Disclaimer- Danny Phantom is owned by Butch Hartman/ Nickelodeon Studios, and the song Forever 17 is owned by Birdwing music and Zoegirl, which is a religious group, so if you're offended by that sort of thing, be fore-warned that the song mentions God a couple of times.
"This is Harriet Chin, reporting live from the latest ghost attack in Amity Park. Earlier tonight, a mysterious ghost chased local hero Danny Phantom into the Amity Park mall. During the battle, one of the stores collapsed, but the city's new ghost department is already digging through the rubble to look for Survivors."
Jack and Maddie Fenton sat at their kitchen table, watching the news with their 19 year old daughter Jazz.
The door opened and closed, and Maddie looked up to see their son, Danny, who had just celebrated his seventeenth birthday, walk into the kitchen.
"What are you watching?" he asked, sitting down next to his dad.
"There was a ghost attack at the mall today," said his mom, her eyes still glued to the screen.
"This just in," said the exited newswoman, "A young woman about sixteen or seventeen years old has been found…" she paused as a picture flashed up of…
"Oh my god… Sam…" Maddie said horrorstruck.
Danny gasped and ran from the room, barely waiting until he was out of his parent's vision to change into his ghost form. Turning invisible and intangible, he flew out of his house, and going faster than he ever had before, towards Amity Park mall.
He got there in less than a second, changing back to his human form behind a bush, and running out to where two ghost workers (A new branch of the government the mayor had founded a few months back thanks to all the ghost attacks) where putting Sam onto a stretcher, carrying her out to a waiting ambulance.
One of the men looked up as Danny ran up beside them. "I'm going to have to ask you to move along," he said.
Danny never took his eyes off Sam, "Please, can I come with? She's my best friend…" The man's face softened.
"If you can tell me how to contact her family you can ride to the hospital with her."
Danny gave him the Manson's and phone number as the other two men hoisted Sam's limp body into the back. Danny climbed in after her, with the man who had asked for Sam's information after him.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The next day passed in a blur for Danny, who barely registered when they reached the hospital, or the hours he sat waiting for Sam to wake up. He noticed neither Mrs. Manson screeching at the doctors to let her see her baby or Mr. Manson's demands and attempts at bribery. He didn't see his parents and Jazz come in and sit by him, or hear Jazz tell him that Tucker was out of town with his parents at a wedding. In the weeks and months to follow, he would never remember, his mom insisting he come home with him, or how he only shook his head.
The only thing that seemed real to him through this entire affair was one fact.
Sam was dying. His best friend, the one he'd…
Loved since they were 14, was dying.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
At 3:00 the next morning, one of the nurses walked over to him. It had gotten a lot quieter as the night went on, and she whispered so she wouldn't disturb any of the few other people still left there.
"Are you Danny Fenton?" she asked. He nodded, looking up at her with tired, blood-shot eyes.
"Yes," he said, "And I'm not leaving until Sam wakes up, if that's what you were going to suggest."
The nurse shook her head. "I just wanted to tell you that Samantha's"-
"Sam" he insisted.
The nurse nodded, "Sam's condition is stable, though she's still unconscious, so if you'd like to see her, you can."
He stood up so fast their heads almost cracked. "Can I go now?"
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
It was one of the worst things he had ever seen. Sam was surrounded by so many beeping machines and liquid filled tubes he could barely see her face. He held her hand, heavily bandaged and stained with blood, looking at her, filling his mind, in case it was the last time he would see her.
"But it won't be the last," he murmured, "You're going to live."
Sam's eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes, staring up at Danny.
Never thought it would be me,
Living in a shattered dream,
Could this be the end for me?
What I wouldn't give to have
A life to live, a day to plan
Instead I'll be forever seventeen.
Coulda lived out every dream,
Coulda been most anything.
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Sam asked, before Danny could say anything.
"You're not," he insisted, "The doctors say"-
Sam shook her head, saying, "No, I'm going to die. I can feel it."
"Don't say that," Danny told her, holding her hand tighter, "Don't ever say that."
Can someone wake me up?
I haven't lived yet,
I'm only seventeen.
God did you forget?
I'm just a baby,
And I don't wanna be,
Forever seventeen.
"Danny, I'm going to die soon," Sam said softly, after a few minutes of silence.
Danny shook his head, "Sam, you're going to be alright, you're going to live"-
Sam interrupted him. "Just listen, All right? I want you to tell some people some things, in case I don't see them again."
Danny's voice shook, despite how hard he tried to hold it steady. "What do you want me to say?"
I'll never have a bed to make,
A test to take, a summer day,
I'll always be forever seventeen.
Could have had a family,
If things had worked out differently,
Instead I'll be forever seventeen.
Could I have had just one more day?
A chance to learn from my mistakes.
"Tell my parents that they're not that bad for a couple of morning people… Tell my grandma she's the best eighty year old bowler I've ever seen." She paused to take a shaky breath.
When she spoke again, her voice was weaker, "And Danny?" she said.
"Yes?"
"I wanted to say…"
Can someone wake me up?
I haven't lived yet,
I'm only seventeen.
God did you forget?
I'm just a baby,
And I don't wanna be,
Forever seventeen.
"I love you…" Her eyes closed, and she slipped into unconsciousness again.
In a matter of a moment,
Life fell before my eyes,
And now I'm looking at the meaning of
The miracle of life
Where are we going without even knowing
The answer deep inside.
Forever seventeen
"I love you too, Sam," he whispered back.
So don't give up
You haven't lived yet
You're only seventeen
And God did not forget
You're just a baby…
"And I won't let you die."