So I'm like wacked out of my mind right now because I haven't slept in like three days and I ran a 5K this morning. Or maybe it was yesterday morning. I can't remember ): Not 100% sure if I'm gonna remember this later.

That being said, don't be surprised if this chapter gets redone later on.

Sooo in case you haven't noticed, this guy just got bumped up to an M! Up until now it's been a T, but this chapter sort of crosses the line into the M territory. No sex.

Yet.

Wow, you guys really don't like Lars! He's literally said like maybe three words. I can't wait to see how y'all react to this chapter.

Um...so...okay. I think that's all. I can't...really...think of anything else to say. Besides the disclaimer.

I don't own Danny Phantom.

Also,

Enjoy! (:

Wide Awake

Chapter Thirteen

June 23, 2013

"Lars?" Sam shrieked. His grin grew smugger as he laced his fingers together over his head. "What -? I don't -"

"It's nothing personal, it's just that I hate you." Lars shrugged. Sam snarled something so fiercely it was incoherant and took several steps forward, bringing the barrel of the gun to the tip of his nose.

"I'll blow your fucking head off." She swore through gritted teeth.

"No, you won't." Lars said firmly, face a mask of seriousness.

"If she doesn't, I will." Danny said darkly, moving to stand at Sam's side.

Lars laughed loudly. "Who the hell is this kid?" He asked, gesturing to Danny with one hand.

"Nevermind who he is!" Sam practically screeched. She whirled around and planted her hand in the center of Danny's chest, giving him a firm shove backwards before turning her full attention back to Lars. "I wanna know why you were trying to kill us!"

"Not kill you, just run you off the road." Lars corrected her, still glancing rather curiously at Danny. Sam snarled again and moved to block Danny from Lars' vision.

"Back off." She spat. Danny could clearly see Lars recoil, and for a brief moment Danny wondered just how much righteous fury was shining through Sam's face.

"Look, you little bitch," Lars growled, eyeing the gun warily. Danny had to bite his tongue hard to keep from lashing out at Lars. "I've been very patient with you. I've kept our little secret under wraps but lately you haven't been holding up your end of the bargain. We're starting to get antsy."

"Bargain?" Danny interjected. Sam ignored him. "What's he talking about?"

"She didn't tell you?" Lars craned around to flash an incredulous look at Danny. "Figures, Sam never tells anyone anything anymore. She's got trust issues."

"I swear to God!" She shook the barrel slightly, fingers curling around the gun until her knuckles whitened. "Shut the fuck up!" She threw a glance over her shoulder at Danny. "Ignore him." She muttered to him through her clenched teeth.

"You have two weeks, do you understand me?" Lars hissed. Sam's head snapped back toward him, her onyx hair flying.

"Leave. Now." Sam whispered. They glowered at each other a moment longer before Lars turned sharply away from the barrel of the gun and stormed past his car. Luke, who had not spoken a word since first exiting the car, quickly moved to follow Lars. Sam kept the gun aimed at Lars until he was far enough away for the dust blowing up from the ground to conceal him. She lowered the gun slowly, obviously still fuming, before whirling around and stomping over to the driver's side of the Jeep. She climbed inside and stared stonily at the horizon until Danny joined her in the car.

"What was Lars talking about?" He asked the moment the door slammed shut behind him.

Sam revved the engine and tore away from the side of the road. She drove the car in a wide arc, around several buildings, before pulling back onto the road and speeding back toward the ranch. The needle was just brushing ninety miles an hour when she sighed. "How much did Valerie tell you about what Lars did?"

"She told me that he snuck into your room and tried to rape you in the middle of the night, Tucker woke up, and you two almost beat Lars to death. Also that you guys had a hearing and unanimously decided to kick him off of the ranch."

"Is that all?"

Danny felt his heart sink. "I...is there more to it?"

"Um..." She bit her lower lip, eyes scanning the horizon as if searching for a way out of their conversation. He could see her throat working against itself, as if she was trying to swallow a particularly large lump lodged in her windpipe.

"Sam," Danny said softly. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly and he could feel the car starting to lose momentum. "It's okay. I'm not gonna judge you. I swear to you, I won't think any less of you."

She stepped on the brakes, slowing the car significantly until they rolled to a stop on the side of the road. Silence swelled through the cab. Danny considered reaching out to touch her, but just as he got the nerve up to lift his hand, Sam threw the car in park and turned to face him. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, before slowly exhaling. Danny's eyes fluttered closed against his will as her breath washed over his face.

"I already told you that I willingly slept with Lars before the whole rape incident," Her voice jolted him out of his momentary reverie. He cleared his throat and nodded, shifting further up in his seat to face her more easily. He desperately wished to reach out and smooth the place between her eyebrows with the pad of his thumb as they were currently creased from her furrowed brow. "That's what he was talking about when he mentioned 'our little secret.'" She heaved another great sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "But I had to make a deal with him so that he would be willing to go quietly."

"What deal?" Danny asked, already feeling a cold sense of dread seep down his spine.

She did not answer right away. Several moments of near silence passed, the only sound being the quiet purr of the engine idling. "He...he just..." She murmured, staring down at her hands. "Before the trial he...I had to make sure he wouldn't tell anyone that we'd...you know...and so I...I went and talked to him about it and he said the only way he wouldn't tell anyone is if I..." Her voice trailed.

"If you what?" Danny asked breathlessly, clenching his hands into fists on his thighs.

"If I...if I help him find somewhere to stay alive, okay? I've been helping him stay alive, but then he found a few other survivors and now they're getting out of control. He keeps insisting that I provide for them all but last time I was out there with them I told them I wasn't gonna do it anymore. You heard him," She gestured out the windshield as if Lars was standing before their car. "They're getting antsy. Seth, I don't really have much of a choice in the matter. If I don't do what they say..."

"What, they'll come and hurt you? I'd like to see them try," Danny spat, venom dripping from each syllable. Sam scoffed, her gaze still downcast. His head snapped toward her and he could feel a snarl twisting his features. "I'm not kidding. If he comes anywhere near you, I'll rip him limb from limb. I'll destroy him. I'll make him wish he was never even born." Her eyes were wide and trained on his face. He could feel himself trembling with conviction, his nostrils flaring, before he realized who he was supposed to be. "A-and I just met you," He added, his voice quivering. "Just imagine how the rest of the crew is gonna react when -"

"No!" She cried sharply. "We can't tell them, they can't know! If I had my way, you wouldn't know either! Seth," She was shaking her head frantically beneath the look he was giving her. "You don't understand. If they find out that I've been helping Lars since we kicked him out, they'll kick me out, too."

He blanched. That was not at all what he wanted. "Well, what if we told Tucker? He could help..."

Sam laughed humorlessly. "Have you met Tucker?" She asked. "He's not exactly a huge fan of Lars, hasn't been since the night we left Amity."

Danny fell back against his chair, closing his eyes and sighing. Exhaustion tugged at his limbs, begging him to find a bed and sleep until the world ended. "You can't deal with this on your own. You can't expect to take care of an entire second group when you've got so much responsibility in this group already." After a moment of hesitation, he stretched his arm across the gap between them and his fingers grazed her shoulder. He felt her stiffen, heard her suck in a sharp breath, but his hand made purchase and as gently as he could possibly manage, he applied pressure. "You don't have to tell everyone, but...please, let me help you,"

He took it as a good sign that she did not immediately throw his hand off of her shoulder. "It's not that simple," She murmured, eyes drifting to his arm bridging the gap between them. He felt the urge to withdraw as she studied the veins bulging in his forearm. "I can't just walk in there with you. They might want something more if you help me."

"But you said it yourself, they're starting to get wilder and if you're not able to keep up they could hurt you. They could kill you. And if no one else knows you're out there..." She turned her head away from him, gazing out the windshield in misery. "Please, Sam, let me help you. If nothing else, for the sake of my sanity."

She lifted the arm he was not grasping to rub her eyes in exhaustion. "I can see how stressed out you are," He pressed. She snorted, still rubbing her eyes. "C'mon...please?"

She yawned and dropped her hand down to her lap. Slowly, through bloodshot eyes, she turned to face him again. "Okay," She mumbled, nodding begrudgingly and rolling her eyes when he fist-pumped in excitement. "But you can't tell anyone! I can't stress enough how important it is that this stays between you and me."

"Believe me, your secret is safe with me." He gave her shoulder one last squeeze, resisting the longing he felt in his heart, before twisting back in his seat to face forward.

"We should get back, the sun's starting down and if we're not there for the bonfire tonight Tucker'll get suspicious," Sam gripped the steering wheel with one hand and ran her other through her hair. "Oh, God," She muttered, pulling her hand back to stare at her fingers. "I need a shower,"

"You guys have a shower?" Danny asked incredulously as she pulled the car onto the road.

She threw him a stunned glance. "No one told you?" She asked, disbelief ringing in her voice. Danny shook his head, scarcely feeling the way his eyes bulged. "Oh my God! When was the last time you took a shower?" He turned away and furrowed his brow, trying to recall the last time he thought it prudent to at least attempt to scrub the grime off of his body. "Oh, Jesus, Seth! I'm so sorry, you've got first shower when we get back, I swear!"

"No, no! If you want the -"

"When I said I needed a shower, it's more like I haven't showered in a couple days. If you can't even remember the last time you washed your hair..." She shivered. "Compared to you I probably feel like a freshly picked daisy."

He laughed, long and loud. She glanced at him curiously, uncertain smile flashing across her face, before her attention was back on the road. He was still grinning widely when she quietly murmured, "You even laugh like him."

He felt his facial expression turn to stone. It was not until they were back at the front gate of the ranch that he finally tore his gaze away from the passanger's window to glance over the console where she was sitting. Her gaze was determindly fixated on the three people jogging down the slope toward the gate.

"Okay, so, here's everything you'll need," Sam shoved a towel and a bar of soap into Danny's outstretched arms. "There's a huge jug of shampoo in there, but please try to be careful. I know this is your first shower in a long time, but try to remember that there are about fifty other people who need it too and we really need to make it last. We won't have this luxery much longer."

Danny nodded firmly, unable to keep from tapping his foot impatiently. Sam continued to fret over the towel, warning him not to rub too vigerously when he dried off "because they're threadbare anyways, the even the slightest tug could send it into a pile of yarn at your feet."

"Sam, I'll be careful," He assured her. She studied his face through a mask of worry before decidedly nodding. She planted herself beside the door to the tiny cabin (which was really closer to a shack) behind the barn, crossing her legs and studying her nails. "I'll only be a few minutes," He said as he stepped through the doorway.

"Take your time," she murmured absently. He watched her a moment longer before the cool interior of the cabin called him further inside. The door shut with a soft click behind him. He peered deeper into the one-room cabin, pausing just inside the door to kick his shoes off. The floors were cobbled, not unlike the front entrance of the main building, and the walls were covered in large slabs of stone. The wood-panelled ceiling hung low over his head, brushing against his hair when he stood on the balls of his feet. The right corner of the cabin was dominated by a vast shower, slightly sunken into the ground, with a showerhead so large it was nearly twice the circumfrence of his head hanging directly over the center of the shower. He swallowed hard. There were no curtains.

A large mirror hung on the same wall as the door, with three sinks set into a gleaming marble countertop spaced evenly before it. A white porcelain toilet sat innocently in the left corner of the building, opposite the shower. The entire building was probably only fifteen square feet, but it felt huge. He paused in the center of the room and turned slowly, trying to imagine Paulina and her parents enjoying themselves there. It felt as if a lifetime had passed since the time he would have actually cared about using the same shower Paulina used.

Now all he felt was a stark indifference about it all. He could not even bring himself to care that Sam had used this shower at some point, because his brain quickly reminded him that Lars probably also saw the cool tiles lining the walls inside the shower. He gritted his teeth and dropped the towel on the floor at the thought of Lars.

That fucking prick got to take her before I could, he thought as he practically ripped his clothes off. His phone clattered to the ground as he yanked his shorts down, distracting him for a moment, but he quickly shook it off and finished undressing. I bet he didn't even love her, he just wanted to use her for the sex. He stalked toward the shower and yanked the knobs around, sending a burst of water cascading down on his head. If I ever get him alone, I'm gonna smash his head into a brick wall. He pictured it, imagined taking Lars by the back of his neck and slamming his head repeatedly into a brick wall until his skull crumbled and blood poured from his ears, and he grinned with a kind of savage pleasure. He pictured Sam watching, cheering for him, calling out to him with his real name. He could feel his heartrate increase at the thought of seizing her by the waist and planting a searing kiss against her lips, hauling her there into the shower without ever breaking that kiss, pinning her to the wall and having his way with her while she writhed against him in pleasure. He could imagine it so clearly, her arms clinging to his neck, fingernails scraping against his shoulderblades hard enough to draw blood, her breath sharp and hot against his ear.

He jumped at the distant sound of a gunshot. The water was nearly scalding by then, sending thick spirals of steam rushing up past his face to lick the ceiling. He shook his head and closed his eyes, desperately trying to focus on the water pounding into the muscles of his back rather than the blood pounding through a certain body part below his belt region.

He did try to hurry, but he enjoyed the feeling of suds running down his body far too much to rush through. He was careful to take the smallest amount of shampoo he could, but he did take his time massaging the substance into his scalp. He could feel layers and layers of dust and grime swirling around his feet and plummeting down the drain, and it felt far better than he ever imagined it could.

He tried to calculate the amount of time that passed while he was showering, but found that he could not. He stooped down where he dropped the towel and carefully ran it up his legs, going as slowly as possible to avoid tearing any holes through it. He thought he could hear the sounds of people shouting just outside the door of the cabin, but he quickly shook it off in favor of toweling off his hair. He redressed quickly, shoving his lifeless phone back into his pocket and carefully folding the towel over his arm as he made his way back to the door of the cabin. He stooped to retie his shoes, before throwing the door open and blinking at the light of the setting sun.

Sam was still sitting right where he left her, her head lolled backwards and resting against the wall of the cabin. She jumped when he opened the door, bringing a hand up to sheild her eyes as she glanced over him. "Wow, you look like you feel better," She grinned.

"I feel like a totally different person," He nodded. She chuckled and scrambled to her feet, eyes still raking up and down his freshly cleaned form. He cleared his throat pointedly, biting the inside of his cheek to hide his grin as she jumped and met his gaze. "What was all that noise I heard?"

"What, the gun? It was nothing, someone was just doing target practice," She shrugged.

"And the people screaming?"

"Oh, jeez, you can hear really well. They're just getting firewood together for the bonfire in a couple hours," She waved her hand over her shoulder dismissively. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Why, did you think something was going on?"

"Well, no, not really. I was just curious more than anything else," He glanced past her, toward the line of people hauling armfuls of firewood to the far side of the barn. He could see Eams chatting animatedly with Kee, who was pointedly ignoring him as they trudged along. "I wasn't worried," He added as an afterthought. Eams seemed to feel Danny's gaze, for he suddenly lifted his arm and waved excitedly to him. Danny lifted his hand and waved back, grinning as Kee shot a confused glance over her shoulder.

Sam craned around to see as well, the right side of her mouth gravitating upward in a grin. "Making friends, are we?" She chided, turning back to face him.

Danny shrugged. "He's got the cot next to mine," He said, still gazing in their direction. "He's pretty cool."

"His girlfriend's cooler," Sam whispered. He turned his gaze down to her, meeting her grin with a grin of his own. "I'm getting in the shower. I'll see you at the bonfire?"

She was already half-way through the door, but she turned to face him, holding the door open with one hand. Her eyes were lit, and something close to excitement made her face practically glow. Her beauty left him speechless for a brief moment.

"Seth!" Eams' voice echoed across the distance, bursting the tranquility of the moment. Danny glanced around, spotted Kee and Eams crossing the field, headed straight toward him. He turned back to Sam, who was just looking back to him from peering around the doorframe as well.

"See you at the bonfire," Danny murmured. Her smile widened and she lingered in the doorway for a moment longer before the door swung shut and Danny was left to stare longingly at the space she occupied only seconds before.

So it wasn't too graphic at all. I don't think. I just feel a little uncomfortable leaving this at a T. I feel like there's too big of a risk of this getting reported if I don't change the rating now. Besides, I plan to make this story earn a true-blue M in later chapters, so it's better to bump it now rather than trying to remember to do it later.

Heh. Do it.

Idk, y'all tell me if you think it's still light enough to be a T, because I know that most people don't browse the M fics and I do want this to get as many readers as possible. I always get a new group of readers with each chapter I post.

Yeah so okay I'm gonna go now. Hope you guys enjoyed this, please feel free to leave any questions/comments/concerns/hate mail for Lars in the review box below. Please address all flames to Lars as well. I'll deliver any and all messages to him as quickly as possible.

Plus your reviews make me giggle. (:

Okay, that's all I got. Thanks for reading!

Tori