I am writing a fic based on this quote. "Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow; don't walk behind me, I may not lead; just walk beside me and be my friend." -- Anonymous
I decided to throw things off kilter a little bit and work with a friendship possibility we see rarely, but one I think works spectacularly. So without further adieu in introduce to you my challenge story:
I Will Neither Lead or Follow You My Friend
"For goodness sake Sam!" Valerie said as she placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot! "Do you have to always be unique to the point that you exclude everyone and everything out of your life?" She was trying so hard to be friends with the Goth girl, but Sam was having none of it.
Sam Manson looked up from her desk and sighed heavily at Valerie Grey. Their sadistic Social Studies teacher decided that pairing Valerie and Sam up on a project together just as Spring Break started would be brilliant. So, Sam and Valerie had spent the afternoon after school brainstorming. Neither wanted to put things off until the last minute. Unfortunately, Valerie's take charge attitude just rubbed Sam the wrong way and she refused to cooperate.
"I'm not a follower like your little A-list friends," Sam said coldly. "And I think the project you outlined is cliché. Everyone in class is going to do some sort of graph on their family history. I think maybe we can be a little bit more original, but really Val do what you want. I'll even let you take all the credit for it."
"We're supposed to work together!" Valerie growled. "That's the whole point of the project!" Valerie sat down next to Sam and watched her draw swirls on the paper in front of her.
Valerie really wanted to be friends with Sam. Was that insane or what? The Goth girl had accused Valerie of being a follower, but things had changed. Since her father had lost his job, and consequently everything else, she took a whole lot less for granted. Plus, Valerie was used to being liked and it really irked her that she couldn't get past Sam's tough exterior. She figured that maybe part of it was because they both liked, liked Danny, but that wasn't it. Valerie knew there was another reason, she just couldn't figure it out.
The thing was, Danny always had a lot to say about Sam. In defense at first. Valerie had commented on Sam's bad attitude and Danny set her straight.
"Val you just don't know Sam," Danny had said after one of their now frequent phone conversations where Sam's hostility toward Valerie came up. "She's not like other people. She's really loyal and super protective of her friends"
"Yeah all two of them," Valerie had scoffed. "You and Tuck."
Danny sighed, "Sam has trust issues. She's hard to get to know. Heck she even knows Tuck's and my deepest darkest secrets, but there are things about her we just don't know and probably never will. The girl is like a vault." Danny laughed and said. "It's like she has secret government training to keep her from cracking."
Valerie had been aware of her need for a new friend for awhile. Hanging out with Star was great when you didn't want your brain cells to have a work out. But, tell Star secrets? Forget it. Her name might be Star but she really was a dim bulb. Plus she was untrustworthy.
Valerie needed to keep her ghost hunting on the down low and she realized that she needed help. Sam was just the person to do that. Firstly, she wasn't scared of ghosts. Valerie knew Sam didn't run from them. Secondly, as Danny pointed out. Sam was Fort Knox when it came to guarding secrets.Plus her secret that she had a new ghost suit wouldn't stay secret for long, and if she already had people backing her up, it wouldn't be so hard once things were revealed. Finally Sam was really cool, Valerie could see what she was like as a friend, even if it was from the outside looking in.
Sam sighed and looked at Valerie in irritation. "I really have better things to do than sit in here locked up with you all afternoon." Her thoughts drifted to Danny and Tucker and the video games and movies and other trouble they were getting into at this very moment all without her.
"Yeah and I don't have better things to do?" Valerie asked thinking of all the ghost chaos that could be occurring at any moment. Heck her chance to finally catch that darned ghost punk was probably slipping right through her fingers as she sat here arguing with Sam.
Sam regarded Valerie thoughtfully. At least keeping the ghost hunter locked up in a class room all afternoon kept her from Danny…in more ways than one. But, still Valerie's take charge, I'm the boss, this is how we are going to do it, stance just teed her off to no end. Sam was stubborn and once she dug her heels into something, as Tucker would agree, it was tough to budge her.
Valerie surveyed the situation for a moment. She was a natural leader. She was used to calling the shots. That's something she defiantly had in common with Sam. She was a leader as well. Valerie knew Sam kept Danny and Tucker in line. The way she saw it, Sam was the leader of the whole group. Valerie frowned, maybe the whole problem was that Sam felt threatened by Valerie's natural leadership qualities.
The thought that Sam, yes bossy Sam was the boss of anything, the leader of anything would have mortified her. The fact that it was the truth aside. Sam didn't want to be the leader. She didn't want of follow. Sam wanted to think outside the box. Change the rules. Be different! "Color outside the lines!", was her personal mantra.
Tucker could have cleared things up for Valerie had he been there and been willing to consult with the Ghost Hunter on how to crack Sam. He would have told Valerie that Sam was, Predictably Unpredictable. "She's an oxymoron!" he would have laughed, then been reduced to a whimpering pulp of Techno Geek by one of Sam's crushing boots. Or better yet she had the perky little heart of a preppy cheerleader hidden in that Goth exterior, always at war with the contradiction of herself.
Sam tapped her pencil on her desk. Her head was propped on her hand and she was looking at Valerie and wondering what exactly the girl wanted from her? To torment her with the fact that she had shared a bond with Danny that Sam just couldn't bring herself to explore? To point out the fact that she could successfully bridge the gap between the A-list and the not so A-list? To simply annoy the hell out of her?
"I'm hungry," Valerie complained. She said nothing more. Perhaps she should just let Sam take the lead and decide where this stupid project was going to go, or the friendship…if she could talk Sam into it.
Sam didn't take the bait. She wasn't going to take the lead. She just sat and looked at Valerie like she'd grown two heads.
"Val," Sam finally said as she packed her books in her bag. She was irritated and had figured that this planning session would take less than thirty minutes, but it had stretched into an hour and a half. Danny's parents had decided that the week off for school would be perfect for a camping trip and Sam…well yeah, Sam wanted to spend as much time with him as she could before he left. "I don't know about you, but I have places to go and things to do on a Friday afternoon. I'm not wasting anymore time in here." She started to walk out.
"How about meeting me at the mall tomorrow afternoon?" Valerie yelled after Sam.
"The mall?" Sam said in almost exasperated outrage as she turned and looked at Valerie. Well, with Danny gone she really wouldn't have anything better to do, except sit and be bored as she watched Tucker talk about his new computerized gadgets. She sighed heavily as she hefted her book bag on to her shoulder. "Fine. Twelve thirty at the food court, but if you're not there. I'm going home."
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Sam had to admit as she stood behind a plant with Valerie listening to Paulina's plans for the week and the "Ghost boy", that she was having fun. Valerie, far from being shallow with a penchant for fleecy tees from the Abyss, was really fun.
The thing that irritated Sam the most though, was not only that Valerie had chosen to dress in a style very similar to herself that day, but that she kept deferring to Sam. What should we do now? What do you want to eat? She'd stand and look at Sam as if expecting her to decide when and where they would go next. Sam decided that as fun as it was having a friend who was a girl and understood the girlish side of things, that it was also irritating. Tucker and Danny never asked or weedled, they just did what they were going to do. Opinions were nice but not necessary. Valerie acted like Sam's opinion was just a little too important, and the last thing Sam wanted was to be a shepard to a little sheep.
Valerie sighed in frustration. Maybe she was just trying too hard. Maybe Sam just didn't want to be friends with her. It could be that simply being friends with Sam was impossible. She'd been careful to not talk about Danny. They'd joked about Tucker, made fun of some of the clothes from the Abyss, a few of which Valerie really liked. But Sam just kept her cool unreachable exterior on.
Sam was irritated, Valerie could tell. She didn't like being shadowed . So much for letting her take the lead. It was like following someone around in circles. It wasn't until they spotted Miss A-list Princess that they started having fun. And it wasn't like they were mocking Paulina. Just listening to the girl's vapid conversations with her cronies. Both Valerie and Sam agreed that Paulina, with her dramatic displays over new clothing shipments at the Abyss and worship of the Ghost Boy, was an unwitting comic genius.
Valerie and Sam had been laughing when an alarm on Valerie's wrist went off. A look flashed across Valerie's face which was quite similar to Danny's ghost sense going off.
"Sam." Valerie said. "I need to…"
"Go," Sam said as she grabbed her bag. And ran with Valerie out of the mall. Valerie looked frantically around for a place to change into her ghost hunter's suit. Sam grabbed her by the neck and threw her into the bushes and stood watch. Valerie was stunned at first. Sam stood looking around for witnesses like a long practiced veteran.
"Hurry!" Sam yelled as she pointed at Skulker streaking across the sky. Valerie transformed quickly then took off. She noted at the corner of her eye that Sam was following. It was amazing that the girl could keep up with her, especially in those clunky combat boots.
If Skulker was shocked to see Valerie and Sam appear together, he didn't show it. He simply started firing at Valerie saying something about looking for the Ghost Child and pelts on floors and heads on walls.
"I'm gonna have your head on my wall Ghost!" Valerie yelled as she shot several blasts at Skulker, knocking him off guard."
"My head is not a trophy for little girls like yourself!" Skulker laughed as he shot blasts of his own, knocking Valerie to the ground. The fight was hard. Skulker wasn't a creature that Valerie was used to fighting alone. When this particular ghost showed up, the Ghost Kid was always around to divert his attention. Where was he today? The coward! He was probably somewhere watching Valerie get her butt kicked.
Sam watched nervously as Skulker slowly gained the upper hand on Valerie. As good as she was, Sam knew the Ghost Hunter simply wasn't experienced enough to handle a creature like Skulker alone. She dug in her bag and came out with the Fenton lipstick. She shot a blast at Skulker and managed to divert his attention enough to take a good hard blast to the middle by Valerie, then another and another.
Valerie hit the ghost with repeated blasts as she yelled, "Oh yeah you piece of slime! Take that. And that and that." She watched Sam fearlessly run up under the ghost and open the Fenton Thermos and capture it.
Sam was just tightening the lid on the ghost holding container when Valerie flew down and jumped off her hover board.
"Where did you get that?" Valerie asked as she pointed at the thermos.
"Uh," Sam said then winced. "Come on Val this is Amity Park. One doesn't walk around here without protection from ghosts."
"Yeah," Valerie agreed. "But where did you get it?"
"You know Danny's parents are ghost hunters right?" Sam asked quickly. "I swiped it from their lab."
"Oh," Valerie said still feeling a little suspicious. Sam sure seemed to know what she was doing during a ghost fight. Valerie wondered why as she watched the Goth Girl shove the thermos back into her bag.
"So do you want to go back into the mall or what?" Sam asked stiffly.
"No," Valerie said feeling a little uncomfortable. "You know my secret." How did she know in the first place?
Sam shrugged. "It's no big deal," She said in a flat tone of voice. "So you hunt ghosts.".
"With a high tech ghost hunting suit," Valerie pointed out. Sam just shrugged like it was something she encountered everyday.
"Please don't tell anyone," Valerie begged suddenly she felt frightened. She'd never talked about the Ghost Hunting with anyone except her father, and that was only to convince him that it was something she should be allowed to do. Sam could now reveal the fact that not only was she the Ghost Hunter, but she was new and improved.
Sam looked at Valerie with a look of sympathy. "Don't worry," She said. "You're secrets safe with me." It has been for a long time, Sam almost added but she didn't think she could go into any explanations without revealing the most important secret she had to guard, Danny's ghostly identity. She turned and started walking away.
"Sam wait!" Valerie yelled as she cued up the proper responses to change out of her Ghost Hunter uniform. Sam stopped, keeping her back turned and waited for Valerie to catch up and walk beside her.
"Doesn't anything phase you?" Valerie asked almost in awe. "I mean are you calm cool and collected at all times?"
Sam bit her lip as she walked, keeping her eyes straight ahead of her, not daring to look at Valerie. Part of her wanted to confide Danny's secret and make her understand Danny the ghost wasn't a bad guy, that she should stop hunting him. The other part of her was afraid that either it would make matters worse or Val and Danny would really start dating, considering there would no longer be the ghost hunting issue between them. She felt wretched.
"No," she finally answered. "Not all the time. When my friends are threatened or betrayed I tend to lose my cool and not think sensibly."
"Yeah," Valerie sighed. "I'm kinda that way too." Sam looked at her for a moment and smiled slightly. Valerie tried not to frown. It always seemed like Sam had the upper hand on things. Like she knew things that Valerie just didn't and couldn't know. Valerie conceded that it was probably the truth.
"Like I said," Sam continued in a wooden tone. "Your secret is safe with me."
"I need help," Valerie said in a rush. Sam looked startled for a moment and so Valerie started rattling off her reasoning. "You're not dumb, you know how to keep a secret, you can obviously take care of yourself during a fight, you're not scared and you obviously know how to deal with ghosts. I need help."
Sam gave her an incredulous and irate look. "Are you asking me to be your sidekick?" She asked in outrage. She wanted to say, "Sorry but I already have a job as a sidekick with someone I lo..like."
"No!" Valerie said in disgust. "I'm not asking you to be my sidekick. I'm asking you to be my friend. I really, really need a friend right now and…"
Sam took a deep breath. "I happen to like the ghost boy," She said. "I happen to think he is good for Amity Park and I know he's helped people. I'm not going to help you hunt him down!"
"I'm not asking you to!" Valerie said, a sense of disappointment welling up inside her. Why did she suddenly feel like crying. Was it because of the rejection? Sam obviously didn't want Valerie as a friend, and it hurt.
"I'll stop things with Danny," Valerie said quickly. "I'll consider him off limits."
Sam stopped walking and looked incredulously at Valerie. It was amazing, Sam thought that Valerie had just opened the door to what Sam wanted the most. But it was wrong and Sam knew it. Instead of taking her up on the offer she became angry.
"I thought you liked Danny!" She yelled. "I thought you really, really liked him! And you're willing to just give that up just because you want a friend to help you with your silly ghost hunting! Well forget it! I won't be a party to anything that's going to potentially hurt Danny!" She turned on her heel and stormed off. Valerie stood watching her unable to realize the double meaning of Sam's statement.
"Man!" Valerie cursed then followed after Sam. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean that I know you like him to and I'd just step out of the way, stop interfering. I wouldn't hurt him! Man I'd never hurt Danny!"
Sam stopped walking and closed her eyes and laughed slightly at that statement. No Valerie wouldn't hurt Danny, even though she'd tried to kill him on numerous occasions. She looked at Valerie a moment and took in the look of anxiety and desperation on the girl's face.
"The first thing I'm going to say to you," Sam told her forcefully and fearlessly. "Is that Danny is my friend. My best friend. I might like him as more in some weird far off reaches of my heart but really that's irrelevant. I'm telling you now that if you hurt him. I'm coming after you and not all the ghost hunting equipment in the world is going to save your butt. The same goes for coming between my friendship with him. Tucker and Danny are my life!"
Valerie smirked at Sam. The Goth girl lived in a world of ultimate denial. Sam didn't just like Danny. She loved him. Valerie rephrased Sam's statement in her head. Danny is her life. The ghost hunter began to really feel bad for the girl who couldn't admit her feelings, even to herself.
"Okay," Valerie said softly. "I'll do my best never to disrupt your friendship with Danny. I just need help. I need a friend too. Maybe Danny will help…"
"No," Sam said. "You shouldn't bring Danny into this…" she paused trying to think of a good reason. "Have you ever seen him and Tucker run? He'd never be able to keep up with you in a good ghost fight. You wouldn't want to put him in that kind of danger." Lies lies lies Sam, her inner voice chided. They are going to come back to bite you hard.
Sam shook her head considered telling Valerie that she already had disrupted her friendship with Danny, but decided that she didn't want to argue anymore. There would be benefits in being Valerie's "ghost hunting support" she would be in the perfect position to protect Danny. That clinched it.
"All right," Sam said. "We'll give it this week and see how things work out."
"Okay," Valerie agreed as they walked back to the mall.
"But I'm not going to follow you," Sam said.
"I'm not going to lead," Valerie added.
"Then I guess we'll just have to be friends," Sam replied then sighed as she shook her head in disbelief.
THE END
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I've noticed that people are always pitting Valerie and Sam against each other as rivals and enemies. I've read a fic, Ashes to Ashes where Val and Sam are good friends and I liked the concept. I like Valerie. I like Sam. They are both great characters who get lost in the shuffle of who should be with Danny. This story puts that aside and starts out a friendship between the two. I could do a lot more with this story, but the challenge was for a one shot….so there it is. What do you think Lacey52?