Danny hesitantly picked up the phone and speed-dialed Tucker's number. The phone rang exactly two times before he picked up.

"Hey Tuck! How's Florida?" Danny said, pulling the sheets over himself and sitting against the wall.

"OK, I guess. The weather here sucks. It's way too hot." That's not the only thing that's hot. Danny grinned.

"I can believe it." Danny remembered the last time that he'd gone to Florida. The humidity was so bad you couldn't get any more soaked if you poured a bucket of water on your head. Not that you wouldn't want to.

"So how'd the spying go?" Tucker abruptly asked, not knowing what had happened that day. Danny smiled. "Horrible. I almost got found out because someone was calling my cell phone. And I wasn't spying!"

"Well then what would you call it, genius?" Tucker sarcastically remarked. "Sneaking into Sam's room, and watching everything she does, and almost getting found out? Yeah. There's got to be another name for that."

"Whatever Tucker. But at the very least I found out she looks awesome in the moonlight." Danny smiled. No lies there. Sam looked sizzling that night, and it helped that she was only wearing a blanket. Danny propped his head up on his arm. "So when are you coming home?"

"Our plane leaves tomorrow morning. My schedule says we'll be back by noon."

"Jeez, what time are you leaving then?" Danny winced. It was a looong way home, even on a plane.

"I dunno. Maybe 4:00, or 4:30 at the latest." Danny felt his jaw drop. "But that's not for sure."

"Yeesh. That sounds awful."

"Tell me about it." There were sounds of rustling over the phone, and a muffled, "Yeah Mom, I'll hurry." came in through the line. "Hey, man, I gotta go. Mom's giving me the evil eye and muttering about 'roaming charges', or something."

Danny felt his shoulders droop. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." He glumly admitted.

"Keep it real, my homie."

"You too. Bye Tucker." Danny hung up his phone and turned off the light, then settled down and closed his eyes. He felt his grip on the world fade away, and drifted into the soft simplicity of dreams.

-----

Propping his head up with a pillow, Danny read one of his favorite books, Never Trust a Dead Man, in the sanctuary of his room. The stuffy July heat came through the open window as the sun peaked over its mountain-top blanket. The light fell upon Danny's face and turned his tanned skin into a blur of red, pink, and yellow. The room was silent, save for the occasional swish as a page was turned.

Danny seriously considered going ghost, just to cool off the room. Already, he laid on the covers, dressed only in an oversized T-Shirt and, of course, his boxers. And, even though it was only early morning, he was sweating. A salty drop trickled down his brow, and landed in his eye.

"Ah! Ow! Ow!" He jumped up and rubbed his eye as though his life depended on it. It hurt like a bee's sting. Tears tricked out of the eye, trying to remove the salt. Danny hopped up off his bed and grabbed the glass of water that was sitting on his bedside table. He stuck his head out the window and poured the contents of the glass onto his face.

The stinging in his eye subsided, as did the pressing July heat, and Danny sighed contently. He put the glass back on the table and shook the water out of his hair. He opened his book back up and started to read again.

When he felt another warm drop of sweat slowly make its way down his face, he hurriedly wiped it away. As the water remaining in his hair evaporated (Ooh, science word), the heat began to affect Danny yet again. He sighed with frustration.

A familiar blue ring appeared at his waist, and slowly his skin was covered with a black jumpsuit.

"At least it'll get cold in here soon." Danny Phantom thought as the jumpsuit clung to his skin with the goal to kill him from the heat. He plucked the fabric and it created a bubble around him, similar to the way a wet bathing suit does.

More beads of sweat formed on his brow and threatened to move down. He wiped them away with a gloved hand. The temperature change became more noticeable and no new beads of liquid cluttered his head. When Danny felt satisfied with the now drastically cooler temperature, the ring around his waist reunited him with his black hair and blue eyes.

Wet skin met cold air and Danny shivered, relishing the wonderful coolness. He set the paperback down on the nightstand and fell back onto the sheets, hands behind his head. The boy lay there for some time until he heard footsteps. He reluctantly sat up, grabbed the book, opened it and pretended to read.

"Danny?" He heard his sister's voice call through the door. Jazz turned the knob and stepped in. "Danny? Mom's got breakfa--Wow! Danny, do you have an air-conditioner in here?" She looked around and discovered nothing.

Danny, used to lying, simply said, "I left the windows open last night. It was cold in here this morning." He concentrated on the page, not actually reading but moving his eyes along as if he were. Jazz's eyes clouded with suspicion. She looked down at her near-naked brother, and noticed the shine on his abs, muscled though they were.

"Danny, you're covered in sweat. It couldn't have been that cold." She remarked in a motherly tone, taking a step towards him and rolling her eyes. Of course, Jazz knew the exact reason why it was cold, and he knew the exact reason it was cold, but he didn't know she knew, and she didn't want him to know that she knew too.

Of course, since he didn't know she knew, he thought he was doing a great job keeping it hidden from his all-knowing older sister. Will he ever learn that I'm never wrong?

"The room was cold when I woke up, that's all." The young Fenton protested, never looking up from the book. Jazz rolled her eyes again.

"Fine. Be that way. Anyway, Mom's waiting downstairs with breakfast. For once it's not mutating. I suggest that you enjoy it while you can." She turned and walked out the door, stopping just outside the entrance to his room. "Or, if you're just gonna blow off what I'm saying, I could get Mom to bring you up a plate..." She turned away.

Danny unglued his eyes from the book, finally. He gave his older sister a strange look. "Jazz...I think the heat is getting to you." He set his book down on the bed and sat up. "You're acting...nice...for once." He dodged a book that was thrown at him, and laughed. "Sure, Jazz, I'll have some breakfast, if it'll make you feel better." His sister smiled warmly and walked downstairs.

Danny, ever so annoyed for having to leave the nice, cool room, dragged himself off the bed and rummaged through his drawers and closet, looking for something clean and wearable. The usual white T-Shirt and jeans were in the laundry, so he grabbed a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt. He threw them on over the (clean) boxers and trudged downstairs in bare feet.

The Fenton clan was assembled around their kitchen table, and, for once, not talking about ghosts. They were enjoying a perfectly normal Sunday breakfast, talking about normal things like normal people.

Danny wondered if they had been possessed. But, he sat down and waited for someone to notice he was awake.

-----------

The squealing tires made a permanent black mark on the pavement as the biker grabbed the brakes. The two-wheeler came to a jerky halt and Tucker Foley jumped off and wheeled his bike into the Fenton's yard. He looked at his PDA and swept his unlatched helmet off his head. It was 1:36. He was late.

Tucker chucked his helmet into his bike, promptly knocking it over. He ran to the door and rang the bell. Mrs. Fenton pulled the door open and smiled at him.

"Hello, Tucker! Did you enjoy your vacation?" A nod. "Here to see Danny?" Another nod. "He's upstairs in his room. Sam's here too!" She added as he burst past her and ran up the stairs. The door to Danny's room was closed, but he burst in anyway.

"Danny! Sam! I have great news!" He beamed as he took the last three steps into Danny's room. Tucker failed to notice the fact that Sam and the halfa were sitting right next to each other on the bed, and the fact that Danny had just whipped his arm off of Sam's shoulders.

"And that news is obviously something important, or you'd be in deep trouble." The Goth remarked, leaning back into the headboard and giving her friend a deep-trouble-being-that-I'd-kill-you look.

"MY PARENTS ARE GETTING ME A CAR!" He cried, tears of joy brimming in his eyes.

Sam turned red, and steam threatened to blow out through her ears. Danny's eyes flashed green.

"YOU INTERRUPTED OUR CONVERSATION TO TELL US THAT!" The two shouted at the same time. Sam fell back into the chair, exasperated, and Danny stood up and grabbed Tucker by the top of his ear. He threw him onto the bed and shut the door. Sam heard an audible click from the doorknob, and when Danny turned around, she noticed that it had been locked.

"What was that for?" She asked him, who was advancing toward the African-American with a malevolent aura about him. Without an answer, Danny grabbed a pillow and tossed it to the vegetarian he so pined for.

"Well, if I murder him, then we'll need time to get out of the country, change our names, get married, and bury the body." Sam turned a deep crimson color as the halfa smirked at her.

"A-HA! There's your blushy moment!" The convicted remarked as Danny started wailing on him with the pillow, slapping his free hand to his mouth simultaneously. Even though he was getting beat up by one of the strongest guys he knew, a rouge smirk still played across Tucker's features.

"I didn't--I mean--I--URG! Never mind." Danny thwacked Tucker harder. Sam got up and gave the halfa good one across the cheek with her fluffy upholstery.

"That," she remarked as she crossed the room and sat back in the computer chair, "was for spilling."

"Excuse me for telling the truth." The pillow fight forgotten, Tucker sat up and beamed.

"I knew it! I knew you'd get together someday!" He pulled the two into a very one-sided group hug and dodged the blow both sent at him, causing the two to fall over onto each other.

Cue the blushing.

"But seriously, guys, my parents are getting me a car! A CAR! Can you believe it?" He heaved a happy sigh and closed his eyes. The red beret on his head fell off and, quick as lightning, he swept it back on, not bothering to open his eyes or look up.

"Well," Sam stated matter-of-factly, "You do have a license now. What's so important about getting a car anyway?" She crossed her arms. "I have, like, six."

"Yeah, well, you're rich!" Tucker snapped. "Anyway, it's a really nice car, and I'm getting it, and everything will be just honkey-dory."

Danny laughed out loud. "Honkey-dory? You're kidding, right?"

Tucker ignored this and began rambling about cars. Sam and Danny rolled their eyes at the same time before they plunked back down on the bed, staring into space. Noticing that his audience was gone, Tucker bent over the two in a detective-like fashion.

"So..." His left eyebrow shot up well past the rims of his glasses. "What were you talking about?" Tucker smiled coyly and straightened, crossing his arms.

"Talking? Who was talking?" Danny said. Sam hit him in the ribs with her elbow. "OW! Oh, just...stuff." Danny said, rubbing his side.

"Smooth." Tucker laughed.

Danny beaned him with a pillow.