I must, as always extend my thanks to Nom de Plume, by awesome beta-reader
Thanks again goes out to Deeds, without whose help, this chapter would be languishing in my head
And to my wonderful reviewers. Thank you very much!
Chapter Fifteen
Sam watched with a feeling of complete helplessness as Danny and Errol struggled with each other as they flew through the air. She wished there was something she could do, or at the very least, that she felt well enough to run for a thermos. She spotted the smaller ghosts approaching Danny from behind and screamed out a warning she knew he couldn't hear. She was worried that Danny wouldn't be able to fight off both Errol and the lesser ghosts, so she pulled the Fenton Lipstick out of her pocket and readied herself, just in case.
"Oh no!" she gasped and nearly fell backward as Errol made his move toward her. The ghost knew what he was doing, knew what was going to happen. He embraced his fate. This is what he wanted, his destruction by her hand. She would never be able to forget him; he would in some way become a part of her.
Sam did her best to remain calm as she lifted the Fenton Lipstick and shot at Errol. Luckily she was a good shot, and made direct contact with the ghost, who cried out in anguish as he disintegrated into a million particles of light which floated down and swirled around Sam. She watched in anxious shock, as the little green glowing orbs shimmered in a vortex around her, growing brighter as they brushed her skin and fading as they moved away.
Sam tried to get away, but the swirling lights followed her when she moved. She shot at them with the Lipstick in frustration, but the orbs simply absorbed the hits they took, and began to spin and move around her more quickly. She looked around in panic for any means of escape. Danny was still occupied with the ghosts, and though he looked down at her worriedly, the creatures seemed to be doing everything possible to keep him away from her.
"Sweetness," Errol's voice said soothingly around her. Sam closed her eyes. She should have known getting rid of the ghost wouldn't be as easy as just shooting at it. What defense did she have now? She wondered and what was he going to do to her, and could she withstand whatever he had planned.
Sam looked up at Danny who was still too distracted to help. She shivered as the fine sheen of perspiration all over her skin cooled her. She and closed her eyes as Errol began to speak.
"I'm sorry, Sam," Errol's disembodied voice told her. "I was wrong. I made a mistake. I should never have interfered with your heart, now I fear that I have caused you such pain when I only intended to see your heart healed."
Sam's heart was thumping in her ears so loudly, and along with the singing for the orbs weaving around her, she wasn't exactly sure what was saying.
"What?" Sam asked shakily and Errol's disembodied voice repeated itself.
"It wasn't broken to begin with," Sam told him angrily as she caught on to what he was telling her. "What right did you have to interfere, anyway?" She felt sick at knowing just how deeply she had been manipulated. She had known deep down that her relationship with Dash wasn't real, but to face it like this hurt. She wondered if she was just completely unlovable.
"I had no right," Errol said as his voice grew faint. "But he does love you."
"Who?" Sam asked in bewilderment. "Dash?"
"No!" Errol boomed as the lights seemed to expand and dance around angrily. "Not Dash. No. No. Dash was my mistake. My mistake, not yours."
"Danny?" Sam asked in disbelief.
"You should tell him how you feel," Errol continued.
Sam rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. "Are you done? Can I go now? Or are you going to hold me captive forever?" She didn't want to do this. She'd been manipulated enough by Errol; she wasn't going to be tricked into risking her heart again. She'd had enough.
"I'm going to give you an opportunity," Errol told her. "This is my atonement for my sins."
"What about my relationship with Dash?" Sam asked. "Don't his feelings fall into the equation? Am I supposed to just dump him because you messed everything up?"
Errol sighed in exasperation. "I was wrong. He's not the right one for you. He's not even smart enough to keep up with you, Sweetness."
Sam sighed heavily. Her head was hurting and she was dizzy. "I don't feel like having this discussion with you. Not after everything you've done." She tried to duck as a portion the sparkling green lights began coalescing and growing closer and closer until they sank into her skin. She tried to flinch away, but they were quicker than she was. She would have tried to fight if she could, but her she was wounded and weak.
"Love should heal, Sweetness," Errol said his voice whispering weakly in her ear. "It is giving, not taking. I'm, again, sorry for what I stole from you. I'll give all that's left of me to you, so it can be made right."
"What if I don't want what's left of you?" Sam asked angrily.
"It's a gift," Errol said tenderly.
Sam felt the pain easing from her head. She put her fingers to the gash in her head and found it nearly gone. Her thinking became a little clearer and she knew she'd be all right, even though she was still stuck in Errol's swirling lights.
Danny was frantically trying to fend off the five small ghosts—who were viciously attacking—so that he could get to Sam, and help her if that's what she needed. He yelled angrily as the little ghosts swooped and dodged his blasts. Luckily, he could see Jazz and Tucker running to her aid. Danny did the only thing he could do—focus on the five snake-like creatures attacking him.
"Sam!" Tucker yelled as he watched the particles of light swirling quickly around her.
She held up her hand to stop him.
"Stay away, Tuck," she warned. Tucker stopped in his tracks and looked at her worriedly.
"I'm fine," Sam told him, and he looked at her dubiously.
Jazz left Tucker to watch over Sam and focused on helping her brother. She uncapped the thermos and stood ready. Danny noticed her and worked to position the ghosts so she could catch them, being as careful as he could to keep away from her aim. The last thing he ever wanted was to be stuck in a thermos again.
When all the ghosts were all caught, Danny turned and dove toward Sam with the intention of swooping down, grabbing her, and flying away. The orbs of light grew intensely bright as he approached. Instead of diving into the lights he stopped when he was only a few feet away. The green glowing lights began to swirl around him as well. They seemed to be pushing him forward.
Tucker and Jazz watched in horrified disbelief as Danny approached Sam. They both found they were paralyzed and couldn't quite move.
"This is bad!" Tucker said in a low voice.
"Danny will get us out of this," Jazz said in confidence. "If not, we'll just rescue ourselves."
"Your perky optimism bugs," Tucker remarked as he tried to move his feet. They felt like lead.
"Attitude is everything," Jazz said as she moved forward an inch. She smiled. "See."
"Well that's a relief," Tucker said. "So now that you can move, go rescue Danny and Sam." Jazz rolled her eyes and kept trying to move forward.
Sam stood in the middle of the swirling lights with a looking small and scared. "Danny," she called shakily. Danny took a deep breath and moved forward and took Sam's hand.
"What's happening?" Danny asked as he looked around worriedly as he watched the lights go dim then grow, enclosing them in a green glowing ball of light.
"I don't know," Sam answered honestly as she looked into Danny's eyes. She didn't want to admit how terrified she was.
"Now we have to do something!" Jazz said as she tried fighting harder.
"No!" Tucker said as he stuck out his arm to keep Jazz back. "I think we should just wait." He had a feeling that their interference would be bad. Jazz sighed then looked at her brother. The lights grew so bright that neither Tucker nor Jazz could see Danny and Sam standing in the middle of the tangle of glowing orbs.
Danny looked at the wall of light around them and then at Sam. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly as he focused in on her face.
Sam touched the side of her head. Danny looked and noticed the gash was gone. "I think so, except I have a horrible headache," she answered. "You?"
Danny put his hand on his arm; his wounds were all but gone. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"Good," Sam said, then ducked as a wayward orb flew between her and Danny.
"I'm not going to let him hurt you," Danny promised as he looked into Sam's eyes.
"I don't think he will," Sam answered. "Errol apologized to me and told me some things." She looked down, wanting to keep the ghost's words to herself. Danny put his hands on Sam's shoulders. He wanted to pull her close and hold her, but he wasn't sure he should. They needed to get out of this dim green prison.
"You need to talk to her," Errol said in his ear. "Tell her how you feel. Make things right, Danny. It's the only way you'll escape me." Danny swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Errol was giving him an opportunity to pour his heart out to Sam. He wondered if he should trust the ghost and take the chance, or if Errol was going to pull some cruel trick to keep them apart.
"Sam," Danny started, then stopped, then started again, "I…"
"Is Dash okay?" Sam asked quickly, wanting desperately to hear what Danny was going to say—but at the same time, desperate not to hear it. "He's been Errol's biggest victim. I'm worried about him."
Danny sighed. "Sam," he said as he dug deep for the courage. "I don't care about Dash. I care about you."
"I care about you, too, Danny," Sam replied as she kept her eyes downcast. "I just need to figure things out between Dash and me. I mean, was everything between us real or was it just because of Errol?"
Sam watched Danny close his eyes, struggling to control the pained emotions he was trying desperately to hide from her. She understood what he was feeling; she'd gone through it herself, fighting the fear and the emotions Errol purposefully stirred. She reached up and touched Danny's face he opened his green eyes and looked at her.
Danny considered Tucker's advice for a moment. He should just fly away with her and hold her until she gave in and admitted she loved him, but he knew that wasn't right. Errol had tried to force his love on to Sam. Danny realized that love wasn't possessing or just taking what you wanted, it was giving freely without obligation. He'd be no better than Errol if he forced her to tell him how she felt. He didn't want to take something she wasn't ready to give. But, if he didn't act...if he didn't say something…he was going to lose her.
Sam smiled sadly as she watched tears fill Danny's eyes. She put her hand over his heart and looked at the Danny Phantom symbol on his chest. She half laughed; it was like her own mark of ownership on him—it was a part of him which was always hers, no matter what. It made her sad because she realized she had made that mark without his permission. Thanks to Errol, she understood her own heart so much more and the motives behind it.
"It's all over, though, right?" Danny asked gently. "We all survived in one piece, so far. That's what matters." Sam laughed and just let him hold her for a moment. Unfortunately, that moment became a moment more and a moment more and she found herself wishing she could change one more moment into forever.
"I need find Dash," Sam finally said. "There is no way he can understand what's happened like you and I can."
"You still have feelings for him?" Danny asked sadly.
"I don't know," Sam answered as she looked down. "Maybe." Danny stepped away from her for a moment. It hurt to touch or look at her and not love her. He wanted her to be his so desperately that he was in agony, and he was sure she wanted to be with Dash…which made everything hurt that much more.
Thinking of her with him was worse than being wounded and bleeding and stuck in the thermos for days and shaken hourly. He wanted to question her about what she had told Errol while he was in the thermos at Dash's house; but he was afraid she had just been saying those things so she could escape.
"And what are you going to do if those feelings are still there?" he asked miserably.
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." Neither Sam or Danny noticed the green lights around them dimming, flickering and fading as they looked at each other and held their feelings back.
"Sam," Danny said, wondering why it was so hard to say it as he looked into her lavender eyes. "I…"
"Danny?" Sam asked worriedly as he choked on the words he wanted to say so badly.
"I'm worried," Danny answered, then mentally kicked himself. "Dash is so...Dash."
"Can't you just trust my judgment?" Sam asked tiredly. Danny took her back into his arms and held her once more. He felt ill, and angry with himself.
"I can trust you," he told her. "I just can't trust him."
"But you have to let me worry about that," Sam said in exasperation. "Just let me get things right! I'm still his girlfriend…I just need time."
Danny looked down. He wanted to hug, kiss her and hold her forever. How could he do that if he couldn't even tell her he loved her? "Okay. I trust you, Sam."
"Thank you," Sam said then looked around. The lights grew even dimmer, then dispersed, sparkling out like dying embers. She could see Tucker and Jazz standing on the sidewalk, watching them.
"I think he's gone," Danny said almost sadly.
"So we're free?" Sam asked.
"Looks like it," Danny answered. Sam reached out to touch Danny, but he was already moving toward Jazz and Tucker.
Sam held back as the very last of the lights flickered out. "Don't be a fool, Sweetness," she thought she heard Errol whisper faintly in her ear. "Danny loves you. Don't let him go." Sam sighed deeply and walked toward Tucker and Jazz.
"What happened?" Jazz asked as she looked back and forth between the two. "What happened to the ghost?"
"He's gone," Danny answered as he used the cover of his friends to transform back to his human self, then looked at Sam who was now hugging Tucker. He frowned, wondering if he would always be jealous of anyone Sam loved. Then he remembered that it was jealousy which drove Errol mad, and pushed the emotion away—after all, it was only Tucker she was hugging.
"What were those glowing lights?" Tucker asked Sam.
Sam shook her head. "I don't know. It was Errol, I guess. He had a few things to say to me and he undid some of the pain he caused." Sam paused. He had tried to undo the heartache, too, but Sam had to figure out things with Dash before she could move forward with Danny. She'd waited for so long for him to finally see her as more than his best friend; she wasn't positive that he did yet, but she wanted it to be right when he did. She looked at Tucker and knew he wanted to ask her a million questions, and she knew she couldn't bear to answer them.
Jazz shook her head as she looked at Danny's arm. "How did you heal so fast?" she asked.
"I don't know," Danny answered. "I know I felt better once I went ghost, after that it got better and better."
"That's weird," Tucker said. He paused for a moment then asked. "So you were stuck in the thermos, what happened? You left out something. I know you did." Danny took a deep breath. He didn't want to talk about it, especially with Sam around.
"Danny," Sam interrupted, because she really didn't want Danny to tell Tucker what she suspected he had heard. "Where did you send Dash?" She looked at Danny and smiled; she knew he didn't want to tell her.
"The library," he mumbled.
"You sent Dash Baxter to the library?" Tucker asked then cracked up laughing. "You have a warped sense of humor!"
"I'll catch you guys later," Sam said quickly, not looking at Danny. "I need to go make sure he's okay."
"What?" Tucker yelled. "You're not going to hang out with us? It's, like, a tradition to hang out together after a bad ghost fight! You can't break tradition."
"I can't just leave him wondering if I'm okay," Sam told Tucker sharply. "I'll hang with you guys Saturday or something." She avoided Danny's eyes and Tucker gave her an annoyed look.
"Gee, I know how we rate," Tucker complained.
"Shut up, Tuck," Sam said. She already felt bad enough as it was. She looked at Danny for a moment, waved at Jazz, then told a grumbling Tucker goodbye. Tucker looked in disbelief as she ran in the direction of the library.
"You're just going to let her go?" Tucker asked in outrage as he turned to Danny.
"Yeah," Danny said. "I don't own her, Tuck. She can do what she wants." Tucker grumbled something under his breath and looked at Jazz.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Jazz asked. "I can't cure Danny's fear of commitment."
"I don't have a fear of commitment," Danny said in irritation. "Can you two stop talking like I'm not here?"
Tucker wasn't about to give up the advantage. He'd been in Danny's place as the ignored one too many times to let it pass. "I think it's more that he has a hard time admitting and acknowledging his feelings," Tucker said to Jazz, who nodded her head.
"He's always been that way," she remarked. "But he's quick to anger. He's got a rather bad temper." Danny growled something under his breath and Jazz gave Tucker a look that said, "See."
"You guys need hobbies or something," Danny said in annoyance.
Jazz laughed. "You are my hobby, Danny. I intend on writing a book on the psyche of teen superheroes someday." Danny rolled his eyes and Jazz laughed.
Dash was sitting at a table at the library trying read a book, but looking out the window instead, when Sam walked through the door. He stood and met her halfway, smiling as she threw herself into his arms and hugged him.
"You're okay!" he said happily as he buried his face into her hair and sighed in relief.
"Yeah," Sam answered weakly. "Everything is okay now."
Dash searched Sam's face. "What happened? I mean with Errol and everything?"
Sam frowned. "Errol's gone."
"Like dead?" Dash asked dumbly.
"You could say that," Sam answered. Dash followed her out of the library. He was very confused, but was afraid to ask stupid questions.
"Your head is better," he stated as he took her hand.
"Weird, huh?" Sam asked as she put her hand to her temple. "It happened after Errol was defeated. Maybe I wasn't really hurt. I don't know."
"Like, this is the second time I've like talked to Danny Phantom. That's so cool," Dash said.
"Yeah it is cool," Sam agreed.
"Sam…" Dash said as he stopped. "This thing between us. It wasn't real, was it?"
Sam smiled a little. "I don't know."
"Are we, like, still together, though?" Dash asked, then blushed.
"I suppose," Sam replied, trying not to be amused that Dash was actually blushing. "But I'm warning you. I'm not going to change. I'm still going to hang around with Danny and Tucker. I'm still going to be Goth. I am still going to be anti-social."
Dash frowned. "Okay," he said. "But I won't change either." They walked in silence for awhile.
"You're still going to the dance with me, right?" Dash asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Sam said sadly. She felt like crying. Errol had tried to make peace for her; he set up the perfect opportunity for her and Danny and she let it slip away. The feeling of loss grew stronger as she stood with Dash. She liked him. She cared for him, but she knew she'd never love him, or maybe anyone, like she loved Danny.
They walked together quietly for awhile. Dash finally broke the silence with, "Kwan told me that Paulina and Star are up to something."
"What?" Sam asked, then started laughing. "When did you talk to Kwan? Dash pulled Sam's cell phone out of his pocket and laughed sheepishly at Sam's look of exasperation
"I don't know what they're plotting," Dash continued. "Kwan said Star would be mad at him if he spilled the beans."
"I'm not worried about any tricks those girls try to pull. They don't have enough brain power even combined to put together any kind of plot and make it work." Sam laughed as Dash put his arm around her. She tried to regain that happy feeling she'd had with him, but realized it was gone; she just felt uncomfortable now.
Dash himself was worried. He had no clue how to keep Sam by his side without Errol's help, and while he was glad the ghost was gone, he also felt scared. What was his father going to say when he found out his son was dating someone like Sam? Dash knew he'd never hear the end of it. He liked Sam; she was, deep down, everything he wanted in a girlfriend—but outwardly she was all wrong. If she'd just change, everything would be perfect.
"Okay, Star," Paulina said as she smoothed her hair. "Are you ready?"
Star sighed and managed to look bored. "I guess," she answered and watched as Paulina walked up to Danny and Tucker who were standing by some lockers talking quietly together.
"Hi boys," Paulina said as she fluttered her eyelashes at Danny and Tucker. They both looked at her in surprise.
"Hi," Danny and Tucker said together.
"We were wondering," Paulina said as she continued to flutter her eyes at Danny, "if you two boys would be interested in the honor of taking me and Star to the dance tonight."
"What?" Tucker asked. "You're trying to tell us that you couldn't get dates?"
"As if," Paulina said harshly. "We've got a plan to break up Dash and Sam. We want you to help us." Danny turned and opened his locker, ignoring Paulina.
"I already have a date," Tucker said happily. "So, sorry. You shouldn't have waited so long to ask."
"What?" Paulina said. "Who?"
"None of your business," Tucker answered. "Really," he added to Danny, who was giving him a questioning look.
"What about you, Danny?" Paulina said sweetly. "Wouldn't you love to go on a date with me? Even if it isn't real."
"I'm sorry," Danny said coolly. "I'm not going to the dance. You'll have to find someone else to help you with your plan." Paulina opened her mouth. Star only shook her head.
"But!" Paulina tried to argue.
"No," Danny said as he closed his locker and walked away.
Tucker was practically laughing. "Good luck finding dates, girls," he called over his shoulder.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Star asked in annoyance.
"It's on to plan B," Paulina said angrily. "Freaky Goth girl is going down!" Star followed her down the hall with wide eyes.
"So what are we going to do? Dump red paint on her head or something?" Star asked.
"Oh no," Paulina said fiercely. "We're going to ensure that Dash dumps her in front of the whole school."
Star looked at Paulina skeptically. "How are you going to pull that off?" Paulina didn't answer, she just sashayed down the hall, angrily.
Danny could barely contain his relief when he found Sam was already in class when he showed up. She smiled and waved at him. Danny waved back and smiled. He hated the distance which had grown between them. She'd always been his closest friend, and now she was…Dash's girlfriend. Just thinking it made him feel sick.
"Why does Tucker look so amused?" Sam asked as Danny sat at his usual desk beside her.
"Paulina and Star tried to get us to go to the dance with them," Danny replied. "But Tucker says he already has a date."
Sam's eyes widened and she turned to Tucker. "Who's your date?" she asked.
Tucker smiled a secret smile as he played with his PDA. "That's for me to know and all of you to find out." Danny and Sam looked at each other for a moment.
"Wait," Tucker said with a look of confusion. "Why aren't you freaking out about Paulina and Star asking us to the dance?"
Sam looked at Tucker sheepishly. "Because I figured they'd be doing something dumb. They have some wacky plan to break up Dash and I." Danny turned his back on Sam and Tucker as they talked. He hated when she said "Dash and I", it just made it all too real.
"So it's not gonna work, huh?" Tucker asked. Danny closed his eyes. He didn't want to listen.
"No," Sam said, then frowned…even though she wished it would. She sighed and sat back in her desk. The spark was gone, at least for her. Sam acknowledged that the excitement and passion in her relationship with Dash was entirely due to Errol. She leaned her head on her hand and looked over at Danny. He was doodling in his notebook as the teacher started class. Sam smiled wistfully, then sighed as she turned her attention to the teacher.
"What?" Sam asked as she sat at the lunch table she and Dash had been sharing independent of Danny and the A-list.
"Can you, like, wear something like neutral to the dance?" Dash asked. "I mean something not Goth, but not preppy either. Something normal."
"What!" Sam asked in outrage.
"My parents are the chaperones for the dance and if you come all Gothed out," Dash answered, "both of them are going to have heart attacks."
"No," Sam said firmly. "I already told you that I'm not going to change for you or anyone."
"I'm not, like, asking you to change who you are inside, just the scary outside," Dash argued.
"You're calling me scary?" Sam half yelled. All eyes in the lunch room turned to Dash and Sam.
"Well, yeah," Dash answered angrily. "The whole Goth thing is too freaky."
Sam stood. "I can't believe this," she said. "Well, no, wait a second, I can." She started to walk away and Dash stood.
"Why don't you just find someone else to take to the dance?" Sam growled. "Someone who will dress up as a pretty pink princess for you. It's not going to be me." She turned and stormed out of the cafeteria. Dash looked around and noticed all eyes on him. He waited a moment, then when after Sam.
Tucker, who had just stuffed a French fry into his mouth, half laughed. "Doesn't look like all is well for the lovebirds, huh?" Danny said nothing as he watched Sam storm from the cafeteria, then watched Dash go after her. He could only hope.
I have told a person here or there that this fic would be finished before the 8th, but I don't know if I can do it. I've been having a great deal of difficulty with this story.
Please review, it helps a great deal.
