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Chapter Text

Part I: Greenest Flame

It was a cool Wednesday afternoon in Amity Park. Autumn had treated the town nicely with temperatures mostly in the sixties or low seventies. Brown, orange, and yellow leaves littered the ground and crunched under the feet of people walking the streets and sidewalks. Schools had already let out their students, most of them going home or choosing to hang out with their friends after long, grueling hours of learning subjects no one cared about. Sam Manson, however, had other things on her mind. She had decided to walk to her local drug store to pick up a few things she needed. Well, need wasn't the right word. She was seventeen at this time in her life, and at this point, she wanted to take her alternative style to a new level. Her hair was already naturally black, thank god, and her eyes were a peculiar mix of purples that she accentuated with black eyeliner. She had been rocking with this dark type of vibe for years and already had the wardrobe, but there were a few things she felt like she was missing. Unfortunately, she had to be eighteen for that. Fortunately, she wasn't one to follow rules. If she wanted it, she would have to do it herself.

While walking to the drug store, she took in the crisp Fall air. The sun was beginning to set already, thanks to daylight savings, draping the town in a shade of twilight. It was almost as if Amity Park were like every other town, but it wasn't. For three years, this town has been known for the ghosts that haunted it. Ghost attacks were common, expected even. The only thing keeping this town from complete chaos was Phantom, the ghost kid who tried his hardest to protect everyone. No one knew where he came from or what his story was, but depending on the opinion, he was either a villain or a hero. Sam preferred the word vigilante, but in the best possible way. Out of all the ghost hunters and government agents in Amity Park, Phantom seemed to be the only one who had things under control.

The drug store finally came into view, and Sam entered without hesitation. She only needed a few things. Sewing needles; various sizes, disinfectant, and saline wound wash. When she got to checkout, the cashier was an older lady who looked fed up with her job. After placing the items in a plastic bag, the lady eyed Sam.

"Please tell me you're not about to do what I think you're gonna do," she said as Sam tapped her debit card to pay.

"I just have a lot of different hobbies," she replied, earning an eyeroll as the lady handed her the bag.

"You got Q-tips for the aftercare?" She asked, already knowing Sam was up to no good.

"I have a whole box," Sam said as she slipped her wallet into her back pocket while she took the bag.

"I wish you the best."

"Me too." She left the store with a giddy feeling in her stomach, feeling nervous but excited. She had already gotten the jewelry she desired on a trip to the mall that happened last weekend and had it hidden in her room. She had to keep it under covers, though, knowing her cheery, go-lucky parents would absolutely kill her if they found out. It shouldn't be too hard; she was good at being sneaky.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she heard the revving of a motorcycle. She didn't think much of it until the revving calmed down and the guy who was driving it slowed down next to her. He wasn't wearing a helmet, showing off his long blonde hair and green eyes. He was dressed like he was the bad boy in an eighties movie with a trench coat and black boots for emphasis, and couldn't be more than a couple of years older than her.

"Hey, need a lift?" He asked, following slowly along the sidewalk as she walked. She looked at his freckled face closer and stopped as she cocked her head to the side.

"Haven't I seen you around before?"

"I visit here from time to time."

"No, I've seen Phantom fighting you. You're a ghost, aren't you?" She questioned, not realizing ghosts could look so close to humans. At least the white hair and glowing eyes on Phantom gave him away, but this guy could have easily passed as a college student.

"Does that matter? I still have a heart. And you are making it beat faster," he told her, a smirk on his face as if he just recited Shakespeare to her. She rolled her eyes at his lame pick-up line. He was just like all the other guys at school who would shoot their shot with her just to try to get something they wanted out of it. She guessed being a ghost wasn't an exception.

"Not interested," she responded, about to leave, when a screeching voice came out of nowhere.

"Johnny!" Another ghost came flying toward them, this time a girl with green hair and red eyes. Sam had to admit her outfit was pretty cool. She sported a red leather mini skirt with a jacket to match that she wore over a black tank top.

"What do you want, Kitty?" Johnny asked in an unamusing tone. Kitty landed in front of Johnny but immediately turned to Sam once she noticed her standing there.

"What are you doing talking to my boyfriend?" Sam blinked at the sudden pivot.

"I'm just trying to get home," she said.

"And what? You're trying to take him with you?" Kitty accused, getting an exasperated look from Sam.

"I don't want your grimey man, okay? Can I go now?"

"Grimey?" Johnny questioned from behind them.

"Yeah, what do you mean by grimey?" Kitty asked, almost in a defensive tone as if her boyfriend wasn't just flirting with another girl. Sam resisted the urge to bang her head against the concrete sidewalk. All she was trying to do was get home, and now she was being confronted by two psycho ghosts when she was just minding her own business. There was a whooshing sound that came from above them before Phantom planted himself between Sam and the couple. His hair put snow to shame while his eyes were just green emeralds, and his black and white jumpsuit clung to his toned form. Sam had seen him fighting from a distance before, but this was the first time she had seen him this up close.

"You guys involve everyone in your relationship except a couple's counselor. Maybe you should try it," Phantom quipped before turning his head to glance at Sam. "You should probably get out of here."

"Already gone!" She exclaimed before scurrying down the sidewalk. She ran back to her house and shut the door behind her, pausing against the door as she cleared her head of the nonsense she had just endured. She gripped the plastic bag in her right hand and ran upstairs to her room to disinfect everything inside it.

About thirty minutes later, she was staring at herself in her bathroom mirror. She examined the navel piercing along with the ones in her ears before nodding in approval. Not bad for her first time. Now she just had to hide it from her parents, which should be easy as long as she kept her hair down and wore sweatshirts. Speaking of, she grabbed a hoodie before picking up her backpack and going outside on her stoop to start her homework. It was a nice night that she didn't intend on missing out on, and the porch light provided her with enough light to see her work. After some time had passed, the air around her got cold before someone entered her peripheral vision. She looked up to see Phantom floating in front of her, cross-legged.

"Hey, I've been looking for you," he started to say while Sam closed her notebook. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's not exactly my first cat fight. However, it is my first with ghosts," she told him, watching as his eyes stared into hers.

"Yeah, Kitty and Johnny are..." He trailed off as he tried to find the right word.

"Toxic? Dramatic? Should probably break up?" Sam suggested, getting him to laugh.

"All of the above."

"Well, it's nice of you to check up on me. Do you usually do that?" She wondered, considering that after a ghost attack, she never saw him hanging around.

"I try to, but a lot of people think I'm an enemy, so if they see me, they just scream and run away." He paused and sighed, using his knee to prop up an elbow so he could rest his chin in his hand. "I mean, I kind of get it because of what happened with the old mayor a few years ago, but he was being overshadowed by a ghost trying to make me look bad. I wouldn't attack anyone for no reason." Sam remembered when that all happened because it was all over the news. There was something about it that seemed fishy to her in the first place. It just seemed too convenient that the one time the ghost kid was 'attacking' a civilian was the one time cameras were on him for everyone to see. Sam placed her notebook to the side and crossed her arms over her lap.

"You don't have anyone to talk to, do you?" She asked, catching him off guard.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we had a five-second interaction and now you're telling me your whole life story. Not that I mind. But it kind of tells me you're dying for social interaction," she concluded, watching as he blinked silently at her while he continued staring into her eyes.

"Other people I've tried to talk to either run away or they start fan-girling, not that I'm a celebrity or anything. I just don't know another way to put it. Sometimes I just want to talk to someone normal."

"And you think I'm normal?" Sam questioned, getting him to chuckle.

"Well, you haven't freaked out at all, is what I mean."

"Would a normal person with absolutely no experience pierce their belly button and ears with a sewing needle?" She asked as she moved her hair aside and slightly lifted her hoodie to show him the damage.

"Okay, but it looks sick, though," he commented with a lopsided grin.

"I know, right?" Sam exclaimed while laughing. "Maybe I do want to talk to you."

"Really?" He asked as he perked up.

"Yeah, really." She extended a hand out to him for him to shake, which he did. "Sam," she introduced herself as.

"Phantom," he responded before letting go.

"Yeah, I got that part," she joked. "I'll tell you what," she started to say as she packed her things away in her backpack, "you can come by any time and as long as I'm not busy, you can talk to me all you want."

"You mean it?"

"I just said it, so yeah," she confirmed with a chuckle. He smiled at her before a blue mist escaped from his mouth, making him groan as he started to float upward. "That means I have to go, but I'll see you around, right?"

"You know where to find me," she confirmed, getting a smile from him before he flew off. She stared into the black sky above her and tried to see any stars she could. It was in the silence of the night that her eyes widened as she realized what she had done. She just invited a supernatural being with ghost powers that she barely knew over to her house whenever he pleased. He may have been a hero and all, but she knew nothing else about him. She was all about giving people the benefit of the doubt, but most of the time, the payoff was 50-50. What side would it land on this time?

"What the hell did I just do?"

Chapter Text

When Sam arrived at school the next day, she felt like there were more eyes on her than usual. Granted, she was wearing a shirt that revealed just enough to show the new piercing and wore her hair in a messy ponytail, knowing it would show off her earrings. She just thought nobody would really care since anything she did didn't involve them. If anything, she didn't think people cared enough to notice. She guessed she was wrong on all accounts. While fetching books from her locker for her first-period class, her least favorite person in the world came up to her, leaning against the locker that was beside hers. She knew it was Dash immediately. The tall stature, blonde hair, and varsity jacket made him easily recognizable.

"You just keep glowing up, huh, Manson?" He commented with a smirk as he looked her up and down. Sam rolled her eyes as she continued to stuff notebooks into her backpack. Every day, she wished growing into her own body didn't attract the unwanted attention from guys. She went from being called a loser at the beginning of high school to those same people suddenly warming up to her over the years. It was pathetic.

"What do you want, Dash?"

"You. In the backseat of my car." His smug smile didn't fade while she looked at him in disgust.

"Hard pass."

"It's an opportunity to get to know each other more. Maybe I can even find out what else you got pierced," he said, all too confident, while Sam slammed her locker shut.

"Needles aren't the only thing I can stab with. Watch yourself," she warned before walking away. She was used to that type of harassment by now, a sentence that even she knew was bad, but all she could do was continue to defend herself. It was her last year of high school, after all. Soon, she wouldn't have to deal with the immature brains running around.

Her first and second-period classes went on as normal. It was when she got to her third-period English class that things got a little more exciting. Every quarter, her teacher, Mr. Lancer, would switch up the seating arrangement, so today, everyone got a new desk. She ended up having a spot toward the back, which she wasn't opposed to. Only a few minutes later, she had come to find out that the person who would be seated next to her was Danny Fenton. He was deemed a freak because of his ghost-hunting parents, and with his sister in her second year of college, he was left to take the brunt of the bullying and insults for another year. It was something Sam didn't find as fair, but in high school, much like life, nothing was. She always thought Danny was cute, but he acted like he was afraid of her. Whenever they crossed paths, he was always nice, but he wouldn't make eye contact for very long, and sometimes his face would get red as if he were looking at something he wasn't supposed to. She knew she wasn't overthinking because he wasn't like that with his best friend, who clung to him, nor was he like that with anybody else. She knew she had a certain outward appearance, but she didn't think she was that intimidating. After getting the new layout of the class situated, Lancer passed out a worksheet full of questions.

"This is based on last night's reading. Pair up with the person next to you to complete it," he instructed before sitting behind his desk. Sam's head immediately snapped toward Danny with a smirk planted on her face before she scooted her desk next to his.

"Howdy, partner," she said, only able to look directly into his blue eyes for a few seconds before he dropped his head.

"Hey," he replied back simply.

"Did you actually read last night?"

"Yeah, for once."

"Good. Let's get it then." The story of Oedipus was a classic, one Sam had already read on her own time, so completing the assignment took no more than five minutes. Now that they had at least fifteen minutes left, she decided to try to get an actual conversation out of Danny. He was keeping his eyes on his paper as if he were looking over his work, his black bangs hanging over his eyes. "You know you won't turn to stone if you look me in the eyes, right?" She asked rhetorically, getting him to choke on a laugh.

"I don't want to be weird. If I look, I'll just end up staring, and I doubt you want that," he answered, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Why would you be staring?" He sighed and looked up at her with a deadpan face.

"Your eyes are basically purple. How am I not supposed to stare?"

"How do you know they're not contacts?"

"You've had the same eyes since elementary school."

"Are you keeping tabs on me?" She joked, getting an exasperated look out of him.

"You have the rarest eye color on the planet. It's kind of hard not to notice," he explained, earning a chuckle out of her.

"I'm just playing with you. It's kind of fun. We should do this more often," she suggested, his eyes rolling playfully at her banter. "And I'd rather you look me in the eyes than anywhere else." He paused before nodding and looked her in the face.

"Valid point."

"You know, most guys plant their eyes wherever they want on me. But you couldn't even look me in the face," she told him, making him shrug.

"I just try to treat everyone with respect."

"Why don't you give yourself the same respect? I mean, I see you stand up for others but not yourself. I don't get it." He got silent for a moment and chewed the inside of his mouth. Danny wasn't the scrawny, helpless kid that made him an easy target anymore. Either he was hitting the gym, or puberty was really working in his favor because over the years, his muscle mass grew. He didn't look like a huge linebacker or anything, but when wearing slim-fitting clothes, it was easy to tell he had muscles, yet he never defended himself. He only came to the aid of others.

"I don't know. It's easier to help other people than yourself, sometimes, I guess. Especially if they can't defend themselves on their own." She leaned back in her chair while a smug smile spread across her lips.

"So you're just a big teddy bear, huh?" She asked, making him scoff.

"Not exactly. If I have to hurt someone, I will. I'd just rather not get to that point."

"I'm more of a live now, think later person myself," she admitted before she placed an elbow on her desk to prop her chin up. "You know, you have nice eyes, too." The comment must have gotten him flustered, for his face flashed a shade of red.

"Blue is common."

"Yeah, but there are all types of shades. Yours are more of a light baby blue." She leaned a little closer to him. "If you want more time to stare into each other's eyes, I can arrange that." Instead of getting embarrassed, he laughed at her forwardness.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Do you have any free periods?"

"Besides lunch, I have study hall with Tucker sixth period."

"I have lunch then. Ask your teacher for a hall pass for the library, and I'll meet you guys outside the classroom."

"You really want to hang out with us?" He questioned, wondering why a cool, pretty girl would want to spend time with two outcasts like him and Tucker.

"Well, do you want to hang out with me?" She asked, watching as his hand went to rub the back of his neck.

"I mean, yeah. You seem cool and fun so... yeah." He was struggling to find words, too flustered by her perfect face and eyes like amethysts. He realized how dumb he was being and rested a hand over his eyes in embarrassment, but Sam only chuckled, finding it cute.

"So I'll see you sixth period then," she confirmed, watching as his hand dropped so he could look at her. At least she didn't find his awkwardness weird as other people did. That he could work with.

Chapter Text

When sixth period came around, Sam kept her word and waited for Danny and Tucker outside of their study hall classroom. It wasn't long until Danny dragged Tucker out, who was talking the whole time, and shut the door behind them.

"Why are we going to the library? It's so boring and-" Tucker was saying, but stopped when he saw Sam. He was looking at her almost as if he were in disbelief. Sam raised an eyebrow while he was silent for a moment before finally extending his hand. "Tucker. Tucker Foley. Or T.F., as in too fine," he said, making Danny roll his eyes at his lame attempt to flirt.

"Sam," she told him as she shook his hand.

"Oh, I know."

"Then relax about it," she remarked, getting Danny to choke back a chuckle.

"Um, so how did this happen?" Tucker asked as they headed in the direction of the library. "How come you and Danny are all of a sudden buddy-buddy?"

"We have the same English class. I figured we could all hang out," Sam explained simply.

"But why?"

"Because Danny seemed cool. I was hoping you would be, too." Tucker scoffed at her words.

"Pfft, I'm cool! So cool. Probably way cooler than Danny," he went on, getting the aformentioned teenager and Sam to exchange amused glances.

"Do you usually let him do all the talking?" She asked, making him shrug.

"He's a certified yapper. It's just going to happen anyway," he replied. While on their way to the library, another jock was walking in the opposite direction of them. Jared was on the football team and was always around Dash, which is how everyone knew he was only trouble. He did a double-take when he saw the trio and started to walk toward them.

"What are you losers doing with goth slut?" He asked, a smug smile on his lips. Sam rolled her eyes at the mundane insult. She was under the assumption that just because she had crop tops and skirts in her apparel, guys seemed to think she was easy. What was funny was the boys who said this were guys she wouldn't touch in a million years. Talk about projecting. She was used to the comments by now, but before she opened her mouth to retort, Danny took matters into his own hands. He dropped his backpack onto the floor and pushed Jared face-first into the lockers before holding his left arm behind his back, making Jared cry out.

"Apologize," Danny commanded while Jared struggled against him.

"What?" He asked, genuinely confused at the situation, but panicked when Danny started to twist his arm. He needed that arm for football. It was the only thing keeping his high school career afloat, so he gave in. "I'm sorry!"

"Not to me," he let go and pushed Jared in Sam's direction, "to her."

"I'm sorry, okay? Damn!" Jared scurried down the hallway, trying to get as far away from them as possible. Sam watched Danny in awe as he picked up his backpack and continued to walk down the hall with her and Tucker like nothing even happened. That was the hottest thing I've ever seen, she couldn't help but think to herself.

"And you just act like that's normal?" Sam asked Tucker as the three of them walked into the library.

"For Danny, that is normal. However, it's usually me he's defending," he responded as they sat at a table near the back.

"Why can't you defend yourself?"

"Why would I do that when Danny can just do it for me?" He retorted, getting Danny to scoff and shake his head.

"Ohh, so you're spoiled," Sam concluded, now making Danny laugh while Tucker gave him an unapproving look.

"So why are you suddenly hanging out with us? You've gained some popularity over the years. You really want to ruin that by being seen with us?"

"I don't give two shits about social status or popularity. I don't know if you noticed, but I don't really have any friends. I'm trying to expand my horizons."

"Haven't you had boyfriends before, though?" Danny asked, making Sam shoot him a concerned look.

"I don't know about you, but once I break up with someone, I never speak to them again."

"Danny and Valerie are still friends," Tucker pointed out, earning a sigh from his best friend.

"We're not friends. We're just friendly toward each other," Danny said as he pulled out a notebook from his backpack. "We ended on good terms, so if we see each other, we just say hi. That's all."

"Well, isn't that just adorable?" Sam commented, making Tucker snicker.

"Hey, you're funny," he so obviously pointed out.

"Just because I dress like Wednesday Addams doesn't mean I don't like fun."

"What do you do for fun?" Danny asked.

"Besides willingly stabbing holes into your body," Tucker added, causing Sam to shoot him a skeptical look.

"Why are you looking?" She countered, but cracked a smile the moment he got flustered. "I'm just playing. What do I do for fun? I don't know, I guess the usual stuff. Video games, movies, shows, comic books-"

"There's no way you read comic books," Tucker accused, getting a deadpan look from her.

"Tell that to my comic book collection."

"Who are your favorite heroes?" Danny asked as he held his notebook up in front of Tucker's face to get him to stop talking. Sam chuckled at his tactics before giving an answer.

"I really like Deadpool, Scarlet Witch, and Batman. But my favorite is Daredevil."

"You seem to like vigilantes," Danny concluded as Tucker slapped the notebook away from his face.

"I guess so."

"So this comic book collection you speak of," Tucker started to say, "is it mostly those characters?"

"I have mostly Marvel comics. The only DC stuff I have is Batman and Teen Titans, really. Half of the collection is stuff from the seventies through the nineties, and the other half is newer stuff."

"Wait, hold up," Danny interjected, "how did you find vintage comics like that?"

"eBay," she replied with a shrug.

"But wouldn't they cost a lot?"

"I save up my allowance to buy them," she answered, which wasn't technically a lie. She really did get an allowance, but no one knew it was because her family had an abundance of inheritance money that would last generations. She didn't need people knowing about the money and nice things she had because with money and power came disingenuous people, which she wasn't about at all.

"I would love to see it one day. Are they in good condition?" Danny asked.

"I only buy ones in good condition; otherwise it's not worth it. I could bring some tomorrow if you'd like."

"I have a question. Where have you been our whole lives?" Tucker asked, actually getting Sam to send him a warm smile.

"In plain sight, I guess." They spent the rest of the period talking about their interests, which they had a lot of the same of. It wasn't long before the fun ended too soon and the bell rang, making sixth period come to an end. The trio made their way out of the library. While Tucker split immediately to make it to his next class on time, Danny walked with Sam down the hall for a moment.

"Same thing tomorrow?" She asked, getting a nod from him.

"Yeah, but before you go," he reached into his pocket and handed her a ripped piece of paper from his notebook that had his number on it. "Just in case you want to text me or whatever," he said, a hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Sam cracked a smile before placing the paper in her jeans pocket.

"I'll see you later," she told him before heading to her next class. Danny felt like face-palming as soon as he turned around. He didn't get why it was so hard to act normal around her. It was like he was intimidated by her confidence to be different, even if it brought judgment, yet intrigued by her witty personality and good looks at the same time. Nobody had ever made him feel so nervous but electric all at once. He wanted to know more about her, and he knew just what to do in order to do that. Some may call it deception, but he called it getting ahead.

Chapter Text

Later that afternoon, Danny went back home to Fenton Works, immediately going to his room to finish his homework as quickly as he could, having other things to do that he was much more interested in. Once he was done after about an hour, he crammed everything back into his backpack before taking a quick look out into the hallway to make sure his parents weren't nearby. Seeing the coast was clear, he shut his bedroom door and summoned his ghost half. His hair turned a bright white, his eyes a glowing green, and his shirt and jeans turned into a black and white hazmat suit. Phantom had been a part of him for three years now, after an accident in his parents' lab made him this way. Since then, he'd been doing his best to protect Amity Park from the constant ghost attacks that terrorized the citizens who lived in it. No one knew about his ghost half except for Jazz and Tucker, and he planned on keeping it that way for as long as he could. Even with some close calls, he'd been successful at it for the past three years. He walked over to his window and looked outside before flying in the direction of Sam's house.

Inside Sam's room, she had already finished any assignments she had due. She decided to spend the rest of the afternoon playing video games, knowing time flew by whenever she did. However, she wasn't too far into playing when there was a knock at her window. She stared at it in confusion for a second before walking over and pulling the curtain back to investigate, surprised to see Phantom floating there. She nodded for him to come in before sitting back down on the edge of her bed to continue playing her game.

"No ghosts for you to beat up?" She asked as he walked over to her.

"Not yet, at least," he replied as he looked around her room, one that seemed too big even for a master bedroom. Her walls were decorated with posters: Nine Inch Nails, Evanescence, Nightmare on Elm Street, Stranger Things. Her walls and bedspread were a maroon red, and the wall across from her bed had a flat-screen TV, not to mention the PC setup against the wall by the window. "So what exactly do your parents do?" He asked, assuming they must have had money.

"Literally nothing. Watch TV, go on vacations, go on shopping sprees, go golfing," she answered with a shrug.

"They don't work?"

"They don't have to."

"How come?"

"Inheritance money." It was easy for her to tell Phantom because he already willingly wanted to hang out with her. Besides, she knew he had no one to tell. It's not like he went to high school with her and was at risk of telling other students.

"You're a nepo baby?" He asked in a joking manner, getting her to squint her eyes at him.

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, how do you even know what that is?" Danny bit his tongue in the moment. He had to remember ghosts didn't have phones or the internet. In ghost form, he couldn't know what other teenagers his age knew.

"I, uh, hear things," he said as he started to float cross-legged next to her.

"Yeah? Well, unhear them," she countered lazily as she looked back at her game. He almost sighed in relief that she dropped the subject, sparing him from coming up with an explanation. "No one knows I have money, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Well, your secret is safe with me," he told her, earning a smile from her. While examining her makeup-free face that he found even prettier than her usual dark aesthetic, he started to wonder if she would flirt with him as Phantom, like she did when he was in his human form. He hoped she did it with his human side because she liked him, and it wasn't just a usual thing she did to toy with people. Taking notes from how she flirted with him earlier, he decided to go the same route to see what she would do. "Are your eyes blue or purple?" He asked, but she continued to look at the TV.

"Both," she answered simply. He shifted himself so he was upside down before floating in front of her so he could look at her face. She only looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "You're invading my personal space," she said before pushing him by his shoulders to get him to float away, which he did slightly before turning back over and floating next to her again.

"Sorry, I've just never seen someone with your kind of eyes before," he explained.

"You fight ghosts. I'm sure you've seen a lot of different eye colors."

"Not really. Mostly red and green eyes, except everyone else's green eyes don't always glow like mine." She looked away from her game to stare at him.

"Can you make them glow whenever you want?" She asked, watching as his eyes lit up twice as bright. "Huh. You're like your own personal flashlight."

"Yeah," he said as he held out his fists that started to glow green, "something like that."

"I'll call you next time there's a blackout," she told him, getting him to laugh until he gasped, a blue mist escaping his lips.

"Damn it. I gotta go," he said as he floated toward her window. "I'll see you when I see you."

"Very vague. Very mysterious. Very ghost boy of you," she commented, making him scoff and shake his head before flying off. He guessed that was a good sign. She didn't seem to be flirting with him at all. If anything, she was her usual, snarky self. Even if it sounded selfish, he hoped that meant she was reserving herself for him.

A few hours later, Sam found herself bored. She played games, showered, caught up on the shows she was watching, and even studied a little, which she didn't really have to do in the first place since her memory had always been sharp. It was eight at night and she had absolutely nothing to do. She contemplated calling Danny, having already input his number into her phone. She wondered if it was too soon to call him, but he was the one who gave her his number to begin with, which obviously meant he wanted to hear from her. She decided to say screw it and rang his line. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"So you just answer random numbers?" She asked, knowing her number wasn't in his phone yet. He chuckled from the other end.

"I figured it would be you. What are you up to?"

"Jack shit. What about you?"

"I'm about to hop online to play a game with Tucker, but I can prolong it if you want to talk," he suggested, actually getting her to smile.

"What game?"

"Doom."

"No way! I love that game."

"You want to join? I could add you to our Discord so we could all talk."

"Send me the link to that and your game," she said as she made her way over to her PC.

"You got it. I'll talk to you on Discord." She joined the Discord first before pulling up Doom, placing headphones on her head to hear Tucker talking first, of course.

"Do you need any help getting in the game, Sam?" He asked, making Sam scoff.

"Do I need help with the game?" She repeated as her game character entered the lobby along with Danny and Tucker's avatar. They both started exclaiming at the same time, almost forcing her to take her headphones off.

"You're Chaos?" Tucker practically yelled.

"You're the most powerful character in this game! No one can beat you," Danny added.

"Which means I'm going to have to carry you boys to victory," she remarked with a smirk. "Are you ready?" They played for a few hours, only stopping when it was getting too late. By the time eleven o'clock came around, Tucker was already tapping out.

"Guys, I have to go to sleep now if I don't want to be dead tomorrow," he was saying. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Farewell, Friar Tuck," Sam said as a reference to his avatar name. He only scoffed before signing off of the game as well as Discord.

"Hey, Sam. Can we switch to a phone call? I don't want to be stuck at my desk," Danny said.

"Yeah, sure." She ended the Discord just for her phone to ring not even a few seconds later. She picked it up and leaned back in her computer chair. "What's up?" She asked, but he didn't have anything specific to say. He just knew he wanted to keep talking to her.

"Um... do you have any Spider-Man stuff in your comic book collection?"

"Of course, I do."

"Can you bring some tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Is he your favorite?" She asked as she logged out of the game.

"He's definitely one of them. I really like the X-Men, too."

"We should all have a Marvel movie marathon one night," she suggested.

"At your house?"

"Umm..." She hesitated, wanting to keep her family's wealth behind closed doors for as long as she could. She just wanted to make sure Danny and Tucker were her real friends before revealing her true financial status to them. "That's not a good idea right now. I'm kind of on thin ice with my parents."

"How come?" She got up from her chair and moved to her bed, where she laid down with her phone on speaker.

"Because they want me to be like them and I'm just not. They don't like the way I dress, the way I talk, the music and interests I'm into... I'm pretty sure they just don't like me," she admitted. The thought was always in the back of her mind. Her parents were the opposite of her in every way, but she couldn't understand why they wouldn't let her express herself the way she wanted to. It was like no matter what she did, they weren't pleased. Her grades were great and she never got in trouble in school, but god forbid she didn't wear any primary colors.

"I'm sure that's not true," Danny said, making her scoff.

"I'm lucky they don't completely redecorate my room while I'm at school. It would be like walking into a My Little Pony episode." He laughed at her remarks.

"I'm sure your room is cool."

"It is cool! It's every alternative kid's dream."

"I'll take your word for it." She yawned as she turned over on her side to plug her charger into her phone. "Getting tired?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"I'm counting on it. You actually make me look forward to Lancer's class," he said, and even though it wasn't much, Sam found herself blushing.

"Yeah, same here. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, pretty," he said before hanging up. Sam was grateful she was alone; otherwise, it would have been embarrassing for someone else to see her kicking her feet out of giddiness.

Chapter Text

A couple of weeks went by, and the trio only got closer. They all talked constantly and started to spend time together outside of school. Usually, they either went to Danny's or Tucker's house, knowing Sam's place was currently off limits for the indefinite future. Even if they all sat around doing nothing, they would still have fun just from their unhinged conversations. Sam and Tucker went at it a lot, much like a brother-sister relationship, while the flirting between Sam and Danny continued to blossom. Sam didn't want to waste much longer before making a move, but there was a time and place for everything. Currently, they were spending sixth period in the cafeteria. Tucker scarfed down prison-grade food while Danny and Sam tried to catch up on homework. Danny sighed and finally shut his notebook.

"I'm so ready for the weekend to come. I'm over this week already," he said as he stuffed his belongings into his backpack.

"Cheer up. We only have one more day," Tucker replied before clearing the rest of his tray.

"What do you guys want to do this weekend?" Sam asked while she kept her eyes on her assignment.

"We should catch up on the Marvel shows we've missed at my house," Danny suggested. "We could start tomorrow after school."

"I'll be sleeping over," Tucker said before turning his attention over to Sam, who looked up from her worksheet. "You can't 'cause you're a girl," he teased before sticking his tongue out at her. Sam just scoffed before raising an eyebrow.

"Right. Because I really want to wake up to the stench of B.O. from two teenage boys," she shot back.

"Yeah, you should be so lucky," he quipped, getting her to chuckle.

"You can stay as long as you want, but Tucker's right. I can't have girls sleep over," Danny said with a shrug.

"Not a problem," Sam said before sticking her finished worksheet inside a folder. "Besides, sticking me in a room alone with you is pretty risky." Danny only blinked at the forwardness before Tucker groaned.

"Good god, can you guys grow a backbone and just ask each other out on a date already?" He said, getting Danny and Sam to exchange glances. Even Tucker knew how obviously into each other those two were, and if they wouldn't do anything about it, he would. Sam didn't say anything, wondering what Danny's reaction would be. After a few seconds, he cracked a lopsided grin.

"He's got a point," he said, making Sam smirk.

"So, where are you taking me?" She asked, but got interrupted by the bell ringing. Danny stood and hauled his backpack over his shoulder.

"I'll text you details later. I got to run," he said before making his way out of the cafeteria. Tucker stood up with Sam and snatched his empty tray off the table.

"You're welcome," he said before throwing his tray out in the nearest garbage can. "God, I have never seen two people be so horny for each other more than you two," he added as he and Sam walked out into the hall together. She didn't know if it was supposed to be an insult or if he was just trying to get a reaction out of her, but it backfired on him.

"You mean it?" She asked as she wiggled her eyebrows. He only scoffed in disgust and waved her off.

"Gross. Forget I said anything," he said before turning away while she cackled at him.

At the end of the school day, the three of them all met up again to go home. Normally, Danny and Tucker would walk home, but it was nearing December, and the weather was getting unbearable for that. From the beginning, Sam offered to drive them home, and wanting to avoid the rowdy and crowded bus, they said yes. She purposely always dropped Tucker off first so she could spend more time with Danny alone, even if it was just for a couple of more minutes. However, once Tucker got into his house, Danny put a hand over Sam's when she tried to shift into drive to stop her.

"What if we went on a date now?" He asked, making her pause.

"Now?"

"Why not? Both our curfews aren't until ten, and I don't want to wait," he explained, his eyes locked onto hers, much like they always were. Sam shrugged before finally shifting the car into drive.

"I know just the place." She brought him to Dave & Busters, knowing all the games could keep them preoccupied for hours, and it did. They played everything from simple arcade games like ski ball to the advanced VR games that were relatively new. It didn't seem like hours were passing when they were too busy talking and laughing. Before they knew it, nine o'clock had approached, and they knew it was about time to go. On the way out, there was a claw machine that caught Sam's eye. Danny noticed and stopped in front of it.

"You want to play that?" He asked.

"Claw machines are scams," she responded, but he walked over to the machine and leaned on it.

"You know how the Fonz is with jukeboxes? That's me with claw machines," he informed her, getting a scoff.

"Then, please. Demonstrate." He stepped toward the back so she didn't have a clear view and turned his arm intangible before sticking it into the stuffed animals to push some toward the edge. He quickly gave the machine a quick bump with his fist, causing one to fall into the slot. Sam fished out the prize, revealing a purple, plush spider. "I totally thought you were bullshitting, but I stand corrected. Thank you," she told him as she held the spider close.

"I have very specific talents as you can see," he said as he held the exit door open for her. By the time they got back to Fenton Works, they still had about thirty minutes before their curfew.

"We still have some time. What are you trying to get into?" She asked, trying to keep a straight face while Danny immediately got flustered. "I'm kidding. My windows aren't tinted enough for that," she joked again, getting him to shake his head playfully. A part of him wondered if the constant sexual innuendos were just her way of messing with him or if any of it was projection. The way she came off was so confident, making it sound like she had experience while he had zero.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" He started to say, but Sam beat him to it.

"No, I've never had sex before," she said, looking at him while he was silent. "That's what you were going to ask, right? I can't blame you for being curious after everything I've been called. Sure, I've done other things, but not that. I guess I'm just waiting for the right guy."

"I get that. I'm basically in the same boat as you," he said, making Sam look at him with a confused look.

"You and Valerie never crossed that line?"

"No. I mean, I really liked her and thought eventually we would, but we didn't last very long. So, yeah, I've done... other things, but I'm still in virgin territory," he told her, making Sam scoff.

"Well, it's her loss. 'Cause you're probably one of the nicest guys I've ever met... not to mention insanely attractive," she added, earning a chuckle from him.

"I'm the one on a date with an actual goddess, so I think I'm the lucky one," he said, her rolling her eyes playfully in response. "But I don't get it. How can you let these people call you these names when they aren't true?"

"I could say the same thing about you," she countered. "I don't care about these people, so why should I care about what they think of me? The only thing that matters is what I think of myself. And I think I'm the shit," she said, making him laugh.

"You're not wrong. I mean, everyone you talk to quickly becomes obsessed with you. Me included. Are you sure you're not a vampire?"

"That's just charm, baby," she quipped as she amusingly patted the side of Danny's face. He quickly placed his hand over hers and interlocked their fingers.

"I had a lot of fun tonight. I want to do something like this again soon, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with you tomorrow," he told her.

"Yeah, me too," she replied, receiving a warm smile from him before he opened his door to leave. As he walked around the car, Sam rolled her window down. "Hey, Danny," she called, motioning for him to come back over. He leaned down to look at her through the window, but was grabbed by the front of his shirt and pulled down for her to steal a kiss. He didn't even get time to react before she pushed him away.

"I didn't even get to kiss back," he protested, but she slowly started to drive away.

"Then pay me back tomorrow," she countered before rolling up the window and driving off. Danny shook his head in amusement while making his way into his house. She was so free-spirited, so unafraid of life and its consequences. It was refreshing. It made him want to be that way with her. He wanted her to be his so badly. The way she made him laugh and made him feel good about himself was incomparable to anyone else. He knew he didn't have to hold back anymore, and he sure as hell wouldn't be.

Chapter Text

Sam woke up to a screeching alarm the next morning, groaning as she grabbed her phone to silence it. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, gathering her bearings before entering her bathroom to get ready for school. She had to admit, ever since befriending Danny and Tucker, she actually looked forward to going to school. Even though she barely shared classes with them, just the small moments they had together were enough for her to look forward to every day. This morning, she opted for a simple look. She chose a dark red long-sleeved shirt to go with black skinny jeans and her all black Converse sneakers. She grabbed a black hoodie before heading downstairs to the kitchen, surprised to see her parents up and eating breakfast at the table. Normally, they slept in while she got ready for school, so she was a little caught off guard.

"What are you guys doing awake?" She asked as she grabbed an apple off the counter. Sometimes she could have sworn her parents were straight out of the fifties. Her mom always wore some kind of dress, while her father lived in sweater vests. They were both at the salon once every few weeks to get their hair touched up. Jeremy had been dyeing his black hair blonde for years while Pam ditched the brunette hair and went for something more lively, which was something similar to strawberry blonde.

"We had an early night," Pam replied as she placed her fork down. "What are you up to this weekend?"

"I'm going to Danny's after school with Tucker. The usual stuff," Sam answered while grabbing her backpack that rested on the third empty seat at the kitchen table.

"The word on the street is that you like Danny as more than a friend," Jeremy said, but Sam scoffed.

"Whose word and what street?"

"I hear things."

"The voices in your head aren't real people, Dad," Sam quipped, earning a disapproving look from her father.

"Just watch out for yourself, will you? Teenage boys can be unpredictable." Sam rolled her eyes at his comment. Danny and Tucker would die before they did anything to hurt her. Her parents would know that if they were actually interested in her life.

"Whatever," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Just make sure you're home by midnight," Pam interjected while Sam slowly inched closer to the front door, desperate to escape this conversation.

"Yes, I know. I'll see you guys later," she said before finally leaving the house. On the drive to school, she tried not to get offended at the complete misjudgment of character her parents had of her best friends. They weren't like the other guys in school who were only after one thing. They cared about her interests and feelings and actually listened to her. That was something she wasn't going to give up. When she got to school, she stopped at her locker first, like she usually did, to put her hoodie away. While there, Danny walked up to her and leaned against the locker next to hers.

"Hey," he greeted, wishing he had something cooler to say.

"Come here often?" She asked innocently, a smile spreading on his face while he shrugged.

"Unfortunately. I'm technically required by law to be here, so in a way, this is prison," he said.

"You could always be homeschooled."

"My parents homeschooling me? Unless ghosts were a school subject, I'd know absolutely nothing. I don't even think I'd know proper grammar."

"You barely know proper grammar now," she countered, making him squint his eyes menacingly.

"Okay. I'll remember that when I'm choosing where our next date will be."

"That's not a threat."

"You'll change your tune when we walk into a My Little Pony fan club meeting," he said, causing her to scoff and shake her head.

"Well played," she told him as she smiled. She watched as he got closer, presumably to kiss her, but they separated when Tucker popped up from behind them.

"Hey, guys. Excited for tonight?" He asked as Sam closed her locker.

"I'm always down for a marathon," she replied as they all started to walk down the hall together.

"Most importantly, do you have snacks at the house, Danny?"

"Yes, of course," Danny answered, gripping the straps of his backpack. "I wouldn't hear the end of it if I didn't."

"Bet."

"I'll see you guys later," Danny told them before turning into his classroom.

"So, how did last night go?" Tucker asked, already hearing about their date from Danny, but wanted to hear what Sam thought.

"It was fun," she replied with a shrug, stopping outside her classroom door.

"Fun? That's all I get?" Tucker pressed, getting her to roll her eyes.

"We played games and talked and laughed and all that good stuff. I had a really good time and I'm looking forward to the next date. Does that answer satisfy you?" She asked sarcastically, but Tucker just nodded.

"It does, actually," he said before walking away. She scoffed and shook her head before finally entering her class. The rest of the day went on as it usually did. The trio met up during sixth period, then went their separate ways for the remainder of the school day until the last bell. Sam was the first to make it outside, and it seemed most of the students hadn't made it to the exits yet, considering outside seemed pretty empty. Danny met her right outside the doors, trying to waste no time in trying to kiss her, but was unsuccessful when they separated once the inevitable stampede of students caught up to them and flooded the outside of the school. If he didn't have any self-control, he'd be punching the concrete. Tucker emerged from the crowd relatively quickly, and they all scurried to the car to avoid the cold. Once they got to Fenton Works, Tucker immediately went to the snack cabinet to grab several bags of chips.

"You take care of me so well," he said to Danny while they all made their way up to his room.

"I do my best," Danny replied as he and Tucker dropped their backpacks; Sam had left hers in the car.

"Don't start without me. I gotta use the bathroom," Tucker told them before leaving, and Danny immediately spun around to grab Sam by the waist and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, he sat them both at the edge of the bed.

"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do that at all today," Danny said, but Sam shrugged while a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"I would have found a way," she remarked, making him chuckle.

"Determined, are we?"

"Well, I've kind of been craving it since yesterday, so, yeah."

"So does that mean you missed me?" She smirked and raised her hand to grab him under his chin.

"How can I not miss this face?" She asked rhetorically, kissing his cheek before releasing him. Tucker came back in the room, holding an open bag of potato chips that he was digging into. Sam stared at him blankly before pointing at him.

"Did you... bring those into the bathroom with you?" She questioned, but he continued to chew.

"Yeah," he answered.

"You are genuinely disgusting."

"I don't tell you how to live your life," he responded before dragging Danny's beanbag chair to the foot of the bed and plopping down into it. The marathon began, and as time went on, Danny and Sam went from sitting on the edge of the bed to lying down against his pillows to be more comfortable. She ended up cuddling against his chest, which she was loving, but it ended up being a bad idea. It must have been late when she fell asleep, because when she gained consciousness, she saw that Danny and Tucker were sleeping as well. When she checked the time, she panicked. It was almost one in the morning, way past her curfew.

"Shit!" She hissed as she shot up, startling Danny awake. He checked the time as Sam gathered her things and sat up.

"Crap, I didn't mean to fall asleep," he said before Sam leaned down to kiss him goodbye.

"Don't worry about it. I gotta go," she told him before rushing out to her car. When she arrived home, she fully expected to see both her parents waiting for her, awake and angry, but there was nobody downstairs. She really hoped that meant they fell asleep before twelve and she was in the clear. With sleep still in her eyes, she went to her room and quickly wiped off her makeup and changed into a band t-shirt before going to sleep. She was hoping that, considering it was a Saturday, that meant she would be able to sleep in. Her parents, however, had a different idea. They entered her room at around ten in the morning while she slept. Pam opened the curtains, revealing the bright sunshine on Sam's face, while Jeremy pulled the blanket off Sam.

"You missed curfew last night," Jeremy said, hands on hips at the foot of his daughter's bed. Sam groaned as she blinked awake, not sure if this was real life or a dream.

"Huh?" She was able to get out as she lay there.

"We heard you come in at one in the morning," Pam interjected as she walked over to Jeremy's side. "That's an hour past curfew."

"I know! It was an accident, okay? I fell asleep. I should have set an alarm, but I will next time," Sam said as she grabbed her pillow and placed it over her face to escape the sunlight.

"We have rules for a reason," Pam went on, getting Sam to sigh loudly. "If you can't abide by them then... what is that?" Sam removed the pillow to see Pam pointing at her, and when she looked down, she realized her shirt had bunched upwards, revealing her pierced navel.

"Tell me that's fake," Jeremy said, making Sam pull the hem of her shirt down as she sat up.

"And what's that?" Pam questioned as she got closer to Sam and pointed to her pierced ears that were shining through her hair. "Who did this to you?"

"I did it," Sam answered, and her parents looked like she had just admitted to doing hard drugs. They were speechless for a moment, looking shocked as if they weren't looking at their daughter, but a criminal.

"I don't know how to parent you anymore," Pam began to say. "We've tolerated your lifestyle, hoping it was just a phase, but this crosses a line."

"It's just piercings! It's not like I murdered anybody," Sam said in an attempt to defend herself.

"This is about your lack of respect toward your mother and I," Jeremy said. "We don't want anything of what you're doing in this house. We've tolerated your clothes, your music, the way you've decorated your room, but guess what? That changes today. You're changing your room and you're buying yourself a different wardrobe."

"And if I don't?" Sam challenged, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then you can find somewhere else to live."

"You can not be serious. There's nothing wrong with the way I dress or the things I like!"

"Look at your room! It's borderline satanic!"

"For fuck's sake," Sam muttered to herself as she started to massage her temples.

"We just can't support this anymore," Pam said. "Especially when you get your body involved. You can either change everything or you can go somewhere else." Sam couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been this way ever since middle school. She couldn't help that she liked things that others found creepy or dark. It wasn't dangerous or satanic, but just because she wasn't like her parents, it was a reason for them to attack her. She wasn't changing for anybody. If her parents can't accept her for who she is, maybe they shouldn't be in her life at all. Sam didn't answer them verbally. She only rose from her bed and walked to her closet to fish out a suitcase.

After about an hour, she had showered, filled up the suitcase with all the clothes and toiletries she could, and stuffed it in the trunk of her car. She had a separate suitcase for her laptop and PlayStation 5, afraid her parents might sell them out of anger. They told her she could keep her car and debit card and would continue to wire her part of the inheritance money into her bank account. Sam couldn't even bring herself to say goodbye. She was feeling too betrayed and angry to even look at them, so when she finally headed to her car for the final time, she wouldn't even spare them a glance. Once in the driver's seat, she sighed loudly, trying not to let her parents see how distraught she actually was, if they were even watching. Where was she going to go? She couldn't permanently live with Danny or Tucker, nor would she want to put that on them. She supposed she could get a fake ID to stay at hotels, but before she subjected herself to that, there was one person she could call who could hopefully help her. Taking out her phone, she dialed his number and was surprised when he answered right away, happy to hear from her. She just wished she were calling under better circumstances.

"Hey, I hate to do this to you, but I need your help."