Just before he went to bed, about three o'clock, Robin carefully opened the door to Bobby's room. Peering in, he saw Bobby slumped over in the chair with his head on the bed. Knowing that he had to be uncomfortable, Robin walked over planning to wake him, but seeing how tired he looked, he quickly decided that it would be better if he didn't. Gently, he picked Bobby up and laid him on the bed beside the girl. He had known that he could do it without waking him because of all the times before that he done the same thing when Bobby got drunk and passed out, or just plain fell asleep.

After watching for a few moments to be sure that he was still asleep, Robin closed the door behind himself and quietly laughed as he thought about Bobby's reaction when he woke up and realized where he was. Robin knew that there might be hell to pay, but he didn't care because he just wanted his friend to be comfortable during his first night with a new girl.

Still smiling, he entered his own room where his new girl was waiting. It wouldn't be their first night, but to him each night with Michelle seemed better than the one before, she could always make things interesting and she really loved him, definitely a sentiment he could willingly return to her.

Opening his eyes, Bobby looked at the clock in front of him. "Eleven o'clock, I'm being lazy." Feeling an odd sensation sweep over him, he remembered the dream he had had the night before. Something about a girl in an alley. Funny thing was that in the dream, he had actually had this girl brought to his hotel room. "Man, I'm glad that was just in a dream. That would be purely stupid to do "

Almost laughing at himself, he rolled over and threw his arm out to the side. Feeling something, Bobby turned his head to look beside him. "Oh God! How drunk did I get? I don't even remember doing anything with anybody last night." Suddenly his eyes flew open. Rolling toward the side of the bed, he fell out onto the floor. Gathering his knees under him, he kneeled at the edge of the bed and sat looking at the girl there in front of him.

"Oh no, it wasn't a dream. I really did bring that girl here." Then thinking back over the previous night, he remembered everything that had happened, except how he had wound up in the bed with a girl he'd never even spoken to in his life.

He finally decided that it had to have been Robin, because of all the other times he had opened his eyes to a different scene that he had passed out to. Thank goodness Robin had that odd streak that made him keep everyone else out of trouble when they got good and drunk. Sure Robin would get drunk and have a good time, too, but he was still practically the baby-sitter of them all. Bobby knew for a fact that if it hadn't been for Robin, there were times that he could have gotten himself into major trouble concerning everything from girls to his own life.

Hearing a thud, Robin walked over to the door of Bobby's room. Smiling, he knocked and called, "Bobby, what's going on in there? Is everything okay?" Then knowing what was to come, he stepped back from the door, just in time to miss being hit as it flew open.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?! Putting me in the bed with that girl! You'd kill me if I did the same thing to you!" Bobby was almost hissing, he was trying to act mad and keep from laughing at the same time, and part of it wasn't working.

Playing along with the joke, Robin said, "Calm down, man, you know that you couldn't do the same thing to me, now could you?"

"Oh I couldn't, huh! And just why couldn't I?"

"You can't pick me up, remember. I'm bigger than you are, in every way, right?"

"Oh you, it's gotten to be impossible to win an argument with you since you met her," Bobby finally smiled as he nodded toward Michelle. "She must be one tough something for you to get this damn obstinate and hard to beat!"

Now totally satisfied with his actions, Robin got a sly smile and looked Bobby straight in the eye, "Can you look me in the face and say that you would have rather woken up in a different place?"

Pausing, Bobby suddenly said, "Robin, you're wrong about one thing, You're not bigger that me in every way!!"

Ducking Robin's fist, he headed for the table where everyone else was sitting watching the exchange between them with amusement. As they all started to laugh, Bobby grinned and took a deep bow. Suddenly he was lifted off his feet and draped over a shoulder. "Put me down! Robin Cutter, you put me down, now!"

By now, everyone at the table was in hysterics. With tears running down his face, Marc gasped, "Bobby, don't be too sure about his size. We might ought to ask Michelle here! 'Cause I hope that none of us guys know for sure!"

"Hey! Wait a minute, don't drag me into this! Anyway, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Michelle laughed, winking at Robin.

Finally setting Bobby back on his feet, Robin grinned back at her, "Christian, you shouldn't worry your little self about it. We can find out in a couple of days. Your girl and Michelle should be able to compare notes on size and performance by then. I'll probably still win, but let's make it fair and wait until we have some proof on you!"

"You know something, Cutter? You're okay most of the time, but there are times that you are a real asshole! You know that?"

"Yep! Sure do!"

"Okay you two! That's enough! Lunch is here, so let it rest. Bobby, while we wait on them to get everything set out, go check on our friend," Kathy said, laughing, but also trying to calm things down a little.

Bobby slowly pushed the door open and stuck his head inside. The girl hadn't moved much, but she seemed restless. Walking over to her side of the bed, he sat down in the chair he had put there the night before. As he did, he saw her eyelids flutter and start to open.

Not knowing what else to do, he eased back out the door and told them to go on with lunch without him because the girl was starting to wake up and he wanted to be with her for a while.

Going back in the room, he sat back down and started talking to her, "Hello, you may not recognize me, but all the better if you don't. If you do, please don't be shocked. Are you awake yet? Open your eyes if you are." As they opened, Bobby found himself looking into a very frightened pair of sea green eyes.

Hearing a strange voice, Sam looked around the room. Slowly her eyes focused on the man beside her bed. Scared, she gasped, "Who are you? What are you doing in here? Get out of my room!"

Smiling in a way that he hoped was friendly, Bobby said, "I should be asking you who you are. And this isn't your room, it's mine. Don't be frightened, I'm not gonna hurt you. You're here because I want to help you."

"What am I doing in your room? And where am I?"

"What do you remember about the last couple of days?" Then seeing her fear, he asked, "Are you scared of me?"

"Yes."

"What can you remember about the last few days?" Bobby asked again, quietly.

Terrified, Sam spoke shakily, "I remember the concert and being in the alley at the Center. Then I remember a man... he hit me. It was you!! Get away!" Sam, almost screaming, backed as far across the bed as she could.

"Calm down, it wasn't me. I, well we, found in that alley, unconscious. Are you okay now? I swear it wasn't me."

Still timid, Sam said in a small voice, "What do you mean we, who else is here? Am I supposed to know you?"

"Do you have posters on your walls wherever it is you live?"

"Yes, why?" Sam was feeling very confused at what this man was saying.

"Are they of people in music?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Who do you have up?"

"Well there's some of most of the popular bands, but the majority of them are the single members and group shots of my favorite."

"Who might that be?"

"The same ones I went to that alley in hopes of hearing." In her element now, Sam practically sighed her next words, "I love the group Dragon Star."

Feeling his heart lurch, Bobby pressed on, "Do you have a favorite member?"

Sam began to completely forget her fears of this person and open up to him, "I think that guitarist Robin Cutter is gorgeous, but my favorite member had always been and always will be the drummer, Bobby Christian. He is absolutely perfect. I can't really describe him, it's, it's... it's too much to put in words." Sighing, she closed her eyes, then reopened them to look into this man's face. "He looks so happy," she thought, "I wish I was."

Amused and unbelieving, Bobby didn't know quite what to say. "You mean to say... You mean you don't recognize me?!" Jumping up he ran to the door, "Hey guys, come in here, she's awake and doesn't know me! I can't get her to realize who she's dealing with!"

As the rest of them reached the door where he was standing, Bobby gathered them around and lowered his voice, "Do you remember your positions in the picture on the cassette cover?" He paused a moment, "You do? Great! Let's show her who we are!"

Sam watched as the men who had just entered, moved into a seemingly familiar looking formation. Amazed she saw the one she had been talking to and the darkest one drop to the floor. The other three, a blond and two with brown hair, stood behind the two on the floor. Suddenly she realized what she was seeing. It was a real life look at something she had only seen in a picture that she had in the apartment. Her eyes flew open and her mind screamed, "You idiot! This is Dragon Star! That's Bobby Christian!! You fool!" But all she could say aloud was, "Oh my gosh! Is it really? Can it be?"

Smiling widely, Bobby said, "Now do you recognize me? I think that she does, so you guys can go now. Thanks. And now, back to you," he continued as he closed the door behind the others, "You know my name, so how about telling me yours?"

In complete shock, she barely managed to speak, "I'm Samantha, or just Sam. Is this really happening? Please don't tell me that this is a dream. If it is, Lisa, don't ever wake me up."

His smile softening from to amusement to interest and curiosity with possibly a twinge of something extra, Bobby said, "I can assure you that this isn't a dream, Sam. In fact, I thought the same thing myself. Who is Lisa? A friend of yours?"

Seeing his genuine interest, she was even more amazed. Why should he care what happened to her? She didn't know, but she was glad that somebody did. Calmer now, she said, "You might call her a friend. I live with her, but I've quit saying she's my friend. She's one of the reasons that I was in that alley instead of inside at the concert. I hate her so much sometimes! She probably doesn't care that I'm gone. I'll bet that she hasn't even realized it yet!"

Sam didn't hear the hatred that had crept into her voice as she talked about Lisa. But Bobby heard it. "How was she the cause of you being in the alley? Tell me what happened that night. How did you come to live with someone like that?" Then seeing her hesitation, he added, "You don't have to answer me if you think I'm being nosey, I just want to know everything about you."

"I don't think that you're being nosey. I like to think that someone actually halfway cares what happens to me! To answer your questions, I'll go back to last year. When my parents got killed..."

"What?!" Bobby gasped, shocked.

"My mother and step-dad went out one night and left me at home, but that night, they didn't ever come in, so I went on to bed. The next morning, my step-aunt woke me up and told me that they had been killed in am accident. I never really knew all of what happened to them. But after the funeral, I accepted what they all told me and soon got over it. It still hurts occasionally, but I've learned to deal with it." By the time she reached this point, Sam was totally lost in her own thoughts.

"Sam, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked about that. I have this habit of sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."

"It's okay. Like I said, I'm glad to know somebody cares. What else was it you asked about?"

"How do you wind up with someone like this Lisa?"

"Well, after my folks died, I moved in with my aunt and uncle. But then one of my uncle's friends tried to rape me. He tried twice before I finally told them about it, cause I thought it was maybe something that I had done. But then when I finally figured out that it wasn't and told them, they still blamed everything on me.

A couple of days after that, I found out that my uncle had known what was going on the whole time, so I called Lisa to see if I could live up here with her. I've been in New York for about a month and a half. So you see, that's how I wound up in this damned place!"

"You've had a tough time of it haven't you? I'm sorry I asked now. It must have hurt you to talk about that."

His eyes were telling more of what he was thinking than he actually said. In them Samantha could see compassion and a touch of pain. But that wasn't all, she was beginning to realize what he really thought of her. Looking away, she reassured him, "No, you think it was tough talking about it? I'll tell you what was tough! Tough was the hell I went through in living it. It practically doesn't bother me anymore. In fact I wonder if I can even feel any emotion anymore. I hate this place but at least it's away from Atlanta, Georgia!"

"Is that where you're from?"

"Yeah, my family lived in one of the richest suburbs of Atlanta. But then when I moved in with my aunt, I was in the inner city, you know, the tough part of town. And now, I'm here."

"I've seen a good bit of Georgia, it's nice. I like the country quality that the southern section has."

"Don't get me wrong, I love my home state and I plan to go back, but not to live in Atlanta! Oh yeah, I been meaning to ask you, how did you find me?"

Quickly thinking back over the night before, Bobby started, "We were leaving the Center, going to our bus to come back here, and as we walked by the alley, I happened to glance down it. I saw something that looked like a person, so I sent somebody down to check it out. He came back and told me what he had found, so I went to see for myself. I saw what turned out to be you. I told them to pick you up and bring you back here. So here's where you are."

"Why did you even bother?"

"You want the truth? I honestly don't know. A voice inside told me that I should help that person lying there, So..." Reaching out to her, he gently stroked the side of her face with the tips of his fingers. "I'm just glad I listened to that voice," he whispered.

Moving her head with the movement of his hand, Sam felt perfectly happy for the first time in her life. This was a dream come true for her, a dream she never wanted to end.

Robin, standing at the door to Bobby's room, tried desperately to keep from laughing aloud as he listened to the end of their conversation. He had barely been able to hear Bobby's last words, but he had caught them. Walking back to the table, he sank down next to Michelle.

"What's so funny?" she smiled.

"That about comparing notes, it may be possible sooner than we expected." Then seeing her shocked look, he went on, "No really, everything just got very quiet in there, and you know Christian, he never runs out of things to say unless there's something interesting going on. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and that he's about ready to bring her out. I think she said her name is Samantha."

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