This one-shot has been floating around in my head for a while. Sam's always been a hard character to write for me. I love her, I really do, she has a great story, and I ship her only with Danny and vise versa, but I also see her flaws, and I really wanna be able to make her grow within the way that fits who she is, and I'm always worried I get it wrong. Sorry for this long introduction. Please enjoy.
She didn't know the first time that it happened, nor could she bring herself to care. Every stare that bore into the back of her head was almost easily ignorable. Almost. People were scared to approach her, which she was thankful for, seeing as she and her friends had been known as an outcast just two weeks prior.
Plus the black. No one liked the black.
Or a 'Goth freak' for that matter.
And then, Danny saved everyone from the asteroid and was given the title of hero, while she and Danny had finally been able to sit down and clear the air about their feelings for one another. After things changed, Sam had honestly thought things would be different— feel different, more like— but all that had really changed was the fact that they could kiss openly now, without the fear of being rejected by the other.
Sure, hugs were longer, touches lingered, eyes locked together more and stayed that way until they reluctantly pulled apart. But in all honesty, they were still best friends, and that's what Sam enjoyed the most. Whether 'boyfriend and girlfriend' or 'best friends', they were still themselves. Still Danny and Sam. And that brought a warm swell to her chest at the thought.
But she was getting off track here.
Currently, she stood leaned against her locker— left foot crossed over the right, arms tucked securely together in front of her chest while her backpack hung loosely from her shoulder— Tucker was waist deep in his locker, rummaging through the mess to try to find his textbook to their next class, making them late. Danny had to run off to English— Tucker and she had Biology— telling the two that he couldn't be late without a ghost excuse, because while Mr. Lancer was being more lenient with the whole ghost thing, he still had expectations. So with a quick kiss to Sam's cheek, he practically flew down the hall to make it on time to class.
So that was wherein lay the problem. Even with the bell having rung almost two minutes ago, over a few dozen people stalled in the usually crowded halls. But this wasn't the problem, far from it actually.
She understood that with the recent events of the world almost being destroyed, people were still trying to get back into the routine of normalcy of a school day.
But the eyes watching her every movement?
Yeah, that wasn't as welcomed.
Eyes had been gawking at her— albeit, they were trying to do it subtly— for the past five minutes.
But when the whispers stirred up, Sam still tried. She tried to contain her bubbling anger.
For now, she had to direct her attention to something that wouldn't be so agonizing. Turning her head back to Tucker, she said, "Y'know, if you just downloaded your textbook to your PDA, you could save yourself the time. And trees."
Even with his upper body logged into his locker, Sam could feel the eye-roll. "The teachers wouldn't allow that, Sam. You know that."
"Can't blame a girl for trying."
The feeling of being watched was becoming unbearable. She tried to focus on the tick of the clock, the water fountain being pressed by a student every few seconds; she even tried to tap her foot against the title of the floor to drown out the feeling. Nothing worked.
Shifting off the locker, she eyed the people that slowly walked past her, so not obvious, and all eyes departed from her harsh stare. "What the heck is everyone's problem?"
Everyone was afraid, that much, she could tell.
But one brave soul came forth, Wes or something other. "What's it like dating the ghost boy?"
That took her by surprise. She blinked a few times, looking back to Tucker who mirrored her dumbfounded expression.
She shuffled through her clouded thoughts, trying to connect the answer to the question, but came up short. "Wait, what?"
The crowd that had gathered only grew as they flocked to her. One by one, they screamed their questions to the ghost hunter.
"What's it like, dating the hero?"
"Is he warm when you cuddle him?"
"What's it like to fly?"
Soon, all the voices became overwhelming. She had enough. Slamming Tucker's locker shut, it quickly silenced the roar of students that wouldn't stop the onslaught of questions. "Enough!"
The worry that laced each and everyone's eyes was a satisfaction, to say the least. "It's none of your business about Danny and me— now, if you'd excuse us, we actually need to get to class." She really didn't want to go, but it was better than being swarmed for questions by her peers.
She gripped the techno geek by the end of his collar, and dragged him to the classroom, pushing past the sea of students and ignoring the shouts of her classmates behind her. She just had to ignore them; eventually, they'd have to go away.
Hopefully.
Once seated at their assigned table, Tucker looked to her, confusion playing in his eyes. "I'll never understand why you don't like that attention. You're dating Danny Phantom; being his girlfriend kinda comes with the territory of being hounded with questions."
She rolled her amethyst eyes, flipping open her notebook to prepare for the upcoming notes. "I'm also dating Danny Fenton, name ring a bell? Pretty sure you know the guy. Black hair, pale complexion. The guy that tried to keep his identity a secret for two years? Our best friend that didn't want the attention? That—"
Tucker lifted his hands in a sign of peace. "Okay, okay. I get it. He doesn't want all the attention, and neither do you. You can lay off, Sam."
She huffed, ruffling a few bangs that laid in front of her eyes. "Sorry. It's just not the first time this week that Danny and I've been hounded by people asking about our relationship. Some have even had said I'm just dating Danny for attention."
His face took a more serious expression. "Don't listen to them. You know and Danny knows how crazy you two are for each other. The rest is just background noise."
An eyebrow rose. "Since when did you get so insightful? Last time I checked, you weren't so….." she dug through her thoughts, trying to come up with something that didn't sound so harsh, "thoughtful. You usually can't get past your PDA."
Tucker snorted in amusement. "Hey, my baby saved us from Skulker plenty of times. I can't help that he upgraded his suit so that not connected to my tech."
Before she could retort, however, a kid from the other side of the aisle that the tables made up, leaned over to get her attention. "Psttt. Goth girl."
She was not above murder today.
She turned her head slightly to see one of the A-listers. Holding back the growl she wanted to let loose, she simply settled for the sneer that took its place. "What?"
He didn't beat around the bush. "It must be hard being with someone technically half dead. I could probably show you a much better time. I mean, what's it even like, scre-"
She was about to pounce, textbook gripped tightly in hand, with no holding back; even Tucker wasn't trying to stop her, he knew what would happen if he did. But then the PA speaker clicked on and static combed through the class for a few minutes before a familiar voice spoke.
Danny's, to be exact.
"Hey. So, um as you've probably already guess, it's Danny. I really need you guys' attention for a sec."
He sounded nervous, voice shaky with anticipation.
She could practically see him running his hand along his neck to smooth out his worries as he always did.
Typical Danny. The mere thought calmed her jumbled nerves somewhat.
"I know with the, uh, recent news, everyone's been trying to come to terms with everything, I really get that, but when it starts to interfere with my personal life, and my loved ones' lives too, I can't just stand by and let that happen."
If he was doing what Sam thought he was doing, she didn't want to break the smile that started to form on her violet glossed lips.
"So, please. If you have any respect for me, then have respect for my friends — this definitely stands for my girlfriend— please, stop with the questions. We have things that we want to keep to ourselves as much as you do. And if that doesn't work, at this point I won't mind taking a break for a week from ghost hunting and let you guys handle it. I really wouldn't want to, but if I have to, I will. Thank you for listening. Oh, and uh, guys. We have a problem south of town. That snake thing again. Bring your weapons and meet me by the entrance."
The dead silence in the room was almost music to Sam's ears, to the point where she almost broke it with laughter. Even the teacher looked dumbfounded as he halted his writing on the whiteboard.
Looking to her friend, she ruffled through her backpack to produce her ecto-gun. "Well, I guess that's our queue. Mikey, is it okay to borrow your notes after we get back?"
He nodded, one of the few that was unfazed by Danny's announcement. He wasn't one for gossip all too much.
Tucker was out the door, and Sam trailed quickly behind before she stopped mid-step, turned around, and looked directly at the A-lister that had asked the provocative question. "By the way, it's much better, being with someone who's 'half dead' and caring, than someone fully alive and shallow."
And that was the last time she heard a peep from anyone about her relationship.
"Ms. Manson, do you have a permit for that?!"
Please read and review! Let me know your thoughts! I hope I did Sam justice. Beta reading credit goes out RavenBloom. Thank you!