Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
5. Seeking solace
Sam hugged her coat tightly around her, keeping it closed with one hand, while wiping the snow out of her hair with the other. Her feet rustled through the two inch thick layer of white fluffiness that was on the ground, the sound of it muffled by the falling flakes. The orange lamp light gave everything a lonely glow, as if she was walking through a world that didn't exist.
At one AM, it was very quiet out on the streets, and she shivered a little when a few snowflakes managed to get inside her coat, melting on the bare skin of her neck. She should have worn a scarf. Stopping for a moment, she took the time to properly button up, to keep the cold out as much as possible.
Combat boots making clear, distinctive imprints in the fresh snow, she made her way down the familiar streets without thinking, driven by a need, giving in to impulse. The snow made it look as if she wasn't really there, as if she was only dreaming. She just wished that in her dream, she wasn't so cold.
The giant neon sign came into view when she rounded the last corner, shining brightly through the snow like a beacon, lighting the street much better than the streetlights did. Other than that sign, the house was dark.
Quickly, she passed the front entrance and entered the alley next to the house, which was mostly free of snow. She stamped her feet a few times to get rid of the snow that had attached itself to her boots, and then grabbed the trashcan and pushed it under his window, praying that it was open like it usually was, no matter how cold it got outside.
His parents, however, worried about the low temperature of the room, and they had been known to enter in the middle of the night to close it, unaware of the fact that half the time it wasn't Danny that was laying in the bed, but a bunch of pillows and a black wig. Sam had frequently commented on this half hearted attempt at subterfuge, but he had shrugged, saying his parents were oblivious, and saw only what they wanted to see. That last part came out bitterly.
Tentatively, she climbed on top of the trashcan, wobbling a little, and stretched out, reaching for the top of the wall that was at the end of the alley. Her fingers hooked around the edge, and she pulled herself up, a feat neither Danny nor Tucker was able to do. Of course, Danny didn't need to, he could just float up if he wanted to.
Sitting on the wall, she peered at his window, trying to see if it was open. It seemed slightly ajar, and she sighed in relief. She really didn't want to walk all the way back to her own house.
Balancing awkwardly, she managed to get herself standing up, and she reached out to the narrow edge under the window. The rest was relatively easy, and moments later she tumbled into his room with a soft thud.
She laid on the floor quietly for a moment, listening to his breathing, trying to determine if she had woken him up. At least he was there, and not out on some ghost fight. Satisfied that he was still asleep, she got up and closed the window, making sure that it was slightly ajar as it had been. Then she quickly took off her coat and her boots, revealing black and purple pyjamas.
Silently, she stepped closer to the bed, looking at the boy in it, laying on his right side, curled into a ball, his blankets covering only his legs. He was wearing a white t-shirt, leaving his arms bare, but she knew he wasn't cold, even though she was shivering in the cold room.
When she was a little girl, she sometimes would have night terrors, scary dreams that somehow managed to penetrate into the waking world, dreams that she didn't seem to be able to wake up from. Her solution back then had always been to find a place of warmth and safety, of loving arms that would hold her and tell her it was alright to be afraid, but they would protect her from anything. Her parents had often found their little girl squeezed in between them, smiling happily to herself.
Of course, that had been a long time ago. When she got older, the warm and safe feeling of being with her parents vanished somehow, leaving her colder and more alone. But also, the night terrors ceased, and there had no longer been any reason to want to creep into her parents bed for comfort.
Tonight... tonight she had woken from a scary dream, a dream she didn't remember the details of, but had left her rattled, shaken to the core, to scared to move in her own room. The longing for a safe place was there again, but her parents were out of the question. So instead, she had grabbed her coat and had hurried out of the house, in search of the one place she would find safety, if not warmth.
Definitely not warmth, she thought, as she pulled the covers back a little and climbed into Danny's bed, snuggling against him. She would have some explaining to do in the morning, but for now she was safe. She listened to his breathing for a while, and her eyes fluttered closed as she drifted off.
A slow smile crept onto Danny's face.
