Chapter 1

"So," Tucker said rather loudly as he slurped up a cup of hot cocoa, "you still haven't told him, have you?"

Sam blushed slightly, tinting her fair porcelain cheeks pink. "Tucker, we've had this conversation before," she said quietly.

"So you haven't?"

Sam sighed deeply. It had been eight years, eight whole years of her life that she had spent in love with Danny. And he still didn't know. "I don't like where this conversation is going."

Tucker eyed her warily. He'd known Sam loved Danny probably before she did. Here they were, both twenty and in college, and Danny was just as clueless to her feelings for him as he had been when he was fourteen. He put down his hot chocolate forcefully. "Why haven't you said anything to him? You know you like him, I know you like him, everyone else in Amity Park knows you like him..."

"But Danny's still clueless," she sighed into her tea. "If he had any feelings for me, he'd have noticed mine by now. I mean, how much more obvious can I get?" Her voice sounded pained.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Well OF COURSE he's still clueless! He's still Danny! He's clueless about everything and he wouldn't be Danny if he wasn't." And it's not like you're any better; he's loved you almost as long. "Speaking of Danny, he called about a half hour ago. Wanted to make sure your plane came in alright." He watched her face for a reaction.

He wasn't disappointed. Sam's flush began at the nape of her neck and quickly spread over her face. "Is he coming here?" she asked breathlessly.

Tucker chuckled at her response. "Let me put it this way, Sam. Danny is to hot chocolate as his dad is to fudge." At that, they heard a knock on Tucker's front door.

Sam sipped on her tea, trying to compose herself. She hadn't seen Danny since they left for college two years ago. He had to stay in Amity Park as the town's ghostly protector, but he was lucky enough to find a college only a half hour away that had a decent aerospace engineering program. Sam went to Brown in Rhode Island and had stayed there for all of her vacations; she couldn't stand the thought of living with her parents again, especially when she had been presented with this wonderful oppotunity of delicious freedom. Tucker came to visit from MIT every so often and she still talked to Danny on the phone at least once a week, but it just wasn't the same.

Tucker stepped back into his kitchen, this time with Danny is tow. Sam's eyes widened slightly. She had been away too long. When she'd left, Danny was still short and lanky, just like he had been when he was fourteen. Now...his loose red shirt could barely contain the muscles rippling beneath. His hair was the same and it was different; it was a slightly longer cut, but just as messy. His icy blue eyes, just as beautiful as she remembered, betrayed his own surprise at seeing her for the first time in ages. She smiled. She had changed a lot, too.

Danny couldn't believe it. It had only been two years since he'd seen her and all at once, everything was different. She didn't look quite as gothic as she had; she wore a black v-neck and blue jeans. I've never seen her in jeans before. Her hair had grown out a bit, a few inches down her back, and she was wearing it down. Around her neck was a simple amethyst necklace that matched her eyes perfectly. He noticed her shy smile and couldn't contain one of his own. At least she still has that purple lipstick. She was gorgeous, a woman.

Sam picked up her tea and took a small sip. "Hey, Danny."

Danny's face fell. Two years they had gone without seeing each other, and now he didn't even get a hug? Seeing his disappointment, Sam stood up and gave him a quick embrace. Danny tried to hold it a little longer, but Sam broke it before it became awkward. They were, after all, in Tuck's kitchen.

"Hey," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He was blushing madly. "It's, uh, been awhile."

Sam smiled at his obvious nervousness. "Yeah, it has. How's the ghost hunting business treating you?" she asked as she handed him a cup of hot cocoa. He smiled gratefully and downed the whole thing in one gulp.

"I've been better," he said grimly, setting down his mug and sitting across from Sam. "Vlad keeps giving Skulker and Valerie new upgrades. Yeah, she's still here," he added as Sam groaned. "Probably for the same reasons I am. But as far as good news goes," he added with a smirk, "I was invited to a wedding. The Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady."

Sam fell out of her chair and Tucker whipped his head around. His eyes were bulging out of his head in a mixture of horror and disgust. "Okay, that's just gross! Why didn't you tell me THAT before?"

Danny shrugged. "I was only invited a couple of hours ago." He took a deep breath. "They said to bring a date." He glanced quickly at Sam, who had just seated herself back in her chair.

She looked back at him, a bit confused. "A date?" Danny nodded. "I think Tuck might be taken."

Danny groaned as his eyes flashed green. "Not Tuck! I'm asking you!" He stopped himself, eyes returning to their natural blue, suddenly seeming shy. He looked at his hot chocolate. "Would you be my date?"

Tucker's eyes widened. Since when was he...well, not clueless? He looked at Sam and almost burst out laughing. Her eyes were twice as big as usual and her jaw was dropped. Apparently she didn't think he'd wise up either.

"W-when is the wedding?" Sam asked, studdering a bit. She was a bit shaken up after all. The boy she'd loved for half her life was asking her out!

"Two weeks from Thursday," Danny said, looking right into her eyes. "You'll still be in town, right?"

"Yeah, I'm here for all of winter break," she replied. "Up through the tenth of January."

Danny looked a bit nervous. She hadn't answered his question yet! "So, uh, Sam, do you want to go with me?" he asked again, smiling sheepishly.

Sam's face completely lit up as she smiled. "I would love to."