Chapter Three
Danny could barely contain the joy and relief he was feeling as he hung up the phone. He had called to plead for forgiveness. Life without his friends would be unthinkable. Danny was prepared to do anything Sam asked, even exposing his secret to the world, just so that he didn't lose her. But instead of angry Sam he found someone else. A ghost to be exact and he knew just who she was. The princess ghost. But, why was she overshadowing Sam? And what about Tucker? He sat down on his bed for a moment and wished he consult his friends about this. He couldn't imagine fighting ghosts without them, and at the moment he felt pretty clueless. His emotions had been on a wild ride for the last few hours and it was all catching up to him.
"Sam doesn't love Tuck!" Danny said to himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I haven't lost her….yet". He opened his blue eyes and found his sister, Jazz standing at the door.
She gave him a wide eyed look and said. "Sam loves Tuck? What?" Danny nearly jumped out of his skin. In the past he would have had to hide what was going on, but ever since he found out that Jazz knew his secret, they'd grown closer and he found that he could confide in her. He began telling her the story.
"But it's not them," Danny assured Jazz who was beginning to look a little ill. "They are being overshadowed by ghosts. But I don't know who they are or why they're doing this".
Jazz shuddered, "Just the thought," she said "The mere thought of Tucker and Sam linked romantically is just, creepy!"
"You're telling me!" Danny exclaimed. "I was about to go crazy."
"Crazy?" Jazz asked. "You mean evil? Crazy?" She spun her finger around on the side of her head. Danny wondered if she could open her eyes any wider, and if she did, would they pop out of her head? On a normal occasion he would have said something to her, but he didn't have time to be pummeled by his sister. He needed to save his friends.
"Yeah," he answered blushing. "They're my best friends Jazz. I couldn't handle the thought of losing them."
"You mean you couldn't handle the thought of losing Sam, especially to Tuck," Jazz teased. She saw the hurt expression on Danny's face so she chose not to pursue her teasing, for now. There would be plenty of opportunities later.
"I need to go now!" Danny said as he started to turn ghost but Jazz stopped him.
"Hold on Danny," She said. "You don't want to rush into this. You don't know what's going on or who's doing this. They don't know you're on to them. I think Sam and Tucker are safe for now." Danny stopped and listened to his sister.
"How can a ghost overshadow someone without you knowing it?" Jazz asked.
Danny shook his head in confusion. "They have to be pretty powerful. I've had it happen before."
"And what ghost would want to hurt you?" asked Jazz.
"Pretty much all of the Ghost Zone I think," answered Danny.
"Oh great Danny we're really narrowing things down here." Jazz tapped Danny's desk and looked around the room thoughtfully. "Okay who would try to drive you crazy by creating a love triangle between you, Sam and Tucker?" Jazz and Danny looked at each other with an expression of dawning understanding.
"Vlad!" they said together.
Jazz punched Danny in the arm. "Jinx!"
"I'll kill him!" Danny declared, his sense of anger suddenly renewed. "I'll make him regret the day he went ghost.! I'll send him so far into the Zone that…"
"Whoa!" Jazz said as she grabbed Danny who was already half way out the door. She spun him around and came face to face with wickedly red eyes. She stepped back in fear then gathered her composure together. "That's just what he wants Danny!" she said. "He's trying to drive you to the dark side!"
Danny smirked, "Dark side? What is this? Star Wars?" Jazz kicked at Danny and made him sit down.
"You've got to make him think that his plan isn't working. That you are perfectly happy with Tucker and Sam being involved together romantically." Jazz flipped her red hair off her shoulders. "If he thinks his plan isn't working, maybe he'll just…"
"Give up and go home?" Danny interrupted. "I don't think so. He's here to do something and he's not going to leave until he has either accomplished that something or I send him screaming into the Ghost Zone." Danny rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and gave his sister a sheepish look. "Besides, I don't think I could bare to see Sam and Tucker kissing again."
Jazz put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "You've got to do it Danny," she said. "If you want to get Sam…and Tucker back safe and sound. Besides, you were going to try and be happy for them anyway, wasn't that your purpose for calling Sam?"
Danny laughed nervously and looked down as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh yeah. I forgot."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Danny took a deep breath as he walked into school. He didn't know if he could do it, pretend to act like everything was fine with Tucker and Sam, and that he wasn't being driven insane with jealousy, even though he knew they were being overshadowed.
People were looking at him and whispering as he walked down the hall. Many gave him a wide berth, as if they expected something bad to happen. He turned the corner to go to his locker and that's when he saw them. Again, they were kissing. Danny shuddered then pasted on a bright smile and walked over to his two friends.
"Good morning." He said. Sam and Tucker separated. The look they gave him was pure shock. "Listen," Danny continued. "So you guys are together. That's great. I'm happy for you. Forgive me for yesterday. I was just caught a little off guard." He grabbed both of his friends, one in each arm and hugged them. "But now that I've had the opportunity to think things through, well….this is great!" He pulled them away with him. To class. People continued to whisper and stare. Sam and Tucker look bewildered and became even more so as they were forced to sit through Lancer's class.
Sam laughed to herself well as best she could under the circumstances. She hoped Danny had a plan. He had to have to be playing things off like he was. Sam her body was never very far away from Tucker, but soon they'd have to separate. Vlad had given Princess very specific instructions not to talk to anyone, at all costs. But this was Casper High and Sam had declared herself Tucker's girl and people were not going to let that pass without question.
"So loser," Paulina said as she came to stand over the desk Sam was sitting at. "You finally decided to dump the Fenton loser and took up with the Foley one. That's cold! I never thought you'd be the type of girl to do that….I'm impressed."
"Thank you," Sam, but not Sam answered.
"I've always thought you were different," Paulina continued. "But you're just like all of us, except you come wrapped up in loser packaging."
"Thank you," Sam, but not Sam answered. Sam herself was witnessing all of this with rage. She was seething inside. Forget Danny Phantom, Vlad had a new enemy to fear, and her name was Sam Manson.
"And by the way," Paulina said over her shoulder as she walked away. "Love the pink. You should wear it more often."
"Thank you," said Sam, but not Sam. Sam herself screamed in frustration and anger.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
Sam, but not Sam sat at her desk, waiting. For what she didn't know. She'd just sit here until Vlad came back to get her. She turned her head. Did she hear something? Yes! She did. Someone was calling her! Vlad had come to rescue her from the torment which was art class. She ran out the door and came face to face with a green eyed, white haired boy. A boy she recognized right away.
"Uh oh!" she said and tried to run back into the class, but Danny grabbed her, they both became invisible and he and dragged her away.
"Come walk with me, whoever you are, we need to talk," Danny said. He pulled her into the boys bathroom and they rematerialized. She looked around in alarm.
"I need to get back to class Danny," She said. "You won't change my mind by bringing me into this hall of horrors."
"You can drop the charade Princess," Danny said. "I know it's you."
The expression on Sam's face became one of disappointment. "Oh," she said. "You do?"
"Yes." Danny said in exasperation. "And I want you to stop overshadowing Sam right now. And tell me why you're doing this! It's Vlad isn't it?"
Sam began to shake, "It was all his idea. He said he'd take me to the ball if I helped him. He says if he can tear you away from the ones you love that you'll become just like him."
"Get out!" Danny growled. The princess squeaked then floated out of Sam. Sam fell forward into Danny's arms, dazed and disoriented. He held on to her a little tighter than he had to and glared at the Princess. "Get out of here before I use the Fenton Thermos on you!"
The princess' shoulders drooped. "Does this mean I don't get to go to the ball?" Danny growled at her and she vanished. He directed his attention to Sam who was pushing herself away.
"Thanks!" she said looking down at herself. "Though really Danny couldn't you have done it sooner? Saved me from the pink?"
Danny examined Sam a moment then smiled. "You look good in Pink."
"I'm going to have to kill you for that Danny Fenton…" Sam started to say.
"Later," Danny interrupted. "Right now we need to figure out how to save Tucker.