Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sam came home from school seeing multiple moving vans parked outside her grandma's building. There were men dressed in blue and white uniforms moving different furniture in and out the main entrance. It was a sort of an apartment complex after all, guess someone’s moving in.

'Great, not only did my teacher give me loads of homework due tomorrow, now I have to deal with the loud crowds of workers as well. There’s no way I will be able to concentrate.' The young girl thought to herself.

She swiftly moved past the people without sparing them a glance and ran quickly towards the elevator in the middle of the building's lobby. She pressed the button with number 10 on it which would take her directly to her grandma's penthouse. She scanned her little white tag on the sensor attached to the elevator door and it opened.

“Hello Sam, don’t forget your piano teacher is coming over today at 6pm, I’ll be out for a meeting with the investors, I don’t know when I will be back.” Grandma greeted her from the big table in the middle of the living room, without making eye contact with the girl.

“Yes grandma” she answered while taking off her shoes.

Sam turned right and walked through the long hallway covered with different diplomas and awards her parents and grandparents received in the past. She didn’t remember her parents at all, since they passed away in an accident when she was just a toddler. The only thing she knows about them is how their faces looked like, because of the old photo album she had in the drawer inside her room. She would lie if she said that she missed them, since she barely knew the two, but sometimes she wondered how it would be like to have a mom and dad. Would she come home to her mother’s cooked meals? Would her father take them on trips to the beach or to foreign countries? Tons of unanswered questions like those.

Sam had it all, people could say that she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Private elementary school, tons of toys, books, clothes, accessories… Grandma made sure she had everything Sam asked for to make up for her and her parents absence. Sam wasn’t lonely though, there were multiple cooks, assistants and cleaners coming in and out of their penthouse on a daily basis. She even has a nanny that comes over when her grandma is out on her business trips, since Sam is only 8 years old.

She wasn’t a very social girl, she just made sure that all her tasks given to her by the teachers and grandma were done, and after that she would lock herself in her room and paint. Yes, she loved painting. She was painting all over everything since she could remember, which earned her multiple scoldings for quote “destroying” the expensive furnishings inside the penthouse. Sam thought it made the living space more pretty and colorful since everything was in white or marble. Sometimes the maids would joke that Sam came out of her mother holding acrylic paints and a brush in her hands.

She reached the end of the hallway and walked through the doors located on the left side which took her into her room. The room was her safe place. Size almost as big as the whole apartments on the bottom floor of the building, but she liked it. She had tons of space for her easels of different sizes and art supplies that were located just in the left corner of the room beside the window. On the right side was the big queen sized bed covered in dog plushies and different cushions and in front of it was her little white desk covered in books and different fairy tales.

“Now what’s going on out there…” Sam sighted and made her way towards the slightly open window.

She couldn’t see much since she was on the top floor of the building, just little dots on the ground and the rectangle like vans, but the voices were loud and clear. She heard a voice, a child’s loud laugh to be exact. This got her curious. There were no other children living in the building, Sam didn’t complain about that because she didn’t feel the need for more friends. Two of her classmates were enough. There was Jim, way too loud and hyper and draining Sam’s energy in an instant, but it was fun to hang around with her despite that. And there was Tee, a way calmer one, tomboyish girl who is a part of the elementary school's basketball team. She remembers her first day in elementary when Sam got assigned to the same class in grade 1 as the two and the two girls just randomly started talking to her. Sam wasn’t much of a talker either, but the girls were stuck to her like glue since then. She loves the little trio group of friends that formed that day.

Sam stayed by the window for a while until the voices tuned down.

'I should do my homework since they seem to have gone inside.' She thought to herself and paced towards her desk. She sat down and opened her notebook.

“Great, amazing even, what the heck is this?” She grimaced looking at her notes and multiple doodles of flowers, rainbows and what not. “Of course it was Jim.” She added while looking at the bottom of the page where the girl's name was scribbled in the big yellow letters. She flipped the page and started doing her math homework. She sat there for a bit until she heard the doorbell ring.

“Oh that must be the piano teacher, time surely flies by fast” Sam hummed to herself, jumping off her chair and quickly grabbing her note sheets. She ran through the hallway towards the entrance door to the elevator. She noticed her grandma's shoes were gone, meaning that she probably went to her meeting already. Sam opened the door.

“Hello Teacher N-” her eyes widened, but she quickly changed her expression to a neutral one. “Oh. Hello?”

“Hi, I’m Mon! I’m five!” The little figure with two ponytails said loudly, grinning at her brightly. “Mommy said I should come and say hi, here, have some cookies.” The little girl said, shoving the box into Sam’s hands before she could even process what was happening.

“What do you have there? What are those weird scribbles?” Mon said, looking at the papers Sam was holding.

'Just as I thought I could have some peace and quiet…' Sam’s expression changed from a neutral one to a slightly annoyed one. “Note sheets, these are note sheets.”

“Oh cool! What do they do?” Mon said, but before she got an answer, Sam put down the cookies on a little shelf on her right side, and pulled Mon inside the penthouse.

“You were blocking the elevator, you know.” Sam grumbled.

“Oh sorry. So what are sheets?” She asked again.

“They are piano pieces, songs you know.” Sam answered. “ Also you said you were five, you should talk to me politely.”

“How old are you? and what’s your name?” Mon said, the smile not leaving her face.

“Samanun Anantrakul, I’m eight.” Before she could even finish her sentence, Mon already skipped away past her towards the living room.

“Wow your house is huge P’Sam!” The little girl said twirling around, her knee length skirt moving along with her.

'She looks like a little princess. Cute. No, not cute.' Sam thought and made her way towards Mon.

“Hey! I didn’t invite you in.”

“Oh come on I gave you cookies, of course I’m allowed to come in” she answered and laughed. “Wow, what a huge piano! Play something Phi!” Mon ran towards the instrument seating on the white leather seat, and pressed down on some random keys with her two index fingers.

'That girl is worse than Jim, I can’t wait for this day to end already.'

“No, and I think that you should-” The doorbell rang again. “What now..” She shifted her gaze from Mon who didn’t pay any attention and continued playing with the piano, and walked towards the door.

“Hello Teacher.” Sam said and bowed politely.

“Hello Sam, are you ready? I hope you practiced the piece I brought last time.” Teacher said while taking off her shoes. She followed little Sam towards the living room where the piano was located.

“Hello!” Mon locked eyes with the piano teacher. “Is this your mom Phi?” the girl smiled shyly.

“No, it’s my piano teacher and I think you should go now.”

“Oh great, now I can hear you play!” Mon answered totally ignoring Sam asking her to leave. She skipped towards the big table in the middle of the room and climbed up one of the chairs. “I’ll be quiet and good I swear” She added looking at the older girl.

“I don’t have the time to listen to some childs bickering, let’s start our lesson” The teacher interrupted with a grim face and pointed towards the piano. Sam obliged without saying anything, the note sheets still located in her hands. She placed the sheets on the stand above the piano keys and inhaled in and out slowly. Teacher was standing above her, placing the metronome on the side and started it.

“One two three” Teacher said in the rhythm, that was Sam’s cue to start playing.

The piece was La Campanella by Franz Liszt. A very difficult piece, especially for a child Sam’s age who had tiny hands.

“Wrong wrong wrong!” The teacher raised her voice before Sam could even finish the first line. Becky frowned at the back, to her it sounded amazing.

“Did you even practice at all? You can’t even keep the simple rhythm.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam said with a plain expression.

“I don’t want to hear any sorrys, I came here to see your progress, I’ve wasted enough of my time already. Start over from the beginning, listen to the metronome carefully this time. Ok, one two three.”

The lesson continued like that. Lots of interruptions from the teacher, and in the end Sam couldn’t finish one third of the piece. The girl was frustrated with herself, her hands hurting from having to constantly press the note keys so far away from each other at a very quick peace. She doesn’t understand why grandma forces her to get piano lessons. It was her mothers passion after all. Her mother was a famous piano composer and traveled around the world winning multiple competitions and having concerts.

“That’s it for today” The teacher interrupted Sam’s playing once again. “See you next week, and I hope that you actually practice before that. I'm disappointed with your progress Sam, your mother would be as well.” she added with a stern tone. Without saying goodbye the woman walked towards the elevator door and left, just like that.

Sam sighed with relief and leaned on the chair.

“That- that was mean”

Sam turned around startled, she forgot she had a visitor. She locked eyes with the little girl that looked even tinier sitting curled up in the chair holding in her tears.

“Hey It’s okay, I’m used to it” Sam answered and walked towards Mon. She patted her head. “Thank you for being patient,” she added.

Mon hummed in response, giving Sam a soft smile.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure Phi” Mon answered, already forgetting how unsettled she was with the piano lesson just minutes ago.

“How did you know I lived here?” she asked. “ You brought cookies and all.”

“Mommy told me that there was a friend living above.” Mon answered pointing to the ceiling and chuckled.

'Her mom huh? She probably met grandma when she was on her way out I guess.' Sam thought without answering Mon.

“Can I see your room?” It was Mon’s time to ask a question.

“No, I think you should go now”

Sam noticed a slight frown forming on Mon’s face.

“It’s getting late, you know, your mother will be worried.” She added not wanting to make the girl in front of her cry.

Mon jumped off the chair, grabbed the older girl's hand and made her way towards the elevator, leading Sam.

“Next time then Phi” Mon answered and gave one of her bright smiles to Sam once again.

'Will there be a next time?' Sam said in her thoughts.

“Bye Mon.” She answered.

“Bye bye P’Sam! It was fun seeing you. And you know, I loved how you played the piano. You are really good.” She jumped towards Sam and gave her a tight hug.

Before Sam could respond in any way Mon walked inside the elevator and the door closed behind her. She grabbed the cookie box and noticed a little note attached to it.
“For Sam” She managed to read the wobbly letters. There was also a bunny drawn on it.

“Cute” Sam’s lips curled upwards without her realizing. “Wait, how did she know my name before I even met her? She even asked for it.”

How strange.

Sam turned around, the cookie box in her hands and walked towards her room, leaving the note sheets on the piano stand. She sat down on the chair in front of her desk and opened the cookies. The lemon smell hit her nose.

“Mm my favorite” she said to herself, grabbing one of the cookies and plopped it inside her mouth.
While munching on the crunchy sweet snack, she grabbed a little empty pink box that was placed in the corner of the desk and placed the small bunny note inside of it. She thought of throwing it away at first, but decided to keep it as a memory of this somewhat eventful day. The bunny was just too cute to throw away, right? She decided to continue doing her math homework, which was even harder now because of the cute ponytailed girl that was running around her mind.

Chapter Text

Sam woke up to a loud ring of an alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. She opened her eyes with a loud groan. She didn’t get much sleep, the reason being that yesterday’s situation couldn’t leave the girl's mind. She turned off the alarm quickly, because she couldn’t stand the noise anymore and walked towards her desk chair where she threw the school uniform the day before. She would definitely get a scolding if grandma saw how messy her room was right now. She was about to put on the uniform, but she noticed a paint stain on the shirt and decided to leave it on the chair. One of the caretakers or the cleaners would take care of it later.

Sam made her way towards the closet and quickly put on a spare school uniform that was hung there. She turned around back to her desk, shoved her books and homework down her bag and went out to the living room. One of the chefs greeted her and gave her a neatly packed lunch. She thanked him and without eating breakfast, she walked towards the elevator heading out.

As soon as she arrived at the bottom floor, a door opened to the previously unoccupied apartment. The same little girl from yesterday walked out, this time her hair was braided, and she was wearing the same uniform as Sam herself.

'Isn’t she five? Isn’t she supposed to be in kindergarten?' She wondered.

“Phi good morning!” Mon shouted across the lobby, waving to her.

“Hello,” Sam answered, walking towards the main door. But before she could reach it, a woman's silhouette appeared from the same apartment Mon walked out of.

“Teacher Pohn?” Sam said in confusion.

“Hello Sam, looks like we are going to be neighbors from now on.” The woman smiled at her.

“Oh that explains how Mon knew my address and all…” Sam murmured

“What did you say?”

“Nothing teacher, I should get going now, my driver is waiting for me.”

“Do you want to go with us? Mon is going to be starting as a first grader at the same school, I could give you a ride.” Teacher Pohn offered.

“No, I don't want to cause trouble.”

“Please please Phi, come with us.” Mon chimed in grabbing both of Sam’s hands. “It’s going to be fun, come on P’Sam” she pleaded once again.

“Guess you don’t have any choice now,” Ms. Pohn laughed.

Sam was being dragged out the exit by the little girl, seeming like she didn’t have any intentions of letting go of Sam’s hand. As they walked out, Sam waved towards a black Mercedes, signaling the driver that she won’t be going with him today. Mon skipped towards her mothers red car, opening the door for Sam. Sam climbed in without saying anything and closed the door behind her.

“Today is going to be so much fun.” Mon broke the silence as they drove. “To have a cool Phi as my first friend at a new school is so awesome.” She added.

Sam blushed slightly at the girl's compliment and hummed in response. She isn’t used to getting this much attention from anyone, and even being called a friend by someone she met only once felt unusual.

“I’m very smart, you know.” Mon continued.

“What?” Sam gave the younger a questioning look.

“I skipped a grade because I’m so smart.” she added proudly. Teacher Pohn’s laugh could be heard from the front seat.

“Oh, that’s good I guess.” Sam said, ending the conversation there, as they arrived at the school's parking lot.

She climbed out the car bowing to the teacher and started walking towards the school entrance.

“See you later Phi!”. She heard Mon calling out to her from behind.

She spotted Tee and Jim from a distance and made her way towards them.

“Who was that?” Jim asked as Sam approached.

“Mon, teacher Pohn’s kid.”

“What? You drove to school with a teacher?” it was Tee asking this time.

“Yes, she moved into one of my grandma's apartments, we are neighbors.” Sam answered.

“Oooh, she can have a close look on you and your grades now!” Jim said and lightly punched Sam’s arm letting out a giggle.

“Unlike you Jim, I get good grades” Sam gave a piercing look towards her.

“Haha! She got you there” Tee added, making fun of Jim.

“You know, I’m Martha now, you should call me Martha.” Jim said, crossing her arms.

“Please, you have been in the US once during summer break, stop this act.” Tee answered.

Sam chose to ignore this bickering and walked inside the school building as the bell rang.

The school day passed like any other, except one thing. Sam had a little shadow following her everywhere on every recess. Tee and Jim wouldn’t stop teasing her about it. They even invited the little girl to eat lunch with them in the cafeteria, sharing the food with Mon, and not stopping saying how cute the girl was.

“Wow your food looks delicious” Jim exclaimed, looking at Mon unpacking her lunch box carefully.

“Mommy made it for me, I ate it a lot when I used to live in the UK with daddy.” The younger answered looking happily at her yorkshire pudding and gravy in a little cup. Even though it sounds like some kind of sweet pastry, it is a savory little side dish.

Sam looked at the younger with interest. Mon lived in England before? She is really good at Thai, and can even write it without any big struggle. She wasn’t lying when she said she was smart earlier this morning.

The four girls ate with gusto, sharing food with each other here and there, feeding little Mon and laughing at how adorable she was while trying different Thai dishes for the first time.

Little Mon became popular in no time, as cheerful and extroverted the girl was, but for some reason Sam was her favorite. Mon was attached by hip to Sam for days to come. She would ask her to drive home along with Ms. Pohn and sometimes even drove along with Sam’s driver. Both girls naturally became closer and closer with Mon’s constant presence. Sometimes Sam would help the younger with her homework, visiting Ms. Pohn’s place, and even staying over for dinner some days. And like that her trio group of friends consisted of four people now.

“Wow P’Sam look how cute this puppy is!” Mon said as they walked towards the local grocery store in their neighborhood to buy ice cream. They were walking towards a park, which was a hotspot for people to go out on dates and walks with their pets.

“Awww, hi there little one” Sam crouched down petting the puppy. It had a blue collar around its neck meaning its owner was somewhere around the park.

“I wish I could have a puppy” Mon said with a slight sadness in her eyes.

“Why don’t you ask your mom for one?”

“I can’t, mommy is allergic.” She answered.

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

The dog’s owner approached the girls, smiling at the two.

“Thank you for stopping him, he likes to run away from me sometimes.” An older teenage girl said laughing.

“He came to us by himself, he’s so adorable.” Mon said continuing to pet and play with the dog.

“Well, thank you anyways, I’ll have to go now, have a good day girls.” She said and picked the puppy up. Mon waved goodbye and smiled lightly.

Sam and Mon continued to walk towards a shortcut inside the park. The atmosphere was quieter. Sam took notice of Mon's mood being lower now, after the dog conversation.

“Woof”.

“What?” Mon turned her head towards the older girl.

“Woof” she repeated. “I can be your puppy”

That is so out of Sam’s character, they both knew that. Mon was surprised at how Sam was acting so suddenly. She wasn’t used to it, the older girl was usually really quiet and rarely showed any emotions. Mon happened to ask if Sam was mad at her or something a lot of times, but often it would just be that she was lost in her thoughts. Mon thinks that it makes the older look mysterious and even cooler.

“Okay Phi! That’s awesome!” Mon said, jumping up and down. “Chase me!” and she ran away.

Sam smiled at how easily it was to make Mon happy, and ran after the girl. They passed by a lot of people, and even more dogs looking curiously at them and even wanting to run along. After playing tag for a while, both girls plopped down on a hill panting heavily.

“That was so much fun Cham Cham” Mon said in between her breath.

“Cham Cham?” Sam looked at the younger with curiosity.

“Yes, since you are my puppy now, your name is Cham Cham.”

“Okay Mon Mon” Sam’s lips curled upwards.

“Mon Mon’s Cham Cham” Mon added, resting her head on Sam’s legs.

“Mon Mon’s Cham Cham” the older repeated.

The sun was setting down as they walked back home, ice cream in hand.

“Phi?”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to stay over at my place tonight?” Mon asked.

“Okay, my grandma is overseas anyways so I don’t think there would be a problem” Sam answered. The younger girl's face lit up immediately.

Sam was used to Mon’s constant presence by now, and for some reason she wanted to make her nong happy all the time. She wasn’t sure why, but the thing she knew was that Mon’s bright smile made her all warm on the inside. A warmth that she never felt before. Is that how it feels to have a younger sibling? She never felt like that when she was with Tee or Jim, she found the girls more annoying than anything. Sam has two older sisters but they don’t live with her and grandma. Her oldest sister Nueng lives with her husband by the sea and the other sister Song is studying and living in a university dorm. They visit from time to time, but she isn’t particularly close with them both.

“I’m just going to go pick up my pj’s and toothbrush and come down after a while” Sam said as they entered the apartment building.

“Okay, I’m going to tell mommy that you’re going to be staying over, see you soon Phi” The younger answered flashing another one of her smiles that Sam absolutely adored. She could never get bored of them.

Sam went up the elevator and entered the penthouse. As soon as she came in, she informed her nanny that she won’t be staying at home tonight.

“Okay, I will inform the boss about this,” the nanny answered, by the boss she meant grandma.

“Please don’t I’m supposed to be practicing the piece for a contest” the girl looked at the older woman with pleading eyes.

The nanny locked eyes with Sam, slightly intrigued. Sam never put off any lessons, homeworks or tasks given to her. Thinking about it, the girl seemed more uplifted recently, wearing a straight face as always, but anyone that worked at the Anantrakul household for a longer amount of time could notice the change in Sam’s eyes and actions. She seemed more carefree, more active, more like a child her age should be.

“As you wish young lady, but you better practice extra hard tomorrow okay?” She smiled at the girl.

“Yes, thank you, I’ll get going now.” Sam answered.

“Do you want anything to eat before you leave?” Nanny asked again, noticing the bag in Sam’s hand.

“No, I’m full” And with that, she left the penthouse for the day.

Sam took a long breath in and out before knocking on the door to Ms. Pohns apartment. She still felt a little awkward facing her teacher outside of school. Especially now that she hasn't done her homework yet, even though it’s friday and she has two full days left to get it done.
Mon opened the door almost immediately after Sam lifted her hand from the door. All giddy and jumpy. The older girl wonders where she gets all her energy from.

“Let’s have a movie night Phi!” she said as Sam entered the hallway. “I have Lion King and Snow White and Cinderella and-”

“Okay okay, we can watch whatever you want kid” Sam cut off the nong and patted her head lightly.

“Great! We’ll watch Cinderella then. Mommy is going to make pizza for us.” she exclaimed happily.

As weird as this might sound, Sam has never had pizza before. Grandma made sure that the girl had a well balanced diet and the hired chefs always cooked very expensive looking meals that Sam didn’t bother to learn the names of.

Mon dragged Sam by her hand into the younger’s bedroom without giving the girl to greet Ms. Pohn properly. The room looked just as Sam imagined. Incredibly pink would be the right words to describe it. Pink wallpapers, pink bed sheets with care bears all over it. The only thing that wasn’t pink was the furniture. Her bed was a lot smaller than her own, and seemed just the right size to fit the both of them. There was a knee height round table in the middle of the room with sitting cushions around it, and in front of it was wall mounted, but still a pretty small sized TV.

‘Having a TV in your own bedroom must be so nice,’ Sam thought to herself. Grandma would never allow her to have one since it would distract her from more important things, the very unnecessary piano lessons for example. Sam was happy that grandma allowed her to paint as much as she wanted at least.

“You can put your bag wherever you want” the younger said, interrupting Sam’s thoughts.

She plopped down the bag on the bed and sat on one of the cushions on the floor as Mon turned on the TV searching for the Cinderella movie. Sam wasn’t much into watching fairy tales or folk tales as much as she was into reading them, but spending her evening with Mon sounds much more entertaining that her hurting her hands once again while playing piano.

The movie started and Mon walked towards where Sam was sitting. She moved one of the cushions closer to Sam and sat down beside her. The little girl's body swayed left and right showing how cheerful the girl was.

Without realizing herself, Sam was paying more attention to the girl sitting beside her than the movie itself. She found the slight touches and gasps coming from her nong every time something suspenseful happened in the movie extremely adorable. She was like a living golden retriever inside a human's body. Total opposite of Sam.

Somewhere halfway throughout the movie the door to Mon’s room opened and Ms. Pohn greeted them saying that the pizza was ready. Sam stood up and bowed politely, since she hadn’t had a chance earlier.

“Mommy can we eat here? Please please” Mon jumped up hugging her mother.

“Sorry honey but no, don’t you remember how messy your room was last time I allowed you to eat in here?” the older woman answered.

Mon blushed slightly when she heard Sam letting out a laugh behind her back. The younger turned around with a slight sulk, grabbed Sam's hand and led her towards the kitchen. Sam is already used to Mon grabbing her hand everytime she wants Phi to follow her somewhere.

Sam sat on the chair beside Mon in the kitchen as ms. Pohn was serving them a piece of pizza each. The smell of cheese and other toppings filled the room. She wished she could eat things like these more often. Mon did a little dance as she took the first bite and Sam couldn’t help but smile at the cute act. Even though it didn’t show on the other girl, she loved it every time she ate dinner with them. It gave her a homey-like feeling, so down to earth, talking about anything that came to mind, with lots of laughter involved in between. Unlike the family dinners she occasionally had with her grandmother and sisters where everything had to be so formal. Talking about school, work, investing, money etc. Catching up about the usual business stuff.

Mon went to wash up right after dinner and Sam waited inside nong’s room, looking around the bookshelves and playing with some of the plushies her younger friend had.

“All done” Mon walked inside the room, her cheeks flushed from the hot water. “You can go and wash now, mom has already prepared you a bath.”

Of course Mon’s pjs were pink as well, the girl must really love pink. Sam took out her own pjs from her bag and went to wash up.

After both of them were done, they continued to watch the movie. They both laid on Mon’s bed beside each other. The younger girl was drifting away to sleep a couple of times, and Sam found it really funny how hard she tried to keep herself awake, lifting her head, shifting positions and groaning to herself. The final wedding scene comes on, Cinderella and prince charming exchanging vows, confetti everywhere, king and the guests celebrating. But instead of watching the movie, Mon was looking at Sam instead. Sam was fully aware of that, but decided to ignore it and continue watching.

“Phi?” the younger hums.

“Yes?” Sam answers, locking eyes with the younger.

“Shall we marry each other?”

“What?” Sam gave her a confused look.

“You know, like them.” Mon said pointing at the TV where the prince and Cinderella kissed. “In a castle, with animals and looooots of people” she smiled.

“But people who are getting married need to be in love with each other and all, right?” Sam answered despite knowing that wasn’t the case since her own parents' marriage was arranged.

“Don’t you love me?” the little girl said, half asleep already.

Love? What is love? Sam thought to herself. Her grandma giving her almost everything she wanted and granting her every wish to make up for her parents absence? Her sisters giving her a lot of presents and snacks every time they visited? Did her parents love each other when they made Sam and her sisters enter the world? Was love the feeling her family had for their business? Maybe it was the feeling of freedom Sam felt everytime she painted, putting anything her imagination created on a canvas. Or maybe when she was eating her favorite food?

“Phi?” Mon’s voice snapped the older back to reality.

“I like you,” Sam answered.

“Then let’s get married when we grow up!”

“Okay…” Sam said, not wanting to disappoint the girl.

As soon as she agreed, the little girl jumped up from the bed and ran towards one of the boxes on her bookshelf taking something out, and sat herself back beside Sam.

“What is it?” Sam asked curiously.

“Promise bracelets, so we don’t forget” She said, her smile so bright that it could blind anyone looking at it.

She took Sam’s hand into her own and carefully, with some struggle, put the bracelet with lots of colorful beads on it around the olders wrist. It was obvious it was handmade by Mon, and Sam couldn’t help but smile with adoration at the fact. When nong finished tightening the little bow she made out of two ends, it was Sam’s turn to put the other matching bracelet on Mon’s wrist. When she was done, Mon hugged her Phi tightly, falling on the bed in the process. Before Sam could even react, the younger was already in a deep slumber cuddling her right arm.

Chapter Text

“P’Sam wake up!!” Mon shouted with all the might in her lungs, jumping on the older girl's bed.

Sam groaned and pulled up the cover over her head.

“You’re gonna be graduating middle school soon, you don’t want to be late.” Mon added, now trying to wrestle Sam who’s doing all she can to protect herself with the sheets.

“Oh is that me?” Mon said, her eyes wandering to the corner of Sam’s room, where a freshly painted portrait was placed on one of the easels.

“No!” Sam jumped up, now fully awake, running towards the canvas trying to hide it with her body.

“Hmmm… Whatever you say Phi” the younger laughed. “I’m going to your kitchen, if you don’t change and come out soon, I’m going to eat your lunch one of the chefs prepared.” Mon said leaving the room.

“What a pain in the ass…” Sam mumbled looking at the now closed doors direction.

Since her grandma is barely living in the penthouse anymore after she expanded her property business, staying over at other apartments and houses, Sam gave one of the tag keys to the penthouse to Mon. The younger liked to use it to her advantage, scaring Sam multiple times, pretending to be a ghost, or like today, waking her up in the mornings to go to school. The younger was right though, Sam is going to start highschool in four months, and she should pay more attention to her grades since she enrolled into the top high school in Bangkok. Even though she would get accepted no matter what, because her family was one of the top investors for that school, she doesn’t want others to think that she paid her way in.

Sam changed into her uniform quickly, and made her way into the kitchen. A smile crept up her face when a sight of Mon talking to one of the maids hit her eyes. She became really acquainted with the household workers over time she visited, and they seemed to like her as well. Obviously, since no one told grandma about her frequent unannounced visits yet.

“Ready?” Sam asked as she walked towards them.

“Yup, don’t forget your lunch.” Mon threw the lunchbox at her. “I might or might not have tasted some already”

Sam rolled her eyes and walked towards the hallway. Mon waved to the maid and quickly rushed to catch up with the older.

“You know P’Tee…” Mon started as they waited inside the elevator which was taking them to the bottom floor.

“What about her?” Sam gave the younger a questioning look.

“She’s so cool, and handsome, and the way she wiped her face with her t-shirt during her latest basketball match.”

“Uhh… okay?”

“Is there anything going on between you two?” Mon continued slightly nudging Sam’s side.

“Ew no, why would you even think that” the older made a gagging motion which made Mon giggle.

“Oh thank god.” Mon answered.

“Don’t tell me…” Sam looked at her with shock.

“No no no, no way, not me.” Mon quickly waved her hands. “You know my friend Yuki, she has the biggest crush on P’Tee. She forced me to ask you”

“Oh” The older sighted.

“So is she single?”

“I think so? She talks about other people a lot, but I don’t think she’s dating any of them.”

“Great, I’m going to text Yuki right now, bet she is going to be jumping from happiness.” Mon laughed as the elevator reached the lobby.

One of Sam’s drivers took them to school. Mon was humming the melody of one of the piano pieces Sam has been practicing recently. Apparently it was the one that made her mother win her first competition in the past, that was the reason why grandma wanted Sam to learn it.

“Cute”

“What is?” Mon stopped, locking eyes with Sam.

“Nothing” Sam looked outside the window at the cars passing them.

As soon as they reached the school, their small group of friends greeted them, recognising the black Mercedes they arrived in.

“Good morning” Yuki greeted the two, standing beside Jim and Tee.

“Good morning” Mon greeted back immediately, clinging to her friend's arm.

‘Mon doesn’t hold me like that’ Sam's thoughts wandered automatically at the sight.

The two nongs split off from the older girls, since their first class will be held in a different building.

“Are you going to the graduation party?” Jim asked. “ Party or ball or whatever it’s going to be” she added.

“What party?” Sam asked as they walked towards their lockers.

“Oh right, it wasn’t announced yet.” Tee spoke this time.

Jim was the school council president, she most definitely got the information at one of their weekly meetings. They have to plan things some time in advance after all.

“I don’t think so, first, I have to study and second of all, I don't have anyone to go with anyways.” Sam muttered.

“You have Mon!” Jim said, winking at her.

“No way, she’s literally my younger sister at this point” She answered while taking her books out of the locker.

How could she invite her? They have been friends for ages now, that would definitely be a huge crossing of a boundary. She has never thought of the girl in any other way than just a kid she wanted to take care of and make her happy. Yes, she was incredibly adorable, and getting prettier with every day that passed, but still. And she’s a girl. A girl, what would people think? She didn’t have anything against same-sex relationships of course, Tee was openly talking about her girl-crushes all the time, so it was obvious her friend liked girls.

“I didn’t say that you should bring her as a date, you know,” Jim smiled teasingly. “You could invite her as a friend.”

“Anyways, I’m thinking of asking Yuki to go with me,” Tee said.

“Dude, you switch crushes like socks.” Jim interrupted her.

“This time it’s different.” Tee’s expression turned dreamy-like. “But I’m scared she will reject me.” she added.

“She won’t” It was Sam’s turn to speak.

“How do you know?”

“I just know.”

“You could ask her after your basketball match next week, Yuki never misses any of them.” Jim said.

“Good idea!” Tee high-fived her friend, “I’m going to ask her if my team wins.”

“You better train extra hard before that” Jim laughed

“I already do” Tee answered as the bell rang, signaling the first class was about to start.

The day went by like any other, lots of studying and preparations for the upcoming exams. The school ball was announced in the afternoon, it was going to be held a month from now, three months before graduation. Giving just enough time afterwards for students to have a chance at improving their grades in case they fail their exams the upcoming week. People were asking each other out right and left already. Sam didn’t care, ignoring most of the excitement being spread around. She didn’t see Mon at all since morning, which was unusual, but not weird since their grade is having most of their classes in the other school building.

Sam decided to stay at school a little bit longer to study for the upcoming exams at the library. As soon as she turned the corner she noticed her little nong talking to a taller figure that had their back turned to Sam. It was a boy. Sam walked closer since the hallway led directly to the school library and noticed that the boy was actually in the same year as Sam. Of course Mon would have someone inviting her to the ball, she was cute, extroverted, and had a lot of friends… Sam pinched herself lightly on the hand to snap her out of the weird feeling she was experiencing right now, and walked past the pair, paying them no more attention.

“P’Sam” she heard the younger call her name from behind as she gave Sam a thigh hug. “Haven’t seen you all day, what are you up to?” She asked, Sam meeting her bright smile as soon she turned her head around.

“On my way to the library '' Sam pointed at the big opened door to the book heaven, as she called it.

“I’m going with you then .” She answered and pulled Sam as she walked towards an empty table behind the bookshelves.

Sam pulled out her notebooks and placed them on the table carefully. Without paying mind to Mon sitting in front of her, she started scribbling some notes with a concentrated expression on her face. Or at least she hoped that she looked concentrated, because a certain nong was burning a hole in her with all the staring.

“Are you going to the ball?” Mon broke the silence between them, without looking away.

“No.” Sam answered, not looking up and continuing to study.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to.” she simply said. Mon’s slight scoff echoed throughout the quiet room.

“I want to go, but I can’t go by myself since it’s for the last years only, and their plus ones.” she said quietly.

Sam’s heart raced a bit at the remark. Was Mon suggesting something? Didn’t that boy invite her already? No, Mon wouldn’t want to go with Sam. That would be weird.

“I thought you were going with my classmate, I saw you two chatting and giggling and all.” Sam answered, this time looking back at Mon.

“Yeah…” The younger answered now leaning down on the table not breaking eye contact.

Sam forced a smile at Mon and went back to studying. She scribbled on her notebook for a while, trying her hardest to stop her mind from wandering and thinking about what the weird uncomfortable feeling she felt. She just couldn’t put her finger on it, she hated it. Suddenly Mon reached out for Sam’s notebook and yanked the pen from her hand.

“Hey what are you doing?” Sam said with slight annoyance, not raising her voice to not to disturb other people that were studying and reading.

Without answering, Mon wrote something on an empty sheet of paper, slid the notebook back to Sam and very quickly speed-walked out of the library. Sam looked at her with confusion, almost running after the girl, but decided not to. She glanced down at the words Mon wrote.

‘I want to go to the ball with you’

Sam’s eyes widened, she glanced at the door where Mon sped through just a second ago and then back to the notebook.

“So she was suggesting something…” Sam whispered to herself, the weird feeling she felt before, disappearing completely.

A vibration in her skirt pocket snapped her back to reality. Sam picked up her phone, noticing a message in a group chat she had with Jim and Tee.

Jim: /Let’s go shopping for dresses tomorrow/

Tee: /I haven’t invited Yuki yet, can’t it wait until after my match?/

Jim: /No, we could always go as a trio, since no one of us has partners yet./

Sam smiled at the amount of sulking emojis Tee sent.

Sam: /Ok, let’s go/

Jim: /???????? what?????/

Tee: /????? don’t tell me you have a date/

Another spam of different shocked emojis and stickers followed their questions.

Sam put her phone on silent mode and continued to write in her notebook, now with a barely noticeable smile plastered on her face.

Chapter Text

It’s Friday morning and Mon hasn’t contacted Sam since she asked the older out for the school ball yesterday. That worried her a little bit. Should Sam call her? Should she go fetch Mon for school when she heads out? Maybe she could just message her with an answer? Sam didn’t know what to do. She wondered if she should ask her friends for help, but she casted that idea away since she doesn’t want them teasing her about the whole library ordeal. Let’s save the teasing for the evening when they go out shopping later.

Sam was about to head out. but a sudden phone call interrupted her walk towards the exit. It was Nueng. If Sam wasn’t worried enough already, she was now. She picked up the call immediately.

“I’m outside, we are going to the hospital.”

Sam’s face dropped.

“What why? What happened?” Sam dropped her bag on the floor and hurried outside.

“I’m going to explain in the car.” And with that Nueng ended the call.

Sam ran towards her sister’s blue Aston Martin and placed herself on the passenger's seat, she looked at Nueng worriedly.

“Grandma is sick,” Nueng said with a cold tone.

“What? Is she going to be okay Phi?” The tears started forming in the teenagers eyes.

“I don’t know, Song is with her right now, we’re going to get the details when we arrive.” The older answered as she pressed on the gas and sped through the city towards the hospital.

**************************

Mon decided to drive to school with her mother, who complained a bit too much about not spending time with her. Well, she was occupied with a certain Phi these past few years, and she is almost grown up now, so no more babying. Mon said these exact words while sulking to her mom when she remarked about the lack of “family quality time” that they used to have when Mon was younger.

“Why are you so quiet?” Ms. Phon asked her daughter as she turned towards the school’s parking lot.

“I did something dumb, I don’t think P’Sam likes me anymore” She murmured under her nose.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure she won’t stop liking you so easily, you two are inseparable” Her mother answered with a soft tone, lightly patting her daughter’s head as she parked the car close to the school gate.

“Now, I can see Yuki waiting for you already, go so you won’t be late.” She added and Mon quickly exited the car after saying goodbye to her mom.

“Good morning Yuki” Mon said with a blank stare.

“What’s up?” Her friend answered, noticing Mon’s gloomy face.

“I did what you told me! And Phi hasn't contacted me or anything” Mon threw her hands up in frustration.

“Aw come on, explain. How did it go?”

Mon retold yesterday’s events. She told her all about the boy and how she ran away after writing the proposal on Sam’s notebook.

Yuki let out a loud laugh.

“Of course she wouldn’t know what to do after you acted so cowardly.” She pinched Mon’s side. Mon didn’t find it funny. “You should go and visit her later, and ask her again. You know P’Sam better than me, she is cold and scary and you never know what’s on her mind-”

“I know what’s on her mind, and she’s not cold, she’s nice!” Mon interrupted her friend. her emotion changed to an annoyed one instead.

“Yes, yes whatever.” Yuki rolled her eyes, “Take the lead.” She added as they walked towards their classroom.

After their lessons for the day were finished, Mon made it her mission to find Sam and talk to her as soon as possible. She couldn’t focus on her classes at all, thinking about what she should say to her Phi. Should she apologize? Tell her that it was just a joke? Or maybe ask her again? The fact that Sam wasn’t responding to any of her messages didn’t help at all. Mon was extremely anxious about the whole ordeal. It’s not like Mon wanted to date the girl right? Yuki asked her multiple times if she loved Sam, to which she always answered yes. They were best friends after all, right? Of course they love each other.

Mon glanced at her wrist where her bracelet was placed. “We are going to get married after all,” she chuckled to herself.

“Married to who?” Tee snapped her out of her thoughts. Mon subconsciously walked to the upperclassmen’s corridor daydreaming about Sam and the supposed marriage.

“No one” The younger girl started picking on her bracelet as her face turned the same shade of pink as her bag.

Tee gave her a side eyed glance with a smirk plastered on her face. “Well, I wanted to invite you to my basketball match on friday next week.” She handed her a pamphlet with Tee’s and opposing teams names on it, with a big VS. in between. “Make sure to take Yuki with you, I would be grateful” She laughed awkwardly.
“Of course, we’ll be there,” Mon smiled back. “Have you seen P’Sam by the way?”

Tee’s smile dropped at the question. “Ah, I thought she told you already.” Mon looked at the older girl with a worried expression. “She’s not at school today, her grandma caught some sort of sickness or something, I don’t know. Sam didn’t explain much”

“Oh,” Yeah, Sam didn’t tell Mon. “Okay thank you Phi.” Mon turned around and decided to just go home instead.

Why did she feel so left out all of sudden? Sam must be busy, that's why she hasn’t responded to Mon yet. But she had time to respond to her friends. Mon slapped herself on the arm lightly to stop herself from overthinking too much. She’ll just apologize to Sam when she sees her. Even though Mon hasn’t met Sam’s grandma that much, the busy CEO the old lady was, she still hoped wholeheartedly that she was okay.

**************************

Sam ran out of her sister’s car as soon as they arrived at the hospital’s parking lot. As she walked inside the huge reception, the nurses recognised the young ladies immediately. One of the nurses approached them, bowing politely, and led them to the VIP room their grandma was currently in.

“Grandma! Are you okay?” Sam walked into the room, ignoring the doctors and Song that was sitting on the chair beside the bed, and held her grandma's hand. Her grandma was attached to all different sorts of machines, monitoring her every vital sign.

“I’ve seen better days.” Her grandma greeted Sam with a warm gaze. “Could you please call my lawyer?”

Sam furrowed her brows at the request. “Why me? It would be more appropriate for Nueng or Song to call him.” The girl questioned.

“Sam please” Song looked at her younger sister with a stern look and pointed at the door signaling that they wanted her to leave the room.

Sam didn’t question them anymore, fully understanding that they definitely have something to talk about, something they don’t want Sam to hear.

She walked out, closing the door behind her, and sat on a bench that was placed by a vending machine. She took a deep breath in and out, and pressed the saved lawyer’s contact number on her phone. He answered immediately. Sam explained the situation her grandma was in, or at least told him what she herself knew, which was close to nothing. The lawyer didn’t ask any questions and told her that he’ll be there as soon as he can.That made Sam understand that literally everyone knew something that she didn’t. It annoyed her a little bit, but so be it.

She looked at the vending machine before her, and decided to buy herself a bottle of water, all that running that she wasn’t used to made her thirsty. With the bottle in her hand she decided to walk back to her grandma's hospital room.

“What do you mean you want Sam to take over your business in Bangkok?!” Sam heard Song’s voice as she approached the door. That startled her, she decided against going in just yet.

“That brat wouldn’t even have existed if you hadn't pressured mother to give birth just because that would fix our parents' marriage!” A slight sob followed. “And that didn’t help at all right?! We all know what happened after! If mom had gone through the abortion as planned, mom and dad wouldn’t have to fly back from China that day and they would still be alive today!”

Sam stood outside the door totally frozen, hearing the words that flowed out her sister’s mouth.

“Mother was too old to have another kid anyway, and now you want Sam to be your heir. I bet it’s just because she looks the most like our mother out of the three of us” Song scoffed. “Your fucking puppet, that’s what she is.”

“Watch your mouth Song!” Nueng raised her voice back at her sister. And with that Song shut herself up.

After a few deep breaths, and few minutes of processing of what she just heard, Sam felt like that was her cue to walk in, and so she did.

“Oh here you are my sweet child” Grandma greeted her and coughed soon after.

Sam walked in with a blank face, pretending that she didn’t just hear what was said about her.

“I believe my days are limited.” Grandma continued. A tall brunette man wearing a black suit walked in, interrupting the elderly woman. He bowed down greeting everyone. “Hello my lady, you wanted me here?” He said.

“Ah yes, please sit down.”

“My heart has been in a bad condition for a long while now, and I wanted to discuss my will with the four of you.” The lawyer nodded his head with understanding. Sam felt the tears in her eyes form, but she did all in her might not to show any emotion and stay professional, as Nueng did.

“I want you Sam to take over the properties I own in Bangkok” She continued. “It will be impossible as of right now, since you are so young, so my lawyer will be handling most of it until you turn eighteen” Grandma locked her eyes with the man that blinked in agreement. Sam looked at her grandma blankly without responding. “And when you are old enough… I want you to marry his son.”

‘No, no, no, never , definitely not’ Sam’s mind ran on autopilot.

“You know Kirk right?” the old lady added.

“Yes grandma.” She didn’t. She has heard the lawyer talk about the boy once or twice, but she never met him. She knew that he was two years older than herself, and that he went to the highschool she is going to start next semester.

“Good.”

And just like that it was set, Sam had a betrothed that she hadn't even met yet at an age of fifteen. She wanted to throw up at the thought, she would if there weren’t so many people in the room when those horrible words left her grandma's mouth. Song’s words from before circled through her mind, ignoring everything grandma said about what her sisters would inherit.

A puppet? Looks like mother? The more she thought about it the more she understood. That’s why grandma wanted Sam to learn the piano so bad, that’s why she had countless performances until her hands bled. That is why she had to attend so many business meetings when she hit her teenage years. That’s why she is engaged now. Grandma was shaping her to become like grandma's own daughter. The daughter that lost half of her life just because Sam was born. Sam was filling the gaps her mother couldn’t achieve. Sam was supposed to be her mother 2.0. All the puzzle pieces were falling onto their place.

Sam left the room without saying anything, she heard someone calling for her, but the words just left her mind as soon as they entered. She glanced at her phone. It was 2pm right now. She is supposed to meet her friends in a couple of hours. She noticed a pile of messages from Mon.

Mon: /Hey Sam/ 7:59am

Mon: /I want to talk to you/ 9:11am

Mon: /Are you mad at me?/ 11:00am

Mon: /I’m sorry/ 12.38pm

Mon: /You don’t need to go with me to the dance/ 12:40pm

Mon: /Do I make you uncomfortable?/ 1:13pm

Just as Sam was about to send Mon a panicked answer, a new message appeared on her phone.

Mon: /I heard about your grandma, I hope she is okay. I hope that you are okay./

Sam erased the text she was about to send, and typed a new one.

Sam: /Hey, meet me in 30 min, I’ll be home/

And with that she called her driver and walked outside waiting for him to arrive.

As soon as she entered the building lobby, Mon greeted her with a tight hug. Sam locked eyes with the younger girl and that’s when Mon noticed a lack of any expression on her Phi’s face.

“Oh I’m sorry.” Mon took a step backwards.

Without saying anything, Sam grabbed nong’s hand and walked with her towards the elevator. The elevator ride was quiet, and Sam couldn’t help but get distracted by the uncomfortable fidgeting of the girl beside her.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

Mon looked at her.

“I want to go to the ball with you Mon.” Sam looked back at her, offering a smile.

Mon responded with a smile so bright, Sam could go blind. A smile that made all her worries disappear, a smile that almost made her forget what just occurred at the hospital. A smile that felt like a hand that pulled her out of the deepest despair. Her most favorite smile in the world.

They both entered the penthouse, and Sam filled in Mon on her day. Skipping a few details, like the marriage or Song snapping at her grandma.

“Wow! You are going to be a CEO, that’s so impressive! And I thought you couldn’t get any cooler!” Mon looked at her with a shocked expression as they sat on Sam’s bed.

“Oh I’m sorry about your grandma.” The younger pinched herself because she totally missed the fact that her Phi’s grandma was literally dying at the moment she was being all cheerful.

Sam didn’t answer Mon, instead she pulled her arm as she let her body fall onto the bed, making Mon fall along with her. She hugged the younger girl's arm and closed her eyes. She felt the younger girl turn towards her, and pulled her body into a thigh hug. Yes that’s all Sam needed right now, peace and quiet, and Mon’s cuddles. It made her feel comfortable ,at peace that she longed for. Today was too much for Sam, she needed a distraction.

“Hey, do you want to go out with me, Tee and Jim later?” she asked with her eyes closed, smelling the younger girl's flowery shampoo, as the younger girl’s head was placed on her chest.

“Yes!” Mon lifted herself up, now looking at Sam beneath her.

“We are going to go shopping for the dance outfits”

Mon now fully raised herself off the bed and started jumping around like an excited puppy.

“Yes yes yes! Let’s get matching ones!” Mon exclaimed happily. Sam didn’t say anything in response but let out a soft laugh instead.

“Let’s get ready then, they won’t stop spamming my phone.” Sam murmured while still laying on the bed.

Mon left the penthouse to get herself sorted after the school, and Sam did the same. She changed from her uniform to a comfortable loose jeans and a black top. When she was done, she called Jim letting her know that she will be arriving at their decided location in fifteen minutes, and that she will be bringing Mon with her as well. Of course Jim had to let out a high squeal in response, but Sam ended the call before her friend could say anything.

She arrived down into the lobby and waited for Mon to come out. The happy girl met her just a minute or so after, wearing a baby blue dress, matching her hairpins.

“Ready?” Sam asked as she approached Mon.

“Yup.” Mon did a little twirl and grabbed Sam’s arm. Sam blushed lightly at the action.

‘She does hold me like that after all’ She thought to herself remembering yesterday’s morning.

The four girls walked the streets of Bangkok entering most of the shops that looked fancy enough. Jim wanted to buy every dress or unrelated piece of clothing that she laid her eyes on, flashing her fathers black card to the employees. Sam grew tired of their walking rather quickly, but she couldn't help but turn all soft for the younger girl exclaim beside her as she saw a bright pink dress that was presented on a mannequin behind store glass.

“There’s no way I’m wearing a dress this big” Sam said as she saw Mon’s shining eyes. They were supposed to match after all.

“You don’t need to, but I definitely will.” Mon answered, her gaze never leaving the puffy piece of clothing.

“Let’s go inside then” Tee said, dragging Jim with her into the store.

The store clerk helped Mon to get dressed as the three other girls sat on a sofa outside the changing room. Just after a few minutes Mon walked out, slightly embarrassed.

‘Wow’ Sam’s jaw was now on the floor. Mon looked beautiful, just beautiful. She couldn’t find words to describe the girl in front of her. Her body looked even tinier in the big puffy dress.

“You look just like a princess!” Jim shouted at the girl. “Do a twirl!”. And so Mon did, chuckling a little bit.

“Phi what do you think?” Everyone’s gaze now turned at Sam.

“Sam?” Tee punched her dumbfounded friend to snap her back into reality.

“Oh yes yes, great, amazing yes. Get this one. Mhm.” Sam closed her mouth, her eyes not leaving Mon.

Her stumbling on words was a great mistake. She knew she wouldn’t hear the end of her friends teasing as soon as Mon wasn’t with them anymore. Sam’s face slowly turned almost as pink as the dress Mon was wearing.

Mon went back into the dressing room to get changed back into her clothes.

“Is there anything that would match the dress?” Sam asked the store clerk.

“We do have the same dress in different colors-”

“No” Sam interrupted.

“We also have female suits with the details that would match the colors of the dress.” The clerk smiled at the girl and guided her towards a suit section.

Sam looked around a little, the suits not appealing to her really. Then she saw a black dress with a slight cut on one side, not too big, so it wouldn’t be inappropriate for her to wear. The dress was an off shoulder one, and on the shelf beside there was a choker with a pink rose attached to it. Sam called out for Mon to come over, the big dress now in her arms, still almost covering the whole girl. Sam asked the clerk to take the choker as they compared the colors of it to Mon’s dress.

“Perfect, I will take both of the dresses and the choker.” Sam said, and the clerk freed clumsy Mon from having to carry her piece of clothing and walked into another room to pack the dresses neatly.

“Phi!” Mon raised the voice in protest. “I can buy the dress myself.”

“You could, but you won't,” The older girl answered and smiled at her friend.

After their shopping spree, the four girls made her way back towards Sam’s grandma's apartment building as the sun set behind all the big properties and towers. All the things that they bought would be delivered to their addresses the following week or so. When they arrived, Sam asked one of her drivers to take Tee and Jim back to their houses. After saying their goodbyes, Sam and Mon walked inside the building, Mon never letting go of Sam’s arm.

They stood inside the lobby in silence, not one of them wanted to say anything nor part their ways.

“Thank you phi” Mon said quietly turning her head towards Sam.

“For what?” Sam locked eyes with Mon.

“For the dress and all.” Mon’s lips curled upwards, her eyes illuminating the bright lights. It looked like the girl held the whole universe inside her brown orbs. Sam couldn’t help but get immersed in them.

“No, thank you.” Sam smiled back. “For making my day a lot better” She took Mon’s hands into her own. She felt immense warmth inside her body. Butterflies starting to form, no, not butterflies, a whole zoo even. What is this feeling? Sam never felt it before, it felt so unfamiliar, so scary, so dangerous. But yet so comforting, so warm, so addicting. She wanted more of it, she wanted to indulge herself with whatever it was. She was willing to risk everything just to experience more of it.

“See you tomorrow?” Mon broke the silence that felt like forever. Sam let go of Mon’s hands.

“See you tomorrow.” She answered as Mon turned around and walked inside her apartment.

Sam stood in place for a while longer. She brought her arms up to her chest, her heart pounding so fast, it definitely wasn’t good for her health. Maybe she should have it checked up?

A light buzz of her phone freed her from her thoughts. She looked at the screen, seeing some messages from both of her sisters, reminding her of their previous conversations in the hospital. She made a mental note that she should go back to the hospital tomorrow morning to apologize to her grandma. She loved her very much after all, the worry took over her body once again.

“What a day…” She whispered as she made her way towards the elevator.