Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sam, Danny, and Tucker were at their favorite spot in the Nasty Burger, but Danny had a far-off look in his eye. Sam followed his gaze to where Valerie was working the cashier. Evidently she’d upgraded from the mascot. But Sam? She was so done with this.

“If you’re going to drool, don’t do it over my tofu soy melt,” she said.

“Hey, drool is–” Tucker started.

“Whatever you’re going to say,” Sam cut him off, knowing it could only be gross if it was about drool (she was a hypocrite, sue her–she’d win), “don’t do it.”

“But yeah, it was over between you and Valerie before it really begun,” Tucker said, realizing who Danny was staring at.

“But she knows now, guys,” Danny replied. He ran his hands through his hair. “And I think she took it pretty well.”

“She shot at you,” Sam stated. “If that’s not a sign that you should move on, what is?” Honestly, her friends could be so dense sometimes. She loved them despite it (because of it) but this was taking it to a whole new level. She shot at him. End of story. 

He groaned. “C’mon guys, it’s not like I’m about to ask her out. But things are gonna be different now. We have a truce. I’m not going to ask you to be besties, but could you at least try to be polite? She is my friend.”

“Oh, I’ll be polite,” Sam growled. It was a threat as much as it was a promise. “To her face, anyway.”

“Yeah, man. That’s the best you’re gonna get,” Tucker said. Sam was glad one of them had some common sense. Sometimes. Occasionally. 

Danny sighed. “That’s all I ask. Or most of what I ask, anyway.”

Glad you have reasonable expectations, Sam didn’t say.

“Hello, students,” a new voice said. Mr. Lancer stood next to a teenager with white hair, white pants, and some sort of white vest over a long-sleeved black shirt. He also wore sunglasses despite them being inside. “This is Gregor, an exchange student from–where was it?”

“Hungary,” the teenager said.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.” Mr. Lancer left. 

Danny, Tucker, and Sam exchanged bewildered glances. That was… odd.

“Soooo have you eaten yet?” Tucker asked.

“Yes, but I am always Hungary,” Gregor replied. 

Sam rolled her eyes. He was as bad as Danny. Well, maybe not quite that bad. Danny was on a special level of “bad puns.” Tucker, meanwhile, snickered. Danny was eyeing the exchange student warily. Sam wasn’t sure why. It’s not like he’d done anything suspicious except for make a bad joke.

“Ah. I see you are not impressed. But when you are from Hungary, there are only so many opening lines you can use,” Gregor said.

“I’ll give you that,” Sam conceded. She had to admit it was sort of charming. Not in the same way Danny was, and not that she’d ever tell anyone that. But he was kind of cute. Bad jokes could be forgiven. “But you have eaten, right? You weren’t just saying that?”

He chuckled. “Yes, I have eaten. Oh, is that a tofu soy melt? It’s ultra-recyclo-vegetarian. Are you ultra-recyclo-vegetarian too?”

If Sam were a lesser human being, she would have squealed in excitement. She’d never met another ultra-recyclo-vegetarian! Though it was a pretty niche diet. She wondered how he’d heard of it in Hungary. Maybe there were more vegetarians there? “Yes! It means I don’t eat–”

“Anything with a face on it!” Gregor and Sam chorused.

“Gotta use the bathroom!” Danny said. He and Tucker slipped out of the seats and a few moments later, Phantom was chasing another ghost. 

“Is this… normal, here in America?” Gregor asked, baffled.

Sam laughed. “No, but it is in Amity.”

)(  )(  )(

Danny flew above the Nasty Burger roof, looking for the ghost. “Where’d you go?” He called, not expecting an answer.

He heard a blast and ducked instinctively, just in time. A white plane hovered there. “The Guys In White!” He muttered. 

“You need any help?” Tucker shouted from below.

“Nah, I can handle these losers,” Danny replied, before more blasts came. He yelped, diving out of the way. “Losers who got better!” Last time he’d had to deal with them, they’d missed every shot by several feet at least. 

The plane flew closer and Danny zipped out of the path of several more blasts. “A lot better,” he muttered. 

More guns extended from the plane. Danny soared upwards so they wouldn’t destroy too much, twirling to avoid the shots directed his way. “Good thing I got better too,” he said. He created a green ball of energy and shot it at them. Their plane swerved sharply out of the way. The guns aimed at him again and he decided it would be better to lead them to someplace less public. 

That was when something blasted into the side of the plane, causing it to spiral downwards. Red Huntress stood on her hoverboard behind it. It crashed into the ground, leaving a small crater in its wake. 

“Y’know, I was going to lead them away from here to avoid more property damage,” Danny said.

“Like you have any room to talk about property damage,” she replied, but her tone was teasing. Though there was an undercurrent of guilt there.

“That’s why I said more property damage, Red.”

“So what I’m hearing is that next time they shoot at you, I should let them.”

“That’s called ‘selective hearing’. You’re very good at it.”

She raised an arm. “Don’t make me shoot you.”

He gasped in mock horror, clutching his chest. “And break our hard-earned truce? I mean, I’m like ninety… eighty percent sure you’re not really gonna do it…”

She lowered her arm. “Of course I’m not gonna break our truce after just a week. Give me a little credit. It’ll be at least a month before I decide to use you as target practice again.”

“Uh, please don’t.” 

“Relax, ghost boy, I’m messing with you.” She laughed. “Uh, wanna get out of here? I think the plane got damaged in the crash, so the agents might be here for a while.”

He winced. She was right. It probably was better to go somewhere that the GIW wasn’t. He didn’t really like feeling driven out of his favorite hangout spot. (It felt a little like being driven out of his own home.) “Will you tell Sam and Tuck that I went home?” He wasn’t sure where Tucker went, but it was probably a good thing he wasn’t here. It meant Danny didn’t have to keep him out of the blast radius of the plane crash. 

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” she agreed. 

Chapter Text

The next day, Gregor was there by their lockers. The guy was setting off all Danny’s alarm bells—the accent was clearly fake, he was trying way too hard to be friends with them, and he’d shown up the same day the GIW had. But neither of his friends sensed the danger. Tucker thought Gregor was cool and Sam was absolutely fooled by his act. Danny expected better of her! She was the most antisocial out of all of them. At least, she gave off the best “stay away or else” vibes. She should have been the shield to keep him away and them safe. Instead, she was the door opening up for him to intrude on them.

This was displayed during lunch, when Gregor showed up at their table. “Hey, come sit with us, Gregor,” Sam said. She said it cheerfully. Sam was not a cheerful person. Did Gregor have mind control powers? Brainwashing? 

“Ah, I do not want to intrude!” He replied, but sat down anyway.

“You’re not intruding,” Sam reassured.

Danny glared at him. Yes, you are. 

“It’s cool, man,” Tucker added. 

And when school ended, Danny had to leave to go deal with the Box Ghost, which didn’t take long. But when he got back, Tucker, Sam, and Gregor were hanging out. He decided to stay invisible and watch because Gregor was up to something. He just couldn’t figure out what. Eventually Tucker went home, but Sam and Gregor stayed out. They shopped around the mall, holding hands. Danny was ready to die again of frustration when they finally left sometime around eight o’clock. He decided that it was time to head home and started flying off, but he noticed Sam and Gregor… kissing?! 

Sam pulled away, seeming a little uncomfortable. Danny frowned, watching them until they went their separate ways. And then he flew off.

Okay, time to make a list of things wrong with Gregor:

• He showed up the same day as the Guys In White.
• He has white hair.
• His accent sounded more Russian than Hungarian. (No, Danny didn’t actually know what Russian or Hungarian accents were supposed to sound like.)
• He’s apparently “goth” (something Danny had heard during all his spying) though he wears white, because “in Hungary, white is the new black.” That didn’t even make sense. Black was the absence of color. White was all the colors. Ergo, white couldn’t be black.
• He was ultra-recyclo-vegetarian. Danny kind of thought Sam had made that term up.
• He kissed Sam and she didn’t like it.

That was six different things and Danny was sure he could come up with more. Now to convince his friends that Gregor was not to be trusted…

)(  )(  )(

“Where were you yesterday?” Sam accused the next morning before class.

Dang it, I didn’t think of an excuse!  “Uh… catching up on homework?” Danny said.

She sighed. “Tell us next time. I was kinda worried you were fighting ghosts, but most fights are caught on the news and if you really needed us, you usually find a way to contact us.”

“Is that why you were checking your phone so much last night?” Danny asked. He’d wondered about the frequency of the times she’d pulled her phone out yesterday.

Then he realized his mistake.

Sam glared at him. “You weren’t catching up on homework. Were you spying on me?”

He broke. “C’mon, Sam, something’s up with Gregor! He shows up the same day the Guys In White do, he has white hair and what color do the Guys In White like? And what’s up with the fake accent?” 

Sam put her hands on her hip. “You know what I think? I think you’re jealous!”

Tucker walked past. “Hey guys!”

They both turned their glares on him. He wilted.

“What did I walk in on?” He asked.

“You’re late,” Sam stated.

“Yeah, I stayed up playing Doomed,” he replied. “Soooo what’s going on?”

“He spied on me last night!” Sam pointed at him.

“Gregor is a spy for the Guys In White!” Danny declared simultaneously.

“So the only way a boy could like me if it was a plot to get to you?” Sam retorted. “Ego, much?”

“That is kind of paranoid, Danny,” Tucker said. “Gregor’s cool!”

“Sam–” Danny started.

“No! Come on, Tucker, as far as I know he was there the whole time and spied on you too.” Sam grabbed Tucker by the hand and practically dragged him away. Tucker mouthed sorry at him. 

Danny sighed. 

“Trouble in paradise, Fentonio?”

“Aaaand I’m out of here,” he said, racing off to class and hoping no teachers were around to see him running. He’d rather not be late because of Dash. That would really be annoying.

)(  )(  )(

Danny hovered uncertainly in the cafeteria. Sam kept shooting him glares and Tucker looked like he really didn’t know what to do.

“Trouble in paradise?” A sympathetic voice asked.

“Valerie!” He exclaimed. “Y’know, that’s what Dash said to me earlier.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ew. Gross.” They both laughed at that. “Want to sit outside with me?”

“Yeah, sure.” They headed to one of the outside tables. “Actually… could I maybe talk to you about what’s going on?” Valerie could be a helpful outside perspective. She’d tell him if she thought he was being paranoid and jealous or if his suspicion was rational and wouldn’t mince words. 

“Uh, I guess?” 

“So Gregor, this foreign exchange student, he likes Sam. They spent all day together yesterday–Tucker was with them too for a little while–but he showed up the same day the Guys In White did. And he has white hair. Tucker thinks I’m paranoid. Sam thinks I’m jealous. I think he’s a spy. So I may have… spied on his and Sam’s date. Er, it was like a date, anyway.”

She looked at him curiously. “Why does Sam think you’re jealous?”

“That’s what you’re focusing on?”

“I’ll get to the Guys In White in a minute. First, why does Sam think you’re jealous? Are you jealous?”

Well, this is going to be awkward. “She–I think she has a crush on me,” he said.

Valerie gave him an odd look. “She’s had a crush on you all year. And most of last year.”

“Then why’d you ask?!” He threw his hands up. 

“I had to know if you knew so I could ask you my next question. Do you like her back?”

“Um.” He looked anywhere at her as he said, “I never really got over…” you “someone who isn’t Sam, so no?” 

Considering the eyebrow raise she gave him, he was eighty–no, ninety percent sure she knew exactly who he was talking about. 

“Then are you jealous in a platonic way?” She asked. “Scared he might steal your friends from you?”

“Val, I feel like the Guys In White are the more important part of this particular equation,” he complained.

“Fine, but we’re coming back to this. So. Would the GIW hire a teenager to be a spy?”

“I mean, they’ve got nothing again shooting at teenagers, soooo.”

“You’re a ghost. For all they know, you’re hundreds of years old.”

“Okay, so probably not, I don’t think that’s legal,” Danny said. “But Gregor could be a young adult pretending to be a teenager. In which case, ew, get away from Sam.”

“He is pretty tall, but I think someone would’ve noticed if he wasn’t a sophomore,” Valerie said.

Danny groaned. “We’re getting nowhere.”

“Aaaand this is why I was asking about whether or not you’re jealous. It’s easier to figure out whether your judgement is compromised than it is to find evidence that Gregor’s a spy. Especially since if he’s a spy, he’ll be doing everything he can to hide it.” She had a point there. “So, are you scared he’s going to steal Sam and Tucker from you?”

He thought about it for a minute. “Maybe a little, but–we’ve been through too much together to break apart now.” Despite his and Sam’s argument, he knew she’d forgive him. They’d make up. They always did. He sighed again. “I guess I could be being paranoid. Then again, it’s kind of weird that Gregor is both an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian and a goth.”

“He… doesn’t look goth. And I thought Sam made ultra-recyclo-vegetarianism up.” She furrowed her brow.

“According to him ‘in Hungary, white is the new black,’ ” Danny mimicked.

She snorted. “Seriously?”

“It’s a bona fide word-for-word Gregor quote. Also, I gotta ask Sam about the vegetarian thing. If she’ll talk to me.”

Valerie’s eyes gleamed as if she was plotting something. (They almost seemed to glow violet, but surely it was a trick of the light.) “Do you think she’ll talk to me?” 

“I’d say ‘no, not really,’ but I think you’re going to talk to her no matter what answer I give,” he replied.

She laughed. “You’d be right.”

Chapter Text

Sam was done with everything. 

Gregor had kissed her last night and she’d told him that they were moving way too fast. Danny had spied on her. Something that should be private. He thought Gregor was a spy for the GIW. Which, really? Just because he wore a few items of white clothing and dyed his hair didn’t make him a superspy. Though she might have been a bit too hard on Danny. And now Valerie wanted to talk to her. She’d agreed more out of curiosity than anything. 

They’d chosen to meet by Amity Lake, so here she was. A ring of grass, trees, and sidewalk enclosed the lake. She stood on the edge of a dock, surveying the dark and gentle waters. It was humid, a mark of the impending summer (and end of the school year. Hooray). A few families and couples were on walks or jogs around the lake. Birds cawed. 

The wood of the dock creaked. “Hey,” Valerie said, walking up so she was shoulder to shoulder with Sam.

Sam didn’t look at her. She observed the lake instead. A few ducks swam, their heads bobbing. “Hi. So. What did you want?”

“You can probably guess.”

Danny. Gregor. The Guys In White. “Mm-hm. Pretend that I don’t, though.” She wasn’t going to make this easy for Valerie. Danny might have forgiven her, but that didn’t mean Sam had to.

Valerie sighed. “I talked to Danny earlier. Tried to help him figure out whether he’s just being jealous or paranoid or if he has a point with Gregor.”

Yeah, that’s what Sam thought. “And? What did you find out?” She was legitimately curious. She’d known Gregor for a day compared to the years she’d known Danny, so it was possible that Danny had a point with his paranoia. But Gregor was sweet, and different, and liked so many of the same things she did. 

“Well, we both thought that ultra-recyclo-vegetarianism was something you made up,” she confessed with a touch of humor. “So did you make it up?”

Sam would have been offended if it wasn’t such a rare diet. She huffed as if she was anyway. “No. I found it in Volume No. 39 of the Goth Activism series by Bethany Bradshaw. The series is from the eighties and isn’t in circulation anymore. I got it from a garage sale. Why?”

“Because it would be pretty suspicious of Gregor to have the exact same diet as you if you were the one who made it up,” Valerie replied.

… Sam had to admit she had a point. It really was such a niche thing that the chances of Gregor actually being an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian… and also goth… and going to the same school as her… were slim to none. It was kind of weird. But she wasn’t going to concede defeat to Valerie, of all people. “So he found the same book I did. Does it matter?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Does it?” Her tone was biting. 

Sam turned, striding down the docks. “I’m done with this.” All they were doing was wasting time. They were getting nowhere. 

“Didn’t you spy on us when we were dating?” Valerie called. 

Sam paused. 

“I saw you a couple of times. Didn’t say anything because most of us knew you had a crush on him.”

“And what does it matter?” She growled, whipping around. “He doesn’t see me the same way. He likes you, even though you spent your free time hunting him. He might be fine with you, but I’m not, Gray.” She watched the effect of her words, hurt, guilt, and finally resignation flashing across Valerie’s face. 

Valerie bit her lip, stepping forward. “I’m not asking to be friends. It’s fine if you never like me. I’d understand–some days I really don’t like me either, and I’m not trying to be self-pitying!”

“Kinda sounds like you are,” Sam muttered.

Valerie snorted. “Yeah, I know. Just… can we try to tolerate each other? For Danny’s sake?”

It wasn’t an unreasonable request. Danny had asked much the same of her and Tucker at the Nasty Burger yesterday. And maybe Sam was tired of being angry at everyone all the time. (Who knew it could be such hard work to hate the world and all the people in it?) Or maybe she just didn’t want to hurt Danny further (and he was trying to mend bridges with Valerie). Or maybe she’d finally hit her limit on the amount of grudges she could hold (no, that wasn’t it). 

Maybe she just thought it was worth it to take an olive branch when it was extended to her. 

She sighed. “For Danny’s sake.” She offered her hand. “Truce?”

“Truce,” Valerie agreed. The two girls shook hands. “Also, I wasn’t done.” Valerie gestured to the grassy part next to the sidewalk and the two of them walked to it, standing next to one of the trees.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Of course you weren’t.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Valerie’s reply had an edge of irritation. 

“Nothing. Go on.”

“It’s just that… well… like I was saying, you spied on his date too.”

Sam groaned. “Fine. I’m a hypocrite. You happy now? You were still hunting him, you know. You’re also a hypocrite.”

Valerie winced. “You were spying on him because you care about him. Have you considered that he’s doing the same thing?” She asked.

And.

Well.

Sam let out yet another groan. It was her longest yet. “I hate that you have a point.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re not welcome.” She flopped onto her back. A few branches obscured her vision of the sky. She knew Danny meant well. She knew that. But she’d felt betrayed when she learned he’d gone behind her back, though she’d done the same thing for similar reasons. “I was too hard on him.”

“Hey, you’ve done nothing nearly as bad as I have,” Valerie said, sticking her hand out. Sam took it and let the other girl help her up. “It’s nothing you can’t fix.”

“What’s the point of being friends for years if you can’t fix it after a little fight?” Sam joked. Valerie tried to smile, but faltered. Oh. Sam must have hit a little close to home, since all Valerie’s friends abandoned her after her dad lost his job. Except maybe Star. She still saw Star hang out with Valerie sometimes, but also with the other A-listers, so… yeah, she wasn’t sure what was going on there. “Sorry.”

The other girl blew out a breath. “It is what it is, I guess. Though I am curious why you thought Danny was jealous. I mean, he said he was a little, but he also knew you guys would make up.”

Sam smiled. That sounded like Danny. Like I’d tell you that, she almost said, but… if they were going to tolerate each other, she had to deal with this at some point. Especially since she was ninety percent sure that Danny and Valerie still liked each other. “I think you know that I was the one who’s jealous. But I’ll get over it. It’s not fair to take my own frustrations out on Danny. Or you. At least, not those kinds. I reserve the right to take out my frustration over the Huntress thing on you.” She said the last part in a semi-teasing tone. She was only half-joking, though.

“I guess that’s fair,” Valerie said. She laughed. 

And just like that, a tension was broken between the two of them. There was still distrust there. Bad feelings. Hurt. But if Danny had forgiven Valerie, Sam could try and see the same thing he saw in her. Well, maybe not the exact same thing. She wasn’t the one with a crush on Valerie, after all. That’s when she felt her flip phone ringing. She pulled it out of a pocket that was hidden in the black of her skirt. “Hello?”

“Good news, Gregor’s not a spy!” Danny’s voice proclaimed. “Bad news, I know this because the Guys In White have decided that he’s Phantom, or working with Phantom, or something. So, uh, sorry Sam. Just wanted to let you know!”

His voice cut off. “Did he just hang up on me?” Sam exclaimed.

“Let’s get somewhere private and I can change into my suit. I guess you can ride on my hoverboard if you want to go save your boyfriend?” Valerie said, jogging across the road.

“Not my boyfriend, exactly,” Sam replied. She kept up with the other girl fairly easily. The lake was near some buildings, so they ducked in between two of them and headed to the back. There was a dumpster there, causing the whole place to stink. 

Valerie’s suit crept over her and her hoverboard appeared. Sam jumped on the back and wrapped her arms underneath Valerie’s shoulders. “This a good position?” She asked, her head over Valerie’s right shoulder.

“We don’t have time to figure out anything more comfortable,” Valerie replied. They took off. It was a very different experience from the few times she’d gone flying with Danny, and not just because flying with Danny usually happened because they were in the midst of some perilous adventure and he’d just saved her from falling to her death. There was more turbulence, and she had to grip tight to keep from falling off the back of the board, and her jaw was squished uncomfortably between Valerie’s face and shoulder. But that was also helping her from falling. Not to her death, but definitely to pain and possibly severe injury.

On the way, she grabbed her phone and dialed Tucker. “Where’s Danny?” She shouted. “And where’s Gregor?”

“I’m with Gregor right now,” Tucker replied. “We’re at the outdoor mall. Guys bonding time, y’know? Why?”

The outdoor mall. That was good–they weren’t far from there.

“Because Danny just called me and said the Guys In White think Gregor’s with Phantom! They’ll be coming for him.”

“Hey Gregor! New plan for hanging out. Want to go to a secure undisclosed location?” She heard Tucker say. If her hands were free, she’d facepalm.

“No! I do not want to go to a ‘secure undisclosed location’!” Gregor’s voice declared. He suddenly dropped his accent. “I have spent all day with you and you are obnoxious! You never stop talking! You are insufferable and I never want to hear your voice again!” 

“Hey!” Sam snapped. 

“Oh! Sam. You are on the phone?” 

“Yes, and I don’t appreciate you speaking to my friend that way. Yeah, he can be kind of annoying, but he’s one of my best friends and has stuck by me for years. You want to date me, you have to tolerate Tucker at minimum. And what happened to your accent?” Once she found out, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to be around Gregor anymore. Danny had been right about the fake accent, it seemed.

“I–”

They were interrupted by the sound of shooting. Screams rang out. 

“Tucker!” Sam shouted, concerned for her friend. “Can this thing go any faster?” She asked Valerie.

“We’re at top speed, but we’re almost there!” Valerie replied.

She was right. The little shops of the outdoor mall had come into sight–and so had the GIW plane, shooting at a screaming Gregor as he ran down the parking lot. Sam could see Danny, as Phantom, flying up to the plane and knocking on the window. 

“I’m fine, Sam! They want Gregor, not me,” Tucker said. She breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Setting you down here,” Valerie said, lowering the hoverboard. Sam didn’t like it, but there was no time to argue. She stepped off and ran to Gregor, who was breathing heavily, his hands on his knees. 

She grabbed him by the hand. “Come on, let’s go somewhere the GIW aren’t shooting at innocents. If you’re really innocent,” she added.

Gregor swiped his hand away. “After all this? I want to go back to Michigan!”

Anger boiled within her. “I thought you were from Hungary, you liar!”

She heard a shout, followed by a “Danny!” From Valerie, and decided that now wasn’t the time. She sprinted over to where the fight was taking place, throwing a “We’re through, Gregor!” behind her. She was pretty sure he shouted “My name is Elliot!” but didn’t much care. She had to know that Danny was–oh, there he was. He would be fine. Hopefully.

“I’m okay!” Danny said. He stood up from a small crater in the ground. Ectoplasm was leaking from a cut somewhere on his head. 

Valerie facepalmed, which Sam felt on a spiritual level. The GIW plane deployed a–was that a missile?! A small missile, but a missile nonetheless. Is that what caused the crater? 

Danny blasted the body of the plane with ghost rays. Valerie flew over the top and shot the glass enclosing the agents. Cracks spread. Danny, seeing what she was doing, blasted it too. One more blast from Valerie was the final push it needed to break. Valerie dropped into the plane and punched one of the agents. The other reached for her, but she kneed him in the groin. Then she grabbed both of them and slammed their heads together. 

Danny flew into the cockpit with her and started pressing buttons. Sam hoped he knew what he was doing, because a weaponized plane could be very bad in incompetent hands. Her fears were unfounded, however, as the missiles retracted and he steered the plane away. She wondered how he knew to do that. 

Surely all those simulations he did weren’t that accurate? Surely they didn’t all have weapons?

Eh. It was Danny. That was answer enough.

)(  )(  )(

Danny hummed a little tune as Valerie helped him treat the cut on his head. They were back in his room. He was bruised all over and had a sick feeling in his stomach, though how much of that was just him feeling bad about spying on Sam’s date with Gregor when he turned out to not be a spy was up for debate. Valerie and Sam had been whispering on their way back to Fentonworks and Sam had immediately split from them upon entering. The two of them would be a terrifying duo. Tucker was tapping away at his PDA in the corner, looking up every few seconds to make sure injury recovery was going well. 

“Danny!” Jazz shouted, the door opening to reveal her and Sam, who looked much too pleased with herself. “Did you get hit with a missile and then say ‘I’m okay’?!” 

“That’s a gross overexaggeration of events!” He protested. 

Valerie, Sam, and Jazz all raised their eyebrows, or had otherwise skeptical expressions.

He was doomed. Done for. The three of them would kill him the rest of the way. 

“Unfortunately for you, we’ve got an eyewitness here,” Sam said, waving at Valerie. “And what does she say?”

“A small missile aimed at Danny Phantom. He tried to lead it away from where any citizens would be while shooting at it, but one of those ghost rays or ectoblasts landed in just the right place and it exploded.” Valerie started her report as if she was a newscaster but ended it just sounding done with everything.

Jazz sighed. “Danny, you’ve got to be more careful.”

“But I really was okay!” He pointed out. He sighed. “No one listens to me.”

“I feel you, dude,” Tucker said sympathetically.

“It was a small explosion,” he continued. “A small one! I get hurt way worse all the time!”

“That’s not as comforting as you think it is, little brother,” Jazz said. 

Valerie finished bandaging his wound. “There.” 

“Thanks, Val.” He smiled at her. She smiled back. When they realized they’d been looking at each other a little longer than natural, they averted their eyes, blushing. Tucker made kissy noises in the corner until Sam threw one of her shoes at him.

Danny was glad everything was back to normal. Well. Almost anything. “Hey Sam, can we talk?”

“Yeah, I think we need to. I hope you guys don’t mind us stepping out for a minute,” Sam said. They exited to the hallway.

“I’m sorry for spying on your date,” Danny said. 

“No, I’m sorry,” Sam replied. “I did the same thing to you. It was because you care about me, and Gregor–er, Elliot–turned out to be a fraud anyway.” Bitterness seeped into her voice.

“I’m sorry about him.” 

“You don’t need to be. It wouldn’t have lasted. Anyway, I’m also sorry for the stuff I said yesterday. Friends again?”

“Always,” Danny stated. 

Sam wasn’t a touchy-feely person, so he was a little taken aback when she gave him a hug. But it felt right. After a few seconds, she stepped back. “I love you platonically,” she declared.

“I love you platonically too?” He said, kind of confused. Then he had an idea. “Y’know, let’s go tell Tucker and Val this! They’ll be so confused! Well, maybe not Val…”

“You never got over her, did you?” Sam whispered.

This wasn’t a conversation he was going to like, but they had to have it at some point. “No, I didn’t,” he replied back in a voice equally as soft. “I’m sorry. I know you like me, but it’s just… what it is, and I wouldn’t change it. But I don’t want you to hurt, either.”

“Well, there was a reason I said that ‘platonically’ after ‘I love you’,” she responded. “You and her make a good team. I’m not going to take my own issues out on you two, though I still don’t fully trust Valerie.”

Danny was pretty sure the expression on his face was soft and full of mushy feelings. “If there’s anything I can do…”

“There is one thing. Don’t beat yourself up over this. I’ll be fine,” Sam stated firmly. 

“I’ll do my best,” he promised. “Now want to go confuse everyone by telling them we love them?”

She grinned and nodded.

(When Sam and Danny declared their undying platonic love and devotion for everyone in the room, Jazz was proud of them and congratulated them on being emotionally honest. Tucker said he loved them too. Valerie was taken aback. 

Jazz was less proud when Danny, Sam, and Tucker all crowded around her and dramatically announced that she was their sister and they’d die for her, complete with fake tears and falling into each other’s arms, at which point Valerie shouted, “WHAT IS GOING ON?” and they crowded her instead. This was fun, until Tucker said that she was the Ghost Queen because Danny was the Ghost King after defeating Pariah Dark. Danny pointed out that the title of ghost king didn’t work like that. Then he realized the implications of them being king and queen and blushed, absolutely mortified. Sam and Tucker laughed at him, the traitors. That was around when Jazz left the room, citing them all as “lost causes.”

All in all, it was a pretty good day.)