Links in the Chain
By Lacey52
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
A note: Nonny rocked my toe socks off and wrote me an awesome one-shot based on a quote I gave her. It's called: I Will Neither Lead or Follow You My Friend by Me The Anon One so go and read it. It's an interesting look at how two people might become friends and I recommend it! Lots of love to you Nons (and hope you don't mind the advertisement, lol!)
This is a nice, relaxing chapter that has little to no meaning that I wanted to have in my story. It does, however, have an important overview at the end, so I guess it does serve some purpose…
Oh and please, ignore that technically April 1 is supposed to fall on a Saturday…just pretend that it's on a Friday…please, please, please! Thanks a million!
Didn't read it over…too tired…(is a zombie like creature…)
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Chapter Fifty Five: Shifts
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"What's with you two?" Tucker asked as he observed a rather meek looking pair of teens walked up to him, both looking slightly disheveled and more than a little out of place, "Why do you look so…weird and blushy?"
"No reason," Sam replied quietly as she kept her head down and walked right past him.
"Really now?" Tucker caught up with the girl and found himself between the two, "What did you two do last night?"
"Nothing," Danny commented, also keeping his head down. Definitely not normal Danny and Sam behavior…unless something had happened. Tucker smiled to himself, this was gonna' be good.
"Okay, now I know something happened. Spill it you two," Tucker watched them as they glanced across him then retreated to their silence, "You do realize the longer you try to ignore me the worse I'm going to make it for you today."
With a wicked smirk and a mixture of feelings that had Danny more than a little on edge Sam turned to look at Tucker, "Danny spent the night with me and my Dad walked in on us this morning."
"SAM!"
"Bwah?"
Tucker and Danny were both shocked, but one was shocked into laughter, the other into stunned silence, "I think I killed Tucker…"
"I think you did too," Danny kept laughing, not even trying to understand all the emotions coming from the girl who was currently trying to snap Tucker out of his shock by knocking on his forehead, "Tucker…hey, April Fools…"
Tucker took a second to work this sentence out in his brain and then looked relieved on behalf of the pair. Who would want to get caught by a parent in such a situation? Tucker was comforted by the information, "Oh man! You so had me going. Like you two would ever…"
But Tucker had to cut himself short and begin anew, "Why are you blushing now?"
The truth of the matter was that Danny was blushing because he halfway remembered the talk that morning with his parents and halfway because the thought of them doing…that had popped into his head and he was trying his hardest to ignore it all.
Sam had picked up on what Danny was thinking. That was definitely an interesting moment in her life, as she had felt some semi-similar things from her best friend before, but never quite like that….that had her blushing all the more.
The pair couldn't help the blush being all the worse as they both answered Tucker's question, "No reason!"
"Riiiiiight," Tucker looked back and forth between the two once more, "So what happened? One of you walk in on the other all nakey or something? Kiss? Admit your undying adoration?"
"Shut up Tucker," Sam said irritably, "Danny came over at almost two in the morning and woke me up to talk. I told him to just go back to sleep so I guess he took me literally and fell asleep."
"On the floor!" Danny quickly interjected as Tucker was about to open his mouth and make yet another comment.
"And then the Fentons were looking for him," Sam continued, causing an excited look to pass over Tucker's face as he could finally participate in the storytelling.
"Mrs. Fenton called my house," then a rather annoying grin plastered itself onto his face, "So that means that she must have called your house too, and Mr. Manson really did wake you two up. Dude, is there a swat team about to drop out of nowhere and take him down for standing too close to you, 'cause if there is I'm just gonna' stand right over there…that had to be annoying."
Sam only had one thing to say to that. Well…really just one action. She rolled her eyes. Danny took another course of action though. He began to shuffle away from her side and look around nervously. You could just never tell with the Mansons and he wasn't taking any chances.
"Oh come on, Danny," Sam caught the boy edging away and feeling nervous, "there isn't a swat team so just calm down. And it wasn't as embarrassing Tucker, as having to talk to Danny's parents."
Danny had the decency to blush as he tried to ease Sam's discomfort, "I am really, really sorry about that Sam. I can't believe my parents talked to us…both…about that…at the same time."
"The horror," Tucker for once was serious, patting Sam on the back lightly in comfort as he shot Danny a sympathetic look, "They really did that? Harsh, man, way harsh. So are you two are grounded for life? Banned from hanging out alone?"
"No," Danny cringed, "They were just making sure we weren't doing that, but they didn't threaten us 'cause we're not going out."
At that moment in time, it would have been very interesting to see the pairs' reactions if they could have read one another's minds. Their thoughts were identical, 'At least, not yet…'
They reached school with laughter and old lines, such things as 'Your shoes untied…April Fools!' and 'Your fly's down! April Fools, you dork!' and all those others old favorites of their younger years. As the doors of Casper High came into view, a mischievous light came into both Danny and Tucker's eyes…long nights of planning were about to come into play and pay off.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Dash Baxter walked into school that morning with a smile on his face and his gym bag slung over his shoulder. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and a cute little blue teddy bear that looked just like the one he owned was sitting in the middle of the abandoned hallway.
Wait a minute…
"Ah!" he ran to scoop the small stuffed animal up, "How'd that get here?"
Carefully, and yet hurriedly, he stuffed the toy into his gym bag and began to look around, relived beyond measure that no one was around, "I hope to God that no one saw that…"
Continuing on, Dash took it in stride. This was Amity Park after all. Weirder things had happened before…
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Hey Dash," Tucker came up beside him right before the bell for first period was going to ring. The other teen turned to the side as he shut his locker to give the techno-wiz a small smile.
"Hey, 'sup?"
"Not much," Danny stated with a shrug as he appeared on his other side, a stack of papers in his hand, "We're just trying to get people to sign these petition letters that Sam typed up. Here, sign one…Sam'll be happy."
"Sure whatever," Dash took a paper and gave his John Hancock with a flourish, "So what's she protesting this time?"
Nothing but laughter met his ears as he found a camera in Tucker's hand, the paper in Danny's. Judging by their smiles and fits of mirth, this was one of those things that wasn't good.
"Ah man, I told you this was gonna' be the best prank ever!"
"Prank?" Dash questioned Tucker with a twitch to his eye, before grabbing at Danny and totally missing as the boy phased it away from him, "What the hell did I just sign?"
"Oh just a statement confessing your unnatural attraction to flower arrangements," Danny smirked as he looked over the paper, "and making them…"
Tucker was catching it all on camera and it was going in his hall of fame. The reaction was priceless, his face was perfect horror…oh it was just too good to be true…
"Fenton! You're dead," Dash took off after the already moving halfa, before calling back over his shoulder, "And you're next Foley!"
"Not unless you want it plastered all over the internet," Tucker replied smugly, hefting the camera to demonstrate his meaning.
"You little…" Dash halted in his tracks and Danny walked back over to him, clapping him on the back and handing him the paper.
"Oh man, we got you good," he smirked at the boy's shocked face, "I'm not that evil. April Fool."
"Yeah," Dash grumbled as he ripped the paper to shreds and headed off to his first period, "April Fools…"
"Sweet," was all Tucker had to say as he replayed the footage and shook with laugher, "Next target?"
"Next target," Danny echoed with a devious grin and rubbed his hands together, "and Phase Two of operation teddy bear…"
They were off and running, with just enough time to get to their classes, checking their synchronized watches every few minutes, 'Always knew these cool watches were a good idea…I'm glad I gave Danny one for his birthday…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"What the hell?" a pink bear fell out of Dash's locker and sat at his feet, innocently staring back up at the bewildered boy, "Shit!"
Quickly grabbing this second bear and tucking it away with the first, Dash looked around then walked off towards his next class. The little bears seemed to be following him and it was starting to freak him out…
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Hey Val!" Tucker caught up with Valerie right before she entered her second period class, "The office wanted me to get this to you."
"Thanks," Valerie said politely, taking the paper from the boy's hands and reading over it, her face falling and then morphing into an expression of pure panic, "What? Failing math? How can I be failing math…and I don't owe…five hundred twenty four dollars and thirty seven cents for damaged books! That's ridiculous! I've never turned in a damaged book, where the heck am I supposed to….You!"
Valerie had caught Tucker trying his hardest to keep the laughter in, but the shaking, hand over his mouth, and tears streaming down his face as he recorded it gave it away pretty quickly, "Gah! She's gonna' kill me!"
"That's right!" Valerie began her pursuit of the fleeing culprit, "Get back here and give me that camera!"
Dash just stood off to the side, observing the show, "They got her too…"
The boy had to trail off as he found another pink bear hanging by a string from the ceiling just as he turned to leave, "Not again!"
Grabbing the bear, ripping the string off it, and stuffing it rather roughly into the bag with the others, Dash could only think of revenge, "I'm gonna' pulverize whoever's doin' this!"
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
'God I hate gym sometimes,' Sam thought as she began her eighth lap around the track, giving herself a total of two miles for the class period, 'Why did I take it again…why? What possessed me to be a health freak? And why is Danny feeling so happy and amused right now?'
The thoughts bouncing around her head had Sam almost miss her coach blowing the whistle for them to come back in, Danny's amusement taking up much of her attention, "Alright ladies, head in and get cleaned up. Nice job today."
'Yes…thank you!' Sam thought as she made her way into the locker room, quickly showered and then got ready to dress, laying her gym clothes on the bench beside her and opening her locker, 'I can't wait to get…changed?'
To Sam's utter revulsion it was not her normal dark skirt and tank top, nor a pair of the cargo pants she had taken a liking to and a tank top, that was resting neatly folded in her locker. The young woman reached in and gingerly pulled out the foreign clothes, desperately hoping that her real attire was underneath. Alas, it sadly was not.
A pair of low-rise blue jeans and a cute t-shirt with a pink bunny on the front stared back at her. To Sam's horror, the shirt even had a cute saying, 'Cruel, but cute so I'm worth it.'
"Oh, hell no," Sam shook her head, "I don't care what I smell like, I am not wearing this!"
She was getting desperate, and turned back to grab her gym clothes, only to find them missing as well. Only one person had the ability, not to mention the nerves, to try and pull something like this and actually manage to get away with it, 'Somewhere out there is a soon to be dead halfa, carelessly wandering the halls of Casper High…'
The bouts of amusement and happiness suddenly made sense to Sam, and she'd be damned if she didn't skin Danny herself and offer him to Skulker as a Christmas present.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Out in the hallway, positioned just in front of the girl's locker room doors, were two boys holding a pair of tan cargo pants, a set of gym clothes, and a black tank top with a skull and crossbones on it. Danny was in the process of folding it all when an intense anger and annoyance slammed into his stomach, "Oh man, she is gonna' murder me!"
The boys started laughing even harder as Tucker readied his camera and the bell rang, "This is gonna' be priceless…"
Sam walked out in all the low-rise goodness and pink glory that an Abercrombie model usually gave off. Several girls watched with wide eyes as 'dark' Sam suddenly seemed…bright. The guys in the hall, too, were reveling in the change. Only two knew exactly what was in for them as they got a half a minuets worth of film of her intense scowl.
As she started advancing, the boys spilt and ran in opposite directions, self preservation instincts kicking in and demanding the immediate evacuation of the area.
"I HATE YOU BOTH!" and Sam stormed off, slightly self conscious, as several pairs of eyes accompanied her down the hall. A shadow of cold, though, was lingering off to her left, and Sam was positive that even if the boys couldn't see it, there were getting a very nasty green glare in return, 'Oh no, you wanted to do this to me, you live with the consequences, Daniel Fenton.'
And putting extra 'strut' into her step, Sam sashayed down the hall and to her class, much to the annoyance of the floating boy accompanying her…for protection reasons of course, or so he told himself…
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
As Dash cautiously entered Mr. Lancer's class he just about lost it and broke down laughing…or maybe crying. There, perfectly positioned on his desk, was a medium sized purple teddy bear, complete with little bow tie and top hat, "Oh God…"
Walking up to his desk with a straight face, and fighting off his blush, Dash grabbed the bear and stuffed it into his bag, ignoring all the strange looks he was receiving from his classmates, "No more…"
And Dash's head lowered into his hands with a sigh of defeat.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Lunch finally rolled around and the pranks seemed to slack off for the time being. Sam was sitting rather self consciously at her normal spot at the normal table, only there was no Danny or Tucker in sight. And the only reason Danny wasn't in sight…well, only the boy knew at that moment.
"I hate you," Sam said seemingly to thin air.
"I know," thin air answered back with a chuckle, "I'm sorry, but it had to be done. It's not a good April first without a few really good April Fool's Day pranks."
"I still hate you," Sam shrugged as she began to unpack her lunch, the patch of cold air to her left laughing slightly at her mixed feelings. She could admit when it was a good prank, but was hoping against hope that he'd give in because of all the staring and give her normal clothes back. Sam could only wish she was as lucky.
"Here comes Mr. Bear," she heard Danny smirking beside her, "Gotta' go, I've got something to take care of. Be right back!"
As the air began to warm back up, Sam looked up to see a slightly disgruntled Dash approaching the table with a rather full looking gym bag. He sat down his try and then gave Sam a rather confused once over, before something seemed to click, "You too huh? They already got Val and me this morning…those good for nothing little bastards…"
"You?" Sam asked incredulously, "What happened to you?"
"Foley and Fenton got me to sign a paper that said I liked flower arranging and where threatening to post it on the internet," the teenager mumbled out as he stabbed at his jello.
"Ouch," Sam remarked with only half concern, her own plight being much worse in her mind's eye, then began to glare off to their right where a rather conspicuous area of cold had formed, "They stole my clothes from my gym locker and replaced them with these, the jerks."
"I don't even want to know," Dash spoke, even as he swore he heard a nervous chuckle, "I officially hate April first. First that stupid paper and then I keep finding be…uh, some stuff that I collect all over school."
"It wouldn't happen to be bears would it?" Sam asked dryly with a raised eyebrow.
"Wha…how did you know?"
"There's one now sitting beside you…" Sam tried to keep herself from laughing, not only from her own amusement at the situation, but from Danny's emotion leaking over into her and adding to her mirth.
Dash turned with a rather freaked out expression and quickly shoved the little purple bear into his gym bag. Sam caught other various colors as he did so, and began to wonder just how many bears he had, "Why me?"
'He must be getting ready to do something else,' thought Sam, who was barely able to contain her laughter by this point because of Danny's emotions, "You do realize that one of your friends is half-ghost, can be just as evil a prankster as the best of them, and can turn invisible and intangible, right?"
Dash's head hit the table with a pronounced 'thump' as realization washed over him, "I'm gonna' gut the runt…"
Once Sam was certain that Danny was no longer around, she leaned over the table and caught Dash's attention, "I've got a better idea."
Looking up and seeing Sam's wicked expression, Dash nodded for her to continue, "We'll get them both back...come on bear boy, we've got work to do."
And grabbing her things and a slightly confused Dash Baxter, Sam was out the door and heading down the hallway for her locker. She had just the plan to get back at the two jokers…
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Paulina knew her place, and it was currently being occupied by a group of giggling, chatting girls. With a snap of her fingers and a disapproving look, she had them cleaning a space for her and scattering out of her way, 'Have I still got it, or do I still got it?'
Looking around her, she found that Star and Valerie were sitting at the table next to the main 'A-list' eating place, enjoying a quite conversation and missing a few of their numbers. Kwan and Dash were nowhere in sight, and Paulina decided to grace the two girls with her presence.
"You guys haven't sat with me in a long time," Paulina pouted slightly as she sat down beside Star, smiling at them as they politely smiled to her, "I missed you two."
"Well, I uh," Star started nervously with a small blush, before clearing her throat and trying again, "I usually sit with Kwan now and I uh…"
"I got ya'," Paulina smiled back with a wink, "Sarah spends a lot of time hanging around with Jason these days. We're all girls here, we know what's it's like to have it bad for a guy…"
Trailing off with a giggle, Paulina closed her eyes for a second, thinking of a certain guy in black and white, before Valerie's voice pulled her out of her fantasy.
"Yeah, Sarah's the reason I haven't been sitting with you guys lately," Valerie stated confidently, frowning as she thought of the girl.
"You don't like Sarah?" Paulina asked in confusion, "Did she do something to bother you?"
"Not me exactly," Valerie grimaced again, "She's way vindictive an gets on my nerves. I really can't stand her."
Paulina just shrugged as she took the new gossip in. Gossip was always a useful thing, "She's alright. Really it doesn't matter to me one way or the other, I mean, we're all in the 'A-list' together so we should try to get along. Maybe you two just need some time…"
But much to Paulina's surprise she was cut off, mid phrase.
"Paulina, the 'A-list' is stupid," Valerie had stopped eating and now spoke seriously, a stern look on her face, "It was stupid when we thought it up in middle school and it's even more stupid now that we're Juniors. There isn't going to be an 'A-list' in college or in the real world! It's time to grow up."
Paulina paused for a second, seeming as though she was seriously consider all Valerie had just said, before a bright, yet annoying, laugh spewed forth from her mouth, "Oh that was a good one! You really had me going! April Fools!"
"Paulina," Star's quite voice caught her attention quick enough and had the slightly older girl calming her laughter, "Valerie's not joking. The 'A-list' is getting kinda' old and…I, uh, really don't like Sarah either. I mean, you and me used to be kind of mean too…but we were younger. Sarah goes beyond just teasing other kids. She's cruel and I don't like her."
Paulina was in shock as Valerie smiled proudly at Star for finally speaking up and voicing her opinions. The girl herself was trying her best to not shrink under Paulina's prolonged stare, "What? But the 'A-list'…"
"Isn't that great," Valerie cut her off as she stood and gathered her things, "C'mon girl, let's go find your guy and see what he's up to."
"Uh, by Paulina," Star said as she grabbed her things and headed off after Valerie, the chance to see Kwan far more alluring than staying at the popular girl's side.
"Bye," Paulina answered back numbly as she watched them leave. The world around her that she had come to understand was beginning to crumble and Paulina, for the first time in her life, wasn't so sure of where she stood.
As she walked back to her normal table, she began to look around her and found that many people had changed their seating arrangements. Groups and cliques were starting to interact, and far more so than normal. The world was changing and Paulina was falling behind on the trends.
It was a scary thought for the girl who had never fallen behind before.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Alright, we all know what to do right?" Sam asked as she shut her locker and turned to look at Dash and the newly recruited Kwan.
Dash ground his left fist into his right palm, "Definitely."
"This is gonna' be awesome," Kwan echoed her sentiment perfectly.
"What's awesome?" Star piped up as she and Valerie came around the corner from the cafeteria. They still had almost thirty minutes of lunch left, but the more help they got, the easier it would make things.
"Just a little revenge on Fenton and Foley," Dash grinned charmingly and then nudged Kwan closer to Star's side, "Kwan's helpin' out."
"About time," Valerie crossed her arms and grimaced, "Those two deserve…wait, what happened to you?"
"A prank that two teenaged boys are seriously going to regret," Sam smiled deviously.
"I don't even want to know," Valerie shook her head as she held up her hands, palms out.
"That's what I said," Dash grinned.
"Hey," Sam looked between Valerie and Star suddenly, "Do you think you two could help us out by keeping the boys busy as soon as we start this? Just do whatever you can think of to keep them out of our hair until the end of next period…or longer if you can."
"If it means revenge I can keep Danny busy until the end of last period," Val looked rather scary right then, "No problems."
"I could ask Tucker to help me with my power point presentation and really act like I have no clue how to use computers," Star wound a lock of her golden hair around her index finger, "That'll keep him busy all afternoon, and the teachers will let him out of class to help in the computer lab, I'm sure."
"Perfect," Sam grinned wickedly as she began to walk off and the others followed her, "Now for one last little detail…"
The group arrived at Lancer's door shortly and as Sam knocked, Valerie frowned in confusion, "Lancer? That's the last detail?"
"Just trust me," Sam said cryptically, "I know what I'm doing."
Mr. Lancer did not expect to find the very mixed group of students that he did standing patiently outside his door, "To what do I owe the pleasure of so many of my students seeking me out?"
As his eyes locked onto Sam, she could almost hear him restraining himself from shouting out some book title or other, "Are you…quite well Ms. Manson?"
"No," she ground out with determination, "My two, crummy friends decided to go on a prank spree and I needed to ask you a favor so I can end it."
Lancer just nodded, "What is it you need? Hopefully nothing to do with office supplies?"
Dash and Sam both just grinned sheepishly as they answered with "Nope," and "No," respectively.
"All I need is Tucker's locker combination, I promise we won't steal or break anything or do anything nasty to his locker."
Mr. Lancer spent a moment looking over the small group and thinking, before he smirked and headed over to his filing cabinet, "I should not do this, but I'm feeling particularly sorry for you in your current state, Samantha. You don't look very comfortable."
Flipping through a few pages, Lancer found what he was searching for and quickly jotted it down on a small slip of paper, "You did not receive this from me, and I hope that nothing too disruptive will be happening?"
"No sir," Sam replied smartly with a very evil smile, before she and the rest of the group turned to leave with their thanks. A very curious Edward Lancer was left chuckling to himself, as Sam felt Danny's curiosity flare in response to what she was currently feeling, 'Nothing too disruptive anyways…'
As they walked away, Valerie sent one last look over her shoulder to the older man standing in his doorway chuckling. Shaking her head Valerie split off from the group to find and distract Danny.
'There's another person I misjudged…' she thought sadly, then tried to bolster herself, 'I can't believe how bad I was about that, but know that I know better I can change. You can always change for the better.'
And with a firm nod, she was off to be a distraction. She had just the thing too…she didn't have to do anything to fly, but the halfa on the other hand…oh he was going to be getting a workout today.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Tucker was late, and he hated being late. With a passion. He had promised Star that he'd meet her in the computer lab five minutes before their last period of the day began and he was two minutes behind schedule thanks to the numerous pranks he had been planning earlier.
Rushing down the hallways he didn't have time to move out of the way as Kwan turned from his locker and slammed right into him, both boys bouncing off of one another, though Tucker ended up on the floor. As Kwan moved to help him up, he never felt his trusty PDA being slipped from his pocket. As Sam rushed over, he didn't notice her reaching into the side pocket of his backpack and removing his cell phone and mini-recorder either…
"You alright?" Sam asked with concern as she pulled him up by the backpack, completing her part of the current mission.
"Yeah," Kwan helped him stand and then swiped the PDA, doing his part as well, "sorry about running into you like that."
"It's cool, but I gotta' go," Tucker took off once again, never stopping to check himself over, "I gotta' meet Star and help her with her power point, and I'm late!"
"You're gonna' be late all day with out these," Sam smiled down at the gadgets she and Kwan had taken. A smoother operation, in her own humble opinion, had never been performed, "Alright, we got what we need. Let's get back and set everything up with Dash…"
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Where is my PDA?" Tucker began to freak out as he frantically searched his backpack and pockets, "My phone? My camera? Has anyone seen them? Star! Did I have them when I came in?"
"Mr. Foley, please," the computer lab monitor shushed him, "I'm sure you just left them at home. Now sit down and help Star with her work."
"But!"
"Sit!" and so Tucker did with a whimper, much to Star's hidden amusement
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
'Oh this is going to be good,' Sam thought maliciously to herself as she put the finishing touches on her end of the prank and closed Danny's locker. Looking over to Tucker's locker, where Dash and Kwan stood crushing and ripping apart various old cell phones that she had some of the help deliver from her home. Who knew that old cell phones would ever come in handy?
"You guys ready?" she asked as she walked up to them, the boys throwing the last bits and pieces into Tucker's locker and shutting it. They nodded and all three proceeded to the empty classroom across the hall from the row of lockers. Situating themselves behind the door, Dash held the camera up and started recording through the door's small window.
Right before the bell rang, and right on schedule Star came down the hall with a very distraught Tucker in tow, "I'm sure you just left them somewhere. Did you leave that stuff in your locker?"
"No," Tucker brightened slightly, "but I don't remember leaving them in there. Oh well."
As he headed off to open his locker, Danny and Valerie appeared around the corner, Valerie apologizing profusely to a slightly annoyed Danny, "I'm really sorry we're so late…I expected to be able to find the, uh, problem a lot sooner. It was moving around on my tracker so much though, I couldn't ever get a good location and…"
"Val," Danny cut in quickly as he started for his locker, "I know and it's cool. We'll just have to keep our eyes open…"
But just as Danny opened his locker, the bell rang and the hall was flooded with students. Of course, as soon as he opened his locker the hall was flooded with pictures of Danny Phantom as well. With wide eyes, Danny slowly opened his locker the rest of the way and stood in pure shock at what he found.
His locker was covered top to bottom, side to side, with more Danny Phantom paraphernalia and toys and pictures and drawings and doodles than even Paulina's locker could boast. The pictures that had fluttered to the ground also appeared to have kiss-shaped smudges on them.
Danny rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't having a mental break down over his secret identity.
'Nope,' he thought numbly, 'It's still there…'
Everyone around him was laughing at his obvious shock and discomfort, all recognizing it for the prank it was and sending shouts of congratulations to whoever had pulled it off. The revelry soon stopped however, as a blood curdling shriek erupted from Tucker, who stood at his locker clenching broken bits of technology and circuitry and wires in his hands, horrified beyond all words as he drifted to Danny's side and shared his misfortune.
"It's so gruesome," he whispered in abject despair, "They killed my babies and stuffed the pieces in my locker to torment me!"
Tucker then caught sight of the new decorations that Danny's locker had seemed to gain, "What's all that stuff man?"
"Just a little revenge," Sam smiled wickedly as she walked up, Star, Kwan, Valerie, and Dash behind her with Tucker's camera in hand, "Happy April Fools boys…"
Handing Tucker back his cell phone and PDA, Sam was sure that she had never seen the boy happier. The group showed their endeavors that had been captured on film to the two pranksters who had just had the tables turned on them.
The hallway was in an uproar of mad laughter, and even Mr. Lancer from his position at the end of the hall could be heard chuckling beneath the sounds of his students.
Danny, however, leaned over and picked up one of the pictures of himself in mid-float, a happy, goofy smile on his face as he grinned back at the camera. Examining it closer, the outline of small, feminine lips was apparent on the slick photo-material, and with a wicked smirk he pulled Sam off to the side of the commotion slightly to try and get back at her, yet again.
"Two questions Sammy," the halfa asked her cheekily, still holding her arm gently, "How'd you get all this Phantom stuff and who exactly was kissing all these picture?"
Sam just folded her arms and ignored the smug feeling that was radiating off the boy, her own smugness pushing back against his, "I've got my sources and I did. There's your two answers."
Danny smirked and began to say something else, but never made it as Sam cut him off in a rush, a feeling of slight nervousness taking over, "And it was worth every one just to see the look on your face…"
Laughing Sam slipped her arm from his grasp and rejoined the others at crowing over their success. Danny just stood smiling and slipped the picture into his back pocket. He'd definitely be keeping it…
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
The next Monday the 'Great Prank War', as it had been labeled, was the new hot topic of discussion and several students had been trying to get all the details from the group of seven who had been at war. Tucker, who was always fast to get over his embarrassment, played the mini-movie that they all had created time and time again.
It was an instant hit and everyone agreed that it had to be posted on the internet. It was just that awesome.
Everything went back to normal as the day progressed and by lunch, the school was once again at the status quo. With the minor exception of seven people sitting at the once three person table of Danny, Sam, and Tucker.
Lancer stood back and enjoyed the tranquility that had fallen upon the school once again. They were good kids, who needed a normal life and if helping them be slightly mischievous every now and again was the only way for them to enjoy it, then so be it.
He watched as they laughed and chatted. He watched as the girls chastised Dash and Kwan for cursing, and then turned to get onto Tucker and Danny for laughing.
Never in his life had Edward Lancer expected Tucker Foley and Daniel Fenton to get along with Dash Baxter, Kwan, and Star. Nor had he expected for Valerie Gray and Sam Manson to become close friends either. No, he had not seen this coming at all.
There sat the proof at the middle lunch table. He had watched his trio grow into a septet and now found that he could relax slightly. They kept each other safe and looked out for each other here in school. It was one less thing for him to worry about.
He nearly laughed when a girl by the name of Ellyn Chizen shyly walked to their table and asked if they had room. Amazed looks were passed all around, and room was quickly made for the girl, who looked extremely relieved and eternally grateful. She was soon followed by a few of her friends, and a second table was generously moved by the boys of the group to accommodate all the people who were joining them.
It appeared that the lunch table had turned into a mini-potluck, as there was a community pile of fries in the middle and several food items were being passed and traded.
The 'A-list' was, interestingly enough, split. While some of the 'cool kids' looked on in disgust, most of the students at the so called popular table were watching out of the corner of their eyes in a rather obvious manner while their peers enjoyed their time together and talked of things other than trends and fashion. That table had to be incredibly boring. Lancer chuckled to himself at the thought..
'Times are changing,' the Vice Principal mused to himself, all the while watching his students and allowing a small smile to form on his face, 'It's about time that things have changed. We've let the more popular and out going students run this school for far larger than was healthy. I wonder what Miss Jasmine Fenton would have to say about the social disruption that her brother caused?'
"Amused are we, Edward?"
Turning slightly, Mr. Lancer found himself looking down at Principal Ishiyama, "Yes, ma'am, I truly am."
"A penny for your thoughts, then," she smiled kindly as she joined him in watching the happenings of the student population.
"I was just thinking on how there have been shifts in our school's different groups as of late," he chuckled again as he watched Danny and Sam gently lean against one another as the conversation around them turned into uproarious laughter, more than likely at their expense, "and how well our students have been adapting to these changes."
"I agree," the smaller woman nodded slightly, "Things have been easier, the students interacting more smoothly with one another, less fights, and such. I quite like what I see."
"So do I," Lancer agreed whole heartedly, "So do I. Casper High has been continuously undergoing a series of changes, but this is for the better. Our school has definitely become a healthy learning environment, and I know the names of several individuals who have been responsible for this."
With a final nod of acknowledgement, Principal Ishiyama left the Vice Principal to his observation and musing. Who ever said change was a good thing had definitely been well informed, and he couldn't wait to see what would happen next.
It would be one heck of a ride at the very least…