He stood just outside her building waiting for her to walk out. He checked his watch, nervous that maybe she was going to cancel on him. Her class is just running late, he told himself. Don't freak out; it's only been five minutes. Maybe she had to ask the professor a couple questions. It's not a big deal. She'd let you know if something came up.
And that's exactly what had happened. Sam came rushing out of the building, laptop and textbook still in her arms. "Hey, sorry, we got assigned this essay and none of the topics connected to what we just learned so I had to ask for some resources or else I would be lost." She let out a forceful sigh. "This has to be the worst class yet."
"What class is it?" Danny asked, reaching out to carry her things.
She passed them over and pulled her hair back into a low bun. "Art history. I thought it was supposed to be an easy class, yet he never connects the assignments to what we learned and rarely to what we will learn. I feel like he's designed for every student to fail."
Danny nodded in sympathy. "Did you not check him on Rate My Professor first? I thought you always did that." He led the way to his car, but that wasn't the mode of transportation they'd be taking.
"I did! Most of his reviews said he was tough but helpful and that you get a lot of knowledge out of the class. None of them said that's because you learn one thing in class and do another as homework!"
He had to chuckle. Sam was always looking for a challenge, and usually she was fine with it, but it seemed like she bit off more than what she could chew for this class. "Sounds to me you're in over your head a bit, huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, it's fine, I'm just frustrated that I'm teaching myself on the more important things grade-wise. But he does know me from the library, so I think he goes a bit easier on me than the rest of the class."
When they got to the car, Sam dumped her things into the trunk. She was about to get into the passenger seat when Danny stopped her. "Uh-uh. We're not taking the car," he smirked.
She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head. "But it's the middle of the day. In a parking lot. With hundreds of students leaving for lunch."
"I know," he said confidently. "Follow me."
He led them back to a secluded part of the parking lot that had overgrown bushes and trees covering the spaces. Sneaking behind them, he grabbed her hand. "Ready?" She nodded, and they went invisible. He swept her up with his arms now under her legs and supporting her back and he began to fly. It had been so long since they'd gone flying together. Back in high school, it was a regular occurrence because Sam was his sidekick, ready to fight right alongside him and offer assistance if needed. The novelty of flight had worn off eventually, but now, years later, it was back.
Sam's grip around his neck was tight. Not because she thought he'd drop her, but because the experience was now unfamiliar. At one point, she was comfortable enough to use her phone and fly, but now both hands laced together as she clung onto him. She was always amazed to see the town from above. It was unfortunate so much of the beautiful natural landscaping was now covered by roads and infrastructures. She tried to figure out where they were going but lost her sense of direction shortly after take off. The flight was a short one, but she was perfectly content with that; a short flight was more than enough after not flying for over a year.
They landed near a small creek, the sound of flowing water trickling down becoming soft background noise. Danny placed her down gently, holding onto her until she caught her balance. She looked around; she didn't even know there was a creek on this side of town. However, it looked like nobody knew about it in general. It was completely untouched, unlittered. The water flowing over the rocks was crystal clear, tiny minnows swimming down the stream. "How'd you find this place?" she asked.
"I stumbled across it one night a few weeks ago." He took her hand and led her over to a large oak tree. There appeared to be a small clearing of land, and on it there was a little picnic set up. "It did, however, take me a while to find a spot that didn't have plants growing two-feet high."
Sam was shocked by the beauty of it all. She touched the tall grasses, her fingers lingering on the soft ends. She looked to her left where the creek was rushing towards her. She glanced up at the large oak tree, one that she certainly would have climbed as a small child. "How did you find it?" she asked in disbelief.
"Luck, really," he admitted. "I came back to look around the next day because I assumed there had to be a path somewhere along the creek. I didn't think something like this could go undiscovered for as long as it has. Didn't find a path, but I found this big empty section with plenty of shade. It's been a bit of a secret hideout for a while now."
She faked offense, hand over her chest. "You mean to tell me you've been hiding this unscathed section of nature for weeks now? Strike two, Danny, strike two," she teased with a grin.
He shrugged. "Ehh, I knew I'd show you eventually. In the meantime, yes, I did hoard it for myself. Now, are you going to have this picnic with me or just complain about me not sharing it sooner?"
She pouted her bottom lip out dramatically. "I'm going to complain that my best friend didn't show me the most beautiful part of this industrialized town until he apologizes."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, more food for me." He walked over to the picnic blanket he had set up an hour earlier and began pulling out the subs. "Mmm...veggie sandwich. Vegan cheese, too," he called out in a sing-song voice.
Sam huffed and walked over to the water. Two can play at this game, she thought. She unzipped her boots and kicked them off to the side along with her socks. She put her feet into the water but just on the edge to test its temperature. It was cold but refreshing. Little fish swam around her toes to follow the direction the water was flowing in. She was tempted to step in further until a pair of hands landed on her shoulders and pushed her playfully. She wobbled backwards, not wanting to slip in. Danny caught her, laughing at her flailing. "Stop! I could have face planted into the water!" She turned around and pushed him back.
He was laughing at her feeble attempts to catch him off balance. "Are you done moping about my secret spot?" he teased.
"No, I'm not," she said like a toddler.
"Guess I'm going to have to force you to join me, then." And with that, he threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the picnic blanket.
"Put me down!" she fought, gently punching his back and squirming to get out of his arms. "Danny, this isn't fair!" she protested.
"Fair? What's not fair?"
"You're stronger than me! I can't get out!"
"Yeah, that's sorta the whole point."
"Ugh!" she groaned dramatically, becoming dead weight over his shoulder.
"You're not being released until you accept that this is my spot," he taunted.
She leaned back up, looking into his eyes. "How about we make it our spot and call it a truce," she counted.
He thought for a moment, scrunching his face if it was a hard decision. "Okay, that's fine," he agreed, but began walking away from the picnic, "but you're getting placed in the water as payment.
Her eyes widened. "No!" she squealed, now wrapping her legs tightly around his torso and arms around his neck. "It's cold! And I don't have a change of clothes!"
He shrugged. "Not my problem." He tried (without actually trying) to pry her off of him, but she only gripped on tighter.
"Daniel Fenton, I swear to God, if you put me in that water-"
"You'll what? Unfriend me? Beat me up? I don't know, seems kinda worth it to me." His smile was ear to ear. "Agree that it's my spot.
"It's now our spot!"
"You're not letting that go, are you?"
He began to pull her off again when she screamed, "Okay, stop! Fine! It's your spot! Now put me down!" He began to put her down over the water. "On land!" she demanded.
He was having far too much fun with the situation, but enough was enough. He placed her down on land again and said, "I win."
She pushed him playfully before running away to the picnic setup. He chased after her, catching up rather quickly and ended up beating her to sitting on the blanket. "I win again," he taunted.
Sam ruffled his hair before pushing his head. "Whatever, you goof." She sat down next to him a bit closer than what she normally would. "What else'd you bring?"
Danny opened up the basket to reveal a fair bit of snacks and goodies. "Some oranges, strawberries, chips,"—he pulled out the large bag to reveal the rest of the items—"cookies for dessert, and juice boxes since you don't like soda. I brought a small bag of pretzels too and hummus if you wanted that instead."
"You know I love me some hummus," she said eagerly. She reached in and grabbed the Sabra and pretzels and began to munch. "Well done, Fenton. Very insightful decisions here. I would have to rate it 9/10, the only deduction being for not sharing your space with me. Actually, make that 8/10 for threatening to soak me."
"Understandable. You did make some valid arguments for sharing, but I guess I'm just too selfish." He looked over to confirm she was just joking. He knew this was going to be their spot someday, and he was more than happy to share it, it just was more fun to tease her about it. Their bickering was never serious, always in good fun, and this was no different.
He reached in the basket for his own sandwich—just a basic club—and an orange. "Oh! I almost forgot," he said, reaching in to fish something else out. "I brought my speaker, too, if you wanna listen to some music."
"Is the sound of nature too boring for you?" she pestered.
"No, just thought you might want something to accompany those sounds."
After dipping another pretzel and popping it in her mouth, she turned on the speaker and debated on what to put on. Deciding the more annoying/petty route, she put on more river and outdoor sounds.
"Ha ha, very funny." Overriding her phone's connection, he connected his own to play the playlist they made together. Me & Mr. Jones was the first song to play on shuffle, a favorite of Sam's since high school.
"You know, that one line is quite fitting right now. Danny tilted his head in confusion. "What kind of fuckery is this?" she sang along. "You played the music instead," she overlapped.
He had to chuckle. Only she would be so pressed about it. He took a bite of his sandwich unapologetically. "I did. Sue me."
"I'll have my lawyers draft the papers." She grabbed her sub and a juice from the basket.
Once they finished eating and cleaned up, the two lied on the blanket, shoulders almost touching. Sam let out a soft sigh. "I've missed this," she admitted.
"Missed what?" Danny questioned.
"Just...hanging out with you."
"We hang out all the time, what are you talking about?"
She let out a soft laugh. "I know, but mostly just at night when you finish your ghost calls. We don't go out and do things. You just come over and chill for a bit. And it's fine, it's not a big deal, but we haven't done this since high school."
She made a good point. Between their school and work schedules plus Danny's ghost fighting, they never had time to just escape and relax. He felt bad; it usually was on him for the lack of visiting outside of her bedroom, but now that it was on his radar again, he was going to make the effort to change. "Sorry. I just get caught up in everything."
"Hey, no need to apologize. We make it work. It's just nice to just lay here and just…I don't know"
"You wanna say 'just' again? Make it an even number?" he teased, peering over at her.
She slapped his arm playfully. "Shut up, you know that's my filler word!"
"I know, I know. I just like picking on you." Their eyes met at the moment, the annoyance beaming through Sam's eyes. He loved to push her buttons because she pushed right back. But in that moment, there was something else behind them, a glassiness to them. He desperately wanted to kiss her, more than he had ever wanted to kiss anybody before.
After the moment passed, Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You really are the master at that."
"That's what twelve years will do-teach you all the things that annoy someone."
"Yeah. Just wait until it comes back around."
"I just might," he teased, biting his lip in preparation of another smack.
The duo continued to play it safe romance-wise until Danny brought Sam home. Just kiss her at the door. It'll be fine, don't worry. You know she's too shy to make the first move, so either you do it tonight or forever hold your peace, he thought to himself. Since Sam normally took the bus to and from school, he drove her back from campus.
When they arrived back at her house, he grabbed her things from the trunk before she had the chance to. She shrugged and went to unlock the door. Once he joined her, he placed the items next to them. "You know," he started, reaching down to hold her hands, "we really haven't spent time like that in a long time."
"Danny, I said it was fine. We both got caught up in life," she assured him.
"Yeah, I know, but I miss it, too. And I know it's because I basically live hour to hour and don't plan anything ahead of time, but...I want to change that. You deserve some of my time. Not just at night after I've done everything I'm obligated to, but actual planned out time."
She smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "I would really love that. It would mean so much. But listen, don't stress yourself out over it either, okay? You're busy, and I get that."
"But I want to make time for you, not just give you the leftovers." He pushed back the strand of hair framing her face. He let his hand linger on her cheek for a moment, debating the next move. Kiss her! Kiss her now! You're gonna miss your chance if you don't go for it right this second. Sam was staring up at him, likely waiting for him to make the move, but he couldn't. He let his hand drop down again, but he did grab her hand back. "Anyway," he shook his head. Fuck.
Sam sighed. Her heart was racing, the anxiety of what would happen next coursing through her body. He was giving her mixed signals. One moment, she thought they were on the verge of locking lips, the next he's pulling away. She boiled it down to nerves. Maybe I haven't reciprocated enough, she thought. Raising herself up on her toes, she leaned up to kiss his cheek. "It really does mean a lot," she whispered. She slowly let go of his hands and gathered up her bag and laptop. "I'll see you later, Danny," she smiled as she went through the door.
"I-I'll see you later," he stammered.