Disclaimer: I do not own these characters (well, some of them I do, but not the ones from the film obviously. You get the idea.) I am not making any profit from this (ha! I wish!) I am doing it out of my love for the film and a rather peculiar obsession with the whole Josie/Sam thing. I hope this story is heading in an acceptable direction, any and all feedback is greatly welcomed at [email protected]. Cheers!
* * *
Josie was absolutely exhausted. She had been on her feet nearly all day, stopping only once for about half an hour in McDonalds in Leicester Square. Sightseeing around London was energetic work, even more so considering it was Friday, the subway was always crowded and there had been a bomb scare at St. Paul's, which had meant she had been forced to walk some distance to get to Trafalgar Square.
However, Josie did not regret that walk for one minute, she had strolled right through the heart of working, and socializing London. It seemed odd to her that all these very modern looking people should be rushing around on foot or in their modern cars when all around them was this fantastic old architecture, belying London's history.
Josie had nearly bumped into people on several occasions because of her constant building gazing, but she couldn't help it. She was fascinated by the way 18th century buildings were incorporated into modern skylines.
By the time she reached Southbank it was nearly 7pm and the sun was beginning its descent. As it took on a beautiful orange hue, it's dying light was bounced off the Thames and on to the Houses of Parliament where Josie had visited earlier. Although the Government was not in session with it being a Sunday, Josie found it fascinating nonetheless. The rays picked up the beautiful stonework of Parliament and set the building off perfectly against the misty blue sky.
As Josie wended her way towards the National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge she stopped every now and then to watch street performers, some singing, some performing tricks.
As she reached the Museum of Moving Image she found herself idly flicking through a second hand book sale, where she picked up a beautiful old copy of Evelyn Waugh's 'Scoop!', a book she'd always meant to read before she took up her Journalism course at Northwestern.
Then moving on toward her final destination she paused once more to take in the London skyline. From where she stood it was possible to believe that London was in fact a real life 18th century city, nearly all the architecture along the river belonging to that era, or perhaps a little later. Unlike the skyline of New York, there were no towering skyscrapers, no glass fronted buildings, few things to belie London's modern side. Below her, the river Thames flowed steadily toward the sea, admittedly not the most beautiful river in the world, it's greenish brown waters actually fitted in quite well with the color of the sunset, and taking one last look at the city in the sunlight, Josie turned and walked to the Theatre Lobby.
* * *
Sam and Peter arrived at the theatre a little after 7:15pm; they had been caught in the rush hour traffic on the subway. They had been so hurried that Sam had only managed to get a quick glimpse of the London skyline as the Sun sank down to the horizon. However, he had seen enough for it to render him breathless.
Peter, having seen it countless times, did not even pause as he hurried along the promenade. "Come on, Sam! We won't have time for a pre-performance drink at this rate!" he chided, quickening his pace.
The lobby of the theatre complex was crowded. The play was being performed in the large Olivier Theatre, and so a good thousand or more people were milling around the complex.
"Let's get us to the bar!" Peter exclaimed after they had collected their tickets from the box office. Fighting their way through the crowds of old ladies, middle-aged couples and groups of students they found their way to the theatre bar, and Peter expertly navigated himself to the front of the large queue and purchased two beers in less than five minutes.
They still had around twenty minutes before the play began, and so Sam asked Peter if he would mind if they stood on the balcony, so that Sam could admire the London skyline. Seeing as it was such a beautifully warm evening Peter did not protest and so they left the crowd to go outside.
Sam sucked in the warm evening air gratefully, as he let his eyes roam over the buildings, boats and river. He loved the uniqueness of London's architecture, and could have happily spent hours stood there just watching the world go by.
But the play was due to start now in just under ten minutes and he was anxious to find his seat, and get settled.
He turned from his position to face Peter.
"Ready to go in?" Peter asked, finishing his beer.
Sam was about to answer when something caught his eye. Behind Peter, about four or five people away was an incredibly familiar-looking girl. She too was looking over the balcony, a dreamy expression on her face. The dying sun caught on her shiny blonde hair and gave her skin a beautiful radiance.
Sam looked a little closer, examining her features�it couldn't be! But he was positive that it was.
He had only seen her once, and that had been two and half months ago, but Sam knew that it was that girl he'd been attracted to at Lincoln Park High. People always used the clich� 'it's a small world' but Sam had never believed it until now. Although not a big believer in fate, Sam knew he couldn't not talk to her; it was too big a coincidence. She might not recognize him (after all they'd never actually spoken), but he had to check, just make sure it really was her.
"Wait a minute," he said distractedly to Peter as he moved off toward her. However just then the bell rang signaling the imminent start of the play. Everyone on the balcony on Sam's side turned towards him and started walking back toward the door, impeding Sam's journey to her side, and by the time he'd fought through the crowd, she had disappeared.
"What was that all about?" Peter asked when Sam returned, a disappointed look on his face.
"Oh, I thought I saw someone I recognized," he muttered quietly.
"Oh, that would have been weird! Tell you what though; I saw a gorgeous bird out there while you were gazing over the river. Beautiful she was! All these gorgeous golden curls, voluptuous body� Oh yeah, she was very nice! Very nice indeed." Peter said appreciatively as they walked into the Theatre.
* * *
Josie's aunt and uncle had outdone themselves this time, she thought. She had a seat right in the center, three rows back from the front. She couldn't have asked for a better view. She was sat in-between one half of a middle aged couple and a foreign woman who was with a younger girl who, Josie presumed, was her daughter. Josie was pleased about this. If she had been sat next to another loner, she might have been forced into conversation and all Josie really wanted to do was sit back and be transported into Shakespeare's world.
The theatre was impressive, large and well set out. The stalls area was not huge, however there were two circles above and large areas at the side also. From one quick glance around Josie discerned that tonight was most definitely a sell out.
The constant hum of people chattering to each other before the performance was a favorite part of the Theatre experience for Josie, particularly the way the noise died down dramatically as the lights were dimmed.
As the curtain rose to show Olivia and her brother Sebastian being thrown from their ship into the stormy sea, where they would be separated, Josie settled back into her seat and allowed herself to be drawn in to their world.
* * *
Sam and Peter were sat at the back of the stalls. The view from these seats was fine, however Peter had the misfortune of having an incredibly tall man sit in front of him.
"This is bloody ridiculous!" he hissed to Sam, shifting in his seat as the lights dimmed, but Sam did not answer.
He was frantically scanning the audience for the girl's head. He kept seeing possibilities, however a quick glance to the side on their part proved them not to be her. He rose slightly out of his seat to look down to the front, and there he spotted her. Three rows back in the center, and from where he sat he had a perfect view�of the back of her head.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked as Sam wriggled around in his seat.
"Oh, nothing� Just getting comfortable." Sam replied, smiling broadly at Peter.
He stared intently at her hair; even as the curtains rose and the play started he kept looking back at her every couple of minutes, just to make sure she wasn't in his imagination.
When the lights were raised again for the intermission, Sam leapt from his seat and craned his neck to see where the girl headed.
"Peter, I'll meet you back in here� I just saw that person again." Sam said quickly to Peter as he excused his way out of their row ahead of everyone else. Peter started to reply, but Sam was out of earshot before he had the chance to finish.
Sam could see the girl walking out of the exit nearest to her, and he was determined not to lose sight of her this time.
* * *
Josie was elated; the production so far had been absolutely amazing! She had laughed so much her sides ached and the scenery and costumes were all breathtaking. The company performing were obviously very talented, but Josie also felt her surroundings had an effect on her enjoyment. After all, she was only a few minutes walk away from where the globe had originally stood centuries ago.
She was now headed for the Theatre bar to get an orange juice, and she didn't want to get stuck in the queue that would inevitably form, so she quickly made her way out of her row and headed out of the nearest exit. She had just reached the bar when someone tapped her on the shoulder. When she spun around, she could not believe her eyes.
"Er�hi�you�"
"Sam!?" she exclaimed, rather loudly it seemed, for quite a few people already assembled turned their heads to see what was going on.
Sam was completely confused, how did she know his name. He looked more closely at her and then their eyes met, those big blue eyes� No, he thought in shock, it couldn't be�
"Josie!?" Sam asked, awestruck.
Now it was Josie's turn to be confused, Sam had tapped her on the shoulder, yet he seemed shocked that it was her.
"Yes, it's me, Josie. I don't understand� You tapped me on the shoulder, so�why are you�?" she broke off as she saw Sam's expression change from serious confusion to pure happiness.
"Josie, I don't know how to say this without sounding corny, but you look absolutely fantastic! I didn't recognize you!" Sam said grinning, looking her up and down with an appreciative eye.
This only confused Josie further. He didn't recognize her?
"I think we need to talk, don't you?" Sam said, suddenly serious. "I haven't seen you for ages!"
Then Josie remembered, the day he hadn't appeared, how she had avoided him, how that rejection had haunted her for weeks after it happened.
"You never came," she said quietly, the pain still evident in her voice.
Sam could not take his eyes off her. The girl he had seen, the girl he had admired from afar was Josie! Josie, the girl he had felt rather peculiar things for, yet who he had only spoken to once.
"I know. I'm so sorry about that! I slept through my alarm! I searched all over school for you for weeks afterwards, but you'd completely disappeared�"
Sam tailed off as the realization of what had actually happened crept over him. Talk about a case of mistaken identity! "But obviously, I was seeing you around all the time! It's just that, well, you look so different! I didn't realize it was you! I actually did try to talk to you a few times, thinking you were someone else, but you kept running off and�boy is this confusing�" Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck with the palm of his hand.
Josie couldn't help but laugh. It had never even occurred to her that her new hairstyle and loss of braces might have been the reason Sam didn't talk to her! She hadn't thought the change was so radical; Chrissi and the others obviously didn't think it was, but then Sam had only met her once and he most definitely hadn't been expecting her to overhaul her image overnight.
"Oh dear! When I saw you in the halls later on that day and you ignored me, I thought it was because you hadn't actually wanted to meet up with me. I thought you were playing a trick on me with Chrissi Majors and her friends. I never even thought�"
Sam looked confused again "Josie, why would I play a trick on you? I don't even really know Chrissi that well."
Josie sighed, knowing that she had been horribly wrong to judge Sam that way simply because he was good looking and smart and cool. But she had to explain, even though it would make her seem just as bad as Chrissi and the others.
"Chrissi and Mike and I have never really been friends. Anything but really. To them I was this irritating geek that just wouldn't go away, so basically every day they would think up new ways to humiliate me and make themselves look good. So when you were talking to me in the library, I was a little shocked. I mean, why would someone as good-looking as yourself want me to be their tour guide? So when you didn't show up I assumed it was part of some trick organized by them to make me look like a fool. But this time I was determined they wouldn't get to me, so I avoided you at all costs. I didn't even go to Prom. I can't believe I misjudged you like that! I'm no better than them."
Josie's voice was a little choked as she confessed to Sam about how she was bullied for being a 'geek', and she struggled to meet his eyes afterwards, worried he might see the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks.
Sam was stunned into silence. He was a little hurt that Josie thought he was capable of being so mean, but then she barely knew him. Moreover he felt like he wanted to wrap his arms around her and hug her tight, make all her hurt go away. He looked deeply into her blue eyes and saw how hurt and embarrassed she must have been when he didn't show up. It wasn't her fault: years of relentless torment had obviously made her incredibly paranoid and insecure. She'd even missed her own senior Prom because she thought everyone would be laughing at her! He struggled to think of the right thing to say.
"Josie, please don't feel bad! Neither of us are to blame here, especially not you!! Can we just forget all about it? I mean, we were obviously meant to meet again, don't you think? This is a little bit too spooky for it not to be intended�" Sam said, grinning.
Josie blinked back her tears and smiled, "I suppose so! What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Visiting me. Hello, my name is Peter Sullivan. I used to be Sam's neighbor once upon a time. Delighted to make your acquaintance." Peter appeared from nowhere and took Josie's hand, kissing the back of it lightly.
Josie giggled nervously, no boy had ever kissed her anywhere, least of all a handsome one like Peter.
"Josie, meet Peter. Peter, meet Josie. You'll have to watch out for him, Josie; he's rather partial to pretty girls." Sam said laughing as Peter made a face of mock horror at Sam's description of him.
Josie laughed again. Pretty girls? Sam thought she was pretty! Josie felt a wave of happiness crash over her, and then she felt her cheeks flush. She looked to the floor in the hope they wouldn't notice.
However Sam had indeed noticed and couldn't help but smile. Josie's blushing was a very attractive quality. It reflected her shy nature and also the slight pink tinge really complemented her complexion.
"Where are you staying, Josie?" asked Sam after a moment.
"Oh, Vicarage Gate in Kensington. I'm staying with my aunt and uncle." Josie replied.
"Kensington? God, they must be quite�well�rich!" Peter said grinning.
"Oh, it's such a beautiful area! The balcony in my room has view over the Gardens and I can even see the Palace too. I sit out there most evenings with a book. I never realized London was so beautiful, or that it could be so sunny!" Josie replied, feeling a little more talkative.
"I can only imagine," Sam said. "I'm staying with Peter in Finsbury."
"Not quite so glamorous as your pad by the sounds of it, Josie." Peter interrupted.
"Oh, I'm sure it's lovely!" Josie responded.
Sam was about to speak again when the bell sounded heralding the end of the intermission.
"Oh�, do you want to meet us after the play? We could go for a drink or something?" Sam asked.
"Well, I suppose I could for a little while. That would be nice. I'll see you back here afterwards then?" Josie said smiling in return.
Sam nodded happily and turned to go back to his seat.
"Oh and Sam?" Josie called, Sam turned to face Josie as she fixed him with those penetrating eyes. "Don't forget this time."
Sam grinned, "I wont!"
* * *