Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait, guys! School has just started and to be honest, I actually had Writer's Block for this chapter. -scowls- And, the site wouldn't let me upload this. To be honest, I really don't know why. But, I managed to upload it after around 10 tries. Yay! .
Anyways, no need to worry about waiting too long for the next update. It's all in my head, I just have to write it down.
So, here's Chapter Five!
Lovesick
Chapter Five
Sam awoke the next morning on a soft bed. Slivers of sunlight washed into the room through the dark, black curtains. Beside the bed a small black nightstand stood, the digital alarm clock confirming her guess it was morning. A shiny black vanity stood against the wall, bottles and containers of unopened makeup piled upon it. A small black dresser stood at the far corner of the room. Beside the dresser was a wooden, black door, from which hung a thin, gold plaque with the word 'Bathroom' engraved across it.
Sam yawned and stretched lazily on the covers. She vaguely wondered where she was as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her eyes suddenly snapped open. Last night's memories flooded back to her, reminding her of her painful past. She hadn't told Danny anything on their way to FentonWorks, had she? She strained her memory. She didn't think so.
She nearly tripped and fell on her way to the bathroom, her mind still preoccupied with last night's events. As she slipped the lock into place her cell phone rang. She reluctantly reached for it, knowing who was on the other line.
She flipped it open and heard Moon scream her name. Instead of holding it an arms length away from her this time, she put it on speaker phone so she was free to be as far away from the deranged thing as possible. Sam winced, gingerly setting her phone down on top of the sink, afraid that if she wasn't careful, the phone would explode into a million pieces.
"Yes, grandmother?" Sam asked, standing in front of the sink and looking down at the phone. She wondered how someone so foul and evil could be communicating with her on the other line. It was a curse. A dark, evil curse.
"Have you killed him yet?" Moon's voice rasped hoarsely on the other line.
"Er, no, not-" Sam started. She flinched and took a few steps backwards as Moon interrupted her, her hoarse voice echoing off the tiles of the bathroom.
"You've had a day, Samantha. Sarah told me you were particularly good at flirting and such. I would have expected you to kill him by now," Moon paused, thinking. "I can see you cannot be trusted. I will contact you every day now, Samantha. Do not disappoint me."
The dial tone sounded, sending waves of relief over Sam. She sighed and reluctantly walked back to the sink, quickly snapping her phone shut. As she turned to leave, she caught her reflection in the mirror.
Sam gasped. She had expected to see her face blackened by bruises. Instead, her fair skin was blemish-free, not a trace that she had been severely beaten up a few days ago visible. Sam raised a hand up at the mirror. She gently touched her reflection's cheek, still incredulous that she seemed fine.
She smiled and unlocked the bathroom door, walking back into the room. She stopped as she noticed Danny sitting on the edge of the bed, looking around the room with interest. He smiled as she approached and sat beside him.
"Do you like the room?" Danny asked.
Sam nodded. "Very black. It's like you ordered the room custom-made for me," she paused, voicing her thoughts. "Where did you get all the black furniture?"
Danny chuckled. "I had a goth phase in middle school."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "And the makeup?"
"Actually, those belong to my sister, Jazz." He laughed as Sam crossed her arms over her chest, silently demanding a better explanation. "Well, they did. Jazz got a makeup gift set for Christmas, but they were all dark colors. She never used them," he added.
Before Sam could answer, he stood up and walked over to the dresser. "There's also some clothes in here. Mom thought you might like to shower and change," he shrugged.
He looked back at her, his smile fading as he noticed Sam thinking hard. He could almost see the gears of her mind turning. He walked back and sat down on the bed.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
Sam didn't appear to hear him. Finally, she turned around to face him and spoke.
"No. I was just wondering how you got in here," she pointed at the locked door. "The door was locked. And, I didn't hear you come in."
Danny opened his mouth to reply, but apparently Sam wasn't finished. "And, before I left the bathroom, I heard this odd noise. I can't really describe it, but it was like a whoosh," she said. Her next words made Danny's blood freeze.
"It was like I had heard it before, the day in the alleyway. I saw this figure, floating, and then I heard this whoosh and he wasn't there anymore. I blinked and saw you instead."
She thought for a moment, then laughed and shook her head. "No, that figure couldn't have possibly been you, right Danny?"
She turned to Danny, her smile immediately turning into a look of concern at Danny's stiff position. Danny noticed this and forced a laugh, causing Sam's features to soften.
"No, of course not," Danny said, forcing a smile.
This seemed to reassure Sam, who stood up and walked over to the bathroom. She told Danny she was going to take a quick shower and slipped inside, leaving Danny to sort out his concerned thoughts.
-DP-
Danny quickly shut the guest room door where Sam was staying. He double checked the Ghost Portal to make sure the doors were firmly shut, entering a five-digit password when he reached the top of the stairs, for added security. Then, he walked out of the lab and into the kitchen, where Jazz sat, reading a book.
Jazz looked up as he entered, her eyes flickering over his stiff figure before returning to her book. She ate a spoonful of the soggy cereal laying beside her before turning the page of her book. Knowing Jazz, she was probably reading up on the theory of reverse psychology or something related to that subject.
She closed her book as Danny sat down across from her, folding a corner of the page as a bookmark. She looked across the table at Danny, who was mindlessly serving himself some cereal.
"Danny," her voice made Danny jump and grip his spoon tightly, as if ready to use the spoon as a weapon if needed. His grip loosened as he noticed it was only his little sister speaking.
Jazz looked across the table at her older brother with concern. "What's wrong, Danny?" She asked gently.
Danny stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. He turned his head side to side, as if making sure no one was around. Then, he leaned closer to the table and in a low voice, spoke.
"Sam knows."
Jazz dropped her spoon into her cereal bowl in shock. She swallowed nervously. "Are you sure?"
Danny leaned back into his chair, contemplating her question. Finally, he shook his head.
"No, but she knows something is going on. She saw Danny Phantom in the alleyway. Her vision was blurry, so of course she doesn't know that 'the figure' as she calls it, is actually-"
"Hey guys."
Danny froze mid-sentence, recognizing Sam's voice.
Sam walked up the steel stairs and sat down in the empty chair next to Danny's. She tossed her hair back behind her with the air of a princess, causing Jazz to scowl. She smiled warmly at Danny, who, at the moment, was gazing at her intently.
Danny studied Sam. Though she wasn't wearing anything elegant, she looked very pretty. Her amethyst eyes were sparkling and her sleek black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that fell down her back. Her pale skin was scrubbed and clean, covered by a black mid-riff and some jeans that fit her quite snugly. But what was most enticing about her was her smell. She smelled like sugar spun on a stick.
Sam didn't think Danny was paying too much attention to her. He was lost in his own little world, for he neither moved nor blinked. Whatever he was gazing at held his attention. His azure eyes had darkened considerably, reminding Sam of storm clouds, only blue.
She had gone through this enough at training to know that Danny was observing her, his eyes raking over her body. She was accustomed to it, but when Danny stared at her like that, it made a light blush creep to her cheeks for an unexplained reason. She cleared her throat, making Danny snap out of his reverie.
Danny blinked a few times, then shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. He smiled wanly at both girls before taking his uneaten cereal bowl and dropping it in the sink, then walking out of the kitchen.
Sam watched him leave. She stood up and followed him out, completely ignoring Jazz, who scowled darkly at her retreading back.
After searching the living room for Danny, she walked out the front door, thinking perhaps he was in the garage with his car.
-DP-
Danny leaned against the bark of the tree, his eyes closed and his mind wandering. Something about Sam struck him as odd. She didn't seem to mind staying in the guest room; quite the opposite, she seemed to enjoy the dark atmosphere. Well, that wasn't so odd, she was a goth after all. Or, somewhat goth.
But how could she come so close to figuring out his secret in so little time? They had spent some time together and that seemed to be enough for her to piece the puzzle together. He knew sooner or later he would have to reveal his secret, but he didn't think he could bear her shocked expression. He could see her now, backing away from him slowly, her eyes wide and clouded with fear. He sighed.
Suddenly he heard something. A soft crunching of leaves. He winced. She had found him.
He could feel her eyes on him, he could always feel her eyes on him. That feeling alone countered with the feeling of dread in his stomach, sending wild butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He heard her sit down next to him.
"So, you found me." He said, not bothering to open his eyes and look at her.
Sam nodded, then remembered he couldn't see her. "Yes. It wasn't that hard."
Danny opened an eye and looked at her, puzzled. Sam leaned against the tree and some stray hairs brushed against Danny's cheek, causing him to flinch. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to tell her the truth.
"I thought about where I would want to go to think, and that led me here, to the park, to you." She said softly and brought her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around them. She was silent for a moment, watching the sunset as it set over the horizon. Without thinking, she snuggled closer to Danny, her head resting on his shoulder.
Danny's eyes sprang open and he looked down at her questioningly. Sam didn't see him, however, because she had closed her eyes. She let out a peaceful sigh.
Danny smiled down at the young girl—no, woman—resting against his shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed up at him. "The sunset is really pretty, don't you think?" She murmured.
Danny smiled down at her. "Not as pretty as you."
He lowered his head to give her a light kiss, when Sam's eyes widened. Her senses heightened and she saw Danny leaning in to her in slow motion. She quickly pushed herself away from him. She stood up, feeling guilt clench her heart at his confused look.
"We should get going." She said, suddenly feeling extremely confused. Why had she pulled away? She wanted to kiss him. She started walking back towards the park's entrance.
Danny smiled slyly as she walked away. She was so mysterious, so reserved. And he liked that. No matter about his alter-ego. She would learn about that soon enough. He would be the one to break her out of her shell. She would be his.
After all, he liked a challenge.