Amy & Dark Child Samara: ((grins)) I'm so happy to see fellow GC junkies! Most of the kids at my school just bash them…and me considering the fact that I've drawn the logo onto my backpack…my pants. And I agree with ya both, The Truth is the most awesome song, it was the first one I listened to on the Chronicles because I read the lyrics first, then I listen to the music. And, Amy, my brother has a question for you, how do you tell the twins apart? So, always happy to see fellow fans and wishing I could find one around here!

Kats02980416: You…keep…reading…my…mind! How do you do that!

Seeiko: Um…thanks, I think…

PhantomAL: Sorry I didn't send this for editing yesterday, I got sidetracked and patientce my little one, patientce, I'll get to the romance…eventually…

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Sam's grandmother let me in. I could hear her raging about it directly above my head. Mrs. Manson pressed the key to her lock into my hands; I blinked at her stupidly. She pointed to the stairs and ordered, "Apologize."

As I made my way up the stairs, the music that I'd heard had grown louder and had a strange pace to it. Sammie's loud cry of "MURDER!" in time to the music before whacking the stereo and turning it off made me cringe. She had every reason to be mad at me, now that I thought about it, but at that moment I was totally irked by her behavior lately. Just as I stuck the key in the lock, the door opened in its own. Sam was standing there, in the doorframe, glowering impressively. Her makeup was smeared and ringed around her eyes from crying, her eyes were red and her face was blotchy. I suddenly became very aware of the studded cuff on her wrist; it looked very dangerous. She sniffed.

"What do you want?" she shot at me.

"Sam-

"Apologizing isn't going to work." Sam said coldly. Her bangs had fallen over her eyes, which had already had been darkened with running eyeliner, obscuring the top half of her face. I knew I shouldn't have done this but it had normally smoothed things before. I started a tickle fight. Years if driving Jazz insane come in handy for a few things you know.

But Sam was not in the mood for that. She braced her hands on my shoulders and tried to hold me off, but all of that work out time (also known as kicking ghost butt) gave me more initial strength than her. A lot more, I decked her by accident. And her head collided loudly with the hardwood of her floor. I could see tear welling up in her eyes; she was going to cry again. I was ashamed.

I reached out and pulled her up to her feet, but she collapsed back onto the floor clutching her head.

"Just go." She whispered hoarsely. "Please, just go."

"Sammie-

"Get the hell out of here Danny!"

"Tell me!" I fumed, "What is up with you? Tucker and I barely know you anymore. Are you sick? Is there something wrong here? Is school giving you trouble? What Sam? This fighting is getting out of hand!"

"This isn't my fault!" she screamed, "I'm not the one off cavorting with some air head preppy!"

"I never said I was!"

"You wanted her badly enough!"

"You've known that for ages, Sam, don't act like this is new information!"

"If leaving with Tucker and me was life and staying was death, you picked death." Sam told me. Her words sunk in slowly and my anger wanted to flare up against it, but she looked so pitiful, I couldn't. "You wanted to die Danny. You don't care for anything but yourself, you're so selfish."

Then I could.

"ME! SELFISH! Are you crazy? Me? Selfish? HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED WHAT I HAVE TO DO! I can't- this is- you're- what the hell is wrong with you?"

"With me!" She grabbed a pillow and chucked it at me; it went through me. She reached under her bed and began throwing the contents at me. Shirts, pants, skirts…panties. I blushed wildly as she threw those at me. Finally, she was out of ammo and just slumped against her bed. "I don't care anymore; just get lost."

And why not? Sever this wreck of a friendship and scrap it instead of trying to recover it. I pushed my hands through the wall a little. I heard Sammie creep into her bed, the covers rustling. I looked back and she looked ill. Like she was going to be sick; she looked broken. She slid the comforter of her head like a hood and I jumped out.

The cold air was a welcome friend. It was so icy that it burned over my face, cleaning me off, gnawing that the guilt that was growing in my stomach. Life and death was a very strange way of putting things. I wanted to go get lost in a fight, try to beat something else over myself as I was doing now. I was suddenly calling up every little aspect of our relation, reviewing all the year. I passed over the school, no one was there; I dropped to the ground and switched back in a pine tree. I huddled up my knees and began to chew on a thumbnail, a nasty habit, I know.

I felt more stressed, something I definitely didn't need. My stomach jumped with a wave of acid, then it settled into a steady burn. I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles as they began to sting; they were wet. I swiped at them with the sleeve of my jacket; boys don't cry. They don't. I stayed in the tree for maybe an hour, sitting quietly and in shameful regret. Selfish, I wasn't selfish! I had more that average trials and obstacles than anyone my age! Look at what I did for the, look at how they feared me and wanted my death. And look how I saved them and protected them! Look how I kept them safe!

I swung out of the tree and headed some on foot, the sound of my sneakers on the pavement of the sidewalk. I sighed and exhaled the blue wisps of paranormal presence. I looked around, there was no one. I changed and went to find my opponent. Hello misplaced aggression, I think we've met before. I dove wildly, collecting speed and letting the wind whip my feelings away in a cruel onslaught of freezing knives. I dodn'y care either, Sam, just to let you know, I don't care.

And maybe that was reason I was reckless.

And maybe that was the reason I made that mistake.

And maybe, just maybe, that's why I got so very badly hurt.

OO! Cliffhanger! Next chapter Sam's back narrating. I'm off to go finish getting ready to scare the family at Easter dinner. I hate that thing, it's pure, unadulterated, family based evil. I scare them though ;) they think I'm a little weird. Ok, fine, a lot weird.
ok, now I have an armada of Darren Shan books to go read! laters - Dru