(A/N: This is my entry in WingsofMorphius' Mariah Carey songfic challenge.
Before I begin, I need to send out a BIG thanks to BlueMyst19 for helping me with my errors and giving her opinion on the story. Goodness knows I need to learn how to spell. XD
DISCLAIMER: I do not own DP, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or the songs "I've Been Thinking About You," "Think of Me," or"Phantom of the Opera." They each belong to their respective owners.)
--Thinking About You--
Eleven year old Sam Manson was dozing in the back of her dad's sports car. She'd been away at a finishing school for the past two and a half months. This was at her mother's demand of course. Sam had not gone willingly. For the first week she was there, she spent more time on the phone with Danny, her best friend of six years, then attending classes. When the instructors noticed this, she was banned from the phone.
The car drove over a large pothole less then smoothly. Sam's eyes snapped open in surprise. In the background, Sam noted, Mrs. Manson was still carrying on a one-sided conversation that involved her daughter's new wardrobe. Sam sat up grumpily, vowing that the first thing she'd do when she was home was buy black dye. And a lot of it.
"We're home, Samantha, dear," Mr. Manson said cheerfully. Sam grunted in reply and hopped out of the car.
"Sam!" Danny, who'd been waiting on her front porch, caught her in a tight, enthusiastic hug. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're back!"
Sam returned the hug and watched her parents walk inside. She didn't miss the withering look her mother gave her best friend.
Danny let go of her, and continued to talk, unaware of Mrs. Manson's glare. "With you gone, and Tucker away until next week, mom had me 'bond' with Jazz. She's so boring! All she talks about is being a shrink. She tried to analyze me about four times already! I-"
Sam let him talk without interrupting him. She only half listened to him, letting herself soak in the first bit of happiness she'd felt all summer. Danny looked different then she remembered. His hair was longer then it'd been before. He must have convinced his mom to finally let him grow it out despite the fact that it had a perpetually messy look. His eyes were the same baby blue that they'd always been, but . . . there was something different.
We've known each other for a long, long time
But I've never really noticed all the magic in your eyes
I've been around you a thousand times before
And you've always been a friend to me but now I'm wanting more
When Tucker got home from Tech Camp, Danny invited him and Sam over to watch a movie. Sam spent extra care in getting ready. She pulled out the least offensive clothing from her closet (she'd not been able to smuggle black dye into the house yet): a lilac sundress. It was girly, but it wasn't pink. It would have to do. Besides, it didn't go with her combat boots at all. Her mother would be horrified, which suited Sam quite nicely.
"What are we watching today?" Tucker flopped down on one of the Fenton's couches. Sam sat down primly on the couch and crossed her ankles. A second later she uncrossed them and swore under her breath. Stupid finishing school! It'd take her months to "un-finish" herself.
"Mom went on a cleaning spree and trashed a bunch of our old movies. I managed to save The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Iron Giant . . . We could rent something." Danny shrugged as he inspected the movies' covers.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas sounds okay to me," Sam said.
"Whatever," Tucker shrugged. "Anything but something educational I'll watch."
"Camp that bad?" Sam laughed.
"Finishing school?"
"Not my choice."
"Guys," Danny protested.
"Sorry," Sam murmured. "Let's just watch the movie."
Danny put the VHS into his family's VCR. They waited patiently through the previews. As soon as the narrator began to start his rhyme, Danny was oblivious to the rest of the world. Sam's eyes, on the other hand, kept straying towards her best friend. She felt something had changed the past week, but she couldn't figure out what. All she knew was that nothing would be the same again. At least on her side of their friendship.
"Jack, Jack, we caught him!" Lock, Shock, and Barrel - trick-or-treaters in the devil, witch, and skeleton costumes for those of you who've not heard the tale - cried on screen. They opened the large sack and a big, pink bunny hopped out.
"That's not Sandy Claws!" Jack protested.
"It isn't?" Shock asked. A confused look passed over her face.
Tucker laughed. His eyes drifted over to where Sam was sitting. He frowned, confused, when he noticed the girl wasn't watching the movie, but Danny. Now Tucker, young as he was, wasn't by any means naive. He had older cousins after all.
"Are you crazy?" Tucker whispered.
"What?"
"You're begging to get caught you know."
"What in the world are you talking about?" Sam demanded.
"You're staring at Danny the way that my cousin Tanya was staring at that guy across the street! Stop it! It's really weird."
"For your information, I was not staring at Danny." Sam crossed her arms. "I was staring into space. I was up half last night trying to figure out how to get black dye in the house without being caught." Tucker snorted.
"I think you're in love with Danny."
"Am not!" Sam shoved Tucker off the couch.
I must've been so blind I never realized
You're the one that's right for me, all the while I couldn't see
And now I feel so strange I'll never be the same
I'm going round and round in circles and I don't know what to do cause baby
The next summer Sam was sent back to the finishing school. Apparently her self-"un-finishing" had worked too well. Once again she had ranted and raved about going; once again her mother really didn't care.
Whenever she didn't have to sit through a class or learn to sing and dance, she was sitting at her window. The only thing she truly liked about the school was that all the dorms had window seats she could sit at and enjoy the view of the Virginian foothills outside (even if she couldn't go explore them).
"Moping about at the window again?" The unpleasantly haughty voice of Sophia Prince, sole heiress to the Prince hotel chain, interrupted her thoughts. "Some of the girls think you're touched in the head."
"I'm not."
"Oh, I know. So what guy are you hung up on? Is he rich?"
"What?" Sam looked over at her roommate in confusion.
"That's the look all those lovesick women get in movies. Sickening, I think. So, who is he? I'm going to marry my daddy's business partner's son. He's sixteen already and a prince of a man. We're getting married a month after my eighteenth birthday."
Sam blinked and frowned at the pretty redhead. How could she be settling for someone when she was only thirteen? Shouldn't she experience life and love, even, before thinking about marriage?
"I hope you are your . . . 'prince' are very happy," Sam told her, wincing at the unintentional pun.
"Thank you. What about you?"
"I'm not promised to anyone, thank you. I've got my friends. I'm happy."
"What about when you turn eighteen?"
"College if that's where life takes me. I'm not going to marry some guy I don't know or like just because I can."
"Then who are you going to marry?"
"A superhero." Sam rolled her eyes. "'Cause a man with superpowers is the only one for me."
"Oh."
"Sarcasm, Sophia. I'm not going to marry until I know I've found the right one. He could be a janitor; he could be a multi-millionaire, I don't know, but as long as I love him, I don't care."
When Sophia left, Sam wandered over to her desk. An old New Year's picture sat on the desk. She and Danny were the main focus, in the background the TV was showing the Ball in mid-drop. The Sam in the picture was giving the Danny a kiss on the cheek. All the while, he was wearing a disgusted expression. Stuck in the corner of the frame was Danny's most recent school picture. A shy smile lighted his face.
"I don't care one bit," Sam said quietly.
I've been thinking about you in the most peculiar way
I've been thinking about you it's unbelievable to me
But suddenly I think I'm falling in love
With you
The summer went by slower then she ever thought possible. At least once a week, she thought that time had stopped. When it was the last day, she pranced around happily, knowing that she'd not be able to return the next year even if she wanted to. The deans were changing the cut off age from fourteen to twelve after the summer's session. No more summers being locked away at a prim and proper academy.
At eleven o' clock that night, she climbed out of bed. She crept downstairs in to the kitchen quietly (a bit of grace is always a good thing after all, she figured). After making sure no one was around, she dialed Danny's number.
"Hello?" Maddie Fenton's voice greeted her.
"Hi, Mrs.Fenton. It's Sam. Is Danny there?"
"He's just getting ready for bed, honey."
"Could I talk with him? Just for a minute?"
"Okay, but be quick." There was a paused. Sam heard Danny's named called, and then someone pounding down stairs in the background.
"Sam? Why are you calling this late?"
"I couldn't risk calling after last year. Since I'm coming home tomorrow, I figured there's nothing much they can do about it."
"Tuck called me from camp today. He'll be getting home a week later then last time. Apparently he won some sort of award."
Sam shook her head. "That tech geek. You didn't get the name of the award?"
"He mentioned it, but I don't remember what it is."
"A few weeks ago I had this odd conversation with one of my roommates."
"What about?"
"Marriage. Did you know a lot of the girls here are already engaged? Mostly for business reasons, too!"
"Are you engaged?" Sam could almost hear Danny frowning.
"Of course not . . . I don't think I am anyway. I hope not," she concluded sadly.
There was a brief pause before she heard Danny sigh in the background.
"You've changed over the past year, you know that right?" Danny asked her after a bit.
". . . Mom says it's called growing up." Sam replied quietly.
There's no explaining how I feel inside
I'm going through a transformation that's so hard for me to hide
A revelation, finally opened up my eyes
The one I spent a lifetime searching for what right here all the time
"Pictures! Danny, Tucker, Sam, come on!" Mrs. Fenton held a camera up. Danny and Tucker stood on either side of Sam and draped an arm on her shoulders. Sam rolled her eyes and blew at the red tassel hanging in her face.
Under her breath, she said, "Stupid middle school gradu--"
"I want you guys to smile! That means you too, Miss Manson." Mrs. Fenton said sternly. Sam sighed but consented. "No funny faces, bunny ears, or anything else of the sort. I want a nice picture of you three for once."
"We got it, Mom."
"Alright. One, two, three--smile!"
Click
"You're free to go now."
"Finally," Sam grumbled. "First my parents' replacement, then Tuck's parents, now yours."
"Parents consider it a right." Tucker shrugged and walked off to raid the snack table. He quickly found the meat platter and began to load his plate. Sam watched him for a moment before shuddering and turning away. She pulled the cap off her head and turned it over in her hands.
"Four years left," she said.
"Or nine years over," Danny pointed out cheerfully.
"I look on the gloomy side of things, remember? Still, we did manage to get through middle school in one piece."
"Barely."
"If you're referring to your math grade," Sam told him, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth, "try to pay attention to the tests next time instead of Paulina.
"Speak of the witch . . ." Danny's eyes followed the Hispanic girl as she walked across the Amity Middle School's lawn with two of her friends, her hips swaying in an almost seductive way.
Sam crossed her arms as she waited for Danny to snap back into reality. It didn't take long, but he still looked a bit dazed.
"Is this how it's going to be from now on?" Sam asked him.
"What do you mean?" Sam put her hands on her almost non-existent hips.
"That when ever you see a pretty girl walk by, I - along with everything else - is whisked into oblivion?"
"N-no." Sam narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Was he stuttering because he was lying or just because she was making him nervous? "Sam, really. You're my best friend. Why would I let some new girl get in the middle of our friendship?"
Sam sighed and nodded sadly. Though Danny didn't know, Sam could tell that Paulina would be a problem in the future. But she had no right to take Danny's attention away from her. Aside from his mom and sister, Sam had always been - and should always be, for that matter - the only other woman in Danny Fenton's life.
Any shallow witch that got in the way of their friendship would pay.
I was oblivious, so very out of touch
All the while I couldn't see you're the one that's right for me
And now my world has changed I'll never be the same
I'm going round and round in circles and It's all because of you sweet baby
"Do you see anything?" Tucker called.
"Nothing really . . . There's bunch of wires and metal stuff though."
"Just be careful in there," Sam reminded him.
"Do you think I'm going to do something stu--"
Danny was cut off when a flood of green light bathed the basement. From inside the portal, Danny could be heard screaming.
"Danny!"
"Sam, no!" Tucker grabbed Sam's arm as she tried to make a break for the portal.
"But--"
"I know, but we can't to anything at this point!
Only moments later the light faded and Danny stumbled out. His hair looked white, but Sam didn't see how that was possible. She rushed over to Danny and caught him under his arms just as he was falling. With Tucker's help, she eased him to the ground.
"Is he breathing? Where the hell is his heartbeat!" Sam anxiously pressed her fingers to Danny's neck. "Danny, come on, wake up! Please!"
"Sam, you can't act hysterical! One of us has to stay calm, and I won't be able to!" Tucker cried, his voice a slightly higher pitch then normal. Unknown to the two of them, Danny's eyes flickered open.
"How come I have to be the calm one?" Sam demanded.
"Guys," Danny moaned from his spot.
"Just a second, Danny," Tucker said and turned back to Sam. "It's because you're--"
"Danny!" They cried at the same time.
Tucker helped Danny sit up. Sam sat back on her heels, shivering slightly.
"Sam? Are you okay?" Danny asked groggily.
"I-I--" And destroying her Gothic image just a tad, tears began to roll down Sam's cheeks. "Danny, I'm so glad that you're okay!" Leaning over she hugged Danny tightly, not caring that she was crying.
She had a few good excuses after all . . . She'd nearly lost Danny. If he had died, it would have been her fault for sending him into the Ghost Portal in the first place. Curse her natural born curiosity! And, because of it all, she realized how much Danny truly meant to her.
I've been thinking about you in the most peculiar way
I've been thinking about you it's unbelievable to me
But suddenly I think I'm falling in love
With you
It had been a little over a year. Now fifteen-year-old Samantha sat at her window. She'd requested that a window seat be put in her room as a birthday gift. It had involved a bit of smashing down walls and rebuilding walls, but in Sam's mind, it was worth it. She now had a place to sit and think when she had the time or she was just feeling pensive.
The last year had been the most eventful year of her life. Not only did she and Tucker come to find that Danny had received ghost powers from his accident, but they took up ghost fighting because of it. Danny did most of the work. She and Tucker were mainly his . . . support group as it were. They'd battled everything from the Box Ghost to Dan Phantom together. More then once they'd come close to death.
Yes, it had been quite a year.
The new school year had begun; the leaves turned their bright fall colors. Danny was still a bit stuck on Valerie. While Sam really hadn't worried too much about Paulina (not after the Dragon Incident anyway), Valerie was another story. She actually liked Danny. It wasn't as if she cared for him the way Sam did, but it was still enough that it worried Sam. Her main worries were for Danny's safety though. His safety went before her happiness.
She'd been friends with Danny so long, she wondered if that was all he would ever see her as. She was a buddy, a pal, a chum. She wasn't seen as girlfriend material. Until Greg - Elliot, she didn't think any guy would want to go out with her. Even now she wasn't so sure.
Recently her dad had dropped the bombshell that he'd be parading (not his word, Sam's) some of his friends' sons through the next year . . . Shortly after her sixteenth birthday. As he had put it, "It's time for you to consider what you will be doing with your life after high school."
Sam had told Tucker about this, but she'd been putting off telling Danny about it. Tucker was outraged on her behalf. Sam wasn't sure how she could tell Danny though . . . Or even if he'd care that much. Sure, he'd been upset about Elliot but only because the Guys in White had been around at that point. Tensions, as well as suspicions, were high.
Sam sighed. Tucker had told Sam that Danny had been highly jealous of Elliot. She'd argued it was because of his protectiveness . . . like the whole Johnny 13 and Jazz incident.
"God, you two! You drive me crazy!" Tucker had cried. "Why can't you just get over yourselves and admit that you're in love each other? I know you love Danny. Danny, as much of a clueless idiot as he is, is in love with you, too! Even if he won't admit it to himself."
"I can't! There are so many factors that come into this! We've been friends for ages. What if that ruins our friendship? What if he's distracted from ghost hunting? What if, if he really is attracted to me, his powers go haywire when he's around me? I help you guys with the ghosts you know. What about my parents? What if we--ugh! Things aren't so simple, Tucker!"
"They could be if you let them."
As hard as she'd tried, and as much as she wanted to tell Danny how she felt, she could never see how things would be simple.
"Miss Samantha," the Manson's maid, Mitzi, beeped in over the intercom, "Riley Lawrence is here."
I've been thinking about you in the most peculiar way
I've been thinking about you it's unbelievable to me
But suddenly I think I'm falling in love
With you
"You've been practicing, Sam!" Riley smiled widely at her.
"You lowered the notes, Riley. That always helps."
"Only because it was in the general public's best interest that you never attempt a soprano's high notes." The recent college graduate smirked. Sam smacked him.
Over the summer, Mrs. Manson had signed Sam up for voice lessons. According to her, every young lady of culture should have at least a basic training in voice. Sam ditched her first lesson. As punishment, her parents extended the lessons to an hour long, and replaced a fourth her wardrobe with pink and preppy outfits. They promised, each time she ditched, her lesson would be extended another half-hour, and another part of her wardrobe would be replaced. Sam hadn't missed a lesson since.
Much to her surprise, she liked voice lessons. The instructor was really good looking and respected her individuality. He let her pick the music, and accommodated soprano parts for her alto voice.
"Once more through the piece, and we'll be finished here." Riley sat back down at the baby grand piano and played the opening notes to her song. Sam opened her mouth to sing, but Riley went back to replay the opening notes. Sam glared at Riley. He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her, but let her sing.
"Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said good-bye . . . Remember me once in a while, promise me--Riley, that's not fair!" Riley just laughed
"Life's not fair, Babe. Now, sing it!"
"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me and speaks my name… And do I dream again--" Riley had her skipping around from song to song for nearly fifteen minutes before, "That's not even my song! That's the Phantom's solo!"
"Oh, right."
Danny burst into the room, closely followed by Mitzi.
"Sam! Hey, I--Who are you?"
"Riley Lawrence," Riley greeted Danny cheerfully and held out a hand. Danny shook it warily.
"Danny."
"I should get going, Sam. Good job today." Riley closed him book of sheet music and kissed Sam on either cheek as a farewell. He nodded to Danny and went out the door.
"Who the heck is he?" Danny demanded. "You know you could have let me know you had a boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" Sam repeated blankly. She blinked once before bursting out laughing. "You think Riley and I . . . ? Dating? Riley? Riley's my voice instructor. Didn't I ever mention that my mom had me start voice lessons?"
"I don't remember."
"Well, I am."
"But . . . but he kissed you!"
"Yeah, so? Riley's just flirty. It's the way he is."
"It didn't look like flirting to me."
"Well, Danny, what do you want me to say? That, yes, Riley and I are indeed a couple?"
"If that's the truth, yes!"
"You want the truth?"
"Yes!" Danny demanded and crossed his arms.
"Fine! Yes, Riley did in fact ask me out once, but I told him 'no' because I think I'm in love with someone else!"
"And who is that?"
Sam blinked angrily. He had no right to ask, but every right to know. Oh, the cruel twist of fate! She trembled, not believing what came out of her mouth next:
"YOU!"
She stormed passed Danny and up to her room. She had no idea what possessed her to say that. Normally she had a good reign on what she said when she was angry, but now . . . Would her friendship with Danny be over?
Don't you know that you're blowing my mind
What you do to me, I can't describe
Baby I can't hold back anymore
I just can't consider you're the one I really adore
Sam's phone kept ringing. It was driving her crazy! She knew it was Danny calling, but she didn't feel like talking with him at the moment. Spilling a secret you've been keeping for many years was very tiring. Around eleven, Sam pulled the plug on her phone.
Sam took a long, hot shower to relax. She put on her favorite pj's (black velour pants and a lilac colored tank top) and the black satin slippers her grandmother had gotten her. She climbed into bed and put Phantom of the Opera on, singing along with Christine as best she could. Near the end she was dozing. She blinked open her eyes just as Christine was leaving the Phantom for Raoul.
"Idiot," she muttered and switched off the TV. After checking the clock, she got out of bed and headed downstairs. Nothing like a midnight snack… at 2:37 AM. It was a good thing her parents were still away on another "business trip."
Sam flipped on the kitchen light and grabbed some frosted flakes out of the cabinet. She sat down on the counter and opened the box. She'd forgotten to pick up soymilk earlier in the day so she had to eat it dry. Not that it tasted bad or anything… it just made her thirsty.
"It's so quiet," Sam said softly, looking around the kitchen. Most of the house was dark. The only lights that were on were the one in the upstairs hall and the one she'd just turned on. It was eerie. Usually at this point in time she was just getting home, too exhausted to realize how dark and lonesome the house was at night. Sam shivered.
"You don't say." Danny appeared next to her. Sam screamed and smacked him out of surprise. Danny fell off the counter, reverting back into his human form as he hit the ground.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You scared me!"
"Half to death?" he teased.
"Haha. Look, it's late. I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Go home, Danny." Sam hopped off the counter, grabbed the box of cereal, and walked past Danny.
"Sam," Danny protested and grabbed her wrist. "Don't leave."
"It's my house."
"I need to talk with you though."
"I already told you, I don't want to."
"Whether or not you want to, you're going to listen. Even if I have to possess you, I am going to tell you what I have to."
Sam frowned but turned around. "Go ahead. I'm listening."
"In all honesty, what you said earlier did freak me out. As you must have noticed, I kept trying to call you earlier. After awhile I realized, that while I knew I needed to talk with you, I didn't know what I was going to say when you finally picked up.
"So I thought about it, and I've come to the conclusion that we've been best friends for a long time. I'm flattered that you love me, but I'm confused. I--"
"I told Tucker it wasn't so simple," Sam muttered and looked at her slippers.
"Hey," Danny murmured, putting a gentle hand under Sam's chin. "Did I say I was finished? Sure, I'm a bit confused, but I'm entirely happy that you decided to tell me." Danny leaned down a bit and kissed Sam softly. She pulled away and looked Danny in the eyes.
"Do you mean that, or are you just saying that?"
"Would I lie to you? Sheesh, Sam, I've seen what you've done to liars." Danny shuddered at one particular memory. "I like you Sam. I have for awhile, whether or not I've wanted to admit it to myself."
That was all Sam needed to hear. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him back over to her.
Neither of them heard the front door squeak open, as the Mansons arrived home "early" from their trip to Europe.
I've been thinking about you in the most peculiar way
I've been thinking about you it's unbelievable to me
But suddenly I think I'm falling in love
With you
(A/N: I picked PotO because I thought Sam would like the movie and the music (that, and currently, all I've been listening to is the soundtrack). I thought I should explain myself on that one.
Thanks for reading!
Anne)