EXT. CITY CENTER — DAY

The trio walk side-by-side, with Sam in the middle. They pass by quaint shops selling antiques and other goods, as well as thrift stores and a hole-in-the-wall bakery advertising their famous blueberry muffins.

SAM: You know what's funny? (turns to Una) I've lived in Dreary my whole life and even though it's just an hour away, I've never once been here.

She and Una share a chuckle.

UNA: It's not like you had a reason to come here.

SAM: Yes, but... don't you think we could be a bit more adventurous? There's so much of the world that's still out there. I want to see it.

MICK: Word of advice? Try not to see it with your family. I don't know what it is about traveling that makes everyone so cranky, but...

Sam and Mick share a laugh then quickly break into more stories about their respective family's crazy shenanigans. Una, on the other hand, is left to listen, painfully reminded of her own broken family.

CUT TO:

INT. ICE CREAM SHOP — DAY

Having reunited with Annie and Yvette, they sit in a booth at an ice cream shop, slurping on their respective cones: cookies and cream for Sam, strawberry for Una, and mint chocolate chip for Mick.

ANNIE: You girls never told us what it was you had to do in the city. I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Are you just going for a day trip or something?

UNA: Oh, we're seeing a concert.

ANNIE: Ooh, which concert?

SAM: Stillwater!

MICK: Oh, man, I love them. I was so sad when they went on hiatus.

UNA: Dude, they're back for one night. It was so hard to get tickets, I—

Una stops then looks at Sam.

UNA: We got really lucky.

MICK: Man... I'm so jealous. You should send me videos if you take any.

SAM: Oh, yeah!

Mick and Sam exchange social media accounts and Una sits back, resisting the urge to smirk. After some more time chatting, Annie's phone beeps.

ANNIE: Looks like the car's ready. We'll finish up here then get going, alright? Anyone want to go for seconds?

Yvette raises her hand.

ANNIE: Except Yvette?

YVETTE: Mom!

ANNIE: All you've eaten today are sweets and junk food.

Yvette grumbles but doesn't push the topic further. Una, the last to finish her cone, shakes her head and slides out of the booth.

UNA: I'm ready to go if you guys are.

Sam follows her out.

SAM: Ditto.

ANNIE: Let's get going, then.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE BOWERY — DAY

Sam and Una stand outside the Bowery, having just been dropped off by Annie and family.

ANNIE: Are you girls sure you'll be okay here?

UNA: Yep! I'm gonna call my aunts to let them know we've arrived.

SAM: Thank you so much for driving us.

PAUL: Of course. You girls take care, alright?

Mick scoots closer to the window.

MICK: Don't forget to send me videos, okay?

Sam beams at him.

SAM: I won't.

ANNIE: Alright, bye now, girls. Have fun!

Sam and Una step back, waving goodbye as the car pulls away from the curb and drives off in the distance. Then, they turn to each other and grip each other's hands, squealing. They're finally here.

A line snakes around the venue, so they follow it to the end and stand behind the last person. While waiting, they half-jokingly fantasize about meeting the band personally and wowing them enough to be invited backstage to hang out or take selfies.

SAM: Can you imagine if you get to sing a duet with him on stage?

They laugh at the absurdity of the idea.

UNA: And then you do your interpretative dance behind me.

The line inches closer to the door. Soon, they're next. The lady at the ticket counter has a scanner out; she wears a red vest over her white blouse and an earpiece. Una hands her the tickets she bought from the person online and printed out. It's a little crumpled from having been in her bag, but the lady smooths it out and holds the scanner against it. She flashes the red light on it and presses a button. It beeps, but the light doesn't turn green. The lady furrows her brows and tries again.

At this point, Una's getting nervous.

UNA: Maybe it's 'cause the paper is crumpled...

The lady tries again to no avail.

SAM: Una? What's going on?

Through her earpiece, the lady calls for help. Other venue staff arrive and assist her, forcing the girls to step aside to let the other people in line through first.

SAM: Una, why aren't our tickets working?

Una's heart races in her chest.

SAM: Una.

The world spins around Una. It can't be, right? She double-checked it. It seemed legit. Seemed.

SAM: Una!

UNA: We got waitlisted!

SAM: What?

UNA: I solved the quiz, but we got waitlisted 'cause so many other people solved it before me. I got desperate so I bought tickets off someone online.

SAM: (incredulous) Una.

UNA: I'm sure it's fine!

SAM: You're sure? Because it seems like you—we got scammed.

Una knows the likelihood of Sam being right is more likely than her being wrong. But still, it hurt to hear.

UNA: Let's not jump to conclusions, alright? Maybe they'll type the code in manually or whatever. You'll see.

Sam huffs and crosses her arms, keeping her gaze fixed at the venue staff inspecting the tickets. Finally, a bulky man in all black approaches them.

BULKY MAN: Hey, girls. We're having a bit of trouble verifying your tickets so may I ask where you purchased these?

Sam eyes Una. Una gulps.

UNA: Um... This person—

The bulky man's expression changes; he lets out a breath that seems to say 'of course,' then shakes his head.

UNA: But I solved the test! We were just waitlisted, so I thought—

BULKY MAN: I'm sorry but we're going to have to ask you girls to leave. Your tickets are fake and company policy forces us to ban those who try to sneak into the venue.

SAM: Are you kidding me? We got scammed! We shouldn't be punished for that!

BULKY MAN: Company policy doesn't specify a difference between the scammed and the scammer.

SAM: Well, your company policy is bull!

At this point, the people in line have started to pay attention. Una's cheeks grow hot and she feels a lump start to form in her throat; this was all her fault. If they didn't go now, the tears would come falling any minute.

BULKY MAN: Ma'am—

Una grabs Sam's wrist and drags her away. Crossing the road and getting honked at by passing cars, Una takes her to the alley next to the coffee shop in front of the Bowery, away from curious eyes and eavesdropping ears.

CUT TO:

EXT. ALLEYWAY — MOMENTS LATER

SAM: Una—

UNA: I know you're angry but please—I don't want to fight. I'm sorry.

Sam's hard expression softens. But only for a moment. A look of pissed-off incredulousness washes over her and she shakes her head.

SAM: I can't believe we went through all that and our tickets were fake.

UNA: I said I'm sorry!

SAM: Why didn't you tell me? I thought the tickets were legit!

UNA: Because I didn't want you to get mad!

Sam glares at her.

UNA: Sam, you haven't talked to me in months and all of a sudden we're hanging out again like nothing went wrong. I've missed you and I didn't want to risk losing you all over again.

Sam scoffs.

SAM: So you lie to me?

UNA: It wasn't a lie! I just—I didn't want to disappoint you and lose my chance of being your friend again.

At this point, Una is crying.

UNA: I just—I don't know what went wrong, Sam. We were best friends. Then—then you just... I don't even know what I did wrong!

Sam clenches her jaw.

SAM: You're even more oblivious than I thought.

UNA: What is that supposed to mean?

SAM: It means what you think it means, Una! You're so wrapped up in yourself you don't even notice the people around you!

Una steps back as if she'd just been slapped.

SAM: Do you know how tiring it is to be known as your best friend? I was always your plus one. I was never just Sam. I was Una's best friend. I was always under your shadow.

The tears are steadily falling down Una's cheeks as she listens to Sam speak.

SAM (cont'd): The people online—even on our blog... It was about you. It was always about you.

Sam's lip quivers. A lone tear rolls down her cheeks.

SAM (cont'd): Is it really so bad that I... wanted to be my own person?

UNA: I never saw it that way... We were always partners-in-crime. Sam and Una.

Sam sniffs and swipes at her nose with the back of her hand.

UNA (cont'd): You could have told me you felt that way.

SAM: I didn't know how.

Una groans then pulls Sam into a hug.

UNA: I hate you. You're so stupid.

They both chuckle between sobs, hugging each other.

SAM: I'm also crying because we're missing the concert.

UNA: Oh, you thought I was crying over you?

Sam shoves her and laughs. Then, with sad smiles, the girls pull each other into a tight hug.

UNA: I'm so sorry for making you feel that way.

SAM: I'm sorry I wasn't honest. I shouldn't have pushed you away.

They squeeze each other tightly, then Una's phone beeps. Una pulls away and checks her phone.

UNA: Crap. It's my Aunt Hilda.

SAM: Are you gonna tell her?

Una bites her lip.

UNA: What she doesn't know won't kill her, right?

Sam furrows her brows.

SAM: I don't think that's how the saying goes.

Una lifts up a finger as she answers the call.

UNA: Aunt Hilda! Hi!

She starts to pace, filling Aunt Hilda in on the last few hours since their call, careful not to reveal the truth about the concert. When the call ends, Una returns to Sam and shoves her hands into her jacket's pockets.

UNA: So, what do you wanna do?

SAM: Well. It's the city, right? You feel like going on an adventure?

Una smiles.

UNA: With you? Always.

They walk, arms linked, out of the alley and into the daylight.

SAM: You should probably report that scammer, though.

UNA: Right.

* * *

Cat's out the bag. Now that we know why Sam was distant—what do we think? More than that, can you believe they were scammed? It's like Murphy's Law is testing how far it can go with these two girls.

As always, please vote if you enjoyed this chapter and comment to let me know what you think! <3