A/N: Alright, something I've wanted to write since I first heard this song. Pre-PP.
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Things had changed over the years, but one thing had not.
"Aw, man! Danny, get Sam to quit it!"
"Oh, be a man, Tucker!"
"C'mon, Dan, help me out, here!"
"I'm not an idiot, Tuck," an exasperated teen stated. "I've known Sam longer than you. I know exactly how fast she can kill me."
"Yep," the only girl said happily.
"I also know how long and painfully she can draw it out."
"Very true."
"Danny, make her stop!"
Danny Fenton sighed. "Dude, I am not getting involved. I mean, need I remind you of Doomed? And Chaos?"
"Gah! I told you not to say the 'C' word!"
"Face it, Tuck. You'll never beat Sam in a video game. Especially since she gets most of them a year before anyone even knows about them!"
Danny, Sam, and Tuck were still best friends. Better, now that they'd survived three years of juggling ghost fighting and school.
The three had grown, though. Tuck outgrew his old clunky glasses, instead wearing contacts. He'd even moved on from the beret to a backwards baseball cap. But he still looked like a traffic light, though a bit duller than years previously.
Sam Manson, though still goth, had mellowed out some. Not much, but some. Over the years, she had filled out more as she became slightly more lenient with her diet. She began to wear corsets under black fishnet shirts and black bellbottoms. The first day of senior year found Sam beating away all the guys who used to follow around Paulina.
Yeah, you read that right. Used to.
Danny, however, had changed the most. He had realized, over time, how no one had figured out his—rather obvious—secret, so he decided the more obvious, the less likely people were to figure it out. After all, it worked for Superman. He had, with Sam's help, streaked and tipped his hair white and gotten tinted contacts, making his eyes a strange mix of blue and green. He'd even begun wearing clothes that were black and white, though still leaning slightly more towards the latter. He exchanged his shirt-and-jeans combo for a white off-the-shoulders ribbed shirt over a fishnet-sleeved black tank top and white baggy jeans three sizes too big with black patch pockets, bondage straps, zippers, chains, and spiked belts. He even started wearing white combat boots with black, steel soles. Sam had even completed the outfit by sewing—yes, Sam sewing—a black version of his DP insignia onto the front of his shirt.
So far, it had worked.
School had changed a lot, too. Between Sam's stalkers and Danny's bullies, the three never got a moment alone.
And the worst was gym, where all of both could strike, where Dash decided to bother both of them.
Of course, they just had to be playing dodgeball that day. Danny had always been the best at dodgeball, so when the jocks heard that they could choose their own teams, it was immediately decided that it would be all of them against Danny and the worst athletes in school.
It really wasn't much of a surprise when it was down to just Danny versus the jocks. All his other teammates were already out, but none of the jocks were.
And all the balls were on the jock side of midcourt.
Danny gulped and tensed as the jocks moved forward threateningly, tossing balls from hand to hand. Once they got to the midway line, balls began flying and Danny began dodging. He got lucky, twisting around each barrage until the jocks ran out of ammunition.
Danny sighed, grinned. Now he had the advantage. He grabbed a few balls, stepped forward, threw.
All three jocks were out.
This made the rest mad, and, as Danny moved back to gather more ammo, three each grabbed one of the balls Danny had just used and pegged them at him.
Danny dodged two, caught one, causing the jock who threw it to angrily stomp off the court. Danny chucked it back, catching another jock. As he moved back, he kicked some of the balls around, accidentally moving them back over the line, where several jocks picked them up.
He blinked. "Oh, damn…."
The jocks all aimed and fired at the same time. Unless he went intangible—which was not going to happen—he was going to get hit by all of them.
And he was.
It didn't take long for the gym teacher to call the game. Immediately, Sam and Tuck ran over to Danny to help him up.
He chuckled when they gasped at the bruise rapidly appearing on his side. "Heh, I fight ghosts for a living and get beat down by a few rubber balls."
"Shut up, Danny." The two rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, shut up, Fendork."
Danny sighed. "Whaddaya want, Dash?"
"What else? I want the chick."
Time froze. Tuck and Danny exchanged a look that said, 'Oh god, here we go.'
"Excuse me?" Sam screeched.
"What?"
"What did you call me?"
"Who friggin' cares what I called you?"
"I do!"
"So?"
"So, if you wanna date me so bad, you'll have to prove how much you want it."
"What?"
"You heard me. I need to know exactly how serious you are about dating me."
"Why?"
"What, is the big, bad football star too chicken to prove it, to push himself?" Sam scoffed. "Cmon, Dash, if you wanna date me, then prove you aren't a coward."
|34(||=|_!9
Don't give me your tired act, after you been running 'round
The time you spend with me, you shouldn't be coming down.
Don't give me no attitude, saying what you will and will not do
Baby we need compromise, if we're gonna make it through.
Push yourself a little more boy
For me you gotta try a little harder
All I do is for the love of you
Show me you're always gonna be there
No matter what you're always gonna be there
Here's what you gotta do...
|34(||=|_!9
"Dash Baxter is not a coward."
"Then maybe he's a chicken."
"No, I'm not!"
"Really? 'Cause I'm seein' a lot of feathers from where I'm standin'!"
"I'm not a chicken!"
"Prove it."
"I don't needa prove anything to you."
Sam flapped her arms, made chicken noises. Dash turned red.
"Fine! Alright, Manson, how do I prove it?"
Sam thought for a moment, something that put worried looks on Tucker and Danny's faces. Sam thinking only ever meant one thing: fast approaching doom. "I wanna see you backflip," she finally said.
Dash laughed. "What?"
"You heard me. Backflip."
"No!"
"Oh? Why not?"
"I'm not some stupid cheerleader. I ain't doin' no stinkin' backflip!"
"Alright, then you obviously don't want to date me."
"What?"
"I told you my standard. In order to date me, a guy has to prove he wants to. That means doing what I ask, when I ask it, no matter what."
"But—"
"No matter what, Dash. Do you understand that, or are you failing in English as badly as you're failing your love-life right now?"
A chorus of "oh!"s broke out at Sam's words.
Dash blushed angrily. "Fine!" he said. "I'll do the stupid backflip!" He bent backwards, turned sideways, stood again. "There! Happy now?"
"No."
"What!"
"I wanna see a real backflip, Dash. If you can't do that, then quit bothering me." She raised her voice, talking to the general public now. "This goes for anyone else who wants to date me, too! If you're really serious about it, then you'll have to prove it! That means, you do what I say, no questions asked, no matter how strange! If you can't do that, you aren't worth my time! And, if I hear anyone call me a 'chick' ever again, I will ensure they will never be able to pass on their genetics to the next generation!"
Danny, Tuck, and all the guys in the room winced, most from the idea, the former two from the fact that they knew Sam would go through with it. Sam simply grinned, grabbed her two friends, and left.
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I wanna see ya Backflip
Cartwheel
Don't be cutting corners on me
Gotta give me all that you've got
I need to see it to believe it
I wanna see ya Backflip
For real
Show me that you really
Do feel, everything you say that
You do
I need to see it to believe it.
|34(||=|_!9
Sam fled to her house as soon as school let out. Danny had seen her and Tucker conspiring in the only period that they didn't sit together, but neither would explain what they'd been talking about.
Tucker dismissed himself quickly as well, telling Danny to meet him outside the school before homeroom, so Danny found himself walking home alone.
He heard his sister before he saw her. "Danny! I need to talk to you!"
He sighed. "Alright, hang on."
As he walked inside, Jazz pounced. "I have some questions for you."
Rolling his eyes, Danny flopped down on the couch. "Fine. Shoot. But if it's about ghost stuff again—!"
"Oh, it's not." Jazz hurriedly set up a voice recorder. "Okay. Danny, what are your views on dating?"
"W—What?"
"It's a project for school." Jazz had decided to save money by doing her first two years of college at Amity University. "I'm seeing what kinds of various ideas people have on dating. So, your views, please?"
"Uh, well, I guess I want to date someone I'm comfortable with and who's comfortable with me. Someone I can rely on and who can trust me to be reliable as well."
"What's the most important thing in a relationship?"
"Honesty and trust."
"Hmmm…. Why?"
He blushed. "Well, I mean, you have to be able to trust the other person to be faithful to you. You have to be honest with each other. Trust is a…a two-way street."
"So, faithfulness is very important to you?"
"Well, yeah. Without it, it'll be just like any other skank-ship at our school."
Jazz chuckled a little. "Skank-ship?"
"Yep. Relationship between two or more skanks."
"I see. Okay, thanks, Danny." She left.
He blinked after her. "Uh, no problem…?"
After a night's sleep—not good due to the ghost interruptions—Danny left the house for school and his meeting with Tuck. He was soon waiting, watching the techgeek frantically run to catch him.
"Whadidja wanna talk about?" Danny asked.
"I signed you up for something."
Danny blinked. "…What?"
"I signed you up for a contest."
Angry, Danny grabbed Tuck by the collar. "What contest?" he growled.
Tuck weakly pointed to a sign on the school's door.
WIN MANSON'S HEART! COMPETITION TODAY!
"This is what you two were conspiring yesterday? This is crazy! This is…is—"
"What you've been waiting for!"
Danny's eyebrow quirked up. "How ya figure that?"
"Well, you're never gonna work up the balls to ask her yourself."
"So? What makes you think I'll be able to compete?"
" 'Cause everyone has to wear a disguise to compete! My idea, by the way, you can thank me later. Plus, all that stuff Sam's asking for is stuff you can do!"
"But—"
"C'mon, you need a disguise, then to get in line."
"But—!"
In no time, Tuck had given Danny a mask, wig, and face paint to make him look paler. Then, he pushed Danny to the back of the line of guys, jabbing a pin stating '1313' on the front of his 'disguise' shirt—part of the outfit Tuck forced him to wear, a black-and-red version of what he normally wore, minus the insignia. "Dammit, Tuck, how long's this gonna take?"
But Tuck had already left for the stage Sam was sitting at.
|34(||=|_!9
Don't bring me no baggage cause, I've got plenty of my own
Bring me all your good stuff, baby leave the rest at home
You've got your own philosophy, wanna hear all that you believe
But if it ain't about being faithful
Then it ain't impressing me
Push yourself a little more boy
For me you gotta try a little harder
All I do is for the love of you
Show me you're always gonna be there
No matter what you're always gonna be there
Here's what you gotta do...
|34(||=|_!9
"It's about time, Tuck," Sam complained as he sat down with a sigh.
"Sorry, we had a contestant that didn't know what he was supposed to do."
"Joy. So, where's Danny?"
"In the audience."
"What?" she gasped. "Why?"
"So he can leave without being seen. Ya know, in case of any ghost attacks."
"Really. So where is he?"
"Um…." Tuck looked around some. "Ah! Over there. Jazz is with him." He pointed at the bleachers.
Sam squinted in that direction. "Wait. Isn't that the Tuckbot dressed up as—?"
"Uh, I guess that means he's off doing his job!"
"…Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighed. "I just wish the guy I wanted to date was in this line…."
"Really? And who would that be?" Tuck wiggled his eyebrows, making Sam roll her eyes.
"No one, Tuck. Never mind."
"No, no! Tell me."
"Well… he's goofy, reliable, trustworthy, annoying at times… and he listens to me. No matter what."
"Awww, sounds like Sam's gone soft!"
"Shut it, Tuck!"
"Whaaat?"
"Tuck, I have not gone soft, I just want the right guy."
"Well, you'll find him," Tuck murmured.
"What was that?"
"Nothing! Oh, hey, look, here comes the first contestant!"
|34(||=|_!9
I wanna see ya Backflip
Cartwheel
Don't be cutting corners on me
Gotta give me all that you've got
I need to see it to believe it
I wanna see ya Backflip
for real
Show me that you really
Do feel, everything you say that
You do
I need to see it to believe it.
|34(||=|_!9
"Alright, let's do this then. You ready to prove it?"
The kid nodded.
"Okay. Walk this way."
The kid obeyed.
"Now run."
He blinked, stopped. "Huh?"
"Next!"
"Wha—?"
He was shoved aside by the next teen.
"Walk," Sam commanded. "Okay, run."
The teen did as told.
"Now jump."
He jumped, fell.
"Next!"
The contest continued in the same way for quite a while. Sam shouted commands, guys attempted to follow them, they failed, Sam ruthlessly demanded the next. Soon, there was a line of rejects off to one side, and they were down to just one more contestant.
Sam sighed at his outfit, thinking he'd attempted goth just because she was. But she had to admit, he made it work.
"You ready?"
"If you say I am."
Sam smirked. "Smart boy. Alright, walk."
The boy obeyed.
"Good. Run."
He zoomed ahead.
"Jump."
He jumped, landing in a crouch like a cat. He looked up at her, asking, "Am I s'posed to keep running, or…?"
"Nah. Cartwheel."
He took a short running start, then jumped into a cartwheel, landing on his feet. "Alright. What next?"
She grinned, feeling a bit more hopeful. "Okay, then. Show me a backflip."
|34(||=|_!9
I would walk (walk), run (run), jump (jump), cart (cart) wheel (wheel) back (back) flip (flip)
Just to be with you
There's nothing I won't do
I wanna see ya Backflip
Cartwheel
Don't be cutting corners on me
Gotta give me all that you've got
I need to see it to believe it
|34(||=|_!9
The boy smirked now, backing up some before running forward, twisting into two back handsprings that ended in an insane double backflip. He landed in another crouch and stood before Sam, Tuck, and everyone watching, who all gaped like fish. He chuckled, especially so at Dash, muttering, "That is how you do that." Then to Sam, "So, did I 'prove' myself well enough for you?"
"…Same thing, but frontflip."
The boy sighed, spun on his heel, and went into two front handsprings and a double frontflip. When he landed, he turned to look over his shoulder. "How 'bout now?"
Sam stood, walked over to the boy. "You…. Y—You pass."
All around them, people gasped, whispered.
"How…? Who…?" She swiped at the face paint, pulled at the mask and wig. The boy reached up a hand of his own, smearing away the rest of the paint before pulling her closer and kissing her.
The wig fell off, revealing dual-colored hair that the jocks knew all too well.
"Fendork? How the hell can you—?"
Danny Fenton pulled away from Sam. "What, Dash? Scared to realize that wimpy Danny Fenton isn't so wimpy after all?" He grinned down at Sam. "Or are you just embarrassed that you lost the most sought-after girl in school to the biggest 'loser' in town?"
The jock in question huffed, leaving.
Danny turned back to Sam. "So, I guess I finally got the balls to do this."
"Do what?"
"Sam, will you be my girlfriend?"
She smirked. "Clueless One, it is about damn time you asked me that!"
|34(||=|_!9
Gonna walk (walk), run (run), jump (jump), cart (cart) wheel (wheel) back (back) flip (flip)
Just to be with you
There's nothing I won't do
I wanna see you Backflip
I wanna see ya Backflip
for real
Show me that you really
Do feel, everything you say that
You do
I need to see it to believe it.
|34(||=|_!9
A/N: Yay twelve pages! And, god, I never knew it was so hard to type when you get your nails done. Well, read and review!!! BYEZ!
