This chapter has been in the care of Nom de Plume, the best beta reader I know!

Chapter Nine

Errol had to ease Dash back into consciousness slowly, while maintaining a connection with Sam. He moved from kissing her lips, to her jaw-line and on to her neck as he cautiously began letting Dash become aware of what was going on, but with no control over himself. The transition from being overshadowed to regaining control needed to be seamless.

What's going on? Dash yelled in his mind. What did you do to me? What are you doing? Let go of her!

"Just relax, Dash," Errol said gently. "Everything is fine. I'm just doing you a favor."

You're mauling my girlfriend! Dash shrieked as Errol felt the boy's intense anger and fear.

"She's not yours," Errol said angrily. "She's mine." He paused as he realized how that sounded. "I mean, the reason why you have her is because of me."

That doesn't give you the right… Dash started, but Errol forced Dash into silence.

"Listen to me, Dash," Errol said calmly as he moved Sam into a simple embrace, her head against Dash's chest. "I'm going to put you back in control. I don't want you to fight. I don't want you to say anything. Just act like nothing has happened. If you say a word about me to her, I'll kill you"

Dash agreed. Suddenly he returned to full control over himself and was aware of Sam in his arms, her head against his chest. He began shaking in fear, which caused Sam to pull away and look at him worriedly.

"Why are you shaking?" she asked as he felt Dash trembling. "What's wrong?" She herself was in a daze. She knew she wasn't really thinking straight. Maybe she cared about Dash more than she thought. Maybe it was just seeing Danny that made her doubt her feelings for the jock. She couldn't explain her feelings except that she had never experienced or even imagined anything like the kiss Dash had just given her.

"Tell her you're fine. Tell her it's because you are so happy to be holding her that the joy is hard to contain," Errol insisted.

Dash hesitated. He didn't want to. He felt it was lame. "I'm fine," he said as he held her tighter. "I just am…" Dash paused and closed his eyes.

"Dash?" Sam asked as she pulled away and looked at him in concern. He shook his head and let her go.

"I need to go home," he said with great effort. Errol growled in anger. "I think I'm getting sick too."

"No. No. No. You stupid ox!" Errol hissed. "Do you want to lose her to Danny? Do you?"

"No," Dash answered out loud.

"Dash?" Sam said worriedly as he pushed her away from him.

"She was going to give you the boot!" Errol told him harshly "If it wasn't for me, you'd be walking home right now with a broken heart, then you'd have to explain to everyone, to your father, that this freaky little Goth girl doesn't want you. Doesn't love you. Doesn't need you."

Dash sobbed out loud and Sam put her hand to his face. "Dash," she said in alarm. "Talk to me."

"All things considered, Dash," Errol continued, "I think you could show me a little gratitude."

"I'm sorry, Sam," Dash said as he took her hand and removed it from his face. "I am just so happy." He paused. "It's hard to contain my feelings."

Sam looked at him skeptically. "You seem more upset than happy," she said.

Dash sighed heavily. "Because I have to leave, and I won't see you until tomorrow."

"I see," Sam said warily. Dash stepped away from her.

"I'll call you," he told her as he turned and opened the door.

"My homework?" Sam reminded him, glad that at least she could think sensibly about some things.

"Oh yeah," Dash laughed shakily then picked up the bag at his feet and dug out a folder.

"I'll talk to you soon," Sam told him. He hesitated a moment then moved forward and kissed her quickly then backed away like he was going to burn her.

Sam watched him go with a feeling of deep regret. She wondered what had happened. Maybe the kiss, well it wasn't just a kiss, didn't move him the way it moved her. Maybe he was disgusted. He made it apparent that he didn't want to touch her as he left. She sighed sadly, and wondered if there was just something about her that sent boys running from away from her. First Danny, who frankly wasn't interested in her, and now Dash.

"And I was going to end things with him," she said to herself as she started to walk upstairs. She didn't want to end things with him now. It was so confusing. She couldn't believe she was being so indecisive. The choice should be obvious, she should chose the boy who actually likes her. But it looked like Dash's feelings for her were changing. She reached the top of the stairs then sat down on the steps and put her face in her hands, trying not to cry. She was angry at herself, she'd cried way too much lately.


"Don't you ever do that to her, or to me, again," Dash said out loud as he walked swiftly down the street. "If I don't cooperate with you then you can't use me to hurt her. I won't let you use me to hurt her."

"I'm sorry," Errol apologized. "But you have to understand. It was for your own good. I had to eradicate Danny from her mind. You couldn't do that on your own. You needed my help."

"I could to have done it on my own!" Dash said angrily. "I think things were going good before you interfered. Kissing my girlfriend in my body! Dude, that is just like seven kinds of wrongness."

"Wrongness is not a word, Dash," Errol said in amusement.

"Well, whatever," Dash growled. "Just don't do it again. I don't want you touching her."

Errol sighed audibly in Dash's mind. "I can't promise that, but I'll try."

"What's your deal?" Dash asked in disgust, still talking out loud. A little girl riding a bike on the sidewalk gave him a weird look as he passed by. He ignored her. "Do you have the hots for her or something? Is that why you're doing this?"

"No," Errol denied shamefully. "I want to see the girl happy. I think you're perfect for her. I knew you admired her from afar, but were too much of a coward to make a move, so I pushed you."

"What are you?" Dash asked in alarm. "A ghost? Are you a ghost?"

"Calm down," Errol ordered. "And quit talking out loud. People are going to think you're insane. Yes, I'm a ghost. But I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you. And in the process, you will have Sam as yours and the only price I ask is that you help me destroy Danny."

Fenton? Dash asked is mind. Why would you care about that little dork? He's nothing. Not that he didn't like the idea of at least kicking Danny's butt.

"He loves Sam," Errol said. "And he's planning on stealing her back from you. Do you want that?"

No, Dash answered petulantly in his mind.

"Good," Errol replied. "Now I'm going to leave you for a bit. I'll be back. Don't tell anyone about me or I'll hurt Sam."

Yes, sir, Dash said obediently as he shuddered in fear.

"Good boy," Errol laughed.


Sam decided she needed to talk to someone. She stood from the stairs and walked into her room. She sat down in front of her dressing table and fished her cell phone from her pocket. She was just about to call Tucker when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Sam gasped and dropped the phone as she put her hand to the deep red mark on her neck. She blinked a moment, wondering when and how that happened. All she could recall was the kiss.

Sam closed her eyes and tried to replay the whole thing over in her mind, but it was one big mind blowing blur. She frowned at the mark as she picked up her cell phone. There was no way she could call Tuck and risk him or Danny coming over and seeing the mark.

It took quite a bit of searching, but Sam finally found a black turtleneck shirt. She changed then turned to pick up the phone, but something happened between the walk from her dresser to the cell phone sitting on the dressing table. She was overcome with exhaustion and the overwhelming need to lie down and rest.


Errol quickly made his way from Dash back to Sam's house. When he found her he eased himself into Sam's mind, gently, so not to disturb her as she walked across the room to find a shirt. When he realized that she was about to call Tucker, he decided the best way to stop her was to make her sleep.

He sorted through her mind methodically, frowning at the fact that the roots of her love for Danny ran so deep. It was disgusting. It made him angry. He began doing his best to weed out the little escaping tendrils. He began to suppress sweet memories and elevate bad ones.

After he was finished, he exited her mind then sat beside her and watched her sleep. He shook his head. His mind was made up. He found the home he was looking for, he was going to haunt Sam; he just had to oust the ghost boy, who was currently haunting her. With Dash on his side, it wouldn't be that hard. He just had to careful not to get caught.


Danny was in the living room, watching a movie with Jazz, when his ghost sense went off. He looked at his older sister in alarm.

"Go," she said. "I'll cover for you." Danny ran up to his room transformed to ghost mode, and flew out of the house. He searched the area and found a small ghost floating aimlessly down the street. Seeing the creature sent a frisson of worry through Danny. He knew the little ghosts were in league with Errol.

After capturing the ghost, Danny headed to Tucker's house where he found the techno-geek installing new hardware on his computer.

"What's up?" Tucker asked as Danny appeared. "Did Errol show his ugly head again?"

"No," Danny answered. "But I found one of those little ghosts roaming around, and I think we need to check on Sam."

Tucker looked at Danny seriously for a moment. "Are you sure we need to check on her, or is it just an excuse to see her? Why are you bringing me along?"

"I don't know," Danny answered. "I'm afraid she won't talk to me, and she will you."

"Okay," Tucker said unhappily as he stood. "Let's go."

"Thanks Tuck," Danny said in relief.


Tucker and Danny stood frowning over Sam, who was curled up on her bed snoring. Danny almost cracked up laughing in relief. He picked up the cell phone off the floor and handed it to Tucker.

"She fell asleep?" Tucker asked in amazement.

"That's what it looks like," Danny said as he sat down on the side of Sam's bed and touched her shoulder.

"Wake up, Sam," he said gently. Sam muttered something underneath her breath and Danny shook her shoulder again. "Tuck is here. He called me all freaked out, worried about you."

Sam opened her eyes sleepily. They widened as they were confronted by Danny's concerned gaze. She nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise. She sat up and looked around for a minute.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

"You were supposed to call me!" Tucker said. It was a lame reason, but it was the only one he could come up with at the spur of the moment.

"I was tired," Sam said. "I fell asleep." She yawned again. "I'm so sorry, Tucker. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Yeah, well," Tucker said warily. "It didn't help that Danny freaked out because some little ghost was wandering around the neighborhood." Sam shook her head then watched as Danny walked around the room thoughtfully and Tucker took his place on the side of Sam's bed.

"Are you okay?" Tucker asked as he caught sight of the red mark peeking from the edge of the turtleneck. He reached forward and pulled the material down so he could get a better look. He raised his eyes and met with Sam's embarrassed gaze as she pushed his hand away and adjusted the collar of her shirt around her neck.

"Sam?" Tucker asked in a voice that was between teasing and chastising. "Is that why you didn't call?"

"No," Sam said softly as she looked away from Tucker and toward Danny who was, for some reason looking in Sam's closet.

"Are you okay?" Tucker whispered as he watched Danny walk into the bathroom.

"Yeah," Sam said as rubbed her eyes again.

"Dash did that?" Tucker questioned quietly as he watched a small smile grow on Sam's face.

"Yeah," she answered, relaxed, hoping she wouldn't blush. "He did."

"It wasn't against your will was it?" Tuck continued as he watched Danny walk back into Sam's room and look at Tucker questioningly.

"I'm sorry, Tucker," Sam said as she changed the subject. "I didn't mean to alarm you guys." She looked at Danny briefly then turned her gaze back to Tucker.

Danny sat on the other end of the bed and looked at Sam curiously. She put her hand on her neck and Tucker shook his head in exasperation.

"What's going on?" Danny asked. Tucker sighed heavily; he didn't want to tell Danny about the hickey and he knew Sam didn't, either.

"It's nothing important," Tucker answered and he stood. "We should go. I think Sam's a little too tired to talk."

"Okay," Danny said slowly, then looked questioningly at Sam.

"Thanks for coming to check on me, guys." Sam began. "I'm sorry I'm so tired." She yawned again and closed her eyes.

"Do you want me to stop by later and make sure you're okay?" Danny asked.

Sam's eyes opened sleepily and she shook her head. "No. I'll be fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow or something."

"If you need to talk or anything…" Tucker told her. The look in his eyes conveyed his worry, but for a reason different than Danny's.

"I have your number," Sam said tiredly. "Good night, guys." She cuddled down against her pillow and shut her eyes. Tucker and Danny looked at each other. Tucker shrugged his shoulders.

Sam was sound asleep by the time Danny and Tucker left. Danny was now sure something more was wrong than Tucker was telling him, but when Danny pressed his friend for details the techno-geek only shook his head.

"It's not a big deal, Danny," he said. "Sam's fine."

"What were you talking about?" Danny asked. Tucker shook his head; he wasn't going to rat Sam out.

"Tucker! Tell me!" Danny demanded.

Tucker looked ashamed for a minute. "It's just something about Dash," he said softly, and was slightly surprised at he look of anguish that passed across Danny's face. "It wasn't a big deal. Anyway, Sam's all right. We probably shouldn't even have bothered her."

Danny suddenly felt very tired himself. "It's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"Right," Tucker agreed. "Why don't you go home. I'll call you tomorrow and we'll go do something. Miniature golf. Okay?"

Danny agreed then left Tucker and went home. Instead of going back downstairs to finish watching the movie with Jazz, Danny lay down on his bed, and forced himself to go to sleep, so he could escape the horrible feeling of sadness. Contrary to what Tucker and Sam thought, he'd seen the mark on Sam's neck—the collar of her shirt concealed it poorly. He knew what it was, and how it got there. He ignored the fierce burning in his chest and closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.


Errol waited a couple of hours before he left Sam to return to Dash. He exited her mind then manifested himself beside her bed and looked down tenderly at the sleeping girl. He smoothed the hair away from her face then traced down to her neck where he smiled at the little love bite he'd left. It was a mark of ownership. He'd put it there. No one else. He feathered his fingers along the collar of the turtleneck then up to trace her lips, which he knew were sweet and soft. Sam shivered and he smiled lovingly at her as he bent forward and kissed her forehead.

"Sleep well, my lovely girl," he told her softly. "Dash and I will see you in the morning. Until then, you have nothing to fear. I'm your protector now. Nothing can harm you, especially that nasty ghost boy."

Errol couldn't resist bending down and pressing his lips against her own. He promised himself it would be the last time ever. This girl belonged to Dash. He was nothing more than her protector. He chastised himself for daring to feel more. He'd never loved anyone before—he'd only witnessed the emotion. He denied that's what he was feeling for Sam. He said it was only because she made him feel like he was home. She was so sweet and accepting, he told himself that was the reason he felt so moved by her. He refused to be moved by the emotion he fed off of; he knew it would prove disastrous.


Dash was made aware of Errol's return the moment the ghost arrived and took his place in the corner of the boy's mind he'd made for himself. Strangely, though, Dash felt more comforted than alarmed. He'd had time to think about the impact of this creature on his life, and he decided it could only be positive. It was something he could use to his advantage.

His father had pounded into his mind over and over again that any advantage over an opponent, even if it seemed unfair, was something to be used to win. Dash was used to winning. He would not accept defeat.


"I'm bored," Star complained as she lay on the floor with her feet up on Paulina's bed. "It's Friday night, Polly, we should be out!"

"Nuh-uh," Paulina said as she applied nail-polish of a particularly obnoxious shade of pink to Star's toenails. "The last time I went out without Dash as a bodyguard I got groped by four strange guys."

"Well, call him!" Star insisted. "He can't, like, spend all his time with freaky, weird girl."

"But what if he wants to bring her along?" Paulina asked. "Could you imagine the humiliation of being seen with her? It's bad enough that the whole school knows he's gone geek. I don't want all the college-age kids to know too; our stock will totally plummet."

"Yeah, right," Star said. "Like guys are ever going to stop fawning all over your perfection, Paulina."

"Geekiness is contagious," Paulina said as she dipped the nail-polish brush into the bottle then continued to paint.

"We already agreed that we have to break them up, but what if Fenton can't?" Star asked. "He can be cute sometimes, but he's still a geek and Dash is…well…Dash."

"I already told you," Paulina said confidently. "I have a plan. I already sent an e-mail to her."

"There's no way Mona is going to help, Paulina," Star laughed. "When she dumped him last summer she said she never wanted to see him again." The girl frowned. "I know he didn't tell anyone, but his heart was broken. Dash is really romantic at heart." She sighed.

"He is, hmmm?" Paulina said. "And how would you know that, Star? Kwan tell you?" Paulina laughed to herself.

"I just know," Star said. "I mean look at him mooning around after freaky, weird girl. I bet you he's already written poetry for her."

Paulina burst out in laughter. "Dash can't even spell poem, let alone write one. You need to get a grip, girl. You're seeing things that just aren't there."

Star shook her head. "So how are you going to get Mona to help?"

"It's called money, darling," Paulina answered. "Something Mona, as beautiful as she is, just doesn't have. I'm sure she'll cooperate for a price."

"And what about Dash?" Star asked. "How can you be sure it will even work?"

Paulina smiled as she put away her nail-polish. "Because Dash doesn't like to lose. He lost Mona, and he won't hesitate to take her back just so he can dump her himself. I've seen him do things like that before."

"So you're saying that he'll dump freaky girl for Mona, and then dump Mona?" Star asked in confusion.

"And of course Sam won't take him back after that," Paulina answered. "She has some weird ideals. She'll tell Dash that he's shallow and won't have anything to do with him ever again."

"Oh!" Star said as if a light bulb went off in her head. "I wish I was as smart as you, Paulina."

The Latina princess smiled. "I know. Everyone does. And soon our social lives will be back to normal and this little episode of Dash's will be a distant memory."

"And then we can go back to partying on Friday nights, right?" Star asked.

Paulina sighed and shook her head. "Is that all you care about, Star?"

"That and boys," Star answered. "Boys with money. And shoes, and clothes."

"And jewelry," Paulina added. "Don't forget jewelry." Both the girls laughed happily, secure in the belief that their plan would work the way they wanted it to.


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