diana watching and grinned, sheepishly. Boys and their baby sisters. So protective.
She did worry he’d sent her to a church for Christmas day and when said day finally came, the fear was almost gripping at her. She’d never admit it to Faye or Melissa or even Cassie, because it’s an absurd idea, but it wasn’t just the fact that they were witches. Everything was so commercialized about this holiday, then people liked to take the moral high ground and suddenly pretend to be religious, Diana didn’t want her disdain to be so noticeable. Because she could definitely look worse than Faye sometimes.
Sam unfortunately is a sneaky bastard. Diana met with Melissa at the end of a quiet street, one that needed more repairs than the rest of the town. She looked over the address, they both stopped right in front of a crowd with a small line extending out the doorway.
It was a soup kitchen. He sent them to a soup kitchen. Where he was serving .
Melissa laced her arm through Diana’s, squeezing it with a soft giggle, “I think he’s a little too good for you.”
“Shut up.”
They walked in, taking in the huddled and cold figures eating their soup, the warmth of it taking over the room. No, it wasn’t the soup doing that. It was the boy with a hairnet and apron dispersing it from behind a counter and smiling at every single person, that really lit up such a dreary picture.
Diana tried not to think too much about it, but she could swear that same smile grew when he saw her. And Melissa. Who giggled again.
“Grab a spoon,” Sam instructed, “it shouldn’t be too long, not so bad here compared to where I’ve lived before.”
“You’re an asshole,” Diana replied, pulling on a starchy apron and instinctively tying up her long hair, “you could’ve told us to bring some donations… so many books and clothes I’ve been meaning to give away too.”
“There isn’t an expiration date on that sort of thing Diana,” he replied warmly and she couldn’t help meeting his soft gaze with a small grin, “Christmas just kinda… reminds me though, that there’s more than just presents and trees and gossipy church ladies.”
Cheeky sneaky little bastard. He probably spent years perfecting and teaching his siblings something like that. Diana stood and helped him for another two hours, surprised as the time passed that she enjoyed the sad but grateful smiles whenever she handed over a plate.
Melissa suspiciously volunteered to be the one walking around, handing out mitts and extra food or toys for the kids. Leave the two alone for a prolonged amount of time, because her friends were just masters at subtlety.
Diana would be lying if she said she didn’t like it though. Her feet hurt a bit, but she was almost always on them these days, and it was nice sitting back afterwards, watching people quietly converse while Sam fiddled with some sort of toy in his long fingers next to her. The seats behind the counter were old and plastic and small, especially for him, with his leg brushing against hers.
Again. She can’t complain.
“What is that?”
He stopped and opened his palm at the nudge of her chin and Diana tilted her head, intrigued at the sight of a bright yellow guitar pick. It sort of suited him, especially when he would smile.
Especially when he would smile at her .
“I sold my guitar once dad lost his job, but I kept this.”
Diana bit her lip, peering up at him, at the wistful look in his eye as he stared at the object in his hand, “I’m sorry.”
“These are more personal anyway.”
“So you’re one of those guys huh?” She nudged him, tried to bring something playful out of him. “Once you’re in college you’ll be serenading girls and breaking all their hearts.”
He did smirk after all, bashful as he closed his fist around the pick, “If I ever get that pretentious, hopefully you’ll be there to take me down a peg.”
And Diana smiled, “Deal.”
She didn’t need to know about the Justin Bieber phase.
The three of them walked back to Cassie’s grandmother’s place together once a new set of people came to the kitchen to help out, and especially when Melissa and Diana insisted Sam take a break already. He knew they had a party planned, that Cassie hadn’t actually been too busy to visit the soup kitchen, he wasn’t completely blind to all the decorations that had slowly appeared all around the old house.
It turned out to be a really cold night, the temperature dropping alongside the sudden and expected disappearance of the sunshine over those last few hours. Wind and new snowfall whipped at them, harsh against their cheeks and biting right through their heavy clothes.
Sam had to reach out and keep a hold on both girls’ arms, and he swore heat emanated from them when he did. At least a little bit, at least he’d like to think so.
They almost toppled right through the large doors, pushing them closed together, but it didn’t take much for them to warm up again. There weren’t many people that had decided to join the dinner, especially since the Evans family didn’t know most of Cassie’s friends anyway, but his parents were sitting in the den with her and a few of their own adult friends. They smiled once the three walked in and his siblings didn’t hesitate to point out the tree.
It was the only piece of decoration covered in silver tinsel, with an identical star on its top, a vibrant contrast to the rest of the greens and golds around them. It popped right out and made sure your eyes fell on it.
Sam knew one thing: that tree was not standing in the corner by a cozy fireplace when he had left that morning for work. And he also now understood why his two younger siblings, of all people, had insisted on opening presents at night.
“You guys are staying, right?” He leaned against the door, still sighing from the exertion of their whole trek up to the house and hoping that the two girls who’d joined him understood that he wasn’t trying to trap them too.
Luckily they did. Melissa whipped off her coat and Diana laughed, throwing Sam that smile he’d be dreaming about for days. And he was still following her elegant form as she joined the younger kids with their presents.
“It’s been awhile since we celebrated,” Cassie replied, holding onto some eggnog and suddenly shy around the small crowd, “and family’s family, right?”
Sam is a gentleman, so no he did not force a kiss on Diana under the mistletoe, or even expect one. He was just surprised and grateful they had all even made this effort, that after all these months maybe he wouldn’t be bored and lonely in such a small insular town after all.
Chance Harbor wasn’t so scary and daunting after all, and neither was this house.
What’s the worst that could happen?