Will You Stand by Me?

“Mantha, time to rise and shine!”

Samantha groans lightly and rolls over to stare weakly at her mother. Her mom hates when she sleeps past 9 am, even on her summer break that she is currently on.

“Ok mom, I’m getting up,” says Samantha.

With a feeling of accomplishment, Mrs. Walker leaves her 17-year-old daughter's bedroom. Samantha stares at the ceiling for a brief second before stretching her tired legs over the side of her bed. The mirror beside her dresser reflects her severe case of bedhead. Samantha can’t help but giggle a bit as she walks over to the mirror while combing her fingers through her medium length black hair, hoping to undo the knots. After detangling her hair she turns on her stereo, Metallica immediately blaring from it. While bobbing her head to the music, she picks out a pair of purple undergarments from her top drawer and a Black Pantera tee with jean shorts from the drawer beneath. After showering, getting dressed and putting on eyeliner, Sammy heads down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Her mom is sitting at the kitchen table with a look of concentration as she holds her tablet. Samantha’s parents aren’t very tech savvy so to speak. So once they learned to use tablets they can’t seem to put them down.

“The only cereal left is Cheerios, baby. Your dad ate the last bit of Frosted Flakes before work this morning,” blurts out her mom, still concentrating on her tablet.

“That figures. Next time I’m writing my name on the box,” Samantha replies with a sigh as she gets a bowl, milk, and a spoon.

“What are you doing today?” her mom asks, finally looking up from her tablet.

“Not sure yet. I’ll most likely hang out with Matt today.”

Matthew Sanders was Samantha’s best friend. They’ve been neighbors and best friends since pre-school.

“Hmm sounds good. I have to run some errands with Grandma Betty today. Then tonight your father and I are going to see that new horror movie. So I’m trusting you to stay out of trouble."

“Pfft. Since when do I cause trouble, mom?” Sammy inquires as she takes her last bite of cereal.

“I never said you caused it. You know exactly what I’m talking about, Samantha.”

Samantha was never the person to start trouble. Her parents raised her to be a good person. The bar was set high for her when it came to school and probably even higher as far as reputation goes. Her best friend, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Matthew Sanders is known to cause trouble with his little group of friends. But he knows Sammy is the courteous friend and never pressures her to jump out of her comfort zone.



“Hey, copy cat.”

Samantha recognizes the voice and looks up with a smirk as she sits on the street curb in front of her house. Matt walks over to her wearing a black Pantera tee and baggy black jeans. He runs his hand through his black slicked back hair as a smirk takes over his pierced lips, dimples dotting at his cheeks.

“Pfft, I’m pretty sure I woke up before you. So you can’t say shit, Sanders,” Sam replies with playfulness in her voice.

Matt sits beside her on the street curb.

“Dammit, Walker. You know me all to well,” he laughs as he hangs his arms over his knees.

Sammy chuckles, leaning back, feeling the California sun heating up her body.

“So, I’m hanging with the guys at the beach today. Wanna join?” Matt inquires.

“ Sure. Don’t I always?” Sam replies with questioning eyes.

“You weren’t there last week. And I know you hate helping your dad fix his Chevy so I knew you were lying," Matt throws back at her while fixing his Hazel eyes on her dark brown ones.

Samantha knew she’d been caught lying. Sam has never lied to get out of hanging out with Matt before. That’s until he started bringing around Melissa. Melissa was a rich girl who ALWAYS had a bitchy, stuck-up attitude. Samantha knows Matt hates the stuck-up rich people that reside in Huntington Beach, so why would he hang around her? Samantha had her question answered a week ago when Matt told her he was only using Melissa as a fuck buddy.

Samantha came out of her thoughts, realizing she never responded to Matt’s accusation.

“Its Melissa isn’t?” Matt concludes with a sigh.

He knows how Samantha feels about Melissa. He even knows the shit Melissa says to her in school. He hooked up with Melissa at a party a week ago and a few more times last week. He has no intentions of dating her or befriending her. He just wants to get laid every once in a while.

“Yeah. Pretty sure you know that, Matt.”

Silence falls around them as they sit on the curb looking down at their feet.

“Sammy…you know I don’t actually like her. She’s nothing more than a lay..not even that great of a lay. Plus, you never told me how you really felt about this situation since you avoided hanging out last week. You’re my best friend and I care about you. Please come with me today. If she shows up and talks shit, I’ll tell her to leave.”

Samantha sits there and ponders about what he said. He’s right, she never brought up his fling with Melissa. Maybe going with him to the beach won’t be too bad. If Melissa does show up and starts shit, Samantha can simply leave.

“Fine. I’ll go with you,” Sam replies, a slight smile gracing her face.

“Fuck Yeah!” Matt shouts, leaning over to pull his best friend into a tight hug. Samantha leans into him, inhaling his usual soothing scent.



The sound of waves and chatter is immediately present as Matt and Samantha walk along the shore to meet up with the other guys. Samantha is Matt’s only female best friend. Jimmy, Brian, Zacky and Johnny were his best guy friends, or as he called them, his crew.

“SAMMY, where the fuck have you been?” yells an overly excited Jimmy.

He picks Sammy up and twirls her around.

“Jim, I’m gonna puke on you if you don’t put me down,” Sam laughs as she holds on to the tall boy for dear life.

“Sorry, Sam. It’s just I haven’t seen you in days,” Jimmy replies with a chuckle.

Samantha sticks out her tongue playfully. She sits down in the sand between Brian and Zacky.

“Nice to see you again, Sam,” says green eyed Zack Baker.

“What’d you do? Fall off the face of the fucking planet?” jokes brown eyed Brian Haner Jr .

“No, if you must know I’ve been busy,” she replies with a smirk.

“Oooo, Sammy’s been fucking around with a guy!” Brain yells loud enough for the whole group to hear.The sound of hoots and hollers come from all the guys except Matt, who is staring at Sammy with wide eyes.

“Sorry, Bri. You’re wrong. Plus you know I couldn’t get a guy's attention even if I tried."

Samantha’s far from ugly. Her dark hair contrasts perfectly with her pale skin. Her cheekbones stand out slightly with her full wide lips. She’s around 5’10 and has soft curves. Despite all of these nice features, Samantha still notices all her “flaws” more than anything.

“I’d bang you if we weren’t such good friends,” Zacky confesses with a smirk.

Sammy blushes hard as the guys throw playful taunts at Zacky. However, Matt doesn't find it funny at all, forcing a grin to hide his slight anger over the guys’ dirty remarks about his best friend…his beautiful best friend.



It’s going on 5 pm and the Guys along with Samantha are resting in the sand, drinking beer and chatting about Jimmy’s arrest at Central Park last Friday. These stories come up quite often and are pretty damn funny. Samantha had one beer to shut the rowdy guys up. Water would satisfy her more than anything at this point. Especially after running from Jimmy, who chased her down the shore with a crab in his hand.

“Mattie, I knew I’d find you here!"

Everyone knew that annoying high pitched voice. It belonged to none other than Melissa. Matt quickly glances at Melissa as she stands there wearing a pink bikini top and a black mini-skirt. He then glances over to his best friend, Samantha, who looks more than displeased.

“Melissa. What are you doing here?" Matt inquires with slight irritation in his voice.

“I came to chill with you Guys."

Samantha knew her good day had officially come to an end. The cold stare Melissa is throwing her way makes her rolls her eyes in annoyance.

Melissa plops down next to Matt, kissing his cheek. Matt lightly pushes her shoulder away, hoping she’d take a hint. The guys can feel the tension in the air. Matt sends Sam an apologetic glance.

Zacky decides to cut the tension by pouring his half can of beer over Johnny’s head. The short boy let out a string of curses, jumping from his spot in the sand and shaking his head in the process. Everyone laughs, letting the previous tension simmer a bit.

“Fuck you guys!” Johnny invokes, trying to hold back a smile.

Johnny is always the target of bullying from the guys'. Maybe it’s because he’s 3 years younger than everyone else. Silence begins to overcome the group of teenagers again as everyone stops laughing.

“So, Sammy. I see your parents finally let you out the house,” Melissa taunts, breaking the silence.

“They weren’t keeping me there to begin with,” Samantha replies, glancing up at Melissa with cold eyes.

Melissa giggles while running her hand along Matt’s leg. Matt rejects her affection again by moving her hand. Does she not understand the rules of their little fling? He remembers telling her that she would only be his booty call, nothing more. Matt’s and Melissa’s interaction leaves everyone feeling overwhelmed with awkwardness.

“Oh, it’s almost 7. Chris is having that party tonight. Let's go!” says Jimmy with excitement.

The guys' nod in agreement, hoping to escape the awkward tension.

“Sounds fun, James. But we all know Samantha probably has a curfew,” says Melissa, using Jimmy’s proper name. Samantha knew this was coming. Melissa always made comments about her being a goody two shoes.

“So what if she does, Melissa, it doesn’t have shit to do with you!" Matt glares at the blonde and scoots away from her. .

“Ughhh," she groans, “you always come to her defense. I don’t see why y'all hang out with her. She’s boring and is only using you to get some sort of popularity. We all know she doesn’t fit in with this group, let alone anywhere else. You're a fuckin' loser, Samantha. Face it!"

“Mel..”-

At this point, Samantha had had enough. She was sick and tired of Melissa’s shit.

She briskly stands to her feet and trudges toward the street that would eventually lead to her house. Tears fill her eyes, blurring her vision. She knew if it wasn't for Matt, she’d be friendless. That thought alone haunts her mind constantly. She knew she didn’t exactly have much in common with Matt’s friends. Her conscious made it difficult for her to break laws. Music, however, was the one thing Sammy had in common with Matt and his friends.



It’s nearing 7:30 pm as Samantha sits on her couch watching one of her Favorite movies. She broke down when she got home an hour ago. She cried for about 10 minutes until she decided it wasn’t worth crying over. Public humiliation was common for Sam, especially from Melissa. Samantha wondered if Matt went to the party. She also wondered if he would hook up with Melissa again after the shit she started at the beach today.

Ding dong.

The doorbell suddenly rings. It startles Samantha slightly as she is home alone. She wipes her hands over her blue tank top and pulls down her short night shorts as she walks over to the door. She opens the door to see Matt standing on the other side wearing his sorrow.

He notices her outfit. His eyes roam over her figure. Her stomach is bared to him as the tank rises up a bit and he can’t help but stare at the smooth looking pale skin.

“What are you doing here, Matt?” Samantha blurts out, bringing him out of his daze.

“Sammy, I’m sorry about what happened at the beach. Can I come in so we can talk?”

Samantha sighs knowing she really can’t be upset at Matt. Interested in what he has to say, she opens the door wider so he can come in. They walk over to the couch and sit down in front of the TV.

“Stand By Me,” states Matt.

He knew it was Sammy’s favorite movie.

“Of course,” Sam replies in a duh tone, smiling at Matt. They sit on the couch, watching the film. A comfortable silence settles between them.

“I’m no longer fuck buddies with Melissa...”

Samantha looks at Matt with pure shock, She eyes him intently to see if he is being honest.

“Really? What made you change your mind?”

Matt’s smile falters a little.

“Does she really think I’ll continue to fuck that stuck-up bitch?” Matt thinks to himself.

“I’ve been involved with her for almost 2 weeks and I just had enough of her shit. The guys' don’t like her and, honestly,she wasn’t that great of a lay anyway. But the main reason I changed my mind is because I’m tired of her hurting you. Sammy, I realized my friendship with you is not worth losing for some stuck-up slut. I really care about you.”

Samantha lets what he said marinate. Before she can even begin to fully think, she notices something different about Matt in this moment. His eyes are soft as he looks at her as if she were his world. Samantha unlocks her eyes with his, suddenly feeling emotionally exposed. Why did she suddenly feel this? This is Matt Sanders, her best friend. They talk to each other all the time. Sam stared at the TV screen in thought; not even paying attention to the movie that is still playing. Matt scoots closer to Samantha and slowly reaches his hand out to cup her cheek so that she’s facing him.

“Matt?”

Sammy starts to question but Matt swiftly moves closer and plants a soft kiss on her lips. Samantha doesn’t kiss back, mainly due to shock. However, she can’t deny the feeling that spread through her body as Matt’s lips pressed against hers. Matt, on the other hand, is watching for her reaction. He honestly didn’t know where the urge to kiss his best friend came from. Sure he thought she was beautiful and he hated to see other guys' flirt with her. Whatever the reason, he knew that kiss between them felt right. It was powerful. Something he had never experienced until now.

With his best friend...whom still has not spoken.

'Oh no! I just kissed her', Matt thought. 'Maybe she didn’t like it'.

Matt was just about to apologize when Samantha grabs him by the shirt and smashes her lips back against his.

She can feel the cold metal from his lip ring against her lips, intensifying the spark that was traveling throughout her body. Their lips move in synch with ease. She pulls away after 15 seconds of heaven. A loud smack emits from their lips pulling apart. Matt caresses her soft cheek with his thumb. Samantha leans into his touch.

Words go unsaid for a couple of minutes as they let their hands and eyes do all of the communicating.

“That felt…” Sam starts.

“Nice,” Matt concludes.

A scream emits from the movie that was still playing, making them both jump. Matt wraps his arm around Samantha’s shoulders as she leans onto his chest. They continue their movie again in comfortable silence until the credits start to scroll.

“Matthew, will you stand by me?” Samantha asks in a joking manner, looking at him with playful doe eyes.

Matt laughs out loud.

“That was so fucking cheesy Sammy,"

Samantha pushes him away playfully.

“I’ll always stand by you, Samantha. Always have, always will”