I'm horribly sorry for this... the last few days of school killed me, then they had to revive me... and well, I'm sure that the few people that still follow this story will understand... or hope... Anyway, this kinda triggers a whole new problem, but I'm not gonna spoil it away. Thnx to KL, not for betaing it this time, but for the idea of the plot!!! Hope you had a blast on Florida, girl! lol
Anyway... here's the chapter. Plz review!
Everyone was screaming and trying desperately to find some light after the blackout, but it seemed impossible. Dash had yelled something about looking for some candles, but apparently he got lost at his own home, because he hadn't returned in the past five minutes.
Everyone was growing nervous; living at a hunted town and the lights going out for so long wasn't really a good sign. Even the soft sound of the crickets outside where loud enough to startle everyone, causing them to call out for their friends to stay together in case of anything.
Danny took advantage of this, transformed into his alternated ego and flew through the ceiling, looking anxiously for the ghost. He could hear his shallow breathing loudly; it was so quiet that he could swear that he could hear his parents all the way from the other part of town.
"Oh come on, can't these ghosts take a break?" He mumbled angrily, looking around and following his ghost sense. He saw a flash of blue pass beside him, followed by a flash of red, contrasted with the darkness of the night.
"What the… Valerie!?" He gasped once the two figures stopped and he could finally understand their features.
"You, red huntress, can not capture me, for I am the Box Ghost! Beware!" The small and puny blue ghost yelled, throwing a shoe box.
"Oh will you just shut up!?" She screamed, capturing him in a red version of the Fenton thermos. "And you, Danny Phantom, you better get out of my face before I trap you in here too!"
"And why are you giving me a break?" He couldn't help but ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Because," she sighed. "I'm already late for Dash's party and fighting you takes more time than this clown."
On the thermos, a bit of a muffled argument could be heard, but they didn't pay much attention to it. Danny just smiled and shrugged. "Fine, let's do this your way today!"
He flew away quickly, before Valerie changed her mind. She rolled her eyes and hid in an alley a few houses away, changing back to her party clothes.
"Please don't be messed up…" She begged silently, just as the suit got hidden and out of the view.
Once her transformation was complete, she was wearing a long navy blue dress with a heart shaped top, which was adorned with small diamonds. Her platform shoes matched to perfection and her hair was in a high ponytail that hung gorgeously across her uncovered back.
"Oh, man… I hope I'm not too late for the party." She sighed, looking through her purse for her invitation. "Luckily I got this earlier today, or else I would miss out the biggest party of the year!"
She ran toward the party, where Dash had finally found a few candles and was lit faintly. Danny had arrived earlier, around twenty seconds before to be exact. He was standing behind Tucker, who apparently hadn't noticed him yet.
"Missed anything, Tuck?" He asked, walking beside him casually.
He jumped slightly, and then shook his head. "Not really, except well, besides the fact that the power's out."
After all the candles where lit, Dash walked around a wall and frowned. "Okay, who was the funny one that flicked the power switch off!?"
Everyone shrugged and exchanged confused stares, asking to each other if they knew. Of course, as was to be suspected, the one to blame was never found, but whoever it was, it had a weird sense of humor.
Immediately after Dash came back from behind the wall the power came back and the music kept playing. "We'll keep the candles, in case whoever dared to do that does it again."
Everyone nodded and continued like if nothing happened. Danny had just finished explaining what happened to Tucker and Sam, who turned to the door as soon as they knocked.
"That must be her." Danny whispered, pointing toward it.
Dash opened the door and let Valerie in, a polite smile on his face. "Enjoy the party, Gray."
"Thanks." She nodded, quickly finding her way around the bunch of people that where too busy to move. After a couple of minutes she saw Danny and Tucker chatting happily. She smiled to herself and stood up next to them.
"Hi guys!"
They turned to face her, smiling brightly. Tucker nodded. "Looking good, Val!"
"Thanks, Tucker." She smiled back. She was actually hoping for Danny to compliment her, but he also nodded in agreement, which was worth the same anyway.
"So, anyway Tuck, I heard that this new Doom game will have special features and bonus stages." Danny said, looking at Tucker, almost as if pleading to follow the change of subject.
It took a bit for him to realize, but as soon as he did he nodded and smiled. "Yeah! I bet it'll be awesome."
Valerie looked at them and sighed slightly; she excused herself and walked toward another group of people that where watching a movie at the other side of the living room. When she was gone, Tucker looked at Danny questionably.
"Dude, what's wrong?"
He sighed and picked up a glass of punch. "I don't want any problems, Tuck. You know that every time she gets close trouble's not far behind."
"So you're just running away from her?" He asked disapprovingly.
"I don't really have a choice." He sighed, turning around slightly. "What would you do if you liked two girls at the same time?"
Tucker sighed and shook his head, looking back to see a certain red head. "I don't know… luckily I don't have that problem."
Danny felt horrible for doing that to her, especially since he was being nice to her lately. But if he honestly thought of it, he wasn't sure of what to do himself. He just wanted to stay still for a while, long enough to calm down and put things where they belong.
Soft music started playing all of a sudden, making a few people here and there smirk. Few of them looked for someone to dance with; others just enjoyed the music from different parts of the house. Danny was one of the people that stood there, not knowing what to do at the scene of everyone looking for a partner.
Sam, on the other side of the room, paid no attention to the music change. She knew that if she did, she might as well end up with sadness ruining the evening. With a soft sigh she walked toward the punch table, from which she could see Danny a bit away.
Almost as if destiny itself enjoyed this love triangle, at that moment Valerie was walking toward Danny with a smile. It made Sam's blood boil; causing her to clench her fists and walk away toward another part of the big house.
A bit later, she found herself on some sort of backyard porch, in which she could see a tiny garden that was decorated with little snow men. A shadow of a smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
The chilling air filled her lungs, helping her relax slightly. She kept telling herself in her mind that what was happening with Danny was just some obsessive overprotection toward him, instead of jealousy. It seemed to fit in place, even though deep down she knew it was just a lame excuse.
Inside, Valerie had dragged Danny toward the stairs, where they where sitting and talking. He seemed to be a bit distant, but wasn't being cold or rude to her at all. It looked like a lot was on his mind, so Valerie didn't bother to talk to him about feelings or anything related. Instead, she was just chatting about the party and its atmosphere.
"It seemed that Dash put a lot of effort to make this as awesome as it is now, huh."
"Yup." He smiled sheepishly. "It's kinda odd to come to these kinds of parties."
She laughed a bit and nodded. "Yeah, they usually save the cool things for the A-List people, as stupid as it sounds."
He chuckled. "True, but it's just that they don't know that some of the 'geeks' are the ones that save their butts."
She remained quiet for a while. Was he talking about her and her ghost hunting? If he was, did he just called her a geek? She really couldn't find anything else that would fit in the matter, so she just sighed and smiled a bit, pretending that she didn't notice.
"Uh huh…"
He was, as always, clueless of her thoughts and frowned. The thought of her assuming that comment against herself never crossed his mind, especially since he meant Phantom. "Are you alright, Valery?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She forced a smile, looking at the carpet. She noticed that he didn't believe her, and sighed. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all."
"Must have been ghost hunting a lot today." He thought to himself and nodded. "Alright, if you say so."
She smiled slightly, looking at him with a little smile. "Guess who I found earlier?"
He chocked a bit and looked at her, trying to act normal. "Who?"
"Phantom. I think I should have captured him while I had the chance." She sighed, strangling a piece of napkin that she had on her hands.
He closed his eyes tightly, and pretended that he was alright. "That'll give you something to do for some other day then."
She nodded and stood up. "Excuse me; I have to go to the lady's room."
He stood up too and nodded. "Okay, I'll see you around, Val."
After she left, he closed his eyes and sighed. He could still feel some spectral energy running through him, the urge of transforming getting stronger. Somehow, he knew that being so close to Valery for so long would get him into trouble sooner or later, but he really couldn't care less. Right now, he just wanted to run to her and show her his secret identity.
"That would get me killed for sure…" He reasoned. "Unless she magically forgives me for 'ruining her life', I'm stuck as Fenton around her."
It was taking him a lot of will power to stay as human right about now, so he went in search of Tucker, Sam or Jazz to distract himself. In the dark, it was very hard to see who was who, but a figure not too far away caught his attention.
It seemed familiar, but what made his curiosity rise was that she was standing outside. Wasn't she cold? It was snowing all night, and even though she was wearing a long dress, he couldn't shake the feeling that it must be uncomfortable to be there.
He found his way toward her, and once he was at the door he knew who it was. "Sam? Why are you out here in the cold?"
She turned around; her cheeks where pink from the cold, but her face seemed calm. "O-oh, hi Danny. I'm just looking around…"
"Outside?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, the music was too loud, so I came here to calm down." She smiled, signaling him to come out with her too. He nodded and walked beside her, getting snow flakes in his hair, which now glowed like stars on the black endless sky.
"You're right, it's very calm here if you compare it with the whole party." He was smiling slightly, as he unconsciously placed a hand on her cheek. "But you must be freezing. Come on, let's go inside, alright?"
She raised an eyebrow slightly and grabbed his hand, putting it down awkwardly. "Okay, it is starting to get chilly out here."
He blushed a bit when he noticed what he had done and nodded, holding the door open for her. The little voice inside his mind that bugged him with Valery and all her charms now seemed to take notice in Sam, and started to point out her qualities.
She looked at him with a serious expression and sighed; she walked inside and waited for him at the door. Once he was inside, the loud music boomed in his ears, making him close his eyes a bit.
"Wanna dump this party and fly around?"
"I thought you said it was too cold outside." She blinked in confusion. "Are you okay?"
He mentally slapped himself in the head for such a stupid suggestion. "Yeah… sorry. I forgot…? Let's go look for Tucker, he must be trying to pick up girls or something."
She laughed a bit under her breath and nodded, finding her way through the ocean of people. He followed closely, looking all around for his girl obsessed friend. It took them a while, but finally an unmistakable laugh could be heard, giving them a hint to where he was.
"Apparently he's not alone, Danny." Sam smirked, stopping beside a wall. She peeked to the other side where he was and gasped. With a frown, she looked up at the ceiling and with no mistake, mistletoe hung over him and his companion.
"What is it? Who is it?" Danny was practically jumping from curiosity, shaking her arm softly when he noticed the plant. When he saw the look on Sam's face he raised an eyebrow, noticing that she wasn't talking. "Fine, I'll see for myself."
She tried to stop him, but it was too late. Once Danny found his way toward his friend, his eyes grew wide with shock; there, on front of everyone, Tucker and his sister where sharing more than just a conversation or anything that came in the terms of 'just friends'.
He coughed to make them acknowledge his presence, causing both of them to let go of each other as if they where on fire. They looked at him with surprised and scared expressions, their eyes big and wide.
Jazz opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right words. "D-Danny, look-"
"Don't start with the 'its-not-what-it-looks-like' speech, its not gonna work." He said in a serious tone, sending a glare to both of them.
"Dude, relax!" Tucker squealed with a high voice, backing away a bit. "It's almost Christmas!"
He looked over at the panicked boy and frowned. "And so what? That was your early Christmas gift!?"
Both of them remained quiet, exchanging nervous glances. Finally, Jazz stood up and looked down at Danny with a firm face. "We don't have anything to explain. We are free to take decisions and don't have to tell you."
"Danny, I know this is surprising, but you're being harsh and inconsiderate with them." Sam said as she pulled his arm with a frown.
He returned the firm expression and sighed, finding his shoes quite interesting all of a sudden. While biting his lower lip, they all noticed his look soften and even smile a bit just as he looked up at his sister. "I-I… I'm sorry Jazz."
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and clearly had a confused look upon her features. "Huh?"
"You're right… you can choose who you want to be with, even if it's my best friend… and didn't tell me… and where trying to hide it from me." He sighed, and then looked up at her again. "But like Tuck said, it's almost Christmas, and I'm not looking for fights. Besides, its better him than having someone like Dash dating you."
"For real dude?" Tucker butted in, relaxing a bit. "You're okay with… me going out with her?"
"Yeah." He smiled, walking up to him and helped him stand. "But if you ever hurt her, break her heart or make her cry, I'll figure out a way to get you into the ghost zone with no technology or make you wish that you weren't even alive."
Tucker gulped and nodded slightly, forcing a smile. "Um… thanks?"
Sam smiled and laid her back on the wall, giving Jazz thumbs up. She laughed and ran up to her, practically jumping with excitement. "Come on, let's look for the rest of team Phantom and tell them the great news!"
Sam couldn't help but chuckle. "Leaving your boyfriend so soon to gossip with your friends?"
She looked back at Tucker, and laughed as she noticed that he and Danny had engaged on an interesting conversation already. "Bleh, he'll be fine… I won't be long gone."
On the other side of the house, Ulli was talking with Travis with a smile. He offered her a glass of punch, which she gladly accepted with a smile. Just as he was about to ask her out to dance, Paulina rushed in and gasped.
"Oh my gosh, Ulli! You cut your hair!"
She smiled and nodded, running a hand through her silky shoulder length hair. "Yup! Like it?"
"It looks great!" She smiled. "But why so short? Didn't you like your hair before?"
"I'm just looking for new looks." She shrugged slightly. "I like this style too."
"Well, I approve it." Paulina answered excitedly, giving her thumbs up. "That makes it even cooler!"
Ulli rolled her eyes and nodded slightly. "So, anyway, what were you saying, Travis?"
Paulina took it as her cue to leave, but just as she was about to walk out of the way, she tripped and landed face first into the floor, accidentally pushing a few kids in the way. She sat up quickly, and then stood up as fast as she could, but a ripping sound could be heard.
Everyone around her gasped and looked down at her. She immediately looked down, only to notice that her dress's skirt was all ripped. Her screaming in embarrassment only made more people look at her. In less than a minute, everyone in the party was pointing and laughing at her.
Sam quickly found her way next to Ulli and chuckled. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but poor Paulina!"
"That'll scar her for life." She agreed, nodding and hiding a laugh. "Or at least until college."
Unsurprisingly, no one could find Paulina after that little scene. To keep the party rolling as if nothing had happened, Dash picked up the phone to get some more food. Soon, the doorbell rang; the smell of the food caused many people to turn around to see what it was.
"Well, everyone settle down! It's taco night!!!" He said excitedly, pointing to the many bags of taco that where now on the table.
Everyone bursted in cheers. He smiled and nodded, looking at the line. He noticed that Sam was sitting down on a corner of the house, talking with Lei. "Don't worry; they're some veggie filled in there, no meat."
Sam looked at him surprised and smiled slightly. "Wow Dash, you thought of me? That's so nice of you, for once."
He took it as a compliment… or anything near it and shrugged, walking back to the food table to make sure that everyone got their share of food. Lei stood up and smiled down to Sam, signaling her that something was gonna happen at the party.
Over all, the whole party was a hit, and everyone was enjoying themselves. On the huge mass of people, Sam could spot Lei finding her way to the kitchen quickly. Ulli seemed to notice, because she too went inside the kitchen.
"Lei?"
"Oh, hey Ulli."
"What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you enjoying the party?"
She nodded as she looked through a drawer. "It's an awesome party; I'm just looking for… something."
Ulli's eyes grew wide with curiosity as she walked next to Lei. "Something? Like what?"
"Like this." She smirked, taking out a box in one of the top cabinets. She opened it hopefully and showed its contents to Ulli, who laughed and gave her thumbs up, joining in the prank plan.
Skulker sent a punch to the nearest object, which was a small coffee table, breaking it in half easily. He was so furious that both Ember and Desiree backed away slightly. After noticing what he did he sighed and sat down again, glaring at the screen.
"You two do realize what just happened, don't you?" He growled, pointing at the image of Danny and Tucker, both literally swallowing down full tacos and getting more.
Ember's eyes glowed greener in fury, biting her lip angrily while Desiree sighed. "All that work went to waste!"
"Okay, so the spell wore off… and the music one too." Desiree mumbled quietly, floating across from them with a frown on her face. "Why don't we just do it again?"
"Because, making them like each other has just proven that doesn't do anything besides confuse them!" Ember yelled.
"Why don't we flip the spell?"
Skulker looked at her direction with a confused look. "Flip the spell?"
"You know, do the opposite. It's obvious that the ghost boy has strong feelings for the Goth girl, and has a silly crush on the huntress. Why don't we just put a spell on the girls so they don't like him back?"
"D-Desiree…?" Ember said, pointing at her with a shaky hand as she floated to Skulker's side. He had the same face of amusement.
"What?"
"You're… thinking." Skulker finished for her, taking a deep breath and stood up. "So, what you're saying is that we should go after those two instead of him?"
"No problem, baby pop. With my guitar I can reverse the love spell! Besides, it'll be easy, especially since they're already trying to hide their feelings."
"Well then? Let's get working!" Skulker boomed excitedly. "We have to hurry, the Christmas truce will be held in just a few days."
"Which is more time than what we need…"