Mark and Sam had grown up as brother and sister, neither one being able to remember the times before their parents had married. Mark was 2 when his mother Barb married Samantha's dad, Ted, while she was almost 1 Β½ years old at the time. Their parents had actually been introduced to each other by their own siblings; Barb's brother Ed was dating Ted's younger sister, Jayme, and they actually got married before Barb and Ted.
Mark and Sam's birthdays meant that they were a year apart in school, and he was now a sophomore in the local college, and Sam, as he had always called her, was in her freshman year at the age of 19.
The two of them didn't share any classes, and rarely saw each other at school, but had always been closer than most of their friends were with their siblings. Mark was athletic, and had numerous friends, but Samantha had always been the quiet type and more studious than he, but she was making more of an attempt to change the way she was around people and trying to make more friends now that she was in college.
Samantha was in the student union with a few girls out of one of her classes, and they were talking about the party that was happening Friday night at one of the frat houses. This wasn't the type of the thing that she had gone to previously, but she thought it might help in her effort to change her ways. Her friend Deborah said that she would take her if she wanted to go, and introduce her to a few of the guys she knew in the frat, and some others that were sure to be there. Sam thought that was a great idea, and welcomed having someone she knew to introduce her around, and help her overcome her shyness. Deborah said she would pick her up at 8:30 and they could go together.
Friday came, and Samantha was getting ready for the party. She had mentioned at supper with her family that she was going to the party that evening with a couple of friends, and everyone thought that was a great idea. Her parents said they would be leaving after supper to go play cards at their Aunt Jayme's house. Mark knew the party was the type of thing that Sam wasn't super comfortable with, and knocked on her door while she was getting ready. She told him to come in, and he opened the door and entered.
"Wow, you really look great in that dress," he said. It was nothing fancy, but a simple, short dress like a sun-dress, but with a little more to it. The colors went so well with her hair and eyes, and he told her how great she looked. "Where is the party at," he asked? Having been around the campus a year longer than her, he knew a little more about some of the goings on at a few of the frat houses, and wanted to make sure that she would be ok. He only had the one sister, and he took the job of being a big brother seriously, and did his best to look out for her.
"Deb's taking me to a party at the Omega house," she said. "She knows some of the guys there, and thought she could help introduce me around."
Mark had heard a little about some of the guys from that fraternity, and wasn't sure if this was really the best place for his sister to start becoming more open, but he also didn't want to discourage her in her efforts to change herself. He decided that maybe be would just stop by at some point to keep an eye on her, and make sure she was not getting in over her head.
"You should have a good time there," he told her. "Just don't drink too much, you know you've not had a lot of experience with alcohol, and you don't want to get sick."
Sam replied to him, "Deb said that she'd keep an eye on me, and I know you're right about being a light-weight, I thought I would just nurse a drink or two while I was trying to talk to people."
"That sounds great," Mark said. "No sense in making a fool of yourself the first time; you never know what's going to happen at these things."
Mark left her room, but still thought to himself that it wouldn't hurt to check in on her a little later; he knew when they were planning on leaving for the party, and thought if he checked in 45-60 minutes later, she couldn't have gotten in too much trouble.
Samantha finished getting ready, and shortly after, heard a car horn outside. She ran out and got in Deb's car, and Jessica was already sitting in the front seat. Samantha knew her, but they weren't close friends. They all talked excitedly as they headed towards the campus, and the Omega frat house where the party was. Deborah and Jessica were talking about a certain couple of young men they were hoping to meet up with at the party, and it left Sam wondering how the night would go.
The girls arrived at the frat house, and made their way to the door. There were people going in and out, and people drinking on the front porch. Samantha kept to herself at first as Jessica and Deborah took her inside. They all headed to the back where the drinks were, but had a hard time talking over the loud music. They each were given a red cup full of beer, and started walking back towards the front of the house. Deb pointed out a few of the guys to Sam, and told how she knew them. She saw some of her male friends near the stairs, and led the other girls over that way.
"Hey, Mike, Jeff, this is Jessica and Samantha, or Sam. They wanted to join me at the party tonight." The two guys said hello, and started chatting with all of the girls. Just about that time, Deborah squealed, and went running towards the other side of the room, and threw her arms around a guy that she apparently knew. The other girls could see her excitement, and saw Deb motion them over. Jessica went, but due to her shyness, Sam just kind of stayed where she was, as the other 2 girls started talking to the new guy and his friend.
Mike and Jeff kept trying to draw a little more out of Samantha, and between their questions, and the alcohol that she wasn't used to, her tongue did start to loosen up slowly, and she seemed to relax a bit. The 2 guys had been to many of these parties, and were actually roommates in the house. Unfortunately, they weren't the most savory of characters. They had been known to use some "extra" help in the drinks of some girls previously, to guarantee success at getting them upstairs to their room.
While Samantha was talking to the 2 guys, she hadn't noticed that Mark had entered the frat house. He had quietly come in and gone back to get himself a beer, then had moved towards the far side of the room to keep an eye on Sam, while talking to a couple of people that he knew. He was enjoying himself talking to his friends, and started paying a little less attention to his sister than he was at first.
Mike and Jeff had a few moves that they had used in the past to distract some of the girls at the party, and Mike grabbed Samantha at one point when a new song came on, and spun her halfway, saying, "I love to dance to this song, don't you?" While Mike had her body half turned, with his body between her cup and her, Jeff took something out of his pocket and added it to her drink.