A/N: Finally I updated. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. Thanks for all 6 reviews. I think I definitely will add to this story later, make a few changes, and make it a short story. Enjoy! I think this chapter will be the end…

Edited: 2/17/18

The Acquired Ground

Danny woke up with a start, before cradling his aching head. He sat there for a moment, letting the fresh air of the morning sink in before he breathed in deeply. After a while, he got up to look through the window. The rain was no longer pouring, but the sky was still as dark as if it were. He sighed, letting his pain pour out of him and into the clouds above. After a while, his mind was fully empty of the ache so he could think. He pondered on yesterday.

It seemed so surreal. His memory was laced with fuzz and swirl. Even the voices had a slight echo to it. It couldn't have happened, but yet it did. He remembered Sam being so close to him, and her slaps still stung. He thought for a bit longer about it before he remembered that painful memory that brought him to his sad state. He shook his head. Even in his dreams, he would respect her current relationship. He won't let his friends down. He will be honest from now on.

'I promised,' he thought. 'At least I have their friendship again.'

He thought about all their moments together before he felt better. He sighed, then closed his eyes and breathed in fresh wind. It swirled around to cool his sore heart before he let it go back out the window. Then he turned to look at the clock. It was Wednesday, 1:00 P.M. He remembered today was the day that school was out for the summer. It was the twentieth of June. "No more school," he said to himself, smiling. He wondered what Sam and Tucker were doing for the summer. Maybe they would call him sometime. That way he wouldn't disturb them. Now he didn't regret not dying. Otherwise, his friends would have never forgiven him. Life would have gone on…without him. Either way it would work out, even with him alive.

Suddenly blue mist came out of his mouth. He turned around to see the Box Ghost.

"Beware!" He yelled, waving his hands around.

"What do you want, Box Ghost? I'm not in the mood."

"You will be, when you hear thee!"

"Since when have you gone Shakespearian?" Danny mused aloud.

"The ghost council has decided that you have abided! All is forgiven! But still, beware! Or more is to come!" The ghost laughed and then left as suddenly as he had come.

'At least I didn't have to fight him,' Danny thought. 'So that out of favor thing was just a fluke.' His stomach growled. 'Well, time to get food.'

He walked out of his room and down the staircase, only to see no one. He vaguely heard his parents working at the lab in the basement, since it was now mostly sound-proof. That was when the phone rang. He paused for a second before answering it.

"Hello?" He said hesitantly, and then added, "Fenton residence."

"Hi…Danny?" It was Sam.

"Oh…" Danny felt nervous. "H-hi Sam. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much." She had a sarcastic tone. "How about you?"

"I'm…good." He began fingering the telephone cord. "So what brought you to call today?"

"You sound better. I wanted to see how you are today…and maybe to clear some things up between us."

"What things?"

"You know…are you going to tell me what's been going on with you lately?"

"I don't think you'd care to hear." Danny said sadly.

"If I asked, I obviously care Danny. I've been caring about you for years. You just…never tell me anything anymore."

"Yes I do Sam. I just…I dunno Sam. It's hard to confine in you sometimes. You get mad at me."

"I'll be madder at you if you don't tell me Danny, you know that."

Danny paused. "Not on the phone…tell me what's up between you and Tucker."

Sam laughed.

"What's so funny?!" Danny said angrily, and then frowned.

"It's nothing," she said after her laughter subsided. "Nothing's going on Danny."

"Really…then why did you guys kiss?" Danny said, suspiciously.

"I'll explain it to you, I guess, clueless. I…can I come over?"

"I guess so."

"Ok, see you."

"Bye," Danny said, and then he hung up.

After Danny had some cereal Sam had arrived. They sat on the sofa in silence for a while as the TV blazed. They weren't really listening to how a meteorite had led a team of scientists to believe in extraterrestrial life existing amongst the stars. They weren't that bored…yet. Every once in a while they would sneak glances at each other, but when their eyes met they would turn away shyly.

"So…about you and Tucker…" Danny started.

"I told you Danny, nothing was going on. We were just trying to make you jealous."

"Make me jealous?" Danny repeated, feeling especially bad. "Why?"

"Duh, so you would try to break us up and then apologize."

"But the thing was, I didn't want to…that would be rude."

"That's very unlike you Danny," Sam said, shaking her head.

"Are you saying that I'm rude?" Danny snapped, before frowning. "I guess I am…I guess."

Sam turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "You've changed since we had that fight. You've been…different."

"Good or bad Sam?" Danny said, biting his inner lip. He decided not to tell Sam what had been going on, and to concentrate on trying to be better with his friend

"Danny…you seem insecure. I mean, you always seem that way but not this much. You are feeling better right? We were worried about you when we heard you were sick, that's why we forgave you."

"You know…I wish I wasn't such a big jerk. That way we wouldn't have fought in the first place. But…"

"And just so you know…kissing Tucker is awful."

Sam made a face, which caused Danny to crack up laughing.

"Finally you lighten up. Are you depressed?"

"What?" Danny said, calming down. "I'm not, there's nothing wrong with me."

"Sure there is Danny." She smiled. "Feel like wearing black?"

"No!" Danny said, looking at her incredulously.

"Good. There's only room for one Goth in this group. But really, tell me what's going on. I am paying attention to you, you know. You can confide in me."

"You won't tell Tucker right?"

"I'm sure even if I did, he wouldn't blab it. He cares too. We're all friends here."

"Well…" Sam looked at him expectantly. "I…I w-was I…I can't." He turned away from her, troubled.

"Danny look…want to hold hands?" He looked at her questionably. "I mean, don't take it badly or anything. It usually helps people calm down."

"I've heard that," Danny answered, then thought a while. "I guess…"

He started to reach out before she got up. "Wait a second."

The scientist on the TV was saying "We worked eight years on this project and we have yet to find any contradictory evidence to what we originally thought." There was a close-up of the cut meteorite before Sam picked up the remote and turned it off. Then she sat back down.

"Hey I was watching that!" Danny joked.

"Sure Danny…here." She reached out and held his hands. "Feel any better?"

"Uh…" Danny said, blushing. "Yes." He attempted a smile.

"Well, tell-tell." She said eagerly. She saw Danny's bashful face then added, "Oh come on, I won't kill you."

"I already tried." Danny blurted out before closing his eyes. He felt shame in front of her.

"Huh? Tried to tell me? Don't beat around the bush. Tell me Danny."

"You know I…you know I've been really stressed out lately."

"Yes I do. So…"

"You know I failed every class on the fifteen week report card."

"You did?! You're not that bad of a student. What went wrong?"

"And I was too busy fighting ghosts I didn't know. By the time I knew it was too late to raise them."

"Well that sucks." Sam gave him a sympathetic look and gripped his hands harder.

"And I was wrong to get mad at you guys. I was just mad at myself since I'm not good enough." Danny averted her gaze.

"You're fine the way you are Danny," Sam crooned. "You just have things to work on."

"Yeah sure, I'm really messed up right now." He started shaking.

"Well, for one thing you could make up some classes in summer school, that way it won't be as bad. You could go to adult school as well, maybe home school. That way it won't take as long to make up the classes…"

"I'm not talking about just that Sam. I mean, I snuck into my parent's lab and took cyanide." When he noticed Sam's startled stare, he gasped and tried to take his hands away, but she yanked him back to face her. Then she let go with a gasp of her own.

"Danny…" she said with her eyes wide open. "You-you're joking right?"

"I-I-I-I don't hate me!" Danny stuttered.

"Y-you stupid boy!" She growled. "You weren't sick. Why did you attempt suicide Danny! That is unlike you!"

"I…felt like no one cared."

"We have a little fight, and you flunk the ninth grade, so you attempt suicide?"

"I got grounded by my parents."

"You deserve it!"

"I know!" Danny's eyes started to wander. He felt a serious depression. "I told you I don't deserve anything. I don't matter…"

"You don't appreciate anything Danny! No one would stoop to such a level in that situation! What were you thinking…"

She halted when she saw Danny bawling with his head buried in his arms.

"That isn't just it, is it?"

"They hit me…" he whined, then continued to cry.

"What? Who?" Sam asked, her anger at Danny partly transitioning to concern. He cried harder so she grabbed his shoulders. "I'm sorry Danny, please tell me."

"Mom threw a plate at me…" he sobbed.

"She wouldn't do such a thing!" Sam said in shock.

"She didn't mean it, but it hurt…every…one gets so angry at me…"

"Over your grades huh…" Sam acknowledged.

"Yes…"

"Who hit you Danny?" She said, squeezing his shoulder slightly. When he would respond, she shook him and then tried to pry his arms from his face.

"Dash…the football team…"

"Figures. When?"

"After our fight…after detention…"

"Oh Danny." She hugged him, holding him close. She felt her shirt starting to get wet.

"I was going to apologize after detention…they blocked my way…"

"Danny, It's ok. I don't forgive you for trying to kill yourself but I still care. Shh…" She rubbed his back.

"I-it's too painful…to remember…" He started to struggle.

"Nuh uh, I'm not going to let you do anything stupid Danny," Sam said determined, holding him tighter and then ran her left hand through his hair.

"They hit me for hours…" Danny sobbed, and then tried to push her away.

She let him go only to push him against the sofa and slap him. "Get a hold of yourself, Danny, unless you really want counseling!"

"No…" Danny said.

"Well stop all that crying and calm down! You got it out of you. It's ok now!"

"No…"

"Yes it is, because I say it is and-"

He pushed his body up, trying to get out of her hold, but ended up in a lip-lock with her instead. But for all she knew, he did it on purpose, maybe to make her loosen her grip, maybe to make himself feel better, but never because he liked her, she told herself. She couldn't help but like it, but…A kiss was the most random thing in this type of moment. The kiss lasted for a good three seconds before she pushed him forcefully back against the sofa.

She breathed deeply before she said, "Did you like that, delinquent?"

Danny looked at her with a surprised look, a rosy hue on his cheeks. Slowly he nodded, then he sniffled.

"Next time, ask first. I've got to go." She let go of his arms and started to walk away nervously. "Do whatever you want, I give up."

Danny looked panicked, saying, "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"As long as I never hear you even mention taking poison again, no I'm not mad. Just call me later alright. And I mean it, no cutting, no poison, no overdosing. I don't think I can trust you anymore for a long while." She shook her head then walked out of the house.

Danny gazed after her. He wished he hadn't attempted suicide. It sucked, and maybe he could have apologized sooner. Maybe everything will work out in the end. He sat on the sofa silently, gazing at the black screen of the TV until he realized. 'Did she say "Call me later?" What does that mean? No…it doesn't mean anything. But…it wouldn't hurt to try…maybe after everything settles down. Then I'll tell Tucker and we can mend things between us three. Then maybe, just maybe…'

Danny decided to go look through the mail after lying on the sofa for a while, deep in thought. He filtered it out: 'Bills, Postcards for mom, more bills, report card…' He didn't want to see it, but hey, he already knew what was on it. Maybe then he could finally let this all go. 'I should…nah. Maybe…'

He thought for a while, before giving it a go. As he tore off the seal, he wondered which one he would take over in summer school. After all, he could only take two semesters…maybe he'd go to night school. Then at least he'd move up a grade. He pondered on it. History and English were the only grade-restrictive classes. He'd probably take Math as well and then just take Science over the next year. He congratulated himself on his plan and then pulled out the report card. He quickly glanced at it before freezing. He froze, carelessly letting it drift to the floor.

"What the?" He said audibly. "This must be a mistake…"

His parents came through the door.

"Hi honey!" Maddie said, waving.

"We brought groceries!" Added an excited Jack.

"So…I'm guessing the mail came."

"Yeah, about that…" Danny said, wondering if he should say it and ruin the beautiful, awe-inspiring, illusion or not. "Mom…Dad…there's a mistake on my report card."

"What do you mean?" Maddie said, blinking, as Jack went to put the groceries in the refrigerator.

"Well…it says that I passed all my classes…"

"Oh. There's no mistake! Didn't I tell you?" She blinked as Danny started to stare. "It turned out that your grades were fine! Isn't that great?"

"Oh. Good." Danny responded. He couldn't think. He knew his grades were okay, so how was he failing in the first place? They were mistakes? He thought of Dash immediately.

"Yes, and I'm glad you're awake! You and I are going up to the school! They're investigating something, I suppose…"

"…" Danny froze. Surely not the fact that he was Danny Phantom?

"Let's go!" She dragged him out of the building as he let the other mail fall as well.

"Well I'm glad you're well again, Daniel. So, what I wanted to talk to about is, well it's hard to say…" Mr. Lancer paused, tapping his index fingers together every once in a while.

Danny was panicking, thinking that his grades were horrid after all, while Maddie sat there at attention.

"We found dried blood in your son's locker during clean-up."

"What? What happened!" Maddie asked, instantly alert.

Danny knew exactly what was going on. He smiled.

"Well, we had it tested, and it's your son's. We've called you now, seeing as Mr. Fenton's the only witness of this strange event…So Daniel, what happened?"

"Well, Dash beat me up after detention the day before I was…sick."

"He dare lay a hand on my boy?!" Maddie went psycho, as any caring parent would.

"I see. That's all we needed to know." Mr. Lancer said, then ushered them out.

"Wait, what's going to happen to Dash?" Danny asked curiously.

"He'll be expelled. He has never done anything like this before…but this cannot be ignored. You should have told us sooner, before this got out of hand. Good day."

"Well…" Maddie said on their way out. "It's all settled…and I'll see to it that he never touches a hair on my little boy ever again!"

She ruffled his hair, causing him to frown, before they got in the car.

He sat around, looking at the sky…or rather, his ceiling. The stars were glowing ever so brightly…his cell phone rang, so he flipped the top and put it to his ear.

"Hello."

"Hi man, it's Tuck. I just wanted to say I'm so-"

"Sorry, I know. Thanks for calling."

"Yeah. Well, didn't want you to still be mad at us. And Sam totally likes you."

"I don't know about that, Tucker. She said she can't trust me anymore."

"Well earn it back, hurry up! Ask her on a date or something. Go somewhere she likes, she'd never be mad at you."

"Sure…" This time, he was actually thinking about it. Trying to live.

"Come on! I DARE you!"

"Tucker…no…"

"So you're a chicken? Seriously dude, I thought you were man-er than that…"

"I am so mature Tucker! I just…she came over earlier and…I just…"

"I know Danny. If you're wondering why I know, it's because I got it out of her. Took a lot of work though…a piece of advice, if you're feeling that way, please talk to us! It just makes us feel as we've been bad friends."

"I know, you guys are the greatest…which is why I couldn't take it when you guys weren't there to help me through this. I…there's no excuse though, I didn't think. Sorry I put you guys though this, and it's okay to mistrust me too."

"You know, everyone makes mistakes. It's okay now, and Sam does not hate you, neither do I. We still love ya man! Now call her, before I post some blackmail pictures of you on the internet!"

"Fine…bye then."

"Good luckkk…."

He hung up, then proceeded to dial Sam's number. He knew what she'd say, after all, they had a fight.

"Hello?" Said a tired voice.

"Hi Sam." He said quietly.

"Oh, it's you. Listen, if it's about me telling Tucker-"

"No, I just wanted to ask you…next time, can you catch me when I'm falling? I-I know it seems rude to ask this of you now but…I know you're mad…"

"Oh Danny…I'd always catch you. I was just mad, me and Tucker both were, I should have known you were going through something. I take the blame for this."

"You know it's my fault Sam…it just hurt too much to see you both as not my friends…and I was jealous and stupid!"

"You are stupid Danny, you promise to tell me-us when you think of it again? Wait…you were jealous of me and Tucker?"

"Ah…yes." Danny blushed over the phone.

"Cute, Danny. Well you don't have to be jealous anymore Danny."

"Hope not. So Sam…"

"Wanna go see a movie on Saturday? Your treat."

"S-sure."

"Ok then, meet me at 7 PM. Bye Danny."

"Bye…"

He hung up, putting his head on his bed. The things he'd have missed out on if he actually died…

THE END