Disclaimer: No I'm not coming up with something witty. Belongs to Butch Hartman.

Rating: As far as ratings go, it would be safe to go with T

Summary: Whoever thought a Goth would have a tender moment looking out a window? Tucker centric. With some one-sided DxV, DxS, but mostly TxS friendship.

Time-line: After: Flirting With Disaster, but before Double Cross My Heart.

Growing Up

It was last period english class and it couldn't have gone any slower. I didn't even notice the long yawn escaping out of my mouth. Mr. Lancer was going over his newest assignment: an essay on american authors was as enthusiastic as the last project he assigned. Poetry. Lancer continued on dragging his last minutes with our class on how to properly citing our sources. My attention of course bounced between the droning lecture and staring at the clock. Unfortunately, I had forgot to charge "baby" last night. Leaving me staring at her darken screen.

"Come on" I whispered. I kept looking down between my legs where my hand held PDA lay suspiciously hidden. The only thing I got out of "baby" was the time. So, I waited for the digital clock's green lights on my hand held to change to double zeros to end of class. Why does time go slower when you watch it, seriously? I officially decided that today was the slowest day ever. Especially since I didn't have Danny or Sam around to keep me company. Or baby.

Danny had cut class early to deal with some ghostly activities. I came up with a swift excuse for him and seconds later had Danny sprinting out the door. Bladder issues. I alluded. That was all that needed to be said to Mr. Lancer. Of course, I didn't really think the classroom would explode into laughter, ricocheting off the walls, or to see our teacher looking dumbfounded. And after all the teasing and jokes from Dash and his gang, and Lancer's stern looks of getting the class back on track. I thought maybe that wasn't the best scenario for a plausible excuse for Danny's activities. I removed my beret scratching at my head. While releasing a shaky sigh. Yeah, Danny was going to kill me for that.

It was too bad Sam wasn't around either; she would've come up with a better excuse for Danny than me. But Sam had been excused from class today, to help out the art instructor assist a class. It wasn't fair, "How come I never got to assist a technology class," I muttered carefully under my breath. "But Sam get's to assist an art class. How was that fair?"

It wasn't until shortly after that, Valerie eagerly asked to be excused to use the restroom, probably too fired up to test out that new hot suit of hers. But that had all been over an hour go, which still left me all by my lonely self. I made a mental note for later to call Danny if he was all right.

And Mr. Lancer continued on, unaware that he could even put the most productive student in class into a blissful pillowed sleep. Or that even two of his students ditched class, well, three if you count Sam. "And I don't want to see any sources of Wikipedia," as he directed his gaze at me. As if I done so many times before. Like almost second nature, I stuffed baby quickly into my pocket.

With all this attention directed at me, I slid into my seat as dozens of pair of eyes glanced my way, with a few snickers. But I noticed I had gotten a few looks from some hotties! I jerked my head in a cool way, and flash a grin, only to have the girls showing me the finger with a curt nod of the head with vicious grins. Ouch! But they wanted me, I could tell. They just didn't want to loose their reputation to go out with a guy like me. I already know. I just kept on staring, grinning as my eyes tended to drift towards some cleavage.

Then I heard a thumping sound and turned my head and saw some jocks, Dash's cronies more or less, making punching gestures with one hand into the other. While the other jocks shook their heads horizontally as if saying 'no'. Nervous, with no signs of my best friends saving my black ass, I turned my attention back to the front of the class.

Mr. Lancer drew in another breath to continue on with his speech, but the bell rang cutting him off. He hurried to toss out one last thing to us students hurriedly packing to get out the door, "Don't forget this paper is due tomorrow!" As he walked back to his desk grinning, "I hope to see you all in class tomorrow." Me too.

I was way too happy that class was finally let out with the final bell of the day. I high tailed it out of Mr. Lancer's class and hid (waited) by the lockers for Sam and Danny. Knowing I was safe, since no jock with a letterman's jacket harassed me yet, I was okay. Happy with my assured safety; my attention was brought back to Danny. Without even a second thought, I was already calling him on my new flip phone. Waiting for the other line to pick up. I breathed nervously into the phone worried that Danny Phantom might have ran into Valerie a.k.a. the Red Huntress.

Then a click sounded, "Hello?"

"Dude! That must have been some fight, huh?"

I waited, until I heard a faint chuckle on the other line, "I thought you were Sam checking up on me," as Danny continuing chuckling, "but yeah I'm good. Just a quick fight with Ember, nothing big."

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was keeping. To keep things light, I found my entertainment where I could start my round of teasing, "Oh, so you wanted Sam to call you?" I teased.

There was silence on the other end until I heard a long sigh, "Will you drop it Tuck, there is nothing going on between me and Sam!"

"That's right, because there's the whole Valerie thing added to it now, right?" I could hear Danny breathing sharply into the phone, obviously annoyed. Clueless.

May be joking about "the Valerie issue" was a little soon. I mean there almost relationship was not that long ago, a couple months tops. And Valerie somehow always was able to manage of avoiding Danny like he was the common flu. And even if they did see each other he always waved, while she just curtly nodded or just flashed a smile at his antics, and then poof. She was gone.

"Okay, okay, okay, I was just yanking your chain, man. I'll back off."

I heard something like 'good' through the line and left at that.

"Dude, look—I didn't call to bother. I just wanted to check up, you know? And to see if you and Sam—and I of course—wanted to, you know, hit up the Nasty Burger?" I waited for a response.

"Come on Danny, my tre—" but he cut me off.

"Hey, Tuck, I gotta go, Valerie's heading my way," as he whispered into the phone, "Meet me out front in a while?" and before I could get a word out the phone click off ending our conversation.

I sighed and closed the phone to cut off the annoying beeping sound of the voice asking for other options of phone usage. It seemed Danny was a little more than eagerly happy to get off the phone with me, to chat with Valerie.

Why was Valerie gonna talk to Danny anyways? If I remembered correctly, it was she who was avoiding Danny, not the other way around. Besides I don't think he minded anyhow, any attention from her was something like a hot girl giving me attention.

I shook my head, Danny, Danny, Danny. The kid was clueless, what could I do? Couldn't even see that Sam was interested—is interested in him too. And Valerie, well, she to was interested, but didn't want to be with him because her life of ghosting hunting was more important to her, than being Danny's girlfriend, which was a little harsh in my terms.

But as Danny liked to put it, she was doing it to protect him. I would've laughed out loud at that if it weren't so serious. Serious in Danny's case at least, she wanted to protect him? From what, I was always asked, the Box Ghost?

And Sam, our best friend Sam, was coming to the conclusion that she didn't think she met the standards for our local halfa. Which was total bull in this case. Sam, she'd just have to be patient and wait for Danny to get over this whole love sickness over Valerie.

Which totally reminded me I had forgotten to invite Sam to the Nasty Burger. Cell phone still in hand, I dialed yet another familiar number. I waited as the phone ringed, listening to the new Humpty Dumpty song as Sam's new background choice. Nice! I didn't even think the song was supposed to come out yet. And after only several rings, the phone pick up, "Hey Tuck, how was class?"

"Boring!" I said easily. "Lancer almost put me to sleep. Then there's the fact that you weren't in class either." And just like Danny did, I heard faint laughter on the other line, "Miss me much?" I didn't bother telling her about Danny's absence, or Valerie knowing her…

Without missing a cue I answered, "Couldn't stop thinking about you, babe," more laughter as the fooling between us just started.

"Listen Romeo, I got a quick thing to handle." Huh, what a coincidence, Danny to. "Did you actually need me for something, or did you just wanted to hear the sound of my voice?"

"Well—" I started.

"Oh, Shut-up!"

I couldn't help, but tease Sam, its what our friendship was based on, teasing and bothering the other helplessly until the other one caved. That and Danny wasn't really much of a sport, ever since Valerie dumped him. As for Sam, I really didn't expect her to take Danny and Valerie's almost relationship so well.

Hell, I didn't expect she accept Valerie liked she had a couple months ago. At first it seemed forced, like an act or something, but I knew it to be sincere. Sam just had a really weird way of showing her feelings. That was all before "things" happened, and leaving us to where we are now. And even now Sam was slowly trying to move on. Trying being the key word here, at least the girl was willingly to move onwards and not back.

"Listen happy, I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a bite at the Nasty Burger with me and Danny?"

I think I heard her mutter something like 'I'm not that happy, but decided to ignore it.

"A bite, Tucker? Try saying it's your total calorie intake, or another three-course meal for the day. Those poor, poor animals." I would've of come up with a comeback when she spoke again.

"Look Tucker I gotta finish up here with Mr. Carlson's art class, but meet me by my locker, 'kay?"

I really couldn't help but say it, "You sound like a valley girl, when you say things like that Sam."

And I couldn't fight the smile when she said, "Hmmm, where's the off button on this thing." Sam could be really funny when she wanted to be, too bad she didn't always showed it.

Then the line went really quiet until I spoke again, "Sam? Are you there? Hello?"

I don't know how many times I said Sam's name until I heard her speak again.

I could hear the smile through the phone, "Yesss?"

"Oh, you really suck Sam, you know that!"

"I suck, huh? But at least I don't swallow Tucker." It was pretty funny how Sam and I could always turn something so simple into something with sexual innuendos.

"Oh, ha ha, Sam."

"Okay, enough fooling around. I'll see you by my locker, okay?" Then she hung up just like that.

Today with everything that happened kind of made me miss all the craziness that Sam and I go through with Danny's life. It had been one of the most prolonged days I had in, forever. Of course, a lot of excitingly things happened since the Valerie predicament that stirred up our little trio. Danny being lovesick, Sam being overly jealous, and that left me somewhere between the middle.

With all that happened for the last few weeks it was really getting boring. Danny hadn't really needed Sam or I to help him hunt ghosts as much. And if either of us asked to help, he just brushed us off in the only way Danny ever could. Told me he didn't want either Sam or I to get hurt because of his burden. Riiight. Need I mention Sam's almost wedding, me becoming a Pharaoh, Sam and I infected with ecto-acne, and Danny being kidnapped by Vlad? Sam and I helped him through that, through all of it, and we were going to help him get through whatever came next.

I took my time before I met Sam at her locker. I didn't want to make Sam feel like she had to be rushed or anything. Besides the earlier I got there, meant the faster we got to the Nasty Burger, which later would lead me getting home quicker and doing my chores—courtesy of my mom. And finally getting started on that paper Lancer assigned. Shoot the paper, I almost forgot! So, after going to relief myself in the bathroom, I walked to the second floor where Sam's locker was now reassigned.

As I walked up the flight of stairs to meet Sam at her locker, I noticed to my surprise, she was looking out the second floor window at an angle from where I stood, she was looking fixedly at something. What was she doing there?

She looked to be carrying some art supplies, but that wasn't important. What was though, was the look on Sam's face, when I got a closer look. Where a frown was mostly bestowed on her face, was replaced with a warm smile. Her eyes seemed to glow almost supernaturally.

When I got a closer glimpse at Sam's purple gaze, I thought I saw a flicker of an old flame, but there was something else in her eyes. No they weren't tears like I thought at first. There was something else; something that extinguished those flames of jealously. From what I saw, she had the same look she had for Danny, when something good was happening for him. That special glint that was a rarity that said she was content with the world. And god only knows that Sam Manson was ever content with most things.

I inched closer to Sam to get a better view at what she was looking at. I saw what she was seeing. Danny was below the double-door entrance with Valerie talking about something—making Danny glow, blush, and grin all rolled up into one emotion. Then Danny did his signature move where he placed his arm behind his head, rubbing the back of his neck smiling. It's funny whenever Sam was staring at Danny the world just seem to melt away from her, lost in her own world.

I turned to Sam, placing my hand on her shoulder, "You ready to go Sam?"

"Yeah, let's go." It was too soft and quiet, even for Sam.

We were just about ready to go, when we heard a call from what I believe to be Sam's art instructor calling out to her down the hall.

"Sam! Could you come here for a second?"

Just like that, the spell over her was broken. Sam turned and flash me a half smile, "I'll see you in a few." Then she just ran off with the supplies in her arms towards the art room.

I didn't know if Sam knew it, but she really grew so much within the course of the year. I'd always admired Sam for that. Having unrequited love was a tough thing, especially when that person doesn't even know you exist. Well, Danny noticed, maybe a little, but he never acted on it, especially if Sam was the case. It hurt; a lot. I knew well enough from experience, but I always managed to turn out okay. But my small fatuous crushes weren't as tense as Sam's crush was for Danny. Sometimes I wondered if Danny knew how lucky he was, to have a girl patiently waiting for him to get a clue.

My thoughts were tangled between sympathy for Sam and frustration over Danny. They were both clueless about each other, more so Danny than Sam. My feelings won out for Sam, being how much closer our friendship brought us because of Danny. I made a light promise to myself. I'd make sure Sam got a happy ending.

I was distracted by my thoughts that I didn't even notice Star walk by me swing those dangerous hips of hers. If only she could see deeper than the tech geek that I am. I'll have to work on that. But something occurred to me; I didn't even drop everything to drool over some girl—A hot girl! I guess I was growing up in some ways to, well, at least me and Sam were, Danny was to, just at a slower pace.

But things happen for a reason and somehow I don't think the craziness between our trio was slowing down—especially for Danny and Sam. No, I think it was just the beginning. It was just all the matter of when?

Author's Note: This little idea sneaked up on me when I saw a picture that just really made me smile. If anyone can guess where I got the idea, I'll try to the best of my capabilities to reward you with something. I keep re-editing it, but no cigar. I still find it to be not a well written piece. It's okay to tell me it's not, I won't mind. I'll edit more, if it's bad as I think it is. Enjoy!