A nice long(er) chapter. I am slowly working on things. While I wrote this chapter I listened to a song called "Medicine by Daughter (Sound Remedy Remix)" I would suggest doing the same while you read. If the music distracts you then please refrain and read on. I think the music really sets the tone and helps with the mood I'm trying to portray. Reviews always appreciated.
I might continue providing songs to listen to while you read. Just for fun. I just happen to listen to music while I write and I think it helps convey feeling. So if your strongly opposed let me know or just decide not to listen to the music. I won't be offended.
As always. Readers you are appreciated and enjoy.
JB
"What was that about?" Sam huffed as she crossed her arms.
"Can't say for sure. Maybe he just needs to blow off some steam. It isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. You know, saving the city and still being a teen and all." Tucker stared at where Danny was last visible.
"So should we try to find something out too. To help or anything?" Sam asked. Tucker turned and pulled Sam into a side hug.
"No, I think this is something he just needs to sort out himself." Tucker spoke softly into the rushing wind. Sam was caught off guard by the apparent "moment" her and Tucker were sharing. I can't help but feel like he is talking about something completely different than the ghost problem at hand. Did Danny tell Tucker about this weekend? Sam worried. Why did Danny blow us off that fast? I'll give him a piece of my mind when he comes back for being so insensitive and acting like a jerk. Sam rested her head on Tucker's shoulder and pondered. Why does he always try to do so much? He never says how he feels except that he is tired or hungry. Sam pulled Tucker closer as the wind bit at her cheeks. This weather is going be the death of me. Having cold ghostly air all around me. But isn't that what a hug from Danny Phantom would be like? Sam's brain backtracked a few paces. That's different. Sam pulled away from Tucker mumbled a farewell and started toward her house. Now the cold didn't seem so bad. It brought memories rushing back. Sam let the wind whip around her hair and face. It's like that night. A chill. A chill of excitement. Danny may not talk about his feelings much and I may think he is a dork but he is the only dork that I'll fall for. On her front step Sam looked up to the dreary scene above her and said a silent prayer. I hope your safe Danny. I hope you realize that I'll listen. I'll hear what you had to say all over again. So why don't you try again? Sam stopped looking at the heavens and closed her eyes. I don't want to be the one that says I heard it all and start the relationship. While I do believe in being a strong woman, Danny needs to man up and ask me out. Thinking back to Danny's quick departure created thoughts along the subject of "Danny has changed his mind" and "he doesn't feel the same anymore". Sam suppressed them before she became a typical, emotionally susceptible teenage girl and stepped into her house.
Meanwhile Danny was barreling into the wind trying to find if the weather truly originated from something ghostly. Honestly, he wasn't paying much attention. He had kept his eyes forward in a steely gaze trying to burn off the emotions running through him.
After launching into the sky he had turned and gazed down on his friends to see if they would follow him or not. Tucker kept gazing his direction while Sam looked at Tucker. Tucker pulled Sam in a hug and she rested her head on his shoulder. Danny's vision blurred and he whipped around to yell into the wind which just sucked up the sound and brought it into nothingness. After tearing into the wind for some time Danny tired enough to slow down and look at his breath. It came out in ragged gasps and was laced with blue wisps constantly. Tucker must have been right. It is coming more frequently…What was he doing with my girl anyway! He knows I have feelings for her. He teases me about it all the time! So now he thinks he can just scoop her up when I leave. Danny seethed silently as he caught his breath. He probably just took an interest in her clothes like everyone else! Danny thought back to the dance when Sam rested her head on his chest while they danced in the sky. He suddenly had a deep loathing for the event and tossed a massive ball of green energy into the sky with a roar.
"So the little Phantom has come to find me. I wondered how long it would take." Came a wheezing voice out of the grey. Danny whirled in a circle. His anger intensified and confusion abounded.
"Where are you?!" Danny squinted and spun in a circle. A radio tower stood to Danny's left. The realization came to Danny that the wind wasn't as fierce where he was and that it seemed to be circulating around the radio tower. I have to be close to whoever is causing this because this all shouts 'eye of the storm'. Plus, the radio tower is just a great projection point. Danny surmised. A bolt of lightning flashed toward Danny and shook him to the core. The cackling that followed couldn't have been thunder. Shaking his head and blinking, Danny attempted to clear his head. A clouded hand crackling with electricity nearly missed his face. Danny instinctively gathered balls of green energy in his hands and sent them towards his foe before jetting to the outside of the ring of wind. From his view point he started to see a mass of wind and cloud materialize into the familiar form of Vortex, the weather ghost.
My friends were right again. Guess they are just as familiar with this stuff as I am now. I'm still glad I came alone. They wouldn't have been able to help much this high in the air. Next time Sam will have to come along so she doesn't accidentally hug any more guys that aren't me. Danny's train of thought slowly drifted from the battle ahead of him back to his friends. A conflicting voice in his head spoke up.
Well if you asked her out and weren't such a wimp then maybe you wouldn't have to worry about here getting hit on by other guys because they would know that she's taken.
Shut it! I know that!
Well then why don't you do it!
Because I'm still scared.
Of what? You fight ghosts everyday.
Why am I arguing with myself?
Most likely because…WHAM! Before Danny could finish his internal debate he was sent sprawling toward the ground. Steadying himself, Danny shot towards the chuckling ghost.
"Let's get this over with!" Danny yelled with eyes alight. He made contact with, what he assumed, was Vortex's face, causing the ghost to hiss and send bolts of lightning at Danny. Dodging the streaks of electricity Danny retreated from the proximity of the ghost and began hurling green energy at his foe. Following a few initial hits, Vortex opened up his body and let the attacks fly through him. Danny growled and flung himself at Vortex.
"You have a hot head for how cold the weather is ghost boy." Vortex laughed manically. Danny flew straight through the primarily windy ghost and into the chest plate that Vortex inhabited.
"I guess we should both chill out then!" Danny ground out amidst the tempest that composed Vortex's body. Struggling to maintain his position without being spit out, Danny latched on to Vortex's chest plate and transferred as much freezing energy as he could muster. A crackling sound acquainted the pulse of ice. Danny opened his squinting eyes to see a frosty layer covering the inside of Vortex's suit. Upon exiting the ghost he realized that the wind had died down. Danny focused on the ghost before him. Vortex still floated in front of him but his body changed from tornado force winds to limbs and a face made out of slowly circulating snow flakes. A shocked expression covered the weather ghost's face. Danny smirked tiredly and approached Vortex. Danny stuck out his tongue and collected the flakes that flitted around Vortex's arm.
"Ahhhhhh! Stop! Please! Just stop! I should be the one controlling the weather! Not some halfa. The weather is all I have to torment you people." Vortex pleaded. Danny pulled back with a satisfied yet stern look. It's about time someone else suffered from a case of 'crappy day syndrome'. An image of Sam hugging Tucker slid into his mind again.
"Well sometimes you just don't get what you want." Danny warned as he pulled out a thermos he always kept handy. Suddenly, an idea came to Danny. I wonder just how vulnerable Vortex is in this state, Danny wondered. He zapped the end of Vortex's tail with a blast of energy and received another satisfying screech. Where snowflakes once were, water droplets formed and fell to the ground. I could finish him off. I could successfully eradicate Vortex from ever messing with the weather again. Danny raised a glowing hand. Vortex threw both of his up and whimpered. After staring at the ghost that now slightly resembled a snowman Danny's anger faded and he unscrewed the cap to his thermos. "Looks like spring will be coming soon."
"It won't stop here Phantom. I'm just a piece in his plan. I was just doing my part, bringing the storms to help move…" The last of Vortex's sentence was sucked with him into the thermos. Danny recoiled at the new information as he clamped the thermos shut. He considered opening the canister to beat the information out of Vortex. What is this all about. Why would anyone need cold windy weather? Correction, what ghost needs cold windy weather for their plan? He could have just been bluffing so he could have another chance at taking me down. Danny gave himself a look over and realized that he was also covered in frost from the miniature blizzard he whipped up. Shivering, Danny descended to the radio tower roof. Why did he tell me that information? Just so he can get out quicker? Danny shook the thermos as he contemplated Vortex's words. If something else is actually going on I'll figure it out soon enough. Maybe Vortex was just lying or puffing a bunch of hot air. Danny smiled at his own wit. We'll see if anything else happens. Without the crazy weather ghost around maybe I can enjoy some normal spring weather without worrying about guys flirting with Sam. Danny sneezed and gave a sigh as he felt his nose start to run. Great, now I have a cold too. I guess this doesn't really put me in the greatest fighting shape. Of course it's just my luck that I would get myself sick. I can't get sick like every other teen by staying out having a snowball fight, making a snowman or kissing their girlfriend. Danny blushed and felt his lugubrious mood creep back into his system. No, instead, I get sick and worn out while kicking ghost butt to save this city.