"Working on a new book?" Danny Phantom touched down on the cold library floor of the ghost zone and smiled at the resident librarian and author. The Ghost Writer looked up.
"Yes, actually- who'd you guess?"
"I followed the smell of an overworked keyboard and burnt ink."
The Ghost Writer frowned. He did not type that fast. Danny caught the look and smirked playfully.
"I'm kidding. I heard you typing, that's all. What's the book about?"
"You don't want to know."
"Oh, come on!" Danny floated up next to him, pretending to read over his shoulder, though in truth he couldn't read Ghost. The writer hunched over instinctively, pushing Danny away.
"No, I'm serious- you read it now and you get sucked in."
"It can't be that good, if it's just a rough draft." Danny reached for the translate button.
"I meant it literally."
"Oh." Danny paused, his finger over the button. He retracted it quickly. "Can you at least tell me what it's about?"
"It's kind of about you."
"Kind of? How so?"
"Well, you're not the only one who's been to other dimensions. I'm writing about that version of you."
"What's he like?"
"That's the part that you really do not want to know." The Ghost Writer resumed typing, leaving Danny to think it over.
"How many guesses do I get?"
"As many as you want- you'll never, not in a billion years, figure it out."
"I'm . . . a girl?"
"No." Tap type tap tap tap.
"A . . . animal of some sort."
"Nope." The Ghost Writer popped the p.
"I'm a . . . mermaid."
"God, no. That's a hideous image, Daniel."
"Don't call me that! Wait- I'm a vampire!" That typing paused.
"What brought that on? And no." The typing resumed, filling the background with taps and clicks.
"Well, Vlad's the only one who ever actually calls me that, and he's a vampire ghost."
"Well . . . I suppose that makes sense, in a weird, twisted, teenage sort of way . . ."
"Shut up. I'm . . . Goth?"
"You're just getting desperate."
"Fine then. I'm older?"
"No."
"Younger?"
"NO! It has nothing to do with your age!"
Danny began to pace, soft thumps accompanying the clicking now.
"Does it have anything to do with my family?"
The Ghost Writer paused. "No."
"My classmates?"
"No."
"Lancer?"
"No. Are you just avoiding the obvious answer?"
Danny ignored him. "My friends?"
"Yes." He sighed. Danny grinned and stopped pacing to put a hand behind his hand and hold up a fore-finger imperiously.
"Ah-ha!" He began to pace again. "Now, does it involve only Sam and tucker, or other people I consider friends?"
"Only Sam and Tucker." The older ghost sighed. God, this boy was dense. It was a miracle he'd been able to weasel away all the other ghosts so far.
"Okay . . . uh, I'm ruling the world, and they're still my best friends."
It took everything the Ghost Writer had to not slam his head against the keyboard in front of him. Was this boy truly that thick? It didn't make sense- he always knew the right answer, always did the right thing- how did he manage to wake up in the morning and not put his pants on backwards?
"No. Just no."
"Uh . . . okay, we're worst enemies in this other dimension you speak of."
"No." He sighed, his frustration making the words appear on the screen even faster.
"Okay, there goes horror. Um, we're all made of Jell-o."
"Daniel, you may be the hero of the both zones, but the heck are you getting these things?"
"Over there." Danny pointed to the poster on the end of the bookshelf nearest to them. On it were different genres. Ghost Writer sighed, seeing the correct answer near the bottom. This would take awhile.
"Okay, that was humor, now for history. We're all in the dark ages?"
"No."
"Fantasy- I'm half fairy instead of ghost?"
"No, but can you imagine Skulker fairy?"
"Please, you're giving me nightmares. Next up, mystery. We're detectives."
"No."
"Sci-Fi. Aliens have invaded!" Danny gasped, put his hands up to his cheeks and swaying dramatically.
"I am NOT going to answer that one."
"You're no fun. Romance . . ."
"Yees?" This would be interesting. What would Danny think of? Surely he couldn't miss this one.
Danny flushed bright green for a moment, the ectoplasm inside him pumping furiously in embarrassment. He quelled it quickly, his words rushing out much too fast to be normal.
"Uh, um, uh, Mom and Vlad are together?" He gulped.
The Ghost Writer just smiled. So this was the real reason Danny refused to admit that he liked her. It might've already happened, almost ruining their friendship- if he wasn't already working on something, he'd definitely be writing a little behind-the-scenes report about this.
"No."
"Um, Sam . . ." He flushed even brighter, his cheeks glowing. "Dangit, can't you just tell me what it is?"
"No, and . . . done!" Ghost Writer put the finishing word on the document and sealed it, successfully turning it into a book instantly, the words, 'Danny Phantom, Dimensional Hero: Book Four' written across the front.
"Can I read it?"
"Tell me what the answer is. You know it."
"''reinloveco'monmandon'!" Danny pleaded, whimpering it all out in one breath. Smirking, Ghost Writer tossed his the book, which Danny deftly caught and flipped open.