Alright people, I'm back with a new chapter! Thanks to all those who have reviewed. Reading your reviews have always been a pleasure and I also really have to thank Nakajo Hisaya for coming up with Hana Kimi which totally revived my inspiration (well, half of it. I'm still waiting for the other half to come back from vacation). And this reminds me of the disaster in Japan which is really saddening. Reading reports and seeing all those scenes on TV in the news really makes me feel like crying. But Japan is a strong country and I believe that Japan and her people will be able to overcome this disaster. Pray for Japan!

"Uh…Danny? You okay?" questioned Sam, somewhat surprised at Danny's sudden show of anger.

"It's nothing" said Tucker.

"He just plain hates our Mayor" Tucker grinned at Danny as he said that.

"Mayor Masters?" questioned Sam. Danny turned to look at her, shock on his face.

"You know him?" he questioned.

"Yeah…I met…I mean I saw him on T.V once back home…" said Sam, berating herself mentally for almost slipping up and giving the two guys a clue about her real identity. So far they only knew that she was related to the Mansons through Dylan and Sam intended to keep things that way, more so if the two knew nothing of the Mansons.

"He felt kind of…fake" trailed off Sam as she recalled her first meeting with Mayor Masters.

Flashback

It had been at her parents' wedding anniversary party and Sam had been bored out of her mind. She had not been paying attention to her surroundings and ended up bumping into the Mayor which led to him spilling the drink he had been holding over his own tuxedo and Sam's dress.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention and…" by the time Sam gotten over the initial shock and panic, Sam noticed that somehow the whole time while she had been flustered and apologizing, Mayor Masters had not said a word and when Sam had taken a closer look, somehow it had seemed to her as though he was glaring at her though that stopped when he realized that Sam had stopped talking. He had put on a smile almost immediately and replied with,

"It's nothing, dear. But more importantly, are you alright?" at the moment, Sam had felt that this man could not be trusted. Even though his words, tone and expression seemed to relay concern,Sam somehow knewinstinctively that it was all it was an act. From then on, whenever she was at a party that Mayor Masters had also been invited to, she had done her best to avoid him, wanting nothing to do with a man like him.

End Flashback

"Fake?" asked Tucker.

"Yes…fake.I just get that feeling from him" said Sam before turning away, signalling the end of the conversation. Tucker turned to look at Danny, confusion on his face. Danny shrugged before turning back to the television and changing the channel.

Sam woke once again to the loud blaring of the alarm. Peeking out from underneath her blanket, she watched as Danny's hand groped the bedside table before finally finding the annoying clock and slamming down on the snooz button hard. She watched as Danny slowly got up from bed, groggily rubbing sleep from his eyes as he made his way to the bathroom. Once she heard the lock click, she immediately began changing into her clothes for the day, counting down to the last second until the door clicked open once more and Danny came out. By that time, Sam had finished changing and grinned at Danny as she climbed down the ladder and headed towards the bathroom. Once Sam was out of sight, Danny broke into soft laughter. He didn't mean to but he couldn't help it. Though he didn't know why Sam wanted to transfer into a boys' school, he still felt as though he had to protect her but seeing her trying so hard to conceal her identity from time to time was sort of amusing, even though there was no mean intentions on Danny's part.

"Danny?" Sam stood before him, looking at him quizzically, head cocked to one side.

'Cute…' he thought, before blinking hastily and shaking his head. What was he thinking? Sam's a guy.

'For now' somewhere within him said cheekily which he immediately batted away, annoyed.

"Danny? You alright? You're acting kind of…weird" said Sam, when there was no better way to phrase it.

"It's nothing" assured Danny as he stepped out of the room followed by Sam who locked the door.

Basketball Clubroom

"Alright team, we have a new recruit. Introduce yourself, Samuel" boomed Mrs. Tetslaff as she shoved Sam to the front. Stumbling, Sam tried to regain her balance before pulling her back straight and looking out over club members that had gathered at the clubroom stare at her, Danny's face being the only one that looked friendly.

"Samuel Morris. I transferred here cause I wanted to pla…compete in basketball competitions" said Sam, remembering what Mrs. Tetslaff had said to Danny when he mentioned that it was fun. Figuring that if she said the word 'play' Mrs. Tetslaff might just kick her off the team, Sam had refrained from doing so. Once Sam had introduced herself, Mrs. Tetslaff had sent the team off to get the equipment, Sam falling into place besides Danny as the team dispersed.

"What's with all the hostile faces?" questioned Sam, when another team member, a boy slightly taller than her with spiky black hair and grey eyes, dressed in the standard Casper High P.E uniform glared at her.

"Well…Mrs. Tetslaff rarely ever admits anyone into the team. She only admits those that are really good. Seeing as you made the team, I think they're beginning to feel threatened" explained Danny.

"And you're not?" asked Sam as they pushed the basket containing the basketballs from the sports equipment room.

"Well…I didn't exactly join the team willingly, so I'm not that worried" said Danny, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Your parents forced you to join?" asked Sam.

"Nah, not my parents. It's complicated" said Danny.

"It's high school. How complicated could it be?" replied Sam, shrugging.

"Yeah, well, considering your circumstances, I'd say pretty complicated" murmured Danny to himself.

"Did you say something?" turning back to look at Danny, Sam raised an eyebrow in question.

"I was just saying we'd better get these to Mrs. Tetslaff before she starts yelling" said Danny, cringing at the memory that flashed through his mind.

"Trust me, if you value your ears, you would pick up the pace"

"Race you!" grinned Danny as he broke off into a run, leaving Sam behind.

"Hey, no fair!" yelled out Sam as she begun running as well.

"Took you two long enough" grumbled Mrs. Tetslaff when the two ran onto the court, panting, pushing the basket containing the basketballs in front of them. Placing them at the upper right corner of the court, Sam and Danny joined the team that now stood before Mrs. Tetslaff, waiting for her next orders.

"We'll do some simple warm-ups first" decided Mrs. Tetslaff.

"Alex! Get up here and lead the warm-ups!" boomed Mrs. Tetslaff.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Sam turned to see the same boy who had glared at her run up to face the group.

"Let's start with some stretches" said Alex as he led the team into the warm-ups.

"This is what you people call warm-ups?" asked Sam incredulously as she jogged next to Danny on the court.

"Well, you know how Mrs. Tetslaff is. Need to be in tip-top shape, you know" said Danny, only slightly breathless. Sam thanked the heavens that she had been quite athletic and had high stamina even before transferring to Casper High, knowing that if it wasn't for the two, she'd have collapsed by now from all the warm-up activities.

"Though this is a bit much. Maybe Alex's testing you. After all, he is our team's captain" said Danny, looking thoughtful.

"For what? I think he's just waiting for me to embarrass myself by collapsing or tripping" said Sam as she caught Alex looking over at her and Danny for the umpteeth time.

"Well…there's that too" said Danny.

"He'll get over it once he sees how good you are" assured Danny as they completed their rounds.

"Alright, 5 minutes break, team! Chop, chop!" boomed Mrs. Tetslaff when the team had finished warming up.

"Split into two teams people, you'll be playing against each other" at her instructions, the members began separating into two groups quickly, Sam following Danny's lead. When the teams had assembled, Sam noticed that Alex was on the other team and was looking directly at her.

"Well, guess now he really has a chance to test how good I am" murmured Sam to herself.

Sam panted, hands on her knees as the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the game. Playing against the team members had been much more challenging. If Sam didn't know, she would have bet that this wasn't just a friendly or practice game, with how the team members played. Throughout the duration of the game, Sam had constantly been kept running, chasing the ball, and then strategizing the fastest, quickest and safest way to get the ball to her team's basket. It didn't help that Alex was almost always beside her throughout the game, blocking and attempting and at times, succeeding in getting the ball away from her. Sam could see why Alex had been made captain. The reason had been made obvious during the duration of the game. He was extremely good at the sport but he had no airs about it. He was also a team player, at times helping the weaker players, at other times, giving the weaker players a chance as well. As Sam was absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't notice Alex walking up to her.

"Good game, Samuel" Looking up, Sam stared up into Alex's grey eyes.

"Thanks. You were great out there, I can see why they made you captain" said Sam, watching Alex's expressions carefully. Alex grinned at her before sticking out his hand for a handshake.

"Welcome to the team, Samuel" Sam switched between looking at Alex's outstretched hand and his face, before looking down at his hand again in surprise before grinning herself and clasping his hand, shook them.

"Just call me Sam, I prefer it that way" Sam stated. Alex nodded before leaving, Danny running up to her moments after Alex had left, nodding at Alex as they passed each other.

"Told you he was just testing you" teased Danny the moment he was within Sam's earshot.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get back to our room already. I stink!" said Sam offhandedly as she sniffed at her arms.

"Bathroom's all yours!" called out Danny as he exited the bathroom, fully clothed, hair only slightly damp. Sam groaned as she made to get up from her comfortable seat before the television, the lack of movement and the vigorous exercise from basketball practice today combining to make her body ache all over. Grabbing her bathroom necessities which were placed in a small black bag, Sam made her way over to the bathroom.

"Why the heck do you need so many things?" questioned Danny as Sam passed him. The only reply he got was Sam sticking her tongue out at him before stepping into the bathroom and slamming the door shut. Shaking his head, Danny proceeded to occupy the seat that Sam had vacated remote control in hand as he switched between channels, bored. As the image of a watch flashed by on the screen, Danny noticed that his own non-water resistant watch was missing. Thinking back, Danny remembered taking it off as he entered the bathroom…Shooting up, Danny rushed over to the bathroom, slamming the door open in his hurry to save his watch. A surprised yell from Sam brought him back to his senses as he realized what he had just done. He had walked into the bathroom, which Sam; a girl was currently bathing in. He had just walked in on a girl bathing and without even giving it a second thought before thoughtlessly barging in. The bathroom was simple, with the shower separated from the sink that contained their toothbrushes. The boundary of the shower was marked by an L shaped transparent curtain and Danny could clearly see Sam's bare back despite the steam from the shower as she faced the wall. Blushing bright red, Danny turned away from the sight, stammering out,

"Have you…seen…seen…my watch? It's not water resistant" Sam nodded, although she was unaware that Danny had turned the other way and therefore could not see her nod.

"It's on the sink" she replied, hand shakily pointing in the general direction of the sink, her eyes squeezed shut. Turning to the sink, Danny spotted his black digital watch and snatching it up, he immediately backpedaled out of the bathroom.

"Ta…Take your time!" Danny called out as he slammed the door shut, placing his back against the wooden door, sliding down it till he touched the floor. Placing his head in his hands, he shook his head.

"How could I have forgotten? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Does she…know that I know? But how could she forget to lock the door? She's a girl in a boys' school and living with a boy in a boys' dorm after all! Shouldn't she be more careful and self-aware?" murmured Danny, voicing out the million questions that were racing through his mind at the moment as he berated himself.

Meanwhile…

Upon hearing the slam of the door, Sam heaved a sigh of relief as she leaned against the white tiles of the bathroom walls.

'He didn't see right? After all there was all this steam from the shower…I was facing the wall. Plus if he had found out, he would have said something. That's right, he doesn't know, there's no reason to be worried…' Sam thought as she placed a hand against her chest, feeling her heart beating rapidly beneath her palm.

Well, here we go. I believe many of you who have read Hana Kimi would find the scene in the later part of the chapter familiar hahas. I actually thought up of that when I was in the bath myself lols. For some reason, my brain works better when I'm bathing (I believe). Must be the water hahas. Read and review people! Readers' review never fail to motivate me and who knows? Maybe my inspiration will deign to come back if I'm motivated enough hahas. Remember to review!