❛ Phantom Hazards ❜

❝ Hit & Run

˗ˏ précis ˊ˗
sam had been having the worst day, so of course, when danny interrupts the first peaceful moment she'd had, she punches him.
warning: minor blood
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"Why can't you understand just this once?!"

Sam slammed the front door behind her with a loud bang, the back of her throat itching from the force of her yelling. She took a deep breath, trying to will away her anger and tears before she started sobbing.

School started in twenty minutes, now was not the time to start crying. No matter what type of fight had happened between her and her parents, she had a reputation to uphold. Goths didn't cry. She released all her breath in a heated puff of air and leaned her head back against the door. Her parents had started up their 'anti-goth' rant that morning, and the disagreement had ended up escalating into a full on fight, the two of them shouting at her until she just grabbed her bag and stormed out the door. Later, when she came back home from school, her parents would probably pretend it had never happened, but Sam could never drop it like they did.

She wasn't even sure why it bothered them so much. So what if she liked the color black? So what if her attitude was darker than what was considered "normal"? It was certainly nothing to start a screaming match over.

Sam sniffled and wiped the back of her hand over her eyes, smearing her tears. She squared her shoulders and hopped down the stairs, forcing her expression into neutral mode. 'Not the time,' She told herself again. She needed to meet up with Danny and Tucker so they could walk to the school, preferably before her first period started. She had been late enough.

It took Sam a few minutes more than she'd like to get to their usual meeting spot, but when she did Tucker was the only one there, the tech-nerd standing near their designated lamp post. Tucker either sensed her disappointment or it was obvious, because as soon as he saw her he said, "A ghost showed up on the way here and Danny said he'd see us at school."

Sam wanted to say something back, but she knew it would only come out harsher than she meant it to. She bit her lip instead, rolling the skin underneath her teeth, and nodded. 'Of course,' She thought bitterly. Was it wrong to want to have a nice peaceful walk with her two best friends after the horrible morning she'd had? Logically she knew that Danny didn't ditch them on purpose, and he never would. People could get seriously hurt, or could even die, if he wasn't there to help, but it still left a sour taste in her mouth.

Apparently disappointment was the only thing Tucker could sense about her, because as soon as she decided to get over her negative thoughts about Danny's absence and actually walk with Tucker, he began spouting technical nonsense like a mall fountain. Something about a new video game, probably, but she wasn't paying attention. Not in the slightest. Instead, his voice droning on and on in the background only served to make her headache far worse and wear down her already waning self control. Despite Tucker being her friend, If he valued his face and the painless state it was currently in, then it would be within his best interest to stop. Right. Now.

"-can you imagine that? It could unlock a whole new version- world, even! We could do so much more with technology and gaming as we know it!"

"Tucker."

"Of course, we're not quite there yet. But, we're getting closer! I know we are. The new world is just on the horizon, I can feel it, Sam. Feel it!"