~Chapter 7~
For hours, Danny kept a steady watch on the classroom door. Flashes of Sam flew through his head: their happy times, their sad times, their fights and spats...and their loving times. So many memories of her played at once in his mind, though he didn't know why. Maybe it was because of the nurse's office. She'd talked in her sleep, and ended up mumbling his name. At first he'd brushed it off as nothing too much, but when she said "You, too..." he'd blushed.
Then again, he'd blushed the time she'd attacked him with a roughly-placed kiss on the lips to protect him from Valerie. That girl really would do anything to keep his secret, well, secret. If she hadn't kept her promise, who knows what might've happened to him? Valerie hated the Phantom, and if she were ever to find out about his morpho abilites, that he was a half ghost, then she might well tell the whole world. Or kill him and then expose him. Either way, the outcome wouldn't be very good. But even though that kiss was rough, she seemed to enjoy at least a small portion of it. Maybe she hadn't meant to do it, or hadn't meant for him to know about it, but she'd smiled ever so slightly when she did that.
And then there was another time with Ember in the way. He'd been put under her spell, and had ended up falling in a forced love with Sam. But what baffled him was that, when he finally snapped out of it, she'd said that part of her liked the attention. Did that mean she didn't want a forced love, but a real one? If it was real, then would her whole self like it?
Dangit, that girl was near impossible to figure out!
A creak from the opening door brought him from his thoughts. It was Sam. She looked well and rested. Thank God for that... He was afraid the bell ringing might've woken her up.
"What happened while I was gone?" he whispered to her as she took her seat.
"A hundred things that could go wrong is what happened!" she hissed back.
Woah. Hadn't been expecting mood swings in the forecast. But for the sake of his life, he wasn't going to tell her it was her pregnant hormones. Expecting ladies tended to respond horribly to that. So instead, he said, "With what?"
The arrow on her mood meter swiveled and pointed to sadness as its random emotion. "With the baby..." she murmured.
Oh, yeah. This was definitely a mood swing. No normal person, unless emotionally inbalanced, would change moods so suddenly. But this was either bad or good, because it was so random Danny never knew which mood she would land on next. Hopefully the good ones...
"The baby?" he said, a little too loudly.
The goth was about to hush him and scold him, but the nearest people turned around or to their sides and stared at him. Then, realizing he was talking to her, their gaze left him and stopped on the pregnant teen. This act caught Lancer's attention, but he was very busy grading papers and couldn't really attend it. Besides, it was a study period. If they wanted to stare at someone, let them. It'd be their fault if they flunked, though.
Paulina had the most suspiscious look than the rest of the class. She seemed to sense something was being hidden from her. And she never liked it when people kept secrets she didn't already know about. "Baby?" she muttered to the pair under her breath.
"Uh... Uhm... H-He didn't say baby, he said..." Sam racked her brain for an answer. What word rhymed with baby that would make sense? 'Lady' was close, but it didn't rhyme! Hundreds of words raced through her mind and she wondered through it all how much time had already passed. "Oh! He said maybe."
Did it fool them? Were they ever going to lift their searing eyes from them? A few figured it was reasonable enough and got back to their studies. But a few people still stared, pondering whether or not she was lying. Paulina, however, wasn't convinced in the slightest.
"Uh-uh." She waggled a finger in a way that said 'no-no' to anyone watching. "You said baby; I know what I heard."
The people who had been fooled now turned their torturous looks back to the pair. Oh, God, please just let this nightmare end already! But God didn't spare them of the relentlessly gazing onlookers. Thanks a million, Paulina...
Tha Latino waited patiently for an answer. And it was clear she wanted the truth.
"Um..." Darn it! Now she had to come up with a different excuse! And since the few people at nearby desks were supecting her of teen pregnancy, she had to make it convincing. "I-It's my cousin's aunt. She's having a baby soon. But we don't know when. Or where. Or if it's a boy or girl."
"Oh, really?" the popular girl questioned. Her suspense was not hidden in her voice.
Sam cast a quick 'help me' look to Danny, who responded with an 'I can't' look. He was a guy; what did he know about catfights? And this might turn into one if she had a bad mood swing. Either way, she had no choice but to bear the wrath of Paulina, who would tell the rest of the school if she found out, by herself.
"Really," she said unsurely.
"I don't believe you. I think you're lying," Paulina pressed.
There were no more openings. The Latino looked totally unconvinced and sat still, waiting for the truth. So Sam decided to play a pretty risky card. The truth card. "Okay, yeah. It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I mean, obviously I'm pregnant. Can't you see my bulging belly and swollen ankles?" she said sarcastically. Now it was up to Paulina to take it seriously or not.
"Maybe you're too early to show," she combated.
"Oh, yeah, that's gotta be it. And gosh darn it if I didn't know whether or not I had a kid in me!" Sam kept playing along, hoping that eventually her sarcasm would make the girl give up.
Paulina's eyes narrowed, knwoing exactly what she was trying to do. "You're just covering up your tracks. Everyone's going to know if you're lying or if you aren't when you start to show. And you're pretty skinny. I'd say you have about a month to tell the truth before everyone finds out."
That much was true. She was thin, but not underweight. People would figure it out once that small stomach began to swell into a nice little lump.
The girl didn't need wait for a reply; she knew she had her opponent cornered. But she wanted this day to be sweet. Another score for the populars. Aka, the A-listers. This would ensure that her own poularity rate would skyrocket.
The vegetarian knew it was over with. Her little facade hadn't played out as she'd planned. The Latino had won; check mate. "Yeah, okay? It's true... Danny said 'baby' and...he was talking about mine." she breathed. Tears filled her eyes, but she would never allow Paulina to have that extra satisfaction of knowing she'd made her cry.
"I knew it. You losers always look for love in the wrong places," she said matter-of-factly. A smirk of victory grew on her face.
Anger took over and she stood up from her desk, surprisingly going unnoticed by the teacher who was wrapped up in his own work. "I'm not a loser! And I didn't look for love in the wrong place!"
Paulina stood, too and willingly joined in the new argument with, "Then you mind telling me why you're pregnant?"
Sam's fingers curled under the pressure of stress. Her teeth began to grind together, and it was made clear that this wasn't going to end well. She gripped the edges of her desk to keep from smacking her rival sqare in her prissy little cheek. "It's none of your business how I got pregnant!"
Danny listened to the rant go on and on, and couldn't help but wonder once or twice why Paulina hadn't asked who the dad was. Sure, he'd say it was himself, but he didn't want to go announcing it to the world. He slumped back in his chair. Who was he supposed to root for? Naturally, Sam. But he still had a quite the crush on the girl she was up against. Perhaps remaining silent would do well in such an awkward situation.
"Who are you to call me prissy? You're just a slut!" Paulina berated.
This time, tears couldn't be held back. Along with an angry expression, the trails of salty wetness told everyone how badly Sam was getting beat. Several people muttered around the classroom, some wondering if Sam was okay, and others betting on who would win. And any bets that were made were probably on Paulina.
And then there were others still who sneered and snickered at a pregnant teenager.
"Face it, Sam, you're just some other loser's pet. You're just being used! Like a toy!" she continued.
That completely crossed the line for Danny. Sam was his best friend; there was no way he was going to let a crush get in the way of that. Especially not when she was pregnant. He stood up from his desk and moved in front of Sam's, his arms spread wide as though to protect her from something. "Paulina, this doesn't even concern you. Why don't you just sit back down and do your work?" he said calmly, trying to keep an even face.
"Why are-? Oh, right. You're her little loser friend," she stated, as though just meeting him for the first time, "You knew she was pregnant?"
"Yes, I did. And I would've appreciated it if you hadn't made her tell it to the whole class." Anger surfaced, though he tried not to show it. "I heard everything, too. She's not a slut; she's my best friend."
"Only a slut gets pregnant," she said, a serious tone lacing her words.
"Sam's not a slut!" Anger turned to fury and, without anyone's noticing it, his eyes flashed from an icy blue to a ghastly emerald and back. His eyebrows furrowed and he stared at her with such a pained expression that Paulina had to back down. "She's dealt with you're insults long enough! Now you're going to stop!"
"Or else what?" she asked, half curious and half arrogant.
"You don't even want to know..." he growled.
"Let me guess, I get beaten up by you? As if. I have Dash and all the other football players to back me up. What do you have?" She smirked, thinking she had him cornered just like Sam had been.
His teeth clenched even tighter. His eyes shot to a glowing green color and flared. The white ring that usually allowed his transformation appeared, but disappeared just as quickly and he didn't expose himself. But the eyes stayed as a threat. "Let's just say you don't want to mess with my friends. Because if you mess with them, you mess with me. Have I made myself clear?" His irises reverted back to their rich blue color.
Paulina sat back down, frightened, and said softly, "Crystal."
Danny took his seat and glanced around the room before looking at Sam and smiling at her. He figured just giving her the knowledge that he was there would help ease the pain and shock of what she'd heard and seen.
The bell rang furiously at that instant, calling everyone to lunch.
"Danny, you almost transformed, and right in front of everyone, too," the goth recalled.
"Yeah, well... I couldn't just sit there and let you suffer. I had to help somehow," he combated.
Tucker came to sit right beside them, the look of shock still not gone from his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked his friend.
"I just...and you... How come nobody told me Sam was...? I-I mean-" he began.
"Sorry, Tuck. We just...didn't know how to tell you. We didn't know how you'd react and so we thought you weren't ready for it. We decided to let you figure it out on your own, but...with that outburst from Paulina..." the halfa's voice trailed off in thought.
"Then who's the dad? I guess I can understand if you didn't know how to tell me, but it would be nice if someone could fill me in on the details. Like how far along you are," he said, turning to Sam.
The individualist sighed. "I'm about three weeks. And the dad is..." She didn't finish, waiting for Danny to step in for her. She'd already told him, indirectly, that she was pregnant. Now it was the halfbreed's turn to tell him about the dad.
Danny raised his hand. Since he really wasn't the father, this was much easier to do.
The techno-geek almost fell out of his chair. He pulled back and gasped. "Well, actually that's not very hard to believe. I always knew you guys had a thing for each other, I just never thought you'd admit it."
Both of their faces turned a lovely puce shade, and they looked away from each other. Neither were looking at anything in particular and they seemed to be thinking about what to say next.
"Yeah, that's the Danny and Sam I know. But I have to admit, you two...? You two having a baby? Wow. That came as a surprise," he added.
Danny gave Sam a very quick 'can I please tell him now' look, and she responded with a nod of her head. Now that he had the permission to end this, he turned his attention to Tucker and corrected their mistake, "Uh, Tucker, I not really the dad."
The geek stopped chewing his food for a second to make room for his confused look, then asked, "Well then who is?" through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Well, it's just what we agreed on telling people. I-It's not really like that, though. See, Sam was-" he let his voice linger a bit when he saw his female friend grimace. "-walking down a path to her house when she was-" he stopped again when she got up and left to avoid the inevitable answer. This was an extremely touchy subject for her. No wonder she didn't want anyone, especially her parents, to know. She didn't want them acting like it was a huge deal and reminding her constantly that she had been assaulted by some unknown sex offender.
He waited until she was well out of earshot before finally spitting it out, "Sam was walking home three weeks ago and got pounced by a man she didn't know. She escaped, but only after he...raped her."
The poor guy's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head and he nearly choked on his food. "Sam was raped? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He looked over at Sam, who was at an entirely different table with almost no one in it. "And here I thought she was sick... I-I never would've imagined... I wish I was there so I could've stopped it..."
"You dunno the half of it..." Danny muttered, remembering how she'd called out for him numerous times and he hadn't been there to hear her.
Tuck's eyes widened as a new thought dawned on him. "But then if she was raped, that means the kid belongs to..." he allowed his voice to trail off.
The halfa nodded and yelled to Sam that she could come back now, which she took her time doing. He knew why this was; she wanted to make sure there was nothing left to be said. He turned back to Tucker once she reached their table. "But Sam doesn't want anyone to know about her pregnancy until she's ready. So don't tell anyone."
Tucker immediately shook his head. "I won't tell." He turned to Sam with sad eyes and said, "Sam, I just wanna say I'm sorry. I-I wish I'd known... I could've helped..."
She acted like she didn't care, even though she was a wreck inside. "Same thing Danny told me." With those words, she looked in the spoken character's direction. Her expression was completely unreadble, and neither boy knew what she was thinking, but dared not ask.
In an effort to break the silence and bring life back to what was now dead, Tucker suggested they do something later in the day.
"Like what?" the hybrid asked.
"Uh...how about movies?" he gave.
"Anything good out?" Sam countered.
"I dunno. I can use my PDA to check. It'll only be a second," he stated proudly. He talked like he was so proud of himself every time he spoke of technology. It was almost humorous. Scratch that, it was humorous. He was the only one in the history of the school to know that much about technology. "Nope. Nothing we're old enough to watch, anyway."
"Remember that one Disney movie? That one about the horses? It had this mustang of a stallion as the main character and this Indian mare as the love interest," Sam described.
"Spirit?" Danny suggested.
"Yeah, Spirit! That's the one. I remember when I was little, on the day my parents took me to see that movie, I stole several bird eggs and a chick and I snuck them inside the house. I wanted to raise them myself because they were just so cute. But when I got back from the movie theatre, I found they'd died and I was heartbroken. I was so small I didn't understand life and death, but when I saw the chick stiff and still and the eggs really cold, I think it was then that I actually knew what it meant. I remember trying to get the chick, at least, to move and chirp, but it didn't. I think then I realized I wouldn't be able to get it back and it wouldn't chirp or be cute ever again," she recalled.
"You were sad over a baby bird and some eggs?" It was actually more of a statement than a question, but the boys never really understood their friend's animal-saving craze.
"Well, they were lives. Even though I was small, I knew that. So when they died...that's the first time I'd actually comprhended what death was," she retorted.
"What does that have to do with going to the movies?" they asked simutaneously.
"Nothing, but I wanted a change of subject, so I brought up a little portion of my past," she said.
Now Danny knew what it was she was actually trying to do. She was trying to steer them completely clear of the topic they'd just been on not too long ago, her pregnancy. It was deeply connected with her rape, and she had made it clear that she didn't like talking about it or hearing about it. The whole pregnancy thing and people feeling bad for her was just a reminder. And she didn't want to remember any of it. He didn't blame her. Remembering something was simply reliving it. No one would want to relive a moment like that. But he was positive it was on her mind every day, despite her unwillingness to recall the incident.
Tucker seemed to realize the same thing and said, with a hidden hint of sorrow in his voice, "That's understandable."
She caught that whiff of sadness, and probably hated it being there. It would be so much easier if she could just forget. If this whole ordeal was a nightmare. But she knew that even if it was a nightmare, she'd still remember it.
The thought of what was most definitely on the boys' mind crept into her head. "I'll tell them tonight."
"Them?" the halfa asked.
"My parents," she clarified.
A/N
Yay! This chapter was put up earlier! C'mon, cheer with me! No? Oh, fine. Dun dun dun... She's going to tell her parents! What will happen? Well, I'm not telling you! *grins devilishly* However, you can find out in the next chapter or the chapter after that... See ya soon! Or not...
New review quota is (I just wanna see if I can pull this off) sixty-five (65) reviews.
Reply to all your reviews to chapter six:
Kpfan72491-Thanks. I dunno whether something bad will happen or not. Let's hope not; it's just a baby, it doesn't deserve to have something bad happen to it.
hunnybunny276198-You're welcome. I actually just updated Hidden Secrets. I think. I should've... I don't remember. Just check it on my profile and see.
Codiak-Yeah I already know. Don't worry, I've got a friend who does that stuff all the time! She's too lazy to log in but always seems to have the strength for everything else. XD Don't worry! I'm not giving up on this story so long as plentiful reviews are coming in.
JuneLuxray2-lolz The classical three-word, writer-inspiring review! XD 'I am interested.' lolz! Funny. Anyways, I'm glad you're into the story and I hope you will continue to review it as more chapters are posted.
IsadoraKayStone-Wow. Just found it, huh? Well, congrats, I guess! I can't help you with your story 'cause I dunno what House of Night is, but I can help you if you have any Sailor Moon stories. (like, only SM, no crossovers)
Sunshine-Midnight123-Didja like this chapter better or worse?
RainingHearts4Ever-I actually am proud of this story. And I guess proud of myself for writing it. And speaking of writing it, when I was writing this chapter, I was listening to the song My Immortal by Evanescence. It's really good but sad. You should check it out sometime!
Looka'sMagicHell-Eh, I didn't mention Sam's dream in this chapter because it was her innermost thoughts of fantasy. Kinda private and meant to be kept away from Danny and Tucker. So I couldn't exactly get her to 'say' her dream to them because if she blushed while she was sleeping, there's no way she's gonna say it while she's awake.
VampireGurlxox-I know, right? He's so sweet to her in the cartoon and yet all these stories have him as such a jerk to her! WHY? WHY I ASK! Wow. So this would be how Danny would act if made into an episode/movie/season? Hm. Cool.
Rachpop15-lolz What gave that away? She mumbled his name in her sleep! XD Don't worry. Mr. Lancer's not a doctor. He's too boring for that job... Yes, actually, many evil plans are coming. Muahahahahaha! No seriously, I'm gonna put poor Sam through the wringer, worse than what happened in this chapter.
Kagome51-The reason he isn't is partly because I like angsty things and partly because I just can't picture romantically timid Danny and romantically timid Sam going so far in their relationship as to have a baby. Especially considering they're still in their teens. And yes, Danny is sweet. He is in the cartoon, and mark my words, he's gonna stay sweet in my story! At least until he gets into his fight mode when he's fighting ghosts. Then he gets mad. Real mad. And sometimes cocky. Real cocky.
Yep, so those were the review replies, and remember to review! I've asked for a pretty high number this time, and I honestly don't expect it to be reached, but... Oh well. Part of the reason I asked for a higher number is because so many of you read but make no effort to review. I mean c'mon, people! HUNDREDS of you read this thing! Maybe even thousands! Haven't checked my ratings yet...so I don't know. But judging from how many reviews I'm getting, I'd say alot. And I'm nosy so I really wanna know who's reading this thing! I get so excited when I read your reviews! It touches my very soul! Please take the time to review and not skip all my Author's Notes.
