Author's note: At last, the real end. As of now, I actually like this more than Luckiest Girl. Perhaps that will change when I rewrite LG, but this was just so much fun, and I like what I was able to do with it, especially in comparison to LG.

The beginning bit is the same as the last chapter, so you can just skim up until Paulina walks up to Danny by his locker. Or you can reread it all. Whatever your heart desires!

Mind Wrapped

Wrapped Together (true ending)

From the way the light hit her eyes, Paulina immediately knew she was in her own room again. She sat up and looked down at her nightgown. Hers. She looked at her canopy. Also hers. She walked to her mirror. It was her own reflection.

It was good to be back in her own room, but she couldn't help but miss seeing Danny in the mirror. She stood in the spot where she had embraced him just the night before, had felt his soft lips against hers.

She imagined what he was doing right at that moment. Waking, stretching, yawning.

She couldn't wait to see him again. The real him. She wanted to see his normal smile, not the twisted one that didn't suit him at all.

She looked through her clothes, wondering what to wear, wondering how to do her hair, wondering how to do her make-up. What would impress him most? Giddiness, excitement, nervousness, anxiety. She had to look good, had to look perfect, had to look more beautiful than she ever had before. This wasn't just any boy, after all.

When she met up with Dash and Star at the bus stop, they both took notice of how much care she had put into her appearance that morning.

"Wow, Paulina. What's the occasion?" Star raised a brow. "I mean, you don't normally curl your hair."

Paulina fingered her curled locks. "Does it look okay?"

"No, it looks amazing," said Star. "I'm just confused why you did it."

Dash's face was noticeably red as he looked at Paulina. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Are you trying to impress someone?" asked Star.

"Is it that obvious?" Paulina now felt self-conscious. Perhaps this would be coming on too strong. What would Danny think of this thinly veiled attempt at getting him to notice her? Would he go for it, or would she scare him off? Or would he once again think she was trying to manipulate him into doing something for her?

"Yeah, I'd say it's pretty obvious." Star laughed. "Okay, who is it?"

Paulina bit her lip.

"Just don't say it's Fenton."

Paulina looked away and twisted a curled strand of her hair.

"Oh, my gosh, it's Fenton." Star snorted.

"What? Fenton? After what he said to you yesterday?" Dash looked at Paulina in shocked confusion.

"I guess Paulina likes a guy with sass." Star shrugged, a huge smile on her face. "She's never had a guy talk to her like that before. Maybe that's been the key to her heart all along."

"What? I could've done that! I can be sassy!" Dash turned squarely to Paulina. "Say anything! I'll throw it right back at you!"

"What even is this, Paulina?" Star rolled her eyes. "I mean, you call me in the middle of the night squealing about how Phantom came into your room and kissed you, and now you're all gussied up for Fenton?"

"Wait, what? Phantom came into your room last night?" Dash's tone became more frantic. "And you kissed?" He grabbed Paulina's shoulders. "Did you do anything else?"

"Is Phantom even capable of doing anything else?" mumbled Star.

Paulina gently pushed Dash away. "It's complicated, all right? You wouldn't understand." The bus arrived. As Paulina boarded, she turned back to her friends. "Yes, Danny's remarks really got me thinking yesterday, and kissing the ghost boy made me realize that I had to stop chasing a schoolgirl dream and focus on someone real." She faced forward again. "And Danny's as real as they come."

Dash continued to bleat while Star amusedly demanded more details, but Paulina mostly shrugged them off for the duration of the bus ride.

-DP-

Before the bell rang, Paulina checked her make-up in her locker mirror, but this time, she really was concerned about her appearance.

"Paulina, as always, you look flawless. Stop worrying about it." said Star with a sigh. "I really don't understand your crush on Fenton."

"You just don't know him like I do," said Paulina, checking her teeth for lipstick marks.

Star rolled her eyes. "What's there to know?"

"You'd be surprised." Paulina closed her locker. In the distance, she could see Danny with Sam and Tucker. He was leaning against his locker looking despondent. She frowned, wondering what was going on in his head.

Wondering what was going on in his head was what got her in this position in the first place…

With a deep breath, she started walking down the hall. All heads turned to look at her, but she was only focused on one person.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker seemed completely engrossed in their conversation, so much so that they did not notice Paulina approaching them. They spoke in hushed voices, but as she drew near, she heard Danny say in a low, agitated tone, "I did something really bad last night, guys."

Paulina halted. Danny's back was against his locker, his head down, his hair obscuring his eyes. What was he talking about?

"You've been really stressed lately, Danny," Sam said.

"Yeah, you've been really out of it these past two days alone," Tucker chimed in.

Danny only shook his head.

Paulina then remembered that she was in Danny's place last night. But what had she done last night that would make Danny feel this distraught?

She had flown into her own room…and kissed him.

But as far as Danny knew, he had snuck into her room and had forced himself on her, assaulted her, all without a word.

As Paulina looked at Danny now, she could see just how bad he felt about it. It was not something he ever would've normally done, not the kind of thing he had been raised to do. It pained Paulina to see Danny feeling so guilty about something he technically didn't even do.

Sam noticed her first. She blinked and stiffened. Tucker turned to look at her as well. Danny gave his friends a look of confusion and worry, but he seemed too afraid to actually turn and see who they were looking at.

"Danny." Paulina shifted her weight, moved her books to her other arm. "Can I—?"

"Sorry, can't talk now," said Danny quickly. He brushed past her, didn't even meet her gaze.

Paulina tried to stop him, but Sam blocked her path.

"Paulina, I know you don't actually care about his feelings at all, but please don't tease Danny today," said Sam. Her tone was not friendly, but it wasn't hostile either. It sounded like a genuine plea on behalf of her friend.

"No, that's not—I mean, I do care—" Paulina tried to speak, but Sam and Tucker had already caught up to Danny who was a far way down the hall now. Paulina stared after him in dismay.

For the remainder of the school day, Paulina did her best to approach Danny, but he seemed intent on avoiding her at all cost. Even in the classes they had together, he always came in right as the bell rang so that she could not get a word in, and then he was out the door as soon as class ended.

At lunch, he was nowhere to be found. Paulina kept looking around, but she could not even see Sam or Tucker.

"Forget him, Paulina," said Dash. "Come on, what's so great about him anyway?"

"Where do I start?" Paulina put her head in her hands and stuck out her bottom lip.

"Seriously? Have you forgotten that he's one of the biggest losers in this school?" Dash's tone was a mixture of anger, bewilderment, and hurt.

"Dash, I don't ever want to hear you talk bad about Danny again," warned Paulina.

Dash grimaced. "Or what?"

"Or I'll kick you out of the A-List."

Dash was taken aback. "What? You can't do that!"

"Considering I'm pretty much at the top of it, yeah, I can." Paulina narrowed her eyes at him. "So leave him alone."

Dash did not reply, only stared at her as if trying to figure out if she was serious.

When the final bell rang, Paulina looked down the hall at Danny's locker, but he never appeared.

"Wow, Paulina." Star seemed genuinely surprised. "How does it feel? The first guy to actually go out of his way to avoid you."

Paulina leaned against her locker sadly but did not reply. It was her fault, all her fault that he felt too ashamed to interact with her that day. How could she have been so selfish to not think how her forceful action as Phantom would make him feel when he thought he was the one who had done it?

"Do you really still like him now? I mean, is his hard-to-get act really working on you?"

Paulina kept her eyes to the floor.

Star frowned. "You gonna be okay?"

Paulina finally looked up at her friend. "I'll be fine. I just wish I could apologize to him."

"For yesterday?"

"Yes," said Paulina, although she knew that Star was talking about the incident in the cafeteria and not the kiss she had made him force on her.

"As far as I know, Fenton's not the type of guy to hold a grudge." Star shrugged. "He's too nice for that."

Paulina recalled the last real interaction she had had with Danny, the real Danny. She had tried to manipulate him, toy with him, and even though he saw right through her ploy, he was still so kind, wasn't angry at all and didn't even seem to judge her for it.

And when he complimented her, told her she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen…

That was real. That was what he really thought. Not because he was trying to manipulate her himself but because he just wanted her to know.

And she wanted him to know that she thought he was the most amazing boy there could ever be.

-DP-

Late that night, Paulina lay on her bed and stared up at her ceiling, her arm draped over her forehead. Friday night, and instead of going out like she normally did, she simply had no desire to leave her room, let alone her bed.

Danny…

She would have to wait the whole weekend to see him again on Monday. But what if he still insisted on avoiding her? No, he surely wouldn't do that to her.

Would he?

But what else did she deserve from him? She had been so horrible to him, had done nothing more than objectify him, played with him like a toy for her own sadistic amusement. He had so many other problems trying to protect the town that gave him almost nothing in return, and she only aggravated his troubles by mercilessly taunting him, pulling him in and then breaking him down just when she had him on the edge.

But what was it about Danny that made her treat him like that in the first place? No other boy had drawn such actions from her. There had never been another boy she felt so compelled to string along. It had perhaps started with seeking petty revenge against the goth girl who had dared to insult her without even knowing her, but something about the boy kept her coming back for him, something about his adorable discomfited reactions and his beautiful eyes lit with so much hope. Even though she always thought of him as beneath her, she actually wanted him to keep pining for her. Any time she felt that he was moving on, she just had to be there to snatch him back, to keep him in her clutches even if she never planned on actually doing anything with him. She wanted him in her secret reserves, her treasury, her vault, locked away for her own pleasure whenever she wanted to bring him out to play. Sick, twisted, so awful.

But why?

Did she always like him even before she knew he was the ghost boy? Secretly? Like Star kept insisting? But she was just too ashamed to admit it because of his status and so hid it under the pretense that she was just using him for fun?

And how did she really feel about him now?

A small tapping sound on glass. Paulina turned to her window. Her light was off, but she could see something bright glowing beyond the closed curtains. She immediately sat up, her breath caught in her throat.

Could it be?

She stood and walked to the window. The glow was definitely a ghostly one, and it was clearly outlining something, someone…

Delphine?

Or…?

Please, him, let it be—

Paulina opened her curtains and saw Danny Phantom looking back at her from the other side of the glass. Her eyes lit up with excitement, her mouth stretched wide with joy, but Danny's expression was downcast and contrite.

She beckoned him inside with her hands. Phase through, phase through, quickly!

Danny looked at her seriously and slowly shook his head. It became clear to Paulina that he did not want to come in at all, did not want to intrude like she had forced him to the previous night. After locking gazes for a moment, Paulina finally opened her window. She rested her arms on her window sill and leaned out toward him. She waited for him to speak first as he hovered in the cool night air.

"Paulina," he finally began. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I don't really know how to—I mean, I've been trying to practice what I want to say—" He took a deep breath, made a gesture with his hands to indicate he wanted to start over. "Paulina, I want to apologize for last night, for what I did."

Paulina shook her head. "No, no, don't—"

"Paulina, please." Danny stopped her. He looked quite agitated. "I don't actually know why I came here last night, why I—" He paused, appeared to be trying to find the right words. "Why I entered your room without permission, why I—" He paused again, looked away. "I don't know what possessed me, what made me think it was okay to do that. It wasn't like me at all." He looked at her again. "That's not who I am. I would never…" He moaned. "But then I did, and I just—I feel so terrible—"

"Don't!" Paulina's heart ached over this feeling she had inflicted on him. "Really, I liked it. Do you have any idea how long I've been dreaming about you coming to me like that?"

Danny was quiet for some time, still so clearly racked with guilt and shame. "I still shouldn't have done it." He looked at her solemnly. "Please allow me to formally apologize for my…forwardness."

A small smile passed Paulina's lips, but she fought it back, did not want him to get the wrong idea. He really was so kind, so genteel, and his sincere apology was actually quite endearing to her. He was truly something else, someone who saw her as a real person.

But she saw him as a real person, too, and she had to make this right. She couldn't let him feel so bad for something he actually had no control over.

"Come in, ghost boy." She moved back from her window and gestured for him to join her. "Let's talk about it."

Danny shook his head again. "I can't. I shouldn't."

"I'm inviting you in. I want you to come in. Please?"

Danny shut his eyes, shook his head more fervently. "I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because…" Danny sighed and trailed off, looked at her wistfully. Paulina held his gaze for a moment before beginning to climb out her window.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Danny asked in alarm.

"If you won't come in, then I'll come out to you."

"No, what? No! Why?"

Paulina smirked. "Well, I'm not about to have a conversation with you through my window!"

"A conversation? No, I really just wanted to apologize," insisted Danny. "Really, you should go back in. It's too cold out here."

Paulina sat on her window sill. "If you want me to go back in, you'll have to carry me back in."

Danny stared at her, clearly flustered and conflicted. Paulina held out her arms to him with an innocent pout.

At last, Danny chuckled.

Paulina brightened. "Aw, finally, there's your cute smile." She leaned toward him. "I don't like seeing you so sad."

Danny's smile remained, but he still seemed unsure.

"I'm serious, though. Either you come in here to talk to me properly, or I'm coming out there to you." Paulina crossed her arms and waited for his response.

Engaged in something of a stare-down, the two teens were quiet for some time. Paulina never let her expression falter, but she could see that Danny was internally struggling.

He finally closed his eyes, then reopened them with a sigh. "Okay. If you insist, I'll come in."

Paulina happily clasped her hands. "Oh, I do! I do insist!" She swung her legs back over her window sill and jumped off. She turned around and waited for Danny to join her.

With obvious trepidation, Danny flew in and landed on the floor of her room. Paulina closed her window and curtains and admired him. Alone with Danny, the real Danny. She had him all to herself in the privacy of her room. Oh, where to start with him…

With the lights off, his ghostly glow provided the most romantic lighting. It was all Paulina could do to keep herself from rushing to him, throwing her arms around him and pressing herself against him. But she couldn't do that to him again, not without his permission.

"Paulina?"

Paulina blinked. "Hmm?"

"You do want to actually talk to me, right?"

"Oh." Paulina realized she had been quiet for too long, had been too taken by his breathtaking presence. She cleared her throat. "Danny, um…it's okay if I call you Danny, right?"

Danny smiled, a somewhat pensive smile. "Well, that is my name."

"But I mean…would you prefer Danny Phantom?"

Danny shrugged amicably. "Whatever you want to call me is fine. Ghost boy, Danny, Danny Phantom…" He laughed. "Even Inviso-Bill. As long as it's you, I don't care." He blushed slightly and averted his gaze.

"I like Danny." Paulina smiled.

"Me, too," agreed Danny quietly.

Paulina nodded, glad to get that out of the way. He seemed to be relaxing, seemed to be far less distressed. But he was still so nervous. "Danny, listen, what you've done for this town…" She moved closer to him, looked straight into his eyes. "Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

Danny kept eye contact, but she could tell that he wanted to look away.

"You're a hero. Really. I hate to think where we'd be without you."

Surprised, Danny didn't reply right away. "That's…um…I don't actually do all that much, really."

Paulina found his confounded reaction quite endearing and just so like him. She thought back on his journal entries, on what she experienced herself when she possessed his ghostly powers. "Danny, you know exactly what you've gone through for this town, what you've sacrificed to keep us all safe." She took one step closer to him. "You should be proud."

Danny finally broke eye contact to look down at the floor. "I appreciate that. Really." He sighed deeply, a shaky breath. "More than you can possibly know."

"Oh, I think I have an idea," said Paulina.

Danny looked up at her in confusion.

Paulina waved a hand to dismiss his unasked question. "Danny, I also want you to know that you mean a lot to me. Not just as a hero, but…as a person."

Danny furrowed his brow. "But Paulina, you know nothing about me. How can you possibly say that?"

"But I do know you. I do." Closer, closer, close enough to touch him. "You're brave. You're sweet. You do so much for others without them ever even knowing. You never expect anything in return."

So mystified, but Danny seemed drawn to her, seemed to be taken by her words. She took his hands in hers, waited to see how he would react. He let her hold him, did not pull away.

"Last night was incredible," said Paulina. "It was perfect. You liked it, too, didn't you?"

Danny looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze again. "Truthfully, I…it was almost as if I wasn't really there. Like…a dream." He blushed. "But it was a good dream. I mean…I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it or didn't want to do it."

Paulina waited for him to continue.

"I'm not sure what compelled me to come to you last night, but maybe…I mean, the other night in the soccer field when we almost…" He paused. "I guess maybe I just wanted to…" He groaned in frustration. "I don't know. Things were just so…weird the past couple days."

Paulina frowned. She wanted to tell him why things had been strange for him, but this didn't seem like the right time. Not yet. "Is it weird now? Being right here with me?"

Danny studied her. "No. I feel…present now. This feels real."

She tilted her head back just a little so that her mouth was on the same level as his. "I want to kiss you again." Whisper. "Do you want to kiss me, Danny?"

A breath away…

Danny stepped back. "I can't."

Paulina looked at him with bewildered yearning.

Danny shook his head and gritted his teeth, turned away and shut his eyes. "You don't know me, Paulina. If you knew who I really am, you wouldn't want me."

"Don't say that. It's not true." Paulina tried to reach for his hands again, but he kept them away from her. "What do you think of me, Danny? Really?"

Danny looked at her again with his shining green eyes, eyes so full of longing and sadness.

"Do you like me?"

"I do," answered Danny quietly. "I actually really like you." Voice cracking, struggling. "But that's why I can't do this to you, Paulina. Please believe me."

He started to leave, started to move past her. Paulina couldn't let this end this way. She grabbed his arm. "Danny, don't go."

Danny halted and looked at her again. Paulina put both of her hands on his arm. "I want you to stay, Danny. Please."

Danny turned so that he was facing her again.

Paulina gave him her most charming smile. "Come on. Don't you think I'm pretty?"

Danny did not return the smile. "I think you're beautiful," he said in a low voice.

"And I think you're amazing. You're all I ever think about." Sincere, heartfelt. "Kiss me, ghost boy."

She put her hands on his shoulders, and she felt his go to her waist. He wanted to. She could tell he wanted to. He just needed encouragement.

Slowly, slowly, she moved in. Eyes closed, she brushed her lips over his, a small test. Cool but soft, soda bubbles fizzing and popping gently against her. She pulled back just a little before going for a real drink. Interlocked, she gently massaged his mouth with hers. Somewhat fluttery but so wonderfully sensuous. Somewhat vaporous, like kissing a cloud, but a cloud that was entirely tangible.

For him, just for him, she kept it gentle and tender. She wasn't kissing him out of lust but because she truly valued him. She soundlessly communicated her feelings for him, wove her heart into this silent act, wordlessly told him just how much he meant to her.

They pulled back, their arms still around each other. They gazed into each other's eyes, half-closed, dreamy.

And to Paulina's joy, Danny was smiling.

Paulina put her hand on the back of Danny's head, curled her fingers in the shimmering strands of his pearly hair. "A kiss with Danny Phantom is incredible."

Danny's eyes closed and opened slowly, a languishing blink. He moved as if to kiss her again.

"But you know what would be even more incredible?" asked Paulina.

Danny halted, obviously puzzled by her question.

Paulina grinned. "A kiss with Danny Fenton."

A beat, no words, no movement.

Then Danny stepped back, his green eyes wide, his jaw slacked. Paulina couldn't help but giggle at his adorable reaction.

"You know?" he asked in breathless astonishment.

Paulina shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah."

Danny stared at her for a moment, then put his hands to his head and walked away, paced the room. He finally returned to her. "But how? How do you know?"

"It's pretty obvious," said Paulina, holding up her hands.

Danny gave her a skeptical smile. "You're telling me that you're the first person in this entire town who finally figured it out all on your own?"

"Is that really so hard to believe?" asked Paulina playfully.

Danny crossed his arms and gazed at her with an expression of amazement and admiration. But then his expression changed to one of uneasy apprehension. "And…you're okay with it? I mean, you're okay with who I really am?" He looked down, his worry appearing to deepen. "And after what I said to you yesterday at school?" He looked up again quickly. "I have no idea why I said that, about you not being good enough for me. I don't think that at all. I've never thought that."

"I know you don't," said Paulina. "I know you didn't mean what you said." She had to tell him the truth. She knew that. If she wanted a real relationship with him, she couldn't build it on a lie. Yes, she would tell him. She would tell him everything.

"Danny, there is more to what's happened the past couple days, and I swear that I will tell you all about how I discovered your secret. I promise." She moved in close to him. "But not now. Not tonight. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment with you." She pushed his illusory bangs off of his forehead. "Now, change back and kiss me again, Danny Fenton."

Gazes locked, Danny darkened as he lost his ghostly glow, as his frosted hair became ebony, as his emerald eyes turned sapphire.

She pulled him in, pressed herself against him. He felt just as he had before when she kissed him the previous night, but it was so much better now that she could caress him with her bare fingers. Kissing him in his ghost form had been wondrously peculiar, but kissing him in his true form was divine.

Because he felt so warm.

Because it was who he really was.

Her arms were wrapped around him. Her mind was wrapped around "Paulina Fenton."

(The End for real! I hope you liked it. Thanks to all who reviewed! You made this so enjoyable, and I especially liked the analytical reviews I got. I'm so pleased that I could write something that could get people actually thinking. That's always the goal with my writing. I want to stimulate minds. When I first wrote Luckiest Girl over a decade ago, my goal was to give fans a different perspective of Paulina, an endeavor in which I think I succeeded. I hope I succeeded with this fic as well.)

(I do have an idea for a sequel if there is interest. I have so much else to write, but I think a fic that details the progression of Danny and Paulina's new relationship and how Paulina fits in with Team Phantom would be fun. Paulina would definitely tell Danny about the switch in the beginning of the sequel if you are wondering. I didn't have her tell him here because that would overwhelm this ending.)

(And for those who crave more Danny/Paulina, check out my fic titled Shadow Dancing!)