Sam quickly rose from the couch as she heard the lively ringing of the front doorbell. Her and Tory had finally made amends, and she didn't exactly plan on hiding her excitement to her newest friend. Something about being this way with Tory felt right-good even-as it was hard to even remember the times where she felt differently. The now almost nonexistent scares on her arm and the occasional tiny shards of glass she found in the cracks and corners of the kitchen floorboards serving as the only reminder of faded fear. Those reminders don't scare her anymore. Tory doesn't scare her anymore.
She set her phone down on the coffee table, running her hands through her loose brown curls as she made her way to the front door.
Tory gazed up from the lases of her shoes as the front door welcomely creaked open, reveling a usual cheery Sam.
"Hi." Sam greeted, her smile feeling more genuine than usual. She stepped to the side to let the taller girl in.
"Hey." Tory stepped inside, taking a small glance around before taking off her shoes and neatly laying them by the front door. "You're parents' home?" She asked. Tory wasn't exactly sure why they were hanging out. She just assumed Sam wanted to because they were friends now.
"Mom and Dad are at the dealership and Anthony is..." She thought for a moment. "M.I.A." She joked. Her brother was most likely at a friend's house. Sometimes he just walks with a group of friends to wherever and forgets to text their parents or Sam which drives Amanda up a wall.
That got a small chuckle from Tory. "Adds up I guess."
Sam's smile widened slightly at Tory's smaller one. "C'mon." She gestured for Tory to follow her as she walked slowly further into the house.
Tory followed Sam, walking slightly behind her. "So, what are we going to do exactly? You're not gonna have us pain each other's nails and summon ghosts and make taky friendship bracelets?"
Sam shook her head, "Yeah, no more sleepovers for the both of us." She led Tory to the sparring room, flipping on the light switch as a soft orange glow filled the room.
A small sense of guilt washed over Tory as she entered the room with Sam. She couldn't believe the things she did-or tried to do-the last time they were alone in here. But her and Sam had made up. And if Sam could put it behind her, Tory could too.
"More karate. Fun." Tory said sarcastically but lightly.
Sam shrugged. "Well, y'know, if we're gonna be in the top six for the Sekai Taikai," she took a few more steps into the room, before turning around to face Tory, "we're gonna want to make sure we don't lose our spark."
Tory's smile widened slightly before turning into a slight smirk, "Alright." She nodded, stepping further into the room across from Sam, "After you, sensei."
Sam smiled challengingly before her foot kicked up to Tory's head, which the other girl blocked.
They went on and on for a while. Tory hadn't thought she had smiled this much while fighting someone in her life. It felt like when they were pillow fighting in Devons basement, neither of them holding back anymore but they still managed to have some strange sort of fun. The closeness between them seemed warm, inviting. It no longer made Sam want to freeze up or hide. If anything it made her want to be closer, to hold onto this moment for a little longer.
A few minuets later, they both were on the ground, Tory laying on her back with Sam's leg across her chest.
"Damn, LaRusso." She panted lightly, the use of Sam's last name more affectionate than threatening. "I forget how good you are under all that peace and love 'don't fight' motto." She teased lightly, sitting up on her elbows as Sam moved her leg off of her.
Sam laughed softly, her heart beating a bit quicker than normal. "I'll take that as a compliment then."
The two girls sat there for a few moments, catching their breath before Tory stood up, holding her hand out to Sam. "Well don't just sit there until I leave."
Sam smiled. "Yes, sensei." she teased affectionately, taking the other girl's hand as she stood up.
Tory pulled Sam up, both standing a bit closer than normal.
There was a small beat, both of their small smiles slowly fading.
Sam didn't drop Tory's hand and Tory didn't attempt to drop Sam's.
Sam let out a small breath, thinking of saying something to break the tension but deciding against it. Instead, she brought of her free hand to the side of Tory's face, Sam tilting her head over so slightly to the side as both girls leaned into each other, their lips meeting in a soft kiss.
A small smile returned to Sam's face as they pulled apart, both of them staying close as they kept their eyes closed.
"So, is kissing just a thing we do now?" Tory joked softly, her voice quieter than normal.
Sam hummed softly in response, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is."
The two girls kissed again, this one longer and a little less soft. Tory's hand dropped from Sam's, both of her hands resting on the other girl's waist.
Suddenly they were interrupted by a small buzz from Tory's phone in her pocket, which she forgot to take out when they were sparring. The two girls pulled apart, Sam taking a small step back and dropping her hand from her face to give her a little room.
Tory pulled her phone out of her pocket, looking at the message on her lock screen.
"Who is it?" Sam asked curiously.
"It's my mom. I got to go pick up my brother from his friend's house." Tory texted back a short reply before putting her phone in her pocket.
"Yeah, I probably have to do the same thing soon anyway." Sam loosely crossed her arms in a more relaxed manor. Sam realized she did that a lot when she was comfortable.
There was a brief silence.
"So um," Sam started, a small bashful smile returning to her lips, "see you later?"
Tory smiled softly as well. "Yeah," she stepped closer to Sam again and pressed a short soft kiss to her lips, while Sam had to physically restrain herself from melting into it again, "see you later."
Tory walked out of the room, Sam waiting a moment before following her, leaning against a near wall as she watched Tory put her shoes back on.
They both waved and said a soft goodbye before Tory walked out the front door, closing it behind her.
Sam bit her lip and suppressed a soft happy squeal the second Tory walked out. Dopamine filled Sam's brain as she wandered back to the living room and blissfully flung herself back onto the couch.
* * *
A few minutes pasted by before Sam heard the front door re-open. She sat up, leaning back on her arms.
Amanda dropped her purse down on the dining room table before walking into the living room, finding Sam on the couch. "Hey." Amanda greeted her daughter. "Good day?"
Sam shrugged, "Yeah, you could say that." She shifted her position on the couch, so she was sitting normally. "You're back early."
Amanda walked over to the couch, sitting next to Sam. "Yeah, well it was a slow day, and I wasn't feeling the best, so I came back."
Sam's phone buzzed which was still lying on the table, causing them both to look over.
Sam grabbed her phone, seeing it was a text from Tory.
'I had fun today. I'm free around 7:00 if you want to call later'
Amanda read the text, raising her eyebrow slightly, "Did you have Tory over earlier?"
Sam hesitated for a moment. She knew her mom was fine with Tory, that wasn't what she was nervous about. "Yeah... you know, with the Sekai Taikai coming up. I thought it would be nice to train or just blow off some steam. I mean, we're already going to have to fight each other for captain. I didn't want any... tension or anything."
Amanda hummed softly in response. She could tell Sam was nervous about something. She always shook her head a lot and either fiddled with her hands or talked too much with them. "So that's all that happened?" She asked coolly, but showing some interest increase Sam wanted to talk about it.
Sam opened her mouth to say something. Yup that's about it or maybe Well, we were gonna hang out more but she had to go pick up her brother but she couldn't. Instead, she just smiled, looking away from her mother as suddenly the floor was the most interesting thing on Earth.
Amanda smiled slightly. "Ah, so I'm guessing that's not all that happened?"
Sam blushed slightly, looking up from the floor and to Amanda. "Okay, maybe a little more happened then that."
Amanda leaned back on the couch, her elbow resting against the back of the couch as she rested the side of her head against her closed fist. "Here we go. C'mon, tell me the tea."
Sam giggled softly, still a little nervous. She loved how easy it was to talk to her mom about these kinds of things. She never pushed Sam to share things she wasn't comfortable with nor did she make things that weren't a huge deal a whole situation. "Well um," she started, "we defiantly got closer. Like, a lot closer." She added, trying to calm down her nerves a bit. "Something about being that way with Tory... I don't know. It felt nice. Really nice."
Amanda nodded slightly before silence fell over them for a few moments. "You know," Amanda spoke up "I've 'experimented' with girls before."
Sam perked up at that, a little shocked. "Really?"
"Mmhmm." Amanda hummed. She didn't mind sharing these types of things with Sam anymore sense she was older, and especially now, she didn't want her to feel alone. "I was about your age. Well, maybe a little younger. And it was also the 80s in a midwestern town, it was either that or go hang out with a group of friends in the closest Walmart parking lot." Sam laughed softly at that. Amanda continued, her tone now a bit more serious, "I mean, sometimes we spend a lot of time trying to 'figure' ourselves out. Don't waste time trying to figure out if you like this girl or that guy or suppressing the one you do like because you're scared of how people will react. You're smart, way smarter than I was at your age. If Tory makes you happy, then stick with her."
"Thanks mom." Sam said quietly a little overwhelmed but thankful.
Amanda smiled softly, holding out her arms to her daughter as she saw her eyes water slightly.
Sam quickly excepted the embrace, resting her chin on her mother's shoulder as they hugged.
Thing's were looking up lately for what seemed like the first time in a long, long time.