Danny knocked on the front door of the Manson residence once again, this time with his backpack slung over his shoulder as he was on his way to school. Ever since the trio was old enough, they would walk together to school, unless they texted each other saying they were staying home or had to head there early. The only one who had texted in the group chat this morning was Tucker, saying that he needed to get to school early to make up for a test.

Seeing no text from Sam, Danny assumed that she would be going to school today. Truthfully, he thought she should stay home, but on the other hand, he could see how school would be a distraction for her. Whatever she needed, he would be there for her.

He was taken out of his thoughts as the front door swung open, revealing her mom. She gave him a small smile as she firmly held the door knob.

"Good morning, Danny. I don't think Samantha is feeling up to school today."

"That's probably for the best. Could you let her know that I'll come by after school?"

While Pamela's smile remained on her face, warmth seeped into her eyes as she stared at the young man in front of her. No, she didn't always think so highly of him - often being the first one to threaten a restraining order against him - but over the years, he had truly proved himself to be a responsible, caring, and respectful gentleman who truly wanted the best for her daughter. She had always wanted Sam to be with someone who would take care of her, and in their relationship, he had proven over and over again to her and Jeremy that he would do anything for Sam. She honestly believed that he would take a bullet for her daughter. She hoped it would never come to that, of course, but she'd be lying if she wasn't a little relieved, especially knowing who Danny really is.

Not only had Danny become a soft spot for the Mansons, but his family had soon joined as well. If Pamela and Jeremy went back to the past and told themselves that Maddie and Jack Fenton were wonderful people, they would have an aneurysm. The same would be said for Tucker, who had also proved to be nothing but a sweet gentleman as well.

Looking back at the way she and her husband treated the Fenton family, she was ashamed of their actions.

Amazing what time could do for relationships.

"Of course." With that, Danny flashed one last smile and walked down the steps, transforming into his alter ego as he flew to school, while Pamela closed the door.

Upstairs in Sam's room, she was awake, lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. No matter what she did, she couldn't get out of bed.

Being goth, she was one with the darkness, often seeing it as a comfort where others found the void to be absolutely terrifying. This darkness, however, paralyzed her. Rationally, she knew that the death of her grandmother would deeply affect her, but she never realized it would feel like this. She felt like she was in a locked box that was thrown into the river with the water seeping in through the cracks as it sank further and further down onto the surface, essentially consuming her entire body. On the inside, she was screaming and fighting for a way out, but on the outside, she was just a shell.

A numb, broken, silent shell.

Even though she loved her grandmother dearly, she knew something wasn't right with how she's been feeling. She didn't understand why she snapped at Danny and her mother.

It wasn't just the heavy darkness feeling she was dealing with. She must've woken up at least 15 times last night to thoughts of wanting to end the pain. Yes, she was goth, and yes, she favored the dark and gloomy parts of life, but she never ever once thought about killing herself in her entire life. She's gone to therapy, much to her dismay, due to her parents' fears over her goth attire and perspective, believing that it was a cry for help. After many assessments and long conversations, the therapist deemed Sam non-suicidal. That opinion wasn't enough for her parents, though. She had gone to three other therapists since the first one, and all came to the same conclusion.

She remembered complaining to Danny and Tucker during this time and insisted that her parents were the ones who needed to go to therapy.

She flipped to her side, feeling sick from staring at her ceiling. She could only describe her thoughts as an evil entity convincing her to end it all. When she woke up the thirteenth time, her thoughts took a different approach, labeling it as a favor for everyone around her, especially Danny and her mother. She felt guilty for yelling at them when they were trying to help. At the moment of her outbursts, though, she just felt a burst of anger towards them. She was still confused about where it came from.

She closed her eyes in an effort to stop the thoughts in her head. Behind her, Amara phased into her bedroom, staring eagerly at Sam. It only took her fifth time visiting to start filling Sam's mind with suicidal thoughts. She could feel herself becoming more powerful each time she visited her personal energy source. She craved for more. Slowly, she floated towards Sam and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"You hurt everyone you love…" The words came from Amara's mouth as a whisper, but they appeared as piercing thoughts to Sam. She squeezed her eyes tighter to block the words.

Amara grimaced as she felt Sam fighting against her. "Don't fight something that you know is true…"

Sam felt tears falling down her face. She desperately wanted these thoughts to stop.

Amara, on the other hand, realized that she needed to go about this in a different way. She cursed Sam for not being easy about this. "…there are other ways to stop the pain…"

Sam shot up in bed. Of course. Why hadn't she thought about that before? Maybe she couldn't effectively stop the pain, but she could numb herself while also being out in the world. She couldn't stay in this room for another second. She ran to the bathroom to get ready for the day, leaving Amara smiling as she felt the welcoming power surge coursing in her. She hoped this would serve as a catalyst for her next move.

Tucker was at his locker switching off the books he would need for the start of the day. He had just gotten out of his make-up test and was hoping for at least a B on it so he could keep his A in the class. As he took out a book and placed it in his bag, he felt a shiver go down his spine and noticed Danny was behind him as Phantom. Danny transformed into Fenton and went to his locker, which was next to Tucker's, to change his own books. He immediately noticed the tension his best friend held.

"Sam's not coming?"

"No." Danny shook his head as he shoved a book from his backpack into his locker.

"How was she yesterday?" Tucker asked, remembering the note that he woke up to.

"She didn't remember anything." He then stopped glaring at his book and shifted his focus to Tucker. "You would remember if your favorite family member died, wouldn't you?" Tucker hummed in response as he nodded. Danny continued. "She was worried that she missed her grandmother, but I told her that she didn't. She was understandably upset, and then my ghost sense went off, and that made her extremely mad… I still don't understand why she got so mad all of a sudden..." He started pushing papers and books around his locker to find his book for Mr. Lancer's class.

"...I should've just ignored it since I couldn't even find the ghost." Danny exasperated as he continued his search for his copy of Fahrenheit 451. Ever since learning his secret, Mr. Lancer had started to go easy on Danny, waving off any tardies or missed classes with ease. Even though he was more understanding, he didn't think he would get away with losing his copy for English class with him. With all that said, he couldn't care less about the book. His mind was on his gothic angel. "Her parents claim that she's fine and going through the grieving process, but something about it doesn't feel right. I'm worried about her..."

"You and I both know how important Grandma Manson was to Sam." Tucker amended. "Maybe the way that she's acting is normal for her. True, the anger from your ghost sense doesn't sound like Sam, but maybe she just felt overwhelmed." Wanting to ease his friend's fears, Tucker patted Danny on the back, "Really Danny, I wouldn't worry. We just have to keep being there for her."

The doors to Casper High opened, taking Tucker's attention away from Danny. His jaw unhinged as he stared down the hall.

"Tuck, what is it?" Danny followed his gaze and also felt his jaw unhinge. Walking towards them was Sam, dressed in black skinny jeans, a black lacy bralette, and an oversized black and white flannel. Instead of her usual combat boots, she wore platform sock boots. She also had her hair down and was wearing sunglasses, which was weird since she was inside.

She didn't seem to notice all the stares she got from everyone as she walked to Danny and Tucker, as she looked like she was in her own world.

"Hey guys," She said slowly, seeming to concentrate hard on her words.

"Had trouble finding a shirt this morning?" Tucker insinuated, raising an accusing eyebrow.

Danny bit his bottom lip as he checked Sam out. He knew he shouldn't be; it wasn't appropriate given the surrounding factors, but he really liked that bralette. "Fuck, my girlfriend is hot!"

"Danny!" Tucker yelled.

"Huh?" Danny looked at Tucker and noticed he was looking up at him. He then looked down and noticed that he was falling through the floor. He floated up to land his feet firmly on the floor and smiled sheepishly. "How are you feeling, Sam?"

"Just peachy, Danny," Sam said in a light tone as she took a sip out of her water bottle.

"You feeling any better? Y'know from the…uh…consumption the other night, not anything else. Unless you wanna talk about something else..." Tucker sputtered, leaving it open for Sam to decide the direction of the conversation.

"I feel fine. And I have nothing else to talk about." Sam said, opening her locker and repeating the same routine Tucker and Danny had been doing moments ago. She then pulled Danny's copy of Fahrenheit 451, holding it out for him to take. "You left this in my room."

Danny took his copy and exchanged a worried glance with Tucker. "Uh, I didn't think you'd want to come to school today."

Sam stopped her organization and spared a questioning glance at Danny. "Why?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Just figured you would want to stay home." Sam just shrugged her shoulders in response and continued her organization.

Tucker shifted his weight between his feet nervously as he thought of another question to ask, this one more lighthearted. "What's with the sunglasses?"

"It's bright." Sam said quickly.

"We're inside." Tucker and Danny countered at the same time.

"What is this, 20 questions? Am I under interrogation?" Sam inquired as she took another sip from her water bottle.

"Ms. Manson," Mr. Lancer called as he walked over to the trio, "You're inside, sunglasses off. You should also button up your flannel, that…garment…can be distracting for other students."

"Oh, shut up." Sam didn't glance at Mr. Lancer as she slammed her locker shut and stormed off. Mr. Lancer, Danny, and Tucker stood frozen in place from shock. Sam was always the blunt, outspoken student, but she had never disrespected a teacher as she just did to Mr. Lancer.

Danny shook his head to get out of his trance, "Mr. Lancer, she's uh, not herself right now. Her grandmother just died and she's…dealing with it."

Mr. Lancer nodded as he understood the close relationship Sam had with her grandmother. Don't ask him why or how he knew; he just did. Maybe it was spending too much time with his students, "I'll let it go for today, but get a handle on her, Mr. Fenton. Before she does something she regrets," Mr. Lancer said as he walked off to his classroom.

"Pretty sure we're past that," Tucker mumbled.

Danny and Tucker spent the entire morning covering for Sam. She had snapped at two more teachers, threatened to fight three girls, and even got into a verbal altercation with another one, until Danny picked her up and carried her away on his shoulder while Tucker did damage control. Every time they asked her to talk to them, she would refuse and take another sip of her water bottle. Come to think of it, she was gripping onto that bottle like it was a lifeline…

Now at lunch, Sam was playing with her food as Danny and Tucker laid their heads on the table, exhausted.

"What's with you guys?" Sam questioned.

"What's with us?" Tucker said raising his head, "We've been covering your ass all day because you've shut down!"

"Did I ask either of you to do that?" Sam argued, shooting daggers at him.

"Sam, you have to admit you're acting out right now. You need to talk to us." Danny pleaded, gently placing his hand on hers. He wished she would take the sunglasses off so he could see her eyes and see if what they were saying was registering with her.

"I'm fine," She said as she took another sip.

Tucker raised an eyebrow at her incessant need for hydration today. After every altercation, she would take a sip. After every confrontation, she would take a sip. She couldn't seem to get enough of her water...unless it wasn't water… He took the bottle out of her hand and took the top off to smell it. His eyes widened at the pungent smell of alcohol.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"I think you've had enough!" Tucker snapped. He gave the bottle to Danny to smell. Danny raised an eyebrow, questioning Tucker, but Tucker gave a quick nod at him, nudging the water bottle closer. Danny brought the bottle to his nose and immediately recognized the smell.

"Sam, are you serious?" Danny seethed. He dumped the contents out of the bottle and capped it shut.

"No! Danny!" Sam screeched. As she leaned over Danny, Tucker grabbed her sunglasses off her face, revealing a darker tinge to her amethyst eyes. "Tucker!"

"Sam..." Danny whispered as he looked into her eyes. These weren't the bright amethyst eyes that held a spark of passion in them. They looked tired, dark, and lifeless. All claims that she was dealing with this went out the window for him.

Sam growled and picked her backpack up to storm off, but Danny stopped her as he grabbed her wrist. "Let me go!"

"You're not going anywhere!"

"Let. Go. Danny."

"Sam, you have to talk to us. Please tell us how you're feeling. We can help you," Danny pleaded. "Please talk to me."

"Look at my lips when I say this. I feel nothing." Sam admitted.

"You are on a self-destructing path, Sam," Tucker tried. "Please let us help you."

"You guys want to help me?" Sam questioned, receiving emphatic nods from the two men. "You can help me by getting off my back! I don't need either of you!" Sam ripped her arm away from Danny and stormed off.

Danny made to reach for her again, but his ghost sense went off. He shut his eyes from annoyance and opened them back up to plead with Tucker.

Tucker pushed his tray away and stood up. "I'll go after her."

Danny nodded his thanks and turned into Phantom as he shot into the air, looking for the ghost.

Sam ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. When she finished checking under the stalls to make sure she was alone, she walked to the mirror and gripped onto the sink, staring at her reflection. She saw the dull, lifeless eyes that stared back at her and felt nothing but anger. As if her hand had a mind of its own, she punched the mirror, causing the glass to shatter below her. She paid no attention to the blood that started to seep out of her knuckles.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked herself.

"I could answer that for you," a voice said behind her. Sam turned around and saw Amara sitting on the windowsill.

"You," Sam growled as she made a grab for her Fenton Thermos in her backpack. Just before reaching for it, Amara grabbed her wrist and absorbed more of Sam's energy. Sam sank to the ground, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily as she felt a wave of weakness rush in her.

"You have so much sadness in you," Amara said as she stared lustfully at Sam. "It's intoxicating."

"Why?... What…do you get…from that?" Sam asked as she fought to keep her eyes open.

Amara crouched down so she was eye level with Sam. She gently placed her hand on Sam's chin, forcing her to look at her. "A chance to walk amongst you."

Sam furrowed her eyes as she tried to focus on Amara's face, but her vision was blurry. "What do you...mean?"

"Don't you feel it?" Amara questioned, "Don't you feel like you're just a little too sad or too angry? That's me." She flashed her a sly grin. "Of course, I need some form of foundation, though, to heighten it."

Sam scoffed. "Obviously. My grandmother...just died..." As the conversation continued, her eyes started drooping closed.

"Hey." Amara lightly slapped Sam's face, jostling her awake. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Sam! Are you in there?" Tucker screamed from outside the bathroom. Sam tried to summon any energy to scream at Tucker, but she felt so weak. "Sam, you need to stop shutting us out! We just want to help you!"

Amara looked at the door with a victorious smile. She then faced Sam again and used her power to take more of Sam's energy while placing another surge of emotion. Finally, Sam let tears run down her face.

"Just wait till you see me next time..."

"There...won't be...a...next time," Sam choked out in tiny sobs. "My friends..."

Amara barked a quick laugh. "You really think they can do anything? You're not even going to remember this."

"Sam! Open the door!"

"What...remember...?"

"Sam!" Tucker yelled, trying to break down the door. Amara gave Sam one more smile before disappearing.

Without Amara holding her anymore, Sam slumped to the ground and curled up in a ball, feeling overwhelmed by all the sadness crashing down on her. Holding her knees to her chest, she let the tears flow out; she couldn't hear Tucker begging for her to open the door over her sobs.

"Sam! Open the door!" Tucker pleaded. Tucker felt the all too familiar sensation of the chill down his spine again and saw Danny down the hall running towards him. "She locked the door!"

Danny grabbed Tucker and phased them inside the bathroom. The sight that welcomed them was Sam crying her pain out with a bloody hand.

"Sam…" Danny and Tucker mumbled under their breaths. Tucker had never seen Sam cry, so seeing her crying hysterically on the floor with blood oozing out of her hand made him weak-kneed a bit before he felt Danny tug on his sweater, making him snap into the moment as they rushed to her side.

Danny, on the other hand, had only seen Sam cry two times in his life. He didn't like remembering the second time, but the first time was when he had asked her to be his girlfriend. Of course, with that time, he'd take those tears any day, as those were tears of happiness.

This hurt.

Seeing her now, breaking down in front of them, broke both of their hearts; however, they were both slightly relieved since this meant that she was finally letting it go instead of holding it in.

Or so they thought…

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