Sam groaned and covered her face with her pillow as another muffled groan sounded through the walls. The first time this happened Sam had been confused. The obvious reasoning to the noises had not immediately come to mind. The blonde believed her sister and her best friend were too innocent to engage in those kinds of activities, especially while she was in still in the apartment. She had confronted Carly about it a few days later.

Blushing furiously, Carly explained that Melanie felt awkward having sex in her new apartment while her new roommate was home. And since the new roommate was a socially awkward sophomore majoring in some sort of complex engineering, she was almost always home. Needless to say, the couple had figured that Carly's apartment was the best alternative for their more "physical" activities. Sam was so caught off guard by Carly's response that she didn't think to question why the pair was comfortable having sex when Sam was present.

The second time Sam found herself stuck in her room listening to an impromptu soundtrack of the couple's passion she was almost ashamed to admit that she had been a little turned on. She had spent a week debating if there was something wrong with her, but after a very awkward, yet very helpful conversation with Gibby, Sam had determined it was a natural response and nothing to be ashamed or worried about.

"Ungh… Oh god…" The words were accompanied by a muffled thump against the wall.

Sam could feel warmth pooling in her lower belly as she recognized Carly's voice. By the third time she had unintentionally been present for the couple's bedroom escapades, she could began distinguishing between their moans of pleasure. Thanks to another unplanned encounter in the bathroom (an empty classroom, the back seat of Carly's car), she was intimately aware of Carly's sounds of arousal.

By the third time Sam also recognized that she was extremely angry. It should be her in there making Carly moan in ecstasy and gasp for air, not Melanie. And the fact that the pair had the audacity to continue their shenanigans regardless of Sam's feelings made the short tempered blonde's rage burn hotter. Despite it all, Sam still found herself wet and frustrated whenever the couple in the other bedroom found their release, and that infuriated her all the more.

Sam responded now the same way she had responded after that third time. Hastily throwing on a hoodie and sweatpants, she grabbed her keys and jammed her feet into her sneakers before bolting out of the apartment, the door slamming resolutely behind her.

"Mmm, fuck…" Shelby gasped as she pushed Sam's head away from her sore but sated body. "I can't… not again…"

"Have I actually tired out the notorious Shelby Marx?" Sam grinned as she slid slowly back up Shelby's sweat covered body before flopping on her back beside the brunette.

"Well I was sleeping when you got here." Shelby retorted before glancing at the clock beside her bed and groaning. "And it's 4am. We've been going at it for almost 3 hours."

"I'm not seeing the problem." Sam laughed. If she was honest, she'd admit that she was tired as well. But their activities kept her more troubling thoughts and feelings at bay. Her grin faded as she unintentionally recalled what had caused her to flee to the champion fighter's apartment in the first place.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shelby asked softly when she noticed the blonde's mood shift.

"I have class in 4 hours." Sam said dismissively as she rolled onto her side.

"You can't keep running from your problems." Shelby responded in exasperation. "You have to face it at some point."

"There's nothing to face." Sam rolled over and gave Shelby a pointed glare, silently warning the other girl to drop the subject.

Shelby was fed up. They'd been having these random late night rendezvous since the beginning of the semester. It hadn't taken very long for the taller girl to figure out the situation, but with her blonde friend insisting that each time was the "last time," she had decided to keep quiet and enjoy it while she could. Sam had given up the pretense after about a month, but Shelby still hadn't pushed the other girl to talk. Today, however, the brunette refused to let the issue go.

"Bullshit."

Sam attempted to roll away from her friend to face the opposite wall, but a hand quickly pulled the blonde back on her side so she was face to face with her companion. Sam tensed before meeting Shelby's eyes. The concern she found pooling in chocolate brown orbs made her melt.

"There's nothing to talk about." Sam repeated softly.

"Look, don't get me wrong Puckett, the sex is good. Like really good. Like probably the best I've-hey! Cut the shit eating grin." Shelby playfully shoved the blonde girl who was smiling wolfishly before growing serious again. "But you don't just show up at someone's door at 1 in the morning and attack them like a dog in heat when there's 'nothing to talk about'."

"I was horny." Sam rolled her eyes.

"And I'd accept that if it was a one time thing. But 3 or 4 times a week?" Shelby raised an eyebrow. "It's 4 in the morning… On a Tuesday."

"It's Mel and Carls." Sam admitted softly after a while.

"Ok…" Shelby murmured encouraging her friend to continue.

"It's just getting to me. Always seeing them together, looking so happy. And then to have to hear them when they…you know... It's getting under my skin."

Shelby nodded in sympathy.

"I tried to be happy for them. I really did. But when me and Carly kiss it all just feels so right and I know that it's supposed to be me–"

"Woah, woah, WOAH." Shelby interrupted. "You kissed Shay?"

"No! …Maybe?… Okay, yeah, but totally not the point here!" Sam fumbled.

Shelby shook her head and sat up. Running a hand through her dark hair, she tried to reconcile this new bit of information.

"So are you two–" Shelby struggled to connect all the new information. "Have you two been going behind Mel's back?"

"Not on purpose! We've just kinda had a few slip ups…"

"How many is a 'few'?"

"I dunno. Six or seven times, maybe." Sam closed her eyes. She thought finally getting that off her chest would make her feel better. And while she did feel slightly relieved, mostly she just felt guilty.

"Sam…" Shelby waited for Sam to focus her attention before continuing. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. Fight for her or let her go. But leaving things in limbo like this…"

"I know!" Sam cried in frustration.

"Then make a decision. Preferably soon."

Sam rolled on her side and faced away from her friend.

"It sounds harsh, but it's for the best." Shelby sighed.

"I know." Sam mumbled. "Can we just drop it for now, though? I really do have class at 8am."

Shelby laughed as she pulled the Sam's back flush against her front and wrapped an arm securely around her waist.

"You and I both know you never had any attention of going to that class." Shelby whispered in her companion's ear before settling her head on her own pillow and closing her eyes. Sam grinned but didn't reply.