Chapter Nine: You Can't Just Say Goodbye
The rest of their weekend with the Lancers had passed pleasantly enough. Arlene was a great host, warm and considerate. William was a great listener, clearly invested in her and Danny's lives. He had recommended at least ten different novels for Danny to read. They had even managed to rope Danny into a couple of rounds of Uno, though he never really seemed to be too invested. Sam was honestly impressed by how committed they were to having a nice, normal weekend. Besides that first night, ghosts were not mentioned again.
And now on the ride back from the airport, Danny was quiet. Not that surly, irritable quiet that she was unfortunately growing used to, but a more disturbing silence. His eyes were far away, unreachable. Sam wanted so badly to turn his head towards her and pull him back from wherever he was. He had suffered well enough through the domesticity of the Lancer's home, but it was like he was gone now. She hadn't heard him utter a word since they left.
Sam couldn't stop thinking of their conversation in bed, what he had told her about his parents. She knew they had really hurt him, he had told her as much. But the image of him strapped to a lab table, with a cold, sterile scalpel gliding across his sternum…it was horrific, utterly nightmarish. She shouldn't have asked. Sam wished that he could open up to her, spill all of the pent up frustrations and fears that he carried with him. But she regretted pulling this one from him, even if he had technically offered. Her probing, invasive curiosity couldn't take not knowing. And now he seemed more distant than ever.
Danny had promised to always come back to her, and he had that night. He had come back from wherever it was that he had run away to. He had come back from the precipice of death, alone and abandoned by everyone else in Amity. Every time she thought he'd vanish completely, he came back to her. But Sam wondered if each time he realized more and more that she wasn't worth it, that she couldn't return those lost pieces to him, as much as she wanted to. Even now in the taxi, there seemed to be an uncrossable chasm between the two of them.
The car stopped and Danny wordlessly slid out, moving to retrieve their luggage from the trunk. Sam followed, watching as he tugged them out, setting her suitcase on the wet asphalt. It must have rained while they were away. She grabbed her luggage, following him like a shadow while they entered their apartment building. In the elevator, the doors closed around them like a tomb. Neither one of them said a thing to each other. She couldn't stand this, almost at the end of her rope. Her nerves were frayed, worn thin and exhausted by how useless she was to help him.
The elevator dinged, arriving at their floor. Danny exited, walking down the hall with a quiet urgency. Sam watched him unlock the door, entering without her. He usually was a gentleman, holding the door or at least just turning and looking at her. It was like she was the one who could turn invisible for how little he acknowledged her. Her hand burned with the phantom feeling of his fingers entwined with hers. Was that really only a couple nights ago? It might as well have been a lifetime.
All morning her voice had failed her, each time she tried to break the torturous silence her words would catch in her throat. The memory of their shared joy and hope walking out of Amity together was so distant, so cold. Then it had seemed that their future was bright, endlessly filled with the potential of happiness. It had felt like the first real time that hope had been able to blossom in her heart since the Amity Park Disaster. Where was that hope now?
Danny walked into the kitchen, facing away from her. Sam watched the lines of his back, studying the way the fabric of his shirt shifted as he hung his head. His hands gripped the edge of the counter tightly, tense and pale. She wished he would just look at her.
"Danny..." she said finally, sorrow clear and unhidden in her voice. She couldn't keep up the false bravado anymore. She was tired, plain and simple. He stiffened at the sound of her voice.
"Sam," He said quietly, acknowledging her at last. "I wish you could just let me go." Finally, there was the horrible confession. The one that Sam had already known deep down inside herself for all these months, that some part of her had been waiting for him to finally say.
"I can't do that. I love you." She whispered, not dancing around the truth anymore. Danny sighed wearily, his body heavy. He turned to look at her with those piercing blue eyes.
"I love you too." He admitted, voice breaking a bit. "But I'm not what you think I am. I can't be who you need me to be." His eyes were imploring, wide and pleading. "I'm not the same Danny you grew up with. I can't be ever again. You know that, right?" He sounded desperate.
"I don't care." Sam insisted. "I love you". He shook his head with a tired smile.
"I know that, believe me, I do. That's the problem." He approached her, brushing a hand through her hair. "I'm half a person. I can't make you happy, I can't be happy for you. I'm always going to feel incomplete. And I can't give you a normal life."
"Fuck normal!" She interjected, somewhat petulantly. "I don't want it."
"Sam." He said softly. His hand stilled, cupping her face. "Listen to what I'm saying." He said reproachfully. She felt the argument die on her lips.
"You can't fix me. I know you love me. But you are always going to hold out hope that you can fix this and you can't. No amount of playing pretend with the Lancers or with Frank or with Aubrey will change that. And I know it's breaking your heart every single day. I can't stand watching it happen. You have a life, with or without me in it. You don't need me here."
"I don't understand-" she said, scared of what he was suggesting.
"Give up." He insisted gently. She hated how kind his eyes looked. "I'm messed up. Too messed up to love you the way that you deserve. Too messed up to live up to your expectations. You'll never find what you're searching for with me and I'm afraid you're going to hate me for it someday."
"That would never happen." She insisted.
"Sam. Could you honestly promise me you wouldn't resent me?" He asked. "If I couldn't be who you needed me to be?"
"I would never resent you." She repeated firmly. "If you'll always come back, I'll always be here waiting. Nothing will change that." She needed him to remember his promise only days ago, that he wouldn't run away forever. There would always be somewhere for him to return to.
"I just think it's unfair." He said, looking away. "I need you more than you need me. You could be so much happier without me." Sam couldn't believe that he actually thought that, after all this time. How many times had she told him how much he mattered to her, how grateful she was to have him back in her life? Her sadness was quickly transforming into righteous anger.
"How could you say that?" She asked, offended. He looked down at her, confused. "Do you think that all of this is just because I feel like I owe you something? That it's just some misguided project of mine?" She heard the same implication that she always got from her parents, that her bleeding heart was naive. Like it was a bad thing that she wanted to change impossibly miserable circumstances, that it was stupid and childish to want a better world, to make people happier and whole. "You're not some charity case to me, Danny. You're my best friend."
"That's not what I'm saying." He denied. Sam cut him off, it was her turn to say her piece.
"You might think that you're somehow uniquely miserable, that you're just so fucked up that I couldn't possibly want to have anything to do with you." She started, voice raising. "But I started drinking heavily at fifteen, and started smoking cigarettes at sixteen. I burned every bridge that I had in high school. I had zero friends, I got in constant fights, I told my parents that I hated them. When they lectured me about counseling and therapy, I threw it back in their face and said that I just wanted to die." She stared at him, chest heaving. He looked stunned, and she felt a little bit of sick satisfaction at his shock. 'You're not the only one who can keep secrets', she thought bitterly.
"I was so close to getting expelled from school because of my behavior. Everyone only put up with it because I was the poor little girl from Amity, whose whole town went up in flames. That's a charity case." She bit out. "But guess what? As miserable as I was, as much of a fuck up as I was, I got better. I hated everyone for trying to help me, I was convinced that things would never change. I couldn't understand why anyone bothered at all. All the therapy and antidepressants and lectures sucked, I resented every second of it. But I'm still here because of it. I was able to get into a good college, I have a wonderful friend, I have a life. If you think that I don't know what it's like to hurt and feel like a burden, then you have severely underestimated me." She finally finished, taking a deep breath.
Danny stared at her with wide eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights.
"I had no idea." He whispered, looking ashamed. "I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't understand…" He said uselessly, trailing off. The air between them was heavy, awkward. Sam's heart hammered away in her chest, blood rushing in her ears.
"You're so stupid sometimes." She muttered, angrily pulling his face down to hers and crushing him into a kiss. He jumped in surprise, clearly not expecting this. His arms wrapped around her hesitantly, like he didn't know if this was a trap or something. Maybe it was, Sam couldn't even keep track of her own emotions anymore. Danny kissed her back though, almost desperately. Maybe they were both a bit stupid. She pulled away first, watching him.
"I need you as much as you need me." She promised. "You've given me a miracle, just being alive at all. So what if you're different? I am too. I don't need you to be the same kid I knew in middle school. I need the version of you now, who's brave and selfless to a fault. Who somehow came out of this whole ordeal with a good heart, saving people and putting others first even when it causes you grief. Be a little selfish for once." She said, nudging him.
"You think I'm a good person?" He asked, voice small and unsure. For all his strength, for all his unbelievable power, he was so fragile. Sam knew from experience that he would probably always be fragile, that he would never be fully whole again. But she had never expected him to be, never needed him to be. Whatever he was now, it was enough for her. For years, he was completely gone, existing only as an aching memory lost to time.
"Yes." She stressed, with a small smile. "You saved my life, so I'm a little biased though." She got a weak chuckle out of him with that. He touched his lips, realizing something.
"You kissed me!" He exclaimed, as if he had only just remembered.
"We've done it before." She said wryly, trying to disguise her own embarrassment.
"Right after yelling at me." He continued, confused.
"Right after setting you straight." She corrected. Sam let the moment hang, allowing him to decide what this meant. She wouldn't push him, but she also was sick of them dancing around each other, not speaking on this thing between them.
"I think that I'm not really experienced enough with this kind of stuff to tell what's going on." Danny said finally, looking sheepish. Sam thought of Aubrey chastising her, telling her that sometimes things could just be simple, easy.
"Do you want to do it again, yes or no?" Sam said, deciding to hell with it. Danny seemed to come to the same conclusion, pulling her in and kissing her again. She relaxed into his touch, enjoying the feeling of his cool breath against her lips. He held her tightly, as if he was afraid that she'd disappear somehow. Months of ignoring their feelings and not speaking about things must have gotten to him as much as it had gotten to her. When it ended, they both stared at each other for a long moment.
"This is really happening, I guess." Danny finally said. "We're not going to keep pretending otherwise, right?" Sam laughed tiredly, letting her head hit his chest.
"No, I don't think we can keep the facade up anymore." She groaned. "Aubrey is going to have a field day with this."
"You don't need to tell her." Danny said nervously, probably imagining all the uncouth comments that Aubrey would make the next time the three of them were all in a room together.
"I don't need to tell her." Sam insisted, standing up straight again. "She'll just sniff it out on me the next time we talk." Danny shuddered.
"That's scary." He said. She smiled, amused by how much he was intimidated by her friend.
"I'm sorry for unloading on you like that." Danny said, grabbing her hand. "I just couldn't stop thinking about this weekend, how out of place I was. It was nice of the Lancers to be so generous, but I couldn't stop feeling like I didn't belong. And I ran away, like a coward." He added, guiltily. Sam's eyes softened, understanding.
"It was a lot to handle emotionally, I get that. These things will be uncomfortable, but they're necessary. One day you'll wake up and find that you don't feel so out of place anymore. It may take a while, but you're trying. It's okay to make mistakes and run away sometimes. I would be a hypocrite if I told you that wasn't okay." She gave him a meaningful look. "But you need to stop with the big, angsty speeches. I'm not going anywhere." She chided.
Danny ran his thumb over her hand, making little circles as he stared at the ground, deep in thought.
"I heard what you and Lancer talked about after I left. I was eavesdropping, invisible of course." He admitted. "Like a creep." Sam sighed.
"Don't call yourself that." She scolded. "If I could turn invisible, I probably would eavesdrop when I knew people were talking about me too. That's a very human impulse, contrary to what you're implying."
"I'm sorry I made you cry." Danny added, remorse obvious in his eyes. He looked defeated at the memory, and Sam regretted losing her cool at Lancer's. Danny shouldn't have heard any of that.
"It's not your fault." She insisted. "It's just that the whole situation is unfair. Of course it hurts me that you've been suffering for so long. And I get frustrated sometimes that I can't erase that for you. But that's not my place, and I know that. Life is more complicated than that, no single person can do that."
"You've done a lot though." Danny insisted. "I know the way I act probably doesn't do much to show that, but it's true. I never thought anyone would love me again, or care for me. I've gotten used to being alone, it's just overwhelming sometimes to not be anymore. But that doesn't mean that I'm not grateful for it." Sam gave him a watery smile.
"I'm glad to hear it." She said. "All of this is worth it just to know that you're not alone. Even if I can't always give you what you need."
"Ah, well. It's not your fault that there's no one else like me." He said quietly, maybe a touch bitterly. "It's enough to just have someone know and love me anyway." Sam hesitated, trying to find the right way to word her response.
"You know, even if you think I won't understand or that I'll judge you, it's okay to tell me things about it. I know there's things that you hide, that you think you can't tell me." She said gently. "All in your own time though, just when you're ready." Danny nodded slowly.
"Okay." He said with difficulty. He looked uncomfortable with the idea that she was so aware of the fact that he was hiding things from her, but she needed him to know that she trusted him. And that when he was ready, he could trust her. Sam smiled a little, tugging on his hand.
"Just remember, I befriended Phantom before I knew that he was you. Even as a random ghost, I felt comfortable enough with you to trust you. I can deal with strange."
"Yeah, I guess you can." Danny acknowledged, his voice a little fond. He squeezed her hand before letting it go. "It's not because of you, there are just things that I'm not ready to talk about yet." Sam figured that was the case, but it still stung a bit. She would just have to let him make the call on when to talk about those things.
"I can live with that." She accepted after a moment. It was a compromise at least.
The next few days passed, brighter and more hopeful than they had been in a while. Sam could nearly cry just thinking about it, watching Danny smile and laugh with more frequency than he had in weeks. Their fight had culminated in a mutual understanding, a clearer set of boundaries and expectations than what they had before. Since then, they were touching each other more often, holding hands and giving quick kisses when they passed each other. At night, she curled up against his chest, feeling safe with his arms around her. Whatever their relationship had blossomed into, it was still slow and chaste. Sam was just so grateful to be open about it now, that she couldn't even bring herself to be frustrated with how shy Danny was. It was enough to not have to ignore their feelings anymore.
Sam called Lancer the day after they returned, giving thanks for the visit and relaying the news that she and Danny had a breakthrough, that they had talked through things. Danny had even spoken for a few minutes too, talking about books again with Lancer over the phone. He was quiet, letting their former teacher do most of the talking, but it was a vast improvement. She knew that he was really trying, really pushing himself to not rely so singularly on Sam alone.
Things weren't perfect of course, Danny still was withdrawn at times. Sam would catch him watching her guiltily, like there was something he desperately wanted to tell her but couldn't bring himself to do. He still wasn't open to the idea of working with Frank again and classes were still weeks away, so he had little to do during the day. Sam tried to be with him as much as possible, but she got stir crazy so quickly. She couldn't stay cooped up in the apartment 24/7. He joined her on a grocery run on Tuesday, but was still too nervous to do something as simple as going to a restaurant together. Public spaces seemed to be overwhelming to him, still out of his comfort zone.
As if she were psychic, Aubrey called Wednesday and asked to come over for dinner again Thursday night, even though they had originally decided to wait until after the gala. It was like that girl knew there was some kind of development and just had to be there. Sam double-checked with Danny, knowing it was a lot to ask of him when the Gala was in just a few days, and so last minute too. But to her surprise, he said okay. He looked a little terrified when he said it, but it was a pleasant surprise anyway.
Sam heard a knock at the door, interrupting her thoughts. She stood up and answered it to see Aubrey beaming with a steaming dish in her hands. She had insisted on cooking the entree this time.
"I come bearing ratatouille!" Aubrey declared, the French word rendered comedic by her Southern twang. Sam smiled, letting her in. Aubrey set it on the table, peeling back the foil. A delicious aroma wafted from the dish and Sam's mouth watered.
"My pasta salad is in the fridge." Sam said, pointing to the kitchen. "I'm going to go get Danny." Aubrey nodded and Sam left her to set up. She knocked on Danny's bedroom door.
"Come in." He called out. Sam opened the door to see him sprawled out on the bed, headphones in and reading a paperback. She craned her head, recognizing it as one of the books Lancer had recommended. He pulled a headphone from his ear.
"Aubrey is here." She said. He nodded, sitting up and putting his book away. He was just dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, which Sam was okay with. She could admit that she had gone a little overboard for the last dinner, but since it had gone over so well she didn't feel nearly as pressured to make things perfect. Danny scooted off the bed, pulling his converse on and quickly lacing them.
"I'm gonna wash my hands real quick, I'll join you guys in just a sec." He said. Sam closed his door, rejoining Aubrey in the dining room.
"He's just washing up." Sam said, helping Aubrey set up the silverware and plates.
"No fancy dress code this time?" Aubrey teased, eyeing Sam's usual outfit of black jeans and a band tee shirt.
"Well this isn't the Ritz." Sam joked. Aubrey threw her head back and laughed.
"You'd be the expert, huh?" Sam flushed, mentally berating herself for walking right into that one. Danny reappeared at that moment, saving her from Aubrey's teasing.
"Hey." Sam said, smiling. He looked unfairly handsome, even with his messy hair and clothes rumpled from being in bed. And if Aubrey wasn't here, Sam could tell him that and kiss him. What a change from how things had been for months now.
"Hi Aubrey." Danny said politely, grabbing a bottle of wine from the pantry for them.
"Hi Danny." Aubrey giggled, obviously pleased to get the chance to grill him again. At least he had some experience with her particular brand of conversation now. Danny set the bottle down along with three glasses, settling into his chair. Aubrey and Sam joined.
"How was it at your teacher's house?" Aubrey asked, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. Sam decided to answer, knowing Danny would prefer not to talk about it.
"Former teacher. And it went well, he and his wife are very nice people. His wife is a terrific cook too."
"That's great." Aubrey said, grabbing herself a serving of the ratatouille. Sam passed the bowl of pasta salad to her while Danny poured the first glass of wine for everyone.
"He recommended some new books to me." Danny added casually. Sam nearly dropped her fork, surprised by him chiming in without prompting. Aubrey looked a little stunned by him willingly contributing, but she recovered quickly.
"Oh? What books?" She asked.
"The Mists of Avalon and Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy." Danny said, fixing his plate. "I've really only ever read Arthurian stuff that was written by men, so he gave me some options written by women."
"Oh, a feminist awakening?" Aubrey commented slyly. Danny got a little flustered at that.
"I just thought the variety would be nice, some new perspectives."
"So you like to read?" She asked. Danny nodded, setting the bowl of pasta salad down.
"Yeah, I used to have a lot of free time as a teenager, so I got really into books."
"Not movies?" Aubrey asked. "I feel like most teenage boys prefer movies."
"I didn't have a T.V." Danny said, shrugging. "Or a computer." Aubrey leaned in, fascinated.
"No phone?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Danny took a bite.
"Nope." He said. Sam could see the cogs turning in Aubrey's head, her over-active imagination churning a million different fantasies of why Danny had grown up without such things. But to give her friend credit, Aubrey didn't pry.
"That's a blessing in disguise." She responded. "I'm hopelessly addicted to my phone. It's embarrassing how much time I spend on Twitter and Facebook." Sam ate her food slowly, intrigued by the organic conversation unfolding between the two. She was impressed with Danny, willingly offering up personal details about himself that could potentially lead to further questions.
"I have a smartphone now." Danny said. "But I'm still not really used to it. I just use it as a phone, mostly." It was true, Sam had gotten the latest iPhone for Danny and he only used it to call or text her. He didn't seem that interested beyond that, though he had some games he played on it from time to time. She almost wished that he would take more interest in the technology he had missed out on in Amity. He used to love videogames and scrolling on forums with her and Tucker. She had hoped that it would make him feel a little more connected to the rest of the world, though that might have been the very reason he didn't seem interested.
The three of them ate, a comfortable silence overtaking the table. Sam thought that Aubrey's food was pretty good. Her roommate had a less than stellar streak in the kitchen, but this dish turned out well. Danny seemed to agree, already grabbing a second portion.
"This is really good." Sam complimented. "I've never had ratatouille before." Aubrey smiled, obviously pleased with herself.
"I saw it on the Food Network once and knew I had to try it. It seemed easy enough, but it was so much slicing." She sighed dramatically. "But it was worth it, I'm happy with the results." Aubrey took a sip of wine. "So y'all have that gala this weekend, are you excited?"
"A bit." Sam shrugged. "I never really liked those kinds of events growing up. But it will be nice to honor Amity Park."
"I'd imagine." Aubrey said, thoughtful. "Did you ever hear much about Amity, Danny? Since you didn't have a T.V. and all." Danny seemed to choke on his food for a second, sputtering. "It was just awful, I remember the news coverage." Aubrey continued, seemingly unaware of his reaction.
"Um, not really." Danny said, trying to recover. He took several gulps of water and cleared his throat. "Yeah, just what Sam has told me."
"Have you read her paper? It was so good, I teared up a little while reading it." Aubrey kept going. Sam was getting nervous at the direction that this conversation was heading in.
"Yeah, very um. Well-written." He said meekly. Aubrey's eyebrows furrowed, sensing his discomfort with the topic. Sam could see a determination settle in her friend's features.
"What a coincidence..." Aubrey began.
'Oh no', Sam thought.
"You and her friend from Amity have the same name." Danny went white, food forgotten as he lowered his fork.
"Danny is a common name." He said a little forcefully.
"You really didn't hear about it back in '04?" Aubrey pressed, looking suspicious. "It was national news."
"I guess I just missed it." Danny deflected, eyes gleaming. Sam had to intervene, Aubrey had smelled blood. She clapped her hands together.
"Danny and I are dating now!" She declared, heart racing. Aubrey immediately turned to her, looking between both of them. A big grin spread on her face.
"Really?" She said excitedly. Danny's eyes flicked to Sam, reading her face.
"Yes." He confirmed, looking a little relieved by the change in conversation.
"Oh how wonderful!" Aubrey squealed, standing up. She gave Sam a bear hug, laughing. "I'm so happy for you both." She scurried over to Danny, hugging him too. His eyes bugged out and he shot a look at Sam that screamed 'Help me!'
"I just knew there was something going on with you two." Aubrey said victoriously. "Who made the first move?" She asked eagerly, returning to her chair.
"Me, I guess." Sam muttered. Aubrey looked proud, nodding in approval.
"That's fantastic." She turned her attention back to Danny. "She's a great girl, you better treat her right. She deserves someone who would move mountains for her." Danny resembled a beet by this point, bright red.
"Yeah, she does." He said with difficulty. Oh Sam was going to owe him big time after this dinner. For God's sake, they hadn't even gotten to the second glass of wine yet. As if he could read her mind, Danny took a big swig of his own glass.
"You're both so awkward, aww that's so sweet." Aubrey gushed. "I'll let y'all be now, I won't keep teasing you." But she looked positively ecstatic from the news. Sam smiled uneasily. Well, at least the crisis had been averted. But Danny looked a little like he wanted to disappear right then and there. He seemed shell-shocked from the hug, like it had been an unplanned attack or something. In some ways, maybe it was.
The rest of dinner was fairly uneventful, Aubrey updated them about her auditions, handing some tickets for her upcoming show to Sam. They made polite conversation, though Danny was much quieter this time. His show of bravery earlier was gone, reverting back into his introverted shell. Though, it seemed at least that this was simple embarrassment rather than his usual sulking. When they were done eating, Danny quickly volunteered to clean up, taking their dirty dishes to the kitchen.
"I didn't mean to embarrass him so much." Aubrey whispered to Sam, leaning over. "Sorry, I sometimes forget that he spooks so easily."
"You do come on a little strong." Sam deadpanned. Aubrey smiled at that, nodding in acknowledgement of her overbearing nature.
"Call it exposure therapy, if you'd like." She replied. "He'll get used to me. Especially since y'all are officially dating." She said in a sing-song voice, nudging Sam.
"Take it easy, we're moving slowly." Sam whispered, eyeing Danny to make sure he wasn't listening. His back was turned, very invested in rinsing the dishes. Hopefully the sound of the tap running was enough to drown them out.
"At least you're finally moving." Aubrey whispered back with a wink. "I'm happy for you. He really means something to you, I can tell." Sam found herself smiling.
"Yeah, he does." After all, it was nice to have this. She could let herself feel good about it. "But stop scaring him off." She added. Aubrey held up her hands in mock surrender.
Sam rolled her eyes, standing up to gather the rest of the dishes. She brought them to Danny, who shot her a look. Sam merely shrugged. No one could control Aubrey, certainly not Sam. There was never any predicting what that girl was going to say. At least Danny seemed to be able to deal with her hijinks better than the intimate domesticity of the Lancer's. He had grown up with a nosy, overbearing sister after all.
Together, they quickly finished the dishes, with Danny washing and Sam drying. With that out of the way, Sam gave the kitchen a quick sweep and picked her wine glass back up. Aubrey grabbed her purse, standing up and giving Sam a hug goodbye.
"Thank you for indulging me, I know your schedule has been busy lately." She said.
"It's always nice to have you over." Sam said. Aubrey grinned.
"Oh you don't need to lie." She joked, waving Sam away good-naturedly. She looked up at Danny. "It was nice seeing you again, Danny. If you ever finally get online, give me your socials so I can follow you!"
"We'll see." Danny said wryly. "See you next time, Aubrey." He added with a wave. Sam walked her friend out the front door, watching her glide down the hall towards the elevator.
"That girl." Sam sighed, feeling Danny hover behind her. He set a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm going to need a break before we do another one of these dinners." He said. Sam laughed, turning to look at him.
"You did really well. I'm sorry she started asking about Amity, that was awkward." He gave her a dry look.
"Nice save back there, by the way." Sam blushed, averting her eyes.
"It was the first thing I thought of." His eyes seem to light up a little, a small smile ghosting on his lips.
"So we're 'officially dating', huh?" He asked. So he had heard her and Aubrey whispering to each other.
"If you can call it that." Sam said, acknowledging that whatever was going on between them wasn't really the normal way of doing things.
"I'd like to. That sounds nice, easy." He said, a touch wistfully. She felt butterflies in her stomach at that. She leaned against the wall, closing the door.
"Well, then I guess the gala on Saturday is our first official date."
"How fancy." He said, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. This new aspect of their relationship was a little strange, a little daunting. But Sam felt good about it, relieved to finally have a word for it. Maybe it was a bad idea, but for now she couldn't bring herself to worry about the consequences too much. They could both be a little selfish for once.
"Alright, let's get a good night of rest." She said reluctantly. "We have a long weekend ahead of us."
AN: I have returned...semester is over so it's summer break for me (much needed). For those of you also on break, enjoy!