"All I do is read textbooks all day and you drag me to a book store?" Tucker questioned as him and Sam walked up to one of her favorite stores of all time, the Skulk and Lurk. Sam tried not to roll her eyes as she opened the entrance door for him.

"You also didn't say no," she commented, causing his shoulders to droop as he entered with Sam following behind. "You don't like to read?" She asked, walking straight into an aisle that was labeled science fiction.

"I do, but I don't have time. By the time I'm done doing homework and studying I'm too burnt to read out of fun."

"Yeah, I don't have to deal with that yet," she stated as she faced a shelf, thumbing through different books.

"Did you ever figure out what you want to do?" She shrugged dramatically and shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets, walking a little further down the aisle.

"I have no clue. My parents constantly bug me about it, you know, when they're actually home," she added, walking into the comic book section.

"Are they gone a lot?" Tucker wondered, assuming that's what she was insinuating.

"Seventy percent of the time. Their field is business, so they're constantly at work or taking business trips."

"Does it bother you?" She shrugged again as she picked up a comic from Marvel, flipping through the pages.

"It's the way it's always been. You get used to it." She responded, but Tucker felt that her answer wasn't entirely true. He had the feeling her parents not being around for her was where her feelings of loneliness originated, even if she didn't want to admit it. Before he could even speak on it, Sam changed the subject. "Does Danny like Marvel?" She asked, placing the comic back on the shelf.

"Yeah, of course. Do you?" She almost scoffed at the question.

"Hell yeah!"

"Who's your favorite superhero?"

"Deadpool for sure."

"That's Danny's, too."

"Oh, yeah?" She scanned the shelf for the newest issue before snatching it up. "Looks like he's getting a present."

"Why do you always get him stuff?" Tucker asked, following her aimlessly to the fiction section.

"It's not like he can do it himself," she said, making a good point he couldn't argue with.

"True. So, you really know this place inside and out, huh?" He asked, seeing she knew where everything in the store was.

"I would hope so considering I spent most of high school here. Reading is kind of one of the only things you can do alone," she said, keeping her stare on all the books in front of her. She stopped scanning the shelf when she saw a book about studies of the paranormal and reached out to pick it up. "Isn't this what Danny's parents do?" She asked Tucker as she turned to him.

"Yeah..." He answered a bit hesitantly, watching her tuck it underneath the comic she was getting for Danny. "You're going to get it? Why?"

"Maybe they sparked an interest in me," she said before walking out of the aisle and towards the front of the store where tables were set up. Pulling out a chair, she sat down with Tucker following her pursuit. She flipped the book open to the index and started to skim through all the different topics. "There's a lot of sections dedicated to ghosts and spirits. This should be interesting."

"Are you sure you want to get that?" Tucker asked. He knew Sam was a smart girl; if she started to read this, she would be able to put two and two together and make all the connections between ghosts and Danny.

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?" Sam questioned with an eyebrow raised. Tucker bit his lip, knowing he couldn't expose Danny. Although it was possible Danny would share his secret with her eventually, Tucker knew it wasn't his place to do so. "What's the matter? Is this book haunted?" She teased with a smirk on her face.

"There's only one way to find out," he responded, knowing he couldn't stop her. She snickered before shutting the book closed loudly and made her way up to the front counter.

The following day, Sam found herself back at Fenton Works for her usual work routine. Even though she was only there for about an hour, she couldn't help but feel exhausted. Last night when she was finished hanging out with Tucker she decided to start her book which only led to her being up until the wee hours of the morning. With that being said, she still got about five hours of sleep which definitely wasn't that bad. As she cleaned the coffee table in the living room, she didn't notice Danny floating down the stairs silently. He peered out into the living room to see her back was to him, so he continued to quietly float towards her and stopped about one foot behind her, carefully getting as close to her ear as possible without her detecting him.

"Boo," he almost whispered, causing her to jump and spin around only to see an amused smile on his face. His smile faded when she started whacking him in the arm repeatedly.

"Don't do that! I could have started swinging!" She exclaimed, causing Danny to hold his arms out in defense.

"You already are!" He shouted, putting an end to his assault.

"I didn't even hear you come down. Which, by the way, why are you down here? You could get in trouble." He only waved a hand in dismissal at her question.

"I convinced my parents to let me out while you're here. Just don't let them catch us talking or that privilege would most likely be revoked."

"And I could get fired, but no big deal," she said sarcastically. Now that she was done scolding him, she finally realized that he didn't look nearly as ill as the day before. "You look a lot better than the last time we talked."

"Yeah, I stopped treatment yesterday. It wasn't doing anything except making me feel like I was dying. I just couldn't take it anymore," he responded, walking over to the couch and plopping down. Sam crossed her arms and stood across from him.

"So... what does that mean for you?" She asked, causing him to raise his arms in a shrug.

"I wait for my parents to come up with another potential antidote. It could be a few months or even sooner than that. It varies."

"Well, at least you're feeling better," she said, scooping up the glass cleaner and dirty paper towels she was using previously to clean. She headed towards the kitchen to throw out her garbage and Danny stood up from the couch to follow her.

"Thanks. I've missed video games... and TV in general," he added as he entered the kitchen a few moments after her. As Sam passed by her backpack on the counter, it reminded her that she had brought something for him.

"Oh, I got you something," she told him as she zipped open her bag. She pulled the comic out and handed it to him, his face lighting up with excitement, and she found herself giggling unexpectedly. "I saw this at the book store and Tucker said you would like it."

"I've actually really wanted to catch up on comics! Thanks a lot, but you don't have to keep buying me things," he said, causing her to shrug.

"It's not like you can go out and do it yourself."

"Amazon," he pointed out with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make up for your loss of freedom."

"Hmmm, true," he stated, rolling up the comic carefully and tucking it in the back pocket of his jeans. She smiled at the fact that he was happy with his gift and he found himself smiling back. "You know, speaking of freedom, do you want to go out Friday night?" She raised an eyebrow at the question and cocked her head to the side.

"Go out as in leave the house?"

"Duh," he said jokingly, but she shook her head and chuckled nervously.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she commented, heading back into the living room with Danny following behind.

"Come on, I sneak out all the time. My parents leave around five and the earliest they get back is ten. That's plenty of time to do whatever we want,"

"What if we get caught?"

"You usually leave here by six anyway. If they come home and see I'm not there, I'm the one getting in trouble, not you." Sam sighed and crossed her arms, thinking he had a good point. Sure she was afraid of possibly getting fired for crossing boundaries, but it's not like Danny's parents would find out and she doubted Danny would ever rat her out to them. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other better. It was hard to do that here when they constantly had to sneak around. By the look on her face, Danny could tell that she was contemplating it.

"Is that a yes...?" He asked, hoping he was able to convince her.

"Yeah, yeah. You win this round," she said with a slight smile, pushing him lightly in a playful manner. He smiled at her response and mentally cheered to himself.

"Great! Don't worry, we'll have fun."

"I know we will."

"I'll let you get back to work. I'll text you later."

"Okay." The smile on his face stayed as he left the kitchen and headed upstairs, not wanting to wait the forty-eight hours to hang out with her. Unbeknownst to him, Sam was thinking the same thing. For the rest of the day, Danny didn't come down again, much to her disappointment, but she was going to see him soon anyway. By the time she got home, it wasn't even seven o'clock yet, so she went upstairs to her room to change into something more comfortable, such as sweats and a large shirt. After tugging the articles of clothing on, she decided to head to Ida's room to see her. She left her bedroom and got into the elevator, stepping off at the third floor of the house. The door to her bedroom was open a crack, so Sam knocked lightly before entering. Ida was in bed, but awake, watching a show on her flatscreen that Sam didn't really care for.

"You're still awake?" Sam asked, causing Ida to scoff.

"It's only seven. I'm not that old," she said, making Sam laugh. Ida lowered the volume of the TV as Sam walked over and sat cross-legged at the foot of her bed. "What's going on with you, girlie?"

"Not much. I just got home from work."

"Are you enjoying your time over there?"

"I don't think anyone enjoys working but it can definitely be worse."

"Right, how's it going with Danny?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a rather flirtatious way.

"Why do you have to say it like that?" Sam wondered, resisting the urge to laugh.

"It's just a question, dear. Making any progress?"

"Yeah, actually. We're going out Friday night," Ida raised an eyebrow in a concerning way.

"Isn't he not allowed to leave the house?"

"Yeah, but he says he sneaks out all the time and his parents won't be home that night anyway," she answered, waving a hand in dismissal.

"So he's risking getting in trouble for you. Has it occurred to you that maybe he likes you?" Sam furred her eyebrows together and shook her head.

"No way. We're just friendly is all."

"Then why are you going on a date?"

"It's not a date! We're just hanging out,"

"Mhmmm," Ida hummed, causing Sam to scoff.

"Don't 'mhmmm' me! You're talking nonsense, old lady," Sam teased jokingly, making Ida laugh.

"If you say so," she responded, turning the volume on the TV back up, signaling that she was done with the conversation. Sam only squinted her eyes at her and shook her head.

"You give me headaches sometimes. I'll be in my room," she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and lightly stepped onto the carpet. "Goodnight, Grandma," she called over her shoulder.

"Goodnight, deary." She made her way down to her room, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it with her back. Ida had to have been teasing her, right? There was no way Danny liked her, and she didn't like Danny either... but then why was she suddenly nervous when thinking about Friday? Hoping it was just regular nerves, she swiped a hand down her face, yet her conversation with Ida kept replaying in her mind.

Headaches for sure.


Guys, I did a mad dash to finish this chapter just to update on Dannyversary XD I hope you had a good one! I'll see you guys next chapter :D

Invader Johnny: Yesss, and this is now an even bigger step. Risking it all on this one lol

Guest: I'm so happy you enjoy this so much! Thank you!

lenasmith.106: Thank you! :D

AlecGateway: I appreciate that! :)

jensen6: Aww thanks!

Guest: I'm glad you think so!

Milo21: Thank you! I'll certainly try! lol

MidnightWriter44678: Aww I appreciate your concern :) and thank you!

Dotimus: That makes me feel really good. Thank you!