The janitor handed Sam her books with a sympathetic smile. Well, not really her books. Replacement books.

"Here you go, Miss Manson." The janitor placed the Chemistry textbook in Sam's outstretched arms. "You can use these while your locker is being cleaned out. I'm really sorry about that." the old janitor shook his head. Can't imagine why anyone would want to do that."

Sam forced a grim smile. The janitor returned it with a nonchalant shrug while he adjusted his baseball cap.

"Teenagers these days."

"Yeah." Sam responded dryly. "Teenagers."

Gracing her with one last despondent grin, he sauntered off, leaving Sam with an armful of schoolbooks and nowhere to put them. She sighed, shuffling her feet as she trotted down the school hallway, hoping that Tucker might have a little extra space in his locker. She was less than thrilled that her books, even replacement ones, would have to share the same space with all the summer sausages Tucker had stored in there, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Need a hand, pretty lady?" an exaggeratedly deep voice rang in Sam's ears. Dark, sea-foam eyes danced behind black-rimmed glasses and wiggling eyebrows. Sam rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the small smile from tugging at her lips.

"Thanks, Tuck." She accepted, handing over a few books from the textbook tower.

"That was more of a joke than an actual offer." the boy grumbled, but took the books regardless. "Where are you gonna put all these?"

"Your locker."

Tucker scoffed.

"MY locker? Have you heard of the word, 'please' or is that too advanced for your vocabulary?"

"Says the boy who's barely passing English class." Sam shot back. Tucker mumbled under his breath, but didn't object. Not out loud, at least.

The two stopped in front of Tucker's locker and Sam piled her books in. She grimaced at the conspicuous cooler in the back of his locker that smelled an awful lot like summer sausage. Sam wrinkled her nose at the smell, but decided not to comment at risk of being kicked out. She wedged the last book in between countless gadgets with names that Sam would never be able to pronounce. Technology really wasn't her strong suite.

"So what happened to your old locker?" Sam winced as Tucker posed the question. "I went over there to find you, but there was a bunch of janitors digging in it." Sam kept her back to him so that he couldn't read her face.

"I'll tell you later." Sam replied simply. She couldn't stand an "I told you so" right then. "It's kind of a long story." She added, knowing that her previous statement would not be enough for the boy.

"Shouldn't they have given you a temporary locker?" He pushed. Sam arranged her books as an excuse to avoid his eyes.

"They're working on it."

The first period bell rung, and Tucker dismissed himself with a wave and a pat on Sam's shoulder. She grinned at his retreating figure and closed his locker, carefully avoiding her fingers. A little slip of paper burned through her pants pocket, teasing her to no end. Sam wondered why she hadn't thrown it away yet.

She pulled out the slip, a note from the office, and spared it only a quick glance before crumbling the sheet and tossing it in the trash. She laughed at the pure irony of the note.

"Samantha Manson-Temporary locker No. 724."

Just what she needed. Sam scoffed and shook her head, dark locks bouncing with each step. That number left a sour taste in her mouth, not to mention a painful ache in her fingers. Irony sure loved tormenting her."Just wait until Star-"

Sam stopped mid-thought, with one foot still suspended in the air, waiting to be brought down for the next step. Two voices pricked at her ears-both familiar, one pleasant, and one not so pleasant.

"I'm really worried about her, Danny. I told her to talk to you, but I don't know if she will. You'll do something, won't you?" Sam frowned at the sound of Star's voice, thick with concern. After finding the brutal crime scene in her locker, Sam had called Star in a panic. Of course, Star made her promise to go to Danny, or she would do it herself. Star could have at least given her a chance. She would have talked to Danny...eventually..

Sam leaned against a locker and listened to the two talk just around the corner.

"I had a feeling that something was going on with her. Jazz told me about the broken fingers. A locker can't do that much damage all by itself."

"It was the ghost! Danny," Star's voice held a note of desperation that Sam remembered from a few nights ago, when she was begging Sam to believe her, to forgive her. "I deserved what happened to me-" She cut off Danny's objection and continued. "but Sam doesn't deserve this. She's a lot nicer than she thinks she is. Please, just..please don't let her get hurt."

Sam felt tears prick at her eyes when Star's voice cracked, but she quickly blinked them away.

"I'm trying, but she won't talk to me. She hates me, Star." His voice dropped into a hoarse whisper, and Sam had to lean even farther to hear him. Her nose was mere centimeters from the edge of the corner.

"..not that I blame her or anything. I knew she would. I just did what I had to do." Sam felt her stomach flutter with guilt. Why did she feel guilty? He just admitted it was his fault, and yet...

Danny's voice returned to normal volume, but Sam wasn't listening.

"He did what he had to do? What is that supposed to mean?" Sam scowled at the thought, but put it in the back of her mind. She forced herself to listen to Star.

"She thinks she hates you, but she doesn't really."

"No." Sam thought furiously. "I do hate him. I really hate him."

"I'll talk to her. Don't worry, Danny, she'll come around eventually. I just hope it won't be too late." Star assured him.

"I'll find out what I can about the ghost." Danny told her. "In the meantime, take care of Sam for me," Sam chewed her lip. "...and yourself too. It mights still have a grudge."

"I know. I wasn't going to come back, but when Sam called me last night..I had to make sure she was okay." Sam blinked, wondering if she had heard right. Star came back for her? A warm feeling spread through Sam's chest- like the feeling of taking a big gulp of hot coffee. Man, she could use some coffee right about now.

"And if she isn't going to get help, then I'll do it for her."

Sam jolted into the air as a ring burst from the warning bell above her head. Clapping her palms over her aching ears, Sam glared at the bell defiantly. Five minutes until class.

"Stupid bell," Sam sneered at the bright red ringer. "Stupid school. Stupid-"

She froze as two figures crept into her peripheral vision, slowly swinging around the corner. Before she could be spotted as the eavesdropper she was, Sam swung open the nearest locker and buried her head far into it, as if she was an ordinary student looking for a book that was stuck far behind the others. She bit back her disgust as she scuffled around the locker. Paulina's face beamed down at her from its pedestal position, a picture taped to the back of the locker and surrounded by unlit candles. Sam gagged. A shrine to Paulina? She dared to say it was even more revolting than the murder scene in her own locker.

Despite its distasteful content, the locker served its purpose, having shielded Sam from Star and Danny as they waltzed past, obliviously chatting away. Sam watched them from the corner of her eye, still under the dissemble of a fumbling student, who definitely was not spying on her friends. Well, one friend, and one..ex-friend.

Sam pulled her head from the Paulina shrine, only to plunge back in when Star turned abruptly to face her. The girl waved Danny goodbye and even gave him a little hug, telling him that her class was in the other direction. Sam leaned even farther into the locker, to the point where her nose was almost touching the picture of Paulina (gross) and only the top of her toes touched the floor. In hindsight, maybe she overdid it just a bit.

"Sam?"

"No, no Sam here." Sam did her best attempt at a low, masculine voice. She grimaced at the miserable fail. Not even her Grandma would fall for that, and she needed hearing aids.

"Sam, I know that's you." Sam bit her lip at Star's snicker. "No one else wears black combat boots and purple leggings."

Sam sighed in defeat, slumping so fast that her forehead came in sharp contact with the back of the locker. "What're you doing? I kinda doubt that's your replacement locker." Star questioned, gently prodding Sam's back.

"I was just, eh, investigating the lockers for..signs of..paranormal activity." She nodded at her own excuse. "To crack the case." She slid from the locker and stood fully on her feet, laughing nervously at Star's doubtfully raised eyebrow. She went to rub her neck, but quickly pulled her hand away, thinking that she had already spent too much time with Danny.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"What? No! On who?" Sam scrunched her face into the most confused expression she could form.

"You weren't eavesdropping on me and Danny?"

"Of course not."

"Then what were you doing?" Star folded her arms over her chest. Sam's mouth opened and closed a few times, hoping to let out some kind of reasonable response, but no luck. Sam's face fell to a guilty pout.

"Eavesdropping." She stared at the ground, waiting for a scolding that never came. Not only was she caught in the act, but now she smelled like Paulina's perfume.

"See, that wasn't too unbearable, was it?" Star playfully nudged Sam's shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about me," Sam's eyes rose to meet hers. "I can take care of myself. You should go home if you don't feel comfortable here. I have Tucker, and..." Sam racked her brain for another name to add to the list, but drew up empty.

"And Danny."

"And Dan-" Sam stopped, glaring at Star for even suggesting the name, and biting her tongue for speaking it.

"He said he would help, Sam!" Star cried. Her arms unfolded and formed praying hands for the patience she needed. "Just give him a chance! Whatever he did, it's not worth losing your life over. Just let him help."

Sam felt her throat clam up.

"He doesn't care!" She choked out, ignoring the horrible squeak that caught in the words.

"He does care! He wants to help you. Didn't you hear that while you were eavesdropping?" Sam decided not to comment on that and dig herself into an even bigger grave. Star dropped her books to the ground and grabbed Sam by the shoulders, giving her a shake. "If you would just listen to him for a second, you would see that."

Sam shrugged her hands off and looked away, unable to meet Star's penetrating gaze. She had tried. For two years she had tried so hard, and all she had gotten was the cold shoulder. She couldn't go through that again.

"Why now?" Sam shook her head, not bothering to brush away the raven strands that fell in front of her face. "Now he wants to talk to me, to help me, after I begged for his attention and all he did was push me away." She scoffed and tucked her arms over her chest, trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes. "Once I stop caring, he all the sudden wants to talk to me again. I'd just gotten over it all, and now he drags me back into his insanity. How is that fair?"

"He's the only one who can help you now, so you'll have to get over it." Star picked up the strap of her bag and slung it over her slim shoulders. Sam had never seen Star carry her own backpack; she always had someone less popular to lug it for her, but now she wilted under the weight of it herself. "Once this ghost thing blows over, you can go back to hating him and forget this all happened, okay?"

Sam shifted under Star's expectant eyes and raised brow.

"Maybe Star is right. Just get rid of the ghost and things go back to normal. No ghost, no frogs, no Danny..."

"Okay." she answered softly. She could do this..

"Now pretend you're helping me walk so that we get an excuse to be late for class." Star slung the arm that wasn't holding up the backpack over Sam's shoulders.

"And stop muttering. It's going to be okay. Danny isn't that bad."

"I wasn't muttering, but okay."

"Whispering then."

"I wasn't muttering or whispering anything."

Sam watched the color drain from her friend's face as she leaned more weight on Sam's shoulder. Her eyes darted to the lockers.

"Star?"

"My leg just started hurting," Star sighed, her eyelids drooping wearily. "Guess I actually do need a crutch." Star cast her a tired smile, weak but hopeful. Sam grinned back. She wasn't completely alone. She had Tucker and Star, and maybe Danny, if he kept his word. She couldn't help but feel a little hopeful.

Sam hugged her arms together underneath the wool fabric of her sweater, but the cold shivers persisted. She wondered why, out of all the seats in the class, she was placed right under the air vent.

"Mrs. Layne," Sam piped as her hand shot into the air. She ignored the teacher's disapproving glare at her interjection. "Can you turn the air off, please? It's freezing in here."

"The air isn't on, sweetie." Mrs. Layne lowered her glasses to the tip of her nose and looked over them with a slight frown. Much to Sam's embarrassment, she realized that half the class was shooting her the same curious look, snickering at the bulge that her arms made in her jacket. Sam glared back at the students until they looked away.

Sam glared at the supposedly unused air vent above her. She definitely felt a cold breeze rush across her neck, almost like an icy breath. She couldn't be the only one that felt it. Her eyes scanned over the classroom, coming across tired, bored faces until resting on Star. Sam felt her blood run even colder at the sight of her.

Star trembled violently enough to make her desk shake. Her face, usually a perfect blend between a soft gold and rosy cheeks was drained into a pasty white. Her eyes nearly glowed against the pale skin as they darted from side to side.

"Star?" Sam whispered over to her. Though they were straight across from each other, no more than two feet away, Star didn't seem to hear. "Star?" She tried again, loud enough that the person in front of Star turned back to look.

Star's trembling lips parted, and a feeble plea choked out.

"No," She croaked quietly. "No, no, no.." Her head began to shake from side to side, slowly at first, but faster and faster until Sam grew dizzy just watching. Star's chair screeched against the floor as she shot up. Her knee hit the desk and sent the papers flying.

"Star?" Mrs. Layne called out to the girl, but Star only stumbled back, bumping into desks and scattering papers all over the floor. Sam called her name again, nearly shouting this time, and shot up to grab Star by the shoulders. She shook from Sam's hold, sobbing and slapping her hands away.

"It's not true!" Star screamed. "Leave me alone!"

"Star, it's me!" Sam pleaded. "It's Sam. Listen to me, Star."

"Get away!" Star demanded in a scratchy, ragged voice. Her hands shot out and shoved against Sam's stomach. Sam felt a blast of cold tear through her, and her breath ripped from her lungs as Sam found herself tumbling over her own desk. She laid with her face pressed against the cold floor, desperately gasping for a breath of air. The cold spread through her-her stomach had turned to a block of ice that felt to be slowly melting, seeping into her veins. She couldn't move, or think, she couldn't even shiver.

A set of hands wrapped around her arms and lifted her up. The hands burned against her like a heated brand, and for a second, Sam swore she heard his skin sizzle.

"You okay, Sam?" A boy's voice asked her. She guessed he was the owner of the hands that had hauled her up. Her guess was proven correct when the hands retracted, and the same voice spoke again. "Damn, you're colder than an ice cube. You sick or something?"

"I'm fine." She waved her hand dismissively, but she still had to brace her hands against her knees to catch her breath. Slowly, she felt her warmth returning and she spoke just as the last shred of ice melted away.

"Where's Star?" she stammered.

"Why don't you sit down?" the boy offered. Sam vaguely recognized him as the boy who sat in front of Star, the second to notice Star's pale state, but Sam couldn't recall his name at the moment.

As much as Sam wanted to decline, her heart seemed to be pumping faster than usual, her blood pulsing wildly against her veins, making her whole body throb like a hundred heartbeats. She fell into the chair.

"Someone has to find her." Sam ordered, panting slightly. "She could be hurt-"

"Mrs. Layne already went after her." she was informed by another student, just one of many that crowded around her.

"Star.." Sam thought worriedly. She was in trouble, Sam was sure of it. She swore that Star's teal eyes had glowed slate gray, if only for a second.

Sam jumped to her feet, ignoring the nauseating rush of blood that pounded against her head.

"Hey, what are you-"

"I'm feeling better, thank you." Sam quickly called over her shoulder as she sprinted to the door. She was still looking over her shoulder when she ran straight into Mrs. Layne, who caught Sam before she could slip past.

"Samantha, are you alright? You took quite the fall." She asked. Sam decided to overlook the "Samantha" comment.

"Star?" she questioned impatiently. Mrs. Layne shook her head.

"I lost her in the hall. It's like she just disappeared."

Sam breathed out an exasperated sigh and pushed past the teacher, racing down the halls to do something she never thought she would have the guts (or the foolishness) to do. But Star had been there for her, and Sam needed to return the favor, even if it cost Sam her pride. She had to find Danny.

A/N: I'm going to be hella busy this weekend, so I wanted to update while I still had the chance. Side note: did you guys know that there's a Danny Phantom book..thing? It's called Stage Fright, in case you were wondering. I bought it for a penny on Amazon. The more you know.