Okay, so this is it. A huge thank you to all my faithful readers and reviewers. I really appreciate it. I hope you have enjoyed the story, because I enjoyed writing it, minus the writer's block and technical difficulties, of course. :) Thank you so much for seeing this story through to the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Danny Phantom.
That evening, Danny, Sam, and Tucker went out to dinner to celebrate the success of Sam's plan. They talked and laughed throughout the meal, as if Paulina's pretend attraction to Danny had never come between the three friends.
After dinner, the three parted ways. Danny went home and put his plan into action, one that he hoped would convince his crush to like him back, completely unaware that she already did (after all, he wasn't known as "The Clueless One" for no reason!).
Danny took a shower and changed into a black, long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and black sneakers. He combed his unruly hair, running gel through it and spiking it up. Finally, he sprayed on a little cologne, in a scent that made him feel confident.
Saying good-bye to his parents and sister, he ducked around a corner outside the house to turn ghost and flew a few miles to a huge house. He floated outside a second-story window, nervous as ever. Knowing that the room was occupied because of the music blaring from it, he rapped on the window.
Sam used to be startled by Danny appearing at her window, but now she recognized his tell-tale knock. Turning down the volume on her CD player, she opened the window. Danny could have just as easily phased through, but the room was starting to feel a little stuffy to her, owing to her excitement at seeing him.
"Hey, Sam," he greeted her as he returned to human form. "I hope this isn't a bad time."
"Not at all, Danny. What's up?"
"I just wanted to thank you for helping save me from that witch Paulina."
"You thanked me plenty earlier, when you paid for my dinner."
"Yeah, I still can't believe you let me do that," Danny said with a grin, referring to Sam's tendency to be a modern woman.
"Yeah, well, it was a special occasion. But don't get used to it," Sam responded, perhaps betraying herself a little as she pictured dating Danny and paying her own way. But, as usual, the little slip-up went right over The Clueless One's head.
"So, anyway..." Danny's voice trailed off as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Oh, how she loved when he did that...
"So, you want to listen to some music or something? I ordered a CD online and just got it in the mail this evening," Sam spoke up at last.
"Yeah, sure. But first, I want to tell you something."
Danny wondered if he could go through with this. But when he looked into Sam's eyes, he knew that holding it in any longer would only make him lose his mind. "I love you, Sam. I've been so stupid not to see it before, but looking at you right now, I know it's true."
Sam just stood there in shock, leading Danny to believe that he'd just made a huge mistake. He looked away from her, clearly upset.
"Danny," she said, moving towards him. Reaching out, she took his chin in her hand and turned his face back towards her. "I love you, too."
And with that, they really kissed for the first time. Not a friendly peck on the cheek, or a fake-out make-out, but a kiss between two people who now knew for sure that they were very much in love with each other.
Suddenly remembering something, Danny produced a single red rose from his back pocket. Instead of handing it to Sam, he held it to her nose to let her smell it before gently brushing it over her face, its soft petals tickling her skin. He finally gave it to her, and she put it in a small vase filled with water before attacking him.
A short while later, Danny flew home, still flushed and warm from a very heated make-out session with Sam. As he neared Paulina's house, he saw her and Dash on her porch. He could tell even from his altitude that they had their tongues shoved down each other's throats.
Suddenly Paulina broke the kiss, as if sensing Danny. She pointed up at the sky, shouting and making a scene. "Hey, it's that loser, Danny Fenton!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Dash shouted back, puzzled. "That's just Inviso-Bill."
"But Dash, I'm telling you, Fenton is the Ghost Boy. That's his big secret."
Dash just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Did you really have to interrupt me for that?" he whined, clearly skeptical. After all, Paulina wasn't known for her intelligence- or for speaking kindly of her exes, for that matter.
Danny chuckled as Dash pulled Paulina to him, to play another round of tonsil hockey. As he went the rest of the way home, he felt relieved that he'd finally realized what was in front of his face all along- Paulina was cruel, and she and Dash deserved each other. But, more importantly, his best female friend meant more to him than any other girl ever had. Suddenly it all made sense- why she got mad at him for ditching her and Tucker to hang out with Paulina, and why he hated feeling her resulting hurt.
But now that he knew, he wanted to make it up to Sam. Turning around and going back to her house, he insisted they go for a walk. It was getting late, but the next day was a school holiday, so Sam went along with it. They strolled to the park hand-in-hand and plunked themselves down on a bench to talk. Well, sort of.
"I'm really sorry, Sam," Danny said, still catching his breath from their kissing.
"What for, Danny? You know you're forgiven for your behavior recently. After all, it wasn't completely your fault."
"No, I'm sorry for taking so long to realize what an idiot I was. I still can't believe I had such a crush on Paulina."
"Danny, you're not an idiot. You just needed a little wake-up call, is all. Besides, even if you were an idiot, you're my idiot now, and I'll deal with it accordingly," Sam teased, gazing into his deep blue eyes.
Sam giggled as she watched Danny's eyes flash green, his way of betraying extreme emotion. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers, thankful that the charade was over. It had taken awhile for him to figure things out, but he had gotten rid of the girl that had only wanted his ghost half, and gotten with the girl that had loved him as he was all along. And at that moment, as they kissed beneath the setting sun, both knew they wouldn't trade the other for anyone else in the world.
THE END
A huge thank you in advance for being so kind as to review the last chapter for me!