~Chapter 10~

Sam had slept through the entire night. The storm hadn't completely gone away yet; the rain and lightning still lingered around. But the downpour had stopped. No, it wasn't a light drizzle, but it was finally just regular rain. Regular rain alongside a thunderstorm. Perfect weather for walking to school in.

The goth was wearing her usual clothes instead of Danny's shirt; Danny had gone out to get them from her house last night. He'd taken the liberty of morphing into Danny Phantom and avoiding any contact with her parents. But Sam hadn't yet told him she'd been kicked out. She honestly didn't know how to tell him. You see lots of movies and read lots of books, but they're fairytales. The truth was always much harder to accept. Boy, if only this was a movie, where she was simply acting it all out.

Today had to be even worse for poor Sam. The girl could hardly walk! Smack in between her legs was excruciatingly sore. Last time, she'd gotten away on her own, but this time, the man hadn't allowed that to happen and made sure he did the damage thoroughly. Now the pain was almost crippling.

The halfa seemed to sense something was wrong and asked her daringly what was wrong. It was daring because he didn't know if it was something that would upset her or relieve her to talk about.

Sam turned her head and smiled at him, telling him she was fine and that it was nothing to worry about.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" a voice greeted them at the school's entrance.

"Nothing," they both said simultaneously.

The friends got into a conversation that lasted for only about five minutes before the bell rang loudly and clearly. The usual routine happened, with no incidents from Sam's pregnancy. That's right, no fainting or vomiting or cravings. Hallelujah! In fact, the only problem was sitting down in those ancient torture devices called 'desks'. Certain areas on the individualist wouldn't allow her to sit properly without a painful complaint. So she'd had to adjust to sitting slightly tilted. Possible, yes; comfortable, no.

Danny and Tucker were already outside awaiting their friend when the last bell of the day rang. They'd just gotten out of study hall and the halfbreed had decided to pull Tucker outside to talk to him about Sam.

"Alright, what's going on? You don't just drag someone away from the rest of society for nothing," Tucker whined.

The hybrid thought quietly for a second, pondering how to ask his friend for such advice. Oh, wait! Duh, the old 'I have a friend' tactic! "I have a friend who's trying to get this girl. But he doesn't know what to do. He's really shy around her, and he doesn't know whether or not she likes him back. I need some advice for him."

A smirk grew wide on the geek's face. "And...who might this friend be?"

Think, think... "He's, uh...a pen pal who lives in...Sri Lanka. And he's really nice-"

"What's his name?"

"Arnold. His name is Arnold. He moved to Sri Lanka from...uh, Alaska," he lied. This wasn't turning out how he'd expected. Ah, well. Playing it smooth never counted, it was playing it out that sealed the deal.

"And what's this girl like?" the techno-geek continued, knowing this card all too well. The nerds in school always used this trick, and thus it became easily recognizable and as old as daylight.

"Oh, you know...she's independent. Um, strong-willed. She's a goth. Looks cute when she wears a shirt that's too big for her," Danny described.

The grin only grew wider. "It's you and Sam, isn't it?"

The halfa's face paled. "What? No! Of course not! What makes you even so much as think... I mean, I don't know what you're talking about!" Yeah, it hadn't played out, either, had it?

Tucker slapped his forehead. "Okay, okay. So, about this friend... The girl sounds alot like Sam, and Arnold sounds alot like you. Maybe Arnold needs to let her know he's into her."

"How?" Danny asked.

"I dunno. Maybe he would meet her in secret places. Girls love that romantic stuff. But, honestly, each girl is different. Some like to be given a heart-shaped box of chocolates, while others like expensive jewelry. And then some don't like getting all those presents. Some just like knowing the guy is there for them. With you-I mean, Arnold, I would suggest just asking her out first," he said.

The hybrid thanked his friend and waited for Sam's appearance.

It had to be at least five or ten more minutes before she showed up at the entrance of Casper High. She had to look way better than she felt. Her lower areas were still sore-and probably would be for some while-and she had become aware of a tightness in her abdomen sometime in the middle of the day. What would come next? Those huge maternity pants? Lower back pain? Swollen ankles? Or D, all of the above? She figured it would most likely be D, all of the above.

"Hey, Sam!" her friends called for her when she was in hearing range. Hearing range during the end of the day was about five feet away from the person speaking. This was because in all the insanity that was high school, you couldn't hear much over all those cheerleaders cheering and football players playing. Let's not forget the other voices, like the art class debating on what to paint next. Such things like that were just annoying.

She walked up to them, trying to hide the soreness she felt while moving her legs. "Hey, guys."

"Danny has something he wants to ask you," Tucker said, holding back the bubbly laughter. In his mind, he was just happy Danny was finally taking the initiative. He took a step back, wanting to listen in but also wanting to give them a little bit of privacy.

The goth turned her attentions toward Danny and awaited his question.

The halfa felt himself grow nervous and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Last thing he wanted was to have a nervous breakdown in front of her. "Uh, I was just wondering if...you wanted to...you know..." Was this a good time to ask her? What would he say?

"Do I want to what?" she asked, blushing just slightly at his comment.

Another deep breath was taken, as well as a quick glance at Tucker. "You wanna do something later?"

She shrugged. "Sure, what are we gonna do?"

"I dunno. Maybe we could go to that vegan restaurant you like," he suggested.

"I'm not sure Tucker would like a vegan place. He's a full-time meat-eater, remember?" she said.

"Oh, I'm not coming; it'll just be you two," the geek intervened. He winked at Danny, wishing him good luck. Anyone would need good luck if they liked the kind of food Sam did. Maybe just a salad would do. It would probably be the best thing on the menu.

She turned back to Danny. If Tucker wasn't coming, then could this be called a date? Was he asking her out? It would be horrible if she were to make the mistake of thinking of it as a date when it wasn't, but the way it sounded, with just the two of them all alone, it looked like a date. She blushed fully at this thought. A date with Amity's greatest ghost hero who happened to be her best friend? "Uhm, s-sure."

He let his smile appear only slightly, trying to be as cool as he could be. Unfortunately, cool wasn't Danny's specialty and as he was walking out of school grounds, he tripped over a fallen branch that, he was sure, wasn't there yesterday. Must've been a lightning strike.

Valerie looked back down at her latest technology, a ghost radar. The little screen showed a lone red dot bleeping on and off the screen. It's exact coordinates were right where Danny was standing. "Well this can't be right."

She shook it, thinking maybe something was dislocated inside the device that she couldn't see. But there was no clank of metal to indicate her suspicions to be correct. "What's going on with this thing?" she asked herself. "Stupid malfunctioning piece of-"

"Hey, Valerie," a voice chirped behind her.

She turned around and smiled innocently. Before her stood a blond-haired girl with a flower-shaped barrette in her hair. It was Star, also known as The Gossiper. "Hey, Star. What's the news this time?"

The blond seemed to know that everyone thought of her as the gossip girl of the school, but she honestly couldn't care less. She loved her job of spreading rumors and being the first of the grapevine. "Okay, so guess what I heard in History yesterday!" She continued immediately, without waiting for a reply, "I heard Sam Manson say she was pregnant!"

A serious look appeared on Star's rumor victim. "Sam? As in, Danny Fenton's friend? She's pregnant?"

The blond ditz nodded and added, "And some people are saying Danny's the dad."

Valerie took a second to look over at Danny and then back at Star. "Are you sure you know what you're talking about? I've never seen them-" Hold up a second! She had seen them kiss. It was during a ghost fight, but she had definitely seen them kiss. Danny was on the ground, with Sam on top of him. It looked more like an assault, but neither seemed to be opposed to the kiss. And it wasn't weird that they were in the bushes because anyone who even vaguely knew them knew they were very timid in their relationship. So to go so far as to have a baby? Maybe it was unintentional. Though it still came as a shock, it wasn't very hard to believe Danny to be the dad.

"Others are saying Tucker's the dad, but I think it's Danny. What do you think, Val?" Star asked.

"I...I don't know. But it's their business, not mine. You know, you really shouldn't be spreading those kinds of rumors around, Star. Sam's probably got it hard enough with her parents knowing about this. She doesn't need any more stress from school. It's not good for her, let alone the baby," Valerie replied.

"I'm not the one who started this one. Sam told Paulina right in front of the whole class. I was just an observer. But because Paulina heard it, the rest of the class knows. And at this school, gossip travels fast. If she didn't want anyone to know, she shouldn't have said it. In fact, I think she shouldn't have gotten pregnant at all, but it's not up to me," she said.

Valerie sighed. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't on purpose. I mean, no teenager I know wants to raise a kid so young."

Not it was the blond's turn to sigh. "Yeah, but then that comment makes her look like a slut."

She gasped and waved her finger in Star's face. "Now don't you go telling people that!"

The Gossiper put her hands up defensively. "I won't, but I'm just saying... Most of the school probably thinks that."

The victim of Star's usual gossip dropped her gaze. She knew it was true. People would believe just about anything nowadays. And false assumptions were often made based on rumors and mishearings. News traveled fast; poor Sam would have her work cut out for her come tomorrow.

She glanced back at Sam, who was just disappearing from view with Danny in front of her and Tucker in back. Her expression couldn't be seen; her back was towards Valerie. But it didn't look like she was sad. Oh, she would be. People always found ways to make life more complicated than necessary. And being pregnant provided all the openings they needed to do just that.

Tucker had peeled off from their trio earlier, leaving Danny and Sam alone. He'd winked at them before he left, so it was natural that the twosome hadn't spoken all that much. For Danny, it was because he didn't know what to talk about. Sam did, though. She just had no desire to bring it up.

Several silent minutes dragged by before Danny turned in the direction of Sam's usual route to her home. Well, former home, but he didn't know yet. She noticed the way he was heading and stopped dead in her tracks. "Danny, wait."

He halted and turned around. "Hm?"

She sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. "I'm not allowed back there."

"Back where? I was just walking you home, Sam. And I'm not leaving you alone this time," he told her.

"...Uh, no... That's not what I... What I mean is, I'm not allowed back in my house," she stated quietly.

"Like, you're grounded from your own home?" he inquired.

She sighed again. Was it really that hard to get? "Yeah, kinda. Except, this grounding is kind of...permanent. They...kicked me out. I can't go back."

He felt himself grow increasingly angry at her parents, and he could've sworn his face was turning red, but he tried to keep a calm voice. "Why? I mean, how could they do that?"

The goth shook her head. "Doesn't matter. They did. My dad said get out and my mom didn't argue with him. Besides, it's probably for the better." The last thing she needed right now was more sympathy and emotional upset. So she decided to add a sense of humor to the comment. "You know how they always want me to wear those stupid dresses."

"Yeah, but, Sam, this is your family! They can't do this to you!" he said, a little loudly. He didn't mean to raise his voice, but he was so angry with her parents that he couldn't have helped it even if he'd wanted to.

"Danny, this kind of thing happens more often than you think. I can take care of myself," she combated.

"How, Sam? You're still in high school!" They threw her out on the streets, and she was still just a teenager! She was just fifteen years old!

"I-I dunno, I'll get a job. Rent a motel room or something. I have some money in my backpack; I can use that for starters," she gave.

He threw his hands up in the air. "Sam, you're fifteen! Who's going to hire you?" he yelled.

His frustration got infectious and it spread to her. "I don't know, Danny, okay? I don't know!"

The halfa's eyes softened. "Sam, I'm sorry. I...I just hate that your parents would..." He let his voice trail off, not wanting to upset her. She had enough to deal with without his crap.

She waited until she calmed down a little before speaking, "Maybe I could work as a janitor for your dad or something. His lab is always dirty, anyway."

Danny put his head in his hands and shook it with a groan. "The lab has too many chemicals. It'll be too dangerous to the baby."

Then what was she going to do? Tucker's family consisted of a stay-at-home mom and businessman dad. Her family had turned their backs on her. Danny's family... Well, they probably had enough going on without her there. Where would she go? She couldn't stay in the streets. Last night at Danny's was different; it wasn't a place to stay, it was just like a weird kind of sleepover. Like a visit. Only temporary.

"I'll figure something out," she said, trying her best to sound confident.

"What do you have figured out so far?" he questioned.

She thought for a second. It might take some time to figure anything out. And with a baby on the line, she needed a solid plan. There was no 'act now, think later' idea. It was all 'think now and act according to plan without messing up even a little bit and make sure nothing happens that isn't in the plan'. Having a baby didn't go according to her previous plan, did it? Getting raped wasn't on her agenda, was it? Almost getting killed...well, that would be kind of obvious. And then there was the other old saying, "Leave the past behind you." How could she leave the past behind when there was a kid to raise?

And then how could she leave it behind when there was a factor that would never heal? She'd lost her virginity, the one thing she could never get back. Had that gone according to plan? No! Of course it hadn't! She'd wanted to give it to someone special, to the man she would marry. And now it was too late, now it was gone forever. The man she would marry would probably be disgusted with her for not being able to defend herself, if not for rape. There's another aspect of her life flown out the window. So then, what was left for her?

A/N

*almost passes out* Oh, man! I can't believe it! You STILL went over the number of reviews I asked for! HOW DO YOU ALL DO IT? You guys absolutely ROCK! THANK YOU SOSOSOSO MUCH! Idk how else to thank you except by saying thank you! Oh, and I finally got one of my best friends to read this thing! You know who you are, so thanks, buddy o'mine!

lolz, and some of you thought he'd chicken out. *smiles slyly* He asked her out! Yay! But let's see if he can do it again! Oh, and a heads-up on the next chapter, that's going to show their date IN FULL DETAIL! (consider it my thank-you) But it may take awhile to finish; I'm no vegan/vegetarian, so I wouldn't know what kind of foods they serve at vegan places. I'll have to Google it or something.

New quota will be...uh...you know what? You've all been going over my asked number of reviews, so this time, review whatever you want! (consider it another thank-you and an early Christmas present)

Now, for your troubles of actually reading the author's notes, I present to you your deserved review replies (as always, in the order of which you reviewed):

RainingHearts4Ever-First off, nice new avatar! Secondly, I think I flunked the French test... I probably should've studied harder. Oh well, can't change the past. I'll just try harder next time.

KP100-Man, you're lucky to have a break... I started school late so I didn't even get a week! lolz, thanks. Maybe you should try your hand at writing.

Codiak-lolz! Staying up past curfew, huh? Is fanfiction really that exciting? I think it is. Nah, it definitely is.

Samara-Emo moments? Er, there's no emo moments here. But there might be in later chapters. I'll have to sleep on it. Yeah, she is (in both aspects). Which is why I can't decide whether or not it was a bad idea to make her say yes to Danny's date-offer. Yeah, at first I thought that, too. But then I thought, "Oh, wait... Isn't an ecto-blast hotter than a knife? That would burn her if he used that." That's the reason Jazz can't find out; poor Sam would never hear the end of it! O.O NO! You can't compare Danny to the rapist! The way Danny thinks of Sam and the way the other guy does are two totally different thoughts! The rapist represents lust and evil, and Danny represents love and care. How are those confused? lolz, I thought it was. But the butler's not the cause of the crime in this story.

Gracie407-Then you'll probably look forward to the later chapters as well.

Kagome51-lolz! What moves, huh? I dunno what I'm gonna do on that point. Yeah, I did this one date thing, but I dunno what else. I'm gonna do. If you have any ideas, by all means, please tell me.

VampireGurlxox-They're mah fave couple!

Kpfan72491-lolz Amazeballs. Funny weird word.

Looka'sMagicHell-Oh-ho-ho... Trust me, I've plenty of things in mind. Somewhat.

um hi-Well, thank you. lolz Sick little monkey? Who uses that phrase anymore? Ikr! He's every girl's dream guy! Like I've told many already, relax. He'll get what's coming to him, believe me you! (sorry, I'm kinda southern but NO i do not talk like a cowgirl!) I'm gonna torture him until he would rather waltz straight into Hell than have me as an author!

hunnybunny276198-You're welcome. I thought it was cute, too. But idk why I put Jazz in there. It wasn't necessary, but for some reason, I just thought she shouldn't be entirely left out of the story.

lpwriter4life-Hey, that's awesome! Yeah... Well, it'll go gradually, so don't worry. I'm not pushing them together too fast, even though it might seem that way right now. You'll see, though. You'll see.

JuneLuxray2-Very concise... Thanks!

MegaanFenton998-Congrats on the hundredth review! Glad you like it! Alot of people do, and I honestly don't know why. It's not like it's an exceptional story. (you know, the ones that come by like, once every two hundred centuries)

Rachpop15-Omg, so true! Maybe I'll make her do just that... Nah, she's opposed to anything violent except ghost hunting. Killing just isn't in her personality. (and the ghosts don't even die in the series)

rin916-Yeah, I know the extent of the damage of rape. Diseases, trauma, pain, potential pregnancy...the list just goes on. But I'm not bringing up the various diseases in this story because if it gets too serious, people will hate it. If it gets too fanatical, people will hate it. I try to keep it in between that fine line. Hope I'm doing a good job of that. What do you mean by "convey the story and topic"? (asking for real, not a joke)

Those are my wonderful reviewers' replies! Please take some time out of the morning/day/night to review and tell me what you think or give me some ideas you think would be good for the story. Ideas that might interest you are always great ones, no matter how stupid they may be. (literally, at first I thought this was gonna be a stupid story with little to no reviews, if any at all) Just remember, I'm always open to new inspiration!