Chapter One: New Girl
I own nothing. This is the only disclaimer for the whole story.
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Hi. My name is Tucker Foley, and if you're reading this, then your friends have probably been giving you grief over the girl you like, right? Well, if they have, then you've come to the right place.
My best friend, whom we shall dub Romeo for public safety, had really deep feelings for my other best friend, whom we shall dub Juliet, all through high school. The funny part was, though, he was in denial about it the whole time. As was she, but you can read about Juliet in my other book Tucker Foley's Complete Guide to Guys for the Pining.
The major obstacle for Romeo was his denial for his feelings. He would always stutter and blush whenever he was accused of liking her. I had to watch as over the years his feelings grew deeper and he wouldn't stop talking about her. I guess the part where everything changed was when the new girl, whom we shall dub Jill, moved to our town.
Jill and Juliet were really good friends right off the bat…
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The two boys laughed at her, while she sat, looking disgruntled, with her legs crossed and her arms folded on the brick wall.
"I feel so bad for you," Danny chortled, handing her back the slip of paper he had been examining. She snatched it from him without a word and crumpled it up, tossing it forcefully into a trash can about ten feet away.
"Aww, don't be like that, Sam," Tucker said, trying not to burst into laughter. "At least you get to skip first and second periods today. And who knows, maybe the new girl won't be that bad."
"It's not fair," Sam scowled down at her feet. "Buddy system, my ass. I mean, come on! Who do they think they are, assigning me as the new chick's 'buddy'? I don't care if they give me detention, I'm not going."
"All you have to do is show her around," Danny said soothingly, walking over to join her on the low brick wall. "There's nothing to it, really."
"Yeah, who knows, maybe you two will become friends," Tucker said brightly, adjusting his glasses.
Sam snorted. "Yeah. Right. Like I'm ever going to become friend with-" She furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "Hannah Michelle Reier. Sounds to me like another Paulina (sp?) waiting to happen."
"Don't be judgmental," Danny scolded. She threw him a you're-not-the-boss-of-me look and he sighed. "Look, Sam, you have to promise me that you're not going to give this girl hell just because you don't like her, okay? Just wait until she actually opens her mouth to talk, then you can be as evil as you want to her if it's bad. Tucker," he said, turning towards him. "Back me up on this."
The black kid shrugged.
"Just make sure you don't scare her off before I make a move on her, okay Sam?" he warned, and she rolled her eyes.
The shrill sound of the bell rang, and with a sigh, Sam slid gracefully off the wall and landed with a soft thud on the cement. Danny, who was a bit hyper that morning, due to two glazed doughnuts and a cinnamon roll, stood up, backed away from the edge about eight feet, then began running and jumped off, soaring through the air and landing next to Tucker. He raised both arms in a 'ta-dah' sort of stance.
The ghost of a grin lifted the corners of Sam's mouth, and then she turned around, heading towards the office to go and meet the new student, muttering under her breath to herself the entire time. Tucker turned to Danny, who was absentmindedly watching her walk away.
"It's too bad I didn't get assigned to the new girl," he said mournfully.
"Why would you want to have to be stuck showing some new kid around?" Danny asked, snapping out of his trance and swinging his backpack over his shoulder.
"Because she sounds hot," Tucker said simply, walking with his friend towards their first period history class.
"You think all girls are hot, Tuck," Danny told him, raising an eyebrow.
"And you don't?" Tucker inquired, sounding appalled.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Girls are overrated," he mumbled, looking down at his shoes.
Tucker smiled knowingly. "Oooh, that's right, I forgot that you've already given your heart to a raven-haired beauty who roams these hallowed Casper halls."
"I told you a hundred times already, Tucker, I'm over Valerie." Danny said forcefully.
"Who said I was talking about Valerie?" Tucker said, waggling his eyebrows. Danny, obviously getting the hint, turned a deep red color that matched Tucker's beret surprisingly well, and didn't say anything else the entire way there.
History seemed to last forever, because really, who cares about World Geography and where all the Philippine Islands are located? Tucker and Danny passed the time by blocking out Lancer's drone and playing stupid games like tic-tac-toe or hangman. When they got bored of this, though, they resorted to passing each other notes.
What do you think Sam's doing right now? Danny wrote, flicking the note onto Tucker's desk.
Probably harassing the poor new chick. I wonder what she looks like? Tucker wrote back.
I know she's a junior just like us, but that's pretty much it. I didn't see her schedule.
Well, she'll have all of Sam's classes, right? I mean, that's why they paired them up.
Yeah. I guess. When do you think we'll meet up with Sam again?
Lunch, probably. Speaking of which, I brought…STEAK!!
Who brings steak to school for lunch?
Me! Cuz I can! But don't tell Sam, okay? We don't want her to shout at me and make a bad impression on my next girlfriend.
You mean Hannah?
Hannah, Anna, Savannah, Banana, whatever.
I'm glad you think so highly of your so called 'girlfriend.'
Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. Now hide this, Lancer's watching.
Danny rendered the note intangible and slipped it into his backpack as Mr. Lancer looked over suspiciously at them. Tucker gave him a thumbs-up.
Tucker's prediction came true when Sam came sauntering up to them during lunch. A girl with dark curly hair was waiting for her near the entrance to the cafeteria, but her face was too far away to make out.
"Hi." She said brightly, then, without waiting for them to answer, she said; "New kids and their buddies are invited to the teacher's lounge for ice-cream on their first day, so I'll see you guys after school okay? Danny, call me if there's an emergency." She gave him a meaningful look, and then walked back to where the girl was. They assumed she was Hannah.
"I guess we were right," Danny said, watching her go. "It turns out she actually likes her."
"Yes! Now, when we meet her, I can make my move." Tucker rejoiced, resisting the urge to punch the air with his fist.
"It's too bad she's not eating lunch with us," Danny said, stabbing his peanut-butter and jelly sandwich with a fork. In an attempt to make peace between his two best friends, he insisted on bringing nothing but this and a bottle of Gatorade for lunch. Sam would nag him whenever he brought meat, and Tucker glared at him when he was caught with anything green. Danny decided this would be easier.
"Cheer up, man," Tucker said, digging into his backpack and retrieving a bulging brown paper bag. "We have Study Hall with Sam next, and then Gym, so there's nothing to sulk about."
Danny brightened. "You're right." He said, and happily bit into his sandwich.
They spent the rest of the lunch hour debating on which one was better: steak or ham. It's the kind of useless thing guys talk about when they're not busy ogling girls.
The bell rang soon, and they chatted all the way back into the school. Their study hall was in the library today, like it always was on Tuesdays, and when Danny saw the back of Sam's head, he zoomed over to her and pulled up a chair next to her so fast that you barely had time to blink. Tucker chuckled to himself.
"Hey Sam," Danny was saying when Tucker joined them. "Tucker kept asking me what I thought you were up to."
Tucker rolled his eyes.
"Did he really?" Sam said distractedly. "Cool. Danny, Tucker, this is Hannah, the new girl. She's from California."
"Ah, a beach bunny," Tucker said, turning towards said girl. She laughed.
"How'd you know?" Hannah grinned.
She seemed friendly enough. She had dark, curly hair, and light hazel brown eyes, which were large and almond shaped. Her skin was olive-toned, with full lips and a small chin, and she looked very petite, even when sitting down. Her shirt and shorts were both black, but with large, colorful graphics and lots of pins and chains. The style was not as gothic as Sam's, more like a punk-rock sort of thing.
"He's just smooth talking you," Danny remarked, and Sam laughed. Tucker turned pink.
"Are you Asian?" Tucker asked bluntly. Danny smacked him, and Sam said "Tucker!"
"Sorry," he muttered, looking down.
Hannah didn't seem to mind. "It's okay; I get a lot of that. Actually, I'm mixed. My mother's Latina and my dad is Pilipino and Caucasian. At my old school, nobody could ever insult me by my ethnicity, because they could never figure out what I was."
"She's lucky, huh?" Sam said happily, and the two girls giggled.
"So, Sam, you wanna come over with me to Tucker's house after school? You can bring Hannah with you," he added kindly, not wanting to be rude to someone he just met.
"Sorry, Hannah and I are going to the mall after school." Sam said, and Danny's face fell. Tucker suppressed a smile, but Hannah looked at him thoughtfully.
"You're going to the mall?" Tucker asked, astounded.
"Yeah," she said happily. "Hannah wanted to show me some cool gothic thrift stores she saw, and in return I'd buy her a new outfit from Hot Topic."
She and Hannah beamed at each other.
"Oh, okay then. I'll just call you," Danny said, sounding slightly dejected, and running a hand through his hair.
"Hey, come on, its better she's not coming; now we can play Rain Forest Demolition III without her nagging us."
Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Hannah cut her off. "Rain Forest Demolition? Three? But that's the one where you have to destroy all the rain forests in South America and kill all the animals that get in your way!"
"What's wrong with that?" Tucker asked, frowning.
"Well, doesn't it seem kind of cruel to you?" Hannah said incredulously, Sam nodded earnestly.
Tucker shrugged. "It's just a game," he said, feeling suddenly ashamed.
After that, they couldn't talk anymore because the librarian had come over to shush them, and they wanted to avoid detention as much as possible. The four headed to Gym, the original trio trying to learn more about Hannah with small talk and questions about her life in California.
"Well, I lived in a coastal city," she said in response to Danny's inquiry. "And you know that show about Laguna Hills? Well it was really close to there, about twenty-five miles away. And since I was on the track team, they made us run to the beach and back for practice. It sucked, but at least I don't jiggle anymore." She giggled. "It was a really small city, and there were limos everywhere you turned."
"Sam owns about five," Danny said proudly, and Sam flushed.
"Oh yeah, you told me that you were the heiress to toothpicks or something," Hannah smiled at her, and Sam rolled her eyes.
"Something like that. I forget." She grinned sheepishly.
Danny's smile faded. It had taken Sam six years to tell him, and Tucker, that she was loaded, and she told this Hannah girl the first day they met? For some reason, this bothered him, and he was silent the whole way to the gym.
The torture for that day was dodge ball. Sam and Tucker were on a different team than Danny and Hannah, so they said goodbye grouchily at the middle of the court. Danny could see Sam and Tucker fighting over a ball in the far corner of the bounds. Tucker was trying to tug it out of her grip and Sam was pounding his head with her fist. He smiled.
"So you like her, then?" Came Hannah's voice, sounding smug, and he whirled around, flushing bright red.
"Huh?" Was all he could manage. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"Sam. You like her. A lot. I've only known you for an hour and a half and I can already tell."
"I don't like her!" Danny cried in a squeaky voice as he dodged the first ball.
"Sounds like denial to me," Hannah smirked as she sidestepped a shot from Kwan.
"Well, I – I mean – of course I like her, she's my best friend." Danny retorted, still very pink in the face.
"I mean, like her, like her. Like romantic liking. Crushing. You have a crush on her." She tried her best not to add "Duh."
"It's more than a crush," Danny mumbled, and when he realized he'd said that out loud, he flushed a deep crimson and said, "Wait! No, I – I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," Hannah said, flashing him a smile. "I won't tell her. You can do that."
Not altogether reassured, Danny caught a ball at his chest and heaved it at Nathan, knocking the poor geek over.
Suddenly, a cloud of blue breath streamed out of his mouth, and he signaled time out to the gym teacher. Panicking, he ran over to her, ignoring Hannah's inquisitive stare. Tucker and Sam edged themselves near the front towards where he stood, worried looks on their faces.
"What is it, Mr. Fenton?" She asked irritably, placing her enormous hands on her towering hips.
"I – uh, have to use the bathroom." Danny said lamely, and the whole class groaned.
"Go on, then, and empty your tiny bladder. But hurry up, got it?"
He nodded, and charged towards the locker rooms, flashed blue around the waist, and the next thing you know Danny Phantom had flown intangible out the roof of the building.
What he didn't know was that after he left, the gym teacher beckoned Hannah over to her and said, "Ms. Reier, since the game is currently on hold, could you do me a favor?" She handed her a set of keys.
"Go into the girl's locker room and take out all the clothes from the washing machine. Then, go to the boy's locker room next door and put them in the dryer. I'll give you five extra credit points, since it is your first day here."
"Sure," Hannah said cheerfully, and walked towards the locker rooms, happily swinging the keys around in circles. Sam and Tucker exchanged panicked glances.
Right above the gym, Vlad was telling Danny that he was in the area and decided to pay his favorite archenemy a visit.
"Well, come back when I'm not in school!" Danny yelled, blasting Vlad with a particularly painful ghost ray.
"Oh, that's right, my tax dollars at work on your pubescent little mind," Vlad sneered, shooting back at Danny and hitting him square in the chest. "Very well, then, I'll just wait for you at your home, after all, I've just been dying to see your mother again."
He laughed evilly and flew off, sending one more blast at Danny over his shoulder. Danny dodged it and flew back down, phasing through the roof and landing with a thud in the middle of the boy's locker room. He changed back quickly, bathing the entire room in bright blue light, and then walked out with his hands in his pockets, whistling.
Hannah, who had was watching from the window of the gym teacher's office, let the basket of clean clothes tumble from her arms.