Chapter 1

"Please, Danny, please?" I begged, pointing up to the Ferris wheel, it's bright lights casting halos on his dark hair.

He rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. "Fine, Sam. Just this once." I smiled to myself, and pulled him over to the line.

It was June 21st, the first week of summer, and as a "congratulations for surviving another year of school!" present, me and my two best friends, Danny and Tucker, had each gotten all expense paid tickets to (drumroll please…) our local carnival!

Okay, so it wasn't the surprise trip to Hawaii like Valerie had got, or Dash's brand new Mustang, but it was still something.

We had been here all day… laughing, eating, riding. Even my favorite singer, Ember, had appeared, and gave all three of us signed albums.

All in all, it was one of the best days I had ever had. And for some reason, I had a feeling it was about to get better.

"Shouldn't we wait for Tuck?" asked Danny, as we edged closer to the front of the line.

"Nah," I answered. After dinner, Tucker had announced he was going to, and I quote, "See if it was hotter anywhere else," and took off after a few seniors in miniskirts.

But then again, after they all laughed at him, we could help lift his spirits…literally.

"Plus," I added, as we moved farther, still. "It's a two-seater ride. We don't want him to sit by himself."

"Next!" called a gruff looking man, in a red pinstriped suit. He tipped his hat to us as we passed him to get into the rusty looking car.

He grunted as he pulled the lap-bars down, then walked away, grumbling.

Then, slowly but surely, the car started its journey into the sky. I felt my mouth open as all the stars came closer and closer to us, sparkling like buried treasure, for only us.

"It's," I started.

"Beautiful," Danny finished. I nodded my head, then stopped, realizing he wasn't looking up.

No, his eyes were glued on me.

Our eyes met for a few, long, glorious seconds, before we broke away, blushing.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his neck nervously.

"It's cool." I answered, and looked down. Big mistake. Especially if you're afraid of heights.

"Danny…" I said, fighting to keep my words even.

"Yea, Sammy?" he replied.

"We're really high."

He looked over the edge. "Yes, we are."

"No, like, really, really high."

He looked at me inquisitively. "You're not scared…are you?"

I didn't answer.

"Wow, you are," he murmured, then wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Don't worry," he said, smoothing my long, blonde hair as I buried my face into his chest, which, by the way, is WAY stronger than it looks.

"Nothing will happen to you as long as I'm here."

"Promise?" I whispered into him.

"Promise," he answered. Suddenly, I felt a hand under my chin, asking it to move up. I obliged.

"Sammy," he started, looking down at our hands, only inches apart on the ripped plush seats.

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time."

I slowly took his hand, giving it a small squeeze. Tingles spread throughout my body.

"Same here," I answered. His eyes moved down to mine. I caught my breath. It didn't matter we had been friends since middle school. They still got me every time.

"Want to say them at the same time?" he asked, using his other hand to rub his neck nervously.

I reached over and held that hand too. "Sure."

We both looked away and took a deep breath. I noticed the car was almost on the ground. Only a little more time to finish this. Before the mood was broken.

We turned back. "I…"

An explosion behind us cut off our words, throwing us into the petting zoo. Luckily, hay broke our falls.

I sat up, and gasped. The entire Ferris wheel had been knocked off its axis, and was now spinning around in someone's hand. A someone that looked…supernatural.

"Danny?" I asked, looking beside me, only to see him already on his feet.

He glanced at the wheel, and knelt down besides me. "Listen, Sammy, I have to go in there."

I laughed, then realized he wasn't kidding. "But…But…why?" I asked, trying to keep my trembling voice under control.

His eyes flashed to the side. "Jazz was working in the pie tent." I looked to where the pie tent was, only to see bits of red fabric raining down on the burnt ground.

"Okay," I answered, even though I knew he was lying. "Then I'm coming with you."

"NO!" he shouted, so loud, I fell back. "I mean…" he took a breath, then spotted something.

"Hey Tuck!" he yelled, as a familiar red beret ran towards us.

"Did you guys see that?" he asked, out of breath.

"Tuck, I need you to stay here with Samantha."

He raised an eyebrow. "And where are you going?"

"I need to check on Jazz." He answered.

"Wait…but isn't she…"

"Sammy," Danny cut him off. "I promise we'll finish our talk later."

"How do I know you're not lying?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Suddenly I felt a pair of lips press against mine. They sparked excitedly.

But just as quickly, they were gone.

"Danny," I started.

"To be continued!" he called, running off in the direction of the tent, before disappearing completely.

"What was that about?" Tuck said at the same time I asked, "Are we really just gonna wait here?

He smirked for a minute, singing, "Danny and Sammy! Danny and…woah." He paused, eyes glued to the sky. I followed his gaze.

Way up high, right above where the wheel used to be, where two glowing figures fighting it out. One had short, white hair, the other with long blue locks. They dove into a tent.

Tuck and I were still watching as I heard someone call my name, and then Tuck's.

Out of nowhere, both of our parents' ran at us, grabbing our arms and pulling us back.

"Ow," I called, trying to loosen their hold.

"Sorry," answered my mom, but she made no point of slowing down. As we approached the parking lot, now buzzing with life as people tried to escape, our family's raced to our cars.

Our corvette's baby blue color hit me like a brick. "We can't go yet mom! Danny's still in there!" I cried, turning to run back towards the carnival.

My dad was too fast, though, and wrestled me into the seat, locking the doors after getting in his own.

"We can't just leave him!" I yelled, pounding the windows, seats, anything I could get my fists on.

"Sorry hon," my dad said, before my mom shot us away from the park.

Raindrops hit the windows in time with the tears now rushing down my face. What if he wasn't alright? He had to be, he could take care of himself. And he promised me "to be continued." That meant something…right?

About two miles later, we were stopped by heavy traffic. Mom gently wiped her face.

"Hon, I can't even tell you how scared we were."

"Scared?" I questioned.

"Yes scared!" she raised her voice, then settled down. "It's not everyday you see your daughter flying out of a Ferris wheel on the news."

I felt my mouth drop. "It was on the news?"

With that, she started crying again, and my dad gave me a look, that slowly softened.

"We thought we lost ya, Sammykins." I looked away, so they couldn't see the tears starting to bubble.

"Can we turn on the radio?" I mumbled. Dad pressed a button, then started surfing through channels.

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black…

So call me maybe!

Breaking News from the Amity Park carnival…

Take me to your best friends house…

"Go back," I said, as Dad did.

"You heard it here first. The APP has discovered the culprit behind the explosions at the carnival tonight! Now, Mr. Masters, please share, I'm sure were all dying to know. Who is responsible for this?"

Suddenly, we lost signal, only hearing white noise. "Turn it back on!" I cried, even though I knew there was nothing he could do. Luckily, it slowly came back to life.

"There you have it, folks. The fiasco tonight at the carnival has been proven to be the fault of Amity High's own, Daniel Fenton."