~Chapter 7~

It was an entire hour before Sam could speak without Maddie blowing up at her again. Danny still wasn't home from school. Today she had two missions: ask Danny about that note, and tell his mother the truth. Right now she was trying to tell his mother the truth. But the woman wasn't making it easy in the slightest for her and it was looking like it could be an impossible task. It literally was starting to seem like it just couldn't be done.

"Honestly, Sam, I thought you were better than this!" Maddie continued...on and on.

Every now and then there were a few short breaks between her blustering, and Sam would try to take that opportunity to tell her it wasn't what it sounded like. Why did she have to say Danny wasn't the father? Why didn't she add something to that sentence? Then maybe all this could've been prevented! And maybe Sam wouldn't have had to listen to her insults about how immoral this all was. Oh, it was immoral all right. But the immorality wasn't on her part.

A pause came and once more, Sam seized the chance to explain at least a tiny bit more.

"Please just listen to me! Danny's not the father but-" She was, not surprisingly, interrupted by another bout of anger from Maddie.

"But what, Sam?! Danny's not the father, I know that! But who is?! How many boys have you been sleeping with?! Do you even know?! Have you ever considered-"

"BE QUIET!" Sam screamed.

She'd had enough of this. It wasn't her fault that she'd gotten pregnant. At least that was what Danny and Tucker kept telling her when she got down about it. Though to be perfectly honest, she still believed that if she'd taken a different route home, her life would continue on as normal and Danny wouldn't be hated as much by her parents. He would still be hated, but not as much. Not to say that she didn't love the twins, but she was sick and tired of everybody assuming she was some slut who would sleep with just about anyone.

Shockingly, Jack hadn't heard her scream. Either he was sleeping, or he had gone out when she wasn't paying attention. Taking yet another deep breath, Sam proceeded to tell Maddie everything before that woman's temper reached its peak.

"Listen, I'm not the kind of girl you're making me out to be! You seem to think I'll go sleep with anyone but I won't and never will. Ever. If you would just let me speak for two seconds, I can tell you everything you want to know, and I promise you it'll answer all your questions. Okay?"

Maddie nodded...silently.

"Alright. First of all, Danny knows he's not the father. I didn't even ask him to pretend he was, he just declared it one day and everyone believed him. It's been that way ever since. I didn't technically 'sleep' with anyone. I got pounced by some man I didn't even know and...well, that's how I got pregnant. My parents thought Danny was the dad and kicked me out. He said I could live with you guys. As for the twins, he told me he wanted to help me take care of them. I never held Danny to his promise and he's free to go back on it anytime he wants," she explained. "Anything else you want to know?"

"So...the twins-"

"Were born out of rape, yes," Sam finished.

Maddie knelt down and pulled her into an embrace. There was no more tension in the air. It was like telling Maddie what happened had lifted this weird feeling from her that she didn't even know she harbored until now.

"I'm so sorry... Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Maddie sniffled.

"Because I didn't want anyone to know. That's why Danny's posing as the dad," she replied.

"Do your parents know this?"

Sam shook her head and the hug grew tighter. "No."

"Don't you want to tell them about what happened?"

Sam stayed quiet. She wasn't sure. What would happen if her parents knew? Her grandma would be fine, she'd understand perfectly. It was just...her mother and father could be a little insensitive sometimes. They seemed to be cut off from all her problems. This was a very big problem, but with Danny's help she'd managed to get through it. Now it was in the past. Sam saw the twins every day, but she never saw that man in them. Now the question was, did Maddie see that man in them? Now that she was free from the title of a slut, would the twins still be considered a part of the family?

Oh man...she's gonna find out everything if she opens that notebook..." Danny groaned as he walked home.

Tucker was right beside him. "Why did you put a sticky note on it anyway?"

"Motivation, I guess," he answered.

"Okay, and why did you leave it at home?"

"I don't know! I forgot about it. I must've missed it when I was running out the door... I'm such an idiot!"

"I kinda feel bad for you," Tucker laughed. "I mean, can you imagine what'll happen if Sam opens that notebook?"

"This isn't funny! She's going to dump me if she sees that thing!" the halfa yelled.

Now all Sam could do was wait for him to come home. The twins were fed, changed, and happily playing with Jack. Maddie's feelings toward the twins hadn't changed, as far as Sam could tell, and nobody else knew about the twins having been born to someone else. Maddie had understood this when Sam told her she didn't want anyone else to know right now. Now she was keeping the secret as well. Jazz was busy, Jack was oblivious...everything was going pretty smoothly for now. Jazz, though, would undoubtedly be the next person to know the truth. She was smart and chances were, she'd figure it out before Sam got the chance to tell her.

Sam heard the front door open and knew it was Danny returning home from school. He wasn't going to sneak by her. Whoever 'SF' was, she would find out today. She would make him tell her. And he was not going to leave his room until she got answers. Well...technically he could leave whenever he wanted to, being as he could simply turn intangible and phase through the door. Unlike her... But one thing was for sure, she wouldn't let up on him until he gave her answers.

She quickly grabbed the sticky note and held it tightly between two fingers as she heard him come up the stairs. His feet stopped right before he opened the door. He was being cautious, she realized. Which meant he knew the sticky note was in the room, and that meant he'd wanted to hide it from her. So something was up. 'SF' had to be initials; what else would it be, the name of a dog?! And the heart beside it indicated that it was a girl. And they definitely weren't her initials. But...maybe Danny was holding the note for someone...? Oh, who was she kidding! No one 'holds' that kind of note for someone. Plus, it looked like Danny's handwriting.

The door opened, but she didn't rush up to him and begin asking questions right away. He was being cautious.

"Uh...hey, Sam. You didn't happen to find a notebook with a sticky note attached to it, did you?" he asked.

She held up the said sticky note. "You mean this sticky note?"

He grinned. "Yeah, that's the one. W-Where's the notebook?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I could care less about that stupid notebook!" She shoved the sticky note in his face. "What does 'SF' stand for?!"

His grin dropped and he remained silent. She didn't know whether he was trying to find the right words or if he was making up an excuse. But the silence was almost overbearing. She could hardly take it! And after having told Maddie all about the twins, she wasn't in the best mood right now. But mission number one was complete. Commence mission number two. Complete mission number two.

"I-It...doesn't...really stand for anything," he said, laughing nervously.

"So you're telling me you decided to write down two random letters and draw a little heart beside them?" she hissed. "Are these initials, Danny?"

"What?"

"Is there another girl?"

"What?"

"Are these that girl's initials?"

"What?"

"ANSWER ME!"

He flinched. "I-I...can't..."

"Why can't you tell me? Whose initials are these?"

"I can't tell you!" he said.

"Why?"

"Just...because."

"Danny," she growled. "If you don't tell me in the next five seconds..." She let her voice trail off as a warning.

She didn't exactly know what she would do if he didn't tell her, but she was counting on her bluff to do the job. If he really loved her, he would tell her what was going on. Even if he had another girlfriend, she had a right to know! And if there was another girl involved, then what would become of Sam? Would she be replaced? His five seconds were now up. He hadn't said a single thing. Her bluff failed. Now she knew there was another girl. And what a way to start off a weekend. She'd hoped to have a little alone time with her boyfriend. But as of now, she no longer had a boyfriend. Only an ex.

She dropped the sticky note, watching it as it lazily fluttered to the ground. Danny still wasn't saying anything. He wasn't even doing anything. He just stood there, waiting to see what would happen. He was probably wondering what she would do now that five seconds had passed without a single word on his part. Well...she still didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew she couldn't stand to be around him right now.

She pushed past him and didn't look back as she headed outside. It was starting to sprinkle a little bit. Amazing how the weather always seemed to match the mood she was in. She didn't stop and continued walking, not really knowing or caring which way she was going. She knew the town inside and out thanks to all those ghost hunting missions. She would be able to find her way back no matter where she ended up.

The sprinkling soon turned to rain, which, after a few minutes, became a downpour. It was freezing and it ate away at her skin. In a way, it was refreshing. It woke her up, made everything clear and vivid. The lightning was a welcoming sight, the thunder a welcoming sound.

"Sam, wait!" Danny called out to her.

She accelerated into a run, not very eager to see him anytime soon. She would have to go back eventually, but now wasn't a good time. Danny was in trouble, he knew it, and that was why he was running after her.

"Sam!" his voice came again.

She looked up and sure enough, there he was as Danny Phantom. He'd caught up to her using his stupid ghost speed. He also seemed to be holding something. Well, two things actually. One of them he had turned intangible. The other was getting drenched.

"I-It's not what you think!" he shouted over the winds.

She stopped, knowing she couldn't escape him now. He landed beside her, panting, and motioned for her to follow him. He took her under a restaurant canopy and sat against the wall. One of the things he held was an umbrella. The other, no longer intangible, looked like a book. ...A notebook, she realized. It must've been the one he'd been asking about earlier. The sticky note had been re-attached to it. He patted the ground, beckoning her to sit beside him. Reluctantly, she sat. But only because she knew he wouldn't give up.

He took a few minutes to catch his breath before he started talking.

"Sam," he said, looking at her with intense and serious eyes, "take a look at this notebook." He gently held it out for her to take. "But before you do...I'm sorry."

She took it from him and he immediately turned invisible. She could still hear his breathing. He didn't run away. Not yet at least. She took a deep breath and opened it.

A/N

Well, I was going to make her slap him at least once, but I wanted to try to cram all this into a single chapter and there wasn't room for a slap scene. And no, I was never going to make Danny come in and "save" Sam from his mother. He was at school when this happened, so it was kind of a no-go.

I hope you're happy with the fast update! :D Haven't done one of those in a while, huh?

New review quota will be a hundred and nine (109) reviews.

And now your review replies:

BeamerProductions- Well, I believe I remember saying there would be some drama and tension and stuff like that in this story, did I not? You never know. I'm a twister writer, I'll throw in twists when you least expect them. ;)

JaymieLynn2000- Thank you. :)

Sammi- I only do it because I need motivation to write things. I don't want to lose interest again and move onto something else. :( I did that with two Gravity Falls stories and this one seemed to be lost. That is, until I remembered how many people liked reading this and were willing to review it. I started back up on this thing and I won't stop 'til it's done.

smallvillephantom14- Well, you never can tell with me. For all you know, he's crushing on another girl and is too afraid to tell Sam.

BrittneyluvsChrist- Thank you. :)

Inuyuke- XD Wow, I think these cliffies are going to drive you up the wall soon. Part of me feels bad for leaving them. Maddie didn't know it wasn't Sam's fault, remember?

Hazel Blue Mystery- You have every right to be worried. I'm not telling what means what yet.

Animalistic Ballistic- You'll find out in the next chapter...or will you? ;)

HandmadeVeggies- You would kill Danny? lol I would too. But yeah, he might be cheating on Sam or he might not be.

PlasticPencils- Holy cow! XD I was planning to put a scene in this chapter where Danny's freaking out and he's ranting to Tucker, and then Tucker says something to calm him down he screams, "I'M A DEAD MAN!"

DXSGirl123- Oh, wow, thank you. :D I'm happy to have such a big fan. lol Eventually people will realize not to jump to conclusions with me. XD Most of the time it puts the wrong idea in their head and they get mad at me later on. It seems like you know this though. I assume it's from reading FWB?

Thank you all for reading, and a big thanks to those who have taken the time to review!