So I'm making fun of all the Sam-steals-Danny's-Diary stories out there, cause really, what overly stressed, teenage boy, half ghost super hero is gonna have a diary. And since I'm not taking this seriously, I decided to try out third person again. I apologize.

Guess what paring this is! :D

It's not often that Sam pilfers through others belongings, and especially not through Danny's. However, things between them have been a little distant lately, and she just wanted to know what was going on. She didn't mean to stumble across the personal journal when rushing into his room to grab a thermos, and she never intended to stick said journal in a bag she so happened to be carrying. It just sorta happened, like a really bad impulse. In fact, she'd even forgotten she had it once the ghost fight was over. It wasn't like she had planned to be nosey. That's something Paulina would do. No, it was just a spur of the moment-stressed out that maybe Danny doesn't like her after all-thoughtless decision.

A decision that left her in quite the conundrum when she opened her bag that night to find the diary resting comfortably inside it.

"Oops." she muttered in the shadowy silence, biting her lip and looking around guiltily.

Her room was silent, for once. Usually some form of heavy metal was pouring from the massive stereo system or she was screaming at her parents for their latest girlify-Sammikins plot. But at midnight it wasn't surprising that all was quiet. Sam quickly closed up her bag and set it on the bed, taking a few steps back and trying to decide what to do. It was sitting like a tantalizing piece of black licorice cake, trying to lure her in with the promise of explaining Danny's bizarre behavior.

She had to admit, it was a tempting offer. Her best friend and secret crush of four years has been uncharacteristically reclusive these days, though she's probably the only one whose noticed it. Danny's gotten very good at hiding his emotions, so it wasn't all that shocking that Tucker gave her blank stares when she tried to talk to him about it.

"Sam, what are you talking about? Danny's fine. He's just stressed out about graduation. Speaking of which, you might wanna get a move on and spill the beans about you crushing on him for four years cause-"

After that Sam had cut him off with a violent punch to the gut because Danny had rejoined them.

Still, Tucker had a point. With graduation a mere two months away, she didn't have much longer. She just couldn't shake the feeling that Danny didn't see her the same way though, despite Tuckers constant spews otherwise.

"He's never dated anybody after Valarie and they didn't even really date! He doesn't even talk about other girls. Trust me Sam, the guys crazy about you. He's just too stupid to say anything. Kinda like yo-"

Here she had hit him again, but that was because Tucker was being Tucker.

Still, something was gnawing at her brain. She had the unsettling feeling that she was missing something, but couldn't even imagine what it was. It wasn't like Danny never had anymore options to date girls. Thanks to puberty and ghost fighting, he had grown to be a very attractive young man, something that Sam wasn't alone in noticing. Recently, a couple of the more popular girls had even made some advances on him, but he always stumbled away with a red face, declining their offers. It was kinda cute, to be honest, not to mention very satisfying to her jealously issues.

Sam frowned, feeling stereotypical for some reason. She turned away from the problematic bag and yanked the ponytail out of her hair.

"Danny's my best friend," She whispered angrily to herself, "Not some guy to pine over like a love struck schoolgirl.

Sam ran a brush through her hair and quickly jumped in the shower, hoping the hot water would relieve the stress clenching her muscles. It didn't work out very well, though. All she could think about as she clawed shampoo into her hair was Danny and his diary sitting not twenty feet from her. By the time she dried off and put pajamas on, she felt even more frazzled than when she'd gotten in.

"Ugh! This is such a mess!" she berated herself, pressing two fists against her head.

For a moment she stopped and stared resentfully at the bag resting on her black sheets. That horrible, traitorous thought scratched at the edges of her brain, one that'd been plaguing her from the instant she found the book in her bag. Just the littlest, tinniest peak...

"No." she said firmly to her self, turning away and rubbing a towel through her damp hair again. "That's Danny's personal journal. I am not going to look through it. No matter how much I want to know why he's so distant."

His funky behavior actually started long ago, around sophomore year, though it was very brief. For a couple months Danny was so reclusive that even Tucker noticed something was up. Amity's resident ghost boy never mentioned what was eating at him, though, surprise, surprise. Then, one day his confidence was randomly restored and he was back to the same old Danny, so his friends just let it go. Tucker figured it was a ghost thing, which sounded reasonable enough, but Sam had been hurt that Danny didn't trust her enough to say what was wrong. What could she do but get over it, though? So she did...at least until the weird behavior started up again.

Admittedly, it took her a while to notice this time, thanks to his improved ability to hide things. She caught on eventually though, but when she asked him about it he just pushed her away.

"I'm fine Sam. There's nothing to worry about."

Despite his assurances, she started seeing him less. Tucker said it was because ghost fighting had increased, and yeah it had, but she still felt...abandoned. Maybe ghost fighting was the problem though. After all, he had been talking about them a lot, lately. It seemed every other conversation at lunch was about Vlad, ghosts, and...well, Vlad.

Sam frowned, the realization suddenly striking her. She moved to the bed slowly, lowering to the fluffy comforter with a contemplative expression still in place. Now that she thought about it, the older hybrid did seem to pop up in conversation a lot. Was he causing problems for Danny again?

"He'd tell us if it had anything to do with Vlad, though..."

Sam leaned against the tall headboard, sitting cross legged and frowning at the bag five feet away. She felt less confident about her words than she wanted to. More than ever a desire for answers swirled around her head, making that horrible, traitorous thought seem so much closer. All she had to do was reach out and open it...

"No." She said, irritated with herself. "I am not going to invade Danny's personal space. ...even if this does have something to do with Vlad."

She glared at the bag, crossing her arms to further prove her resolution to the empty air. It didn't matter if the answer to Danny's abnormal behavior was right there. It didn't matter if she could finally know if he truly liked her and that all she had to do was open a book. She wasn't going to go through her best friend's diary. She was going to return this book to its rightful place and wait until the day Danny eventually told her what was wrong.

It took about two more minutes of this before Sam reached over and ripped the diary from the bag.

"I'm just checking to make sure he's not getting hurt." she rationalized, violently beating away the churning guilt in her stomach. "I'm just making sure..."

Still, she looked around the room with guilty eyes and quickly ran to shut her windows. Sam closed the thick curtains for good measure and ran back to the covers. She tried not to acknowledge the excited beat in her heart as she clicked a little bedside lamp on and snuggled against the many pillows, Danny's diary sitting helplessly in her lap.

Finally, when she was comfortable and completely locked in her room, she opened the first page of the book. Her heart was beating madly against her ribcage, but she ignored it and read the first entry. It was just to make sure he was safe...

May 14, 2001

Stupid Jazz took my rocket book! Now all I got is this stupid diary thing! I'm not even gonna use this cause diaries are for girls!

That was it. There was a little doodle of a few rockets at the bottom, but all together it was a very anticlimactic entry. Sam took note of the bad handwriting and the date, blinking a few more times.

"He must have been seven years old when he wrote this." she said to herself quietly, flipping forward several pages. "Guess he doesn't write in this very often."

She scanned through a few more entries, reading about ruined thanksgiving dinners and numerous fights with Jazz. She caught her name quite a few times, along with Tuckers', but usually it was just about them hanging out. It wasn't until she was about a quarter into the book that an entry caught her eye.

August 30, 2007

So mom and dad are almost done building that ghost portal. I don't even know why I'm writing this down. Guess I'm just bored. I told Sam about it and she's fascinated, of course. She wants to check it out when it's finished, and I told her we would even though I think it's creepy. Why would anyone want to build a gateway into the world of the dead anyways? Sounds like a lot of pointless trouble to me. Then again, maybe I'm just jealous cause mom and dad care more about their stupid ghost inventions than anything else.

Sam's expression softened, a wane smile tugging at the edge of her lips. Old memories flitted across her mind at the innocent entry, suddenly making her feel older. She unconsciously snuggling deeper into the covers, a type of warm contentment stealing over as she delved into what felt like her own life.

September 2, 2007

I think I died.

The handwriting was very shaky here. It didn't take a genius to know this was about him getting his ghost powers.

I don't know whats happening to me. I-I've turned into a freak. I can't even walk ten steps without sinking through the floor and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night on my ceiling! I walked into my parents stupid ghost portal and it turned on while I was in there and I came out looking all wrong. I feel wrong too. I just...I can't explain it. I don't feel...right...or something. I don't know. But it won't go away! It only gets worse when that weird form things comes out. A ring of light flashes and suddenly I'm freezing cold and my hair turns white and my eyes are green. Not to mention I'm stuck in that stupid HAZMAT suit. I don't know how to get rid of this other half thing or even know what it is! It's like...it's like I'm part ghost or something. Or am I all ghost? God, why can't I just be normal again? I wish I'd never gone into that stupid portal.

Sam stared at the last sentence. Old guilt resurfaced, the regret of pushing Danny to check out the portal making her heart twinge. She never realized being part ghost made him feel so different. Does he still feel like that?

She laid there for a while before letting loose a long sigh, picking the diary back up and moving to the next entry. Maybe he didn't regret it so much once he got used to his powers.

September 29, 2007

I hate these ghost powers. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. I can't figure out how to make them work and trying to hide them from Mom and Dad is driving me insane. All their inventions go off around me, I'm still falling through things, and even worse, tons of ghosts are popping up all over the place. Sam and Tucker expect me to do something about it, but I can't even hold a beaker without it falling through my hand! How am I supposed to save the freaking world! They have no clue how hard it is to live with these stupid powers. Everyday is like a battle to try and make sure they don't control me. I can't go to my parents cause they'd dissect me and I can't go to Jazz cause she already hates anything ghostly. I'm actually scared that these powers are gonna kill me one day. Like, completely kill me. A few days ago I went to sleep as a human and woke up in ghost mode about to walk into that creepy portal. It was horrible. I can't...I can't shake the unnatural pull from that thing. It's like half of me wants to go inside it. ...I just wish I had somebody to talk to. Some one who understands what it's like to be...half ghost.

Sam put the journal down again, the swirl of emotions reacting to this entry making her sick. She never knew he felt so connected to the ghost zone, willingly or not. She knew he had been scared of his powers, yeah, but not to this extent. He never even told her about waking up about to walk into the portal. The guilt eating at her started taking huge chomps. He had really hated his ghost powers, and he only had them because she pushed him to it. But that last sentence... Sam shivered. That was just creepy. She swallowed and pressed on, finding a very short entry next.

September 30, 2007.

I've been banned from handling anything fragile at school. Awesome.

Sam couldn't help but giggle at this one, looking to the next page to read about his first ghost fight. It was significantly more positive than his last two entries.

October 7, 2007

I fought my first ghost today and won! Some psycho dead lunch lady thing was floating around the school and took over all the meat. She turned into a giant meat monster. Sam's face was awesome. Tucker and her have been fighting over stupid stuff lately, but the lunch lady incident made them get over it, thank god. I don't know what I would have done if they'd kept arguing. One of my dad's inventions finally worked too. It's kinda weird, cause it's a thermos, but the lunch lady had no idea what was going on until I sucked her inside of it. It was so cool! Now I don't know what to do with it though cause I'm kinda scared she's gonna get out or something. Maybe I could empty the thermos into the ghost zone. I don't really wanna go near there though... Oh well, I guess I'll worry about that later cause nothing can take away how awesome that fight was! I was flying everywhere and shooting green lasers out of my hands and I even managed to turn Sam and Tucker intangible with me so I could save them from man eating ovens. I guess these ghost powers aren't all bad. I got to be a hero today, which was kinda cool. Tucker said I should have a name for my ghost half and he came up with Danny Phantom. He's such a dork. I still wish I had someone who could explain them to me, though. It's hard trying to figure out how to get control of them on my own.

Sam smiled, glad that this entry wasn't so depressing and angry. It looked like the lunch lady incident was when he finally started accepting his powers. At least a little bit. The indirect reference to Vlad was still creepy though. She had a feeling the entry about meeting him wouldn't be a happy one, assuming he wrote about it.

She flipped through a few more entries, reading about his first encounters with ghosts like Technus and Skulker. As the dates of entries moved on into November, his attitude about his ghost half was more tolerant but in every other entry he always mentioned wishing he had someone who could understand his ghost half. Sam felt a little affronted by this because if he would just talk to her and Tucker they could probably understand just fine. Maybe then she wouldn't be so worried about him and be reading through his personal diary too.

She bit her lip in a moment of shame but pushed it away, quickly reading the next entry. It was short though, just about how annoying the box ghost is and some venting over his parents inventions. It wasn't until she turned a couple more pages that she found a more intriguing entry.

November 11, 2007

This sucks! Me, Sam and Tucker were supposed to have monster movie marathon at Sam's tomorrow night, but now Dad is dragging the family to Wisconsin to meet some old college buddy of his! I'm gonna be trapped in the RV for eleven hours so Mom and Dad can pogo to new wave music at their college reunion. Why do me and Jazz have to even go? We don't know the guy. How am I supposed to hide my powers from Mom and Dad while being crammed in a small space with them for so long? The only good thing is that I'll get to miss school tomorrow. Yipee. Hopefully this Vlad guy will have something fun to do while I'm stuck at his house for the weekend.

Sam smiled wanly and turned to the next page, not surprised to see the very angry entry.

November 13, 2007

No freaking way! This cannot be happening to me! I've been DYING to have someone to teach me about these stupid powers, but when I finally do he turns out to be a FRUITLOOP! It's not fair! Why can't anything be just a little easy for me! Vlad actually wants me to disown my own father in exchange for training! The guy's a nut! And the whole thing with my mom is just weird! Is it really too much to ask for a sane, not crazy mentor for my powers? Apparently it is! And it freaking figures that the only guy who could possibly understand me is turning into my archenemy with 20+ years of ghost power experience. I can't beat him, it's impossible! He's a billionaire and a genius for godsake! I'm only 14! He said we'd meet again, but what the heck does that mean? Is he gonna try to kill Dad again? I'm actually scared that the guy might even kidnap me! He's psycho! This is just my luck. Thanks a ton, life. You're awesome.

Sam sighed, tracing some of his angry scrawl. The pen had dug deep into the paper, proof of how angry he'd been when he wrote this. She flipped through a few more pages with a dispirited frown, reading more entries about Vlad. His emotions on the older man ranged from hate to anger to sadness. It was clear that any emotion Danny had for Vlad was a strong one, and his insecurities around him were deeper than as she realized. In fact, some of the entries were down right frightening.

December 20, 2007

Vlad is driving me nuts. Again. Every time I talk to him I feel like my morals go through a blender and come out juiced. Why does he feel the need to bash me for saving people? Who the hell does he think he is? I'm not weak because I care about others. I don't even know why I listen to him. He's just old, bitter, and alone. I shouldn't even care.

December 23, 2007

Vlad is coming over for Christmas. Fuck my life.

January 2, 2008

Is it wrong that I really wanna take Vlad up on his offer to train me? Like, really really reeeally bad? I'm so done fighting with my own powers, and he always seems to know exactly what he's doing. I can't explain the way he moves so perfectly with his ecto-engery, or brings glowing shields out of no where. He knows what he's doing. Me? I'm just floundering around hoping to god enough luck helps me win. If it weren't for Sam and Tucker I'd be dead by now. And that's not an exaggeration. I don't need Jazz to tell me I'm in way over my head sometimes.

The goth put the journal down after that entry and laid back, her head feeling thick. There were so many things that Danny never talked to her or Tucker about, so many things that he dealt with on his own. Why does he always feel the need to protect them? Why can't he just suck it up and understand that she and Tucker want to help him with his ghosts?

Sam exhaled loudly, unable to stop thinking about Danny and Vlad. Or about his ghost fights. Or about this entire diary. It took her a while to remember that she was supposed to be looking for something in particular, not just carousing through his private life. If Danny wanted to keep his insecurities about his powers private then that was his choice. She was supposed to be looking for why he's been so reclusive lately, that's it.

She waited for a moment before sitting up, playing with the idea of talking to Danny about his problems but then immediately pushing the thought away. He'd never tell her anything if he found out she was reading his diary. Sam skipped ahead through the book, flipping all the way to the last several entries which had to have some explanation for his silence. But when she read the first sentence of a recent entry, all she could do was groan, her fears confirmed.

January 5, 2010

I fought with Vlad again today. That's the third time this week and it's only wednesday. I feel like I should be more irritated than I am, though. It's weird. I've been fighting the guy for over four years now, but lately our fights haven't been...I dunno. Maybe the words I'm looking for are 'less intense.' Our battles aren't the same as they were when we first met. But maybe that's just me. I used to really hate him, but now...

Well I guess one things for sure. Vlad will always confuse me.

Sam frowned, recalling past times when Danny would tell them that he didn't know how to feel about Vlad. She was sure that he didn't really hate him though, like the entry had said. It was clear that Vlad still annoyed him on a daily basis, but it was true, things were different between them. Maybe is was simply Danny had grown up and they both had a grudging respect for the other? If that was the case though neither of them would ever admit it.

Sam rolled her eyes, flipping the page.

January 26, 2010

So Vlad visited today, and the crazy part is, we didn't even fight. That doesn't happen often, and when it does it's usually because his plans involve him snaking his way closer to something in my house. Today though he stopped by for a surprise 'mayoral' visit. Mom wasn't too happy cause Dad was gone. She knows Vlad's a creeper, so I managed to find an excuse for her to leave so I could take care of the fruitloop for her. I didn't mind, and she mouthed the word 'thank you' before she left. It's funny cause Vlad's not stupid and he knew damn well my mom didn't want to spend five minutes with him. I laughed when she left, and was surprised when he took it in stride. He just rolled his eyes and demand that I make him tea. The jerk.

So, basically, for the best part of four hours we sat in the living room and talked. It was really really weird. But I liked it. A lot. Maybe enough to visit his house one day and demand that he make me some tea.

Sam was still frowning. She recalled the day that Danny told them about Vlad coming over for tea, but he never mentioned that he wanted to pay Vlad a personal visit as well. Had he already done that and not told them?

Febuary 2, 2010

I visited Vlad today. He was surprised to see me, which is awesome cause it's not often that I surprise him. We didn't do much. Called each other names, drank tea, he kicked my ass in Chess. It was pretty fun. He told me I should come back. I wanna tell Sam and Tucker about it, but I'm afraid of how they'll react. I told them about Vlad making a house call a week ago and they gave me funny looks...

"Well that answers that question." Sam muttered bitterly, feeling oddly jealous of the billionaire.

There were several more entries of him visiting Vlad, or Vlad and him fighting, or random things about Vlad. It actually started getting really annoying, so Sam skipped a few pages to find something not about older hybrid. She had no idea Vlad was this big of an influence on Danny's life. It looked like he thought about him every day! She stopped on an entry that looked promising, but was soon disappointed.

March 10, 2010

Today, I didn't do anything. It's a Thursday, and Tucker's probably bowling at Sam's, but I just want to be alone. I haven't done anything productive either. I just sat on my bed and thought about random things all day. You know, college, Vlad, parents, Vlad, Sam, Vlad. I've been thinking a lot about Vlad lately, and I don't like it.

If the reason is what I think it is, I'm gonna be pissed.

"Darn it Danny, you even write cryptically." Sam muttered, more than a little irritated with that last sentence. Still, it was flattering to know that he spent a day thinking about her, too. At least Vlad hadn't stolen all of his attention. The thought warmed her chest and put a small smile to her lips. Maybe, after he sorted whatever issues with Vlad he clearly has, they could spend some more time together and she could show him a life without ghosts. Sam's smile spread and she flipped to the next entry, her entire life crashing to in immediate halt and all rational thought blowing up at the first sentence.

March 16, 2010

Son of a bitch, I'm crushing on Vlad.

I mean, really? Really? Vlad? What the fuck. He's so off limits it's painful. Like, ironically and catastrophically painful. I would be freaking out right now, but I already freaked out a couple days ago when we where fighting and Vlad got a little too close and he looked down at me with that arrogant smirk he's got and all I could think was, "Wow, he looks pretty sexy right no-holy shit what the hell am I thinking!" Yeah. That was officially a bad day. I guess now I'm just doing mental damage control. That, or I've become more attached to this journal than I thought. Anyway, I've been afraid that my feelings for Vlad were more than platonic, and now, I know that they are. Awesome. I even tried to ask my Dad how old the guy is in hopes that the age difference would scare my hormones away. It didn't. In fact, I'd say he's even more attractive now, which is weird. We're 26 years apart, by the way, just to creep you out some more. He really doesn't look it though, which might attribute to why the age difference doesn't freak me out.

In retrospect, I think the age thing is probably the least of my worries. There's the whole he-goes-against-all-of-my-morals thing, and the fact that he used to try killing my Dad and stealing my Mom on a regular basis. That should be a problem. But I still can't help staring at him in all the wrong ways! Jeez, this is such a mess. The worst part is, I can't hide my feelings from Vlad worth a shit. It's gonna take him all of ten seconds to figure out why I blush so much around him, and when he does he's going to freak out. Or laugh at me. Probably the latter. He'll never want to spend time with me again though, which is what scares me the most. And I mean this is the less gushiest way possible, but I can't imagine a life without him in it. He's just...Vlad. He never goes away. Even when I think I want him to.

But this leaves me in another pickle. Sam is way more perceptive than anyone gives her credit for. I'd give it maybe a month before she picks up that something is off about me. She'd freak if I told her. Hell, back in sophomore year I couldn't even tell her and Tuck about discovering the fact that I'm gay.

Sam froze, so many of Tuckers comments slamming into her mind and making painful sense...He doesn't talk about other girls, Sam...I've never even seen him staring at other chicks... They had always thought that meant Danny liked her, but in reality...

Vlad expects me to come over tomorrow. I'm debating whether or not to cancel. Oh who am I kidding, I know I won't. Still, this new predicament I'm in sure is gonna make it awkward. At least for me. Maybe I could convince him to just watch a movie or something... That should be safe enough, you think?

The journal entry ended there. Sam immediately turned to the next one, waiting for the 'April Fools!' page. Unfortunately, the story didn't get any better. In fact, it got significantly worse.

March 11th, 2010

Watching a movie was the dumbest idea ever! It was dark and we were sitting on a couch and I couldn't see where I was going and I tripped over my own two stupid feet and I landed in his lap. Vlad, being the epitome of funny that he is, made a sarcastic, suggestive kind of comment, like a flirting kind of comment, and me, being the idiot I am, actually flirted back. It was so embarrassing! I have no idea why I said it! But then Vlad gave me a funny look at my comeback and GRINNED. What the hell does that mean! Why am I even writing all this crap down? Why does Vlad make me want to pull my hair out!

Just...fml, guys. F. M. L.

Sam turned the next page, slower this time with a feeling of dread starting up in her stomach. Still, her eyes had every intention of speeding across the rushed scrawl of the next entry, scanning for the sentence that would take everything back and say that Danny actually liked her. Again, she was severely disappointed, and this time more than slightly horrified.

March 14th, 2010

So I kissed Vlad today. Yeah, I know, that was quick, huh? We're just moving right along, aren't we? I guess I didn't really mean to. It just sorta...happened. Now I don't know what to do with myself or what to do around him. In all honestly, he totally started it. I'm actually more flattered than anything else though. To think someone like me would attract his attention. He's a world famous billionaire and I haven't even graduated high school yet. ...ha. That mean's Vlad's a pedophile. I should make fun of him for that. In all seriousness though, I'm kinda at a loss. The whole, floaty, cloud nine part of the kiss has worn down enough that the repercussions are starting to hit me in the face. What's gonna happen next? What does this mean for me and Vlad? I'm I just over thinking it? Is Sam starting to notice something's up?

Ugh. As usual, Vlad leaves me just as confused as ever.

Sam decided she was done. She didn't want to know anything else about Vlad, or Danny, or any of the horrible secret things she was never supposed to find out. There were more journal entries, but she couldn't bring herself to read them. A reluctant, quick scan told her they were all about Vlad anyways. She still couldn't believe it, at least not completely. It was too bizarre. More than anything though, dull, gnawing rejection was chewing at her heart, wadding it up and spitting it out every time she saw Vlad's name on the pages. What did he have that she didn't? She'd known Danny for years and as a bonus, has never tried to kill him! Why is Danny attracted to...to Vlad! It just doesn't make any sense!

"I don't understand." Sam whispered, voice cracking.

To her utter mortification, she felt her throat start to burn and eyes tear up. A few violent coughs got rid of the tight throat and she quickly blinked the water away. She was not going to cry over this, no matter how much the betrayal hurt. Sam stuffed the journal someplace else, not able to stand the sight of it for another minute.

She never should have opened that diary.

I know, crappy ending, but whatever. I stopped caring. Let's call it artistic license.