Links in the Chain
By Lacey52
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
A note: So, yeah, really sorry about missing that update, so I made this chapter super long…O.o' Really…it's long! I have a good reason for missing the update though…
My roomie's computer won't let her log onto the net, (Curses to the viruses!) and she had to get online for one of her classes, so I volunteered my computer. It took her a while just to clean out her email, so I told her to use it for the night, I didn't have anything as urgent as she did. I hope you guys can understand. A lot of the stuff at my college is done by internet now, so it's kind of a necessity. Poor girl was about to have an anxiety attack until I told her she could use my computer…
Anywho, this chapter happens the same day that last chapter ended on. It's basically just more exploration of 'accidental image sharing' and integrating Dash into the group…not overly exciting, but necessary. Hope you guys enjoy!
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Chapter Forty One: Cocoa
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"So now you're both sending images to each other?" Tucker snickered as he sat in the kitchen of Danny's home, "Man, this is classic. What picture did you send Sam?"
"A picture, Tuck," Sam replied viciously, "of me killing you. Slowly. And enjoying it."
"Point taken, but I still gotta' know," the boy removed his glasses and cleaned them slowly with the edge of his shirt, "It could be important or it could even help us figure out what's going on…"
"I already told you," Danny rubbed his forehead tiredly, "it's from stress. Like what Jazz was saying, when you get stressed out your body reacts. Except it's my mind reacting instead of my body."
"So Sam was stressed at seeing you in your boxers…" Tucker made it a point to type something out on his PDA, "Interesting, very interesting. Could there perhaps be some sort of repressed emotions at play here between the two of you? Been having any awkward moments that sprout blushes afterwards?"
"Can it Tucker," Sam rubbed her head, "Let's just figure out what we're going to do today. I don't really want to go see a movie with all the snow outside…"
"It snowed?" Danny cut her off, but had such a cute face and happy feeling that she couldn't really be angry with the halfa.
"Yeah, about five inches, actually," Sam smiled back at the boy beside her, "It's perfect for a day in the park I think."
"I vote park!" Danny held up his finger as a silent show of his vote, "C'mon you guys, you know you want to go play in the snow with me…snow angels, snowball fights, snow forts, ice-skating if the pond is frozen enough…"
"Fine, fine, we know you're still a big kid Danny," Tucker smiled, "But then again, so am I. I vote park!"
"Park," Sam nodded, "We've decided then."
Danny stood and made his way upstairs as Tucker and Sam waited his return, though with little patience. Shouts of 'Hurry up, slowpoke!' and 'Could you go any slower?' followed him the entire time. Grabbing his cold weather clothes and boots, and dressing on the way, Danny stopped by Jazz room, Matches in tow.
"Hey Jazz?" he gently edged the door open to find his sister on the computer, "I don't mean to interrupt, but would you mind keeping Matches for a while. We all wanted to head down to the park, and I don't want to try and keep up with him."
"Fine, yeah," Jazz said distractedly, chewing on the end of a highlighter she was using to mark a paper and reading some online article, "Close the door on the way out."
"You're the best, Sis," and Danny was gone, the trio on their way to a snow and fun filled day.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
'Walking to the park could be considered a new sport,' Sam thought to herself, halfway between her own sour mood and Danny's overly happy one due to his emotions flooding into her, 'I do not want to slip again, but apparently my boots have less traction than they advertised. I've almost fallen three times, thank God we're at the park entrance.'
"You alright Sam?" Danny turned to look at her for what felt like the twentieth time, "You're walking awfully slow."
"I just don't have much traction with these new boots," Sam gave him a half-hearted glare, "You know, the ones I had to buy after Matches tore up my other ones?"
"Right…" Danny nodded and turned back around quickly, 'I don't want to get chewed out for that again. The first time was bad enough…hm, wonder what Mom ever did with that picture she took of Sam about to strangle me…"
"Is that Dash?" Tucker broke into the boy's thoughts as he pointed to where the jock was walking alone, huddled into his letterman.
"Yeah I think it…Sam? Where are you going?" Danny started to follow her with all the subtlety of a puppy after its master. Tucker could only shake his head as he followed the pair.
"Hey Dash, out here all alone?" Sam asked as she walked up to the much larger boy, startling him in the process and causing Tucker and Danny pause.
"Uh, yeah, 'sup?" he nodded his head to the three of them, looking unsure of what he was to do, 'Normally I'd be doing something to them…but it's different now. Not that Fenton and Foley aren't still easy targets…'
"Not a lot," Sam replied to him, raising a single eyebrow as her two best friends flanked her as thought to guard her, "How about you?"
"Just being bored," Dash rolled his eyes and looked around him, "Not a lot to do with all the snow."
"You kiddin'?" Tucker sent him a puzzled look, "There's tons of stuff to do. Of course I had to leave my baby at Danny's house so she wouldn't get fried, but that's really the only downside to a snow day."
"Sure," Danny rolled his eyes, "Except he'd probably rather be throwing us into snow banks than hearing about your 'baby' or snow days…"
"I can arrange that Fenton," Dash frowned at the boy, who was only slightly shorter than him now, 'He's grown over the past couple of years, but I can still take him. Just 'cause I don't stuff nerds into lockers or stuff like that anymore doesn't mean I'm a pansy…c'mon Fenton, just try me…'
"God, break it up," Sam snapped angrily, rolling her eyes, "I swear all boys are stupid…"
"What'd I do?" Danny looked at her slightly confused, and halfway angry, "I just said the truth and I didn't threaten him."
"No, but you started it. Are you," she looked over at Dash with a stern face, "how do you say it, going to be 'cool' now with each other?"
Dash could only grumble out a, "Whatever," as he crossed his arms, the three of them standing in a long, uncomfortable silence. As the silence stretched on Dash had a moment to think, as did the other three.
'What's his problem? All I do is be nice to Dash and he's all upset,' Sam huffed quietly to herself, a gentle feeling of regret coming to her from Danny, 'Oh yeah, now he's sorry because I'm upset…'
'Man, I keep making her mad,' Danny shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked at the dirty snow by his feet, 'I didn't mean to, I guess I just let my mouth run off. I really gotta' stop doing that…'
'Man, I miss her already,' Tucker sighed in slight annoyance, 'At least if I had my PDA I'd be able to play a game while they stood there like upset, pouting kids….'
'Why are they even trying? Fenton hates me, Manson doesn't like anyone outside their group, and Foley is too lost in his computer world…they shouldn't even have noticed me. They're the ones who came over and bothered me…maybe not bothered…crap, why is this so confusing? I was lonely, they came just in time to give me something to do…Damn, act halfway civilized Baxter, you do have some manners,' Dash sighed, his mother's common reprimand ringing in his ears, and suddenly he was ready to break the silence engulfing them, "So, what are you doing?"
"Well," Tucker began, happy to have someone to converse with, "We were going to go to a movie at first…"
"At the park?" Dash asked in slight confusion.
"Let him finish," Danny nodded towards Tucker.
"But, we got side tracked because all the snow and decided with a unanimous vote that it was park and play," Tucker stopped at seeing Dash's still confused face, "You know, go to the park…play…have fun…? Ring any bells?"
"I know what you're talking about Foley," Dash crossed his arms, his breath coming out in front of his face, "you don't have to cram it down my throat."
"Yeah," Danny grumbled, but it was quite loud enough to be heard, "and people don't have to cram others into lockers…."
Sam shocked all three by growling out a very frustrated, guttural sound, "Rargh! All three of you, shut up! Danny, this is ridiculous, so knock it off. Tucker, stop being such a jerk. Dash, stop being so hostile. There is way too much testosterone flying around right now!"
"Uh, sorry Sam…" Danny grimaced, hoping to placate her before it got any uglier.
"Yeah, sorry…" Tucker was of the same mind as his best friend.
"What?" Dash asked, looking haughtily back at the two boys who were staring at him with impatient expressions, "I ain't sayin' sorry."
"Fine, whatever," Sam threw up her hands and started to walk further into the park, "let's just go. Come if you want to Dash, I don't care."
Dash Baxter had never really been exposed to girls of Sam's…caliber…before, "Is she always this bad?"
"No," Danny said glumly, "I think I broke her this morning. She's been extra 'grr' all day…"
Tucker, who up until that point had been watching Sam's retreating form wondering what her problem was, suddenly broke into a fit of laughter managing to squeak out a few incoherent sentences, "Morning surprises….haha…broke 'er….nice boxers!"
Dash, being apart of the group he had been for years, took this immediately in the most jock-ish way possible, "Wait, you mean?" and with a devilish smile Dash continued, "Fenton, you dog! Way to score…even if she's a little freaky sometimes…"
"No! We…I didn't, we never!" Danny, sporting a full out blush, jumped Tucker and began to beat him with his own hat, "I'm gonna' kill you for that Tuck!"
"Idle threats," Tucker laughed and ducked out of the way, snatching his hat back, "You've been saying that for years…"
Tucker's sentence was left hanging mid-air though, as a snowball thwaped him upside the head and Sam shouted with righteous fury from her perch on the nearby bench, "Good thing I don't do idle threats then, huh, Danny?"
"No fair!" Tucker tried to keep the quickly melting snow from flowing down his shirt, but was failing miserably, "You double teamed me, you cheaters!"
His argument, however, was short lived as the laughing halfa was the next to receive an expertly aimed ball of loosely packed snow, right to the side of his head and neck. Tucker got his own laughter in at that moment, "Never mind, Sam! It's everyone for themselves!"
Scooping up his own snow, the boy quickly started in on Sam, only to get hit by Danny's own snowball. It was an all out snow war from there on out. Sam hit Tucker, Tucker hit Danny, Danny hit them both and all three were running around like idiots, yelling their heads off and thoroughly enjoying it all.
Noticing Dash was on his own and watching them with surprise on his face, Danny scooped up another snowball, making sure it was just right, while Sam and Tucker took care of distracting one another, aiming carefully so as not to soak the jock entirely, Danny let fly.
The shocked expression on his face was well worth anything that happened after that, and those were Danny's exact thoughts as he watched Dash's amazement fade into the want for revenge. With laughing eyes and a cheeky smile, Danny folded his arms and dared Dash with his body language.
'That's right,' he was saying, 'I'm better.'
Dash was never one to turn down a challenge. It had been years since he had played in the snow for the simple joy of playing in the snow. Usually snowball fights were competition, not free for all, and usually snowballs were aimed solely at 'losers, freaks, and nerds.'
'Well,' Dash glared slightly while scooping up his own snowball, 'It's still aimed at either a loser, freak, or nerd,' and with an evil grin Dash let fly his own snowball and enjoyed in a few minutes of childish fun.
"You're going down Sam!" Danny cried as he was smacked upside the head once again by her perfect aim, "Oh that's it!"
Chasing her down and being pelted by whatever snow she could scoop up all the while, Danny finally got close enough to tackle her into a small snow bank, "Not so confident now, huh?"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Danny Fenton," Sam smirked and right before she did, Danny had the oddest thing in his life happen to him, which was saying a lot.
He got a picture from Sam, purposely sent, of her shoving snow down the front of his shirt, just as she was raising her hand to do so….but overlaid was another picture, feeling as though it was accidentally slipping out from a very flustered mind. It was her and him, in the snow bank…and he was…kissing her?
'What?' he pulled back from her in confusion, catching her wrist and stilling her to stare for a second, developing a blush while he did so, 'Why's she thinking that?'
"Sam?" and then she was scrambling back from him, dusting the snow off and sporting a blush of her own, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," she said hurriedly, in a slightly higher pitched voice than she meant, 'Oh dear God, why did I do that? I didn't mean to send that to him, I was just freaking out about him being so close and….and trying to ignore it! Tucker's right, it happens when we try to ignore things, not just things, emotions and images! Almost all those images I got from Danny were about me in a less than appropriate way. Well, except the one about Tucker in a tutu, but I can understand why he'd want to ignore that…'
"Are they always that cheesy?" Dash's drawling voice broke her line of thought as she sat shivering in the snow, Danny peering at her from through his bangs, with a worried and confused expression on his face.
"Yep," Tucker's smug voice seemed to break Danny from his trance as well, "That was a 'blushy moment' at its finest."
"Oh shut up," Danny and Sam said as they helped one another up, avoiding eye contact, "We didn't do anything!"
At Dash's strange face and Tucker's knowing look, the pair blushed all over again. Could it get any worse today? First the boxers, then the image, now this…the pair was just waiting for Mr. Murphy to visit them.
"Whoa," Dash intoned with raised eyebrows and widened eyes, "It's gettin' bad. I knew I saw you two doin' that in the hallway and then in the cafeteria!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tucker questioned carefully.
"People've been saying you two were doing your thing again," Dash tucked his hands into his pockets, "You two are obvious, not to mention freakin' weird."
"People have been talking?" Danny couldn't have been closer to Sam's side at that moment if he had been glued to her.
"Danny, it's not fifth grade anymore," Sam sighed, 'Talk about overprotective…'
"Look Sam, I know that, but it doesn't mean that people won't do the same thing…" Danny started getting upset, memories of several people surrounding Sam in the bathroom rushing back to him.
"You don't know that, Danny," Sam retorted, her upset growing exponentially as their feelings fed off of one another's.
A few seconds of intense glaring later, Sam turned her head, breaking eye contact and causing Danny's face to fall, 'Great now she's even more upset. I have to figure out a way to make it up to her…'
"Hey, uh…let's go," Tucker gracefully stepped in, trying to salvage the remainder of their day together, especially with Dash around, "I don't really want to stand out here in the cold, and besides we're all soaked after our snowball fight. I'm heading back to Danny's."
"Why always Danny's place in the winter?" Sam made a face at Tucker, the gravity of the earlier situation seemingly evaporating, "I have heating and hot chocolate, too."
"Two words Sam; Danny's Cocoa," Tucker smiled happily.
"Cocoa?" Dash looked between the three friends, extremely confused, "One second you're all ready to bite each others heads off and now you're going to get cocoa?"
"Yeah, we're just 'weird' like that," Sam did the infamous air quotes and rolled her eyes before turning back to Tucker, "And I'm oh so sorry, Tucker, lover of meat and cocoa, for holding you up any longer than necessary. Let us hurry, lest Jazz tries to make some for us…"
Sam and Tucker started off on their own, laughing and talking as they went. Danny was about to start out as well, only a few steps behind them when he noticed Dash hanging back awkwardly, 'At least he has manners enough to realize I didn't invite him to my house. I suppose it'd make Sam happier if I didn't leave him out here to freeze.'
"Uh…you coming?" the halfa turned to look at the young man who had just recently joined into their fun.
"To your house?" Dash asked as though it were disgusting to have had roll off his tongue.
"Yeah," Danny rolled his eyes at the jock, well aware that the other boy was afraid of the social stigma that could be placed upon him, "it's not like you can get in trouble with your friends for coming to the loser's house anymore, right?"
"You really don't care if I come?" Dash regarded Danny carefully as he nodded his assent. As was his motto for many years, 'when in doubt, taunt,' though he wasn't quite that eloquent, Dash tried for answers another way, "You were ready to fight with Manson a seconds ago…have a little conversation in your heads to clear it all up?"
Danny had to take a deep breath to keep calm enough to answer, "Look Dash, we aren't psychic alright? I just know how to read Sam and she knows how to read me…we've known each other for that long. I don't really like you, but Sam trusts you for some reason. If you earned her trust, then…you've got some of mine. Simple as that."
"So…" the blonde turned to start walking, Danny joining him, "Cocoa?"
"Yeah," the dark hair boy laughed, "but only if I make it. Don't ever take food from my Mom or Dad, unless you're sure it isn't glowing. Usually the cookies are safe. Never trust the hotdogs though…or the turkey, unless Jazz was watching Mom cook."
Noticing Danny's slight shudder, Dash found himself suddenly curious about the life of his one-time friend, and often time target, "Why?"
"Don't jinx me…" Danny winced and then sighed, "Let's just say my parents are weird."
"Heh," Dash nodded his head, "finally something we can both agree on."
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Jazz!" Danny yelled up the stairs as the others trudged in behind him, shedding coats, gloves, scarves, and shoes, "Want some cocoa?"
As Dash observed Sam tying her shoes together and hanging them on the rack he began to worry about just what he had gotten himself into. Tucker caught his line of sight and hurried to assure the lost soul.
"Don't worry," the tech-boy's voice caught him off guard, "Sam hangs her shoes so Danny's dog can't chew them up. She's already lost one good pair that way."
A soundless 'Oh,' formed on his lips as a muffled voice from somewhere above them replied to Danny finally, "Did you say cocoa?"
Danny, who had been in the kitchen, already heating water, shouted as loud as he could, "Yeah! You want some?"
"Another part of the Fenton household you have to get used to," Sam said dryly, "They don't believe in walking upstairs to talk to the person, they believe in shouting."
"Good for the lungs," Danny smiled cheekily as he grabbed the cocoa powder from the cabinet and then milk from the fridge, "Jazz?"
"I'll be right down, and yes, please on the cocoa…extra milk in mine!" a door squeaked open and a thunderous sound was heard on the stairs, "Here comes your dog!"
Happy to see Danny, the now medium sized puppy began to whine and yip happily, tail wagging furiously as he approached. Upon spotting Sam, however, the pup stopped in his tracks for a second, pure excitement making his tail wag even harder, causing his whole body to shake. Barking and taking off at full speed, the small dog began to race around the kitchen, back and forth between the Goth girl and the laughing boy.
Dash was laughing as well, "Is your dog retarded or something?"
"No," Tucker shook his head, "but you should see him when Sam hasn't come over here for like a week and then shows up…he really looks retarded then."
"You're just jealous that Matches doesn't like you as much as he likes me," Sam patted her thigh as she sat, calling Matches to her, "C'mere stinky dog. Get out of Danny's way or no one will get hot chocolate, but you and the floor."
"You don't even like dogs!" Tucker groused, turning to Dash, "Tell me, how is that fair?"
"I don't like dogs. Matches is an intelligent being trapped in canine form, so he doesn't qualify as a dog."
"If you say so, Sam," Danny turned to the table with three, steaming mugs, giving the girl a strange look.
"Cocoa?" Jazz said right before she walked into the kitchen, then paused as the table came into sight, "Dash Baxter?"
"He's here on a trial basis," Danny said as he handed his sister her own mug, extra milk included.
"Geeze Danny, you're real sweet to people" Sam said sarcastically as she waited for her drink to cool.
"It's a guy thing," Danny said as he shrugged, "We're mean, right Techno-geek?"
"Of course, Clueless-loser one."
"Still with the clueless one thing?"
"You're the one who said we were mean, clueless one boy."
"Boys," Jazz rolled her eyes and took a sip.
"I agree," Sam said as she too sipped her cocoa and ran her left hand through Matches' fur, causing the puppy to snuggle closer to her and ignore Danny completely.
"Dog stealer…" he mock glared at the Goth, but Sam just laughed and stuck out her tounge before saying, "Ooo I'm shakin in my socks, whatever shall I do?"
"Whatever," he waved her off turning to look at all of them, "So how's the cocoa? Not radioactive or anything is it?"
"It's lovely," Tucker fondly nuzzled the side of his mug, earning several odd looks, "but not as lovely as you!" and he began to nuzzle his PDA, which he had just retrieved, earning even more strange looks than before, not to mention a shudder from both of the other boys present. Laughing to himself at the reactions he caused, Tucker returned to his drink and game.
Sam rolled her eyes before looking back at Danny, "Pretty good, better than the last cup I had at my house this morning, anyways…"
"It's good, little bro."
"Ah," Danny nodded dramatically, "That's 'cause it's made with good, old TLC…"
Dash snorted at their interplay, "It ain't bad, Fenton," and then he settled back to actually observe their interplay, which he wasn't often wont to do.
Tucker sat nursing his cocoa, playing some game or other on his mini-computer, making the odd comment on this or that. He was actually a pretty funny guy, and given the right connections he would have made it far in the popularity contest.
Jazz was talking about something she was researching, but it all went way over his head, and Sam and Danny were both nodding absently, shooting one another sidelong glances, and when Jazz wasn't looking, they'd roll their eyes or make faces, trying to make the other one laugh.
Soon enough Jazz caught on, and smack Danny over the head for being a 'bad influence.' Sam nearly spit her cocoa out from laughing so hard, and for some reason Danny blushed slightly.
Dash had to laugh at that little incident, and somehow got drawn into their conversation. It looked like one of the 'A-list's' conversations from a distance with all the chattering going on, but wasn't at all like what he was used to. It wasn't hair and make-up and boys, or clothes and styles, or even money and bragging and girls. It was just talking…about anything and everything.
Dash, even as he joined in, couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. He was having fun…and he was having fun talking, out of all the things he could be doing right then. He was never one for intellectual babbling, and though usually conversation with this group was considered such around school, he learned that it was really just a group of kids talking.
Favorite movies, funny television shows, good music, it was all talked over thoroughly, and by the time evening rolled around, Dash found himself like the other two visitors…reluctant to leave.
Had he still been apart of the so-called 'Kings and Queens' of Casper High, he would never have gotten to know so much about the three teens he used to play with in elementary school. They weren't just losers, they were people, with hobbies and lives and were interesting. Not only interesting, but genuinely interested in him.
Jazz had talked to him about trying tutoring again. Sam had been willing to talk about the new band that he enjoyed and even said she'd be willing to listen to the CD sometime. Tucker had mentioned an internet game that they both loved to play and they were talking about it for ten minutes straight before Danny cut in.
'He's the weirdest one of them all though,' Dash thought to himself as he said his goodbyes and headed for his own home, Tucker and Sam going their separate ways, though Dash noticed that Danny was walking the Goth home, 'Fenton usually can't stand me, and he let me come to his house and hang out with them and everything. He even talked with us about that game and then said I could hang out at his house whenever I wanted.'
Wrapping his dried jacket closer around him as the wind kicked up and tiny white flakes began to descend, Dash thought about everything that had happened to him that day for the rest of his journey, 'They all have reason to hate me, but they don't, they actually try...Kwan and Star…and maybe Valerie Gray are the only other people I can think of who act like that.'
'I've been with the wrong group for a really long time,' Dash sighed to himself as he opened his door and slipped upstairs to change, his mother calling after him about being gone for so long, 'Shoulda' kept the good friends while I had them…maybe I can do it right this time. I won't forget who my friends are this time around.'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Author's note…Remember that last line Dash thinks. It's something that comes up in a rather poignant moment in Chapter 47...the ever wanted and dreaded 'incident' from fifth grade…..