Lyrics By Vanessa Hudgens - Afraid
YOUR FATHER AND I HAVE AN IMPORTANT MEETING TO ATTEND IN BOSTON. WE WILL BE GONE FOR TWO WEEKS. A MAID WILL BE THERE TO CHECK ON YOU. CALL HER IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.
SINCERELY,
MOTHER AND FATHER
It didn't escape Sam that they never signed their letters with love. The cold message was printed in blocky letters, most likely written by someone at the office. Taped to the bottom of the note was a credit card.
Sam crumpled the paper and dumped it in the trashcan, walking into her room and grabbing the closest sketchbook. She sketched for hours, ignoring the silence her room had to offer. Without much success, Sam attempted to drive the loneliness out of her own troubled heart.
~Now I wonder what you think of me
Don't know why I break so easily
All my fears are armed surrounding me
I can't get no sleep~
Sam had just been on her way to the library when she spotted the crowd of teenagers. She wasn't the type to conform, but the sudden excitement on a Monday morning was too tempting to ignore. She shuffled her way through bodies until she saw five figures within the circle of people.
She could barely see him. The football players all had a good few inches on him and yet he still managed to send every guy to the floor. Danny wrestled every one of them to the ground, barely breaking a sweat. Instead of cheering, the student body watched with impressed eyes.
Danny took a deep breath once the fight was over, meeting the fearful eyes around him. They all turned away, some even scrambling to run in the opposite direction. When his eyes landed on the silent goth, he was surprised to see she held his gaze. There was a strange emotion in her eyes, or maybe it was a lack of one, that made the muscles in his body tense.
"Get to class or you'll all be tardy!" An impatient Mr. Lancer broke through the sea of kids, entering the circle. He looked down at the beaten boys, then the one standing above them. "Fenton? Grapes of Wrath, what happened?"
It was Sam's cue to leave. She turned on her heel and continued to head for the library. Ever since their little exchange last week, they hadn't spoken. Danny once again remained an icon in the back of her mind. Only when she chanced a look in his direction did she sometimes catch him glancing back at her.
He was so strange. She detested him for being a bully, though his main targets were rather out of the ordinary. Sam frowned, realizing he was probably putting on a show to remind everyone who the toughest guy in school was. Boys were so territorial when it came to their massive egos.
Still, after sharing an entire school career with him, why would he suddenly take an interest in her? And over something as trivial as a sweater? She rubbed the collar of her turtle neck between her fingers, thankful the weather had decided to cool for the time being.
Instead of the library, Sam found herself in the nurse's office approaching the front desk. She greeted the old woman with a look of fierce determination.
"Do you know anything about cold chills?"
She was surprised to find Danny waiting beside her book bag when she walked into English. She eyed his figure suspiciously. He was casually sitting in the desk next to hers, legs outstretched and elbows resting behind him on the table top. His head was tossed back, angled toward the ceiling with his eyes shut. He looked the picture of ease, yet she couldn't mistake the tense way he carried himself.
She walked up behind him, taking a seat at her desk. "What are you doing?"
"Sitting."
She rolled her eyes, surprised, for the second time today, that her bag was open. Several pill bottles peeked through the opening and she hurried to zip it shut.
When she glanced back at Danny, he raised an eyebrow. "Nervous?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Being nervous implies that I have something to hide."
"Do you?"
Sam chose not to answer.
"We all have our secrets." His blue eyes danced with dark humor. "Three minutes is a long time to spend in the bathroom, you know."
"Fenton, you should be in the Dean's office," Mr. Lancer said from the front of the classroom, stopping whatever retort Sam was about to fire back.
"I know." His answer was simple and without sarcasm. Like their first encounter, Danny merely smiled and bobbed his head to Sam. Then he stood up, grabbed the black bag beside his desk and carried it over one shoulder on his way out, leaving everyone in the room mystified.
The elderly man had lost track of how many times Danny Fenton had been in his office. He took off his glasses and rubbed his wrinkled face with one hand, swooping it back so his palm brushed over his bald spot.
"When I first heard the name Fenton, I thought you may have been Jasmine's younger brother."
Danny knew exactly who he was talking about. He knew a lot about a girl who merely shared the same last name as him. She had attended Casper High four years ago, was in AP and honor roll classes, valedictorian of the school. Her picture was in the display case revealing a girl with long orange hair and blue eyes. All his teachers had asked the same question and received the same answer.
"I'm an only child."
"I know that." He put his seventies styled glasses back on his face. "By the looks of your grades and behavior, you've made your relation apparent." The man frowned. "But even if you were related to Jasmine, that wouldn't change the fact that you were fighting."
Danny kept his eyes on the window, watching a bird build its nest.
"I don't think you're a bad kid, Danny. I've met troublemakers, but you don't strike me as one." He scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "I'll need you to have this signed by your parents-"
"Mom," Danny corrected sharply and the man physically flinched at his tone.
"-Your mother and return it tomorrow, but instead of detention you will serve two weeks of community service everyday after school."
Danny took the note and shoved it in his bag, standing.
"We've given you too many passes, Danny. Make the mistake again and you'll be expelled."
Danny had one hand shoved in the pocket of his jeans, the other holding the strap of his backpack. Silently he walked down the neighborhood, making his way home. He had only been held after school for an hour and then released. The sun was still up, beating against the nape of his neck.
The sound of a hiss and then cursing made him angle his head toward the side. Sam Manson was positioned a few feet away from him, trying her best to get the mouse trap off a cat's tail. The feline wasn't having it though. It bared its teeth and hissed, swiping whenever Sam reached out her hand.
"That's dangerous," Danny murmured. Sam stiffened and turned.
"What do you-Hey!" She turned back as the cat made a swift escape, jumping onto a ledge before disappearing. "Thanks a lot!" She gave Danny a harsh look. "I've been trying to help him for weeks."
Danny stared at the spot where the cat disappeared. "Why bother? He obviously doesn't want your help."
"He needs my help, despite what he might like to think." She crossed her arms stubbornly. This seemed like a big topic for her, though he didn't understand the significance of a single stray cat.
"Why do you care though?" Danny asked, determined to get his answer. "Why would you even attempt to help him when all he's caused you is pain?" He gestured down to her arms, which were now covered with red scratches. Sam crossed her arms, but he still caught the movement in her face when she winced.
"I'm not just going to stand by idly and watch him suffer." Her face had softened and she looked down, hair falling over her face. A breeze traveled between them, moving her bangs so her face showed for an instant before disappearing behind the curtain of hair once more. "Ignoring a person in need is worse than simply hurting him."
Danny watched her with wide eyes. Everything about Sam seemed to oppose authority; the dark clothes; the harsh makeup; the pierced eyebrow. And yet, here she was extending more kindness than even the nicest of people.
"Sometimes a lost cause isn't worth the effort," he admitted at last. He didn't mean to say that, but something about her got under his skin. He wasn't quite sure yet whether this was good or bad. He hoped it wasn't the latter.
Sam raised her violet eyes, challenging his statement. "I beg to differ."