A/N: Next chapter. It's getting a little confusing, even for me, but hang in there for me! Things will hopefully - clear up soon. Here we go!
High Tension: Who am I Really?
Chapter 12
Fiancee
Juan continued to stare at Sam, she continued to stare at him. Her heart still felt like a chunk of ice in her chest, heavy, making her body tense. The door bell rang again.
Thoughts raced through her head. It was clearly late at night, maybe about 8:30 or so. Not many people were out right now, especially since it's a school night for teens and a work night for the adults. It wouldn't be her parents, why would they need to ring the door bell? And the Vicks wouldn't have come back without at least one of the Mansons with them. So then who?
Ring.
Juan sighed, exasperated, and got off the bed, making his way to the half open door. He grabbed the knob and turned towards her, his eyes still aflame with - what was it? disgust? He clicked his tongue. "Don't move," he murmured. A sick grin cross his features. "We'll continue our little talk when I get back."
With that, he walked out the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click of the lock. Sam gasped, feeling as if she had been holding her breath the whole. Actually, she wouldn't be surprised if she actually had been. She closed her eyes, trying to think back to the exact moment Danny entered her mind. She couldn't. Somehow, in the middle of the struggle between trying to squirm free and trying to remain as still as possible, she had thought of him. And without a second thought, or even a first, she had whispered his name into Juan's hair.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, staring up through the darkness at the ceiling. A chill entered her body though none of the windows were open. For some reason, the room had cooled down to an unimaginable temperature. Maybe it was the sweat on her skin. Maybe it was that though Juan's hands had been cold, his body had been warm and now he had gone. Or maybe...
She shook her head, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. "He wouldn't be here..." She rested her chin on her knees and hugged them closer, trying to regain whatever warm she could from the cold air. At least, for however long it would take Juan to reach the door, she could be calm. She could think.
Think, she thought to herself, about those eyes.
Downstairs. Juan had looked up and down the hallway before continuing down the stairs, almost expecting whoever it was ringing the doorbell to have made their way up to meet him here. But that was impossible. There was no way Sam's grandmother had been let out so quickly. Even for a rich family, something like a few stitches was not exactly an "emergency."
He paused at the spot where the dirty white rag had been dropped. He sniffed, cursing the incompetence of this family, and kicked it off to the side, out of sight jus tin case the person at the door tried to come inside. The door bell rang again. "Jesus," he murmured. "Coming..."
Why would someone come over so late anyway?
He paused the door, straightening his clothes and taking a deep breath. He turned the lock and opened the door a crack. "Yes?" he murmured, voice quiet. It was not as good an impression as the real thing, but it would have to do. He couldn't risk letting him come out right now.
Outside was a kid with a red jacket - it was a cold night - and blue jeans, his back turned to Juan. At the sound of his voice, however, the figure quickly turned, apparently surprised at actually having the door answered. He was sort of expecting to be left out in the cold. Baby blue eyes met blue-green and for a few seconds, all they could do was stand there staring at each other.
Juan blinked. There was something odd about him, this raven haired teen. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, trying to figure out what it was. But at least he wasn't the only one troubled. In those blue eyes he could also sense the stranger trying to figure out Juan as well, as if trying to place him. "Have we..." the boy started, voice quiet. "met before?"
The question was unexpected, probably even for the stranger, because as soon as it had left his mouth, he shook his head and cleared his throat, starting over. "Is Sam...home?"
Juan, lost in his share of confusion, found himself nodding his head. There goes that plan. "Who are you?" he questioned, his voice having a sharper edge than he had hoped for. The other teen blinked at him and flashed a rather sheepish smile, seemingly more comfortable now.
"I'm a friend from school," he said. "I guess she doesn't really want to see me, but, uh, if you cna let her know Danny came to see her? I guess I can just call later, or maybe you can ask her to call me? I'm sorry for the bother." No, he wasn't comfortable. His words came out rushed, as if he were trying to get away before Juan could say he could come in.
Then he noticed something. "Danny?" Juan murmured. The raven boy, having already stepped down to the bottom of the porch, stopped smiling and only stared for a second. "You're name is Danny?"
Said boy nodded. "Yeah, I'm Sam's friend."
Juan nodded slowly, a secret smile forming behind his otherwise plain expression. So this was him. How utterly ridiculous! This clumsy looking, sheepish kid was who she expected to save her? after all, what other reason could she have to why she whispered his name? How utterly ridiculous!
"Actually, Sam is home," Juan said. He'd never said he wasn't, but somehow he had to keep this Danny boy here. He wanted to show Sam that secrets never stayed secrets. Danny hesitated. He stared at Juan, chewing on his bottom lip. "I could go call her if you want to wait a second."
Again, Danny contemplated this in silence. Juan's inner smirk grew wider. He could feel the anxiety practically radiate from this guy. It was glorious.
After a minute or two, he nodded. Juan beamed. "Alright, just give a quick minute, I'll be-"
As he spoke, Juan had turned to look up at the stairs, to his surprise, Sam was peeking through, terror clear in his amethyst eyes, the door pen just wide enough to give her a glimpse of Danny's figure in the light pouring outside. "Oh!" Juan murmured. "Sam! You're just in time!" The girl didn't move. "Someone's here to see you! It's Danny, your friend."
At this last word, Juan added special emphasis. A kind of smug oil smearing and enveloping the word. A kind of eeriness that made Sam almost collapse. Why...?
Before she had fully regained her composure, Juan swung the door open so she could look outside. Danny blinked and looked up. Their eyes met for a split second, his mouth opened as he mouthed out her name.
This was her chance. She could scream, warn him, run and slam the door closed, ready to take whatever punishment Juan would deal her later. This was her chance!
But instead her face carried kind of smile on it as she started to walk down the stairs, her movements calm and calculated. "Danny," she found herself saying. "That's a surprise." As she reached the bottom step, she caught a glance from Juan. He was still smiling, but there was something about the way his eyes searched her face that let her know he was puzzled at her reaction. She came up next to him and leaned towards him a little. As if they had practiced this time and time again, Juan took his cue and warmed an arm around her waist, Danny staring with complete incredulity all the while.
Sam crossed her arms over her chest, glad her pajamas consisted of sleeves just long enough to cover the bruises, even though she was sure her lip must looked a little more red and swollen than this morning. "What brings you here?" she asked, voice clear.
Danny took a step back, his eyes flitting between her smiling face and Juan's. "I..." he started, trying to find some excuse some reason for his being there when everything looked so...so perfect.
She's okay...
"Oh," Sam said, laughing a little. "I'm sorry, did you meet Juan?"
Juan laughed too. Danny watched them. "That's right! I never introduced myself!" Juan murmured, as if calling himself silly. "My name is Juan Vick."
He extended his hand towards Danny who took it cautiously, still confused. "Danny Fenton," he found himself murmuring, brows furrowed.
"Juan," Sam said, eyeing the boy curiously, taking in his every gesture, trying to see if her plan was working. I'm sorry, Danny, she thought, I'm sorry, but I can't involve you. I just can't.
I'm sorry it had to be this way.
"He's, uh..."
"I'm her fiancée."
Bonus:
I'd been standing in front of her door for, maybe, a whole of ten minutes. To be honest, I didn't even intend to end up here. It started off as sjut an innocent walk, not really any destination in mind. I had had enough of staring at pictures, my mind clouded, and the cool wind whistling outside had seemed ideal. I grabbed my jacket, mumbled a gruff "I'm going for a walk" to my parents in the kitchen, and started walking. Somehow my feet brought me to the grandiose mansion Tucker and I had discovered was Sam's home a while back.
So here I was.
I climbed up the four steps of porch and stared at the door. A few times my hand went up to the door bell, unsure of whether or not I was doing the right thing. Every time my hand fell back down to my side. What if Sam really didn't want me here? She hadn't bothered to even look at me when he ditched me earlier in the day. Maybe she was being serious about her being okay. I bit my lower lip. Again the argument I had with myself in my room filtered through my brain. If she could tell me, with a straight face, with a smile, that she was perfectly fine, then that would be it. I'd leave her alone. I wouldn't bother her about it - whatever it was - ever again. I promised.
It took all the courge I could muster to finally push the button, listening as the sound filled the entire mansion, as if it was empty. Then, something funny happened. I shivered in my jacket and hugged my arms on instinct. I almost expected my ghost to go off, but after a few moments of nothing, I gave up on the idea. Just in case, my eyes scanned the skies. Nothing.
I sighed, rubbing my arms a little to get rid of the goosebumps. I pursed my lips and tried the doorbell again. This time I could swear I heard movement echo inside the big house. "I hope it's you, Sam," I mumbled, waiting for whoever it was to open the door. If her parents were homes, they'd either stare him down until he didn't want to wait for Sam, or simply lie and tell him Sam's not home. He frowned at the thought. A minute passed by and still no one had opened the door.
Or they could just ignore me...
Before I could stop myself, I had rung the doorbell again. I shook my head, no one was going to open the door. Maybe Sam really was okay...
I had turned around to leave by the time I heard a mutter from inside. Just as I had reached the bottom step, light from inside the building flooded out. For a second I stared at my shadow.
"Yes?" a voice asked, male, and young too, probbaly my age. I blinked. It was also familiar. I turned around and had to catch myself before I gasped. The goosebumps returned with more ferocity than before and I had to force myself not to shiver. My eyes stared into those of the teen before for what seem an eternity. I didn't even notice myself mumbling, "Have we...met before?"
I know I've seen him somewhere, I know it. Somewhere. I shook my head, clearing my throat and breaking away from his stare. A sense of urgency had spilled into my system, adrenaline spiking in my blood. This guy...there was something weird about him.
Who was he?
What was he?
E/N: It's taking a LOT of effort to keep this story line straight, ahahaha. But I'm trying my best here!
If you need any clarification, like maybe something from one chapter contradicts something in this chapter, or anything like that, please please PLEASE let me know. Because if you're confused, chances are so are others!
Until next time!
