Hello everyone. This is a challenge story set forth by Evilevergreen. And well…you know I love TxS so yeah I had to take it up. No Flames Allowed .

And by the genre this isn't going to be anything like Cupcake so I suggest you skip this if you can't handle the TxSness, no adorable fluff here. Yes DxS shippers I have gone over to the dark side (pun intended). It will be a very long time before I write another truly DxS story…sorry.

Of course this is going to be a one shot. I thought more was going to be more here, but…no it's just a one shot.

Standard Disclaimer: You know who owns Danny Phantom, and it sure as heck ain't me.

Between Friends

"Spring Break!" Tucker Foley shouted as he rushed into the apartment he shared with Danny and Sam since the end of their first semester at Amity Park State College. Dorm life just didn't work when you were trying to hide a ghostly identity, so the trio pooled their resources and rented an apartment off campus. Tucker threw his books on the table in the hall and raced into the living room and did a little happy dance.

Sam Manson, looked up from the couch she was lounging on and smiled. "Spring break started two hours go for me," she teased. Tucker stuck out his tongue as he plopped beside her on the couch and tried to swipe the remote control.

"Keep your hands to yourself Foley," Sam said as she guarded remote closely. "There's a news story coming on in a few minutes I want to see."

"Gee Sam," Tucker teased. "You sure have become a complete stick in the mud. Extreme Cow Hurling is on in ten minutes."

"Extreme Cow Hurling?" Sam exclaimed. "Sounds horrible. Why would someone want to hurl a cow? Did anyone ask the cow if it wanted to be hurled? Maybe it should be Extreme Cowboy Hurling, with the cows throwing the cowboys"

Tucker gave Sam a worried look. "I don't know about you woman but…"

Sam reached over and grabbed Tucker's ear. "I've warned you for the last time about calling me woman! The name is Sam! Sam! Sam!"

"Ow ow ow!" Tucker yelled as he tried to get away from Sam but merely ended up with her on top of him on the couch. He seriously contemplated calling her another name she hated hearing, just to keep her close, but he couldn't take the pain of his ear being twisted off his head.

"Sam!" Tucker said breathlessly. "Sam! Sam! Sam!" Sam let go of Tucker's ear and smiled down wickedly as she lay over him. Tucker put his hands on her waist and took a deep breath as he watched her tuck her hair behind one ear.

"That's better," She said almost breathlessly as she bent closer.

"Man!" Danny said as he walked through the door. Sam jumped away from Tucker like she had been burnt. Tucker blinked his eyes a moment. He'd been fairly sure that Sam was going to kiss him. Sam was going to kiss him?

"I'm so glad today is over." Danny said, completely oblivious to any tension at all between his best friend and his girlfriend as, he threw his book bag down. "I really need a vacation."

"We all need a vacation," Sam said. "This semester has been brutal."

"It's been more than brutal," Tucker corrected. Sam smiled at him and he smiled back, then looked at Danny, who was now plopped down in a nearby chair.

"Would you guys be very mad at me if I took off into the Ghost Zone for spring break?" Danny asked tiredly. "There are a few ghostly things I need to look into."

"Ghostly things?" Tucker asked.

"Isn't it something you can handle outside of The Ghost Zone?" Sam asked in disappointment. "Do you have to be gone for the entire break?"

"No," Danny replied softly. "And yes. It's ghost business. In The Ghost Zone."

"What kind of ghost business?" Tucker prodded.

"Just ghost business," Danny replied in irritation. "Do I have to explain and reason out everything to you all the time?"

Tucker raised his eyebrows and looked over at Sam who had directed her attention back to the television and didn't seem to be listening. Tucker looked at Danny who was looking at Sam sadly. He caught Tucker watching him and shook his head. Tucker wasn't sure how to interpret that.

"When are you leaving?" Sam finally asked softly.

"Tonight," Danny answered. Sam shot a quick look at Tucker, then looked at Danny. Tucker frowned. Something was going on between his two friends and it wasn't good. Danny stood and walked into his room and shut the door. Sam sat for awhile jiggling her legs on the couch. She looked at Tucker for a minute then went into Danny's room.

Tucker watched her go with an ache in the pit of his stomach. "I wonder what's going on with those two," he said out loud, then grabbed the remote control, sighed deeply, and turned the channel to Extreme Cow Hurling.

XxXxXxXxX

"Danny," Sam said as she shut the door behind her. Danny was laying on the bed with his eyes closed.

"What?" he asked tiredly. Sam crawled onto the bed and curled up beside him.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I've been a big jerk to you lately. I hate the fact that you're not going to be around for the break. I'll miss you."

"I just want the rest of the year to go by without so many ghost attacks," Danny told her. "I don't want to have to always depend on you and Tucker in order to pass my classes."

"Mom has been working on a new ghost's shield. I was thinking I could set it up around the portal from inside The Ghost Zone, but I need to find a workable power source, and figure out how to deactivate it from our side of the portal. Skulker said he'd think about helping me, but I had to help him hunt a few ghosts first."

"We don't mind helping you with school," Sam pointed out. They'd always been Danny's support where getting through school was concerned. That's why she and Tucker had chosen to go to Amity Park State College instead of separate schools.

"And since when could you trust Skulker for anything?" She added.

"But I mind," Danny said as he put his arms around his girlfriend. "You've had enough trouble this semester without added pressure from not only my needs, but the ghosts too. And I don't trust Skulker, but since the last time I kicked his but, he's a little scared of me."

"Again," Sam said. "I'm not complaining, and I still wouldn't trust Skulker."

"But I'm complaining. I'm also not worried about anything Skulker will try to pull." Danny said as he pulled Sam over him so he could kiss her softly. Sam returned the kiss briefly, then pulled away and sighed as she turned to lay on her side.

"You're so cuddly," Danny whispered as he snuggled her close and kissed the back of her neck. Sam squeezed her eyes shut as she lay with her back to Danny.

"I try to be," She whispered as she lay there, trying to relax. Danny smoothed his hand down her arm and placed another kiss in her hair and held her until she feel asleep.

Danny phased himself away from Sam as soon as he was sure she was sleeping, then stood and looked tenderly at her. He watched her for a few minutes, then walked into the living room where Tucker was laughing, as he was now watching Fear Factor.

"Hey," he said to his best friend. "I'm gonna go. I'll be back on a week from Sunday."

Tucker looked up from the television and nodded his head. "You and Sam fighting?"

"No," Danny said. He looked over his shoulder as if he expected Sam to come out of his room and yell at him. "Just disagreeing."

Tucker shrugged his shoulder. "Well it's not really any of my business." He honestly didn't want to get into the details of Danny and Sam's relationship, he was in deep enough as it was.

"Take care of her will you?" Danny asked.

"Don't I always?" Tucker replied as he looked back at the television. "But Sam doesn't need looking after. You should know that by now Danny."

"You know what I mean," Danny said, as he changed to ghost form.

"Yeah," Tucker replied, trying not to sound bitter. Sometimes he felt like he was an actual part of Danny and Sam's relationship, always picking up the slack for Danny when he failed.

Tucker was the one who remembered dates relevant to Sam, like her birthday and little anniversaries. He often called Danny on his cell to suggest little romantic things Sam would like. He always knew what presents to buy for her. Danny, as always, was clueless.

"I'll see you," Danny said then flew out of the apartment. Tucker only shook his head as he picked up the remote and began flicking through the channels.

XxXxXxXxX

Tucker's heart felt like it was going to break as Sam stumbled form Danny's room, still a little groggy from sleep and looked around sadly and asked, "Where's Danny?"

Butterflies fluttered in Tucker's stomach as he watched Sam's face. "He left. Said to tell you he'll be back as soon as he can, and he loves you very much." Sam's expression changed from sad to angry to resigned to a little happier.

"I'm going to kick his butt when he gets back for leaving me like that," Sam said as she sat down next to Tucker.

"He thought it would be easier," Tucker lied. "He hates leaving you know?"

"Did he say that?" Sam asked, her eyes filled with hope.

"Sure," he lied, as he cleared his throat and began flicking channels. He felt Sam relax, and he felt like a dog. He should let Danny fly on his own. His friend would lose Sam, but that's what he deserved. How happy would Sam be though, and who would she turn to? Tucker worried that if he let Danny fly solo in the relationship, he'd lose Sam too.

Tucker chastised himself as he stopped and looked at the Weather Channel. He shouldn't be having feelings for his best friend's girlfriend, but Sam was his best friend too. He'd been having feelings for her for a long time, probably longer than Danny himself.

It was difficult being half way in a relationship with someone. Tucker did all the work and Danny got all the benefits. Tucker was sick of it, but he didn't know what to do, there was nothing he could do.

"I'm hungry," Sam said. "Do you know if there's anything in the fridge or did you eat it all."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "What do you want? A salad? A soy burger? Some vegetable soup? Some cardboard and peanut butter?"

"Cardboard?" Sam asked in amusement.

"Isn't that what those little round white dealies are?" Tucker asked.

Sam snorted. "Those are rice cakes."

"They taste like cardboard," Tucker insisted.

"Well if your taste buds weren't deadened by all the garbage you eat, you'd be able to appreciate the subtle flavor of rice cakes."

"Nothing you put in your mouth should have a subtle flavor," Tucker declared and Sam laughed.

"Do we have any tofu?" Sam asked.

"Let's go look," Tucker said as he pulled her off of the couch and into the kitchen. Sam sat on the counter as she watched Tucker rifle through the fridge. It was always better that she didn't go into the refrigerator. Their first month living together had been hard, as several packages of steak and hamburger ended up in grave in the front yard, with a little tombstone which read, Rest In Peace, above it.

"Here it is," Tucker said as he grimaced. "Tofu." He shuddered and Sam laughed.

"Tofu is very good," she said. "It can be made to taste like anything you want." She opened and drained the package and grabbed a knife so she could cut the white sponge tofu into cubes.

"Can you make it taste like a steak?" Tucker asked as he closed the fridge and turned to smile at Sam.

"I guess so," she answered. "If you really wanted to ruin it." She paused for a minute. "There wouldn't happen to be any vegetables in there?" Tucker gave her an exasperated look, then dug in the fridge and came back with carrots, broccoli and some bell peppers.

"Stir fry!" Sam exclaimed as she jumped down from the cabinet, and began gathering together everything she needed.

"Gross," Tucker said. "How can you stand that stuff?"

"Meat is gross Tuck," Sam laughed. "Imagine killing a sweet innocent beast just so you can roast it over an open flame and devour it."

"Sounds good to me Sam," Tucker said as he watched her cut vegetables. He frowned as she opened the top cupboard and strained to reach her wok.

"Here let me help," Tucker said as he stepped up and reached the pan with ease. He frowned a his heart accelerated and began flipping in his chest as he brushed against Sam. He should have moved her out of the way first. This was a big mistake. She smelt spicy like cinnamon and ginger.

Sam shivered as Tucker brushed up against her, then placed the wok on the counter in front of her. She closed her eyes and told herself that the feelings she was having for Tucker were wrong. Never mind that most of the time he was more of a boyfriend to her than Danny was. The point was that she was dating Danny, and Tucker was their best friend.

She felt fickle and small. She'd finally got what she wanted, Danny's heart and now all she wanted was Tucker. If she could have kicked herself at that moment, she would have. She did question whether or not she really had Danny's heart. A lot of the time he seemed to be somewhere else. She knew that somewhere else was ghost fighting, but it still didn't make things any easier.

Tucker stood and watched while Sam put oil in the wok then added the vegetables. "You're really going to eat that?" he asked.

"Yes," Sam said wondering why Tucker was giving her such a hard time. He'd seen her make stir fry before. "Do you want some?" she asked.

"Maybe if you put some chicken in it," Tucker answered. Sam grimaced and Tucker laughed. "Cause I'm not eating any of that tofu garbage."

Sam picked up a cube of the food in question and walked toward Tucker. "You should just try it."

"No way!" Tucker said then clamped his mouth shut as Sam held the cube up to his lips.

"Come on," Sam teased. "Don't be chicken."

"I'm not chicken," Tucker said and turned his head away. "I eat chicken."

Sam's eyes danced with amusement. "Don't be a cannibal," she laughed.

"No." Tucker said forcefully.

"Okay," Sam replied. "Your loss." She popped the cube of tofu into her mouth and began to chew. Tucker laughed, then sighed as he watched Sam cook the stir fry.

"So," Tucker started, "What's up between you and Danny. Is everything all right?"

Sam turned and looked at Tucker. "Everything's fine," she said. "We're just going through a rough patch right now." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"I can't believe you let him get away with the things he does," Tucker started.

He paused for a minute. "If it were me you'd be busting my butt."

Sam turned back to her cooking and looked sadly down at the vegetables. "If it were you Tuck, we wouldn't be having these problems."

"You're right," Tucker said. "If you were mine, I'd be worshiping the ground you walk on."

"If you were mine," Sam replied picking up on what Tucker was saying. "You'd never keep me waiting."

Tucker sighed and continued. "If you were mine I'd never leave you for a week without telling you good bye."

Sam laughed a little then said, "If you were mine, I'd never let you leave me for a week."

"I'd convert you into a carnivore," Tucker teased.

Sam shook her head as said, "No, you'd become a vegetarian."

She looked at Tucker for a moment then said, "But really I'd never try to change you. I love you just how you are." Her eyes went wide when she realized what she said and she turned quickly back to the stir fry.

"I love you just the way you are too," Tucker told her softly.

Sam turned back and searched Tucker's face. "How long?" She asked. Tucker's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I mean, how long have you loved me just the way I am?"

Tucker laughed. "Since forever," he answered. "How about you?"

Sam smiled bitterly, "Not for as long, maybe since a little before Danny and I started seriously dating."

"Since senior year?" Tucker asked in surprise. "Well at least there's something I've beat you at."

Sam shook her head. "I wish you would have told me."

"How could I?" Tucker replied. "I knew how Danny felt about you. I thought you felt the same way. I've always stood on the outside where you and Danny are concerned."

Sam nodded her head as she returned to her cooking, her eyes filled with tears. She didn't dare turn around and let Tuck know how upset she was. She cleared her throat and said, "And now I'm Danny's girlfriend."

"And I'm his best friend." Tucker replied.

"We can't do anything about this," Sam whispered. "Danny needs us."

"I think you and I being together would destroy him. He really loves you Sam, he's just…clueless," Tucker agreed

"Tuck," Sam said softly. "Can you…leave? Please?"

"Yeah," Tuck said shakily then nearly ran from the kitchen. Sam sighed deeply as she stood and the stove and watched vegetables cook through eyes blurred by tears sighed deeply, wishing that she could someway tell Danny what was in her heart, without the risk of losing him, or hurting him in some way. She wiped away a fugitive tear. No matter how she felt about him and how he felt about her, she and Tuck could never be together. They had their roles to play and they were stuck in them, forever.

XxXxXxXxX

Okay so everyone is OOC, what do you want from me? It's not easy writing a fic like this, I think I'm doing a good job all things considered.

Yes I have seriously, seriously fallen in love with the idea of Tuck and Sam together. I don't care what you think. It works in my head and if I can make it work good in a story then Whoo hooo me!

I want to thank Evilevergreen for letting me take this challenge. I hope that I am doing the challenge justice. I hope you'll review.

Expect a good fulfilling TxS fluffy story from me in the future. I've got to put them seriously together after this. Aghhh