Sympathy for the Devil
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

A note: Basically this was a challenge from Me The Anon One…she did one for me, so I'm doing one for her! She gave me two quotes to choose from, and somehow, my brain found a way to use both of them. It's rough around the edges and a bit jumpy, but it was a challenge and written in one sitting, so oh well. Hope that there aren't too many errors, as I didn't proofread it, and I hope that you guys enjoy it!

PS-Not LITC universe…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

You know, sometimes it's scary how completely a person can understand someone so far removed from themselves.

Take me and Sam. She's sarcastic, where I'm more for slapstick or confrontational humor. She's dark, where I tend to lean more towards the light. She's perfect, and I am one of the school's biggest losers.

Another person that I understand way too well for my own good is Vlad Masters. He wants Maddie Fenton, just the way I want Sam Manson, and I'll never have her. Never hold her or kiss her or make her sigh. She'll always belong to someone else, and why? Because I gave up too easily…or maybe because I love her too much.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Ah Tucker Foley," Vlad Plasmius stuck a blow to Danny's head and swept him out of the way, leaving Tucker nervously holding his PDA and no one around to protect him, "I was hoping that we would meet."

"What do you want from me?" the teen backtracked quickly, knowing full well that his survival at this point depended on keeping himself away from the elder halfa.

"I simply wish to talk with you, dear boy," Vlad landed and changed back into the less threatening human form he possessed, "about a certain problem that I have noticed you have."

"A problem?" Tucker asked wearily, looking around for a way to escape and checking on Danny who was still laying unconsciously on the ground a good ten yards away from them, "What problem do you think I have?"

"The one about Sam," Vlad smiled kindly, "I've seen it growing and I wanted you to know…I understand."

With a groan from Danny signaling he was waking up, Vlad turned to look at the halfa and shook his head, as if to say how pathetic he thought him at the moment. Heaving a sigh, Vlad turned back to Tucker once more, "Know that you are not alone."

And as Danny stood holding his head, Vlad was gone, leaving Tucker alone with more than a few questions and the seeds of something planted in his mind.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey Tuck," Sam smiled jovially as she finally caught up with one of her two best friends, "How's the day been so far?"

An electric pulse rocked his body, setting his nerves afire as he looked down on the petite girl now walking beside him. He always seemed to lose control of himself around her, when she smiled or touched his arm, or anything like that no matter how small. It took all his composure to not break out in a blush or sweat and start stuttering.

"The day's been okay," he shrugged with a smile, gently bumping her with his shoulder, "Would have been a lot better if my best friend had been around."

"Wish I could," Sam rolled her eyes, the statement making Tucker's heart race with hope, "but I had to help Danny with, uh, you know. Where is he anyways, wasn't he going to meet us after school?"

He watched her look around trying to find the halfa, her eyes alight with something that Tucker wished would appear whenever she spoke of him. Instead it was Danny who caused her to blush, and to day dream, and all those little things that bespoke of unstated attraction.

"He's around," Tucker smiled congenially, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to shove down his jealousy and hurt.

'Vlad knows,' the boy's thoughts started racing as he walked with Sam to the Nasty Burger, 'He knows how I feel, which means that he must have hacked into my files or something…that's the only place I wrote anything about Sam…he knows I like her, but why was he telling me I wasn't alone?'

"Goth to Techno-geek," Sam snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Tucker laughed as they entered the Nasty Burger to find Danny already sitting at their normal table with an apologetic smile, "Oh look who decided to join us."

"Heh, yeah," Danny shifted uncomfortably under Sam's knowing look, "Had some trouble so I decided I'd just meet you here. Sorry I didn't call…"

"That's alright," Sam relented with a shrug, "No harm done."

'No harm done,' Tucker swallowed his rebuttal and instead fussed to himself, 'except that you always keep Sam waiting Danny…I swear, you aren't good enough for her.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The next time Vlad fought Danny, everyone thought that Vlad had escaped to regroup as he so often did. Danny and the elder halfa had fought, exchanged banter, and spoken of Maddie.

The way Vlad had spoken of the woman though, had really caught Tucker's attention, as for the first time he truly paid attention to what was being said. Vlad loved her, it was obvious. He adored the ground the woman walked on, worshiped her, would give anything for her.

Just like he loved Sam.

Danny was just like his father…overbearing, rude, never attentive enough, always ignoring her needs and wants. Was this what Vlad had been trying to tell him? That he understood how Tucker felt for Sam and knew what he was going through.

'He really does understand,' Tucker realized in shock as he stood surveying the recent battle ground. Danny was off to the side, being fussed over by Sam and trying to walk home, though she kept insisting that he take it easy and they'd have Jazz come and pick them up.

"Sickening, isn't it?" a voice beside Tucker's ear had him whirling around in shock, only to find nothing but air and the voice continued, "She's so wrapped up in him that she doesn't see you. Doesn't that make you angry, frustrated, upset? I understand you know. I know perfectly well what you're going through."

A hand landed on his shoulder for a moment and just like that, it was gone again, the slightly tense atmospheres and cold generated by Vlad's ghostly embodiment melting with the warm sun of the afternoon.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Watching Sam watch Danny was heartbreaking.

It was all that ever seemed to happen anymore, and Tucker savored the moments where Sam was actually talking to him, laughing at his jokes, teasing him about his love of meat, or even just sitting beside him in class. He wanted so badly to hold her attention like Danny did that Vlad's words began to replay themselves more and more often, wondering if the older man had a reason for being so kind and letting him know he wasn't alone in this.

The next time Vlad appeared, he would ask him, Tucker determined as he watched Danny's hand accidentally brush Sam's causing them both to blush and look away. Sam though, was looking away in pain, feeling as though she had been rejected yet again by the halfa.

'No more, Sam,' Tucker moved over to distract them both, 'I don't want you to be hurt anymore…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"What do I have to gain by telling you that I know your pain?" Vlad looked taken aback as Tucker boldly questioned him, "More power of course, you know that I only wish for that. If you have Sam, Danny has nothing and soon will come to me. It's simple."

"Why are you being so honest?" Tucker was more than confused, watching Sam hurriedly whispering on her cell as she kept an eye on Plasmius floating above him. No doubt she was on the phone with Danny, begging him to hurry.

"I do not lie, though I do tend to twist the truth to my needs," Vlad sniffed and brushed an imaginary fleck of dust from his immaculate cape, "I do not need anymore interference from that girl, and you obviously desire her. If I can make one person happy in the way that I have failed myself, I feel as though part of me might be whole again. You deserve her far more than Danny in any case…I've seen how attentive you are to her."

It was at that point that Danny showed up and the conversation ended, Tucker watching as they exchanged blow for blow, and pushing Sam down as a park bench flew their way. Laying on top of her, Tucker's breath caught, a nervous blush rising in his cheeks…he never blushed. Only Sam could make him feel so anxious.

His heart was broke yet again, though, as Sam rushed to Danny's aid, not bothering to notice what he had done for her with anything more than a hurried, "Thanks Tuck," thrown over her shoulder.

Closing his eyes for a second, Vlad's damning words played again, 'You deserve her far more than Danny in any case…'

Vlad and he had an understanding. Both of them loved a woman they could never touch for a single man stood in their way. But Tucker…he still had the chance to have her, and he wanted her so very badly…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Is this Mr. Masters?" Tucker nervously paced in his room, looking over his shoulder as if expecting Danny to suddenly appear and start pummeling him for hacking into his personal files and getting the number, "This is Tucker Foley."

"Ah yes," Vlad smiled in his private study, his plans finally being realized, "Mr. Foley, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to ask you something," the teen shifted nervously, "Do you really think Sam would be happier with me?"

"Honestly," Vlad smirked as he played with the words to keep himself truthful and not let the younger boy on to what he was thinking, "I think she'd be better off with you. Surely you only want what's best for her."

"I'm not going to let you manipulate me or anything Vlad," Tucker warned, knowing full well that just talking with the man was like making a pact with the devil himself, "I just wanted to know what you thought…you really do love Mrs. Fenton don't you?"

"Yes," Vlad sighed wearily, being completely candid then. Feelings for the love of his life were not something he'd mess with, nor try to deny, "I do love Maddie, more than anything in this world."

"I…bye, Mr. Masters," Tucker hung up the phone quickly, shaken by his sudden realization of how much he and the archenemies to his best friend had in common, 'I can't believe I'm thinking about this…he's my best friend…but Sam's so much more.'

"Goodbye, Mr. Foley," Vlad let himself recline in his chair, deep in thought on the plan he was putting into motion, "We'll be talking again very soon."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Tucker watched, and loved, and watched, and hated, and watched, and felt like crying sometimes because Sam was so obviously head over heels for Danny and he couldn't get the nerve up to even acknowledge it.

He wanted so much to take her away from him, but the more he thought on it, the more he realized that something was fundamentally wrong with his want. He couldn't talk to the Mansons about it, he couldn't talk to Sam or Danny about it, and he didn't want to be analyzed by Jazz.

Of course as soon as he ran out of options, the answer shoved itself in his face, in the form of a worried and motherly Maddie Fenton.

He was supposed to be meeting Danny at his house for a quick tutoring session, then a few games they had both been dying to try out. Danny, as always, was 'out' taking care of something as Jazz so politely informed him with a wink, and Tucker made his way into the kitchen to wait.

As soon as he sat down, a plate of little ghost shaped chocolate chip was thrust under his nose, a glass of milk residing beside the plate, and the concerned face of Danny's mother in his line of sight.

"Tucker, honey," Maddie pulled up a chair beside him, "You've seemed rather out of it lately, is something wrong?"

"No, Mrs. Fenton," Tucker put on his mask, the one that helped him hide from Sam, from Danny, from the world. Smile in place, Tucker began to wolf down the cookies, glad that Maddie could at least make one thing that didn't bite back.

"Don't lie to me young man," Maddie gently popped the back of the boy's head, nearly making him spill the milk he was drinking, "I may not be your mother, but I am a mother none-the-less."

"Uh, why would anything be wrong?" Tucker tried to avoid the subject and prayed that Danny or a ghost would somehow interrupt them. His luck just wasn't that good though…or perhaps it wasn't that bad.

"You never come over to hang out when it's Sam and Danny, you don't play on your PDA as much as you normally do, and you avoid anything having to do with the words 'Sam and Danny' in it," Maddie eyed him, "Don't think I haven't noticed your behavior just because I'm usually busy with my inventions and Jack…Sam's worried about you too, you know. She asked me if I thought you were alright."

"Sam's worried?" Tucker blurted out before he could control himself, then cleared his throat and looked away.

"Yes," Maddie smiled gently as she lay a hand on his arm resting on the table, "and so is Danny. They both have noticed you've been avoiding them, they just haven't put two and two together like I have. You only avoid them when they're together."

"I don't," Tucker tried to answer, but got cut off by the woman sitting beside him.

"You know I consider you a son?" Maddie stated out of the blue, "And that means that I love you and only want the best for you. Something is bothering you and it will eat you alive if you don't talk about it. Danny was like that for a while, but I think he's finally started confiding in Jazz…and that's good enough for me."

"Nothing's bothering me, really," Tucker shrugged again and began to sluggishly eat another cookie.

"I think something about Sam has you all riled up," Maddie looked down at him, demanding honesty with her tone and look, "You like her don't you?"

"Would it be bad if I said yes?" Tucker winced and moved away slightly, "I can't help it though, Mrs. Fenton, she's sweet and funny and all sorts of things, and Danny just…ignores her."

"She really does care for him doesn't she?" Mrs. Fenton sounded like she knew something he didn't, "And you really care for her."

"Yeah," Tucker nodded, completely embarrassed that he was having this conversation with Danny's mother.

"Do you love her?"

"What?" Tucker was shocked and confused, 'Why does she want to know that?'

"Do you love her?" Maddie repeated, "Because if you do, I want you to know something."

"What?" Tucker asked again, confusion clear in his voice.

"If you truly love someone, your happiness rests in their happiness," she sighed then and picked up his empty plate and glass and went about her work, leaving Tuck shell-shocked.

Tucker was lost in thought until Danny came in ten minutes later, a grumpy, yet somehow happy, Sam in tow. For the first time in nearly two months, Tucker didn't make up an excuse to get away from them. Instead he simply watched and let Maddie Fenton's words play in his mind, 'How much do I love her though?'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

It was time for Vlad to put his plan in action and he couldn't be more pleased, 'Pleased as punch is the phrase I believe…that does have a certain colloquial ring to it, doesn't it?'

The fight with Danny would be easy to instigate, pushing Sam towards Tucker was easy to manipulate, and now all his plans lie in the retched boy taking Samantha Manson away from the halfa. He had given him all the tools over the last few weeks and had been sure that he would begin wooing the girl he loved as soon as the first opportunity came up.

Imagine Vlad's surprise when the three of them stood strong, together, to face him. Ending the fight quickly, Vlad followed Tucker back to his apartment, impatiently waiting until the teen was alone in his room to make contact.

"Have you not succeeded in taking Sam for your own?" Vlad appeared before Tucker in all his horrific glory, causing the teen to jump away from him quickly and scramble for the phone. Vlad took care of that problem with an ectoplasmic ray, melting the device, "Do you need more time, more help? Name it and I will do what I can."

"I don't need any of that," Tucker stated, standing his ground, "I'm not going to take Sam away from Danny. He needs her, and she is happy with him. She may be better off with me, but she would never be as happy."

"Oh, how touching," Vlad pretended to wipe a tear from his cheek, "You have decided to try and find true nobility, but let me tell you this. You'll be like me, wishing you had taken the opportunity when it was presented to you."

"I won't," Tucker shook his head, then rolled his eyes, "Sam loves Danny, it's so obvious, and Danny loves her back, he's just too clueless to notice. They're my best friends and if they make each other happy, that makes me happy."

"Where did you get that rubbish?" Vlad pulled up short in confusion.

"Maddie Fenton told me that," Tucker smirked as he leaned back and got ready to knock against the wall that was to his back, "and she was right. I'll probably always love Sam, but I'm a better person because I don't have to possess her. I win."

Danny phased through the wall at Tucker's knock, wondering why the boy had wanted him to wait so long if he knew that Vlad was going to be after him. Vlad was in shock for some reason and was easier than normal to take out, Danny beating him and sending him on his way with ease.

"Yo' Tuck," Danny turned to his best friend, confusion clear in his glowing green eyes, "What was that all about?"

Tucker just shrugged with a sad smile on his face, "I had to tell him what I learned about myself before I let you have him. He really is an idiot."

"Everything okay?" Sam's head poked in the room then, slightly out of breath as she had come running up from her station as lookout by Tucker's front door, "You alright Danny?"

As the two began to talk softly, Tucker swallowed his jealousy and anger and frustration and just let things be. It wasn't his place to interfere in their tentative relationship, though if anything ever happened he'd always be there for Sam to fall back on.

Over the next few weeks, Tucker realized that it still hurt to see them laughing and teasing and dancing around one another so carefully. It made them happy, though, and most importantly it made Sam happy, and Tucker had to admit, her smile made it all worth while.

The world, during that time, seemed to click for him, as he was finally able to move on, 'Even though I'll always love her.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

So yeah, maybe I do love her too much, but it doesn't really matter anymore. She's happy, so I'm happy, and it just sweetens the deal that Danny is happy too. They are my two best friends after all, and I know they love me in their own ways.

That's enough for me, even though it hurts sometimes.

As for Vlad, well, I understand why he feels the way he does…but it's sad that a teenager knows more about life and the way things work than an old man. He'll never figure out how to control his want and because of that, he'll never be happy.

So I guess, I really do have sympathy for the devil, even though I shouldn't. I just hope that he figures it out one of these days. I'd sure hate for him to end up spending the rest of his days alone with a cat…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.
Two Life Lessons
.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.'
- Lau Tzu

'He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.'
-Lau Tzu