Chapter 2: An Argument and an Abduction
The next day, around noontime at Casper High, all the students gathered in the outdoor eating area. It was your typical high school scenario: all the students were divided into tables according to their coolness status. The nerds were at one table and the popular jocks and cheerleaders were at another. And at a table near the fence, three students were discussing the previous night's escapades.
One was Danny Fenton and the other two were his best friends who were privy to his secret. There was Tucker Foley, a black boy with glasses, a red beret, a yellow shirt and green jeans. He was a techno-geek by nature. The other was a Goth girl with black hair, violet eyes and was wearing a black top, a black skirt and black boots. Her name was Sam Manson and she prided herself highly on being extremely individualist.
"So it was just the Box Ghost again?" asked Tucker. "Yeah. I'd like to know how he keeps getting out. He's among my weakest enemies and yet he comes back time and time again to annoy me. I mean even that brat Youngblood is more of a threat. Adults can't even see him," said Danny. "Let's face it, Danny. Some ghosts never learn," said Sam.
"I guess you're right, Sam. You usually are. With the exception of a few times," said Danny. "What is that supposed to mean?" asked Sam angrily. "Need we remind you that our initial encounter with Lunch Lady was the result of your ideas? Not to mention that whole memory erasure incident from Desiree," said Tucker. "Hey, I didn't know she was around when I made that wish," said Sam.
"Guys, don't fight. It doesn't matter. We probably would have met them later anyway. Personally, I'd rather fight the Box Ghost everyday than any of my other foes," said Danny. "Yeah. He's more welcome around here than say Skulker or Ember," said Sam. "Or Technus and the Fright Knight," added Tucker. "Or worse, the gruesome threesome as I call them: Plasmius, Ghost King and my evil self," said Danny. "With the exception of Vlad, we don't have much to worry about from them. The Ghost King, along with his Ring of Rage, is back in his eternal sleep and based on what you told us, we don't have to worry about you going evil," said Sam. "I can only hope. I don't know what Clockwork did with my evil self. I guess he just popped out of existence once Clockwork intervened," said Danny.
"Um excuse me?" asked a voice from behind them. They all turned their attention toward the voice and saw a boy of about sixteen. He had brown hair brown eyes and was wearing glasses. He was wearing a gray jacket over a white T-shirt and gray pants. He was carrying a tray of food.
"May I sit here? I couldn't find a place to sit," said the boy. "Sure. But aren't you a little older than we are?" asked Danny as the boy sat down. "Ah who cares where you sit as long as you get to eat?" asked the boy. "Good point," said Tucker.
"My name's Danny Fenton and this Sam Manson and Tucker Foley," said Danny. "Pleased to meet you. My name's Matt Thanatos. I'm new here and I'm in your sister's class," said the boy. "Oh boy. Did she give you her usual 'Welcome to Casper High' greeting she gives to all new students?" asked Danny in an annoyed voice. "She did. But it wasn't all that bad. She was just trying to make me feel welcome," said Matt.
"Thanatos. Is that Greek?" asked Sam. "It is. My family has Greek roots. But I was born here in America. Interestingly enough, it means death," said Matt. Danny, Sam and Tucker stared at Matt with slightly shocked gazes on their faces. Matt chuckled and said, "Don't worry. I'm not from one of those kinds of macabre families." Danny and his friends gave a sigh of relief.
"Speaking of death, did I hear you guys talking about ghosts?" asked Matt. "Oh! Er! Uh! We were just talking about a…tabletop role-playing game we play. It involves hunting ghosts and we were just discussing some new characters," said Tucker. "Uh yes. We get together every Saturday and play this game," said Sam. Then she leaned toward Tucker and whispered, "Role-playing games! Is that the best you can come up with?" "It's the best I could do on such short notice," whispered Tucker. Sam responded by kicking him under the table.
"Neat. Think I could join you for a game? I love role-playing games. Not to the extreme like some people, of course," said Matt. "Uh not exactly, Matt. The game's very complex and we sort of have our own rules," said Danny playing along. "Oh. Okay. That's cool. Though it does sound interesting especially with the names of those characters. Skulker, Technus, Fright Knight? It sounds amazing," said Matt. 'Whew. I think we covered that one pretty well,' thought Danny.
"It's quite fitting that you would be thinking about ghosts. From what I've heard, this town is close to becoming the ghost capital of the world. Thankfully, this town has that ghost boy as its protector," said Matt. 'Well, he thinks Danny's good so he seems okay,' thought Sam.
"You seem to be interested in ghosts yourself, Matt," said Danny. "Oh indeed. Though not quite like your parents, Danny. I've seen them on the news. But unlike them, I really don't believe in treating ghosts like animals. I believe that ghosts just have some problems that they need to work out and their haunting of the living is just a way of dealing with it. But if people actually took time to find out what's bugging them, the natural and the supernatural could live together in harmony," said Matt.
Danny, Sam and Tucker looked at Matt for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. "Nice sentiment, Matt. But I don't think many ghosts want to work out their issues. You're starting to sound like a supernatural version of my sister," said Danny. Matt chuckled and said, "Laugh if you will, Fenton. But I stand by my beliefs and I don't care what anybody thinks about them." "You may be a little nutty, Matt. But I like the way you think," said Sam.
"Yoo-hoo! Danny!" called a female voice with a Hispanic accent. Danny, Sam, Tucker and Matt turned in the direction of the voice and saw a pretty girl with black hair and dressed in pink top and blue jeans. She had a piece of paper in her hand.
"Who's that?" asked Matt. "Paulina: most popular girl in school as well as the shallowest. She only talks to us if she wants something," said Sam. "I hate girls like that," said Matt.
"What is it, Paulina?" asked Danny. "I'm throwing a party tomorrow night and you're invited," said Paulina handing him the paper which was undoubtedly an invitation. Sam huffed in anger.
"Gee thanks, Paulina. But aren't you going to invite my friends as well?" asked Danny as he gazed at the invitation. "Yeah, where's our invitations?" asked Tucker. "I thought of inviting your friends, Danny. But I figured you'd come anyway with or without these losers and the new guy who must be a loser as well to hang out with you," said Paulina. "Hey!" exclaimed Matt. "That's not fair!" exclaimed Tucker. Sam said nothing but appeared to be growing more livid with each passing second.
"I'll be there, Paulina," said Danny. "Great! Now the ghost boy will most definitely show up. He always does whenever you're around. I can't wait to profess my love to him tomorrow," said Paulina. "What?" exclaimed Danny totally surprised by Paulina's declaration of her ulterior motive. Paulina took no notice and walked away.
"You're not seriously going to that party, are you Danny?" asked Sam. "Well, why not? I've got no plans this time and I don't want to disappoint her," said Danny. Sam growled angrily and stood up. "You are such a thickhead, Danny Fenton!" she yelled and stomped off toward the school doors. "Sam! Wait!" called Danny as he ran after her leaving Tucker and Matt at the table.
"Wow! I've never seen her so mad before. She's definitely got it bad," said Tucker. "What do you mean? Aren't they just best friends?" asked Matt. "Well…" said Tucker as he motioned with his finger for Matt to come closer. Matt leaned across the table so Tucker could whisper in his ear.
"Just between you and me, I've always suspected that Sam's got a thing for Danny. That's why she always gets so angry when Paulina tries to flirt with him," said Tucker. "I see. Very interesting. Do you think Danny feels the same way?" asked Matt. "I don't know. Sometimes. But he seems to be mostly into Paulina. Another girl named Valerie Gray also has her eyes on him. Man, some guys have all the luck. I'd give anything to be the babe magnet he is," said Tucker.
"Three girls, one guy. What a love rectangle. You'd think this stuff only happens on TV. By the way, why does Paulina think the ghost boy shows up whenever Danny's around?" asked Matt. "I have no idea," said Tucker nonchalantly.
Meanwhile, in the halls of Casper High, Sam angrily walked toward the girls' washroom. "Sam, wait up!" called Danny. Sam sighed and turned around to face her best friend.
"Why are you acting like this? It's not like the last time Paulina invited me to a party. I didn't break a promise to you so why are you getting so bent out of shape?" asked Danny. "You know, Danny, sometimes I can't even believe how blind you are. You know Paulina's only into your Phantom side. Do you think that she would like you even if you didn't have ghost powers?" asked Sam. "I thought you'd be happy for me. At least a girl is interested in some part of me," said Danny.
"And there's another thing, Danny. There's also Valerie. You know that she'll never accept your other side so I can't see why you are even considering a relationship with her," said Sam. "I don't have to take this, Sam. It's not like I'll even find someone who likes all of me so I'm just working with what I have!" yelled Danny. Sam gasped at this statement and then went into the washroom and slammed the door.
"Danny?" asked a voice from the left. Danny turned and saw a black girl with black hair and wearing a yellow sweater and orange skirt. "What's going on?" she asked. "Oh it's just Sam, Valerie. I got a party invite from Paulina and she's making a big deal about it," said Danny. "Want me to go talk to her girl-to-girl?" asked Valerie. "Nah. I don't think she wants to see anybody. Better just let her blow off some steam on her own," said Danny as he walked away.
Valerie lingered near the door for a bit and heard the sounds of soft sobbing coming from within. 'Poor girl. She does have it bad for him. I told her to make a move if she did like him. I hope she'll be okay. But what was that talk about neither Paulina nor I accepting the full Danny? It's not like he has a secret life like me,' she thought as she walked away.
In one of the washroom's stalls, Sam Manson sat on the toilet covering her eyes. Tears fell through her fingers. As she cried, she started to think.
'Oh Danny. Why must you act like such a thickheaded jerk? I'm your best friend and I don't want to see you get hurt. You know once Paulina finds out you and Danny Phantom are the same person, she's going to break your heart. And when Valerie finds out, she'll break your heart and you. Why can't you try to find someone who would like you just the way you are? Neither Fenton nor Phantom. Just Danny. Maybe even…me.'
Sam suddenly slapped herself. "Oh no, Sam. Don't start thinking that again. You don't like him that way and he doesn't like you that way. We're just platonic friends," she said out loud.
'But then again, why do I have such a problem with Paulina and Valerie? Why is it when any other girl gets near Danny, I act this way?' thought Sam as she walked out of the stall and toward the sinks. She leaned on the sink and faced her reflection. "Okay Manson, time to reflect. How do you really feel about Danny?" she asked the reflection.
"Let's see. There was that dance we shared after he freed me from the Amulet of Aragon. That felt pretty good. And when I fell off the tightrope at Circus Gothica and Freakshow's train, he managed to shake off the spell and save me. Both times, he fought the spell for me. And I can hardly forget the Ember incident. Even though it was just a result of her spell, part of me like being the center of Danny's world. Plus, we've each initiated fake-out make-outs. I can tell after the one I started that he enjoyed every second of it and I can say the same thing. The feel of his lips on mine. It was such a rush," said Sam. Then her eyes opened wide in realization. "Oh my gosh! I have fallen in love with him!" she exclaimed. Then she hung her head down.
'So now what do I do? I've finally come to the realization that I've fallen in love with my best friend. But his attention is drawn to two other girls who only like one half of him. I guess I might have to take Valerie's advice. I have to make the move or risk losing my only chance. This may jeopardize our friendship. But Danny's worth it. So that's it then. I'm going to tell him how I feel,' thought Sam.
Sam turned toward the door in the process of raising her head. But suddenly, she collided with something metal. "Ow!" she cried as she rubbed her head. Then she looked up and gasped in fear.
Looming over her was an immense figure clothed in black armor. He had a skull belt buckle and purple flames emitting from his helmet and lining his back. The only trace of facial features underneath his helmet was green eyes that stared right into her violet ones.
Sam knew this evil figure. It was the Fright Knight, the evil spirit of Halloween. When last she had heard of him, he was now working for Vlad Plasmius, Danny's archenemy. Her first impulse was to scream for help. But being confronted by the evil ghost, she was petrified with fear.
"Miss Manson, Lord Plasmius requests your presence," said the Fright Knight as he grabbed her by the collar with his free arm. "Yeah? Well you can tell Vlad that I'm going to have to refuse that request," said Sam angrily.
"When Lord Plasmius says request, he really mean demand. And I am afraid you really have no choice in the matter, Samantha," said the Fright Knight. "Do not call me that!" yelled Sam as she kicked the Fright Knight in the shin. Then she cried out in pain because despite her heavy boots, it still hurt kicking the hard armor.
"You just wait until Danny gets here! The moment his ghost sense goes off, you're in for a world of hurt!" yelled Sam. "I think not," said the Fright Knight as he presented his hand to Sam. A metallic ring was on one of the fingers. "Never thought you'd be one for bling, Fright Knight," said Sam. "It is a device constructed by Lord Plasmius that prevents the ghost child from sensing me. If he did, he would have come by now. But he hasn't. So there's nothing to stop me from taking you," said the evil ghost.
Sam's defiant look was replaced by one of pure fear. She tried to scream for help. But the Fright Knight anticipated it and covered her mouth. "Now we must be off. My master does not like to be kept waiting," he said as he turned himself and Sam intangible and invisible. He walked through the wall of the bathroom.
Sam didn't know what Vlad Plasmius and the Fright Knight were planning that involved kidnapping her. But one thing was certain: it wasn't going to be good.