Broken Rules and Broken Hearts

Chapter three: Look This Way and Say You Like Me

"What do you mean he's not there?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry, he went to Samantha's house," Mrs. Foley replied over the phone. "He said he was meeting you there."

"So should I tell Tuck movie night's cancelled?"

"No, I'll tell him. You get back home before your parents suspect anything."

Way to exclude me, Sam. Unless...

"Mrs. Foley, has Tucker ever lied to you before?"

"Not about something like this. Should I call Samantha's house and see if he's there?"

"How about I call Sam's house and put you on three-way, so we can both find out what he's up to."

"If I may ask, are you mad at my son?"

"No, why?"

"Well, you're a good friend of Tucker's, and you're both teenagers. If he did lie to me about going to Samantha's, he could get in a lot of trouble."

"I know... but I'm willing to risk it to find out if Sam lied to me."

"Alright, I won't ask any more, it's not my business."

"Thank you Mrs. Foley. I'll be right back." Danny switched lines and called Sam's cell, then switched back. Sam looked at her cell. Danny. She glanced at Tucker who was unphased by the ringing. She turned her phone off and put it on the table.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Foley asked.

"She's not answering," Danny said with annoyance. "I'm gonna try the house phone."

It's a good thing Tucker's mom is so patient, Danny thought as he switched lines, dialed, and switched back. This time Sam's father answered the phone. Fuck, Danny thought, I'm not supposed to be talking to Sam...

"Hello, Manson residence, Mr. Manson speaking."

"Hello," Tucker's mom spoke first. "This is Mrs. Foley, I just called to ask if my son, Tucker, has shown up yet?"

"I believe he has, Mrs. Foley, would you like to speak to him?"

"Yes I would, if it's not a problem."

"Not at all," Mr. Manson covered the phone and called downstairs. "Samantha! Phone call for your friend!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "We're watching a movie!"

"It's his mother!"

"Ugh," she said to herself, then called, "Can't you bring down the cordless?"

"It's okay, Sam," Tucker said, getting up and heading upstairs. "Mum never calls, so just let me take it."

"Fine," Sam sat back in her chair. Tucker continued upstairs and took the phone from Mr. Manson.

"Mum?"

"Hey, baby, I just called to make sure you were there."

"Yeah, Mum, where else would I be?"

"Well, your friend Danny called for you..."

Shit... Tucker thought, asking even though he knew, "What did he want...?"

"He just wanted to hang out. He apparently didn't know you three were supposed to meet at Samantha's house."

"Oh!" Tucker laughed nervously. "Silly Danny..."

Danny couldn't hold back anymore. "Sam told me she cancelled the plans for tonight!"

"DANNY? Mum, why didn't you tell me he was on three way?"

"Why did Sam lie to me?" Danny was noticably hurt. "What's going on, Tucker?"

"Yes... what's going on?" Mrs. Foley asked.

"Mum, it's not what you think!" Tucker said quickly, "Danny, Sam and I... we're not... she just... and the window..."

"The window?" Danny snapped. "Is that was this is about? It was a fu..." he remembered an adult was on the phone too, "...reaking accident!"

"Well she..." Tucker sighed, "Danny, she just wanted to talk, that's all..."

"About me."

"Well, yes, but..."

"Save it."

There was a click.

"Danny...?"

"He hung up," Mrs. Foley said. "I'm going to allow you to stay at Sam's for tonight, since you didn't lie about going there and it wouldn't be fair to punish you for something she did... You had no say in tricking him right?"

"Right," Tucker said smoothly, so she could tell he was being truthful. "I honestly thought he was gonna be here."

"Alright, well that's their problem now. Good luck with miss Manson."

"Thanks, Mum. G'night."

"Goodnight."

Tucker hung up the phone and went downstairs.

"What'd your mom want?" Sam asked.

"Just to make sure I got here safe," Tucker took his seat.

"You're lying," Sam said. "That phone conversation was way too long for it to have been just that."

Tucker tried to think up a lie, but Sam was giving him that piercing stare. "Okay, fine! Danny found out that you lied to him and now he's pissed."

"Well that solves my problem!" Sam said, sounding much happier than she should.

"Sam! You can't be serious!"

"Sure I am. If Danny and I aren't friends anymore, then I won't ever have to tell him I love him!"

She gasped and covered her mouth.

"HA! YOU SAID IT!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Well... so what if I did! It doesn't matter now."

Tucker sighed and sat down to watch the rest of the movie.

"How could she do that?" Danny paced around Jazz's room. He didn't like turning to his sister for advice, but if he went to his parents with friendship problems then he'd just hear the college stories with Vlad all over again, and he didn't need that right now. "No, why! Why would Sam lie to me like that? It would have been one thing if she just told me that she wanted to hang out with Tucker alone... I'd still be mad but at least I would know what was going on... but no, she fucking lied to me!"

"Danny, calm down... Danny, SIT!" Jazz grabbed her little brother and sat him forcefully on her bed. He gave an aggrivated sigh and laid down.

"I thought she loved me..." Danny said. "I was sure of it. The way she looks at me, the way she acts when she thinks I'm not looking... the way we blush when we have a moment, the way we always jump to say we're not together... and the way Tucker watches it all. He knows..."

"Just becuase she hid something from you..."

"Lied to me, Jazz. Just say it. She fucking lied to me."

"Either way, it doesn't mean she doesn't care about you. Friends, and even lovers, lie to each other all the time... and sometimes it's to protect that person. What did you say he told you? She wanted to talk."

"About me."

"Did he say that?"

"He confirmed it."

"So she wanted to talk about you. Doesn't mean she's badmouthing you. Maybe she wanted to tell Tucker that she's finally going to crawl out of her shell and tell you how she feels. Maybe she just wanted to make sure it would be okay with him. Did you ever think of that?"

Danny glared at her. He hated when she made things all better. Okay, he loved it, but he hated feeling ignorant afterwards. "It would be hard on Tuck..." he said softly. Jazz smiled and laid on her side to face her baby brother.

"Don't feel bad. We're human. We act on impulse."

"But I'm half..."

"Ghost. I know. But ghosts feel human emotions too."

Danny thought about the ghosts and why they behaved the way they did. "Yeah..."

"So why don't you go over there? I'll cover for you if Mom and Dad come up."

"But she doesn't want me there..."

"Surprise her, Danny. Girls like that."

Danny shook his head. "Thanks, Jazz, but you've helped enough. I don't want to risk going there and finding out you could be wrong."

Jazz paled at the four words. Danny laughed softly and went back to his room.