Lyrics by Secondhand Serenade - Like a Knife

"What are you doing..."

"...No! Stop!"

Suddenly glass shattered, the force of her body falling through the display window, and all she could feel was pain.

~But what do I know, if you're leaving?

All you did was stop the bleeding

But these scars will stay forever

These scars will stay forever

And these words they have no meaning

If we cannot find the feeling

that we held on to together

Try your hardest to remember~

Sam could hardly keep up with her racing thoughts. Danny was a monster with a blood thirsty need to kill people. Vlad was probably dead after Danny threw him on the wall. Maddie was trying so desperately to keep her son normal. And in the middle of it was Sam, running away. She didn't want to think about horrifying images again. They would just go away if she left that place. The memories would disappear into darkness in the back of her mind. She didn't have to look back. If she ran, it would all just go away.

A hand clamped around her wrist. Sam screamed, expecting to be pulled back and tortured to no end, but nothing happened. The hand merely grasped her arm, soft enough that she could almost brush it off as air. Sam turned, blinking as she saw blue eyed Danny in front of her and not the white haired boy. She ripped her hand from his, horrified.

"Sam, please, calm down," Danny soothed. "Let me explain what happened."

"There's nothing to explain!" She yanked at his iron grip. "You killed Vlad! You didn't even hesitate, you just-"

Danny grabbed hold of her shoulders in an attempt to steady her shocked body. "He's not dead, Sam."

She squirmed under his touch. "I saw you-"

"I just knocked him into the wall. He'll be fine."

"Fine?" She flung his hands off her shoulders. "You think it's fine to just throw people across the room?"

The look of complete rejection was clear across Danny's face, but Sam ignored it. He wasn't about to make her feel guilty. He didn't deserve such sympathy.

Memories swept through her head. "That night..." She cupped her throat, backing away from him.

"Please, hear me out."

Sam glared. "I've known you since the second grade, Danny, but you didn't approach me until this year." Her eyes widened with realization. "Is it because you felt guilty?" It was suddenly all coming together. "You knew the reason I wore turtlenecks and scarves was to hide the bruises yougave me."

"I know it looks bad, but hear me out. The reason I'm having seizures all the time? It's because I'm half ghost."

"Ghost." Sam said the word, still backing up. "You're a-"

"I'm only half. But as you can see, the experiment is flawed. I can usually transform by will and control that part of me, but some nights I black out and wake up next to buildings in ruins. The worst part is I can remember every minute of it, and it felt great to be bad." He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced at her sideways. "That's why we're doing this. I didn't mean to hurt Vlad-"

"Maybe he was right to restrain you." Sam backed up. "You're dangerous."

Danny's eyes fell to the ground and he clenched his hands in fists. "I thought you were against caged animals."

"This isn't just a matter of beliefs, Danny! You're not some animal stuck in captivity. You're a...a..." Sam shook her head. This was too much. Even for her.

"You can't let the past control the decisions you're making now." He kept pace as Sam stomped off. "Stop running away."

Sam felt her jaw clench under the pressure of unshed tears. He had no right to make any assumptions about her past, and it was annoying how everyone thought they knew what was best for her, as if she were too stupid to see the answer herself. "Do you know why I keep running away?" Sam demanded, stopping her march to level with him. "Because I know when something's not safe for me. I know to stay away from bad influences. That's how people get hurt. I don't care what everyone else thinks because that's all I've ever had to rely on. Myself." She turned to run but Danny caught her arm.

"Let go of me!"

"I'm not letting you go until you listen."

"What is there to listen to?" She shot him an icy glare. "Are you planning on kidnapping me until I accept whatever you have to say?"

"I'm not going to force you to do anything, Sam." Slowly, he released her hand. "It's your choice."

The wind whipped her hair all across her face, throwing things out of perspective. The air was no longer cold like when that ghost destroyed her home.

"Let me see it," she demanded.

Danny remained still. He knew what she was referring to, but he wasn't sure if that were the best idea.

"You said you can transform by will, right? Then do it. Prove to me you're not going to hurt anybody."

Danny sighed, staring into her disapproving violet eyes. It hurt to think she hated him this much. "I...can't."

"So you're saying that you don't trust yourself?" Sam demanded. "How do you expect me to trust you then?"

Danny was quiet as Sam shook her head and turned.

"Wait!"

"You said it was my choice, Danny." Sam glanced back at him with anger in her eyes.

He hesitated. "It is...but I deserve your attention for just a moment!" Danny's voice was laced with so much anger that Sam couldn't help but flinch at the tone. He suddenly felt ashamed for yelling at her, wanting to punch something to get rid of his anger, but he was afraid that would only scare Sam more. "I gave you a place to stay after your home was wrecked. I deserve that much, don't I?"

Sam crossed her arms and looked to the ground. She hoped he couldn't notice she was shaking. "Make it quick."

Danny's shoulders fell. "I need your help."

"My help?" Sam asked incredulously. "What you need is a doctor. This isn't normal. This isn't..."

He grabbed her hand, silencing whatever rant might have come out. Sam cried out, working to pull herself away.

"I need your help because no one else would understand. If I went to a hospital, they would treat me like a dangerous weapon."

"How am I any help?"

"Because even at my darkest of moments, you were there. You weren't afraid of me. You didn't try to run or hide or cry. You hugged me, Sam. Do you have any idea how many people comfort a failed experiment?"

Sam flushed, shutting her eyes.

Danny continued. "Despite the pain, despite how much I hurt you, you embraced me. You told me I was going to be okay." Tears filled the corners of his eyes.

"I didn't know what you were before."

"That's because you didn't care, Sam. Everyone saw a monster, but you just saw me."

Her eyes blinked open to the soft expression in his cold eyes. The ice had thawed a little, leaving a vulnerable piece of glass.

"I need you, Sam. You're the only one who can calm me in that state. Please…"

She was at a loss for words. Swallowing, Sam turned, running as far from the boy as she could get.

Still debating if the next chapter should be the flashback chapter. What do you guys think? Are you so confused that you'd like the flashback chapter for elaboration right now?