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"It's been a great night, Sam." He smiled. "Thank you for being here." He slipped a hand over her shoulders affectionatelly and the two of them wandered through the slot parlour trying out numerous different slot machines and chatting away their time together.

"So, Samantha, what's been happening these days?" Oliver asked suddenly when they stopped in between rows of slots. "You seem a bit, I don't know… frazzled. I know we're at a casino gambling, but that's not it. There's something else. Want to talk about it?"

- Say that it's nothing.
- Tell him not to worry.
- Tell him you don't want to talk about it.
- Say that you are dealing with some changes.
- Something else.
 
It was nice to see him smile. Ollie had basically become her best friend, her unrelated brother so making him happy warmed her heart. In a different way, of course, than how she reacted to Kate's. As they wandered down the slot machines with his arm around her, she managed to keep a smile of her own up. Amongst the chaos, she hadn't even gone back to the nervous habit of pulling her dress down.

The smile faded quickly upon Ollie's question. She still had so many questions and barely any more of an understanding than before. Could she keep up this lie? Would he believe her if she did? After a long moment's pause, she leaned over and held her friend in a tight embrace. "I don't know," she replied, feeling her voice tremble as she fought back tears, "I don't know what's wrong with me, Ollie. I'm scared..." It was all she could do not to break down in front of everyone let alone get the words out. "C-can we talk at home? It's hard t-to explain..."
 
Oliver squeezed her shoulder and leaned in. "Alright, Samantha. Sorry if I'm prying, but please tell me if there's anything I can do." He wrapped his arm around you and hugged her close. "I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

After a quick half hour of playing around with the slots, Samantha and Olivia made their way outside the gaming area.

"Maybe we should find others and grab something to eat," Oliver said. "And I wonder if Kate's alright."

--

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They did not manage to find Kate, but they did find a restaurant. A line lead out of the Big Dipper Buffet and wrapped around the outside fountain as Samantha, Oliver and his friends walked into the restaurant area. Apparently, Oliver forgot to make dinner reservations at at any other restaurant, and the hostess informs them that the buffet had a thirty-minute wait time.

- Stop time and bypass the line.
- Charm the hostess into letting you pass.
- Bribe your way to the front.
- Just stand there and wait.
 
Sam was grateful for his kind words, but they meant little for there wasn't much he could do to help. Perhaps listen to her insane story and not throw her in the loony bin, but that was about it. Still, she hugged him tight and managed a small thank you before trying to put herself back together. After all, this was his special day! She would be damned if this bullshit ability got in the way of him having a good time.

With some of his friends in tow, they walked off to find a restaurant. The one that they had come across, unfortunately, had a long wait time. She wasn't that hungry, to be honest, with everything going on and Kate missing but the others probably were. Stopping time was out of the question because that would draw attention to it, more than she would like. Instead, she offered a smile and turned to Ollie. "I can text you when a table opens up, why don't you guys go have fun in the meantime?"
 
"Nah, we are gonna wait with you." Oliver said, and he and his friends remained there.

Waiting in line should only take thirty minutes, and this gave Samantha time to talk to with them, joke around, and people-watch. Oliver complained about her grumbling stomach, though others kept him occupied with jokes and sarcastic observations about the other patrons of The Saturn.

Kate returned after a moment and quickly joined in the joking and chatting but seemed distracted by frequent text messages.

The wait time turned out to be forty minutes. Once inside, everyone enjoyed the lavish buffet spread. When the meal was done, only Samantha, Oliver and Kate were left, and talks about what to do next begin.

"Should we hit up a show?" Oliver asked. Throughout the hallway, billboards advertised tonight's shows all leading to a box office with a crowd of people waiting for theatre doors to open.

"It's almost time for the concert," Kate said with excitement and pointed to the sign for the young singer Hailey Silas.

"But, this is magic show." Oliver looked at Sam with anticipation.

- Go to the concert.
- Go to the magic show.
- Go home.
 
The wait took longer than expected, but in the end everything seemed to work out. Their group made small talk in the meantime to hide the rage of their stomachs and Kate even managed to return! Sam couldn’t help but notice how distracted she was, but it seemed best not to bring it up. Not yet, anyway. This was really their first day being friends. Or acquaintances. She wasn’t sure what their relationship would be called, if one at all.

Moving on-! Her mind abruptly thought as she caught notice of a burning in her cheeks. It was time to make a choice and not an easy one at that. Go with Oliver or Kate?

She flashed the blonde an apologetic smile after a moment of contemplation. “Im sorry, but I would rather go along with the birthday boy.” Despite her total lack of interest in magic. “Is Hailey playing any other concerts this week? Maybe I can take you to one sometime.”

Offering a date, perhaps? Or just another hang-out session? Sam averted her gaze, lowering her head so that raven locks could hide those awful reddened cheeks.
 
"I'll look it up." Kate smiled at Samantha, then hurried to the Neptune Theatre. It seemed that she was eager to see the show as well.

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Entering the small auditorium, two things were immediately noticeable: the multitude of props and decoration, and the lack of an audience. Samantha's group had the youngest people in the area by decades. A deep growling, electronic beat swelled through the theatre, and lights flickered onstage and cast down kaleidoscopic patterns. A sudden flash of fire and smoke burst in the middle of the light show, and a man appeared as if created by the brief explosion. Alexander le Cheyne wore a colourful robe and an elaborate hairstyle.

"Good evening and welcome to not just any show but a story of fantasy and illusion. Prepare your senses, and open your mind to the possibility that all is not what it seems."

Another flash of light and smoke hit the centre of the stage, and a woman stepped out, dressed in a red-and-gold sequined pantsuit with matching hat.

"Introducing Bridgette the Infinite!"

A dark backdrop lifted, revealing a fake pit of fire made of plastic and neon lights. Alexander waved his hands over the pit, causing it to hiss and crackle. The flames roared, and the plastic seemed to disappear, leaving a real fire in its wake. Bridgette brought a marshmallow on a stick to it, which roasted for a moment then burst apart. A dove floated out of the sticky remains.

Applause rose from the thin audience, and as the show commenced, Samantha could see that it had quality at least for the first fifteen minutes.

As the show continued, Alexander attempted the classic "saw a person in half" routine with a twist - sawing Bridgette and a member of the audience. Alexander laid the two in a wide coffin and set to saw it through the middle. Unfortunately for Alexander, he missed a step during the act and revealed a hidden compartment in the coffin, which sent murmurs of chuckling through the onlookers.

At the intermission, Samantha's group went to the bar to grab a drink, before the show started. As they sipped their drinks, Oliver suddenly leaned into her and kissed her cheek - the faint smell of alcohol carried on his breath. "This is so much fun," he said. "It's magic." He spilled a bit of clear liquid from his plastic cup onto the dark carpet.

Kate bumped into Samantha, her head down and staring at the bright screen of her phone. When she saw her, she dimmed the phone, slipped it in her pocket, and mouthed, "sorry."

After intermission, when the show was ready to start again Samantha decided to...

- Watch the show and hope it gets better.
- Help out Alexander.
- Help out Bridgette to steal the show.
- Disrupt the show.
- Steal the spotlight away from the magician.
 
It seemed as if Sam was the only one truly hesitant to attend, but she refused to say a word. All that mattered was that the birthday boy was happy. Although it was a bonus to see Kate eager for it as well. Sam had been initially afraid to deny the show in place of what the birthday boy desired, but it all turned out okay in the end.

Hopefully she wouldn't fall asleep during the show.

Upon entering the auditorium, the photographer felt immediately out of place. The age difference between them and the rest of the audience was rather startling. It wasn't the best start to their evening, but she sat down in silence. Much to her surprise, there was a hint of quality to the show - even if it was just at the beginning. The rest was rather funny, if not a bit sad for each mistake wasn't intentional.

Intermission! Sam couldn't wait to escape the theater and get a good stretch in before having to return to those uncomfortable chairs. She ordered a soda despite the initial idea of alcohol adding a bit more enjoyment to the show-

-wait, wat. Sam's cheeks burned in an instant, her gaze quickly turning to see-oh. It was just Oliver. She had initially thought that Kate might have been a bit too drunk. She leaned over and pecked his forehead, smiling softly. "Happy birthday, Ollie." Speaking of Kate, the two seemed to find contact in another way. That damned phone came into play once more, but Sam tried to act like it was no big deal.

Should this continue into something, that would definitely be mentioned. In the meantime, it was time to head back in where Sam hoped once more that she wouldn't accidentally fall asleep.
 
What's left of the performance turned out to be a debacle of missteps. The magician forgot steps in tricks, stepped over Bridgette during coordinated parts, and lacked any ability to hold the audience's attention. He seemed to lack any gusto or even interest in the show, and his confidence had all but disintegrated. The only saving grace turned out to be the comedic nature of his failures - after each fumbled magic trick, laughter rippled through the audience. Bridgette was the real star, as her moves were crisp and well timed, and she picked up as much of the slack as possible. Still, the show was a fiasco, and the casino would probably not allow it to exist for much longer.

--

As the night came to an end, they all stood outside The Saturn.

"I have to be a party-pooper," Kate said. "I need to get home and take care of a few things. But I really enjoyed meeting everyone and hanging out." She stepped to Oliver and hugged him. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Oliver. Happy birthday and be good tonight."

"Yeah, that ain't happening," Oliver said with a quick chuckle.

"See you on Monday, Samantha, and thanks for inviting me." Kate turned to Sam.

- Hug her.
- Shake her hand.
- Kiss her on the cheek.
 
The show was as Sam had expected it to be, but it wasn’t a total loss. Everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves so she felt the night went well overall. Although, she did feel bad for the magician’s assistant - the show was bad enough that they might lose the casino as a venue.

—
At the end of the show, it seemed as though Kate had to go off for the evening. While she wasn’t too happy about it, Sam smiled and offered a hug to Kate. “Thanks for coming tonight. I hope you had fun and I’ll see you on Monday.”
 
Samantha's alarm blared at 6:30am. She forgot to turn it off alarm last night, ensuring she won't be sleeping in Saturday morning.

After she took a shower and got dressed, she stepped into the living room to find Oliver and Lobo waiting for her on the couch.

"Samantha, can I talk to you? It's important," Oliver says in a reserved tone. He sat at the end of the couch. "Look, I think something strange is going on with you." He looked very worried. "You were sleepwalking last night. You made weird noises and woke me and Lobo up. We came to check on you, and you stood near your bedroom, disappeared, and reappeared in the kitchen. I can't believe what I saw, Samantha. You vanished."

He took a deep breath, then continued. "I tried to wake you up, and… you freakin' disappeared again. Telepathed or teleported or whatever it's called. After you disappeared, we looked all over, for maybe fifteen minutes. You weren't anywhere in the apartment. Then I heard noise in your room and found you back in bed," He stood up and paced in front of the couch. "I'm too young to have high blood pressure. I couldn't even sleep. And we all know I'm irritable when I don't sleep. I'm terrible to be around... Well say something," He shouted, though he looked more nervous than angry.

- Tell the truth.
- Apologise, but don't say anything.
- Try to reassure him.
- Tell him he could have dreamt it all.
- Tell him he was drunk.
- Tell him you don't know what's wrong.
 
Fuuuuuck.

The alarm screamed on her bedside table, forcing her to fumble out of bed. She felt exhausted and was halfway thinking that she could snooze it. However, Sam wanted to take the day and work on her portfolio so she shot the clock a glare. “You win this time, asshole.”

Showered and ready to make some breakfast for her journey, she made her way into the-

-Sam blinked, staring in confusion at Oliver and Lobo who sat in her living room. Before a word could escape her lips, her best friend started to explain his reasonings. What he spoke of caused her to grow rigid and cold. S-She had sleptwalk? Teleported? What? Why? Cause of her newfound abilities? Why now?

She collapsed into the couch beside her companion, unable to take a deep breath as a panicked gaze turned toward him. “I...I don’t know...I don’t u-understand what’s happening to me. One minute, I’m almost r-roadkill on the street and the n-next-“ she took a moment to try and catch her breath. The poor thing was talking way too fast for anyone to understand. “I...I don’t know w-why, but I can stop time. I have no control over it or h-how long it lasts or w-why it’s happening to me...”

Tears began to pour down her pale cheeks, staring at Oliver in terror. Was he believing her? Or scared of her? How was he reacting to all of this? God, she hoped telling him wasn’t a mistake.
 
Nothing happened: no words, no motions, no reactions. Her roommate was so still and silent that for a moment it looked like she had stopped time again.

After another moment Lobo started barking, snapping Oliver out of his thoughts.

"You can stop time? Is that a metaphor for something?" Oliver asks. "Some slang phrase I've never heard of?"

She will have to demonstrate it in order to make him believe.

- Keep it simple and perform a disappearing act.
- Do something flashy and dangerous.
- Have a bit of fun and prank him.
 
The silence was alarming, to the point where she began to tremble. Had she done it again without realizing it? To her best friend who was trying to understand what was happening? Was it her emotions that messed with-

-Lobo’s bark brought them both out of it and nearly sent Sam off of the couch. She stared at the beast, alarmed for a brief moment before relief washed over her. Okay. He wasn’t stuck. He was in the same state of fear that she was. Good to know.

However, now he wished to have a demonstration in order to believe her. She didn’t want to scare him or anything so she tried to freeze time and move into another room. Nice and easy.
 
"What the…? Where?" Oliver said when she restarted the time, spinning his head to scan the room.

When Samantha walked out of the bedroom, back to the living room she found Oliver staring at her with mouth gaping open. Lobo bolted back into his room.

"You were there, then there, and now you're there. And look at the clock." He mumbled. The time did not change. "You're telling the truth. You can stop time."

The next fifteen minutes in the living room of their apartment turned into a fast-paced question-and-answer session on the nature and extent of Samantha's new ability.

- Tell Oliver the basics.
- Tell him every detail.
- Make something up.
 
The idea of her showing him what she meant went exactly as expected. However, as she collapsed back into the couch, she felt slammed with a familiar realization. Most of his questions, she didn’t have answers to. A lot of it were ones that she had thought of, multiple times, and couldn’t conjure up an absolute response.

There were a few that she could manage, so Sam let out a deep exhale to keep herself level-headed. “Most of those questions, I don’t know the answers to though I wish I did. What I can tell you is that I can stop time and restart it somewhat at will. It triggers itself on its own at times, particularly in moments of crisis. If I don’t use it, I...” she trailed off, finding this one to be a difficult explanation, “just don’t feel right. Anxious, I guess? Antsy? What you saw in the stairwell and the sleepwalking, I have no idea.”

In other words, the basics to her best ability.
 
"What are you going to do with these powers, Samantha?" Oliver asked, "You can do anything. Think about it - you can stop time. Sky's the limit. You can be a baseball player. Pitcher throws a fastball, you stop time, smash it, and bam! Out of the park. Or you can become an international spy and sneak into anywhere and steal secrets to sell to the highest bidder. Or you can just rig a lottery and make millions."

He perked up, looking at her expectantly.

- You want to fight crime.
- You want to become rich and famous.
- You just want to do your job the best you can.
- You want to learn more about your ability.
- You don't want powers.
- You don't know what to do.
 
What followed his line of erratic questioning was something that Sam had yet to really give much thought. She paused for a moment, taking in her current feelings on the situation and whether or not she even wants the powers that she was given. She had done quite a bit of good since receiving it, not to mention it saved her life. But did she truly want to use it and become a classic comic book hero?

Sam shook her head, releasing a deep exhale. "I just want to do well at this job and advance in my photography. These powers are nice, but benefit only when someone is in trouble. I don't want fame or anything like that - not for anything beyond my natural-born abilities."
 
"Boooorrrr-ing. Why even go to work? You can stop time. You have the powers of a god, but you want to go punch a clock. Wasteful. You're wasting your talents. I'm ashamed of you, Samantha." Oliver wagged his finger at her, but then he chuckled.

There was a ring at the door and the mailman delivered the bills and letters. Oliver stood up to pick them up and returned to the living room. Arranging the letters on the kitchen table, he asked,

"So, what's up with Kate from your office? She's pretty cute. What's her story?"

On the table now sat a pile of mail, and Samantha couldn't help but spot the top envelope with its bold, scripted return address: St. Ignatius Medical Enter, Department of Nephrology. The letter is addressed to Mr. Oliver Navarro.

- Stop time and take a peek.
- Ask Oliver about it.
- Wait for him to go to work and read it.
- Ignore it.
 
Sam rolled her eyes, leaning back in the couch as she felt herself practically melt into it. His reaction beyond the initial was putting her own mind at ease. Sure, she could do all of things and be really badass but it wasn’t what she wanted with her life. If a few people can be helped, awesome, but she would prefer it remain anonymous aid.

She took a nip toward his finger, offering a smirk to coordinate with his own before watching him walk off. The topic quickly changed from work(sorta?) to pleasure as the topic of Kate came up. “Uh, her? N-nothing. We just met. I’ve only known her a small amount of time s-so we are just friends. Ya know? Or a-acquaintances. Or coworkers. Yeah, just coworkers.”

Her gaze caught a glimpse at a piece of mail holding quite a bit of concern. She furrowed her brow, lifting her eyes to meet his. “What’s that all about?” Her tone was more one of concern than accusation. She was truly worried about her friend.
 
Oliver turned toward the spread out mail and shrugged, as if in nonchalance. Then he snatched up the letter, folded it, and slipped it in the back pocket of his jeans. "Yep, everything is fine. Just a few standard tests. I have to head out. The dishes in the sink are yours."

Olivia said before heading past Samantha toward the front door, on his way to work.

- He's like a brother to you.
- He's a close friend.
- He's an acquaintance.
- He's just a roommate.
- You like him romantically.
 
Sam frowned, uncertain if she should make further comments or allow the subject to be dropped. While there wasn't ever a spark of romance between the two, she had come to see him as a brother so the idea of there being something wrong with him was rather frightening. Especially considering the source of the letter itself. Her immediate thought was cancer, but she tried to fight back reckless allegations that didn't hold any grounds. Besides, even if she did try and ask again - he might just blow it off as he did before.

Every part of her wanted to move, block his entrance and demand an explanation. But could she really do that if she said that she cared for him like a sibling? Didn't that mean, to some extent, she should trust him and his decisions?
 
It was still Saturday morning, and Samantha had no plans for the day. Oh, and she could stop time.

She could do some good with her ability and help those in need around the city. Of course, she could have some fun, see the sites of the city, or even stop at some stores and pick up a few things. With the ability to freeze time, she could have anything she wanted. Who could stop her?

She didn't have to use her ability, though. She could head into the office for the day and get some work done. Her mother has been leaving her messages too. Maybe she should give her a call.

- Do something good with your ability.
- Profit from your ability.
- Learn about your ability by testing it.
- Have some fun with your ability.
- Call your mother.
- Go to work.
 
There was little she could do with Oliver beyond question him while under the influence so for now, she let it slide. However, the question soon became what to do with the remainder of her Saturday.

Her initial thought was to go out and work on her portfolio. The second was to work on learning more about her abilities, but she quickly tossed that one aside. She needed to work on improving her career, not her superpowers. However, as she went to pack - her phone lit up with a reminder. Mom has been trying to get in touch with me quite a bit. Maybe I should give her a call?

With a small sigh, she set her camera down on the couch and dialed her mom’s number.
 
Samantha hadn't spoken with her mother in quite a while, so this spontaneous call should come as a surprise.

"Samantha, well hello my long-lost child," she said. Her voice had a tone like she was speaking to a baby, or even a puppy, but abruptly changed to that of an old gangster. "Say, how come you never call? What am I, chopped liver?"

Her mother, ever the comedienne.

"I'm just kiddin' around, kiddo. So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

- Tell her about your powers.
- Tell her about your new job.
- Talk about your dad.
 
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