WoM- You know, I never would've imagined it to be possible to hate someone as much as I hate my gym teacher. 'Glowers' All the people who call me sadistic should spend five minutes in his class to learn the true meaning of the word! 'grumbles' evil sexist bastard…
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
-Albert Einstein
Friendly Faces
'You know, I really wish all those sexists jerks out there could get a load of this…' I thought in bemusement, watching Danny finish off the dishes.
"Don't they have maids around here?" I asked him as he turned the water off.
"Yeah," Danny sighed, "But I like doing stuff for myself. It keeps me busy. Besides, I don't like other people messing with my things. My mom hasn't even set foot in my room since I was eight,"
"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I was the exact opposite. I was distracted easily by things I deemed more important, so it wasn't uncommon for my room to resemble a battlefield by the end of a single day, let alone the one a week a maid when through everything and cleaned up.
"Yeah, I think I got the neat freak thing from her. She goes nuts over the mess Dad leaves in the lab…" Danny laughed, shaking his head. "Jazz takes it to a whole new level, though. She even color codes her M&Ms before she eats them, and always eats the colors in the same order."
"You're kidding," I said skeptically.
"Red, blue, yellow, orange, green then brown," Danny recited with a grin, "I've teased her about it since we were kids." I had to laugh at that. It was just too cute, and so Danny…
"Well, we've all got our given 'weird thing.'" I chuckled. "It's what makes us unique. Like me, I can put mustard on anything and eat it,"
"Anything?" Danny asked, his eyebrow kicking up in doubt.
"I especially like buttered popcorn and mustard," I admitted, "it drives my mom up the walls,"
"Gross!" Danny laughed.
"What about you?" I asked, "What's your weird thing?" Danny got another of his weird looks at that, almost like there was something funny about me asking that.
"Well, I do like to put Ranch on my pizza," Danny admitted. "I like dipping French fries into it, too."
"Uugh!" I exclaimed, making a face. I hated Ranch dressing… "Okay, how about this; what's the weirdest thing anyone's ever said to you?" Danny frowned thoughtfully.
"…Well, I did have someone threaten to lay my pelt at the foot of their bed before…" He admitted at last.
'…Uuh…'
"Don't ask," My roommate advised me, making a face, "Trust me, you don't want to know."
"Noted," I said, shaking my head. Danny shifted around uncomfortably for a second.
"So, what are your plans over break?" the blue eyed boy asked me casually.
"Don't have any," I admitted, "I'm planning on just staying here,"
"That's no fun…" Danny said with a frown, "Why don't you come with me and Jazz to Vlad's?" I cringed slightly, fearing the rich snobby party to end all rich snobby parties…
"Uh, I dunno…" I said slowly.
"Aw, come on!" Danny protested. "I mean, it's better then sticking around here all alone right? And Liz is coming, too, so I can use another guy around to keep me company."
'…Ah, irony… You just gotta love it at times like these…' I mused dryly.
"What about Tucker?" I asked.
"He's spending the holiday with his family." Danny admitted, "Normally, I'd go with him, but this year Vlad is actually having people over for Thanksgiving so I'm required to attend." Danny paused to make a face, "Apparently one is the daughter of some part of his company that he really wants to introduce me to."
'Hold up,' I thought, my eyes widening, 'One's a what now?'
"I'll come," I said instantly. Trying to keep my face and voice calm and casual.
'There is no way I'll let some snobby little brat Danny obviously doesn't even want to be around to try and dig her claws into Danny!' I thought furiously, my protective nature coming to play yet again. Only this time, I was protecting the guy I liked, not defenseless rabbits being tortured for modern science.
"Great!" Danny said, sounding relieved. "I know I'll need all the company I can get." I smiled and shook my head a little. But my smile faded as Danny jumped up to answer the ringing phone.
'I don't get it.' I thought, frowning slightly, 'I mean, Danny punched out Dash to protect me. Why is he so scared of some rich guy in a bad suit…?'
"That was Tuck," Danny announced when he rejoin me while I was still pondering this. "He wants us to meet him down at the cyber café."
"Got it," I sighed, standing up. "Just don't force me to watch him consume another small farm."
"Deal," Danny laughed, grinning at me in amusement. Smiling back, the two of us headed to the door. I glanced at Danny every now and then as we walked silently down the halls.
'Well, it's now or never,' I thought wryly.
"So, Danny," I said out loud, "I heard you took a date to the Masquerade after all." I said casually. Danny blushed brilliantly at the question.
"Ah, sort of," He admitted.
"Was it the girl from the drawing?" I asked.
"Yeah," Danny sighed, frowning. "Jazz is still mad at me for that," I flinched, a slight wave of guilt hitting me. After all, I never meant to test the Fenton sibling's bond, even if I didn't like the way Jazz was trying to force us apart…
"She's mad at you for liking a girl?" I clarified, raising an eyebrow.
"She is when me liking anybody means they're in constant danger," Danny said wryly.
"Danger of what?" I asked, getting a little annoyed at the secret-keeping.
"Vlad, for one," Danny confessed. "I don't even want to think of how he'd try to use anyone he thinks could be my weakness. He already tried with Jazz and Tucker, and I don't want him to hurt Sam." I blushed slightly, touched by his protective tone even as I was offended by it. After all, I could take care of myself just fine, even against someone as powerful as Vlad Masters.
"Well, that doesn't sound as bad as it could be." I said.
"Trust me, it's worse," Danny said dryly, running a hand through his hair absently. "Then there's the ghost thing…" I frowned at that, slowing down a little.
"Ghost thing?" I repeated, "What ghost thing?" Danny froze, rooted to the spot.
"Nothing," He said quickly, walking at a faster pace so I had to jog to keep up with his strides.
"It must be something, or it wouldn't be a problem," I pointed out, annoyed. Then I remembered something and frowned at him. "Wait, does this have anything to do with all those weapons in your room?"
"Those are just keepsakes," Danny reminded me, "What makes you think I'd even know how to use them?"
"The fact that both your parents are ghost hunters," I said shortly, glaring at him suspiciously as the pieces started to fall into place…
Danny opened his mouth to protest only to shiver violently, clapping both hands over his mouth moments later.
"I've gotta go," He muttered, ducking away before I could stop him. I scowled.
'One of these days I'm gonna corner him in a place where he can't disappear on me…' I thought sullenly.
"Hey, you!"
Jumping in surprise, I wheeled around at the harsh, rude voice that interrupted my thoughts, my jaw dropping at the sight of the pop idol Ember McClain.
Floating three feet off the ground.
"You know where the dipstick is?" Ember asked me with a suspicious glare.
"The who?" I asked, blinking in shock. Ember rolled her eyes, huffing in annoyance.
"Dipstick!" She snapped. "Uugh… men. Living or Dead, they're all helpless…"
Again, irony.
"Listen, I don't know who you're talking about, alright?" I snapped, glaring back at her.
"Yeah right," Ember rolled her eyes. "I just saw you talking to him!" I frowned.
"Wait, you mean Danny?" I asked. "What do you want with Danny?"
"Because he's the loser who- OOF!" Whatever Ember was going to say was cut off by the ectoblast that sent her flying through a wall. Moments later, Danny Phantom appeared at my side.
"You might want to get out of here," He advised me, "Ember's no joke, so this could get ugly."
"But I-!" The ghost didn't wait to heed my protest, though, flying through the wall after Ember. "AAARGH!" I growled, "Why does every guy I try and talk to end up running off on me?"
'At least Phantom has a reason,' I added in my mind, crossing my arms, 'He fights ghosts. But Danny… just…' I froze, my eyes widening as it all came together.
Every time Danny took off, both when I was Samuel and Samantha, was almost directly before there was a ghost attack. Then seconds after the attack, Phantom would show up to kick some ghost butt and get out of there as quickly as possible.
Danny had a small arsenal stashed in his room, and a profile on that Ember girl (Who was obviously a ghost) on a computer he kept hidden from me. One of the things he was always asking me (Well, Samantha me) about was my feelings on Phantom, and Phantom in turn was always curious about my (Again, Samantha my) feelings on Danny.
'I am such an idiot!' I moaned in my head. 'Why didn't I figure it out sooner?' It was obvious, after all, if I thought about it. Especially considering who Danny's parents were and what they did. 'Danny's a ghost hunter,' I realized, 'And he's trying to hunt Phantom!'
"Sam!" Tucker said, grinning and waving as he came over, "We were starting to think you'd never show! Where's Danny?"
"That's what I'd like to know," I said shortly.
"Huh?" Tucker frowned, "I don't get it, wasn't he coming with you?"
"He was," I admitted, "Until about five seconds before I was attacked by a ghost named Ember," I narrowed my eyes as Tucker stiffened.
"Really?" Tucker said, a would-be innocent voice. "Wow that's weird."
"Yeah," I agreed, "Especially since he did that same thing right before that dragon ghost showed up, and that time before the dance when I found him a bloody mess in the living room," Tucker laughed nervously.
"Ah, you know Danny!" He said, his voice a little higher then normal.
"Actually, I'm starting to wonder if I do," I said shortly. I had to know once and for all if Danny and Phantom were enemies. If they were, it would put me in a really tough spot…
"Really?" Tucker asked again, "Ah, so, you wanna go meet everyone or what?"
"Tucker-!" I started, furious that even now he was trying to keep the secret from me. Tucker seemed to take a page out of Danny's book, though, taking off through the crowd to where I could see Liz and Jazz sitting, talking to someone else.
'Great,' I thought darkly, 'As if I didn't have to put up with enough right now as it is…' I sighed, making my way over to the table. Maybe Jazz would be more willing to sit still then Danny or Tucker…
"SAM!" jumping, I looked up and gasped, paling when I saw the other three girls sitting with Liz, Jazz and Valerie, all of which were staring at me in shock.
"Megan?" I said, "Lisa? Tina?"
'…Aw, crap.'
"You know my cousin?" Tucker asked me in surprise. I flinched.
"Yes!" I said loudly, "We, ah, we met one time over at my Aunt's house!"
"You mean Matt's family?" Liz clarified, "You guys never said you knew the Mansons…" Tina looked from me to her cousin and then to Liz while Megan and Lisa just stared.
"Yeah," Tina said at last, "We know Matt's sister. She used to go to school with us." She turned back and gave me a big smile. "Anyways it's nice to meet you again."
'Aw, crap am I in trouble…' I thought, trying to turn my cringe into a smile.
"Can you excuse us for a second?" Tina grabbed Lisa's wrist then mind, and Megan hastily followed as we made are way over to a secluded part of the café. "Are you INSANE?"
'Funny how many times I've been asked that since coming here…' I thought dryly.
"So that WAS your roommate on the TV!" Megan said triumphantly, 'I thought so, but Tina said-!"
"Forget him, Megan," Tina growled, We'll get back to that after we figure out what the hell Sam is thinking,"
"Come on, guys," I sighed, "You know Casper is the last place my family would look for me,"
"So you pretend to be a boy to get in?" Tina snorted, "Nice."
"Please don't tell anyone," I begged, "Jazz knows, and so does Matt, but no one else does."
"What about your roomie?" Lisa asked.
"He thinks I'm a guy too," I sighed. "Well, at least this me…"
"This you?" Tina repeated, "What do you-?" She stopped, her eyes widening as she groaned. "Sam, you didn't…"
"Only on weekends," I protested, "And only for my job."
"SAM!" Tina scowled, "How reckless can you get? All this for a guy? That's not like you, Sam!"
"It's not just for Danny!" I protested, stiffening, "…Well, not all of it,"
"Girl you really ARE insane," Tina said with a glare. "Do you really think you can fool everyone forever?"
"No," I said honestly, "But I can buy time until I can think of something else. And besides, something's going on here and I want to find out what,"
"And I suppose the added bonus of the huge scandal this will cause once you're ousted is an added bonus," Tina said dryly. I blinked at her before grinning.
"Hey, I never thought of that…" Tina rolled her eyes.
"We'd better get back, Girls," Megan said, frowning, "Your cousin keeps looking over here, Tina."
"Yeah, yeah…" Tina sighed, "Come on, Sam, we'll talk about this more later." And with that, Tina grabbed my arm again and pulled be back to the table.
'Well, at least I've got some support now…' I thought wryly.
"So this roommate of yours…" Megan said casually, "He is single, right?"
'…or not.'
I sighed as I finished drying my hair with my towel, looking at myself in the mirror.
I'd decided to take advantage of another late night (Of ghost hunting, most likely) of Danny's by bathing and thinking about everything that'd happened that day. I needed to sit down and think after all that drama, after all…
While my friend's sudden appearance was a pleasant surprise after Tina finally forgave me (It took a large sundae and a pizza, but I finally made her come around.) it also took me away from my original line of thoughts. I'd completely forgotten to question Jazz on the whole Ghost Hunter thing.
'Knowing them, they'll have a story figured out that they all agree on before Danny gets home…' I thought sullenly, throwing my towel into the dirty laundry hamper and walking out into the living room. 'I'll have to catch him in the act of hunting a ghost, it's the only way I'll get the truth.'
Just then, the door opened and I turned instinctively to see who it was.
"Hey Sam, I need to… to… too…" I blinked at Tucker's suddenly pale face in confusion before I realized I'd forgotten something after bathing and before putting on my clothes.
My bandages for my chest.
'Oh no…' I thought, my eyes going wide, 'Please, please no…'
"WHAT THE HELL?"
WoM- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 'runs away' FORGIVE MEEEEE!
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Next update; February 14th (Ironic…)
See you then!
