Introductions

The new girl leaned up against the oak door, staring at the ceiling. It was the first time she'd be in a public school since she was eight years old. And she was nervous. Very nervous. Starting as a new kid in the last year of junior high was never very good - especially for someone as socially shy as she. The principal was still discussing her classes with her guidance counselor.

Suddenly, a boy slammed his back against the windows next to her, digging through his bag. She glanced at him, wondering if he was in her class. He groaned irritatedly, glancing up at the clock and then back into his bag.

"Damn, and on the first day, too," he said to himself, pulling a notebook out of his bag. The girl just stood there, watching him.

He's really cute, she thought to herself, blushing slightly. For some reason, watching him made her feel more comfortable about her first day in a public middle school. The boy bit his lower lip and flipped open his notebook, jotting something down. She just watched him out of the corner of her eye, trying no to be too obvious that she was looking at him.

He noticed her looking at him and glanced up, surprised that there was somebody else there.

"Oh! – hello," he said, smiling. "Sorry if I scared you, but it's the first day and, well, y'know – detention," he said, gesturing to the closed office doors. Sam just smiled and nodded.

So that's what he's here for, she thought to herself.

"So, what grade are you in?" he asked, leaning casually against the windows. Sam blinked.

Talk, idiot.

"Oh – eighth," she said, her voice coming out higher than normal. "I-I just transferred here from St. Mary's Academy."

"Ohh, fancy private school, huh?" he said, smirking. "I'm in the eighth grade, too – guess that means we're around the same age." Sam just smiled.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was hitting on me!

"Have you met anyone yet?" he asked, and Sam shook her head. Danny extended his hand to her. "My name's Danny – Danny Fenton," he said. Sam shook it gently, a little surprised at how gentlemanly he was acting. His name sounded vaguely familiar, too. Of course, though, if she was his age, she probably went to school with him years ago.

"I-I'm Samantha," she said softly. "Samantha Manson."

"You don't look like a Samantha," Danny said coolly. He grinned. "I'm gonna call you Sam." Sam blinked, a little surprised. No one had called her Sam since she was in grade school – the sisters at the Academy insisted on full names, and she hadn't had any friends there to be given a nickname. "You're not here because of getting in trouble, are you?" he asked, gesturing towards the closed office door.

"Oh – no," Sam said, smiling at him. "They're discussing my c-classes."

"Ahh, I see," Danny said, making a mock thinking face. "Well, after I'm done being punished and your done being directed around, why don't you sit with me and my friend at lunch? We can help you around – unless, of course, you have friends you want to hang out with." Sam shook her head.

"I haven't been with any of these people since grade school," she admitted. "I was with this class then, but then my parents stuck me in this big private school – an all girl's school." Danny whistled.

"Whoo, wow, that sucks. No guys? Well, maybe you were better off," he said, chuckling. The door behind them opened and the pot-bellied teacher who had told Sam to wait outside narrowed his eyes at Danny.

"Well, I have a feeling we'll be together a lot this year, Fenton," he said, opening the door wider. "Get your butt in here."

"See ya later," Danny said, grabbing his bag and going into the doorway. Sam just watched as he followed the teacher into the room, closing the door behind him.

Sam leaned up against the wall, closing her eyes. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure it would leap right out of her chest. She didn't even realize she was sweating until now, and – had she been stuttering?

"What's gotten into me?" she asked no one. She let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Am I freaking out… because of him?"

She shook her head violently, trying to push the sudden excitement of being with him out of her mind. No, no, it wasn't that… she was excited about having friends. Maybe, for the first time since she was a little girl, she would have friends, people whom she could hang out with and tell her secrets to, people she could feel comfortable with.

She closed her eyes and sighed. It was going to be a long day, she could tell.

Around this time last year, I started the Fanart100 prompts on deviantART using the coupling of Danny/Sam. The very first one I drew was "001 - Introductions", which is where the first four paragraphs of this little thing came from. For each prompt, I draw a picture, and write a little ficlet to go with each one. I've elaborated on a couple of these - mainly this one and "096 - In the Storm". This is just my idea of how they met, although I know it may not be very accurate. Also, I've decided to go back and work on Empyreal more, for lack of anything better to do with myself. Thanks for the encouragement.