Chapter Two (Set Up?)

"Wait, so you've never had seafood before?"

Julia shook her head, stirring her drink with a straw. "I've not," she answered. "Well, I've had some of my mom's lobster when I was younger, but I remember not liking it, so I just avoided anything seafood related ever since."

Across from her sat Danny, who was gaping at her as he grilled her with questions. "Wow. Not even shrimp?" he asked, to which she shook her head again. "Fish? Scallops?"

"Nope," she answered. When Tucker joined in Danny's gaping session, she added, "I know. Shocker."

"Not really," Sam murmured, picking at her salad. Julia looked over at her, interested in what she had to say. "I just don't know how anyone could eat poor, innocent creatures."

"Oh, are you a vegan?" Julia asked, causing Sam to clench her jaw.

"I'm an ultra-recyclo vegetarian," she corrected, ignoring Danny's snort. "That pretty much means that—"

"She won't eat anything with a face on it," Tucker interjected. "That doesn't stop me and Danny, though."

Julia shook her head. "It shouldn't. You guys are allowed to eat anything you want to." Upon witnessing Sam's glare, she followed up with, "It's true. Everyone has their own preferences."

"I didn't say they couldn't have their own preferences," Sam fired back. Julia looked over at her, smiling coldly.

"You know what they say about hit dogs, Sam. They holler." She then nonchalantly picked up her drink and began sipping from it, adverting her gaze. Sam didn't say anything, opting to just sit there and seethe at the comment.

"Jeez, what's eating you?" asked Danny. "You seem snappier than usual."

"I'm perfectly fine," the Goth insisted. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she changed the subject. "Um, Tuck? Aren't you worried that Dash is going to come after you for lying about having the project?"

Tucker's expression sank. "I forgot all about that." He nervously glanced around the cafeteria in a search for Dash. When he was certain the coast was clear, he let out a sigh of relief. "I swear, I can't keep living like this."

"You?" Danny scoffed. "Try being his personal punching bag the way I am. I still don't even know why I'm his favorite victim."

"Maybe he's jealous of you," Julia chimed in. This made him look over, interested. "I mean, you're funny, sweet, and cute. It would make a lot of sense."

He flushed at that comment. "I-I, uh," he stammered, not knowing how to respond. He wasn't too used to female attention, especially not from someone as beautiful as Julia.

Tucker, who caught Sam's eye twitching, decided to mess with her a little bit. "Looks like we have a new set of lovebirds on our hands, huh, Sam?" he asked her, and it took everything in him not to burst out laughing at her glare.

"Well, whoever ends up with Danny is going to be a very lucky girl," Julia remarked, grinning. Danny's face was even more crimson than before, prompting the girl to continue. "I'm surprised Sam here hasn't snatched you up yet."

"Because we are just best friends," Sam growled. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"Interesting to know." Julia cast her eyes down to her watch before sighing and grabbing her backpack. "I have to go see the guidance counselor now, but it was a pleasure meeting all of you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Tucker responded, his lips sliding into a smirk. He rose from the cafeteria table and curled his arm around Julia's shoulders. "You'll love it here, but if you ever need a personal tour guide, Tucker Foley is your man."

The brunette gave him an odd look before smiling over at Danny. "I'll see you around."

Both boys watched as she swept out of the cafeteria while Sam merely gaped at them. She didn't understand why they were so fascinated over some girl they barely even knew, but she chalked it up to boys just being boys.

"Wow," Danny breathed, grinning ear-to-ear. "A girl like that is interested in me?"

"Yeah, and she doesn't know you're Phantom, so that means she actually likes you for you," Tucker replied, returning to his seat at the table. He and Danny then shared a fist bump. "I'm telling you, man, you're in there."

"Just be careful. You don't know this girl or where she comes from," Sam warned. "I personally don't trust her."

"But you also don't know her," Danny pointed out. "Plus, she seems nice. Not Paulina nice, but genuinely nice."

"I get that, but—"

"Hey, Foley!" Sam was cut off by Dash, who had marched up to their table. He slammed his palms down on the tabletop and leaned forward, hovering over Tucker with flared nostrils. "I don't like being lied to or given a bad grade, which means you're replacing Fenton's beat down today."

"Wait, wait!" Tucker exclaimed, shielding his face with his arms instinctively. "I have a solution."

"Oh, yeah?" Dash challenged, lowering his once raised fist. "Speak."

"I'm going to talk to Lancer about getting extra credit, or maybe even turning in the project for a late grade. It's better than nothing," Tucker explained, flashing a hopeful smile.

Dash mulled that over, glaring Tucker down as he did so. After a minute, he growled. "Fine, but your life depends on his answer." His eyes then flicked over to Danny. "Well, Fentonia. Looks like our date is back on. Ready to get wailed on?"

Danny rolled his eyes, but before he could retort, Julia came back up to the table. "Ah, sorry. I forgot my drink." She reached across the table and fetched her drink, almost missing the way Dash's attention switched to her.

"Hey," he greeted, though the flirtatious tone in his voice didn't go unnoticed by her. "I didn't get to formally introduce myself earlier in class, but my name is Dash. Dash Baxter."

He extended his hand out to her, but she only blinked at it. "Uh, yeah." She then turned over her shoulder and strode out of the cafeteria. Dash, who didn't catch the hint, smirked and followed her.

Tucker exhaled in relief. "Whew. We sure dodged a bullet there."

Sam tossed her textbook into her locker and shut the door with a sharp exhale. She just had to tackle one more class period before school ended and she was free for the day.

She spotted Danny and Tucker across the hallway, both of them standing with Julia. Her mouth was open in a laugh, and because Danny was the one talking, Sam assumed he was busy cracking a joke. It was that very sight that made her feel a twinge of jealousy.

"Whatever. Might as well pretend to like this girl," she muttered to herself. She didn't like the idea of Julia becoming a permanent member of their group because she came out of nowhere. They didn't know her, so Sam felt that her wary behavior was justified.

But was that really the reason why she didn't want this girl around?

Despite her ill feelings, she forced a smile onto her face and made her way over to the group. "Hey, guys." She then paused. "Julia."

Julia's grin melted into a frown at the bland manner in which her name was spoken. "Oh, hi," she responded. Tucker picked up on her confused tone and dismissively waved his hand through the air, rolling his eyes.

"Don't mind Sam. She's just naturally built with trust issues," he assured her.

"Actually," Sam spoke abruptly, "I'm more so keeping my guard up. You can't go around trusting just anyone these days, especially not someone from this school."

Rather than take offense, Julia chuckled softly. "I completely understand. I don't expect trust so soon." She moved her backpack down and began searching through it. "Well, if you're interested, I invited Danny and Tucker to this new arcade in my area. We can all bond and get to know each other there."

She handed Sam a white index card with what looked like the building's address written on it. Sam accepted it, looked it over, and then shrugged. "Sure. If I feel up to it. What time are you guys heading over there?"

"Six sharp," Julia answered brightly. "We won't be there too long. I don't know how all of your curfews are set up, but for me, tonight's still a school night."

Danny smiled. "We're in the same boat of strict parents as you are. Sam's in there even more than all of us, if possible," he teased. Sam leaned against the wall beside her and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but your sister is more protective than both of my parents and your parents combined," she replied, smirking. Tucker nodded in agreement and Danny groaned.

"Don't remind me. So," he turned to face Julia, "we'll all meet outside the arcade, right?"

"Right," confirmed Julia. "Seven o'clock on the dot." The bell rang at that moment, so she took that opportunity to dip out to her class. "See you guys tonight."

The trio decided to head to their final class as well. As they were walking down the hallway, Danny playfully nudged Sam. "Someone's considering warming up now, huh?" he joked.

"I didn't say that," she coolly replied, hoping that the ice in her voice would prompt him to drop the subject.

But it didn't.

"Admit it, Sam. You're totally second-guessing her."

"I'm just..." she trailed off, letting out a deep breath before continuing, "feeling her out. That's all. I don't jump into sudden friendships with both feet."

"Well, if it's any consolation, she's not Paulina, so there may be a decent shot at a friendship," Tucker told her. She straightened her backpack strap on her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe."

Later that night, at six o'clock sharp, Sam arrived at what looked like a vacant storefront. Baffled, she glanced around the area, searching for an arcade of some sort. The area seemed mostly vacant, save for an older woman who was just about to walk past her.

"Um, excuse me," she called out to the woman, stopping her in her tracks. She pulled out the same index card Julia gave her earlier and handed it to the woman. "Where is that address?"

The latter woman studied the card before handing it back to Sam. "Right behind you," she answered, motioning to the vacant store behind them. "That store has been closed for years now."

Sam was even more perplexed, but rather than question the woman further, she simply let her walk away. She fished into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, dialing Danny's number.

"Wow," she muttered to herself, hanging up when she was met with a voicemail. She tried Tucker's phone next, but was hit with the same result: voicemail.

Deciding to give them the benefit of the doubt, she chose to wait around for a bit. Perhaps the storefront was just a meetup spot and they were all supposed to walk to the arcade together.

Unfortunately, an hour later, the possibility of that being the case seemed much less likely.

"I had a lot of fun last night." Julia took out her notebook and placed it on her desk. "Too bad I couldn't beat Danny's new win streak in that one stupid game."

Said boy grinned confidently. "Hey, what can I say? I'm naturally gifted."

"If that was the case, you would've beat me in Bigaholic. That game was just like Doomed," Tucker told his friend. "It was funny watching Julia destroy you in Slimeworks, though."

"As if!" Danny exclaimed, chuckling. When Julia raised an eyebrow at him, he backpedaled. "Okay, okay. You might've beat me there, but that game was for beginners."

"Yet you couldn't keep up," the girl teased, playfully poking out her tongue. The trio shared a laugh, which was short-lived because Sam entered the classroom with her face twisted in anger. She wordlessly took her seat and slammed her backpack on top of her desk.

Danny and Tucker both stared at each other, silently deciding which of them would be the one to break the ice and ask her what was wrong. Ultimately, Danny stepped up to the plate. "Everything okay, Sam?"

She paused for a moment before sighing in defeat. "No," she admitted. "What happened to you guys last night?"

"What do you mean?" Danny was confused. "We were at the arcade."

"Yeah, without me."

"Because you didn't come," Tucker said. "We waited outside for you, but after about fifteen minutes, we figured you weren't coming."

Sam blinked, baffled at this point. "Were we standing at the same place? Because I was definitely waiting outside for an hour for you guys."

"Whoa, whoa, wait. An hour?" Danny shook his head. "Maybe you arrived after we went inside. We got there at seven o'clock."

"So did I," Sam told him. "I even called you and Tucker, but it went straight to voicemail. I don't know if you guys were just pulling my leg or—"

"Julia made us turn off our phones," Tucker interjected. "She said something about bonding with no distractions."

"Yeah," Danny confirmed, "and you definitely weren't outside, Sam."

An exasperated sigh fell from Sam's lips. "All I know is I followed the directions Julia gave me and ended up in front of some abandoned store." She pulled out the index card she received the day before and handed it to Julia. After studying it for a few seconds, the brunette's jaw dropped.

"Oh, gosh. I'm so sorry, Sam," she apologized. "I totally wrote down the wrong address."

"No worries," Tucker stepped in, attempting to de-escalate the situation. "Accidents happen." Sam scowled at him.

"It's not your apology to accept. You weren't the one standing alone on some dark, abandoned street for an hour."

"I know this looks bad, but I'll make it up to you," Julia promised. "It really was an accident. What reason would I possibly have to set you up like that?"

Sam narrowed her eyes. "I don't know. You tell me."

"C'mon, Sam," Danny groaned, rolling his eyes slightly. "It was an honest mistake. Don't be like that."

She clenched her jaw, but ignored him response-wise. Julia took that opportunity to try and appease her. "At least give me a chance to show you how sorry I am for that. I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, did not do that on purpose."

Sam moved her hand to her forehead and sighed. "Fine, fine. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding."

"Yeah, it was," Julia replied, a satisfied smile now plastered on her face. "Don't worry. Something like this won't ever happen again."

When the class bell rang and Mr. Lancer began taking attendance, Sam decided to just let the conversation die. If the whole thing was an accident, then her staying upset would prove to be pointless. After all, Julia had no reason to set her up, right?