Samantha was fed up with her life. She never had enough money to do anything. The friend that she lived with kept her supplied with hand-me-down clothes, but they were always a little too wild for her taste. She had to wear them, though, for it was those or nothing.
Sitting on the broken-down couch in the cramped apartment where she lived, she dreamed about what her life could have been like if her parents had lived. They had been rich and had lived in a very exclusive neighborhood in the suburbs of Atlanta. Then when she moved in with her aunt after their death, everything had gone wrong.
Now here she was, 17, alone (but for her 'friend'), in New York where she knew no one, and lost. At her school, she had no friends. Because of her clothes and her aloof attitude, everyone thought she was a slut.
"If they would just give me a chance," she had said this so many times that it was one of the only real beliefs she had.
Now as Sam sat thinking, she was trying to think of an idea to earn some money to go to the concert the next day. Her friend had the tickets, but wouldn't let her go unless she could find the money.
She knew that she shouldn't even torture herself with thoughts of going, but these guys where her favorites. She thought about them constantly. Whenever reality became too much for her, she would listen their music and dream about being with them. One day she would be with one member of the group, the next she might dream of another. But the one she thought of most often was the cute, blond-maned drummer, Bobby. Her dreams were different each time, but they always ended the same, she found love.
Not able to find a suitable solution to her problem, she gave up and unwillingly pulled herself from her dreams. Moving about finishing up her tasks in the apartment, she got an idea. Remembering last time she had walked by the civic center, Sam thought of the alleyway beside it. If she couldn't get in, maybe she could hide there and hear at least a little of the concert. "Yes," she decided. That was exactly what she would do. She might get arrested, but it would be worth it, to her anyway.
The next day, as concert-time approached, Samantha started to wonder whether her plan was really sensible of not. Deciding that it would work well enough, she slipped on her best top and mini-skirt, then sat down to wait for Lisa, the friend she lived with, to leave with her boyfriend.
When she arrived at the front of the Center, as it was called by most, she quickly lost herself in the crowd and at the moment she found a chance, Sam slipped, unnoticed, into the empty alley. She unfolded the newspaper she had brought to sit on and spread it in a clean area behind a large dumpster. From there she didn't think that she would be seen. She didn't realize that she hadn't pulled her feet in far enough. Of her, that was all that could be seen from the street.
Not believing her luck, she sat listening to the sounds coming through the wall behind her. She could hear everything almost perfect. She knew when each of the two opening groups left the stage and her group came on. The crowd went wild, but she didn't need that to know, she could recognize every song they played. Her favorite would always be "I Want To Love You Tonight". The moment she heard the first notes of it, she felt as though her heart would burst. Samantha didn't know that, this time, she would never hear the end of it...
The moment the man entered the alley, he saw her. With her eyes closed, she was so intent on the music from inside that she wouldn't see or hear him until it was too late. Silently he moved toward her. Closer, ever closer, slowly now. Standing above her, he pulled out his knife. He didn't mean to use it on her, but if she started to scream, he felt that he probably would.
Feeling a cool gust of air, Sam opened her eyes. Seeing a figure before her, she quickly tried to rise, but the person stopped her with a hard blow of his hand. Losing her balance, she fell back toward the wall. With a sickening crack, her head slammed into the concrete wall behind her.
Realizing what he had done, he took off down the alley and away from the girl, leaving her where she lay.
As he and the rest of the group were taking their final bow, Bobby suddenly staggered and grabbed his head. Seeing him almost collapse, the others rushed to him. When the curtain had fallen and the audience was completely shut out, Jason and Robin grasped him around the waist and helped him off the stage. Back in the dressing room, they carefully laid him down and waited patiently until he felt like talking.
Worriedly, Robin asked, "Bobby, what happened out there? And don't tell me 'nothing'."
"I'm not sure, it just felt like someone hit me over the head with something."
"Is this a new thing, or has it happened before? Are you okay?"
"This is the first time that this has happened, but there have been other strange things happening."
"Like what?" Marc asked.
"Well, once, while we were working on the album, I would have sworn that I heard a girl scream my name. But when I looked around to see who it was, I was in the studio alone. And you know that that place has soundproof walls. And there have been some times since then, but I don't know, maybe this shit is getting to me."
"I don't think that this is the place to continue this discussion, but I do think that we need to talk about this some more. Maybe we ought to take some time off," Jason said quietly.
"Yeah, maybe so," Steve agreed.
"Bobby! Bobby! Help me! Stop him. Don't let him hurt me. Please, help me." Samantha was sobbing loudly, but she wasn't making a sound. She was remembering the night Lisa's boyfriend had attacked her. He had been drunk and acting crazy. When he came at her, she had run from the apartment screaming. She had been crying for Bobby to come help her. Even though this had happened earlier in the year, she now thought of it. Lying in the alley, out cold, and at the mercy of the world, she was flashing back to all of her past bad experiences.
Leaving the Center, the men walked to the bus waiting outside. Steve, having seen that Bobby was almost recovered, had decided that they should go back to the hotel earlier than usual. As they, with their bodyguards, walked past the alley beside the Center, Bobby happened to glance down it. In the faint light from the streetlights, he saw something that looked like part of a person. A feeling in him demanded that he check it out. Stopping, he motioned toward it and sent one of his guards down to see what it was.
When the guard saw the girl, and saw the blood on her head, he figured that she was dead, but bent down to check anyway. Feeling a strong and rapid pulse, he realized that she had been badly hurt. Not knowing what else to do, he went back to the men and told them what he had found.
After listening to his description, Bobby walked down the alley toward her. Even as he moved, he found himself wondering why he was doing this, Lord only knows what could be waiting in the shadows.
His guards, suddenly remembering what they were being paid for, hurried down to surround Bobby as he stood looking at the girl.
Still not knowing why, he told them to pick her up and bring her to the bus.
With Kathy, Jason's wife, supervising, they managed to get the girl in the elevator and up to their set of apartments. Still feeling that the girl was Bobby's problem to deal with, Kathy asked him where he wanted her put.
With hardly a moment's hesitation, he assured them that the girl would be better off in his bedroom, because, he said, he had the largest room, next to Jason and Kathy's. Even as he told them this, though, he wondered, again, exactly why he was doing all of this for this person. He didn't even know her. In fact he had never seen the girl in his entire life, but, yet, he felt a strange bond with her.
Chasing all the men out of the room, Kathy changed the girl into a nightgown and then settled her into Bobby's waterbed. During the ride from the Center to the hotel, Kathy had already decided that the girl would be better off if she was placed in his room. With the headache she was going to have, a waterbed was about the best thing she could be in.
By looking at her clothing, Kathy had reasoned that the girl didn't have very much money, but that she knew a little about how to use what she did have. Just watching her face was enough to tell that she wasn't a street kid, she didn't have that wild, scared look. Her face was calm and peaceful, but it was frightened enough to signify that she hadn't had an easy life, either.
When she was settled and sound asleep, Kathy quietly cleaned up the room a little and stepped out the door. As she closed it behind her, she motioned to Bobby and told him to follow her. Stopping across the room from the others, she said, "Listen, I don't know why you're doing this or why I'm helping you, but I will help you in any way you need. I still don't agree with what's happening here, but,... I hope you understand."
"I understand and appreciate what you're doing. If you really want the truth, I honestly don't know why I'm doing this either, but something inside's telling me that I should help this person. But I guess that we'll soon find out why, right?"
"Yeah, sure." Kathy sighed.
"Can I go in there now?" Bobby asked impatiently.
"Go ahead, but she's asleep."
"Good," He sighed quietly under his breath.
Silently closing the door behind him, Bobby picked up the small chair near it and moved it over to the bed. Sinking down, he propped his feet up on the nightstand and sat watching the girl sleep. Knowing that with her asleep, no one could deny him the chance to stare at her. With that beautiful light blond hair and that face, no matter what color her eyes were, she was gorgeous. But he knew that that wasn't the reason that he had brought her here. There was something else, something that he couldn't and didn't want to define. Bobby didn't care why, he just knew that he was glad he had found her. Settling back in the chair, he planned not to move until she opened her eyes. He wanted to be the first person she saw. He'd sleep here if he had to.
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