Summary: Walking home from Danny's one night, something horrific happens to Sam. Now Danny's left to try to put the pieces of his best friend back together.
Rating: PG-13 for mature themes and language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does. And I don't own Hello, Evanescence does.
Chapter Four
I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to.
Even when Sam was little, she had been big on comforting type stuff, like comfort foods or baby blankets or sucking your thumb. She had been the little girl who was always trying to grow up. She had never been one who had curled up on her mom's lap or snuggled into her dad's shoulder. Perhaps that's why she was struggling with it now.
She sat with all the pillows piled up against her headboard and hugging her knees. She hadn't told them. She had kept telling herself all day that they would, but she had been lying. And deep down part of her knew that. She had even taken the guys out for ice cream after school. They had laughed, joked, and played around. Sam had kept telling herself she should feel better. It was normal. Things wouldn't change. That's what she wanted right to feel normal again.
Yet all it had done is made her feel more alone. She wasn't part of it. They could live their lives without her. Sam didn't know what hurt more, what had happened or what was happening. Somehow, this felt so much worse. They didn't need her. No one needed her.
Sam stared at him a muted fear playing across her features. "What was what?"
"I just waved at you and you looked like I was going to hit you."
Sam looked guilty but was obviously trying to hide it. "I did not."
Tucker leaned across the table to look at them. "Um…Yeah, Sam, you really did."
With tucker leaning towards her and Danny sitting on the outside of the booth Sam suddenly looked like a trapped rabbit.
"I—I've got to go…" she grabbed at her milkshake as Tucker and Danny exchanged a discrete glance. Something was most definitely wrong.
"Sam, I thought you said you didn't have to be home till five. It's only 4:10." Tucker couldn't help but comment.
"Something came up."
"Stop joking around. You know your parents wont notice if you're not home yet." Tucker opened his mouth to say more when Danny finally caught his eye and let the subject drop.
"Go ahead and go if you need to. Call me later. Since we don't have any homework, I figured we could do something tomorrow." Danny suggested.
"Maybe," Sam said nonchalantly as she grabbed one of her books off the table. Danny slid out of the bench and let her scoot out.
Danny watched her walk quickly out without a backward glance. "What's with her?" Tucker asked, clearly puzzled.
"I think something's majorly wrong with Sam. Did you see the way she flinched?" Danny questioned. He sighed and plopped back on to the cheep vinyl bench.
"Yeah." Tucker fiddled with the wrapper of the straw for Sam's milkshake. He glanced up at Danny. "Weird, isn't it." It came out more as a statement than a question. "Danny, she's not afraid of us, right."
"I don't think it's us." Danny paused for a moment. "But something's definitely wrong. Maybe it's somebody at school…"
"If you're thinking of Dash--"
"Of course, I'm thinking of Dash, Tucker. I mean he's the one who instantly pops into my mind. He's probably doing this to get to me and Sam, being Sam, isn't planning on telling me."
Tucker bit his lower lip. "Oh, man. I dunno."
"Look, just do me a favor and help me keep an eye on Dash." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
Tucker sighed, his shoulders dropping. "Alright, if you think that's it."
But lying on bed watching TV that night, Danny began to second-guess himself. He continued to mull it over until he decided that maybe the best plan of action would be to go ask Sam. With that, Danny went ghost. He shuddered as the customary cold came back over him yet again. It wasn't a pleasant sensation, almost like being covered with cobwebs and having his insides frozen.
With a quick lock of his door, Danny phased through the window and flew the eleven blocks to Sam's house. The sight that greeted him was almost too much for Danny. There laid Sam curled up in a fetal position quietly sobbing to herself. Danny found himself drawn to her.
He knelt down next to her, her face only about eight inches from his own. He felt her warm breath on his frozen check. The pretty, pale face was red and blotchy. Her eyes squeezed shut yet they still looked puffy and swollen.
Danny sat there and watched her for so long that time lost all relevance. He barely noticed when her breathing changed from shallow gasp, to a more deep regular pattern. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "God, Sam, I'm so sorry." The tears welled up as he reached out and brushed her bangs to the side. She wimpered in her sleep and Danny felt rage directed at the one responsible.
"I swear I'll make him pay." Danny took a shaky breath, trying to get his emotions back under control. "I promise, Sam, Dash won't get away with this."
Hey, another chapter finished. Yay. And I'm seventeen now. Which means I'm going to try to be more regular with updates. Though I think this is the best I've ever followed through with a story. I've already thought up a sequel. Thanks, as always, to all my reviewers: strawberry wine, RainbowSerenity, Brittany Miller, Emprezz Andromeda, style, RavenForever, q.t, aeris9919, Spice of Life, MysticJunebugs, kira, Piezo, id, and Samster The Hamster. As always can't wait to hear from you again.