Chapter 21

"Sam." Valerie gasped, wide-eyed. Sam could see that her best friend was poised for a physical attack but not an emotional one. Sam could relate, she, too, had no idea how to handle this situation.

Meanwhile, Sam pushed back the tears that were threatening to spill, she bit her lower lip and glanced up to prevent them from cascading down. She took a sharp breath and curled her fists. She looked back at Valerie who was opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish.

"I… I- S-sam…" She started but Sam could see in her brown eyes that she didn't know exactly how to proceed.

"It was you." Sam found herself saying, her voice was shaking. Valerie took a step forward. Sam stepped back.

"I c-can explain. I-There," Valerie reached a hand. Sam glared at it and retreated. Val dropped her hand and sighed helplessly. "It's a long story but please understand that… that I only do this for a reason. They ruined my life. I hate them. I especially hate him."

Sam didn't know what Valerie was talking about. She had no idea who she was referring to either but her mind was already whirling, picking up the pieces.

"But you didn't tell me. You chose not to." Sam heard her voice full of accusation.

Valerie stared at her as if there was nothing in the world she would like to do than win back Sam's trust. "I wanted to protect you, Sam. We're not talking about just bad people. There are ghosts!" Valerie's face morphed into anger. "They are all evil and cruel and out to ruin our lives. Do you really want me to tell you about that? Do you honestly think I would sound perfectly rational if I tell you ghosts destroyed my life?" Valerie's gaze was piercing. She also stepped dangerously close to Sam.

Sam glowered and clenched her teeth. "Bullshit."

Valerie's eyes blazed.

"You could've told me. I'm not stupid. You knew I was going to find out anyway. You just didn't want it to come from you. You were just playing me all along. Karate club? Training for inter-school divisions? I can't believe I fell for that. The inexplicable gadgets, the books about ghosts?" Sam let out a dry laugh. She was almost hysterical now but she didn't care. Valerie might have gone through something terrible but Sam wasn't about to pity her because of that. She knew that she was being irrational, that her anger was consuming her, but for once, she just wanted someone to throw away their pretentious shit and just tell her the truth.

Valerie's eyes narrowed. "It's not your problem. That's why I didn't tell you."

"Well, guess what, I could've helped you!"

"With what? Your parents' money and influence?" Okay that stung. "You hate them for being so vain and stuck up but you're just like them. You rely on money because you have it. I don't. That's why I use all the resources I could get."

Money and parents were sensitive issues to Sam. She hated being labeled as The Manson Heir. She hated being associated with the words filthy, stinking rich. Most of all, she hated being accused as one of them. She was fighting for her own individuality since she was young. Valerie was well aware of that and that was why she was intentionally using those arguments.

"You still didn't tell me. Apparently, I'm not trustworthy enough."

"How could I? When I could perfectly see for myself you're getting too cozy with Fenton!" The acid in Valerie's accusations would have melted metal.

Sam's eyes widened, of all the things she could be accused of. "I'm not—" Then it hit her. "You… you're jealous." She whispered but it was enough. Valerie heard her and her silence spoke legions.

Sam's anger ebbed a little and she was rendered inarticulate. "I… I didn't know. I'm sorry…"

Valerie crossed her arms and pointedly looked away. "It doesn't matter. He has his eyes on someone else now. And that stupid deal with Foley just makes this all insane."

Sam wanted to know who this someone else was. Fine, hearing Valerie say that Danny likes someone pricked at her heart, with all the time they spent and were spending together, she thought that maybe he was beginning to fall for her. Obviously, Danny was still able to entertain other girls when he was not with Sam. Instead of letting her own jealousy show, Sam chose to focus on Tucker's involvement. The guys confessed their plan to her but she had not heard Valerie's side of the story. "What deal?"

The door suddenly slammed open. "Sam!" Danny exclaimed, running toward her. He screeched to a halt, in the space between the two girls, when he saw Valerie. He was panting and sweating. Beads of sweat ran down his temple and his white shirt was stuck to his skin. He wiped his forehead with his arm, gulped a few gallons of air and turned to stare at them, his blue eyes darted to Sam then to Valerie back to Sam again.

The tension skyrocketed. Now that Sam knew Valerie had feelings for Danny, she didn't know how to act around them. Anything she would and would not do would be measured and psycho-analyzed by Val. Danny, on the other hand, she really didn't know how his mind works. One minute he was angry now he was dare say, concerned.

Sam watched as Danny straightened, his eyes flickered between them again as if he was treading dangerous waters. He stared at Valerie who openly glared at him, challenging him. Danny arched a brow then turned to Sam.

"You're late." He spat. Sam gaped as she stared at him wide-eyed.

Sam couldn't help it. He was being unbelievably ardent that she scoffed, momentarily forgetting about Valerie. "For what?"

Danny's eyes never left Sam's face as he spoke the words that Sam knew would undoubtedly shatter Valerie's heart. "For our date."

The door banged shut and Sam flinched. Danny didn't, he was still watching her intently. Sam's eyes traced the spot where Valerie had just been seconds ago. She knew her best friend was mad and now even madder due to Danny's words. How could Sam be such an idiot to not notice the signs before?

"What happened?" Danny demanded as he took a step closer to her. The fire in his eyes had receded but he was still definitely upset.

Sam closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. She opened them and leaned back on the wall, not caring if she was getting too comfortable hanging around the dumpsters she probably reeked like one. She was just too tired of all the drama. She never intended to hurt Danny or Valerie. She realized she didn't even have the right to slap Danny, even if it was originally Tucker she wanted to hit. She reached a hand to massage her aching temple as she contemplated on how to deal with him.

Danny, on the other hand, was watching Sam with a growing anxiety. Sam trained her eyes on Danny and she stopped rubbing circles on the side of her head as they both fell into a trance.

It was almost a magnetic force that pulled at their eyes, the north and south poles of a stick grabbing the ends of each other. Danny's intense, sky blue eyes drew in Sam's deep, amethyst ones. He used to stare at her just for the heck of a challenge and she used to do the same to prove that she was up to par. The challenge developed into curiosity, or the curiosity gave way to the challenge. Sam wasn't sure which overlapped what. All she knew was that she craved for these staring contests. There was something she couldn't put quite a finger on Danny that she was hoping to unravel whenever they had a chance to engage themselves in the eyes of each other.

Then she discovered he kept a secret that bordered on the line of impossible, except it was not. It was real. He was real. And he was a half ghost. Sam should have been scared or disgusted. But she wasn't. Instead she'd grown more curious and considerate of him. Learning that his humanity was shared with a ghostly side, Sam thought this was what tugged at her heart strings. But looking in Danny's eyes now, she realized it wasn't that.

Danny was special and connected to her not because he was clandestinely a hero, but because Danny saw her when nobody else did. He noticed her when everybody else just assumed she was an attention-seeking rebel or a freak who would never fit in. Danny stuck with her even if he barely knew her. He trusted her his secret and—

Sam blinked as she saw Danny's eyes flicked to her lips. He inched closer and leaned down. Sam's breath was coming on short and shallow. He was lowering his head and she couldn't move. Was this what she wanted?

"Wh-why is Valerie hunting you?" She whispered and watched as Danny stopped. He was mere inches from her lips and he was staring at them like he was debating whether to answer or just go for it. Sam waited like a criminal anticipating her euthanasia shot.

Danny hung his head so the tips of his hair covered his eyes. He took a step back and looked away.

"Sam…" Danny took a deep breath. "I killed Valerie's mother."

Oh. My. God

A/N: Holy mother of—what the heck just happened?

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Special thanks goes to sammansonreplica for sharing her thoughts in every chapter.

*looks at the number of review, squeals like she just won the lottery* Oh my goodness! Thank you so much!

~T.E