Things were normal enough, right? The three of them were now back on speaking terms and were doing better than ever. At least, that's what Danny and Sam thought. How did this go unnoticed? His technology didn't help him cope, nor did his fellow geeks online. Two weeks had gone by since they had gotten together. Two weeks ago he had realized something important and all Tucker could do was watch the two of them talk to each other about the usual ghost hunting things, slowly changing into their plans for the weekend.
"Well that's if some random ghost like...Skulker doesn't show up," Danny laid down on the grass and put his drink aside.
"That's unlikely. We already dealt with him yesterday, I doubt he'd show up again," Sam waved two tickets in his face, "Even if something comes up we should still enjoy ourselves at the fair."
Danny grabbed one of the tickets, "Yeah, even though Technus kind of ruined our last date."
"So what, it was fun before and after that."
"Yeah, even though you totally kicked my butt at that one dance game," Danny stared.
"You won at that fighting game," she laughed and got off the grass.
"Only because you let me," Danny whined and sat up.
"Yeah cause you totally would never win against her in anything, girlfriend or not," Tucker interrupted their playful chat causing the two lovers to stop and look at him.
"Oh, sorry Tuck, forgot you were here I guess," Danny tried to apologize as best as he could, "Hey you want to come over and play some games?"
"Sure you can work that in between your ghost hunting and romancing," the other young man asked coldly.
"Hey you don't have to be that way about it," Sam got between the two.
"Yeah, I know I spend a lot more time with Sam now but you don't have to act like that," Danny jumped to his feet and tried to stop this from elevating more.
"Are you done," Tucker scoffed.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Danny tried to keep his position firm
"Good," Tucker walked past Danny, "See you later Sam."
Sam stared at him and quickly placed her attention back on Danny once Tucker was inside the school building. The half ghost had flopped back on the grass and was failing at looking busy with cloud watching.
"You need to really talk to him," she said as she blocked his view of the sky.
"There's no talking to him like that," he crossed his arms over his chest, "I don't know what his problem is. I mean out of no where he starts acting all...stupid."
"Well... I have an idea about why," Sam allowed the words to trail off.
"You do?"
"Well, its just a wild theory so I don't think I should say anything about it until I find out if its true or not," she quickly stated before Danny could inquire about her thoughts on the matter.
"Honestly, I would like ANY wild theory about this," he sighed as a scream came from a female student.
"GHOST," the girl screamed and ran in the opposite direction she had come from. Fellow students jumped from their seats and scattered as well.
"Sam," Danny said as he got up from the ground.
"I know," she helped him up and watched him jump into a nearby trash can, seconds later Danny Phantom showing up in his place. The floating of boxes gave a good clue as to what ghost had just showed up, turning down Sam's worry for Danny. Sam followed the crowd of students that were now retreating into the school building for some protection, seconds later the bell rang to end lunch and brought the confused students back to their senses slightly. The crowd broke apart as students hurried to their classes.
Sam walked into Mr. Lancer's class and took notice of Tucker siting in his seat, waving at her. She walked to her seat behind his and sat down as the door closed and their out of shape teacher walked into the room. Tucker turned in his seat and started to say something before their teacher cut him off.
"Foley, the front of the classroom is the other way," Lancer said and picked up the attendance paper, "While we're at it, would you care to regale me with the whereabouts of Fenton?"
"Wouldn't have a clue about that, sir," Tucker brushed the question off with ease as he turned back around in his seat.
"What about you, Manson?"
"I think he went to the bathroom before coming to class," she thought up a quick lie.
"Danny seems to have a knack for taking restroom breaks around the clock," Lancer looked from her to the attendance sheet, marking Danny's absence.
"He... has a weak bladder...," Sam found herself fumbling with excuses while Tucker held in a laugh in front of her. She kicked his seat once Lancer stopped looking at her oddly.
"He also seems to have weak test scores," Lancer stated looking at the door as it squeaked open and the dark haired teenager walked in exhausted, "Danny, you're late once again."
"Sorry," Danny muttered and took his seat next to Tucker.
"I'll be seeing you after class," Lancer sighed and turned to the board to write the assignment for the class, "Same goes for you Miss Manson."
"Sam too," Danny asked.
"Yes, Mister Fenton, your girlfriend too. She can't sit here and cover for your tardiness all the time," Lancer finished the attendance and went on to start the lesson.
As to be expected the class was either sleeping, passing notes, entertaining themselves, or actually listening to the lecture going on about the book everyone was suppose to have read the previous night. Danny hadn't read it because of ghost hunting and how could be found in the category of slumped over his desk, trying to pay attention. Tucker had only read half of the book and figured he'd pay attention once Mr. Lancer hit a part in his lecture that he didn't remember reading at all, until then he was entertaining himself with his PDA. Sam had already read Hamlet around three times, there was no need to listen too much to the lecture. She took out a piece of paper and looked from Danny to Tucker. A few seconds later something was poking Tucker forcing him to tend to it. He turned in his seat while Lancer was busy writing on the board and saw the note Sam had wrote in his face. Taking the note quickly he turned in his seat and opened it to read the contents.
Tucker hastily wrote something, folded the paper back up and held it over his shoulder for Sam to take. She was taken by surprise at the speed it took for Tucker to write back to her and took the paper from his hand. Sam rolled her eyes once she had opened and read the new contents of the paper.
She took a deep breath and proceeded to write a reply to this, once again poking Tucker in the back with the note until he finally gave into taking it. He opened the paper once more and almost fell out of his chair from the directness of the message inside.
He stared at the paper and looked over at Danny, still asleep at his desk, then at Lancer, still writing and lecturing at the board. Sam was worried about their friendship, it was only right to tell her the truth, she had always told him what was bothering her. He pushed his PDA aside and grabbed the lone pencil on his desk and took to writing. This was the right thing to do, at least he hoped that much as he finished writing the note and folded it back the way it had come.
A loud thud broke the class into a riot of laughter, Danny jumped to his feet and looked around as though a ghost had knocked him out of his chair on purpose. Mr Lancer quickly quieted the class down, looked at Danny and shook his head.
"Mister Fenton, I advise you to stay in your seat, please," Lancer stared at Danny and then at Tucker as he was about to pass the note back to Sam, "Foley!"
Tucker looked at Mr. Lancer with surprise, "Yes!"
"The note please," he held out his hand.
Not wanting to get in even more trouble Tucker got up from his seat. Everyone stared at him, possibly most of all, Sam. He looked at Danny's curious look as he walked up to Lancer's desk and hoped Danny hadn't gained some sort of x-ray vision or telepathy ability he hadn't told him or Sam about yet. His teacher quickly took the paper once it got in range and waited for Tucker to return to his seat before opening it back up and skimming through it, to Tucker's horror, out loud.
"Let's see what was so important it couldn't wait for the end of class... What's wrong? Nothing... Jealous of Danny and me... I really like you... don't tell him," he took a long pause and looked at the class then at the three the note was about, "Well as interesting as teen drama is can you keep it for after class is over?"
"Yeah...," Tucker managed to say something back.
"Well then, as you know Hamlet came back...," Lancer continued the lesson where it had left off and threw the note in the nearest trash can.
'He's going to kill me,' Tucker's thoughts immediately filled with visions of Danny PHANTOM beating him up until he couldn't move an inch, 'Maybe he won't... Danny's not like that! He wouldn't absolutely kill me for that... just... get upset about it... right?'
Tucker looked over at Danny. Danny wasn't looking at anyone but the top of his desk, much less paying attention to the review of the story. It was clear that what was read sunk in faster than anything ever did for Danny. His friend was at conflict over it because of him, but what about the person who the note was intended for? Was she upset? He tried to sneak a look at her behind him, her head was on the desk. Tucker felt so horrible at this point. How was it he could mess up everything without intending to because of what he says, or in this case wrote?
'I messed this up badly,' was the only thing Tucker could think of in the end.
Danny hadn't looked at the other two at all. All he found himself doing was fume over what had been said on that note. Everything had suddenly come crashing down on him within a short amount of time leaving Danny alone to convince himself that none of it had happened, he got it all wrong. Tucker didn't say that. Sam still loved him. Everything was fine. They would still hang out and it would be okay because none of this happened.
'But it did... and Tucker likes Sam too,' Danny's thoughts started to pull himself out of denial, 'Even if he does she's my girlfriend and his friend and if he liked her in the first place then why did he get all pushy about me getting with Sam in the first place then! He always does this... First my powers and now my girlfriend! What next, my family? I've got to do something about this.'
Sam lifted her head off the desk top. Tucker had admitted something she figured out in five seconds after he had left in a rush during lunch. In a way she was proud that her assumptions were correct but she hadn't planned on telling Danny about it in the first place, only let Tucker down easy. Of course there was no way she could go back and undo what happened, well there was a way but that ghost always seemed like a grumpy kind to her. She looked at Danny in time to see him look from his desk to the direction of the board with determination.
'There he goes, off in his own little world right now. I don't think he would be that determined to pay attention to the last five minutes of class. I guess... we both are wondering what do do now,' she thought and looked at the clock.
Class ended, all students left with the exception of Danny and Sam. Tucker hurried past Danny's desk while Danny gave him a look. The moment the door closed Mr. Lancer walked from behind his desk to where Danny and Sam were.
"I understand that you two are currently... involved with each other, but this doesn't mean you should allow it to go past the doors to this room or any other class room," he started his scolding of the two, "Mister Fenton needs to get to class on time and not have Miss Manson cover for him constantly starting tomorrow. If you are late one more time we'll have detention together Friday afternoon, after school. Do you understand?"
Danny stood up, nodded and gathered his things, Sam did the same. The two walked out the classroom in a rush to get to Tucker first to say something about what had happened. Danny ran up to him quickly while Tucker looked through his locker, Sam sped up as well. Before even getting within five feet of him Danny said what was on his mind.
"Look Tuck, why don't you just accept that me and Sam are together now and leave it at that?"
"What! What are you talking about," Tucker closed his locker door and looked at Danny.
"Don't lie! The whole class found out about you being jealous of ME and liking Sam too," Danny's voice became louder.
"What about it? Can't I like Sam," he asked Danny.
"NO!"
"Why not! Because she's YOUR girlfriend," Tucker asked sarcastically, "She's not property you know!"
Danny was becoming frustrated with this quickly, "I know that! I'm just saying she's my girlfriend so get over it!"
"Guys," Sam tried to get the two to stop.
"Well she's my girl friend too you know," Tucker looked over at Sam.
"She's your friend," Danny moved in between Tucker and Sam's view of each other.
"Well he is right... I am a girl and I am his friend so I am also his girl friend," Sam tried to fix the damage the two were doing on the spot, "Now that, that's cleared up can you two stop this stupid fight?"
"No, that's beside the point," Danny growled, balling his hands into fists.
"And what is the point! That I can't talk to Sam anymore or anything because she's your girlfriend," Tucker tried to hold back all the emotions he was feeling at the moment, "What does that mean? That we aren't friends anymore because you two are going out?"
"I'm not saying that at all," Danny yelled and pushed Tucker into the lockers behind him.
"Yes you are," Tucker yelled and pushed Danny back.
"I am not," Danny became louder and pushed Tucker harder.
"Yes. You. ARE," Tucker yelled and pushed Danny as hard as he could, knocking him to the floor.
Danny stared in shock for a second or two before grabbing one of Tucker's legs and pulled him on to the floor with him. Tucker hit the floor hard and Danny had taken advantage of his surprise to get top of him. He tried to push the Danny off of him before a punch nearly hit his face cracking the floor a little. He looked at Danny's green eyes in amazement and quickly punched Danny in the face knocking him over to the side. Tucker quickly got back on his feet, Danny followed. A crowd was developing around the two full of spectators chanting and making comments about the two fighters.
Sam wasn't sure when it happened but she had gotten lost in the crowd and lost view of the two, only hearing grunts and yells and chanting. She started to push through the crowd, it was only a matter of time before the fight would end and she was positive it would be Danny that would win out of the two. The plan would have to be that once she got there she would have to pull Tucker out of the fight or get in between them to stop it. The crowd got riled up again and she heard something that upset her greatly.
"Foley is so getting is butt kicked by Fentdork!"
She recognized the comment coming from the mouth of Dash and pushed past the jocks, ending up in full view of the fight. Tucker had just got back up and wiped off the blood before it got into his eye. His hat and glasses were long since gone it appeared and he did hold the most bruises out of the two of them. Sam looked around for Danny and spotted him struggling against Valerie's hold on him. She ran over to Danny.
"Let me go! I'm not done," Danny yelled at Valerie and looked at Sam in front of him. He calmed down a bit along with the crowd.
"You're done as far as I'm concerned," Valerie sighed and let go of Danny.
"Thanks," Sam said and looked at Valerie.
"Someone had to stop it. I'm lucky you came when you did," Valerie looked at Danny.
"Are you okay, Tuck," Sam took her glare from Danny and over to Tucker.
"Yeah," Tucker said as he picked up the remains of he glasses from the ground.
"Break it up people, break it up," a familiar faculty member said over the now deteriorating crowd, "Foley and Fenton! Well I take it back... We will be having detention on Friday Mister Fenton, you will be joining us as well Mister Foley. Come along with me boys, we need to get one of you fixed up while I call the other's parents."
Danny started following Mr. Lancer with his eyes glued to the floor, not wanting to look at Sam as he left. Sam handed Tucker his hat and watched him also follow the older man. Valerie shook her head.
"What got those two, of all people, into a fight with each other," she asked Sam.
She took a moment to answer Valerie's question, unsure if she should tell the girl the whole story or not, "They were fighting... because of me."
The two looked at each other from opposite sides of the hall. Tucker had gotten his bruises and cut looked at and bandaged up even though he didn't like the thought of the nurse's office. Danny was waiting for what his parents were going to say about his fight with Tucker, though it was most likely that he'd get a long enough scolding from them once he got home. The bruised boy in front of him cleared his throat, grabbing Danny's attention slightly.
"Hey, Danny," Tucker broke the silence between them, "I think...we're done being friends."
"I was thinking something like that too, Tuck," Danny said and continued to look at the floor.