Tap, tap, tap.
It could only be one person. There was only ever one person who would knock on her window at one in the morning. Only one person who knew she was probably lying in her bed wide awake with a book in her hands.
She held up her index finger to the window. She had two pages left in the chapter and wanted to finish before letting in the visitor. Instead, the visitor let himself in. His presence brought a chill over her, sending a shiver down her spine.
"What're you read—"
"Shh!" she insisted, forcing her finger forward again. After thirty seconds, she bookmarked the page and shut the book. "You are one of the most impatient people I've ever met."
"Well, it's about to rain and sometimes you take forever to finish!"
Danny Phantom transformed back into Danny Fenton once he knew he was welcomed to stay. His best friend would not hesitate to kick him out in a heartbeat if she didn't want him there. He crashed down on her bed, arms resting behind his head. "So, can I ask my question now?"
Sam Manson sighed. She lifted up her copy of The Handmaid's Tale. "I've been meaning to read this before watching the show, but somebody's sister forced me to watch it with her." She smiled as she passed Danny the book. He would never read it but always acted as though he might.
The two had been friends for years now, spanning back to at least middle school if not earlier. Danny was always trying to fit in and mesh with the cool kids while Sam did the polar opposite. Her alt appearance caused most to steer clear. But now in college, things had changed. They had drifted from their high school circles into college ones that seemed to fit their own personalities better. They intermingled plenty just by having similar social circles, but they made sure to still make time for each other. After all, they had a whole decade of friendship built.
"Hey, that's not my fault!" Danny defended. "You should have told her." He flipped through the pages in awe that Sam would have the book finished in less than a week.
"I did, and she said that she would lend me her copy to read after her friend read it but after months of no return of the book, I gave in and binged it with her." She reached out for the book to put away on her nightstand.
He handed it over, flipping onto his side to face her. "You know, you could have gone out and bought the book yourself, like I see you did eventually," he teased.
"I could have, but I'm trying to save paper and not waste it," she shot back.
Danny rolled his eyes. She hadn't changed her eco-friendliness since high school. Ever since she moved out, she had become more involved in doing things to better the environment, something Danny admired greatly in her. All of her new clothes were now thrifted, textbooks were all used then resold, she even cut back on makeup because the packaging was so wasteful. He was waiting for the day that she went fully off-grid to live in the middle of nowhere with solar and wind power as her only means of electricity and growing her own food in her gardens.
He smiled at her, shaking his head. "You and the environment would make a very happy couple. You do far too much for it," he joked, knowing that if everyone lived like her, the climate change and pollution issues would subside nearly entirely, as she had explained countless times before.
"I don't think most people do enough," she said, laying down so that they were parallel. "That includes you," she added.
"Hey, I'm working on it, okay? I only eat meat a few times a week now and haven't bought anything that I didn't use more than once in a year. That's what I call progress," Danny said with his hand making a rainbow motion with the word "progress."
"And speaking of progress, any new dating progress?" she asked, shifting the subject entirely.
Danny shrugged. "Ehh, not really. No one has stood out to me lately. I've gone on dates but they lead nowhere. It's the same old, same old."
Sam nodded. "I mean, I guess that's what happens when you date every girl with a pretty face at a small university." While their other best friend, Tucker, went off to school in California in hopes of getting an internship at a big tech company, the two decided to stay somewhat local. The nearest school was still a few hours away from Amity. There was plenty of distance between them and home for it to feel like a big deal. They weren't planning on going to college together, but when Sam's mom got in a near-fatal car accident, she couldn't bring herself to go further away.
Danny never had the best GPA, so his options were limited to start. However, this was still his top school. The classes were supposedly easier. The degrees they offered were still vast and interesting. And the location was ideal. If Amity needed Phantom, he was only a half hour flight away (and he usually went over in the evenings anyway). It seemed to check off any and all boxes he had.
"What about you?" he said, flipping the conversation to Sam's dating life. "We never talk about who you're into and who you're dating."
Sam could feel her cheeks start to warm. She always avoided the topic. The handful of dates she had gone on never ended too well. She usually lost interest pretty quickly, and she knew exactly why: None of them compared to Danny.
"Because one, I'm not dating, and two, whenever I do talk about it, you go all big brother on those guys and get so defensive over me." It always warmed her heart that he was willing to protect her at all costs. It even gave her the hope that maybe there was a deeper reason behind why he was so protective, but her logical brain pushed that to the side. The friends-to-lovers trope never worked out in the real world...did it?
"It's only because I know what men are after. I'm just trying to help weed out the bad ones," he explained. In his eyes, every guy that wasn't him was a bad one to an extent. He never tried to sabotage any of her dates, but he would always bug her about it. He would try to gather as many details as possible and state his honest opinion. "I mean, what's the max number of dates you've gone on with the same person?" he asked.
"Three. That's my max for getting to know somebody, though," she said.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
She pondered for a moment, trying to think of a way to explain it. "Like...I think after three dates, if you aren't sure if you want to see them again, why would you? I feel like at that point you start looking for reasons to like them instead of liking them for countless reasons."
Danny nodded in agreement. "Never thought of it that way. Then again, I'm usually lucky to get a second date let alone a third."
They both chuckled with Sam adding, "I wonder why," in a teasing tone.
"So, tell me. What is your ideal date?" he asked.
She sat up a bit, resting on her elbow instead. "Why, you gonna take me on one?" Her eyes and smile said one thing while her tone said another.
She's always one step ahead of me, Danny thought to himself. He tried to keep his cool and trusted her sarcasm more than anything. "No, I'm just simply trying to show interest in your love life." It was a bullshit response, but as he thought about it, the more he realized there could be an opportunity here. "Let me see that soft and gushy side!" he said as he poked her chest.
Sam shied away. Her cheeks had to be bright red at this point. She was nervous, but this could go one of two ways: either Danny is lying and will ask her on a date, or he's going to find someone to take her on that date. Both seemed like wins in her book. She inhaled deeply. "No making fun of my cliché, okay?"
"Sam Manson with a cliché dream date? Oh, do tell!" He sat up all the way, crossing his legs and leaning in intently. Time to take some notes, he thought.
Sam sat up, too, leaning against her wall and mountain of pillows. she hugged her knees out of nervousness. Danny was her best friend, she shouldn't be so nervous. He wasn't going to judge—maybe tease her a bit but never judge—he would probably listen then lock it away in his brain for another day.
Another deep breath in. She looked away as she tried to envision it, then began. "Bookstore café date. Maybe dinner before that, but like an intimate dinner. In my head I always imagine a picnic or a private corner in the restaurant. Some place quiet so I can get to know the person. Then go to the bookstore, you know my favorite one, right?" Danny nodded, so she proceeded. "Yeah, and maybe go on open mic night. There's always entertainment with that." She smiled, wondering if she should continue. Danny was staring at her with those piercing blue eyes. "Don't look at me like that!" She had a wide smile and pushed him playfully. Don't give me false hope, she thought.
Danny let out a lighthearted laugh. "That is so cute! Why haven't you ever told me before?" He wanted her to continue talking so he could figure out a way to ask her out without seeming too serious.
"Because you never asked!" She contemplated pulling the blankets over her head to hide the embarrassment. "Nobody's ever really asked and it's so movie-esque that I never wanted to tell."
"Well, who doesn't want a picturesque date straight from the movies?" he asked. His nerves may have gotten the best of him if he let them, but he trudged through. "What would the second date entail?"
"Take me on a date and find out," she blurted out.
"Alright, bet. Pick you up at six tomorrow?"
"That was a joke…"
"Okay, but mine wasn't."
Things seemed to just fall together in that moment. Sam debated for a moment. One date wouldn't hurt anything, right? Especially if it was all in good fun. There was no way he'd ask her out on a second one. Danny began to question if that was the right move, if he had been too forward with it all. But he thought the same thing: if it went well, they could do it again. If not, they drop it and it was just a fun night out. No harm, no foul.
"Fine. Six o'clock," Sam agreed with a smirk. "You better be a good last minute planner."
"Oh, I am just the best!" Danny felt the excitement build inside him. "I should probably get going then, so I can start on my master plan."
"Go, be gone," she shooed.
And with that, the date was set.