Links in the Chain
By Lacey52
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
A note: Heh…there's a wink to Ant Crown in the first sentence, lol! I hope you guys enjoy how much I'm antagonizing Danny in this chapter…it's sooooo much fun! This chapter was actually inspired by listening to "Story of a Lonely Guy," by Blink-182. Really a lot of songs off of the "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" cd goes with this . I love Blink sometimes…
And thus, with this chapter, starts the interruptions that most of you predicted a few chapters ago!
PS-Didn't edit because it's long and I'm tired. You know the drill, tell me if you find anything wrong, and I hope you enjoy it!
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Chapter Fifty Seven: Petitioning
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
First Attempt, Sidewalk to School, 7: 34 A.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Less than two weeks to prom and Danny had phased himself through his bed, various floors, the roof of the school, and very nearly to the center of the earth one thousand four hundred and fifty two times. Well, maybe not to the center of the earth, but Danny had found himself under the dirt enough times to warrant the idea.
It was now or never, and if he was going to ask Sam to prom, today was the deadline for him to get it done so she had time to get a dress and he had time to get the corsage and make sure that everything would happen. If he was going to take Sam to prom than everything had to be absolutely perfect…and that would take a lot of work as he so often had problems with his luck.
"He..hey Sam."
He was feeling ridiculous right then, stuttering when it was just Sam he was trying to ask out. His best friend in the entire world, the girl who had seen him through thick and thin, the young woman who was looking really, really good in that pair of boy's pants with the chain and all those pockets, and that black shirt that she always used to wear with that purple oval….shoot, now he was even more nervous about it.
"Hey Danny, what's up?" she turned to smile at the boy who was practically having a breakdown or so she felt. He was disproportionately nervous to their immediate surroundings and for the past few days it had just been getting worse and worse. Something was up with the boy, but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out.
'Maybe he's just nervous about those tests that we have today,' Sam chewed on her lip as she thought it over, then tried not to laugh at how he was acting, 'Who knows with him though…'
"Not a lot," he tried to sound and act casually with a shrug, but things didn't always go his way as it came out more as a squeak and jerky movement. He quickly remedied this by shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away awkwardly. Oh yeah. Real smooth.
"Me either, just getting ready to walk to school with you like always," Sam shrugged, still trying to figure out what was going on with her best friend. It was going to bug her to no end…
"Heh, yeah," Danny rubbed the back of his neck and hurried to catch up with the already moving girl, "Hey uh, Sam?"
"Yeah?" Sam asked with a smirk, hoping that finally she would discover the secret of what had been bothering the boy, "Yeah?"
"Yes, Danny?" she turned to ask the boy for a third time, only to find him completely missing, 'Guess he must have sensed a ghost or something…though they don't usually bother him unless something's going on…hm, oh well.'
"Hey Sam!" Tucker called as he jogged up, "Where's Danny?"
"Oh, hey Tuck," she smiled back as he joined her, "I really don't know, one second he's here, the next he's done. You know how Danny is sometimes."
"Yeah," Tucker laughed as he walked on with Sam, "Hey, you decided about going to prom yet?"
"I'm really not sure," Sam sighed and shook her head, "You're going stag, so at least I'll know one person if I go. I still have a couple of weeks to figure it out."
"Yep," Tucker laughed, "Plenty of time for you Miss Rich Girl."
"Oh shut up," and the two moved off laughing, leaving an invisible Danny halfway sunk into the ground.
'At least I caught myself this time and didn't sink all the way in,' the halfa grumbled as he folded his arms and raised out of the ground, 'How the heck am I gonna' do this?'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Second Attempt, Passing Period, Hallway, 8: 58 A.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Hey Sam," Danny smiled as he walked to their row of lockers, "You're feeling kinda' worried, what's going on?"
"Test, fourth period," Sam answered shortly, pulling a book from her locker and immediately burrowing herself in it's text, "I only halfway studied it last night and now I'm worried that I won't do very well. I just realized that I have no idea what half of the test is on…"
"Oh, well I don't really want to bother you, but would you mind if I asked you a question about prom?" Danny rushed out, but didn't quite manage to get the question all the way said before he felt that slight tingle as his powers started to act up.
He cringed. His pants disappeared. He was mortified. Sam was still stuck in her book and ignoring him completely.
"Sorry Danny, I've got to go," Sam turned and walked down the hall without a second glace, "I have to get this chapter read…"
"Oh," Danny said in half shock, half relief, "See ya' later I guess…"
Danny then realized that his pants were currently around his ankles and hurried to pull them up, sighing and leaning his head against his locker in dejection, 'How the heck is this going to work?'
As Danny stood wallowing in his misery, Mr. Lancer, who had been enjoying the show from the sidelines, walked back to his office and opened his bottom drawer. Hurrying back, he was pleased to still see Danny in the same position…well, not really pleased because he could guess what he was suffering through.
"Daniel," Mr. Lancer's heavy hand landed on the teen's shoulder, turning him from the lockers and to face him, "here."
Danny looked down to find a brown leather belt in his vice principal's hands, and took it with a long-suffering sigh, "Thanks Mr. Lancer, but this really won't help. Sorry about the pants thing, I didn't mean to do it."
"I know," Lancer stated in clear amusement, "I just wanted to tell you good luck. You really don't have much to worry about, or at least that's what I think."
"I have plenty to worry about," Danny slipped the belt through the loops just to please the man who was trying to help him out, "Thanks for caring though."
"Of course," Mr. Lancer nodded, "Just relax when you're trying to ask Sam."
"I've tried, but…hey," Danny shot him a questioning look, "How did you know I was trying to ask Sam."
Rolling his eyes, Mr. Lancer tried to find a way to word it, but decided that being blunt was probably the best route, "Daniel, you are as clear in this matter as you can be in your other form. Everyone can tell that you like her, except for the two of you."
"Heh," the halfa chuckled humorlessly, "I wish it was as easy as you make it sound. There's just a lot of…stuff getting in the way."
"Why?" Edward Lancer was determined to give the boy a boost, "Do you always let things stand in your way?"
"Uh, no," Danny said in confusion as he watched Lancer walk away chuckling to himself, 'But it really isn't as easy as all that…is it?'
With a last exasperated sigh and shake of his head, Danny headed off to second period, ready to give it a try again, 'Why me?'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Third Attempt, Second Period, 9:50 A.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
'Alright, just ask her,' Danny coached himself as he sat at his desk behind Sam, 'She's your friend, it's not like she's gonna' laugh in your face…unless she takes it the wrong way and thinks it's a joke…but she wouldn't do that because she'd feel how nervous I am…crap, she probably feels it right now…'
Danny glanced down at the notebook he was supposed to be taking notes in, the pages still as blank and clean as when he first opened it, with the exception of several doodles in the margins, 'Maybe if I don't say it out loud. Note, write a note….good idea, I'm a genius!'
Quietly tearing out a sheet of his notebook paper, which took nearly a full minute as he was trying to be extra quiet and not draw attention to himself, Danny started down at the white and blue lined paper, chewing on the edge of his pencil. Gnawing a pencil to pieces had always seemed to help him think in the past, so why the heck wasn't it now?
'Alright so,' Danny confronted the page as he normally would an enemy that he was fighting, 'First move has to be strong…but I don't want to get over confident, and I definitely want to feel it out, see how it goes…'
Placing pencil tip to paper, Danny began to write, but soon discovered a minor problem. He was phasing the pencil out, and it currently looked as though he were holding air, 'Not good! Concentrate Daniel James Fenton, concentration is key!'
Taking a deep breath Danny started again. Pencil tip to paper, so far so good, start writing…not so good. Danny had managed to start phasing, not the pencil, but the tips of his fingers out of existence. His pencil hit the table with a sharp 'clack' sound and drew the attention of several of his classmates.
Most decided, fortunately, that the boy who was so in the habit of nodding off at random times, had once again nearly fallen asleep. The teacher seemed to think so as well, as she simply shook her head and, after sending a stern warning in the form a gaze his way, returned to her lecture.
Sam had turned around to give him a questioning look, but he simply greeted her with an overly bright smile, which had her on edge. The emotions coming from her were going to be his downfall if he couldn't block them out.
The more jumpy she felt, the more he would feel himself to start to tingle in response, and spontaneously disappearing in class and then showing back up would be bound to draw attention.
'Breath,' he closed his eyes to try and regain control of the situation, 'Just breath and relax…it's fine, all I'm doing is writing Sam a note like I've done a thousand times before. I don't even have to mention anything about a certain something that might possibly lead to a gathering of people our age…nope, just sayin' hi.'
He managed to scrawl that much onto the paper along with a small happy face before he discretely passed it up to Sam, who accepted the note readily enough. The class wasn't exactly boring, but it wasn't exactly her favorite subject either.
Scribbling something down and handing it back, Sam glanced over her shoulder and tried to figure out why Danny was still so nervous, 'He obviously didn't study at all for whatever test he has to take this afternoon. I know he has a test in something, I remember talking to him and Tuck about us all having tests the same day in different classes…he'll probably be nervous for the rest of the day.'
Danny, on the other hand, wasn't having much coherent thought as he tried to figure out how to make the next move without pulling his vanishing trick again, be it on himself or some object.
Reading over the normal, 'Hi yourself, what's up?' from Sam, he tried and tried to think of something funny to say that might possibly lead into asking Sam to the prom.
His hand immediately winked in and out of existence.
'I can't even think about doing it,' Danny shook his head tiredly, 'but I have to. I will take her to prom, I will, I will, I will…hey, look at that, I didn't phase out!'
Silently rejoicing, and shouting his victory in his mind, Danny put pencil tip to paper again and started to write about the prom, and what was going on, and who was taking who, and the like. He only had a few more minutes before the bell rang, so he had to do this quickly.
'Why is it such a big deal anyways?' he bemoaned in his mind as he erased a word he didn't think he spelt correctly and tried another in it's place, 'It's just a dance with Sam. We've danced before, we've…kissed before even if they were fake ones….if I can't do this then how am I ever going to ask her to go steady?'
Glancing down and actually paying attention to what he was seeing, he found that he had ended up writing over half of his long note to Sam on his desktop. It only took him a second to realize what had happened.
In his musing he had phased the paper into intangibility.
He quickly set to work on rectifying the problem by mercilessly scrubbing at the wooden slab with the already half gone eraser. When the eraser finally bit the dust, he used the palm of his hand to rub the lead from the surface, leaving a large, shiny, gray mess in it's place.
Diving into his backpack, Danny began to frantically search for another eraser, only to find that he didn't have one. A tap on his shoulder had him sitting upright in a second, his nerves already stretched too thin as it was.
"Thought you could use an eraser," Sam stated dryly, trying her best to hide her amusement at his panicky mood, "You seem to have made a mess of things…"
"You could say that again," Danny grumbled as he took the eraser from her, being extremely cautious so as not to touch her. Touching her would probably have made them both blush right then and then poof, he'd disappear, leaving his classmates to question what had happened.
It was turning out to be one heck of a day, and deciding to call it quits for the moment to regain his courage and calm his nerves, Danny set his sights on lunch.
'Lunch, that's when I'll do it,' he lay his head on his desk right as the bell ring, hoping he didn't have a giant pencil mark on his forehead, 'if I even make it that far…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Fourth Attempt, Lunch Period, 12:34 P.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Sam had been having the most interesting day.
Danny's feelings kept tumbling one over the other, giving her a slight sense of vertigo, but on an internal, emotional level, and honestly, it was a very strange way to feel…
He'd been nervous, anxious, edgy, antsy, jumpy, tense, agitated, and all the other synonyms for the word 'worried' all day. She knew they had tests, but now, that theory just didn't seem to be cutting it. It was normal enough as it was for him to be worried about a test, but being that upset about it for that long was really pushing the envelope.
Just as Sam settled down to her spinach and tomato salad, with a raspberry vinaigrette that no one else seemed to appreciate, Danny came walking into the cafeteria, head held high, shoulders back, and a slightly jauntiness to his walk that he normally only had when he was feeling cocky about something. Well, the feeling was there, but as soon as their eyes met, it began to fade.
His head lowered, his shoulders hunched inward, and the air of confidence slowly leaked out of the boy, leaving behind a slightly apprehensive energy that, compiled with his normal klutziness, had even Sam worried about the possible accidents that might occur with food and trays and other such things.
Danny, miraculously, managed to make it through the lunch line and back to the table without any mishaps, and sat next to Sam in his normal spot, only a little closer than normal.
"Hope you did good on your test," he smiled her way before he started to eat.
"I think I did pretty darn well," Sam smirked back, "and I get to pick it up at the end of the day."
'Interesting,' Sam smiled to herself, the butterflies that everyone described floating around in her stomach as she reacted to his thousand watt smile and proximity, 'Something is definitely up with the halfa today…wonder if there's a problem.'
Danny ate his lunch in silence after that exchange, nodding his replies to the people around him and chatting amiably for a few moments whenever anyone tried to engage him in conversation, but on the whole ignored the general hubbub around him. That had Sam even more intrigued.
In fact, as soon as she noticed how quite the normally lively and talkative teen was being, she turned slightly in her chair to face him, "What's up Danny?"
A kind, goofy smile spread across his face, as he glanced around and noticed that no one was paying them any attention, 'Now, do it now…'
"Not a lot," he replied as he too turned slightly more, "Just thinking about some things, ya' know, school, life, stuff like that."
'You,' the word slipped through his conscious, another silly smile coming to life even as he thought it. Sam's reaction was to smile back, and immediately his nervousness increased, 'No, keep it cool, you're doing great, just ask her…'
Sam though, noticed her backpack had fallen over when they had shifted in their seats and went to grab it and set it back upright by her legs, lest anyone get caught up in the straps and trip themselves. Moving her hand down, she noticed that it was several degrees cooler directly to her right…and that her arm had just brushed against something freezing cold and tingly, right where Danny's right leg should have been.
Shooting back upright, Sam elbowed her halfa hard in the ribs, leaning over and hurriedly whispering his state to him, "Danny, your leg is gone. Fix it!"
"Wha…" Danny seemed to break from trance that had him staring in her general direction, and glancing down at his leg, sighed deeply, phased it back in, and promptly pushed his tray away from him to lay his head on the table.
"Danny, you alright?" Star had caught the move and Sam's worried look, "Are you getting sick?"
"No Star," Danny mumbled out, "I just got a headache…just a little worried about that test in last period."
"Hey, I always picture myself acing the test and that helps me not stress as much," Kwan stated wisely with a nod, causing Star to gaze adoringly in his direction, "You should try it."
"Yeah, thanks," Danny answered as he lifted his head and held it with his left hand, elbow against the table supporting the weight, "I feel better already."
"Danny," Sam frowned when everyone's attention had diverted back to Tucker and Valerie, who were telling of the pervious adventures they had been having in the 'teasing Sam and Danny' club they seemed to have formed between them, "I know something's wrong. Normally it would just be the weird way you've been acting, but don't forget that I kinda' know what's going on inside your weird mind."
"It's fine," Danny waved her off as he turned back and resumed eating, "I've just been having an off day."
"Are you sure it's not more than that?" she asked quietly, "I know you've been really worried about something lately, and you phased your leg out…you aren't thinking about Paulina like that again are you?"
"No, Sam," Danny chuckled, turning to face her, his eyes finally looking lighter and happier like they were supposed to, "I told you I'm just a little out of whack today. Guess I'm a little tired from studying or something."
"You don't study," Sam shot back with a disapproving look, "Is that what this is about, you didn't study for your test and now you're regretting it?"
"Yeah," Danny cast his eyes down, clearly trying to evade the line of questions she was shooting his way, "Don't worry about me so much, I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."
"I know that, you dork," Sam rolled her eyes as she too turned back to her meal, "I'm just worried about you…you aren't loosing control again are you?"
The last part had been asked in a tiny whisper that Danny had barely caught. He'd actually ended up leaning in closer to hear it and backed away quickly before he did any more damage with his lack of control, "Uh, what makes you think that? I'm fine Sam, really."
"Alright," she let it go. She shouldn't have, but he obviously wasn't ready to talk about whatever was bothering him, so she just let him have his way, 'I know you're lying, doofus, you can't lie to your best friend, link or no. I'll find out what's bothering you, one way or another….'
Lunch continued on with Danny slipping away before it ended, claiming he had an extra credit paper to complete. Sam just sighed, 'Another lie, another thing for me to worry about…what the heck is gong on?'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Fifth Attempt, Passing Period, Lockers, 1:57 P.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"I can do this, I will do this," Danny chanted to himself as he headed to his locker, "I won't stop trying until I do this…I mean, I'm getting better, I only lost my leg last time…I'm so screwed."
As he stopped at his locker, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie all headed up to him, with Tucker in the lead, "So when are we gonna' start the project?"
"I don't know," Danny shrugged, "I guess we should start it pretty soon, you never know what's going to happen to keep us from finishing it."
"You don't have to tell me that again," Valerie shook her head in exasperation, "At least things have been quieter since you had that little chat with the ghosts."
"It's pretty convenient, for all of us," Sam smiled, "at least we won't have to stop every couple of hours to chase down a ghost."
"I could just see it," Tucker began exaggeratingly, "The four of us working on our American History project, Presidents and their Pasts, only to have them come back as ghosts and try to take over the world…"
"Don't even go there," Danny hung his head and laughed, "I've had weirder things happen."
"It won't happen," Sam sounded positive of the fact, and her feelings of confidence were boosting his own greatly, "and if it does, we'll just have to interview them while kicking their butts."
Everyone got a good laugh out of that. Tucker and Valerie turned off as they got stuck on how the project should be designed, leaving Danny tugging at his collar and rubbing the back of his neck, "You know, prom's coming up pretty soon."
"Yeah," Sam nodded as she opened her locker and removed her book for the next class she had, "It's supposed to be really cool this year, not some lame theme or anything like that, just whatever people feel like going as. Wanna' be a princess, be a princess. Wanna' be a punk rocker, be a punk rocker. Sounds like it'll be lots of fun and I…Danny?"
Looking around Sam found the boy gone, his feelings rushing a thousand miles an hour and Sam was left trying to sort them all out, 'I swore he was right here…'
Taking another glance around her and noticing Tucker and Valerie looking around in confusion as well, led her to assume that Danny had surprised them with his disappearing act as well, "Did you guys see where he went?"
"Nuh-uh," Valerie shook her head, looking around as though she expected him to pop up from anywhere and try to scare them, "He was there one second, and then I looked away, and when I looked back he was gone."
"Yeah," Tucker nodded, "Maybe something came up…"
"Maybe," Sam responded slightly sadly as she began to move off to class, "If you guys see him, make sure he's alright…he's been acting weird all day. Oh, hey Dash."
"Hey Sam," Dash smiled as she passed him and continued on her way, "What's up with her?"
"Danny disappeared on her while they were talking," Valerie sighed, then smiled knowingly, "I swear those two act like they're married sometimes."
"Whatever," Dash rolled his eyes, "I gotta' get my notebook, completely forgot it…See ya' in class Val."
"See ya' in class," Valerie nodded as she began to move off, Tucker splitting from them as well to head to the library where his class was meeting to do research on another paper he had coming up in English.
Dash just stood at the lockers until he was sure that most of the people in the hall were gone, then turned to lean against the one next to Danny's, "You coming out Fenton?"
"How'd you know I was in there?" Danny asked as his head appeared and he took a peek around, phasing himself out of the locker as he did so.
"I watched you fall into it while you were listening to Sam," Dash laughed, "It was pretty funny to see your face when you started to go through it. Probably shouldn't have been leaning on it when you were staring at her boobs."
"I wasn't staring at her boobs," his face lit up with a blush, and he scowled angrily at the teen beside him as he too leaned against the lockers, "I was listening to her talking about prom, and the next thing I know I was through the locker door."
"So why didn't you just come back out?" Dash frowned, "Sam was looking for you."
"I know," Danny looked away, upset that he had made her feel slightly upset, "I was just kinda' embarrassed that I chose that moment to go intangible…"
"What was she talking about?"
"Uh," Danny blushed again slightly, realizing that this conversation was heading towards him telling Dash what was happening, "She was talking about prom…"
"What about it?" Dash crossed his arms as the bell rang and snorted, "Heh…another day, another detention…"
"I was going to ask her," Danny leaned forward to rock himself into standing up straight, "and she started going off about how it was going to be good this year because you could dress however you wanted…and I, uh…"
"You got nervous," Dash smiled maliciously, "Aw, poor little Fenton, got all nervous about askin' his little girlfriend to the prom…what's the matter, 'fraid she'd say 'Hell no!' or something?"
"Something like that," Danny frowned and cast about the floor for something to stare at, "I like her a lot, and I know she likes me….it's kinda' hard not to know with the connection we have, but I don't know if she likes me, likes me or if it's just a friends thing."
"Dude," Dash clapped him hard on his back, pushing him forward slightly, but not making him stumble as he had hoped, "Just walk up to her and smack her ass, then tell her she's going to prom with you."
"Let me guess," Danny looked slightly shocked at the suggestion, "It always works for you?"
"Pretty much," Dash nodded, "I don't know if I'd be able to get away with it on Sam or Valerie, but you're already half-dead, what do you have to loose?"
"That just makes me feel so much better about it," Danny tucked his hands into his pockets, looking up at the lights on the low ceiling, "Thanks for the advice, but I want to stay alive long enough to graduate, and knowing Sam I'd be smacked into next Wednesday for trying a stunt like that."
"Sometimes you just gotta' go for it," Dash shrugged as he stood and headed off, "Gotta' get to class. Good luck with your girlfriend, 'Fraidy Fenton…you know this is the first time I didn't have to stuff you into your locker…you did it for me…"
"Shut up….stupid Dash…" Danny grumbled at the boy's smirk as he headed off as well, 'Why does everyone seem to think me asking Sam to the prom is going to be easy?'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Sixth Attempt, After School, On the Stairs, 3: 48 P.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Waiting on the steps of the school, Danny found that staring at the clouds was both fascinating in that 'I'm so bored I could do anything right now and it would seem entertaining,' way and the 'God this is so peaceful, why haven't I tried this before?' way. His life, it seemed, was full of paradoxes…
With another sigh, Danny reflected on how happy Sam was feeling at the moment, and how incensed she had been just a few seconds ago, 'That was weird…wonder what's taking her so long.'
A few seconds later the door burst open, and out came a smiling Sam, a paper in her hands and the look in her eye one of fierce pride in her accomplishments. Sitting down beside him, she waved the paper in front of his face with a satisfied look, a smug smile replacing her earlier happy ones.
"Did well I take it?" Danny asked as he leaned back against the stairs.
"More than 'well' thank you," Sam replied, holding the paper still so he could see it, but glared as she found his eyes closed, "I got a point back."
"What?" Danny opened his eyes to look, only to have Sam snatch the paper away from him, "How'd you do that? Is that why you were all riled up?"
"I was getting my test back, and things just went my way," she smiled happily, then looked at him with a question in her eyes, "Hey, how come you disappeared on me today? Twice, might I add…"
"Heh, about that," Danny started uncomfortably, "I just had a lot on my mind."
"You started talking about prom the last time, now that I think about it, you've been kinda' mentioning it on and off all day," she turned to look up at the clouds like he had been doing, only to find that his head and part of his shoulders and arms had disappeared completely, before they reappeared with an extremely freaked out look on his features, "No need to loose your head…"
"Oh ha ha ha," Danny stood up, angrily chastising himself for loosing it yet again, 'Way to go, now you're the funny man…lost your head, literally. God, even when she starts talking about it I loose it….I give up, I just give up!'
"Danny?" Sam stood and nudged him gently, feeling very badly about what she had said as he mood hit rock bottom suddenly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset…I was just joking, you know that right?"
"I know," Danny smiled, "I'm just not having a very good day. Don't worry about it Sam, I'm not upset at you. I just need a good hamburger and a break from school."
"That I can do," Sam smiled back as she linked her arm through his, "Come on, it's time to go to the Nasty Burger for a hamburger and no school. We're meeting Val there and then Tuck is coming later, and I promise, no prom talk."
"Sounds good to me," Danny relaxed, moving off with Sam on his arm and finally feeling normal for the first time all day, 'Just don't even think about it. You're going to the Nasty Burger with Sam, normal stuff, smile and enjoy it. No going invisible or anything.'
Danny had finally relaxed at Sam's touch, and much to her surprise, hadn't faded out. At a tiny flash of longing and the memory of the first dance they had ever had came to her, feeling as though Danny hadn't meant to send it, rather just think it.
Sam then had a sudden understanding about her very strange day, 'I know what's up with you know now, Daniel Fenton…but I am not doing it for you, I'd die of embarrassment if I was wrong. Do you seriously want to take me to prom…or is it something else? I don't know about you, but I'm ready to try something new…'
Glancing at the boy walking beside her with a happy smirk on his face, she licked her dry lips and tried to suppress the nervous feeling that she was now having, 'This would be taking our relationship to the next step, wouldn't it…well, 'relationship' as in 'friendship'…what would we be then? Not together unless he asked me, but something, right? Does everything have to be this hard?'
"What are you think about so hard, Sam?" Danny steered her towards the doors of the Nasty Burger, "You're frowning and nervous…"
"Ah, nothing," Sam grabbed the door before Danny could and stuck her tongue out at him, "and I can get the door myself."
"Stubborn Sam, very stubborn," Danny laughed as they walked in and greeted Valerie. She just laughed with him and his once hectic, nervous, bad day started to even back out, 'Guess I wasn't meant to take her to prom after all. Maybe it's for the best…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
After Giving Up All Hope, 3:59 P.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Hey there you two are!" Valerie called out from her place in line, "I was wondering if you were even going to show up."
"Had to wait for this one," Danny motioned towards Sam at his side, "She was all happy about her test or something. Took her forever to get out of school."
"It didn't take me that long," Sam ignored the boy beside her and addressed Valerie, "I was just getting a point back on my essay test."
"You got a point back on your essay test?" Valerie asked in confusion, "What, was it a make or break thing?"
"Not really," Sam smirked as they moved forward slightly, the lines being long from the after school rush, "I had a ninety six, but read my teacher's comment about it not being a valid argument and kinda' got upset. I pointed out that since the essay was persuasive, my opinion, even if he had never heard of the argument I used, was valid because when you're persuading someone it's based on your opinions anyways."
"So he gave you a point back and you got a ninety seven instead of a ninety six?" Danny pulled out his wallet as they reached the front of the line, "I got it."
"I got my own soda, you pay for Sam's if you need to pay for something," Valerie bumped Danny back into Sam, "And I would have stuck with the ninety six, girl, for fear of the teacher getting' mad and knocking my grade down."
"Every point counts," they replied at the same time, then blushed slightly and started to laugh.
"That's uh, what Sam always says," Danny smiled at Val before turning back to Sam, "That's why I said it…and uh…"
"Welcome to Nasty Burger, may I take your order, sir?" the teen behind the counter asked in a bored monotone, breaking off Danny's explanation to a highly amused Valerie.
"Uh, two strawberry shakes please," Danny took out a ten dollar bill, "and a thing of fries."
"Nine fifty two," the boy replied, handing him his change and a ticket, "It'll be out in a second, thanks. Next, please?"
Walking over with Valerie, who had already gotten her soda, and Sam, the three took a seat in the booth, only for Danny to have to stand right back up as they called his order number, "Be right back…"
"So," Valerie glanced at Sam with a wicked look in her eyes, "you going to prom with Danny, or what?"
"Actually," Sam started to answer, "he hasn't asked and I don't know if…"
"Man, this stinks," Danny set the tray down in front of the girls, one order of fries and a shake and a soda cup on the tray, "They only had enough stuff for one shake."
"My shake," Sam smiled happily, "you still owe me from making me play that stupid 'Perfect Matches' game…"
"Fine," Danny grumbled as he sat, "but that's the last thing…"
"Fine, whatever," Sam smirked happily as she took a sip of her shake, "Hey, I gotta' go to the restroom, be back…"
"Me too," Valerie grabbed her purse as she headed after Sam, "Don't get too lonely without us."
"Right…" Danny rolled his eyes, which then alit upon Sam's shake once the girls were out of sight, 'Score…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Ideas Take Hold and Work, 4:08 P.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Wonder what's holding Tucker up," Sam sat back down beside Danny, Valerie taking the other side, as they all grabbed for their drinks. Sam's straw went to her lips, and she began to slowly draw in the cold drink….but found herself sucking air instead, "What the…"
Danny, at that moment began to feel nervous in a rather impish manner, and Valerie caught him as he fidgeted slightly, "What's going on? Why're you jumpy Fenton?"
"Heh, no reason?" Danny asked his statement and found the back of his head hit by Sam, which caused him to chuckle nervously and rub the back of his neck.
"Danny?" Sam turned to the boy with a sugary tone to her voice that had even Valerie on edge, "Where's my shake?"
With a charming smile that had Valerie remembering exactly why she had liked the boy in the first place, Danny matched Sam's timbre with a sweet tone of his own, "In your cup?"
"Dummy," Sam grumbled as she reached over his arm and grabbed his soda, "I'm taking this in retaliation."
"Aw, come on Sam!" Danny pouted and tried to steal the drink back, but had his hands slapped away as she sipped happily, "It was a strawberry shake, and you know I love strawberry shakes and you got the last one!"
"It's not my fault," Sam replied tersely, sipping the soda once again, "they ran out of stuff."
"When did you even drink it?" Valerie asked in a slightly annoyed, slightly impressed tone as she finally figured out what was going on.
"When I had you both hypnotized so you wouldn't notice," Danny winked, but stopped to glare at Sam with an, "Ow!"
"Whoops," Sam said without any real concern, "My foot must have slipped and rammed into your shin. Sorry about that…"
As Danny glared and reached down to rub the abused leg, Valerie leaned over the table slightly, "Seriously, when?"
"When you two were in the bathroom," Danny grinned sheepishly, giving Sam the 'eyes' to hopefully gain forgiveness, "I didn't drink all of it though…just um, a little more than half…or maybe a little more…"
"That's sooooo kind of you," Sam took a sip, "Not."
Valerie spent a half a second in contemplation before snapping and gaining the pair's attention, "You two should go out."
'Go out?' Sam thought to herself, 'We are out…'
'She didn't mean it that way,' Danny too was trying to convince himself, 'Don't take it that way or you'll manage to sink through the booth or something…'
As Sam and Danny both chose to ignore the obvious meaning to her statement, Danny did the acting-completely-oblivious for them both, "We are out. We're out at the Nasty Burger."
"No, I mean out, out," Valerie sighed in frustration, "Like alone. Date-ish."
Sam chose that moment to nearly spit out her soda, "You too? Why does everyone do this?"
'Even Valerie thinks we should be together,' Danny realized suddenly, 'Everyone does think that, don't they? If we went to the prom together, we wouldn't be alone though…it'd be just like going to a party together or something, and I know Tuck and Val are going…'
"I know everyone says that or think you're already dating," Valerie tried not to laugh at the faces they were making, both trying their best to ignore the other's blush, "but…it's true. You'd probably both have a great time. You're always having a good time as friends, why not have a good time as something a little more?"
'We do have a good time as friends,' Danny's eyebrows raised, 'Why does it have to be anything more if I ask her to the prom? She's the one who's gonna' decide if we go any farther than friends…we've done 'friends' stuff tons of times. Why didn't I think of this before? Valerie, I seriously owe you something…if a 'date' is just going out alone…I'm so stupid!'
"I don't think that," but Sam was cut off, or rather shut up as she found a hand across her mouth, effectively silencing her as Danny drew in a shaky breath and the feelings of tension and nervousness exploded across her mind. The physical contact, however, seemed to keep him from phasing out.
"Alright."
Valerie was left flabbergasted at Danny's statement, and Sam nearly gave herself whiplash as she turned to look at the halfa beside her, squeaking out a single garbled word from under his hand, "Arit?"
"Well that was unexpected," Valerie laughed in surprise as she watched Sam watching Danny. The poor girl looked like she was about to asphyxiate and Danny quickly took notice of this and removed his hand from her mouth.
"Well, uh," Danny let his leg touch Sam's slightly in a small nudge, trying to get her to react, "if you think about it…uh…"
"Are you actually admitting that you like her?" Valerie asked in shock, not believing what she was bearing witness to. Her statement nearly caused Danny to phase out, but Sam's feeling of joy and happy anxiousness and hope and something a little warmer kept him in tact and in sight. Their legs touching might have helped a bit too...
"I'm not admitting to anything," Danny looked down, then back up and rubbed his fingers against the tabletop, "I was just gonna' say…look, a date is going out, alone, getting something to eat…or going to the movies or anywhere else together right?"
"Right," Valerie nodded, not following him, but playing along for the sake of the pair's hopefully soon to be relationship, "but the guy pays."
"Right, well," Danny started again, but stopped as Sam finally snapped out of it and brought her hands up to hide her face as she blushed brilliantly.
"I see where this is going," she said from her 'hiding place' as she started to laugh, "The school is going to have a field day if anyone ever hears about this…"
Danny chose just to ignore her and talk to Valerie, "Me and Sam have gone out alone before when Tuck couldn't make it. We've been to," he started to tick places off on his fingers, "movies, meals, the park, the mall, and over to each other's houses lots of times. I don't always pay, 'cause we don't 'date', but I have paid before for birthdays or if I owe her or is she needs a pick-me-up from a bad day."
"It's 'Sam and I,' by the way. And to do a little damage control, none of those were actual dates," Sam frowned at both Danny and Valerie, "Tucker and I have gone out without you, and you and Tucker have gone without me. If you count our outing as 'dates', then you have to count those too."
"I'll bet twenty dollars that you two have a great time, but when it's you and Tucker," Valerie pointed at Sam first, then turned to point at Danny, "or you and Tucker, it isn't as much fun. I bet you two even have more fun than if it's all three of you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sam denied with a blush, turning back to her soda, and thanking Danny silently that their legs were still touching. Something about physical contact seemed to be helping them both out, "All I know is that I wanted a strawberry shake and I'm stuck with soda."
"Fine," Danny was glad for the distraction, and began eating his cooling French fries, "I'll make you a strawberry shake when we get home. I've got the stuff in the fridge…"
"There you two go again," Valerie rolled her eyes as she picked off of Danny's fry plate, "Being all cute and couple-ish. 'When you get home,' really I didn't know you two lived together…"
"You've been hanging around with Tucker too much," Sam grumbled as she started to eat the fries as well, guarding the soda from Danny as she ate, "He means when we get to his house. We, as in Danny, myself, and Tucker, all call Danny's house 'home'."
"I still think you two should date, date," she ate another fry, then began to dig in her bag as her cell phone rang, "Be right back you two, that's my Dad. Don't flirt too much while I'm gone, alright?"
Danny and Sam both blushed slightly as they watched the girl head out to get better reception. They continued to eat, and Sam felt Danny's confidence rising as each second passed that she didn't take her leg away from his where they were touching.
Waiting until she took a sip of soda, Danny asked the question that had been on his mind all day, "So would you go out on a date to the prom with me?"
Soda promptly went everywhere as Sam turned to stare at the boy beside her, "What?"
Laughing and grabbing a handful of napkins to help her clean up, Danny bumped her with his shoulder, desperately blocking out the tingling feeling that signaled him disappearing, "That was classic, Sam. Perfect timing…"
"Daniel Fenton," Sam's hurt and anger and pain washed over him and had him scrambling to explain, "that was one of the meanest…uh, why are you looking at me like that?"
"So you want to?" his smile and voice was so cute it hurt, and Sam would have been tempted to gag if she had witnessed this transpiring between another boy and girl. Right now, though, it had her insides melting, especially with the added feelings passing between them both, "Ya' know just so we can see how many people freak out and to see if we really do make a good couple…just for kicks."
"A date?" Sam questioned, her eyes holding hope and a light that had Danny feeling full to the bursting point.
"Yeah," Danny smiled nervously, leaning against her a little more, "If you'll let me take you."
"You and me?" Sam questioned again, not quite trusting herself to be hearing properly, "A date. To the prom."
"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have asked Sam," Danny chuckled nervously as he started to back away from her, "You're nervous and I'm really nervous, and I've been nervous all day, and I really don't want to phase out and…"
But Sam caught him in a hug, pushing him back slightly and almost out of the booth, her arms wrapping around him as her happiness did the same, "I'll take that as a yes?"
"Yes, but," Sam nodded and then moved back, not completely away from him, but far enough to sit comfortably, "uh, only as an experiment, to see if the bubblegum, cookie cutter, Barbie doll population of Casper High could possibly be right in assuming that we make a good couple."
"It's an experimental date, of course," Danny agreed with a happy smile, the blue of his eyes brighter and lighter than Sam had seen in a long while.
"Of course," Sam nodded as she turned back to cleaning up the mess, handing the trash to Danny who threw it away, "An experiment."
"So, this isn't too weird or anything is it?" Danny sat back down and picked up another fry, "I mean, I'm just curious what it'd be like to go on a date with you. Ya' know, to date your best friend even once is forbidden territory…"
They both started chuckling at that, as Sam smiled shyly, "Yeah, because you know how much we like to be rebels and go against everything that society sets as a standard…"
"Actually that's just you Sam," Tucker slid into the booth across from them, taking in their happy, slightly pink faces, "So what's up and why do you both look like flamingoes? Is this another one of those 'blushy moments' yet again interrupted by myself?"
"Has anyone ever told you, you ask to many questions?" Sam glared at the boy across from them, though he could tell it had no menace behind it.
"Ah, so I'm right," Tucker smiled widely, "It was a 'blushy moment'…"
"Dad wanted to chat my ear off…apparently it's unheard of that I'd want to go stag to prom…" Valerie said as she edged back into the booth, pushing Tucker over as she went, "And what's a 'blushy moment'?"
"A 'blushy moment'," Tucker began to define his coined statement, as he pointed to the blushing and protesting Danny and Sam, "Is when these two get caught acting all cutesy. These two have them often."
"Knock it off Tucker," Danny frowned as he pulled his fries out of the boy's reach, only to have Tucker steal some anyways.
"I told you two not to flirt while I was gone," Valerie pretended to chastise the pair, laughing all the while.
"We weren't flirting," Sam and Danny both answered dryly at the same time, only to earn a knowing look from Tucker and Valerie.
"We just decided," Sam rolled her eyes as she grabbed another French fry and tried to play it cool, even though her thoughts were racing, as well as her emotions, "to perform an experiment to see if the mass opinion of Casper High is correct in their postulation that Danny and I make a good couple by going to the prom together and seeing what peoples' reactions are."
'And what her reaction is,' Danny smiled to himself as he watched Tucker and Valerie's reactions, both slightly shocked, 'I hope this works out…I want this to work out so badly.'
As Sam started to feel Danny's hope, she began to feel something else edge into her mind as well. It was warm, and happy, and caring, and protective, and so many good things wrapped up into one. There was one more emotion however, that Sam had felt, but only so faintly that she had never been able to latch on and identify it, 'Is that…does he love me?'
"What's with you all of a sudden?" Danny asked with a smirk on his face, "You're all pink…"
"Nothing," Sam glared at him, though not meaning it at all, "Let's just get started on this project."
"So we get to watch you two be awkward while discussing prom details?" Tucker smiled mischievously, "I feel so honored."
"No you dork," Sam kicked his shin lightly as she went back to sipping at Danny's soda, her mood still as light as it had been when she had recognized the feeling.
"She meant the school project," Danny chuckled at Sam's reaction to Tucker.
"I think I'm going to win my twenty," Valerie put in playfully, ignoring Sam and Danny's glare, "Now let's get down to business."
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Defining and Figuring Things Out, 11:34 P.M.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"So," Danny knocked at Sam's open window, "don't you think it's a little dangerous to leave your window open this late at night?"
"Not if there's a halfa wondering around the neighborhood for his nightly visit," Sam replied from her closet, her voice slightly muffled.
"What if it wasn't me?" Danny asked in slight irritation.
"Who else would be at my window at eleven something at night?" Sam asked as she walked out, a box of markers in her right hand and a poster of the presidents in the other.
"I don't know, and do you have everything in that closet?" Danny's mood was improving, even though he didn't want it to. Sam just had that kind of effect on him sometimes.
"Are we gonna' talk in questions the rest of the time you're hear or are we going to do something about this stupid project?"
"We have a week, and you're the one still talking in questions," the halfa replied with laughing eyes as he perched on the sill, "We don't need to start the project yet…"
"I just wanted to write down the presidents I wanted to do," Sam shrugged, "So are you here for your nightly visit or is this something else?"
"Heh," Danny chuckled as he resumed human form and walked over to Sam's desk to play at her computer, "I wanted to get away from Mom and Dad. They keep talking about all the stuff I have to do before prom and how many pictures they're going to have to take for Jazz since she won't be able to come home that weekend."
"You too, huh?" Sam glanced over her shoulder from her spot on the floor, flipping through her history book and circling the faces on the poster that interested her, "My Mom won't stop talking about dresses and lace and pink and white and what styles are in, and my Dad wants to talk to you alone one of these days."
"I'll have to remember to talk to him alone, with you somewhere nearby," Danny turned to look at Sam with slightly dread clear on his face, "You don't think he wants to talk about…that again, like my parents did?"
"Probably," Sam smirked wickedly, "but I'm not helping you out of that one. You asked me, so it's your problem."
"Not cool, Sam," Danny turned back to the computer, "Very not cool."
Silence settled comfortably over them as it had so many times in the past, though it only took a few moments before Sam couldn't take it and she had to speak again. She had far too many questions just beneath the surface, and they had to be asked.
"Danny?" she sat up and turned to face the teen. He too had turned and was ignoring the computer in favor of her, that wonderful nervous tension reappearing between them, "So…what are we now?"
"What do you mean?" he cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"I mean," Sam struggled to get it out before she lost the nerve, "you agreed with Valerie that we should go together to prom as 'a little more than friends'. Then you asked me out on a 'date' so what exactly are we?"
She had to know, she didn't care if he told her 'just friends' or 'together', she just wanted to know, and she was scared of what he'd say, thought she didn't know why.
"I," her halfa started and then stopped, moving to sit on the ground next to her, "I don't want to say the wrong thing, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," Sam smiled, both of the on edge and trying not to show it, even though they could feel one another.
"I guess," Danny rubbed his neck, "we're whatever you think we are. It's up to you…"
"I think we should just see where it goes," Sam licked her lips as he moved closer, then stopped as footsteps were heard on the stairs. Moment over, or ruined, or whatever one would call it, they moved apart slightly, both smiling nervously and wondering what had almost happened for the umpteenth time in their friendship.
"I guess I had better go before anyone comes in and wonders how the heck I keep getting in here," Danny laughed as he stood quickly. Bending over, he placed a gentle, hesitant kiss on her right cheek and smiled down at her, "See ya' tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Sam smiled as she watched him change and back away from her to the window, "Night Danny."
"Night," and he was out the window and floating in the sky, feeling more free on the wind than he had ever before while flying, 'She was happy…I kissed her cheek and she was happy and liked it and we're going to the prom!'
From her window, Sam was startled by a cry of "YES!" from somewhere in the sky from her halfa. A smile spread over her face, as the feelings that represented love, and the feeling of love itself, 'He may not have said it yet, but that's alright…I'll wait. Feeling it's better anyways…'
Both the halfa and his girl feel asleep with a happy smile on their faces that night. Now to just make it through prom and the world would be a very good place indeed…