Phic phight 2020

Submitted by Sailor-Toni: Danny hates being touched. Paulina loves to show her affections. How will the two of them make this relationship work.

This was my first time writing Pink Astronaut, but I really enjoyed it. I hope you do, too!

Paulina was used to boys she barely knew coming up to her and asking her out. At first, she enjoyed the attention. Constantly being told how pretty she was, getting gifts, and trinkets, and praises showered upon her. Everyone said she must have liked it, so she did.

Sometimes, it really was nice, when the boys were sincere. She teased them, and smiled at them, and led them along like lost puppies. They made her feel good.

The other boys didn't. Every day, the came to her. At lunch, at the mall, on her way home from school. They pulled her out of conversations, took her away from her friends, distracted her from whatever she actually cared about. She got everything from arrogant smirks to smarmy grins, masks of undeserved bravado. She didn't give them an inch, saying no every time.

But they were persistent. They pestered and prodded, pestering her with pick-up lines and pet names, as if all they had to do was say pretty one more time and she would finally change her mind. She still said no, and their sweet words would turn bitter.

"Fine, bitch," they would hiss, their adoring gazes turning to seething glares.

Paulina saw no difference between either stare. Whether it was full of love or hate, any unwanted gaze made her skin crawl. She knew, unabashedly, that she was pretty. Being pretty made her feel good. But their stares made her feel ugly.

Most boys gave up after the second no. Most.

Paulina stared resolutely ahead as the senior leaned against the table, chin in his hand, giving her a flirtatious grin. Usually, only boys in her grade or the next grade up asked her out. Having a senior's attention made her feel strange. Flattered, but also uncomfortable. The fact that he wouldn't take the hint set her on edge.

"Come on, babe, just give me a chance," he said, sliding onto the bench next to her.

Paulina shuffled down, closer to Star.

"Just say yes to the guy and he'll leave." Dash didn't even look up. He and Kwan were too busy flicking a piece of pizza crust back and forth, trying to break through each other's defence.

Contrary to Dash, Kwan's eyes lifted every few seconds in a nervous glance before dipping back down. Every time he looked up, Paulina thought he was going to say something. Every time he didn't, she felt like crying, or hitting him. She wasn't sure which.

"I'm sorry, I don't like older guys," Paulina said. She refused to let her voice shake, and hated that she needed to steady it at all. This should have been no different from any other boy she had to brush off this year, but he just wouldn't give up.

"Oh, yeah? You don't really know until you try."

Dash's words echoed in Paulina's head. Maybe he was right. If she said yes, the senior would go away. How bad could one date be? He was eighteen. He should know how to treat a girl. He was practically an adult, which meant he must be right. Right?

The senior's hand slid off the table, inching toward Paulina's thigh.

Before he could touch her, Star slipped an arm around Paulina's waist and pulled her back. Leaning too far over, the senior fell forward with a yelp, palm smacking against the floor as he tried to catch himself. A scruffy shoe immediately came down on his fingers.

Paulina blinked at the familiar red sneaker. Looking up, she found Fenton, scrawny, limp Fenton, standing on the senior's hand with a pissed off expression that looked so foreign on his face, but somehow fit it so well.

"Hey, that's not cool. She said no," Danny said. The senior jerked, trying to pull his hand out from under Danny's foot, but Danny didn't budge.

"What the hell. Get off me, man," the senior said. "This ain't your problem."

"You're making it my problem," Danny said. At the same time, Paulina shouted, "It is his problem!"

Both boys glanced at her, equally confused. Danny looked bewildered, like he hadn't expected to be addressed at all. The senior's eyes jumped between Paulina and Danny, uncertainty and then understanding filling his gaze.

"I can't go out with you because I have a date with Danny." Paulina grabbed Danny's hand and yanked him close, dragging him off the senior's hand. Danny stiffened, but Paulina ignored it in favour of making sweet eyes at him. "Isn't that right?"

"Uh... yes?" Danny said. Paulina nodded at him. "Yeah! Yeah. It's not cool to steal someone else's girl." He grimaced at his own words, shooting Paulina an apologetic glance.

She shrugged. She didn't like it when guys talked about girls like they owned them, but she would forgive Danny for this one slight.

"Okay, geez. You didn't have to make such a big deal about it." The senior stood, rubbing his sore fingers, and left without much fuss after that. Although he did shoot Paulina one last predatory look.

Paulina did her best to brush it off. The thought of his eyes on her made her feel gross. As soon as she got home, she was going to take a long shower. Remembering she still had Danny's wrist in her hand, she let go, wincing at the fading imprints her fingers left behind. She hadn't realized she grabbed him that hard.

"Sit down, Fenton," Star said.

Danny started. That startled look, like he didn't expect anyone to talk to him, crossed his face again. "What?"

"Sit. Down." Taking her arm from Paulina's waist, Star lightly smacked Danny's back and motioned to the now empty space on the bench.

Paulina frowned at Star, raising her eyebrows in a silent question. Star ignored her, giving Danny another insistent slap. He glanced over his shoulder, back toward his friends, shrugged helplessly, and sat down.

"Why am I still here?" he asked.

"Because that creep didn't leave the cafeteria." Star jerked her chin towards the senior, who was taking his seat a few tables down from them. "If you leave, he might figure out Paulie was lying, and come back. This is a one-time deal, got it?"

Danny nodded. "Got it."

"You okay, Paulie?"

Self-conscious, Paulina wrapped her arms around her exposed midriff. After a moment, she nodded, squeezing Star's hand. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's not like it's a first time that's happened." She waved dismissively.

"Paulina..." Kwan wrung his hands, worrying his lip. "I'm sorry. That guy, Keith, he's a friend of my brother's. And I've known him since I was little, you know? He's not a bad guy. But I should have said something."

Paulina's anger toward him waned. "Yeah, I get it. It's still not okay, though."

Dash scoffed and leaned forward. "You guys are being stupid. You should have just said yes. Probably broke his heart or something."

Danny sneered, rising to meet Dash in the middle of the table. "You know that from experience?"

"Shut up, Fenton."

"Exactly how many times did you ask my sister out even though she kept saying no?" Danny started counting off on his fingers. "Let's see, the football game, homecoming, the winter formal, yesterday."

Dash grabbed Danny's shirt and got up in his face. "What do you care, dweeb?"

"I care because you're creeping on my sister." Danny's hand hovered over Dash's wrist.

"Let it go, Dash," Paulina snapped, smacking the boys' hands. "You look like idiots."

Dash glared at her, but listened, dropping Danny's collar and sitting back with a huff. In an instant, Danny seemed to lose whatever boldness made him stand up to Dash, and he laughed nervously. Fixing his collar, he leaned back.

Paulina gave him an appraising look. They had gone to school together for years, but he never stood out to her. When they hit high school, he gave her the same heart-eyed stare all the boys did, like she was a pretty thing to be won. She intended to write him off after that. She never meant to pay attention to him, for any reason. But when he asked her to homecoming, and she saw how jealous that made Sam, Paulina couldn't resist.

She was so tired of Sam being such a hypocrite, acting like she was so good all the time, as if she never did anything wrong. In Paulina's opinion, Sam needed to get over herself. And she deserved every bit of riling up Paulina could give her.

Homecoming night itself didn't have a strong place in Paulina's mind, most of it passing in a hazy blur. Still, something happened that night, something that changed Danny. He stopped looking at her like a trophy. He didn't stop staring at her completely, but there a new layer to his gaze after that. A sort of understanding, like he was the first person—outside Paulina's friends—to realize there was more to her than a pretty face.

He should have faded to the back of her mind. Don't get Paulina wrong, he maybe have been better than the creeps that dogged after her, but he was still a loser. And yet, in spite of herself, she sometimes found herself staring back when Danny wasn't looking, although she never understood why.

"You know, you're alright, Fenton," Paulina said, surprising herself with her sincerity.

Danny gaped at her, mouth dropping open, eyes widening. The innocent surprise was kind of cute.

"Thanks, I guess?" he said.

"You're welcome." Paulina turned to her lunch, cafeteria pizza that had long since gone cold, and ate in peace.

Paulina was sore all over. Cheerleading practice had ended an hour ago, but every Tuesday she stayed on the field a little longer and got some extra exercise. Doing lunges, push-ups, and laps around the field, she liked to keep her arms and legs strong. Cheerleading required a lot of strength and control, and she had to stay in shape.

Some weeks, Star joined her, but that day she had to go home right after practice, leaving Paulina on her own. She may have gone overboard, hanging around almost half an hour longer than usual. It was easy to get lost in thought while she exercised.

Gathering her backpack from the bleachers, she wondered if she should change before going home. She definitely needed a shower. But, checking the time on her phone, she knew the gym, and therefore the changerooms, would be locked up by now. Resigned to walking home in her uniform, she headed toward the front of the school.

Just as she reached the sidewalk, the front doors burst open. Danny came trudging out, backpack dangling in his hand, sweater tied around his waist.

Paulina watched him. Two hours was a long time to hang around after school. He must have had double detention, a punishment often reserved for students who skipped class. Paulina hesitated for a moment before jogging over.

"Danny!" she called, waving.

Danny spun toward her. He made that adorable startled face again, this time with a soft blush creeping across his cheeks as he noticed her skirt and crop top. His eyes snapped up to her face and stayed there.

"Hey, Paulina. What's up?" He lifted a hand to scratch his chin, drawing Paulina's attention to a dark bruise blooming across his jaw. It hadn't been there yesterday at lunch, or even that morning when she saw him in English. Three thin scratches stretched over the bruise, cutting across his chin. She wondered what caused them.

Danny's nail caught on one of the scabs and he winced, quickly lowering his hand, tucking it into his pocket. He always seemed to be injured in some little way. A bruise here, a scratch there. Paulina remembered him limping down the hall on more than one occasion. An uncomfortable curiosity settled in her gut, a sort of sick fascination. She wanted to know what was hurting him so much.

"Uh, Paulina?" Danny reached out.

Paulina, startled, jerked away. Her cheeks burned as she realized she had been gawking at him. She quickly asked, "Are you doing anything right now?"

"No," he answered slowly, giving her a wary look. "Why?"

"I owe you a burger, for yesterday. I never actually thanked you for helping me."

"You want to thank me?" Danny frowned.

Paulina pursed her lips in annoyance. Was it really so hard to believe? Sure, she wasn't always the nicest to him, but she didn't actively antagonize him either.

Danny squinted at her, leaning forward. "Is that you, Kitty?"

Paulina bristled. "What did you just call me!"

"Sorry!" Danny scrambled back, hands raised in defence. "I didn't mean– I wasn't– there's just this ghost that likes to mess with me, okay? And she may have... overshadowed you... once..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It doesn't matter. Burgers?"

Paulina thought it did matter, very much, but she was willing to put it aside for now. Giving Danny a stern look, letting him know she wouldn't soon forget what he had said, she waved for him to come along and headed toward the Nasty Burger.

Silence followed them. Danny trailed a couple paces behind her, head down, so quiet that she had to glance back every few steps to make sure he was still following. The air between them felt fragile, as if whatever peace they had attained in this moment would shatter under the weight of a whisper.

Paulina, used to Star's constant chatter, detested the feeling. The next time she glanced over her shoulder, she fixed Danny with an exasperated stare. "You know, you don't have to walk behind me." She slowed her pace.

Danny's cheeks flushed again. Scurrying forward, he fell into step beside her, lengthening his stride to match Paulina's longer gait. He opened his mouth a few times, but ultimately didn't say anything, resigning himself to staring at the sidewalk.

It was obvious neither of them enjoyed the lack of conversation, feeling too awkward without it, but neither one was willing to say the first word. Paulina found a stubborn urge rising within her. If they were going to play this game, then she was determined to win. They sent each other calculating glances, measuring each other up. Paulina searched for a sign of the boy that had come to her rescue yesterday. A confident twist in his lips, a glint in his eye, anything hidden behind the nervous façade. She found nothing.

A skittering noise interrupted her thoughts. Looking down, she saw a pebble leaping down the sidewalk ahead of them. It rolled to a stop in the middle of Danny's path. When they neared it, he kicked it, sending it jumping forward again. On the third kick, it hit a crack in the sidewalk and skipped across the concrete, stopping in front of Paulina.

Before she could think about it, she hopped forward and knocked the pebble back toward Danny. He looked up, surprised, and smiled at her. Tentative, he kicked the pebble back.

Paulina didn't mind the silence so much after that. Their little game persisted—both games—all the way to the Nasty Burger as they passed the pebble back and forth, neither one uttering a word. Paulina found herself grinning as Danny booted the pebble, forcing her to sprint after it or else let it tumble off the edge of the sidewalk.

Catching it just in time, she kicked it as hard as she could. The pebble careened off the sidewalk, pinged off the metal pole of the Nasty Burger sign, and disappeared into the unkempt grass.

"Oh," Danny said, sounding as disappointed as Paulina felt.

"Yeah." Paulina searched the grass for a moment, desperately hoping to find the pebble. For a moment, she had been filled with a childish sort of joy, the same delight she felt as a little girl playing in mud puddles with her cousins. Nowadays, she preferred to stay clean and pretty, but there was something intoxicating about the untamed glee one could only get from simple games, like punting a pebble down a sidewalk.

Thinking of games, Paulina quickly backtracked. "I win." She turned a victorious grin toward Danny.

"What? No! You lost the rock. That means you lose," Danny said.

"I got the best kick; I think that means I win. But I wasn't talking about that. You spoke first."

Danny stared at her, eyes narrowing, then blowing wide as he realized what she meant. "No fair! I didn't realize that was a game, that means you can't win," he insisted.

"Oh, sure you didn't." Paulina tossed her hair over her shoulder and airily said, "You're just a sore loser." She sauntered toward Nasty Burger's front doors.

"No way. I'm actually very good at losing, you've seen me in gym class," Danny said. He jogged ahead, overtaking her, and held the door open. "Besides, I think losing the rock makes you the loser."

"Best kick!" Paulina sing-songed, ignoring Danny's excuses. He grumbled all the way up to the counter, but didn't try to defend himself again.

Ignoring the leer of the acne-riddled teen behind the counter, who had asked Paulina out on no less than four separate occasions, she nudged Danny's arm. "What do you want? I'm paying."

"You really don't need to," Danny said, already reaching for his wallet.

Paulina rounded on Danny. "Listen, Fenton. I don't like owing people. You helped me out, now let me say thanks."

Danny peered down at his wallet, eyeing the crumpled three dollars stuffed inside, and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll just have a Meaty Melt and a Coke."

As Paulina went up to order, Danny hovered at her shoulder. She didn't pay much attention to him, too focused on ignoring the cashier's stares, but halfway through the exchange she caught Danny glaring over her shoulder. The cashier wilted and kept his eyes down after that.

"I hope you're not expecting another burger for that," Paulina said while they searched for a table.

Danny, balancing their tray on one hand, holding his soda in the other, blinked at her. "What? Why would I?"

"Huh." Paulina squinted at him. "You really don't expect anything, do you?"

"No? I actually didn't think you'd notice." His hand holding the soda jerked upward, his drink splashing against the lid.

Paulina burst out laughing as Danny flinched in surprise. "Did you– did you forget you were holding that?" she asked between giggles. Recognizing Danny's nervous habit, she assumed he had been going to rub his neck. He settled for taking a long sip of his soda instead, his face as red as his shoes.

They chose a table with a view of the road, better shaded than the booths overlooking the parking lot, which were bathed in sunlight. Danny set the tray down in front of Paulina, taking his burger for himself, leaving her sliders and fries.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes as they started eating, things quickly turning awkward again. It was as if they suddenly remembered who they were and who they were with. Paulina and Danny, popular and loser. Their kind didn't interact much unless rude words were involved. Which was, frankly, stupid. Paulina frowned at that enlightening thought.

Determined not to let the silence persist, Paulina paused after finished her first slider and asked, "What class did you skip today?"

"What makes you think I skipped?" Danny asked.

"Double detention."

"Falluca gives double detention for anything."

"Falluca had a sub today." Paulina's lips curled into a devious grin. "I guess that tells me what class you skipped."

Danny's cheeks coloured. He seriously needed to stop doing that; it was too cute when he blushed.

"I can't believe you skipped science to get in a fight," she said casually. Picking at her fries, she carefully watched Danny's reaction. His shoulders tensed and his soda cup crinkled in his hand. He wouldn't meet her gaze, instead ducking his head and self-consciously rubbing his chin against his shoulder, as if he could wipe away the bruise.

He laughed. "Pretty bad luck, right?"

"Bad luck that you've gotten in at least one fight every week since the start of the year?" Paulina's eyebrow arched.

"What makes you say that?"

"Please, I'm not blind." I also watch you as much as you watch me, she added silently. Paulina hesitated, wondering if she should push on. That same sickly fascination from before reared its head and she couldn't help but ask, "Who hurt you?"

Danny stiffened. He met Paulina's stare, eyes wide, and stuttered, "I'm not– not one's... Look, it isn't–" He broke off and practically lunged for his soda. Staring out the window, he took a long drink, cheeks caving in, until nothing but air came up his straw. His eyes darted about, thoughts flickering across his face faster than Paulina could interpret them. He kept sucking up air until his face turned red and he let the straw go with a gasp.

Watching him crush the cup, Paulina thought he looked seconds away from bolting. She could feel his leg bouncing under the table. Taking pity on him, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Danny flinched back violently, slamming back against his seat, cradling the hand she touched against his chest. Their eyes met and, for a long, uncomfortable moment, they stared at each other in shock.

"Thanks for the burger," Danny said.

Paulina, too stunned to stop him, could only gape as Danny slid out of his seat, slapped his three dollars down on the table—which barely covered half his food—and bolted.

The next day at school, Paulina shoved Danny's three dollars into his locker door, tucking it behind his cheap lock. She hopped the bills didn't fall out before Danny found them. Or, worse, she hoped no one else saw the money and stole it. The easy solution would be to give him the money directly, but she thought that was a bad idea.

Paulina felt guilty. It was such a strange and foreign emotion, oozing through her. She didn't like it. Never before had she felt guilty for something, at least not this kind of guilt. Feeling bad for stealing her cousin's favourite doll when they were eight years old wasn't the same thing. She only felt bad then because she got caught.

Now, though, she wished she could pluck her words from Danny's memory. The stricken look he had given her after she touched his hand seized her heart. He looked at her like she had betrayed his trust, which was ridiculous because she was Paulina and he was Danny. There wasn't any trust between them to break. Besides, wouldn't anyone have done what Paulina did? It was only natural to ask after things you were curious about.

Except, of course, when those things pertained to someone you know being hurt by someone they knew on a daily basis. Paulina had done a lot of thinking over the last twelve hours and came to that conclusion. If Danny just liked getting in fights, surely more people would know about it? Some girls were into that kind of tough delinquent type. Contrary to Danny's sweeter nature, he did fit the mold quite well in certain ways. Messy hair, sharp eyes, always sporting a bruise and rough knuckles.

Paulina faltered, pressing her hand against Danny's locker door. Rough knuckles? They did look kind of bloody sometimes. Self-defence, maybe. Unless Paulina's original assumption was right and he did get in fights, and just didn't tell people about them.

The mental image of Danny being in some secret fight club made Paulina giggle. Danny was just a wisp. A gentle breeze could knock him over. Then again, the senior hadn't been able to make Danny budge. And when he stared Dash down, telling him off for hitting on his sister, he hadn't been fazed.

Paulina's amused smile fell into a frown. Apparently, Danny was a bigger mystery than she had first thought.

Someone tapped Paulina's shoulder. "Hey. You better not be messing with Danny's locker."

Scowling, she turned to glare at Sam Manson. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb, although I know you love to. What are you doing to Danny's locker?" Sam asked.

"You should work on being less hostile, maybe more people will ask you out that way," Paulina said, enjoying the way Sam bristled. Using her long nails, Paulina pinched the edges of the bills she had stuffed into the door and pulled them out. "Here." She held them out to Sam. "I was giving Danny his money back. It fell out of his wallet at the Nasty Burger last night."

Sam didn't move.

"Oh, just take them already." Paulina grabbed Sam's hand, shoving the bills into her palm.

"You were with Danny last night?" Sam asked. Her tone, wary and belligerent all at once, gave Paulina pause.

"You didn't know," she said with dawning realization. Her smile returned, this time with a devilish twist, elated at this golden opportunity. "Danny and I went on a date yesterday."

Sam narrowed her eyes, fist curling around Danny's money. Paulina could hear her gritting her teeth. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"You think I care? Just don't forget to give him his money." Paulina left Sam with a teasing wave, savouring the enraged expression she got in response.

Danny knew all of Sam's tells when it came to anger. She stomped and shouted when she was frustrated. Ranted when she was fuelled by righteous indignation. Got in your face when irrationally pissed off. But when she was mad, truly, rightfully mad about something beyond her control, she turned cold.

As soon as Lancer gave the word that today's history class would be a work period, Sam rose from her desk, near the front of the room thanks to alphabetical order, and strode toward Danny and Tucker seated at the back. Her expression was subdued. Danny and Tucker shared a worried glance as she approached.

"Uh, what's up?" Danny asked when she stopped by their desks. He flinched away when Sam shoved something in his face. Staring cross-eyed at her fist, he frown at the dollar bills she held.

"Paulina said you dropped these last night," Sam said.

Danny's frown twitched. "She did?" Danny plucked the bills out of Sam's hand. "But I didn't drop them. I was paying her back."

Smoothing the bills out on the corner of his desk, he inspected them, searching for any telltale sign they were his three dollars. After staring at the money for a fully ten seconds he realized how ridiculous that was. They were just dollar bills. Unless he somehow had the serial numbers for his money memorized, there was no way he could tell them apart. A second after that, he realized how even more ridiculous it was for him to check in the first place. It didn't matter if they were the same bills, what mattered was that Paulina had evidently decided to give them back.

"Anything you want to tell us about last night?" Sam said, leaning back against Tucker's desk and crossing her arms.

Danny tucked the money into his pocket before answering. "Not really? Paulina thanked me for helping her out at lunch. Sorry again that I kind of ditched you guys."

"Nah, man, you're good. You were being all heroic." Tucker's grin carried a knowing glint that Danny didn't think belonged there, because whatever Tucker thought he knew, he was definitely wrong. "I bet you could get a date out of that."

"No," Danny said.

"Yes," Sam hissed.

"What?"

"You were on a date with Paulina last night."

"You went on a date with Paulina?" Tucker's shout drew their classmates' eyes.

Stretching over the aisle, Danny slapped his hands against Tucker's mouth. "Dude, chill! I didn't go on a date with Paulina."

"That's not what she said," Sam interrupted. She pulled Danny and Tucker apart, and glared at their nearby classmates, who were still staring. "Don't you all have better stuff to do?"

"Excellent statement, Ms. Manson," Lancer droned from the front of the room. Sitting behind his desk, he gave Sam a stern look over the top of his book. "I'm sure I told all of you to use this time and work on your social movement essays. That includes you, Ms. Manson."

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer," Sam said, barely sounding sorry at all. She pointed at Danny, silently letting him know they would continue this conversation later, and returned to her seat to do her work. Around them, their classmates did the same. At least, they pretended to. Danny could hear them whispering.

"Okay, but really. Did you go on a date with Paulina? A real one? No ghosts?" Tucker asked.

Danny dropped his forehead to his desk with a thunk, wrapping his arms over his head, and groaned. "It wasn't a date."

Five hours later and three classrooms over, Paulina turned to Dash and said, "Yeah, it was totally a date." The art teacher shot her a dirty look for talking, but didn't make a move to stop her. Paulina rolled her eyes and tapped her pencil against her sketchbook.

"I bet he got Manson to do some voodoo shit with you to make it happen," Dash said. He hadn't even opened his sketchbook yet. Instead of starting their newest project, he was more determined to bug Paulina about the rumors he heard over lunch hour.

Apparently, Manson couldn't keep her mouth shut and had spilled the lie Paulina fed her. The rumour didn't bother her so much. Paulina was used to people whispering things about her; that happened when you were popular. She was content to brush it all off, until Dash started getting on her case.

"No voodoo. I asked him out," she said. Her plan, once she first heard the rumour, was to ignore it until it went away. Eventually people would come to their senses and realized there was no way someone as pretty and popular as her would ever go out with Danny, no matter how cute he was. Once they did, they would move on to other more interesting bits of gossip.

But then Dash opened his stupid mouth. "A loser like Fenton?" he had said. "Knew it was a lie the moment I heard it. You're one of us. We wouldn't let you go out with him. You wouldn't let us down like that."

Who was Dash to say who Paulina could and couldn't date? That venomous jab, and every arrogant, poison word he'd spoken since made Paulina seethe. Dash wasn't better than her. He would hit on anything that moved. He hit on her sometimes, and he definitely wasn't one of the sweet, endearing boys Paulina liked to string along.

As soon as she heard those haughty, conceited words spilling out of Dash's mouth, Paulina was determined to let Dash down so far that he'd be six feet underground. Screw Dash Baxter, and screw anyone who tried to tell Paulina what she could and couldn't do.

Dash wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Why would you go out with him again?"

"Maybe I enjoyed myself at the dance, you don't know," Paulina said flippantly. Granted, not even she knew if she enjoyed herself, but chances were Dash wouldn't know either.

"Dance? What? I'm not talking about the dance."

Paulina only gave herself a second to be confused. She blinked at Dash, furrowing her brow, then shook her head and started inspecting her fingernails, the perfect image of disinterest. "Whatever. I'm done with this conversation."

She turned back to her drawing. So far, all she had was a vague skeleton of a figure, featureless and unidentifiable, but she knew exactly who it was. It annoyed her how much Danny lingered in her thoughts when she didn't want him to.

Thinking about Danny dragged Dash's offhand comment back to the forefront of her mind. She had no evidence, but she couldn't shake the idea that what he said was related to that Kitty ghost, something Paulina had completely forgot to ask Danny about last night.

She tried to push that aside for now and focus on her art, but her hand shook too much. She flipped to a fresh page and pressed her pencil down, hard, drawing a thick dark line. Over and over she wounded the page with ugly black scars until she finally managed to draw one without trembling. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

Danny owed her an explanation.

As soon as the bell rang, Paulina was out of her seat. She walked briskly, hurrying down the hall, stuffing her sketchbook into her backpack along the way. Danny's locker was her destination, in the hopes that she could catch him before he left school. She didn't know if he was one of those students who kept everything in his backpack or routinely stopped between classes to switch out his books. She hoped he was the former.

He wasn't there when she arrived, so she leaned against the locker next to his, arms crossed. If he didn't show up, it wouldn't matter that much. They had English first period tomorrow, and she could always talk to him then, but she preferred to have this conversation sooner rather than later.

Five minutes passed, long enough for the first round of buses to leave the school, and Danny didn't show up. Paulina felt jilted, which wasn't fair to Danny, because he didn't know she wanted to talk to him, but that didn't stop her from feeling it. Getting stood up sucked, whether it was intentional or not.

Paulina closed her eyes and grumbled under her breath. It looked like the conversation would have to wait until tomorrow. She pushed off Danny's locker, turning in the direction of her own, and opened her eyes. Danny stood right behind her. Paulina shrieked. She leapt back, heart racing, and glared at him. "Who does that?!"

"Uh, sorry." Danny scratched the back of his neck. "I was looking for you, but I thought you left already since you weren't by your locker."

Paulina huffed. "Well, it's about time you got here. Next time, don't make me wait so long?"

"Next time?" Danny shook his head. "Whatever, that's, I'll worry about that later. Listen–"

Paulina raised a hand to cut him off. "No, you listen. I don't wait around for people, okay?"

"Paulina–"

"I could have left whenever I wanted."

"If you just–"

"But I'm not letting you off that easy because–"

"We need to talk," they said at the same time. They stilled, staring at each other. Slowly, Danny's face turned red, but it wasn't the innocent blush Paulina found so endearing. His cheeks puffed and mirth danced in his eyes. He slapped a hand over his mouth, muffled giggles slipping between his fingers.

"Stop laughing," Paulina said.

Danny shook his head.

"It's not funny!" Paulina stomped her foot.

Danny lost it. Peals of laughter echoed down the slowly emptying hall. The sound was pure and unrestrained, a sweet laugh. Paulina refused to let herself be dragged into it, but she couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

"I mean, okay. It wasn't that funny. But you throwing a tantrum? That's hilarious," Danny said.

"I did not!" Paulina gasped, offended

"Sorry for laughing," Danny said, but he was still grinning. "But you're a lot nicer to be around when you're like that."

"When I'm throwing a tantrum? Which I wasn't."

"No, when you act your age," he explained.

Paulina thought that was rich coming from someone who liked to play juvenile pranks. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Danny sighed, shaking his head as if it was such a damn shame Paulina wouldn't stoop to his level of childish antics. "Paulina, we're fourteen. You shouldn't be acting like you're already in college or something. Being in high school doesn't mean being grown up. I know you probably think it's stupid, but once you get older, and you actually have to deal with... with all kinds of stuff. Bad stuff. You'll wish you hadn't grown up so fast."

Paulina didn't like the way Danny's voice grew quite. His eyes were distant, looking through her like she was nothing but a pane of glass, seeing something that was far beyond her comprehension. Her gaze fell to his chin and the ugly bruise painting his skin. Unable to help herself, she reached out, brushing her fingers along the thin scratches, wondering if they would scar.

Danny's hand shot up, catching her wrist in a crushing grip. Light returned to his eyes as he broke out of his reverie. A flicker of emotion, too fast for Paulina to decipher, flashed across his face when he saw his hand closed around her wrist. He hastily let her go, shuffling back a few steps, and averted his eyes.

"Sorry. I don't like being touched like that. Unexpectedly, I mean. Or at all, really." Danny rubbed his cheek. To Paulina, it looked like he was wiping away the feel of her hand on his skin. He continued, "We really do need to talk."

Remembering why she went looking for Danny in the first place, Paulina nodded. "Yeah, we do. You need to tell me about Kitty."

"Whoa, wait. First, you need to tell me why everyone thinks we went on a date," Danny said.

"No way, I asked first."

"Okay, fair. But I bet you want your answer a lot more than I want mine." Danny's cheerful tone had returned, an impish grin replacing his disappointed frown.

Paulina's eyebrow twitched. How could someone turn from jubilant to pensive to infuriatingly annoying in such a short span of time? It looked exhausting. Simply being around him was exhausting. Paulina's face was warm and her heart hadn't stopped pounding. She felt like she had just finished her post-cheerleading exercises.

No, that couldn't be right. Paulina felt refreshed and energized after working out. She liked that feeling. She didn't like this. Right?

"Does this mean I win?" Danny's words ragged her out of her thoughts.

"No! You don't get your answer until I get mine!" They were at a stalemate, but Paulina had complete confidence in her stubborn nature. She always got what she wanted. Danny, grin set, eyebrow arched, looked ready to fight her on this. Until he shivered. His hand flew to his mouth and his eyes widened.

"Okay, fine, but not here. I'll text you where to meet me," he said.

"Why not here?" Paulina glanced over her shoulder down the hall. It was empty now. She had probably missed her bus, but her house was only a forty minute walk away. More importantly, it meant they were alone. "You don't even have my nu–"

Paulina cut off mid-sentence when she looked forward again. Danny was already gone.

Danny's stitches itched. Flexing his fingers, he resisted the urge to scratch his arm. It was just a small cut on the inside of his elbow. Jazz fixed him up in six stitches. In a few days, she would take them out, leaving his arm good as new. Or almost as good. Too bad for Danny, accelerated healing did not equal regeneration and he would probably have a scar.

Damn Box Ghost. That fact hurt Danny more than the injury did, even if his stitches pulled and stung every time he bent his arm. He had no idea how the Box Ghost managed to get his grubby little hands on a box cutter, but it was a hell of a lot more effective than cardboard. Hopefully, Boxy wouldn't go bragging to every ghost in the Zone about his "victory" over Danny. Danny could heal his body a lot faster than he could heal his pride.

His phone, resting on the café table, buzzed. Checking the notification, he saw it was just a reminder about the health quiz tomorrow. Which he had completely forgotten about.

"Damn it." Danny dropped his head onto the table, making the cups and plate shake. The iced coffee he had bought for Paulina sloshed over the rim of the glass, splashing onto the table. It wasn't so iced now, more watered down. Paulina was supposed to meet him twenty minutes ago.

Lifting his head, he sipped despondently at his milkshake, gnawing on the straw. Maybe this was a bad idea. Paulina didn't need to know about Kitty, and she definitely didn't need to waste her time hanging around Danny.

He touched his cheek, thinking about how soft Paulina's fingers had been on his bruise. The unwanted touch had his skin crawling at the time. Even now, just the thought of it made him uncomfortable, but that wasn't Paulina's fault. When nearly everyone who touched you ended up hurting you, you started to hate physical contact all together. Even Sam and Tucker, who Danny trusted and loved, could set him on edge if he didn't see the contact coming.

A sharp knock on the window beside him drew his attention. His straw fell out of his mouth when he saw Paulina. She had braided her hair loosely over her shoulder and donned an unbuttoned shirt over her crop top. Instead of her regular flats, she wore scuffed sneakers. The most striking difference, however, was her lack of makeup. Even in gym class, when everyone was sweating from exertion, he had never seen Paulina in anything but pristine makeup.

She had freckles. Not the modest smattering across her nose and cheeks like Danny had, but all over. A galaxy of dots painting constellations across her face. She had a mole, too. A small brown spot on her lip. Danny hadn't realized you could have moles on your lips. If it weren't so dark, he might have thought it was another freckle.

Paulina waved. Danny waved back. His eyes trailed after her as she entered the café, the bell over the door jingling quietly. She took her seat across from him, sinking into the plush chair, the exact reason why Danny had chosen this cafe.

"Is this for me?" Paulina asked, pointing to the iced coffee.

Danny stopped staring at her long enough to nod. "And this." He pushed the small dessert plate in the middle of the table toward her. An apple fritter dusted in powdered sugar sat on it. The few crumbs scattered beside it were the only sign of the second fritter, which Danny had consumed in a nervous fit once Paulina was five minutes late.

"What for?" she asked.

"Paying you back for the burger." Danny grinned. "You can't give this back to me. And if you don't eat it, then I guess it's just wasted."

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Not bad, Fenton. Not bad." She took a bite of the fritter and surveyed the café.

It was an out of the way place, tucked behind a bookshop, and had to be entered around the back. Danny first found the place last month when he saved the owners, a retired couple, from one of Technus' schemes. It was small, cozy, had big armchairs and soft lighting, and served the best pastries in Amity Park.

"It took my dad a while to find this place, even with the address," Paulina said.

"Oh, your dad?" Danny remembered her dad. Big, burly, intimidating. He wasn't as tall as Danny's dad but, with arms as thick as his, was nothing to scoff at. Danny glanced around, half-expecting the man to leap out from one of the tables.

"He went to the bookstore," Paulina said.

"Good to know. Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why the change in appearance?" He gestured vaguely toward his face.

Paulina finished her fritter, dusting the sugar off her fingers, and played with her braid. "You think I wear makeup all the time?"

"No, but I've just never seen you without it."

"So what?"

"So, you, uh, I've just never seen you without any." Danny stared down at his milkshake, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I like your freckles."

Paulina didn't answer. Worried he'd made her mad, he glanced up. Danny's eyes widened when he found her blushing. Paulina got a lot of compliments from a lot of boys and she always reacted with a coy smile, unless the guy was bothering her. He'd never seen her blush.

"Just tell me about Kitty," she said, clutching her iced coffee.

Danny decided to just get it over with. "She overshadowed you during spring break, but I didn't know she was overshadowing you and I thought she was just you, and so did everyone else, and we kind of dated for a few weeks, until I realized you weren't yourself and I stopped Kitty and you didn't remember anything the next day, but you seemed fine and you went on without saying anything, so I didn't mention it."

He sucked in a deep, wheezing breath and downed the rest of his milkshake in one gulp, licking whipped cream off his upper lip after he set the glass down.

Paulina stared at him, frozen.

"Ah, wait, did I say I stopped her? I meant Danny Phantom did. Yeah. The ghost boy. Not me," Danny said.

Paulina still didn't respond. She looked... Danny didn't know how she looked. Confused? Upset? Mad? She didn't say anything, didn't even blink. The seconds dragged on and Danny's worry grew.

"Paulina?" She didn't answer. Danny grabbed his hair. "I can't believe I broke Paulina Sanchez."

Paulina started. "You didn't break me!" She reached out, poised to slap his hands, but stopped at the last second. Her hand hovered for a moment, then went back to holding her drink. "We dated—for a couple weeks—and I have no memory of it."

"It was almost three weeks, actually," Danny said.

"That's not helping!"

"Right! Sorry!"

Paulina hunched over, curling an arm over her head, her eyes wide. Her parted lips moved slightly. Danny wondered if she was mouthing along with the thoughts running through her head. If so, it was oddly cute. If not... still cute.

"I think," she said after a long silence. "I think I sort of remember. Those weeks didn't disappear, but I can barely remember anything with you from them."

"Ghosts can do that when they overshadow you for a long time. Usually, the memories will just be gone, or sort of hazy. But if they stay in one person long enough, they can manipulate what you remember," Danny explained. Kitty had assured him Paulina would only lose her memories of Danny. It was oddly considerate of her, but he chose not to question it.

"You didn't tell me."

Deciding honesty was best, Danny nodded. "No, I didn't."

"What is wrong with you!" Paulina slammed her hands on the table, rattling the dishes.

Danny recoiled. "I didn't think–"

"No, you didn't! A ghost... a ghost possessed me. For three weeks. You were the only one who knew, and you didn't tell me?" Tears glistened in Paulina's eyes. Her lips curled. The soft, sweet blush from before was long gone, replaced by a face red with anger.

"They call it overshadowing," Danny corrected. He didn't know what else to say.

"I don't care what it's called! She violated me, and you didn't think I had a right to know? She could have done anything to me!" Paulina hugged herself, going pale. Shaking her head, she stood up. "I can't be around you right now."

Danny reached out, but there was nothing he could do to stop her as she stormed out of the café. He sank low in his seat, but it was nowhere near as low as he felt.

"You really screwed up, Fenton," Danny whispered.

Paulina avoided Danny for the rest of the week. The rumour about her and Danny dating died out without too much fuss. Dash texted Paulina a smug grin and a self-satisfied "Knew you wouldn't do it!" and everything went back to the way it was supposed to be. She hung out with her friends, went to cheerleading practice, did her homework. On the weekend, she and Star went to an old film screening at the theatre.

This was her life, as it had always been, back to normal. So why did it feel like she was missing something?

Paulina went for a walk in the park, just before sunset. Tomorrow was Monday. It had been a lot easier to ignore Danny over the weekend, when they weren't forced into the same room for classes. But it still felt hard.

She picked her way across the wet grass, drops of water clinging to her sneakers. It had stopped raining over an our ago, but the grey sky and chill air remained. Finding a bench by the duck pond, she sat down, crossing her legs on the damp wood. Her dad didn't like her being out alone so close to dark, but she needed to think somewhere no one would disturb her.

Paulina had never had a crush before. In middle school, whenever any of the other girls asked if she had one, she always pointed to whichever boy showed the least interest in her, even though she felt nothing special around them. But Danny made her feel giddy. He pulled out a childish side of her that she hadn't realized she missed. She wanted to spend time with him, play more immature games with him, hold his hand. If that wasn't a crush, she didn't know what was.

But he had to go and ruin it by keeping something so personal from her.

"Boys are stupid," Paulina declared to the open air.

A sudden chill came over her and an echoing voice spoke. "Do dead boys count? Because I like to think I'm pretty smart."

Paulina managed not to shout in surprise, but she did flinch as Danny Phantom appeared in front of her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said. He floated on his stomach, chin propped on his hand, hovering a respectful distance away. "I saw you sitting alone and thought I'd let you know it's almost night. Ghosts get more active right around now. It'd be safer for you to head home."

Paulina pursed her lips. Danny had said Phantom helped free her from Kitty's clutches. "Why didn't you tell me I had been possessed?"

"It's called overshadowing, actually," Phantom said.

"Ugh, you Dannys are all alike." Standing up, she marched away.

Phantom rushed to catch up with her, flying around to block her path. "Hey, no, wait. I'm sorry. Let me fly you home."

Paulina lifted her chin and looked away. "No, thank you." She walked around him and started for the park entrance.

"Okay, that's fair. But at least let me fly with you? It really is dangerous."

Paulina stopped. Glancing back at Phantom, she gave him a critical look. Something about the way he said that was familiar, but she couldn't figure out what.

"Please?" he said.

"Fine." She kept walking, watching Phantom out of the corner of her eye. He floated a couple feet away, knees bent as if he was kneeling, and easily keeping pace. It was bizarre to watch, like a poorly edited video where a frozen character got dragged across the screen in lieu of actual movement.

"I'm sorry," Phantom said.

Paulina's eyes jumped forward, her shoulders stiffening as she tried to act casual. "For what?"

"The Kitty thing. Fenton's sorry, too. He talked to me about it."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah. It was... it was my idea not to tell you. Getting overshadowed isn't fun. And you were right, it is a violation. It's taking over someone's body. Taking control of them. It's not right. I only do it if I absolutely have to."

"But you still do it."

"Yeah..." Phantom at least had the mind to look ashamed of that fact. When they reached the street, he drifted closer. Paulina considered stepping away, putting that distance between them again, but he looked sincere, and she wanted to hear what he had to say. She nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"I just thought you would be happier not knowing. Kitty didn't do anything bad with you. Actually, she kind of had your personality down. No one else noticed there was something wrong."

That didn't make Paulina feel better.

"It was a dumb decision, and both Fenton and I were idiots for going along with it." Phantom's grin turned wry. "I guess you were right. Boys are stupid."

Paulina huffed, standing a little straighter. "Of course I was."

"Fenton wants to talk to you."

"Then he can tell me that himself." Paulina paused. "Wait." Reaching out, she touched Phantom's shoulder to stop him.

Phantom swerved away from her hand, turning upside-down to get out of reach. His eyes widened, a green blush rising in his cheeks. "Um. Instincts. From fighting and stuff. Sorry."

"It's fine," she said, taking her hand back. "Be honest with me. Did Danny put you up to this?"

"Uh..." Phantom laughed weakly. "Which one's better?"

Paulina didn't bother answering that question.

"He asked me to talk to you, yeah." Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "He wanted to give you your space, and he thought you might appreciate me talking to you more. You know, because of your crush."

"What makes you think I have a crush on you?"

Phantom drifted in front of her, legs and arms crossed, hair hanging down. "You don't?"

Paulina could see why Phantom, or anyone, would think that. She had never bothered hiding her infatuation before. But, long ago, she realized that what she felt was admiration, not love.

"You're cute, for a dead boy," she said.

"I'm gonna be honest; I can't decide if I should be offended or not," Phantom said. His grin was strikingly familiar.

Paulina stared at him, contemplative, and smirked when Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "It it's any consolation, I just realized you remind me a lot of the boy I like."

Phantom finally flipped back around, feet touching the ground, and leaned forward. "Really?"

"Yeah. Who knows, if you were still alive, you might have had a chance."

Phantom laughed. The echo in his voice made it deeper than Danny's, but it had the same charm. It was the kind of laugh that warmed the air and begged anyone within earshot to join in. Paulina indulged herself with a few soft giggles.

"Thanks for breaking my heart," Phantom said.

"Any time."

Monday morning, Danny arrived at school twenty minutes earlier than usual, which meant there were only ten minutes before the bell. He planted himself by the door and waited there, lurking in the shadow of the entryway.

"You look like a creep," Tucker said. He had his nose to his phone and hadn't looked up the whole time Danny had been there.

"Shut up, you don't know that," Danny said.

"No." Sam, seated on the cement wall, leaned forward and flicked Danny's bangs. "But I do. Stop being so edgy."

"I'm not being edgy! I'm waiting for a girl!"

"Okay, Mr. Brooding."

"I'm not," Danny said, brooding.

Paulina hadn't arrived at school yet. As soon as Danny got there, he flew all throughout the halls, invisible, searching for her. Anxious he might miss her, he refused to move from his spot by the door until either the bell rang, or Paulina showed up, whichever came first. He really hoped Paulina came first. If the bell rang before she arrived, if he missed his chance to talk to her now, all his confidence would wither away.

"You're being ridiculous," Sam said.

"You don't know what I'm thinking," Danny said.

"Your face is so easy to read."

"Why do you care, anyway?" Danny spun around and glared at her. "You hate Paulina, right? You looked pretty damn mad at me when you only thought we went out."

"Danny–"

"I don't want to hear it, Sam. Just go inside. I can wait on my own." Turning his back on her, he crossed his arms and went back to watching the sidewalk.

Sam clenched her jaw. "Fine," she ground out, hopping off the wall. Shoving past Danny, she headed inside.

"Dude. That was kind of harsh," Tucker said.

Danny pressed his lips together, refusing to budge. Sam didn't have any business getting annoyed at him for liking a Paulina. He could like whoever he wanted. If Sam didn't agree, that was her problem.

"Good luck, man. I hope it goes well." Tucker clapped Danny on the shoulder, exaggerating the gesture so there was lots of warning before he made contact.

"Thanks," Danny muttered. Once Tucker disappeared through the doors, Danny moved to the top step, sitting down with his arms draped over his knees. None of his peers spared him a single glance as they headed inside. For once, it was oddly calming, settling his nerves. No one would be around to see him make a fool of himself in front of the prettiest girl in school. Again.

Hopefully, this time, his pants will at least stay on.

Two minutes before the bell, Paulina finally appeared. A navy car pulled up to the curb outside the school, Paulina climbing out of the passenger door with her pink backpack over her shoulders. Danny stood and waved as the car pulled away, catching her eye. Paulina's steps faltered, and she didn't smile or wave back, but she kept walking forward, only stopping once she was on the step below him.

"I'm sorry," Danny said.

"I know." Paulina shuffled her feet, grip tightening around the straps of her backpack. "Phantom talked to me."

Danny bit his lip, trying to fight back the heat rising in his cheeks as he remembered yesterday's conversation. Learning that Paulina liked him was the last thing he expected to get out of that talk. At least he believed she liked him. Maybe he misunderstood. In fact, he probably did. Why would Paulina like him of all people? Fenton had nothing on Phantom. That was his main goal in human form, to differentiate himself from his ghost half as much as possible.

Oh, god, this was a horrible idea. He should just go inside and forget about his crush.

"The bell is gonna go in, like, less than a minute. Is there a reason you're making me stand out here?" Paulina asked. Thankfully, she sounded more amused than annoyed, but she had a point. Danny didn't want to be late on the first day he got to school on time in months.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked. "Or at least on a date. I mean, everybody already thought we dated, so I might as well get one date out of it."

A second later, he realized how bad that sounded and rushed to correct himself. "I mean! That's not why I want to go out with you! I was trying to be funny. Sorry, that was stupid. I really like you, Paulina. You're pretty, and you're a lot smarter than people think, and I really like being around you."

He couldn't bear to look up, choosing instead to stare down at his sneakers while wringing his hands. Paulina's smaller, smoother hand edged into his vision. She didn't touch him—something he was thankful for—but flicked her finger up, silently asking him to raise his head. He did.

Paulina smiled, bittersweet, and said, "No."

Danny's heart cracked.

"I like you, Danny, but I don't really know you. It's not bad, it just means I'm not ready to date you right now," Paulina said.

"That hasn't stopped you from going out with guys before." Danny regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

Paulina's eyes widened, her lips falling open. She ground her teeth, face screwing up as she leaned away from him. For a moment, he thought she was going to hit him, but she did something much worse than that. Paulina burst into tears.

"I take it back. I hate you, Danny!" she shouted, shoving him aside. Danny stumbled into the concrete rail as she stormed past him. It was just like last time, but so much worse. Why did he keep screwing things up?

Danny shook his head, pushing off the wall. This time, he wouldn't just let her go.

"Paulina, wait!" Lurching forward, he grabbed her wrist just as she opened the door, pulling her back before she could go through. The sharp call of the warning bell rang out, but it was soon silenced as the door swung shut, leaving Danny and Paulina in silence.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid. I don't know why I said it," Danny said. He squeezed her hand. "Please don't go."

Paulina's gaze dipped to their clasped hands. Could she see the growing panic in Danny's eyes? Already, a crawling sensation was spreading up his hand. He wanted to let go. He needed to let go. But he refused to do it until he knew Paulina would hear him out.

"Why should I listen to you?" she asked.

"Because I'm an idiot. I really don't know why I said that. Well, maybe I do." Danny let her hand go. When she didn't immediately leave, he kept going. " It just... it took a lot of guts for me to ask you out, and of course that doesn't mean you have to say yes. But you said it yourself; you like me too. Isn't the whole point of dating to get to know the person?"

"How many dates do you think I've been on?"

"Uh..." Thrown by the questioned, Danny floundered, trying to come up with a number. "At least ten."

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess, one for homecoming, the others for when I was possessed? Or overshadowed, whatever it's called."

"Yeah."

"Well, that's nine more dates then I ever remember being on." Paulina crossed her arms, glaring down at Danny. Now that they were on even footing, she was taller than him by an inch. "It looks like you don't know me that well either. You judged me because of how much I'm flirted with. I don't want to date someone who would do something like that without hearing my side of things first. No matter how much I like them."

Ashamed, Danny lowered his head. Paulina was right. He took what he saw and made a snap judgement about her without even asking her about it. He thought he was better than that, better than those guys who trailed after her. But he wasn't. He was just bad in a different way.

"You're right," he said quietly, hugging himself. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. Do you at least... could we hang out as friends, then?"

Finally, she graced him with a genuine smile.

Danny slunk into history class three minutes after the bell, shooting Lancer a weak grin. All he got was a head shake and a resigned smile in return, which meant Lancer was in a good mood that day. Taking his seat, Danny stuffed his backpack under his seat and settled in as Lancer started talking about the essays they drafted last week.

"So," Tucker whispered. "How'd it go?"

Danny sank down in his seat, leaning toward Tucker without looking too obvious, and whispered back, "It went okay, I think. I kind of made her cry, but then I made it better?"

"Dude. That's not how to ask out a girl."

"Shut up, I know! She didn't say yes, anyway."

"Oh. Bummer."

Lancer started down the aisles, handing everyone's essay drafts back, which they had submitted for editing. Danny and Tucker fell silent as he passed by. Lancer handed Danny his essay while smiling approvingly. Danny's eyes widened. He glanced down at his paper, excitement filling him, and had to hold back a cry of victory when he saw his tentative grade. A solid B! If he played this right, he could get his first A in months. Today may have had a rocky start, but it was turning out pretty good.

Lancer finished handing out the essays and went to stand at the front of the classroom. He clapped his hands together. "Please get together into groups for peer editing. Your final drafts are due in three days, so use your time wisely."

Desks screeched as everyone started moving, shoving their seats together to sit by their friends. Tucker, without getting out of his desk, shuffled toward Danny, turning so they were perpendicular. Sam, coming up from the front of the classroom, took the newly vacated desk in front of Danny and turned it around to face his. Slapping her essay down on the table, she dropped into the seat, crossing her arms and legs, and glared at Danny. He glared right back.

"We're gonna hang out as friends first," Danny said to Tucker.

Tucker grinned. "Less of a bummer."

"Not worried I'll get mad if you talk about her in front of me?" Sam asked, her voice cold.

"You can do whatever you want, Sam," Danny said.

Sam's eyes hardened. "Stop being so difficult, Danny! I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt. You've seen how Paulina is. She likes to toy with people, then toss them away. I told you what she said at homecoming. She was just using you to get back at me."

"Oh, come on, grow up. This isn't about you. This has nothing to do with you. I like her, she likes me. Just let me be happy, will you?" Danny raised his hand, rising out of his seat. "Mr. Lancer, I'm going to the bathroom."

Without waiting for an answer, he left the room. Ducking into the closest bathroom, he transformed and shot out of the school. There had to be a ghost wreaking havoc somewhere for him to vent his frustration on. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get the Box Ghost back for injuring him last week. Just as Danny thought, the cut ended up scarring. Thankfully, the one on his face hadn't, healing with barely a trace a few days after he got it.

Danny circled the school thinking. Immediately rushing out of the room had been a little hasty, but he wanted one moment where Sam didn't rag on him for liking Paulina. If Sam was going to act like that any time he mentioned Paulina, he couldn't be around her right now.

The ridiculousness of the situation made him laugh bitterly. He never thought he would fight with Sam about a girl.

Sam and Tucker sat in strained silence after Danny left. Tucker, rightfully assuming Danny wouldn't come back any time soon, grabbed Danny's essay and backpack, pulling them over to his desk.

"So..." Tucker said.

Sam snatched up her own essay, busying herself by flipping through it. "I don't want to hear it."

"Are you jealous?"

"Did you not hear anything I said?" Sam asked without looking up.

Tucker rested his chin on his hand, staring at Sam. All three of them had known each other for a long time, although Tucker and Danny had been friends longer. Over the years, they'd had their spats, but that was usually just Tucker and Sam, who had a lot of conflicting opinions. Even then, they limited themselves to heated but still friendly debates. They had never really been mad at each other.

Tucker didn't think their friendship would end over something like this, but he also didn't like that they were fighting. He wanted to supported Danny, and he wanted to understand Sam, too.

"Yeah, I heard you," Tucker nodded, "and I don't actually think you're jealous."

Sam finally put her essay down. "Then why even ask?"

"To see your reaction." Tucker met Sam's glare with a bright smile. "I think whatever your problem is with Paulina, it's got nothing to do with Danny. And it's got nothing to do with principles. You're not the kind of person who would hate other girls just because they like to feel pretty. Especially not with how much you care about your own appearance."

Sam huffed but didn't argue.

"I also think that you and Paulina should work things out. Not for Danny, but for yourself."

Sam pressed her lips together in a firm line, eying Tucker blankly. After a brief pause, she shook her head and sighed. "It truly is a sad day when you're the most mature out of the three of us."

"Wow, rude."

"I'm not making any promises. I've got a right to be mad at Paulina for what she's done. But... I'll think about it. For me, not anybody else."

"That's all I ask. Now give me your essay, we're supposed to be doing group work. Danny can suffer for skipping class when he didn't need to. I'll look at his tonight."

Sam rolled her eyes. Passing her essay over, she grabbed Tucker's, then snatched Danny's off Tucker's desk. "Please. If you touch his essay, I bet his grade will go down."

"I take back all of the advice I just gave you. You don't deserve it. Give it back," Tucker said, holding his hand out and beckoning.

"Too late, I've been thoroughly advised."

"Rude."

Paulina prided herself in have a clean record. She got good grades, participated in school activities, and, for the most part, respected the teachers that actually deserved it. But she still ended up in detention with Wednesday afternoon. Paulina found herself alone with Danny in the library after school. Technically, there was a teacher watching over them, but Tetslaff had disappeared into the librarian's office some time ago and hadn't re-emerged. She was certainly the best teacher to get for detention.

Paulina used the chair beside her as a footrest and had her sketchbook balanced on her knees while she worked on her art project. Danny, sitting across from her, hunched over an essay. He sported a black eye and a cut lip, his hair more mussed than usual. The hoodie he wore was too long for him, but still slim.

"Is that your sister's sweater?" Paulina asked. The burgundy fabric paired with teal hoodie strings looked like something Jazz would wear.

Danny's cheeks coloured and he looked up. "Yeah. I borrowed it from her locker this morning."

Paulina giggled.

"Hey, does this count as us hanging out?" he asked, gesturing to the library at large. "I mean, it's detention, but..."

"I don't see why not."

"Cool." Danny lowered his voice, leaned forward, and gruffly asked. "What are you in for?"

"Indecent exposure. My shoulders are criminally offensive." Paulina tugged on the collar of her gym shirt, showing the spaghetti straps of her tank top underneath. "Did you get caught fighting behind the school or something?"

Danny laughed, throwing his head back. "Haven't you heard? I'm a truant, a nonattender. Ishiyama actually used those words."

"Everybody already knows that."

"First of all, ouch. Second of all, yeah. But I skipped English on Monday and I was late for school yesterday and today. Ishiyama's finally threatening me with suspension," Danny said. Essay forgotten, he folded his arms on the table and rested his cheek on the crook of his elbow. "Jazz convinced her not to go through with it, though. Something about how making me miss school won't fix my problem with missing school."

Paulina snorted. Danny burst out laughing, making her squawk with embarrassment. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "You didn't hear that!"

Danny smirked at her. "Pretty sure I did."

"No you didn't!"

"Nah, I think I did. Don't worry, it's cute."

"I swear, if you tell anyone that I snort laughed, I am going to end you, Fenton."

"You wouldn't dare. You like me too much."

"No talking!" Tetslaff's shout cut off their banter. She leaned out of the librarian's office, shooting them a stern glare, and made a zipping motion over her lips. She pointed at her eyes, pointed at them, then disappeared back through the door.

Paulina and Danny glanced at each other. The moment their eyes met, they broke down into muffled laughter, pressing their faces into their arms to try and stay quiet.

"What do you think she's doing in there?" Danny whispered.

"Push-ups. Or squats," Paulina said. "I've seen her doing them in her own office during gym class."

"I think she's got thicker arms than my dad. I'm honestly impressed. Good for her."

The sincerity in Danny's tone made Pauline smile. She always admired strong women. Even if she didn't like Tetslaff sometimes, it was hard not to be impressed by her physique. Buff and burly wasn't Paulina's thing, but anyone who could pull it off had her respect.

They spend the next few minutes working diligently on their homework. Paulina was nearly done with her sketch. If she finished today, she could submit it to her teacher for critique tomorrow. Hopefully getting feedback wouldn't take too long. She wanted to star painting it right away, already deciding to use watercolours.

Tapping her chin with her pencil, she looked away from her sketchbook and watched Danny. His black eye looked like it hurt. Red around his eye, fading to a dark, almost black purple. It was swollen, but not shut. Just enough that it looked like he was squinting.

Paulina hummed. She had a hard time picturing Danny completely free of injuries. Going back to her sketch, she made a slight adjustment.

"What are you drawing?" Danny asked. He pulled himself halfway onto the table, trying to see the sketchbook.

"Hey, no peeking before it's done!" Paulina said, holding the book to her chest.

"So you were gonna show me?"

Paulina bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Can I see it now?"

She glanced down at her sketch, then up at Danny, and down again. After a few seconds of internal debating—which was more for show than anything—she dropped her sketchbook on the table and pushed it across. Danny grabbed it and eagerly took in the drawing. Paulina wanted to hide her face as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

The project was to draw the future. Paulina knew Dash was going for some sci-fi world with tall, gleaming buildings and flying cars. Star chose an apocalyptic wasteland. Kwan, ever the optimist, wanted to draw a full, green world. They were great ideas, but the project had no set restrictions, so Paulina went a different route.

She drew Danny. At least, how she pictured Danny after high school, after college, when he was grown up. In space, wearing a sleek astronaut suit. She gave him a stronger chin and jawline, to age him, but kept the wondrous grin that radiated innocent delight.

Danny stared at the sketch for a long time, his smile stretching into the same grin, before passing it back. "It's really good."

Paulina, too embarrassed, to speak, nodded in thanks. She hoped he didn't notice the black eye she had added to the drawing moments prior. Eager to move the conversation along, she asked, "What are you working on?"

"History essay. It's due tomorrow, but Lancer let us hand in drafts first, so I'm just editing it now." Danny lifted his essay, showing off the red pen marks all over the page.

"Huh. He's been doing that a lot more," Paulina said. She couldn't pinpoint when it started, but Lancer let students submit drafts in almost all his courses now.

"Yeah. Would have been nice if he did that from the start, but I got lucky. I was really close to failing history before he started doing this. It's pretty great."

"You know what really helps you pass your classes? Stop skipping them and actually do your homework," Paulina deadpanned. She could never hand in an unfinished assignment, much less skip class. How Danny did it without breaking down in a nervous fit, she had no idea.

Danny offered her a strained smile. "Ha, if only." He held her gaze for a few seconds before letting his eyes fall. Ducking his head, he folded his hands over his face. He probably meant to appear occupied with his essay, but his shaky breaths ruined the façade.

Paulina frowned. Stretching across the table, she tapped his hand, a light touch to grab his attention. Danny raised his head slightly and peered at her from behind his intertwined fingers. It was hard to meet his eyes. Something pitiful lurked in his gaze, a shadow of resignation dragging him down. It startled Paulina with its frailty.

A week ago, she never would have imagined finding such a self-deprecating glint in Danny's eyes. Despite how much she watched him, she really didn't know a lot about him, not until he sent that senior, Keith, running. But even after that, she couldn't picture it. She had seen Danny angry, embarrassed, happy, nervous. Not once had it crossed her mind that Danny could be brought so low by such powerful self-doubt.

Even now, seeing it for herself, it felt so off. Like it didn't belong in his eyes, because it didn't. Danny was supposed to be the nervous, smiling boy kicking rocks down the sidewalk.

"Danny... why do you skip school so much?" she asked.

He tensed, nails digging into the back of his hands, and glanced away.

"Is it related to you getting hurt all the time?" Paulina wanted to reach out and touch his cheek, just below the bruise, but held herself back. She didn't want to make Danny uncomfortable.

"Maybe," he whispered. Leaning back, he pulled the hood of Jazz's sweater up, tugging on the strings. As the they tightened, the hood's opening cinched together, squishing Danny's hair flat. "It's not that I don't want to tell you," he continued. "It's just... personal. And I can guarantee it's not anything you think it is."

"Can you?"

"Pinky swear." Danny stretched out, extending his pinky toward her.

Paulina wasn't satisfied, but she'd take. "Pinky swear." Meeting Danny in the middle of the table, she hooked her pinky around his and they shook on it.

You | yesterday 4:04 pm
hey

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:22 pm
... you still have my number?

You | yesterday 6:22 pm
i've been meaning to delete it
it took you two hours to say that

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:26 pm
Sure. You've been meaning to for almost two years. And some of us aren't attached to our phones.

You | yesterday 6:27 pm
that's hilarious coming from you

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:31 pm
It's Thursday. Cheerleading practice, duh.

You | yesterday 6:31 pm
because i'm gonna remember that

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:31 pm
Whatever. What do you want?

You | yesterday 6:57 pm
we need to talk

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:58 pm
Now who's taking forever?

You | yesterday 6:58 pm
shut up
i've got better stuff to do
but constantly being mad at you is exhausting

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:58 pm
Oh, no. Poor you.

You | yesterday 6:59 pm
you know what
this was a stupid idea
whatever i don't care

Delete This Number | yesterday 7:09 pm
I'll meet you before school tomorrow.

Sam scowled at her messages, wondering if this really was a good idea. She had spent the rest of Wednesday and most of Thursday considering Tucker's words. In all that time, she couldn't think of a solid argument against his advice. She hated it. But she wasn't stubborn enough to ignore it regardless, so as soon as she got home on Thursday, she gave in and messaged Paulina.

Sam wanted to work it out through text, so they wouldn't have to talk in person. Of course Paulina, being Paulina, had to make it an awkward, horrible, definitely-going-to-go-wrong face-to-face conversation.

"'Before school.' When before school? You couldn't say a damn time?" Sam muttered. She wasn't stupid enough to think the conversation would be short and sweet, but pacing in front of the school a full hour before the first bell made her feel like an idiot. It wouldn't surprise her if Paulina didn't even show. She should have just stayed home.

"This is stupid," she said.

"And yet you're still here."

Sam—who was not startled, merely mildly surprised—whirled around, instinctively raising her arms in defence.

Paulina gave Sam's bony fists an unimpressed stare. "Oh, please."

"I could take you."

"You're not worth the time." Paulina made a show of checking her nails, humming in disinterest. "If all you wanted was to threaten me, then I'll be going now." She turned toward the school, walking up the sidewalk.

Sam squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists. Before she could lose her nerve, she shouted, "Why did you stand me up?"

The sound of Paulina's footsteps stopped. Opening one eye to peek out, Sam saw Paulina frozen a few steps away from her. She was curled inward, fingers clenched around the fabric of her skirt. She took a deep breath, shoulders rising. As she let it out, she straightened up, raising her head and pushing her shoulders back, hands relaxing at her sides. By the time Paulina turned around to face Sam, she was perfectly composed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Paulina said.

Sam gritted her teeth. Taking a step forward, she jabbed at Paulina. "You. Stood. Me. Up. In middle school."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells," Paulina said flippantly.

"The summer Danny and Tucker went to that stupid boys camp." Sam made a dismissive gesture.

"Nope."

"Damn it, Paulina! I'm trying to have a real conversation with you here! I'm tired. I'm tired of hating you. And I am so, so tired of being heartbroken when I don't even like you anymore!" Sam scrubbed her eyes. Stupid body crying without her permission. The last thing she wanted to do in front of Paulina now was cry. "I don't even know why I'm trying."

"Why are you always like this?" Paulina shouted. Her voice was thick and watery. Looking up, Sam saw she was crying, too. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, smudging her makeup. "Why couldn't you just pretend it never happened?"

"Because I liked you!"

Paulina marched forward and grabbed Sam's wrist. "You want me to say it? Fine! I tricked you. I mislead you. I got pretty and loved and suddenly I was obligated to love everybody back. But you were supposed to be different!"

Sam ripped her hand out of Paulina's grip. "I was different!"

"Why? Because you were a girl? Newsflash, you weren't the only girl who liked me."

"Oh, poor miss popular. Thirteen years old and already boys and girls were throwing themselves at your feet. What a sad, woeful existence for you, huh?"

Paulina screamed wordlessly. Her hands shook. She turned, stomping up the path, then pivoted and came right back. "You know that's not what it was like. I told you. I told you so much."

"You told me you liked me!"

"And I lied!" Paulina bellowed.

They stood almost nose to nose, shoulders heaving, red-faced as they panted. Sam was suddenly very annoyed that Paulina had screamed first. Right now, screaming was all she wanted to do, but doing it second felt cheap.

"You, Paulina Sanchez, are a bitch," Sam spat.

"And you're pathetic."

Sam's gaze jumped all over Paulina's face, taking in her streaked mascara, her blush that was thoroughly ruined, her smudged eyeshadow. Sam probably didn't look much different, in that moment.

"I liked you. I really liked you. And you made me think you liked me, too." Sam's voice fell, going quiet at the end. She couldn't stand seeing Paulina's face. Paulina wasn't allowed to look heartbroken, not after what she did.

"That whole summer, you made me feel special." Sam struggled to keep her voice steady. "And it's so stupid, right? We were thirteen. We're barely older than that now. All of this will probably seem so stupid when we're older. Hell, it already does, considering the kind of stuff I've been through. But that doesn't stop it from hurting."

"You never told Danny or Tucker." The fight had gone out of Paulina's voice.

"No, I didn't. I didn't want to be another Sanchez reject." Sam spat the words bitterly. "But it didn't matter if they knew or not. You and I, we knew." She hugged herself. Being exposed like this was her worst nightmare. She wanted to go back to being the strong, loud, and proud Manson girl she always was. Not this heartbroken shell of someone she used to be. "Do you remember what we were supposed to do?"

Paulina worried her lip and said nothing.

"The beach. I liked it best at night, when the sand was cold and the ocean was back, and you told me you wanted to see it. I had to beg my mom to let me go out on my own so late. I waited for you for three hours." It had been the coldest, loneliest three hours in Sam's life at that point. By now, that top spot belonged to the hours waiting for Danny as he fought Pariah Dark. It made being stood up seem so trivial, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Sam squeezed her phone. "Do you remember what your text said?"

Paulina's gaze dropped to the sidewalk. That was all the answer Sam needed.

"You said you were tired." Sam laughed. It sounded bitter and fragile, even to her ears. "You said you were tired of me following you around everywhere, and you said you didn't have time for a friend like me."

"Oh."

"Which brings me back to my original question. Why did you do it?"

Shame poured from Paulina, but it didn't fill Sam with the righteous vindication she always thought it would. It just made her sad. They could have been friends. If Paulina had just been honest with her from the start, Sam would have understood. Instead, they wasted two years hating each other, leaving their old wounds to fester and spoil, letting foolish mistakes ruin what could have been a great bond.

"I don't know," Paulina said.

"That's not a real answer."

"Like hell it isn't! I don't know, okay? I don't know why I did it. I wasn't sure how I felt about boys, I didn't even know I was allowed to like girls, and it was just too much. You were too much." Paulina toyed with her fingers, intertwining them and twisting them, an unusual display of nerves. "You were so certain about yourself, and I wasn't certain about anything. I just couldn't handle it, and the only solution I saw was to pretend it all never happened and move on."

"I want to call you a coward," Sam said. Paulina didn't protest, which was telling enough. It would be easy. Four simple words: you are a coward. But she couldn't do it. "You were a kid. And I was a kid. And we're still kids. I can't... I can't be mad at you for that. It still hurts, but I get it."

"You sound a lot like Danny, you know."

"Really?" Sam tipped her chin up. "How so?"

"He said something like that. Well, not really. But he said I was acting too grown up when I shouldn't be." Paulina wiped her face with the heel of her palm. It did nothing to improve her appearance, only smudging her makeup more.

"It's so annoying when he's right, isn't it?" Sam smiled.

Paulina smiled back. She laughed and nodded, the last few tears falling from her eyes. Hearing her laugh, Sam felt a weight lift off her. A great aching burden she had been carrying for two years suddenly disappeared, beaten back by that simple sound. She didn't like Paulina anymore, not like that, but Sam had always missed her.

She checked the time on her phone. "The first bus should get here in a couple minutes. Come on, you're a mess, and I've got some face wipes in my locker."

"Not like you look any better," Paulina pointed out.

"Maybe not. But I feel better," Sam said.

"Yeah. So do I."

They walked up the sidewalk, a yawning space between them, but it would close in time. Sam could feel it.

Paulina had only been to the Manson household a handful of times during the summer she and Sam almost dated. It was just as grand as she remembered. The Mansons were rich and extravagant and they liked to show it. Sam's understated style made it so easy to forget she came from money. Lots and lots of money.

"And she has a bowling alley!" Tucker said. For the past ten minutes, he had been regaling Paulina with the wonders of the house.

They sat in the plush armchairs of the Manson's basement theatre, the blank TV ahead of them. Sam and Danny were upstairs waiting for the pizza to arrive, leaving them alone. Paulina wasn't sure how she felt about that. Out of the trio of close-knit friends, Tucker was the only one she had never spent any one-on-one time with. He reminded her of Dash in too many ways, hitting on any girl within his sight.

Really, it was only the one similarity, but for Paulina, it was bad enough that she didn't like Tucker all that much. At least he had the brains to stop pursuing a girl the moment she said no. And, it seemed, he no longer had any interest in her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few secret passages in this place. It's just that big," Tucker said.

"There are," Paulina said.

"Really?" Tucker leapt up, bracing himself on the armrest, bouncing on his knees as he grinned at her. "Wait." His smile fell and his eyes narrowed. "How would you know?"

"Sam and I had a forbidden romance in middle school that ended up breaking her heart and ruining our potential friendship forever," Paulina said.

Tucker's eyes widened. He burst out laughing. "That's a good one!"

"Isn't it?" Paulina smiled.

"But really. You guys are square or whatever?" Tucker asked. "I was really surprised when Sam suggested we all hang out."

Paulina's first instinct was to snap that it wasn't any of his business. She resisted the urge, just barely, and instead said, "We're getting there."

It was shockingly easy to stop hating Sam, although maybe that shouldn't have been surprising. The only reason she hated Sam in the first place was because Sam hated her. And Sam didn't hate her anymore, never had. It was the strangest, most liberating feeling. She couldn't believe it had been that easy. Sort of easy. The crying hadn't been fun.

"Cool." Tucker's expression turned serious "Danny's my best friend, you know. He really likes you. If you do something that hurts him, and I mean really hurts him, I can mess you up."

"You have a D in gym class."

"But I've got an A in hacking."

"That's not a class."

"Stop ruining my threat! I'm trying to be intimidating, damn it!"

"I know, and I don't want to hurt Danny. But you should remember that sometimes people can hurt each other without meaning to. The only thing you can do then is make up or move on," Paulina said.

Tucker groaned. "Ugh, you're too mature, stop it."

Perhaps Tucker wasn't as bad as Paulina thought he was.

Loud, clunking steps echoed down the stairs. Sam emerged through the door, her heavy boots pounding on the carpet, holding four plates and four cups. Danny trailed after her, carrying three pizzas boxes in one hand and two large bottles of soda under his other arm.

"Pizza!" Danny announced, hoisting the boxes over his head.

"Do you need help with that?" Paulina asked, eyeing how he balanced the pizzas on the tips of his fingers.

"Nah, I'm good," he said. He set down the pizzas and soda on a nearby table without any hassle. "So, scale of ten, how intimidating was Tucker?"

Paulina glanced at Tucker, who was making an aggressive silencing motion toward Danny. "Oh my god. You totally told them both to go upstairs so you could give me the best friend talk, didn't you?"

"Dude! How could you betray me like that?" Tucker said.

Danny's grin held no remorse. "First, I opened my mouth. And then I said words. Scale of ten?"

"If ten's the best?" Paulina hummed as she thought about her answer. "I'm gonna say three."

"Oh, come on, it was a five at least," Tucker said.

"Hey, I gave you an extra two for the hacking thing. That's at least a valid threat."

"It was gonna be one?"

Paulina ignored Tucker's lamenting wail. Getting up, she joined Danny at the table, helping him set out the pizza boxes, flipping up the lid of each one. Meat lovers, ham and pineapple, and a veggie pizza with no cheese.

"What's with this one?" Paulina asked, pointing to the last pizza.

"It's vegan," Danny explained. "For Sam. Every Saturday we order our favourite pizzas and watch bad movies."

"And who's favourite is the pineapple?"

"I think you know."

"Gross."

"It's an underrated topping! Try it, maybe you'll like it." Danny grabbed a slice and held it out.

"Ew, no thank you," Paulina said.

"Come on." Danny leaned forward, slowly bringing the slice closer to her face.

Paulina laughed, shaking her head. "No, Danny, stop!"

"Hey, lovebirds!" Sam shouted.

"We're not– oh wait. Ha. Wrong person" Danny grinned sheepishly while everyone chuckled at his expense. "Yeah, Sam?"

"Help me with the chairs?"

"Sure." Danny stuffed the pizza slice in his mouth, leaving half of it dangling out as he jogged over to the chairs.

Hovering by the tables, she marvelled at Danny, wondering why on Earth she liked him in the first place. The pizza slices in his mouth slapped against his chin, grease dripping down the crust as he bounced around Sam and Tucker. It wasn't the most attractive image, but Paulina smiled at it anyway.

Danny, making slow progress, bumped the armchairs along with his hip, putting in the absolute minimal amount of effort.

"Danny, can you hurry up?" Sam huffed, hand on her hip.

Danny flopped onto the chair he had been pushing, legs draped over the armrest. "How about no?"

Sam reached out, fingers poised to flick Danny in the forehead. But, to Paulina's surprise, all she did was flick Danny's fringe. Danny responded by swatting in the general vicinity of her hand, missing by miles.

Paulina cocked her head and watched closer.

Tucker leaned over the back of the armchair, feet in the air, balancing on his gut. He wiggled his fingers over Danny, the universal threat for an impending tickle, but in the end, he just plucked at Danny's shirt in a mildly annoying manner.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Danny rolled off the armchair, landing on his hands with his face inches from the floor. He popped right back to his feet and started pushing the chair again, this time with exaggerated effort. He huffed and puffed, and made his arms tremble as his feet slipped on the carpet.

Sam and Tucker stood back and rolled their eyes.

"Wouldn't it go faster if we all helped?" Paulina asked.

Danny didn't respond, too busy pushing the second armchair closer to the first one, but Sam and Tucker shared a look. A thousand words passed between them in that second, at least that's what it looked like to Paulina. Their mouth's twitched, shoulders lifted, eyebrows quirked. Small, silent gestures that meant to little to Paulina but so much to them.

"The armchairs have built in speakers and a bunch of other stuff. It makes them really heavy," Tucker explained.

"Isn't that more of a reason for us to help?" Paulina asked.

"Uh..."

"Danny's really particular about where we put the chairs. He likes the setup to be just right. Right, Tuck?" Sam said, turning a sickly sweet smile on him.

Tucker nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Yeah. Danny knows exactly where to put the chairs for optimal viewing."

Paulina didn't believe it for a second, but she let it drop anyway. Once Danny finished with the chairs, he dragged a couch that had been leaning against the back wall forward. He lined it up beside the chairs then jumped over the back, landing in the middle. Finally, he finished devouring the pizza slice he held in his mouth. Quite a few of the pineapples had fallen off by that point, littering the floor.

Danny bounced in his seat. "Okay, let's go!"

"Pizza and soda," Sam said as she walked toward Paulina.

Danny scrambled up from the couch and bounded over. "Right."

Everyone grabbed their pizza—Paulina took a slice of each—and their soda and got settled in. Sam and Tucker took the armchairs while Danny and Paulina sat on the couch, close but not quite touching.

"Okay, let's go," Danny said with a grin.

"Yeah, let's go," Tucker echoed.

"This is gonna be so bad."

"So bad."

"I can't believe they made a live-action adaptation for Doomed."

"I'm going to die."

"Come on, Sam, press play!"

"Yeah, Sam. Come on!"

"Maybe if you shut up, I will!" Sam pounced on Tucker, lunging across the space between the two chairs, and shoved him over. Snatching up a pillow from the floor, she tossed it back over her shoulder, hitting Danny in the face. Paulina ducked as the pillow hit him and flipped away, soaring over her head and landing with a soft whump.

Sam was already back in her seat and reaching for the remote by the time Paulina rose up. Paulina scrutinized the small gap between the couch and Sam's armchair, and the more sizeable distance between Sam and Tucker's chairs.

"Huh," she said.

"What?" Danny asked, glancing her way.

"Nothing, it's just..." Paulina trailed off, gaze drifting to the pillow on the floor. "It's nothing. I hope this movie is as bad as you say it is."

Danny beamed. "I hope it's worse."

The opening credits hadn't even finished before Tucker went to grab more pizza. On his way back, he snuck up on Sam, slapping his hands over her eyes. She squawked and smacked his chest in response. The next time Tucker got up, to refill his soda minutes after he'd refilled his plate, he snuck up on Danny. Although Paulina could hardly call it sneaking.

"Danny," Tucker whispered ominously from behind them. He struck the couch right beside Danny's ear, although Danny didn't even flinch, and draped himself over the back.

"Hey, hey, hey. Danny. Hey, Danny," Tucker said.

Danny rolled his eyes and looked over.

Tucker brought his arm around, swinging it wide and slow, and poked Danny in the cheek. "Boop." He grinned like an idiot. Heaving himself off the couch, he quickly scampered back to his seat and went back to watching the movie.

Paulina, on the other hand, watched Danny. He rubbed his cheek where Tucker had touched him, a soft smile on his face. Her eyes dipped to the space between them on the couch, mere centimeters. When his bumped his knee against hers, her eyes snapped back up to his face.

"You sure it's nothing?" Danny asked.

Paulina blanked. It took her a moment to remember what he was referring to, but when she did, she smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, it really is."

Danny shrugged. "Okay." He turned his attention back to the movie.

Paulina tried to do the same, but for the first half, she found herself observing Danny and his friends more. Sam and Tucker were playful and physical with each other, hitting shoulders, poking and prodding, invading each other's personal space at every whim. How they interacted with Danny was completely different. There was hardly any contact, at least not skin to skin. They would throw pillows at him, ruffle his hair, and pluck at his clothes, but not much beyond that.

If they did touch him, they telegraphed their movements to be as visible as possible, as if they were warning him. Paulina, a physically affectionate person herself, silently took note of all this as the evening wore on.

Sunday afternoon, the sun beat down from a cloudy sky, a cool breeze raising goosebumps along Paulina's arms. It was her favourite kind of day, when the clouds were light and wispy, casting meagre shadows that made the heat bearable. She loved to paint in her backyard on days like this. She loved it even more when her friends joined her.

"So, are you dating him or not?" Kwan asked.

Sprawled out on his stomach, he picked a dandelion from the pile before him, weaving it into the crown he was making.

Paulina took a moment to finish her brush stroke, adding the famed Fenton Works insignia to the front of Danny's spacesuit in her drawing. "Not yet," she answered.

"Oh, okay."

Star, laying down beside Kwan, rolled onto her back and rested her head on Paulina's thigh. "I can't believe Tucker got to do the best friend speech first. He stole my thunder."

"Trust me, he didn't steal anyone's thunder," Paulina said.

Dash yawned. "I just don't get why you're wasting your time with him." He flicked through the book he was supposed to be reading for English, scanning the page but hardly taking in a single word.

Paulina dropped her watercolour brush into her jar of water and glared at Dash. "Because I like him. He's nice, and funny, and cute. And you need to stop being such an ass to him all the time."

"What? I'm not an ass!" Dash dropped his book. It landed facedown, pages folding against the grass.

Star made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat. Reaching out, she grabbed the book and smoothed the pages out. "You're totally an ass."

"Am not!"

"When was the last time you went a day without punching someone?"

"Shut up, that doesn't make me an ass!"

"It does," Star and Paulina chorused.

Dash grumbled under his breath. "Whatever. I don't care. You're the one who's wasting your time."

Paulina paused, giving Dash a considering look. They had been friends for a long time, just as long as Danny, Sam, and Tucker had been. Hanging out with Danny and his friends yesterday, Paulina realized something. Her friendship with Dash was severely lacking. Nowadays, they bickered more than they got along. Suddenly, Paulina understood the frustration Sam showed during their argument. She, too, was tired. Tired of Dash being, well, Dash.

"Maybe I am," she said. Kwan and Star gave her matching looks of surprise. "But if I'm wasting my time with anyone, it's you, Dash."

"Hey, whoa, wait. What?" Dash's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Paulina put her painting aside, gently setting it down on the wooden deck behind her, next to her watercolour set. "I think it's really obvious what I'm talking about." She crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees. "You're mean, Dash."

Dash sputtered. "So what? So are you."

"Yeah, you're right. But I don't want to be anymore."

"So you'd rather be a loser instead of popular?"

"Oh, come on. Are you really this dense, Dash?" Star interjected. She sat up, scooting closer to Paulina. "You think people like you? Sure, you're good at football, and so is Kwan. And Paulina and I are pretty. But no one actually likes us, because all we do is hurt the people who don't like us."

"I'm not ready for this kind of introspection," Kwan whispered.

Dash's face scrunched in confusion. "That doesn't even make sense. If we hurt the people who don't like us, then everyone has to like us. Or else we'll hurt them."

"Kwan," Paulina said.

"Please don't," he said.

"Do you really enjoy bullying people?"

Kwan pursed his lips. He focused on his dandelion crown, touching up a few flowers. Everyone watched him expectantly. After nearly a minute, he caved. "Okay fine, I don't."

Dash had the gall to look shocked, gaping at Kwan in disbelief.

"You're my best friend, Dash, and I didn't want you to stop being my best friend. I didn't want you to be mean either. It's not fun. I mean, sometimes I can get caught up in it, and it sort of feels like fun in the moment, but afterward I just feel awful." Kwan pushed himself up, toying with the crown in his lap. "I wanted to tell you. But I thought you might make fun of me."

"Kwan, I wouldn't–"

"You kicked me out when Paulina dated Danny before."

Dash fell silent.

And Paulina... she hadn't known that. She tried to think back to that week, but the only thing that came to mind were vague recollections of her classes. That memory must have been tied up in her time with Danny, and Kitty removed it. Paulina felt sick.

"That wasn't– I didn't–" Dash floundered. He couldn't defend himself. Nothing he could say to that would turn him into the good guy. "You can't talk to me like I'm the only one who's ever hurt someone! You're not better than me."

"No, we're not," Star said. "But I think..." She looked to Paulina, then Kwan, who both nodded. "We want to be. And we'll leave you behind if we have to."

Paulina would never be more grateful for Star's bluntness. Her bubbly personality and cheerful voice made her hard to argue against. If Paulina had said those things, Dash would rail and brawl against her, but as it stood, he could only stare at Star, at a loss for words.

Star grabbed Kwan's dandelion crown from his hands and stood. She dropped the crown on Kwan's head, breaking him out of his daze. Blinking, he looked up at her, and rose to join her. As they headed inside, Paulina quickly packed up her watercolours, washing her brush and slipping it back into its plastic sleeve, screwing the cap on her jar of water. Careful not to touch the wet painting, she picked up her notebook.

"It's your choice, Dash." She went inside without looking back.

Despite everything Danny had been through since becoming a halfa, the strangest week of his life by far was the week Dash did not touch him. No slaps on the back of the head. No body slams in the middle of the hallway. No punches, no kicks, no being stuffed into the closest open locker. Monday to Friday, Dash didn't even look at Danny. It was incredibly disorienting.

"Maybe he's sick," Danny said at lunch.

"No. He doesn't style his hair when he's sick, because it takes too much effort," Star said.

That was another thing that made this week strange. Paulina, Kwan, and Star had joined Danny and his friends for lunch every day. Up until that point, Danny and Paulina hadn't hung out much at school, and they definitely hadn't hung out with all their friends together.

"How do you even know that?" Tucker asked.

Star grinned. "I know everything."

"Dash also complains nonstop about his hair not looking good because he's too tired to style it when he's sick," Kwan said.

"You're no fun, Kwan."

"I try."

"Try harder," Sam said.

Danny grinned at the banter. Of course he did, he loved banter. But more than that, he liked seeing everyone get along. Thinking it made him feel like a grade-schooler who wanted everyone to be friends, but no one could fault him for that. He did want it. At least, he wanted his and Paulina's friends to be friends, and there was nothing wrong with that. Star and Kwan were pretty cool when they weren't being mean.

A heavy finger prodded Danny's shoulder. He arched away from the touch, grimacing, and twisted to face the source. Dash stood behind him, shuffling from foot to foot, hand outstretched.

Danny waited for the impending beating, because surely that's why Dash was there, but nothing happened. After a long, uncomfortable moment, he hesitantly said, "Hi?"

"Hey," Dash's eyes jumped from person to person as he took in everyone seated at the table. Nervously licking his lips, he glanced away, then back at Danny. "I'm not gonna wail on your or anything anymore. Don't expect me to say sorry, though."

"Um." Danny sent Paulina a questioning stare. She looked right back, smiling innocently. Which meant this whole apology-not-apology reeked of her meddling. Not that Danny was going to complain. "Okay. Fine."

"Good." Dash shuffled his feet again. "Can I..." he trailed off.

On the other side of the table, Star and Kwan scooted apart, making room for him. Dash's shoulders slumped in relief. He hurried around the table, taking the open seat across from Danny. The next minute was spent in silence. Awkward, delicate silence.

Kwan nudged Dash, who quietly hissed "What?" under his breath. Kwan jerked his chin toward Danny. Dash shook his head. Star jabbed him in the side and pointed to Paulina, then Danny. It took all of Danny's will not to laugh at Dash's expense.

"Fine." Dash groaned. "Fenton."

"Yes, Dash?" Danny smiled pleasantly.

"You guys should. Come to the game. Tonight. Or whatever," Dash said haltingly.

Danny choked back a laugh.

"Hey, I'm trying to be sincere here!"

"I know. I know, sorry, it's just." He slapped a hand over his mouth, unable to contain his giggles. "I can't believe you're shy."

"Shut up!"

Paulina had gone to plenty of football games. She had to, being a cheerleader and all. All night, she and the other girls stood on the sidelines, cheering the boys on, pumping up the crowd. She loved it. However, tonight was the first time she would rather be up in the stands. With Star cheerleading next to her, and Kwan and Dash out on the field, she never had any friends looking down on the game. They were all right in the action with her. But this time, Danny and his friends were here.

They had never bothered to come to games before. She understood that it didn't interest them that much, but now that they were here, she wanted to be with them. She wanted to make sure they enjoyed it as much as she always did.

Excitement fizzled through the air. Classmates and family buzzing with energy, ready to show their spirit. Drinking it all in was one of the best feelings in the world. She wanted Danny to feel the same spark.

Paulina stood on her toes, peering into the stands, trying to find Danny. There were a lot of people at the game tonight, but he said he'd be easy to find. Once, twice, three times she scanned the seats and couldn't find him.

"He's here," Star said, placing a reassuring hand on Paulina's shoulder.

"I don't see him."

Star leaned around Paulina. Her face lit up. "I do," she said. Pushing Paulina's shoulder, she turned her around.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam stood in the shadows just beyond the floodlights. Tucker had an arm around Danny's shoulder. It was the most physical contact Paulina had seen between them over these past few weeks. Sam stood opposite the boys, gesturing wildly, face red. Her hair was falling out of her ponytail, dirt smudged her cheeks, and there was a tear in her sweater.

"Damn, she looks mad," Star said.

"Yeah." Paulina frowned.

Danny threw his arm out, pointing in the general direction of the cheerleaders. Despite being so far away, she could hear his raised voice. It wasn't clear enough to make out the words, but it was loud. The argument came to an end when Sam shook her head, jabbed Danny's shoulder hard enough to make him stumble, and stomped toward the bleachers.

On her way up the steps, Sam looked down and caught Paulina's eye. Paulina didn't bother hiding that she'd been watching. To her surprise, Sam didn't turn her anger toward Paulina. She just sighed and rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulder in a what can you do gesture.

Paulina raised an eyebrow, tilting her head toward the boys, who still stood in the shadows.

Sam mouthed, "Being idiots."

Paulina couldn't help but laugh. She waved Sam on, turning her focus back to Danny and Tucker. In the time she looked away, Tucker had taken his arm from Danny's shoulder and stepped back. He said a few quiet words, grinned, then followed Sam.

Danny searched the throng of cheerleaders, easily spotting Paulina, and started over.

Paulina's smile quickly fell when she noticed him favouring his right leg. She ran toward him, meeting him halfway. "Danny, what happened?"

"Ah, it's nothing, really," he said, rubbing his leg. "Got caught in a ghost attack on the way here. Sorry we're late."

"Danny, that's not nothing! That could be serious. You're limping."

"Jammed my leg on something. It hurts now, but it'll be fine later."

"You needed Tucker to help you with a jammed leg?" Paulina asked.

"Uh. Yes?"

"Honestly." Paulina shook her head. "I'm glad you're here. But if you do anything stupid, or if I find out you're more hurt than you say you are, I'm gonna drag you back home myself, got it?"

Danny saluted her. "Got it! Have fun cheering. Good luck." Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek before she could react. He scampered up the bleachers, crowing with delight. "See you at half-time!"

Paulina touched her cheek, watching him.

"Do you think he knows he just stole your first kiss?" Star asked.

"It was just a cheek kiss, it doesn't count," Paulina said.

"Spoken like someone who hasn't had her first kiss." Star patted her shoulder and walked away.

Paulina trailed after her, calling out protests as they made their way onto the field for their opening cheer. It didn't count. Not as a whole kiss, at least. Half of one. A third. One quarter!

As the whistle went for half-time, Paulina hopped to her feet, waving her pom-poms in the air, screaming and cheering. Casper High was winning, eighteen to six. The team was having a good game so far. She high-fived the players as they came off the field, telling each of them "Great work!" When Kwan and Dash approached, she jumped up to give each of them a hug.

Paulina peered over her shoulder, surveying the bleachers. Danny had been sitting near the top of the bleachers last she saw, but he wasn't there now. "You guys are doing great," she said to Kwan and Dash. Turning back, she found them looking at her in amusement. "What?"

"Hurry up and find your boyfriend," Dash said.

"We're not dating yet. I was very particular about that," Paulina said. "But yes. I will go find him." Her friends giggled. She flipped them off as she walked away, skipping toward the bleacher steps. Chances were, Danny had gone to the bathroom and would be right back. She could stand out of the way until then. She only had to wait a minute before a hand closed around her wrist.

"Danny, did you–" Before she could finish turning, she was yanked back. She cried out. A hand slapped over her mouth, silencing her. Something cold touched her neck, sending shivers up her spine. She struggled and kicked as she was pulled behind the bleachers.

"Hey, stop. Don't scream, okay? I just want to talk. Okay? That's it. Just a talk." Paulina recognized the voice. The hands touching her disappeared and she was shoved forward into the chain-link fence. She spun around, pressing her back against the fence, fingers curling around the metal, and stared at Keith. He held a beer bottle loosely in one hand. His face was flushed, eyes glazed, and he swayed in place.

"I've just got one question. Just one, that's it. That's all I want." He took a step forward and stumbled. Paulina flinched away from him as he careened into the fence. "Hold on, wait. Don't go. 'M sorry."

Grabbing Paulina's shoulder, he pulled her back, bracing his other arm above her head so he had her caged in.

"You said... you said you were goin' out with that scrawny kid, right? Short guy, messy hair." He stuck his hand out, trying to mime Danny's height. He went half a foot too short. "That little dude. Little guy. Tiny guy. Kinda freakishly strong though."

"What about him?" Paulina asked.

"I heard some funny things. Very funny. Very... interesting. I heard you're not dating him."

"Don't believe everything you hear." She pushed off the fence, determined to slip around him, but Keith grabbed her shoulder and shoved her back again.

"See, but the thing is, I didn't just hear it from anybody. I heard it from you. Just now."

Paulina swallowed nervously but refused to be cowed. "So what?"

"I'm just kinda heartbroken, you know? I can't believe you'd lie to me. I think you owe me a chance, don't you?" He hunched over her, rank breath warming her face. Paulina tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed her chin and forced her head up. "Just one," he whispered.

A cry of rage snatched Keith's attention away from Paulina. A small body slammed into him, ripping him away. Wind whipped past Paulina's face, throwing hair in her eyes. She scrambled to brush it aside, staring wide-eyed at Danny crouching over Keith.

"Get the hell away from her you fucking creep!" He grabbed Keith's collar, lifting him, and slammed him down into the ground.

Keith coughed and groaned. "Dude, what the hell. It was a damn kiss."

Danny was nearly half Keith's size, and he was definitely half his weight. He had thin arms, messy clothes, bags under his eyes, and youthful fat in his cheeks. But he loomed over Keith, fists curled in Keith's shirt, feet planted on either side of his waist. Danny snarled, animalistic. A strange inhuman rumbling filled the air, one Paulina didn't hear so much as she felt it in her bones. It filled her head and pressed against her skull.

Fear struck Paulina's heart. Not fear of Danny, but fear for Keith and what Danny was going to do to him. A rather vocal part of her cried out that Keith deserved it, and he absolutely would. But Danny didn't deserve whatever hell there would be to pay once all was said and done.

"Danny, let's just go," Paulina pleaded. The rumbling stopped. It made her head feel empty and disoriented, as if the whole world had suddenly gone quiet, even though she could still hear. the revelry beyond the bleachers.

Danny turned his head, inspecting her over his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Opening his fists, he dropped Keith back to the ground, abandoning him in favour of Paulina. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." Paulina shook her head. "I'm fine." Mostly. A little shaken up. She just wanted to get out of there.

Behind them, Keith groaned. "What the hell." He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Head lolling, he searched the ground, locating his beer bottle, which had gone flying from his hand when Danny tackled him. It was smashed, shards of glass littering the grass, beer turning the dirt to mud. "Hey, you." Keith's voice was oddly calm, but his eyes were still dazed, a jarring combination. His gaze settled on Danny. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Run!" Danny shouted. He grabbed Paulina's hand and charged forward. Keith's arm shot out into their path. With the narrow space between the fence and bleachers, there was no way they could dodge around him without ducking into the maze of beams supporting the benches overhead. But Danny didn't stop. And Paulina didn't try to stop him. She trusted him.

"Close your eyes!" Danny called.

She did. A cool sensation washed over her, just for a moment. Unlike the cold beer bottle against her neck, which unsettled her, this feeling calmed her. Liked the chilled arms of a gentle ghost were wrapped around her. It was gone all to soon, accompanied by Danny's shout that she could open her eyes. When she did, they were clear of the bleachers and heading straight for the school.

Eyes widening in surprise, she glanced over her shoulder. Keith was behind them, swerving across the grass as he gave chase. His steps were uneven, but they were also much longer, and he was quickly gaining on them.

Turning back around, she noticed Danny was taking them toward the front doors.

"No, they're locked!" Paulina shouted, tugging Danny back. He faltered, and she took the lead instead, pulling him along the side of the building. "The gym doors!"

Danny squeezed her hand to show he heard.

"Get back here!" Keith bellowed, right behind them now. Reaching out, he grabbed Paulina's long hair.

She screamed in surprise and pain as her head snapped back and she was yanked to a stop.

"Shit, sorry," Keith mumbled. Before he could say anything else, Danny leapt at him, fist cocked, and punched him in the face. Keith went down hard, crying out and clutching his nose.

Danny shook out his fist, rubbing Keith's blood on his blue shorts, and took Paulina's hand again, helping her to her feet. They charged at the gym doors, throwing them open.

"Girls' locker room," Paulina whispered as loudly as she dared. She didn't think Keith would give chase any time soon, but she didn't want to risk it.

"But that's, that's the girl's locker room!" Danny protested.

"And I'm a girl and I'm saying it's fine!" Paulina shoved him toward the entrance, pushing him down the narrow hall until the changeroom opened up on their right. They finally stopped, panting and leaning against each other.

Paulina panted, clutching a stitch in her side. She ran often, but fleeing from a drunk, rabid senior wasn't quite the same as jogging around the football field for a light warmup. Beside her, Danny grimaced and kneaded his right thigh with his knuckles. Paulina opened her mouth to ask about it, then stopped when she realized something important. With Danny's shoulder pressed against hers, this was the most they had ever touched. She tensed, but said nothing, not wanting to break the moment.

To her disappointment, Danny broke it for her. He stepped away, putting some distance between them, and sat down on the closest bench, fingers digging into his thigh as he gripped it tight.

"Let me just check if we're alone," Paulina said.

Danny nodded.

She walked deeper into the room, peering down the rows. A few lockers were open, and some of her fellow cheerleaders' things littered the benches, but there were no girls inside. Stopping at the last row, by her own locker, she softly called out, "It's clear."

"'Kay. Give me a second."

Paulina raised her eyes brows but didn't question it. Danny wasn't as active as her, so he probably had a worse cramp. Although, now that Paulina thought about it, he hadn't seemed too winded. Rather, he had focused more on his leg. Now worried, she started forward, but Danny chose that moment to come around the corner.

He looked bad. Face pale, a sheen of sweat on his forehead, eyes turned down. He braced himself against the side of the lockers and hobbled forward, his limp far more pronounced than before.

Red spots stood out starkly against the pale colour of his shorts. Paulina thought it was Keith's blood for a moment, until she noticed the red streak on his other leg, in line with Danny's knuckles. That was Keith's blood. The rest wasn't. Paulina's breath caught in her throat.

Danny's head jerked up. He froze when he saw her staring. "Oh. You aren't. Sitting down."

"No, I'm not."

"Huh." Danny stood up straighter and took a step forward. The moment he put too much weight on his injured leg, he crumpled to the floor, hunching over.

"Danny!" Paulina darted forward, reaching out to him.

Danny's hand shot out, stopping her. "Don't touch me!" His fingers twitched. Grabbing his hand, he rubbed his palm and looked away. "Sorry. That was rude. It's just... it was too much. Give me a moment."

Lifting himself off the floor, he folded his good leg underneath him and stretched the other out. He gritted his teeth in pain.

Paulina hovered. She wanted to help, but anything she could think of meant touching him. With her limited options, she decided to give Danny his requested moment, sitting down opposite him. Extending her own legs, she bumped her shoes against his, touching without touching.

Danny shot her a weak, thankful grin and tapped her back.

Guilt curled in her gut. She should have sent him home the second she learned he was injured. No doubt that's what Sam was trying to do at the start of the game. But Sam let Danny stay, and she wasn't the kind of person to back down when it really mattered. Tucker hadn't looked worried, either. Did Danny hide how injured he was from them? It seemed to unlike him.

Her thoughts must have been written across her face, because Danny cracked a grin and said, "Note to self: don't run when you have a bad leg."

"Note to self: don't let Danny be an idiot and abstain from medical assistance," Paulina countered.

"Touché. Would you believe me if I said I really am fine? Or I will be. I would have been if it weren't for all the running. Give me a week and I'll be right back to normal."

"Danny, there's blood on your clothes. Not only do I not believe you, but I should probably be calling an ambulance or something." But she didn't reach for her phone. She didn't move to get up. Despite her words, she did believe him. It made no sense. But for the past three weeks, she had seen Danny sporting fresh bruises and cuts that all disappeared in days. For the past year, she had seen him beaten down and battered, and he always bounced back.

"I can't stop you. Literally." Danny tapped his finger against his injured leg. "But I hope you'll trust me."

Paulina rolled her eyes. Crawling forward, she moved to sit beside him, careful to keep some space between them. "Don't be stupid, of course I trust you. I probably shouldn't, but I do."

"It's my wonderful charm. You just can't help it."

"I highly doubt that's it."

"Okay, ouch. That hurts so much worse than my leg."

Paulina flicked Danny's hair. "You're tougher than that." Bringing one leg up, she rested her chin on her knee and grinned. "That was some tackle. It's going to be much harder to convince me you don't waste your time fighting behind the school."

"Well–" Danny scratched his cheek nervously "–not behind the school."

Paulina's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"You know that secret I wasn't telling you? I kind of fight ghosts," Danny said. He curled his fingers in his pant legs, knuckles going white. "So, yeah. That's what it is."

Paulina had to wait for her brain to catch up to her ears. Danny fought ghosts. Danny fought ghosts. Danny fought. "You really are a Fenton."

"Huh?" Danny reared away, giving her the most comical look, lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed, nose scrunched.

She laughed, throwing her head back. Remembering a second later they were trying to be quiet, she pressed her mouth against her knee, cheeks puffing out. It took a minute to gather herself together, getting enough breath so she could speak without bursting into a fresh round of giggles. "You wouldn't be much of a Fenton if you didn't fight ghosts. I bet your parents are proud."

"Yeah, about that. They don't know, so you can't tell them."

"You haven't told them?"

"Have you seen my parents? They can be a bit overbearing." Paulina opened her mouth to retort, but Danny raised a finger, silencing her. He continued, "Trust me. I know you've seen them around town and everything—they're kind of hard to miss—but you haven't seen how they are when you're really face-to-face."

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," Paulina said.

"They're not bad. And they mean well. But they're really into the whole 'family ghost hunting' thing. I bet they have a matching jumpsuit stored away for me somewhere." Danny's voice strained at the end. A nervous laugh followed the statement, and Paulina was struck with the realization that Danny was a terrible liar. She was about to call him on it when Danny kept going.

"There's a little more to it. Not the parent thing, the fighting ghosts. I don't think I'm ready to tell you that yet, but I didn't want to lie, either. I hope that's okay." Danny ran a hand through his hair, looking up at Paulina with worried eyes.

"Of course it's fine," Paulina said.

He must have been more anxious than Paulina thought, because the moment she spoke, he slumped, relief washing over him. The crease in his brow smoothed out and the slight frown on his lips disappeared.

"You don't have any equipment," Paulina said, switching topics. "How do you fight?"

The grin Danny gave her was the smuggest thing she had ever seen. "I fistfight them."

Paulina gaped. "You do not!"

"I do! I swear! What, you don't think these fists–" he raised his hands into a boxing pose and jabbed the air "–could take out a full-grown ghost?"

"I don't think they could take out a butterfly."

"What about a butterfly ghost?"

"Now that's just sad."

Danny sniggered. Pain still lingered in his eyes, giving them a glassy sheen, but the colour had returned to his cheeks. His smile was wide and infectious.

Paulina knew there was a secret hidden behind that grin, but she didn't mind as much anymore. The meagre time they had spent together over the last three weeks was hardly enough to know each other deeply. But, sitting there together, long after half-time had ended, Paulina decided she didn't need to know every little thing about him.

She knew she liked him, and he liked her. That was enough for now.

Danny's weekend plans were simple. Wake up in bed. Stay there. Running from Keith on Friday had torn the hasty stitches Sam patched his thigh with after Skulker's attack. He knew going to the game when he needed to rest was a dumb idea, but he wanted to see Paulina cheer. Besides, none of them could have predicted Keith cornering Paulina behind the bleachers. Danny had completely forgotten about the guy after their first encounter. He wouldn't forget him again any time soon.

Thinking about last night had him gritting his teeth. Finding Paulina had been pure luck. His ghost sense had gone off before the end of the second quarter and he had to check for threats. Thankfully, it was just a couple mindless animal ghosts, but finding them took so long that the quarter was over by the time he got back. He saw Paulina and Keith when he was flying back to Sam and Tucker.

Danny rubbed his thigh. Skulker managed to cut him deep. The wound throbbed and ached, and he itched to scratch at his bandages. It would be a good few days before he could walk without a limp.

Not for the first time, Danny's stomach rumbled. He only woke up a few hours ago and hadn't bothered to go down for breakfast, or lunch. Yesterday, Jazz had been home to bring him snacks throughout the day, but today she was out with friends. It was a tossup between filling his stomach or resting his leg, and he chose to rest.

Until his phone went off with a text notification.

Stretching out of bed, Danny reached for his phone, quickly unlocking it and checking his messages. He had one from Paulina.

Parrot Potassium | today 2:33 pm
If you're okay, meet me at NB at four. Let me know!

"That's just not fair," Danny muttered. He and Paulina had plans Monday after school, but he could hardly pass up the opportunity to spend more time with her. Sitting up slowly, he grimaced at the twinge in his leg. It was bearable but still unpleasant. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Slowly, he took a few steps across his room. His leg trembled if he put too much weight on it, but short, quick steps were okay.

Turning back to his phone, he sent Paulina a quick message.

You | today 2:35 pm
I'll see you there

When Danny arrived at the Nasty Burger, he found Paulina waiting for him with their food already in front of her. She had claimed the same booth they sat in during their first visit. The food was the same, too. He slid onto the bench opposite her, tapping his foot against hers under the table.

She tapped back.

"Look what I found outside." Danny dug into his pocket and pulled out a pebble, dropping it onto the table.

Paulina snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's just a random rock."

"Nah, it's clearly ours. Look, it has my eyes." Danny flicked the pebble toward her.

Paulina scrambled to catch it but missed. It tumbled over the edge of the table and landed in her lap. "I wasn't ready," she protested, tossing the pebble back to Danny.

He caught it against his chest. "Sounds like someone's a sore loser."

"I can't believe you'd say that to a girl."

"I'm an equal opportunity taunter." Danny returned the pebble to his and grabbed his soda, taking a drink. "So, what's the occasion?"

"Occasion?"

"Yeah. We were gonna see each other tomorrow anyway."

Paulina pouted. "I needed a reason?"

"Ah, no, I mean. You– um... you're joking, aren't you?" Danny wilted as Paulina's pout morphed into a satisfied smirk.

"Only by half. I actually didn't think you'd come. How's your leg?"

"A lot better today."

Drumming her fingers on the table, Paulina raised an eyebrow. "Liar." She stole Danny's soda out of his hand and sipped it. "Next time, don't strain yourself for me. And I mean it. That doesn't just mean if you're injured, either. If you're tired, if you have homework, if you're just having a bad day." She folded her hands, brushing her thumb over her knuckles.

Danny curled his fingers, digging his nails into his palms. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. It was so frustrating, hating being touched. His family was rather physical with their affection and he used to be the same, but ever since the accident, ever since he started fighting, he just couldn't stand it. One year was all it took to break the boy who loved to hug his friends and family. He had a feeling it would take much longer to fix.

"Hey," Paulina said softly.

Danny blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and met her eyes.

"You know it's okay, right?"

"It's stupid," Danny said.

"No, it's not."

"You don't even know why I'm like this.

"Do I have to?"

Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought about their interacts over the past week, ever since movie night at Sam's house. As Danny's hate for contact grew, Sam and Tucker's behaviour around him changed. Both were slow processes that happened at the same time. Sam and Tucker learned about his aversion to touch at the same pace as him. They had time to adjust to it. Paulina didn't. But she had made accommodations for him anyway. Just like that, without knowing the reason, without asking for it, she changed. For him.

Under the table, Paulina knocked her foot against his. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Danny smiled.

"Good. Because there are no pity parties allowed at the Nasty Burger. This is a horrible place to have a part of any kind. Have you seen how greasy everything is?" Paulina took her phone from her pocket and started swiping through it. "And I wanted to show you this. You can see the real thing on Monday, because I have to hand it in, but I couldn't wait."

She slid her phone across the table.

Danny picked it up, taking in the picture on the screen. It was her painting of him, completed. "Hey, you changed it." He couldn't remember exactly what the original sketch looked like, but he was certain he wasn't fighting anyone in the first one. In the drawing, he held his fists up, ready to punch or defend. Across from him floated a strange green creature with too many limbs to be human.

"I had to redo it all yesterday, since I had already started painting it. But I really wanted to add that in," Paulina said.

"Am I fighting a ghost or an alien?"

"An alien ghost."

"Cool." Danny took in the rest of the painting. The watercolours were beautiful, galaxies swirling behind him and the ghost alien. Much to his amusement, Paulina had added Jazz's hoodie over his spacesuit.

"I didn't know sweaters were suitable for the vacuum of space," he said.

"It's the fashion of the future. Burgundy is very in, especially in space," Paulina explain.

Danny's grin stretched wider.

The spacesuit itself resembled a Fenton jumpsuit, at least what little he could see of it did, and his helmet was sleek, with a wide visor. Danny thought he could stare at it forever. Paulina, however, had other plans, and soon snatched her phone back.

Danny made a noise of disappointment, reaching out after her.

"I'll text you the picture," she said.

"Good." Danny paused. "You know, you could have done that from the beginning."

"Maybe, but I wanted to see your face when you saw it." Paulina, eyes on her phone, missed Danny's brilliant smile. He was okay with that, taking a moment to watch her. She didn't have much makeup on today, her freckles on full display. She had forgone her usual purple eyeshadow and move lipstick for more natural tones.

Danny didn't know much about makeup, but he thought Paulina looked beautiful no matter what. In his pocket, his phone buzzed.

"Sent!" Paulina said. She looked up and caught him staring. "What? What is it?"

Danny gave her a lopsided grin. "You're pretty."

Paulina turned crimson. "Shut up, I know."

"Good."

"Eat your burger! It's gonna go cold. And don't even think about paying my back this time."

Danny took a massive bite out of the burger, so big his cheeks puffed out as he chewed, and gave Paulina a tight-lipped smile. After swallowing, he asked, "What if I want to pay you back?"

"You can't." Paulina shook her head. "That's not how dates work."

Danny, on his way in for his second bite, froze. He stared at Paulina, who took another long swig of his soda and smiled back. A glob of sauce fell out of the bottom of his burger and landed on his jeans.

"Damn it." Danny hissed, putting his burger aside, and grabbed a napkin, patting at the stain. As he dabbed, he looked back up. "If this is a date," he smiled widely when he said date, "then shouldn't the guy be paying?"

"We can take turns." Paulina passed Danny her own napkins.

He took them, mumbling a quick thanks, and finished wiping up the stain. Crumpling the napkins, he put them aside and turned all his focus on Paulina. "What about the... thing. You know, the secret I'm still hiding?"

"You don't have to tell me, not if you don't want to. Not right now. You were right before. We're not grown up. Maybe we'll keep dating all through high school. Maybe we'll break up in a month. We don't know." Paulina's words didn't fill Danny with confidence, but he didn't interrupt. "We're barely high schoolers and we like each other. That means we're allowed to have fun. It also means we don't have to tell each other absolutely everything."

"I want to," Danny said in a rush. "I really want to." He meant it. Paulina knowing his secret wouldn't be bad. It would probably be great, actually. But not now."

"Not yet," Paulina said, finishing Danny's thought for him.

He nodded.

Swinging her legs onto her bench, Paulina twisted to lean her back against the window. She rested her elbow on the table, chin balanced on her knuckles, and met his stare. For the first time, Paulina really did look her age, wrapped in a comfortable sweater, smiling like nothing else mattered but right now. Danny wanted to stay in that moment forever.

"We're kids," Paulina said. "We've got all the time in the world."