For the Phic Phight 2021.
Prompt by phantomfana: "What do you mean you don't feel the same way? We've had a mutual crush on each other for years." Sam says angrily after finally confessing her love to him. But Danny's heart was beating hard for someone else entirely.
Also prompt by Rikaleeta: Danny wants to ask his crush to the upcoming school dance.
Danny and Tucker don't know Sam plays video games yet.
Standard disclaimers.
It was another long night of ghost hunting for Danny. Technus took up the first part of the night, trying to take over the park's new security system. Tucker was fortunately still awake to help him out with that. Then Johnny and Kitty rolled in, but they weren't looking for trouble, they just wanted a date night and swore they wouldn't be a problem. Apparently Fridays were their days off for "everything but each other". Danny was a romantic, but he didn't know if this was sweet or nauseating. Ember had put up a good fight, though. He was proud he only had one injury to tend to. He had dodged most of her attacks, but she was still a pretty advanced ghost. And, of course, Danny had caught the Box Ghost six, count them, SIX times. How did he always manage to get out?! He wasn't difficult to take down, he was just a pest.
Danny sighed as he sat down at his computer chair. It was only 12:30 am, and it was a Friday. He could sleep in tomorrow and he deserved at least a couple hours of fun. He logged into his online gaming account and saw Tucker was online. Figures. He pulled up the chat anyway.
Astrohaunt: Hey Tuck. Still up?
Technopedia: You know it. Chaos signed on about a half hour ago and I'm not passing up the opportunity.
Astrohaunt: Dude is so good it's unreal!
Technopedia: He goes to our school, I tracked one of his IP addresses and he logged in at school a few times.
Astrohaunt: Tucker wtf. That's creepy!
Technopedia: I just want to make sure Chaos is actually a kid and not Lancer again!
Astrohaunt: I still can't wrap my mind around Lancer playing Doomed…
Technopedia: Same. But Chaos IP is different from Lancer, so we good. Unless more teachers play Doomed.
Astrohaunt: I hate you for putting that image into my brain.
Technopedia: Sorry dude. But quick come join before someone else gets Chaos.
Danny, Tucker, and Chaos had made a great team. Whenever Chaos was around, they were actually able to progress through the game. They played several rounds until Tucker was caught by his mom and was forced to sign off, but Danny and Chaos kept playing.
TeamChaos: Hey, what's up?
Astrohaunt: Omg dude you're so awesome.
TeamChaos: Ha, thanks. Gotta blow off steam somehow.
Astrohaunt: Tell me about it! Between Lancer's three projects and midterms and...other stuff...this is my only time to actually chill. I've been so stressed!
TeamChaos: Same. I did finish one of the projects though. I'm always here if you need to talk, you know.
Astrohaunt: Wow, I may just take you up on that offer. I've had a rough night.
TeamChaos: Lay it on me.
And so Danny, sparing the ghost hunting details, stayed up chatting with Chaos until 5 am. He got along really well with the guy, they had a lot of similar interests. This was just the first of many up-all-night conversations they shared. After a few months, Danny felt a special connection with Chaos, and yet, he didn't even know his name!
Astrohaunt: We've been talking all these months and I still don't know your name. I'm Danny.
TeamChaos: Oh, thought you knew. It's Sam!
Astrohaunt: Hey! One of my best friends is named Sam!
TeamChaos: You don't say!
The next day at school, Danny pulled Tucker over to him, whispering, "Dude, help. I think I might be gay..."
"What?!" Tucker shouted.
"Quiet, Tuck!"
"Okay, well uh...why?" Tucker sent him a weird look and took a step back.
"No, not you. Chaos. I think I have a crush on Chaos." Danny ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to do! I never thought I'd be...you know. Chaos and I just have good conversations and he's always there to listen to me when I need to vent. I thought maybe I found another best friend but...this is different. Chaos is so cool and I'm crushing and I don't even know who he is or what he looks like! Or if he feels the same way! Maybe I'm just stupid and-"
"Dude, chill. You're jumping too far ahead of yourself. Whichever way you, you know, swing...I'm still your best friend." Tucker pulled out his PDA. "Let me see what I can find out. I know Chaos goes to our school."
"Thanks, Tuck. As if being half ghost wasn't hard enough! Oh, and he's in our class, because he's talked me through assignments and knows what they are and stuff. He's almost as good as explaining things as Sam. Crap...Sam. Don't tell her about this!" Danny started fidgeting.
"Well," Tucker raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I can tell you with absolute certainty that Chaos is definitely a girl."
"You found out who Chaos is?!"
"What, like it's hard?" Tucker chuckled. "I traced the IP addresses she uses. I know who she is. So do you," Tucker smirked, "It shocked me at first, but it makes total sense! And I can totally see why you like her."
"Really?" Danny let out a breath in relief. "Okay that makes me feel a lot better...hey, maybe I can ask Chaos to the dance next Saturday!"
Tucker rested a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Go for it. Ask Sam. I'm almost positive she'll say yes."
"Okay, I will...wait, not Sam! Chaos!" Danny clarified. "Well, actually, I think Chaos told me her name was Sam. Ha, small world. I can't wait to introduce Sam to Sam. I think they would really get along."
Tucker busted out laughing, "Oh, dude. You go ahead and do that." He left Danny standing there in the hallway, still laughing all the way to his next class.
Danny, a bit confused by Tucker's laughter, shook his head and smiled to himself. Okay, good. He'd had enough identity crises to fill a lifetime. Chaos was definitely a girl. Now if he just knew Chaos returned his feelings, things might actually work out for him this time and he could actually have a girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Sam was having an internal debate of her own. Sitting in a class where the teacher couldn't give two shits about what the students were doing, she had always used this class as her thinking time. Usually her thinking-about-Danny time. She nervously clicked her pen as she thought about recent events.
She and Danny spent so much time chatting online when they weren't hanging out in person. Danny was a little bit more bold online, probably because he didn't have to interact face-to-face or risk his pants falling down in public again. Online, they talked about everything. No topic was off limits. Plus, Sam felt like their friendship had only grown even stronger when they could chat online and not have to worry about blushing or getting teased by Tucker. Chatting online took away all the pressure and made it much easier to connect with Danny.
Danny hadn't said anything yet, of course. He was probably scared. Hell, she was scared. She was already so in love with him, and getting closer online only further solidified that fact. She had never been in love before, and even though she hunts ghosts, this was more terrifying! She was fairly certain he returned her feelings, but both were too chicken to actually make that final step. They've been best friends forever. She didn't want to mess up their already great dynamic or force Tucker to be the third wheel, though he did insist he was more than okay with that and encouraged them to finally get together.
Sam stopped clicking her pen as she suddenly remembered it was senior year. They hadn't picked colleges yet, but whether they ended up going to the same school or not, things were going to change. Danny was very attractive, and going off to college meant girls may actually approach him when they didn't know his parents were ghost fighters. The fact had never bothered Sam, but she did kind of like how it kept most girls at school from asking him out or giving him attention. Valerie had been a challenge, especially because she was a ghost hunter herself and probably wanted to get tips from his parents. Sam was glad that relationship ended relatively early. It was too hard on her. Joyous or not, though, she was still mad at Valerie for how she broke his heart.
But that was 2 years ago. They had all moved on and friendships were more or less mended across the board. This made Sam glance at her favorite picture of her and Danny. Tucker had taken the candid picture and it was now her phone's background. In it, Danny was giving Sam a piggyback ride. Her arms were lightly strung around his neck, legs looped around his waist. Danny had kept going in the opposite direction Sam told him to go, which frustrated her but also made her laugh. She had rested her chin on his shoulder, her face pressed right up against his. Danny was looking at her and Tucker had captured that rare moment when Sam had a huge grin on her face, still laughing. She smiled at the picture. They would be okay no matter what. Their friendship would survive.
Anyway, Sam also realized she had already come close to losing Danny, in more ways than one. Whether it was to other girls or a ghost, there was always that anxiety stirring in her head that she could lose him entirely some day. Life was too short. She needed to take the plunge for both of them and just get them both over this hurdle, and they could finally, finally, actually get together.
Sam made her decision. It was now or never. She was going to tell him. Today. The trio was meeting up at Danny's house later anyway, and if she got there early enough, she could talk to him before Tucker showed up and teased them about it. Sam firmly nodded her head to herself, a confirmation of her decision. It was finally time.
After school, Danny was pacing in his room, trying to figure out how he wanted to do this. Asking a girl to the dance wasn't a huge deal, and yet at the same time, it was. He would rather ask in person, but he still didn't know what Chaos looked like, so asking in person seemed to be off the table. He could look in the yearbook for all the girls named Sam at their school. He could already omit one Sam Manson from that list. How many Sams could possibly attend their school? It would be easier to ask Tucker, though. Tucker already knew who she was. Sam and Tucker were on their way over right now. When Sam wasn't paying attention, he could ask Tucker for Sam's full name.
Chaos Sam, not best friend Sam. God, this was so confusing. Why were girls so hard for him? Freshman year, Paulina only liked his ghost half and wouldn't give his human half the time of day. Sophomore year, Valerie hated his ghost half and that hatred was more important to her than her feelings for his human half. Junior year, he had been denying that he was in love with his best friend. And now that he had finally accepted that he did like his best friend as much more than a friend, a new girl entered the picture and he now found himself trying to choose between two Sams. Because it apparently wasn't hard enough for him already to make the biggest and most important change he could possibly make in a friendship, let's add another crush to the mix and give them the same name.
Sam. Best friend Sam - that's who he was planning on asking originally, even if he chickened out and had to ask her as a friend instead. Plus, he and Sam had somehow gotten closer recently, and he was pretty sure she liked him. Sure, it was only because Tucker told him so, but it was a possibility. The thing was, he didn't want to ruin things. Especially because he truly didn't know how Sam, best friend Sam, felt about him. She was a tough and courageous girl, surely she would have said something by now if it were true. So Tucker must be pulling his leg.
But he did have another option - Chaos Sam, who may actually return his feelings. Sure, the feelings weren't nearly as strong as what he felt for his best friend, but the feelings were still there. Plus, if he got rejected by Chaos, it would be less heartbreaking than being rejected by Sam, someone he had known for years rather than months. He could deal with losing a newer friend, but not one of his best friends. Sam was too important and he knew he needed her in his life.
Danny sighed. This was really hard, but he made a decision. It was easier to go with Chaos than risk ruining things with Sam. Danny had enough drama going on in his life already, he needed an easy win.
He broke from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He ran downstairs and opened it, only slightly surprised to see Sam there. She was usually early for things. He and Tuck were more prone to being late.
"Hey, Sam. Come on in!" Danny moved so Sam could enter his house. He shut the door and followed her upstairs and back to his room as she returned his greeting. She was pacing the same path he just had, muttering quietly to herself. She looked nervous. "Something on your mind?"
Sam was startled out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh yeah." She noticed his disheveled appearance, also noting he was fidgety. Was he going to do what she was about to do? "What about you, you look like you've been thinking a little too hard about something." She smiled softly.
Danny chuckled, "Yeah, but it'll resolve itself soon. I'll worry about it after the movies. Tuck should be here any second. Oh, but I'm glad you're early. Can you help me with something quick?"
"Of course." Sam followed him to his desk, smiling and rolling her eyes when he pointed to a homework problem. "I should have known."
Danny gave her a lopsided smile and watched as she showed him how to do the problem in her perfect handwriting. It took no more than a couple of minutes. Now, they were just waiting for Tucker to arrive.
Sam looked at the time. He would be here soon. She needed to do this now. She needed to tell Danny. She couldn't wait until after the movies for him to tell her. She had already waited long enough and couldn't bear another second.
"Danny, can I talk to you for a second?" She sat down on his bed and gestured for him to do the same.
Danny could sense the seriousness in her voice, and nodded anxiously. He was scared when Sam was serious about things. It was usually something bad.
"Danny…" She decided to get straight to the point. "I like you. As in like-like you. More than like, and more than a friend. And we've been doing this dancing around for at least 4 years now and I'm sick of it. I just want to be with you already. What do you say?" Sam held her breath as she waited for Danny to answer.
He stared at her with wide eyes before nervously rubbing the back of his neck and turning his attention to his shoes, avoiding eye contact with the goth. God, why him?! He had stupidly thought, for once, things would be easier for him this time. He had already sent an offline message to Chaos that he wanted to ask her something, and then Sam had to come along and tell him what he had wanted to hear for some time now. But he couldn't blow Chaos off when he had already somewhat asked. Of course, his life just had to be complicated every step of the way. He really liked both girls and didn't want to hurt his best friend. Regardless, he had to be honest. He owed Sam that much. "Well, I mean, yeah, but…"
"But what?" Sam whispered, clearly already upset. Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. He decided to try going with Chaos so he could avoid heartbreak from his best friend. The very thing he had been so afraid of, he was doing to her right now.
Danny sighed again. "But I can't. I'm so sorry, Sam." It was hard to choke out, but he said it, and he felt terrible. He pressed his lips together and kept staring at his shoes until Sam lifted his chin up, forcing him to look at her.
"What do you mean you don't feel the same way? We've had mutual crushes on each other for years!" Sam said angrily, feeling her heart break as her best friend and love of her life rejected her confession of love. She was so sure he returned her feelings! Especially after all the great conversations they had shared online these last few months. "Or, at least, I thought we did." Tears swelled in her eyes. Did he lead her on? "I-I need an explanation, Danny," she quietly stated after he didn't continue.
Danny frowned and his heart ached. He didn't want to hurt his best friend like this. Hell, he really liked her! Of course their crushes were mutual! And if this had happened 6 months ago instead of now, he would have jumped at the chance. But now...now he had Chaos and already forced himself to stick with his decision. It was easy with Chaos; there was no friendship to risk, no denying of being lovebirds or brushing off kisses as fakeout makeouts. Plus, he couldn't lie to his best friend. She would know if he was lying. And he already told himself she deserved the truth. "There's...someone else…"
"What?" Sam whispered before turning angry again, "Paulina? Valerie? Star?" she spat out.
Danny shook his head, "Ew, no...it's someone I met online...I'm so sorry, Sam. I like you a lot, I really do, but I think I've already come to the conclusion that I like this girl I met online, Chaos, and I have to try to see that through."
Many emotions crossed Sam's face as she pieced together what he just said. At first she was upset, but as he explained himself, she felt disbelief, confusion, anger, and finally, hope. He couldn't really be that clueless, right? "Show me."
"Huh? I mean, I don't actually know what she looks like, but we message every night and she really understands me! I know it sounds ridiculous, but-"
"Show me," Sam repeated. "Show me her profile."
"You're not going to hurt her, are you?" Danny questioned cautiously.
"No, of course not. Just shut up and show me the profile." Sam was more calm now, and that was kind of scary. Even though Sam said she wouldn't hurt Chaos, he didn't want to give her the chance. But he knew how stubborn his friend was, and eventually in whatever way, she would force the information out of him.
Danny sighed and pulled up the profile to show Sam. "I'm sorry, Sam. I'm still your best frien-"
"Shut up." Sam scrolled through what Danny pulled up for her and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Closing her eyes slowly, she took a deep breath. "Didn't Chaos tell you her name?"
"Uh," Danny thought, "oh yeah! She said her name was Sam, because I thought she was a boy at first and I had an existential crisis, but then Tucker told me-"
"Danny. I'm Sam."
"No I know, and sure it'll be a little weird cause you're Sam and she's Sam, it's confusing, but I-"
Sam interrupted him once again. She could hear Tucker's footsteps approaching. She was running out of time to not make this a spectacle. "No, Danny. Chaos. Sam. Me. I'm Sam. I am Sam,"
Tucker only heard the tail end of the conversation as he entered the room. Never able to pass up a comedic opportunity, he smirked and added "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham!"
It was suddenly silent in the room as his friends seized conversation and glared at him. Oops.
"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Tucker could see the fire in Sam's eyes. "Uh, oh wait I forgot my...sock. I'll be downstairs!" He raced out of the room.
Sam turned her attention back to Danny. "No, you stupid fucking MORON. I am Chaos. You've been talking to me the whole time. I thought you knew that!" Danny stared at her blankly until she pulled out her phone and he watched her log into her account, proving it to him. Sure enough, it was Chaos's profile. He could see all the direct messages between them, including his offline message about wanting to ask her something.
"Wait, you? You're Sam? I mean, Chaos? I mean Sam?" Danny looked back and forth between the profile and his best friend.
"UGH!" Sam shouted as she threw her hands in the air. "Yes, Danny. That's me! Did you really not notice that Chaos was the same age as me and a girl who goes to our school? We have the same name and interests! Didn't you wonder why it was so easy to talk right off the bat? I thought you put that all together and us just pretending to not know each other was a little bit you were trying to do or something!"
Danny stared at her as he continued to piece it all together. He was definitely embarrassed. He felt so stupid. How could he not tell that Chaos was Sam, his best friend since 7th grade? Talk about being totally clueless.
Wait. Clueless? Well, fuck! He got the nickname now!
His eyes flickered back and forth as he thought everything through. Eventually, he started to crack a smile. "Wait, so I've had a crush on you and also you? You're the same person! This is great! Do you know what this means?!"
Sam slapped her forehead and began walking downstairs. "I don't even know if this is worth it anymore…"
"Wait, how come Tuck and I never knew you played video games! We can enter team tournaments! You're so good!" Danny chased after her.
Tucker watched as Sam grumbled about Danny caring more about video games than her. An excited Danny was right on her tail.
"Tucker! Sam is Chaos! I've been in love with Sam this whole time!" Danny explained.
"Tucker, I need you to refrain me from slapping his stupid clueless face," Sam started.
"Wait, you didn't know Sam was Chaos? Dude! I thought I was obvious about that!" Tucker began laughing at Danny.
"I know, so did I." Sam crossed her arms over her chest.
"Danny, you can calculate levels of rocket fuel and figure out how to get us to Mercury or something," Tucker started.
"Mars, actually," Danny corrected.
"But you can't figure out that your best friend and your crush are the same person? You're more than Captain Clueless, you're like….Lieutenant Clueless? That's like, bigger right?" Tucker continued.
"I don't think that's how it works, Tuck," Sam chimed in.
"Shut up Sam, this isn't about you," Tucker immediately stopped his train of thought when he felt Sam glaring daggers at him. "Heh, uh. Except it does. It actually has nothing to do with me. I'm sorry I told you to shut up, please don't hurt me!" He threw his hands up in front of himself in defense.
"Relax, Tucker. I'm more angry with this fucking dingus," she pointed her thumb in Danny's direction.
The halfa was about to protest, then closed his mouth. "That's fair, I deserve that."
"I can't even look at you right now. You scared me! I poured out my emotions to you. I thought you were rejecting me and that I would have to change my name and move to a different country! Wait, are you still rejecting me?" Sam stopped her pacing to look at him.
"Of course not, Sammy!"
"Oh don't you 'Sammy' me! I told you I love you, you stupid fucking idiot!" Sam began throwing pillows at Danny, who expertly dodged them (though as a result, Tucker got hit in the face by one).
"Technically, you didn't say 'love' you said 'like'", Danny offered as Tucker shook his head and slashed finger across his neck, signaling Danny to stop talking.
"Oh, I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I'm going to go jump off a cliff now!" Sam growled and Danny let out a small "oomph" as one of the pillows finally got him.
"I'm out. Good luck, bro!" Tucker quickly slipped out the door, leaving Danny and Sam alone.
Sam was about to follow Tucker out when Danny stopped her, "please don't leave!" She still had angry tears in her eyes. He frowned. This was not how he expected things to go. She watched him for a few seconds before sitting down on the couch, refusing to look at him. "Sam I'm so sorry, this is just a huge misunderstanding."
"No, Danny. It's not. You were going to turn me down to go out with someone else."
"But that someone was still you!"
"Yeah, but you didn't know that! We've been friends for years, and you were more interested in someone you just met a few months ago! I don't want to be anyone's second choice, Danny! I've been standing by for years as you continuously chose other girls over me. I thought we were done with that, and that you were finally choosing me first, but you won't and you never will and I'm so stupid." Sam put her head in her hands as she tried her hardest not to let tears fall.
And that was when he finally figured it out. It wasn't just the moment of rejection, it was years of rejection, and at her biggest confession, she still thought he was choosing someone over her. Not to mention, Tucker witnessed most of the conversation. Sam rarely showed her emotions. She always had her heart guarded, and he knew this. Tucker knew this. Hell, she didn't even tell them she was rich until after a few years of friendship. It took them a while to get her to open up to them. She was a pretty private person. She was probably already hurt like this before. And now, she was probably embarrassed.
"You're definitely not stupid. I'm stupid. I should have known it was you. That was actually what I really liked about Chaos, she reminded me of you."
Sam forced a small sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, right."
"No really," Danny sat on the couch next to her and grabbed her hand, placing it in both of his. "Sam, you're absolutely incredible. How dumb would I have to be to not notice?" Sam gave him a pointed look. "Okay yeah but it's not the way you think it is. I liked Chaos because she was a lot like you. She reminded me of you. And it just seemed easier to go with her because she was basically you, but she and I didn't have a really great friendship that could have gotten ruined if we broke up or something. I could live without her, but I can't live without you. You're always my number one. Always have been, always will be. Even if I did just fuck everything up. I'm so sorry, Sam. I'm ready to be with you, if you'll still have me."
Sam stayed silent and stared at her lap, processing this new information. Of course she would forgive him; she always did. She just needed a little time.
Danny was getting nervous that he really did fuck this up for good. This was so fucking important! He couldn't risk fucking this up! Sensing her hesitation, Danny tried one more thing to get her back. One thing he hasn't done before. One thing he just learned how to perfect.
"Sammy, I'm sorry," a duplicate popped up next to her on the other side of the couch, startling her.
"Please forgive me?" Another duplicate was floating in front of her, hanging upside down, hair flopping all over the place.
"I know I'm a dummy but," Sam snapped her head towards a third duplicate.
"I'm only a dummy because I'm in love. With you," the real Danny finished. Sam looked back and forth between all the Dannys.
"We're sorry, Sammy," all the duplicates said at once.
Sam was trying really hard to hold back a smile. "You learned how to duplicate," she stated simply.
Original Danny grabbed her hands. "Sam. I will make this up to you. I promise."
She could hear the determination in his voice and sighed. "You better."
Danny smiled and hugged her. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I love you so much!"
Sam pushed him off of her. "I love you too, you fucking idiot."
"But I get to be your idiot!" Sam couldn't hold her laughter back anymore. "Oh!" Danny shouted, "Will you go to the dance with me? Please?"
Sam pretended to ponder the answer before saying "alright".
"Yay!" All 4 Dannys cheered. The duplicates on either side of her kissed her cheeks as the real Danny kissed her forehead tenderly. The final duplicate, feeling left out, squeezed his way in to give her a hug.
Sam was now roaring with laughter before kissing the real Danny sweetly. "You know, duplicates won't always get you out of trouble," she warned.
"Yeah, but they could come in handy for other things," he wagged his eyebrows up and down suggestively before passionately kissing her, the duplicates kissing her neck and touching her in near-dangerous places.
Sam bit back a moan, eyes lustful before smirking, "I think you just found a way to make it up to me." She began dragging the real Danny and one of his duplicates back to his room. Fuck the movies.
Yeah, I know this prompt SEEMS like it should be anti-Danny/Sam, but I can't have that. Hope you enjoyed! Comments are appreciated!