Disclaimer: I don't own DP or Light my Candle, from Rent. This chapter is loosely based on that song.

The apartment was plunged into darkness. Danny groaned. A power outage. Greeeat. He fumbled around his weirdly neat apartment for the candles and matches he knew he had around somewhere.

Ahhh, here we go.

Soon his apartment was lit with the glow of three candles and a flashlight, huddled in a circle on his kitchen table. The apartment was getting colder by the moment.

Danny huddled near the light source, trying to conserve heat. He heard a tentative knock on the door. Who…?

Danny stumbled toward the door in the dark and opened it.

Outside stood a girl about his age. She was leaning against the door frame with a candle in hand. This girl was beautiful. She had pale skin and violet eyes. Her black hair that was shimmering slightly in the moonlight framed her heart shaped face. She was wearing all black, which made her porcelain skin almost glow.

The girl just stared at him a little weirded out. Danny was standing in the doorway, staring at her with his mouth open. "Ummm…hi." She tried.

Danny snapped out of it. "Oh, um hi." He said, flustered. He scratched the back of his neck with his hand, like he always did when he was nervous.

The girl gave him a slow smile. He smiled back, blushing and awkward. "I was wondering if you had any matches?" the girl said. "I have a candle but no matches and no other source of light."

"Oh, ok." Danny walked back into his apartment and stumbled into the kitchen. He stuck his head around the corner to see her still standing in the doorway. "You can come in." She smiled at him and walked into his apartment, taking in her surroundings.

Danny ruffled through the kitchen drawers looking for the book of matches he had just used. Sam's presence didn't help. She was making him very nervous and awkward.

He found it. "Here it is!" He said. He turned and took a step to get into the living room. He then lay sprawled on the floor, having tripped on the kitchen stool.

He heard laughing and looked up. Sam was standing right above him, trying to conceal her giggles.

He smiled grimly and growled, "It wasn't that funny."

Sam broke down and started laughing hysterically. "Yes…it…was." She was leaning against the wall.

Danny stood up. He enclosed Sam's hand in his as he steadied the candle to light it.

Danny felt his pulse quicken as he touched her hand. He looked up to see her staring into his eyes. Their eyes connected and they stood there for a little while, just looking at each other. Then they both blushed and turned away. Danny quickly lit it.

Sam turned to leave. Danny didn't want to see her go. "Hey..." he said. She turned around with one eyebrow arched. "Do…do you wanna stay here? Until the power comes back?"

Sam smiled at him. He felt blessed by that smile. "OK." She added her candle to the batch on the kitchen table.

Danny beamed at her and sat down at the table. "Pull up a chair."

Sam did so. She rested her head on her hand and looked at Danny. She smiled lightly and said, "I don't believe we've been introduced." She stuck out a hand across the table to shake his. "I'm Sam Manson. I live across the hallway from you."

Danny smiled. He stuck out his hand to shake hers. "Hi Sam. I'm Danny Fenton. What do you do?"

"I'm an artist. Well," she amended. "I'm learning to be an artist. Right now I'm a waitress at Water Way."

"That Japanese place?"

"Yeah."

"I love that place."

They looked down and realized they were still holding hands. They both blushed and quickly let go.

Sam crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "So, what do you do?"

Danny leaned back in his chair too. "I work at the bookstore down the street. When I'm not listening in on Astronomy classes down at the university that is."

Sam looked interested. "You're interested in stars?"

Danny smiled. "I want to be an astronaut."

Sam let her chair fall forward again. "That's so cool."

Danny and Sam continued talking until two a.m. when the lights came back on. They both blinked as their eyes adjusted to the bright light.

Sam stood up. "I better be going. See you around Danny." She came over and kissed him on the cheek and then left.

Danny rubbed his cheek and smiled down at the table.

She had left her candle with his.