"It's absolutely ridiculous! They put a maniac in it, but they refused to put me in it twenty years ago! I was the hottest thing in that whole room!"
That was what Sam woke up to one glorious Saturday morning.
She groaned and rubbed at her eyes, ears slightly ringing. She squinted, and saw a blob of red and sky blue. She rubbed her eyes once more and her mother came into focus, with her shocking red hair and powder blue summer dress. Pamela furiously jerked Sam's dark purple curtains from their place, allowing beams of light to choke the room.
"Mom." Sam said patiently, combing her unruly hair with her fingers.
"Can you believe what trash they put in them these days?! The world is going corrupt!"
"Mom."
"It's disgusting, it's immoral, it's-"
"MOM!" Pamela's head whipped around to see her daughter, rumpled and annoyed, sitting on her bed.
"Yes?"
"What are you TALKING about?!" Sam demanded. Pamela sighed impatiently. "Weren't you listening to a word I was saying?"
"No! I was asleep!"
Her mother made an annoyed sound in her throat, and held out a rolled up magazine. She offered it like she would a piece of garbage. Sam snatched it and Pamela exited the room, muttering to herself.
The goth girl unrolled the magazine, and found that it was her mother's Hot Stuff magazine. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. Pamela did not need to know how to cure tattoo rashes. Suddenly, a flash of black, white, and green caught Sam's eye and her gaze flickered down to the cover story.
Danny Phantom Tells All!
An exclusive interview with Danny Phantom reveals juicy secrets! His real intentions to humanity, and what's in store for him next! Not to mention, his love life!
Sam stopped breathing. There was a picture of Danny in ghost form, his arms folded, looking cool and confident. Sam knew how hard that probably was for him, since he was one of those people who were nervous talking in front of other people, and probably felt embarrassed to talk about such deep things. But only one thing really had her attention.
Love life.
Love life.
LOVE LIFE?!
Sam felt like sobbing. Danny had a love life? And his best friends didn't know about it? He was keeping it a secret from them?
Sam viciously flipped through the glossy, onion slice-thin pages, until she came across the article her heart was burning to find. She skipped all the 'safety of mankind' crap and began to read the part about his love life with laser eyes, seeing everything and missing nothing.
Q: So Phantom, we don't know much about your personal life. Women everywhere are dying to know: does Danny Phantom have a girlfriend?
Sam's eyes drifted down to the answer, but she couldn't get past A:
She was dying to know, as the interviewer said. But she didn't want to find out.
Finally, the goth girl took a deep, calming breath, and continued to read.
A: (laughs) I wouldn't exactly say that. But I'm hoping to make it a reality very soon.
As Sam's mother liked to say: What. The. Pumpernickel.
Unable to come up with a coherent thought, Sam slightly shook her head in shock, and read on.
Q: Oh really? And might you tell us who this lucky girl is?
A: Sorry, confidential.
Q: Oh, darn. Well, would you be able to tell us why you chose her over thousands of other girls worldwide?
A: Oh, man, trying to kill me here? (laughs) There are millions of reasons that I chose her. She's beautiful, smart, brave-
Q: But many girls have those attributes. What makes her so different from the rest?
A: Well, as you can probably imagine, it's hard for me to find a girl that's willing to accept me for me, and she does just that, and more. She helps me whenever I need it, even with the most trivial things. I have no idea how she's put up with me.
Q: If you two are so close, why do you say she's not exactly your girlfriend?
A: That's just it. We're close. But not close enough.
Apparently the reporter decided that Danny didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he switched gears slightly on the next question.
Q: Hm...well, can you tell us what she looks like?
A: Hm...can pigs fly?
Q: (laughs) I've seen a few in my lifetime.
Sam was agonizing over this. Had he told his little love bunny that he was Danny Phantom? And she always helped him? I help him, Sam thought miserably. She bandaged his wounds late at night, she helped him with his homework, she was always there for him...
"I don't know why I'm so stupid," Sam sniffed angrily, scrubbing away a few stray tears from her cheeks. "He hurts me and hurts me, but I always come back."
A: Well, in that case, I'll have to cave. All I'll say is that she has the most amazing eyes. They are unique and show all her emotions when she wants them to. I've never seen eyes like hers before.
And the article ended.
Sam ripped the glossy page out of its place, and crumpled it in angry, heartbroken hands. They were slightly trembling. She grabbed her phone and jabbed the numbers to Danny's house, then put the phone to her ear.
Ring, ring, ring, ri-
"Hello, this is Maddie Fenton."
"Hi, Mrs. F. Is Danny there?"
"Yes he is, Sam." Maddie knew her son's friend's voices. "I'll go get him."
"Thank you." Sam said politely, the opposite of the feelings churning inside of her.
The phone crackled and a warm male voice said, "Hey, Sam."
"You secretive, brain dead, clueless jerk!"
"I missed you too."
"Don't you play stupid with me!" Sam hissed. "I read that interview!"
"So you're upset that I'm trying to help mankind?" She couldn't read his voice. It wasn't cool, detached, or nervous. It was just...blank.
"That too! But what I'm REALLY angry about is that you kept a HUGE secret from me and Tucker! You have a girlfriend!"
"I never said that. But, if I may ask, why do you care so much anyway?" Sam froze. Oops.
"W-well, we thought there were no secrets between us!" She winced at her crackly voice.
"You know, this conversation would be better in person. Be there in 5."
"Wait-" But he was already gone. Sam clicked her phone off and returned it to the charger, fuming. Why was he getting her all flustered? Just because she was upset that he had a girlfriend didn't mean she was JEALOUS!
Yes you are. You want to be his girl. You want to be the one who he calls beautiful, be the one that helps him when he needs it, be the one that he kisses-
Sam growled and stopped that thought in its tracks. Suddenly, the temperature dropped and a shiver ran through her. He became slightly visible, but only transparent, so it was hard to see him.
"Danny-"
"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy." He berated her, and she thought that he was circling her, but it was hard to tell. "Don't you understand by now?"
And with that, his hand was on her chin and his lips were on hers. Sam reacted positively, arching up towards him and holding herself to him as she kissed him back. The kiss became deeper and her legs went weak, so Danny's hand trailed down to her back, holding her close as his mouth ravished hers. Finally, they pulled back, breathing heavily.
"What...?" Sam was at a loss for words, and the fact that Danny's hand was kneading her back was not helping with her speech. She looked up into deep blue eyes, and realized he had turned human, and she felt pleasant warmth. Danny kissed me! She felt like a giddy schoolgirl.
"Sam, didn't you pay attention to what I told them? I said she accepted me for who I am. Do you really think that I would reveal my secret to a girl that I hadn't even introduced you and Tuck to?" He whispered, and he sounded shy. Sam realized with a jolt how hard it was for Danny to keep his cool and start stuttering like he would have years ago. Or even months ago. He wanted to be strong and show her his feelings clearly, so there would be no doubt of his love for her. When Sam realized this, her eyes misted up and Danny's breath caught. Oh no, no, this couldn't be happeni-
His thought was blown away when she kissed him fiercely. She couldn't believe he'd tried so hard for her, she loved him so much, and she had to show it.
This kiss was passionate and raw, Danny's fingers biting into her waist as hers traveled through his midnight hair. He stumbled slightly with the force of it, and when he did he pulled away slightly, staring into her eyes. "And I said she has amazing, unique eyes that I'd never seen before. Sam, you don't realize how lost I get when I look in your eyes. They're like magic." Danny's voice trailed off as his forehead pressed against hers, and his breath was warm on her lips.
"That interview is so outdated. You should have a new one." Sam whispered, nibbling on his lip.
"Oh yeah?" Danny couldn't really speak, and it was hard for Sam to.
"Yeah. Question one: Does Danny Phantom have a girlfriend?"
"Definitely."
"Is she the most beautiful woman in the universe?" She chuckled, as if she didn't believe it herself. "Just kidding."
"Yes." Danny said with complete conviction, still lost in her eyes. "You're gorgeous."
Sam blushed. "Okay, last question. Do you...love me?"
Danny kissed her fully, dashing away all doubt, and all breath she had. "Forever and always." And then there was no more talking as his lips descended on hers.