A/N: For the crazy Wicked fans, you'll know that when danny and Sam are practicing, ALL the lines ARE THE REAL THING! I didn't make them up, they belong to Wicked.

Over the next few weeks, Sam, Danny, and Liz attended after school practices everyday. Some days they danced (Danny now loved those days) and some days they practiced dialogue. One day, the lighting crew came in to set up some lights and Tucker got to see his friends in action.

"You guys are pretty good," he commented to Danny as they finished up Dancing through Life. Now it was Popular, so Sam got to make fun of Liz for singing the 'girliest Barbie clone song on the face of the Earth'.

Danny took a long drink of water then smiled at Tucker, "I know. I've gotten so much better. It's a miracle how good I can dance."

"Hey, I said you were good, don't get a big head about it," Tucker joked as they both sat down to watch Liz and Sam.

As Liz sang away, Tucker looked over at Danny. His eyes weren't following Liz across the stage, but were locked on Sam. He loves her more then I expected, Tucker said to himself.

When the song and the scene that followed was over, Liz came to sit next to Danny and Tucker.

"So," she took a drink of water, "how did I do?"

"Great," Tucker answered with a smile, then nudged Danny to say something.

"Beautiful," he said in a daze, his eyes still locked on Sam on stage. She was singing I'm not that Girl, which was about her character doubting that Danny's character could ever love her. In real life, Danny couldn't think of anyone else he would rather love. In fact, he was tempted to jump on stage and tell her. He decided against it and stayed in his seat with a strained heart.

Liz looked over at him with sympathetic eyes, "How come you never told her," she whispered to him.

"Tell who what?" Danny tore his eyes off Sam to look at Liz.

She rolled her eyes, "Sam that you love her."

"I don't love Sam, we're just—"

"'Just friends', yeah I know," Liz said sarcastically, "But have you ever thought that she might want to be more then 'just friends'" she made air quotes with her fingers.

"Why do you think that? Did she say something to you?" Danny was frantic. If Sam liked him back then life would be so good; it wouldn't be able to be expressed in words.

"Don't ask me, ask her," she sat down next to Tucker.

After practice Danny ran right up to Sam. He didn't know what he was going to say be he hoped it didn't sound stupid.

"Umm, Sam. Would you like to…umm…practice lines with me in the park on Saturday?" he said it so fast, he was amazed that Sam could understand him.

"Just you and me?" she blushed. Danny had apparently caught her off guard.

"If that's okay with you…" his heart was beating a million times a minute. If Sam said no he would most definitely curl up in a ball and die. He had never been so nervous around a girl before, even Paulina. Luckily, he could control his powers and his pants didn't fall down.

"Umm…yea, sure. I'd like that." She smiled.

"Okay. Great, I'll come by your house at noon and we can walk to the park then?" Danny was making it up as he went along.

"That sounds good. See you Saturday." Sam said and ran to the door where her mom was waiting outside.

Danny stayed where he was and let out a big sigh. Liz and Tucker walked up behind him.

"You ask her out?" Liz asked

"It's not a date. We're practicing lines in the park on Saturday." Danny didn't take his eyes off the door.

"Are we invited?" Tucker asked.

"Nope," Danny answered and walked out the door toward his house.

Tucker and Liz looked at each other, "It's a date." They said at the same time.

Before anyone knew it, it was Saturday. Danny woke up early and took a shower. He made sure that he was as ready as could be to meet Sam. He even practiced what he would say if there was and awkward silence.

Finally, it was noon and Danny went to see Sam with his script in hand. When he reached her house and rang her doorbell, Sam appeared immediately. She also had her script. They walked to the park without saying much. Once in awhile, one of them would make an observation and the two would laugh, but they always fell silent quickly. When they reached the park, they found a bench under a big oak tree and decided it was the perfect place to practice.

"So," Danny said, "where should we start?"

"Well, you first come in in Dancing through Life, but you've practiced that enough so why don't we start at act 1, scene 11; The Lion Cub," Sam suggested.

"Sounds good," Danny flipped to the correct page in his script.

"Careful! Don't shake him!" Sam recited her lines.
"I'm not!" Danny said in response.
"We can't just let him loose anywhere, you know. We have to find someplace safe..." Sam said as her usual animal activist self.
"Don't you think that I realize that? You must think I'm really stupid or something!" Danny sometime suspected that Sam thought he was really dense.
"No, not really stupid," Sam said sarcastically.
"Why is it that every time I see you you're causing some sort of commotion?" This was true about Sam as well as Elphaba.
"I don't cause commotions, I am one." Danny smiled at this line. Sam had said it was one of her favorites.
"That's for sure," Danny looked Sam in the eyes and she blushed.
"Oh! So you think I should just keep my mouth shut! Is that what you're saying?" Danny vaguely remembered Sam saying something like that to him once before.
"No, I'm..."
"Do you think I want to be this way? Do you think I want to care this much? Don't you know how much easier my life would be if I didn't?" Sam put so much passion in her words; it sounded as if she wasn't reading a script, but actually arguing with Danny.
"Do you ever let anyone else talk?" Danny tried to put more passion in his words like Sam.
"Oh, sorry... but can I just say one more thing? You could have just walked away back there," Sam didn't even need to look at her script.
"So?" Fiyero's lines sounded more and more like Danny himself as he practiced.
"So, no matter how shallow and self-absorbed you tend to be..."
"Excuse me, there's no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow," Danny said proudly.
"No you're not. Or you wouldn't be so unhappy," Sam looked Danny deeply in the eyes.
"Fine, if you don't want my help..."
"No, I do! Poor little thing, it's heart is trembling... I didn't mean for..." she actually sounded sad. She was getting extremely good.
"What did you mean to do? Why was I the only one you didn't do it to?" Danny was confused about his line but decided to ask Sam tomorrow exactly what it meant.
"Oh look, you're bleeding... it must have scratched you," Sam spoke quietly.

"Yea... or maybe it scratched me. I better get to safety... I mean the cub... get the cub to safety," Danny stared at his lines, trying to memorize them.
"Danny..." until then, Danny had been looking at his script. When Sam said his name instead of Fiyero, like it was written, he looked up. Her face was an inch away from his and her eyes were filled with longing.

Just then, Danny's cell phone rang. Killing the moment, he picked it up, "Hey Danny!" He recognized Jazz's voice instantly, "Mom and Dad said they want you home by five. Unless your ghost hunting, I'll can cover for you, are you ghost hunting? Do you need help?" She sounded excited about helping Danny.

"No, Jazz. I'm practicing for the musical with Sam. I'll be home soon, bye." He hung up before she could say another word.

"I gotta go, Danny," Sam stood up," I'll call you tonight so we can practice some more. Remember, the show opens on Friday so you gotta memorize all your lines."

Danny stood up as well; "I'll walk you home."

They reached Sam's door and Sam was about to go inside when Danny called, "Hey, Sam…"

She turned around, "Yes Danny?'

"Well, I memorized most of my lines and my dances and I can sing my songs perfectly, except one…" he said awkwardly.

"What song is that?" Sam looked at him.

"As Long as You're Mine…" he answered quietly.

After a moment of silence, Sam spoke, "Don't worry, you'll do wonderfully." With that she turned and went inside.

Danny stood there for a moment and then walked to his house alone.