Catch Me, Hold Me
In his senior year of high school, Danny tries to sort his feelings for Sam, but Sam begins to lose all hope for any non-platonic relationship. As paranormal danger arises, Danny needs to find out his feelings for Sam quickly, or he may just lose her forever.
Chapter One
A raven-haired boy with anticipating crystal blue eyes stood waiting at the busy entrance to the North Mercy Hospital in Amity Park. Danny Fenton, ordinary-boy-turned-super-hero-at-the-age-of-fourteen, stood there with hands shoved in his pockets, shuffling his feet around. He wasn't bored. Of course, he wouldn't be bored. He was excited. It had been two full weeks without any ghostly interruption in his life; his two best friends and himself were soon to head out to the movie theater just like old times to celebrate this once in a lifetime opportunity. After freshman year, it was all different. All three of them weren't the same ordinary fourteen year olds they once were. Now they were 17 -- well, Tucker turned 18 the past week of March. Three years makes some difference.
They grew up. Both physically and mentally –maybe not so much in maturity just yet. Every now and then, Danny secretly wished if he could just rewind time and freeze it at one moment, any moment when life was simple; he had access to the idea of course. Clockwork could make that happen, couldn't he? Perhaps that's just food for thought.
So Danny was waiting right next to the swishing emergency doors at the hospital for Sam to get off her volunteer shift while Tucker was mercilessly finding a place to park their carpool vehicle. They all shipped in to buy their own car around junior year. Tucker planned to call it the Fenton Mystery Machine (with apologies to Scooby-Doo and the gang). Luckily, majority overruled the suggestion.
"Man, parking out there was brutal," Tucker told Danny as he approached him with a tired look.
Danny laughed. "You didn't dent the car did you, Tuck?"
Tucker sighed. "Once, okay ONCE, I put a small dent in the back of the car, and you never let me live it down, do you?"
"First of all, Tuck," Danny began. "The dent was the size of Alabama. And so much paint was stripped off that it was almost as bare as Mr. Lancer's lack of hair."
Tucker gave him a dirty scowl. "Well, Mr. Perfect, let's see you drive. I remember you failed your driving exam three times."
"Okay, fine. How about this? Out of the three of us, Sam is the best driver." Danny suggested. It was true though. Sam not only passed her driving exam in one shot, she also received a perfect score for her written portion as well. Sam was perfect. In everything Danny saw, Sam could do no wrong.
"Yes, I agree," Tuck nodded. "Sam is."
"Sam is what?" A sarcastic voice approached steadily. Both boys turned around to see Sam in her hospital scrubs. "I heard my name. Is it being degraded?" she asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"No, Sam. We were just saying how you're the best driver out of all of us." Danny clarified. "Which is true, because genius #1 next to me can't stay away from contacting another car."
"Well, genius #2 over there doesn't know the front of the car from the back." Tucker retorted.
Sam rolled her eyes nonchalantly. "Well, I could have told you all that one." She grinned a little.
Danny smiled at her as she placed the wicked smirk upon her lips. There was this bubbling feeling at the bottom of her stomach rising all the way to his throat. He almost couldn't contain it. He kept his eyes on her for a while looking at how much she changed from freshman year. She lost some of the black attire and grew her hair out into a wave of soft black velvet that fell over her shoulders, stripped with purple hair-dye at the tips.
"Danny, what are you looking at?" Sam asked curiously. "You've been staring at my hair for awhile."
Danny flashed his mind back into reality. "Hm? Oh, nothing. I just kind of stared off into space for a bit. So you guys ready to see the movie?"
"Do I look like I'm ready?" Sam asked, pointing to her scrubs.
Tucker jeered loudly. "Oh, Sam cares about the way she looks? That's a first."
Sam fisted him in the arm. He wailed in agony. "Good thing we're at a hospital," Danny remarked. "Okay, we'll take you back to your house to get changed and then we'll head out. How's that?"
"Perfect," she smiled.
Just like you, he thought grinning. He didn't catch himself in time as the words spread through his brain. But once he did, his grin fell into a visage of confusion.
Suddenly, there was a wave of cries coming towards them.
"Kids, move out of the way," one of the doctors ordered as he came out of the hospital.
They looked towards the commotion to see a parked ambulance car with hospital workers rushing towards the door and more doctors rushing out of those swishing doors next to them.
"What's happening?" Tucker whispered to Sam.
"Looks like one hell of an emergency to me; I've never seen the doctors this frantic."
All three teens stepped out of the way as they pulled the patient out. "What's the problem?" they heard the doctor ask.
"The man suffered from a stroke down in the city central. He's rapidly losing his pulse," the man from the ambulance answered.
"Hurry, get him into the hospital – quickly!" the doctor ordered.
As the wheeled the patient past the threesome, a thin blue icy smoke escaped Danny's lips. Frantically, Danny looked around. The ghosts couldn't have picked a worse time to show up. But as his eyes searched the perimeter, he caught no sign of any tangible fiends.
"Danny, what's wrong?" Sam asked, holding onto his arm.
"My ghost sense went off …"
"Doctor!" the man called out again. "He's not breathing and his heart rate is at zero."
The doctor looked worried. "We don't have time to wheel him into the emergency room. We have to give him CPR now!" The doctor gave the patient mouth to mouth, pounding on his chest to get the man to live, but with no avail. They called the time of death.
Sam kept her attention on Danny. "Danny, are you okay? Is there a ghost?"
"No," he answered with his voice still in concern. "I couldn't find any ghost."
"That's weird…" Tucker commented. "Has your ghost sense ever go haywire like that before?"
Danny nodded. "A few times." He shook his suspicions off. "Yeah, you know what? It's probably nothing. Let's go and enjoy our day of no ghostly interruptions."
"Yeah," Tucker agreed, scratching his head. "After I've seen someone's life flash before my eyes, let's enjoy the day while we still can. Then again, with all the ghost fighting we've done, I've seen my life flash before my eyes at least a thousand times…" Tucker continued talking as he led the group to the car.
Sam looked up worriedly as they were walking to meet her best friend's eyes. "Danny…"
"It's okay, Sam. It's okay." Danny tried to reassure her. He smiled softly as he noticed how tightly she was gripping his arm. But he didn't say a word. He liked the feeling anyways though he couldn't understand it at the time.
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Tucker and Danny were patiently waiting outside of Sam's house, leaning against the car. Tucker was bored. Sam told them that she'd only be five minutes, but five minutes just turned into fifteen.
"How long does it take for a girl to get ready for the movies?" Tucker complained.
Danny nodded in agreement staring at his watch. "What's five minutes for girls?"
"I'm guessing they really mean an hour when they say five minutes. As the master of cryptic encoding, I have realized parts of the secret language of the female race." Tucker proudly stated, pulling out his PDA. "It's all in here."
"Oh really?" the raven-haired boy asked. "Enlighten me, please."
"Sure," his friend nodded in amusement. "Rule numero uno: all girls, and I mean, all girls, take at least ten more minutes than men do to get ready."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. I'm serious. Time it. I mean, just take a freaking stopwatch and time it. It's amazing, I tell you. Why they do it? I don't know, but it's a fact … a law of human nature!"
Danny chortled inward. "More like female nature," he commented.
"Danny, you wouldn't be sexist now, would you?" A female voice questioned curiously.
Both boys looked towards the direction of the sound. "Valerie!" Danny exclaimed, pushing himself off of the car and into a more mature-looking posture. It was still the same old thing for young Danny Fenton. He was still experiencing minor butterflies around Valerie Grey, his friend and ghost-hunting enemy. Oxymoron? Not quite if you were Danny Phantom.
"So, you didn't answer my question. Being sexist, or just a jerk-off?" She laughed.
Danny's face flushed a tad at the sound of her laugh. "Uh, no. We were just discussing something … about … Tucker's PDA, or something like that." He managed to say in odd fragmented chunks.
"Yeah," Tucker rolled his eyes in annoyance. It wasn't that he didn't like Valerie because they were friends of course but it was pathetic the way Danny still hasn't realized that there was no hope for any relationship with Valerie. Most importantly, he was oblivious to any notion of Sam's feelings for him. Tucker sighed.
He looked over Sam's doorway and saw the Gothic mistress herself tensed and frozen at the sight of Danny and Valerie talking. Tucker winced. Wrong timing – totally the wrong timing.
Slowly Sam trudged her weak feet down the steps of her house. She had not expected Valerie's intrusion. To get things straight, Sam didn't hate Valerie, but she wasn't going to put Valerie under one of the people that she adored of course. At first when Valerie made her entrance into the trio's lives, she wanted to protect Danny from Valerie's secret identity of the ghost-hunter of Amity Park, but soon she saw Valerie as a threat. Valerie liked Danny, she was sure and Danny had a crush on her back. But she thought that maybe, just maybe, Danny could see her, his best friend, first instead of Valerie. But she realized it was perhaps of no avail to hope for something so high.
"Sorry Sam," Tucker whispered. Tucker knew of Sam's affections. She was pretty sure that everyone knew - everyone, except Danny.
Sam sighed. "It's okay Tuck. That's life, right?"
"Sam, Danny is just Danny. He's not quick at this stuff and he--"
"Four years of high school wasn't at his pace yet?" Sam questioned.
Tucker remained silent. You couldn't mess with a girl who just had her heart pierced with a rusty, dulled out sword.
"Sam! I didn't see you there. Were you waiting long?" Danny turned to see Sam, completely missing her presence to begin with.
"No, not really," Sam monotonously answered.
Tucker intervened desperately. "Why don't we go now? Hm?" He suggested.
"Oh, were you three headed somewhere?" Valerie prompted at them with a smile.
"The movies," Tucker answered. "We're celebrating a day of no gh--"
Tucker got punched into the stomach because of his huge, huge mouth "A day of no homework!" Danny interjected in time. "A day of no homework. So we decided that we should all head down to the movies to celebrate."
"Oh, that seems really … nice, I guess." Valerie nodded in response.
"Why don't you come with us?" Danny offered.
Tucker's eyes shot up. "Oh shit … he didn't just do that," he muttered under his breath.
"I'd love to! Oh, but I hope I'm not intruding or anything."
"No, of course not," Sam began, faking a huge smile. "The more the merrier, right?"
Tucker cringed at Sam's desperate pleas. How could Danny not be getting these signals?
"Great!" Danny exclaimed enthusiastically.
Tucker remembered: Danny was a straight C student. Maybe four years wasn't enough after all.
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All four teens waited in line at the concession stand before the movies started. Sam was contemplating whether or not to spill hot boiling butter on Valerie, and laugh at the situation. When the girl was pissed, she was conniving. It didn't mean she was going to do it of course, but the pain of implied rejection stung her to the point where she couldn't think clearly. Tucker was playing with his PDA and Valerie was asking Danny a few questions about their homework in biology class. It was almost too much for her to bear. As they were about to head into the theater, Sam interjected with an attempt to get out of this situation.
"I'm gonna head over to the Ladies' Room. I'll meet you guys in the movie theater, okay?"
"Um, okay," Danny answered. "But don't be too long or you'll miss the beginning."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, of course."
Sam headed over to the Ladies' Room with many moments to spare. She wasn't in a rush to get back into the theater to meet her painful demise. It was difficult to watch, and twice as agonizing. It's been four years, and yet still, Danny had no idea how she felt about him.
"Idiot…" she mumbled from under her breath.
What did she have to do to get his attention? Dress up like Bugs Bunny? Shave her head? What did it take? She was almost willing to do anything.
She was angry, furious, pissed and most importantly, sad. Tears welded up behind her eyes as she desperately tried to fight them in. It was no use. Danny was the only thing in the world that could make her cry, and he was the only one that could make her stop.
"This is pathetic," she said, leaning against the bathroom stall. She took out a mirror from her purse and winced. "Oh dammit, I look like hell." She grabbed paper towels from the dispenser and tried to wipe her eyes. She took in a few deep breaths before she headed out for the theater.
When she stepped out of the bathroom with her eyes targeted towards the ground, she ran into someone she just didn't want to deal with at the moment: Dash.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Goth," Dash mocked.
She looked up. She wasn't in the mood. "Move it, Dash." She warned. Sam tried to push him out of her way, but it was useless. Dash was the star quarterback in their high school football team.
"Where are we in a rush to?" He asked. "Not leaving so soon are we?"
"Just leave me alone right now, okay?" Sam ordered.
Dash grabbed her arm forcibly and pushed her against her own will. Sam had no option to move as Dash kept his grip on Sam's arm, almost pinning her against the wall. "Come on, Sam. Where you going? Did I ever tell you that you're quite hot for a Goth?" He whispered in her ear, eying her tight black t-shirt.
"Let go of me!"
"Why? You still waiting on Fenton? Why don't you just let him go and come to me? I could show you a good time." Dash noticed change in Sam in the past two years. She was a little bit more attractive and Dash couldn't figure out why she still wanted Danny over him.
"I said, let go!" Sam was almost pleading. Did he have to mention Danny?
Dash grinned at her futile attempts. He traced his other free hand on her cheek as she instinctively tried to pull away. But there was nothing to run to.
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Danny glanced down at his watch as the movie was five minutes in. "Hey, I'm gonna go look for Sam. She's been gone for a while. I'm a little bit worried." Danny casually and quickly shuffled out of the aisle.
Valerie was curious as she whispered to Tucker, but kept her eyes on the movie, "How is he going to find her? It's not like he can get into the Ladies' Room."
"That's what you think…" Tucker muttered.
"What?" Valerie asked.
"Nothing. I said nothing," Tucker quickly answered back.
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Danny was quickly walking down the halls of the Amity Park Theater to find Sam. "Sam's not usually this slow when she's at the movie theater." Danny said to himself.
He turned the corner towards the Ladies' Room when he saw it.
"Stop it, Dash!" he heard Sam plead.
"Come on Sam, you know you like me…" Dash whispered in a seductive manner.
Something in Danny erupted. His blood was boiling and he wanted to go up to Dash and strike him with an ectoplasm ray that would leave him wailing in the morning. How dare Dash touch his girl like that?
Danny marched up to him quickly, pulled the football player off of her with all his force, pulled his fist back and punched Dash in the face.
"Hey, what the hell?" Dash yelled furiously. When he came to, he couldn't believe the guy who did that to him. "Fenton?"
It wasn't that much of a surprise though. Danny had gotten broader shoulders during the summer of sophomore year and grew a couple inches taller just about to Dash's height. The ghost fighting was his training and through that, he became a lot stronger.
"Get out of here before I beat the fucking crap out of you!" Danny warned.
Dash, out of shock, took the advice and ran.
Danny was still furious as his heart rate was pulsing harder and harder. He suddenly realized that Sam was still there. "Sam! Are you okay?" He asked, running over to her.
Sam was still in a bit of shock as she continued to lean against the wall. Danny put his arms around her "Yeah, I'm okay." She whispered.
"Did he do anything to you? If he did, I'm gonna go and--"
"Don't Danny. He didn't do anything." Sam said in her cold bare tone. "Nothing that intrusive anyways."
Danny furrowed his eyebrows. "Sam, what's wrong?"
"Don't be so concerned about me, okay? I'm a big girl. I can handle it," Sam told him defensively. She didn't want him acting like her savior, like a boyfriend would.
"Sam, what is wrong with you? He was acting like a pig. And you're telling me not to be concerned? I should have punched him back to freshman year!"
He was holding her hands tightly and Sam pulled away. Why did he have to act like this? Why did he have to act like he cared? "Just stop it! You don't need to come to my rescue! I'm not the damsel in distress here!"
"What are you talking about?" Danny asked.
"Nothing, okay nothing." Sam was losing her sense of balance. "I just need to go." And with that Sam stormed off with Danny following.
"Wait, Sam! Talk to me here!" Danny called out.
Tucker and Valerie were already out and looking for the both of them. They saw Sam running off and Danny trying to catch up with her.
"Danny!" Tucker called out. "What happened?"
Danny wasn't sure whether to follow Sam or talk to Tucker and Valerie about this. At that point, Danny realized it would be futile to talk to Sam, or to try to reason with her. "Dash was being a real pig and I came to help Sam out of the situation she clearly didn't want to be in, and now she's pissed – AT ME!"
Tucker was trying to follow. "What?"
Valerie explained. "Dash was making a move on Sam, Sam didn't want anything to do with Dash, and so Danny came to her rescue."
"Oh… wait, what the hell did Dash do?" Tucker cried out again.
"Sam's all pissed at me for saving her. And I don't know what to say. The more I tried to explain the worse she became."
"Just let her go. I think she needs to pull off some steam." Valerie suggested.
"Val's right. When Sam is angry, it'd be best to just let her go for right now." Tucker agreed.
Danny sighed, looking at the empty hallway. "I hope so… but why is she angry in the first place?" Danny whispered to himself. "I'm gonna head home. I mean I can't watch a movie after this."
"Yeah, we understand. We'll go with you," Valerie opted.
Danny shook his head. "No, you two stay and enjoy the movie. I need to go out and just think to myself."
"Okay, Danny. But give me a ring when you can." Tucker advised.
Danny nodded and headed off. His mind was cluttered with thoughts of Sam and feelings of confusion. All he wanted right now was to have Sam in his arms just to hold. He needed that, and longed for it all night. He wanted Sam and still, he couldn't process the feeling into words of love just yet.
-
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Sam was sitting at her favorite Gothic poetry café, sighing into her cup of coffee. She pulled out her pen from her purse and began writing on her empty napkin. She wished Danny were here next to her, holding her in his warm embrace, but every time she thought that, the picture of him and Valerie came into play and the worse her feelings became.
"What wrong?" she heard a cold, clear voice ask. She looked up to see a pale rugged guy standing next to her, smiling. "I saw the look on your face from across the room and I realized that maybe you needed a pair of ears to listen."
She looked down at her napkin. "Well, I had a rough night."
"You know, I just came into Amity Park the other night. I thought this was a cheery place. I guess I was wrong…" he told her with a light smile on his face as he took a seat down next to her.
"I don't' know who advertised your trip, but Amity Park is anything but. At least, I'm not that cheery," she spoke lightly.
"I guess so. Last time I trust my travel agent, huh? So is it a love problem?" he asked.
"Am I that obvious?" Sam muttered.
He looked at her. "Yeah. You definitely are the most heartbroken one around. I could sense it," he said.
"Thanks…" she sighed. Even her sarcasm seemed depressed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I want to help. Talking helps, you know," he suggested. "My name's Ian, by the way." He flashed a smile.
"Sam. It's short for Samantha," Sam responded. Would it really do her any good to talk to this guy about anything? Maybe it was worth a shot. "Well, you see," she began. She wasn't sure why she wanted to talk to this guy, but she thought that this stranger, this drifter, may be the one person she could talk to, someone who just didn't know her or Danny. "There's this boy that I really like, and he doesn't even notice me. He only sees me like a little sister, I'm sure."
"Little sister, huh?" he commented. "Are you two friends?"
"The best of friends," Sam said. "And that's all we'll ever be, I guess…"
He looked at her sympathetically. "It's okay. I'm sure things will work out the way they're supposed to," he told her as he placed a light hand over her shoulder.
" I don't think so. All I feel is sadness; hollowness even. I feel happy with him and then reality kicks in and I see that nothing can happen between us. And it's just worse now. I love him…and now it just hurts so much…"
"It'll get better," he said in a low tone. "I promise." Ian's hand glowed a vibrant, malicious green over her shoulder, as did his eyes for a split second. Sam suddenly broke out into tears when her heart felt like it just became taken out of her.
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Well, now, isn't Ian a little scary? Hm. I think he'd make a great villain.
My first posted fanfic! Please read and review!