Chapter 12: Meet Mr. Connecticut

Astrid's POV

I watched my Dad take Sam outside, I could tell he liked Sam and I slightly smiled, but it quickly faded when I heard them close the door and my mom forced me to face her.

"Why are you with him?" she asked in disgust.

"Mom, he's not just a surfer, he's smart."

"Astrid, I know all he does is surf and hang out with his friend."

"That's not true, Mom!"

"How would you know? He sees you, and he forgets everything. He's like other guys."

"No, he's not." I said frustrated. "He's a sweet, caring, independent, and smart man. Every single kid wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him!"

She rolled her eyes. "It was all an act, daring, can't you see that? He was pretending to be tough just because he saved you kids on that school bus in seventh grade!"

I shook my head knowing tears were threatening to come out. "He knows how to be a leader, Mom, and if you can't be happy at the fact that at least I'm possibly in love with him, then I can't share anything with you." I turned and started to walk towards the backyard.

"Astrid, I'm right."

"No, you're not, Mom." I said without turning. I could barely see. Everything was blurry, but I made out my Dad and Sam's figures.

"I'll talk about this later," my dad said and walked past me.

Sam's figure walked towards me, and when he was close enough, I fell into his chest and started crying. His strong arms wrapped around me and rubbed my back. He didn't ask why I was crying, or what was wrong. I liked it because I couldn't talk at the moment, I just needed him right there with me.

I finally calmed down and looked up at his angel face.

He wiped my tears. "Wanna talk about it?"

I swallowed the rest of my tears and nodded. Gently, he took me to the bench next to the pond and we sat down.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "My mom…she doesn't...approve of you." It was better than telling him she hated him.

Sam's expression stayed calm. "She doesn't?"

I nodded, still watching his face for more reactions, but nothing came. He simply shrugged. "If she doesn't like me, there's nothing else we can do."

I sighed. "You don't get it, Sam."

He looked confused. "What don't I get?"

"My mom will try to get me to stop spending time with you." I explained. "She won't stop until I end things."

His voice bled disappointment. "Don't you think we're stronger than that?" he asked. "We've gone through much worse than what we're facing now."

"But back then we didn't have to not be together." I muttered.

Sam sounded a little annoyed now. "Astrid, you're pointing out the negative. Stop doing that."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Sam, it's just I don't know what to do."

"Listen, I'll try to get on your mother's good list as hard as I can, and you just be Astrid, the girl I always had a crush on."

I slightly blushed. Sam didn't know I had a crush on him, too. I was always to afraid he'd reject me, since after all he was "School Bus Sam". So much had come after that just a short while ago, he had a new reputation and everyone pretty much adored him. Girls like Taylor would stare at him in awe. It was obvious they had a crush on him.

"Okay," I told him.

He leaned down and let our lips touch for a moment. "I gotta go. My mom's asking me to finish some paperwork for school."

I raised my eyebrow, and he answered. "They want to know more about what I did."

I smiled. Everyone knew about him. "Alright, I'm going to be walking around. Call or text if you need me," I told him.

"I will," he winked. We both stood up and he walked away. I smiled. Sam Temple. He was my boyfriend. I walked down the streets thinking about him. I had told my mom I was in love with him. Am I? I mean, I've never actually known that was in love before, so how would I know? Sam does make me feel like nothing's wrong. He makes me feel on top of the world.

Lost in my thoughts, I bumped into someone. The person stood up and offered a hand. I looked up. He had brown hair a little longer than a buzz cut, mysterious green eyes and was wearing a polo with shorts. I took his hand and stood up. "Sorry." I apologized.

"No, it's okay, I should've been watching where I was going."

Wait, I had never seen him. He definitely was not in the FAYZ, but yet he was about my age. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah, I am, actually." He smiled. "I moved here from Connecticut."

"Did you live in a big city?" I couldn't help asking.

He shook his head. "I like small towns, lived in them all my lives."

"I'm Astrid," I told him, just remembering my manners.

He smiled. "That's a beautiful name." I couldn't help but blush. "I'm Justin."

"Nice to meet you," I said trying to come up with something better.

"Since I'm new here," he said. "Would you mind showing me around?"

"Not at all," I quickly replied.

I took him through Perdido Beach, showing him everything. He let me talk. After we finished he said "You're really smart, aren't you?"

I shyly smiled. "They call me Astrid the Genius."

"Well, you definitely live up to the name." After seeing the expression on my face he added, "That's a compliment."

I smiled. "Well, thank you."

"Well, I have to go. I'll see you around?" he asked.

I nodded. "Of course, Justin."

We said our goodbyes and he walked away. With a smile on my face I walked down the streets.

"Someone seems happy," I suddenly saw Taylor on the street. I jumped in shock. Her teleporting still scared me. "Sorry," she apologized. "So? What happened? You and Sam make out?" Taylor teased.

Sam…? SAM! Oh my god, I just spend like two hours forgetting about Sam. What am I doing? "Um, no, I was showing this new guy around. He's from Connecticut."

Taylor shrugged. "Cool."