Links in the Chain
By Lacey52
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
A note: Okay guys, second to last chapter. I can't believe it! Okay, now before I start to cry I guess I should get on with it! I kinda' really like this chapter, and I have no clue why. Oh well, I hope you guys enjoy it as well…oh and slight lime-ish-ness warning. Nothing too far or anything like that. Just, it goes a bit beyond just kissing…heh, and this is my first attempt at anything like this so bear with me…and don't be disappointed if it doesn't go as far as you thought it would.
Oh and TheLegendaryManHimself pointed out something important that I failed to explain very well. I wrote a line about Danny saying something concerning ghosts, and I accidentally made it seem like Kwan and Star knew about his secret identity.
What I meant to write in there, but forgot to (silly me), was that everyone was relieved at the drop in ghost attacks and fights. I wanted it to seem like everyone was aware of the change. Gosh, that's what I get for typing that part up at like four in the morning. I'll edit it one of these days!
Hm, the way I have this chapter start is kinda' wacky, but that's just keeping it true to cannon…crazy stuff like this happens all the time in DP, and besides, I've seen some pretty weird things happen in my home town school…lol.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Chapter Sixty: Opinionated
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Sam was having an interesting morning. A thousand thoughts were running through her mind as she went over the various scenarios of the day she was about to face. If Paulina and Star had anything to do with it, the entire population of Casper High would know about what had happened after school yesterday. That meant that everyone would know that Danny could fight, and that the teachers would find out, and they'd be in trouble, and that…
'Shoot,' Sam thought as she watched Danny approach, 'this is going to be one weird day. I hope that, no I'm not even going to think it! I really hate Murphy's law…'
As Sam watched Danny move closer and closer to their normal meeting place, Sam allowed herself to slip back into her thoughts and barely noticed when Danny finally reached her, a goofy, but determined, grin on his face and his feelings bouncing between anxious and hopeful.
"Morning, Sam," Danny sidled up beside the girl, keeping his head lowered slightly as a blush spread across his cheek, trying to take her hand. He had wanted to stay with her longer last night, just talking like they always did, but he had suddenly realized that he didn't just want to stay, he wanted to stay and kiss her, not stay and talk, 'I guess I really do want this to go somewhere. Please God, let Sam want the same…'
Slightly shocked by his bold action, Sam accidentally pulled her hand away and immediately regretted it, 'Crap now he's all upset…Danny, I didn't mean it that way!'
"Danny," Sam said with concern, then frowned when he just shot her a goofy smile and tried to keep his feelings to himself, "I didn't mean to…"
"We had better get going," he hefted his backpack and started to walk away, only to be caught by the arm by Sam, "What?"
"Danny, just," she moved closer than they usually allowed themselves, "I didn't mean to make you upset, you just surprised me."
"It's fine," Danny tried to shrug it off, knowing all the while that he wouldn't be able to, 'Stupid link and stupid accident! I can't even pretend to be okay with it…'
"No, you're not," Sam said sternly as her left hand landed on his right bicep. She moved herself even closer, "I was just surprised…we're usually all blushy and get interrupted when stuff like that happens…I guess I was expecting Tucker to jump out and make some smart ass remark."
"Yeah," Danny chuckled nervously as he shifted to rub the back of his neck, "I guess me too. I'm sorry that I tried that…it won't happen again."
"Danny," Sam smiled at him, then lightly punched his shoulder, "you jerk, you had better try that again, or I'm going to be seriously upset with you."
Sam would have laughed at his shocked face, if his feelings hadn't nearly overloaded her at that moment. He stepped back slightly from her, then offered his hand, a smile dancing in his blue eyes and across his lips, "Would you mind if I held your hand?"
"Nope," Sam slid her hand into his much larger one, enjoying the way it completely covered her own and the feel of slightly rough and calloused fingertips and palm brushing her own smooth skin, "I kinda' was hoping you'd do this."
Walking hand in hand, they finally reached the normal place to meet Tucker, but instead found no one. They waited for a few minutes, Sam chatting about what their day might hold, and finally decided to give up on Tucker. He probably was sick or already at school, and Danny didn't want to risk a detention on top of whatever else he might find at school for the fight he had been in.
Danny and Sam both approached Casper High tentatively, and just before it came into view, the halfa gave the much smaller hand in his own a nervous squeeze as he swallowed hard, "Well, this is it…"
"Want I should stay out of the way so your fan club can get to you?" Sam teased gently, "You know, with how Paulina, Star, and that Elizabeth girl were fawning over your pictures and all…"
"I said it yesterday and I'll say it today," Danny grimaced as he looked down at the young woman at his side, "Don't even joke about that."
"Come on Mr. Talk of the Town," Sam began to drag him forward even as he resisted lightly, "Time to face the…music?"
Both had to stop and let their minds process what they were seeing. Apparently Star had been even busier than either of them had realized…and apparently Tucker had helped out a bit, as the images that were plastered all over the school and in people's hands had amazing clarity…far better than one would expect from a picture phone.
"I got the video right here," Paulina called from her spot on one of the benches, "It's actually pretty amazing. Who would have known that Danny Fenton could fight?"
"They didn't," Danny's eyes widened as he picked up a flyer that showed him staring down at a beaten looking Jason. His eyes swept over the text above and below the picture, 'Danny Fenton, nerdy, single guy, good fighter? Who would have guessed?"
"Yep," Sam crossed her arms as they continued across the school grounds to the entry way, "they did. Three guesses who it was, and the first two don't count."
"I'm gonna' kill him," Danny balled up the picture and threw it into the trash angrily, his eyes flashing green momentarily, "He likes to torture me doesn't he?"
"You wouldn't be talking about me, would you?" Tucker walked between the pair from behind and put his arms around them both, "Because I want you to know right now, I didn't do this."
"You didn't?" Sam turned in surprise, giving Tucker the once over, "If you didn't then who did?"
"Nathan," Tucker pointed to the boy who was trailing Valerie like a lost puppy dog, "She said she'd consider going to the prom with him if he helped her out. Star wanted to get the word out so badly that she actually managed to talk Valerie, Paulina, and Kwan into helping her."
"Why didn't you?" Danny looked at Tucker in confusion, "I know you like Val."
"Yeah," Tucker shrugged then ushered them forward into the school, "but I fear the wrath of Sam and the resident halfa a lot more than my want for a date could compensate. I knew you'd be pissed…and I knew Sam would be pissed by all the attention you'd be getting…"
"This is terrible," Danny leaned against his locker as they finally came upon them, "Now everyone in school is going to be asking if it's true and then the teachers and then my parents and then…"
"You know," Sam leaned against the lockers, right against his side, and cut him off before he could wallow further into his worry, "we've done this before…we'll deal with it."
"I don't wanna'!" Danny let himself slouch onto the girl beside him, hiding his face in her shoulder, "I'm tired Sam."
"Not my fault you decided to keep me up until nearly midnight," Sam shot back, then blushed as she realized Tucker and a few other people were standing around them and grinning rather lecherously at her comment, "Talking! I meant keep me up talking…"
"Sure you did Sam," Tucker shook his head as he mocked her, "Whatever you say…we all know the rumor about Dash's couch."
"I don't want to hear it!" said boy walked up with a flyer in hand, "I had to disinfect every part of my house before I could stop having nightmares last night. Do you know how gross it was to think of John and Weed in my closet?"
"Sorry, it had to be done," Sam said as she tried to shove a silently smiling halfa off of her, but the more she shoved the more he leaned, "On second thought, I'm not sorry…men deserve nightmares! Let go!"
"I'm hiding," Danny chuckled to himself as he let himself just drift in his thoughts, Sam's slight annoyance and good humor floating on the edges of his mind, "Today is going to be hell."
"You mean this shit?" Dash held up the slightly crumpled paper, "It ain't such a big deal."
"Maybe for you," Danny grumbled as he finally moved away from Sam, laughing as she tried to glare him down, but only succeeded in making herself laugh, "It's going to be interesting to say the least, man."
"Mr. Fenton," Lancer's voice came down the hall, an air of annoyance to his tone and written across his face, "A word if you please?"
A chorus of 'Ooooo' and 'Someone's in trouble' came from the crowded hallway and Danny smiled shakily as he moved to walk with their vice-principal, "Sure thing, Mr. Lancer."
Looking back over his shoulder, Danny saw smiling faces and encouragement. Sam's face was what helped him hold it together, and the feeling she was broadcasting was keeping him rather calm, 'I guess it had to happen sooner or later…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Sam shook her head as she watched Lancer walk away with Danny, more than likely heading to his office for some privacy while he read the poor guy the riot act for fighting. Sam did not envy Danny at that moment, but couldn't deny that something had to happen.
"Wow," one of the girls across the hall had begun to giggle rather loudly, much to Sam's displeasure, "I mean, I always thought he was kinda' cute in that goofy way, but really, who honestly thought he could fight?"
"I know," another girl sighed happily, chattering with her friend, "It's kinda'…sexy."
'Oh my God,' Sam's eyes widened in realization as she turned away from her locker, 'they're talking about Danny…Danny sexy? Yeah…yeah, it kinda' is…crap, none of that Sam.'
She packed up her things for the first two periods of the day, then closed her locker and began to walk away, only to stop in her tracks as she heard more girls giggling and talking about Danny. Looking around she found the original two girls had been joined by a few others, all swooning over his good looks and his obvious skill.
Sam's answer to this problem was simple. She walked up to the group, took the paper out of their hands, folded it up and stuck it in her pocket. With a small smile at their scandalized faces, she resumed her walk to class, repeating the process every few moments. She had quite the collection of papers by the time she reached her first period and felt assured that her message was getting across.
'Back off girlies,' Sam sat in her chair, a determined glint in her eyes, 'He's mine.'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Daniel, take a seat," Edward Lancer sank into his seat with a sigh, "I do hope that I've made it explicitly clear to you that I do not tolerate violence, and prefer greatly for my students to work out their problems with words rather than fists?"
"Uh, yes Mr. Lancer," Danny nervously looked down, only to find his hands folded in his lap and suddenly became very interested in them, 'Hm…calloused, that's a cut from the last ghost I had to fight, scar from when I was three, a bruise from…who knows what…'
"Danny," Lancer spoke openly then, not wanting to prevaricate and make the poor boy any more nervous than he already was, "You technically can not get in trouble with the school for your rather infamous fight yesterday. We've reviewed the security tapes this morning and you were three feet over the school property line. The only way you could possibly get into trouble would be if Jason Dillinger tried to file charges, and even then, it was clearly self defense on your part."
"So you mean," Danny's head had slowly come up as Lancer had spoken, hope clear in his happy tone of voice, "I'm not in trouble?"
"Well," Lancer sat back with a frown, "You are in trouble. You're to stay after school for detention for the next week, but you aren't getting suspended for fighting."
"Awesome!" Danny shot up out of his chair, then grinned sheepishly and sat back down, "Heh, I mean, that's really good news."
"I thought you might be pleased," Mr. Lancer began to flip through some small pile of papers, "You might also be pleased to know that while you and Mr. Dillinger were off school grounds, Samantha and Sarah were not. Sarah has been suspended from school for her actions."
"Really," Danny was surprised, "That's good, Sam'll be happy about that."
"I imagine she will," Lancer chuckled as Danny stood and started for the door, then pulled out a sheet of paper and tried to hold in his laughter, "Oh and Daniel?"
"Yes sir?" Danny turned back around and winced as he found Lancer holding one of the papers with his image and the writing on it, "Aw man…"
"I suggest you try and do some damage control," Lancer smiled broadly, his good humor obvious, "though it is quite a heroic picture of you."
"Yeah, yeah," Danny took the paper from him with a wry grin, crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash, "Damage control, got it…"
"I didn't mean about that," Mr. Lancer shook his head as the boy finally made it out of the office, listening to the girls chatter about how well built Danny must be or how well he could handle himself, "Oh what a day you'll have today…"
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"You think she'll say 'yes'? I mean, Fenton's got tons of other girls wantin' him now," a Junior in Danny's first period class quickly stopped talking as the halfa walked in and sat at the desk beside him. The young man who he was talking with obviously wasn't thinking however, as he continued on with the conversation.
"She might. She is pretty hot, I mean, Sam's changed a lot since Freshman year and she's lookin' pretty good."
The conversation had caught Danny's attention of course when he had heard his name, but as Sam's name came up he turned his head, trying to just get more out of the conversation. The fact that his gaze turned into a glare was really not important. Nope, not important, but it definitely seemed to work.
"Heh, no man," the first boy, Tommy, shot a nervous look between Danny and then turned back to his friend, "I mean…uh, she's pretty and nice, but she ain't my style."
"You were just sayin' how you'd like to…" but his sentence was cut off by Tommy as Danny's glare increased and his hands clenched into fists on top of his desk in a desperate attempt of control to keep his eyes from flashing green.
"I'd like to date her maybe once or twice, but I don't think that'd be a good idea," the boy chuckled nervously then looked to Danny, "I mean, you guys are going out right?"
"I really don't know what we are," Danny shrugged and relaxed slightly as the threat to his semi-relationship with Sam backed down, "but she is my best friend."
"Got it," Tommy said as he sunk back into his seat, "she's off limits. No problems there, you don't have to tell me twice."
"I didn't say that," Danny tried to get the grin off his face, but it didn't happen, "Sam'll date whoever she wants, I don't have any say in that."
"Yeah, right," the second boy, Mark, shook his head with a laugh, "We all know you kicked Jason's ass just because he tried to touch her. If you don't have a say in who she's with then I have no clue what to say."
Danny started to laugh then, the situation was just too ridiculous for him not to. People thought it was just because Jason tried to touch Sam that he had fought him. Sure, that had finally triggered the fight, but it wasn't the only reason, "No man, it wasn't just that. There was a lot of stuff going on, and I wasn't the one to start that fight, Jason was. I just finished it…I got tired of having to put up with him and it was just self-defense."
"Yeah, I saw the video that Star had," Mark commented, watching the clock on the wall to see when the tardy bell would ring, "He threw like two punches and you didn't even try to hit him. I would have been all over him man."
"Yeah, right," Tommy laughed as the teacher came in and tried to start the lesson amid the conversation, "You'd have been on your butt like Jason was."
Danny just shook his head and started taking notes as the two began to argue, 'I can't wait until I see Sam and tell her what Lancer said…oh man, that is gonna' make her day.'
With a tiny smile and a curious brush of feeling from Sam, Danny's good mood continued to grow. A comforting wave of emotion was sent back Sam's way from the halfa just to let her know that everything was fine. No use in having her worry when everything was finally starting to shape up.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Danny!" Sam had never been happier to see that goofy grin on his face in the middle of a school day as he grabbed her into a bear hug and lifted her a few inches off the ground in his delight, "I take it you didn't get suspended?"
"Nope!" he grinned as he placed her feet back on the ground, "Turns out me and Jason were three feet off of school grounds and the only way I could get into trouble would be if he pressed charges."
"He isn't is he?" Sam's brow furrowed as she moved to open his locker, trying to do something to keep herself from panicking, "Because I know my family knows some very good lawyers and…what?"
Danny had started laughing as he moved her gently out of the way of his now open locker and started to grab his books so she wouldn't try, "I'm laughing because he wouldn't be able to. Mr. Lancer has the security tapes and it shows that I only fought in self defense…and protecting you of course."
"You protect me a lot, you know," Sam grinned up at her halfa, "but I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, I know," Danny nudged her with his elbow, "I mean, you wear boots and all."
"Yep," Sam agreed with a laugh, "Boots can beat just about anything."
"Sarah too," Danny grinned in that 'I know something you don't know' way that he had.
"I guess," Sam raised her eyebrow, curious as to what he was thinking, "What makes you say that?"
"Sarah and you were on school ground, according to the tapes," Danny tried to make his face blank, but failed miserably. He never could keep his emotions in around Sam, "She's in big trouble."
"In trouble," Sam repeated with a gulp, then turned away slightly as she started to worry. Still, she was Sam Manson, and she didn't care, so she covered her worry as best she could, "I didn't do anything to her though, so I had better not be in trouble."
"Sam," Danny admonished gently as he shut his locker, for once the one keeping the other calm, "like you could get in trouble for getting slapped by someone? Sarah's been suspended."
"She's suspended?" a grin spread across her face, which she quickly wiped off, "Well, that's too bad. Poor thing, her rep is going to be ruined…"
"Hey Danny," a girl walked up nervously, holding her books against her chest, "Uh, say…you aren't doing anything tonight are you?"
As Danny's eyebrows raised in surprise, a slightly younger teen walked up to the pair before he could answer, "Hey, uh, Sam?"
"Hey Chad," Sam's attention turned from the girl to the boy who was in her math class, "Need help with the homework or something?"
"No, I just wanted to see if you could head out to the Nasty Burger after school today?"
"Wait a minute, Sam's going to the Nasty Burger with me," Danny stated as his jealousy and possessiveness flared, getting out his statement before Sam got the chance to answer.
"I am?" Sam looked at him in confusion, though she was definitely happy he had said that, 'Not that I'm going to let him get used to scheduling things for me…'
"She is?" the two younger teens asked in surprise, both looking put out.
"Well, yeah," Danny felt as a blush started to darken his cheeks, "We always go to the Nasty Burger after school," he hesitated for only a second, then made a snap decision, "Together, right Sam?"
"Well, uh yeah," Sam shrugged and blushed as well, "We usually do go together, with uh, the rest of the gang."
"Oh well, I guess I'd better get to class," the boy turned and began to mumble under his breath, "Before I make a bigger fool of myself…"
"Well, what about tonight then?" the girl was slightly more persistent, making Sam's jealousy soar, "You're not doing anything then are you?"
"Actually I was hoping that we could have a movie night tonight," Sam blurted out before she could help it. Between her jealousy and her last statement causing Danny some discomfort when she had included everyone else, the need to make him stop feeling that way was much stronger than her fear of humiliation.
"Really?" the girl asked in surprise, "Could I come then?"
"I think this is just for our group of friends," Dash walked up, not caring about being blunt, "Sorry, it's just one of those things."
The girl walked away quickly then, a blush covering her cheeks. Obviously she wasn't going to get a date with Danny Fenton today, and judging by the way Sam and Danny were looking at one another, no one else would either. She took comfort in that small fact for some reason.
"So," Danny said awkwardly as Dash pretended to ignore their presence to give them a moment of privacy, "A movie night tonight?"
"Well, I uh," Sam cleared her throat as she began to walk away, "Let's figure that out at the Nasty Burger alright?"
"Heh," Danny smirked as she walked away from him, Dash turning to give him a jaunty smile, "Whatever you say Sam, it's all up to you!"
"I already knew that," Sam didn't turn her head to speak to him so as to conceal her blush, "You told me that after prom. We'll just figure it out as we go."
"Sure Sam," Danny's mood started to head downhill, until that same sweet feeling washed over him and an idea started to form, 'We're gonna' have to figure this out….or I'm gonna' go mad. I'm going to figure out what 'we' are and I'm going to do it tonight...I hope.'
"Hey Dash, know any good movies that are showing tonight?"
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
"Say," Sam sat down at the lunch table with a frown on her face, "Where's Danny?"
"He said he had something to take care of," Tucker answered her, a grin on his face, "Want some of my Meaty-meat Meat special?"
"Like I could ever want anything else to eat in this world," Sam replied sarcastically. Lunch continued on without much else happening, except for Star and Paulina giggling two tables over about some other little thing they had just noticed in their video clip of Danny. He was becoming quite the celebrity and Jason was sitting in complete humiliation, not to mention alone at the table besides John and Weed. He didn't even dare send a look towards their table, knowing full well that he had been plainly ousted from power.
'Well, at least he's famous as a human rather than infamous as a phantom,' Sam rolled her eyes, then frowned when she realized lunch was ending, 'Where the heck is that boy? His detention wasn't until after school…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Danny and Sam had both been hit on a total of fourteen times throughout the day, whether directly or indirectly. Sam was at her wits end, there had been so many girls talking about Danny that she was almost certain that her prediction of a fan club was coming true. He was the talk of the school and a lot of the girls were completely enamored with the thought that Danny Fenton could fight.
'It's because he's cute to begin with,' Sam thought dryly to herself as their group entered Nasty Burger an hour later than they normally would thanks to Danny's detention, said teen chivalrously holding the door open for her, 'He's also courteous, caring, not to mention those eyes…now add in that 'bad boy' factor and the girls are swooning.'
"Hey Sam," Danny poked her arm teasingly, "You ever going to order or do I have to do it for you?"
"Mm," was Sam's answer as she continued to be lost in her own thoughts. The rest of the group just chuckled as they made their way to the table, Sam following them, leaving Danny standing alone in the line trying not to laugh,.
'Man, she must really be thinking hard about something,' Danny surmised as he pulled out his wallet, "Uh, an order of fries, a hamburger with everything but onions and mustard, and an apple salad. Oh, and two strawberry shakes."
Paying for the order Danny took his ticket and stood to the side, waiting only a few minutes before his number came up and he was headed back to the table with a tray laden down with food and drinks, "Order up, Sam!"
"Oh, thanks," she said in surprise as a salad and milkshake appeared before her, everyone laughing as Sam finally pulled out of her thoughts, "Guess I owe you one."
"Nope, this is on me," Danny smiled, blushing slightly as everyone began to tease them.
"Oh man, I always thought I'd get to ruin their first date," Tucker grinned as he watched both of them blush, "I was right. I love being right."
"At least I've got something to tease Fentonio about again," Dash smirked wickedly, taking another swig of his soda.
"Aw, this is just too cute!" Star let out a girlish giggle, then pulled out her cell phone, "I need to take a picture of it!"
"So long as you don't make me get Nathan to post pictures all over school again," Valerie laughed, then raised an eyebrow as Tucker smiled her way.
"You know I'd do it for ya'," Tucker smiled, then prepared to shock them all, "Free of charge, no date required…"
"Tucker Foley," Sam started dryly with a grin as she pointed to a blushing Tucker, "Techno-geek in love."
"Finally," Danny sat back with a grin, arms going up in the air in a show of victory, "New pair of 'lovebirds'!"
A wave of laughter went around the table while Valerie sipped angrily at her soda, sending threatening glares all around, and watched as Tucker just blushed and shook his head, taking the teasing, knowing he deserved it all, 'After everything that we've put Danny and Sam through though, I guess we both deserve to be teased…but 'lovebirds'? I don't know about that…he is kinda' cute…sometimes…oh great, now they've got me thinkin' about Geeky Wonder over there.'
"At least people have stopped trying to ask me out," Sam tried to change the subject to help Tucker and Valerie out, "I swear, half the boys in the school decided all of a sudden to ask me out…I don't get it."
"That's an easy one," Kwan laughed as he grabbed a fry then wrapped his arm around Star, "They saw all the girls going after Danny and thought you were available. You gotta' admit Sam, you're pretty good looking."
Kwan got double teamed as Star smacked his arm and Danny shot him a no-nonsense look, both clearly saying to keep quite. Kwan just laughed at their reactions, then smirked as he noticed Sam blushing.
"So did you want to do a movie night tonight?" Danny turned back to find Sam blushing at Kwan's compliment, and wanted to be the one who had thought to say it, "You mentioned something about it earlier and it seems like a good way to end a really weird day."
"Man, you are clueless when it comes to girls," Dash laughed and took another hunk out of his burger, and grinned mischievously, "She only said that to get that girl away from you."
"You did?" Danny turned back to find her blushing harder than before and meticulously picking out pieces of apple to eat. He then grinned and looked over to Tucker, who was already in on Danny's plan…who said that boy's couldn't be sneaky?
"I just thought that a movie would be fun," Sam shrugged and tried to shrink and disappear, 'Too bad he has all the powers and I have to sit here and blush in front of everyone…'
"Well, I can't do a movie night anyways," Tucker shook his head, slyly sending a wink to Valerie and Star, who both got the message, "I have too much homework."
"Me too," Valerie spoke up, then turned to give Dash a meaningful look.
"Oh, uh," Dash suddenly faced with Valerie's glare had to think fast, "My Dad wanted me to clean the living room again…and uh, yeah."
At the lame excuse, Star just rolled her eyes. Girls were so much better at playing these games, "Me and Kwan were going to go out tonight, right Kwan?"
"Oh, uh, sure?" the teen asked in confusion, then winced and quickly nodded his head in agreement at Star's pouting frown, "I mean, of course we are…I didn't forget an anniversary or anything did I?"
Everyone just shook their head at that comment. Kwan would forget what he had just eaten and Star could name exactly what they had been wearing on the day he had asked her out. They balanced each other out nicely that way.
"Well, I guess we could still do something," Danny smirked as he sat up off the bench to dig out his wallet, pulling out a coupon and two tickets, "I went at lunch and picked these up, and this coupon is for you."
'Oh goodie,' Sam eyed the coupon wearily as Danny waved it in front of her face, not even daring to take it, 'What's this one, the last 'Get out of trouble free' card?'
"You know you want to take it," Danny moved it closer to her, "and besides, I'm doing this one in reverse, I'll pay for everything."
Reaching her hand forward, much to the delight of those around them, Sam accepted the coupon resignedly. Glancing down, she put two and two together, 'One free night at the movies, snacks included? Is he asking me on a date?'
Looking up she found herself faced with a pair of movie tickets and one hopefully smiling halfa, "That had better not be those movie tickets from that stupid game thing we won…"
"No!" Danny placed the tickets in front of her to show her the title of the movie, "Nooo, these tickets are not those tickets…those tickets got trashed as soon as I got home."
Sam leveled Danny with a glare designed to make him shrink back in abject horror, and it worked somewhat as the halfa held his hands up in front of him as if to block her.
"I swear!" Danny wanted to stop Sam's glaring and the barely restrained laughter of all the teens around them, "I'm not lying…you know when…I'm lying."
Sam's toned down her glare a bit, but crossed her arms, still disbelieving.
"Alright fine," Danny frowned and lowered his arms, "I kept the tickets, but it's just because they were funny."
Sam's eyebrow arched delicately, daring him to try and lie to her again.
"Okay," Danny finally came clean, much to everyone's amusement, "so I thought about using them, but I never did!"
Sam just smiled.
Danny gave her a goofy grin as her feelings brushed against him lovingly.
Everyone around them laughed and Kwan was the first to recover enough to speak, "And you guys wonder why people think you're psychic, I mean, do you even realize what you just did?"
He received twin glares from Danny and Sam instead of any retaliation.
"Alright," he jokingly held up his hands, much like Danny had been doing earlier, "No interrupting the lover's spat. Got it."
"Tucker!" the twin glares were joined by two voices as they shifted to look at said teen.
"Aw crap," Tucker tried to duck behind Valerie, "My influence has been discovered!"
"Don't hide behind me," Valerie glanced at the boy beside her as everyone laughed, "I'm not saving your butt this time."
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Nervous tension was apparent as Danny and Sam approached the movie theater together, Danny opening the door as he always did, and then grabbing Sam's hand to drag her back towards the snack bar, "What do you want?"
"Nothing," Sam shook her head, "I'm fine."
"You always get something," Danny frowned playfully, "You're not doing this just because I'm paying are you?"
"No," Sam responded a bit too quickly, then shook her head and bit her lip, "I'm being pretty dumb aren't I?"
"Heh, no?" Danny nervously bushed his fingers over the hand he held, "Maybe we're just both a little nervous?"
"Stupid link," Sam grumbled as the butterflies filled her stomach from his touch, "We aren't very good at this are we?"
"Well," Danny moved up to look over his snack options, "We haven't done this whole 'date' thing before, so it's new ground…"
"So it really is a 'date'?" Sam looked down at their intertwined hands, "Like a date, date?"
"Only if you want it to be," Danny looked at her hopefully, then turned his attention to the man behind the counter, ordering copious amounts of junk food and two large sodas.
Sam, at that moment in time, was lost in her own thoughts again. The word 'date' loomed large in her mind and solidified their relationship status as something definitely more than just best friends. Sam was almost positive as to where this was going, but didn't want to rush things too much. She didn't quite know what she wanted right then, but she was sure if she just trusted in herself and Danny, things would work out the way they were meant to be.
'But that's alright to not know everything,' Sam smiled brightly as she accepted the popcorn and one of the drinks, while Danny carried the candies and another soda, 'It just makes it that much more fun…'
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
'Is it just me or is Sam feeling…giddy?' Danny looked down at the girl beside him, 'Must have picked the right movie…'
Indeed, Danny had bought two tickets to a movie that Sam had been wanting to see as soon as she had heard of it. She had mentioned something about it being a 'romantic, comedy, slasher movie' and Danny couldn't help but be hopelessly confused, 'Who knew they even made romantic, comedy, slasher movies?'
Looking over at the girl beside him, Danny realized that he was feeling pretty giddy himself. He was on a date, an actual, honest to God date, with his best friend and the night was starting to look much more promising than his day had been, 'Not that today was bad…it was just long…I can't believe Paulina and Star had Nathan write that I was single on that stupid flyer…or that I was nerdy...'
The lights lowered and the opening commercials, advertisements, and credits began to play, cheesy music in the background when the movie finally started. Danny wasn't paying much attention to any of this however, as he suddenly had to the urge to be touching Sam in any way he could.
Nervously, he slipped his arm around her shoulders. He didn't try the 'yawn' thing that people always talked or joked about, not with Sam. She didn't appreciate things like that, but he was pretty sure she'd like the fact that he was trying to act like a semi-normal date.
Sam, on her part, was pleasantly surprised when an anxious Danny slipped his arm around her shoulders. She ignored the chair-arm separating them and leaned in a bit closer, enjoying the feel of his arm around her and the way she could lay her head against his chest, 'I can hear his heat beat like this.'
'Okay, arm around her, she's enjoying it,' Danny grinned goofily as he felt how pleasantly surprised Sam was, 'Now what?'
Just as Danny looked down, Sam felt him move and looked up, meeting his gaze and suddenly finding herself caught in it, 'He's going to kiss me again…'
Danny was leaning down when a shiver racked his body and a blue wisp appeared between their faces. He moved back slightly, hoping that it hadn't freaked Sam out too badly, 'There must be some ghost enjoying the movie…who's out this week…wait, what do I care…gotta' kiss Sam…'
With a nervous smile he found himself moving back in to a patiently waiting Sam. Danny's lips had almost met her own, when the blue appeared again, and a scream was heard from somewhere behind them, "That was definitely not in the movie."
Looking around, Danny and Sam both found themselves confronted with the sight of a large, furry looking spider with a human head crashing it's way through the theater and scattering the patrons as it tried to crush them. Danny sighed and dropped his head onto her shoulder, "Why? Why tonight? I'm on a date!"
Danny had changed at the last shouted statement, angrily flying up to meet the ghost, "What happened to the deal I made with all of you?"
"A child?" the ghost said in confusion, "The deal was made with a child, what foolishness is this?"
"I'm not a child," Danny ground his teeth angrily as he floated in the air and folded his arms across his chest, "And yes, the deal was made with me, so why did you break it?"
"I didn't make the deal with you," the ghost swiped at the halfa, "I was never for it!"
"I don't care," Danny pulled back and let fly a punch powered by his own energy, "I'm on a freakin' date, so bug off!"
Sam merely sat in her seat and shook hear head, digging through the backpack that she had brought with her from school. They had, thankfully, left right after eating at the Nasty Burger, and Sam's backpack just so happened to have a Fenton Thermos in it. Really, all their backpacks did now, you simply didn't leave home without one.
"God, sounds like some make-up commercial," Sam mumbled to herself as she finally found the item and quickly stood up, finding Danny laying into the ghost ranting about interruptions and how impolite the ghost was. Sam was having a hard time holding in her laughter, 'I almost feel sorry for the ghost…not quite, but almost.'
"Danny! Catch!" she tossed the thermos straight to him, the years of practice showing in how well she threw itand how he easily he caught it, their teamwork and timing impeccable.
"Thanks," Danny sent her a relieved smile, "Now I can just get rid of this…"
But Danny hadn't been paying attention and was batted back into the projection room, trashing the projector before he could phase out and avoid any damage, "Man, I wanted to finish this movie!"
If the ghost had thought Danny to be in a bad mood before, his mistake was quickly corrected as Danny opted to not just suck it into the thermos, but rather teach it a lesson. Sam shook her head sadly at the display of aggression, though Danny didn't normally let it out and this was probably the healthiest outlet.
"Are you about done?" Sam grinned cheekily up at the boy, "Because when my parents are home, I do have a curfew and the movie was almost done anyways."
"Yeah, yeah," Danny opened the thermos and pulled the ghost in, floating down to Sam's side and picked her and their things up, "Let's go then…stupid ghosts."
The halfa was mumbling the rest of the flight to her house as Sam just enjoyed being held in his arms and let the cool air wash over her. He was looking incredibly good with that brooding scowl on his face, and Sam was liking the way she was pulled against his side, 'Bad thoughts, Sam, bad thoughts.'
Still she couldn't help but smile as he sat her down by her front door and told her he'd meet her upstairs. Her mother and father could only guess that her first official date with the boy had gone well…Sam on the other hand couldn't wait to get upstairs.
.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Sam sighed as she opened her door, fully expecting to see Danny, but only finding an empty room. The air, however, was begin to feel chilly, and Sam smirked as she headed towards the window sill, Danny's favorite perch.
"I'm sorry I ruined the date," Danny's voice said from her side with a heavy sigh, "Stupid ghosts always ruin everything, and I really didn't want it…to…Sam, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to find you," she was reaching out with her hand and gently poking around with one finger, missing Danny every time, "It's weird talking to thin air…sometimes I think I'm going crazy."
"I'm right here," he grabbed her hand, phasing back in as he did so, "Sometimes I just like being invisible."
"Yeah, well," Sam rolled her eyes, "I kinda' like being able to see you. Makes it easier to talk."
"Whatever," Danny chuckled nervously, moving slightly closer to her, "So did you have fun for at least part of it? The movie I mean…until the ghost showed up."
"It was fun," Sam smiled moving closer to him as well, the thoughts from before coming back slightly as she felt Danny's own attraction to her spike suddenly, "Uh, I enjoyed the movie and uh…"
But Sam was cut off with a kiss, as Danny leaned forward and finally completed what he had started in the movie theater. Their link worked in many ways, and one of the best, and worst, things it did was create a cycle between them.
Sam knew this, Danny knew this, and at that moment they chose to ignore it. Get one mad, then the other, and they'd just make each other more and more angry. Make one happy, then the other, and they'd end up making one another more and more giddy.
Turn one on, then the other…well, it's easy to see where their link could take them.
As Danny's kiss grew hungrier, Sam found herself melting. Emotions flowed over her, serving to sooth and frighten her at the same time. Lust, attraction, love, happiness, possessiveness, and so many other things swirled through her and made her feel desirable, but scared her as she realized they weren't just Danny's. She was feeling the same thing about the halfa who was holding her.
'This is definitely different,' Danny thought to himself as he deepened the kiss, surprise washing over him when Sam allowed her lips to part, 'Not bad, but different…'
Sam found her hands moving quite on their own, but loved everything she was doing and everything Danny was doing to her. One hand had found its way into Danny thick, black hair, the other to his toned chest, which brought on a whole different set of thoughts, 'Wow, I mean, I know he's built, but I never really thought about it…'
Danny's hands too, had been found wandering as he slid one up her shoulder to her neck to gently angle her head. The other was slowly working it's way down her back and heading even further south the longer they kissed.
'Is it just me or is it getting really hot?' Sam broke the kiss for a second to look at Danny, his eyes sliding open and revealing clouded blue eyes, want clear in his serious expression. Danny was finding much the same in Sam's face at the moment, her lips slightly moist and looking very edible.
Danny led another series of quick kisses, before he pulled back suddenly, breathing heavily from where his thoughts were heading and where he found his hand, 'Oh shit…'
"Uh, Danny?" Sam nervously shifted, though she didn't move away from him, "Is your hand up my shirt?"
"Yeah," he was frozen and had no clue what to do, "Uh, blame it on the link?"
"I don't think so Mr. Grope Quota," Sam frowned slightly, still feeling the lingering effects of their first real make out session, "Why is your hand there?"
"Want me to move it?"
"Uh," Sam was caught off guard by his question, the fear and hope making it hard for her to think, "N-not really, but I think you should. It's not that I don't like what you're doing, but this is our first date…"
"Yeah," Danny quickly pulled his hand back and tugged the hem of Sam's shirt down, "I'm really, really sorry…"
"It's okay," Sam said absentmindedly as she stroked Danny's chest, then blushed brilliantly as she heard Danny bite back a moan.
"Uh Sam?"
"Yeah?" was it her or was her voice a lot higher than it should have been…
"Not that I don't like it," Danny glanced down between them where Sam's hand disappeared beneath his own shirt, "I mean I am a guy and all, but um…"
"Right," Sam whipped her hand back and went about fixing his shirt for him, blushing furiously at what she had been doing, "Maybe we should just blame it on the link…"
"Or hormones," Danny stated jokingly, giving her a wink and a nervous kiss to the tip of her nose, "Guess we're gonna' have to be careful. I really am sorry, I wasn't thinking I just, uh, was feeling, if that makes any sense."
"More than you'll ever know," Sam laughed nervously and pulled back from him slightly to better see his face, "Why are you feeling so strange?"
Danny's eyes met her own and there was a certain longing there that reflected his feelings. Sam couldn't place it for the life of her until he spoke, "Sam, what are we? I mean, is there even a 'we'?"
"What do you mean by that?" Sam moved closer to him, his body lending her warmth against the draft the window created.
"I mean," Danny pulled away from her to rub the back of his neck, "Are we 'together' or 'friends with benefits' or what?"
"I don't really know," Sam shook her head, some of the old doubts about dating ones' best friend still lingering, "I really don't like labels, but you know that. Maybe we can still just figure it out as we go?"
"That's fine," Danny smiled tightly, "It's all up to you Sam."
Sam sighed happily, turning so that her back was to his chest and enjoyed it as he gently wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close and letting her snuggle back into him. Something, however, was off. Danny didn't feel as happy as Sam thought he would and it worried her for a second until she started reading his feelings.
Turning her neck so she could take in his face, she found him frowning slightly, his brow furrowed in thought as he absently ran his thumb over one of the hands he held. The halfa was lost as he stared out the window to the sky, the place he would sometimes retreat to when he was upset or needed a break.
'He's upset about something,' Sam frowned, knowing because of his body language rather than the link. Tapping into it, she found a world of chaos, 'He's confused about something and a little hurt and unsure. Upset, and feeling a little…rejected? I didn't reject him though, unless…does he want us to be something more?'
"Danny?" Sam freed herself and turned back around to face him fully, "I know something's wrong, so don't even try to deny it. 'Fess up, Fenton, something's bugging you."
"It's nothing, really," Danny moved back slightly from the girl so fiercely watching his actions, "I'm just a little upset that our first date got ruined I guess."
He knew that he couldn't lie to her for anything, but gave it a shot anyways. Sam just shook her head and leaned in to kiss him, the first that kiss that had been instigated by her, "Look, the next decision is up to you. How about that?"
"Sure you wanna' do that?" Danny teased with a wink, pulling her in closer with a devilish smile, "I mean you know us hormonal guys and our grope quota and all that…"
"Oh shut up," Sam pushed him back with a grin of her own, "Besides it's time for you to get home. I'm not going to get fussed at by Jazz or your parents for keeping you out late."
"Fine," Danny pouted as he moved away from her, halfway in and halfway out of her window, "but I get one last kiss…"
"Make it quick," Sam folded her arms as she stood by her window, tapping her foot, "And none of…well, whatever happened."
Danny's blush matched her own as he leaned in for one last, sweet kiss of the evening, "You got it Sam."
Sam and Danny both had exceedingly sweet dreams that night, the fact that their first date went much better than they could have hoped for helping them greatly. From the fun of the nervous tension created between them at the movie to their first make out…well, the first real one anyways, Danny didn't think he'd eve be able to get the smile off his face, and Sam didn't think it possible to stop blushing.
The rest of the school year was going to be interesting, but there was only two weeks left of school…who knew what could or would happen?