I do not own Danny Phantom.
When they got to her work she stopped in front of the door.
"I know for a fact that we close before you do, my boss goes to you every day after we close up shop." Sam said, pulling her coat around her tighter as the wind began to blow.
Danny stood closer to her, hoping to block the wind for her.
"Yeah, I make his drink every day, he gets a twelve ounce white chocolate raspberry mocha, no whip." He said smiling. Sam giggled.
"Yeah, he does, doesn't he?" she said, looking up at him, she couldn't help but smile at his goofy face. He was so silly, and his smile was so contagious. She wasn't sure if she could handle it.
He was definitely cramping her goth style, that was for sure.
"So does that mean you're coming after you close?" he asked, blushing as she grasped his arms and pulled him away from the door with her, smiling at a woman who walked in. Danny looked the woman, and then at Sam's hands, which were still on his arms, then to her eyes, which were light and laughing.
"Yes. I'll come to the coffee shop and wait for you to finish, then you can make us coffee and we can work on our project," she offered. "How does that sound?"
Danny nodded, "That sounds great!" He said, smiling at her.
He couldn't stop smiling, he just felt giddy. She shook her head, trying to hold in her laughter.
"You're too cute, Fenterilla. And you're gonna make me late, so scoot," She said pushing him away gently. "I'll see you at seven."
Danny nodded and began to walk away, waving at her as she entered her bookstore; she waved back at left his sight.
When he entered the small coffee shop he didn't even hear his co-workers tell him to change into his work clothes quick because the middle school was out in five minutes, which meant they'd soon be bombarded by the preteen rush, he was too enveloped in his head.
She thought he was cute.
The preteen invasion always made Danny and his co-workers grumpy, they were loud and annoying, especially once they got the caffeine in them. He always secretly wished that they'd all go to Starbucks and leave their poor little coffee shop alone. It never did anything to deserve middle school kids running around in it. But if they actually did that, the small coffee shop on the corner would be out of business for sure.
His annoyed attitude was diminished as the doorbell jingled and he saw Sam and Dr. Jones, the owner of the bookstore walk in. She smiled at him and looked around the coffee shop.
"You're the only one here, Danny." She said, walking up to the counter, Dr. Jones not far behind.
"Yep, you just missed closing time," he said, wiping his hands on his apron before grabbing a cup for the older man's drink. "The usual for you Dr. Jones?" he asked.
"Yes, of course, Danny, thank you." The older man said, lacing his fingers behind his back and walking up to one of the photos against the wall.
"How about you, tiny. What'll ya have?" he asked, smiling at her. She leaned against the counter, looking up at the hand-written menu.
"Surprise me." She said, smirking at him. His smile grew.
"I love it when people say that." He said, grabbing a cup and getting started on the two drinks. "Any preferences on milk?" he asked, looking at her.
"Soy, please." She said, going over to Dr. Jones, also looking at the photo. "Did you take this picture, Danny?" she asked, looking at the artist nametag, which said "Dan F." in a feign hope that people wouldn't make the connection.
Danny froze and blushed, he had forgotten about the pictures.
"Yes." He said carefully, slowly going back to the drinks.
"It's beautiful. How did you take it? It looks like you must've been above the clouds." She said, looking at him.
"Oh," he said, wiping his hands again. "I was in a plane." He lied easily. She nodded and looked back at the photograph. "Here you go, Dr. Jones." He said handing the other man his drink. "See you tomorrow."
"Thank you, son," he said, taking the drink and fishing his keys from his pocket. "Have a good night you two." They both smiled at him as he walked through the door.
"How did you really take that picture, Danny?" she asked when her boss was gone, walking over to the counter. He looked at her.
"What do you mean? You think I'm lying?" he challenged, pouring milk into a mug.
"Yes." She said simply. He looked at her evenly, slowly setting the milk carton back on the counter.
"And how did you gather that?" he asked, this was getting dangerous. He didn't look at her, but continued to make their drinks slowly. She leaned in.
"Because you're Danny Phantom." She said, looking at him to gage his response.
His eyes widened and the mug in his hands slipped through his now invisible fingers, crashing to the floor, but thankfully not shattering.
"H-how did you know?" he stammered, leaning down to clean his mess, she laughed and went around the counter to help him.
"I didn't." she said. Danny's eyes widened and he gasped, looking at her in horror. "But I do now." She said happily. Danny just stared at her. "I mean, I was pretty sure, but now I know it's true!"
How could she?
She turned to him smiling, but the smile faded when she saw the look on his face.
"I won't tell anyone," she said quietly. "I promise." Danny said nothing and looked away from her cleaning the mess up before standing and pouring the milk into a different mug. Sam stood next to him, looking up at him, her eyes darted around his face, which had become emotionless.
Danny finished making their drinks and moved past her, setting them on a table next to two lounge chairs. He moved back to her, taking her coat, which was folded on her arm, and hung it on the coat tree next to the door.
Realizing he was busying himself so he could avoid talking to her, she stopped him from going back behind the counter.
"I'm sorry." Sam said, putting a hand on his chest so he couldn't get past. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you'd get so upset, I should've waited." She watched him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his waist slowly, pulling him into a hug, the only thing she could think of doing, and rested her head over his heart.
It was then she realized just how real the idea of him being half dead was.
His heart didn't beat like hers did. It didn't pulse against her ear and it sounded far away and tired.
Like it was forcing it's self to beat.
To keep his human half… human.
Danny snaked his arms around her shoulders, holding her tightly.
"I won't tell." She repeated, looking up at him, his face was emotionless, but his eyes were not. She watched as different feelings all made their way in and out as he looked back at her, trying to gage if he should trust her or not. "I promise," Sam said again. "You're the only friend I've got at the moment, I don't want to lose you when I just met you." She said, her words getting quieter as she spoke.
He continued to stare, letting her words sink in, before he pulled her back into him.
"I trust you." He muttered.
Sam let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding in and relaxed into his embrace.
"I trust you."