SECOND CHANCES

Chapter 3
RUNNING OUT

"Danny, stop it!" Sam giggled as Danny wiggled his fingers and tickled Sam's neck and waist. "Damn it, Danny! You're making me stiff!" Danny and Sam, after a Saturday night of movies, went to Fenton Works and spend their nights at the rooftop of the building.

"Oh, come on, it's just a tickle!" Danny chuckled, wiggling his fingers faster until Sam has fallen down on her seat, now stiff and panting from trying to stop him.

"Now look at me! You made me fall off!" Sam commented, and tried to stand, but she could not from all those stiffness she felt. Danny, being her boyfriend and protector, lifted her back to the seat.

"What would you do without me?" Danny sarcastically said. Well, Sam, being Goth, vegan, individual, independent, can do anything by herself. But of course, not all. She would still need a hero to protect her, a friend to console her, and a boyfriend to love her.

"Hello! I'm a Goth!" Sam answered. "I live with darkness. I live with everything black, creepy and weird. I have my way of doing things." Looking towards the night sky, she added, "But I realized, that I wasn't just bound to being Goth. I still needed someone to complete my life." Sam held Danny's hands, and the boy squeezed hers tightly in return.

THE NEXT DAY

"Tucker, take it easy!" Danny exclaimed, seeing Tucker chew his sandwich really quickly and swallowing it. "You might choke, you know?"

"Well apparently my stomach is telling me to push all this food so he may stop grumbling," said Tucker. "Besides, there's water in here. I can push the food easily."

"Slow down, Tuck." Danny said. "Ugh. Better get some more food. Do you guys need anything?"

"I'll come with you." Tucker exclaimed. "This stomach's not done yet!"

Leaving Sam in the table, eating her greens and drinking water, a man dressed up as a janitor walked up to her table and took Danny and Tucker's unclean dishes. "You know child, you should act quickly." The man said, while still taking the dishes out of the table.

"What?" Sam asked. "What are you saying?"

"Time is precious, child." The man whispered to her ear. He then began to wipe the mess from the table. "You must cherish every moment. It's hard to take things back."

After cleaning the table, the man left quickly, pushing his trolley of dirty plates away, leaving Sam confused and puzzled. "What does he mean by, 'cherish every moment'?"

Carrying their food and drinks, Danny and Tucker went back to their tables. Danny noticed Sam thinking something very deep. "Hey Sam, are you all right?"

Sam stared at the ceiling, still trying to figure out the answer to the riddle the mysterious man gave her. "Oh, I was just thinking of something."

"Mind if you share it with us?" Tucker asked. "If it's a problem, maybe we can help you."

"No, a man walked right up to me and said, 'Cherish every moment'. What do you think it means?"

"Wait." Danny remembered the same encounter he had a few days ago, at the shower room. "I think I recognize him. Sam, is that man dressed as a janitor?"

"Yes." Sam answered. "He just took Tucker's and your dirty plates."

"I think he is the same man who mysteriously told me to appreciate time." Danny said. "What does he want? Is it still life lessons for us? Or he's trying to tell us something?"

"Not a clue, Sam." Danny said, and chewed off his food. "But let's try to forget all of this. We got some assignments to finish."

I am THE PHANTOM X
#055

Hello! It's been a very long time since I updated this fic! And thanks to WhatDoesTheFauxSay from Tumblr and Phandom Chat, I'm back on track! So here ya go. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

And just to let you know, Phanniemay is still ongoing. So join the fun! And I'm a bit focused on my cosplay, so... the story's not gonna update for a while.

~ Phantom X / Nickster