Author's Note: You guys are all so great! The writers are nothing without the readers, you guys really boost my urge to write.The sad thing is that my entire writing schedule has been thrown off; what with Fish camp, family reunions, and now going to my grandmother's this week... you may have to wait for a logner time.This starts out… well, the whole thing, really, is D/S/A galore. If anyone's wondering when the action is going to pick up, look out for chapter six.
As for the theories about the Avalanche Specter... well, I'd just like to say I'm enjoying them. And I shan't say any more about it.
Don't Tell Anyone
Did his subconscious LIKE taunting him? Did it? It had to, for there was no other excuse as to why the same scene played over and over in his mind, growing worse with every mental viewing. Every time the kiss lasted longer, they looked into each other's eyes deeper, and Sam's voice sounded more loving.
Danny lay on his bed, canopies hiding him from the rest of the room. Tucker was snoring lightly from his left, and Sam sat reading a book on his right. How badly he wanted to get up and tell her… what exactly?
There was no more use in denying himself any longer. His feelings for his best friend were screaming inside of him like an angry beast. Sam had never kissed anyone before except him, even if not necessarily real…
When he had phased through the wall into the room after calming himself down, he used every bit of his energy to not look Sam in the eyes. If it had been up to him he'd bury himself in his covers and ignore them, but he had to tell them what he'd heard first.
"So someone let him out of the thermos," Tucker concluded as Danny finished his recap. "See, I knew it wasn't my fault!"
"No, but you fail to see the point here," Sam said. Danny watched his nails with great interest. "The Box Ghost's partner – servant, whatever, got into the room without any of us noticing. You said something about a plan, too."
"Yeah, and he's not exactly known for planning ahead, is he?" Danny handed the thermos to Tucker, but then as if thinking better of it, pulled back. "I think this'll be safer with me, actually." He walked over to his bed and tucked it in his suitcase.
Now, about an hour after that discussion, Danny was trying to calm the beast inside of him. But as his anger dissipated, it was replaced by a feeling of sadness. His face relaxed from its glare and he rubbed his temples, trying to force the thoughts back. The images in the scene were being distorted to put Danny in Ash's place, and even though the thoughts were good ones, he started to freak out. Thinking this way about her was strange, and wrong now that Sam was taken. He shouldn't be…
Yeah, well, Ash shouldn't have kissed Sam.
He pressed his pillow against his ears as if that would eventually shut out the voice in his head. With no luck, Danny closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep.
The amount of light that had been visible from beyond the canopy flickered away as Sam closed her book. She sighed and stood from her bed, walking over to the balcony, her dark purple silk pajamas clinging to her. Opening the glass door, a chill breeze pressed against her skin, and she considered turning in to her warm bed. Quickly she closed it behind her and stepped onto the platform in her socks. Goosebumps were going up her arms, but she couldn't tell if they were from the cold or from the memory.
Ash's lips against hers for those brief seconds… quite literally, her first kiss, and a boy she hardly knew took it. All the same, she closed her eyes and smiled. It was a soft, romantic kiss that made her stomach jump in its lacking, yet full capacity of emotion. It wasn't like the fake-out make-outs, done in haste and hard yet passionate… she blinked those thoughts away. She didn't like thinking about it… not anymore, at least.
She gave one last look at the breath-taking view and turned back inside, the warmth hugging her as she closed her canopies and lay her head on her pillow.
Danny pulled a gray hoodie over his head as he reached out for the door handle. His snowboarding lesson was in half an hour, and it took ten minutes to get to the slopes they were using today. As he opened the door and took a step out, another body blocked his path. He jumped back in surprise before crying, "Tucker, don't do that! You scared… me." He stopped talking when he noticed the look on Tucker's face. His arms were crossed and he was tapping his foot impatiently, but with a concerned and very serene face. The expression was easy enough to read.
"What is it?" he asked exasperated.
Tucker shook his head and pushed Danny back inside, closing the door behind them. "Do I really, really need to ask?" he asked, smiling a little.
"It would make it a lot easier to follow, yes," Danny retorted. He had a sinking feeling of what he was going to say, though. Tucker knew him better than anyone except –
"Sam," said Tucker.
Danny shrugged, trying to pull off indifference. "What about her?"
Tucker rolled his eyes. "Don't think I didn't notice your serious funk last night. And I was just in the dining room… Sam and Ash getting too close for comfort?"
"Shut it," was all he said before trying to push past him. Tucker didn't move. "Tuck, I have to get to my class!"
"You have time." Tucker pushed Danny by his shoulders backwards all the way to his bed. He didn't protest. "I saw Ash kiss her, Danny." He paused and waited for a reaction. Danny's face was determinedly blank, which only proved his theory. "And judging by your stony silence, this isn't news to you."
Damn, thought Danny. What was the point? He'd already admitted it to himself. Tucker was his best friend. And it wasn't like it was some big secret to him, apparently. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'm jealous. You happy?"
"So you admit that you like her?"
"Yes," Danny said, falling backwards onto the bed. "I like her. I really, really do… so bad."
Tucker smiled and shook his head. "Not the best time to finally come to that conclusion, man."
"It's just… that I hardly even knew I felt like this," Danny said, the words spilling out on their own accord. "The whole world seemed to know except me. And Sam, I guess."
"Oh, Sam knows," said Tucker, as though it was obvious. "I can tell. Trust me, she'd much rather be with you than with Ash."
Danny laughed bitterly. "Of course," he spat. "That's why she's kissing him and not me."
Tucker's eyebrows shot up. Wow. He'd known since freshman year that Danny had a thing for her, but for him to suddenly figure it out and be this, well, pissed off was slightly surprising. "Well…" he said carefully, "You've never really let her know that you feel that way. In fact, you make a point in letting her know that you absolutely don't."
"I know!" Danny yelled angrily. Three seconds afterward, even he was surprised at his reaction. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm just really stressed out lately. In case you haven't noticed this isn't quite the vacation for me. And please don't tell her this!"
Well, obviously, thought Tuck. Sam, the stupid Box ghost, the looming threat of the possibility of an Avalanche Specter -- of which still hadn't been proven – were plaguing his mind. Tucker was supposed to Google anything he could find about missing persons in the area to let Danny know if he should use his resources to search for a legend. They knew better than most not to confuse legend with reality when it came to ghosts.
Danny checked his watch. He had fifteen minutes left to eat something. "Look, let's go downstairs and talk to Sam about what we're doing." Tucker shrugged and followed him down the elevator to the lounge, where Sam and Ash sat drinking coffee.
"Hey, Sam," said Tucker before Danny got a chance to exhale, "can we talk to you real quick?"
She glanced sideways at Ash before standing up and nodding. She followed them to a table, where Danny grabbed a box of cereal and began munching on it with full concentration. Sam gave him a wary look before turning to Tucker. "So, what's the plan?"
"I Google anything I can about the Avalanche guy," explained Tucker, "you ask employees more about it, and after his lesson, we fill in Danny."
Sam smiled at Danny. "Well don't you have the easy job?" she joked. Danny just mumbled into his bowl. Curious, she bent closer to him and asked, "Hey, everything okay?"
"Yeah-I'm-fine," he said quickly and loudly between bites. He put the spoon down and pushed his chair back. "I just have to, you know, snowboard. The easy job. Later." He hurried off without once looking at Sam.
She diverted her attention back to Tucker. "I don't suspect you know why that just happened," she asked sarcastically.
"Nope," he said, grinning. "Not a clue." This received a piercing scowl from Sam. She certainlyknew how to chillhim to the bone for an answer, but she wasn't getting one. Instead of answering her, he changed the subject to a related matter. "So, you and Ash are kind of official now, eh?"
Sam blushed pink and swished her coffee cup around. "Yeah, I guess," she said. "I really like him. I'm just able to relate to him, and we have similar interests,which is really hard for me to find. He's even agreed to trying an Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian diet, to see what it's like."
Tucker pursed his lips, trying to figure out how to handle this situation. "What about—"
"Danny?"
His head shot up and looked at her confused. That was freaky."Uh… sure, let's just go with Danny then."
What was the point in keeping it secret anymore? Besides, if he ever decided to confide this in Danny, she could always threaten Tucker with some of the dirt she had on him. "Well, I used to like him." She laughed. "Hell, I liked him up until a few days ago, actually. I have… had, for a really long time." Frowning, she started to twist her cup again. "But he's never made a move. I'm not sure what he thinks, or if it's the same as me, but I've been waiting to know what he feels and I'm just tired of it. I'm not going to just sit and let Ash go on a chance that Danny likes me, too."
Oh, it was so ironic, thought Tucker. She hadn't even realized that she'd let slip out that she still cared about him. He was threatened to say outright, "Are you slow? He's practically in love right now and stewing in a pot of envy!"
He decided to go with, "Well, whatever makes you happy, Sam."
"Somehow," she said suspiciously, "that didn't sound too enthusiastic."
"That's because it wasn't," he said. Maybe it was finally time to do a little intervention so that either Sam or Danny wouldn't end up hurting someone. For Danny? Ash. For Sam? He didn't even want to imagine the face of the person after she was through with them. "What are you going to do if Danny ends up liking you back?"
A short pause stretched between them before Sam was able to answer. "Well, uh," she stammered, "that isn't going to happen." She began to stand from her seat, but as she rose she hesitated and looked back to Tucker. "Why? Do you know something?"
"Danny is a guy," he explained slowly. "Do you honestly think he'd talk about his feelings like you girls do?"
Ignoring the sexist comment, Sam persisted. "Yes, actually. You've never been a great liar, you know."
"Good thing I'm not lying then," he replied. Well, he never said, No, Danny never told me anything about being crazy about you. He stood up and leaned across the table, much as Sam was doing, and said softly, "Danny's looking out for you, though. He wants to make sure you're okay, I know that much." Okay, Danny never actually told him that, but it was obviously true. "And no matter what you say, I know you still like him, even if you like Ash, too."
Sam clenched her teeth in frustration before saying, "I... we don't have time for this, Tuck! Let's just get to work, okay?" Tucker shrugged and left her standing at the table, glaring at the plates they'd left and forcing herself to focus on the day ahead. Finally, she sighed and left to find someone to talk to about the legend.
She never did realize the vibrant green eyes were watching her greedilyfrom above, following her every move as they had been for days now. He smiled to himself as the plan in his mind became clearer and more satisfying to play out in his imagination. He had to wait... wait for the perfect moment to take the bait and lure the prey.
So... get to reviewing. Here's a lovely preview of things to come: Tucker and Sam go about, finding out whatever more they can that might prove the Avalanche Specter's existence and when exactly he'll strike. The trio meet after the search and decide on what Danny should do to prevent the kidnappings. What happens, though, if Danny learns he's too late?
XKismetX