Genre: Romance/Humor/Adventure

Pairing: Danny/Sam

Rating: T

Story © Phantom Misfit

Danny Phantom © Butch Hartman

Inspiration: This fanfic is loosely based on the Disney Channel movie Starstruck.

Notes: In this fanfic, Danny and Sam are both in their twenties, just so you know ;) Now, read on! And please RxR!

--

When she'd calmed down, he agreed to answer more questions. Now Sam was sitting Indian style on the grass, Danny lying on his back playing with the grass.

"Who are the other two people who know your secret?" Sam asked.

"Tucker, and my sister Jazz." Danny murmured, closing his eyes to the sunlight.

"What?" Sam looked over at him, eyes wide. "Not your parents?"

"…No." Danny said softly, regretfully. "Like I said, my parents are ghost hunters. They'll kill me in a second if I told them."

"No they wouldn't! They love you!" Sam replied tersely.

"Hm." Danny chuckled. "Thanks, Sam, but I think I got this one."

"I'm sorry." She pulled out a chunk of grass from the ground. "It just doesn't seem right."

Danny frowned but didn't disagree with her. "Anything else?"

"Not really." Sam shrugged. "I think I've got the gist of it."

"Okay." He sat up and stretched. "I think we should be getting home."

"Sure." Sam frowned slightly at his abrupt statement. "Let's go."

--

By the time they got back to the Amity Park beach, it was nearing dusk. The sky was painted a beautiful orange, purple, and pink in thick brushstrokes. Sam and Danny had talked while strolling through the forest, his arm around her shoulders. As they got closer to civilization, he had grown quieter and more detached from her, but she'd forced herself to ignore it. Now they got to the beach and he'd pulled his hat down over his eyes, trying to hide himself as best he could.

"Well…goodbye." He awkwardly held out his hand to her and she looked at it, then him, in confusion.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrows as if she should have known. "Uh, goodbye. Nice knowing you. Hope we meet in, uh…twenty years from now." He retracted his hand as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you talking about? I thought we were friends!"

Danny closed his eyes, fighting with himself in his head. Sam could see it but she was too angry at his new attitude to have any sympathy. "Answer me!"

Danny opened his eyes, finally having made a firm decision. "I can't be seen with you, Sam."

She stepped back as if he had physically hit her. "What?"

"I'm famous, I can't have my image marred by being seen with you." He had to keep his voice firm or it would all go awry, even when he saw her hands beginning to tremble.

"But you told me your deepest secret." She whispered. She was in shock. "But we-"

"That doesn't matter." His heart hurt so badly it was beginning to throb with the pain. "You're just a normal girl. I'm a ghost fighting superhero with a million fangirls. I can't be tied down. Besides, I just told you my secret in the heat of the moment. It doesn't matter."

Sam gritted her teeth against her tears. "I knew it. I knew you were just one of the jerks this town has to offer. But no, I trusted you. I thought you might be different." She glared at him. "My mistake. See you never."

She stalked away, desperately trying to hold back the tears, but they came swift and hot. How could he do this to her? They had been connecting, she had even been thinking that maybe they-

No. It was over now. No what if's, not anything. He didn't deserve to be thought of if he could befriend her and then abandon her because it was ruin his image to be seen with her.

The stupid black trucks were back, and Sam looked back through blurry eyes that Danny had turned into Phantom and was being surrounded by tall, willowy, beautiful girls in bathing suits who were probably freezing their butts off but who were all too happy to snuggle up to him. He put his arms around a couple of them and smiled for the paparazzi and their cameras.

Wait a minute…the trucks haven't even parked yet. They aren't the paparazzi! Danny…Danny lied to me! But strangely, the realization didn't make her angry, merely interested. If he'd told her his biggest secret, why did he hide this from her?

Knowing she could walk home from the beach, she walked near the black van, noticing a large symbol on the side that had been hidden from her before. It was a white oval with black letters: GIW.

Not knowing what the letters meant, Sam continued walking in the direction of her house. Unfortunately, she didn't know that the GIW was tracking her every move until she was out of their sight range.

Or that she'd dropped her phone on the sandy beach.

--

"Danny, you didn't." Tucker Foley sounded horrified as his best friend flopped on his couch, covering his face with his hands.

"I did, Tuck. I had to. If I didn't, they would tear her apart!" He groaned. "I can't stop thinking about her!"

"No wonder." Tucker smiled slightly as he looked over at Danny's laptop, the desktop showing pictures of Danny and Sam's getaway.

"She hates me." Danny said, chest tight with hurt. "She trusted me. Tuck, she is not a trusting person. Her parents didn't love her for who she was, her friends stabbed her in the back, and she trusted me. I broke that trust."

"Why didn't you just explain the situation to her? She would have understood." Tucker asked gently, grabbing a Coke for himself and his friend.

"No, she wouldn't." Danny denied, grabbing the Coke that Tucker tossed to him. "Believe me, I weighed all the options. She's as stubborn as…as…"

"You?" Tucker supplied with a grin.

"Exactly," Danny grinned back, popping the tab on his can. His smile faded as he continued. "But I know her. I may not have known her for more than a week, but I know her. She would argue that she was strong enough to take the Guys in White. She is strong, but not strong enough for them. They'll hound her, stalk her, and once they have her in their clutch, they'll interrogate her endlessly, exhaust her, grill her until she surrenders! And what then, Tucker? I'll be out the only girl I've ever lo-really liked-"Danny blushed hotly at Tucker's knowing look. "-And my biggest secret!" He rubbed his hands over his face. "And if I protect her from them, she'll start hating me eventually. She hates being held back, held down, and that's what I'll be doing, trying to save her from the GIW."

"Aw, man." Tucker slung an arm around Danny's shoulder, giving him a manly side hug. "That sucks. It's a vicious circle."

"I know." Danny took a heartfelt swig from his can of Coke. "But hey, I'm supposed to be the hero. At least I did the right thing."

"But wait…" Tucker paled, swallowing hard. "Danny…what if she's so mad that she tells your secret?"

Danny blinked in realization as the blood rushed in his ears. "I…never thought of that." He whispered. His heart thudded thickly in his chest. What if she did tell? Lowering his face into his hands, he said softly, "It's out of my hands now, I guess. Whatever happens, happens."

--

"Samantha! Samantha Manson!" Microphones and cameras were shoved in Sam's face and she stumbled back at the onslaught. She struggled to get out of her Smart Car without getting crushed by the paparazzi.

It had been a few days since her 'date' with Danny Phantom and the paparazzi had arrived soon after she stormed off the beach. It was really aggravating her and she didn't know what to do.

"Samantha! Are you and Inviso-Bill dating?"

"Is it true that you're engaged to the ghost boy?"

"Ms. Manson! Are you pregnant with Inviso-Bill's child?"

"NO TO ALL OF THE ABOVE! NOW GET AWAY FROM ME!" Sam shouted, losing her temper. She had known the guy for a DAY! Where the hell was the press getting this crap?!

She stormed into her house and slammed the door in the press's faces, literally. She heard the crack of some guy's nose against her door and felt satisfied. With a sigh she tore off her coat and flopped on her couch, stretching luxuriously. It had been a hard day at work, the press harassing her while she was working. She couldn't get in nearly as many patients as she normally did. It was aggravating.

Running a hand through her hair, she stretched and stood up, deciding she needed a shower. Her clothes were full of dog hair, anyway. She padded upstairs…

…and screamed.

Huge, muscled men in pure white suits were standing at guard in her hallway, armed with dangerous looking guns. Black sunglasses hid their steely eyes that were glaring at her.

"Agent O, restrain her." The man in front commanded. Said agent sprang forward and grabbed her arm, causing her to spring into action and struggle against him. He twisted her arm behind her back, making her go stock still and cry out in pain. "Hey!"

"We are the Guys in White, commonly known as the GIW." The man in front said with an authoritative voice. He stepped closer and tipped down his sunglasses to narrow his eyes at her. "We are an organization that hunts, captures, and destroys spectral beings. Such as the ghost boy, Inviso-Bill."

Sam gasped and he smirked. "Boys, let's get her to our headquarters. I believe she can help us."

Sam's scream of terror were muffled by a gag as they led her out her back door.

--

For anyone that actually reads these things, i just got a puppy on Saturday and she is ADORABLE. Her name is Lola and she's a Shetland Sheepdog/Terrier mix, but she looks more like a really fluffy dachshund. :)

-Phantom Misfit

/( '.' )\
.( UU)/ ------------ Puppy :)