A/N: Art supplies cost too much.

Disclaimed.

…Amity Park…

It was just after six o'clock in the morning in Amity Park and its citizens were just stirring from sleep. A cold wind swept through the trees in the park and pushed through every crack it could find in the warm fortresses that were people's homes.

Sam threw her blanket over her head, grumbling. She knew she had to get up, even before her alarm started blaring Dumpty Humpty, and she was disciplined that she would, but that didn't stop her from partaking in that most-clichéd of all teenage behaviors: stalling. It was too cold and, worse, Danny wouldn't be at school today.

It wasn't just that she wouldn't be seeing her friend and crush, (though she would only admit the latter to herself and, occasionally, vaguely, to Tucker), because Danny missing school wasn't all that strange. No, it was that Danny, and Jazz, and Mr. Lancer would all be gone. So far as the Goth knew, Jazz and Mr. Lancer had never missed a day of school with the exception of Jazz running away to spy on Vlad.

Huffing out a breath of frustration of the undoubtedly weird day ahead, Sam tossed the covers off and got ready for school.

Finally dressed in a pair of black jeans, her warmest black sweater, and her signature combat boots, she braced herself to face her overly chipper parents and the slight change in the daily routine. Usually, her morning started like this: her parents would tell her to come straight home for some gag-tastic activity and she would tell them she couldn't because she had plans with Danny and Tucker, an announcement which would be followed by an argument that would continue until Grandma Ida interfered. Sam grimaced as she imagined the delight on their faces when they realized that she wouldn't be spending the afternoon with "that Fenton boy" they hated so much.

"Sammy! Come straight home after school so we can go shopping for the banquet at the Country Club!" Pamela chirped brightly.

"Sorry, Mom, I'm hanging out with Tucker later," Sam replied monotonously. Her mom knew that she always hung out with her friends after school. She would submit to the shopping trip later if only to prevent her mom from buying her some pink monstrosity for the charity event.

"You always - !" Pamela started to shout, but she stopped suddenly, her eyes bulging as her daughter's words finally registered: Tucker, not Danny and Tucker! She was barely aware of her husband choking on his morning coffee.

There was silence as they processed the information.

Sam thought about sneaking out before they remembered she was there, but she knew she would never hear the end of it if she did.

…Besides, their looks were just so comical!

Then their faces broke into wide grins and Sam resumed her usual scowl. Cue the disparaging comments.

"You've finally realized we were right about that Fenton boy!" Jeremy exclaimed. He was so proud!

Pamela beamed happily.

Sam's scowl deepened before shifting into a smirk – time to burst their bubble!

"Don't get so excited," she told them. "Danny's out of town for his uncle's funeral."

Just as Sam had predicted, her parents' elation turned sour. Her morning salvaged, the Goth left to go to school.

…Casper High…

"Hey, Sam," Tucker greeted his friend. Sam tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.

"Hey, Tuck."

"Parents overjoyed by the lack of Danny in your plans?"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Do you even need to ask?"

Tucker snorted, "Not really."

Sam turned the combination for her locker and looked over her shoulder at her friend briefly.

"How'd your parents react?"

Tucker shrugged, poking idly at his ever-present PDA.

"Eh, they were surprised," he commented, then his nose scrunched in disgust at something. "You don't want to know the rest."

Sam blinked in surprise; she thought Tucker's parents liked Danny.

"Tell me anyway," she decided. Her parents had used pretty much every insult she could think of, what difference did it make what Tucker's parents said about Danny?

Tucker grimaced but complied. "They thought, heh, they thought that since, um…"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Spit it out."

"They thought that-that because Danny wasn't – and you and me, without…!" Tucker looked a little green and Sam gagged.

"Oh, gross!" Sam recoiled.

Tucker shuddered in agreement. "Tell me about it! I told you you didn't want to know!"

"Why would they even think that?" the girl asked, horrified. "You're like a brother to me!"

"And you're like a sister to me!" Tucker agreed.

'Next time you say I don't want to know, I won't ask," Sam declared, giving one last shudder.

"Let's never speak of this again," Tucker suggested.

"Agreed."

The rest of the day passed relatively quietly, at least by Amity Park standards. Paulina was in a noticeably brighter mood, though no one could figure out why. Their sub for Mr. Lancer's class was a jittery little woman who flinched at any sudden movement – it wouldn't be long before she fled town like so many others before her.

Sam briefly wondered where Ishiyama kept finding the suckers to replace them.

….Bairdan…

"Why didn't you tell me, Jazz?" Danny questioned. After talking some more about the funeral and the arrangements for Maddie and Jack's coronation – something that felt too weird to think about – the teens had been shown to their rooms so that they could get settled. It was in Danny's room – or, rather, suite – that he and Jazz were sitting on a nice couch.

"'It's fine!" Jazz snapped defensively. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't - ? Jazz," Danny admonished his sister, concerned, "you have a way out! You have a chance to follow your dreams! Of course it matters!"

Jazz looked away so he wouldn't see the tears welling in her eyes. It did matter, and it hurt so much, but that's why she couldn't abdicate. She couldn't let her little brother go through this.

Danny rested a hand on her shoulder and forced her to look at him, concern as obvious on his face as in his voice.

"Jazz," Danny said seriously, "did you think I would just let you give up your dreams if I'd known?"

Jazz cringed at the hint of hurt in his voice.

"Abdicate," he told her simply, his tone honest.

Jazz closed her eyes and shook her head.

"It's too much responsibility."

"Yeah, I'm such a stranger to big responsibility," Danny snorted, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Jazz tried to smile but couldn't.

"Danny, you can't leave Amity Park," she tried to reason with him.

It gave him pause, at least.

"And you can't leave your dreams," Danny rebuked stubbornly. He was worried about his hometown, but…there was time to figure…something out.

"What about your dreams, Danny?" Jazz asked sadly. She hated herself for letting him get to her even a little.

"I've lived my dreams, remember? Now, it's your turn."

Tears sprang to her eyes anew as she had to fight even harder against the seed of hope he was cultivating against her will. She had to protect him and his future.

"It's not the same thing, Danny," she sighed heavily.

"What's not?" he asked genuinely confused.

"Ghost hunting and diplomacy," Jazz elaborated. It was her last hope.

"Well, no, but I'm not a one-trick pony," Danny commented dryly.

"That's not what I meant!" Jazz huffed, frustrated. Couldn't he just accept that his future was free? "Just drop it, okay?"

"Jazz…"

"Drop it!" Jazz yelled, her eyes blazing. Danny held his hands up in a calming gesture. He'd drop it…for now. He wasn't giving up on her, though.

…Sitting Room…

"I can get a list of the best schools in the country for Danny," Clara offered quietly. The move was a touchy subject since they couldn't be certain how much time they had or how the kids would adjust to the change.

"I don't know, Clara," Maddie sighed. "I know we have to move, but Danny will be devastated not having Sam and Tucker right there."

Will shook his head sadly; even as distanced as he was from his nephew he couldn't imagine separating that inseparable trio.

"Not to mention that he's finally reached a comfortable plateau with his grades. He's not as excelled as his sister, but he's no longer in danger of failing. Transferring him now would only risk his grades dropping again, especially considering the differences between American and European curriculum."

"Then what do we do?" Jack asked. "If we can't transfer him and we definitely can't leave him alone, what do we do?"

The adults exchanged looks, each trying to figure out a solution to their current problem.

"I've got it!"

…

A/N: What a doozy! What did you think? Did Tucker and Sam's day without Danny, particularly the awkwardness surrounding Tucker's parents' assumption that they were dating simply because Danny wasn't going to hang out without them make you laugh? Was the conversation between Danny and Jazz natural? Are you mad about the cliff-hanger? Tell me in a review, and as alwaysALOHA!

P.S. I don't mean any offense to Tucker/Sam shippers, I just happen to think they think of each other as siblings.

P.P.S. Tucker's parents' assumption might have something to do with poor word choice on Tucker's part. ;D