uggg...my first fanfiction isn't finished, yet i'm starting another one...i'm really stuck, sorry. so late at night i typed about 7 pages of this because i had an idea and i was hyper. i'll upload them at about three pages at a time, more carefully edited. i have chapter two ready...i'll post it next week.

i always wondered what people would say if this happened...

The girl hurriedly packed up the last of her things for school in her darkly decorated room, unaware she was being watched by a ghost.

Raven hair flopped over unusual purple eyes as Samantha Manson ducked down beneath her bed in search of her favorite pen. "Grr..." she growled on hands and knees, wondering where she could have dropped it. A few more minutes and she'd be forced to leave for school to avoid a tardy.

The ghost just outside her open window did not seem malevolent. In fact, he looked just like a white-haired, neon green-eyed teenager in a bold black-and-white superhero costume, standing in mid-air. He was smiling slightly as he watched her fruitless search.

"Yo, Sam! Taxi's here!" He called out cheerfully.

Sam whirled around, her heart pounding. She looked shocked, then confused, then happy all in the space of a moment. "Danny! Geez! What if my parents barged in? What if I was changing?" She yelled.

The ghost called Danny looked very taken aback.

"Like I change near an open window, silly. Now," she said, more calmly, "what was that about a taxi?"

"I just decided we should take to the air today. We haven't done that...since the Ember thing. Shall we?"

Sam got to her feet. "I'd be delighted. We'll be early today if we fly. Let's go! Stupid pen, I'll just take one of yours. Let my parents think I jumped out the window."

"Don't be morbid!" Danny said, taking her hand.

She jumped up on the windowsill with near-perfect grace, considering she had combat boots on. And a short skirt.

"Backpacks – check. And go!"

And they leaped from the window, with nothing below them, and only Danny's hand to prevent her from dropping to the ground. At first, Sam thought she was doing just that as they plummeted. But he had just decided to do a "steep glide", as he put it, to start off. He dipped and soared up high between buildings in a stomach-turning curve. Now back at normal cruising altitude for Danny, just above the buildings, Sam found herself clutching Danny's hand with both of hers for dear life and panting in fear. Maybe fear wasn't the word. Perhaps exhilaration, or excitement. She trusted Danny and knew she wouldn't fall.

"Wow," Sam said dizzily, feeling lightheaded. "Let's do that again...tomorrow," she amended as Danny prepared to repeat the roller-coaster ride.

She took a deep breath and spread both arms out wide, now needing only her right hand in Danny's hand to stay airborne. She could see the school now, and Tucker, their friend, below, oblivious to the two, hundreds of feet above his head.

Danny glanced sideways at her and smiled. Ghost powers were terrific for all the cool things he could do with them. On the other side, he was pretty much obligated to use them for good – fighting the evil ghosts that popped up so often in his city of Amity Park. That usually was the hardest thing about this. But sometimes, his secret was so hard to keep.

He soared gently with Sam through the air and landed behind a tree. Making sure no one was watching, he let himself transform into a human. As he did so, he marveled at how far he'd gotten with no one knowing he was half-ghost. The ghost who had just flown with Sam was called Danny Phantom, and the black-haired, blue-eyed human he now became was Danny Fenton. Of course, no one believed it was possible to be half-ghost. No one ever dreamed getting zapped by a strange piece of ghost equipment could do that to a person.

Tucker knew, Danny's sister Jazz knew, and of course Sam knew. His friends, and his brainiac sister. But not his parents, or any other full humans. It was a good system.

He was still holding her hand. He ran towards the school, suddenly buoyant and energized, pulling her along.

Sam couldn't help laughing. "Never have I seen you so eager to learn, Danny!"

"It's a good day today. I'm in a good mood. Flying with you helps." Danny smiled a breathtakingly beautiful smile at her. She blushed slightly.

Tucker rushed in behind them, and all three arrived at Danny's locker to chat. All too soon the bell rang for first period, and they left together.

Heaven was truly smiling on him today; no one reminded him of his low position on the social ladder, and a B+ on his math quiz concluded his perfect day. (He'd never been good at math.) He walked home with Sam and Tucker, as usual. He didn't fly them home – though he had thought about it. Flying was strictly a thing between him and Sam. As if they had a silent vow, neither mentioned that morning's method of transportation, though Tucker did ask where they'd been.

"I...was looking for my pen."

"I had to fly because I thought w—I might be late."

Tucker raised an eyebrow at both of them. He was actually a sensitive guy, though something about his techie style seemed to deny it. Something was up, but he didn't ask. He knew they had something going. He smiled inwardly.

Arriving home, Danny found his parents and sister glued to the television.

"Anything on...?" Danny asked casually. When he got no answer, he watched too.

Of course, it was something about ghosts. His parents were manic ghost freaks and kept inventing gadgets to capture and study them, but never seemed to. He hoped they'd never find out his secret. Danny Phantom was actually at the top of their hit list to "dissect molecule by molecule".

"...infamous town ghost Danny Phantom was spotted this morning at about 7:53 am flying about town with a girl!" the newscaster announced gleefully. "We have film of it too!"

Oh, no.

A slightly blurry video appeared on-screen, it showed them just coming up from a steep dive, with Sam clutching Danny's hands tightly and saying something the camera didn't pick up. It followed him until they were too far away.

Danny could only stare and wait with bated breath.

"Notice," the newscaster said excitedly, displaying shiny white teeth, "the girl!" A still image from the film, zoomed in on Sam's face. "She's not a ghost at all! And we were hoping he got a ghostly girlfriend." He laughed.

Danny couldn't blink now.

"She has been identified as Samantha Manson, age 14. One may wonder what the two were doing, as they both have backpacks on their backs. Going to school? Here we have Mr. Lancer, assistant principal of Casper High, where Samantha goes to school! Mr. Lancer, was Samantha at school today?"

Mr. Lancer looked to be in shock. "Yes, Sam was at school today..." he said slowly, and the camera cut swiftly back to the grinning newscaster.

"There you have it! We'll try to interview young Samantha next! Stay tuned for the news again at six!"