Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys. Hope you enjoy this as well!
Lighting the FireThe entire trip would take three and a half hours, and an hour had passed by already. Music was blaring from the speakers and Danny and Tucker were in the front seats screaming lyrics. Tucker broke into an air guitar solo and Danny laughed. "At least you stopped singing," he said. Tucker punched his shoulder and Danny swerved a little in the lane. "Hey, watch it! I'm driving here!"
"Sorry, dude," Tuck said, leaning back and taking a bite of his beef jerky. "Man, how much longer?"
"More than two hours," he answered. He glanced into his rearview mirror as he was passing lanes, and noticed Sam in the backseat looking out the window frowning. She'd been abnormally quiet for the past half hour. She rested her forehead against the window and furrowed her thin eyebrows. Was something wrong? He was worried about her and found himself not looking away from the mirror as he thought about what could be going through her mind.
Suddenly, Sam looked into the mirror and their eyes met. Then Sam looked forward and shrieked, "Danny, look out!"
Her and Tucker screamed and Danny looked forward and saw that he was about to ram a car from behind. He yelped and slowed down to let the car in front get ahead a little. He was breathing hard and felt shaky. No one said anything for a while until Sam cried, "What were you doing?"
"S-sorry," he stammered. "I spaced out. Won't happen again."
"It had better not!" Tucker said, leaning back into his chair to calm down. "Jeez, if Sam's that big of a distraction then-"
"Why am I a distraction?" she asked accusingly, glaring at Tucker.
Tucker smirked and looked at Danny, who was focusing with all his might on the gray road. "He was staring at you in the mirror, Sam."
"Was not," Danny said. "I was… just… Sam looked upset about something. Are you okay?"
Sam's eyes flicked to him on alert, and she shrugged and smiled. "Uh, yeah. I'm okay." She was lying through her teeth. It wasn't that she was upset, exactly, but ever since the kitchen scene it'd been plaguing her mind: what exactly was going to happen at the resort? What would happen if Danny ended up doing exactly what his parents warned him not to do? What if Jazz's prediction came true? And why the hell did she care so much?
"You're sure?"
"Danny, I'm fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "Pay attention to the road, not me."
"Not as easy as it sounds, huh?" Tucker said, elbowing Danny with a broad grin on his face. He wanted to push his buttons and knew that talking about Sam did it better than anything.
No one said anything for the next few minutes. Danny's unmoving expression and Sam's moping made Tucker realize that maybe messing with them wasn't the best idea when no one could walk away or relieve stress by doing anything.
The silence was broken as they neared a small town. "There's a convenience store up ahead," Danny said. "You guys want to stop?"
"Sure," said Sam. "I need to walk around a bit."
"And I need more jerky," added Tucker, looking into the empty plastic. Sam tried to hold back a glare.
They pulled into the parking lot and entered the store. Tucker went to get his jerky, and Danny left to find a soda. Sam stood there, hands in her pockets, looking around awkwardly. When Danny came back to the counter, he spotted her expression and walked over to her. "Okay, something's up with you," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"
She smiled brightly and said, "Nothing, I'm fine." Danny gave her a look that said 'I'm supposed to buy that?' She sighed and looked to the side. "Okay, I'm just thinking…. It's not important."
"Sam, if it's making you sad then it's important," Danny said softly.
Biting her lip, she finally said, "It's just that while we're at the-"
Danny shivered and a light blue vapor escaped from his mouth. Both of them perked up, looking around. Sam sighed in relief, almost thankful for the break. "Tucker's got the thermos," she said. "Go do your thing."
"You're not out of this," Danny said, walking briskly towards Tucker and then escaping to the restroom.
Sam hit her hand on her forehead and rubbed her face. She decided to buy a pack of gum just for the sake of it and grabbed a pack, tossing it on the counter just as someone else set a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino down. She looked up and met green eyes, surrounded by eyeliner. A guy's eyes in eyeliner. She looked up and down to get a better view. He was a few inches taller than her, with black hair highlighted green, and black and green pants with a black and green Slipknot shirt. "Sorry," he said, smiling ever so slightly. "You first."
"Uhh… thanks," she said, startled at the sudden appearance of a brother-in-arms. She paid for the gum and stepped back, but she stayed by the counter to wait for Tucker. The boy paid for his drink and then didn't move. "Uh, hi. Want something?"
"Well, your name, for one," he said, smirking devilishly. Sam raised an eyebrow, but had to admit that he was attractive like that. Wait, what the hell was she thinking?
"Sam," she said automatically.
"I'm Ash," he replied. "Where are you from? I saw you come out of that car with two guys. You're not taken by one, are you? If you are than that's really unfortunate for me."
"You're pretty blunt, aren't you?" Sam said. "I'm from Amity and I'm with my friends on a road trip. No, I'm not really taken by anyone. And I don't really want to be," she added, crossing her arms. She didn't feel like flirting, even if he was really hot… shut up, Sam!
"Your choice," he said, shrugging. "I like your clothes, though. They fit you well."
"You seem to have a thing for green," she said.
He laughed. "Yeah, I kind of do, don't I? Favorite color, as I'm guessing purple is to you. Unique eyes, by the way. Contacts?"
Shaking her head, Sam said, "Natural. Don't ask, even I don't know. And you're unusually talkative, aren't you?"
Ash smiled again. "You're just someone I like talking to." He took a drink from his glass and said, "Well, I should be going. But I'm sure I'll see you soon. Are you sure you don't want to give me your number?"
Sam smiled with no humor. "No, not really. Grand effort, though, really. And what do you mean, see you soon?" Ash shrugged and left without another word and Sam rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time a Goth had asked her out with her denying it. But never had one been so warm to her. Hell, hardly anyone ever was except Danny. And Tucker. Danny and Tucker.
Tucker walked over to her with enough beef jerky to kill a cow as Sam instantly noticed. "Who was that guy? Was he bothering you?"
Sam shrugged. "Not really," she said. Danny suddenly appeared and walked over to them. Sam offered him a piece of gum, asking, "How'd the ghost thing go?"
"Hmm, pretty well," he said. "It was the Box Ghost. I don't know how or why he's here, but I got him in the thermos this time." He handed it back to Tucker and he put it away in the backpack he carried it in. "Tuck, are you sure can eat all that?"
"Sure," he said, flinging the two grocery bags over his shoulder. "I'm totally cool with this."
They piled into the car and drove off, Sam's thoughts still on Ash. How come he was so sure they'd see each other again, and soon? Frightening thoughts of a car trailing behind them entered her mind but she shoved them away. He didn't seem like the obsessive stalking type. Then again, they never did. She shivered and Tucker noticed from the corner of his eye. "Are you cold? It's August, Sam."
"No, I'm not cold. I was just thinking."
"About," Danny said slowly. He was hinting to the conversation they'd started earlier, but Sam shook her head. "What, then?"
"Is it that guy who was bothering you?" Tucker suggested.
Danny turned his head around quickly. "What guy? Who was bothering you?" He looked to Tucker. "Why'd you let him?"
"Eyes, Danny," Sam said. Danny turned back to the road as Sam answered. "He wasn't bothering me, but yeah, I was thinking about that." No one said anything so she kept talking. "His name's Ash. He asked for my number and kept talking about how I looked nice. He said he'd 'see me soon' or something, so I was just thinking stupid thoughts about that."
It took a few seconds for Danny to answer. "Did you give it to him?"
"Give what to him?"
"Your number."
"No, Danny, I didn't give him my phone number. Don't you know me better than that?"
"But you still liked him, didn't you?" Tucker said conversationally. He didn't seem to be paying much attention, as he was busy IMing someone on his laptop.
"Well… he did look kinda cool, but he was… well… I don't know," she said. "He was okay." She reached into her small carryon and pulled out her CD case. She flipped through until she found a CD she felt like listening to. "My turn," she said, leaning forward and ejecting the CD that was inside and placing hers in its place.
Danny pulled into another gas station and hour and a half later. This time, he actually needed gas. Tucker got out to go to the restroom. Sam was sleeping in the backseat. He looked at her, wondering whether or not he should wake her up. No decision was needed, because Sam's eyes flickered open to see him staring at her. "What?"
He shrugged and opened his door. "We've stopped for a while. Do you need anything? Food, drink, restroom?"
Somehow Sam couldn't open her eyes properly, so she rubbed them furiously. "Nah, I'm good. I'll just hang here. Maybe go back to sleep."
"Did I wake you up?"
"No. I think the car not moving just triggered something." She stretched back out on the seat and closed her eyes. Danny tore his eyes away and went to fill up the tank.
All right, so he'd been thinking about her ever since their last stop. No reason to deny it. She was probably still upset about something since they still hadn't really talked about it. And then there was this Ash person… most of the male Goth and some of the punk population in their school had asked her out before, but for some reason he was reacting to him. Maybe it was because he was a complete stranger. What if he was some perverted freak? At least he hadn't been bothering her. If he had, he'd go ghost all over his… Calm down, Danny.
Speaking of ghosts, what was the Box Ghost doing so far out of Amity? Maybe there were ghosts all over the world and not just his town. They couldn't all be in one place, right? But then again, the Fenton Portal was where they all came out from. But didn't Plasmius have one? And there had to be other ways of ghosts getting into their world.
"Just chill out, Danny," he told himself. "It's vacation time. Danny Phantom can go MIA for a while without some big catastrophe happening." He laughed to himself. Really, what were the chances of anything bothering him at the resort?
Someone tapped his shoulder as he placed the nozzle back in the holder. It was Tucker. "Dude, I just saw that guy Sam talked to in the store," he said. "He was looking at me weird. Do you think he's following us?"
Just what he needed to hear, too. "Not us," he said. "Sam. But he could just be going in the same direction. He didn't talk to you, right? He might just have recognized you or something. Right?"
Tucker eyes his friend. "You're strangely calm. And your voice is giddy."
"Just being positive. I know he might be a freak though, okay? But don't you think we can take him?"
"Hah. We. Right," Tucker said, opening his door and sitting inside.
"Finally," Danny said, pulling into a parking space. "We're here."
Sam opened the car door and looked out at the snow-covered mountains. "Wow," she commented, stepping out. "I'm surprised it's this cold here. It's late summer."
Danny stepped out and stood next to her. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Totally cool," said Tucker, opening the trunk. "Awesome. We're staying here for ten days without parents. This is going to be the best ten days ever."
"Yes. Perfect. Parent free, school free, ghost free-"
"Heat free," added Sam, rubbing her arms. "Hand me my bag so I can get inside. It looks warm in there."
Tucker yanked her bag out from under a bag of games and DVDs, which clattered to the bottom. "Oops."
They made their way inside the large, wooden resort. It was four stories high and more than a football field's size. The lobby was so brightly lit, the light itself seemed to press down on them. It smelled like potpourri the gold and scarlet everywhere made it feel like a royal home. Danny stood in the door way momentarily in sheer surprise but then made his way forward to the front desk. He laid their reservation paper on the counter and said, "One room for Fenton."
The man behind the desk eyed the three of them, particularly Sam. "One?"
"We could only afford one, sir," Danny said, a little annoyed. "Three beds."
This was news to Sam. She looked at Danny questioningly. "We're sharing a room?"
"Girl, do you know how much just one room costs?" Tucker said. "It's on the fourth floor, too. With a balcony. Where is the bad?"
The man handed Danny the electronic key and a man who looked like he was going through puberty at age twenty came with a cart to put their luggage in. They followed him to an elevator, went up to the fourth floor, and found their room. Opening the door, Tucker stopped short and stared, blocking Danny and Sam's view.
"What is it?" Danny asked annoyed.
"This room is the best room I've ever seen. It's, like, better than Sam's house!"
"Let me see!" Sam suddenly cried, shoving Tucker and Danny aside. She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure this cost less than two rooms, Danny?" The room was more like a suite. It was bi-level, with the beds and balcony raised from the floor about a foot. There was a walk-in closet, a more than decent sized bathroom with a shower and round bathtub, a small kitchen area with a bar-like counter, and all the beds were queen sized with red canopies surrounding them. The balcony faced the mountains, where the sun was lowering behind one of the peaks. Sam stared at the intoxicating view outside. "Guys?"
"Yeah?" they replied.
"This place is awesome."
"Yeah."
Tucker threw his bag on the bed closest to the balcony. "Dibs!" he cried. Danny took the middle bed and Sam got the one next to the closet.
Danny opened his bag and reached in to find his coat. He threw it around his arms and said, "Let's go explore the rest of this palace."
Author's Note: I'm in a writing mood, okay? I'm writing like crazy, but tell me if it's good or not. I'll start work on chapter three right away. This feels way too long…the actual story its 2,606 words. Youch. Too much? Oh, well. I don't want this story to have too many chapters… just around ten or so. Anyways, enough of my talking. Review, please!
XKismetX