Links in the Chain
By Lacey52
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
A note: Um…I dunno'. I felt so bad about last chapter being so short that I decided to post this one today too, lol. It's not the best but supports the previous chapter. Don't be hatin' on me, I'm tired as all get out.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Chapter Thirty Four: Echoes
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"What is wrong with me?" Sam slammed her hairbrush down, "Why do I keep thinking Danny is sending me images?"
'He isn't even up is he…although Tucker in a tutu is always a funny thing to see…maybe he's dreaming and sending it to me on accident,' she began to pull her hair up in her ever present ponytail, before sighing and leaving it down, 'Danny said it looked nice down…I'll try it. Just for today. Just to…to be different!'
"Oh Sammy," her mother appeared behind her somehow without her having time to escape, "you look just lovely with your hair like that! You should wear it down more often!"
"Yeah," Sam rolled her eyes, "I'll take your comment into consideration, just like I always do, Mom."
"Oh, do stop being so sarcastic," her mother said as she walked away.
A few seconds later a boyish, laughing voice said the second half of her mother's famous line, "Yeah, it just isn't done, Sammy-kins."
"Danny?" Sam turned around to see him sitting on the edge of her bathtub, "You're actually awake this early? It's a miracle, hallelujah!"
"Sam?" he mocked, "You're actually sarcastic this early? How normal!"
"What's eatin' you Gilbert Grape?" Sam glared at the boy, "Just a minute ago you were all fine and dandy, then you show up here mocking me. Paulina somehow get your number and call you just to snub you or something?"
"Alright, alright," Danny waved her off with a wry smile, "enough with the sarcasm. I'm just tired."
"What time did you go to bed last night?"
"Bed?" Danny questioned with a yawn, "You mean I was supposed to be able to sleep last night?"
"That's usually what people do at night," Sam answered as she put her bracelets and wrist cuff on, "Sleep at night so they can get up and face the next day"
"Not possible, Sam," Danny winked tiredly, "The box ghost decided he wanted to play hide and seek in that warehouse down in the shopping district. Did you know they box axes and swords and fingernail files?"
"When you ship things, you have to put them in boxes Danny," Sam smiled back at the boy, "That's what the warehouse is for, storing things for that new shipping company."
"Yeah, whatever," the boy grinned, "I just thought that since I was already up, I should meet you a little ahead of schedule. No point in even trying to go home."
"Hm," Sam said as she had already begun to brush her teeth, "Do ya' mind? I kinda' don' like havin' a brush mah teeth in front a ya'."
"I don't mind at all," Danny smiled evilly, placing his elbow on his knee and propping his chin up, "I'll just sit here and watch. Brushing teeth is fascinating after all. Absolutely fascinating."
Danny got bopped upside the head and glared out the door, though the glaring was downplayed by the toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. The halfa couldn't help but smile to himself as he waited outside her bathroom door.
Today would be a tiring day, but with Sam in such a good mood already, it was bound to be fun.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Sam was just finishing the final touches on her geometry theorem when another something in the back of her mind caught her attention. Her head hit her desk when the third image of the school day came to her of…of herself with her hair down.
'Alright, is this Danny's way of telling me he likes my hair being down, or is he just being a jerk and making fun of me?' she shook her head and wished like mad that he was in the same class as her, 'If I could just see his face, I'd be able to tell if he's laughing at me or really thinking about me. It's not like he's feeling mean…more like happy, but that's just weird.'
"Alright class," her teacher called out, "We've only got a minute until the bell so please take home whatever you haven't finished and remember to do your homework on page 354. And don't forget that tomorrow…"
But the bell chose to ring at that moment and the class erupted into life and the hallway, students laughing and talking and grumbling about homework. Sam packed up her things and began to walk to her locker, when Tucker appeared around the corner, fresh from his history class with Danny.
"Hey Sam," Tucker joined her in her trip, "So what're we up to this evening?"
"Nothing that I know of. Hey," Sam glanced around, "Where's the halfa? I have a burning question I need answered."
"He's uh, a little busy at the moment with a certain something that could possibly end in the enslavement of the human race, or something like that," Tucker chuckled, glancing sideways at Sam, "So what's the burning question?"
"I just keep getting images from him…" she trailed off for a moment, frowning, "Usually, I can't get them unless he's in the same room as me, or really close. I mean, even when we played we were never more than a room or half the playground away from each other. This last time it happened he was all the way across the school."
"So the link is getting a little stronger?" Tucker leaned against the lockers as she opened hers and put away her things, "It's not a bad thing is it?"
"It's not a bad thing at all," Sam admitted with a little shrug, "But I don't think it's a little stronger. Try a lot stronger."
"What's stronger?" Danny asked as he shuffled towards them.
"That was remarkably fast," Tucker eyed him, "How'd you even manage to fight? You're falling asleep on your feet."
"Dunno'," Danny answered, "and don't care. All I care about is getting back to sleep sometime and very soon. So what'd you mean Sam?"
"I think the link is getting stronger between us," she answered him with a questioning look, "but I need to ask you something before I'm sure. Did you send me images today?"
"Uh…of what?" the boy replied with a reddening face, "It wasn't anything bad was it…because I don't remember trying to show you anything."
"It wasn't bad," Sam too began to blush, and Tucker began to ask passers by for popcorn so he could enjoy the show, "I just kept seeing things that I think you were thinking of."
"That I was thinking of?" and Danny's blush worsened.
"Oh man, Danny," Tucker patted his shoulder, trying desperately to keep from laughing, "What were you thinking? Hey wait a minute! Sam what did you see during Thanksgiving at Danny's house that made you come in and beat him?"
"That is none of your business!" Sam glared furiously as she slapped her hand over Danny's opening mouth, "You are not to tell anyone about that. I was embarrassed enough as it was. I don't even want to think about what you two were talking about."
"What?" Danny peeled her hand away from his mouth, "It was just you in a swim suit. That happens to be the only mental image I had of you that would relate to what Tucker asked."
"That's so not cool man," Tucker said as he backed away from Sam, who had refocused her attention on him, "Sam? Don't look at me like that…"
"What were you two talking about?"
"Um, bodies?"
"I don't even want to know," Sam said simply as she walked away, "Really, really don't want to know…"
"So, uh," Danny caught up with the girl as Tucker nervously followed his lead, "are you really sure that you're seeing things from me?"
"Yeah, but it's not like I'm seeing everything you're thinking. It's just specific images."
"Like what?" Tucker pulled out his PDA to register the new information, "You know, I have no clue if I'm way off base, but doesn't your link usually operate on stronger feelings or focusing on something?"
At their heads nodding Tucker continued, "Wouldn't it make sense that what you're seeing Sam is something that either invokes a strong emotion in Danny or something that he's really thinking about?"
"I guess that would make sense," Danny nodded his head, but Sam remained strangely quiet, "What's wrong, you don't think that's it?"
"I don't know," she replied as she faced Tucker, "Why hasn't Danny seen anything that I've been focusing on? I've been thinking about that new track Morbid Youth is putting out today. Wouldn't he see something related to that?"
"I don't know Sam," Tucker replied with genuine surprise, "Maybe it's only growing one way right now, or you're able to repress your thoughts better than Danny. I really don't know."
"It's probably something we'll never figure out," Danny sighed, "I told you guys this stupid link was more trouble than it was worth. We should have stopped a long time ago."
"Remember Danny," Sam looked his way with a rather mean look on her face, "we discussed this. You're a hypocrite when it comes to our 'psychic connection' so you aren't allowed to talk like that. Get over it, this isn't hurting us."
"Fine," Danny crossed his arms, "but you do realize this has the potential to be beyond embarrassing?"
"Oh…"
"Man Danny," Tucker smiled slyly, "What ever do you think about in the late of night all alone in your room with no one about to hear anything? Don't get too focused now, you two lovebirds, you don't want to fill Danny's grope quote with mental images, you need some of the real stuff."
"Oh shut up!" the pair responded before blushing extremely brightly.
"We'll just have to work on blocking each other out when it isn't important," Sam hook her head, "I mean we did it for years, we'll just have to be more, uh, focused…"
"Yeah you two have fun focusing," Tucker laughed as he peeled off from the group, "I'm gonna' go focus in the library."
"Could this get any worse?" San looked skywards for some patience, "I knew it was bad just as soon as my mother told me I looked good with my hair down."
"She's right you know," Danny had managed to gain a few steps in front of her to block his blushing face from her view, "You look really nice with your hair down. I think I've said that to you before, but if I didn't I think you should know. A lot of guys were talking about it today…you were big on the gossip mill…"
"Danny," Sam walked up beside him and hit him in the shoulder, "thank you for the compliment, but it would sound better if you didn't ramble about it."
"I was being serious though Sam, you look nice like that. You should wear it that way more often."
'So he was focusing on that all day,' Sam blushed from both his charming compliment and the thought she had, 'He was thinking about me because I looked nice. I wonder if he thought about me after that one dance we went to…'
"Eh, well, let's just head over to my place and hang out. Matches has been missing you," Danny finally got out of his self induced stupor, "He'll probably have a fit when he sees you since he hates it when you're gone for so long."
"Sounds like fun," Sam smiled, trying desperately to keep the images of her and the puppy out of her mind, 'This is not going to be fun…'