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Chapter 4: Decisions, decisions

Danny sighed, looking out the window from where he sat on the sill. He knew he liked Sam. Well, maybe "like" was too weak a word, but he couldn't get close to her. Not after he'd told her that he was going to give himself up to Vlad. He couldn't fall in love with her because he'd never be able to convince himself to give in to Vlad's brainwashing, which is probably what would happen to him. He looked up as Sam entered the room before turning back to the window. He didn't speak when she called his name. He couldn't. If he ignored her, maybe he'd be able to survive this. Maybe he'd be able to get through this whole thing with Vlad. If he didn't fall in love with her, there was still a chance she'd find someone that wasn't turned evil by their arch enemy.

Sam climbed into bed with a heavy, broken heart. Why couldn't he understand that she just wanted to help him? She loved him and had since she was 14. She wanted to be with him, to show him how much she loved him. She didn't care that he'd probably be brainwashed in a few days. They had so little time together before he was brainwashed; why didn't he want to spend it with her? Even if it was just as friends? She sighed and rolled over, facing the wall with her back to Danny. She wished she understood why he so desperately felt like he needed to give up himself to Vlad.

The sun rose in Amity Park, wakening a peaceful, tired community from its nightly slumber. The gentle atmosphere was broken as a sudden scream rang out, originating in the direction of the Manson Mansion. A few birds alighted from a tree nearby, and a dog howled. However, the true damage that scream had caused was taking place inside. It was not Mrs. Manson that had screamed as many would suppose. It was Mr. Manson. He had gone to wake his daughter up when Mrs. Manson had failed, entering the room to find it empty. In her place was a note in a harsh script that he knew wasn't his daughter's.

Danny and I ran away, and we won't be back until we're married. I'm not your little girl anymore, and you can't stop me. No amount of money will bring me back until I can sign my name as Samantha Fenton. –Sam

"Good Lord, he's kidnapped her!" was Mr. Manson's initial response after screaming like a woman.

Mrs. Manson, who had entered the room at the scream, was now examining the note. "It wouldn't surprise me if she was too busy packing to write the note herself. She must have dictated it to him."

"But she didn't even sign it!" Mr. Manson argued. "He kidnapped her," he insisted.

"Jeremy, as much as I hate to admit it, Samantha is 21. We can't get involved even if she decides to throw her life away on that meaningless boy with the insane parents." Pamela took a deep breath, trying to calm her shaking hands. "If she goes missing for much longer than a few days, we can alert the police and claim it as a kidnapping. For now, we'll just have to wait and hope she comes back… unmarried and still pure."

Danny woke slowly, groaning and turning his head to crack his neck. He'd fallen asleep on the window seat, too angry at himself and Vlad to even dare sleeping next to Sam. He sighed then turned to the goth girl lying fast asleep in the bed. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. He sighed then uncurled himself from his position, stretching before he went over to the bed. He crawled up onto it to sit beside her, gazing down at her. He smiled then brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. His smile faded as he thought about Vlad, the man's cruel plan, and what Danny was going to do about it now. He turned away from her, sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest as he contemplated his decision.

Sam sighed then rolled over, eyes opening slowly. She sat up. "Danny?"

He turned to her and smiled weakly. "Hey, Sam."

"You're still giving yourself up to Vlad, aren't you?" she whispered, moving closer.

He rested his chin on his knees, looking away from her. "I have to. It's the only way to get you out of here at least."

"No!" Sam grabbed his arm, trying to get him to turn to her. "I won't leave if it means leaving you here," she said.

He looked at her. "It's the only way—"

"No, it's not, Danny! We'll think of something, and we'll get out of here." She shook her head, tears filling her lilac eyes. "I love you too much to leave you here," she choked out. She took a shuddering breath, looking down. There, she'd finally said it.

He blinked then blinked again before looking down at Sam and tilting her chin up with his fingertips. "I love you too," he whispered, gazing into her eyes, "and that's why I have to give myself up to Vlad. Don't you see? I'm not going to force you into anything you don't want to do, and I sure as hell am not giving him anything."

She nodded, lowering her head once more. "I don't want you to do this," she whispered. "There's still hope that maybe Tucker will find us or something."

"Um, yeah… About that…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "I kind of… um…"

"What?" she asked, looking up at him and giving him a look.

"Well, I, um, kind of left a note that…" He gulped, cowering at her look. "Tucker probably thinks we're getting married."

"What?"

Tucker held the note up as if he were checking it like you would a bill to see if it was fake. "Nope, that's Danny's hand-writing all right." He smirked, handing the note back to Mrs. Manson. "I wouldn't worry too much about them. Danny'll make an honest woman out of your daughter," he said with a teasing wink.

Mrs. Manson let out a shriek then fainted in the arms of her husband. Mr. Manson stared flabbergasted at Tucker, his jaw dropped. "I-I…"

Tucker looked at the fainted woman then back up at him. "I was just kidding about the last part."

"You had better hope you were," Mr. Manson said with a glare. "She had better return and without that strange boy she's always hanging out with, or we will alert the police to a kidnapping."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure." As soon as the two were gone, a grin broke out across his face. "I never thought I'd see the day…" He leapt up in the air, letting out a "whoop" of joy before walking back into his house, tapping something out on his PDA. On the date the Manson's had found the note, Tucker had written, "Danny and Sam finally admit they're crazy about each other." Oh, how wrong he was…