AN: Hey everyone! Ok, why can't everyone review "The Ultimate Consequence" like they are this one?! I'm getting MUY MUCHO reviews on this one and for "TUC" I'm getting muy poco reviews!!!!!!!!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!? lol. jk. But guys, these reviews are great!!!! Keep sending them and review my other story!!!!!!!!! That one is in desperate need!!!!!! I'm probably going to update it tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Here's Chapter Three!!!!

Disclaimer: The song used in this chapter is called "Notice Me" from the DCOM "Pixel Perfect".

Chapter Three

Here's the story of a girl.

Living in a lonely world.

Why did this song come on? Sam wondered, as she lay on her bed. Why at such a perfect time?

Danny had gone to find Valerie after school, leaving her and Tucker to walk home by themselves. Sam's already heated fury flared even more after this. As if thinking about her constantly and eating lunch with her wasn't enough, but he had to give up time he devoted to his friends to see her. It made Sam want to puke, how love-struck he was. Not to mention how quickly he had fallen for her. Sam had known Danny for eight years and the only time Danny had fallen for her was last year when he was under the spell of a ghost, Ember. His love wasn't real. At least Sam didn't think so.

The fact that Danny was so clueless to her own affections frustrated her more than anything she'd ever had to deal with. Everyone else seemed to know how she felt about him…except him. Tucker told her not to worry about it, that someday he'd take a look around and figure it out. But even if he did, Sam wasn't sure if he'd return her affection. She just hated the whole situation.

A hidden note,

A secret crush.

A little boy who talks too much.

And now this song was playing in such a coincidental way, it was making her even more sick about this whole thing. This isn't even my station that I listen to! she thought. Why aren't I turning it?

And I'm standing in the crowd.

And when you smile, I check you out.

But you don't even know my name.

You're too busy playing games.

Maybe she should just tell him how she felt. Her secrets would stop nibbling on her insides, Tucker would stop bugging her about it, and maybe, just maybe, Danny might return the feeling.

Yeah. Right.

But still. It would be good for her to unload. Even if it ruined their friendship. Actually I'd take mental anguish over friendship homicide any day, Sam thought.

But she knew that one day, Valerie would find out Danny's secret. And she'd either kill him, or she'd accept him and then…it would be too late.

Oh, don't get me wrong.

You better make your move,

Before the moment's gone.

Ok, this song can shut up any time now, Sam thought.

Rolling over on her stomach, she checked her clock by her bed. It was about a half hour to six. The slam started at six. I'd better get going, Sam thought. She leaped off her bed and trotted over to her radio. But before she turned it off, she listened to the chorus of the annoying song.

If I cut my hair,

If I change my clothes,

Will you notice me?

If I bite my lip,

If I say "Hello",

Will you notice me?

What's it gonna take for you to see?

To get you to notice me?

"Girl," Sam muttered to the singer on the radio as she switched it off. "You're too desperate." No way would she change to get Danny to like her. Although, she was pretty sure the only way he would like her was if she looked like Valerie. And Valerie was no Goth. Perfect, she thought.

Just keep your mind off it, she told herself as she walked out of her room and down the stairs. He's coming tonight. Just be happy about that.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Sam turned around. She had grabbed her coat and was about to walk out the front door. But her mother's voice held her back. Oh yay! Sam thought sarcastically. Just what I need right now: My mother being the she-witch from hell, as usual.

"Out," Sam said, answering her mother's question.

Her mother was sitting on the couch in the living room, reading a book. Her orange-red hair, pinned back neatly was a major contrast to the scowl she was giving her daughter. How can someone look so bright and so angry all at the same time? Sam wondered.

"Out where?" her mother asked.

Sam sighed. "The bookstore," she replied. "There was…a book I had on hold and I have to go pick it up." Sam didn't mind lying. It had become second nature to her since high school started. Aside from keeping the secret of Danny's alter-ego, she had to keep any mention of Danny secret, as well. Her mother and father disapproved of Danny more than anything they disapproved of. Why? They were under the impression that Danny was a "bad influence" or whatever. Ok, I'm the Goth and Danny's the bad influence? She had always wondered. But parents and daughter had had too many arguments over the issue before, and Sam concluded that not bring the boy up was the easiest way out of another spat.

"Are you telling the truth, Sam?" her mother asked, getting up off the couch and walking toward her.

And if I'm not? Sam wanted to say. But instead she said, "Yes."

"I don't think you are," her mother said. "You're going to be with that boy again, aren't you?"

That was the bad thing about Sam lying so often: her mom was starting to catch on.

"No!" Sam yelled. "God! Does everything I do have to be about Danny?"

"You would like it to be like that," her mother said, not as a question but as a statement. "I know you want him to see you as more than a friend, Samantha. But I am telling you as your mother that getting into a relationship with…with that boy-"

"That 'boy's' name is Danny," Sam shouted. "And I do have a relationship with him. Maybe not a romantic one, but one, all the same. And what if I do have a romantic relationship with him? I'll regret it?"

Her mother only looked at her, face tense and full of aggravation.

"He's a better man than you think he is," Sam told her. "Better than you'll ever know. And I'm not going to let you tell me otherwise."

Sam grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open. "That boy will be the end of you, Samantha Manson! Do you-." But before she could say anything else, Sam had closed the door behind her and was running down the street at light speed.

Danny was a hero. He'd saved countless lives, including Sam's, several times. And since Sam couldn't tell her parents who he really was, they would continue to think the worst of him. Yet another frustration added to her already full plate.

Just take your mind off of it, she told herself. You're going to enjoy yourself tonight.

Little did she know, enjoying herself was just about the last thing she'd do that night.