(A/N: Ok I wrote most of this chapter around three in the morning. I also had to split it in to two different chapters because it was getting pretty long. I had planed on posting it in a few days but because of all the great reviews I got I'm posting it sooner for everyone, so enjoy!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, for some odd reason.

Thief

Chapter 2: Meeting the Girl

Danny watched the girl slowly walk up the stairs. He was about to appear and try to scare her away when the stairs under her suddenly cracked and she fell. Danny expected her to stop after a few feet when she reached floor level but she kept going into a basement that he hadn't even known was there. Danny shot into the basement still invisible, he looked at the girl who seemed to be fine. She was already sitting rubbing her backside.

Then Danny had an idea, he didn't know where it came from or why he decided to do it but it seemed like a good idea at the time. He floated back up to the first floor.


Sam rubbed her lower back, she had landed on a dirt and ash covered floor. She looked up at the hole about ten feet above her head, small flacks of ash fell from the hole still, landing on her head and shoulders. Sam tried to stand but one of her feet was pinned under a large wooden step. She tried to move it but at the angle she had landed she couldn't get a good grip on it.

"Hey are you alright down there?" Sam looked up and saw a head had appeared over the hole. It was a boy who looked about her age with raven hair and ice blue eyes.

"Yea, I'm just down here for the great view" Sam said gesturing to the total dark basement. The boy looked confused for a minute then got that she was being sarcastic.


Danny had flown up to the first floor, then making sure no one was around he had changed back in to a human and walked to the edge of the stairs. He looked down the hole the girl had fallen through and saw her trying to move a board off of her foot. "Hey are you alright down there?"

The girl looked up, ash was stuck in her hair but she still looked very pretty, a part of Danny wondered on a side note if it was normal to think a girl who had just fallen through stairs and was now covered in ash was pretty. His musing was interrupted when the girl called back up to him. "Yea, I'm just down here for the great view"

Great view? What's she talking about, its pitch black down there. Then it dawned on him that she was being sarcastic. Danny looked around, "Oh well the stairs are already a mess. You might want to cover your head"

Danny checked to make sure the girl was doing as he said then kicked the stairs, most broke away on the first kick. There was a muffled Ow from Sam below. "Sorry about that!"

Danny picked up a part of the stairs railing and lowered it down to us as a ladder, it was flimsy but he thought it would hold him. As soon as he put his foot on it though it broke. "Ok that's not going to work"

"Why don't you just use the stairs?" The girl asked as Danny pulled himself back up.

"What stairs?" The only stairs he could see had a huge hole in it and even if they didn't they went in the wrong direction.

"I can see some over by where the kitchen is, why don't you look for them, unless you want to try your ladder again?"

"Uh no I'll look for the stairs" Danny walked over to the kitchen and looked around for any place where stairs could be. He normally stayed on the second and third floor so it was possible there were stairs here, especially since he hadn't known about the basement to begin with. The kitchen was empty except for the table and there didn't seem to be any stairs, then he noticed a door that he had always assumed lead to a small closet.

Danny walked over and tried the door, it was locked. Making sure he was alone again he put his finger to the lock, it glowed green for a minute before a small beam shot into the door. Danny tried it again and the door groaned inward. On the other side were cramped stairs leading down, he tested them and they seemed sturdy enough.

Danny hurried down them, the basement was dark but enough light filtered down through the hole for him to see. The girl was covered in light and the few peace of ash in the air looked like snow.

"Uh are you alright?" Danny shook his head again, he hadn't realized he'd been standing there starring at her.


Sam saw the boy come down the stairs and stop, he was looking at her with a look that reminded her of a puppy. Sam felt a blush start to creep over her face. "Uh are you alright?"

The boy shook his head and walked over to her, he bent down and grabbed the wood over her foot. "I'll lift and you pull ok?"

"Alright" Sam said adjusting her weight so she could pull her foot out fast. The boy lifted the board, Sam pulled but her boot was to large to fit and after a few tugs she gave up and the boy put the wood back down, adjusting it so its weight wasn't on her anymore at least.

"You're going to have to take my boot off I guess, so I can pull my foot out." Sam said with a sigh, this was becoming such a hassle.

Sam looked up, the boy had a strange look on his face. "What? I don't have cooties you know"

"Oh no its not that." The boys faced looked funny, and then Sam realized he was blushing!

"Oh, its just a boot its not like I'm asking you to take my pants off."

"You aren't wearing pants" he pointed out, he seemed a little more comfortable now.

Sam smiled, "And how do you know what I'm wearing under this skirt?"


Dannys face got even redder at that statement. He tried to ignore it anyways and reached down for the girls boot. He gentle held it and started to undo the straps, he fumbled a few times but finally it came lose and he pulled it off. He could feel his face blushing severely, he glanced at the girl and was surprised she seemed to be blushing too.

"Ok lets try again" Danny said preparing to lift the board again. He lifted it as high as he could again and the girl pulled her foot free. He let the board fall back to the ground, he picked up her boot and handed it to her.

Danny was surprised when he handed the boot to the girl and their fingers brushed, it was probably nothing to the girl but that was the most contact Danny had ever really had with a girl before and to his embarrassment his face started to heat up again.

Sam slipped her foot back into her boot, What's up with this guy? He acts like touching hands is such a big deal, then again for him it could be "Thanks for the help…"

"Danny" Stupid you shouldn't have told her your real name!

"Thanks Danny, I'm Sam. I'm lucky you came by. What were you doing here by the way? This isn't exactly the friendliest part of town"

"Oh I was just out for a walk, I heard the crash and thought someone might have been hurt." That's good, she should buy it. "What were you doing in here anyways?"

"You were out for a walk? And just happened to be walking by when I fell through the stairs?" Sam was very skeptical about Dannys story. She had been around liars a lot at the police station and she could tell when most people were lying, or at least bending the truth.

"Yes, I like to walk" Danny shrugged at her question, "So you didn't tell me what you are doing here."

"Ok two thing. One I don't have to tell you what I'm doing here, and two no one in this part of the city is just 'out for a walk'"

"Well what about you, if this is such an unfriendly place then what were you doing here? In a rundown building?"

"What?! Just cause I'm a girl you think I can't take care of myself? That I should be at home all safe and sound?" Sam poked her finger into Dannys chest. "Only a big strong man can be down here is that it?"

"No! Its just, I mean." Danny fumbled trying to find the right words.

Sam realized she'd been a bit hard on Danny and drew her hand back. "Sorry I'm used to having to fight with my dad to let 'His little princess' do anything."

"Uh that's alright, I should know not to push people when they don't want to talk." Danny said following Sam up the stairs back. He almost went for the beam to go back up to the second story but caught himself and followed Sam out the front door. He'd planned on going which ever way Sam didn't so he could get back up to his floor.

Once on the street Sam headed north, Danny guessed she was going to the bus stop two blocks up. Then he saw two bulky guys with long blond hair tired in a ponytails talking a corner girl. She looked annoyed and he guessed they were trying to sweet talk her in to a freebee. Danny did a quick turn around and started walking next to Sam, he had an odd feeling again and would rather see her to the bus stop.

Danny saw Sam glance at him over her shoulder. He smiled at her "So where are you going?"

"I'm going home." Sams answer made it clear she didn't think it was any of his business.

"Mind if I walk you to the bus stop then?" Danny saw her face darken and quickly raised his hands defensively. "Not that I don't think you can I'm just trying to be the gentleman"

Sam looked ahead again but didn't tell Danny to leave so he kept walking next to her. When they got closer to the corner the two guys took notice of Sam, she must have noticed them too because her walking flattered for a second. It wasn't really noticeable but Danny and the two guys caught it.

The guys must not have been from around this part of the bums, most locals would have backed off of a girl with Danny since rumor had it the mafia watched out for him. It wasn't true of course but it kept most people from messing with him.

Danny moved a little closer to Sam, the guys looked at them and must have decided it would be too much of a hassle to deal with Danny. They went back to sweet talking the girl who rolled her eyes, he also caught a slight smirk when Danny and Sam passed her.

Most people knew the corner girls did work for the mafia, fewer people knew they were also the mafias eyes and ears.

Danny sat down on the bus bench next to Sam, it was a very old one. It wasn't even sheltered from the wind. He looked over at Sam who had her head tilted back, as he watched she let out a long sigh. "Thanks"

Danny was a little confused. "For what?"

"Those guys, at best they would have hit on me, at worst, well anyways thanks" Sam had kept her eyes closed so Danny couldn't tell what she was really thinking but he was impressed. Most girls probably wouldn't have realized how bad things could have gotten.

"So Sam, if you don't mind me asking, what were you really doing in that building?"

Sam cracked an eye open to look at Danny. "Honestly? There's this snob of a girl who goes to my school who was bragging about how she went to the burned out apartments and stood on the steps. Everyone was so impressed that I finally got feed up with it and said, 'big deal that place isn't even haunted! I'll go in and out and prove that its just building.' And so I came down here to prove I was right and she's a big air head."

"Makes since I guess, I've meet a lot of air heads. So you snuck out to prove your point?"

"Who said anything about sneaking out?" Sam was now watching Danny with both eyes.

"Just a guess, I mean most parents wouldn't let their kid come down here. Especially after you said you were used to fighting your dad to do things."

"Your pretty perceptive all of a sudden."

"Well I can be from time to time."

Whatever Sam was about to say was cut short when her phone started to ring, she fished it out of her pocket and her face paled slightly. "Oh shit its Steve"

"Steve?" Dannys heart sunk a little for some reason.

"Steve works with my dad and was going to give me a ride home since my dads working late, I completely forgot about him. What should I tell him?"

"How should I know?"

The phone was still ringing in Sams hands, "I better answer before they send the whole police department after me." She pushed a button and held it to her ear. "Hello? Oh hi Steve…. I know but I didn't want you to waist your dinner break so I caught a bus… Yes that's why it took me a minute to answer I was just getting on… I know my dad wouldn't want me taking the bus but I can take care of myself… Yes I'm fine….Well I'll call him when I get home then so he knows I'm fine… Ok bye"

Sam hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. She didn't say anything to Danny for a few minutes. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, "So Sam where do you live?"

"Amity Heights Tower." Sam had closed her eyes again and was facing the sky.

"Amity Heights? Wow your family must be rich." Danny was impressed. Amity Heights was one of the tallest buildings in the city, you could even see it from the bums. It coast a fortune a month to live there.

"My Dad does make a lot but most of the moneys my mom."

"Still wow, an apartment there coasts a fortune."

Sam coughed, "An apartment? Try the top five floors. I know over kill but my parents like showing off."

"Uh yea, what does your family do with five floors?"

"Well the lowest floors the reception area where my parents hold parties and stuff, they live on the second, third is a kind of an office, fourth my grandma has but she lets me use a few of her rooms, and I get the fifth to myself."

"Cool, that must be like having your own house."

"Yea it kind of is, I wish my parents were around a bit more though. Ug why am I even telling you all this, I barely know you."

"I guess you just trust me." Danny had been wondering the same thing though, why was she telling him so much, why hadn't he just helped her and left, why hadn't she been scared enough to leave sooner, why was he still here talking to her?

"For all I know you're a drug dealer, no offence."

Danny looked around, "Considering where we are none taken." Dannys stomach suddenly gave a loud growl.

Sam tried to keep from laughing but couldn't. She burst out and almost fell off the bench.

"What?"

"Sorry but I haven't heard anyone's stomach roar like that since second grade. Guess you haven't eaten yet?"

"Not really." Danny kept an arm over his stomach silently cursing it for what it had just done.

When Sams breathing had finally returned to normal she looked back at Danny. "Well I guess I do owe you for helping me back there, why don't you come over and have dinner with me."

"Really? But won't your parents think its weird you just brought me home?"

"My dads working late, my moms in Paris, and my grandmother won't care. Besides you already know where I live so if your going to do anything I might as well save you the trouble of breaking in. Though I'm a pretty good judge of character."

Danny thought about it, he knew he shouldn't, it was down town, he didn't need to get any more involved with Sam then he already was. There were a lot of reasons against it but finally he said "Alright"

(A/N: Hope you all like, well I'm off to go into a food coma so leave me some nice reviews for when I wake up hehe jk)