Chapter Two

The first week passed quickly. Andy had somewhat befriended Sam and Tucker, but had managed to skate by under Danny's radar. The less he was concerned with her, the better.

They'd even invited her to Nasty Burger a few times after school. As frustrating as it was to smell the wonderful smell of charbroiled beef and fried potatoes and not be able to eat it, she enjoyed having friends to go out with.

Sam and Andy got along pretty well. Other than the whole "no food with a face" thing, that is. Tucker was nice, but Andy just didn't understand anything he said about technology. He'd explained her phone to her several times, and she was still lost on it. Why did it do anything besides call and text?

Danny almost joined them a few times, but when he got close enough, a hiss of cold air would snake its way out of his mouth and he would excuse himself with some lame explanation. Andy knew it was because of her that his Ghost Sense was working up. Her own went off whenever he was around, but she was clever enough to disguise it with a sigh or sneeze.

Sam got a ride back to Andy's house on Friday afternoon. She was frustrated with Danny for chasing off a football player from another school that was flirting with her, and refused to walk home with him and Tucker. Nasty Burger was out of the question, too.

Andy's eyes were an annoyed charcoal color as Sam droned on about how the guy was just being nice and taking interest in her when Danny flew off the handle. After the first five minutes of her meaningless ranting, Andy's eye began to twitch behind her glasses.

"Alex wasn't even touching me or anything. Then Danny goes all 'big brother' and scares him off," Sam fumed. "I don't know why he would care."

Andy bit her tongue hard, picking at the faded steering wheel with her fingernails, "He just cares about you, that's all."

"He doesn't think I can take care of myself. It's like he thinks I'm the same fragile little girl that I was when I met him." She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sam, anyone who knows you can tell that you're very capable of taking care of yourself," Andy flipped on the turning signal with a sigh. Even though I'm here because Clockwork doesn't.

"Maybe he's just so used to protecting everyone that he can't switch it off," she was cooling down now, her voice was barely audible over the old diesel's loud engine.

"Is he an older brother or something?" Andy asked, turning the wheel with her palm.

"No, he's the youngest," Sam answered, still thinking.

"Then why is he used to being a protector?" Andy asked, furrowing her brows under the backwards hat.

Sam looked like she had been caught. Andy could feel the panic rolling off her in waves as she searched frantically for a convincing lie. "We've been the target of Dash's anger since day one of high school. He took a lot of hits for me."

Andy didn't know whether Sam's story held any truth, but it wasn't in her best interest to let Sam know how Andy could read her, so she just nodded. She was also not sure that it was the best time to reveal she had discovered Danny's 'secret'.

To be quite honest, Andy wasn't sure how the hell it still was a secret. Danny wasn't exactly discreet.

Andy crossed the railroad tracks to the older part of town, rattling the old truck even louder than before. Few residents lived there, and the ones who did were older, so it was fairly quiet. She tried her best to avoid the potholes in the ancient gravel road to the garage.

"You live out here?" Sam asked, looking around at the multi-acre properties and the gravel road.

"It's cheaper than living in town. The peace and quiet is worth the ten minute drive to school," Andy replied. "Besides, I like the space."

They pulled into a paved driveway in front of a large building with three garage doors in the front. It had once been white with grey trim, but it was faded from the sun. The yard was paved over, and a 'BEWARE OF DOGS' sign was posted on one of the doors. Sam became nervous. She was out in the middle of a field with someone she'd only known for a week.

"It's a mechanic shop," Andy responded, more to the anxiety Sam was feeling than to Sam herself. "There's an apartment above it. It looks shady, I know."

Sam blushed, turning back to Andy, "No! I didn't mean—"

Andy smiled, feeling her embarrassment. "It's okay, Sam. I thought it was sketchy when I moved here, too."

Sam didn't seem too relieved, but gave a forced smile. She turned and opened the door to the truck. Andy reached across and shut it, holding it for a moment.

"Stay here for just a minute," Andy instructed seriously.

Fear welled up in Sam again. Her amethyst eyes rounded, "Why?"

Andy laughed, feeling her fear. "I have guard dogs. I need to bring them to you so they don't mistake you for a thief or something. Deep breaths, Sam."

Sam laughed nervously, picking at the hem of her favorite black skirt, turning over in her mind why Andy had such dangerous guard dogs. Hardly anyone lived out here. It's not like there are a ton of criminals hiding in alleyways or anything.

Andy grabbed her things and shut the door, still snickering at Sam. She walked around the front of the truck, and whistled loudly.

"Zeus! Hades!" Andy called, whistling again.

Two Rottweilers came bounding out from behind the shop. They were massive. Much bigger than any Sam had seen. They stood on all fours almost to Andy's chest, and both sported thick, sharply-spiked collars. One was with gold spikes and the other with silver. Sam swallowed the lump in her throat as she heard their low, rumbling barks.

Andy knelt down to pet them both. She used it as a distraction to talk to them.

"There's a human in the truck. I'm supposed to protect her," Andy scratched their ears.

Zeus sniffed the air, "Phantom's target? The goth girl?"

Andy nodded.

Hades nuzzled her cheek, "She's not a dog person."

Zeus gasped dramatically, "You can't bring her here. This is canine territory!"

"I'm going to slobber all over her," Hades cackled. "Cat people love that."

"Hang on, let me work up some foam or something," Zeus quipped, twitching his jowls.

Andy laughed, standing up, "Play nice."

She walked around to Sam's door with the dogs at her heels, trying not to smirk.

"It's okay, Sam. Come on out," Andy smiled, adjusting her hat.

Sam carefully opened the door and the dogs rushed in to sniff her. They did so for about three minutes before they licked all over Sam's face. Andy winced, still smiling as Sam radiated a mixture of disgust and fear. She was obviously grossed out by the slobber-bomb Zeus whipped up, but she was too afraid to tick them off. Andy couldn't stop laughing as they trudged inside and up the stairs to the apartment, Sam grumbling about the smell.

"They like you," Andy said, still giggling. "Hound kisses are like big, slobbery blessings."

"Blessing is a stretch, but I'm glad they didn't decide to eat me," Sam replied, wiping her freshly washed face with a towel from Andy's bathroom.

Andy could see satisfied smirks on the hounds' faces, and had to fight a smile of her own.

Sam looked around as Andy fiddled with her textbook. The apartment was a two-bedroom two-bathroom, but it was sparingly furnished. The door to the extra bedroom was locked, and there were almost no decorations on the walls. No pictures, no vases, no paintings, no posters. There was a line of hooks with keys on them hanging on the wall by the door, and two massive dog bowls by the kitchen. Andy's backpack sat on the floor beneath the keys, beside her shoes.

"Will your parents be home soon? They won't mind if I'm here?" Sam asked.

Andy's eyes darkened to a deep blue. She kept her gaze down carefully, having removed the sunglasses.

"They won't mind," she said simply, scratching Zeus's ear.

Sam sat on a cushion on the floor opposite Andy at the ring-stained coffee table. She opened her textbook and tapped at it with a pencil.

Andy snapped up, "Do you want anything to drink? I think I have some soda." She had rounded the corner into the small kitchen before Sam could respond.

"I'm fine, thanks," Sam called. Something was up with Andy. That much was obvious. Sam looked around the apartment again. There were no pictures on the walls, no artwork, no creative bowls on the counter… The couch was old, but in decent shape. Andy had thrown a sheet on it for the dogs, so not much was visible. There was an old washer and dryer in the hall before the staircase, and two stools at a breakfast bar. There was no TV, but there was a stereo on a table on the other side of the room, and a record player next to an organizer.

"Nice collection," Sam commented as Andy took her spot on the couch again.

Andy lifted her eyes to the records, "Thanks. There's just nothing like that little crackle before the music starts, is there?"

"Not in today's music," Sam agreed. "Mind if I look?"

Andy gestured with her pencil, "Go ahead. It's mostly '80s and '90s stuff, though."

Sam sifted through the covers, careful not to bend them. It was pretty common for people to be into old stuff these days, but Sam hadn't pegged Andy to be a trend-follower. This was probably her parents' collection.

Sam was about to ask Andy about it when her eyes caught sight of a large shotgun leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. Above it was a shelf with a few boxes of ammunition sitting on it. She froze. It wasn't like the Ecto-guns she was used to. This kind was for living creatures; that included humans. For some reason, the thought made chills go up Sam's arms.

"Uh, Andy?"

"Yeah?" Andy looked up from her spot on the couch in between the two dogs.

She followed Sam's gaze to the shotgun in the corner. "What's that for?"

"Protection." Andy smiled. "In my family, the Second Amendment was a religion. I've been shooting since I was little. Tradition, I guess. Don't worry. I haven't had to use it since I've arrived here." Andy noted Sam's discomfort. "This is America, Sam. Stars, stripes, and shotguns."

Andy felt the words slip from her mouth like a habit. She didn't remember hearing them before. The way they rolled off of her tongue told her she had said it many times before, but she couldn't remember when or why.

Sam relaxed, "I wish my family did cool stuff like that. All my parents talk about is status and other outdated nonsense." She sighed. "Where are your parents? I'd like to meet them sometime."

Andy's bright turquoise eyes deepened to sapphire and she looked back to her book, "They're out."

Sam could see that there was more to the story than what Andy was willing to share, but she didn't press the issue. "When did you move here, Andy?"

An indifferent white clouded the blue in Andy's eyes, not that Sam could see. "A few weeks ago."

"Do you like Amity Park so far? Other than the Ghosts I mean." Sam was trying to keep Andy talking. It was nearly impossible to get her talking at school, and Sam barely knew anything about her. She didn't want this friendship to be as one-sided as it was now. Andy seemed to get Sam. It wasn't hard for her to share her thoughts with anyone, but it was almost as if Andy understood her.

"Ghosts don't bother me a whole lot," Andy replied. They're kind of my crowd.

"You're probably the only person in Amity Park to think so," Sam said. "Everyone else is terrified or annoyed."

"With all the property damage that happens around here, I can imagine," Andy laughed, recalling the few attacks she witnessed.

"There weren't always so many at once, though. Tucker and Danny and I—" she stopped mid-sentence, panic evident in her face, but Andy could feel it as well.

"You fight them," Andy finished before she could stop herself.

Sam looked nervous, "You saw, didn't you?"

Andy sighed, "You guys aren't exactly sly."

Sam flopped back down onto the cushion, "I tell Danny all the time that someone is going to catch him. I mean, he practically yells that he's 'going Ghost' before he shifts."

Andy raised her brows, "I was just talking about you guys carrying weapons all the time, but it's good to know that about Danny for next time I see him."

Sam's eyes widened, "Oh my god."

"It's cool, Sam. I won't tell him you told me," Andy laughed. "I kinda saw him do it anyways."

Sam looked relieved. "I tell him all the time that someone will see him. I am surprised you're so cool about it though. Most people would freak out."

"It was weird to see at first, I admit," Andy replied. "I honestly thought I was hallucinating or something."

Sam laughed, "You should've seen him when it first happened. He couldn't control anything. He actually phased out of his pants a few times."

"A few times?" Andy laughed. "Well, at least he managed to keep the underwear on."

Sam looked at her for a moment.

"He kept the underwear, right?" Andy asked, worried.

Sam burst out laughing again, "Thankfully, yes."

"Alright, so I have a question," Andy tapped the textbook with the eraser on her pencil. "Where do you guys get those guns?"

"Danny's parents own Fenton Works. They're Ghost Hunters. They have some cool technology, but they aren't very skilled with hunting down the Ghosts, so Danny got in on the family business." Sam wiped a stray laughing-tear from her face. "Danny couldn't do it alone, so Tucker and I stepped in."

Andy nodded, mentally noting the irony behind Danny Fenton's family business. "Well if you ever need any help…"

Sam looked into Andy's calm turquoise eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah," Andy nodded. "It seems fun."

Sam smiled back, "I might take you up on that offer."

Danny paced back and forth in his room. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. He could see that look in the football player's eyes. He had been flirting with Sam. It was infuriating. He had walked right up to the guy and tugged him away by the arm, eyes blazing green the whole time.

Sam had a thing or two to say about that.

She'd gotten into an old GMC after school. It wasn't a vehicle he recognized, and nobody in Sam's family would drive an old pickup. Danny assumed the worst until he saw the dark brown waves of hair under the black and white snapback.

Andy.

Andy had stood up for the three of them the first day they saw her Casper High. She and Sam had been hanging out a lot the past week. Danny hadn't talked to her, but Tucker had. It seemed the three of them had gone to Nasty Burger after school a few days in a row without him. He'd tried to join them, but his Ghost Sense always went off, tearing him away to some other part of town. When Danny was on patrol, he spied on them. He'd noticed that Andy didn't order anything, but didn't frown at Sam's salad or Tucker's open-mouthed chewing. Just as he got close enough to see better, his Ghost sense went off again, and he went in search of another specter.

He never found them. They eluded him, so he went home to wait for his two friends to show up.

When they did, they kept talking about her. 'Andy's a mechanic,' 'She is so funny,' 'She's so tough,' 'She said this,' 'She said that.'

It irritated him. He couldn't tell why. He most definitely was not jealous of her. His friends had just as much fun helping him Ghost hunt as they did watching Dash scurry out of their path when they walked the halls next to her.

Now Sam was with Andy, probably at her house since she wasn't home with her parents. He knew she wasn't; he'd checked. He had flown by Sam's bedroom window, but not even her backpack was there. She wasn't answering his texts, and Danny didn't have a clue where Andy lived. They were probably laughing about something Andy said, or laughing at Danny for some reason Danny had made up in his head.

"Quit pacing, dude. She'll get back to you when she blows off some steam," Tucker spoke up, watching Danny irritably from the desk chair. "You're wearing out the carpet."

"What if something happens while she's there? Andy doesn't know how to fight Ghosts! Sam left the wrist ray with you. They're unarmed!" He was working himself up. "What if there's a Ghost attack and they're too far away for my Ghost sense to detect?"

"There are three girls in Amity Park who are perfectly capable of defending themselves. Sam and Andy are two of them." Tucker's tone suggested he was tired of convincing Danny.

"Who's the third?" Danny asked, turning to look at his friend.

"You are, man," Tucker smirked.

Danny shot him a glare and continued pacing.

"I'm just kidding," Tucker sighed. "You can't handle yourself yet."

Danny ignored him this time. Tucker listened to the sound of his sneakers shuffling on the carpet for another few minutes.

"If I just knew where they were—"

"You'd just spy on them," Tucker interjected.

Danny frowned and continued pacing. "Maybe then, I'd stop worrying," he muttered.

Tucker frowned and pulled out his PDA.

The small device in Andy's pocket that she had come to know as a smartphone buzzed. It was from Tucker.

Are you guys ok?

Andy laughed. Is Danny freaking out because Sam is ignoring him?

Obviously.

Andy laughed again, catching Sam's attention.

"Tucker messaged me. Danny's freaking out, and I think it's starting to drive Tucker crazy."

Sam rolled her eyes and smiled. "Good."

"How long are you going to make him suffer?" Andy set the phone down and leaned back on the couch, putting her foot on the edge of the old coffee table.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know."

"Want me to take you over there?" Andy offered. "You two should really make up, I mean, you've been best friends for most of your life."

Sam chewed her lip.

"Come on," Andy smiled. "Having a friend who cares a little too much isn't exactly grounds for punishment, Sam. If anything, you should be flattered that he was jealous enough to take on a Linebacker for you."

Sam blushed, "He's not jealous."

"You're as clueless as he is," Andy said under her breath. She stood up and threw on her sweatshirt. "Get your butt in the truck. We're going to see Danny."

Sam looked up, forcing a frown, "Are you usually this bossy?"

"Yes," Andy answered. "Bossy bitches get shit done. Let's go."

Andy notified Tucker of the plan to meet. She chose the park because of the dim lighting, and she didn't have to hide her eyes as much. As far as the others knew, it was for privacy. Tucker didn't say anything about the text, and dragged Danny to the park so he 'wouldn't wear down a trench in the carpet'. But all it made Danny do was wear down a dirt path in the grass.

Then he heard an old diesel pull into the empty parking lot and he stopped in his tracks. Who was out this late?

Sam looked to Andy, tearing her eyes away from Danny.

"You haven't met him yet, have you?" Sam asked.

"Not formally," Andy replied, putting the truck into park and stepping on the e-brake.

"Come hang out for a bit," Sam smiled. "It'll be fun."

Andy hesitated. She wasn't supposed to be around Danny. If it weren't for having to actually interact with Sam to keep her safe, Danny wouldn't know her at all. Clockwork knew that if Andy got involved with Danny, she would let her emotions cloud her judgement. Andy knew it too. Even from the safety of the old pickup, it hurt to look at him. It hurt even more to look at him looking for Sam.

"I don't know," Andy finally said. "It's late."

"Oh, come on," Sam twisted the key to 'off' and dropped them on the seat. "It's my turn to be bossy. Let's go."

She grabbed Andy's arm and towed her out the passenger side door. Andy got to her feet and stumbled behind Sam to the tree where Tucker sat and Danny stood in a rut.

Danny watched as Sam towed a figure behind her. That must be Andy. The dark waves and white hat matched the girl Sam mentioned earlier that week. But her eyes were too dark. They almost looked black in the dim light coming from the half moon and the distant glow of street lamps. A hiss of cold air fell from his lips.

He kept his ears open, but remained rooted in place. He wasn't going to ditch out on Sam and Andy after today. The other Ghost could wait. He kept his glare on the black eyes that followed behind Sam.

Andy was panicked. She shouldn't be here. Clockwork had told her to stay away. She had to stay away. She forced a polite smile and stood with her back to the streetlamps.

"Danny, this is Andy," Sam introduced. "Andy, this is Danny."

Danny's jaw worked irritably as he put on a face, "Nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Andy replied, grinding her teeth.

Sam and Tucker traded looks, noticing the tension.

"Thanks for giving Sam a ride over," Danny forced out.

Andy nodded, sinking inward at the hatred that rolled from him.

"Danny?" Sam's voice pulled Danny's forceful stare from Andy, allowing her to relax.

"Sam," Danny finally said, hatred draining to guilt. "Look I'm sorry. I was a jerk. I guess I just—"

"I forgive you," Sam sighed with a smile, blushing a little.

"You do?" Danny's face was confused.

Tucker elbowed Andy and they left the two to give them some space. They walked across the park, just out of human earshot. Andy sat on the swing and watched the two talk with shining sapphire eyes. Tucker sat beside her.

"What was that all about?" Tucker asked.

"What?" Andy looked to him.

"That tension," Tucker wrinkled his nose, lifting his glasses.

"I don't know," Andy furrowed her brows. "I don't think I did anything to him."

"Maybe you embarrassed him by defending us against Dash," Tucker smirked.

Andy snickered, "Did I hurt his pride with that one?"

Tucker shrugged, still smirking.

"Why hasn't he stood up to that overstuffed poodle?" Andy asked. "It's not like he'd lose."

"I don't know," Tucker replied. "I would've if I was him."

"Keeping cover?" Andy pondered aloud.

"What?" Tucker asked.

"His cover," Andy looked back at him. "You know," she looked around before leaning in to whisper. "Danny Phantom."

Tucker lifted a brow, "How'd you figure it out?"

Andy gave him a look, "Pfft, as if it was some secret. The guy shifts out in the open all the time. And 'going Ghost'? Really? He might as well tattoo the logo onto his forehead."

Tucker laughed, "We tell him all the time how loud he is when he yells that. It's his catch phrase, though."

"It is catchy," Andy agreed humorously.

They sat in silence for a few minutes just watching the other two teens blush awkwardly.

Tucker sighed.

"I'm as tired of it as you are," she said to him.

"What?"

"Their tiptoeing," Andy clarified, tilting her head toward them. "I've only known you guys a week and it's wearing on my nerves."

"Join the club, we've got jackets," Tucker responded. "Some of us are betting on when they'll get together."

"That's horrible," Andy turned. "Where do I sign up?"

Tucker laughed heartily, and Andy chuckled. Her good mood lasted until she looked back and saw them hugging. Her eyes blazed green, then deepened back to blue. She needed to leave.

"I should get going. I have to feed the hellhounds," Andy said, standing up from the swing.

"What?" Tucker asked.

"My dogs. It's chow time," Andy replied, waving while walking backwards to the parking lot.

She made it to her truck and patted her pocket. Feeling nothing, she peeked into the dirty window.

"Dammit," she bit out. The keys were right there on the seat where she'd left them as Sam towed her out of the truck.

"Andy!" Sam came walking up.

Andy turned, smiling politely upon seeing Danny had waited by the tree instead of following Sam to the diesel.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Home. I have to feed Zeus and Hades." Andy concentrated on using her intangibility to unlock the door from within. "They get grumpy if I make them wait too long." A more sincere smile stretched across her face as her fingers found the lock.

"But you didn't get to hang out with Danny," she replied. "I'd kinda like it if we could all sit together at lunch."

"Oh," Andy was panicking. If she spent time around the three of them, something was bound to slip. She had only spent five days around Sam, and she had already started talking about her dad. "Maybe some other time."

Andy popped the door open and hopped up into the driver's seat. She waved to Sam and Tucker as she drove off. Danny just glared after her, making her gut turn into an empty pit.

She drove most of the way home just listening to the sound of the engine and trying to ease the ache of her predicament.

After she crossed the railroad tracks again, Clockwork appeared in the passenger seat. He wore the same expression he always did; patient and all-knowing.

It really pissed her off.

"Don't say it. I'm trying," Andy grumbled, gripping the steering wheel with both hands. "I can't get him and Sam together if I never talk to him, now can I?"

Clockwork waited patiently.

"I'm sorry," Andy breathed. "I really am trying, I swear."

"I know you are," he smiled knowingly and waved his staff, disappearing.

Dammit, couldn't he have gotten someone else to do this?