Tada! And the Invisible Authoress appears! Lol XD. Zoey's been all sick and stuffage and I'm on a mini vacation from the cutter, so I thought I'd cut her a break and actually edit a chapter for her. Gasp amazement! I just wanted to take this moment to say thanks for all the wonderful reviews we've been getting on our stories. It makes my days on the ocean bearable. TT -overdramatic weeping ensues- Anyway, I won't bog you down with Author notes so….
Drum roll
On with the next chapter!
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Chapter Twelve
Solace
"SAM!" Tucker half shrieked, his eyes bugging as he stared down at the two Teens, his expression a mix of hurt and disbelief. The young girl yelped, yanking away from the ghost prince as she scrambled way from him, eyes wide with as much shock as her best friend's held. Oh lord...What the HELL had she been thinking! She just...she just... "Tucker! It's not what you think!" She squeaked, her voice high pitches and frantic to calm her friend, her cheeks hot.
"Hey Tuck!" Phantom grinned and waved a hand from his current position on the ground, still flat against his back. Truth be told, he was still in shock after what happened, his mind reeling a mile a minute as he asked himself why the Hell he let it go in that direction. Maybe Tucker didn't see much... better to play innocent. "What's shakin'? Are we back?"
"YOU!" The Furious teen pointed a shaking finger at him, blue eyes flashing behind his glasses. "I can't believe you! And I thought you were actually alright! I leave you alone for twenty minutes and you freaking shove your tongue down her throat! " He shouted, stepping in front of where Sam was turning a million shades of red, gaping like a fish as she tried to come up with a logical reason that had occurred.
"Is that what it looked like?" He laughed, looking completely at ease. "Sam was just helping me get something to drink... I couldn't move much because of my wounds." He paused for a brief moment, trying his best to get the alibi believable. Which probably wasn't going to work anyway. "I had to grab hold of her back to...oh, I see it! You're jealous!" He grinned widely, looking like a kid who discovered a vault full of candy. "It's really not my kind of thing, but if you wanted a kiss, you could have just said so."
There was a long moment of silence as the words floated in the air, And Tucker shook with anger, his face turning a peculiar shade of red as he balled his fists tightly to his sides, Sam slowly climbing to her feet with a nervous look on her face. "Now Tucker...calm down..."
"Calm Down? CALM DOWN?" The technogeek exploded, grabbing at his beret as if he was going to pull his hair out before he snagged Sam's wrist, half dragging her out of the cage. "We're leaving. Now."
Phantom sighed and stared at the ceiling of the caged car. Well, that certainly was his fault... Stupid teenage hormones. But something that scared him even more... was the fact that he felt a hint of rage bubble up inside of him when Tucker started to pull Sam out of the car, in a rather forceful manner. His eyes began to shine green momentarily before he suppressed the possessive anger, his voice a little uneven when he spoke. "Tucker, let her go and relax, okay? You don't need to throw a temper tantrum..."
"Tucker, really!" Sam pleaded, her voice exasperated. "We can't just leave him, he saved both our lives."
"Oh, we can, And we will." He growled, Sam stumbling as he tugged at her arm, pulling her out of the Cage completely. "Let's go Sam."
"Tucker! Let her go!" Phantom's voice echoed, his tone slightly louder and held more hostility, the familiar emerald glow returning to his eyes. "I don't care if both of you leave, but don't force her!"
"TUCKER!" Sam Squirmed her wrist free, her best friend stumbling forward as he whirled around, arms wide. "What Sam? What? You really would rather stay here with that guy? The guy who ruined your life, mangled your parents, put your life in more danger in four short days then you've ever been in your life? The guy who tried to break your mind and force you to marry him? Rather then go with me? Your best friend for nearing on ten years?" His voice was breaking, heartbreak resonating through his chest. "What does he have that I don't?"
The white-haired ghost prince blinked a few times, feeling like he was watching a sitcom from his current seat in the metal car. Every statement the boy made struck a guilty chord in his chest, before after a small pause of silence, he strained himself to sit to his knees, one hand against the metallic wall before he made it to his feet. "You know what, Sam... he's right." He said quietly, stepping down onto the grass below as he gave small recognition to their current position. They were back in Amity Park, thankfully, in a desolate area within the boundaries of the park. "I shouldn't ask for your help... it's my fault you were dragged into this."
Sam looked between the two guys, stepping in front of Tucker to keep him from exploding on the injured ghost prince, putting her hand out to stop Danny from advancing. "Both of you, Stop it!" She growled, already frustrated to no end. "Danny, your not in the condition to go out on your own, Tucker. Please..." She placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking him a little. "You're my best friend. Ever since I stuffed sand down your pants in preschool for saying my eyes were weird. There's nothing in this world that will change that. I just need you to help me with this. We have to help him. Please Tucker..."
The technogeek felt his resolve weakening under her eyes, and he cursed himself, his emotions, and most of all the damned white haired prince behind her. "I hate you Sam." He muttered, though that could be the no farther from the truth.
Phantom took a shaky step forward, surprised that he had a descent footing after what happened. "Thanks, Tuck." He said softly, smiling at him with traces of guilt and pain. "And now..." He said with a growing mischievous smile, before he took a step closer to Tucker, one hand resting on his shoulder as he leaned down. "For your kiss!" He then promptly kissed the boy's cheek, immediately shuffling back and cackling like a madman, awaiting his eminent doom.
"Why you!" Tucker whirled about, his cheeks hot as he swung at him, Sam Having to tackle him down to keep him from going after the injured halfa. "TUCKER!" She gasped, sitting on his stomach as she forced his hands down into the grass, holding him down. "Oh thanks Danny, he'll be up in arms for weeks now."
Phantom couldn't reply, as he held his stomach, caught up in a laughing fit, having to sink to his knees on the ground. Oh, it was worth it...
Sam sighed, holding down the raging Techno geek until he calmed down, watching her carefully before speaking up. "You can get off me now Sam." He said quietly, a frown still on his features. "You need your rest, and food, and the day is running out."
"Right... and I desperately need a trash can or something to throw up in, or it's gonna be all over the grass here." The ghost prince replied weakly, looking a little more pale that he usually does, still on his knees. Damn it, and he was feeling better a minute ago...
Sam climbed up, helping Tucker up before she quietly kneeled at the Halfa's side. "What if you changed to human, wouldn't that help a little?" She made sure not to get to close to him, her mind still trying to sort out what had happened between them a few minutes before hand.
"Worth...a shot..." He mumbled, before the same white light engulfed him, his hair suddenly painted a dark black, his eyes dimming to a pale baby blue, and his normal attire was changed with normal street clothes. There was a pause, before he leaned over, coughing up more glowing green liquid into his hand and onto the ground. "Alright..." He coughed again. "Not the brightest idea..."
"Danny!" She gasped, her hands hovering over his shoulders, before she winced, quietly taking one of his arms and looped it over her thin shoulder. "We need to get you out of here. Tucker, Get his other side..." She stood slowly, holding his weight up with her other arm about his chest.
"N-no, I'm fine...really." He gave them both a weak smile, trying to keep contact between him and the technogeek to a minimum. He could literally feel the hatred radiate off the guy... no doubt he wanted to personally decapitate him next opportunity. "Just a little faint, that's all." He wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to the disgusting taste of ectoplasm...
"Uh huh." Sam gave him a flat look as the two of them helped him along, thankfully not that far from a main street. Tucker had quietly given Sam his hoodie, pulling the yellow hood over her dark hair so she was hard to recognize, before he flagged down a Cab, carefully helping his friend into the back seat, trying not to say anything about the way the ghost boy was leaning against his friend. The cab driver didn't speak to them, figuring that the one in the middle had way to much to drink and the other two were trying to sneak him home. As long as he got paid, he didn't really care.
"Sam..." Nearing the end of the trip, Danny clutched the end of the girl's shirt, his voice urgent yet quiet. "I'm going to..."throw up"..." He whispered, one hand clutching at his chest. Hopefully he got the point across. The last thing they needed was the taxi driver to see a seventeen year old boy coughing up ectoplasm.
"Uh, thank you sir! We can walk from here!" She said quickly, pushing the door open just as the cab began to slow, half dragging Danny out with her, Tucker cursing as he scrambled into his wallet, throwing some cash into the front seat. "Keep the change sir!" He said quickly as Sam helped Danny along behind a house, rubbing his back soothingly. "Danny...you're getting worse..."
The boy didn't have time to reply, as the taxi drop away, he fell to his knees and coughed up more ectoplasm, cringing at the horrible taste it left behind. "N-no I'm not..." He lied, trying to mask the fact that he was indeed feeling worse, and eerie fatigue was washing over him. "I just...god this stuff tastes nasty..." He made a face.
"Oh I'm so sorry." Tucker muttered, Taking hold of Danny's arm. "Come on Buddy, My place is just around the corner." He hefted the halfa up, before leaning forward, grunting as he carried him piggy back, concentration on his face as he stepped it out. "The longer we're out here, the more likely we'll get noticed."
Danny's wide eyes practically sparkled with joy. "You...you..." He hugged the technogeek around his neck gleefully. "You called me 'buddy'!"
"Do you WANT me to drop you?" He growled, blue eyes snapping up to glare at him. "Because I will."
He was completely ignored. "Sam, he called me buddy!"
"Danny, I think you need help." She said flatly, fishing in Tucker's pocket as they came up to the front door of a medium sized house, and pulled out his keys, unlocking the front door before letting the two of them in.
"Hey, when you're hated and feared by society for this long, it's good to hear otherwise." He gave Sam a goofy grin, before he slapped a hand over his mouth and coughed harshly a few times. Looking down in his hand, he cringed, seeing trace amounts of ectoplasm. Without missing a beat, he wiped it on the back of Tucker's shirt like a little kid.
"AUGH!" Tucker yelped, dumping the ghost prince on his couch, tearing off his shirt with a growl. "That is so disgusting!"
He grunted as he was roughly pushed onto the couch, slightly out of breath. "You're telling me... seriously, put some of that junk on your salad."
Sam rolled her eyes, rubbing at her eyes, exhaustion beating on her already weakened defenses. "Is there any medicine Ghosts can take to help you heal?" She asked quietly, adjusting him on the couch, before putting a pillow behind his head. "Keeping you in one place isn't a good idea. Once you heal, we've got to get you on the move."
"I dunno... I've never taken any medicine before..." He replied weakly, looking very tired. "But...should I really be on the couch? What about your parents...?"
"Business trip. They're gone a lot." Tucker said slowly, as Sam slid down to the floor next to the ghost prince, resting her cheek on the coffee table, exhaustion playing on her features. "They always call before they come home, so if we have to, we can move you." He flopped down next to his best friend, pushing a chunk of hair out of her face carefully. "You alright Sam?"
"I'm alright." She lied, going a couple of days without food or water was starting to wear on her badly. She honestly didn't know how Danny had fixed her up earlier, but she wasn't sure that it was permanent. "Just tired."
"She hasn't eaten anything in a day or two." Danny said weakly, but in a stubborn manner.
Tucker lifted his eyes up to the black haired boy, before nodding, going into the kitchen. "I'll make something up then."
"You really don't have to...Tucker..." She sighed, leaning back against the couch, before half glaring at Danny. "Thanks...If I needed it, I would have asked."
"You don't like to worry others." He replied simply. "I've only known you for four days, but I can already deduct that."
She snorted, crossing her arms and resting her cheek on her wrists, her hair brushing against his arm as she let her eyes flutter closed a bit, trying not to fall asleep. She felt her stomach flutter as his arm moved against her hair, and she sat up quickly, cursing herself. What was she doing? She honestly didn't understand what her mind was doing to her... She hated this guy, he was aggravating, evil, manipulative... and even with his memories, he wasn't normal. He was half a ghost, possessive... She didn't like him. She couldn't... It was insane.
There was a pause, silence hanging heavily in the air, before Danny's timid voice finally broke it. "Hey..."
She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at him with one of them. "Hm?" She asked, sounding nonchalant, before closing her eyes again, his tone making her a little nervous.
"Um..." His cheeks flushed pink. "A-About that kiss...earlier...?"
She felt her heart drop into her stomach at his words, and she pulled back, looking up at him with hot cheeks. "Um... " She looked away from him, trying to keep her voice under control. "What about it?"
He was quiet a while longer, still blushing. "...S-sorry..."
She was quiet, burying her face into her arms. God, what to say to that? What was wrong with her? "No your not." She said, muffled into her arms, her shoulders arching a bit as she waited for him to make fun of her, or laugh, or do something like his former self would.
There was a long pause, before his voice alleviated a bit, laughter lacing his words. "Well...uh... can't say I didn't enjoy it..."
She lifted her eyes to him, her brows furrowed. "What the hell are you doing to me?" She asked flatly. He had said once that he could enchant her if he really wanted to. He had to have cast a spell on her or something...that could only explain what was happening inside of her brain.
He blinked a few times; looking down at her like a deer would to a pair of oncoming headlights. "Uh...what?" This girl sure was confusing... what did she mean, 'doing to her'?
"You know what I'm talking about." She pointed at him accusingly. "You know for a fact that I can't stand you. You are egotistical, sadistic, and crazy, you ruined my life, and yet you do these things that make it impossible for me to hate you. What is wrong with me?" She buried her face into her arms again, trying to hide her flaming cheeks. What was she doing? She was just digging herself into a deeper hole the more she spoke. "God, never mind..."
There was another long pause, as Danny lay there, stumped. Impossible to hate him...? "You..." His eyes got wide and teary in a very anime-esque fashion. "You don't hate me?"
"I told you to never mind!" She snarled, swinging one of the pillows at him. "God!"
He made a muffled noise as the pillow smacked his face, bringing his hands up and weakly pulled it off. "Fine, fine..." He replied, before he shuffled the pillow aside, and landed it atop her head with a soft 'paff'. "I win." He said with a cheeky smile.
She couldn't help but smile at him, a frustrated, surrendering grin. "You see what I mean." she sighed, pulling the pillow off her head, her scrunchie coming out in the process, her hair toppling in her face. She quietly set the pillow behind his head. "How are your sides?"
"I've...been better." He gave her a tired, but still cheerful look as he settled into the new pillow. "At least I'm not spewing ectoplasm anymore..."
"Yeah, that's a good thing." She pulled up his shirt, gently prodding around the wounds with her fingertips. "You're not healing at all Danny..."
He cringed, wincing his eyes shut momentarily before he desperately tried to avoid her gaze. That wasn't normal... He should be looking a lot better by now... "Ahh well... I'm sure I'll be better in no time." He tried his best to give her a reassuring look. "I heal a lot faster than humans. Should be cleared up by tomorrow."
"Danny I'm worried about this." She said slowly, "I mean...your not bleeding any blood..."
"Well don't be. I'm sure that's normal. Though I can't really remember the last time I bled..." He blinked, his gaze shifting upwards as if lost in thought. He wasn't one to lose a fight before, so he really couldn't say he remembered breaking skin. Ever. "Y'know, if you're really worried, you could kiss it to make it feel better." He gave her a goofy grin.
She looked over flatly at him, "You just can't get enough can you?"
"Can you blame me?" His smile softened when his gaze caught hers, baby blue eyes meeting deep violet ones. "It's probably thanks to my ghost half that I feel the constant urge to stay by your side...but... When I'm with you, I feel safe. I feel...complete."
She couldn't stop the blush that stained her cheeks, and she looked down, trying to avoid his eyes, despite how drawn to looking at him she was. "I...I honestly don't know why it's me... I mean, there are hundreds of girls in this world, How did you find me in that ally that night...?"
"It could have been the simple fact that I was passing through..." He paused a moment, not wanting to go into detail how he had other plans for her that night that never came to fruition. "But there was just something about you that stood out from the ordinary, mundane girls you find in this town. Had you have been acting like a damsel in distress, I doubt I would have taken interest." He gave her a small laugh. "You know, I've really given up trying to decipher how I thought before I got my memories back. They're...complicated. And morbid, to say in the least."
She looked at him quietly, before steeling her nerves and pressed a butterfly kiss to his wounds, scrambling up to her feet and making her way into the kitchen, to help Tucker with the food.
The timid action made the ghost hybrid give a startled tremor through his body, before he looked towards Sam, who was already hastily making her way to the kitchen. He sat there for a minute, a small pink blush rising to his cheeks as he settled back down, looking towards the back of the couch.
That girl... was really confusing.
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D'awww. Sammy's feeling the pang of affection in her heartstrings. Though, I believe Hell would freeze over before she admitted it to him. Hope you enjoyed it anyway; I might edit a few more chapters for Zoey so she won't have to worry about them. O.o;
Zoey: Everyone give a big round of applause for ChibiSamiSala! Although I do have to say –cough- I did have to make a few more changes when you were done, Chibi. But you made this SO much easier. xD
Until next weekend, y'all! This is Zoey and ChibiSamiSala, signing off.