Danny was talking about Gwen and their first date. While his first impression was rougher than Sam, the ghost boy was smiling at the end. The fact the two had some common interests surprising.
However, Paulina's appearance was slightly more so—even if it was because of her fan craze with Danny Phantom.
"Hey, Sam! Weren't you in Paris?" Danny shuddered, knowing that would be the last thing Sam would want. Having her parents force her on a European trip was one thing, but he was certain the popular, vapid Hispanic girl would be the last straw.
However, Sam had not said a word the entire time, her mouth shut so tight, one could mistake the opening had been sutured. The ghost boy waved a hand in front of the goth girl before he snapped his fingers several times.
"Sam? Are you there?" Danny snapped his fingers again as Tucker joined in bringing her back to earth.
"Am I not goth enough?" Sam uttered these words quickly and quietly with a despaired rasp.
"Uh...say what now?" Danny said with his eyes blinking.
But Sam caught herself, coughing for moments before she began to speak coherently. Tucker backed away, grabbing a pillow for a makeshift shield.
"Oh, um, nothing," Sam grumbled. Her back straightened as the goth now paid attention.
"Ok, was it what I said about Paulina returning from Paris?" Danny asked.
"What about Paulina?" Sam narrowed her eyes with the question, her mood dropping at the name of the annoyance school girl.
"Did you see her in Paris?" Tucker clarified.
"Paulina?...Nah! Though I did hear Adrien Agreste saw he compared to a ghost boy by some random girl—wow, I just heard that," Sam replied with wide eyes at the end. Recalling her time with the son of a famous fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste, the boy seemed bland, like an average model, but even she knew it was stupid to compare him to the ghost boy.
Nevertheless, the goth made a mental note to give Paulina a piece of her mind for that moment of sheer arrogance and stupidity later.
Danny and Tucker were in the same level of shock. The former shook his head with a pinched nose, wondering if he should do something to tone things down. The answer was obviously no, but the idea echoed in his mind for a few minutes.
"Ok, anyway, changing subjects. I was thinking about watching that Total Drama show when it comes out in the Fall, just to, you know, support Gwen. You guys up for it?" Danny said.
"Wouldn't that be pointless?" Tucker typed away on his PDA. "I mean, reality or not, those episodes still come out as recorded."
"Yeah..." Sam dragged the word out for a minute. "Are you even sure she'd win?"
Danny found his voice blocked by a frog, now understanding the expression of a frog in your throat. That was an excellent point, which made his mood drop as his future summer plans were debunked and redefined. Part of his mind, the part that was typical teenage angst and rebellion, wanted to argue back, but if reality tv was truly as live as it was advertised, the ghost boy was sure he'd missed every episode.
Slumping back into the couch, a sigh escaped him. "What do we do then?" Danny asked. A blue wisp left his mouth as a chill came up his spine. The sound of screams followed by a hammy "Beware" handed his next worry on a silver platter.
"How about taking your frustration on the Box Ghost and meeting us at the Nasty Burger?" Sam said with her time pointed behind her.
Danny nodded, checking for his folks before transforming. Two shining white rings covered him, and Fenton became Phantom, intangibly exiting the house to deal with the most annoying ghost.
Tucker got up and ran to the door but was grabbed by the collar before he left the couch. Sweat poured out of his body as he felt the angry gaze of Sam on him. Then, with a forced smile, he turned to his friend, dropping the facade as he came face-to-face with pure rage.
"N-now, Sam, I have a reason—"
"Oh, so you have a reason for not only dragging Danny into A dating service but also having him date another goth girl?" Sam pulled the techno geek in with each question. "One who he wants to see as more than friends? One that is now dating him?"
Tucker gulped loudly and said, "S-so...now you're saying you're jealous."
Wrong choice of words as Sam reeled back a fist. The boy's screams could be heard across town. Mr. And Mrs. Fenton took notice but ignored it as they drowned him out with another ghost invention.
This one's purpose was not yet beyond the initial concept, but as soon as they heard Sam was here, they knew better than to go near this fire.
Line break
Normally fights with the Box Ghost were simple and clean, but Danny thought it would be more productive, in his opinion, to throw in some extra punches, much to the latter's annoyance.
"I'm not some punching bag just because you obviously have problems!" The Box Ghost swung his free hand as the other rubbed his black eye. It was a real shiner, practically the size of Danny's fist. "Just suck me in if you're not gonna take this seriously!"
"Since when have I done that?" the ghost boy snarked with the cap popped off the thermos. He heard the pest make no noise as he was captured, furious that his ego was bruised more than his face. While caring about other people's feelings was basic manners, nobody ever cared about Box Ghost.
With his mild frustration gone, Danny made way for the Nasty Burger, hoping to catch up before any of his friends ordered. His gut was guessing winning bets that Sam was hungry for something down to earth and not high society, a sentiment understood by the ghost boy.
However, arriving at the establishment, he met his friends, with Tucker lightly battered and bruised as Sam walked beside him in pure rage.
"Please tell me this wasn't Dash...or anyone else who wants to do this!" Danny pleaded, looking over his friend.
"No, it wasn't Dash," Sam replied, sighing as a tear swelled in her eye. "And it wasn't somebody...who wanted to do that...ever..."
The goth's body began to drop, her fury dying into sorrow. The ghost boy tried to console her, but she just pushed him away and told him to get a table for them.
With their ghostly friends gone once again, Sam turned to Tucker, who scowled at her.
"Tucker...look...—"
"You're paying for the meal...and any medical bills I might have," Tucker interjected.
"I'm sorry. I just...couldn't handle being replaced," Sam replied.
"What are you talking about?" Danny's voice surprised the girl. The goth jumped back, looking to Tucker out of habitual habit. She knew his help was guaranteed but underserved and tried to force out the truth.
"What do ya mean I'm kicked out of the service?" A loud, grating voice came as the trio saw Dash yelling in the nearby alleyway. The jock kicked the dumpster, mixing his voice with venom as he'd the phone on speaker.
"Due to various complaints from your dates, one of which stated that you seemed more forceful than assertive, we at YouMe=Love! have canceled your profile until further notice. Any requests to debate and disprove your situation can be—"
"Don't care!" Dash ended the call, slamming a fist at the burger joint. He growled, mumbled, held back tears, and whined like a boy, throwing a tantrum as his nostrils practically huffed flames of fury.
"I need something to punish!" Dash yelled. He stormed out of the alleyway, glancing through the windows of The Nasty Burger, but he saw his favorite target in the reflective surface as he saw Danny, Sam, and Tucker running away.
"Fen-Tooon!" Dash snarled as he charged.
"He saw us run!" Danny grabbed his friends and transformed into a nearby alley. Outpacing the jock was an obviously bad idea, and so he opted for the smart choice and turned them invisible and intangible.
The trio waited as Dash growled at his arrival. With gritted teeth, he looked around, even opening the local dumpster. His anger grew as he felt a strong kick hit his rear, pushing him into the disposal unit as it was shut and sealed from the outside.
"That ice isn't going to last against the sun AND Dash's rage, come on," Danny whispered as he flew his friends away. This was not the only problem over the summer, as the jock loved tormenting the ghost boy just because.
But that had to be pushed to another date as the trio arrived back at Fenton Works, the only place they knew the jock would never raid.
Danny conjured a block of ice, handing it to Tucker as the cold soothed his face. He glanced at the goth, who had been silently watching the entire time.
After tending to the techno-geek, the boys took a seat, blocking the only exit from Sam as she sat in the spotlight, looking sadder than ever before.
"So...what's this about being replaced?" Danny started.
