Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ Under It All ❯ Chapter 2

The next morning as rain fell outside Sam's window the Goth lay there, her eyes open wide as the red numbers on her clock read 6:12am. It was early for the Goth, but for some reason she couldn't sleep. She couldn't figure out why she was restless, but for a moment she couldn't sleep. At first she had been sure that it had been a dream that had woken her up, but she couldn't for the life of her remember it. Shutting her eyes she heard the thunder rumble outside her window. She loved when it stormed. It was not only a cleansing for the air, but for her soul.

Rolling over she looked out the window, her naked lips twisting into a smirk.

"The water is warm, my skin is cold," she whispered. "My heart is pounding, my soul is still." They were words she had never heard, but yet she felt they were familiar... Where had she heard such words? Suddenly the skies outside lit up with a streak of lightning while the lights on outside went out. It was a black out and yet as Sam looked around she found that the darkness wasn't frightening. She had truthfully never been afraid of the lightning, nor had she ever been afraid of the dark.

She had been a truly different child and when she looked at her parents she saw no likeness, not in her appearance and not in the way she acted. Was she someone else's child? Sitting up her eye grew wide. There was no way that she had thought that! She was a Manson and there was no other way around that! Scrambling out of bed she headed for her closet, a small box hidden in the back of the large walk in revealed one word on it.

Questions.

It was a box full of her musings. There had been several over the years and as soon as she had been old enough to type most of it had gone on an internet journal. She had posted them under anonymous so that no one would know who she was, but still she kept this box full of all her writings, drawings, sketches and other things. Pulling out a small notebook she began to write the words that had come to her. She felt that there was more to these words. Looking at the words on her paper she repeated the words softly. What could they mean or maybe she was reading too much into it. Suddenly the whole ground began to shake, Sam falling back against a wall.

"Ugh," she muttered as she rubbed her head, but she didn't stay down long as she rushed to her window to look out. As soon as her window was pushed open a cold breeze entered her room, pushing the Goth back for a moment before she could see outside. There was a ghost in the distance and fighting them was Danny, his hands working to release blast after blast into the enemy. She turned and ran outside to help, her boots clomping on the wet ground as rain sprinkled on her. Most of the storm had passed, for now anyway. The lightning had stopped too, the skies still grey and gloomy, but it was safe for the Goth to rush toward her friend.

What she failed to notice was the paper of her journal ruffling with the strong breeze that blew in her room.

"Sam?" her mother questioned as she entered her teenage daughter's room. She noticed the journal on the floor and being the nosy mother that she was she reached for it. The page from earlier was the one looking at her. "Hmm..." Her mother began to flip through the pages when the sound of her daughter coming back up the walkway hit her. Taking the book with her she went to meet her raven haired child.

"I can't believe that you didn't call me!" Sam muttered as she walked toward her room, Danny in tow with her. His ice blue eyes were downcast as he muttered something to his friend. "I know that you can take care of yourself, but you have never not called for assistance." As they headed up the stairs Danny's eyes fell on Pamela, her frown alerting the pair to what the mother of the Goth was feeling.

"I have a feeling that I need to leave," the halfa muttered. Sam shook her head at him, whispering something about her mother was always frowning about them. "Yeah, I know, but I have a feeling this is more about you and not about us." She looked up and noticed that there was a sheet of paper in her mother's finely manicured fingers, the paper that of her journal. Her eyes narrowed and leaving the halfa there she stomped up the stairway, her boots coming down hard on the carpeted steps.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing!?" she hissed angrily at her mother. The redhead just continued to glower at her. "I told you to stay out of my room!" Her mother threw up the sheet of paper, Danny slowly taking a step toward the pair of women. He knew he probably should leave, but something was telling him that he needed to stay, that Sam was going to need him.

"So you can right poems about committing suicide?!" her mother wailed back, her eye flashing with anger and pain. "What is so bad about your life that you feel like committing that awful act?" Sam's eyes grew wide. Suicide? She never wrote about that!

"What are you talking about?" she questioned before remembering that her mother was invading her privacy and that as an adult she was entitled to. "If you would stay out of my room then you wouldn't make such stupid assumptions! In fact if you had tried to ever understand me then you would know that I am not SUICIDAL!" She looked over her shoulder at Danny, the halfa watching with a mixture of emotions. She knew that he didn't believe she was like that and yet that caution that entered his features gave her pause. What was going on here? Was he afraid?

"According to these words I think anyone can see that you want to kill yourself," her mother spat before reading the words. In that moment Sam watched another look come over the halfa's face. He was taking a step toward her and she thought that he meant to grab her, his eyes steady as they locked with hers. Did he think that because of those words that she meant to kill herself? She could see how her mother would think that because her mother thought her too gloomy, but Danny... He had known her their whole life so how could he think... She took a step back, her boot catching on the step and causing her to fall back, her head hitting the step with a resounding crack.

"No," she whispered as Danny leaned over her, her mother's voice just white noise as he reached out to touch her, his eyes worried as she tried to bat him away. "No." It was a struggle, but Sam managed to force herself up as her mother attempted to help the halfa in getting her to lay back down. "G-get away," she muttered as she reached for the bars that held the handrail in place. She could feel something warm on her head as it began to tingle, but she refused to even touch it as she pulled herself up. The room began to spin around her, but she still moved to stand, her feet feeling shaky as she finally managed to stand.

"Sam, are you okay?" Danny asked, and she nodded as she moved to take a step, the world still spinning around as she finally got up the stairs, the halfa still following her. As Pamela made a move to touch her Danny reached out and grabbed the paper before taking Sam in his arms. She began to fight him, but he was concerned by the pale tone to her skin and the blood that had been on the step. Grasping her tighter he turned to Pamela. "I suggest you stay away. I think you should know that Sam would never do what you are implying." With that he turned and took the now still Goth to her room, his clone closing the door on her before locking it.

She was laid on her bed while his clone disappeared into her bathroom, her first aid kit in his hands when he returned while Danny began to check her head. She said nothing, her mind going over what he said to her mother and how he had politely told her mother off. Danny didn't think she was suicidal, though the words did sound like it. She was silent through the bandaging that her friend did for her, but as soon as he was done she opened her mouth.

"Sorry," she murmured. He looked at her and instead of pretending that he didn't know what she was talking about he just smiled. It was strange. Her friend had matured so much over the years. He no longer was the clueless boy he had been. No, Danny was a strong man, his body had filled out so much with all his ghost fighting, hell, even Dash had come to respect him and Paulina had really started following him. Most of the females in their school had started to stalking him. She smiled back. "I guess I just had o-" Suddenly she found his finger on her lips, the callused tip testimony to how hard he had worked.

"Sam, I know and it's okay." Simple words, but Sam felt them to her core. She hadn't looked at him like this before. He had been through so much with her and still had continued to stick by him. They had both gone through so much and look at them... They were stronger for it and as normal as one could be. Danny was stronger than he had ever given himself credit for. They stayed like that for a moment, his ice blue eyes locked with her amethyst ones. Danny leaned forward, his lips coming down toward her own and Sam knew that most people closed their eyes when they kissed, but for some reason she wanted to keep hers open. She wanted to see into his eyes as he kissed her.

Just as their lips touched the door began to rattle as Thurston, Sam's father began to bang on the door, his voice coming through loud and clear. Sam pulled back, her cheeks turning red with both anger and embarrassment. Danny glowered at the door, his heart hammering in his chest. He had kissed his best friend!

"Sorry," she muttered. "Stupid parents." He looked to her now and could see that she was just as frustrated as he was, her mood coming off of her like he knew his was. He could always read his friend. He knew what she was feeling and when she was in trouble. He knew where to find her when she ran off and he knew when she was looking for him. It was a solid connection, something he had never really noticed until recently. He had realized that he loved his best friend, or that he at least knew he liked her more than a friend did. He wanted her on a primal level and he also wanted to hold her close every minute he could.

"Well, I know how that is." She shook her head.

"Danny, your parents love you no matter who you chose to be," she said softly. "My parents will never understand who I am and I've been the same person for years." It was a sad fact that they had both witnessed. Sam would never be the child the Manson's wanted. "I can't wait to leave." He said something quite unexpected at that moment.

"Why wait?" She looked to her best friend in shock just as his own ice blue eyes widened. He hadn't meant to say that or he had and didn't realize he had said it aloud. "I don't know where that came from," he admitted. She smiled though. He was right! Why wait? Just then the sound of her lock clicking alerted them to the fact that they were about to have company.

"Will you help me?" she questioned. In that moment the pair of young adults made a choice. Danny nodded. He would help his friend. Taking her into his arms he phased out of the room just as the door burst open to reveal her parents. They looked around the room in disbelief as they realized no one was there. Their daughter had run away.