A/N: Many thanks to all my reviewers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Fake out make out?

The bell signifying the end of class got everybody out of their stupor and Mr Lancer raised his voice over the noise of moving chairs to assign their homework. Sam hardly heard him, but from the beeping sounds next to her she gathered Tucker was already typing it into his PDA. She would get it from him later, she decided, as she collected her books and glanced at Danny to see if he was awake. She blinked. Why did she expect him to be asleep in this class? He was already standing next to his desk, waiting for her and Tucker to finish as the class was emptying.

After leaving the classroom they split up as they didn't have their next classes together. Sam spent the rest of the morning worrying Danny would get himself into trouble with his temper and lack of restraint, but she had underestimated him. She spotted him twice, moving to his next class, looking extremely bored. But his face lit up every time he saw her and he smiled reassuringly at her, as if he knew what she was thinking. He really must know her well, she mused, trying to read a book during study hall with Tucker sitting beside her, fiddling with his PDA while pretending to study. It was very strange, having him around, seemingly knowing her every quirk and thought as if they spent years together, but not knowing him at all.

He hadn't told any of them what had happened to him, why he had lived with Vlad Masters, the billionaire, why something or someone had 'wiped' the memories of everyone except his and his mother's. When asked directly about it he would stiffen, look away or start fidgeting with his wristbands. They looked good on him, she thought, but she hated the reason they were there. Mrs Fenton didn't seem to know anything either, but she had asked Sam and Tucker to be patient with him, to let him come to terms with it. She was sure he would tell them eventually. Unfortunately patience wasn't Sam's best trait.

She glanced around the room where her classmates were reading, studying or doing something entirely different. Star and Paulina were having a whispered, yet frantic conversation in the corner, Paulina gesturing wildly and Star looking bemused. They scowled at Sam when they noticed her looking at them and she returned the favor. Then she looked at Tucker but he seemed engrossed in something he was doing, so she returned her attention to her book. She used a leaflet from the 'Skulk and Lurk' as bookmark and took it out to look at it again. It was an invitation for a poetry night she wanted to attend and she was debating herself if she should ask Danny to accompany her.

Every time she had visited him the past week she had been wondering if they had been...together. He was always looking at her, following her with his eyes, touching her when he wanted her attention. It felt familiar, yet strange and she had discreetly asked his mother about it, who had smiled knowingly and only said they would figure it out eventually. Which wasn't very helpful. And asking Danny about it was of course out of the question, as she didn't want to embarrass herself. She didn't know if Danny had ever gone with her to one of her Gothic events. Tucker never had, but that wasn't so strange. They disagreed on so many subjects it was a wonder they were friends at all.

The bell sounded and she almost fell out of her chair. She had been so lost in thought she hadn't noticed the others had already started packing their stuff and some of them laughed at her as she grabbed the edge of the table to steady herself. She quickly jammed her book in her spider backpack and followed Tucker to the cafeteria.

The noise there hit her like a shock wave and she flinched slightly at the loud clattering of trays, plates and cutlery. She distinctly disliked the cafeteria this time of year, when it was to cold to sit outside and the place was jammed. There was a long row in front of the counter and she stood on her toes for a moment to try and see which side had the salads this time. Tucker was already off to get his meat and since he went to the right she decided to try for the left side of the counter.

After getting her salad and claiming her usual seat at their usual table, she spotted Danny as he was pushing his way through the crowd, carefully holding his tray. He waved at her and smiled and then Dash bumped into him, sending his tray clattering on the floor. Dash grinned, made an obscene gesture and started walking to his table, where Paulina and Kwan already sat, snickering.

Danny stared down at his lunch on the ground, balling his fists and again Sam could have sworn his eyes flashed green. She groaned and got up quickly to head of any unpleasantness, recognizing that he was about to make a move on Dash. Not that she thought Danny couldn't take on Dash - she had seen him deck Dash before - but to keep Danny out of trouble. She grabbed his arm before he could punch the annoying jock and held it tightly, forcing him to look at her. He relaxed somewhat and after picking up the spilled food and throwing it in the trash, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to their table.

"Goth losers," she heard Dash call after them and Danny almost jerked his arm away.

"Leave it," she hissed, "It´s just Dash. He's always doing this! I know you could knock him out if you wanted to, but try to act like you can't!"

He stared at her in disbelieve. "How would you know how I´m supposed to act," he said angrily but he also looked guilty.

"Your mom told me you used to be shy and Dash used to bully you," she answered, sliding back into her chair, "Just ignore him."

He sat down next to her at the table and Tucker joined them a few moments later. He placed his tray across from Sam and she looked disapprovingly at the double portion of meat stacked on his plate and the lack of vegetables.

"You´re right you know," Danny said morosely, putting his head in his hands. "I didn´t use to be like this. I´ll try, OK?"

He wiggled his toes in his boots and shot Dash a dark look across the cafeteria. Dash smirked at him, but looked away when Danny kept staring at him. Sam tugged his sleeve, trying to get him to look at her instead of Dash.

"I´ve been thinking," Tucker said, trying to distract Danny while putting a large chunk of meat into his mouth, "They didn´t have any record of you in their student database."

Danny shot one last dark look at Dash and turned his attention to Tucker, his anger subsiding. He shook his head and slumped down in his chair.

"They did a pretty thorough job in erasing you. There was absolutely no Danny Fenton to be found."

"I know that. What are you getting at," Danny asked, pinching a carrot from Sam.

Tucker pointed his knife at him. "I wonder if they took the trouble to go through the archive. Your middle school results were on paper. They could still be there."

Danny blinked. Tucker, who could find anything anywhere in any digital form, always complaining about the weight of the books he had to carry around when it would be so much easier if they had e-books, having a backpack full of useful and not so useful electronics, suggesting they go through a paper archive?

"Tucker you´re a genius," he smiled and got up. "Lets go look!"

"What, now?" Sam asked.

"Sure. No time like the present. Everybody is at lunch. Tucker can be the lookout."

There was some logic in that, Sam had to agree, so they dumped their trays and left the cafeteria, dragging a complaining Tucker who hadn't finished his meat with them. They walked to the office around the corner of the cafeteria and peered inside. There was nobody there so they put Tucker at the end of the empty hallway and entered the office. Old fashioned gray filing cabinets adorned the walls. The rest of the room was filled with desks and computers of the secretaries and it had a cramped feel to it. Sam walked up to the filing cabinets and quickly identified the one they needed.

"Here is ´F´," she said, "It´s locked though."

Danny joined her and took a look at the old filing cabinet. It was of a type he was familiar with, they were easy to open without a key. Especially when you had ghost powers.

"This is easy," he muttered.

He bend over and did something at the bottom of the cabinet that Sam couldn´t see. Then he pulled the drawer open. She stared at him as he quickly began leafing through the files.

She heard muffled voices outside the door and looked up in alarm. Danny turned too and froze, just about to pull one of the files out of the cabinet. Shadowy figures stood behind the milky glass of the door, talking to each other. When the knob turned, Sam acted. She jumped up and pushed Danny against the cabinet. He fell backwards against it, closing the drawer with a thud. When the door opened, she firmly placed her lips on his.

She saw his eyes widen in shock and then understanding. Then he closed them and to her surprise parted his lips slightly, deepening the kiss. She felt his hands moving, one on the back of her head, the other on her back.

She was running, holding the Fenton Thermos in her left hand, an ecto blaster in her right. She could hear the distant fight, the occasional green flashes between the warehouses at the docks. The place was deserted at this hour, the workers having long ago returned to the comfort of their homes. The light was fading and the alleys between the warehouses were already very dark and she passed them warily, aware of the fact that anything or anyone could be lurking there, supernatural or not.

She kept running, her combat boots thudding on the pavement, getting closer to the fight by the sound of it. It had been raining earlier and the air was still damp, yet warm, and she was panting heavily in her effort to reach her friend as quickly as she could. Danny had been fighting Skulker for thirty minutes now and she knew the ghost in the metal suit must have had some sort of upgrade, because Danny didn´t usually take this long. Which meant Danny was in trouble. She wished Tucker was here, but he was at home with the flu.

"Who gets the flu in summer," she thought angrily and then dismissed the thought as unproductive.

She should have called Jazz, but it was too late now. She almost slipped on the wet street as she rounded another corner and there they were, at the end of a narrow street, warehouses looming over them ominously in the orange glow of the street lights that flickered to light the moment she reached them. Danny was holding up a shield to protect him from Skulker's fierce onslaught, but she could see it was taking him an unusual amount of effort. He was really tired. Panting, but without hesitating Sam sank to one knee, aimed the ecto blaster at Skulker and fired it, hitting the ghost in the arm.

"Aaarch," the hunter yelled and turned towards her, distracted for a moment. And a moment was all Danny needed. He dropped the shield and and flew straight into him, flooring him with a right hook. Skulker plummeted to the ground, right in front of Sam, who quickly uncapped the thermos and sucked him in.

Danny landed on the ground a little distance away from her and transformed into his human form almost before hitting the ground. He looked worn out, but he was grinning at her.

"Thanks Sam," he said and started to walk towards her.

Then everything seemed to slow down. Suddenly, he was surrounded by brown, demon like figures with fangs and claws. They closed in on him quickly, growling, their red eyes glowing menacingly, oily skin gleaming in the light of the street lights. They weren't very big, no bigger than she was, but there were a lot of them and those claws looked really sharp.

"Oh no," she heard Danny moan and she saw his face contort in concentration as he once again summoned up his ghost half. But it was slow, she saw, he was weak. He would be no match to the demons. He seemed to see that too, because she could see the fear on his face when he had completed the painfully slow transformation.

"Daniel."

They both swirled around, one on her feet, the other floating.

"Plasmius!" Danny spat.

The vampire like ghost floated closer and the demons parted to let him through. He smiled smugly at them and Sam felt her blood boil.

"My dear boy," he said pleasantly, "I´m here to offer you one last chance. Come with me, join me freely. Or suffer the consequences."

At that, Sam felt claws grabbing her, squeezing her arms. Something cold was pressed against her neck. Danny paled.

"No Danny," she wanted to scream but all she could utter was a strangled cry as the demon put pressure on her throat.

Then she saw another ghost, a little behind Plasmius and she got really scared. It was a... woman. She was very pale, with glowing red eyes, long blond hair. But what scared Sam was the darkness she was emanating. It was like she sucked out the light from around her, giving her a black aura.

"Don´t... don´t hurt her," she heard Danny stammer.

Plasmius floated closer to him, holding something in his hands.

"Put these on and we´ll let her go," he said.

Sam could hear her heart beating in her chest and her mouth went dry. Danny looked at her and she looked back, pleadingly, trying to signal to him with her eyes that he shouldn't do it. The demon that had his claws around her neck was crushing her windpipe and her vision started to blacken. She saw Danny stretch out his arms and reluctantly take what Plasmius was offering him. They were some silvery, shining wristbands. Danny looked at her one more time and slid them in place. The demon eased his grip somewhat and she could breathe again.

Plasmius took out a small device and pressed a button on it. Danny screamed, reverted back to his human form and dropped to the ground, face down. Sam whimpered.

"You cannot take your ghost form unless I allow it," Vlad said.

Danny tried to get up and Vlad pressed another button. Again, Danny screamed and his body started twitching, as if he was being electrocuted. Sam tried to pull free but the demons that were holding her were too strong. Finally, Vlad let go and Danny just laid there, panting. The female ghost floated up to her and touched her face.

"Little one," she whispered, "Go home. Go to sleep. No more painful memories."

She stroked Sam´s forehead and her mind went blank.

Tucker had mixed feelings. Suddenly, he felt he had become redundant, a third wheel, with Sam and Danny pulling the ropes. They had convinced him of Danny´s existence, but he didn´t remember being friends with him. And he had come barging in and taken his best friend, smiling that cocky smile of his, looking so strong and independent. He had swept Sam right off her feet, although she denied it and even if Tucker didn't view her in that way, he was still jealous.. So Tucker felt left out. But he couldn't help but feel sorry for Danny too. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if everybody you loved just forgot you ever existed.

Lunch hour was coming to an end. He was leaning against the wall, eying the few students walking past him, playing with his PDA. He held his cell phone in his other hand, ready to call Sam whenever one of the secretaries came in sight. He hoped they would be quick about it, he felt very exposed standing there, but he didn't expect any trouble as he had a clear view on the hallway where the secretaries would be coming from.

He hadn´t counted on jocks playing pranks.

He was pushed aside and cried out in dismay when his cell phone flew out of his hand and landed on the floor with a crack. He turned around and saw Dash, Kwan, Paulina and several others snickering. They must have left the cafeteria early, in search of someone to torment. Unfortunately, they had chosen him.

"Hey!" he said angrily, "I still have payments on that!"

Dash picked up the phone and held it hight. "Jump, geek," he said.

Tucker jumped but Dash was too tall for him. Then they heard some commotion down the hall and they all turned.

"Animal Farm! Mr Fenton! Miss Manson! What do you think you are you doing!" Mr Lancer shouted.

"Oh no," Tucker thought and looked past the jocks and Mr Lancer into the office. The jocks started cheering and whistling and Tucker stared at the couple, engaged into what seemed like a very serious kiss. They broke apart, red faced.

"Detention for the both of you," Mr Lancer said as they left the office.

Tucker stood gaping at them as they approached him, still blushing madly. Dash threw Tucker's phone at him and he caught it, barely. The group that had been tormenting him a moment ago left, snickering at Danny and Sam as they passed them, pushing them and saying things like "Way to go Fenton" and "Ew, geek love."

"Some fake out make out," he heard Danny say to Sam and she punched him.

"You didn´t have to take it that far," she said and Danny looked to the ground.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I wanted to make it believable. Besides, I had to lock the cabinet." He started rubbing the back of his neck.

Tucker laughed. "That was believable all right!" he said, smirking, "In fact, so believable even you guys could believe it!"

They both glared at him. "Might I remind you," Sam said menacingly, "That we now both wear combat boots?"

Tucker backed away. But before he could say anything to save himself, Sam turned to Danny.

"Why didn´t you just tell us who you are? That you´re Danny Phantom?"