Hello! I love my reviewers! Thank you for giving me my second set of one hundred reviews! I love you guys so much. In fact, I have my own little surprise for you. For those of you who have read The Elevator Game and have heard about my sequel, not only am I giving you a sneak peek for Hotel Paper, Chapter Eight, but I have a sneak peek for Freeze Out. So enjoy!
Thanks to my reviewers!
Yayfulness, luckygurl185, Catnip070, Threeandfourforever, bbymylove, Sailor Attitude, dannphantomfreak, DannyPhantomLover, DragonGirl, Tuckers-Ghostly-Girl, Amy, getfuzzyfan04, shepyt, Penguin, The Fuzy Llama, ChibiSess, Nickelback-Danny-lover, Hopeless Forever, LaBOBuren, Killer of all Hentai's. BWAHA, cakreut12, Anne Champ aka Obi-Quiet, Grey Ravne North
Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer! Enjoy! By the way, at the beginning of this chapter, it goes back to Sam's point of view before she entered the room and found Danny and Karissa like that.
Chapter Seven
Love Me Like That
Sam walked into the bar, expecting loads of people to glower at her for being in there underage, but luckily, the bar was empty except for the bartender. She automatically recognized him as being the clerk from earlier, his blonde hair giving him away.
"Are you here all the time?" she asked, sitting down on one of the stools.
He laughed and swiped a towel down the counter. "Pretty much. They have me on a tight schedule. I get off around three o'clock."
"Wow. Do you get any sleep?" she asked.
"Not really. Between my father and work," he said, rinsing the towel in a sink under a shiny silver faucet. He wrung it out and then placed his hands on the counter.
"What can I get cha'?" he asked.
"I didn't figure you for twenty one," she said.
"I didn't figure you for twenty one," he retaliated.
"Two virgin bloody maries," she said.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said, smiling. He pulled out two glasses from underneath the counter. "I'll be twenty two next month."
"You look so young," she blurted.
"I get that a lot," he said, laughing. He put ice in the glasses.
"Troubles with your dad?" she asked, referring to his earlier statement, staring at him.
"Sort of. He and Penelope are plotting something, and of course they won't let me in," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Plotting something?"
He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I don't know. I use words like that all the time. I'm sort of a journalist."
"Interesting profession."
"Not as cool as yours," he said.
She stared at him curiously.
"Karissa told me about your performance," he explained.
"Oh. You're a friend of Karissa's?" she asked. He poured a dark liquid into the glasses (that were filled with tomato juice and other ingredients) that she recognized as Tabasco sauce.
"Sort of. More like partners. My dad, Bertrund, is her mother, Penelope's assistant," he said. "So I was kind of forced to follow in his footsteps."
"You were the person I saw coming out of the movie theatre, the one sitting next to her," she realized.
"Yup. Anything else?" he asked, putting two straws in the glass.
"No," she replied. "How much do I owe you?"
"These are on the house, just don't expect the same tomorrow," he said.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I'll see you around." She picked up the two glasses from the counter and smiled at him, then twirled off the stool and started walking towards the door.
"Oh, and Sam?" he called. She turned around carefully. "Please don't get too drunk. We don't want another exciting night."
"How did—"
"Virgin bloody maries with two teenagers. Come on, I'm weird, not stupid," he said. "But as long as you stay in your room."
"Yeah, that's fine," she said. "Thanks."
"No problem," he said.
She smiled again and walked out of the bar, up the stairs, hoping that none of the security guards around this place would see her and think she was drinking underage…..now.
She opened the door to the floor of her room and entered the hallway and heard voices coming towards her, and pressed against a plant in the corner, hoping they wouldn't see her.
"And you're certain you read that?" a male voice asked.
"Jack, it's your invention. Are you telling me that it's faulty?" asked a familiar voice. She recognized it as the Sci-Fi guy who had attacked Danny. The other voice she'd never heard before.
"What did this kid look like?" he asked.
"Black hair, messy. Had a black shirt on and jeans. I think his eyes changed from blue to green, just like ghosts do when they get angry, depending on their alignment."
Oh my god, Danny….. Sam screamed in her head. What did they want with him? What was he hiding that made him so dangerous?
"That's not possible, Jarod," the other voice said.
"Why not?"
"Well, first off, you practically just described my son, and that's not possible," he said.
"Really? You don't think that with all your work, he could have possibly stumbled onto something of your area, and made himself that way?" he asked.
"If he did, he would have told me," he said. "And besides that, both of my children have suddenly disappeared. I have no clue where they are. I would much rather look for them, then go on some ghost chase that you believe is my son. And to help my case, I very much doubt that Danny would ever go to a hotel on his own."
"I still think this needs investigation," Jarod insisted.
"I think my childrens' disappearances need investigating," the voice said.
Sam tried to hide herself as the two men walked towards her, heading towards the stairs. Jarod, the earlier attacker was treading behind a large man in an orange suit that had black hair, flecked with gray, and green eyes. She waited until they were down the stairs until coming out from her hiding place.
"Danny…." She whispered. "What are you hiding?"
She started walking again, to her room, still trying to figure out what the heck was going on. She'd just witnessed people she barely knew, one who could very well be Danny's father, and they were talking about something as odd as ghosts.
Sure, ghosts existed. She knew that after the attack on the city of Amity Park three years ago. Some guy named "Invisi-o-Bill" had ravaged the town. Of course, that was before they'd figured out what his name was by word of mouth of some anonymous person. Something like…Phantom. Danny Phantom. You know, the first name of her boyfriend.
She nearly dropped the glasses, and then laughed at herself. God, she was paranoid. There was no way that her new found love was Danny Phantom, evil ghost boy. She was reading too much. This was real life, not some soap opera.
She kicked open the door with the edge of her foot. She'd left it unlocked on purpose so she could get back in easier. "Hey, Danny, you'll never guess what I just heard."
She stopped and her heart seemed to slow before coming to a cold, dead stop within her chest. She could already feel her head nearly explode with emotions.
Standing in front of her were Karissa and Danny, their lips pressed together in an unmistakable kiss. They jumped as soon as she came in, obviously not expectant of her arrival.
Danny pushed Karissa away from him with his hands, jumping down from the shelf like table he'd been sitting on.
"Sam…this isn't what it looks like, I—" he began hurriedly.
"If I had a dollar for every time I heard a man say that, I'd be richer than Sam. Save it for the movies star boy," Karissa stepped in.
"Shut up!" he yelled. "Sam—"
"Oh, Danny, whatever," Karissa said again.
Sam didn't know what to say. She stood there, confused, hurt, angry, and jealous all at the same time, and then it seemed like her body knew what to do.
"I'll leave you two alone," she felt herself saying sadly, setting down the glasses on the table. She turned to leave, hoping she wasn't crying. She couldn't even feel her own skin if she were to touch it right now; everything was numb.
"Sam—" Danny started again, reaching for her.
She ignored him and pulled open the door, and didn't see Karissa tug at Danny's arm at the same time and pull him backwards.
Karissa pushed him down to the ground with unnatural strength, then sent as many negative energy waves at him as she could, hoping she'd get some more misery….and luckily, she found it. And she'd been the one to cause it. He was devastated about Sam already.
Danny grabbed her leg just as what seemed like a weight pressed on his mind, and she lost her balance and crashed down to the ground beside her.
"What in the hell is your problem?" he asked, seizing the opportunity to stand up. "Do you get your kicks by making me miserable?"
"Well aren't you the smart one?" she said sarcastically, appearing on her feet in one graceful movement.
"What are you?" he asked.
"Just like you baby," she said. "Mom's a ghost, dad's a human. Your story's not like that, but it's pretty close, right?"
"What do you want?"
"I've already got it. I sensed you a long time ago," she said. "And the fact that you used your ghost powers to open the door to get in the pool didn't really help your case."
"So sue me," he snapped. "Why did you do that?"
"Haven't you been listening? For the misery. It's pure gold," she said, shivering with delight. "I've got work to do. And you've got a girl to catch. Unless you don't really want her. I could always be your girl," she said, putting an arm around his shoulder.
He threw her off and prepared to go ghost. There was no way he was going to let her escape and ruin someone else's life.
"Looks like it won't be today. See you later," she said. She vanished into thin air, leaving a dark laugh behind and an odd smelling smoke.
Without waiting another second, he grabbed his coat and dashed out of the door, making sure to lock it behind him and looked around the hallway. He'd decided to find Sam instead. It was top priority right now. He had to straighten things out….
Where would she go? Out of the hotel? Somewhere in the hotel? Wake the Dead? Her house? He cursed himself for not getting to know her better. He barely knew her.
He closed his eyes for a minute, then chose a random direction, hoping that at least someone had seen her. He turned the corner fast, and then ran into something solid.
"Sorry," he said.
"Danny?" said a familiar voice. He looked up and stared into the eyes of Tucker.
"Tucker, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I was looking for you," he replied. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out or something tonight."
"I have to find Sam," he said.
Tucker finally caught his tone. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Karissa is a ghost. She has this weird power that I don't know how it works. And she is also really strong and can teleport," he said.
"Whoa," Tucker said. "You can even do that yet."
"We have to find her," he muttered.
"Who, Sam, or Karissa?" he asked. He fixed his beret, staring absentmindedly at Danny. "Something tells me there's something else."
"I…can't really talk about it," he said. "I'll tell you later, okay?"
"Yeah, sure… do you want me to help you find them?" he asked.
"Actually, that would be great. I need you to look up on your lap top about Karissa Spectra. That's what her last name is," he said. "If you could find anything on her, give it to me. You can work in the room if you want." He dug around his pocket for the key.
"Okay. What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I'm going to find that bitch," he said, feeling his eyes burn with anger.
"Um…you might want to watch that, you know, the whole eye glowing thing. They've got creepy people running all over this hotel," he warned. "She must have really ticked you off."
"Tucker?" a voice called.
Danny's eyes widened. "You don't know where I am," he told his friend before turning invisible. Unable to be seen, he watched as a familiar someone approached them.
"Tucker, what are you doing here so late?" Jack Fenton asked, smiling weakly.
"Uh…it's my cousin's wedding," he lied.
"Oh, really? It's pretty packed," he said as if he could really care less. "Look, you haven't seen Jazmine or Danny, have you?"
"No, sorry," he lied again. "I haven't talked to Danny in a while, and I have no clue where Jazz is."
"Well, the office where she works called today and said that she never showed up and I don't remember her coming home tonight," he said. "I can see why she wouldn't want to come home; she still has a problem with my ghost research. But I don't understand why she wouldn't arrive at work."
"Hmm…"
Something snuck into Danny's head while he remained invisible. Trying to make no movement noises, he reached down into his pocket and brought out Jazz's necklace. Staring down at the clasp, he could tell that it had been ripped off hard. And now that he thought about it…it never seemed like Jazz would ever break anything as special as the charm no matter how angry she was…. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
He had almost forgot he was invisible and had begun to talk, when someone walked up to them. It was the same guy that had nearly tried to kill him earlier; the ghost hunter from the convention.
"Jack, there you are," he said. His young face finally saw Tucker, and his eyes immediately narrowed again in suspicion. "That's the same boy I saw with the kid this morning. They were eating together, with another girl."
"I..I just got here," Tucker stammered, throwing up his hands in defense.
"You said that kind of nervously, didn't you?" Jarod demanded.
"Hush. Tucker, were you here this morning?" Jack asked.
"Yes, he was with me," said a voice.
Danny gasped in surprise, which was quickly refueled by another wave of anger. A girl with curly red hair walked over to them.
"Can I help you?" Jarod asked, annoyed at the interruption.
"I'm Tucker's date for the wedding," she said sweetly, wrapping her arms around him. Danny crawled away, barely brushing her side, and began walking away from the four. He had to get away from there. Staring directly past Jack and Jarod, she let her eyes focus for a little trick she'd learned.
"I see."
Danny suddenly felt something hit his head mentally, like someone had dropped a hammer on top of his head and cried out, forgetting. His invisibility wore off and he crumbled to the carpet.
"I believe the ghost you're looking for is behind you," Karissa said, smiling darkly.
Jarod and Jack whipped around and Danny sensed their stares without needing to see them. As fast as he could, he took off running, and they quickly chased after him.
"Hey, stop!" Jack cried.
"Yeah, like I'm going to listen," he muttered, running around a corner. Closing his eyes, he felt the familiar change around him as he went ghost.
Before a powerful blast of energy shot into him.
And back in the hallway, Tucker remained, staring around for Karissa. But the girl had instantly vanished.
…………………………………
"Sam?" asked a voice. There was an insistent tap on her driver's side window.
Not caring, Sam's hand moved to turn up the rock music blaring and her 'Stang began vibrating with the volume. She put an arm across her tear-streaked eyes.
"Sam?" said the same voice, closer.
She jumped and sat up, staring into piercing green eyes. "How did you get in here Karissa?"
"You back doors are unlocked," Karissa lied. Of course, Sam didn't realize that.
"Oh, well than you can just let yourself out then," she snapped.
"We need to talk."
"What's there to talk about? You kissed Danny, you like Danny, you'll get Danny, end of story."
"Actually, he kissed me."
Sam glared at her, her amethyst eyes flashing dangerously. "I don't believe that."
"You should, it's true," she said. "You don't really think he loves you, do you?"
"He acts like it," she said, feeling a small wave of emotion come over her.
"Boys are actors, Sam. They make us think, what we want to think," she said. She leaned closer. "If Danny really loves you…why isn't he here now?"
……………………………
Danny dodged another blast of blue energy from one of Jarod's weapons. Damn it, he had other things to do…like find Sam. Instead, he was running away from his own father and his new sidekick.
"Jarod, stop!" Jack yelled, putting his hand on top of the silver barrel and swinging it away. "The ghost isn't firing back."
"What is your point?" he asked angrily.
"He hasn't done anything to hurt us, so we can't hurt him," he replied. He whispered, leaning down near his ear. "If I'm good at anything, it's negotiating. Maybe we can find a truce."
Danny hid behind a corner wall, breathing heavily. They seemed to be pausing; which either meant they were plotting something or they were waiting for him to strike next. So far, he hadn't fired any shots at them, afraid of actually harming his dad, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could go without.
"Hey, it's Invis-o-Bill, right?" Jack asked. "Or maybe there's another name you prefer."
Danny grimaced. A name he'd acquired a few years ago, his freshman year at high school. He couldn't believe that people still remembered it. A year after, Valerie Grey had finally found out his secret and had told the police his ghost alias. Now everyone knew him as Danny Phantom.
"You can come out. We're not unarmed, but we can be, and we promise we won't fire," Jack continued.
He gave a confused look. It was the first time he'd ever heard Jack Fenton pass up the opportunity to catch a ghost. They were definitely plotting something. Unless his father was actually sincere…
"We won't hurt you," he said again.
Danny sighed and turned around the corner slowly, not daring to meet Jack Fenton's tiny green eyes. He was afraid if he did, something would happen.
Jack gave him a curious look. "See. Nothing's going to happen."
"What are you doing?" Jarod demanded.
"Shut up!" he hissed.
"No way," Jarod argued. He pulled something out of his backpack and aimed. "He's not getting away again. Even if I have to hurt both of you."
…………………………..
"Get out of my car," Sam said furiously. She stared into Karissa's eyes with a fervor that she never would have had before had she known what a betrayer her once best friend was.
"What?" Karissa asked. "Haven't you been listening?"
"Listening to what? A crock of lies? I've heard enough. Get out of this car," she said.
"Fine. But just remember. You and Halfa boy brought this war on yourselves," Karissa warned, giving her a last look. She climbed out of the car and slammed the door, then took off running.
Sam waited until she couldn't see her anymore before getting out of the car. Staring off into the distance, she had only one idea. But she had to get away from here. Shivering in the winter breeze, she started walking back to the hotel. The night wind was fierce against her skin and she suddenly wished she would have brought her coat, even if she was only out there for a moment.
She walked through the hotel doors and the temperature wasn't much better. Sam rubbed her arms against the cold that suddenly hit her. Jeeze, was the hotel always cold? For God's sake, it was winter.
Maybe she would go up to the room. She just hoped he wouldn't be there. That way she could pack her bags, and leave without a huge confrontation.
She sighed and opened the door to the stairs and stepped inside. She almost gasped, but clapped a hand over her mouth just in time.
Danny was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking around for something, but didn't see her. She didn't dare move. Maybe if she just backed out quietly….
Then something happened she never expected.
The stairwell was filled with a flash of blue-white light, and the room grew even colder. She turned her head carefully, expecting to see Danny playing with some flashlight.
Except it wasn't Danny she saw.
……………………….
Jarod punched the trigger and Danny went intangible, soaring down into the floor below him. He became tangible again when his feet hit the floor. He walked down one flight of stairs, to the bottom floor. It wouldn't take them long to find him. His father at least, didn't seem to want to hurt him.
He changed to his human form without meaning to. But it was obvious why. Every part of him hurt from getting hit with one of the electric blasts. His mind wasn't any better. He still hadn't found Sam, he was running away from his own dad, a ghost was practically in love with him and was making his relationship with Sam a living hell, and his powers kept fizzing out on him because of the emotions running loose in his head.
But he had to do something. Finding Sam was his top priority. Sighing, he shook himself off and changed back into his ghost form. Turning around, he gasped as someone else did, staring into icy amethyst eyes.
Before Sam ran out of the room.
…………………………….
Cliffhanger. Ha ha. Jack Fenton has changed quite obviously since Maddie's death. One of my friends say that this turns into a bigger soap opera every day. I have no idea. Ideas just come to me. Please R&R!
Here's your sneak peek!
Chapter Eight- Desperately
"Sam, wait, I can explain," he said.
"Explain what? That you're the one who's been causing all of this trouble? This is the huge secret you've been keeping from me?" she said. "I'm starting to wonder…" She trailed off.
"Please, I can tell you anything you want," he pleaded.
"Anything I want? Why couldn't you have told me this, you know, when we met?"
"Because this is how I didn't want you to react," he explained.
"How am I reacting Danny? Like any normal person would." She stared at him. "I don't know you. But I know you're not normal."
So, what do you think? Please R&R!
And here's my promised sneak peek for Freeze Out!
Chapter Two- Valerie
"So what are we supposed to do?" I asked. "We can't just sit here…together….alone…like we did last year, because I am so not doing that."
"What do you suppose we do?" Sam snapped. "The engine doesn't work. You can't hardly drive, let alone see. We have no idea where we are. And we're probably going to be stuck here for a while."
"If I wanted a commentary, I would have bought your book," I said, letting my anger get the better of me. It was just sometimes…she just annoyed me.
"Okay…okay…let's just chill….." Tucker said, leaning onto the seat next to me.
"What, let me guess. You want to play truth or dare again?" Paulina asked, sitting sulkily.
"If anybody gives him the same dare…(cough) as someone did last time, I am going to punch something," Danny warned.
"Oh, you didn't like Tucker running around—" I began, actually laughing.
"Stop right there! I cannot handle these visuals!" Paulina said.
"What exactly are you visualizing?" Dash asked.
"Ewww! That is not what I meant!" she said, slapping him flirtatiously and giggling. Everyone laughed, then realized how indifferent we were.
"So…"
Well, that goes in a little deeper. Freeze Out is coming Monday!
Lateraina Wolf