Page 25 of The Backtrack
“Dunkaroos!”
“Doritos!”
“Fig Newtons!”
He jokingly placed his hands over his ears before turning and heading to the vending machines in the hall just outside the gym.
Okay, focus on the details,Sam told herself.
“Vampire girl!” There was Myles, the soccer jock who’d gone on to become Damon’s close friend. He jogged over to the bleachers. Alt-Sam looked up and scowled.
“Pass me my water bottle,” he shouted to her.
A girl in a velour tracksuit turned to eye Alt-Sam. “It’s right next to you,” she said.
Alt-Sam shrugged. “Vampires don’t help assholes, as it turns out.”
All six foot four of Myles pouted, like his feelings might actually be hurt. “Did you just call me an asshole?”
Alt-Sam rolled her eyes as she looked up at him. “Did you seriously call me a vampire?”
Myles stared at her then, but Alt-Sam just stared right back. Eventually, he reached behind her and grabbed the water bottle.
Okay, so in this life we have quite the backbone.A door slammed shut, and Damon’s unmistakable spiked hair popped into the gym.
“Your boyfriend’s here,” Myles said, almost like it was an insult.
Alt-Sam ignored Myles and stood from the bleachers, walking toward Damon. “What are you...?” she started to ask as Damon handed her a brown bag.
“My mom made that vegan brittle you like,” he said. “I saved you some.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Did you get out of detention early or something?”
Ah, Damon and his knack for getting into trouble. While Sam had always been about following the rules—school was one of the few stable places in her life—Damon didn’t like being told what to do. He seemed to get off on riling the teachers up, and averaged at least one detention a month for what Sam thought of as fairly silly things. He’d once gotten a detention for skipping class to get a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell. “It was funny,” he’d said at the time, but Sam just thought he was bored.
“I didn’t go to detention,” he eventually said.
Alt-Sam’s mouth opened to say something, but he interrupted her. “Don’t be mad. I just wanted to see you.”
“Your mom is going to be pissed when she finds out you skipped.” Alt-Sam unwrapped the brittle and broke off a corner. She spoke as she chewed. “And you better not tell her it was to see me.”
“I was actually thinking you could duck out early, too. We could... I don’t know. Go somewhere.” Damon raised a mischievous eyebrow.
“Jesus,” Sam said, trying to recall a time where she’d ever been this desperate for someone. “The hormones are strong in this one.”
The first time she’d ever kissed a guy was when she was twenty-two, but not in this timeline, where things were moving so fast she could hardly keep up.
“Mr. Meyer is trying to get snacks from the vending machine that always breaks. He’ll be there for a while. He won’t even notice you’re gone,” Damon tried again.
Alt-Sam softly smiled as she took another bite of brittle. “I don’t know. I volunteered. I should stay.” She glanced back to the group, where an a cappella version of “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé was being sung. “We haven’t decided on florals for the Say You’ll Be Mine pep rally yet.”
“Come on,” Damon said. “Tell them pansies, my mom’s favorite, and you can skip the sing-along just this once.”
Alt-Sam tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a fresh bloom of a blush across her cheeks. “Okay,” she said.
“Let’s go.” Damon took her hand and led her toward the exit.
Sam swore she saw the hint of a smile cross Alt-Sam’s lips. She looked at the CD player and watched the numbers tick down from seven seconds.She took a deep breath in, braced herself for the plunge and closed her eyes.
