The next day during science class, Jacob is able to ace that quiz about photosynthesis. The entire time, he was quietly humming the melody he and Sam had composed. He even hums it on his way to the cafeteria. This time as he's walking up the cafeteria, though, he gets stopped just outside the door.
Sam was waiting by the door, a bit anxiously. But when he sees Jacob, his face lights up as he quickly reaches out to grab his hand. "Jacob! You don't need that gross school food; I brought you something!" He says excitedly as he tries to drag the older boy with him out to the tables to sit down.
Jacob just got hit with a whirlwind of emotions. Does this mean they're actually friends now? Does Sam see him as more than just someone he has to tutor? And what kind of food would Sam bring?
As Jacob follows Sam toward their usual lunch spot, something feels off. The blonde suddenly slows down, hesitating mid-step. Jacob follows his gaze and quickly spots the problem—a taller, broad-shouldered kid standing right by the table Sam usually takes. The guy looks impatient, arms crossed.
Jacob doesn't like the way Sam tenses up beside him.
"Sammy?" he asks quietly, but before Sam can answer, the kid turns toward them, his lips curling into a smirk.
"There you are, pipsqueak," the bully sneers, stepping forward. "Took you long enough. Where's that money you promised me?"
Sam instinctively takes a step back. "I-I never promised you anything-"
"Oh yeah?" The kid cocks his head, taking another step toward them. "You sure about that? 'Cause I remember you saying you'd pay me back." He cracks his knuckles. "Maybe I can jog your memory."
Jacob doesn't even think. He steps in front of Sam, his heart pounding as he plants himself between them. Sam doesn't even hesitate before ducking behind him.
"He said he didn't promise you anything," Jacob says firmly, standing his ground. "So I'd back off if I were you."
The bully scoffs. "And what are you gonna do about it?"
Jacob lifts his chin, eyes darting toward the cafeteria entrance where a few of his classmates are sitting. Then, he smirks. "See that table over there? My friends are watching. There's, what, ten of them? You might be able to take on two of us, but I doubt you'd last against all of them."
The bully glances toward the group, his expression faltering for a split second. He clicks his tongue in irritation, then huffs. "Tch. Not worth my time." With that, he turns on his heel and stalks off.
Jacob doesn't relax until he's sure the guy is gone. The second he turns to check on Sam, though, the blonde nearly knocks the air out of him—arms wrapped tight around his middle, face pressed against his shoulder.
"Sammy? Are you okay?"
"I hate when they do that..." Sam whispers against his shirt.
Jacob softens, wrapping his arms around Sam in return. "I know. But you're okay now. I'm here." He gives Sam a reassuring squeeze. "Wanna go eat somewhere else? Away from all this?"
Sam just nods.
"Alright, let's go." Jacob takes his hand, leading him toward the courtyard. "Why don't you go to the courtyard normally?" He's trying to distract the other from what just happened, leading him toward the courtyard door.
"I don't like bugs in my food..."
Jacob chuckles softly as he opens the door and follows Sam out. "That's it?"
"And... I don't think it's fair for me to eat somewhere else just because of Mom..." That's why that kid was asking for money. Sam's parents are rich, and he's an easy target.
The brunette brings the other out to a nice table in the courtyard, setting his bag down by the table and sitting down. "It's not fair for you to be treated like that at all..."
Sam sets his bag down before hesitantly settling beside Jacob. He hesitates for a moment, then carefully lifts Jacob's arm, shifting closer until it can rest naturally around him. His movements are slow, almost timid—like he's silently asking permission. When Jacob doesn't pull away, Sam finally leans into him, just slightly.
"Sam..." Heat creeps up Jacob's face, but he doesn't resist. Instead, he lets his arm settle around Sam, allowing the younger boy to tuck himself in for comfort. He probably won't even notice the blush.
"How often does this happen?" Jacob asks softly.
Sam doesn't answer.
"Okay," Jacob says quickly. "We don't have to talk about it." He clears his throat, then brightens. "Hey, guess what? The song we wrote worked~ I think I passed the quiz!"
Sam still doesn't say anything; he just stays where he is silently.
"Oh, come on~ Hey, we could work on your science homework together~ You know, the one about not talking with your mouth full?" He's trying his best. He really is. He doesn't know how to fix the situation.
And clearly, he isn't doing a good job whatsoever. Sam takes his glasses off and sets them on the table before turning to hide his face against Jacob, starting to cry. His hands grab onto Jacob's shirt.
Jacob is quick to turn so he can more properly hug Sam, holding him close. "Sh sh sh sh sh, it's okay! They're not here anymore. You're okay." He rubs his back, trying his best to help soothe the younger boy, but he has absolutely no idea how to do that. He's copying what he's seen people do on TV.
Really though, there is nothing Jacob can do. Sam needs a few minutes to actually let himself be upset over this. Normally, he has to walk it off like nothing happened.
After a few minutes, Sam's crying slowly dies down. Jacob's shirt is wet now, but he doesn't care; the nerd is more important.
"I-I'm sorry, I do-don't know what got over m-me..." Sam stumbles over his words, sniffling quietly. He pulls away from Jacob slightly, wiping away the remaining tears.
"It's okay! That's what friends are for, right?"
Sam looks up at Jacob, the tiniest hint of a smile playing on his lips. "We're... Friends?"
Unlike the hint that shows up on Sam's face, a full smile spreads across Jacob's face as he nods, pulling Sam in for another hug. "Of course we are!" He playfully ruffles Sam's hair. "Why do you think I join you for lunch sometimes for a few minutes, silly~!"
A cute little giggle escapes past Sam's lips as he tries to get away and bat Jacob's hand away from his hair. Now there's a real smile on his face. "Stohop that! I don't exactly have experience with having friends!"
The smile on Jacob's face only grows. That little giggle from Sam sounded so cute and bubbly. It alone managed to break the sour mood surrounding them. He wishes he could hear more of it. "You're a lot cuter when you smile~" He reaches over to pick up Sam's glasses and give them to him, which Sam takes and puts back on. "If you want us to be friends, then we are friends."
"I'm not cute!" The tips of his ears turn a scarlet red. "But... Yes. I want to be friends."
"Okay. Then we are friends~"
"Okay. Friends." Sam looks back up at Jacob now that he can see again, a genuine and sweet smile that reaches his eyes on his face. A tender silence falls over the two.
That smile makes Jacob blush too, his cheeks turning as red as Sam's ears. He quickly breaks eye contact, looking at Sam's bag on the ground. "I remember you offering me lunch?"
"Oh!" Sam scoots away from Jacob quickly, easily distracted by the change of topics. He opens his bag, pulling out a lunchbox. "Sorry, I almost forgot~" He hands the lunchbox to the brunette.
Jacob takes it. "Thank you. You didn't have to do this, you know~" He opens the lunchbox. This kid really is rich. This looks like a professionally made meal. "Holy cow-"
The blond giggles again. "I thought you would pass your quiz, so I wanted to give you something as congratulations."
"And what would you have done if I told you I thought I flunked the quiz~?"
"Thrown the lunchbox at you."
Jacob reaches over to pull Sam close again, just to be able to ruffle his hair playfully. "You jerk!"
He tries to stop Jacob, starting to giggle again. That's a consistent reaction to having his hair ruffled. Good to know. Jacob is definitely taking a mental note of that because it is a very cute reaction.
"I can't reward you for not doing good!" He manages to get away from Jacob. "And I didn't mean it. You would've gotten the lunch either way. I had faith in you."
Just as his blush was dying down, Sam had to go and say that, making Jacob's blush come back. "... Shut up..." He looks down at the lunchbox and starts to eat.
Sam's still ecstatic with the knowledge that he has a new friend. He has a friend! Pops will be so proud of him.
"Oh! Also... I was wondering... Would you like to play chess? I thought it would be a good way for you to practice logic."
Jacob's gaze jumps back to Sam as he raises an eyebrow. "Were you waiting for us to be friends before asking that?"
Sam nods sheepishly.
"That's adorable~ Sure. It can't be that bad. You don't need to explain the rules to me. I already know them."
Once he has the go-ahead, Sam digs through his backpack to retrieve a small-ish version of chess. A portable version of it while still being big enough to be easily played. That he apparently carries in his backpack. He sets the board down and runs over to the other side of the table so he and Jacob are sat across from one another. "I pick white." He calls out as he starts to set up the board, letting Jacob eat his lunch in the meantime.
Jacob does simply eat his lunch while Sam gets everything set up, watching him happily. The kid looks so eager to play, this pure joy clear in his eyes. Once the board is set up, Jacob sets the rest of the food aside for now, scooting over so he's in front of the board. "I'm assuming white goes first?"
"I thought you knew the rules?"
"I know how the pieces move! Sorry that I don't technically know EVERY rule~"
"White does go first." Sam takes one of his knights out.
Jacob copies the move. "Don't expect me to be good. I haven't played that much."
(Not writing out every move)
A few minutes go by, and the two are now well into the mid-game portion of the game. Sam has a clear upper hand on the board, but Jacob doesn't care. However, this is when Sam decides to pull out his secret weapon, even though it's unnecessary. He would win either way.
Jacob picks up his bishop. As soon as he does though, the blonde hums in disapproval. "... Is this a bad move or something?"
"It's your death, not mine."
He puts the bishop back down. Now, he picks up the queen. Sam inhales sharply, tilting his head to the side and furrowing his eyebrows. He puts the queen back down.
...
He picks up a pawn. ... No reaction from Sam. He moves the pawn forward one.
Sam kills the bishop Jacob originally intended to move.
"What?! But you said..."
A smug grin spreads across Sam's face. He's not just playing chess; he's playing mind games. He lulled Jacob into a false sense of security by occasionally helping him before, and now it may or may not be a good idea to take his advice.
Jacob pouts, now moving his queen to where he wanted to move it before.
Sam takes that too.
"How?!"
That smug grin only widens. He's enjoying this. He finds it fun to watch Jacob suffer; this kid is secretly evil.
Jacob picks up his knight, which gets an approving hum from Sam. That has to be good, right? He moves the knight.
Sam takes it, giggling quietly to himself. The kid doesn't even have to say a word, and he can make Jacob second guess his entire plan. He's smart enough that people assume he must just know or see something they don't, it gets in their heads.
"Alright, that's it! I'm not going to pay any attention to you!" Jacob picks up his other knight. Sam inhales sharply again.
Ignore it. Ignore it. It means nothing.
He moves the piece but keeps his finger on it, looking around for ways Sam would take it with. This time, he spots the trap, moving the piece back. But the knight is the only plausible thing for him to move. He doesn't have any other useful pieces. With a defeated sigh, he moves the knight.
Sam doesn't take the knight. Instead, he takes the pawn from before.
Why?!
"Check!"
Oh...
"Mate~"
Jacob looks at the situation on the board for several seconds before nodding. "Yup, that's checkmate. What was the point of messing with me like that?"
"It distracted you from my plan~" Sam shrugs, taking the board and all the pieces, putting them away. "That was fun!"
"That was torture."
"Fun!"
Jacob rolls his eyes. "Whatever you say~"
Right as he says that, the bell rings. For the first time, Jacob stayed with Sam through the entire lunch period.