Links in the Chain
By Lacey52
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
A note: Heh…everyone's all worried about the ghost. You are all gonna' distinctly dislike me about halfway through this chapter…
This is the same day as Chapter Forty Nine, just to let you know…it's the second half of the day. Hm, and it's short and crappy. It just has to get some stuff set up and issues talked over. Anticlimactic? Yes. As wonderful as the last chapter? Nope. Do I really care right now? Not at all…so sue me:D
PS-Didn't check this one over either. I'm dead tired and going to bed, way early tonight.
EDIT! Thanks to Nonny for telling me of the erroneous errors in this. They're edited and this is reposted! I hope I got 'em all...
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Chapter Fifty: Additions
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"God, could today have gotten any longer?" Sam asked as she stretched her arms over her head, causing her shirt to ride up and a few boys to silently gape at the flat midriff they had caught sight of. A tiny flash of green in Danny's blue eyes told Sam something was up, and as she glanced in the direction he was looking, it became apparent that the boys were in for a world of hurt if they didn't make themselves otherwise occupied.
"Yes," the halfa responded through clenched teeth as they weaved their way towards the lockers, expertly twisting and sidestepping through the crowded hall, always managing to keep close.
"Paranoid," Sam said under her breath in a sing song manner, "The pep rally had to have been the worst that Casper High has ever seen, and that's saying something. I can't believe that the dance team would be allowed to perform like that."
Danny just shrugged as they reached the lockers, "It wasn't that bad Sam."
"It was a blatant exploitation of the female body, not only through movement, but through the sexual nature of the lyrics used," she was in a fine state, the excess energy she had been using to help keep Danny and herself calm finally taking its toll.
Because of this Sam was apparently pretty grump, and Danny was starting to get rather antsy again, noticing others watching them and generally starting to jump to the wrong conclusions. Jealousy was also a key issue for some reason or another.
"It was a dance," Dash stated as he leaned on Sam's other side, mimicking Danny's cross-armed pose, "They did it to get attention, they don't care if they did whatever it was you just said. Besides it was the best part of the whole stupid thing."
"Hm," Sam, clearly not amused by his attempt to quell her dark mood, turned slightly to find Danny looking down at her with a half smile on his face. It rather unnerved her when he got that look, "What?"
"Oh nothing," he shook his head with frown, a definite wave of lighthearted feelings caressing her, "I just figured that since you were helping me out all day today, that I should try and help you out in return…"
"Knock it off, Danny," Sam waved a hand in front of her as if to push the emotions away, "You're tired enough as it is. Besides who knows if you'll get called in to do your job with your dad tonight."
Catching her very obvious drift, Danny chose to ignore her and smile, "I can do my job even if I'm tired. Besides, it's a nice feeling, and I need to keep my mind off of other things."
"Okay, seriously," Dash pulled a face as he stood up beside them, "You two are weirding me out. Cut the code talk, you sound like your gonna' have sex or something."
Brilliant blushes bloomed in place on both their faces as they tried to come up with a reply, only to find themselves shouting, "We are not!" at the same time and blushing more. Dash thought it best to take his leave quickly before Sam got anymore annoyed with him than she already was.
"I gotta' catch the bus, so I'll see you guys later," the young man shook his head as Tucker approached, "You ain't going to the game are you, Bad Luck Tuck?"
"No," Tucker bit out, "and I hate that nickname…call me anything else but that Dash, I'll even help you stuff myself into a locker if you never call me that again…"
"Sore feelings, much?" Valerie asked from across the hall.
"You have no idea," Tucker sulked over to where Sam was leaning against her locker and lowered his forehead onto her shoulder. Sam just rolled her eyes and gently patted his back, "Get over it you big baby…"
"Not the most soothing thing to say Sam," Tucker spoke into her shoulder, "Today blew. The pep rally stunk and I think I failed my essay in English…"
"Whatever Tucker," Danny lightly popped him on the back of his head, causing the teen to pop his head up and retreat from Sam's side to retaliate, "You know you didn't fail, you just wanted to get sympathy from a pretty girl."
"So you think she's pretty?" Tucker waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "You're finally admitting it?"
Rolling his eyes, Danny sidestepped Tucker's lunge and caught him in a choke hold, all the while Dash and Valerie watched wide-eyed, and Sam cheered them both on from the sidelines, "I told her she was hot one time."
"Ember's spells don't count," Tucker got out as he leaned over and lifted Danny off of his feet, "but I bet you wish they did!"
"I wasn't under Ember's spell!"
"He was trying to make me feel better about something," Sam laughed as she watched Danny blush and then grunt in determination, pulling himself off of Tucker with the use of his weight and gravity, and taking the techno-wiz's hat with him as he tried to move away. Tucker caught his shirt though, and was just about to try and get the hat back from the halfa. The two were having so much fun they didn't notice Sam trying to signal them to stop.
"Ahem," the clearly spoken, meant to be a cough, sound had the two boys cutting their game short, "There is no rough housing in the school halls, gentlemen."
"Sorry about that Mr. Lancer," Danny smiled at the older man as he handed Tucker back his hat from the floor and set about soothing his more messed up than usual hair, "We were just playing, not fighting or anything."
"I could tell," Mr. Lancer nodded, then turned to face the entire group, "Will you be attending the game this afternoon…with the exception of you, Mr. Baxter, as I'm already aware that you will be present?"
"We can't," Sam forced herself to not roll her eyes, "We have some…other stuff to do today, sorry Mr. Lancer. You know how homework gets piled up on students over the weekend."
"I can't go either," Valerie sighed, "Even though I'd really like to be able to go. I haven't gone to a game in ages."
"Ah well," Mr. Lancer smiled before turning to go, "I suggest you head for home then. I'm sure this weekend will be an enjoyable break for you…after you finish the homework of course."
"Right," Tucker nodded, "Bye."
"Bye!" Danny and Sam both called out before breaking into grins and laughing. Dash and Valerie just shook their heads, and Valerie called her goodbyes as she headed for her father's car in the parking lot. She had been one of the lucky few to acquire their licenses already.
"I gotta' get going too," Dash smiled at the trio, "See ya'll this weekend sometime."
"Yeah, man see ya'," Tucker smiled as he grabbed his backpack and got into step with Danny and Sam.
"Good luck at the game!" Sam smiled and nodded to the athlete.
"Thanks…I'll need all the luck I can get," and with their little interchange over, the trio headed off towards the one place that all teens in Amity Park loved to visit before the dreaded task of homework and trying to escape their parents began.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"I can't wait to get to the Nasty Burger!" Tucker was smiling from ear to ear as they walked down the street towards their normal fast food hang out, "We haven't been there in forever! Meaty, yummy, juicy burger here I come."
"You and you're meat," Sam frowned, but stopped listening to Tucker as she noticed Danny falling further and further behind, his previously upbeat mood falling fast as worry started to take over, "Danny?"
"Hm?" his eyes shot to her, and he gave her a tired smile, "Whatcha' need Sam?"
"Just wanted to know what you're thinking about," Sam returned his smile as he lengthened his stride to catch up with her, "You're quiet."
"Just thinking about the whole Vlad thing that's been going on," Danny shook his head with a grimace, "I can just see it now. Whatever ghost is out is probably one of his lackeys or something. Just what I don't need right now."
"It's gonna' be fine Danny," Sam shrugged her shoulders, "Besides, wasn't Val supposed to split you with that weird gun thingy?"
"Yeah," Danny gave a slight smile, "That's definitely one thing to my advantage. It just makes me think, you know? Either Vlad is getting really dumb or he's really overconfident."
"Since when hasn't he been really overconfident? Kinda' like someone else I know at times…" Sam laughed as she watched Danny make a 'scary' face, "What's with the face?"
"Oh, ginger snaps!" Danny imitated Vlad's voice as best he could, which wasn't very well and only added to the humor, "The confounded girl has realized my flaws, this cannot go unpunished!"
"Right," Sam rolled her eyes as the halfa made 'scary' noises along with his 'scary' face, "Whatever you say Danny. Besides, we're here, so no retribution for you."
"Sugar cookies!"
"Oh shut up and open the door…"
"Yes, ma'am."
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Oh man," Tucker sat down with his triple-meat-cheese-and-bacon-heart-attack-on-a-bun, "This is gonna' be soooo good…"
"Tucker, stop drooling all over the table please," Sam waved a hand between the burger and the boy.
"Um, Sam?" Danny quickly snatched her hand from in front of the carnivorous young man, "It's not safe to put your hand between Tucker and his food…especially when so much meat is involved."
Laughing at Danny's comment and Tucker's eerily blank stare, Sam squeezed the halfa's hand that was still holding her own, only to stop in slight shock when she noticed the light blue mist-like tendril float up between them. Danny's face reflected her own sentiments perfectly at that moment Sam decided.
"Oh crap," Danny began frantically looking around, as Tucker finally took notice of the world around him, "It's here somewhere…"
"So? Fight it," Sam shrugged as she started to gather her and Danny's bags, "That's kinda' what you always do."
"Yeah," Tucker nodded as he grabbed up his own backpack, "Just get to it so we can get on with the movie plans for tonight."
"No, you don't get it," Danny shook his head, looking towards Tucker for a half second before returning to surveying the area, "Usually if a ghost gets out, it goes straight for what it likes and then I fight it and send it back right?"
"Yeah…" Tucker trailed off, clearly not following what Danny was trying to say.
"Well, this one's been out for longer than normal…I couldn't find it and it started to move around and I think it might be something Vlad sent," Danny frowned as still, the ghost didn't show itself, "You know, after the whole, 'Valerie's gonna' shoot me' thing that happened?"
Tucker pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, "So you think this ghost is from Vlad to take you out?"
Danny nodded, "Yeah, but I don't think he knows that Valerie never shot me with that special gun of hers."
"So it's gonna' be really smart or strong or fast or something, since it's from Vlad right?" Sam had a spark in her eyes, "But if he thinks you're weak, he might not need anything as strong as he usually sends."
"You two get out of here, just in case though," Danny nodded towards the door, "Head for my house and get something good to help me out with."
"Right," Tucker nodded as he scooped up his burger and headed for the door, "Be right back!"
Sam stood her ground, even as Danny leveled a stern gaze her way, "I'm staying here."
"Please Sam? It would really make me feel better knowing that someone is gonna' watch what Tucker grabs," he sent a rakish grin her way to try and convince her to leave, 'And knowing that you're safe is a major bonus…'
"Fine," Sam rolled her eyes and turned to go, feeling some interesting emotions from Danny, "but I know when you're lying, Danny Fenton, and we're gonna' have a talk about this later."
Watching Sam leave and then watching his ghost sense float in front of his face again, Danny cursed his luck, "Great, just great…head in the game…"
"It's here isn't it?" the door opened to reveal Valerie in full ghost hunting regalia. At seeing the resident ghost hunting mystery woman enter the Nasty Burger, the entire room cleared in under ten seconds. Taking advantage of the lack of patrons at the fast food restaurant, Danny quickly changed and floated to Valerie's side.
"Yeah, it's here," the halfa grimaced, "I think it's from Vlad. You really shouldn't be here right now."
"I'll be where I want to be at ghost boy," Val's voice held a hint of mirth, "You can't boss me around. Now let's find this thing and get rid of it, I'm tired of trying to track the stupid thing down."
Watching carefully around them Danny and Val began to move forward. Whatever was here was more than aware of their presence, as they had been being so loud earlier, so being quiet now was a moot point.
"So you really don't cause all the problems right?" Valerie looked over her shoulder at the boy who was currently covering her back, "You just happen to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Something like that," Danny answered glumly as they began to circle around scanning every inch of the store, "I know I've said it before, but I really didn't ruin your dad's job. The dog that you kept seeing me with was one of the old guard dogs that had died. He just wanted his squeaky toy."
"What about all those other times?" Valerie pushed a button on her wrist and started to scan, but the proximity to Danny was causing the scanner to malfunction, "Like that one time that you tried to take over the town."
"I didn't, it was some other ghost after me, just like every other time," Danny caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, but didn't turn quite quickly enough, "I don't exactly have a fan club in the ghost zone. I'm actual public enemy number one there too."
Giving a dry laugh at the quiet, sad chuckle Danny let slip, Valerie stopped moving to concentrate on something…something…
"Did you hear that?" her urgent whisper had Danny even more on his toes than he was, "It sounded like the sink turning on and off…"
A shadow suddenly crossed the wall and both Danny and Val turned to face it, one with glowing fists, the other with glowing gun. The sound of things rattling and moving had the hair on the nape of their necks standing, even though they had both done this a thousand times over. Some things you can never quite get used to.
The shadow seemed to have reached an amazing, looming height as a cackle came from the back kitchen. Counting silently to one another Danny and Valerie both kicked the door to the back open only to come face to face with a ghost asking a very interesting question…
"Cookie?"
"You've got to be kidding me," Danny held his hands up in front of him to decline and then blocked the subsequent blow from the food flying at him. Blasting the ghost backwards, Danny moved backwards himself to pull off the condiments and burger patties that were currently attached to the other teenager's helmet and visor.
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" the question came as Valerie removed her helmet to gain a clearer view of the world around her.
"Heh," Danny chuckled, "It's a good thing. Now let's kick some ghost butt."
"Deal," and grabbing the halfa's hand, Valerie stood and the two rounded up the Lunch Lady Ghost with absolutely no problems. Three minutes later, the ghost was in the Fenton thermos, which was explained to Valerie along the way, and the pair went out the back door to change and wait for Sam and Tucker to return, feeling a great deal more at ease with one another.
"We're here!" Tucker raced in just as the back door closed, "I brought the Jack-o-nine-tails!"
Silence met Sam as she walked in and looked around, "I don't think Danny's here right now Tuck, but if you care to leave a message I'm sure I can get him on his phone."
"No need!" Danny said brightly as he walked in through the front door with Valerie, "I was gonna' wait for you outside, but I guess you came in when we went out."
"Whatever," Sam rolled her eyes as she grabbed both boys by their shirt collars, "Let's just get out of here and watch some movies. You too Valerie…"
"Ain't gotta' tell me twice."
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"So we're cool now right?" Danny asked Valerie as they entered Sam's luxurious home, and she and Tucker headed off to start up movie night, "I mean, you're talking to me and all, but I wanted to make sure we're okay."
"We're cool," Valerie nodded to the halfa, "Just…why did you try to be my friend even when you knew I was trying to kill you?"
"I, uh," Danny grinned sheepishly, "I didn't at first. I really didn't like you for a while, but then, I dunno', I figured you were a pretty cool person. I had a crush on you, honestly…"
"Yeah," Valerie had a blush to match the one adorning the brave young man across from her, "I liked you too. But I don't think we would have worked out anyways…I mean, Sam would have been pretty upset…"
"Sam was just mad at me because you were the 'ghost hunter' and were trying to kill my other half," Danny toed the carpet for a second, "Guess we'd better head down…Sam'd really have my head if we don't."
Laughing at the nervous boy beside her, Valerie couldn't help herself, "So you like her huh?"
"I, uh," Danny cleared his throat and led her down the hall, only to find the movie theater still empty, "I think I do…maybe…I gotta' go find them so we can start the movie. I'll be right back."
Valerie's laughter rang out behind him as he hurried up the stairs to Sam's room, where Tucker and Sam were depositing the backpacks and such of the others. Not even bothering to knock, Danny barged right in, to find Tucker hugging Sam.
Jealousy flared.
Blue eyes flared green and the halfa moved forward angrily, only to pull up short as Sam suddenly moved herself in front of him, "Don't go all green eyed monster on me, Danny. It was just a hug, so knock it off."
"Why were you hugging him in the first place?" Danny asked, then bit his tongue…this was exactly what they had promised not to do. His jealousy was feeding her anger, and vice-versa, "Sorry Sam, that isn't what I meant."
"I know," Sam let her gaze fall, trying to calm herself down as well, "I guess it's just been a weird couple of days for all of us, and I was talking to Tucker about Valerie hanging around."
"What Sam means is I thought she could use a hug," Tucker smiled at his best friends, "You know, from her big brother, even though she's older than me by a month. I didn't do anything to her. 'Sides, Sam'd kick my butt if I ever tried anything."
Getting a chuckle out, Danny had the decency to blush and abashedly look away from his two best friends, "Sorry, Tuck. I know you wouldn't do anything…I just…"
"It's cool, man," Tucker winked as he moved to the door, "I better keep Valerie company while you two, uh, 'talk' for a minute."
A pillow hit the door just as Tucker closed it. Sam shook her head and sat on her computer chair, while Danny opted to float. They held one another's gaze for a moment, before Sam looked away, her emotions crashing into and over each other making it hard for Danny to read her.
"Danny, I know you get jealous when other guys start liking me, or act like they like me," Sam sighed, "and I know it's probably some weird form of 'big brother' protection, but I can seriously take care of myself. Tucker was just worried and caught me by surprise. I appreciated the hug, but it didn't mean anything."
"I know," Danny scrunched up his face, "I just…I just got upset when…this is stupid. I don't know why, but ever since we got this link back I get really jealous, Sam. I mean, I know that you aren't interested in them, or I'd feel it, but I still get upset…"
"You ever think it's because you're half ghost?" the Goth pushed his knee gently to turn him in mid-air.
"Why would that matter?"
"Well, look at all the ghosts we've ever encountered. Their whole existence is centered around one, specific thing. The Box Ghost loves boxes, Walker is a warden, Skulker hunts. Maybe because we have this link, you're subconsciously assuming that I'm yours in a weird way," Sam was trying her best to fuddle through her strange theory without blushing, but it wasn't working too well, "It makes sense, and would explain your sudden bouts of jealousy."
"I guess," Danny settled himself on the floor at Sam's feet, 'Even though I know the real reason is because I like you and I don't like other guys having a chance with you…'
"Let's go," Sam stood up suddenly and dragged him to his feet, "Those two have probably come up with all sorts of lame things to tease us about while we've been talking. I can just hear it now…"
"…'Oh, so you two 'talked' huh?'" Danny grabbed Sam by the waist and phased them down to the theater, "or 'What took you so long lovebirds?'"
"Hey!" came an indignant shout from Tucker, "That's my line!"
Valerie and Sam both started laughing at Tucker's outburst. Danny was just happy that for once, they weren't actually picking on him and Sam for being upstairs alone. Sitting with the other three, the movie watching commenced and Danny thought back over the day.
It hadn't been bad, per say, but it hadn't been the best either. His jealousy was becoming an issue, and he knew that Sam didn't appreciate it. He needed to stop, but that was easier said than done.
'First Dash, then Huey, then all those other guys at school checkin' her out,' Danny shook his head, then relaxed as he felt Sam lean her head against his shoulder, 'Heh, it's probably because she started dressing differently. Sam looks really nice, but those other guys noticed too. Not that she likes them…I gotta' relax…I am too jumpy about things lately.'
And enjoying the feeling of Sam beside him and his friends around him, Danny let himself stop worrying and just have fun watching a movie like a normal sixteen year old.
'No worries right now,' the halfa told himself, 'because I'm sure it's all just around the corner…'