The End of the NeverEnding (Book 1)

by GhostWriter11202

When Violet moves to town, she takes a special liking to Danny Fenton. But there's more than what meets the eye. When Danny's "amnesia" prevents him from knowing the truth about what happened, he learns the hard way. By being pushed into the road. But when things finally start to fall into place, a chain reaction causes for Clockwork's involvement. That's when Danny has a choice.

5. Ditch and Catch

Chapter 5 *Ditch and Catch*

There were people everywhere, old and young, short and tall. The crowd would thin out, then clog up again repeatedly, never ceasing to trip him once or twice. The smells mixed and combined, sometimes pleasant, and then, not so much. The sounds were overwhelming; cheers of excitement, moans of boredom, the chatter of exuberant people, and the ringing of cellphones. Even the patter of their footsteps sounded like the beating of drums.
"I know it's kind of mainstream, but the mall is always fun, right? Unless you have any ideas," Violet said apologetically. Danny shook his head. He didn't know of any places at the time being.
"Well, then this is the closest we're going to get to having fun. But believe me, I can make it work," she said with a twinkle in her eye. He smiled back. It was easy to feel comfortable around Violet.
"Now, where should we go first..." she muttered to herself, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Actually, I noticed you didn't have any lunch. Hungry?"
"I don't have money," he replied ashamedly, giving her a sorry grin.
She swatted her hand dismissively. "No prob. I got cash."
His eyes widened. "Are you sure? I'll pay you back, promise."
"Nah, I got it covered."
She led him to the food court and they sat down among the hundreds of other shoppers, but they picked the most seclusive spot. They weren't too keen on sitting in the center of the busy-bodied crowd, so the seats they chose were near the back of the court, barely noticeable.
"This worked out well. What do you want to eat?" Violet asked politely, raising her eyebrows in perfect arcs.
"Anything's fine. Do you do this often?"
"Excuse me?"
"Ditch, I mean. Do you skip school often?" Danny asked. Violet seemed so natural at it, like she did it everyday. And he had to admit, he wasn't as tranquil.
"No, but why would I have to? This is way more fun than boring old school, right? Please don't tell me you're thinking about going back." Her eyes narrowed.
"No! No, I just wondered," he mumbled, looking at his hands. He actually had been thinking about going back. He may have no memory of his past life, but he knew right from wrong. And again, he wanted to do what was right, but Violet's words seemed to disagree with him. He stayed put.
"Okay then. I'll get the food." She left with a twirl.
***
"Thanks..." Valerie coughed, taking in a raspy breath when she settled down.
Sam and Tucker sat on the sides of the bed in the nurse's office, not planning on staying any longer than they had to. The white room and stale smell was all too familiar for comfort.
"No problem. We couldn't just let you lay there," Tucker said.
Valerie relaxed further into the bed, but her eyebrows were furrowed. "How did you know I was there? And why were you outside?"
"Huh-huh...well...you know...fresh air?" Sam said hesitantly, raising her shoulders.
The answer seemed to be sufficient for Valerie, because she didn't question any further. Instead, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, letting her mind wrap around everything Violet had said.

She would most definitely have nightmares.
Sam and Tucker stood up slowly, not wanting to wake Valerie, and slipped from the room as quietly as possible.
"Where is he?" Sam murmured anxiously when she walked into her eighth period class.
Tucker nearly ran into her back when she stopped in the doorway. "Watch it! I'm sure he's fine, don't worry about it."
"I've heard that before."
"Okay, bad example, but still. There's a million reasons why he's not here! He could have gotten sick, gotten in trouble-"
"Or he's with that backstabbing, deceitful, doubting, double-timing, interfering, imbecilic, ignorant, little ghost! Or should I say demon?"
"Nope, that simple description of yours was right on the nose. And I'm sure he has enough sense to avoid her."
"Doubt it. You saw how he was wrapped around Violet's pinky finger. I know he's with her."
"Chill out, Sam. Do you-"
"Would you two care to sit down? Or would you like to stand during the duration of my class?" their teacher snapped. All students were already in their seats and had their notebooks out, and they were all staring at Sam and Tucker. The bell had rung without them hearing it, obviously.
"Sorry," they mumbled as they took their seats.
'This is going to be one long day,' Sam thought, drawing the word "long" in her mind's voice. 'Long indeed.'
When class finally ended, Sam dreaded ninth period. It would probably drag twice as long and twice as boring.
"Hey! Wait up!" someone called. They turned to Valerie, who was running towards them and waving her arm in the air wildly. They also noticed her backpack, which she kept with her at all times. The same backpack that held all of her ghost hunting equipment and her jumpsuit, which she wore whenever she hunted. The backpack was a bleak reminder that Valerie was just as much an enemy as Violet.
"What?" Tucker asked suspiciously, wary of her intentions.
"What? I just wanted to hang with you guys a while," Valerie said defiantly. But not with enough conviction. Sam almost burst into laughter, but managed a short snort. Tucker looked at her disbelievingly.
Sighing, she held her hands up in surrender. "Okay. I really wanted to ask you about what you saw," she gave them accusing glares. "And what you didn't see."
"We don't know what you mean," Sam replied tersely. She reciprocated the glare, but with more hate.
"You know what I mean. What do you think you saw outside, when you found me? How long were you standing there?"
"Nothing, we saw nothing. We just heard some voices and came to find you on the ground," Tucker explained, taking the dilemma into his own incapable hands.
Valerie seemed evidently relieved. She lost her tense demeanor and exhaled loudly.
"Thank goodness," they both heard her mutter, but she regained her composure in an instant. "Well, that's all I needed. See ya." She spun on her heels and walked leisurely to her next class.
"Nice save," Sam congratulated Tucker.
"Thanks, but it doesn't take much to deter Valerie."
"It does when it comes to grudges. She's still hunting Danny, and now she's after Violet. She's going to get hurt if she doesn't give it up now!" Sam worried aloud.
"Oh. Good point," Tucker said defeatedly, realizing she was right.
They stood motionless, each in their own little world as they imagined what would happen if Valerie attempted to fight back against Violet.
Snapping out of it, Sam shook her head. "Ugh! Let's get to class! I'm sick of worrying about people getting hurt and Violet and-just-ugh!"
"Okay, okay! Settle, Drama Queen! Geez, sometimes I think you could beat Paulina in complaining."
Sam flicked him in the forehead. "Shut up."
"Ow!" He rubbed his forehead and took off in front of her.
"Oh, wait up! Who's the drama queen now?" she called after him, not even bothering to speed up. Tucker didn't say anything, but didn't slow down either. Sam laughed quietly and followed after him. Despite her good-natured jesting right now, her mind was heavy with the thoughts of Danny and Violet.
***
"Maybe we should be getting back, it's past ninth," Danny said nervously. They had been wandering around the mall for over half an hour and Danny had lost his awed reaction to the rambunctious surroundings.
"Oh," Violet sighed. "I suppose you're right. Come on."
They elbowed and nudged their way through the bustling crowd, neither bothering to say "excuse me", or "sorry". They'd been forcing their way through for little over an hour and knew no one really cared; they were too busy pushing through anyway.
"Why's it so busy?" Danny asked, trying to keep Violet talking so he wouldn't lose her.
"It's a mall. Answer enough?" she replied, somewhere to Danny's left. He followed her voice.
"I suppose. Do you know what time it is?"
"About 2:40. Why?" She sounded farther to his right. Confused, he switched directions.
"Just wondering."
"You say that a lot."
"Hm. I guess I do, don't I? Well, I've had quite a few things to wonder about lately."
"Touché." Her voice floated to him from straight in front. He stopped and let the people push and shove by. He took a moment to sort out his thoughts before he started walking again, but he stopped again when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around to find Violet.
"Weren't you just..." He trailed off.
"Weren't I just what? Follow me, the exit's this way." She began through the crowd to his right and he followed falteringly after her, making sure to keep her in sight at all times.
Once they made it to the glass doors, Violet didn't even turn around and took Danny's hand. Taken by surprise, he jumped back, but she didn't let go.
"What's wrong?" she asked, genuine concern reflecting in her glittering eyes.
"N-Nothing," he stuttered.
She nodded her head curtly, as if that settled some unknown matter. "Okay, then. Let's go, or you'll be in trouble."
He didn't argue, but allowed himself to be led away without complaint. Violet seemed content with being in control.
***
"Danny!" Sam shouted, running to catch up with him. She regarded Violet with a contemptuous glance.
"Hey, Sam. Hey, Tucker," he greeted formally, as if they weren't life-long friends.
"What-" She stopped short. Oh. Right. No memory.
"I mean, hey! Where were you?" Although she already knew the answer. She just wanted to know if she could trust Danny, now that Violet had corrupted him already in his new life.
But of course, it was too late. "Nowhere. I just didn't feel well and Violet volunteered to bring me home."
"Then why didn't your parents bring you home?" She couldn't believe he had lied so freely to her, as if it was the truth.
"You know how busy they are," he said without a second thought. Hm. He catches on quickly for someone who doesn't remember anything about anyone, let alone his own age.
"I see. Then why aren't you home now, then?"
"I felt better and we decided to take a walk. No harm in that."
"I guess not. But there is in ditching."
"Who said we ditched?" Violet spat at Sam, unable to tame the hatred in her flaring eyes.
"No one said you didn't," Sam retorted. Everyone had stopped walking now.
"Sam, maybe you should calm down..." Tucker put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off irritably.
"No! I know you're lying, Danny! And Violet's helping," Sam accused, glaring directly into Violet's amethyst eyes, which were now burning with contempt.
"I'm only helping him make the right choices! He shouldn't be hanging with you two and you know it!" Violet yelled, no longer caring who heard.
"No, I don't know it! Because he's our friend and you're using him. We heard you outside and we know you overshadowed Valerie!" Sam was now arm's length away from slapping Violet in the face. And though she would love to do that, she knew it wasn't the best choice right now. She maintained her violent actions, if not without reluctance.
Danny's eyes flicked back and forth between Sam and Violet as they exchanged angry accusations with each other. When Sam confessed about her last statement, about seeing Violet overshadow Valerie, he cut Violet off from her next snippy comment.
He held up a hand in from of them, so they could see he wanted them to stop. If he had just told them to stop, they most likely wouldn't have heard him over their vehement yelling. "Hold on. Overshadowed? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means nothing, Danny. See? Didn't I tell you she was crazy?" Violet assured in a soothing voice. She wound her fingers around his hand and stepped closer to him.
Sam's anger rose to full-blown outrage. How dare Violet use her powers on Danny in front of them! "Oh, no you don't!"
Sam stepped firmly between them and pushed them apart, unraveling their entwined hands and sending Violet into a stack of rotting trash bags and Danny aside onto the sidewalk.
But his feet got tangled in themselves and he tripped out into the road. He fell on his chest and began to get up on his hands and knees, having just enough time to see the speeding car coming straight at him. He shut his eyes tight just before it hit.
"No!" Sam shouted, reaching a hand out as if she could stop the car herself. Tucker couldn't manage a coherent response. Even Violet's face was vacant as she sat paralyzed in the trash.
The car swerved off the road as it tried to avoid the fear-stricken boy, and only resulted in crashing into the lamppost that was just ten feet away from where the three petrified teens stood. Or, two teens and a ghost.
When the car passed, Sam couldn't open her eyes. She didn't want to look. She was afraid to look. She had seen enough, she had seen that car hit... She felt just how she had when they had been in the elevator in the hospital.
But miraculously, they heard a voice. Not Tucker's. Not Violet's. And it wasn't Sam's. At first she thought it was the idiot driver's voice, but this voice was too wonted, too recognizable.
"Guys," his voice shaky and quiet. "How did I do that?"
Sam's eyes snapped open immediately, but she wasn't eager to look toward the road. But when she did, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She heard Tucker suck in a sharp breath.
Danny sat with his hands propped out behind him, supporting himself as he stared at them with an affrighted expression. His rapid breaths came out in white smoke as the cold air seemed to drop twenty degrees.
The dazed driver worked furiously out of his seat, the rippled door refusing to unhinge. When it finally jerked open, he fell onto the ground and stumbled up, fumbling in his pockets for his cellphone. But as he looked up he saw Danny, sitting upright and unharmed, and froze on the keypad.
"What...How..." he breathed, still gasping from the accident.
"Uh...miracles! Who knew? Hallelujah!" Tucker exclaimed, throwing his hands up in praise. Sam sarcastically made a mental note to thank Tucker for all his amazing explanations.
"But, I..." The stranger looked at Danny. "Are you alright?"
Still mute, Danny nodded.
"I-I...Good...So, no one's hurt?" Everyone shook their head. "Okay...I guess I better call someone in for this." He gestured to his crushed, mutilated automobile.
As the driver called up a tow truck, Sam ran out into the road to Danny. She dropped to her knees and took him by the shoulders.
"Are you alright?" she whispered. She didn't know why she was whispering, she just didn't have the energy to speak any louder. The suspense from before had wiped her out.
Again, he nodded silently.
"What happened?" she asked, not letting go of his shoulders for fear he would faint then and there.
"I-I don't know..." he said in a wavering susurrus.
"Let's go. You're not hurt, for sure?"
"No. No. I'm fine."
Sam hauled him up and they ran off the road, before any worse luck could befall them. Violet was already standing and brushing her clothes off. Tucker was still staring at Danny, then he looked at Sam. Sam nodded, knowing it was time to tell Danny.
Without a word they all started trudging back to Fenton Works. No one said anything, no one wanted to. Even Violet knew she shouldn't say anything to Danny, for there was a chance she could lose his trust if she said one mistaken word.
Once they reached the doorway of Fenton Works, Sam and Tucker pulled Danny away and down into the lab as Violet was forced to go with Jazz for tutoring. They could hear her grumbling as she sat down in the living room. She couldn't have hidden that she wanted to follow them if she had wanted to.
As they tripped and stumbled down the steps, Sam rummaged through her mind for a reasonable excuse to tell Danny as to why he was still living and standing in the same room as her. She could find no excuse but the truth.
"Sit down, Danny. Please," Sam insisted, urging him to sit in one of the seats by the cupboards along side the wall.
"No, answer me. How...what happened!" he said, resisting Sam and Tucker's hands as they tried to get him to sit. They could see he was still shaky.
"First, sit. Then we'll tell you," Tucker commanded, sounding authoritative and calm.
Danny have him a non-too-friendly look, but sat.
"Okay. Thank you. Now, what we're about to tell you is probably not going to make sense and you're most likely not going to believe us. But then again, you saw what happened out there. You saw what you did."
"What I did? I don't know what happened out there, but I had nothing to do with it!" Danny protested loudly.
"Sshh! Keep it down!" Sam hissed sharply, clamping a hand over his mouth, and again angering him further. He slapped it away and stood up. There was a different air to him when he spoke. Sam nor Tucker could identify what was different, but they didn't have time to think on it.

"Are you going to tell me or not? Because I will gladly walk away," he growled. Sam had been afraid this would happen. Violet was influencing him already.
"We will! We are! If you would listen!" Tucker said defiantly, glaring pointedly at Danny. Danny glared back.
"I'm going to keep this short and simple," Tucker said lowly. "You're a halfa."
Danny opened his mouth to cut in, but Tucker silenced him.
"Half ghost, half human. You became this way by accident but you've made a promise to protect Amity Park from evil. And right now, you're doing a terrible job."
Danny let out a slow breath. Combing a hand through his hair, he muttered more to himself than them, "So that's how the car passed through me..."
"More like you phased through it. But hey, whatever floats your boat," Sam shrugged. Danny ignored her.
Tucker seemed aghast. "You're going to believe us that easily?"
"Well, how else am I going to explain what happened out there? Right now, with no memory, and adding what happened with the car, I'll believe anything," Danny said. But then he remembered what Tucker had just said. "And what do you mean I protect Amity Park?"
Tucker beat Sam to answering. He probably knew she would be snappy about and didn't want to infuriate Danny now that he was listening. "Exactly what I said. You made a vow to protect this place, and right now, you're failing."
"How?"
"Well, first of all, the danger has been right under your nose all day long!" Sam scolded, finally butting her opinion in.
Tucker gave her a look that matched the one he'd given to Danny earlier. "She's right," he confirmed.
"What do you mean?"
Sam groaned. "You're just as ignorant as you were before you lost your memory."
"Danny, Violet is the danger. She's a ghost," Tucker said. He waited for his reaction. When he didn't say anything, Tucker continued, "She stole you're memories. She overshadowed Valerie and made her do those things at lunch. You're only a pawn in Violet's game, and sadly, she's winning. We need to get your memories back, but I'm afraid it won't be as easy as last time."
"Easy? What's your definition of easy, because it's WAY different than mine," Sam said disbelievingly.
"You could have simply wished for his memories back in the beginning! Desiree would have had to obey! When you think about it, it's kind of obvious!" Tucker threw his arms out in impatience, almost whacking Danny in the face. Danny dodged and watched with mild interest at their bickering.
"You could've helped!" Sam retaliated, taking a step forward after Tucker put his arms down. He took a step forward also to show he wasn't threatened.
"You're right, I could have...If my mind hadn't been wiped! You could have wished ANYTHING, really. But you wished you hadn't met Danny and you could have just wished to un-wish that wish and then wish for Desiree to be nonexistent or something. Anything!"
"I'm sorry I had other things on my mind at the time! Like, oh, I don't know, trying to stop Desiree!"
"You could have WISHED-"
"I'm sorry I wasn't thinking clearly! But I think I did a rather fine job! I tricked out Danny's suit when he goes ghost in the process of that whole predicament, so that's an upside-"
"When I go ghost?" he broke in. As amused as he was watching them squabble back and forth, this particular fact intrigued him.
Sam bitterly dropped their quarrel and said, "Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting you don't have your memories...How are we going to get those back?"
Tucker cooled down and took the question seriously, looking thoughtful as he stared at his feet in concentration.
He came to a conclusion. "First we're going to have to get Violet to take someone else's memories, so we can see how she does it. Then, we have to trick her into giving the memories back. I know it doesn't sound very full-proof, but-"
"Darn right it doesn't," Sam scoffed as she crossed her arms. She wasn't in the mood for beating around the bush. She wanted to get to the point and fast.
"Ahem," he coughed. "But it's all we got. Disagree?" Tucker glanced back and forth between Sam and Danny. Neither apposed. At least, not out loud.
"Good. Then it's settled. Sam will be the bait."
"Wait, what? When did we agree on that-"
Tucker either chose to ignore or didn't hear Sam's protests. "Okay, now I say we put the plan into action tomorrow! Objections?"
"Yes! Wh-"
"Great! Let's go!"
"But-"
"I better be getting home." He began to walk toward the stairs, but stopped at the rails. Turning around halfway, he said quietly, "And Sam, when are you moving?"
Sam paled. She'd forgotten they were moving tomorrow. It had seem like such a long time ago that her mother had announced that they were moving, out of Amity Park and away from her friends.
"Moving?" Danny asked, looking at Sam. Silence. "Oh, come on! Just because I forgot a little-"
"A lot."
"...of my past, doesn't mean I can't be let in on secrets! Seriously, you can trust me; I've kept Violet's pretty well."
They both looked at him simultaneously. Without warning, they were by his side and there was no way for him to get out.
"Uh, woops? You know, forget what I just said. I-I"ll just be going..." He tried to slip between Sam and Tucker, but they both grabbed him by the arms and sat him down.
"What "secrets"?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Her arms were folded again and she didn't look like she would let this subject drop so easily.
"Nothing. Just unimportant stuff, really. Now, I'm pretty sure your mom is waiting or something and-"
"Danny, you have to tell us. Please. The world depends on it," Tucker said solemnly.
Sam glanced at him. Since when was Tucker serious?
Danny sighed. He waited a few seconds before he began. "While we were ditching, she was saying something about "finding the portal in time" and "getting home". When I asked her about it, she would say it was nothing and didn't say anything more on it. I don't know if that means anything to you, but it doesn't seem relevant to me."
"The ghost portal," Sam muttered, diving deep into thought.
"And "home" must be the Ghost Zone! She's trying to get back to the Ghost Zone!" Tucker theorized.
Sam felt a nagging doubt at this solution. "Are you sure? It just seems like there would be more to it, the way she's acting, like getting people out of the way...people that would interfere. And you heard her say she was going to "wreak havoc on this pathetic town"! I think there's something else to her scheme."
"Oh, Sam. Don't make this more complicated than it already isn't. If she's just trying to get home, then why don't we just let her? She can't do any harm once she's back in the portal. I mean, after all, isn't that where we send all of the ghosts once we capture them?" Tucker said, evidently not caring about whether Violet was misleading them or not.
"Even so, I say we get Danny's memory back and then we let her go. If this is a scam, we need to be prepared," Sam compromised, letting no further debate interrupt her conclusion. Tucker couldn't have agreed more.
"Danny! Tucker! Sam! Are you down there?" they heard Jazz call. Perfect timing.
"Yeah," they all replied in unison.
"I have some exciting news! Get up here!"
They exchanged irresolute glances, then headed up.
"What is it?" Sam asked derisively as she crossed the last step.
Jazz waited till Danny and Tucker were fully upstairs to answer. "I just wanted to notify you all that Violet will be accompanying us on our trip. Isn't that exciting?"
Being quick to hide their true feelings, they all nodded and faked smiles. Sam was especially glad that Danny was pretending and not actually happy that Violet was coming. Maybe he was actually starting to believe them.
"So, be sure to make room when we set off tomorrow. I want her to be comfortable and to enjoy this. Or, at least as much as she can when my parents are around."
Sam made an effort to listen to Jazz go on a spiel about living with ghost hunting parents and how stressing it was to have to worry about Danny, also. But something caught her eye and she looked to see Violet leaning self-satisfyingly against the woodwork. An evil smirk lined her pretty lips and her eyes held a dangerous fire, one that Danny seemed to be engulfed in as Violet used her supernatural powers to get him to side with her. Sam glanced at Danny to see him holding his head as if he had a headache, but Sam knew the true cause. Violet was being meddlesome.
"-Understand?"
Sam snapped out of her silent hatred-filled thoughts. "Huh?"
Jazz growled and rolled her eyes. Sam noticed she'd been much more touchy since Danny had come home from the hospital.
"I said, "No getting Danny into trouble, like you usually do. Understand?" Sam nodded, knowing the reason for Jazz's overbearing instinct to protect Danny. This instinct was intensified due to his vulnerable state and made Jazz all the more protective.
"Thank you. I better resume tutoring Violet before we leave for our torturous trip tomorrow," Jazz said. She sounded very grown-up and strict. Something was wrong.
"You guys noticed the change, right?" Tucker asked after Jazz and Violet had receded into the other room.
"Definitely. She's not usually this stern and...she sounded like a robot the way she talked. That wasn't Jazz. That was Violet. She wasn't lying when she said she was becoming more powerful," Sam said. Suddenly, she was uncomfortably conscious of Violet's goal.
"What now?" Danny asked, shrugging his shoulders casually, like none of the current events were even happening.
But as if to answer his question, Danny's parents walked in looking anything but their normal selves. Sam was beginning to miss the buoyant, insane, and hyper Mr. And Mrs. Fenton.
"Danny, we'd like to speak with you. Privately," she added when Sam and Tucker made a move to follow. They both stepped back. Danny gave them an uncertain glance but followed dutifully after.
Sam and Tucker waited where they were for what seemed like half an hour, and it even go to the point where Sam's muscles stiffened and she had to stretch. Tucker wandered off who-knows-where and she didn't see him until ten minutes after he'd gone wherever he had. She was about to ask, but she wasn't really that interested and let it go without any particular attention.
Finally Danny walked out with a solemn expression and evaded their eyes bashfully. He gave them a weak smile and hurried past them, not giving an explanation. Taking two steps at a time, he was up the stairs and in his room before they could even form a coherent question.
Maddie and Jack came into the doorway and watched him go. They looked entranced, as if they were sleepwalking. Their heads slowly turned to Sam, and then Tucker.
"Uh, if I may ask, what's wrong?" Tucker asked nervously when the stares of Maddie and Jack's penetrating eyes became a little creepy. Okay, really creepy.
"We're just gonna...go..." Sam began inching subtly towards the door and Tucker followed lead. Neither Jack nor Maddie moved.
Violet walked in calling, "Yup! Uh-huh. Thanks, Jazz! See you tomorrow." Then she saw them with their hands on the doorknob, looked at Maddie and Jack and their blank stares, and then smiled.
"Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about them," she said casually with a wave of her hand. She snapped her fingers and they came to. They blinked once, twice, three times before the surprised looks and confusion settled in.
"Violet, you-" Sam started to say, but was cut short by a "tsk-tsk-tsk" from Violet.
"Not in front of them, now," she said darkly, raising her eyebrow and cocking her head.
"Sam? Tucker? Violet? W-What happened?" Maddie's hand fluttered to her head and she collapsed backwards into Jack's arms, leaving him no time to aid to the pounding in his own head.
"Oh, dear! What's wrong, Mrs. Fenton?" Violet asked, an artificial ring to her voice. Violet was many things, and unfortunately, one of those was an actor. An amazing actor. She could lie her way through tests, interviews, and in that case, life. Sam never knew what to trust and not to trust when it came to Violet; everything she said had the potentiality to be a mistruth.
"I don't know. Oh, I think I'll retire early tonight. Help me, Jack." Maddie weakly gestured towards the general direction of the bedroom, and Jack gladly helped her. He wanted to lie down also.
"What did you do?" Sam demanded as soon as she heard the click of a door on metal. Her fists were clenched tight and she glared with pure hatred at Violet.
Violet smiled. "You should know well enough by now. I only PERSUADED them. Mere mortals are so easy to manipulate." She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and sauntered past them. But just before she left, she winked at Sam, and then shut the door in her face.
"The nerve of some people!" Tucker grumbled under his breath.
Sam sighed. All the stress was starting to wear her down. Violet, camping trip, moving, Danny, memories, everything. She just wanted to collapse like Mrs. Fenton and sleep, forget all of her worries and hand her troubles away without regret. To anesthetize her mind and let the numbness drown her until she felt no more. She longed for that, to just be able to sleep without having the Nightmare sneak into her sleep and morph her dreams into unspeakable fear. Such fear that she wakes up screaming and shaking sometimes. After having the same Nightmare for years and years, she still wasn't used to it. She'd never told Danny or Tucker, or anyone. She knew they had more pressing matters than her silly subconscious creating illusions.
Sam blinked hard, shoving the thoughts deep down to be forgotten. Luckily, Tucker broke her from her inner panic.
"Do we go check on Danny?" Tucker asked. He could see Sam was tired and wasn't sure what she wanted to do.
"I suppose...We need to get his memories back...and soon. I don't think I can take much longer of this," Sam mumbled wearily. If only Tucker knew she wasn't just tired.
"You know what," he said after Sam didn't say anything more. "You go home, relax. I know you've been trying to help him and trust me, you have. But you need to rest. Just forget about everything for tonight, okay? I'll go check on him, and if possible, I'll figure out the whole plan tonight. Deal?"
Sam wanted to hug him for being so considerate. She couldn't believe he'd actually yet forgiven her for shoving him into the trashcan earlier. Or pushing Danny out into the road.
"Thank you," she breathed in a relieved sigh. And rethinking on it, she did hug him.
"Uh, you're welcome," he said uncertainly with a wary look.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh, settle down. It's not weird to give my friend a hug. But seriously, thank you. I really need this."
"No problem. I know you'd do the same for me. 'Night, Sam."
"'Night." And she left.
Bounding down the concrete steps she glanced back at the closed door. Did she really want to go home? Her mother will be furious. She had a lot to think about. And Sam did kind of want to be in on forming the plan for tomorrow.
"Sam."
Sam whirled around. Violet stood a little ways off with her hands in her crimson jacket. Sam could see her breath float out in front of her face and dissipate into nothingness, but Violet's breath didn't show. If Sam hadn't known any better, she'd think Violet had stopped breathing all together.
"What do you want?" Sam said haughtily, taking a step back. Violet took a step forward.
"Don't worry, Samantha. I don't want much." Her friendly, kind expression hardened into a mask of threats and lies. "Just your undying loyalty."
Violet raised a hand, and before Sam could even think of an inappropriate insult, her words caught on her tongue and she couldn't speak.
"You want to listen to me, you just deny it," Violet murmured, her hand still raised. "But don't listen to your better judgment. Do what you want." Her voice felt like a river flowing over stones on the bank. Smooth and tempting. Sam's mind clouded and she nodded her head.
"Go home. Do as Tucker said and forget about tonight."
Sam didn't nod that time.
"N-No. Stop," she stammered as the fogginess cleared from her mind.
"Hm. Resistance. Fine. But you will do my command when you hear the word "Samantha". Got it?"
Although she resisted, Sam nodded mutely. She was aware of what she was doing, but couldn't stop.
Violet smirked and lowered her hand. Sam blinked and Violet was gone within that millisecond. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to regain her composure.
With the Nightmare nipping at the edges of her mind, Sam started for home with another problem weighing on her shoulders.