Sam had noticed Lily’s odd behavior of late but had shrugged it off as a `Lily’ thing at first. A particular personality quirk that the girl was prone to, like campaigning for the rights of dead biology frogs, but when it didn’t go away and seemed directed solely at her, well, that hurt. She cared about Lily and wanted her as a friend but no one seemed to know what was up with her. Something about her was bothering Lily and, not wanting to add anymore stress to an all ready tense relationship, Sam had chosen to leave the bizzarely behaving girl alone and give her some space.

"I’m not `slumming’, Sam. It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to talk so I thought if you weren’t busy we could," Lily explained. Sam shrugged non-committally and went back to twirling her pencil between her fingers. Lily swore it was impossible for the girl to actually sit still for longer than two seconds, she might spontaneously combust or something. Sam was like a perpetual motion toy, once you set her in motion, she never stopped. Lily absently wondered if Sam moved even when she was sleeping. (Does she toss and turn? Twitch? Shift? ) Hordes of OTHER images involving Sam, a bed, and anything other than sleeping suddenly invaded Lily’s mind and she screwed her eyes up tight trying to block them out. She was suddenly lightheaded and her stomach felt funny. She was dimly aware of someone calling her name but it sounded very far away. It took her a minute to recognize the voice as Sam’s.

"Lily?" Sam’s concerned voice was suddenly very clear as Lily opened her eyes and looked into Sam’s worried ones. She gulped in mouthfuls of air and tried desperately to regain control of her breathing, to stop the hyperventilation caused by a lust induced panic attack. Of course, having the object of your all-encompassing, heart-stopping lust staring at you unknowingly full of concern for your well being doesn’t exactly help.

"`M fine. Migraine," she lied when she could vocalize again. Sam tilted her head to the side slightly and sighed.

"Well, if that’s the reaction you have to my presence lately, I can understand why you’ve been avoiding me like the Plague," she said wryly although the words were tinged with unspoken hurt. Lily felt a stab of pain and regret jolt through her at knowing that she had hurt Sam’s feelings with her behavior.