I don't want a whole lotta might-have-beens

Perhaps Sam would have been more receptive to the idea that his friends had a good idea, had he been approached in a calmer fashion. But in his state, upset and with his chest feeling as if his lungs had been churned up...all he could see was a mob ready to attack him for something he hardly even knew about. He held the door still for a moment, though it still shook from his anxious hands at the sound of Remi's roaring voice. He was angry, disgusted with Remi, but he was still himself. Still shy, still unsuited for true confrontation. After a moment he sighed, and said through the door, the gap so small now Remi would not be able to see him. "If you calm down, and stop being so angry, so...treating me like I'm guilty already..I know this must be hard, but Remi, you're scaring me. And I did not do anything. If you're willing to talk to me like you actually believe I could be innocent, I am more than willing. But this? I..." He frowned. "I've learnt I'm worth something, and that means I don't have to put up with people treating me like shit for no reason." The words felt so good to say that he shed a tear with them, a little bump of happiness rising up in the midst of everything else. SAMUEL How could a night so frozen Be so scalding hot? How can a morning this mild Be so raw?