~Chapter 39~

The rest of the day was spent in a daze over what had happened at lunch. Getting jealous, now that was one thing...but screaming his lungs out at her was an entirely different story. She acted strong, but she was very sensitive and vulnerable inside, and he'd just exposed that to everyone. And this wasn't even mentioning that every bit of that took place not just publicly in front of the entire school, but right in front of her cousin, who he'd already insulted. He had singlehandedly shot down three people in the Manson family: Jeremy, Sam's cousin, and unfortunately...Sam. And he did this all in under an hour. Under half an hour, actually. He really was such an idiot... If he thought Sam was ticked off before...well...

It wasn't just Sam that thought badly of him anymore. The entire school would pass by him giving him cold looks and shaking their heads as they walked by. Most people even gave him the finger. Some of them would spout something at him, usually along the lines of, "You suck!". He deserved every bit of what was thrown at him and didn't attempt to deny any of it. He never swore but today he did and worse! He swore at Sam. And it wasn't just a random word used in the spur of the moment, he meant it. He never meant to actually say it to her face, let alone scream it out to the world, but the truth that he knew Sam wouldn't accept and would hate his guts for saying was that her dad just didn't care. He didn't care about her, didn't care about what happened to her, didn't care about where she ended up...he just didn't care.

By setting up that meeting, he wanted her to see that and accept it. But she didn't and after four days of pure torture, after four days of grueling self-loathing and regret, something inside him finally snapped and that awful rant just...popped out. He never meant to hurt her, he even said that! But then he blew it all... He hurt her again and this time it wasn't something he could simply take back. He couldn't just say sorry and everything would go back to normal. As if her parents weren't enough, he had to just... He briefly wondered who was the real jackass here. Yeah. That's right. Twice in one day had to prove something, right? Where did that even come from anyway? She had every right to be mad at him...furious even...but...she never gave him a reason to blow up at her like he did. On top of that, she was a tiny little thing and he towered over her. He had to have looked intimidating, possibly even enough to look as though he might get physical. He wouldn't, of course, and he never would, but the fact remained that he did something her dad could never accomplish in his lifetime and that...that was scaring Sam out of her skin. The moment before she slapped him he saw a small glint of fear, tied together with many other emotions. None of those emotions were good ones, but the worst one was the fear he saw. No...not the fear he saw, the fear he created.

And Tucker had not been on his side today either. He didn't see Sam's eyes...he wouldn't know...but he did know that she had already been hurting, and now she was flat-out suffering. Why? Because a fool finally snapped and did something so stupid no other man would think of doing. Even the jocks of Casper High viewed him lower than they ever did before and had walked by with looks of utter disdain plastered onto their faces.

So when he walked through the door... Well, he was expecting the worst she could do to him. He braced himself for the engagement ring to be taken off and thrown at him. He would be lying if he said he didn't deserve it. What girl in her right mind would want to keep that ring after everything he just put her through? Zero. Even the crazy girls had a right mind. Maybe a small one, but still logical enough to look at him and throw up.

Never before had he felt this kind of regret. He didn't even know it was possible to feel it. This kind pure hatred for oneself was nearly overwhelming. It wasn't like he had no reason to feel this way though. After all, he did scare his fiance and he did humiliate her. On top of that all, he'd gone and brought up her dad and what he did to her, then compared himself to that. It would've been too much even for the infallible Sam to handle.

When he got home, the atmosphere was no better than at the moment this all happened. His father was reading the paper and just barely peeked over it. His expression was unknown but it couldn't be a good one. His mother was vacuuming and actually turned off the vacuum to give him that angry, cold stare that only a mother could give you. Jazz had walked past the corridor leading to the kitchen. She didn't even look at him but she knew he was home. Her expression was almost identical to his mother's. The silence was deafening and he closed the door behind him, knowing he would have to face Sam eventually...assuming he could find her first.

"Daniel James Fenton, what did you do?" His mother crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in question.

He hadn't really talked since lunch and wasn't very eager to talk now. But this was his mother and he wasn't about to ignore her.

He lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Something I shouldn't have."

His father sighed as his mother looked away, that cold stare of hers turned somewhere else.

"Sam's upstairs," his father muttered.

He wasn't sure if she had told them what happened or if she ran right past them and wouldn't come out of the room, but either way they were horribly angry at him. They knew she was upset and they knew it was his fault. Some people would feel like a victim under all these judgmental looks and the evil glares, the pointed scowls and the shaking heads. But him? No. Sam was the victim and everyone else was letting him know it.

He took a breath and took a step toward the stairs, but stopped. Sam might not even want to see him right now. She didn't with her father. She even said she couldn't stand him. If she couldn't stand him then, why would now be any different? If anything she would've gone from 'not standing' to pure hatred.

"Get up there. You're going to be a man and face her, Danny," Jazz hissed, as though she wanted to yell but didn't want anyone to hear her do it.

It could only mean that Sam was still beyond upset. He would face her, he had to...but what was he supposed to say? He couldn't just stand there and say nothing. That wouldn't be fair to her after what he just did.

He swept a hand over the cheek she'd slapped earlier. No one else could see it, but to him it was a bright red hand print. Part of him wished it was still there and hadn't faded away at all.

He slowly made his way up the steps and paused for a moment before turning the doorknob. He was extremely careful about opening the door, just in case it was one of those things that Sam wouldn't be able to stand for. He also wanted to appear as apologetic as possible to her. He felt horrible and guilty but she probably didn't know that. Tiptoeing around her would be the worst way to go though. He couldn't afford to stay quiet about the subject otherwise it would never be resolved. And the sooner she felt better, the sooner he could feel better too. He could get rid of both their heartaches, although Sam's was sure to be worse than his.

He came in and closed the door behind him. His mother resumed vacuuming, most likely to give them some privacy while talking. Downstairs it was loud enough to drive people away, but in his room it made little sound.

He couldn't bring himself to look up even though he knew she was right in front of him, on the bed...waiting.

He kicked at the ground and tried to find the words. It was...hard, to say the very least. Compared to being in the same room with Sam, with just the two of them together, the atmosphere downstairs and in the school was a sunny day. But now the despair hung thickly in the air and would not, under any circumstances, release its grip on them.

He finally found the first question he wanted to ask her before he began a conversation...hopefully one that wouldn't turn into an argument...

"S-Sam..." he started. "I...uh... I-I need to know something. Right before you slapped me, you looked scared, like I was going to hurt you. Did you think I would?"

He heard her sniffle and draw in a shaky breath. "...Yeah. You really looked like you might."

His head shot up and he tensed at her response. There were no words to describe how much those words stabbed at his heart. His suspicions were confirmed with that answer. But hurting her would never even cross his mind... Still, it told him that he did look violent when he went off. Sam? No, she couldn't scare a mouse. But him? He'd scared the girl he loved. He did that without even pointing a finger at her. He wondered what he looked like...if his face was red, if his eyes seemed wild. He had been so furious for that moment but once he saw tears in her eyes, followed by that haunting image of the fear he caused, he was brought back to his senses.

"I would never hurt you, Sam," he breathed.

He finally took in the way she was sitting. She was sitting sideways on the edge of the bed, legs pulled tight to her chest. Her chin rested on her knees and she stared off in a daze, her eyes glazed over with a wet film. There were fresh tear trails running from her eyes to her jawline. She'd been crying ever since she ran off...

"Are...are you still mad at me?" he mumbled, tapping his toe against the floor.

She shuddered but showed no response beyond that.

Yes. And he didn't blame her.

He cautiously moved toward her, stopping just a few feet away when her eyes flickered over to him. He knew then that he couldn't go any nearer. He would have to at one point or another, but not now.

"What did I look like when I was...screaming at you?" he asked, forcing out the last few words.

Her reply was rapid and concise. "Violent."

He looked violent... He was only ever violent with ghosts. Why would she...? No, a better question would be, why did he look so violent?

"I... I-I just... I don't really..."

Unable to finish any of his sentences, and knowing it probably wasn't the best idea, he sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her. This hug was much lighter than at lunch and not possessive in the least. His arms practically hung off her body, but he held just enough grip to keep them from doing that.

He pressed his forehead against her cheek, feeling the wetness and wishing it would just go away, and said, "I didn't mean to scare you... I don't want you to be scared of me, Sam, I want you to love me."

He felt more tears leak into his hair and immediately regretted not having apologized sooner, then acting like a complete moron by stuttering around like he was. He hugged her just slightly tighter to make sure she could feel his arms around her.

"I know I acted like a complete jackass in my own respect but I didn't even know what came over me."

"Why are you swearing at me now?" she choked.

"I'm not swearing at you, it's just that the simple words don't cut it. I gave you enough crap to deal with by setting up that stupid meeting, then I gave you more crap by getting jealous over your cousin, then all of that piled up and made shit when I blew up. I'm swearing because that's what covers the truth," he whispered. "Please don't be mad at me anymore, Sam. I was wrong, I shouldn't have done what I did..."

"Danny..."

"You're my dove, I want to make you happy. I screwed up bad but I promise, I had some stupid logic, some...crazy idea, that it was what you really needed. Now I want to make it right though, I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"You were right," she suddenly said.

"Right about what?"

"It hurt really bad and I was so angry with you I thought I didn't even love you anymore," she explained.

What...? Didn't...didn't even love him...? He knew she felt bad but he didn't know it had gone this far. So...it really was only a matter of time before that ring came off...

"But," she continued, "you were right. I needed that whether I wanted it or not. And I needed you to scream at me. That meeting showed me my dad doesn't really care anymore, and maybe never did to begin with. Then you finally told me up front. You reminded me of why I fell in love with you in the first place."

He got behind her and pulled her into his lap. "Why?"

For the first time in days he saw her smile at him. "My father wouldn't have done what you did, no one would've. You were with me through hell and high water and never gave up on me even when everyone else would've. You were too stubborn to let me keep drowning and you were too protective to let anyone hurt me."

He smiled as he gently kissed her neck. "So me getting jealous?"

"You made yourself look like an idiot, especially when you kept telling him to back off."

"I didn't know he was your cousin," he whispered, slowly moving up to her lips. "I thought he wanted to take you away from me."

She saved him the trouble and brought her lips to his.

"Isn't it awkward at all for you to be kissing me after we had a big fight?"

He smiled. "Sam, I've been blanked for four days straight. I'll take whatever I can get."

"What are you after?"

He bent his neck down and kissed her collarbone. She'd been with him long enough to get the message.

"It's not even night," she said.

"The vacuum is on and they still think we're making up," he replied, shrugging.

"We already did."

"They don't know that."

"Where is all this determination coming from?" she laughed.

"I missed you..." he whined, brushing her hair aside and kissing the back of her neck.

"Boy, you're working this hard, aren't you?"

"No." He transformed into Phantom. "I only work it hard when I pull out my negative hair."

He traced a finger from the top of her shoulders down past her love handles, spreading his hand out when he reached her stomach. He pulled his head back and looked under his hand.

"You're getting really tight down there," he said.

"Congratulations, Danny, you just felt the baby," she replied. "You didn't notice this before?"

"I haven't touched you in days," he reminded her, gently stroking her soon-to-be baby bump.

He pulled up her shirt and turned her sideways to kiss her stomach. She giggled and he gave her a questioning glance.

She shook her head and smiled. "Nothing, it's just... When you were fourteen, you were goofy, oblivious, immature, reckless, and an overall boy. You've changed so much since then."

He raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well you're a daddy now, if that counts for anything. Pretty sure that's a big change. You're more mature and responsible than you were back then. You adore kids now. It's like you could be bad at everything else but you would still be an amazing father. And it's like you've gotten this new sense of purpose," she listed.

"I have a lot of new purposes. And I guess I better prepare for another because it's on its way," he said, plopping back on the bed and transforming back to Fenton.

She turned fully around and laid flat on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She scooted herself up and went for his lips.

Suddenly something vibrated in his pants pocket. He pulled out his phone and held it out in front of him, stretching his arm around Sam.

It was a text message from Tucker.

"U deserve watevr shes giving u..."

He smiled and nearly laughed.

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

He shrugged and kissed her again. "It's just Tucker being Tucker."

"I hav xepted my punishment."

And before Tucker had time to reply...

"DO NOT DISTURB. ;D"

A/N

Okay, guys. I don't think I have to spell it out for you, you all know what's going down. If you don't then let's just say Danny's not suffering right now. I was toying around with the idea of making Danny in even DEEPER waters than he was already in but then I'm like, just, no...don't.

A lot of you seemed to be siding with Danny because he was right, but Sam didn't just slap him randomly you know. Tensions were already running high with the both of them. Danny got so stressed he couldn't take it anymore and screamed at Sam, but he really crossed the line when he told (screamed it out to the whole school) Sam her dad was a jackass, no matter how true that may be. We all know she's been in denial for years now and Danny was already in trouble for a situation with her father...and then he went and did that... Is anyone still wondering why she slapped him?

I also figured that because she was so small compared to him, he would look a little scary when he did that. And before you say anything, she KNEW he wouldn't hurt her, but she was too upset to think straight. The rest of the day gave her time to calm down and sort her thoughts. This way, they made up much quicker than they normally would've.

No review quota today! :D It's my birthday! So I'm updating THREE STORIES today: Whatshisface, The Boy With the Rings, and Flowers Will Grow.

Review replies:

princessbinas- I do actually bash Kikyo, but I also respect that some people have different opinions of each character.

darkangeloflove15- Updated. :)

ShadowDragon357- Ooohhhhh. :P IRL, got it... Sounded kind of like URL, like a computer term, so...yeah... :/ Why would she avoid him for rejecting a kiss? And he didn't really even see that kiss coming, it wasn't even a kiss, more like an assault. It wasn't similar, actually. It might seem that way at first, but they're completely different: Sam kissed Danny ONLY as a challenge to her father, whereas Danny kissed Sam to make sure "the other guy" knew she was taken. Plus, he didn't kiss Sam on the lips, he kissed her neck and temple. Sam kissed him on the lips. Yeah, Danny didn't do a very good job explaining anything did he? XD

sammansonrepilica- I didn't. :P I would never betray DXS. It's just plain wrong.

jim89- Yeah, they're like two halves of a whole. That's why it was so painful and frustrating for Danny to deal with that kind of separation. Her extended family will be explained but since it's not a spoiler, they had no clue what happened and they're just visiting from out-of-state.

Chloee0x0- Thanks! :D

beautifullove521- It did. :) Updated!

SuperGeorgia- His words were right but his actions weren't. He only got half that down. :P He went about that the wrong way, could've been a little gentler or at least not bring it up until AFTER he was forgiven. Could you state the obvious? ^.^" I have a hard time keeping up with things and most things fly over my head. This is apparently one of them...

puppets4ever- It is but that's mainly because Sam is no longer troubled by her rape. Her fear and depression was an inhibition in FWB, and now that she's gotten over it, FWG has some elbow room. What do you mean when you say "stretching the characters"? Am I going too far? ^.^ AWWWW! I always love reading your reviews, you're so sweet!

Favorite Daughter Of Hades- Indeed I did thanks to you! :D I was hoping someone would mention the jealousy scene. I had that idea and I had to get it down. Maybe I rushed it but I don't think it was too bad.

Guest- I'm a little stuck on Whatshisface right now but I'm trying. As for this, I wanted to update it on my birthday. :)

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