A/N: Oh my gosh. It's been forever. Well I hope y'all are still reading. This chapter took me forever to get it how I wanted it to go, so I hope you like it. And FYI: Danny still lives in his parents house. You probably would have figured that out, but just in case. Okay I'm rambling. On with the long-awaited chapter!
Thoughts are in italics.
Emphasized words are in bold italics.
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Final Goodbye
Chapter 2:
I Can't Hate You Anymore
He hadn't seen her in ages. 8 months. 34 weeks. 240 days. 14,440 hours. 345,600 minutes. 20,736,000 seconds. Whatever way you counted it, it was a very, very long time. Especially to a nineteen-year-old boy who was hopelessly in love with a girl who lived halfway across the state. But those long eight months of painful anticipation were finally over. Sam would be arriving any minute. The agony was drawing to a close. Finally.
"Dude, I really think you need to chill. I mean, she's just your girlfriend." Tucker said from where he was sitting on the small green couch in Danny's living room. Danny rolled his eyes and continued to pace. He stopped abruptly when he heard footsteps coming up the steps and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a key in the lock. She's here, she's here! Inside his mind, he was screaming with joy. But on the outside, well, actually, he was pretty much screaming with joy on the outside too. Without wondering where Sam had gotten a key to his house, he bounded over to the door and swung it open, only to come face to face with his older sister. He groaned and slammed the door closed receiving a loud 'humph!' from Jazz. She walked in a few seconds later with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
"Well it's nice to see you, too Danny." Danny just grunted as he fell back onto the couch, nearly crushing Tucker. Tucker quickly got up and made his way over to his best friend's sister. "Hey Tucker."
"Hey Jazz." he said, pulling her into a friendly hug. "You gotta excuse him. He's kind of excited about Sam coming." A smile crept onto Jazz's face.
"Really? I saw her unloading her car out-" Before she could finish her sentence, Danny was out the door and searching for Sam. Tucker and Jazz fell onto the floor laughing when Danny came back inside. The look on his face was priceless.
"Oh, you are so going to pay…" Danny went ghost, a menacing look on his face. Tucker and Jazz stopped laughing as they felt themselves being lifted off the ground. He turned them intangible and flew halfway through the floor, then turned them solid again, so that their torsos were on the second floor landing while their feet dangled from the first story ceiling.
"Danny, c'mon!" "Yeah dude, we're sorry!" "Danny, you fix us right now or I'll…I'll…" Danny smiled as the doorbell rang and he casually walked down the stairs, reverting back to human form in the process.
"Now, remember what I told you. Just friends, got it?" Sam whispered to the young man standing next to her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got it." was the man's bored reply. Sam rolled her eyes as the door opened.
"Danny!" she cried, pulling him into a tight hug and then giving him a quick kiss. Danny smiled, and the man's grip tightened around the handle of the suitcase he was holding. He cleared his throat and Sam nodded. "Danny, this is my friend, Jackson. Jackson, this is my boyfriend, Danny." Jackson nodded, sticking out his free hand and shaking Danny's with it. "So, where's Tucker?" Sam stuck her head inside, hearing muffled cries for help. She noticed two pairs of legs hanging from the ceiling and raised an eyebrow at Danny. He shrugged. Sam grabbed Jackson's hand and led him to the kitchen, letting Danny know he needed to get them down. He flew upstairs, after going ghost, and pulled Tucker and Jazz out of the floor and set them on the ground. He glared at them.
"Why didn't you tell me about Sam's friend?" Tucker and Jazz quickly glanced at each other, wondering if he knew the truth.
"What friend?" Jazz said slowly.
"Jackson? The friend she brought?" Tucker and Jazz let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know the truth. Yet.
"Oh. It's nothing dude. He's just her friend. They're just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Nope. No chemistry between them. Nada. In fact, I think chemistry is his worst subject-ow!" Tucker said quickly, until he was cut off by Jazz's elbow connecting with his ribs.
"He's like her best friend on campus. Guy friend, I mean. They study together." Jazz said, trying to cover up for Tuckers horrible cover up.
"Yeah. They sure study human anatomy a lot." Jazz's elbow connected with his ribs again, harder this time. He let out a small yelp.
"Ignore him. Please." Jazz said. Danny looked from his best friend to his sister, and then shrugged.
"Let's go get something to eat. I'm starved." He said, after a few minutes of staring. Jazz and Tucker nodded, heading downstairs to tell Sam and Jackson their plans. Danny watched as they ran down the stairs. Something fishy was going on here….
The door of Fenton Works clicked open as the group of friends (and Jackson) walked inside, laughing and talking loudly. Except for Sam, who had been quiet most of the night. There were so many things racing through her head, she just needed to clear her mind. She muttered something about needing to take a shower, and quickly walked upstairs and jumped into the shower after getting undressed and grabbing a towel and robe. She let the warm water run over her as she tried to clear her thoughts. How the hell did I get into this mess? That was a dumb question, I know how I got into this. The real question is, how do I get out?
She thought back to her first day at NYU. Tucker had come with her, since his classes didn't start until the next week, and Jazz had come too, since they would be sharing an off-campus apartment. They had been wandering around campus, trying to find Sam's classes, when Tucker ran into a tall young man, carrying lots of textbooks and papers, which proceeded to scatter across the floor. Tucker quickly apologized and bent down to pick up the papers…
Flashback:
"I'm sorry. I really need to be more careful." Tucker said quickly, wary of the man's large build.
"It's okay. Really. Are you a new student here or something?" the man asked. Tucker shook his head, and Sam stepped forward.
"I am. I'm Sam. Sam Manson." She reached out a hand, which he shook lightly.
"Hi, Sam. I'm Jackson Philips. So you're new to NYU?" Sam nodded.
"Yeah. Are you one of the professors…?" Jackson let out a small laugh as he grabbed the books Tucker picked up.
"No. It's my second year here." Sam nodded. Jazz coughed and Tucker cleared his throat.
"Oh. This is my friend, Tucker Foley, and this is my roommate, Jazz Fenton." Jackson shook both their hands and smiled politely.
"Fenton. I've heard that before. Are your parents famous for something?" Jackson asked, eyes swimming with curiosity. Jazz shrugged.
"They're the world's leading ghost hunters. Maddie and Jack Fenton?" Jackson shook his head.
"No, that's not it, although that does sound familiar. Any other Fentons?" Jazz raised an eyebrow.
"My brother, Danny, but he's not famous or anything." A smile crept onto Jackson's face.
"That's it! My uncle talks about him constantly. Along with Maddie. Something about the son he never had…? Who knows. My uncle's demented." Jazz, Sam, and Tucker exchanged glances.
"Vlad Masters." They said simultaneously. Jackson nodded.
"I guess you've heard of him."
"Oh, we've heard of him alright…" Jazz said. Jackson shrugged.
"Well, bye guys. See you around Sam." With a wink and a smile in her direction, he was gone.
"Well, he was nice…" Sam said.
Everything had gone downhill from there. Jackson was everywhere Sam went, and in less than a month they were inseparable. Their small talks between classes had turned into late night talks in his dorm nearly every night. She spent the night there several times because it was too late too drive back to her apartment. And everyone knows that those kind of friends almost always turn into something more. This was no different. He had asked her out, and she had accepted.
True, she loved Danny, but she loved Jackson, too, and he was right there, at her school, and Danny was so far away…
The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt Danny, which was why she hadn't told him about her and Jackson yet. She had told Jackson she would tell Danny by the time they left, and she intended to do so, the day before. She wanted to enjoy this summer. She pictured Danny's reaction to her two-timing. He would be so hurt…
A single tear rolled down her cheek. Followed by another. Then two more. Then four. Pretty soon, Niagara Falls was pouring from her eyes. She couldn't help it; she couldn't hurt him like that. She turned off the water and dried off with the towel. She put her robe back on and wiped the rest of the tears away before she opened the door, only to find Jackson and Danny looking at her worriedly.
"Sam, are you okay?" They asked simultaneously. She nodded.
"Danny, can you get me some water? I'm a little thirsty." Sam said, trying to get alone with Jackson to tell him she couldn't go through with the plan. Danny nodded as he headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. When he was out of earshot, Sam pulled Jackson into the guest bedroom.
"Okay Sam, what happened?" She shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Were you crying? I heard sobs, or something. And your eyes are all red." Jackson wrapped an arm around her protectively.
"I…I got some shampoo in my eye. That's all." He raised an eyebrow at her, but Sam just shrugged. They sat in silence for a few seconds, then Sam spoke up. "I can't do this Jackson, I can't hurt him. He's my best friend. He's my boyfriend."
"And so am I." Jackson said. Sam sighed. He had a point. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head. "I love you Sammy." He whispered.
"I love you too." She whispered back. He lifted her chin and kissed her. She kissed back, and it soon turned to making out. Sam knew it was wrong. She was making out with her boyfriend in her other boyfriend's guest bedroom. But she couldn't stop it. Her robe started to slip off her shoulders as Jackson slipped his tongue into her mouth. She reached for the buckle of his belt…
CRASH!
Sam froze as she heard a glass break. She slowly turned towards the door, which she had forgotten to close when she got inside. Stupid, Sam, stupid! She scolded herself. The hurt look on Danny's face broke her heart. She couldn't even imagine how bad this must look. His girlfriend practically having sex with another guy in his own house. I'm such a horrible person. He turned and walked away, and a door slamming nearby told her he was in his room. Jazz and Tucker appeared in the doorway, shaking their heads, then walking to Danny's room to console him. Sam looked at Jackson, who looked completely embarrassed and ashamed. She couldn't look at him. She turned away and started putting her clothes on. She knew she had to talk to Danny. She looked back at Jackson. He nodded, signaling it was okay. She slowly walked down the hall, and knocked on the door.
"Go away." Danny said quietly. Sam sighed. She was about to go pack her bags, when Jazz opened the door.
"Sam. I really think you should talk." Sam nodded. Jazz quickly grabbed Tucker and pulled him out of the room, shutting the door once Sam was inside. She let out a small gasp when she saw Danny. He was sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. One of his legs was lying flat on the bed, and the other one was bent. The scariest part was his eyes; they weren't blue, no, not even close. They were blood red. And they were glaring at her harder than anyone had before.
"What do you want Sam?" Danny snapped. He was angry, Sam could tell. He was hurt too.
"I wanted…to explain." Sam replied weakly. He was scaring her a little. She didn't know what he would do if she came closer, so she stayed leaning against the door. He nodded, never taking his eyes off of her. She took a deep breath. "I'm not gonna tell you it wasn't what it looked like, because it was exactly what it looked like. Me and Jackson, we're together. We've been together since October. I'm so sorry Danny. I was going to tell you, I really was. I just got so caught up with Jackson…"
"That's no excuse. There's plenty of girls here Sam. It's a lot different than high school. People notice me now. Girls notice me now. Girls who wouldn't take me for granted." He said coolly. "But I turned them all down, because I love you, and you mean a lot to me. I thought you felt the same." His glare hardened. Sam shivered.
"Danny, I do, it's just…I needed…Jackson was…" She sighed, bracing herself for Danny's reaction. "Feelings change Danny. I'm sorry." Danny stood up. At first Sam was relieved that he had moved from his frightening position on the bed, but then she realized he was coming towards her slowly. His eyes burned red, his teeth were clenched, his fists were balled, and he was hunched over. It was more frightening than when he was on the bed. He stopped about a foot in front of her. A shiver ran up her spine.
"Feelings don't change Samantha, people do." He gave her one last menacing glare, and then went ghost and flew out the window. Sam slid down to the floor and pulled her knees close to her chest and buried her head in them as she started sobbing.
Danny flew as fast as he could, trying to put as much distance between him and Sam as he could. His whole body ached, and he had no idea why. He guessed it was a side effect of the heartbreak. His throat was sore and his eyes were stinging, so he knew that he would break down soon. He landed on the rooftop of an old warehouse just as the tears began to fall. After a few minutes of crying, he heard a soft chuckle from behind him.
"Hello Danny," a deep voice said, "Did you miss me?"
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A/N: The darn line button isn't working. Grr. Well, there's a nice cliffhanger. You people didn't actually think I'd let Danny and Sam be happy together just yet, did you? No way. There's no fun in that...now go hit that nice little button please. Oh, and I hope that part with Danny was being scary freaked you out a little. It scared me while I was typing it haha.
