Thank you Nom de Plume, you're beta reading skills are awesome!
Chapter Ten
Dash showed up at Sam's house around ten in the morning. Sam's mother woke her, and sent her downstairs.
"I'm so glad you decided to date such a nice boy, Samantha," her mother said. "He comes from a very respectable family, and he's very charming. I'm so relieved that you've stopped hanging around that Fenton riff-raff."
"Danny is still my best friend, Mom," Sam said angrily. "He's always been and always will be my best friend."
Pamela Manson sighed at her daughter. "Regardless of that," she began, "I'm glad to see you hanging around with a better class of people."
"Mom," Sam said warningly, then caught sight of Dash sitting on the couch in the parlor. She couldn't help but smile as he sat there looking a little nervous. She decided he looked good in just a black T-shirt and jeans.
He stood when he caught sight of her and smiled. Sam's heart and stomach felt like they were going to switch places. She self-consciously adjusted her turtleneck shirt and walked closer to him.
"I wasn't expecting you this early," she said, marveling at how soft her voice sounded. She decided she was pathetic, but was so happy to see him, that she didn't mind as much as she normally would.
"I thought maybe we could go play some miniature golf or catch a movie or something," Dash told her. "My father got called away on an unexpected business trip, so I have the whole today and tomorrow free." Sam frowned as she thought about Danny and Tucker. But the day was young yet and she was sure she'd have plenty of time to spend with them.
"Go with him," Sam's mother said as she air-kissed her daughter's cheek. "Have a good time."
"Okay, Mom," Sam said as she watched her mother practically skipping from the room. Sam shook her head then turned to Dash.
He walked closer to her then stood, just an arm's length away. "What do you want to do today?" he asked.
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "What ever you want to do is fine," she said. "I'm not picky."
A devilish gleam filled Dash's eyes and Sam's toes curled as he reached for her and said, "What I want to do isn't allowed, Sweetness." Sam closed her eyes and tilted his face up to his, but he simply pressed his cheek against hers.
"How about miniature golf?" Sam asked breathlessly. "I'll kick your butt at that, just like I did at bowling."
"Why?" Dash asked as he moved away from her a little. He frowned slightly as he caught sight of the red mark just barely peeking out from the collar of her shirt. "Do you have a miniature golf course in your back yard?"
"No," Sam said as she self-consciously put her hand to her throat. "I'm just good at miniature golf."
Dash frowned as he reached forward and exposed the red welt on Sam's neck. Sam thought he looked slightly angry. "Did I do that to you?" he asked.
Sam laughed a little nervously. "Yeah, don't you remember?"
Dash was angry, and he let Errol, who was still residing in his mind, know it. Errol himself was a little ashamed, but he reasoned to Dash that it was a better, more subtle way to announce to everyone that she was his, rather than kissing her against her will in school hallways.
"Does it hurt?" Dash asked worriedly.
"No," Sam answered as she distanced herself from Dash, fearing he'd despise her for letting him do that to her.
"I'm so sorry," Dash said. "I shouldn't have done that. No one should ever mar your perfect skin."
Sam chuckled slightly as the butterflies in her stomach started easing away. She wondered why she cared so much about what he thought; but mostly it was because he didn't seem to really want to touch her.
"You forget, it's Paulina who has the flawless skin," Sam joked as they walked to the door together.
"Her skin may be flawless, but it's not perfect, not like yours. It's smooth and soft and creamy." He gave her a dreamy look and she smiled. Sam rolled her eyes at him and he smiled and teased her for not believing him.
"I don't know that I can believe anything you say, Mr. Charming," Sam laughed. "You're so schmoozy."
"Schmoozy?" Dash asked in bewilderment. "What does that mean?"
"It's a Yiddish word," Sam answered. "It means to converse casually to obtain some kind of advantage."
"Oh," Dash said as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think I'm being schmoozy, just honest."
"Uh huh," Sam said as they walked out the door. "Sure you are." She could barely contain her relief as Dash took her hand once they were outside.
"Hey," Dash said. "Did I tell you? I got a C on my Social Studies test."
Sam shook her head. "You should have at least got a B. What happened?" Dash looked at Sam in surprise, then shrugged his shoulders.
"We obviously didn't study hard enough," Sam told him sternly. "Next time, there will be no making out during studying. I'm serious."
Dash laughed. "So you're saying we're going to study again, or make out again?"
Sam looked at him in surprise. "Maybe both," she answered then swallowed hard. Dash moved to put his arm around her shoulder.
Dash was finally feeling more comfortable. He knew that he wasn't going to be kissing Sam any time soon, so he was safe. She was safe. Errol chastised him in his mind for being such a coward.
"You don't have to worry, Dash," Errol said in a comforting tone. "I have no intention of intervening again, as long as you do as I say and Sam is happy, all will be well."
"All right," Paulina said to Star as they sat at the Nasty Burger later that day, sipping their diet sodas. "I have it all planned out. Are you ready?" Star nodded her head.
"You have what all planned out?" Valerie asked as she sat down with the two girls to enjoy her break.
"Breaking up Dash and Sam," Star answered as Paulina tried to silence her.
"What?" Valerie half yelled. "Why would you want to do that?"
"Why not?" Paulina answered defensively. "Our social lives are suffering because Dash has gone totally geek. We want him back. We're rescuing him from Sam."
"I think it's none of your business who Dash dates," Valerie said coolly. "You two shouldn't be trying to interfere in his life. He seems really happy."
"He's just…too happy," Paulina growled. "He's not the Dash we know and love. We think maybe she's done some kind of hoodoo voodoo spell on him or something. We're going to rescue him."
Valerie sat back and folded her arms across her chest. "You two are both sick in the head. You know that?" Paulina only rolled her eyes then turned back to Star.
"As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted," Paulina said forcefully. "I've got it all worked out."
"Okay," Star said. "What's the deal?
"You're going to the dance with Tucker," Paulina announced.
"What?" Star and Valerie said in unison. They looked at each other and Paulina laughed.
A strange expression washed across Star's face. "I was going to go with Kwan," she said petulantly.
"I'm going with Danny," Paulina continued. "That should make Sam burn with jealous rage. I've seen her do it before. And don't worry about Kwan, he's going to bring Mona."
Valerie raised her eyebrows. "You don't honestly think either boy will go to the dance with you?"
"Oh, I know they will," Paulina said. "They'll jump at the chance." Valerie growled something rude under her breath and Paulina ignored her.
"But you said being caught with a geek would make our stock plummet!" Star complained.
"It's just once," Paulina said in exasperation. "And it's for a good cause."
"I think you're both pathetic," Valerie said as she stood. "You should leave them alone. You have no right to stand between to people who obviously like each other!"
Star narrowed her eyes at Valerie. "You're just saying that because you have this weird thing for Fenton."
"We can't figure out why," Paulina said. "Even though he's kinda cute, he's just a loser."
"He's not a loser!" Valerie growled. "You two are just…" She stopped herself from saying it.
"I have to go to work," she hissed then walked away.
"Why is she so cranky?" Star asked in bewilderment.
Paulina laughed. "Wouldn't you be cranky if you had to work at the Nasty Burger?"
"I guess," Star said as she rolled her eyes.
"Ha!" Sam laughed as Dash hit a golf ball and it lipped the cup and rolled away.
"That wasn't my fault," Dash said grumpily. "You're distracting me."
"What?" Sam said in shock. "I wasn't doing anything. I was just standing here quietly." Dash looked at her and smiled.
"Oh please," Sam laughed. "You're joking right? You're going to blame me standing here quietly for you missing your shot."
"How else can I explain losing to you twice?" Dash asked.
"Maybe you're just not a good golfer?" Sam returned. "Maybe I'm just better than you."
"No way!" Dash exclaimed then he smiled smugly. "I just let you win."
"Liar," Sam laughed as she surveyed Dash's shocked face. She couldn't tell if he was kidding or serious. She was about to say something more when she spotted Danny and Tucker. She paused and Dash turned to see what she was looking at. He spotted the two boys and frowned then looked back at Sam.
"I'm going to talk to them," Sam said, not looking at Dash. "I'll be right back."
"Wait," Dash said as he grabbed her hand and stopped her. She looked questioningly at Dash.
He pulled her toward him and kissed, her cheek. "Hurry back," he said. Sam smiled softly and walked away.
"Coward," Errol chided. "You wanted to kiss her lips. Why didn't you? Scared I'm going to take over again?"
"No," Dash answered softly as he walked over and picked up his golf ball. He tried a few practice shots, but his insides were twisting around nervously.
"Poor Dash," Errol said. "You feel like you have competition for Sam everywhere you turn. First you're jealous of Danny and now you're jealous of me."
"Just leave me alone," Dash growled under his breath. "Leave Sam alone. Leave us alone."
"I thought we had a deal, Dash," Errol said. "I thought you understood."
"I don't want to live in fear of touching the girl I love because I'm scared you're going to take over," Dash said as he placed the golf ball again and tried another shot. "Not only do I want to have the experience of kissing her myself, but I don't want you touching her. She doesn't want you to. She doesn't know you; it's not fair to her."
"Oh, Dash," Errol laughed. "She knows me. She just doesn't know of me. She knows me better than she does you." Errol felt the twist of pain in Dash's body and he felt bad.
"I'm sorry, Dash," Errol said. "I didn't mean to imply it that way. I'm sorry. It's just that I understand the workings of her mind. I've been there. She truly cares about you, Dash. I wouldn't jeopardize that for you."
"She only cares about me?" Dash asked bleakly. "That's it?"
"That will change," Errol said. "I promise. Just trust me."
"Okay," Dash said as he continued to practice golfing.
Sam walked up to Danny and Tucker slowly, as if they were going to tell her to leave them alone; instead, they greeted her cheerfully.
"What are you guys up to today?" she asked as she looked at Danny for a moment, then turned her attention to Tucker.
"Just hanging out," Danny answered. "You know, the usual Saturday bumming around thing. You?"
"Kinda the same," Sam said. "I miss you guys, though. Maybe you can come over later this evening and we'll watch a movie or something?"
"Are you sure Dash won't mind?" Danny asked.
Sam laughed. "It doesn't matter; he's not going to be there."
Tucker frowned as he watched Dash in the distance. He shook his head and turned and listened to Sam and Danny talk, then looked at Dash again.
"Sam?" he finally asked. "Does Dash always talk to himself?" Both Sam and Danny turned to look at Dash and watched as he was having what looked like a terrible argument with himself. Danny stifled laughter and Sam gave him an irate look.
"He looks upset," Tucker observed.
Sam sighed. "I should go." She looked at both boys, neither of who were looking at her. "Maybe we can catch up later. I mean I'm not hanging around with Dash all day."
"Sounds cool to me," Tucker said. He looked at Danny who was looking thoughtfully at Dash, who was still talking to himself.
"Danny?" Tucker asked.
"Me too," he said then looked at Sam and smiled what Sam knew was a fake smile.
"Bye," she said and walked back to Dash.
Danny watched Sam as she walked away. Dash looked over at Danny and gave him a threatening glare. Danny shook his head and turned to Tucker.
"He's definitely a psychopath," Danny told his friend.
"What's the deal with you?" Tucker asked. "You've been complaining to me about the wrongness of Sam and Dash dating each other, but the moment she shows up, you turn to Mr. Hey-it's-all-cool."
Danny frowned as he put his golf ball on the ground. "I figure if I acted as angry as I feel over the situation, it would just make matters worse. You know how contrary Sam can be."
"That's real mature of you," Tucker teased. "But I know it's killing you, Danny. Heck, it's killing me!"
Danny sighed and concentrated on golfing for a minute. He watched as the ball rolled, bounced around and landed several feet from the hole. Tucker put his ball down and made his own shot, smiling smugly as it landed closer than Danny's.
"I had a talk with Jazz," Danny admitted as they walked down the course to take another shot. "She told me this really lame saying, but it made sense, so I'm sticking to it."
"No way," Tucker laughed. "What's the saying?" Danny sighed. He really didn't want to repeat it.
"Come on, Danny," Tucker teased. "Tell me the saying."
Danny mumbled something under his breath and Tucker put his hand to his ear. "What was that, Danny? I didn't hear you," he said as he laughed.
"If you love somebody, let them go. If they come back to you, they're yours. If they don't, they never were to begin with," Danny said in a monotone voice.
"Oh man," Tucker laughed. "You should be embarrassed to repeat that. It's really lame." Danny gave Tucker a look of consternation.
"You know what you should do?" Tucker asked.
"What?" Danny said in annoyance.
"You should march right up to her and say, 'Sam. I love you. I want you to be with me, not Dash.' Then you should kiss her and fly away with her and hold her until she says she loves you too, because I know she does."
Danny sighed heavily and looked over at Sam who was laughing with Dash about some funny thing. He hated that Dash could make her laugh, or could put that sweet look on her face—or worse, the love bite on her neck. He hated that Dash had the freedom to hold her hand, to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, to openly love and be loved by her.
"Danny," Tucker said as he watched his friend get ready to make another shot. "You have to do something soon. Before things get too, you know, serious between them."
Danny hit the golf ball a little harder than he wanted as he listened to Tucker's words and watched as it went rolling even further from the hole. He sighed and gave Tucker a frustrated look. Tucker chuckled then made his own shot which clinked into the hole.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked. "How could it get any more serious? Unless they get married or something, and you know that's not going to happen."
Tucker watched as Danny readied to make another shot. "I know you saw that thing on her neck," Tucker said, then smiled a little sadistically as Danny messed up his shot again. "I saw you look at it several times. That turtleneck doesn't hide it very well." Danny gave Tucker an annoyed look, then tried another shot.
"And that's what I mean by serious," Tucker continued. "I mean the fact that she's got a hickey means they're doing some pretty intense making out…you know?"
"I know!" Danny growled angrily as he picked up his ball and moved to the next tee. "I know! I know! Do you have to rub my face in it, Tuck?"
"Well," Tucker sighed as he followed his friend. "You need to do something before things become too serious. That's what I mean." Danny scowled as he set up to make another shoot. "You know, too serious. Serious like in more than just a hickey if you know what I mean."
Danny bobbled another shot then growled at Tucker, "Would you shut up about it? I know what 'too serious' means, Tuck. You don't have to keep carrying on and on about it, all right?"
"Dude," Tucker said as he made his own shot. "You don't need to get all mad at me. I'm just trying to make a point." He stopped and watched the ball roll into the cup!
"Whoo-hoo!" Tucker cried. "A hole in one!" He ignored the look of anger on Danny's face as he walked around and waited for Danny to make his next shot.
"My point is," Tucker picked up where he left off, "that you love her. I know she loves you. She can't really love Dash, yet. But you know, Danny, all that can change."
Danny sighed. "Can you just shut up for one second, Tuck?" he asked tiredly. Tucker stayed quiet until Danny made his shot, and missed again.
"I am so totally going to win!" Tucker said happily.
"And I am so totally going to kick your butt if you don't stop trying to wear me down about Sam," Danny growled angrily. "Drop it, will you?"
"Okay," Tucker said as he watched Danny look around for Sam.
"They left," Tucker told Danny. "Probably to go make out or something."
Danny closed his eyes and yelled, "Can it, Tucker!"
"Hey, I'm not the coward here," Tucker said blithely as he went off to the next tee, leaving Danny behind, seething and very sad.
"So," Dash said as they walked down the street hand in hand. "What do you want to do next? Movies?"
Sam took a deep breath. "How about a walk in the park or something like that? A movie would be too long."
She paused a moment, then told Dash, "I told Tuck and Danny that I'd hang out with them later."
"What?" Dash asked. "Why?"
"Uh, because they're my best friends," Sam told him. "I've been really neglecting them lately."
"But they're such losers, Sam," Dash complained. "And Fenton totally has this thing for you and…"
Sam gasped as she shook her head. "No, he doesn't," she denied. "He doesn't at all. I know."
Dash frowned. "And I, like, totally know you have this thing for him. I remember like it was yesterday."
"It was Thursday," Sam said as she blushed. "And that was an accident. I…"
"Yeah, and I thought we agreed that you were going to, like, not hang around him so much," Dash pushed. The pangs of jealousy writhing inside him made him feel restless. He hated feeling jealous, especially because of Danny.
"It's not like he and I are going to be alone," Sam told Dash. "Tucker will be there, and…I think I'm over him." Liar, she thought. Then smiled at Dash. She wanted to be over him. Her dreams told her to get over him, but just looking at Danny was enough to make all the sense in the world fly out the window. She wondered why Danny had such power over her.
"Well, whatever," Dash said shortly. "I mean, it's not like I'm your boss or anything. You do what you want."
"I will," Sam said. She looked at Dash a minute and was upset that he seemed so unhappy. The confusing thing for her was that when she was in Dash's presence, she herself was happy and more at peace than she ever had been before. He was comforting to be around. She even looked forward to the next time he'd kiss her, which was frustrating because the most he'd done was kiss her cheek. She wondered what was wrong with her; she seemed to be turning into the kind of girl she hated, the kind who couldn't make up her mind about anything at all.
"Sweetness," Dash said gently as he stopped and turned to look into her eyes, "I don't want to fight with you. We'll go to the park and then you go be with your friends. I've been, like, neglecting mine, too."
Dash took a deep breath, and on Errol's urging, lifted Sam's chin and moved forward to kiss her. He watched as her eyes fluttered closed and he swallowed a moment in fear before pressing his lips against Sam's briefly, then moving away.
"You're such a chicken," Errol chastised as he watched the disappointment in Sam's eyes. "And just for being such a coward, I'm going to do this…"
No! Wait! Dash said frantically in his mind as he pulled Sam closer and kissed her again. I'll do as you say, just...don't do it again.
Errol chuckled in Dash's mind as the boy pulled Sam into his arms and kissed her in a very satisfactory manner. Sam sighed as Dash moved away and looked into his eyes.
"And here I thought you were never going to do that again," Sam teased as she stood on her tip toes and kissed him herself. This time Dash felt more comfortable and he actually enjoyed the embrace. He hated Errol, and he wished he could find out a way to escape the ghost; he knew Errol could perceive the thought, and he hated the creature even more.
"Just look at them," Paulina said in disgust as Star sat beside her on a bench watching as Dash and Sam sat under a tree, holding hands and occasionally kissing. "It's just disgusting. That should never have happened."
Star looked at Paulina a moment then asked. "Why? Do you like Dash or something?"
Paulina gave Star a look of surprise. "Of course I like Dash. He's our friend."
"No," Star said as she shook her head. "You like like him."
"No I don't," Paulina denied. "I told you, I'm saving myself for the ghost boy. What would he think if I started running around kissing Dash?"
Star smirked to herself. "Yeah, like the ghost boy is interested in anyone. I mean the likelihood of the ghost boy making a move on you, is as possible as you, like, having a thing for Danny Fenton."
"Thanks, Star," Paulina pouted. "You're a real good friend."
"And you like Dash! I know when you're jealous, Polly." Star laughed. "And you are jealous."
"I don't have to sit here and be insulted," Paulina said as she stood. "How dare you imply that I would ever be jealous of anyone!"
"I'm sorry," Star said as she followed Paulina out of the park. "I won't tease you about it anymore."
"Good," Paulina said, then turned and looked over her shoulder at Dash and Sam one last time. She sighed heavily then sashayed out of the park.
And so it goes, that I need a review or twenty-two in order to progress quickly to Chapter 11. I have a busy weekend lined up, so don't count on the chapter being out too soon. Reviews will help though.
