Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ You Can't Escape My Love ❯ Chapter 3

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Dan and Sam headed into the back of a local eatery, the waiter taking them to the outdoor eating space in the back where they could have privacy while talking to the red head. She didn't want any major attention while the pair let the other woman know how they felt and what was going on. While they could have just talked at their home, she didn't want the red head to know where she lived. No, if she was to find out the address then she might send Danny to come and talk some sense into her. They found said female at the table, her head down as she messed with her phone. She looked nervous and while the pair were sure it had to do with Dan, they were only part right. As soon as they sat down Jazz put her phone down on the table, the waiter taking the order while her phone went dark.

"So, what is bothering you, Jazz?" Sam inquired, deciding to be nice since Dan had asked her to. The red head prayed that if Danny answered that he wouldn't speak, her eyes locking with Sam's amethyst orbs for a moment before looking to Dan. The halfa looked relaxed, his demeanor a complete 180 from the time he had tried to kill them all. He didn't seem all that evil, not when she looked into those blue eyes... Danny's eyes.

"Um, so, I wanted to know what was going on," she asked as she gestured towards the older halfa.

"Dan didn't escape, if that is what you are asking," the Goth stated.

"Clockwork let me out last year," Dan stated. "I have been living in the tower, free to aid the keeper of time, though he does piss me off. I only came to this time to help Sam." Jazz could sense that there was more to this, but judging by the look on his face that was all he was going to give her. "She is aware that I can't stay forever, which would be a dream come true, but we're both adults and quite happy with what little time we get together."

"How long do you have?" the red head found herself asking. He shrugged.

"Not really sure, but I will spend as much time with my friend as I can." The red head began to wonder what would happen when Sam went back home at the end of the summer and how Dan would fit into the Goth's life in Amity. "It doesn't matter," the halfa said to the surprise of the red head. Sam just sat there, her head leaning against Dan's shoulder as he talked, his smooth baritone relaxing her body. She was still feeling rather sleepy, though getting up earlier and the anxiety of running into Jazz was probably the cause for her lack of sleep, not that she had been sleeping very well lately. She hadn't gotten any real good sleep since the move to California, most of her nights filled with dreams that left her angry at herself. She had just had to let her heart lead and this is what it had gotten her. Sighing she turned to the man at her side, her head still resting on his shoulder as her eyes closed.

"So," Jazz said, noting that Sam was nearly asleep on the older halfa's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist keeping her upright. "Are you and Sam... dating or something?" The older male glared at her, ready to snap, but he didn't want to wake up the Goth in his arms as he felt her even breathing, her body lax against his arm.

"Not really any of your business, now is it," he stated. "What Sam does isn't anyone's business but her own and while I am on that note." He leaned closer, but not close enough to move Sam off of him but close enough that Jazz could feel the chill coming off of him, his eyes serious but no longer angry. "Pass on a message to the brat." She nodded. "He is losing her. She is starting to imagine life without him in it and this time she may not be afraid to take that step." Pulling the Goth into his arms he headed away from the table leaving Jazz to stare at the back of him in shock. He was giving them a clue, a warning of what the Goth was going to do, but what did it mean?

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On the other end of the phone Danny had paled, his eyes wide as he replayed those parting words. They stung, but unlike Jazz he wasn't analyzing the words, no, he was taking them to heart...

He is losing her. She is starting to imagine life without him in it and this time she may not be afraid to take that step.

He couldn't imagine life without her in it, but what could he do to show her how he felt? Then he had to ask himself that question. How did he feel about his friend? He loved her, but was it a love that one shared with their soulmate or was it just a love between friends? His head began to ache in rhythm to his heart, the organ pumping hard as fear gripped it. Did it matter to her which love they had? It had to if she was willing to walk away like Tucker had. He sat down on his bed, his head falling into his hands as he sat there, his mind going over the last several years. He had changed, taking the chance to become popular and even when he had given the pair an open invite to a party or even just to hang out, neither had wanted to join him in the popular circle. Tucker had out right left while Sam had stayed by his side, the trio down to a duo, with Tucker even abandoning them when they were fighting ghosts.

He had been upset with the male, but he had never voiced it and then it struck him. He had fought the ghosts with Sam and Tucker like they always had, but then when all was said and done he had left them behind after making that same mistake early on with his ghost powers. He had promised that he would never do that to them again, realizing that after the debacle with Technus and Dash's party, that he was abusing his friendships, but yet he had done it again.

Pushing a button on his phone he decided that now that he knew he had fucked up with both of his friends that he needed to make amends. First he would mend the mess he had made with Tucker and then when he found out where Sam was he would go and... He stopped, his phone ringing in his ear. What would he do with Sam? Their relationship had been the strongest between the three of them and theirs would entail more than just 'I'm sorry'. He had to figure out these feelings he had for her and then he could go to her. Would she still wait for him when he finally detangled that mess between his heart and his mind?

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Dan drove down the street, his eyes flickering over to his sleeping passenger. He knew that she was still having problems sleeping, had for a few years now. That was one of the reasons he had come to her aide. He had been worried when the dark circles had appeared under her normally bright eyes, that an the weight loss. Sam wasn't the kind of person to let anything bother her, but the younger male's behavior had always affected her. He knew she loved the younger halfa, but with those feelings came the pain of Danny not accepting those feelings and her just too afraid to tell him. Why would you want to ruin a great friendship? Love. You could never ruin a great friendship if there was love involved and with him he had found that out too late. His Goth was dead, their relationship stuck on friendship when he should have had the balls to say something to her.

Sure, it could have been awkward, but he had felt that his Sam would have just told him off if she hadn't been interested and while it may have strained the relationship, it would have been strong enough to get past those feelings. Hell, he would have done what she was doing now. He would have given her space so that they could both figure out their roles. He didn't fault her for what she had done, but after what she had said had happened with his younger self, he wondered if she had reacted too quickly, though he had seen the hurt lurking in the depths of her gaze. Sam was the one person that was strong enough to deal with others belittling her or even bullying her, that was evident by what he saw, but the younger halfa's reaction to having sex with her had been stupid as well as thoughtless. Scowling her heard her yawn, her small form stretching as she turned to her head to look at him.

With a sleepy smile she murmured, "Damn, did I fall asleep?" He nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Sorry." She moved to sit up further, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Sam, just relax," he said, squeezing her skin that was exposed by the large shirt she had chosen to wear that day. "You need to get more sleep so take this time to take a nap." She wanted to protest, but a yawn cut her off, her cheeks flaming as she covered her mouth. Dan just chuckled at her. She wanted to be mad, but she knew he was right so the Goth laid back, her eyes closing as she allowed sleep to take her back into the Land of Nod. Shaking his head at her he pulled up to the place where she would be recording her music. He couldn't recall a time that he had ever heard the raven haired female sing and was rather intrigued to hear her in action. Pulling into a parking spot close to the door, but far enough that they wouldn't be disturbed he leaned his chair back before pulling the woman next to him into his arms. Sam sighed as she felt the chill from his body, her own relaxing further as she got comfortable. That was the thing between them. He seemed to relax her and allow her mind to shut down so she could sleep. Strangely enough that had been something that both had felt even when they had been younger. The other person could calm them, make them feel safe and dare he say it, but loved.

His feelings for his friend had come to light during the Ember incident, but he had written it off as being the effects of the rocker's guitar. It had been shown to him many times after that, when they kissed during fake-outs as well as few instances of holding hands. She had been by his side thru it all, standing tall even when she had been in the most dangerous situations because of him and that wasn't even about the ghost attacks. No, his Sam, unknown to him at the time had been bullied by Paulina, a girl he had had a crush on. This Goth, the one laying in his arms sleeping, had been thru worse. It seemed that with the years after she had died in his time that Paulina had gotten aggressive in her mission to crush the small raven haired female. He had thought it had to do with the time that Sam had called the Latina shallow, but it had gone beyond that. The Latina had started dating his younger self and since Sam had refused to walk away the other female had taken to trying to kill the Goth or injure her, though he could bet it was death because then Sam would no longer be there to hog the attention from her.

Stroking her long raven hair, Dan closed his own eyes, noting that they had another couple hours before Sam's recording session, before falling asleep with a content smile on his face. Too bad he couldn't claim the small woman as his own.

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Tucker opened the door to his home, his parents on vacation for the next month, to find the halfa standing there. The techno-geek ushered the other male into his family's home, Sar peeking out from the main room as he entered. She said nothing as the pair of males walked past her into the main room, the tension in the air so strong and thick that Danny was sure he would choke on it. They all sat down, Star and Tucker on the couch while the halfa found a seat on a chair across from them. No one said a word, though Tucker had agreed on the phone to talk to him.

"You were being a rotten friend," the blond suddenly said, her teal eyes narrowed on the male before her, her fiancé taking her hand in his. She looked to him with a frown. "Well he was! And not just to you but to Sam he was worse!" Danny blinked at that. Tucker shook his head and turned to his former friend.

"She's right," the dark skinned male stated, though he didn't sound happy he wasn't bitching the other male out. "I don't know if you knew it and I was sworn to secrecy, but Sam loved you."

"W-What?" Danny gasped out. His friend, his best friend had loved him? He should have known this, especially when she had kissed him back, falling apart in his arms as he pulled her closer, but he had been clueless, thinking only of his own turbulent feelings.

"Danny, anyone could see it! Hell, your own parents saw it!" Tucker pulled a familiar piece of jewelry out, the small school ring glinting in the light from the window behind the halfa. His eyes grew wide at what he was seeing. The halfa looked up at his friend, shock so clear on his face and questions that begged to be answered. He had given that to Sam so long ago, asking her to hold onto it, so how had his other friend come to have it in his possession? "I found it in my mailbox," the other male stated with a shake of his head. "Along with a letter from Sam." Star reached over, knowing where the letter lay, and opened a drawer next to the couch. Handing it off she glared at the halfa.

"Sam stuck by you, thru it all, and even when you seemed to forget that she was your friend first she still stuck by you," the blond stated coldly. "I felt so bad for her, but nothing we could say would get her to see the big picture." Danny looked up at her, leaning back with the letter in his hand, but he didn't open it.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"We told her to leave you alone," Tucker stated, drawing the blue gaze of the halfa. "I told her just before I left and even after that, that she should let you go before you hurt her." The halfa snarled at that, but then he frowned. He had hurt her. He had taken her and then had reacted so poorly, but he had been hurting her for longer than that. "She was left to deal with all the crap after the ghost fights and as much as I wanted to stay and aid her, I just couldn't anymore. Friends don't do that to each other and maybe I was a bad friend to her, but I couldn't just stand there and watch her die a little inside as another day passed."

"She wasn't even particularly upset about you dating Paulina, though I know it hurt her," Star stated as she looked down at her hands, a single tear falling from her eyes for the other woman. "It was that you let popularity blind you to who really cared about you and who would be by your side when the popularity ended." She turned to Tucker, the male smiling at his bride-to-be with such love that Danny felt like he was intruding on a moment between the pair. Star had once been popular, though once she got to know Tucker she had found her other half and without a look back had started dating the dark skinned male.

"If you are really sorry," Tucker said, turning to his former friend, "Then I can forgive you, but you need to patch things up with Sam because you don't have much time on that front." Looking down at the letter in his hands he opened the envelope. The letter was long, but not too long as the Goth thanked the pair for being there for her when they could and that she would miss them. She didn't tell them much about her plans, but hinted at the fact that she didn't know if she would be at their wedding and that she wasn't sure when she would see them again, but she wished them a happy life. There was nothing in there about him, but he knew what she had been saying without saying it. Sam was saying goodbye to him. She would know that he would do the right thing in the end and fix what he had done between him and Tucker and that the male before him would show him the letter.

She hadn't wanted to put herself out there, the feelings that she felt for him when she also knew that Tucker would break and tell him what he had lost. He felt the anger rise in his chest, the feeling that seemed to overwhelm him. She had left him and while she had claimed that she would see him soon when she had known it was a lie. She wasn't coming back at the end of the summer... she wasn't coming back to him ever. Muttering a thanks to the couple before him he headed out, the sound of the door slamming echoing in the silent space.

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Dan awoke a few hours later, the clock reading that it was ten minutes until noon and even though he could see that his companion was still worn out he kissed her on her head and whispered in her ear, "Hey, time to wake up Sam." The raven haired girl muttered something before shifting, a groan leaving his throat as he blushed. "Damn it, woman," he murmured as he sat up, the small woman startling awake and noting right off the bat the feel of him pressed into her, blushed.

"Sorry," she murmured. She and Dan had been intimate a few times since coming to California, but now was not the time, though with a kiss on his cold lips she promised that she would make it up to him. While it wasn't the same love that she had for the younger male, she found that she felt rather comfortable with his older self enough to share her body with him. Not that they had long, but in this time she felt that they were helping each other heal. He was giving her the love she was missing and she was giving him the love that he had lost. They crawled out of the car and heading into the dark space found the booth and the person willing to give her a chance after hearing her sing a few of her songs on a cd she had sent a year or two back. She had had to wait until she was able to leave her parents' home, but she had promised him that she would produce at least one cd and that while he was allowed to pocket part of the profits, like Marie, some of it had to go to charity. He had been fine with that, especially with as long as she had known him.

"Hey, Sam, nice to see you after so many years," the young male said, his own age close to Dan's if not a few years older. The halfa at her side growled a warning, the Goth slipping her hand into his.

"Hey, Dean," she said as she reached out to shake his hand. "This is Dan." The dark haired male eyed the other dark haired male, his blue eyes noting the deep green orbs that looked at him with such friendliness that he was shocked when he found himself shaking the other male's hand. "How is Rose doing?" The older male looked a might uncomfortable at that question and Sam giggled. "That bad huh?" The halfa at her side raised a brow.

"She's in the last month and man are her hormones in a rage," the male stated and Dan got what was going on. This male had a wife or a girlfriend and she was pregnant. "So, is this the boy you were telling me about? The one that is part ghost?" Sam nodded, but then quickly pointed out that he was the future version of the male in question. Seeing that Dan was confused she clarified that she had met Dean when he and Tucker had gone on to space camp that one summer. "You ready?" he inquired and Sam nodded. The trio headed into the booth, a couple of men manning the system that would record her while Dean followed her into the actual booth where she would sing. Before her were a few people ready with instruments to accompany her. Thanking him the pair of males headed out of the room so that they could watch her from behind the glass. Dean turned to Dan. "I assume you have yet to hear her sing then?" Dan shook his head. "Prepare to lose your mind." Grinning the pair along with the two technicians watched as the music began to play, the controllers working to make it sound great, but when Sam opened her mouth to sing, the older male found himself lost.

"Empty spaces, fill me up with holes," Sam sang, the music behind her sounding so sad as her voice blended in while at the same time rising above it. "Distant faces, with no place left to go."

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Danny rushed back home, intent on not only getting in contact with his sister, but going to California to find the Goth that thought she would leave him behind. She had run from him, hid away from him with only a lie to give her that time to flee, but as he thought this he knew that she had been planning this... she had been planning to walk away from him and to never return.

"Without you, within me, I can't find no rest."

He couldn't allow her to do that! He wouldn't let her leave him, not when he was coming to terms with his own feelings. He needed to find her, to prove that he had made two mistakes that day that they had come together. He had let her go, hadn't fought her when she had shoved him out the door and the fact that he had opened his mouth without thinking, the fears of his mind leaving his heart in the dust.

"Where I'm going, is anybody's guess."

Tearing thru his home toward his room, he gathered clothing, tossing it haphazardly into a gym bag on his bed, his mind in chaos as he thought back on all those times that she had not walked away, even after she had made that one wish in anger. She had still come to stand by him, willing him to her side because without her at his side he would have gone down a road that wasn't his fate. His fate was being the Phantom and being with her and only her.

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"I tried, to go on like I never knew you," the raven haired woman sang, her voice rising with the emotions that seemed to flow out of her, the music keeping close to her feelings. Dan could feel her pain, could see it in her eyes even as she tried to hold it back. "I'm awake, but my world is half asleep." Her eyes were glistening, those amethyst orbs unseeing. She was looking into her heart and finding all those memories. She was talking about her time before meeting Danny, the feelings that she felt when she was surrounded by her family's inner circle of friends.

"I pray for this heart to be unbroken." She was singing about what she was doing now, the place she was looking for to hide from those feelings that clenched her heart tight. Sam was even singing about the time that she had wished that she had never met the male who had her heart. "But without you, all I'm going to be is..." Dan didn't know what to say, his own heart breaking as he could see the Sam from his own time standing before him with those same fears, those same feelings that were left... "incomplete." The music swelled with her words, her voice lowering as she drew out that one word, a word that both of them knew so well.

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Danny was moving so quickly, his mind on what he was going to say when he did finally locate her that he failed to hear the knock on the door as he zipped the bag up. When he finally stormed down the stairs, his sneakers hitting the carpet with loud thumps, he grabbed the keys to the RV before opening the door to find Paulina in his way.

"Voices tell me I should carry on."

"Get out of my way," the halfa snarled, his eyes flashing green at the woman before him, but the Latina didn't listen, her hands falling on her hips as she glared up at her ex. Danny didn't have time for this! He wasn't going to let this fucking bitch keep him from finding the one that really belonged by his side. "I mean it, Paulina."

"But I am, swimming, in an ocean all alone."

The Latina attempted to pull him down to her, her lips puckering to receive his, but Danny wasn't having it and shoving her aside with no care for where she landed he rushed off, the door locking behind him as he headed for the RV. The Latina glared at his back, her eyes flashing at his dismissal of her. "Danny, get back here!" She stomped her foot like a petulant child having a fit, but the halfa wasn't swayed.

"Fuck off!" he spat as he slammed the driver side door before peeling off down the street. Paulina stood there in shock at his sudden anger. She had never had him snap at her. He had always bent to her will, no matter who- Her eyes narrowed as she realized who had come in-between her and Danny.

"Baby, my baby, it's written on your face."

Danny was pushing a few buttons on the screen before him, the car's phone ringing as he willed his sister to answer the call, to not be in class at that moment, but when he only got her voicemail he knew that she was indeed in class and therefor unable to answer his call. He hung up with a slam of his fist on the console, refusing to leave a message when he was too angry to even be civil to his sibling. He should have listened to her when she had voiced her worry for his friend... Not that Dan was in the way, but that he had lost the Goth the moment he had allowed her to leave town that day.

"You still wonder if we made a big mistake."

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Sam looked thru the glass, Dan watching her with a look of surprise on his face, while emotions flickered thru his blue orbs. "I tried, to go on like I never knew you. I'm awake, but my world is half asleep." He seemed to be singing along with her, his mouth moving in time to the words coming from her own mouth and she knew that he understood what she was singing about. "I pray, for this heart to be unbroken, but without you all I'm going to be is... incomplete." The music swelled again before going back down as she sang her final verses. "I don't mean to drag it on, but I can't seem to let you go."

"She's something else," Dean murmured. Dan nodded beside him even as he continued to watch the Goth lay her heart bare before them.

"I don't want to make you face this world alone. I want to let you go." The music swelled again as the woman before him smiled, the lift of her lips a sad one and yet, she seemed to feel better putting it out there. It was her way of letting the halfa she loved know that even if she never came back to him that he would always be a part of her... Something that would be missing without him. "I tried, to go on like I never knew you. I'm awake, but my world is half asleep." He began to mouth the words again, the male next to him even finding himself singing silently along. "I pray for this heart to be unbroken, but without you, all I'm going to be is... incomplete." Cheers and praise broke out around the small Goth, but she was looking at him, the glass still separating them and he knew that she wasn't just singing for her missing half, but for his lost one. That song wasn't just about her... and it wasn't just about him... No, this was a song that many people could relate to. He moved into the room with her and before everyone standing there pulled her into his arms and let the small woman cry softly into his chest.