The Phantom Anomaly

Chapter Three

Danny wakes up in a haze of confusion. He almost doesn't recognize the room that he is in. It's his room, and he is actually sleeping in his own bed. That is very rare.

Normally, he would fight a ghost overnight and have to see Sam for a patch up. Then he would pass out on her bed, and wake up next to her.

If he remained uninjured, then he would fly to his room, but he usually didn't make it to the bed before his body decided that it needed to sleep now.

And so Danny, in his slow-to-wake-up teenage mind, struggles to comprehend the fact that he is in his own bed. Then he remembers yesterday afternoon.

"I'm king now." Danny says, sitting up suddenly. His mouth gapes open as he wraps his head around it. "Holy crap.....I'm king now!" He mutters, pulling his legs up to his chest.

Jazz picks that perfect moment to open his door. "Danny, you're gonna be late for.........." She trails off, seeing his position. ".........Danny? Are you okay?"

Danny, seemingly unable to hear her, stays completely still. He stays sitting up, but his legs are pulled to his chest.

"Danny!" Jazz says, raising her voice and crossing the room. "Danny, what's wrong?"

Just then, the doorbell rings. Knowing that it is probably Sam coming to make sure that her boyfriend is awake, Jazz shouts: "Sam! Come up here!"

The door opens, and two pairs of feet run up the stairs. Sam comes in first, and immediately launches herself onto the bed. Tucker stops in the doorway and bites his bottom lip.

"How long has he been like this?" He asks Jazz, who also seems to be in shock.

"I...I don't know. When I walked in, he was doing this."

They both watch Sam as she talks quietly to him and holds her hands to his face. He doesn't respond.

"Danny." She says his name carefully. "Danny you're scaring me."

Sam puts her hands on his. "Where did you go?"

Danny moves slowly, his hands moving to grip hers.

"There you are." Sam smiles, but her eyes are welling with tears. "Don't scare me like that, you idiot." She says, lacing their fingers together.

"Physical contact helps." Jazz mutters, half as a note to herself, and half as a comment to Tucker. "As well as making his fingers move."

"You're forgetting the biggest factor." Tucker remarks. "Sam."

Danny's legs are now relaxed and splayed around Sam. Their fingers are still intertwined, and he moves them slowly. Sam sits still and watches him with a smile.

"So we need to find something that combines all of those, but is easy to carry." Jazz mutters.

"Cat's cradle." Sam says from the bed. She looks up for a moment to meet Jazz's eye. "I could teach him. It's just like making patterns with a piece of yarn made into a loop. If we all carried one on our wrists..."

"It's perfect." Tucker says with a smile. "Just...can mine be yellow?"

"Sure, Tuck." Danny says suddenly, his voice hoarse.

"Danny! Are you okay?" Sam asks, holding his hand tighter.

"I feel like that question has been asked too many times in the last 24 hours." Danny mutters, wincing as if in pain. "Who's the hero again?"

It's a rhetorical question. Sam smiles and squeezes his hand.

"All right, I'm leaving the room before you two start making out." Tucker says, turning around. "But if you two aren't downstairs in two minutes, I am leaving without you."

"Tucker!" Sam complains loudly. He chuckles as he leaves.

"I'm sorry that I scared you." Danny says. "Both of you." He adds, looking to Jazz. "I couldn't control it. It was like I was stuck in a whirlpool of my thoughts..."

"It was a panic attack, Danny." Jazz interrupts. "People handle them differently. At least we have a way to snap you out of them. We'll figure out something long term later. For now, you should go to school."

"...Okay." Danny says, taking a deep breath.

"Plus this is our last day before Thanksgiving Break." Sam says as they both climb off the bed. "Just one more day before five days of freedom."

"I forgot about that." Danny says as he grabs some clothes from his closet. Jazz leaves the room as he starts changing. Sam doesn't bother to turn around. She has seen him in just his boxers before. "Five days....I should probably stay in the Ghost Zone the whole time, since my parents aren't around....but I'd miss you guys..."

"Danny!" Sam says, snapping him out of his thoughts. "We could go with you...or at least I could."

"Really?" Danny asks, pulling on his shirt. "What about your parents?"

"I'm almost eighteen, Danny." Sam replies as they walk out of the room. "They have to accept you sooner or later. I'll just say we are going on a short vacation somewhere. The lake or something."

The reach the bottom of the steps as Danny turns to her with a big grin. "I love you, Sam." He says, giving her a quick but loving kiss. "Thank you so much."

"Ugh, my eyes!" Tucker says, holding his arms out as if to shelter from a bright light. "PDA!!!!!"

"Way to ruin the moment, Tuck." Danny says, resting his head against Sam's for a moment in exasperation.

"I thought you were gonna leave without us." Sam says with a teasing grin, patting Danny's head.

"Yeah, well...I decided to wait." Tucker responds. 

"Come on guys." Danny says, raising his head and grabbing his backpack.  "Bye, Jazz!"

Just one more day. Danny thinks as he walks down the street, Tucker on his right and Sam on his left. Then I can go home.