Black Rose, Chapter 2

Discrepancy

“So, some guy is finally making a move on the goth?”

“Yeah either that or it’s a secret admirer. I heard someone say they saw her stuff a rose into her locker.”

As Danny walked down the hall he could hear the weekly gossip chain buzzing nearby. He usually didn’t listen to it, but something they were talking about caught his ears. He couldn’t help but hear it, after all it was loud enough, and seem to be causing quite a stir along the school gossip chain.

He was really getting annoyed at all the gossip that was going around. He usually kept his ears out of it, but sometimes you couldn’t help but hear the A-list and their followers talking. He had heard enough to know that they were talking about Sam. Sam, his best friend, was the victim of their gossip today.

If they were saying anything nasty about her or spreading rumors, he had half a mind to overshadow the current two who were talking about it and make them either forget about her or move on. He had discovered a few months ago that not only could he overshadow and take over ones body, but also their mind. He didn’t enjoy the power to manipulate people, it was too dangerous, and he’d already learned what fooling with the course of nature could do. 'Great, I’m starting to sound like Jazz.'

Still, he had to admit their gossip wasn’t anything too drastic, though it was making him start to get concerned. They were talking about a secret admirer or someone out to win Sam’s heart?! Even though he should be glad she was getting some attention, deep down he truthfully wasn’t, believing without a doubt that no guy yet deserved his best friend.

Before Valerie and Danny started dating at fifteen, he was Sam’s personal body guard, though Sam herself didn’t know this. He knew she’d kill him if she had known he was there at every one of her little dates. Sam had begun to transform from her stiff stubborn attitude into a very attractive, desirable young woman.

She never went on dates with guys that deserved her, and they’d always end up breaking her heart, and she’d come back to Danny and Tucker. Nothing drastic happened, they just lost interest in her or were just using her to get back at their ex-girlfriend. Sam was smart enough to see what they were up to, and then she’d leave them without a word. Danny was always glad to see she’d have the common sense to do so.

Sighing, Danny focused on the two gossipers. Kwan and another jock. He was prepared to break up their “party” if it got out of hand.

“She’s getting to be quite a sexy catch since she got that makeover…”

That did it. Danny wasn’t going to stand idly by and let them talk about his best friend in such a disrespectful manner. His eyes flashed neon green for a moment as his anger started to rise.

Making his way over to the two of them he stood in front of them with an intimidating look on his face. The two jocks stared. They weren’t used to this kind of attitude from the wimpy Fenton they always wailed. It was as if a ghost had over-powered him or something, making the weak Danny they knew too well vanish.

“Break it up, party’s over.” Danny snarled in angry tone.

Gulping, Kwan nodded, but the other jock didn’t take the hint. He seemed amused by the whole ordeal.

“Fine Fenton,” the jock said, smirking and putting emphasis on his last name. “We’ll stop talking about your little girlfriend.” He trudged off, Kwan following at his heals, obliviously afraid of being around Danny.

Danny’s face turned a barely noticeable shade of red. “She’s not my girlfriend!” he called after the jocks. Sighing, he added in a much quieter voice. “I just care about her.”
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As he floated in the ghost zone’s endless plains, his mind wandered to the human world where his beloved was. Deeply regretting giving her the note, he still couldn’t be any more pleased with the results of what happened today. He had been able to give his dear goth a gift, which would perhaps be sign of affection and a way to gain her trust. He would make her come to him with or without her consent in the matter, though he’d prefer the former option. He knew that this was breaking some of his cover, but he couldn’t keep himself away from her.

His red eyes flashed dangerously as different ghosts passed by. Threatening as he seemed, many were stupid enough to let their curiosity get the better of them. They wondered why almost a mirror image of their greatest foe was here and wanted to learn more. They came too close to him, and would either be injured or destroyed once they invaded his personal space.

Growling in frustration, he sent a bolt of ectoplasm at a random ghost passing by. Then he half ignored, half enjoyed with sickening pleasure the sound of pain coming from the hurt spirit.

Trying to calm down once more, he tried to take control over his rage. He had let his anger rule him once more and he needed to avoid that. Saving his energy was important if he ever wanted to take his gothic beauty out of the hands of his adversary. He needed all the energy he could muster, mostly because of the young halfa’s protective nature, but also because his counterpart was more powerful. He himself couldn’t even project a ghostly wail. Someday he’d be able to establish the same amount of power, but not yet.

Sitting there he grew angrier at the thought of his desire becoming more than a friend to the halfa. Screaming loudly out into the vast expanse around him, he let out his pain and anger. After his screaming died down, he glanced at the small puddle in which his reflection swam, wanting beyond anything to look different.

While he contemplated his problems, a small shadowy figure ventured into his lair. Sensing the presence of the undead spirit, he gathered a huge ball of ectoplasm in his hand and turned to face the trespasser, only for the flame to die down once he saw who had come. It was ghost clothed in a scarlet cloak, nothing showing under the hood but a pair of eyes. These eyes narrowed, seeming un-phased by his murderous attitude.

His eyes flashed deeper crimson in annoyance, knowing exactly why the ghost was here. After a brief moment of silence he spoke. “Let me guess, he needs me again?”

The ghost nodded, dipping its cloaked head low in acknowledgement; then flew out, only glancing back at him for a brief second to see if he would follow.

Sighing, he nodded and flew out with the messenger towards his job. As he followed the other ghost, deep thoughts of ways he could get back at them swirled maliciously in his head. ‘Just you wait. I shall break your hold over me, and then you will pay for your ignorance.’
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“So I was thinking maybe we could go hit Nasty Burger, and then go see the new romantic comedy that just opened up. What do you think?” Valerie spoke evenly as she tried to figure out what Danny and she could do for a date. Glancing over, she realized Danny didn’t seem to be listening to her. She raised an eyebrow, “Hello Neil Armstrong… You back on Earth yet?” she asked playfully.

“Huh?” Her boyfriend replied, still seeming to be a bit dazed. He shook it off. “Oh, sorry Val. I was just thinking, that’s all. What were you saying?”

Valerie looked a little annoyed and a bit hurt that he wasn’t listening. “Dinner and a movie. We’ve been planning this for while,” She replied. Why the heck was his mind in the clouds now? Usually it was down on Earth and they’d get to have pleasant conversations. But he seemed to be thinking about something, and it was clearly getting in the way of what she was saying. “What’s got you so distracted all of the sudden?”

Blushing in embarrassment as he sometimes did, he answered her. “Ah nothing Val just a little problem… nothing you need to worry about.” He casually said, kissing her on the forehead.

Valerie was not about to believe him, all his sweetness wasn’t always this affectionate. “Okay smart guy, what’s up? When you say it’s nothing it’s usually something.”

“Nothing, Val!” He snapped, clearly in frustrated. He seemed to notice his tone. “Sorry,” he added quietly.

“Danny, I thought we promised no more secrets.” She whispered.

Her boyfriend nodded. “I know Val, it’s just… I don’t know for sure if it’s true or not. I don’t want to start jumping to conclusions right away.”

Valerie half smiled at him. “Okay. Just explain it to me when you’re ready.”

He nodded looking off again. Valerie sighed rolling her eyes ‘Looks like I’m going to have to plan our date myself,’ she thought to herself as they kept walking.
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Sam frowned as she watched the couple walk by, not catching their conversation, but sure it was special. Sighing, she knew they wouldn't even notice her in the shadows. She was invisible, the only way Danny would notice her again was if they collided with each other. This was of course, partly her fault since she’d been avoiding him for so long.

Tucker, who was next to her, was too busy with his PDA to notice the pair walking by. "So anyway there’s Lancer's pop quiz...plan on the fifteenth attempt to ask out Pauli-" He stopped mid-sentence when he turned to see Sam gazing at Danny and Valerie. "Uh, hello? Best friend trying to plan a schedule here!"

"Huh?" Sam muttered, pulling herself out of her thoughts to hear what he had to say. "Oh, yeah, Tucker." She didn’t really catch what he said. "Sounds like fun."

"...Uh, riiiight...not paying attention can be that way." Tucker looked at the seemingly happy couple, then back at Sam who had turned her gaze back at them. "Your not still...you know...mad about them..?"

"What, mad?" Sam snapped) defensively. "Why should I be mad that they're dating? If Danny wants to be with Valerie then it's his right. And just because he doesn't notice me anymore doesn't mean I'm MAD," she said sarcastically. Then she felt like putting a foot in her mouth knowing all to well Tucker would start up talking about him again.

Tucker put his hands up in defense. "Whoa, easy, Sam! You could've just said 'no' by the way."

Sam sighed. "Sorry, Tuck. I guess I just lost it..." She’d chewed him out enough today; she didn’t need to keep doing it. Tucker just seemed to be the closest punching bag that she could rant to about all her problems. The only problem was he could find and state the obvious when she did so.

"Hey, don't worry; I'm used to it from every girl I ask out. You should see me on a Friday night." Tucker tried to put a light tone on the situation, making Sam roll her eyes. "Besides...Danny's known you for a long time, just like me, he knows you still exist."

"Yeah I guess... it's just been forever. He seems to be so… focused on Valerie now.”

“That’s your own fault,” he pointed out.

Groaning inwardly Sam nodded. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Then she tried to steer them away from talking about the halfa. “I’m just really stressed right now. The guys have been looking at me like I’m a piece of meat, and to top that I received some note today from whoever beat up Paulina..."

"Say what?!" Tucker exclaimed at a high pitched voice, loud enough for anyone within a mile to hear.

Sam winced, noticing her mistake. "It's nothing, Tuck, forget I even said it," she hissed quietly.

Realizing HIS mistake, Tucker lowered his voice. "You mean...the person who made Paulina look like she was in a car accident?! THAT person?! Sam, from what he did, he could be dangerous!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Sam snapped. "I've been trying to figure it out the whole day." She groaned, leaning against the wall and feeling she was going to be forced at any minute to explain exactly what happened. Tucker acted like an over protective big brother at times. It wasn’t past him to put his nose in where it didn’t belong.

"Well Sam, don't you think you should tell Danny about this? I mean, he could help, being half ghost and all." Tucker said.

"Oh no, the last person I want to know about this is Danny." Sam said shaking her head. "He'd be watching my every move, and I wouldn't get anywhere with that. It's probably no big deal anyways." Tucker probably wouldn’t believe that, and deep down she didn’t either. This guy, who ever he was, meant business. But why did she feel a bit of happiness at having some one notice her finally?

She heard a familiar voice speak, breaking into her thoughts. "What's no big deal?" Turning around she hoped it wasn’t who she thought it was. But there was Danny, looking at her with concern clear in his eyes.

Glancing behind him, Sam noticed a confused Valerie following not far behind. Starting to feel invisible sweat fall down from her brow, Sam tried her best to calm down. ‘He’ll never believe you if you act all nervous,’ she said to herself. Taking a deep breath, she spoke out loud. “Oh, hi Danny…"
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Though faint, Danny had heard the last thing said by a clearly worried Sam. By instinct, the young ghost hunter had walked over, with Valerie not too far behind. He needed to know what was up. Everything seemed to be centered around his gothic friend today, and he wanted to know why.

"What's no big deal?" he repeated, knowing all too well she was trying to drop the subject with her greeting. He wasn’t going to let it go that easy.

Sam smiled sheepishly. “Heh heh nothing Danny. Tucker was just telling me that he was going to try and … ask Star out again.”

“What?” Tucker squeaked in a surprised voice, Sam punching him in the ribs. Clearly trying to hide his pain, he smiled weakly. “Oh yeah, yeah that’s what I was going to do.”

“Right…” Danny said, crossing his arms.

“Yeah that’s what the ‘no big deal’ was about.” Sam laughed nervously.

Sighing inwardly, Danny decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and not press the subject. “Okay. But you know Sam; if you ever need to talk about anything I’m here for you, as best friends should be.” He looked at her sympathetically; half hoping she’d open up right then. But he knew she wouldn’t as it wasn’t really Sam’s nature.

“Of c-course, Danny.” She stuttered, smiling for a moment before leaving and dragging a quite confused Tucker away.

“What was that about?” Valerie spoke up after they were gone.

Danny hadn’t even noticed that she had been there; he was too focused on Sam. “I don’t know. But I’m going to get to the bottom of this somehow.”
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It was almost time for school to end, and gossip about Sam’s supposed boyfriend still flooded endlessly through Casper like a tidal wave. Usually the gossip was just rumors, all false, but Danny couldn’t help but thinking this was true. After all, Sam had been acting strange lately about being around him, and his last conversation with her proved something was up.

His curiosity got the better of him. He ventured towards Sam’s locker, which he knew was near since Tucker had told him where it was at the beginning of the year. He wanted to keep tabs on all his friends’ lockers. After all, who’s to say a ghost might think it was a good way to get to his friends and use them to get to him.

So now he stood in front of Sam’s locker. Noticing it was locked up tight, he cursed himself for not asking Tucker what her combo was. Then he remembered the advantage he had over normal humans. ‘Ghost powers, duh,’ he thought to himself, feeling so silly not for thinking of using them before.

Making sure no one was around; he placed his hand onto her locker and began using all his concentration to phase his right arm through the door. Soon he could feel the hard binding of one of her books. Using his hand as his eyes, he felt around to see if he could find that note everyone was so interested in talking about. Instead of feeling a note he felt a sharp pointed object.

Curious why something like this would ever be in Sam’s locker he tried to grasp it, only to bite back pain when he felt a sharp prick through his skin. It didn’t hurt too badly; he was used to far worse, but the skin on his hands was very delicate because he wore gloves when fighting.

Withdrawing his hand from the locker, he saw a small open wound on his palm. Nothing too bad, he could take it. Making sure yet again no one was around, he phased his hand through again and began to try and grasp the sharp object. As he moved his hand up it he soon felt underneath his fingers something soft and velvety. That was odd. It was sharp, yet at the same time soft. What was it?

Curious, he grasped the object in question firmly in his hand. Taking a deep breath he gently pulled his hand out of Sam’s locker, only to gasp in amazement at what now lay in his open palm. There was a rose black as night, with sharp thorns, one thorn holding a barely visible amount of blood which had come from his hand.

His gaze was drawn to the note attached to the black rose. Was this what everyone was talking about?

“What are you doing?” said a voice from behind him, making Danny jump.