Hey ya'll, back with a new chapter. The last one was super short, so I figured I could make up for it with this one. Thanks to my reviewers!
Previously In The Love We Had Before: Danny manages to trap Infe and save Sam, only to have everything else come crashing down around them.
Chapter Eleven
"This place was scheduled for demolition in September anyway," Fire Chief Griffon told Maddie Fenton nearly an hour later. He let out a deep belly laugh. "You did those construction guys a favor."
The police car and firetruck lights played across Maddie's face in a kaleidoscope of colors. She smiled at Griffon but let out a nervous laugh. "There's a first time for everything." Because she knew deep down her family had a penchant for unintentionally destructive habits in whatever environment they found themselves in, she was discreetly relieved to not have to pay a fine for this particular instance.
"Well, we're all wrapped up here," Griffon continued as the last of his men finished surveying the wreckage with yellow caution tape. "I'll let you get back to your family."
"Thank you," she said, shaking his hand.
She rejoined her group on the side of the street by the RV, only to overhear her children bickering at the back of the massive vehicle while Jack repacked the weapons.
"We should be celebrating," Jazz was insisting. "We caught seven ghosts. That's gotta be a new record."
"That's definitely not a new record," Danny argued.
"We caught seven ghosts in an hour?"
"Nice try."
"You had the whole Specter Speeder and an expansive ghost catching net, don't gloat."
"Still counts."
"The point is that we did good work today. We caught six ghosts and you caught Infe, which was our ultimate goal."
"Just seems a little too easy," Danny stated, his right hand skimming his left arm, as if feeling for the Fenton Thermos that was only available in his ghost form. He looked worried, and even more exhausted.
"I don't remember it being that easy," she argued. "Especially for you. I've never seen your ghost shield cover an entire house before."
"I didn't know it could either," he admitted.
Back before the house had collapsed in on them, Maddie had been fighting off an amorphous cretin who had a knack for going for her legs, when the house had started shaking as if struck by an earthquake. She remembered being afraid for her family when the ectoplasmic shield had sprung up from underneath them, blocking the ceiling from crushing them. The shield had lasted long enough to protect everyone from the massive onslaught of debris and then had faded away a few moments later. She'd assumed it was someone's weapon triggering the Fenton Ghost Shield but had found out differently a few moments later.
"Stop worrying," Jazz urged, breaking her from her thoughts. "You got Infe. We accomplished what we came here to do. Now, where's the ice pack for your head?"
"I'm fine."
"Not according to the EMT."
"It's just a concussion."
"You say that like it's not a bad thing."
"I've had worse."
"Your injuries shouldn't have a competition."
"Kids," Maddie finally said, before their arguing developed into a slap fight, as it typically did. "We did good work today, as a team. Let's not ruin it."
"We did great," Jazz agreed, hugging her brother suddenly, who winced in pain but managed a small smile.
"Which is why I'm feeling a hearty dinner is needed for our hard work. Everyone is welcome. We can set up the big table!"
"Really?" Danny asked, excitement lighting up his blue eyes. Though Maddie wasn't sure if it was the prospect of food that lifted his spirits, or that he'd turned his wistful attention to Sam, who stood near the rest of his friends twenty feet away. They were all chatting animatedly, no worse for wear after the battle.
As if she'd felt his gaze upon her, Sam turned around and gave him a shy smile that didn't quite reach her lavender eyes. He returned the gesture with a cheerful one of his own and Maddie tried not to groan outwardly. It wasn't that she didn't like Sam; the goth girl had been around for years now and had been a great friend and romantic companion to Danny. In fact, she'd come to really like the girl. But Maddie had also witnessed firsthand how absolutely miserable her son had been all month, how the initial confusion and hurt had given way to self-doubt and an overall lack of energy. It was tough for her to not choose sides in the face of his heartbreak.
"Really," she replied after a moment, meeting Jazz's eyes while he wasn't looking.
Her redheaded daughter shrugged, looking unsure what to say. Maddie knew that Jazz felt the same way she did, conflicted in that she wanted to protect her brother from any further heartache but also willing to work with the fact that Danny had high hopes things were still fine between him and Sam. Neither one of them knew the real answer, as they'd been in the dark just as much as he had regarding the situation.
"Come on then, we'll need to stop at the store and start cooking. I'm thinking shish-ka-bobs on the grill."
"Awesome, I'll let them know." Danny rushed over to his friends and told them the news as Jazz came over to stand next to her mother.
"So umm… how did Sam even get here? Wasn't she in Nevada?" Jazz wondered.
"Beats me," Maddie sighed. "I'm not sure what all happened."
"Do you think dinner is a good idea, Mom? They haven't seen each other for a while. Could be a recipe for a disaster."
"We can keep your brother preoccupied. It'll be fine."
"What'll be fine?" Jack asked, coming up behind them with two giant weapons on each shoulder.
He tossed them haphazardly into the Ghost Assault Vehicle as both Fenton women said, "Nothing," in a unified tone that suggested to Jack that he didn't want to know. He probably didn't, as Maddie had discreetly entered mama-bear mode and Jazz already had her own plans, which would prove to be a lot less than discreet.
But either way, neither Fenton male would realize what was going on. Cluelessness seemed to be hereditary.
If Danny didn't know any better, he'd say his mother and sister were up to something.
From the moment they'd climbed into the Fenton RV, stopped for groceries, and hauled everything out once back at home, Maddie seemed to have a task for him at every possible second. And it wasn't that he was trying to be lazy and get out of basic chores, like putting the groceries away and setting the dinner table up, it was just becoming increasingly apparent that his mother was trying to distract him.
Every time he found himself with a free second, he'd be pulled away to do something else. What he really wanted to do was talk to Sam - to ask her how she'd been, to ask her what had happened with Infe, to maybe, just maybe, see if she'd had any change of heart and talk it out because the silence was killing him. But that moment never happened and deep down, Danny knew that if he'd waited this long, he could wait a little longer.
The good news was that his friends, honored by the dinner invite, were all too happy to help get the place cleaned and set up. Danielle had offered to help Jack cook on the grill and Tucker and Valerie were chatting happily as they poured drinks for everyone. Jazz had instinctively become everyone's boss, organizing them all with various to-do's. Sam and Maddie were put on side-dish duty, working side-by-side in the kitchen. Maddie had also given Danny a small list, which kept him busy right up until dinner itself was served.
He heard the call from upstairs as he was down in the lab, temporarily back in ghost mode so that could extract the Fenton Thermos from his suit. He held the metal container in his hand as a flash of light transformed him back and stared at it for a moment. The Wrecker was trapped inside and definitely not happy about it. There were several dents in the titanium alloy but it was reinforced, so it would hold.
Still Danny couldn't help but question some things. Why had Infe been so insistent that they team up? Did he really assume he could sway Danny so easily?
"Hey Danny!" greeted a familiar voice and Danny looked up to see Amor leaning casually against the lab wall.
"Hey," he returned, setting the thermos down on the lab table.
"You did it," Amor commented, his voice strangely neutral. "What are you going to do with him?"
Danny had theorized many options. "We can't give him to the Guys In White. They've proven time and time again they aren't very good with prisoners. And I'm not sure if I can just release him back into the Ghost Zone."
"I can take him back with me, remember," Amor told him.
"Guys, dinner! Aka get your ghostly butts up here!" Jazz shouted from the top of the stairs a second time, making Danny roll his eyes.
"We can chat later," Amor said, grinning.
"Mmm."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," he replied, though he didn't know why the answer felt like a lie. He couldn't explain everything he was feeling to Amor. He wasn't even sure why he was feeling the way he did. He glanced over at the Fenton Thermos before heading upstairs with an inexplicable dread in his heart.
And by the time Danny sat down at the now-extended table, his headache and mood hadn't improved. Jazz had delegated a seating chart, which had stuck him in between his dad and Tucker. Which, again, was fine, except he'd been hoping to sit next to Sam, who was practically at the opposite end of the table next to Jazz and Danielle. However, all his thoughts were shoved to the back of his mind as they started to eat and socialize.
Valerie was explaining how she and her dad were moving out of Elmerton once their lease agreement ended in two months. He'd found a good paying job in Indianapolis, providing security for government officials. Valerie was following him and had signed up for classes at one of the local community colleges there until she'd picked a major. When Tucker asked her what she was considering, she'd eagerly said, "Law enforcement maybe. Or maybe athletic training."
It was Maddie who'd engaged Tucker in a conversation regarding ethical energy sustainability. Tucker was attempting to get the subways in the downtown areas running with ghost energy and Maddie, who was onboard with expending less electricity, was going over her concerns about the potential outcomes.
"You could have rampant energy spikes at random," she voiced. "Plus, you'll never hear the end of it if the train gets too infused with ghost energy and then becomes haunted."
"That's why we'll have anti-ghost rails. A special metal coating activated by the transferred friction heat each time the train passes by," Tucker explained proudly. "The metal will act as a barrier that'll leave any ghost attempting to attack in a cloud of anti-ghost heat waves. And the temperature will be controlled by specially designed algorithms set up along every half mile. Technology at its absolute finest."
"Tell me how that works, that's a fascinating concept…"
Meanwhile Amor was entertaining Danielle with stories of his travels around the world, using grand gestures with his arms to emphasize every detail. "Oh, you should see Scotland. Vibrantly green hills and pastures as far as the eye can see. Standing cliffside to watch the seas roll in. Grand castles and ancient architecture."
"And Paris?" Danielle asked with stars in her blue eyes, the longing look on her face that Danny recognized as sheer admiration. He felt the same way every time he looked into the night sky through his telescope or through the windows of his space shuttle. Like there was endless possibility and so many new things to discover.
"Now you're talking - that's my style. The city of love. Beauty. Elegance. Pleasing aesthetics around every corner. The fashion and art, magnifique." Amor said all of this in a rather good French accent and kissed his fingers.
"Did you ever put any couples together in Paris?" Danielle asked.
"Oh, several." And he went on to explain one of his romantic endeavors, telling the tale of a modern day Romeo and Juliet as if he was a Shakespearean actor giving a monologue. His charisma seemed to hold a certain charm over all the ladies, who listened in on every word, practically swooning.
Danny jumped from conversation to conversation throughout dinner. Jack, probably fed up with all the lovey-dovey, started chatting about the upcoming football season with Tucker. Maddie and Jazz gossipped about the latest television series they were addicted to. Valerie shared her favorite work-related stories from the Nasty Burger restaurant while Danielle kept urging her to quit retail based on all the horror Valerie had apparently gone through. And although Danny was enjoying himself, surrounded by his family and friends, he felt oddly detached from everything, as if he was a stranger sitting at the table instead. He couldn't quite place why he felt that way.
"So Sam," Jazz suddenly said, sounding every bit as nosy as she was. "How was Gothapalooza?"
Sam smiled, swallowing her bite of grilled tofu before she answered. "It was amazing! There was so much to do. They had concerts going almost all summer, three times a day. Light shows at night with fireworks and pyrotechnics. I bought this really cool guitar and had it signed by one of my favorite bands."
She pulled out her cell phone and started thumbing through pictures, showing them to Jazz. Jazz oohed and ahhed appreciatively and didn't miss a beat as she asked, "Who's this? He's in a lot of your pictures."
"That's Felix," Sam clarified. "I met him like three days into the festival. He and his brother had this really cool campsite where indie rockers could come jam and recite poetry by the fire. They were at the edge of the basin, so they had the best view."
"The basin?" Tucker asked, reaching for the phone.
"Yeah, there's a huge dip in the desert sand, kind of like a crater. A lot of the concerts were held at the bottom of the basin so people could stand up on the ledges and see from a higher vantage point." Sam nodded an okay to Jazz, who handed Tucker the cell phone. Danny leaned in close to his best friend so they could look at the pictures together.
Sam wasn't wrong, every photo she'd taken had some cool thing happening - whether it was the view from a mosh pit as she was carried on the hands of a hundred spectators, the desert at night with a sky lit up with a thousand stars, or the sight of fireworks glowing brightly in the darkness.
Danny was glad she'd had a good time but he was even happier that she was here now, close enough to touch, breathing the same air. Tucker scrolled through all the pictures and in each one she was smiling or mid-laugh at some unheard joke. This Felix guy did frequent quite a few pictures; he was attractive, Danny supposed, with blonde dreadlocks and a pierced eyebrow. He either had stunningly vibrant green eyes or was wearing contacts that enhanced their color. He looked just as cheerful as Sam did - or as cheerful as two goths surrounded by other goths could get.
"Seems like you had a good time," Tucker said, giving the phone back before Danny had a chance to finish looking.
"I did. I'm already planning on making a trip there next year," she said excitedly.
"Was it always crazy there?" Jazz asked. "I mean, three concerts a day? Light shows at night? Did you sleep all day?"
"It was busy, sure, but we had a lot of downtime as well. They had scavenger hunts in some parts of the desert and dirt cart racing. They even had yoga and art sessions."
"Lots of time to mull things over, yeah?"
Sam's cheeks instantly turned a shade of violent red at the posed question and Danny, like everyone else, knew exactly what she was getting at without actually saying it. Appalled and frustrated, he kicked out at his sister from under the table, his foot colliding with her shin.
"Ow!" she hissed, jumping in shock.
Danny could feel his own face heat up with everyone staring and he refused to even look in Sam's direction, afraid to see her expression. What if she assumed Danny had put Jazz up to the question? The whole room had gone silent, all eyes watching the exchange.
Beside him, Tucker laughed nervously. "So...Valerie, heard you encountered a sand ghost the other day."
Valerie made a disgusted noise. "It was awful."
"A sand ghost?" Jack said excitedly. "Why do you get all the cool ones?"
"Cool ones? This stupid ghost had me swept up in a sandstorm for almost an hour. Do you know how hard it is to shoot sand?" Valerie replied. "Also, do you know how hard it is to get sand out of every crevice in your suit?"
Danny sighed quietly, relieved and gracious that Tucker had managed to change the subject so easily. But if he'd felt disengaged with everything before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. He sat quietly and half-listened, picking at the food on his plate. And when everyone was finished with dinner, he casually excused himself before his mother dragged out the ice cream for impromptu sundaes.
He closed the front door behind him as quietly as he could, breathing in the soupy, muggy August air. He was just in need of some air and silence for a moment. He sat down on the concrete steps and stared at nothing in particular, zoned out until he heard the door open a few minutes later. He groaned, figuring it was Jazz, and he didn't really want to talk to his sister right now.
"Danny?"
Shocked, he spun to see Sam standing at the threshold of the foyer, looking down at him in concern.
"Hey, hi," he greeted awkwardly.
Seeing her there had given him a mind blank. He'd waited all night to talk to her - no, he'd waited three agonizing weeks - and now everything he'd wanted to say simply turned to static. His thoughts became a garbled mess of words, questions, and feelings.
"How's your head?" she asked, coming to sit next to him.
"It's uh...a little sore. Getting better." Which was an absolute lie and he didn't know why he'd shoved it off as one. His skull actually felt like it was pounding and his migraine had only gotten worse.
Sam gave him a look as if to say she knew but didn't push it. "So what's the story with this Infe guy and Amor back there?"
She wanted to talk about ghosts? Sure, he could do that.
He cleared his throat and shrugged, not sure if he was more or less comfortable than before. "Amor is a Cupid ghost. He encourages the feelings of love in people. Infe is the opposite - Amor calls him a Wrecker. He creates chaos and infects people with anger and fear. He's not a very nice guy."
"Doesn't seem like it," she agreed.
"We've been trying to fix all the things Infe has done. And I know we caught him but I am really, really sorry you got dragged into this," he told her honestly, turning to her so that their knees touched. "I didn't realize what kind of powers he had and I didn't think he'd kidnap you."
"Danny, my life wouldn't be my life if I wasn't taken hostage at least once a month by some random ghost we come across," she teased.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, groaning. "It sounds terrible when you put it that way."
She giggled and said, "Danny, I'm fine, relax."
He'd missed that laugh so much that he found himself smiling despite how serious his next words were. "Yeah, but I am sorry you got pulled away from your trip."
Sam shrugged. "Don't be. I was at home trying to avoid my parents. They wanted to have a family game night with charades. Ugh, do you know how completely awkward they are? My mother can't even draw a stick figure. And it takes Dad like an hour to guess anything."
But Danny had honed in on something else. "Wait, you were home?"
"Yeah, I was in my bedroom. That Infe guy popped in, grabbed me, and then shoved me in some closet that smelled like old lady."
"How long have you been home? I thought you had a week left of Gothapalooza?"
"I just got back this morning, why?"
Why? Danny tried to reign in his temper before he said something stupid but she'd asked why and that threw him for a complete loop. He tried to take a deep breath but felt the heat of irritation flow through his face.
"Why didn't - why didn't you tell me?"
"I just got back this morning and I had some jet lag, so I ended up crashing as soon as I got home. Is that a problem?" Sam asked, staring at him with narrowed eyes.
"It would have been nice to know that you were back in town early, that you'd made it home safely. It would have been nice to hear anything from you, actually," Danny commented, suddenly unable to look at her.
"Did you forget the part where I was in a desert for three weeks? I didn't have service almost the whole time I was there," she responded, her voice gaining volume. "And besides that, I didn't realize I had to text you every second of the day."
"Yeah, complete silence is great. So glad that every moment of the day you were so busy having fun. Sounds like it was an awesome trip."
"What is your problem? Are you trying to pick a fight?" Sam shouted, abruptly climbing to her feet.
"You're the one getting all huffy," Danny retorted.
"Oh, really? Well, only because you're acting like a jerk!"
"I am upset because you ignored me for three weeks and went and had the time of your life in the desert with some random guy named Felix."
Sam's mouth went into an oh of sudden, frustrated understanding. "So that's what this is about. You're jealous of some guy I hung out with?"
"I'm not jealous," he insisted.
"Right. Imagine that. Danny Fenton making everything about him once again," she said angrily. "I'm not even sure why I came back early. For your information, ever since I've been home, I've been kidnapped by a ghost, interrogated by your family, and now I'm having an argument with your ego. I thought you'd be happy to see me but noooo, you had to go and ruin any excitement I had about actually coming home to see you."
Sam started walking away, her posture rigid as her boots pounded on the concrete. Danny stood, torn between wanting to get the last word in and wanting hopelessly for her to come back. He had a sick feeling to his stomach where frustration and despair constantly tossed and turned.
"S-sam, wait- " he started.
"And just so you know!" she yelled at him from about twenty feet away. "Felix doesn't even like girls!" And she rounded the corner soon after, leaving Danny alone in the sudden silence.
He grunted loudly in outrage, his hands over his face. Why? Why had he gotten so mad? He had been excited to see her. Why had he let himself ruin everything? He hadn't meant to be jealous but seeing all those pictures of her and Felix having so much fun had gotten to the part of his brain that did feel envious and resentful of that enjoyment.
Go after her, piped up a voice in his head which he immediately discerned as a very bad idea. He knew Sam well enough to know she'd need a few hours to cool off and he wasn't sure what he'd say anyway. He was sorry that he was such an idiot? He was sorry he still didn't have a clue what he'd done to begin with?
And to apologize for being a fool. A fool for believing that after all that time away, she'd rush back into his arms as if nothing had changed. As if she'd forgiven and forgotten whatever it was that had upset her in the first place enough to state she needed space.
Let her go, said the other voice. Which seemed to him like it meant so many things at once, things he hadn't dared to consider because it hurt too much. But his head and heart were in enough pain for tonight.
Sighing, he closed his eyes and then turned to go inside but as soon as he opened the door, he ran straight into his father. Jack, just as startled as Danny was, took a few uncoordinated steps back and greeted him nervously. And it wasn't just his dad that looked guilty - his mother, sister, Tucker, and Amor were all in the foyer, shuffling awkwardly as if they'd been caught.
Danny felt his anger flare right back up. "Were you all listening?"
It was Jazz that walked towards him, arms outstretched as if she was going to give him a hug. He dodged her easily, his hand up and shaking.
"Don't. You had no business doing anything you did tonight. Don't think I don't know you were meddling," he snapped.
"We didn't do it to upset you," she tried.
"You really think embarrassing her and pressuring her wasn't going to upset me? That I wouldn't notice? I am not stupid. I am not clueless."
"Danny, no one - "
"Just stop!" he shouted. "Just leave me alone!"
Amor was standing in front of the stairs he started for, heading for his room. He opened his mouth to say something and Danny, who'd heard enough, cut him off.
"Stop, Amor. You got what you came for. Just take the Fenton thermos and go."
And he shoved past the Cupid and sped up the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him and breathing heavily in the silence.
It actually took me quite a bit to write this - I don't normally write heated conversations, so I was trying my hardest to keep the characters in character while doing my best to convey a lot of emotion.
Either way, I wrote some sad stuff. I should have the next chapter up sooner rather than later, as it's almost done already.
Thanks for the continued support!
Kat Day