Duality

Pairing: Dash x Danny

Warnings: Homosexual relationships. Main DP characters of the story are in their senior year of high school and are 18 years of age. Violence. Foul language.

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.

Summary: A new ghost arrives in Amity Park, and its attack has a costly effect on Danny.

Note: This story was originally titled "Bewteen Forms."

Written: September 2005-October 2005

Chapter 01

The ball was in his possession. Somehow he managed to knock it free from the player on the other team. Danny pivoted around to start down the court when he slammed into a larger body. It felt more like the other person bulldozed right into him. His back hit the floor as the other person's weight fell on top of him. The ball broke free of his hold, bouncing away on the hard wood floor to be scooped up by another player on one of the two teams.

"Fenton." The growl came right by his ear, and Danny swallowed as he realized with whom he collided. He didn't need to turn his head to know the angry glare upon Dash's face. He could practically feel the heat of it on his cheek. A thigh wedged itself between his legs, and Danny tried desperately not to recall the last time they were in a similar situation, even though that was four years ago and under very different circumstances. He refused to acknowledge the rather compromising position they were currently in or the fact that Dash still wasn't moving off him. Dash's weight held him pinned to the floor, and their bodies were fairly well flushed against each other.

"I had the ball," Danny grumbled, keeping his gaze directed toward the ceiling. It was very difficult pretending that he wasn't currently under Dash. Why they got stuck on the same team was the question that kept circling in his head. He could have ended up on one of the other teams, but the fates decided to amuse themselves and stick them with the one person he tried to avoid since freshmen year.

"Whatever." Dash didn't bother throwing any insults as he climbed off Danny. He jogged down the court to catch up with the rest the players.

Danny was much slower to get to his feet. They were going all out against the other team, and Danny was starting to feel the effort catch up to him. His clothes clung to his sweat drenched body, and his breathing was labored. Dash didn't seem to be having any trouble keeping up with the game, and that stirred up a little anger in Danny. But it was no surprise. Dash was the star football, after all. Four years running, and no one stole the title from him.

The game continued with Danny struggling to keep up with the bigger and faster players. Some days, he hated gym class more than usual. Danny lunged for the ball, snatching it away from the dribbling player. He headed down the court as he watched for an open player on his team. Dash reached the other end of the court before anyone else.

"Dash!" Danny called out as he made to pass the ball. Someone else rammed into his back, and his throw went off course. He watched Dash turn in time to catch the ball right in his face. The other team caught the loose ball, and everyone raced for the other end of the court. "Are you okay?" Danny asked, closing the distance between them.

Dash glared as he rubbed his head. "You really do suck at sports, you know."

Tetslaff blew the whistle. "Class dismissed," she barked out, to the relief of many students. "Baxter, Fenton! You're on clean up. Round up the balls and put them away in the storage room."

Dash shot another glare at Danny before he stomped off to grab some of the basketballs. Danny wiped at the sweat on his forehead, happy that the class was finally over. He gathered up as many of the basketballs that he could carry then followed Dash toward the storage room.

"I didn't mean to hit you," Danny said as they dumped the basketballs into the bin where they were stored. "Someone on the other team hit me. And-" He stopped when Dash glared at him. "I'm sorry."

"It's a good thing you never tried out for any sports." Dash stood over him, and Danny suffered flashbacks to freshmen year. He cringed back, waiting for Dash to throw his first punch. But it surprisingly never came.

A creak caught both their attentions, and their heads snapped toward the door. At the same time, they rushed toward it, but neither was fast enough to stop the door from closing. Dash pushed on the door then tried ramming his shoulder into it, but the door refused to budge. They were locked in the storage room.

"Bad luck just follows you around, doesn't it?" Dash shot a dark glare at him.

"Sometimes I wonder," Danny mumbled as he walked to the back wall and leaned against it. He couldn't blame this on ghosts. He slid down to the floor and drew his legs up against his chest. Why couldn't he get locked in the room with Sam or Tucker? At least then he could use his ghost powers to get them out of it. But Dash? He couldn't use his ghost powers with Dash present. Dash would probably run off to tell everyone his secret immediately afterward. Danny already felt lucky that Dash wasn't smart enough to figure it out after that incident in freshmen year when Dash was his fitness buddy. He came uncomfortably close to being discovered when his powers started fading after being shrunk.

But remembering the whole shrinking incident reminded him of the déjà vu that happened earlier during the basketball game. Back then Dash fell on top of him, too, when Danny protected him from getting blown up by Skulker's missiles. At that time, he didn't have much time to think about the position they landed in because he had Skulker to worry about. It wasn't until later that he started having thoughts about it. Bad thoughts. Thoughts he tried to forget about over the next three years. Thoughts that he never even told Tucker and Sam about. Thoughts which involved a similar situation except without Skulker around to disturb things from going a very different way. Now he was stuck in a confined room with Dash, and the thoughts kept sneaking back into his head.

"The basketball coach will have to stop by before practice." Dash gave up on the door, realizing it was hopeless to continue trying to force his way through it. The door refused to budge despite his best efforts. Walking to the back wall, he joined Danny on the floor. "Too bad there's no window in here."

"Yeah." Danny shifted awkwardly as he looked around the room. The only exit was the door, which of course had to be one of those stupid kinds that locked immediately upon shutting. He cursed whoever thought it was a brilliant plan to use that kind of door for the sports equipment storage room. He inched away from the jock until Dash's glare shot toward him again. Danny smiled with nervousness and decided to stay where he was lest he incur Dash's wrath. Luck already blessed him once when Dash didn't punch him earlier. He didn't think it best to test his luck any further.

"Why did I have to get stuck in here with you?" Dash kept his gaze on the door like he could will it to open if he concentrated hard enough.

"Sorry," Danny muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm. With his knees hugged to his chest, he looked away. If only I could use my ghost powers in front of him, we could get out of here, Danny thought, almost wishing he could use them simply so he could get away from Dash. The storage room provided little warmth, and it didn't help that he was still in his gym clothes, a thin shirt and shorts, which were covered with sweat. He shivered and hugged his knees closer.

"What's wrong with you? Cold?" Dash snorted at Danny's show of weakness.

"Of course I'm cold! This room is freezing!" Danny snapped as he pinned a glare on the jock. He bit his tongue when he remembered to whom he was talking. Shrinking away from Dash, Danny waited for the jock to lash out at him for talking back like that.

"Loser." Dash snorted again as he turned his gaze away.

Danny grumbled to himself as he rested his chin on his knees. This was probably one of the worst situations he could have got into, and usually his bad situations involved ghosts. A moment of silence passed when he felt Dash press against his side. Danny's head shot up, and he stared at Dash with wide eyes.

"What?" Dash demanded heatedly. "You said you were cold. There's nothing else in here but sports equipment, so the only way to stay warm is with body heat."

"Are you cold too?" Danny tired to suppress his shock and discomfort. The memory of Dash laying on top of him danced through his mind, and Danny shifted under Dash's arm. Really not the best situation for him right now. As cold as he was, he wanted to put distance between him and Dash.

"Shut up, loser." Dash looked away with a quick jerk of his head.

Danny smirked at that, resting his head on his knees again. Dash was being too "macho" to admit that he was cold too. But it wasn't surprising since Dash was coated in as much sweat as Danny was and also wore the same thin clothing of their gym uniforms. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to will away thoughts of how little clothing separated them and of the warmth the spread through him where their bodies touched. Why did he have to start having thoughts like this about Dash of all people?

Time passed at a snail's pace in the silence of the storage room. Every now and then, one of them would shift a little closer to the other seeking warmth. Danny kept his face buried in his knees, his cheeks flushing with the feel of Dash's body pressing against him. He didn't want the thoughts that slipped into his head. An hour passed before the basketball coach finally came. As soon as they heard the door start to open, they leaped away from each other. The coach stared in confusion as the two men raced past him out of the storage room. Neither of them wanted to spend one moment longer in there. Once they were out of sight of the coach, Dash grabbed Danny's shirt and drew him close.

"No one ever hears about what just happened," Dash threatened in a whisper.

"Right, of course." Danny nodded in agreement as his heart hammered in his chest. "What happens behind a locked door stays behind a locked door."

Dash shoved Danny away and walked down the hall way. Danny stared after him in wonderment. He expected Dash to beat him to a bloody pulp or something else to ensure his silence. A frown crossed his face as confused thoughts raced through his mind. He almost thought he saw a faint trace of pink on Dash's cheeks, but surely that was only his imagination. Shrugging it off, he headed to the boys' locker room to change back into his normal clothes.