Lyrics by Neon Trees - Animal

Sam stared at the drawings around her. Her second grade class had all drawn pictures of their family. They were all the same. Stick figures with huge smiles standing in a straight line. Behind them was a house, and below them the grass with the sun smiling down on them.

"Samantha," Mrs. Douglass patted the girl's back softly. "Why don't you show the class your family picture?"

Timidly, Sam displayed a drawing of a little girl standing alone. There was no sun, no grass, no smiles.

Mrs. Douglass tried to calm the yelling children as Sam's classmates accused her of not following the rules.

Sam frowned. "I don't want to play this game anymore," Is what she screamed as she threw the drawing and ran out of the room.

~I do it every time

You're killing me now

And I won't be denied by you

The animal inside of you

Oh oh

I want some more

Oh oh

What are you waiting for?

Take a bite of my heart tonight~

By the time Sam returned to Fenton Works the sun was setting and she was drenched in sweat. Not only had she just sprinted the way back, but the Guys in White had interrogated her outside the library for a good hour before deciding she was "non-threatening". The goth rolled her eyes and headed upstairs to take a long, needed shower.

Maddie had also called to check in with her. Sam admitted that she had gone to the library and would probably be there for a while. As for Danny, she told her he was chatting with Tucker.

She must have sounded convincing because the woman accepted her words easily. The last thing Sam wanted to tell her was that she had no idea where Danny was. Sam groaned at the thought. When did she become this boy's babysitter?

Sam entered the private bathroom attached to her room and submerged herself in all kinds of shampoos and conditioners. She would have preferred her all natural beauty products, but Sam knew it wasn't the time to be choosey. She was grateful to Maddie for taking her in. Sam would just have to live without her belongings for a little longer.

She exited the bath, throwing on some clothes Maddie used to wear back in the day. Then she left the bathroom combing through her wet hair only to stop.

The hair products she had just been missing were set neatly on her nightstand.

Sam looked back at the bathroom, confused. Was this some kind of joke? She walked forward only to find more of her stuff scattered all over the room. Her bed covers, books, IPod. Sam picked up the device, speechless. She assumed most of her stuff had been destroyed during the ghost attack, but everything was accounted for.

A cold chill passed through her and Sam shivered. Everything was accounted for, except her pill bottles.

"I know you did it."

Danny looked up from his zombie killing video game to smile at Sam. "I thought you were against late night meetings."

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms beside the computer screen. "Don't play dumb. I know you went back to my house and brought all my stuff here." She showed him the black cat comb in her hand.

"That's great Sam," Danny said as he continued murdering zombies, "but I really don't know what you're talking about." He hadn't looked away from the screen once, making pained faces whenever a zombie managed to hit him.

"Who else would bring my stuff here?"

"Maybe an admirer?"

Sam growled, stomping out of his bedroom. Only when she left did Danny smile, glancing at the space she had just occupied, before returning to his game.

Sam stood behind the yellow do not cross tape and knew her life was officially over.

Not only was her home destroyed, but the Guys in White were all over the place searching for evidence. She supposed she was lucky Danny had grabbed her stuff when he did, though she still had no idea how he managed to pull it off.

Sam sighed, turning in the opposite direction. School was scheduled to start first thing Monday morning. She wondered how Danny would approach her in class now. Would he be friendly like he was at home? Or that constant itch she just couldn't scratch?

Down the road she spotted Tucker fidgeting with some sort of device. She ran over, uncertain how to greet him.

"Uh hey. Tucker?"

He looked up from his PDA and smiled. "Hey Sam. What's up?"

Tucker was such a casual, easy going guy. Sam's previous worries dissipated like fog. "I was wondering if you could tell me about Valerie."

He stiffened. "Uh, um...What did Danny tell you?"

"I haven't asked him."

"You probably should. He'll know more than me, after all."

"But Danny was close to Valerie, right? I don't want to make him uncomfortable and bring up unpleasant memories." She looked to the ground. Sam was the first person to respect anyone's privacy. Danny was her exception though.

"You read that article about her, huh?" Tucker asked pulling her away from negative experiences.

"How did you-"

"I saw you at the library yesterday after I spoke with Danny." He stuffed his PDA in his pocket. "Look, what happened to Val was all Phantom."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What's a phantom?"

"That's what they call the ghost boy."

She blinked. "I didn't realize they had names." Or that anyone would know a ghost well enough to learn its name. Sam glanced at Tucker suspiciously.

He picked up his beret and adjusted it on his head. "Yeah, well, if you want to know about Valerie you should ask Phantom." There was a serious look in his eyes. "He's the one responsible for her insanity, after all."

"And this ghost, Phantom...How do you know his name?"

"I didn't." He went back to his PDA to type something in. "That's what Valerie kept saying after..."

Sam watched as Tucker's eyebrows pulled together. She sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry. I'm just trying to help Danny."

"Help him?"

Sam looked around at the bystanders and grabbed Tucker's forearm. "C'mon." She pulled him towards the back of a brick building and away to a spare bench.

"What exactly do you know about Danny?" Tucker asked, pulling a piece of gum out from his pocket.

"I know about his condition. That's the reason he's violent, right? It's a side effect of the treatment his mother is giving him."

"And Danny told you all this?"

"No," Sam admitted, slightly embarrassed. "I sort of went to his house and found out by accident."

"Wow," Tucker said, surprised. He sat hunched over, resting his forearms on his knees. "I didn't think you liked Danny that much."

"I don't," Sam said quickly. She closed her eyes and tried not to sound defensive. "Everyone has a reason to be angry. When Danny fights, he looks happy, like he's getting rid of some sort of unsettling feeling. People don't just hit people with a smile on their face."

"And you think this has something to do with Valerie?"

"I think Danny may have liked Valerie, and when she went insane that made him feel horrible. He might be using his aggressive behavior as an excuse to relieve some of his anger and sadness." She glanced down at Tucker. "But even with all the strength he has, Danny's scared."

"Scared?"

"Danny walks around like he's hiding something. Someone who has nothing to fear wouldn't be as cautious as Danny."

Tucker pushed his Ray-ban glasses up the bridge of his nose. "And you don't think his fear as anything to do with his condition? Maybe he's just afraid people will find out something's wrong with him."

"Maybe you're right," Sam whispered, "but it doesn't explain why he acts that way around me."

Tucker stared down at the pavement below them. "You'd make a great detective," he stated, "with all the research you've collected. Or maybe even a therapist in Danny's case."

Sam's hands clenched at the word. She took a deep breath, looking to the side. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

"No." He stuffed his PDA in his pocket, standing. "I'm Danny's friend first and foremost. I'll always have his back." Suddenly Tucker's happy composure slipped and he was frowning. "I don't want to mess this up for him, Sam. After Valerie left Danny was never the same. If you keep prying into his past, it'll only end in disaster, so do everyone a favor and keep your distance." He stood up from the bench with his back to her. "I'd hate for Danny to lose the girl he's falling for."

He didn't have to tell her twice to keep Danny at arms length, but something about the way Tucker said it, like she wasn't allowed to understand Danny ticked her off. Sam stood up, yelling at the boy's back. "Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?" she demanded. "I'm not scared of him, Tucker."

Tucker stopped and sighed, glancing over his shoulder. "But you will be."