A.N. I know that Sam is pretty OOC, but that's just because of her different growing up process.
Once Sam returned home, she couldn't stop thinking about Human World. What was it like in reality? Did it really had a clear blue sky and huge cities? She was dying, pun not intended, from curiosity. And...Sam had to admit, she liked Danny. A lot. And she wanted to meet him again sooner. But Undergrowth wouldn't allow her to travel. Sam knew that if she will ask, suspicions are going to appear and then she could say goodbye to her only opportunity.
Undergrowth was a busy ghost, he met with her during morning and evening, with a few exceptions. Sam was ready to take her chances. One day after the ball, once her father was away, she sneaked out of the forest, avoiding the prying eyes of the few plants, who would immediately report to him, and that was the last thing she needed. Sam lived in this forest for sixteen years, so she had some passages underground.
It didn't take too long to find Ember's home. Sam knocked on the door. Some time later Ember opened the door. Her long hair were free and represented an unruly mass. Once she yawned loudly, Ember looked at her guest and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Hey, Em," Sam chuckled nervously, "You told me something about the portal..."
"Not a word anymore, get inside!" Ember dragged her friend into her house and into the living room.
The walls were painted in black and dark blue, a big TV was hanging on one of them. There was a comfy sofa, with guitar laying on it. Sam sat on the sofa and put her hands on her knees.
"Alright, girl, gimme a moment," Ember walked out. Sam entertained herself with studying the TV, the object she had never seen before. She wondered what this thing is for. Once the rocker ghost had returned, she watched the scene with an amused look. Ember coughed loudly to get attention. Sam turned around and blushed in embarrassment, stepping away from the object of her researching. Two teen girls sat back on the sofa.
"Okay, then. Listen closely," she started an explanation, "I'm gonna show you the way there, but from there you are all alone. Wait," Ember said, seeing Sam's worried expression, "don't worry. Remember what I said about Fentons being loosy hunters? Plus dipstick lives just above the exit"
"Just above?" Sam asked surprised.
"Yep, so no need to be bothered. Here, take this," Ember gave to her a golden ring with green gem, "take this on and humans wouldn't know you are a ghost"
"But don't you need..."
"No, I have another one. Let'go, Girl Scout," with that Ember grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her to the exit.
Ember leaded the way to the portal. There was a long zigzag road leading to it. The portal itself looked peculiar. Sam had seen the natural ones before, all she needed to do is to look up, but never so close.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Sam asked worriedly, causing Ember to roll her eyes.
"Who doesn't risk doesn't drink champagne! I travel there almost daily. By the way, Danny looks differently in Human World, but you still would recognize him. Now, off you go!"
Sam took on the ring and some strange feeling swapped over her and dissappeared almost instantly. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the portal.
Once on the other side, Sam started to have second thoughts. She was inside the room, entirely covered in metal. All around it was hanging a huge number of some strange things Sam didn't want to touch. There were cisterns, dripping ectoplasm, and this detail made her want to hurl. What kind of place this is?! Then she heard the footsteps, which were coming from the staircase. Sam became invisible instantly out of reaction.
"Oh, wait before I rip..."
That was the last thing Sam heard, before flying to the floor above. It was much better than the previous one. The walls were yellow, there were table and chairs, meaning that room was for eating. Obscure machines were present as well, but that weren't they which earned her attention. Sitting on one of the chairs was a boy with pitch black hair and icy blue eyes. He was wearing a white and red long sleeved T-shirt with jeans. The boy was munching some strange soup with milk and colorful rings. She had never seen frootloops. The boy's face was oddly familiar. Her eyes widened in surprise, this is...
"Danny! Come down here!" The male voice shouted, confirming Sam's theory. Danny sighed in annoyance, before getting up and walking towards the metal door. Sam didn't want to come down, so she just kept the door opened and listened.
"What is it, Dad, I'm going to be late for school," Danny said. Sam hid her gasp of surprise.
"Sweetie, it's Sunday," the female voice responded.
"It's Tuesday," Phantom corrected, his voice dripping with anger, but his parents were too busy to notice.
"Oh, nevermind then, have a nice day!" The male voice said. Sam heard the footsteps and stepped aside. Danny walked out, his expression unreadable. He took some calming breaths. Glancing at his unfinished bowl with cereal, he shook his head and put the bowl in the sink. Danny tapped with his leg on the floor, before looking at the clock, hanging on the wall. He walked up the stairs.
Sam was in thought, so she didn't follow him. From what she had heard, Danny wasn't getting along with his parents. That's bad, but...she had seen the lab. And if they are ghost hunters...she shuddered, she didn't want to think about it. Meanwhile, Phantom walked downstairs, a leather bag hanging on his shoulder. Then, something unexpected happened. He looked straight into Sam's eyes and smirked.
"When I said 'Hope to meet again' I did not expect to meet so soon," Sam dropped the invisibility with wide eyes.
"How did you..." Danny chuckled.
"Ghost sense," his eyes fell on the ring on her finger, "Ember helped out, huh?"
"Yeah," Sam answered nervously, "You aren't going to send me back, are you?"
"Nope," Danny smiled, "you didn't do anything bad"
"Oh," she only now remembered about the rules Ember told her about.
"Anyways, what are you going to do?" Phantom asked curiously.
"I..." she moved her gaze from him, embarrassed, "I wanted to see the Human World"
"Hm...okay then," Danny shrugged, walking to the door, "unless," he turned around to face her, "you need a guide"
Sam blinked in surprise.
"But aren't you late for...school?" Danny smirked.
"I just said that so I wouldn't need to get down. So," he was waving his hand, expecting the answer.
"Alright," Sam smiled.
"Why are we here?" Sam's disembodied voice asked, looking around. The two were in the mall. It was early, but this place worked 24/7.
"Because it will be more comfortable for you not to travel invisible, right?" Sam agreed, some people already went through her, causing an uncomfortable feeling both to Sam and themselves.
"But why I can't just go like that?" Danny stopped and looked at her, for others it looked like he was talking to the empty air. But nobody was surprised, that was Fenton, after all.
"No offense, but your clothes would call too much attention"
The two walked to the clothes shop.
"Alright, that's the plan, just shake the clothes you want. And please faster, I'm getting weird looks," Sam laughed quietly, studying different clothes. She was very intrigued by them and didn't know what to pick. But Danny asked her to hurry, so she took a few. Phantom nodded with a smile on his face, meaning that he understood and picked them.
"So, what now?" Sam asked. Danny gestured to the changing room.
"Take them on there"
Sam quickly took the clothes from him and walked inside. Danny just read his English textbook, if he wouldn't answer he will get another F. There was a rustling sound in the room, "Danny, a bit of help here..." Phantom blushed brightly.
"Eh...are you sure you need me?" Sam poked her head out of the room.
"At least explain me what this thing is for?" She stuck out a bra, exasperated, making Danny blush even brighter, if this is even possible.
"S-Sam...this is for your..." he made a circle around his chest with his finger. Sam made an 'o' with her mouth and closed the curtain.
Danny shook his head with amusement. Her absence of knowledge about his world is pretty cute, actually.
"Hey, Danny, what do you think?"
Phantom turned around. Her upper body consists of a green tank top exposing her midriff with a purple oval in the center. Her lower body consisted of a black striped skirt with a green crosshatch design, green leggings, and black sandals. She also wore a pair of black bracelets around both of her wrists. Danny stared at the stunning girl in front of him with wide eyes. Sam rubbed her hand nervously.
"What, so bad?" She asked. Phantom stepped closer and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Completely opposite," he was smiling brightly. Sam was standing still, trying to process what just happened, "Anyways, let's pay for this clothes"
"Y-yeah," Sam rubbed her cheek with a shy smile, once Danny turned around.
"And where are we going now?" Sam asked excitedly. Danny chuckled, an amused smile not leaving his lips.
"I'm afraid that place isn't so interesting as the others," he answered, "School is the most boring place you can find in this town"
"What's this place, anyway?" Danny stopped dead on his tracks, "What, I lived in the forest, Danny," Sam said with crossed hands.
"That's the place where we get education. Boring thing, it is. Plus it's not like I need what they are teaching anymore. Ya know, my newest occupation"
"It can't be THAT boring, right?"
"That's what most first graders think," Danny laughed.
They were near a three story brick building, painted in red and white, with big letters 'Casper High' written above the doors. There was a big enough crowd of students already. Danny looked at Sam.
"Now let's decide what you are going..."
"Can I go too? Invisible," Sam asked the ghost boy. Phantom hummed in thought, before shrugging.
"Okay," she beamed at him.
"Yo, Danny!"
The two turned around. There was a dark skinned teen, wearing yellow jacket and red beret, with glasses on his face. He was waving to Danny, coming closer.
"Hey Tuck," Danny smiled, "glad to see you"
"Same here dude, my parents finally let me out"
"They don't take the news well, do they?"
"Yeah, they don't like the whole 'Phantom rules us all' stuff. They want to move out"
There was one problem Danny got from his predecessor. Before being overthrown, Pariah already started his conquest, and Amity Park fell under his reign, and thereby, Phantom's as well. There were a certain parts of Human World, which belonged to the Ghost King, such as Bermuda Triangle or Castle Bran in Romania. At least the last two were lifeless, without terrified humans.
"WHAT?!" Danny exclaimed.
"Dude, relax, I managed to convince them to stay. I can't just leave you here all alone," Tucker laughed.
"Uhm, Danny, who is that?" Sam asked. Tucker turned to face the source of the voice and stared.
"Well, hello there, beautiful, I'm Foley, Tucker Foley, as in 'Too fine'," he shook her hand, "Heck, Danny, you sure got a winner this time"
"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" the two exclaimed, looking away from each other with red faces. Thankfully, Tucker noticed only Danny's blush, not Sam's green one.
"Maybe not now, but heed my words..."
"Can we change the topic?" Danny pleaded.
"Alright, are you new here, Sam?" Tucker asked. Sam glanced at Danny, who nodded slightly.
"Yes, I'm new"
"Hm, that's weird, people now are trying to get away as fast as possible," Tucker raised an eyebrow, before shrugging, "well, who am I to complain? Just the prettiest guy around here," he waved his hand around slowly.
"Eh...ok," Sam said slowly, making Danny laugh.
"Alright, Tuck, stop embarrassing her," he said after calming down. He pushed Tucker ahead slightly. Danny then winked at Sam and two boys went into school building. Sam found an empty alleyway and became invisible.
"Wait, why isn't she coming with us?" Tucker asked, unaware that Sam was floating just above their heads.
"Remember she is new? Sam isn't enrolled yet"
Sam didn't understand Danny's words. School seems like an interesting place so far. Much more interesting than study alone, with only a few science books for help. Then again, she was judging by two lessons she had spent near Danny. The third lesson was English, that's what he told her.
The classroom was very loud and chatter wasn't calming down until teacher entered the classroom. He was an overweight balding man in his late thirties, at least he looked like this. He was wearing a blue shirt.
"Oliver Twist, class, quiet!" The students closed their mouths immediately, "well then, I hope you all are prepared for today's test," some students groaned, scratch that, everyone groaned, "I warned you about it, so there is no need to pretend to be surprised. You had enough rest during the whole Phantom ordeal," oh yeah, blame Phantom, not the maniacal king, "But nothing has changed yet, so I expect the same amount of work ethic from you"
Mr. Lancer passed the lists with questions to the students. He stopped near Danny.
"Mr. Fenton, I hope you realize how important this test is for you," Lancer said sternly. Phantom nodded.
"Yeah," with that Lancer passed Danny his list and walked away.
Sam looked over his shoulder, curiously. Danny was scribing the answers furiously, glancing at the clocks on the wall from time to time. Sam noticed that some of them were wrong and tapped on his shoulder lightly.
"What?" Danny whispered.
" "The Raven" was written by Edgar Poe," Sam corrected him. Phantom looked at the question again. Deciding to listen to her, he corrected the supposedly wrong answer.
"And Cassio is "Othello" character," she continued. Danny wrote down the answer.
They were like that for the rest of the lesson. Sam would tell the answer and Danny would write it. Their speed was very amazing, and Mr. Lancer even came closer to check if Danny was cheating. But nope, Sam just stepped out of the way, almost tripping over someone's backpack.
Phantom gave his list to the teacher with ten spare minutes left.
"Already done, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer asked with both surprise and doubt in his voice.
"Yep," Lancer looked at the paper with a raised eyebrow.
"Fine, sit back on your seat"
-Later-
Lunch break was next, and Danny settled under the tree outside. He smiled, hearing soft footsteps behind.
"I guess 'thank you' is in order?" Danny asked, turning to face Sam, who sat on the ground near.
"Yes, it is," the two laughed. Phantom opened the lunchbox.
"Well then, thank you," he gave her a sandwich, after hearing her grumbling stomach. Sam sniffed it, before grimacing in disgust.
"Danny, I...don't eat meat"
"WHAT?!" They turned and saw Tucker, who put hands on his head, ready to pull his hair out, "HOW DO YOU LIVE?!" He wailed.
"Absolutely fine," Sam crossed her hands proudly.
"I'll go get you something," Danny got up and shook the dirt off his jeans. He laughed under his nose, he was glad to avoid the fight which was about to transpire. The fight of the century, vegetarian against carnivore.
Danny became invisible and phased inside cafeteria kitchen. Suddenly a blue mist escaped his mouth.
"Hello, child," a ghost materialized in the air. It was a grandmotherly looking woman in red cooking clothes. Danny smiled.
"Hey Lunch Lady"
"What are you here for?"
"You see, I am here with a friend, but she doesn't eat meat," Lunch Lady frowned.
"Meat is an important part of ratio, especially for children"
"I know, I know, but salad is healthy thing, right?" She hummed in thought.
"Alright, just give me a minute," Lunch Lady started chopping the salad.
"And who is your new friend?" She asked curiously. Danny leaned against the wall.
"Her name is Sam," he said. Lunch Lady looked at him.
"Are you..."
"No, we aren't," Danny interrupted, before blushing slightly, "well, maybe not yet," he chuckled nervously.
"Not yet?" She asked teasingly.
"It's...complicated. Yes, she is a ghost and she obviously knows who I am, but her Dad seems to dislike me"
"Oh, Romeo and Juliet of our time"
"I would prefer not to be poisoned in the end," Danny deadpanned, before laughing.
"Here you go, child," Lunch Lady gave him a bowl with salad, "Good appetite!"
"Thanks," Danny grabbed the bowl and started to go away, but stopped in the doorway.
"And can you please not to tell anyone about this. You know how fast the rumors about me spread"
In a blink he returned on his place, where Sam and Tucker were having a furious debacle.
"Vegetables have more than enough vitamins!"
"Maybe they do have some, but meat makes us stronger!"
"Oh, because you are a very good example," Sam deadpanned, looking at Tucker's poor musculature.
"Alright, you two, calm down," Danny laughed, landing his butt nearby, "here, bon appetite," Sam gladly accepted the food.
"It's delicious!" She said happily, after trying the salad. Tucker meanwhile had a confused look on his face.
"Where did you get it?" He asked.
"I have my ways," Danny smiled mysteriously. Tucker shook his head.
He was worried about his friend. Ever since freshman year Danny has been hiding something from him. Constant disappearings, bags under his eyes almost every day, and most importantly, there and there Tucker would notice a bruise, a cut, a burn, one day Danny even had a black eye. He told Tucker that he fell from the stairs, but he knew that Danny was an awful liar, still, he didn't push the topic.
But it doesn't mean he couldn't wonder. Was it a gang? No, Danny is too good for that. Then this idea was followed by another, worse. Could it be self harm? Again, Danny isn't the type to do such a thing, he is always positive despite everything life (or afterlife, for that matter) throws at him.
Tucker decided to change the topic, "So, Sam, where are you from?" Sam stopped eating abruptly. She named the first place which came to her mind.
"Verona," she named the city from one famous Shakespeare's tragedy. Both Tucker and even Danny blinked in surprise.
"Italy?"
"Yeah," Sam tried to sound confident. Thankfully techno geek believed her.
-Later-
"I take it you liked it here?" Danny asked with a smile. Sam eagerly nodded.
"Yep," Phantom chuckled.
"Well, you can visit as much as you want," he said, "as long as we don't have troubles, of course"
"I understand," Sam was silent after that, but judging from her face she was thinking about something, "Hey, Danny," the named teen turned to her, "Can you somehow...enroll me in your school?"