A/N Hey guys, sorry for the wait, but my computer was down all week and yeah. I hope you guys like this, expect chapter 4 in the next couple of weeks hopefully.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Danny Phantom or any of its characters. The amazing genius known as Butch Hartman does, and he deserves all the credit, trust me! I do, however, own any OCs that happen to appear, so if you want to use them, ask me!

The Phantom Chronicles

Chapter 3: Forbidden Friendships

September 20, 2004.

Being half ghost isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Take, for instance, the fact that I have to keep this a secret or my parents will send me away to some testing lab. Yeah, I'm not kidding. I hypothetically asked my parents what they'd do if they ever came across a human who had ghost powers, and Dad promptly responded with, "Well take a few tests, of course!" So telling my parents isn't really on my big to-do-list right now. In fact, it's right above 'Hand myself over to Skulker.'

So right now the only ones who know are Jazz, along with Tommy and Joey back in Kenosha.

Tommy and Joey. Gosh I miss those guys!

I've been friends with them for who knows how long. Way before my accident, though.

Joey's the type of guy no one wants to hang around, but he's a really good guy once you get to know him. The only problem is that he has this really sick habit of, well…getting sick. Yeah I remember that moment well.

Joey and Tommy were over at my place, and we were working on our homework when my mom brought up a big tray of brownies and set them down. "Here, boys. Enjoy."


Well, five math problems and fifteen brownies later, Joey's pukin' everywhere, because it turns out he can't stand nuts and my mom loaded those brownies up with them. Why he didn't realize this before he started eating was a mystery to me and Tommy, but we were used to him throwing up at odd moments, so we just let it be.

And Tommy, well he's the stereotypical nerd. He could have gone to college and graduated before any of us had finished junior high if he wanted to. Yeah, know-it-all Tommy. He and Jazz really should have hooked up while they had the chance.

So obviously, since I was already friends with them when it happened, I had to tell them about the powers I had acquired. That was a day I'll never forget.

"Hey, Danny, what's up? You sound kinda…peculiar." (Yeah, Tommy was always replacing easy words with smarter ones.)

I was still in ghost mode, for this was just after the accident and I hadn't figured out how to get out of it yet.

"Hi, Tommy…Umm, could you call Joey and then come on over here? I've got a, well…problem. Just ring the bell. My mom will let you in."

"No problem, compadre! We'll be there in a flash!" And with that the phone clicked off.

He wasn't kidding, within ten minutes I heard the doorbell ring and my mom answer it.

"Hi, boys. I'm sorry but Danny can't come out right now. He's up in his room doing some important stuff," my mom told them

'Oh great…'

"Don't worry, Mrs. F. Danny called and told us to come over. He said to go on up," I heard Joey saying.

"Well, I'll walk you boys up just in case, okay?"

And after that I heard footsteps coming upstairs.

'Crap! How do I hide…this!'

I quickly jumped into bed and just covered my entire self in my blanket, even though it was near 90 degrees outside. And not a moment to spare, for within seconds I heard my mom knocking on the door.

"Sweetie? Joey and Tommy are here. Did you need to see them?"

"Yeah, Mom. Just let 'em in," I said from under the blanket.

"Okay…Are you okay? You sound funny," my mom said in concern.

"Oh, I'm fine, just a little cold."

'Literally.'

"Well if you're sick, I shouldn't let these boys in."

"No, it's okay, Mrs. F. I just got over one and we'll be fine, really," I heard Joey tell her.

"Well…okay, if you insist, boys. I'll see you later." And with that she headed back downstairs.

I quickly threw off my blankets as I heard my friends open the door. Imagine their shock when they saw me sitting on the bed.

And what I expected to happen did happen.

Joey found the nearest trashcan and hurled, a lot, and Tommy just sat there, trying to find a scientific explanation for my sudden change.

"Come on. Something had to happen to cause this catastrophe!" he insisted. "This isn't normal, Danny."

"Do I look like I know?" I told him back. "I mean, come on, one moment I'm fine, the next moment I'm on the floor of my parents' portal looking like this!"

With that, I got up, and, well, just walked around, pacing. Joey took his head out of the trashcan for a moment. "I don't know. I think it's cool, if it wasn't so…weird." And with that he went back to puking.

"He's right. It is cool, but we need to find a solution, and fast!" Tommy got up. "Because you know that your parents aren't going to like this."

"I know, I know. I just wish I could go back to normal."

And like magic, suddenly a blue ring appeared around my waist and split, one going down, the other going up. Within moments the cold was gone and I was standing there, normal.

"What the…" was all Tommy could say. "This isn't in any books or…What just happened?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. All I do know is I'm never going to change to that 'other me' again," I said defiantly.

Yeah, that lasted, what? A day.

"Hey, Freak!"

Danny just stood there, not turning around, even though he knew Tiffany was yelling at him. And here he was, actually thinking that maybe, just maybe, things would be different today after that message Samantha had left, but apparently he was wrong. Very wrong.

"Hey, you listening to me or not!!" Tiffany came running up behind him as Danny pretended to ignore her, opening his locker.

Getting rather annoyed, Tiffany grabbed him on the shoulders and pulled him around until he was facing her.

"Hello! Anyone home!?" she said, knocking on his head.

"Of course not. He's just a geeky ghost hunter. What do you expect?" Stacy said, running up behind Tiffany.

"So true," she replied with a grin.

"Okay, first of all, I'm not a freak, and not a geeky ghost hunter!" Danny said rather loudly. "And second...I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your big mouth out of MY BUSINESS!"

The hallway got silent as everyone stared at Danny in awe.

"No one, not even people worthy, talk to ME like that, you hear me!" Tiffany rudely replied, pushing Danny into his locker. And for a split second she thought she saw his hand go right through before reappearing.

'There is something seriously wrong with that kid.'

"So you listen! If you even dare talk to me like that again, you'll wake up very confused in Timbuktu, got it?!"

"Fine, as long as you stay away from me," Danny replied curtly.

"I'll do what I want and no geek will tell me otherwise," she said, stomping off, Stacy right on her tail.

"Honestly, I don't know why we care. He's just a loser anyway."

And that's what Danny felt like—a loser, the loser who had stood up to Tiffany. According to the gossip he had heard throughout the rest of the day, no one had ever stood up to her like that and lived to tell the tale, so he was apparently lucky, for now.

He had woken up that morning with hopes, high ones, that maybe, just maybe, something good would happen. After that message Samantha had left him, he felt like anything could change, but as the day progressed he lost all his hope.

He had passed Samantha three times in the hallways today, twice with Tiffany and the gang, and once with just Janae. Although he knew that Tiffany wouldn't accept her even talking to him, he had hoped Samantha would acknowledge him somehow.

He had smiled at her the first time, only to get nothing but a small glare from Tiffany. The second time he had just glanced at her, and still nothing. By the time he saw her again, he had decided that the whole message on the machine was just a joke, played by Tiffany and them to get him thinking he would actually fit in.

So poor Danny found himself in the middle of yet another awkward day, one which seemed to be going awfully slowly, even slower than the one before.

"So you see where I'm coming from, then?" Tiffany asked her gal pals for like the tenth time that day at lunch.

"Yes, Tiffany, we know that it was wrong of him to stand up to you like that," Samantha sighed, just staring at her lunch plate, which consisted of a garden salad and a diet soda.

"Oh come on, Sammy. What is with you today? You're hardly eating!" Janae commented, looking from Samantha's plate to Samantha herself, who had a rather glum look on her face and seemed sort of out of it.

"Oh nothing. Just, umm…up late doing homework, that's all," she hastily replied.

In all reality, though, she had Danny on her mind. All morning she had hoped that he would at least talk to her, for there had been plenty of opportunities in the several classes they had together, but he hadn't taken any of them. So by now, she was just ready to give up on the kid, but as she stared at her salad, she got an idea.

Getting up, she grabbed her tray hurriedly.

"Umm, I just remembered I have to go to the library to look something up. I'll see you guys later!"

With that she dumped her tray and left the cafeteria in a rather fast pace.

"What is with her and school work? Not like it's gonna take us anywhere," Tiffany commented as she just stared at the doors Samantha had just gone through. "So anyway, who's up for a tan after school!?"

"Here we go again," Janae and Stacy sighed, wishing they had left with Samantha.

Once outside the cafeteria, Samantha practically ran down the hallway and into the girl's bathroom. Sitting down in one of the stalls she reached into her purse, which she carried everywhere, and found her pen and paper. Quickly scribbling something down, she tore off the paper, stuffed it into her pocket and dashed out of the stall.

She knew she had little time to do this in, for the lunch bell would ring in a few minutes and everyone would start to head to their next class, but she found what she was looking for in no time.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her note and slipped it into the locker before quickly walking away.

"If this doesn't work, I give up," she sighed.

The rest of Danny's day seemed to finally be going better than that morning. No ghost attacks, no worrying about running into Samantha, and no Tiffany. Yes, the rumors were still flying, and did seem to be getting worse, but Danny was used to it from his old school.

See, back in Kenosha, there had been several rumors floating around the school about why he was always getting up and running out of class. Not to mention his just plain weirdness. If a kid could take people thinking he had a major bladder problem, then he could take anything that the students threw his way.

But what he couldn't take was what awaited him when he opened his locker at the end of the day.

Upon getting his locker open (he really had a bad memory, for he still couldn't remember the combination) a tiny slip of paper came fluttering out and landed smack on his English book.

'What the…?' he asked himself, then looked around to make sure no one was looking at him. He quickly picked up the slip of paper and glanced at it, for he honestly thought someone had put it in the wrong locker by mistake. Sure enough, though, there was his name, Danny, written hastily on one side of it.

Unfolding it in curiosity, he scanned the note a few times before he took in what it said.

Danny,

Listen, I'm not trying to ignore you like I know you are me but I just wanted to say that I can't really act 'nice' to you around Tiffany, or, well, she'd kill me. But I would still love to give our 'relationship' a try, so if you do too, meet me by the back side dumpsters after school. I'll come up with an excuse to get away from Tiff.

Sam

"I'm sorry, Tiffany. I just can't go shoe shopping with you, okay? I have to go to the dentist!" Samantha lied to her friend as they walked out of the building.

"Yeah, right. Come on, girl. It's just the dentist. Shopping is WAY more important than the dentist," Tiffany complained.

"Well, tell that to my mom, okay?" Samantha said. "I just have to go, now." And with that she turned around and headed in the opposite direction Tiffany was. She glanced behind her to make sure Tiffany was out of sight before quickly running off towards the dumpsters, a feat not easy in a dark blue mini-skirt.

Finally reaching the dumpsters, Samantha leaned against one to catch her breath when Danny came walking up from her left.

"So you...did...come," Samantha breathed.

"Yes, I did. Happy? And why are you so tired?"

"I had to run, thank you very much, and yes, I am happy. We need to talk."

"There's no need to talk. I just came because I wanted to say that if you really want to be my friend, at least show it!" Danny huffed.

"Like I can! You saw the way Tiffany talked to you this morning. If she found out I actually wanted to talk to you, then she'd kill me," Samantha explained.

"Well, I don't know why you hang out with her anyway," Danny pouted.

"You don't get it, okay?"

"Really…"

"Yes, but I really want to be your friend too, just not around Tiffany," Samantha sighed. "And I know you want to be mine, because I've seen you around school, and you look miserable."

"Well, yeah, but how is being your friend going to help? we can't talk at school anyway," Danny asked.

"So? Outside of school we can still do stuff, go to movies, or just hang out."

"Really, and how do I know this isn't a joke played by Tiffany and you guys?"

"Because, well…well, you just have to trust me, please."

There was a look in Samantha's eyes that Danny couldn't say no to. Something on the inside told him she wanted this more than he did, like she just needed someone who wouldn't boss her around, and he could be that person.

"Fine, but if this is a trick, I swear…"

"It's not, seriously!" She perked up. And with that she grabbed Danny and gave him a hug.

"Ummmm…Yeah, Sam, this is sorta awkward and it's cutting off my circulation," Danny panted as she let go.

"What did you call me?" she asked.

"Umm, Sam," he said shyly then quickly added, "Sorry, Samantha."

"No it's okay! I like it!" she said smiling, "Well, umm, I guess I should get home and wait for Tiff to call so I can fake a toothache."

"What?"

"Nothing…Oh hang on. I forgot one thing," she said.

"Now what?"

"Well I can't really acknowledge I like you at school with Tiffany around, so if she ever beats on you I hope you don't think I'm in on it, because inside I'll be mad, but I just can't stand up for you," she explained.

"Yeah, okay, sure."

"Well, yeah, sorry, but I guess I should go. I'll call yah tonight, 'k?"

"'K, bye," he waved as she walked off.

'Did what I think just happened, actually happen?' he asked himself. 'Crap, now I got another person to keep my secret from. Great.'

A/N So what did you think? Good? Well Review please!
See yah next time!
Lisa