WoM- 'groaning and holding an ice pack to her head.' So many names! Not to mention the fact that school's been driving me insane lately… 'Screams in frustration and tears up a pillow.' Well, enough of my rantings, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
"Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat."
-Alex Levine
Scene 7
"…I hate you…" Danny said from where he sat, arms crossed and a sullen scowl. "You do realize I hate you, right?" Jazz sighed and shook her head.
"Danny, You can not expect him to come with us," She said disapprovingly. "OR to stay where you can't keep an eye on him?" Danny's scowl deepened as he knew that his sister was once again right.
"Couldn't we just knock him out and stuff him in a closet?" Danny whined, "Or better yet, the Ghost Zone," Jazz rolled her eyes, knowing that as tempting as it was she couldn't allow her brother to do such a thing.
"Too conspicuous," the red head told her brother dryly, "Whine and complain all you want, Danny, but it's either Vlad goes on that bonding thing with you or he goes around doing errands with me and mom, and probably hitting on her while he's at it," Both Fenton siblings shuttered violently at the thought.
"Alright, alright!" Danny gave up, his slouching becoming more defined. "But I still hate you…" Jazz smiled brightly at him.
"I love you too," She said out, keeping her mischievous grin from being too obvious as she ducked out of her room to avoid accusing blue eyes.
"Hmph!" Danny grunted. In his lap, Sable purred happily.
He had taken a good long while to name her as his flair for new, interesting names was nonexistent. Such was proven in how long and hard he thought in changing his own name from Danny Fenton to Danny Phantom.
Sable meowed loudly as if reminding her master he was getting off-track. Danny sighed as started to scratch her behind the ears absently, earning loud, happy purrs.
"Well, guess we're stuck with Vlad and Derris for the day," Danny told her as she climbed back up to her favorite perch on his shoulders. "Well, I am at least. You'll probably be too busy scaring Tucker to even notice," The cat's even purrs never faltered, though Danny had no doubt she knew what he was saying.
One thing he learned right off the bat was how smart Sable was. With the soul exceptions of Tucker and Jack, the cat would tolerate all of Danny's friends and family within a five feet distance, but as soon as an enemy stepped next to one of her hiding places, she showed no mercy. (As Vlad Master's 'poor,' destroyed shoes now firmly attested,)
"Danny?" Maddie said as she came into the room, "Ah, there you are. You all ready to go?"
'Do I have a choice?' Danny thought bitterly.
"Yeah, mom," Danny sighed, standing up. Maddie smiled when she saw Sable still firmly sitting in what she now considered her place.
"I see your little helper's coming along, too," The mother said in amusement. Danny grinned back.
"Like I could stop her?" Both mother and son laughed at that.
It was true Sable was finding her ways out of places even Danny would find it hard to escape from, and that was WITH his ghost powers. How the cat did it was anyone's guess, but everyone knew where she was headed.
Honestly, though, Danny had a heart attack the first time Sable showed up at school. Especially when the detention-happy Lancer came by now five minutes later, as was always the young hero's luck. He'd panicked at the time and dived into the janitors' closet, hiding there for a good three minutes after Lancer had passed to try and figure out what to do.
After numerous more attempts to restrain the cat in the Fenton home and just as many break outs on the Sable's part, Danny finally came to his furry shadow with a compromise.
Sable would wait for her master just outside of school grounds while he was in class, and at lunch she'd get a piece of fish. Then after school the cat could stay by him as she pleased. This way both sides were happy and detention-less.
"It's a little strange that she's so attached to you, Danny," Maddie said, smiling at Sable, "Normally cats can be very standoffish…"
"Don't let dad hear you admit that," Danny said dryly. "He'll kick her out for sure," Maddie gave her son a weak smile.
"Well, you know you're father's got your best interests at heart…" She said in a diplomatic tone, "You better get going. Jack's been in the car waiting to leave for half an hour now. He's really excited about this trip, Danny, I'm proud of you for suggesting it." Danny grinned.
"What can I say, mom?" He laughed. "It sounded like the best way for Derris to really get to know Dad…"
"Oh ghost huntin' we will go! Ghost huntin' we will go! Gonna make 'em scream in woe ghost hunting we will goooooooo!" Derris cringed. He wasn't sure what was worse, Jack's singing or his driving.
The star glanced as Danny, who kept a firm grip on the seat at all times and was still smirking at Derris, who only just caught himself before he glared back at the kid. Jazz wouldn't give him a chance if Danny decided he didn't like him, and Derris knew a girl like Jazz was essential for publicity.
Still, he had to give credit where credit was due; Danny was a tough case and more then that, had inherited his father's flare for creativity. Though Jack's was more focused on weaponry and ghost hunting tools and Danny's was built for vengeance and cruel and unusual torture...
"Jack, old chum," Vlad said attentively, his eyes never leaving the speedometer which climbed higher and higher as seconds ticked by. "Don't you think we're going a tad fast?"
"Nope!" Jack said happily, cramming everyone against the right side of the GAV in a sharp turn. Derris blinked as he heard Sable hiss angrily, followed by a yelp from Tucker.
"That was my hand you evil fur ball!" Tucker yelled.
"You're the one who stepped on her tail," Danny said, though sympathy colored his tone.
"I'm starting to think Sam trained her to attack me as revenge for the whole meat vs. veggie deal…" Tucker grumbled as everyone managed to peel themselves off the side of the car and back into their seats.
"Is your dad always so…" Derris honestly couldn't think of a nice word for it.
"Yes," Tucker answered for Danny, "Just be glad Mrs. Fenton made him install seatbelts."
"Still say we'd be better off without them," Jack grumbled, "I coulda installed more ghost hunting equipment with the space they take up!" Derris eyes him warily.
"Perhaps I should drive, Jack…" Vlad suggested clutching the armrest ofpassenger side seat a little harder.
"Don't be silly, V-man!" Jack grinned, "I've got it!"
"I'm sure you do, Jack," Vlad said through gritted teeth, "I just wanted to- CAAAR!" Jack turned back to the road at Vlad's yelled, belatedly realizing he was heading into oncoming traffic.
Everyone screamed at Jack veered right, accidentally going a little too far…
"TREE!" Danny screamed. Jack went more left-
"DOG!" Tucker squealed out. Little more to the right-
"OLD LADY!" Derris yelped, Jack was panicking now, and lost control of the GAV, making it spin out of control.
"SEMI!" All four passengers screamed as one over the wail of the truck's horn. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Everyone grabbed whatever was closest to them that was still nailed down, closing their eyes in anticipation of a painful collision, Jack included. Taking advantage of this, Danny turned the entire GAV intangible.
Finally the car screech to a halt perfectly in an empty parking lot. Jack opened his eyes, blinked for a moment, then grinned back at the pale, shaken faces of his passengers.
"See? Told you I had it under control!" He said triumphantly before getting out of the car, "Now come on! Time's a wastin!" Vlad seemed to snap back to reality after Jack slammed his door shut, and glared evilly at Danny
"You will pay for this one day, Daniel," He promised the boy softly before getting out as well. Derris followed without a word, seriously considering if his relationship with Jazz was worth it.
"Dude, that was so not cool!" Tucker exclaimed.
"I think Sable just lost four lives," Danny commented, looking down at his cat. Tucker stared at him.
"You're not at all concerned that your dad nearly killed us, are you?" He asked dryly.
"You get used to those sort of things," Danny shrugged, opting not to tell Tucker just how close to death they'd come.
"You do," Tucker murmured, shaking his head. "I'm just glad we're all out of danger now."
"We're not in the clear yet," Danny said in amusement. Seeing Tucker's confused face, he reminded the boy, "We left Sam all alone cooped up in her house with Electra, remember? If that isn't enough to incite homicidal rage in her, I don't know what is," Tucker frowned.
"Come on, Danny," He protested, "I doubt she's THAT mad at us…"
'Should I go with decapitation or impalement?' Sam thought as she ground her teeth together, glaring daggers at the blonde who sat across from her, glaring right back.
"Your hair looks awful now. You know that, right?" Electra asked coolly.
'Definitely impalement.' Sam decided.
"Not as bad as your disposition," Sam countered, smirking. "Or is that too big a word for you?" Electra scowled at her.
"I know what disposition means," She said, her tone icy. "Just like I can speak French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Greek all fluently." Sam frowned. She had to admit that despite the fact that she hated Electra's guts, that was pretty impressive.
"You've come a long way from the girl who thought 1 + 1 4," She said smirking.
Hey, just because she was impressed didn't mean she had to show it…
"This coming fro the girl who used to make her S's the wrong way," Electra said sarcastically. The girls resumed their glaring match.
"What do you want with Danny?" Sam asked suddenly, making Electra raise an eyebrow.
"What makes you think I want him?" She asked sweetly, "Why? Do you?" Sam scowled.
"No, but Danny is my best friend," She said loudly, "And I don't take well to a snobby arrogant girl who's nose is turned up far enough that she'll drown if it rains butting into his business." Electra gasped then jumped to her feet, knocking her chair over as she did.
"How dare you!" She yelled, "You're the one who thinks you're better then me, Sammy! You always think that if people don't agree with you or let you have your way, that they're the ones who are wrong!"
"I do not!" Sam said defensively, "I know how important individuality is!"
"Except when that individual's views don't agree with yours," Electra insisted, "You always have to do things your way and will gripe and complain forever if it's not!"
"I do not!" Sam repeated, angrier. "You're just mad because Danny sees right through your sweet-little-old-me act and are pinning it on me!"
"If you don't like him, why do you keep bringing this conversation back to Danny?" Electra asked coyly.
"BECAUSE HE'S MY FRIEND!" Sam yelled, "BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER SHALLOW LITTLE WITCH WHO'D ONLY USE HIM, AND BECAUSE EVERY SECOND YOU'RE HERE IS ANOTHER YOU AND YOUR DUMB MOVIE MIGHT REVEAL HIM AS A HA-!"
"Samantha! Electra!" Mrs. Manson said as she came into the room, "What's this all about?" Sam froze, paling. Not because of her mother, though, but because she realized what she'd almost said.
"Nothing, Mrs. Manson," Electra said, brushing blonde hair behind her ear, "Sorry for the disturbance. It won't happen again," And, without another word to Sam, Electra left, smirking slightly when she got out into the hall.
She'd nailed Sam's weakness perfectly, alright. Despite all her protests, it was obvious the girl had it bad for the Fenton boy. Actually, the loud angry protests and long name-calling rants made her even more sure of herself.
The problem now, though was that Sam was right about Danny not trusting her. What that had to do with the documentary was anyone's guess, since his family could only benefit from such a film. Still, if Electra could work around it she couldn't say that she really cared about it, or whatever the boy was that he didn't want the cameras to see.
All that mattered was her revenge…
"Sammy, you promised,"
Sam didn't have the greatest relationship with her mother. She loved her, yes, and she had no doubt her mother loved her, but they were constantly butting horns about everything from food to furs to clothes to friends.
Still, there was no way Sam couldn't feel guilty at the look her mother was leveling at her right now.
"I tried, mom," She sighed, "It's just Electra… well…"
"Electra wasn't the only one yelling, Sammy," Mrs. Manson reminded her daughter, "She wasn't even the loudest." Sam sighed, looking away. "What were you two fighting about, anyways?"
"Nothing," Sam mumbled, "We were just getting on each other's nerves." Mrs. Manson didn't look convinced, but let it drop.
"Honestly, Samantha, I don't know what to do," She sighed, "Sometimes I just wish you were still the sweet five year old girl who'd curl up in my lap, not an angry reclusive teen who's out at god-knows-what hour with two boys and no supervision doing who-knows-what," Sam's lipped thinned angrily at that. So THAT'S what inviting Electra over had been about…
"Danny and Tucker aren't just 'two boys,' mom," She snapped, "They've been my two best friends since you made me move here in the second grade! And I would hope you'd know me well enough to know I'm not doing anything stupid!" Dangerous yes, but stupid? Only on rare occasions…
"I'm not insulting your little friends, Sammy," Mrs. Manson said impatiently, "And I know you're a sweet girl, but that all I know about you anymore! You don't tell me where you go or what you do or why you come back looking like you've been through a World War! The Fentons tell me Daniel's been the same way, if not worse, and even Tucker isn't telling his parents what you three are doing!"
"Why don't you just come out and start accusing the worst already, mother!" Sam yelled, "I know that's what you're thinking! 'Oh, they're doing drugs! They're starting a gang of hoodlums to tear apart the city brick by brick!' If your worried about your precious reputation, don't be! We're not doing anything illegal, or even wrong in any way!"
Sam knew she was being a little unfair, that she was yelling at her mother because she wanted someone to yell at, but a bigger part of her didn't care. She had to get this frustration and anger out somewhere, and her mother just provided her the perfect source.
"It's not my reputation I'm worried about, Sam!" Her mother yelled back, shocking her daughter. It wasn't just that her mother rarely lost her temper with her, but Mrs. Manson never, ever called her daughter 'Sam,' no matter how much the Goth pleaded. "It's you! Ghosts are always attacking nowadays, and you're off traipsing about when it isn't safe! I'm terrified to death that you're going to get hurt!"
"I can take care of myself!" Sam yelled, "Besides, Danny and Tucker always watch my back, just like I watch theirs! That's what friendship is about, mom, trust! Something you obviously don't know about!" And with that, Sam stormed out.
"Sam? Where are you going? SAM!" Mrs. Manson followed the girl, forced to move slower because of her frilly pink dress.
"Out, mother!" Sam yelled back, "I need to clear my head!" And after slamming the door with enough force to shake the entire mansion, Sam was off, leaving a very worried Mrs. Manson behind.
"Tell me again why we suffered through that?" Tucker asked irritably as he and Danny trailed behind the other, all of which (Save Jack) were tired, beaten and very, very annoyed.
"Nothing like a good hunt through bug and snake infested bogs for ghosts, eh boys?" Jack asked loudly. Tucker's glare became more pointed and even Sable growled slightly on Danny's shoulder, still attempting to clean her fur of dead bugs and mud.
"Because I needed to make Derris miserable and didn't want to have to actually listen to my dad's mindless rants about evil bog ghosts again." Danny explained.
"You're sadistic, man," Tucker said blandly, "You know that, right?"
"Who wants me to head to the Nasty Burger before we go home?" Jack asked.
"NO!" Everyone shouted as one.
"No offence, dad, but maybe Vlad should drive," Danny suggested.
'I'm willingly putting my life in the hands of my archenemy.' Danny thought dryly as Jack pouted, but obediently handed the keys to his college buddy, 'If that doesn't prove my dad's a bad driver, I don't know what does…'
The drive home was fairly quiet and (thankfully) accident free, as Vlad proved a more adequate driver then the easily excited Jack. Danny watched him warily, constantly making himself aware of landmarks and streets.
Just because Vlad was more likely to get them home alive didn't mean he was willing to fully trust the billionaire…
Danny and the other boys were just getting home when the phone rang. Since Jazz's car was still missing from the drive, Danny was pretty sure that they, along with Mandy (Who Danny still didn't get) were still out supply shopping.
"Hello?" Danny picked up the phone.
"Daniel!" A familiar yet unexpected voice said at the other end, breathing his name in relief, "Thank God you picked up!" Danny blinked.
"…Mrs. Manson?" He said, checking the number. It was indeed coming from Sam's house, but why would Sam's MOTHER be calling him?
"She's there, isn't she?" Mrs. Manson said anxiously, "Please tell me Samantha's there!"
"Sam?" Danny frowned, "No, I haven't seen her all day. Why?"
"Because," Mrs. Manson wailed, "She's gone missing!"
"You can't be serious, Lamburg!" an angry voice snapped into Michael's ear.
"Scoff all you want, the kid's hard to crack," Michael protested, "Masters can't do it, Electra can't do it… Hell, even Derris!"
"He's a fourteen year old boy!" The voice on the other end yelled back, "You're supposed to be one of the most brilliant minds in the world!"
"With movies, not kids!" Michael specified.
"Well if you don't get the boy to start talking soon, you won't BE in the movie industry! Do I make myself clear?" Michael scowled.
"…Crystal, Mr. Kimbers."
WoM- Two cliffies in one chapter! How many people can pull that off, ne? 'laughs' sorry it's so short, I've been busy lately. Next one will be longer, I swear! Special Thanks to Firefury for the name! I loved all the names, so it was really hard to choose, but I thought Sable sounded like the sort of thing Danny would name a pet cat...
Thanks to;
Rosadina formerly Tima
Master of Procrastination
Jack Nightmares
Erinyes Star
the sleep warrior
purpledog100
SarcasticallyShy
DannysGirlForever
Petitio Principii
Anomaly25
spirit1s
Bluemystgirl
WhiteMoonDragon
Twin Kats
conan98002
Sapphire Dragon Trainer
Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
Inumaru12
epobbp
Purple Person
random-idiot-v2
SalanTrong
Tetsukon
CelloSolo2007
Hunter097
Firefury
Truth91920
Next update; December 22nd
See you then!