The small flat brush slid under the water pouring out of the tap. One tap on the edge of the sink and small errant drops were sent scattering. The wet brush swirled around the kohl, filling with black. One more small expert tap on the edge of the sink and the girl raised the brush to her eyes, painting dark lines beneath the lashes both on the top and the bottom.

If anyone knew how long it took Sam to put on her make up, she would have died of shame. She spent at least ten minutes on her face now, as her look had evolved to include black lines around the eyes and lips, light powder on her pale skin, and deep purple lipstick. She liked the feeling of it, though. The brushes gliding under her fingers and over her skin. It was like painting on a human canvas, drawing out an image of herself she'd designed on the white sheet of her ordinary face.

Finishing the last pass of a purple brush across her lips, Sam ran a tube of sparkling clear lip gloss on top of the color. She allowed herself a moment of vanity as she assessed herself in the mirror. She wasn't pretty she decided, but she felt attractive. Kind of sexy in a dark way. She was willing to bet when she saw Danny today...

Danny. She'd told Tucker not to worry about his disappearance last night. It was probably some ghost thing. It wasn't unusual, she'd said. He disappeared all the time. She was still worried, though, despite the fact that she was still upset at the way he'd treated her.

Grabbing her jacket and bag and screaming a goodbye to her parents, Sam dashed out into the fall morning. Her hands dug into her jacket pockets, pulling her jacket tightly around her while the wind whipped around her, baring hints of winter. Soon it would be too cold to walk to school and she'd have to start driving, something she liked to avoid whenever possible.

Her thoughts drifted away from cars and pollution and back to Danny. He had been acting strange lately and there was certainly something going on. At the same time that was no excuse to yell at her and lie to her like he had.

She thought back to the end of the summer while she walked. Things had seemed easier then.

He had come over, tapping at her window at 2 am. Of course she was awake, she always thought best late at night. She had been writing poetry, her room filled with candles.

Come in, she had said, and he'd come, floating through the wall.

Can I read it, he had asked, hovering just behind her, trying to see over her shoulder.

No way, she had said. It's not done, yet. It's crap right now.

He had laughed.

Do you want to look at the stars, he had asked her. They're beautiful tonight.

She had agreed, even though she pretended to aggravated at being interrupted. They blew out the candles and in the dark they flew through the roof up into the sky.

He had been right, the night was perfectly clear and the moon large and bright on the horizon.

Do you see that, he had said, pointing at a bright twinkling light with one hand, while the other one held her aloft. That's Venus.

She had grabbed him tightly as she gazed out and a sudden feeling of vertigo hadwashed over her. He wrapped his arms around her in response and then they were kissing. When the kiss finally broke she stared into his green eyes, brighter than the stars and planets.

I want there to be an us again, he had said.

Why, she had said. That would be, what? The third go around?

Maybe we've grown up now, he had said.

Maybe, she had replyed. And he kissed her again.

There, with the stars for a ceiling and his arms the only thing holding her in the sky, a thousand feeling had rushed through her and she had said yes, for the thousandth time yes. It was finally time for happy endings they had said. It was finally happily-ever-after.

Happily-ever-after my ass, thought Sam. Right now she wasn't sure if she wanted to whack him or save him, as frustration and fear washed over her.

Once at school,Sam avoided stopping by Danny's locker and went straight to her first period. She was in no mood to see him and hear the tales of last nights exploits.

Sam was somewhat relieved when lunch rolled around and she had to stay in the art room, struggling to finish her new project. She did the same at the end of school, glad she had a convenient excuse to be alone. Sam would call Danny tonight or talk to him tomorrow. She would explain that she hadn't avoided him, that she had been busy. They would apologize to each other and maybe she would find out what was going on.


Sam was glaring at her computer screen and the small book next to it when the phone rang. Was Dorian really responsible for his actions? Or was he capable of anything, now that he had the thing he wanted most forever, his youth? Damn paper was due tomorrow.

The caller ID said it was Danny's home number.

"Heya," she said picking up the phone.

"Sam, this is Maddie."

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Fenton." Why was Mrs. Fenton calling her? Fear shot through Sam.

"Have you seen Danny today? He was gone this morning, he didn't go to school and he hasn't been home this evening."

"No, I haven't seen him." Sam regretted it as soon as she'd said it. She probably should have lied and covered for him somehow.

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"None. But don't worry Mrs. Fenton, I'm sure Danny's okay."

"He has been acting strange this past week. Do you know anything about that, Sam?" Crap. She'd noticed, too.

"Yeah. He's just tired and really stressed with school. That's about it."

"Okay."She didn't sound like she believed Sam. "Well, call me if you hear from him, okay?"

"I will. Promise."

"Thanks."

Sam hung up the phone immediately and called Tucker. "Have you heard from Danny?"

"Not a thing."

"Do you think it's just ghost hunting stuff?"

"I think so. But if he's not in school tomorrow, I say we try and find him. I told you how he got off the phone last night. It was really weird."

"Yeah." Sam thought for a moment. Nothing this week made any sense. She thought about the ghosts she'd seen in the past week, the stupid cat monsters and the little boy. She thought about Danny acting strangely. None of it added up to anything she could figure out.

"What if it's Vlad?" She asked, putting a voice to her worst fears.

"If it's Vlad we would have seen the dumb vulture things or something to do with Danny's mom."

"Eck."

"Yeah, you said it."

"I hope he's back tomorrow."

"Me, too."


The next morning had brought no word from Danny. There were no phone calls or visits to either Tucker or Sam. When they called his house his parents had worriedly said he hadn't shown up, yet. They were considering calling the police.

Sam walked to school that morning, her head down and her brow knitted in thought. The wind was even worse than it had been the day before and it kept blowing leaves into her face and hair. She brushed them away with agitation. It was as if the whole world was trying to keep her from thinking.

Turning down a small empty street, in her usually round about way to school, Sam nearly fell over with surprise.

There was Danny, suddenly hovering front of her. He was obviously a ghost, softly glowing, bobbing slightly as he levitated, his white hair tossed about by the wind. His eyes however, were the strange red color she'd seen before, sharp and malevolent. His costume was gone too, replaced by black pants, a black shirt, black gloves, black boots, and a black coat that swirled around him with each new gust.

Sam stood still frozen in her spot, her body refusing to act on any command to speak or move. The ghost drifted towards her, wearing an enormous face splitting smile. The smile made her shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. He stopped when his face was a few small inches away from hers, still smiling, those ruby eyes staring into hers. He raised a single eyebrow.

Then just as quickly as he had arrived he was gone, leaving only another gust of wind in his wake.


Okay, fair warning, the next chapter may bump this up to an M rating. I'm going to try really hard to keep the rating down but I'm warning you guys just in case the rating jumps and this story disappears.

Five chapters in and I still haven't told you guys what's going on. Good one, Daphne. (Sorry, Asilla, I promise all will be revealed soon.)

Like it so far, hate it, completely apathetic? Let me know! I like writing things people will like and critiques help me do so.

Thank you for your lovely compliment, Shimegami-chan. And thank you, GhostBoy814, for being the fastest reviewer ever.