"Daniel, we're going to have some guests for the next couple of days," Vlad announced at dinner sometime during the fourth month since Danny ran away. "One of the biggest investors in my company is going to be coming to visit one weekend, and he'll be bringing his family along. He has a daughter your age, you know."
"I don't care," Danny replied coldly. "There's no girl other than Sam that means anything to me."
"Sammykins, the owner of a company I'm invested in has invited us to spend the weekend with him, and we'll be leaving tomorrow. He has a son your age, you know."
"Dad, I'm not getting together with one of the rich, snobby sons of CEO's that you and Mom are always trying to set me up with. I'm only interested in Danny," Sam replied, her arms crossed.
As the limousine pulled up at Vlad Manor, Sam didn't bother to hide her grimace. The absolute last place on earth she wanted to be was at Vlad's place. She had agreed with Danny that he was a crazed-up fruit loop who really needed to get a cat. And it wasn't like Danny would even be there; he hated Vlad more than she did, so it was the last place on earth he'd want to be at as well. There was no chance whatsoever that he would run away to a douche like Vlad.
A scowl so deep it could have been written in stone was etched onto Sam's face as she stood in-between her parents on Vlad's doorstep. Her father rang the bell and Vlad himself opened the door.
"Why hello! Welcome to my home! I trust you had a pleasant drive?" The white-haired halfa asked.
"Yes, it was fabulous," Sam's father replied in his usual over-preppy tone.
"Excellent, excellent. Why don't the three of you go unpack, I'll have my son show you to your rooms."
"Yes," Mrs. Manson interrupted. "We had heard that you'd adopted a son. Very kind of you."
"Why thank you, Mrs. Manson. He's seventeen years old, and his name's Daniel." Sam's ears perked up. Daniel? No way…but Vlad wouldn't actually adopt someone, he's too coldhearted. So it must be-
Her thoughts were interrupted when the very object of her thoughts walked up and stood beside Vlad.
"Daniel, I'd like you to meet Mr. And Mrs. Manson, and their daughter, Samantha." If Danny registered that he was in the presence of his childhood friend and the object of his undying obsession, he didn't show it.
"Pleasure to meet you," he said in a monotone voice as he shook Sam's parent's hands, and lightly kissed hers. He stoically picked up their bags and began walking away.
"I'll show you to your rooms," he called back in that same monotone voice. Slightly perturbed, the three Mansons followed him upstairs. He showed the adults their room first, then went up a flight of stairs and entered the third door on the right. He placed Sam's bags on the floor and turned to face her.
"Danny, I missed you so much-" she began, but he held up a hand to interrupt her.
"First explain why I flew home that Friday evening to talk with you and found you in bed with my best friend." Sam looked at the floor, deepest remorse evident in her eyes.
"I just…I wanted you to feel like I did while you were dating Valerie. I didn't want to sleep with him at first, but we kind of got carried away…" she looked up and found that his eyes were glowing a pupilless crimson.
"He did that with you and you didn't want it? Tucker Foley, you are officially a dead man."
"Danny, stop!" Sam pleaded as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "You're not evil, I know it. Stop acting this way, please?" He pulled away from her and looked down at her pleading form.
"Maybe I am evil now. Maybe seeing Tuck do that with you, the love of my life, drove me to become evil." He laughed a cold, bitter laugh when he saw her facial expression; whether she looked shocked because he'd told her that he chose to become evil or that she was the love of his life he couldn't tell. He pressed on. "What, you thought that Vlad corrupted me and made me this way? On the contrary, he was trying to prevent me from taking this path! The old fruit loop's scared of me, Sam. Scared of me. Has been ever since I beat him in one of our sparring matches." She stared at him openmouthed, but then finally composed herself.
"You truly have become like him, haven't you?" she asked coldly.
"I have," he answered.
"What happened to the boy I fell in love with?" She demanded, and he stared back at her, a shocked expression apparent on his features.
"You…you loved me?"
"I did. I still do. But I'll never be yours if you choose to be evil." The cold grin returned to his features.
"But Sammy, I thought you were Goth!"
"Trust me, I'm nowhere near as Gothic as some of the people I had hung out with after Tucker and I broke up."
"Wait a minute, the two of you broke up?" Danny asked, and for a fleeting second Sam saw a spark of life in his ice-blue eyes. The spark that had melted the ice and let her drown in them on many an occasion.
"Yeah. Both of us realized that we only got into the relationship because I'd wanted to make you jealous, but it wasn't worth having you run away. We were just too different to keep a relationship, so we split up."
Danny was speechless. For so many months he'd thought that he would have to go back to Amity, eliminate Tucker, and bring Sam back with him, by force if necessary. He had become evil in order to do these things without suffering moral repercussions. But if he didn't have to be this way to win her heart, if she loved him for just being who he was…then there was no point in remaining evil any longer. As he reached this epiphany he felt the darkness that had encased his heart like plaster melt away, and the evil that clouded his eyes make way for light to shine through once again.
"Well," he finally replied as his face cracked into a grin, the first time he'd truly smiled in four months, and his eyes sparkled, "it worked, and if it's not too much to ask…could we…forget this ever happened?"
"Well, I know now that you love me, and you know that I love you, so I guess we could-" but she was cut off as he pounced on her and crushed her lips underneath his own. He landed on top of her on the bed, and she tangled her hands in his raven hair and pulled him even closer towards herself. Suddenly he broke away to look her in the eye.
"Just one thing, though."
"What?"
"Don't make me jealous of you ever again." She grinned, then pulled him into another passionate kiss. His tongue pressed against her mouth, as he begged for entrance. Like a little blue-eyed puppy, she thought. She let him in and he explored every crevice, every nook and cranny, and memorized it. All of a sudden, she unexpectedly pulled away.
"Wash your mouth out," she told him sternly.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"You had a hamburger for lunch. Wash your mouth out, now." Danny grumbled as he got off her and headed for her bathroom to gargle. He returned about a minute later and the make-out session continued.
"So you think they'll get back together?" Mr. Manson asked Vlad downstairs in the lounge.
"Oh yes," he replied. "I think that this little invitation was an excellent idea, indeed. Daniel and Samantha will discover their love for each other, and we won't have to deal with their depression any longer."
Okay, I'll try to keep updating as soon as I can, but no guarantees. This is for several reasons: first, this past chapter was the last thing I've written, so I can no longer post a chapter and only have to finish up the next chapter. I'll be starting from scratch after each update. Second, I have two major finals on Thursday that I should probably study for (key word-should), so my time might be limited. But after that, school's done for me! Get this-the day after school ends, I'm going to Florida. RT much?