Here's the second part of Nothing Less Than Torture! I'm really sorry it took so long…

Oh, and when I said this would be a two-shot in the last chapter, I lied. Most likely it will be four chapters, the next being in Danny's POV.

Thanks to all of those who reviewed, I'm so happy that this got such a good response.

Disclaimer: I've never owned Danny Phantom…but I want to and so does Sam.

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Nothing Less Than Torture

Part Two

Life just sucks sometimes. It's the truth, plain and simple. I'll even take it a step further and say it can be a living hell. It's not like I have too much to complain about, but having both of your supposed friends abandon you for popularity is a bit of a downer and quite a blow to self-esteem. It just has Bad Luck Tuck written all over it.

I guess I'll concede at one point. They at least tried to stay friends with me, but unfortunately, the popular people weren't so cool with that. Both of them attempted a few times to share some small talk with me in the halls or some other place. They couldn't even get a word other than "hi" out of their mouths before either they were dragged away or I was threatened into leaving by one of the hulking football players.

It's hard, seeing them talking with other people, and laughing at me along with the ones that they replaced me with. Funny, they don't have the same friends for longer than a week, the only exception being that Paulina never seems to want to leave Danny's side. I find it ironic that she still pines for the "Ghost Boy".

I still hold a vain hope that things might go back to the way things used to be, Danny and Sam obliviously flirting with each other and me poking fun at them all the way, ghost hunting and kicking all of the bad guys butts all the way back to the Ghost Zone. He still fights them, drives them away from our town, protects the city even though most of the citizens still say he's a villain. I'm starting to think that his hero complex is the only meaningful thing he has left. In that regard he's still the same old Danny I used to be friends with.

But it seems like everything else about him has changed. He's no longer the goofy, oblivious, young teenager he once was. He never really smiles anymore. He just simply changed.

In my opinion, for the worse.

Sam has changed too. She no longer is the rebellious, individualistic Goth with the fiery temper and raging jealousy. She's become a clone of the people she used to hate so venomously. It doesn't seem like she can handle having a steady boyfriend for longer than a few days, although with the guys she dates, I don't really blame her.

It's interesting how they're still so perfect for each other.

Even through all of this, they've changed in such a way that they'd still be the one for each other. But they're both still blinded. That's one of the few things about them that didn't change. No matter what, they never seem to want to admit their attraction. Of course, it's a bit less obvious now. With them both usually taken and Sam's jealously no longer what it used to be, no one else but me can spot it. I mean, I was friends with them for so long…If I try I could almost see right through them.

The way they act toward each other has changed too, but I guess that only makes sense. It seems like they try their hardest to avoid each other. When they are forced to pass each other in the hallways, or make eye contact, some interesting things go on. It's as though they were ashamed almost, like they can't look each other in the eye for too long…although it's the worst with Sam. Danny will sometimes stare at her as she walks past, as if studying her for some reason I don't really know of completely. Until of course, Paulina steals his attention back.

I see the longing in her eyes, the way she looks past her latest boyfriend's shoulder to see the real guy she wants to be with. Danny on the other hand, almost puts too much into his actions, almost like he were imagining someone else in his arms. I might be reading too much into his actions though. It's hard to tell with Danny. Sometimes he can be incredibly easy to read in one instant and impossible the next.

I don't have the heart to hate them. I can't., even though they abandoned me down here…because even though they have changed, the same old Danny and the same old Sam are still buried down in there somewhere.

And I think their level of happiness is just about the same as mine.

And what about me?

I don't think I've changed much. I've only lost the support and company of my friends. I'm still the nerdy techno-geek, except maybe I've sunk even deeper into the quagmire of the very bottom rung of the social ladder. I haven't had any other friends to take their place like they've replaced me. I don't know yet whether that's a good thing or not. All the other girls in the school are sill repulsed by me even though I don't try to hit on them any more. I didn't see much of a point to keep that up. It's amazing how much true friends can turn the dank cold of extreme unpopularity into a light and warmth that can be even better than being the top of the food chain. They can turn the hurt into laughter and the dark into light.

I don't have that light anymore, and I don't have that warmth.

All I'm left with is the cold, the dark, and the hurt.

It's nothing less than torture.

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Okay, how was that? Truthfully and honestly, I want to hear your opinion. I wasn't originally going to do a POV on Tucker, but Zoko suggested it and I thought it was a wonderful idea. I thought it turned out rather well…

Thanks Zoko!

Once again, please review and tell me anything, critics welcome and so are suggestions!

Thanks everyone!