I will not, andI repeat: I will NOT change any bit of this storyline for anyone. That means the ship I use stays the way it is. If you don't like it, don't read it. You're not going to become depressed. Want Amethyst Ocean? Go read Frostbite or my Mind Over Matter series. Thank you.
Everyone say hi to Mabaroshiwouu, who is now my beta. Which is nice cause I will always miss some grammatical errors and she's an English freak. That's a compliment.I apparently have a thing with inner thoughts. I changed some things back, because I was uncomfortable with them, but she helped lots.
Victory Dance
The halls were empty save for a few of the stragglers that wandered campus before the bell rang send them all to class. It was the freshman and sophomore lunch period, and there were only a few spare minutes before it ended and they would have to trudge off to fifth period.
"I really don't understand why they say that you have to be a teacher if you want to be a coach," Sam complained, leaning against the lockers with arms crossed; her spider shaped backpack lying at her feet. "I hear Coach Tetslaff is assigning us to be partners again for another project."
"That's not because she's a coach," Danny began, stuffing his notebook in his locker and closing the door with his elbow; the soda from lunch still in his hand. Needing to relieve some of the weight in his bag, he'd left Tucker to finish his dessert – that kid must have some metabolism -- and dragged Sam with him into the corridor. "It's Life Sciences: that whole class is about projects."
He waited for it.
Sam smirked. "Yeah, but if she wasn't a coach I'd enjoy it more."
"Really, now?"
"Maybe…"
She shrugged and reached down to pick up her bag. Danny checked his watch. There were five minutes left until lunch ended and the halls would be filled with students again. Every sensible part of his brain was arguing with him. Maybe I should just cut Tetslaff's class and tell Tucker and Sam I saw the Box Ghost as an excuse, he thought.
No, darn it, I'm going!
Fifth period was the first class of the day that Danny had with Valerie. As the minutes ticked closer to when he'd have to make his move – which he hadn't decided was either stupid or bold -- he became more self-conscious, more anxious. All day, he'd been apprehensive about saying anything, even to Tucker -- which meant that he hadn't breathed a word of it to Sam. Though, if anything, she most likely had already been informed and was just uncharacteristically keeping her mouth shut. He'd mentioned it to Tucker two days ago, and he'd probably gotten word to Sam as soon as his fingers could touch a button.
"As long as I don't get stuck with Tucker in another 'family' situation," Sam continued, "I'll be just fine."
"…but you were the only one who even got an A on that project," Danny reminded her, "I mean, I know he wasn't help, but was it really that bad?"
Sam cringed, shaking her head vigorously. "I don't want to, all right?"
They began to walk back toward the cafeteria to rejoin Tucker when the bell finally rang. Three minutes left. Danny looked at his friend with a curious expression.
"Please don't tell me why…"
"I wasn't planning on that."
Danny started walking a little bit ahead of her. At least, he tried to, but Sam had other plans. She reached out and gripped the red fabric of his collar to hold him back.
"Just like you weren't planning on telling me anything either, right?"
There it was.
Danny stopped to prevent himself from being choked by his shirt. Carefully he turned around to face her. "I didn't have to. Tucker seems to have done his job, hasn't he?" Sam rolled her eyes, but nodded all the same. Pulling her fingers from his shirt, he said casually, "The bell's going to ring soon; we have to go get him."
Danny started walking down the hall again. Sam slapped her forehead, pulling her palm down her face in annoyance. With a small grunt of defiance, she started walking again to catch up. "Come on, Danny," she implored. "You know that this is a really blind move you're making. Valerie is one of your worst enemies, and it's bad enough that you two are already so close." He slipped his hand sin his pockets and kept walking. Great, now he was ignoring her, too. "No matter how much you wish –!"
"I've already thought enough about this, Sam," he interrupted. "I know how stupid it sounds, but I think that this might even help the…" He paused, trying to think of a good term for it. "…the situation with 'us'."
Sam snorted, trying in vain to cover it up. Danny sighed irritably and turned back around. He opened his mouth, but stopped himself mid-breath. No, I'm not going to act like that. She's just trying to help me, even if it is incredibly annoying. I've learned that lesson too many times to forget about it now. "Sam, please, at least let me try," he said finally.
"I just don't want you jumping into something disastrous without you looking below your feet first," Sam said, grabbing his elbow to keep him from walking away again. "You tend to do that."
"Sam, when am I not as careful as I need to be?" Danny asked with a smile.
"Whenever there's a female involved."
That's a good point. "She's also, as you put it, one of my worst enemies -- so of course I'm being careful." He pried her hand from him once more and took it in his, "I'm pretty sure nothing bad will happen." Keywords being 'pretty sure'. "I've been friends with her for about two weeks now and nothing's been revealed. She has no clue". Please make it stay that way at least for now. "I do like her, though. Okay?"
She frowned, but he was being stubborn.
"Okay. As long as you're sure,"
"Of course I am."
The bell rang over their heads as they reached the doors. When Tucker emerged, he saw them exactly like he thought they'd look: Danny jittery and Sam crestfallen.
From the front of the small classroom, Coach Tetslaff addressed her students. "For the next three weeks, ending at the end of the quarter term this will be your after-school assignment," she explained, dropping a thick packet of papers on the nearest desk.
Tucker stared at the heavy set of sheets on the cover before feeling safe enough to touch it. He lifted it up, turning it over to read the cover page. Aloud he said, "Preparing for Reality: Codependent Life." He glanced up at the plump woman through the space between his rims and his face. "Is this another one of those things we got every year in middle school?"
"Unfortunately, yes," she muttered, "They're making me waste more of my life – and yours – on it this year, as well. That's why I decided to assign it to you as homework."
"Who's making you?" asked Nathan from the back.
"They are, that's who!"
Behind Tucker, Valerie sighed irritably. This is just what I need right now, she thought, another after-school project to burn away my valuable and already scarce time—and one that's going to last for three weeks, while I'm working! In her mind, this is at least three times as bad as that flour sack project.She just hopedthat this time around, it'll be a little more enjoyable…
She glanced left, seeing Fenton sitting with his hand on his
Chin, looking very distracted. Suddenly, he turned, their eyes met; and both remembered their fights over the flour baby. With a smile, she turned back to the front and shook her head. Anything will be more enjoyable than chasing a flour sack into the Ghost Zone with that ghost kid…
"…although you should all be fairly familiar with how this assignment works," Tetslaff continued, "I need to put something in this period to fill it up, and what better way than to outline it." She lifted some of the packets from her desk and began to pass them along the front row as a visual aide. "In less than four years now – more if you decide you might actually pass this project," she warned, "most of you will be moving onto college. This means that you're not going to be able to leech food and housing out of your parents, unless they give in to your whining."
Give in to my whining? Right. Jazz is already getting scholarship offers, of course they won't be lenient on me. Sam won't have a problem, and Tucker said he wanted to go to a community college. Danny brooded.
"We'll be pretending that you are living in an apartment along with your partner," the coach continued, "or a dorm, depending on where you see yourself in the future and whatever best fits your budget. You will have to sustain yourself for a hypothetical three months. Each week is the equivalent to a month, or one billing cycle, and at the end of each week I will take up your packets and see how well you've done. You will have to factor in all of the necessities. For example, electricity, gas, water, cable, as well as groceries, insurance, any other rent, and entertainment. Don't forget clothing, either -- you aren't going to go around nude are you? You and your partner will be assigned different jobs tomorrow, as well as a savings account of money already in your possession. Just to spice up this educational experience," she added coyly, "I'll throw in a few real-life situations to try and stump your energetic minds. We'll see if you'll be able to dedicate yourselves to figuring out financial predicaments -- trust me, they will take some time."
Danny and Valerie groaned and banged their heads against their desks in near perfect unison.
"You have five minutes to choose your partners," Tetslaff concluded. "They must be the same gender, so, no Dublin, you are not going to live with your girlfriend. Report back to me when you have –"
Tucker and Danny's fingers flew at one another, both shouting "Dibs!"
As if anyone else would take them.
Tetslaff blinked, then finished her statement. "Tell me who your partner is, and I'll document it."
Sam bolted up at their loud cry. Turning around in her seat in the front corner, she scanned the room for any girl she'd be able to bear being partnered with. It seemed as though in twelve seconds all of the girls had been taken. All except…
Her eyes met Valerie's.
"So that's Martinez and Dublin, Grant and Shaver, and last but not least, Manson and Gray," Tesla said aloud five minutes later, reading from her clipboard. "That one ought to be interesting," she commented lightly, setting the sheets down. Tucker began to snicker into his hands until Valerie flung a pencil at his head.
How completely and painfully ironic is this? Sam mused, lifting her head slowly and looked back at Danny; she quietly pleaded with him to do something, anything. He gave a sympathetic smile, which masked the bubbling guffaws. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. "Get a gender change?"
"Yes," she replied darkly.
Danny's smile vanished instantly. "No."
I'll take back what I said earlier – I'll take Tucker; I'll take him right now!
Valerie stood up from her desk and walked over to where Tucker sat, reaching out her hand. He flinched slightly and Valerie laughed, raising her eyebrow in question. "Relax," she soothed. "I just want my pencil back."
"You're not going to throw it at me again, are you?"
"No, Tucker. I'm not going to throw it at you."
"Okay," he replied, picking it up from the floor and handing it to her. She nodded in thanks and turned around to where Sam was. Feeling her gaze, the pale girl turned to her, her body still facing Danny.
"We're going to your house for the project."
Sam's face hardened. "No -- we're going to your house for the project," she repeated, standing up. "We're not going to my house."
"We're not going to my house," Valerie countered back. "We have to go somewhere, and we can't go to my house."
"Why not?"
"What's so bad about your house, anyway?"
This day was proving to be more bitter than necessary. Danny was almost in sorrowful tears at the further irony of their situation. Valerie's too proud for Sam to come to her apartment everyday and Sam's – okay, she's not modest exactly, but she doesn't want to go to her house for the exact opposite reason. It was astoundingto himhow Sam could be insecure about being loaded, and very little else…
Tucker stood up and walked behind Valerie. "Go to Sam's house!" he hissed. Sam leaned over far enough for her look of resentment to have full effect. "Well, your house is –"
"Hey, here's a crazy idea!" Danny said cheerily, sitting on top of the desk. "How about the two of you alternate? One and a half weeks at Sam's, the rest at Valerie's. Could that maybe work?"
Both girls seemed to squirm uncomfortably, considering the idea. Eventually, Sam was the first to react. She held out her hand towards Valerie, and after she gave it a quick look, she shook it. Sam smiled as they let go and said, "We'll go to your house first."
"Your house first." Valerie echoed in a sharp rebuttal.
Girls…
By the time the bell had finally rung, the decision that the girls would visit Sam's house first was made -- thankfully. Sam was already irritated about Danny's choice, so she wasn't very happy while they tried to be diplomatic about it.
Speaking of which, Danny's stomach was doing back flips -- as well as several other assorted gymnastics. Their disagreement had put enough tension on him, and now he was about to…
Play it cool, Fenton, he told himself. Work some of that that ghostly charm…oh, God, what am I saying?
Danny was among the first to walk out of the classroom. He leaned against the wall just outside of the path of the students that were filing out. He watched as Sam walked by, making brief contact with her before her shoulders slumped and she turned away. Tucker followed her soon after, and looked at Danny with a worried expression. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly as though to ask, 'what do you expect?' With a shake of his head, Tucker continued walking behind Sam.
So much for moral support, he thought bitterly. It's getting harder to think of them in a positive, 'I only want to help' kind of light…
The fact that Valerie was the last to leave the room was gnawing at him. She nearly passed him without a second glance, looking at something in her hands. He almost let her go…until something in his brain clicked suddenly and he called, "Hey Val!"
She stopped and turned around quickly, a large smile on her face. A small notepad was in her hands, but she slipped it into her backpack. That could wait. Danny, alone, without the others trying to "protect" him or some other nonsense, was a rare. It's like I've got rabies or something, she thought.
"Hey, Fenton; what's up? Sorry about that whole thing in Tetslaff's."
"Don't worry about it. Hey, how come you only ever call me Danny when I ask you to?" he asked, grinning like the stupid dork her felt like right now. Witty banter was no problem, but for some reason, he didn't seem to have learned anything about these circumstances.
"…because I happen to like calling you by your last name. It suits me," she said defensively -- only too late did she hear her own words. She bit her lip and mentally kicked herself in the shin. "I… I didn't mean that the way it must have sounded."
Danny effectively snapped.
"I didn't think so," he said. Okay, well, maybe a little.
Valerie rolled her eyes. "I'll see you around, Danny," she said, emphasis on the name.
Crap.
With Valerie walking away, Danny moved indecisively. He stepped forward and opened his mouth, then hesitated and stepped back instead.
Forward.
Back.
Forward.
I'll ask later -- no now…
Back
Forward.
Later.
Now.
Back.
Screw it.
"Do you want to go out sometime?"
Valerie stopped in her tracks, her breath stalling. Rewind! Did he just say what I thought he did? No, no way. Danny couldn't… he wouldn't. Did he?
Just to be certain of what he said, she slowly said, "Well, I don't think that it's that simple. You saw how me and Sam act together, it might be best if I didn't"
"What?" Danny asked, furrowing his brow. Oh, she doesn't… He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and shook his head, which was good enough for her.
"Unless you mean… a date type thing?"
"Actually," he said, trying to stifle his uneasy laughter, "I was thinking more along the lines of a movie-type thing on Friday…type thing."
So I did hear right. Well, it's not like I'm gonna to say no to something like a movie date… Still she hesitated. I've just wanted to do something normal for so long… and Danny's actually the most normal thing in my life as far as I'm concerned…
If only she'd only known…
"One: don't mock me," she said, walking closer to him to tap him on the back of the head. Danny winced, overreacting to the painless action. Valerie's seeming relaxedness, however slight, was making this easier and less likely for some part of his body to go intangible. "Two: what movies are playing?"
"Then that's a yes?" hewondered cautiously.
"Yes."
"I'll try to stop," he answered, "and I have no clue what's out, but I can check all the same."
Then, reality struck profoundly. No way was this is actually that simple -- not after what Sam and Isaid to each other after the ghost invasion…
"Wait a minute, what about Sam?"
Danny frowned. "What about her?"
"Don't you -- didn't you like her?" she inquired, crossing her arms in confusion, "Or doesn't she like you, or something along those lines?"
Danny cocked his head thoughtfully. "That's a complicated subject," he admitted, "as far as I know, Sam doesn't like me. I really don't think she does, you can trust me on that…and I don't like her -- I mean, I asked you. I…I like you, right?"
It better be right, Valerie thought. She closed her eyes, holding back giggles. "That's good," she said, "because I like you, too. I just want to be –"
The bell rang. One minute left.
"…on time for class," she finished, backing down the hallway to her next class. "We'll have to finish this later."
"Right," Danny agreed, moving down the hall in the opposite direction. "Wait -- Friday, right?"
"That's what you said!" Valerie cried. "Bye!"
The first words out of Danny's mouth as he leapt into Lancer's class at the sound of the bell were, "I got it!"
Tucker turned at the sound of his voice. "What?"
Danny walked to his usual seat between Tucker and Sam and said more calmly and quietly, "I got a date! She wasn't lying or being possessed or anything -- I got a date without any ghost –"
"Half-ghost," Sam interrupted, smirking as she dug through her bag for a textbook.
"… withoutanywholeghost involvement whatsoever!"
Tucker smiled despite himself. The kid's got guts, he thought. He's probably in way over his head, but he's got guts to do this all the same. "Good for you, man," he said with a smile.
"Thanks," Danny said, relieved, "I know you probably want to throttle me, though."
"Knowing what you can do to me by pointing at me?" Tucker said. "Yeah, right."
"All right, you two, I'm not going to wait for you to be silent," Mr. Lancer said firmly.
Sam sighed in relief. A little more of that and I'd have to give Danny a real piece of my mind, she thought, Danny making dumb decisions, my getting paired with a threat to team Phantom…. What a day.
Alright, there we go. I'll try to have chapter three by Thursday. It's already written but on paper.Before FWD comes out! Okay? Okay. Cool. Again, thanks to Mabaroshiwouu. XD
See you in the afterlife,
Saramis Kismet