Night And Day (Sam)

[Rafe Colby]

*I haven't stalked you in a while, so...*

Rafe was always in the shadows. When Sam had been injured in the attack on Hogsmeade, he had felt out of sorts, and almost desperate. Several times, he had attempted to sneak into the hospital wing and check in on her while she slept, but one of Sam's male friends always threw him out. They seemed to be present at all times, and it was getting annoying. How was he to be alone with her? He was getting twitchy and desperate. Sam was his reason for being.

Sitting in the shadow of the Whomping Willow, Rafe tried to think of a way to get Sam alone, so that they could talk. The last time they'd spoken had not gone well. He needed to do better. Somehow, he just had to convince her to love him.

[Samantha Montgomery]

Had she known, had she even an inkling, she would not have taken this impromptu walk around the school grounds. The truth was she was having trouble coping inside the castle, she feltclosed in, trapped, and yet while it was the epitome of idiocy to walk the grounds after what had happened she felt as if it were the only way of exercising her demons so to speak so she could move on.

She was almost daring something unfortunate to happen, something she could unleash her pent up emotions on, but she was not counting on that person to be Rafe.

So it was a twist of fate when she walked right past him without even noticing he was there.

[Rafe Colby]

Rafe, of course, recognized her instantly. He was hyperaware of everything about her, the sound of her footsteps in the grass, the movement of her hips, the way her hair bounced with each step. As soon as he caught sight of her, he sprang to his feet, rushing over to her. In his twisted mind, he thought her appearance here was a sign that she was coming around to him.

"Sam!" he cried, grabbing her by the arm. "You have no idea... I've been looking for you."

[Samantha Montgomery]

She heard her name called, then the rushing of footsteps and her hand was on her wand instantly, finally when her heart stopped pounding so hard she realized her "assailant" was Rafe. She wasn't sure why she didn't consider him a threat, he had abused her in the past, and at the same time he simply seemed too ridiculous to be real.

She sighed with exasperation, " Get your hands off me."

[Rafe Colby]

The rejection should have hurt him, should have driven him further away from her. But he was desperate and obsessed and it was to the point where even her angry words were enough for him. At least when she was angry with him, she was speaking to him. At least when she was fighting him, she was touching him. The worst thing she could ever do to him was ignore him, because that would have driven him to truly desperate acts.

"Sam, please," he said, still clutching her arm. "I need to talk to you. To apologize. That night... in your dorm... I didn't mean to... Things got out of hand. You don't understand, Sam... I need to be near you. Couldn't we... at least be friends?"

[Samantha Montgomery]

"You don't want to be my friend Rafe." Merlin she'd destroy him, she already had. His fingers were starting to bite into her arms, there'd be bruises in the morning, but it wasn't necessarily his fault that she bruised so easily.

"It's okay, alright? I forgive you. Just let me go." she said firmly. She didn't feel like being manhandled, and although a large part of her felt responsible for the way Rafe was acting, she knew better than to take him for an idle threat. He was...or could be at least, very dangerous.

[Rafe Colby]

No, he didn't really want to be friends. But it was better than nothing. He needed her attention, he needed to be able to look into her eyes and have her look back with something other than disgust. He needed to feel her soft skin against his, even if just to hold her hand. And it wasn't like he had any other friends. He was even more unpopular at Hogwarts than he'd been at Beauxbatons.

"OK, look. If I let go of you, will you stay? Just to talk, I swear."

[Samantha Montgomery]

Sam had learned a little bit more about what kind of man Rafe was, and that was a man not meant to be taken lightly.

She nodded stiffly, she would stay if that meant he would let her go. "Alright Rafe...but you'll let me leave here on my own." she said laying down her own condition.

[Rafe Colby]

Rafe let out a breath and nodded slowly. What did she think? That he was going to kidnap her or something? He wished the idea hadn't occurred to him.

"Yeah, OK," he said, letting go of her arm. "Look, Sam... It's no secret that I like you. And haven't really handled it right... I've been a little... crazy. But I'm really not a bad guy. I just want you to like me. What's wrong with me, really?"

[Samantha Montgomery]

Samantha had a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Unease caused chills to fly up and down her spine.

"There's nothing wrong with you Rafe." that was truely under debate, but she was trying to appease him. "And I like you...well enough, but not like that Rafe. Can't you understand I'm just not looking for a relationship right now..."

[Rafe Colby]

Anger flared in him. "Oh, yeah? You think I haven't seen how you look at Knight? I've seen him look at you the same way, too. Tell me, what's he got that I haven't? Well, besides the muscles...."

He let out a sigh then, trying desperately to remain calm. "I just wish... Why won't you try to get to know me? I'd treat you like such a princess, like you deserve."

[Samantha Montgomery]

She was startled by his observation, especially since she hadn't called it herself. "No you're wrong." she said vehemently. She couldn't really say what she felt for Ryan and that made her more determined to not feel a thing, to treat it like a game. She was trying not to think about the muscles either.

When Rafe continued to talk about treating her like a princess that unease came about again, " Rafe...there's nothing between me and Dorian, and like I said...I'm just trying to be on my own right now. It has nothing to do with you...honest."

[Rafe Colby]

Of course he noticed it. He noticed everything about her, mainly because he was almost always watching her. She still didn't know about the mirror that enabled him to watch her any time she was near a mirror, and that was one of the reasons he knew so much about her. He spent much of his time alone in his dormitory, watching her in that mirror.

"You're lying!" he shouted, suddenly snapping again. "It's just me you don't want... Don't lie to me! Why don't you want me?"

[Samantha Montgomery]

"Don't yell at me!" she shouted back. She was frustrated enough, " Stop this Rafe, and listen to me, you want to be my friend but then you turn around and get angry when I say something you don't like. I've had enough! Either you stop harassing me or I'll go to Dumbledore."

Threatening him might not have been the best course of action but she was really upset.

[Rafe Colby]

"Oh, so, you're going to tell on me?" Rafe burst out. "For what? I'm not doing anything wrong! We're just talking. it's just like at Beauxbatons... I don't understand why you can't just give me a chance. What if I do something for you, to prove how much I care about you? Would you like me then? What do I have to do to get you to stop treating me like I'm nothing. I'm not nothing, I tell you... I'm not!"

He was getting upset now, and he ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he began to pace. He just couldn't understand why Sam hated him so much.

[Samantha Montgomery]

"I never said you were nothing." she told him a bit more calmly. When he put it the way he did telling on him did seem rather childish, although where Rafe was concerned it was like she was dealing with a child.

"Rafe I want you to calm down, or else I'm going to leave."

[Rafe Colby]

Rafe let out a long breath. "I'm calm," he lied.

It was true, she had never said he was nothing. No, that had come from his father. Sometimes the words his father said to him bled into his every day life, and even though his father was no longer part of his life, those harsh words still affected him. Perhaps, if not for his father, Rafe's state of mind might have been a little more stable.

"Do you think... maybe you could just let me sit near you at dinner sometimes? It doesn't even have to be next to you... just... nearby? You always have all your friends... like Knight and Inophen... and I can't get near you."

[Samantha Montgomery]

Sufficiently creeped out she tried not to make any sudden movements that would alert him to her own state of mind. "Rafe, I really don't think that's such a good idea alright?" she said with a small sigh, "What if you met some other people. Some new people. It's a new school, you get a second chance to be whoever you want to be, and there are a lot of pretty girls who would be more than happy to be with you. I'm not your soulmate Rafe...I don't even think such a thing exists, but the truth is you need to find someone who appreciates you for all that you are, someone who truely wants to be with you, and someone who is ready for a relationship."

[Rafe Colby]

"I don't want some other girl!" he cried out, forgetting himself. He grabbed her by the shoulders and began to shake her. "I only want you! Why can't you see that? Why am I not enough for you? I try so hard, I know everything about you, and I try to be and do what you want, but it's just not good enough for you. Nothing is ever good enough for you, and it's not right.... you're pushing me to my limit and sooner or later, I'm going to break! Just... please.... I need to be in your life...."

[Samantha Montgomery]

Shaking Samantha was enough to rattle her bones. When she finally had her equillibrium back she let out a small grunt, then began pushing at his arms. "Let me go!" she yelled. She already had a headache. What happened to her resolutions? To her strong will, to the power she believed she had in donning her wand, why couldn't she simply break his hold?