Hey guys, don't know why, but I haven't been inspired too much lately. Luckily though, I had enough yesterday to get this chapter finished. I think it came out fine though, even if it isn't very eventful. Well anyways, thanks for the reviews and enjoy the chapter!
Danny watched from his place by the window as the door swung open and Tucker entered the room. His friend seemed to be in just as bad shape as Sam. His eyes were dulled and he looked weary, as if he'd been in a big fight. He entered the room quietly, making almost no noise as he closed the door behind him.
Taking a look at Sam's bed, he heaved a sigh, his expression becoming even more depressed. Wandering over to Sam's bed, he placed a hand on the lump of sheets he knew she was residing under. Sam shut up and turned her head sharply, as if she was ready to attack him, but when she saw Tucker standing above her, her expression softened, and she crumpled into the sheets once more.
The two stood in silence for about five minutes while Danny watched them, feeling the tension in the air beginning to suffocate him. Finally, after a long period of silence, Sam sat up once again,
Danny could barely make out her words as she whispered, "I saw Danny again". Her voice cracked as she spoke, and Danny could see that her eyes were as red and puffy as ever. She continued, "Why do I keep having these dreams Tuck? I should be over this by now, it's been two years! I keep seeing him, even though he's not really there"
After she'd said this, she dropped her head in her hands, not even looking up at Tucker. Tuck's expression softened as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know Sam, But this time…I saw him too"
At these words, Sam reacted faster than Danny would have thought possible. Her head shot up, and in an instant she was on her feet, staring Tucker strait in the eye. "What did you say?" she asked quietly, her flannel sheets still clutched in her hands.
"I saw him too Sam," said Tucker, pushing his friend into a sitting position and taking a seat beside her, "outside, a block from the school. I don't think your dreaming this time."
At this point, Sam's eyes widened with realization, "But…but if he was really outside…that means he was really here a few minutes ago!" She jumped from the bed and stared at Tucker with wide eyes, "Oh my God Tuck he was here, and I told him to go away! I thought I was dreaming and I told him to leave!"
Sam turned to the corner where Danny was still floating, now invisible, as if she was expecting to see him there. "Oh my God Tuck," she repeated, "I've driven him away again! What if he's gone for good this time?" She collapsed on the bed next to her friend, but Tucker was wearing an expression of shock, and seemed to be staring across the room at nothing in particular.
"He was here?" he asked, turning to Sam, "are you sure? How long ago"
"I…I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention. I think he disappeared shortly before you arrived," she said, looking up from where she'd been sobbing into her hands. At this point her face was a mess. Her black mascara had run down her face and mixed with her tears. It was now smudged in various places, giving her a quite scary appearance. However, neither of the two was very worried about that at the moment.
Suddenly, Sam jumped off the bed and shouted, "Danny! Danny are you still here? Answer me Danny. If you're here, please come out…."
Tucker, unsurprised by his friend's sudden outburst, once again gently coaxed her into sitting down. "I don't know Sam, I don't think he's still here now, even if what you say is true and he was here before"
"No, I know he was here before!" Sam half-shouted, now she sounded angry, as if she was mad that Tuck would even suggest that she'd imagined it, "Danny! Please Danny…please…you have to still be here…"
Danny, who had been watching the whole scene unfold, realized that he now once again had a choice to make. He had two options once again, turn and flee the room and leave Sam and Tuck behind to sort this out on their, or reveal himself and sort it out with them. At the moment, neither of them seemed too appealing. Obviously he had the third option of not confronting them at all, but he was counting that one out, for he'd told himself many times already that he was not running away no matter how tough things got.
Danny had thought that there had been many tough decisions that he'd made in these last few days. He'd thought returning had been hard, he'd thought seeing his friends and family again had been hard, and he'd thought coming to Sam's house had been hard just a half hour ago. Now however, he realized that this would probably be the hardest. If he left, he knew he'd still have to deal with this problem eventually, and he knew that this situation could only get worse as time wore on. However, if he chose to reveal himself he'd have to deal with it now, and that thought scared him as much as the first.
Now he realized that he'd never thought ahead. If he revealed himself, what would he do next? He could patch things up with Sam and Tuck right now, but there would still be Jazz, his parents, Valerie…. And what would he do about school? He hadn't given that much thought at all actually. He'd obviously have to start again, so how would he deal with every single kid he'd known before he'd left. How did he explain how he'd suddenly appeared after two years and where he'd been during that time?
Then another thought struck him. He'd dropped out of school in sophomore year and he hadn't learned anything since. There was no way he could be in senior year with his friends! They'd graduate this year and move on to college and he'd only be moving to his junior year. How on earth would he be able to bear that? It would be like be like being two years younger than them. He'd probably never see them in school either, since their lockers, classes and lunchrooms would all be on different floors. How was he supposed to go back to school and make friends with kids that were two years younger than him? It made him wish he'd thought to enroll at the local public high school near his old apartment.
As he was thinking this over, Sam had given up on calling to him. Apparently there was only so much disappointment one girl could take. Tucker was also looking a bit worse for the wear. In fact, he looked about as bad as Danny felt right now. The two of them both looked too old and distressed to be seventeen year olds.
After sitting for a few moments, the two stood up, though it seemed more like Tucker was guiding Sam, who seemed to be in a sort of daze. Apparently Tucker wanted to get Sam out of the room and take her mind off things before she had a complete breakdown, which she really wasn't far from at this point.
Danny didn't know where they were going, but he knew that if he didn't make up his mind in the next three seconds, he was going to lose his second option. Mind racing with twenty thoughts a second, he watched as Tucker began guiding Sam out the door. They were almost halfway through the archway when Danny gathered his courage and made his decision.
Before Tucker could shut the door behind him, Danny shouted, "Wait!", and lifted his gloved hand in the air in an invisible gesture for them to halt.
Tucker and Sam bother froze in place and turned back to the room, eyes darting around to find the person who had shouted.
Danny flickered back to visibility, hand still outstretched as if reaching out to them. Dropping his arm to his side, he looked at them with glassy eyes and said, "I'm here…"
DUN DUN DUN! Yes, another cliffhanger, and the next chapter is not only going to be the one you've undoubtedly been waiting for, but also the end to the long chain of cliffies! Yay! Well, anyway, hope you like the chapter, and please leave a review because I'd really like to know what you thought! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon! Cya next time!