Hey guys! So, turns out I underestimated what I can do in a single afternoon. I was able to finish this lightning quick.
Anyway, I just want to apologize for not being present for the previous chapter's posting. I have been trying to locate the person that's causing Dimensional Mitosis forcefully, though nothing has come up. I also had to deal with finals, which is not a fun experience. I'm just glad to only have one semester left. Moving on, I'm back and it's time to continue the story. Before beginning this thrilling adventure, however, let's answer some reviews.
Omni-Trickery: Yeah, Paris is a big deal right now. Don't worry too much about Amity Park or the Ghost Zone. Right now, Danny has that covered. As to who might go to Amity Park, however, I'll leave that for a future chapter to reveal. That is an interesting reason to have Billy on the team. I probably won't add Fantastic Four as everything I want to add gets complicated enough.
Njistar: Yeah, I figured it would be good to have him show up this way. Dating Spider-Man is indeed a dangerous thing sometimes. I'd cool your horses though as they haven't even met yet.
Fregreg: I see what you mean now! It's interesting but I don't know if the rips at the ankle would fit Juleka. As for the Black Cat and Selina, I haven't necessarily thought too hard about if they'll be fully involved or not. The tease thing is funny though.
Axterra2004: I don't think Adrien would steal anything unless he had to. I also don't see him going behind his father's back with the intent of malicious behavior.
JackInqu13: Glad you like Luka's inclusion. The Avengers have indeed entered the scene. Hawkmoth is definitely a tricky foe to try and face. You'll just have to see how they intend to help out in this area. Yeah, I figured it'd be good for him to get a first look at Marinette before he meets her.
PFN: Thanks!
P96822: I really have set up the Spidey-bug pairing, haven't I? The Avengers still have to figure out how they're going to handle that situation before they can provide more aid. I figured with how long the Miraculous have been around, a lot of the mythical individuals will know something about them. Yeah, it happened off screen. I'm having to balance facts around.
I actually had to ban the Warner Siblings as they kept trying to change the story as it was being read. Also, Deadpool, I can understand what you mean. I read over the chapter when I got back, including the authors' notes.
The_Keeper_of_Worlds: Not gonna lie, things are probably about to get very crazy for those two. Hey now. I never mentioned what Luka wanted to talk with her about. Who knows what he meant?
Classiccartoon27: I guess I do have an interesting subplot going on here in the authors' notes. I'll have to find this guy and quick. I might try to do a drabbles collection fic about the events here in the studio. I'll have to think on that. Anyway, here's the next chapter!
N3ffy: WOO! More stars!
Speedykitten1643: The Avengers are indeed keeping a closer eye on Paris now. Peter definitely has displayed that he thinks Marinette is cute. Here's the next chapter!
That should be all of them. Now, on with the chapter! I don't own Miraculous, Danny Phantom, Marvel, or DC. I do own any original characters, concepts, creatures, and places that work their way into the story unless stated otherwise.
Username List
Miraculous Gamer Guild
Moderator:
Mousegirl15- Marinette (Mouse/Mari/Nettie)
GhostWatcher- Danny (Watcher/Ghost)
NightwingFan- Dick (Nightwing)
Paris People:
Mousegirl15- Marinette (Mouse/Mari/Nettie)
SeaMonkey- Kim (MK)
LadyTigress16- Juleka (Tigress/LadyT/Jules)
HoneyBee22- Chloe (Bee)
CyberPegasus- Max (Pegasus)
SpiderRose- Rose
Sk8terBunny – Alix (Sk8ter, Bunny)
HoundLover- Sabrina (Hound)
MajorScaless- Luka (Scaless)
Haunted Folks
GhostWatcher- Danny (Watcher/Ghost)
GQueen- Sam
BatTuck- Tucker (Tuck)
JazzyTime- Jazz (Blue)
Kids of America
NightwingFan- Dick (Nightwing)
GothamEcho- Barbara (Babs)
BeastMan- Garfield (Beast/Gar)
Mr.R0bot0- Victor (Vic/Bot)
Starmoth03- Kori'ander/Starfire (Kori, Star, Moth)
EbonyRaven- Rachel Roth/Raven (Raven, Ebony, Rae)
GhostWatchers
GhostWatcher- Danny (Watcher/Ghost)
GothQueen- Sam
BatTuck- Tucker (Tuck)
Gotham Knights Communication
Oracle- Barbara (Babs)
DarkKnight- Bruce (Batman, B)
AgentA- Alfred (A)
Hood- Jason (Jay, Red Hood)
Robin- Damian (D, Robin)
Red- Tim (Red Robin)
Nightwing- Dick (Nightwing)
Super Kids
BloodRobin- Damian (D, Robin)
NightFlight- Jon
PhantomChild- Danielle (Dani, Ellie)
Other
BluePassion- Jazz (Blue)
Jay-Bird- Jason (Jay, Red Hood)
Voices
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"YELLING!"
"Author/Guest/High or demonic entity talking. Also, surprise at the end of a section."
"AUTHOR/GUEST/HIGH OR DEMONIC ENTITY YELLING!"
"Whispering."
"Author/Guest/High or demonic entity whispering."
Rand: Chat/text message
Rand: Chat/text message in irl sections
"Talking in game and out of character."
"YELLING IN GAME AND OUT OF CHARACTER!"
"Whispering in game and out of character."
Amity Park, Illinois
The Manson mansion was one of Amity Park's most recognizable buildings, save for Fenton Works. Its massive size properly displayed the wealth of the family that lived within. Inside the building, a line of portraits could be seen along the wall. Each one detailed Mr. and Mrs. Manson, a growing girl standing between them. The girl went from happy to upset with each photo, also changing to darker colors.
The final photo revealed that the girl was Sam, the girl forced to wear a dark gray dress for the portrait. Said goth walked past the portrait on the way to her room. She loved her parents, but they stopped understanding her years ago. Ever since she began her journey into darkness, all they ever did was try to force her back out. Wearing dark grays and light blacks at formals was the max that she was willing to compromise on.
She quickly entered her room, not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment. She thought back to what brought about this disgruntled mood in her. She was at school when she saw Danny on his phone. Apparently, whatever he was doing made him rather happy as he was smiling. Normally she'd just shrug that off as him seeing something cool, like a new spaceship design being revealed or a new game trailer.
The only problem was that he seemed to be blushing. When she tried to inquire about what he was looking at, he closed out the activity and put his phone away. She would have tried to see what was going on, but he left as soon as the bell started ringing. He even flew off as Phantom when he was out of everyone else's view. She had tried to ask Tucker if he knew anything but all she got was a confused shrug.
Knowing that Danny wouldn't want to talk about it further, plus not wanting to risk their friendship like with the flirting fiasco, she decided to just head home. Still, it bothered her greatly that he was keeping something from her and Tucker. She groaned as she rubbed her temples.
"What is going on with him?" sighed the Goth girl. She plopped her book bag onto the ground before sitting down at her desk. "It's like he's trying to hide something from us. Tucker didn't know anything either." She slumped back in her seat, only to pause as a thought hit her.
She turned on her computer as she began to get to work. "Maybe someone in the guild shared something with him that he wants to keep a surprise. If I scroll up, I might be able to see who he was talking with today." She soon reached the guild page, scrolling up as she planned. She was not prepared for what she saw.
It looked like Danny hadn't messaged anyone at all during that time. She very clearly remembered seeing Chatty closing on his phone. She continued to scroll up, only to finally notice something she missed. She was stopped on a short section of dialogue Danny and Juleka had in the chat. She squinted her eyes as she leaned in closer.
GhostWatcher: Hey guys.
What do you call an adorable angle?
LadyTigress16: I don't know.
Acute-ie.
GhostWatcher: …Have I told you this one before?
LadyTigress16: No.
It was kinda obvious to me.
SpiderRose: That one was funny!
I didn't get it at first.
GhostWatcher: I mean it makes sense that she'd get the joke.
"No way." Sam rolled her chair back as she covered her mouth with her hands. That… that was an obvious flirt. Nothing was said afterwards about the comment, though Sam could read it very clearly. Danny had just used a joke to call Juleka cute.
Sam removed her hands from her mouth as she began to think more and more. "He called her cute. That means… he's seen her before. We haven't made any video calls in the guild though. How could they have…"
That's when a solution hit her like a truck. "Direct messaging! That's why they haven't talked as much! After the Two Truths and a Lie game they must have started messaging each other to avoid me!" She felt her anger flair up as she scrolled down back to the newest messages.
She needed to talk with Danny now, but she also needed to see if anything else was said. She was about to swap over to direct messages when a new message was sent over the guild. Her eyes widened as she realized that it was Danny.
GhostWatcher: Sounds great!
Sorry!
Wrong chat.
MajorScaless: Relax Danny.
Everyone does it every now and again.
Mousegirl15: Lol. Really Danny?
You're such a dork.
BatTuck: Have you never met Danny before?
So, what sounds great?
Sam frowned as she began to type. This could be the chance to get a confession out of him. She clicked send as she crossed her arms.
GQueen: Yeah Danny.
I'm wondering too.
LadyTigress16: Danny and I started directly messaging each other in order to strategize for that one Pokémon doubles battle we had a few weeks back.
I was asking him if he wanted to have a single battle later tonight.
Sam smirked. There was the start of her argument. She typed once more, immediately hitting enter with a strong tap.
GQueen: Really?
You haven't used it for anything else?
GhostWatcher: GQueen.
You're doing the digging thing again.
What do you think you've found this time?
Sam growled, angry that Danny was able to immediately pick up on her tone. Having him be defensive makes it more difficult to prove her point. She decided to continue as she more carefully typed into the server.
GQueen: Well, I just find it funny that this is only being brought up now.
GhostWatcher: Because it wasn't important.
Why should it matter that Jules and I talk outside of the group?
GQueen: Oh, no reason in particular.
I just find it funny that you guys have been talking without us for a while now.
SpiderRose: I mean, it's their lives.
Don't they have the right to be able to talk to each other without us?
GQueen: Well normally you're not wrong.
I just think that they're trying to hide a specific something from us… like the fact that they're totally flirting!
NightwingFan: Danny, I thought you said you dealt with this.
SeaMonkey: Seriously G?
Not cool.
GhostWatcher: Sam, I told you to knock it off.
Besides, what proof do you even have?
GQueen: Oh, I don't know.
How about your own words!?
Sam nearly guffawed in victory as she posted the link to the prior conversation. Now everyone would pay more attention to what was going on! The first message popped up, her victorious smile turning into a frown.
GhostWatcher: I was trying to say that it's because she's smart.
I was going to add that on, but my folks barged in.
You were there when it happened!
GQueen: That's still a complement Danny!
GhostWatcher: Oh, so friends can't complement each other now?
GQueen: That's not what I meant and you know it!
BeastMan: Playing both sides here, that original post could definitely be seen as flirting dude.
GQueen: See! He gets it!
BeastMan: I wasn't finished.
GQueen, you have been making a lot of fuss over nothing these past few times.
Maybe you should calm down and step away for a bit.
Sam felt her anger reach a boiling point as she clenched her fists, her knuckles popping. The past few times they had these conversations she bowed out when she felt out gunned. Here, however, she felt that she had everything she needed. "Not this time." She quickly resumed her tirade as her fingers worked like lightning.
GQueen: He is so obviously flirting!
And, judging by the fact he called her cute, they've even done video chat!
NightwingFan: Sam.
You're making a scene.
This is supposed to be a safe place away from drama, especially for the members in Paris.
Please just stop.
GQueen: You guys are enabling them!
You can't just let them keep going on like this!
JazzyTime: Girl you seriously need to take a deep breath.
LadyTigress16: Let's say you're right and Danny did flirt with me.
Why would that be such an issue?
Sam resisted the urge to oust her own feelings for the ghost hero. She didn't actually expect Juleka to be turning things around on her. "So that's how you want to play? Game on." Sam mentally prepared herself before beginning her argument.
GQueen: You two live in two completely different countries, continents even.
You two can't even be in the same room together without video chat.
If you two become a serious item, that distance might hurt him as he's very social.
GhostWatcher: Sam, please just drop it.
LadyTigress16: Let me handle this, Danny.
There's one flaw in your thought pattern Sam.
The whole thing depends on the two of us dating.
It's very possible that a relationship might never come out of this.
GQueen: So, you admit that you like him!
I bet you're trying to string him along just to hurt him later!
MajorScaless: Jules would never do that.
You are bringing a bad melody to the chat.
SpiderRose: Please just stop Sam!
You're being uncool!
GQueen: I'M BEING UNCOOL!?
You guys have been taking Danny away from us ever since he met you!
BatTuck: Sam!
That's enough!
GQueen: You're taking their side!?
BatTuck: I'm trying to stop you from making a decision you'll regret!
GQueen: What do you think I'm trying to do for Danny!?
GhostWatcher: You aren't doing this for me.
You're doing it for yourself!
GQueen: Well something always seems to go wrong when you make your own decisions.
LadyTigress16: Well if you ask me his decisions lately have been pretty good ones.
I don't see you being helpful in helping him keep his grade up.
It's his life, not yours!
SeaMonkey: Jules, maybe you need to take a breather too.
You're being very vocal today, and I've never seen you get angry like this before.
Sam continued to shake in fury as she read over Juleka's responses. 'This Parisian boy stealer thinks she knows us!? She doesn't know anything!' Sam barely registered what she was doing as she suddenly began typing more. She pressed send, only to freeze as she read her own words.
GQueen: What would a forgettable coward like you know!?
Sam blinked multiple times as she saw that her message was still in the buffering stage. "No… No-no-no!" She tried everything she could to make sure her words would not make their way into the chat. There was no way Danny or anyone would forgive her if that message went through.
To her utter relief, the message errored out. She sighed as she slumped in her chair, only to notice the nature of the error. "Permission's revoked? Why would it…?" Sam's eyes widened as she looked to the screen as a whole.
Most of the icons for the different chats were absent, leaving her in a rather empty section. Her eyes widened as she looked to the name of the chat, "Time Out". She clenched her hands in anger once more as she looked to the screen. "They… they put me in the Time Out chat!?" Her question was soon confirmed as Nightwing sent a message in this new chat.
NightwingFan: You've had ample warnings, Sam.
Welcome to the newly created time out chat.
Only people with the Quarantined tag and Moderators can see and interact with this chat.
Mousegirl15: I was hoping you'd calm down to where we wouldn't have to create the chat.
Danny stood up for you several times, so I know he's very disappointed right now.
Sam growled, once again upset at someone for thinking that they knew Danny better than her. She took a breath, however, before she could mess things up further. She needed to play this tactfully. All she had to do was get Danny on her side, just like she planned for a scenario like this. She quickly typed in her response, making sure she watched her tone.
GQueen: So maybe I went a bit overboard on the flirting thing, which they totally have been flirting.
Danny's one of my only friends, so I worry about him a lot.
Danny, you know how much I worry about you guys with your shenanigans.
Danny?
NightwingFan: Danny has been temporarily stripped of his moderator status due to being the source of your issue.
He was actually the one that made the call.
Mousegirl15: He said that he explained to you that your fate here would be in our hands.
He specifically requested to be taken off the mod team until this is resolved.
Sam felt her blood run cold, the words of the moderators setting in. She completely forgot about Danny's warning that day Valerie saved them from Dash's wrath. She thought that their talk had rendered that possibility mute. Now she was in the hands of the two people who had no qualms with booting her out of the server. She began her argument a bit slower this time, getting the feeling that her words were fixing to be torn apart.
GQueen: I think I remember that.
My points still stand though.
They were totally flirting and the relationship probably won't best for them due to distance.
Tigress is your friend, Mouse.
You gotta understand where I'm coming from.
Mousegirl15: Whether they're flirting or not, it's no reason to harass them unless you're actively in a relationship with Danny.
From what I've seen that's not the case.
Also, it doesn't matter what I think about Juleka's decisions.
Unless I see something that could go horribly wrong, I try to be supportive of her.
NightwingFan: The argument of long distance relationships being an issue isn't always valid either.
Sometimes my relationship with Star can get pretty long distance when she goes to visit her family.
We sometimes go months without seeing each other, yet we still make it work.
From what I know of Danny, he's responsible enough to handle a long distance relationship maturely.
GQueen: You think you know him better than me?
Tuck and I have been his friends since we were kids.
We've been through a heck of a lot more with Danny than you have.
NightwingFan: A fact that is the only thing keeping me from straight up banning you right now.
If you keep using it as a crutch, I will rescind that kindness.
Sam's breath hitched as she read over his words. He was laying into her much in the same way as her grandmother would. He wasn't coming at her like her parents would, trying to force her into something only to bow out on most things. This was someone who commanded respect, someone she was currently not equipped to reason with. She took a deep breath as she fought herp pride, typing in a new message.
GQueen: I don't think I can adequately defend myself right now.
I need time to breathe.
Mousegirl15: At least you're being honest.
I don't think I'm in the right state of mind to determine that though.
What's your verdict, Nightwing?
NightwingFan: ...One day.
This same time tomorrow, we'll pick back up where we left off.
If you still can't give us an adequate reason to let you back in, I'm kicking you from the guild.
If anyone says that you tried something at school, you'll be out of here before you can say "oops."
Sam didn't even have the strength to respond at this point. She simply exited the app and powered off her computer. She groaned as she rubbed her face with both hands. "What have I done?" Not feeling like dealing with her parents, she decided to remain in her room for the rest of the night.
The Next Day
School was fast yet frustrating in the eyes of the guild members in Casper High. The events of the prior night still weighed heavy on their minds. Sam continued to try and think of what she could say to convince the mods to let her stay. Tucker would try to talk with her to try and straighten her out, but she was frequently ignoring him. Danny, on the other hand, was a very different case.
He had a scowl on his face for most of the day, something that freaked out those who knew him. The few times he didn't have a scowl were when he was in a class and had time to distract himself. None were bothered more by it than the A-listers, the group already wary of him after he pinned Dash. Said football star avoided the boy ever since that incident, though rumors spread that he was planning something. Danny was found closing his locker from where he was grabbing some books, Valerie waiting for him on the other side.
"Alright Danny." Began the reforged friend. "What's going on with you?" Danny growled as he looked away from her.
"Nothing, Val." Replied the ghost boy. "Just got a chip on my shoulder." Valerie put her hands on her hips as she sent him a raised brow.
"And apparently that chip is named Sam. You two have been avoiding each other like the plague all day." Danny sighed as he shook his head, only for Tucker to pop up.
"She pointed out once again how he might be flirting with that girl I told you about." Answered the geek. "She made a big fuss in the guild and started throwing around accusations. The other mods put her in a time out chat and Danny specifically asked to be taken off the roster until they figured things out." Valerie hissed to herself as Danny's scowl fell to a sad frown. Sam walked by the trio, making her way into one of the empty classrooms.
"…Maybe I should talk to her." Commented Danny. "I started this mess." He was about to carry out his plan when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me handle it." Reassured Valerie. "I have a feeling this is a girl thing. You guys wait here." Neither of the boys knew what to say as the girl walked towards the classroom Sam was using. They both shrugged at each other, not sure what Valerie was talking about.
Inside said room, Sam could be found writing on the chalk board. She had to visualize her arguments before she could bring them to Nightwing and Mouse. It was obvious that the Nightwing that was the friendly goofball wouldn't be making an appearance, meaning she had to use hard facts and carefully plan out every sentence. It was honestly scary to her how fast his personality could change on a dime. She began to recite her words in her head, nodding as she bopped her finger around.
"Alright." Huffed the goth. "This should be just the right things to say to get me back into the guild. I'll just have to lay low until this whole flirting thing blows over. Then when someone finally slips up and reveals their true colors I'll…" She stopped mid-sentence as she heard the door close and lock.
"And now I'm glad I told the boys I'd talk to you instead of them." Commented Valerie. The former A-lister was standing at the door with her arms crossed, an unamused look on her face. Sam mirrored the other girl's pose as she glared her way.
"What do you want? Come to gloat about how you've made your way back into my friend circle." Valerie rolled her eyes as she allowed her arms to fall.
"If you didn't hear me the first time, Tuck told me what happened. Danny was gonna try talking to you, but I decided to try and save him the trouble." She took a quick glance at Sam's planned arguments before returning her gaze to said goth. "You better be lucky I did. If they saw all that, they probably would have gone off on ya."
Sam grumbled under her breath, hating that she was actually agreeing with Valerie. "From what I see, you ain't gonna last long if you keep this up." The goth growled as she allowed her arms to drop.
"That's just what you see. What would an A-lister know about these kind of things?" Valerie clenched her fists in anger, only to take a deep breath.
"Former, A-lister. Despite what you think, some A-listers actually know a good bit about reading people. Some can even pick out what a person means in their texts. If you're working hard to try and convince this 'NightwingFan' to let you stay in your little group, you're doomed." Sam allowed her glare to soften slightly as the thought grew in her mind.
"Like I've got a choice. If I don't they might actually take Danny away from us." Valerie's frown was then accompanied by a raised brow.
"Take him from you and Tuck, or take him from you?" Sam's eyes widened as the question fully registered in his mind. "With how much you've been complaining about Danny-boy's love life, it's obvious that you're just jealous of this girl you think he likes. You're throwing your place in this group away for a crush." Sam looked away as her cheeks reddened slightly.
"It's not a crush. I don't know what you're talking about." Valerie didn't let up as she leaned back on the door.
"You're lying to both of us there girl. Fighting with him over flirting with another girl, glaring daggers with me during that short time I dated the lovable goof ball… Need I say more?." Sam growled as she grasped her arm, trying to save face as Valerie turned away. "Maybe I should just tell Danny that…"
"I'm in love with him, okay!?" Valerie stopped, half way to unlocking the door. "I can't stand the idea of him with other girls because he's the first person to not treat me like an outcast for being me. Normally when Danny flirts with other girls I know it's not gonna work because they're usually out of his league or big jerks. When it comes to Juleka, I feel threatened."
Valerie turned back around, her frown still present. "I've never seen him smile like that when he had crushes on girls like Paulina. I can't just sit back and let some other girl take him. Not when I have no clue if he'd give me a chance." Valerie let Sam stew in silence for a moment before finally cracking a smirk.
"Girl, you made it so obvious that you had a thing for Danny. The only person who could never see it is him. Back when I was a different girl, which I'll admit wasn't very long ago, I didn't care about that fact. When I was with him, I could kinda see what you see in him. Pretty much the only decent guy here in Casper High."
Sam bobbed her head back and forth, silently agreeing with Valerie. "If being in this group is important to you, then you have to face this head on. If you want Danny to start talking to you again, you're gonna have to tell him the truth. Deep down you know I'm right." The goth didn't reply as she continued to find the floor rather interesting.
Valerie decided to drive her message home as she placed a hand on the conflicted girl's shoulder. "Whether he feels the same or not, yer gonna have to respect his decision. Otherwise, you might as well say goodbye now. Everyone can tell that he's on the edge of snaping at someone and the last person you want that to be is you." Sam finally looked up as she stared the former A-lister in the eye.
"You think it'll be easy? I've been feeling this way ever since I became old enough to realize what I was feeling. I can't just up and let him go. Not after everything we've been through." Valerie sighed as she released the goth's shoulder.
"Girl, what is it going to take for you to do this? Is there no way that you'll at least give it an honest try." Sam frowned as she continued to stare at Valerie. An idea popped in her head as she looked down. Steeling herself, she looked up to the roof.
"The Red Huntress actually listening to Phantom for once. That'd be a start." Valerie jerked slightly as a scowl of her own began to form.
"How did you…" Now it was Sam's turn to smirk. She sat back on the main desk as she looked over her nails.
"I'm not the only one that made things obvious. Your suit doesn't even change your voice. Not to mention the subtle glares you give someone whenever Phantom is brought up. Even after he dealt with the ghost that was causing the problem, you still can't forgive him." Valerie looked around the room to make sure there were no listening devices as she crossed her arms.
"He and I came to a form of agreement a year back. There was an incident with another ghost that I don't feel like talking about. I'm still mad at him, but I ain't exactly looking for a fight with him. Still, I don't take orders from anyone." Sam's smirk never left as she tilted her head.
"I'm not talking about taking orders. I'm talking about not attacking every ghost you see. Despite the popular opinion, there are some good ghosts out there. Some of them have actually saved our lives a couple of times. Plus you can't tell me that Pariah Dark situation didn't put the thought in your head that he's a pretty good guy."
Valerie grumbled under her breath this time, giving Sam an odd satisfaction. "If you want me to do this, you're gonna have to give some ghosts the benefit of the doubt. There are some that I'll happily say blast away about and won't look back. If a new ghost does come into town, or one looks like it's not causing trouble, all I'm asking is that you do some digging before starting a fight. You'll be surprised how many ghosts just want to get away from the chaos of their realm."
Valerie looked Sam in the eye as the skinny girl stood up. "If you do all of that, including not attacking Phantom every time you see him, I'll… do what you say. Think of this as a way to prove to me that you belong in our group. Do we have a deal?" Valerie looked to be having an internal conflict as she watched Sam hold out a shaky hand.
"…If it means you actually let Danny make his own choices, I'll swallow my pride on that one." She took the handshake, squeezing firmly. "If Phantom starts annoying me though, I might not be able to help myself. He has a habit of getting under people's skin." Sam chuckled slightly, surprising the former A-lister.
"Oh don't worry. He does tend to take the banter and jokes a bit too much. You might knock any ghost brains he has back into place." The duo released their grip as they surprisingly shared a laugh. Valerie walked back over to the door, grinning as she did.
"You might wanna erase your practice arguments from the board. You won't want him to see them." Sam's eyes widened in terror, realizing that the hidden hunter was immediately putting her on the spot. "She's ready to talk, Danny-boy." Not having time to get onto Valerie, Sam quickly began to erase her work.
"Sam?" Asked Danny. He walked into the door just in time as Sam resumed her seat on the desk. "Look. We really need to talk about…" The goth held up her hand, stopping the boy in his tracks.
'I can't believe I'm actually doing this.' Thought Sam. "I… I know. Look, I'm sorry that I messed things up with the guild. You're probably mad at me for starting that whole 'Time Out Chat' nonsense." Danny sighed as he crossed his arms.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm disappointed more than I am mad. We talked about the flirting thing and you made a huge mess over it. I had to do damage control all night last night." Sam nodded, not feeling like interrupting the boy.
Danny gestured to her with a sad expression. "Sam, you have to tell me what's going on. You've never been this aggressive when it comes to moments like this. What were you thinking?" Sam sighed as she crossed her arms, more so to cradle them than to show discomfort.
"Ever since the accident, you know the one I'm talking about, I felt responsible for what happened. I've felt a strong need to protect you from others who would try to take advantage of you, especially when your parents seemed more concerned with their experiments and grilling you for bad grades. It made certain feelings I had on things grow stronger as the years grew longer and longer. Now here we are, two years later, and I still feel this way." Danny sighed as he put a hand on his hip.
"Sam, I'm just as responsible for what happened. I could have said no when you convinced me to walk into the ghost portal. You can't just take all that blame and put it on yourself. Hating yourself for that is not…" Sam shook her head in denial.
"I'm not… talking about hate. Remember when we were seven? That day when you defended me from some of the popular kids when I decided to go goth? Back then, I realized something." Sam fought the urge to find some other word to say.
Danny waited in silence as the girl finally came to terms with what she was about to do. "I… I started… falling… for you." The ghost boy's eyes widened as if a powerful ghost had just flown into the room. "The feeling has been growing ever since, but I was waiting to see if you'd notice me. I'll admit, I probably should have been more direct."
Danny continued to say nothing as he processed this piece of news. Sam began to worry as she looked him in the eye. 'Please, say something. Anything.' The ghost hero finally collected himself as he blinked multiple times.
"Wow. I… wasn't expecting that. It does explain a lot when it comes to certain moments." Sam decided to be silent this time as she allowed the boy to say his peace. "I… I'm really flattered Sam, and honestly honored that you feel that way."
The goth did not allow her hopes to arise, feeling a "but" coming. "As long as we're being honest, I have a confession of my own. I honestly wish you had said something last year. At that time, I kinda felt the same way." Sam felt her heart sink as she looked to the floor.
"Oh. I… I didn't know." Danny nodded as he decided to continue.
"Yeah. I guess we were both waiting out our feelings there. When nothing happened, I kinda felt the spark die. You're still important to me, don't get me wrong. It's just more of an unofficial sister kind of thing now."
Sam nodded her head, her frown dropping even more. Danny lifted her gave by her chin, looking her in the eye. "I'm sorry that it ended up like this. You're a beautiful and strong girl, but we didn't have the right timing. I hope that, while it might be awkward for a while, we can still be friends going forward."
He sent her a sad smile as he tilted his head. "I don't want to lose you or Tucker, no matter what happens." Sam felt her heart perk up again, though she fought back the feeling of fighting for the boy. The way he smiled, she couldn't help but mirror the expression. Finally giving in, she nodded her head once more.
"… Okay. Thank you for at least letting me down easy. At least I know that I had a chance at one point. Guess I waisted my chance." Danny sighed as he helped her to stand.
"Sam, there are plenty of great guys out there. Admittedly not a lot of them in Amity Park. All I'm saying is that you'll find someone who's perfect for you. You just have to stop holding yourself back." Sam chuckled as she shook her head.
"Since when did you get to be good at making people feel better? Practicing for Juleka or something?" Danny responded with a nervous chuckle, earning a sad smile from his friend. "Seriously, Danny, please be careful with that big heart of yours." He quickly nodded in response.
"I will. You just be careful trying to make it up to everyone." Sam groaned in annoyance, reminded of that one factor. "I'm just saying." The duo left the room as they moved to check up on Tucker, unaware that Valerie was smiling at them as they walked away.
Later
Time Out Chat, Miraculous Gamer Guild
NightwingFan has logged on.
Mousegirl15 has logged on.
NightwingFan: Alright, Sam.
You've had a day.
It's time to face the music.
Mousegirl15: And here I thought you were taking this from a mature standpoint.
I don't think jokes are going to tell her that you're serious.
NightwingFan: I'm not joking.
It's an actual phrase.
GQueen has logged on
GQueen: Sorry.
Had to talk with my grandma so she could help me through something.
Mousegirl15: Is everything alright?
GQueen: Yeah.
Just had a harsh truth kick me in the gut.
NightwingFan: We'll see if we can talk about that later.
Time to make your case, Sam.
GQueen: Actually, it has to do with that harsh truth.
I'm going to start off by saying that I know by far that it's no excuse for causing trouble.
Danny and I had a talk at school after a more recent addition to our local friend group talked to me.
This… won't be staying in here, will it?
NightwingFan: To put your mind at ease, no it will not.
To give a bit of a clean slate, we delete all of the messages in the chat after a problem is resolved.
The only thing staying is the rules section I'll post once we're done here.
GQueen: Alright.
I just didn't want this to get out to Juleka in case they do end up being a thing.
So, I've had a crush on Danny since I was seven.
Mousegirl15: Oh Sam.
Why didn't you say anything to me or Nightwing?
GQueen: The same reason I didn't tell Danny all these years.
I wanted him to notice me and ask me out himself.
He accepted me for what I was when I went Goth, so I kinda latched to him.
After an accident that I still blame myself for, I felt responsible for keeping him safe.
He'd have to be the one to tell you about it.
Anyway, that's the reason I got so up in arms whenever I saw them flirting.
NightwingFan: You're right about one thing. It's definitely no excuse.
It does explain a lot, however.
How does this have to do with what you and Danny talked about?
GQueen: Right.
So I talked with someone and decided to come clean with Danny about my behavior.
He was definitely surprised, but he basically told me I missed my chance.
He felt the same way at one point, but he was trying to see if anything would come of it.
After a while he started to view me as an unofficial sister rather than a potential girlfriend.
Mousegirl15: I know exactly what that feels like.
I had a huge crush on a local male model that was in my class, even became friends with him, but I could never tell him.
Now he's with another girl that was more confident than me.
From what I hear they're really happy.
I had to learn to accept that I missed my chance.
GQueen: Guess I can say that I've joined the club now.
Anyway, he let me down gently and helped me feel better about the whole experience.
Following what another friend said, I'm going to try and let him go.
I still want to make sure any girl he dates will be good for him, but I'm going to try and let him live his life.
I know that probably isn't enough for me to be let back in the guild.
NightwingFan: Give us a moment.
Three minutes later
NightwingFan: Alright.
We've talked it over.
We're going to be implementing a watchlist tag.
You'll be let back into the guild, but you'll have to work hard to get off the watchlist.
If you cause problems three times during your time on the watchlist, you'll skip the time out and you're out of the guild.
Mousegirl15: We understand that what you're going through is hard.
We're giving you the benefit of the doubt but understand that just like you, we have people we want to keep safe.
Rose is especially vulnerable to trauma like this and Juleka nearly shut herself in again.
GQueen: I really am sorry.
I never meant to cause trouble for anyone, especially not Rose.
I know I can't take back what I said.
NightwingFan: So move forward and make up for them.
As far as hurtful words go, yours didn't even dig real deep.
You have a lot to prove and a lot of growing to do, but that's why we're also a support channel.
Just be glad you didn't say anything to get you labeled a vrăjitoare.
GQueen: I know.
Thank you for giving me another chance. I'll try not to waste this one.
Mousegirl15: We all need second chances from time to time.
Just remember to talk to one of us before you bring anything up in the guild.
GQueen: I promise, I will.
And that's chapter 30 done and done. Can't believe we're thirty chapters in on this. Anyway, Sam finally brought on the consequences for her crap. Hopefully now she can chill out. Not to mention she's finally formed a truce of sorts with Valerie.
Only time will tell if Sam and Valerie can both keep up their ends of the agreement. Also, Sam and Danny finally reconciled this whole mess. It's gonna be interesting to see where Sam goes from here. Like Danny said, there are a lot of guys out there in the world. Who knows who she'll meet along the way (gotta be honest, I don't entirely know myself. Lol)
Anyway, what did you think about this one? Did you Valerie and Sam's talk? How about how the goth and her ghostly crush finally reconciled their feelings? Let me know what you think in the comments below and I'll try to get back with you next chapter at the latest. Until then, this is Inkaliber signing out.