#dweeb! *flicks them between their eyes

[p1nkc4lyps0]

sorry about that bro totally spilled my pack bonding instinct there

time taken: 8 hours 20 mins

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#teehee! #ahhh trauma from 6 heart event plus animal instinct equals this bitch having a clingy moment #dweeb! *flicks them between their eyes #farmer mash #stardew valley #shane stardew valley #sdv shane #shane x farmer #stardew shane #oc #oc art #original character #art #comic #stardew comic #stardew valley fanart #stardew valley art #sdv comic #sdv fanart #sdv oc

[mediumgayitalian]

“Come here, you dweeb. Let me fix it.”

Will pouts, dragging his feet over and slumping half on top of him. Nico allows it with a smile and a roll of his eyes, pinching Will’s shoulder. He doesn’t react except for a wounded noise, muffled in Nico’s lap, so the situation is evidently quite dire.

“It’s just hair, Will.”

“But I worked on it!” He shifts around until he’s got his head in Nico’s lap, face turned towards him, body curled up on the grass around him. Nico brushes his tangled bangs off his forehead, meeting his big sad eyes. “I spent forty minutes with a stupid brush! And yet!”

“And yet,” Nico agrees, unable to appropriately school is face into one of somber understanding. Will scowls at him for his lack of proper sympathy, a little bit of genuine hurt in his eyes, so Nico leans down and kisses right between his brows in apology. He seems mollified, if only slightly, or at least he leans into Nico’s touch and stops mumbling quite so much.

“‘S’not fair.”

“Mhm.“

“Your hair listens to your instructions.”

“Yep.”

“Even Cecil’s hair listens to him, and no one listens to Cecil.”

Nico purses his lips thoughtfully. “I think Austin listens to Cecil.”

“Yes, I know. It’s an ongoing issue. I’m trying to train him out of it.”

“And how’s that going?” Nico murmurs, curling a strand of golden blond hair around his finger.

“Oh, well, I’m doing my best, so of course it’s going horribly.”

Nico snorts. He resists the urge to hold his palms to Will’s cheeks and kiss every single freckle at light speed, because he will screech something about how Nico is one-upping him in the romance department or something stupid like that. Instead he settles for looking at his dumb dramatic boyfriend’s face and marvelling over the fact that the cutest boy in the entire world, and Nico is being totally objective, hunts around camp until he finds whatever tree Nico is hiding under and curls up into a ball around him and trusts Nico to hold him while he complains about stupid things that genuinely hurt his feelings a little. It’s nice. So many people at camp are still so rigid around him, like he’s collecting information for their judgement day or something. Will prefers to exercise his lesser-known Apollonian talent of being a bigger drama queen than the god himself.

“Stay still,” Nico says softly, moving Will around so he’s laying perpendicular to Nico, now, head centered in his lap and staring up at the sky. Will sighs and squirms a little and turns his head to press a kiss to Nico’s knee, scrunching up his face and releasing it, and then settles in the position.

Humming something soft that exists on the fringes of his foggy memories, he sinks his hands into Will’s hair.

“It’s not that bad,” he promises, moving slowly and pausing whenever he comes across a knot.

Will harrumphs.

“I mean it, Marilyn Monroe. You can tone down the histrionics.”

“I used gel.”

Nico flicks a dried clump of it onto Will’s forehead, amused. “I can see that.”

“I followed every single one of Mitchell’s instructions!”

“I bet.”

“And yet!”

“And, yet.”

Nico has a sneaking suspicion that someone made a comment about Will’s hair, in the last few weeks. He can never confirm it and Will has been shifty about it every time he asks, but Nico has noticed the uptick in hoods and hats the past month and his little flinches every time Nico reaches up and tugs on it. Despite being oddly confident about the oddest things — why he is so proud of being able to fit his fist in his mouth, Nico will never know — Will is very sensitive to how people think of him. He needs to know he’s liked, and when people don’t like him, he gets…desperate, pleasing. The opposite of Nico, who becomes worse in an attempt to push them away on his own terms.

Nico leans down and presses a long, lingering kiss to his forehead.

“I like your hair, you know.”

“It’s a stupid mess.”

He smooths down a handful of it, pressing it over Will’s eye. He manages to keep a straight face for one, two, three seconds before he huffs a laugh, batting Nico’s hands away. Nico grins.

“I like the stupid mess.”

“Yeah, well, you like a lot of weird things.”

“Like you?” Nico suggests, pressing another kiss to the tip of his rounded nose.

“Shut up.”

Another strange thing about him, that Nico has to duck his head to hide his automatic smile: he gets embarrassed easily.

Nico never expected it of him, with all the dorky, medical-themed pickup lines and general shamelessness in his affection towards everybody on Earth, but especially Nico. When the poking, prodding attraction is turned on him, however, he shuts down like an overloaded Playstation. Nico can sometimes see the error messages playing behind its eyes. It’s hilarious.

“Will.” He pokes him in the cheek. “Hey.”

“What,” Will grumbles.

“I think you’re beautiful.”

Watching the slow spread of red from below the collar of his shirt to the roots of his hair is a delight. Nico watches in glee, wrestling Will’s hands away when he tries to slap them over his face.

“Shut up! Leave me alone! Go — flirt with somebody else!”

“You’d curse them to speak in rhymes for ten years,” Nico teases.

Will makes an agonised noise. “Who! Asked you! Shut up!”

“You’d sic Kayla on anyone who so much as winks at me, you jealous bitch.”

“I would not!”

“You would so. You rolled your eyes at everything Percy said for three weeks when you found out I used to crush on him —”

“I did not!”

“— and you didn’t even have the balls to ask me out, back then.”

“You are a — peddler of falsehoods! A prevaricator, a perjurer, and a fabulist!”

“And you sound like you swallowed a thesaurus,” Nico snickers. He catches the hand Will flails at him, pressing a kiss to the wrist, which only serves to fluster him more. He decides to take mercy when the kisses he trails down his arms result in one loud, long, tortured screech, pulling back and giving him some space.

Notably, he doesn’t move from Nico’s lap.

“I like it,” Nico admits, once Will has calmed down some. “I like that you’ve liked me for so long.”

Will peeks through the fingers he has covering his eyes. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Yes.” Nico squeezes his shoulders. “And endearing, which seems to be your sweet spot.” He presses a much softer kiss to the underside of Will’s ear, lingering there until he sighs, slumping under all the tension finally leaving his body. “I love you, Will. I love your clumsiness and your rambles and your nose and your freckles and your awkwardness and your jealousy and your hair and I love you, Will, all of you. Even the embarrassing weird parts.” He kisses him again. “Especially the weird parts.”

Will breathes slowly, carefully, evenly, face pressed to the inside of Nico’s thigh. His long eyelashes tickle his skin. Nico can feel the press of his Adam’s apple when he swallows, pulsing against his calf.

“I never thought you were a freak.”

Nico brushes his knuckles over his cheek. “I know.”

“I used to — talk about you. All the time. And your oxytocin levels.”

He smiles.

“I know.”

“Lee had a — chart.” Some of the flush rises back up in his cheeks. “A ‘Days Since We’ve Heard About Di Angelo’ chart.”

Nico bites his lip. Hard.

“The number never got higher than six.”

“…I am trying really, really hard, Will.”

Will sighs.

“You can laugh.”

Nico cracks up, trying desperately to muffle his giggles in his bitten fist. It doesn’t work very well, but the glare Will sends him is somewhat softened by the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

“Gods, you are — a mess.”

“Mhm.”

Nico cups the side of his face. Will turns, slightly, enough to press a kiss to the centre of his palm and then stay there, eyes closed, breathing against his sword-callused skin.

“I love you too, by the way. Obviously.”

“I know.”

“Don’t Han Solo me, you bastard.”

“Go ahead and try to stop me,” Nico challenges, grinning into the passionately indignant kiss Will presses to his lips, finally, letting Nico curl his hands in his hair.

#i’m in love w rizzed up nico i’m sorry will is such a flailing mess there’s no way he’s the one with game #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #hoo #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo toa #i’ll acknowledge that will does actually have a fair bit of game but #as soon as nico figures out how to exploit his dorkiness. cmon. #bro as soon as nico finds out how long will has liked him 😭😭 he’s done for fr #nico di angelo/will solace #nico/will #will/nico #solangelo #established solangelo #fluff #100 ways #100 ways to say i love you #whipped will solace #whipped nico di angelo #down bad will solace #will solace #nico di angelo #my writing #longpost

[robthegoodfellow]

snippet of up an coming chapter which I’m gonna post before end of the week if it kills me. premise: Billy’s been flayed, and it ripped most of his soul/consciousness out of his body. He discovers a way to move by hitching a ride on light/sound waves, and recently realized if he summons emotionally charged memories of Steve, he can... propel himself around. So he goes to the mall.

When he blew into Scoops Ahoy, Robin was at the counter, trying to explain to Miss America Sinclair the limits of company policy regarding free samples. Miss America was unimpressed.

Harrington was nowhere to be seen, so Billy hunkered down to wait in the shelter of one of the shiny vinyl booths, which mercifully provided some protection from the surrounding sensory chaos.

He didn’t have a plan, particularly, beyond investigating the boundaries of these bizarre abilities and constraints. If Will had found ways to communicate between dimensions, there had to be a way for Billy to, as well, especially given he had the advantage of already being back in his desired realm—sort of. And who better to contact first than Harrington, who knew the score on the town’s supernatural track record and knew Billy best?

Plus, he just… wanted to be around him, okay?

What he hadn’t taken into consideration: Harrington was the favored chump of a whole slew of high-maintenance middle schoolers who gleefully exploited him for rides, backdoor access to the cinema, discount ice cream, girl-advice-boy-advice-hair-advice, random all expenses paid trips to the diner, late night Eggo runs, lax chaperoning on bone-headed escapades… You name it, the dweebs and their poor misguided girlfriends had asked for it, and Harrington had most likely given it.

Billy could not believe that even in this pseudo-afterlife, he still could not escape the Harrington-Henderson handshake, and this rendition was more excruciating than most. Even though he tried not to look during demonstrations past—his secondhand embarrassment too acute—he caught on as quickly as Dustin that Harrington’s heart wasn’t really in it, today.

He’d tried to welcome the kid back with all due enthusiasm, but—yeah, his boy was not an actor. No poker face to speak of.

“What’s wrong?” Dustin asked over his sundae, when Harrington had settled them into the booth across from where Billy was invisibly chilling.

Harrington waved dismissively. “It’s nothing,” he said, grimacing. “Billy drama.”

Dustin’s eyes narrowed, clearly running through the many varieties of drama in which Billy might be embroiled. “Family, legal, or romantic?”

Cheeky little shit.

Harrington glared, because he was ride or die like that, but then his expression fell, and he picked at the laminate tabletop, hunched pathetically in his sailor boy uniform.

“Might be—” He cleared his throat, paused long to steady himself, and now Dustin looked concerned. “Might be over. Between us.”

“What?” Dustin cried, distraught, and if Billy hadn’t wanted to sink through the floor at Harrington’s words, never to see the light of day again, he would have been chuffed at the kid’s apparent investment in their relationship. “What do you mean? I’ve only been gone a month­­—what could have happened in a month?”

“A lot,” Harrington stated, a thousand-yard stare fixed on what he wasn’t naming—and didn’t that ache. Trying for a wry smile, Harrington produced more of a grimace, and shrugged, shoulders tight. “We were supposed to meet at mine to—to talk, but he… never came.” He rubbed at bleary lids. “Waited up all night.”

Fuck.

“I mean—there could be a good reason,” Dustin pointed out, then his face went slack, eyes wide. “Or a bad reason. Has anyone—?”

Harrington nodded, flicked a reassuring hand. “Got ahold of Max this morning. All she’d say was he went off to his shift like normal. Seemed totally fine, according to her.”

“But—” Dustin waved his spoon, chocolate syrup flying. “But that in itself is weird, isn’t it? No way in hell would Billy be acting normal if he thought you two were over. Not that he ever acts normal. Normal for him, I mean.” He gazed earnestly at Harrington, and Billy always knew Dustin was he favorite dweeb. Sorry, Will. “He wouldn’t. He’d be—burning down the town, probably!”

Harrington chuckled, a painful sound. “I don’t know. I’m just—gassed, man. So I dunno.”

Oh, babe. Billy was a puddle on the table. I’m so sorry.

When Dustin seemed unwilling to let it go, Harrington awkwardly nudged the kid’s arm, brightened his tone. “Why don’t you just—tell me about camp?”

Dustin cringed, blushing. “Is… now a bad time to tell you I got a girlfriend?”

The dweeb demoted himself almost immediately by dropping unwanted details about said girlfriend’s kissing preferences, though Harrington’s reaction was priceless. While they shot the shit about Camp Know-It-All, Billy studied the pieces on the board—tried to ignore the part of him that wanted to ripple over to Harrington and shake him until he realized something strange was afoot. Sure, it may have worked, but it just as easily could… fry every synapse in his beautiful head. No, better to approach that option with caution.

Dustin, at least, seemed primed to pick up on signs that something was off—with Billy’s body, at least. That was something. And now that he’d floated the idea to Harrington… Maybe he could stoke things a bit. Turning his attention to Robin at the cash register, he kicked himself for not looping her into all the Upside-Down nonsense when he had the chance, NDAs be damned. She was the real puzzle solver. Fuck.

He tuned back into the conversation across the way in time to hear Dustin whisper-shouting about an intercepted message from a Russian spy and would have rolled his eyes so hard if he had any. Because no—no, no, no—no way was he letting this twerp divert Harrington into some harebrained misadventure when they had a genuine crisis here. This was why Dustin was his least favorite—this, right here. One minute it’s help me capture my pet lizard that’s actually an interdimensional monster and the next it’s let’s leave a mile-long trail of raw beef to a remote location—what could go wrong?

Vibing with the top forty bullshit faintly pulsing from the speakers outside the entrance, Billy wafted to hover in the middle of the booths and considered his options. If he could thrum enough to make Harrington notice, then it stood to reason he could… interact with stuff, on some level. Still leery of accidentally triggering a heart attack if he messed too much with a body’s rhythms, he opted for the inanimate object most likely to get their attention and which incidentally allowed him some small revenge on Dustin.

Thoughts of Harrington passing him their soda can at lunch, his thumb grazing Billy’s, were just enough to propel him overtop the goopy remnants of the sundae—the spoon half buried in melted vanilla and whipped cream—and then summoned an oldie but a goodie: Harrington fumbling into the shower, buck naked, brazen, ballsy, scared shitless, and—the kiss. Their first kiss.

Even if they somehow missed the rattle of the bowl on the table, the ringing clatter of the spoon against the glass was like his own little alarm clock. What the fuck? he heard Harrington mutter, as Dustin babbled something about earthquakes.

Billy turned the dial, so to speak, sank into the memory—Harrington’s lips slick in the wet steam of the shower, the wet of their spit, brushing Billy’s mouth, Billy breathless with the shock of it, the what-the-fuck-is-this-really-happening, the hammering of his heart, the awe, the sheer euphoric rightness.

The was a crack, and Harrington yelped, pushing back in his seat as Dustin bolted out of the booth, squinting at the crowds milling around the food court.

“Eleven?” he hollered, hands cupped like a trumpet. “Guys? Still not funny!”

“I don’t think it was her,” said Harrington, poking cautiously at the shards of the split dish as melted ice cream oozed onto the table. “Hopper didn’t request any chaperones.”

“What are you numbskulls shouting about?” Robin called, pausing as she wiped down the counter with a long-suffering look on her face.

Dustin spun around, patting the top of his hat, self-conscious, hyper-aware of Robin being very much not in the know. “Nothing,” he said. “Just—the bowl. Uh, it… broke?”

“One of them cracked in the washer the other day,” she informed him. “They’re cheap as shit.” Balling up the rag in her hand, she launched it at Harrington, who barely looked up in time to catch it. “Clean up your mess, Sailor Steve.”

Frustrated, Billy took stock, then, remembering past stories of run-ins with the supernatural, he buoyed himself up to the fluorescent lights—recollections of running his fingers though Harrington’s hair—and when he was hovering among the humming bulbs, resisting the waves beaming outward, he started small, not wanting to send a shower of glass upon their heads. Small. Just—the way Harrington said his name. Casually. Fondly.

The lights flickered, and that’s when he almost had them sold, saw Dustin and Harrington gaping up at the lights, then at each other, then back at the lights.

“It’s back,” whispered Dustin.

“The rolling blackouts?” Robin surmised. “Yeah, they’ve been happening all summer.”

“No, the—” He caught himself. “I mean, yeah—the blackouts.”

Billy waited, sank a bit. The flickering stopped. Come on. Billy the no-show... Sudden spooky shit… Equals Billy is in TROUBLE…?

Okay, laid out like that, he saw how the leap of logic was… more of a long jump. If only he could write his name on the frosty window of the ice cream display or something—ghosts were always writing shit in scary movies. But without hands—not even ghost hands—how was he supposed to…?

Robin was at the register ringing up a customer, the buttons beeping as she tallied the purchase, the receipt stuttering out of the slot.

“Have a nice day.”

He let the light beams carry him forward until he floated just above the keypad. The squared buttons kinda reminded him of that time Harrington let him use his family’s fancy typewriter so Billy could finish the final draft of that Gatsby essay—and he shot forward, blanketing the register, triggering several keys with the force of the vibrations. The machine let out a multi-toned squeal, and Robin jolted back.

“Weird,” she said, and pressed the CLR key, wiping out the string of numbers that had appeared on the screen.

Okay. Billy could work with this. Maybe. If he could just… really fine-tune his precision, maybe he could…

He focused on the six with every iota, and—tried thinking of Robin, this time. Just to see. Thought of her marching him to the music room the day they met, fully intent on unveiling her erotica addiction to a near stranger.

The register beeped. A six appeared.

Now they were in business. Only, before he could try another, Robin had frowned and cleared the screen again. Bitch. Quick as he could, he aimed at the six, thought of Robin’s goofy smile—boom—then shifted one key up, thought of her goofy laugh, and… there.

.69 glowed from the screen.

Robin squinted, hit the CLR key. So Billy did it again.

.69

“Guys?” Robin glanced at where Harrington and Dustin were cleaning the table. “I think the register is sexually harassing me.”

previous chapters if you dare read a WIP

#spin me right round #billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove #others appearing include #robin buckley #dustin henderson #billy is a blob

[patchwork-crow-writes]

"Figuring it out"

She took up a full half of the couch, lounging into the armrest, her left leg drawn up slightly. Not exactly closed-off, but not exactly inviting either.

Her companion sat ramrod-straight next to her, eyes glued to the flickering TV in front of them. On it, a gigantic human towered over flaming buildings, tipping them over like toys in their wake and sending screaming monsters fleeing like panicked ants.

Attack on Human - one of Susie's favourite movies. Though she was struggling to get into it tonight.

'More like "Attack on Giant Dweeb", am I right?' she growled.

No response, except for a small nod.

She rolled her eyes, lifting a clawful of popcorn to her mouth. The cheap stuff that tasted like sugared cardboard. She just didn't get Kris sometimes. They'd go from animated and playful, to stiff and awkward and unresponsive, seemingly at random. Some days, it was like the two of them were almost the same person, completely in-sync with one another. Other times, it was like being stuck in an elevator with a dead person. Susie couldn't figure out why, or what it meant...

...did it mean anything at all?

Wasn't that just... how they'd always been?

She wasn't sure what made her do what she did next. Perhaps it was just the sounds of screaming and explosions coming from the telly, providing something of a cover. Perhaps it was frustration at the whole situation... or perhaps something more fundamental still. But Susie found herself reaching tentatively across the gap between them, claw unfurling like a delicate bloom. Pushing down years of discomfort, a lifetime of anxiety, to ever-so-gently tap them on the shoulder.

'A-are we-?'

Kris's head turned straight at her, and the words caught in her throat. Their expression didn't change, they didn't say anything. They just... stared. Waiting for her to continue.

She swallowed. 'Kris, is everything... like, cool? Are we... you... y'know. Cool?'

They continued to stare at her, as if they hadn't heard what she said. From the neglected TV, the wailing of sirens and distant human screams filled the air. Susie almost wanted to shut the damn noise off for a moment so she could actually think straight for a change... she almost didn't hear Kris respond with 'Yes.'

She blinked. 'Hey, wh--?'

But the moment had passed, and their attention returned to the telly. Susie almost choked on her popcorn, how quickly it had all happened. How throwaway it had all been.

"Yes"? "Yes"?! Is that REALLY all they had to say on the subject? There she was, daring to put herself out there, like PROPERLY out there, and the best they could come back with was... the hell was she supposed to do with a weak-ass response like THAT?!

Ohh, if that had been literally ANYBODY else, she'd have tipped the entire couch out the window with them still on it...

'Yes,' they said again, louder this time. Not turning to look at her, but with the faintest phantom of a smile. And Susie stopped, because now she could hear what that single word was actually trying to say.

Kris's tone was warm and soft and genuine. It was a joyous affirmation of their connection, a quiet thank-you for her care and concern, and a solemn declaration that yes, the both of them were indeed "cool". More than cool.

And that was... it was...

Clenching her teeth, she flicked her head back towards the TV, covering her face with her expansive mane. Hell if she'd let them have the satisfaction of seeing this.

'Y-you're such a freaking dweeb. Y... y'know that, don'tcha?'

'Mm-hmm.'

'...good. Just so we... we're clear on that.'

'...yep.'

'Right. Great.'

Susie squirmed slightly, extruding herself from the corner of the couch, lowering her leg and daring to scootch just a little closer towards the middle of the couch. Kris didn't seem to acknowledge the gesture, but perhaps, in the flashing light of the TV screen, she might have imagined their smile crack just a little bit wider.

And, hey. That was kinda cool.

#fiction #microfiction #deltarune #kris dreemurr #susie deltarune #writing #fanfiction #fluff #friendship #First piece in a while that doesn't feature Ralsei #Is Crow feeling okay? #Checks to make sure the Rapture isn't happening outside

[five-rivers]

Quit Your School, Join My Ghost Band

@brokeitwiththepowerofmathamatics

.

Danny screamed into the void.  It screamed back, quite literally, ectoplasm and pseudo-emotional loci echoing the sound and feelings back at him.  The tree next to him was stripped of leaves, but regrew them even before Danny dropped to his knees, gasping.  

He couldn’t breathe.  He couldn’t breathe.  He curled in on himself, hands grasping at the purple-gray rocks that made up the floating island.  

As a ghost, he didn’t need to breathe.  Shouldn’t need to breathe.  He’d been to space with no oxygen.  He shouldn’t be out of breath, ever.  

Iron and salt coated the back of his tongue and his body shook.  His rings flickered in and out.  He tasted citrus and copper.  He spit, and his saliva was speckled with green and red.  Gross.  

At least he hadn’t transformed this time.  That was good.  Keeping a secret identity didn’t just keep him from being arrested, it kept him from being horribly experimented on by the government.  Or his parents.  Or random ‘ghost hunters.’  Or alien enthusiasts.  Man, those guys were not picky.  Something people should have already figured out from their obsession with ‘probing.’ 

He pushed himself up to sit on his heels.

Having his strongest attack wipe him out like this really wasn’t ideal.  Yeah, it was a last-ditch thing, not something he was going to pull out for just anyone, but what if it didn’t work?  What if he went all in, and his opponent still had fight left, after he’d run out?

He’d die, that’s what.  

Since he wasn’t an idiot, no matter what his grades said, and he didn’t actually have a death wish, no matter what kind of jokes he made, he was practicing.  Because practice made perfect, or at least better, and with the way the ghosts coming through the portal were getting stronger and nastier…

He shook himself.  He’d probably be okay to try again in an hour or so, if he wanted to go the endurance route.  Repeated use should make it easier, right?  That was how things worked.  Or he’d be able to fly home.  

He was highly tempted to fly home.

“Wow, babypop, that sounded pretty wretched.”

Danny jumped and overbalanced, finally getting around to face Ember while crouched on the ground.  It was his luck to run into an enemy while practicing a skill that incapacitated him in an effort to not get incapacitated in front of an enemy.  

Ember, for her part, looked unconcerned.  She blew a bubble in the neon pink gum she was chewing, and popped it.  

“You’re gonna wreck your voice if you keep up like that, you know?”

“What?” rasped Danny.

“If you keep doing that, you’re going to wreck your voice.  You’ll wind up sounding like a fifty-year-old lifelong smoker before you’re twenty if you keep that up.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Permanently, I mean, rather than this temporary bit you have going on here.”  She traced a finger over him.  “Have you never heard of vocal warm ups?  Or maybe just not screaming at the top of your lungs?  It’s godawful to listen to.”

“Well, sorry to disturb you, but that’s how my power happens to work,” said Danny, angrily, wincing at how his voice cracked.  

“Are you sure?”

“Uh, yeah?”

Ember rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, yeah, whatever.  You don’t know squat, do you?”

“H-hey!”

“It’s so painful listening to you.  It makes me want to put holes in my eardrums.”  She flicked her fingers, and a tongue of blue fire appeared between them briefly before dissolving into a small, paper card, which she held out to Danny.  “Look, when you’re done feeling like you just gargled sandpaper, come look me up.  Believe it or not, I do know my way around voice based powers.  And how to scream without destroying your vocal cords.”

Danny stared at her, uncomprehending.  

“It’s a calling card, dweeb.  Medieval, I know, but there aren’t exactly phones or road maps around here.  Not safe ones, anyway.”

“A what?”

“God, you’re a loser.  A calling card.  It’ll show you where to find me, moron.  Have you never been invited anywhere?”

“Not in the Ghost Zone,” said Danny, before grimacing and rubbing his throat.

“I almost feel sorry for you, but honestly I can’t blame them.  You kinda suck.  Try honey.”

“Wha?”

“Honey.  Like from bees.  You have heard of bees, right?”

“I’ve heard of bees.”

“Good for you, babypop,” said Ember, in a falsely sweet voice.  She took her gum out of her mouth and threw it at him.  “Later!”

.

Jazz attacked his hair with brutal efficiency.  

“She said all that, and then stuck ghost gum in your hair?”

“To be fair, to her it’s just gum,” said Danny.  “I’m just hoping it doesn’t gain sentience.  Or, you know, eat all my hair.  How much do you think you’ll have to cut off?”

“Uh,” said Jazz.  “Still working on that.”

“I mean,” said Danny, as Jazz tugged on his hair, “she seemed sincere.  As sincere as Ember ever is, anyway.  She could’ve wasted me by herself just then, too.”

“I suppose that’s true.  It seems a bit… confrontational, though.”

“Yeah, maybe.  But not in terms of, like, other ghosts, if that makes sense?”

The scissors went snik snik near his ear.  “Uh huh.  In that context, sure,” said Jazz.  “But I’m not entirely sure it’s smart to judge ghosts by a completely different behavioral scale than humans.  If someone from Casper High walked up to you and treated you like that, then gave you an invitation to their house, would you go?”

“Yeah,” said Danny.  

“Really?”

“I mean, I have done that.  I went to Dash’s party, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, you did,” said Jazz.  “But didn’t they also mercilessly mock and demean you?”

“Well,” said Danny.  “Yes.  Yes they did.”

Jazz sighed.  “You’re going to go anyway, aren’t you?”

“Yep.  I mean, hey, worst case scenario is that we fight each other, and we do that every other week, anyway.  Right?”

“I guess,” said Jazz.  She put down the scissors and Danny heard something drop into the trash bin next to them.

“Oh, are you done?  Thanks for–”  Danny ran a hand over his hair.  What was left of it.  He brought his other hand up to check what he was feeling.  “Jazz.”

“Okay, before you get mad, I did tell you that I’d never cut anyone’s hair before and you had a lot of gum in it.”

“It’s gone Jazz!”

“It’ll grow back!  Our family doesn't have a history of male pattern baldness!”

“I have school tomorrow!”

“You can wear a hat!”

“Not all day I can’t!”

“What are you kids–  Oh my,” said Maddie.  She came fully into the room.  “Oh dear.”

Danny put his face in his hands.

.

“It isn’t that funny!” complained Danny.  “You can stand up now.  You don’t even need to breathe!”

Ember did not straighten up.  In fact, she pulled her feet off the ground so she could rotate in the air, laughing.  Gradually, she drifted to the center of the stage that made up the majority of her lair.

“Your hair.  It’s even better than I imagined!  Serves you right for doing it to me!  Ha!”

“You did that on purpose?”

“You were there when I threw the gum, babypop.”

Danny huffed.  “I’m going home.  I don’t have to deal with this.”

Ember grabbed his shoulder.  “No, you’re not.  I’m a ghost of my word, and you really do have atrocious screaming technique, even if you do have a great set of pipes.”

Danny was dubious, but he stopped.  

“Great,” said Ember, “we can get you started on some warm ups.”

.

“You’ve been doing the warm ups every day?”

“Every day,” confirmed Danny.  

“Alright,” said Ember.  “Let’s hear them.  Then you can do one of your screamy things.”

“It’s called the Ghostly Wail.”

“That’s so lame.”

.

“Here, see if you can sing this,” said Ember, shoving a sheet of paper at Danny.  

He looked down at it.  “Uh,” he said, “I can’t read this.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I mean, there aren’t actually any words here.  Just notes.”

“You can’t read music?” asked Ember, in disbelief.  

“Believe it or not, fighting ghosts all the time kind of precludes me from being in band or choir.  Or anything extracurricular, for that matter.”

“Precludes.  You steal that word from your sister?”

“A vocabulary test, actually.”

“God, you’re hopeless.”  She materialized her guitar.  “Sing along with me, loser.”  She strummed a chord.  

“You know, I’m starting to detect an ulterior motive at play here.”

“Shut up and sing.”

.

“I’m not here to learn guitar,” said Danny.  

“Either learn it, or you can say goodbye to my help.  You’ve been able to do your thing without collapsing, right?”

“I guess,” said Danny, a bit sulkily.  He had always wanted to learn to play an instrument.  It was just the method…

“So, hold the neck like this.  No, not like that.  You’ll put a nasty crick in your neck.  You still have all those stupid little bones.”

.

“What’s going on?” asked Danny.  There were a lot more ghosts in Ember’s lair than there usually were, swarming over the stage and the seating in front of it.  

“Oh, good, you’re here.  You’re backup vocals and guitar.”

“I’m what?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” said Ember.  “I know you aren’t deaf.  Speaking of, earplugs are in that jar over there.”  She pointed.  

“So,” said Danny, “this is the ulterior motive.”

“Well, yeah, dipstick.  What do you think we were practicing for?”

.

“I hate you,” said Danny, hoarsely.  

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”  Ember threw a bottle of water at him.  “We have another gig on Tuesday, one o’clock.”

“I have school.  And I’m not part of your band.”

“Quit your school, join my ghost band.”

“... No.”

“Alright, Saturday, then.”

.

Danny stood on a lonely island in the Ghost Zone.  The tree next to him flexed its leaves.  

He took a deep breath, and wailed.  

When he was done, he was still on his feet.  

“See?  I told you it’d pay off,” said Ember.  “Now, this is our playbill for our next gig.”

“I’m still not in your band.”  His throat was a little sore, but it was nothing as compared to what he’d dealt with before Ember’s lessons.

“It’s cute how you still think that, babypop.  Anyway…”

#danny phantom #brokeitwiththepowerofmathamatics #phic phight #phic phight 2022

[the19thduckpotato]

@allmightluver  I didn’t want to spam you and I figured a few others might enjoy this as well, so here is that fluffy dream snippet I promised to share.  <3  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toshi made a soft noise in his sleep.  The arm draped about Izuku tensed for a moment, as if trying to protect the boy.  Then it fell away, no longer a hindrance. "Nnnu... wakeup....." Izuku slumped against Toshi's chest, sticky eyelids closing. One last dissatisfied grunt, and he lost the battle to sleep far quicker than he should have. Toshi unknowingly returned the grunt, but it was a pleased, almost victorious grunt.  He shifted, Izuku's weight settling against him.  Satisfied, his breathing evened out. Golden afternoon sun painted the wall over their heads.

. .. ... .... The child clutched his backpack, eyes wide and nervous.  The roads didn't make sense here.  They should have.  They seemed almost familiar but each time he turned a corner, expecting to see home, the roads turned unfamiliar.  Home felt farther and farther away the more corners he turned. Unsettling fear crept in.  He just wanted to go home.  He looked about for help, trying to quell his panic. Everything was glaringly, dishearteningly, unfairly devoid of people.  The world loomed far too large and the child bit back a cry of terror. One more corner Surely someone is here. Please please His sneakers pounded the pavement as he rushed the next corner, as if hoping to catch the world in the act before it shifted on him again. However, he had also squeezed his eyes shut, scared that this new corner would also look unfamiliar.  So he didn't notice the big kid until he thudded off of him. "The hell?" the big kid snarled.  Behind him, two other big kids watched as the first grabbed the child by the front of his shirt and shook him.  "Why doncha watch where you're going?!" I know you The child's blue eyes lit with fear, trying not to glance at his backpack. please don't please don't please please One of the other big kids yanked the backpack from the child's hands, ignoring (or enjoying) the whimper. "What's the lil nerd got?" "Comics!" the third remarked, barking laughter.  He held up one.  "Wondorous Woman?!  That's a GIRL'S comic, you lil dweeb!" someone please "You don't need to read this crap!" PLEASE The third big boy gleefully tore the first page off, a messy diagonal rip.  The child screamed angrily and swiped at him. "Oh HO, the lil nerd's got spice!" the first one sneered.  "Let's show him what we think of that."  He pulled one meaty fist back. someone please help me!

A small figure barreled out of nowhere and shoved the bully out of the way. A (very) young voice screeched angrily "YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" A freckled face that couldn't be more than six years old scrunched up with anticipation  of coming pain and righteous anger. The face flickered, as if reality was glitching, being replaced with an older, more tired version of itself. Eyes of thirteen years old glared out, far more subdued and cynical than they had any right to be. Jaw locked, arms up to guard his face. Daring the boys to come closer. Another, stronger flicker, and the small body grew taller, more muscular, green lightning flickering around. Standing as tall as his five foot six body would allow, broadened shoulders yelling a silent get lost, anger contained for fear of injuring the attacking children. One last flicker, a blurry form glitching into being. Six feet tall, eyes glowing powerfully. Blue(?) wings drooping heavily to the ground, a lion's growling half-roar cut off with a choked gasp as the apparition looked at his hands. A final, somehow loud flicker occurred, and the boy dropped to his knees, his form hovering indecisively between the ages of thirteen and eight. Whh-- wuuh....

"What the hell?!?"  The first bully dropped the blond child and backed up, unsure how to react to this new threat.  Beside him, his cohorts threw the backpack on the ground (spilling issues of Wondorous Woman everywhere) and bolted.  The first bully, dismayed at being abandoned, pointed a finger at the blond--"next time, you lil punk.  Freak," he added then quickly followed his friends. The child turned about, studying this new person-apparition with naked curiosity.  One hand reached out--whether to help or just touch, he wasn't sure.  He didn't seem scared but merely waited patiently for the newcomer to decide on a form.

The flickering boy's wide eyes turned to the outstretched hand, his own hand starting to reach out. The eyes focused on the face attached to the hand, suddenly becoming wider and more uncertain. Warped sounds of stressed whimpers carried through the air around him, and he pulled his hand back, wrapping his arms around his head protectively and curling into a ball, hiding from the world around him, until-- Quiet. A child of five years old peeked out from behind his arms and unfolded himself, looking up with soft round eyes at the curious blond sunburst.

A young Toshi gazed at an even younger Izuku I know you and the ten year old continued to hold out a helping hand, this time with a dazzling delighted grin. "HI there!  I'm Toshinori!  But you can call me Toshi if ya want.  That was pretty cool what you did just now.  You look really str--" He paused, remembering a moment ago the little kid had looked like some avenging angel, enveloped in crackling energy.  But his hand didn't waver. "--SUPER strong!  Plus Ultra Strong!  How did you do that?  Is it your Quirk?  Is this your all the time shape or just what you're ok with right now?  Sorry," he added with a sheepish grin, "I ask a lot of questions."

The small Izuku didn't speak, just made a soft noise, big eyes still staring. He took the outstretched hand in both of his, pulling himself up.

Toshi felt a warm glow within, his sheepish grin growing back to that brilliant delighted smile. I'm helping someone! At his feet, the torn Wondorous Woman comic fluttered and he blushed.  "Oh no, hang on a sec--!"

Izuku reached down and picked up one of the issues that had spilled, opening it curiously.

"That's Wondorous Woman!" young Toshi exclaimed.  "She's amazing and powerful and she can fly--i think--and she has this Quirk that makes an energy field that traps bad guys and make them tell the truth and--" He paused amid his fanboy gush and blushed more, twisting one bang nervously.  "Well, -I- think she's cool," he mumbled almost defensively.

A pudgy little finger poked at a picture of Wonderous Woman, then a whole hand brushed over the smooth page. Izuku looked up at Toshi again and nodded, agreeing that she was cool. He wondered if the blond boy had ever heard  of his favorite hero. "...All Might?"

Toshi's brow furrowed, as if almost remembering some lovely dream.  Then he shrugged.  "Never heard of them.  That's an awesome name, though--did you make that up?  All Might," he said, testing the name out and unconsciously posing, fists on hips and chest puffed out.  "If I was a hero, that'd be a great name!  But..." He laughed lightly and messed his own hair up.  "I bet you'd make a great hero with that Quirk of yours!"

Izuku's face dropped, and he seemed to shrink into himself, mouth shut tight.

"You don't like talking about it?  I'm sorry!"  Toshi sat on the ground next to the little boy, then hugged his knees to his chest.  "Is there something you do like?"  The young blond smiled cheerfully.

Izuku's eyes flicked around nervously, still not talking. He mirrored Toshi's pose, sitting down and pulling his knees up. He held out the comic, offering it back if Toshi wanted it.

Toshi grinned again.  "Go ahead, you can keep it--wait!"  He dug into his backpack where a few issues remained.  "Let me get you my favorite one--and it's not torn or dirty.  Here!"  He almost bounced in glee but instead contained himself.  "This one is super important.  This is when Wondorous Woman goes up against her arch nemesis--that's a super awful bad guy," he explained to the little boy.

Izuku leaned closer, interested.

"And he's kidnapped all her friends and hidden them away and he's fighting Wondorous Woman but making her think no one is coming to help." He remembered the first time he read this particular issue.  Hiding under his blanket with a flashlight so as not to bother his roommate at the foster home.  Scared of being caught and made fun of... but even more scared for Wondorous Woman.  Whispering tiny words of encouragement to his favorite hero with each page turn, praying she wouldn't give in or give up. "And just when all hope seemed lost," he said in a dramatic voice.  "Just when it looked like she was going to lose the fight, her friends showed up!"  His eyes shone, whether with love for Wondorous Woman or for her faithful companions coming to her aid or both, it was hard to tell.  "And they beat the arch nemesis and saved the day!" And everyone went home happy. Young Toshi ran a hand over the comic fondly then passed it to the little green haired kid.  "Here!"

The small boy shook his head, pushing it back gently. "Noo... yours!"

"It's a thank you gift!" Toshi insisted.  "Please take it."

"But..." He looked at the comic in his hands, brows wrinkling sadly. "S'your favorite... dun wanna take it away...."

"But it would make me happy sharing with you and maybe you'll like her, too!"

The boy made an uncertain face, cradling the comic to his chest. His face showed a hint of a flicker, and he breathed in sharply, reflexively clutching tighter.

Young Toshi smiled.  "Thank you," he said.

Wide green eyes stared back, as if to ask what comes next? What now?

Toshi gathered the rest of his comics and put them in his backpack... then held that out to the kid as well.  He quickly looked away before he could regret it, instead looking about for the kid's parents. "Do you want to go home now?" where is home?

Izuku took the heavy bag with a grunt of effort, eventually letting it rest on the ground. Okay, I'll carry it for you... it's kinda heavy though. He looked up at the question. "...What?"

"Home?  Where you live?  Your parents?"  He tilted his head at the kid struggling and shouldered the backpack himself, then held out a hand to the little boy.  "Wouldn't they be worried you're out alone?"

Izuku's eyebrows wrinkled more, genuinely confused. "Parents?" He wrinkled his nose, vague memories of green hair and soft noises floating through his memory, but not much taking shape. A...alone? Something cold and frightening started to scrape at his heart.

"They're big people that  love you.  They feed you when you're hungry and play with you when you're bored and take care of you when you're sick and--" Toshi's brow furrowed and he brushed his free hand over his eyes.  Then he smiled sunnily down at the little kid.  "I bet you have parents looking for you right now!"

Izuku shook his head, eyes sinking towards the ground. "No." He was sure without really knowing why.

"No?  That can't be true!  You have a great Qu--" His heart hurt to see the little kid he just met so sad.  He knelt down, squeezing the small fingers twined with his. "--what I mean is, if you want, I can be uh--" a dad?  Not old enough.  Family?  But they just met.  Brother?  Maaaaybe? "--we can stick together till we find someone, ok?  How's that?  Much nicer than being alone."

Izuku looked up wonderingly. Then down at the hand that held his. He stepped a little closer, leaning against Toshi in something like a hug. I like you.

Toshi was wide eyed for a startled moment.  Then the biggest grin yet spread across his face.  And some warm feeling glowed in his chest again, happy that the little kid felt safe around him.  "C'mon," he said.  "Lemme show you my favorite spot by the river and we can read all the comics!"

A small smile sprang to life on Izuku's face, then grew to a big grin. "Okay!!" He wrapped his arms around Toshi's neck, ready to be picked up.

"Oompf!!"  The kid's weight, coupled with his backpack, made Toshi stagger and he wished for a moment that he was stronger.  But the little kid's smile fueled his energy and Toshi proudly carried both kid and comics.

Little Izuku giggled, happily looking about from his new vantage point.

Toshi giggled too then wrinkled his nose as his bangs got caught in his mouth.  He didn't want to put his little friend down.  "Cou' you ge' my 'air?"

"Huh?" Izuku took a second to get it. "Oh, uh-huh." He pulled Toshi's bang out of his mouth and dropped it, wrinkling his nose and grinning. "Eeeeeeww."

Toshi laughed even harder, his heart swelling with joy.  He jogged along the river bank, trying not to jostle the kid.  "Yeah, eating hair isn't smart," he snickered.  "Extra not my hair--it's loooong!"

Izuku took hold of the other bang, looking at it intently as he bounced along. "Shiny. Like it."

Toshi blinked as the bang's end got in his eyes.  "Thanks.  Could you hold it out of the way so I can see, please?"

Izuku held it up above Toshi's head, still gazing at it and rubbing the strands between his fingers, fixated on how gold it was in the sunlight.

The pair trotted merrily along, soon at Toshi's favorite tree.  He knew he was supposed to put the kid down now but somehow, doing so felt like losing a part of himself. weird, huh? "Uhm," he said.

"Mm?" Izuku dropped the bang and started patting Toshi's head, smushing the floof.

Toshi scrunched his face happily.  "Kid!" he said, squatting down and letting small feet touch the ground.  "Thanks, I think?"  He felt his hair, a bit messier than usual but smooshed with love.

Izuku sat down on the ground, looking up at Toshi. His gaze drifted up towards the tree branches, and he laid down on his back, staring up at them and smiling. One hand reached up as if to touch them.

Toshi flopped beside him, grinning. home? And the grin flickered to confusion for a moment.  What? h o m e? He looked to the little kid he just met, the little kid who had saved him, and Toshi felt an overwhelming desire to protect this small person with his small but powerful smiles. He too reached one hand up toward the branches.

[starrykitty013]

Sneak Peak!! This will be a Cake Walk (oneshot)

Here’s the full fic...finally: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33658105

This takes place in my JGLEH universe (https://archiveofourown.org/series/1415002) but this oneshot could be read as a standalone :)

Enjoy!

August 7th, 2019.

That was the date that this year’s birthday fell on. Technically it was the first wednesday of August, since this month started on a Thursday, but it was basically the second week of August, so they’d let it slide. Besides the 14th of August seemed like a good date, but Ned and MJ were just so anxious to finally be spending a birthday with their best friend, because it had been 2 years since they last had - well more Ned than MJ, MJ was cool with anything.

So here they were, lounging around Peter’s - and his parent’s - little apartment/penthouse/whatever-this-place-they-were-living-was-classfied-as in Stark tower, eating junk food and marathoning Voltron - every variation of it, eating a slightly melted ice cream cake MJ bough - they bought an entire sheet cake this time, instead of a small one because Ned and MJ got paychecks now and Peter has the metabolism not to waste it.

Different location, same traditions. Sure the atmosphere of the tower was not as cozy as Ned’s cramped living room or MJ’s box apartment, but they made do. They dulled the settings on the floor to ceiling window that took up an entire wall and viewed over the city. They cuddled in blankets and made an entire pillow fort, and they made it surround them so they were forced to be closer together.

They would’ve invited everyone else in the tower, but his official birthday wasn’t until the 12th and Peter’s sure they had something planned. He kind of just wanted to keep this serenity of the three of them, even if he felt a little guilty about being exclusive. It was worth it.

It felt right.

Keeping his old traditions while preparing for the new ones that he was bound to make this year.

He hadn’t celebrated his birthday with the Avengers last year, because it was the date of the trial and he hadn’t been living with them at the time, even if like a week later he was. Everything had been so hectic and moving too fast that his birthday had barley been on any of their minds. He had spent the night with Wade and Matt goofing off in and out of their costumes though - the aults getting thoroughly plastered and Peter thinks it was only 60% for his amusement.

It was an enjoyable night. Or at least it it was shaping up to be. He liked the chill vibes that they had managed to create. It was almost like they were hanging out just like any other day, and not celebrating Peter being one year away from being a legal adult - in America at least.

His parents had walked in around 11:30ish, and they just were about to pass without looking twice at the kids lounged around and the mess of stolen blankets and pillows they probably didn’t know they owned - and they didn’t own most of them, again they were temporarily stolen, he’d give them to their respective owners again...eventually...maybe.

Ned had greeted them absently, because he was polit like that, and Nat smirked fondly at them, watching them out of the corner of her eye, while Bucky turned and nodded in acknowledgment, lips quirking up for a second at the scene. MJ gave a salute as she had a chip half in her mouth.

“Russian → ”(Hey, guys.) Peter said absently, not really looking at them as he leaned forward to grab another slice of melted cake. And that’s when Natasha paused for a second, looking frozen. Bucky had just barley managed to ram into her. It was a slight action but it made Peter pause and look up in confusion and slight alarm. His spidey sense wasn’t going off, but Nat had that look on her face where she kept it carefully neutral to not give anything away. Peter turned his head to them and sat up a bit, Ned and MJ seemed to pick up on his vibes because a moment later MJ had shifted into a slightly more alert slouch and that was followed by Ned swiveling his head to look confusedly between everyone while trying - and failing, but it’s okay Ned you are still a precious bean child that will be protected by everyone here - to be subtle about it, his anxiety kicking in a bit. “What’s up?” he said trying to maintain a casual tone. If it was an emergency, he’d know, they would’ve been more on edge. It was more likely that they had gotten taken off guard by something - which was only barley more comforting, since they usually were never taken off guard by much.

Bucky had trained his eyes on Nat, so Peter did the same. She darted her eyes quickly to something next to him and then back to Peter, Bucky followed her gaze and kept it locked on the thing she was looking at. Peter slowly moved his head to where Bucky’s eyes were trained and looked down to see the mostly melted cake, with the watery, sloppy lettering that was supposed to spell out “Congrats on not dying spider dweeb” and then a messily drawn spiderman logo, but they had eaten the cake in a way that it said “C---ats o- ying- ider dw-b” and part of the logo was cut outso it was only the lens’ of the mask showing. Peter then moved his eyes back up to Natasha, still confused over why she was so still about it.

“I thought you're birthday was the... 12th.” Her tone was still carefully neutral, but Peter could detect some tension that his friends probably didn’t pick up on. Bucky definitely did though. It almost seemed like it was hard for her to get that out, for some reason.

Peter cocked his head. “Well yeah officially.” he said. Something seemed to click for Bucky and he looked to Peter and his friends again.

“It’s the 7th.” Bucky said, in a much more genuine neutral tone.

“Yeah, it is.” MJ said sarcastically, but she seemed to tone her usual snark down a bit. Peter was inexplicably grateful for that, for some reason.

“We celebrate it on the second Wednesday of August though.” Ned explained. He had told them the story of how he officially got his birthday with Wade and the army camps earlier that day, because Ned had asked if there was a story he was previously unable to tell them. He had told them the whole truth and they accepted it without any preamble. At this point they had heard so many messed up stories about his childhood that the initial shock and horror reaction had dialed down. At first - when he first started telling them about his past that he had to keep a secret, even without all the spidey stuff like the White room and Special Forces - Ned had been in tears nearly every time and MJ would close off almost to the point of dissociation. But after nearly a year the most reaction he’d get was MJ’s concerned eyeroll and Ned’s shift so they bumped shoulders or they were closer. Still, the birthday story did get a hug out of Ned and MJ to shift a tad closer.

Bucky’s eyes flicked to Natasha and his shoulders slumped like he was holding in a sigh “Why?” Bucky asked after a beat of silence, maintaining the same casual light tone.

“Some stupid thing Wade made up.” Peter shrugged and fought the urge to look away. Why did he feel so weird about this? “Something about sticking it to the man, or society or the government or whatever.” he said looking down at his cake and putting a small bite in his mouth that he could talk around. “We did it every year and then we did it with Ned and MJ and it just stuck. It’s not a big deal, we just chill.” he mumbled more than said. There was a long pull of silence between them, with only the sounds of Allura explaining some complicated space matter to the team of palidins on the screen.

When Peter finally had the urge to look up he found himself looking at the tail end of his mother going into her bedroom and quietly shutting the door. He looked at the door for a moment then at Bucky who was doing the same, but he sighed and shot him and his friends one last supposedly reassuring smile, as if to say ‘as you were’ - it did not have it’s desired effect- and then follow after his partner, opening and shutting the door softly.

That was weird.

Peter just looked at the door for a few moments, not really sure how to feel about that. He felt his friends’ gazes on his back, and it almost felt like they had no clue what to do with that strange interaction either. It hadn’t left bad vibes, but it hadn’t really left any good ones either.

He turned back to the movie, MJ and Ned seemingly following his lead and going back to marathoning. But instead of listening to Keith and Lance’s 143th argument of the show, he was listening to the quiet murmurs coming from the room. Loud enough that Peter could pick up on the sound with his enhanced hearing but too soft to actually make any words out.

Eventually, after about 10 minutes of not knowing what was up and the feeling something was off still lingering in his mind, he stood up and made his way to the door. HIs confused friends’ gazes followed him up and to where he was walking.

“Be right back.” he said absently before entering the room and closing the door just a quietly as his parents’.

#fanfic #spidey #starry's writing #Peter parker #natasha romanoff #Bucky Barnes #michelle jones #ned leeds #birthday #happy birthday Peter!!! #spooner boiiiiiii #unfinished

[welllpthisishappening]

Catching the Highlights

It wasn’t like she was nervous, not really. Or jealous, even. Honestly, the entire story was more than a little hysterical and very nearly distracted Belle from the obviously frustrated way Will kept moving his hands at the end of the second period. Still, there was something about sitting in the stands that felt different and maybe hearing about how her maybe-boyfriend made out with Anna Vankald one time was just the push she needed. To make things a bit more real.

———

Word Count: Nearly 4.5K AN: This is a thing I do now, apparently. Write Blue Line! Will and Belle. And poorly photoshop eights into sixes on jerseys. Although I draw the line at making the girl that same photo wear a skirt. Anyway, this continues to be real fun, I hope the five people enjoying it continue to enjoy it and I think I’ve got at least one more idea for these dweebs. So, that’ll probably happen sooner rather than later. Possibly with more badly executed photoshops.

———

It had something to do with his eyes. 

With the way they narrowed ever so slightly, able to thin without causing any sort of furrow between his brow or lines of frustration on his forehead. They’d pinch. His eyes, that was. Make it so it was difficult for Belle to see the brown there or the bits of gold that she was at least ninety-six percent positive she wasn’t imagining and only slightly less confident had something to do with her. 

She’d never really been one for details, like that. 

Strange as it might have been. 

Details were the lifeblood of research. Tiny bits of information that could sway a doctoral defense or prove an argument, but Belle had always been far more interested in the sweeping potential of a very good story, and research had that too, she supposed. To some degree, at least. Although, that was getting existential. Her work was good. She was good. Fine, even. Definitely fine. Nothing to see here. Nothing to worry about. No reason to compare the strange and not entirely unfamiliar sensation of fluttering in the pit of her stomach whenever Will glanced her way to the decidedly still nature of all her internal organs while she spent eight to ten hours uptown five days a week. 

Sitting at her desk, she regularly tried to fit into the mold, everything everyone expected her to be with the title she had, and that required her to think less about the bigger picture. That sounded negative. It wasn’t. Probably. Hopefully. Just required further research. More details and specific examples.

All of them regarding the nature of Will’s eyes.

Even so, she—

Part of her missed it. The sweep. The really good stories. Ones that were less clinical and more fantastical. And the deep breath that always came just seconds before being overwhelmed. By the current and the wave and those were rather similar, as far as analogies went, but all the best stories always left her a little overwhelmed, and Belle’s cheeks were starting to ache as something bubbled out of her. Laughter, in its purest form. Bouncing and bounding and echoing off otherwise abandoned walls, the pair of them tucked into a corner of the Garden concourse because they hadn’t actually decided this was a secret, but Anna Vankald was apparently living her life under some sort of blood oath, all sworn secrecy, and poorly executed winks in the second period.

Like this was hidden. A tiny detail tucked away. Never debated. Never highlighted in the opening paragraphs of a twenty-six-page dissertation. With Chicago-style formatting. 

No one ever knew how to property do Chicago-style formatting. 

Belle might have hated Chicago-style formatting. 

She’d never been to Chicago.

Had never been—

Will’s eyes were barely slits on his face. 

Twisted lips loomed above her, not quite frustration, but inching closer the longer she kept laughing, and she refused to linger on what that meant. The laughing. The happiness. Joy, maybe. She looked up, instead. Let her head bump the wall her shoulders already had, appreciating the soft scrape of what might have been concrete against her hair, like that would ground her or slow her overactive imagination, and his hair was still wet. 

“She wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” Belle bit the side of her tongue. Didn’t help, really. With her laughter problem. “Keeping state secrets?” “It happened once.” “Yes, she mentioned that, too.” He might have growled. Some strange part of her wanted him to, relished whatever the technical term was for the sound that eked out between his bared teeth, rolling his whole head in the process. Their noses nearly collided. 

Belle pushed up on her toes. 

To kiss the tip of Will’s nose. 

“That’s distracting,” he grumbled, but his hand had inched under the hem of her shirt, and that meant he’d managed to get the hem of her shirt out of the skirt she was wearing. 

“Should I have worn your jersey or something?”

His eyes snapped. Open. Brown and gold, and that wasn’t a particularly swoon-like combination in any of the stories Belle had memorized while she was growing up. Heroes with royal titles and broadswords quite literally made to challenge dragons and hordes of villains always came with blonde hair and a slight curl, flashing blue eyes that twinkled in sunlight and starlight, and Belle’s hand didn’t shake. When she brushed the few drops of water clinging to Will’s temple away. 

Her calves were starting to ache, too. Made sense. She was still pushed up on her toes. 

And the Rangers had lost. Not—well, not badly. By two goals, and one of those was an empty-net goal, which was a term Belle figured out all on her own. Well before Anna mumbled explanations under her breath, glaring daggers any time the Islanders fan two rows in front of them dared to open his mouth. 

Honestly, that was part of the problem. He kept yelling, and Anna looked dangerously close to staging some sort of public execution in section 204 and Belle had asked. For details. Wanted a good story, or possibly a distraction because she’d noticed the way Will’s hands moved at the end of the second period, staging a rather enthusiastic conversation with a man she’d never met, but his jersey said LOCKSLEY, and she didn’t think the jersey would lie to her. 

She was going to blame the Islanders fan. 

“If you did that,” Will mumbled, in response to a question she’d legitimately almost forgotten about, “I’m not sure I would have been able to get out on the ice.” “Oh, compliment or—” “Definite compliment. Was that not obvious?” “Well, you’re making out with so many other girls.”

Her laugh clung to the letters, pulling her lips behind her teeth to keep from smiling like a total idiot. Something was happening. With the flutters and the overall ability of her nasal passages to get oxygen back to her lungs, and it must have been a trick of the light. The way Will’s eyes flashed, gaze flicking up beneath eyelashes and just above the half curve of his mouth, and Belle’s knees felt a little unsteady beneath her. Fighting against the force of a wholly imaginary, even more staggering wave. 

“One time,” he said, straining on every letter, “it happened one time, and—seriously, why was she talking about this with you?” “Asked for a fun and interesting story about her.” Will’s eyes bugged, another shift in his voice that was much more like a crack as he nearly shouted, “And that’s what she came up with?”

“Said anything she had to tell me about her childhood was boring. Mostly because a lot of it would focus on KJ, because—”

“That’s Cap.” Belle clicked her tongue. “Wow, thank you for that. What would I do without you?” “If you wore my jersey, I think my head would explode.” “Not the compliment you think it is, either. That’d be a lot of blood. Who would even clean that up? Couldn’t make someone here do it; that’d be mean. Cruel and unusual, probably.” “I like your skirt.” “Better,” Belle laughed, in spite of her best efforts. Which were really lackluster, quite frankly. “Anyway, the childhood was apparently super boring, and there were shenanigans of rookie season to discuss.”

“She grew up in a mansion!” “Yeah, we got to that part eventually, although technically, I think it was just a brownstone.” “Rich kid description.” “You can tell her that if you want, I’m sure,” Belle reasoned, but his lips were back to twisted, and she was already on her toes. Made sense to use that to her advantage. Pressing kisses against the edges of his mouth, alternating back and forth until it felt a little like a rhythm she could time the rest of her vaguely unsteady breathing to, and she certainly did try. Didn’t work, but something about effort and attempts and those were—

Details, really. 

“I like her,” Belle added lightly, mouth moving across a stubble-covered cheek. Part of her felt ridiculous. Always did with things like this. She wasn’t the story. Will wasn’t the hero. He and his teammate had gotten into a fight at the end of the second period, for God’s sake. And this wasn’t—well, it wasn’t a fairy tale. No matter how much sweeping there might have been. With its butterfly wings and salt-filled waves, all of which existed solely in Belle’s subconscious. 

But there was this other part. 

Part of her that didn’t always linger behind her desk. Flitted through imaginary scenarios and stories stored in the back corner of her brain, the same one that could still smell salt air with startling clarity, and remembered the precise taste of freshly-made taffy from that one restaurant on the beach. Details. She remembered those details. Held them fast, afraid they’d disappear otherwise, and made sure they played prominent roles in every daydream. 

For fear of what would happen if she didn’t. 

How they’d fade. Grow grey and thin, and it was a contradiction. Right in the middle of her. And that scared her just a little bit, because whatever was happening now, right at that moment, with a hand flat on the curve of her hip and her heart doing its abject best to beat its way out of her chest, she felt the same exact way. Sweeping and detailed and not the least bit jealous. 

There was no need to be, really. Not when she was fairly certain she could drown in the golden flecks of Will’s eyes. Constantly staring at her as they were apt to do. 

“Do you want to hear the gist of the story?”

Will’s lips pursed. Stayed that way even as Belle’s lips continued their path across his face, spending at least two seconds at the side of his left eye and the still slightly damp area surrounding his right temple. She started picking up speed. Quick kisses that she could only hope felt as strongly as the prickle of her lips suggested. But then Will’s fingers tightened. Not much. Just enough to be obvious, and Belle grinned against his cheek. 

“I lived it,” Will argued, but there wasn’t much fight in it. He’d done that already, anyway. They’d get to that part, eventually. 

“As the story goes, though, there was some less than savory libations involved, and—” “I’m still not convinced that vodka was legal in the continental United States.” “Suggests it’d be fair game in Hawaii and Alaska, though. Possibly Puerto Rico. I’m not sure what the rules on that are. Maybe the US Virgin Islands. What about Guam? You think your alcohol would be fair game in Guam?” “I’d have to check the label.” “You still have it?” Belle balked, almost fully and entirely prepared for the flash of amusement and the precise angle of eyebrow jump. Almost being the key word, there. Another burst of laughter tumbled out of her, lips on her cheeks that time, all blazing and prickling, and that one wasn’t inherently positive, but she was slightly worried her hair was going to get caught in the concrete of the wall and she could not possibly be expected to think when Will’s hand kept doing whatever it was it was doing. 

“No, no, we did a very good job of drinking that entire thing, but I’d know that bottle anywhere.” “Where were you buying illegal alcohol? Also, how did you not die drinking hundred-proof vodka?” “Pure force of will.”

“And bad hockey games.” “Those too,” Will admitted grudgingly. An edge crept into his voice. Likely born in the second period of this game. She kissed the bridge of his nose. The tip. Between his eyebrows. Waiting for some of the tension to leave his shoulder blades, and that was all she got. Some. It was enough, for now. 

“You want to talk about that?” “Losing a playoff game my rookie season? That happened a bunch of times, babe, this was just—” “Don’t be an idiot,” Belle interrupted. 

He grinned. Tension kept pulling taut between his shoulders and the slope of his cheekbones, the second of which was really starting to offend Belle on an almost fundamental level, but his smile looked legitimate, and that was enough. 

“Should I go defend your honor in the locker room, darling?” The grin widened. “Trying to get a rise out of me, but gender is a social construct, so I don’t think it affects nicknames, and I’m a real big fan of that one, actually.” “No rise,” Belle promised, fingers hovering above his shoulders, and they both flinched when he winced. “Going to be honest, the hitting sort of freaked me out.” “Locksley wasn’t going to hit me.” “Well, yeah, then I’d have to punch him in the locker room.” “Keep your thumb inside your fist,” Will suggested, “that way you won’t break it.” “Right, right, naturally,” Belle mumbled, and she didn’t know how they managed it. Stayed upright while his hand shifted further up the back of her shirt and her teeth grazed the curve of his jaw. She was on something of a mission, now. To cover every inch of his face. With her lips. “Anyway, as Anna told this wholly fascinating story, there was a lot of vodka involved, a very bad loss, some card game—” “—Kings.” “That’s a drinking game.” “Well, now you’re getting into unnecessary specifics.” Her body shook. Against Will’s. Who almost immediately groaned. Presumably at the location and exact angle of her hips. “Ok, so there were cards involved in your drinking game. Pizza was eaten, alcohol was downed in alarmingly large gulps.” “Editorializing a bit, mon bonheur.”

“What’s that one?” “Happiness.” “Oh, that one’s nice.” Will huffed. “They’re all super nice; I have a very large crush on you; I don’t want to talk about making out with Anna Vanklad anymore.”

He said it quickly, rushing over the words. Some might even say sweepingly. Where Belle was the some. In that instance, specifically. Someone, more like. She didn’t care. Was not spending even a second on proper sentence structure or appropriate internal grammar, was far too preoccupied with the circumference of Will’s eyes. And that one muscle in his jaw. Jumping with startling regularity, really. Totally different from her heart and her pulse and it was difficult to catch her breath. 

Felt a bit like she’d played a hockey game. 

A walking contradiction. 

Where she also wasn’t walking anywhere. At all. Had absolutely no intention of walking away. From this.

“Was it not a good make-out?” “I honestly don’t remember a lot of it,” Will sighed, another roll of his neck. Something cracked. “That’s not game-related,” he added, and she could only imagine it had to do with the look on her face, “anyway, it was just...there was that vodka involved, and Vankald spent a ton of time at our apartment. She wasn’t Cap’s sister-in-law yet, but they’d grown up together, was my friend, and he’d fallen asleep, so…” “Figured you just make out?” “Not a lot of thought involved in it. She was a fixture, y’know? Shit, that sounds shitty. Does that sound super shitty?

“Drifting toward shitty, yeah.”

“Anna came to visit a lot because no matter what she may claim, she worries about Cap as much as anyone. Even El and Leader, and that’s—” “Wait, you have an Alien Leader you all report to?” “You’re ruining this story.” Her laugh got caught. Directly between them, all mouths and that goddamn hand, Belle’s neck tilting back on what might have been instinct and need, and she’d gasped more in the last four hours than she had in her entire life. “Tell me more about your Alien Leader, please.” “He only acts like an alien.” “Huh, that cleared up absolutely nothing.” “You should keep kissing me.” “Compare and contrast, huh?” Will groaned. Again. Part two. Let his mouth drag down the side of her throat, and Belle couldn’t stop laughing. Happiness poured out of her, new and a little strange in its quantity. As if she was made of the stuff, even worried as she was through all three periods. She’d kept wringing her fingers together. At one point, Anna had to hold her hand. 

“Ruining,” another kiss, “this,” teeth on her collar bone, “baby girl.”

Suggesting that she lit up in a way that reminded her of a Christmas tree was—

Farcical, maybe. 

Nothing inhuman happened. There were no bells. No whistles. No flashing neon lights suggesting this was the moment and a conversation regarding the man with his hand currently inching towards her right boob drunkenly making out with someone who wasn’t Belle should not have been so—

Fun. 

God, it was fun. She was having fun. With him and because of him. Hockey nonsense aside. 

Because, since coming to New York with her invisible tail tucked between her legs and the near-desperate desire to get away from that seaside town with its ghosts and its demands and its plan for a future that simply did not fit her anymore, Belle had tried. Really. To shed that persona. To be someone new. Hard as she tried, though, there were ties. Those lingering memories. Ones that dug in their heels, while she gripped others with both hands. She was, and she wasn’t. Small town and big town, a librarian who couldn’t care less about details while focusing on  specifics with everything in her. 

And none of it ever really made much sense. 

Hurt her head to think about, everything she tried to contain and the worry that ate away at her sometimes. That she’d messed up, ruined all of it and—

She didn’t kiss Will’s mouth. 

Peppered his face, instead. With her lips and the feelings behind them, mapping the space until she was certain she knew it as well as her own, and she wanted to. Wanted to learn everything about this guy who felt as jagged as she did, made up of right and wrong and mistakes and possibility and she knew it was only a matter of time before he got impatient. 

She liked that about him. 

That he didn’t always wait for her to catch up. Just knew that she would. 

Plus, his tongue in her mouth was really something Belle was starting to appreciate. In an obsessive sort of way. 

She might have groaned that time. 

Fingers scrambled against the front of his shirt — team-branded, again, and that shouldn’t have been charming, but it was and likely would continue to be, and there were goosebumps on her skin. They were really very good at kissing. Each other, specifically. 

“I like you, too,” Belle said, and it was a strange thing not to be embarrassed by the breathless nature of her voice. 

Will’s chest was practically heaving, though. So that put them on even ground. Common ground, at least. 

“You’re not mad?” “Give me some credit, sweetheart.” He chuckled, warm air against the top of her shoulder. “Was a very long time ago, for whatever that might be worth.” “Twelve galleons.” “I don’t know the conversion rate of that.” “No one does, so I think we’re all in the same boat.” “You don’t think Jo knows the conversion rate of her own fictional monetary system?” Belle shook her head. “I absolutely do not, because she was a shit world-builder and also a fairly terrible person now, so—” She shrugged. Will beamed. Some joke about a Christmas tree.

“So,” he echoed, “the thought of making out with Little Vankald has never once again crossed my mind.”

Someone scoffed. With entirely false indignation.

Using Will’s shoulder as leverage — the non-bruised one, naturally — Belle got enough height beneath her toes to see Anna cross her arms. And scowl at the pair of them. Badly. The scowl lasted all of five seconds before it evolved into its own rather uproarious laughter, another echo that filled the empty space of a concourse Belle could not imagine they were supposed to be standing on. Only a matter of time until someone else found them. 

She wasn’t sure that was a bad thing, actually. 

“That’s super rude, Scarlet,” Anna hissed, muffled footsteps that only lost their volume because of the overall status of Belle’s heart. Still trying to fly out of her. “But I want it noted, for the record and all that, that I don’t want to make out with you ever again, either.”

“Do you remember it being way wetter than it should have been?” “You problem, absolutely.” “I haven’t had that issue,” Belle argued, mostly to guarantee the quirk of Will’s lips. Worked like a charm. Or something less lame sounding. In her head. Most of this commentary was in her head. 

“Lucky you,” Anna drawled. 

“C’mon,” Will whined, “no one told you to start with this story.” “Start with, huh?” His eyes. Were becoming a serious problem and a growing majority in the basis for most of Belle’s heart-related issues, but she forced herself to meet his gaze and tilt her chin up and she didn’t think she imagined the way his tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek. In an appraising sort of way. 

“I really would have told you. Eventually” “I know.” “I’m serious.” “I know,” Belle repeated, “and I’m really not threatened by someone who you still regularly refer to as Little Vankald.” Anna flipped him off. Or them, maybe. As a collective unit. Belle wanted them to be a collective unit. “I could order a jersey online, right?” “Nah, I know people, don’t waste your money.” “Could probably get Kris to help,” Anna added, “as the physical form of my apology.” Belle waved her off. “It was a good story. Highs, lows, drama, does your—do we call him your brother-in-law? He’s not the Alien Leader, right?” “You mean Liam?” Will’s laugh was more like a barely-contained snort of humor and shoulders that were tight for a reason that did not involve pessimistic emotions. Belle’s lips twitched. “Just knew that off the top of your head, did you?” she asked. 

“If you knew Liam, you’d understand. Was Scarlet suggesting we’re all aliens?” “Nah, just him.” “I did no such thing,” Will objected, another glance in Anna’s direction, “Cap looking for us?” She nodded. “Locksley too. Should I be worried Mom and Dad are getting a divorce?” “You’re the most dramatic person alive.” “Lots of hand moving between the two of you, your girlfriend was worried.”

It was Belle’s turn to tense. With what, she wasn’t entirely sure. Some sort of emotion, she assumed. Adrenaline, maybe. Hope, possibly. And it wasn’t like she was waiting for labels, but she’d come to pretty good terms with her ability to counter herself in the midst of her own silent monologue, and Will was staring again. Straight through her, it seemed. 

Or maybe directly into her. 

That was sentimental, though. 

“Does Killian know that you two made out once?” Anna hissed. “If you tell KJ about this, I will actually have to strangle you, no matter how much I like you and how much Scarlet wants to date you.” “Aren’t we dating already?” Anna opened her mouth, what Belle knew would be more sarcasm and the teasing nature of her and Will’s relationship, but she had more pressing issues, and he answered, anyway. “Yeah, we totally are, plus I like you way more than I hate Ariel’s inevitable victory lap, so I mean, that’s—” Cutting him off was rude. Not nice. Inevitable. 

Based solely on the size of his eyes and their gold-like nature. 

“I, uh—” Belle started, “I know we’re not supposed to accept the set-up, and Ariel’s going to be so annoying, but maybe we could…” She shrugged. Tried to stay focused. And upright. Continued standing seemed important in a moment like this. “We’re both kinda messed up, don’t you think?” “Little,” Will murmured. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, and I know that we’re...I mean, this is good, and I’m mostly good with it, but also, I was super nervous during the game, and what were you guys fighting about?” “Fighting is a strong word. More like discussing how Locksley should learn to keep his stick on the ice so he can get that tip from my slap.” “Weird turn of phrase.” “Slap shot.” “No time for full terminology, huh?” “How goes the understanding icing battle?” She was going to sprain her cheeks. Maybe Ariel could help with that. After gloating. Ariel was absolutely going to gloat. “Getting there,” Belle promised, and it was not about hockey, “don’t you think?” “Mmhm.” “So, uh—I don’t know what you do after games, but…” “Little Vankald is totally here to drag us uptown because Cap regularly challenges her in the dramatics, and I bet he’s hungry.” “You eat after games?” “Ariel’s husband owns that restaurant.” “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s how I met her actually. Good onion rings. Weird we didn’t ever see each other there at the same time, though.” Will hummed. Stuck out his lower lip. Challenged her without saying anything, and Anna was still standing there, and security had to be aware of them, but Belle was in the middle of something, and it was good and great and made absolutely no sense because she was not a pro sports girlfriend, but the labels really weren’t important, and it was all—

She gasped. For, like, the four-thousandth time that night. 

Saved the best for last, though. 

Will’s mouth found hers in a crashing sort of way that altered the cosmos, or at least Belle’s perception of the world around her. Particularly when her hands were suddenly more like barnacles, gripping his shirt as if she was afraid he’d disappear otherwise. Knuckles cracked and breath caught, everything spinning and staying frustratingly still, and one of her heels popped out of her shoe. Pressing back up on her toes didn’t do her calves any favors, but she wasn’t bruised and they were both a disaster, and the tongue thing really was pretty fantastic. 

Tracing the inside of her mouth and the seam of her lips, Will’s rumble of pleasure echoed between her ribs, enough to spur Belle’s arm up as she slung it around his neck. Her fingers found skin and short hair, nails scratching so she could hear that sound again. 

She closed her eyes. 

Let the details seep in, and settle into her soul. 

Until Anna coughed, and there was a security guard standing next to her, and Will’s head dropped to Belle’s collar bone again. He kissed there, too. Before spinning on his sandals, all confidence, and bravado, a reasonable excuse that someone, somewhere, would probably believe. Not this security guard, but that probably wasn’t important, and Belle had helped Will make an Instagram account. 

So, something about a cat and a bag and—

His fingers laced through hers. 

“Wanna challenge Locksley to a fight for my honor?” She scrunched her nose. Pretended to grimace when his lips pressed against her cheek. Anna gagged. “Yeah,” Belle said, “that’s exactly what I want to do.”

#scarlet beauty #scarlet beauty ff #scarlet beauty fic #blue line one shots #defensive!blue line #i don't know guys—these have just taken on a life of their own #will i put them on ao3? maybe who can say #i mean i can #but...they're still kind of short i think #for ao3 #if any of the five you reading this want specific scenes let me know #i've got time between waiting on people to make their deadlines

[creativeskullcreations]

Outside chapter 21: Run in Swinging

Scout is not a good actress, but we already knew that. And Will's starting to crack just a little bit himself, wonder if he can make it through this without breaking apart entirely.

Also, take a guess at who was chasing Lisa and Mason. ;)

Scout turned out to be pretty good at swinging the axe, as more Sock Puppets quickly found out. It was a little scary how she didn't seem to care about the people stitched to those Puppets, treating them more as objects than trapped people. It made some sense, though, as not everyone trapped here would have been prepared like they were.

Even if, in reality, they weren't all that prepared at all.

Still, Bit cheered at every take down the two of them did, which made a warm feeling curl in his gut. It should've been scary, how much her excitement made him happy, but he refused to think about those implications yet. That was for when he was at home and higher than a kite, when he had time to think.

Luckily, they hadn't come across anymore for a few minutes, giving them all a chance to breathe while Scout tried to remember where they needed to go. It was... difficult, since her memories weren't lining up with reality. It was like the layout of the building had changed while she was gone.

Or maybe she had forgotten more than she thought.

Either way, nothing looked familiar, and it was starting to scare her. She finally stopped, making Sammy stop too. "Wait here while I look ahead. I want to make sure we're going the right way." She told him, though he looked skeptical.

"What do you mean "make sure"? I thought you knew where we were going."

"I do!" She protested. "I just... wanna check for more sock puppets real quick! It's easier to sneak away if it's just me."

Sammy didn't say anything, just watched as she walked away and around the corner. "Yeah, she doesn't know where we're at."

"I'm not surprised. They changed things around when she escaped." Bit told him. "She's gonna get us all killed if she doesn't admit it though!" She barked out a laugh, and the Host cringed.

"Maybe... don't tell her that?" He suggested. "She's doing her best..."

"Yeah, well, her best isn't good enough." She bit out. "I say we ditch the dweeb and get out of here. Can't be too hard if Scout of all Puppets managed it."

"Yeah, no. I am not ditching anybody, least of all the thing with my cousin's body!" Sammy told her sternly.

"Sheesh, it was just a suggestion." She squirmed back from where she'd been hanging over his shoulder, settling back in his hoodie. He could hear her muttering back there, but not what she was saying. He supposed it didn't matter too much, not when there were more important things to worry about.

Like how he had heard footsteps behind him. Turning he saw Scout, and she looked pissed. He flinched as she snapped her hand out toward him, but she just reached behind him to grab Bit.

"I am a lot bigger than you right now." She said in a low voice. "I can yeet you down the hall if I wanted."

Bit stared blankly back at her. "What the hell is a yeet? Some kinda dweeb word?"

With a loud shriek of "YEET!" Scout threw Bit down the hall, far enough that she vanished into the shadows.

"What in the actual fuck?!" Sammy shouted as he raced to go get her. He missed Scout's nonchalant shrug before she crossed her arms.

"I warned ya." She muttered smugly, staring after the pair.

-----

Will didn't like the quiet stillness in the halls, however easy it was making his journey. From the stories he expected at least a giant puppet dog, maybe some hulking monsters with socks crudely stitched to their hands. But no, there was nothing. But no, there wasn't anything except his Puppet, who had remained silent the whole time.

He wondered if he should try and talk to her, if only to make sure she was still alive. She been very still since he'd picked her up, not moving even a little as he wandered through the dark maze of the warehouse. Though, now that he thought about it, there was occasionally a light shuddering across her body. He wondered if she was having trouble breathing.

'Something to check when we get home.' He made a mental note of it as he turned the corner. It was a dead end, with single door at the end sitting ajar. He approached it cautiously and peered in.

It looked like an art studio of some kind, if an art studio had a pile of dead bodies in one corner. Easels and canvases stained in dried blood were scattered about, and the completed paintings showed some rather macabre imagery. There was an open door on the other side, showing another dark hall.

'Must be where that one artist hangs out.' He figured as he slowly pushed open the door. Stepping carefully around the spilled paint and dropped art supplies, Will made his way across the room. The wet look on some of the puddles told him Nick could still be close, and he didn't want to run into him.

"Well, looks like we've got another escapee out and about. And here I thought that all ended with Scout." The voice was a fake sounding posh and smug. Looking back, Will had to admit the Puppet it was coming out of fit it quite well.

"Oh look. Another asshole." He observed, taking another step towards the door. If he could make it out of the room he could probably outrun this thing.

"Now now, that's rather rude really." His eyes flicked down to the Puppet in Will's arms and his head tilted. "Weren't you with that scientist? What happened to Riley?"

"I disarmed her." Another few steps, and Nick took a rather large one towards him. 'Crap.'

"Hmm." A hand slowly approached his face. "You have such pretty eyes..."

Will shoved him, turning and making a break for the door. "Nope! Bye!" The Puppet made a grab for him, but he dodged it, slamming the door in it's face as he sprinted out.

Left, right, right, and then left again and the dammed thing was still on his heels. Shouting that he would take Will's eyes, and paint the walls with his shining red blood. That he had so many ideas for him.

It was worse than the scientist actually, and that was saying something. Will searched for a way to fight back against the artist and his hulking Host, but couldn't spot anything in the dark halls he was sprinting through. He turned another corner, and ran smack head first into another human body.

There was a feminine scream of pain as both of them fell to the floor. The hooded figure clutched her forehead while Will scrambled to get up. Sammy stood above them both, looking vaguely panicked as he tried to help Stacy.

"Get up! Get up now we are in seriously deep shit here!" Will hefted his girlfriend off the floor one handed and started shoving her down the hall. "Move! Movemovemove!"

"Where did you go little Host?" Came a voice floating from behind him.

"shitshitshitshit" He grabbed her arm and went to run, but was stopped by Sammy.

"We can't go back that way!" He whispered. "There's one of those sock puppets chasing us!" On cue the loud thumps of heavy footsteps came into their hearing from behind the nurse. Behind Will, they could hear the calls of Nick, steadily getting closer as he toyed with his prey.

They were all trapped. At least until Stacy tugged her hand out of Will's and pointed up to the ceiling.

"Come out, come out little lost Host. I need those eyes of yours~" Nick turned the corner and found himself face to face with a confused looking Sock Puppet. Not that those things weren't normally confused. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why Mortimer let Riley make those things. "What are you doing here, out and about? Don't you have a patrol route?"

A low groan was his only answer, and he sighed in response. He reached out and grabbed onto it's Host with his. "I suppose you'll do for now, until I find that other one. Come along now, let's go do something... fun."

Will watched as the Sock Puppet was led away, and then turned to follow where Stacy was leading them through the vents. They only went a little ways through them before she punched open a vent covered and dropped down into the room below. Sammy went next, followed by Will. The room they were in seemed to be an old writers room, notes still written on the whiteboard and script pages scattered around. Sammy crept over to the door and locked it, just to be safe.

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore!" Stacy collapsed into a chair, hood falling from her head. "Never should've come back in here..." She muttered as she rubbed her eyes.

"Well it's too late now. Everyone's probably broken out of the hypnotism, and we're in too deep to back out." Will told her firmly. "Besides, we still need to find Scout. We can't leave without her."

The one-armed woman bit her lip, turning away slightly. Sammy sighed and stepped between them. "Hey, Will, chill for a sec okay? Just sit down, and take a deep breath."

Will sat, letting his Puppet drop into his lap. She simply lay there limply, unnoticed by the others, though Bit did peer down at her in something like concern. Will inhaled loudly, then fixed Sammy with a look. "There. I'm sitting."

"There, see? We just gotta take a rest and then keep moving on to where, uh, Stacy can lead us to Scout." Sammy sat too, though he sat backwards in his chair. "We're find the others on the way, and then leave and never ever come back."

"Yeah, okay, sounds good." Will agreed quickly, glancing over at Stacy. The glance turned into a long hard stare. "Are your eyes yellow?"

"No, it's just the-"

--nuclear radiation!" Scout blurted out in a panic. Sammy face palmed, while Will just pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh.

"Oh I do not have time for this." He muttered. And then, louder "Where the fuck is my girlfriend?"

A pause. "Do you really want me to answer? Cause I think if I do, you will fucking kill me. Besides, I'm taking us there anyways. It'll be fine." Another, shorter pause before she pointed at the blue haired Puppet. "That's Canon by the way. She's the oldest."

Said Puppet lifted her head at the mention of her name, but didn't really react beyond that. Bit waved when she saw her sister was awake, but was ignored. She huffed and sunk back down into the hood. 'Fine then, be that way.'

She tuned back into what the Hosts and Scout were saying, but they'd all gone quiet. Scout was pulling at the short sleeves of her hooded shirt, while Sammy was furiously searching through his pockets. The last one, Will apparently, was staring at the floor, completely still save for a slight movement from his lips. She wondered if he was their leader, like Canon was for her and the others.

Well, like Canon had been. She hadn't really been much of a leader lately, not since Scout had ran away. She'd tried, but then she had vanished too for a long time, only to reappear right before the Hosts had. Mortimer had brought her with him, now that she thought about it.

'I wonder what he's been doing?' She looked between her older sister and her younger one. 'Can't be anything good. Not with how Canon looks. That "Stacy" Host of Scout's is totally gonna die.' She didn't say anything about that, however. The "Yeet" she'd experienced was still far too fresh in her mind, and she did not want to get thrown at another wall.

Besides, the quiet was kind of... nice, in a way. Nobody talking, but not really out of fear of being caught. It was a nice feeling.

It didn't last, however, as someone ran screaming past the door. Half a second later someone else went by, followed by a horrible skittering noise that the three Puppets knew far too well. Everyone turned to stare at the door as the noises faded out.

"... Y'know that sounded like your friends, Will." Sammy observed in a high pitched voice.

"I think you're right." He stood up, handing Canon off to the nurse in exchange for the pistol. "Come on, we'd better go help them out."

#hello puppets #outside #fanfiction #scout #will carson #nick nack #Sammy Davis #canon #bit

[kinglazrus]

Love Me, Don’t Hug Me

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @sailor-toni: Danny hates being touched. Paulina loves to show her affections. How will the two of them make this relationship work.

Summary: When it comes to Danny Fenton, Paulina is sure about three things: he's almost always injured, he's pretty damn mysterious for a loser, and he has this annoying habit of getting stuck in Paulina's mind. Oh, and she just might, maybe, possibly have a crush on him.

Edit: I’ve been informed this phic is too powerful for tumblr and keeps crashing the app. Here are the links to [FFN] and [AO3]

Word count: 23499

Paulina was used to boys she barely knew coming up to her and asking her out. At first, she enjoyed the attention. Constantly being told how pretty she was, getting gifts, and trinkets, and praises showered upon her. Everyone said she must have liked it, so she did.

Sometimes, it really was nice, when the boys were sincere. She teased them, and smiled at them, and led them along like lost puppies. They made her feel good.

The other boys didn't. Every day, the came to her. At lunch, at the mall, on her way home from school. They pulled her out of conversations, took her away from her friends, distracted her from whatever she actually cared about. She got everything from arrogant smirks to smarmy grins, masks of undeserved bravado. She didn't give them an inch, saying no every time.

But they were persistent. They pestered and prodded, pestering her with pick-up lines and pet names, as if all they had to do was say pretty one more time and she would finally change her mind. She still said no, and their sweet words would turn bitter.

"Fine, bitch," they would hiss, their adoring gazes turning to seething glares.

Paulina saw no difference between either stare. Whether it was full of love or hate, any unwanted gaze made her skin crawl. She knew, unabashedly, that she was pretty. Being pretty made her feel good. But their stares made her feel ugly.

Most boys gave up after the second no. Most.

Paulina stared resolutely ahead as the senior leaned against the table, chin in his hand, giving her a flirtatious grin. Usually, only boys in her grade or the next grade up asked her out. Having a senior's attention made her feel strange. Flattered, but also uncomfortable. The fact that he wouldn't take the hint set her on edge.

"Come on, babe, just give me a chance," he said, sliding onto the bench next to her.

Paulina shuffled down, closer to Star.

"Just say yes to the guy and he'll leave." Dash didn't even look up. He and Kwan were too busy flicking a piece of pizza crust back and forth, trying to break through each other's defence.

Contrary to Dash, Kwan's eyes lifted every few seconds in a nervous glance before dipping back down. Every time he looked up, Paulina thought he was going to say something. Every time he didn't, she felt like crying, or hitting him. She wasn't sure which.

"I'm sorry, I don't like older guys," Paulina said. She refused to let her voice shake, and hated that she needed to steady it at all. This should have been no different from any other boy she had to brush off this year, but he just wouldn't give up.

"Oh, yeah? You don't really know until you try."

Dash's words echoed in Paulina's head. Maybe he was right. If she said yes, the senior would go away. How bad could one date be? He was eighteen. He should know how to treat a girl. He was practically an adult, which meant he must be right. Right?

The senior's hand slid off the table, inching toward Paulina's thigh.

Before he could touch her, Star slipped an arm around Paulina's waist and pulled her back. Leaning too far over, the senior fell forward with a yelp, palm smacking against the floor as he tried to catch himself. A scruffy shoe immediately came down on his fingers.

Paulina blinked at the familiar red sneaker. Looking up, she found Fenton, scrawny, limp Fenton, standing on the senior's hand with a pissed off expression that looked so foreign on his face, but somehow fit it so well.

"Hey, that's not cool. She said no," Danny said. The senior jerked, trying to pull his hand out from under Danny's foot, but Danny didn't budge.

"What the hell. Get off me, man," the senior said. "This ain't your problem."

"You're making it my problem," Danny said. At the same time, Paulina shouted, "It is his problem!"

Both boys glanced at her, equally confused. Danny looked bewildered, like he hadn't expected to be addressed at all. The senior's eyes jumped between Paulina and Danny, uncertainty and then understanding filling his gaze.

"I can't go out with you because I have a date with Danny." Paulina grabbed Danny's hand and yanked him close, dragging him off the senior's hand. Danny stiffened, but Paulina ignored it in favour of making sweet eyes at him. "Isn't that right?"

"Uh... yes?" Danny said. Paulina nodded at him. "Yeah! Yeah. It's not cool to steal someone else's girl." He grimaced at his own words, shooting Paulina an apologetic glance.

She shrugged. She didn't like it when guys talked about girls like they owned them, but she would forgive Danny for this one slight.

"Okay, geez. You didn't have to make such a big deal about it." The senior stood, rubbing his sore fingers, and left without much fuss after that. Although he did shoot Paulina one last predatory look.

Paulina did her best to brush it off. The thought of his eyes on her made her feel gross. As soon as she got home, she was going to take a long shower. Remembering she still had Danny's wrist in her hand, she let go, wincing at the fading imprints her fingers left behind. She hadn't realized she grabbed him that hard.

"Sit down, Fenton," Star said.

Danny started. That startled look, like he didn't expect anyone to talk to him, crossed his face again. "What?"

"Sit. Down." Taking her arm from Paulina's waist, Star lightly smacked Danny's back and motioned to the now empty space on the bench.

Paulina frowned at Star, raising her eyebrows in a silent question. Star ignored her, giving Danny another insistent slap. He glanced over his shoulder, back toward his friends, shrugged helplessly, and sat down.

"Why am I still here?" he asked.

"Because that creep didn't leave the cafeteria." Star jerked her chin towards the senior, who was taking his seat a few tables down from them. "If you leave, he might figure out Paulie was lying, and come back. This is a one-time deal, got it?"

Danny nodded. "Got it."

"You okay, Paulie?"

Self-conscious, Paulina wrapped her arms around her exposed midriff. After a moment, she nodded, squeezing Star's hand. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's not like it's a first time that's happened." She waved dismissively.

"Paulina..." Kwan wrung his hands, worrying his lip. "I'm sorry. That guy, Keith, he's a friend of my brother's. And I've known him since I was little, you know? He's not a bad guy. But I should have said something."

Paulina's anger toward him waned. "Yeah, I get it. It's still not okay, though."

Dash scoffed and leaned forward. "You guys are being stupid. You should have just said yes. Probably broke his heart or something."

Danny sneered, rising to meet Dash in the middle of the table. "You know that from experience?"

"Shut up, Fenton."

"Exactly how many times did you ask my sister out even though she kept saying no?" Danny started counting off on his fingers. "Let's see, the football game, homecoming, the winter formal, yesterday."

Dash grabbed Danny's shirt and got up in his face. "What do you care, dweeb?"

"I care because you're creeping on my sister." Danny's hand hovered over Dash's wrist.

"Let it go, Dash," Paulina snapped, smacking the boys' hands. "You look like idiots."

Dash glared at her, but listened, dropping Danny's collar and sitting back with a huff. In an instant, Danny seemed to lose whatever boldness made him stand up to Dash, and he laughed nervously. Fixing his collar, he leaned back.

Paulina gave him an appraising look. They had gone to school together for years, but he never stood out to her. When they hit high school, he gave her the same heart-eyed stare all the boys did, like she was a pretty thing to be won. She intended to write him off after that. She never meant to pay attention to him, for any reason. But when he asked her to homecoming, and she saw how jealous that made Sam, Paulina couldn’t resist.

She was so tired of Sam being such a hypocrite, acting like she was so good all the time, as if she never did anything wrong. In Paulina's opinion, Sam needed to get over herself. And she deserved every bit of riling up Paulina could give her.

Homecoming night itself didn't have a strong place in Paulina's mind, most of it passing in a hazy blur. Still, something happened that night, something that changed Danny. He stopped looking at her like a trophy. He didn't stop staring at her completely, but there a new layer to his gaze after that. A sort of understanding, like he was the first person—outside Paulina's friends—to realize there was more to her than a pretty face.

He should have faded to the back of her mind. Don’t get Paulina wrong, he maybe have been better than the creeps that dogged after her, but he was still a loser. And yet, in spite of herself, she sometimes found herself staring back when Danny wasn't looking, although she never understood why.

"You know, you're alright, Fenton," Paulina said, surprising herself with her sincerity.

Danny gaped at her, mouth dropping open, eyes widening. The innocent surprise was kind of cute.

"Thanks, I guess?" he said.

"You're welcome." Paulina turned to her lunch, cafeteria pizza that had long since gone cold, and ate in peace.

—

Paulina was sore all over. Cheerleading practice had ended an hour ago, but every Tuesday she stayed on the field a little longer and got some extra exercise. Doing lunges, push-ups, and laps around the field, she liked to keep her arms and legs strong. Cheerleading required a lot of strength and control, and she had to stay in shape.

Some weeks, Star joined her, but that day she had to go home right after practice, leaving Paulina on her own. She may have gone overboard, hanging around almost half an hour longer than usual. It was easy to get lost in thought while she exercised.

Gathering her backpack from the bleachers, she wondered if she should change before going home. She definitely needed a shower. But, checking the time on her phone, she knew the gym, and therefore the changerooms, would be locked up by now. Resigned to walking home in her uniform, she headed toward the front of the school.

Just as she reached the sidewalk, the front doors burst open. Danny came trudging out, backpack dangling in his hand, sweater tied around his waist.

Paulina watched him. Two hours was a long time to hang around after school. He must have had double detention, a punishment often reserved for students who skipped class. Paulina hesitated for a moment before jogging over.

"Danny!" she called, waving.

Danny spun toward her. He made that adorable startled face again, this time with a soft blush creeping across his cheeks as he noticed her skirt and crop top. His eyes snapped up to her face and stayed there.

"Hey, Paulina. What's up?" He lifted a hand to scratch his chin, drawing Paulina's attention to a dark bruise blooming across his jaw. It hadn't been there yesterday at lunch, or even that morning when she saw him in English. Three thin scratches stretched over the bruise, cutting across his chin. She wondered what caused them.

Danny's nail caught on one of the scabs and he winced, quickly lowering his hand, tucking it into his pocket. He always seemed to be injured in some little way. A bruise here, a scratch there. Paulina remembered him limping down the hall on more than one occasion. An uncomfortable curiosity settled in her gut, a sort of sick fascination. She wanted to know what was hurting him so much.

"Uh, Paulina?" Danny reached out.

Paulina, startled, jerked away. Her cheeks burned as she realized she had been gawking at him. She quickly asked, "Are you doing anything right now?"

"No," he answered slowly, giving her a wary look. "Why?"

"I owe you a burger, for yesterday. I never actually thanked you for helping me."

"You want to thank me?" Danny frowned.

Paulina pursed her lips in annoyance. Was it really so hard to believe? Sure, she wasn't always the nicest to him, but she didn't actively antagonize him either.

Danny squinted at her, leaning forward. "Is that you, Kitty?"

Paulina bristled. "What did you just call me!"

"Sorry!" Danny scrambled back, hands raised in defence. "I didn't mean– I wasn't– there's just this ghost that likes to mess with me, okay? And she may have... overshadowed you... once..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It doesn't matter. Burgers?"

Paulina thought it did matter, very much, but she was willing to put it aside for now. Giving Danny a stern look, letting him know she wouldn't soon forget what he had said, she waved for him to come along and headed toward the Nasty Burger.

Silence followed them. Danny trailed a couple paces behind her, head down, so quiet that she had to glance back every few steps to make sure he was still following. The air between them felt fragile, as if whatever peace they had attained in this moment would shatter under the weight of a whisper.

Paulina, used to Star's constant chatter, detested the feeling. The next time she glanced over her shoulder, she fixed Danny with an exasperated stare. "You know, you don't have to walk behind me." She slowed her pace.

Danny's cheeks flushed again. Scurrying forward, he fell into step beside her, lengthening his stride to match Paulina's longer gait. He opened his mouth a few times, but ultimately didn't say anything, resigning himself to staring at the sidewalk.

It was obvious neither of them enjoyed the lack of conversation, feeling too awkward without it, but neither one was willing to say the first word. Paulina found a stubborn urge rising within her. If they were going to play this game, then she was determined to win. They sent each other calculating glances, measuring each other up. Paulina searched for a sign of the boy that had come to her rescue yesterday. A confident twist in his lips, a glint in his eye, anything hidden behind the nervous façade. She found nothing.

A skittering noise interrupted her thoughts. Looking down, she saw a pebble leaping down the sidewalk ahead of them. It rolled to a stop in the middle of Danny's path. When they neared it, he kicked it, sending it jumping forward again. On the third kick, it hit a crack in the sidewalk and skipped across the concrete, stopping in front of Paulina.

Before she could think about it, she hopped forward and knocked the pebble back toward Danny. He looked up, surprised, and smiled at her. Tentative, he kicked the pebble back.

Paulina didn't mind the silence so much after that. Their little game persisted—both games—all the way to the Nasty Burger as they passed the pebble back and forth, neither one uttering a word. Paulina found herself grinning as Danny booted the pebble, forcing her to sprint after it or else let it tumble off the edge of the sidewalk.

Catching it just in time, she kicked it as hard as she could. The pebble careened off the sidewalk, pinged off the metal pole of the Nasty Burger sign, and disappeared into the unkempt grass.

"Oh," Danny said, sounding as disappointed as Paulina felt.

"Yeah." Paulina searched the grass for a moment, desperately hoping to find the pebble. For a moment, she had been filled with a childish sort of joy, the same delight she felt as a little girl playing in mud puddles with her cousins. Nowadays, she preferred to stay clean and pretty, but there was something intoxicating about the untamed glee one could only get from simple games, like punting a pebble down a sidewalk.

Thinking of games, Paulina quickly backtracked. "I win." She turned a victorious grin toward Danny.

"What? No! You lost the rock. That means you lose," Danny said.

"I got the best kick; I think that means I win. But I wasn't talking about that. You spoke first."

Danny stared at her, eyes narrowing, then blowing wide as he realized what she meant. "No fair! I didn't realize that was a game, that means you can't win," he insisted.

"Oh, sure you didn't." Paulina tossed her hair over her shoulder and airily said, "You're just a sore loser." She sauntered toward Nasty Burger's front doors.

"No way. I'm actually very good at losing, you've seen me in gym class," Danny said. He jogged ahead, overtaking her, and held the door open. "Besides, I think losing the rock makes you the loser."

"Best kick!" Paulina sing-songed, ignoring Danny's excuses. He grumbled all the way up to the counter, but didn't try to defend himself again.

Ignoring the leer of the acne-riddled teen behind the counter, who had asked Paulina out on no less than four separate occasions, she nudged Danny's arm. "What do you want? I'm paying."

"You really don't need to," Danny said, already reaching for his wallet.

Paulina rounded on Danny. "Listen, Fenton. I don't like owing people. You helped me out, now let me say thanks."

Danny peered down at his wallet, eyeing the crumpled three dollars stuffed inside, and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll just have a Meaty Melt and a Coke."

As Paulina went up to order, Danny hovered at her shoulder. She didn't pay much attention to him, too focused on ignoring the cashier's stares, but halfway through the exchange she caught Danny glaring over her shoulder. The cashier wilted and kept his eyes down after that.

"I hope you're not expecting another burger for that," Paulina said while they searched for a table.

Danny, balancing their tray on one hand, holding his soda in the other, blinked at her. "What? Why would I?"

"Huh." Paulina squinted at him. "You really don't expect anything, do you?"

"No? I actually didn't think you'd notice." His hand holding the soda jerked upward, his drink splashing against the lid.

Paulina burst out laughing as Danny flinched in surprise. "Did you­– did you forget you were holding that?" she asked between giggles. Recognizing Danny's nervous habit, she assumed he had been going to rub his neck. He settled for taking a long sip of his soda instead, his face as red as his shoes.

They chose a table with a view of the road, better shaded than the booths overlooking the parking lot, which were bathed in sunlight. Danny set the tray down in front of Paulina, taking his burger for himself, leaving her sliders and fries.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes as they started eating, things quickly turning awkward again. It was as if they suddenly remembered who they were and who they were with. Paulina and Danny, popular and loser. Their kind didn't interact much unless rude words were involved. Which was, frankly, stupid. Paulina frowned at that enlightening thought.

Determined not to let the silence persist, Paulina paused after finished her first slider and asked, "What class did you skip today?"

"What makes you think I skipped?" Danny asked.

"Double detention."

"Falluca gives double detention for anything."

"Falluca had a sub today." Paulina's lips curled into a devious grin. "I guess that tells me what class you skipped."

Danny's cheeks coloured. He seriously needed to stop doing that; it was too cute when he blushed.

"I can't believe you skipped science to get in a fight," she said casually. Picking at her fries, she carefully watched Danny's reaction. His shoulders tensed and his soda cup crinkled in his hand. He wouldn't meet her gaze, instead ducking his head and self-consciously rubbing his chin against his shoulder, as if he could wipe away the bruise.

He laughed. "Pretty bad luck, right?"

"Bad luck that you've gotten in at least one fight every week since the start of the year?" Paulina's eyebrow arched.

"What makes you say that?"

"Please, I'm not blind." I also watch you as much as you watch me, she added silently. Paulina hesitated, wondering if she should push on. That same sickly fascination from before reared its head and she couldn't help but ask, "Who hurt you?"

Danny stiffened. He met Paulina's stare, eyes wide, and stuttered, "I'm not­– not one's... Look, it isn't–" He broke off and practically lunged for his soda. Staring out the window, he took a long drink, cheeks caving in, until nothing but air came up his straw. His eyes darted about, thoughts flickering across his face faster than Paulina could interpret them. He kept sucking up air until his face turned red and he let the straw go with a gasp.

Watching him crush the cup, Paulina thought he looked seconds away from bolting. She could feel his leg bouncing under the table. Taking pity on him, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Danny flinched back violently, slamming back against his seat, cradling the hand she touched against his chest. Their eyes met and, for a long, uncomfortable moment, they stared at each other in shock.

"Thanks for the burger," Danny said.

Paulina, too stunned to stop him, could only gape as Danny slid out of his seat, slapped his three dollars down on the table—which barely covered half his food—and bolted.

—

The next day at school, Paulina shoved Danny's three dollars into his locker door, tucking it behind his cheap lock. She hopped the bills didn't fall out before Danny found them. Or, worse, she hoped no one else saw the money and stole it. The easy solution would be to give him the money directly, but she thought that was a bad idea.

Paulina felt guilty. It was such a strange and foreign emotion, oozing through her. She didn't like it. Never before had she felt guilty for something, at least not this kind of guilt. Feeling bad for stealing her cousin's favourite doll when they were eight years old wasn't the same thing. She only felt bad then because she got caught.

Now, though, she wished she could pluck her words from Danny's memory. The stricken look he had given her after she touched his hand seized her heart. He looked at her like she had betrayed his trust, which was ridiculous because she was Paulina and he was Danny. There wasn't any trust between them to break. Besides, wouldn't anyone have done what Paulina did? It was only natural to ask after things you were curious about.

Except, of course, when those things pertained to someone you know being hurt by someone they knew on a daily basis. Paulina had done a lot of thinking over the last twelve hours and came to that conclusion. If Danny just liked getting in fights, surely more people would know about it? Some girls were into that kind of tough delinquent type. Contrary to Danny's sweeter nature, he did fit the mold quite well in certain ways. Messy hair, sharp eyes, always sporting a bruise and rough knuckles.

Paulina faltered, pressing her hand against Danny's locker door. Rough knuckles? They did look kind of bloody sometimes. Self-defence, maybe. Unless Paulina's original assumption was right and he did get in fights, and just didn't tell people about them.

The mental image of Danny being in some secret fight club made Paulina giggle. Danny was just a wisp. A gentle breeze could knock him over. Then again, the senior hadn't been able to make Danny budge. And when he stared Dash down, telling him off for hitting on his sister, he hadn't been fazed.

Paulina's amused smile fell into a frown. Apparently, Danny was a bigger mystery than she had first thought.

Someone tapped Paulina's shoulder. "Hey. You better not be messing with Danny's locker."

Scowling, she turned to glare at Sam Manson. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb, although I know you love to. What are you doing to Danny's locker?" Sam asked.

"You should work on being less hostile, maybe more people will ask you out that way," Paulina said, enjoying the way Sam bristled. Using her long nails, Paulina pinched the edges of the bills she had stuffed into the door and pulled them out. "Here." She held them out to Sam. "I was giving Danny his money back. It fell out of his wallet at the Nasty Burger last night."

Sam didn't move.

"Oh, just take them already." Paulina grabbed Sam's hand, shoving the bills into her palm.

"You were with Danny last night?" Sam asked. Her tone, wary and belligerent all at once, gave Paulina pause.

"You didn't know," she said with dawning realization. Her smile returned, this time with a devilish twist, elated at this golden opportunity. "Danny and I went on a date yesterday."

Sam narrowed her eyes, fist curling around Danny's money. Paulina could hear her gritting her teeth. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"You think I care? Just don't forget to give him his money." Paulina left Sam with a teasing wave, savouring the enraged expression she got in response.

—

Danny knew all of Sam's tells when it came to anger. She stomped and shouted when she was frustrated. Ranted when she was fuelled by righteous indignation. Got in your face when irrationally pissed off. But when she was mad, truly, rightfully mad about something beyond her control, she turned cold.

As soon as Lancer gave the word that today's history class would be a work period, Sam rose from her desk, near the front of the room thanks to alphabetical order, and strode toward Danny and Tucker seated at the back. Her expression was subdued. Danny and Tucker shared a worried glance as she approached.

"Uh, what's up?" Danny asked when she stopped by their desks. He flinched away when Sam shoved something in his face. Staring cross-eyed at her fist, he frown at the dollar bills she held.

"Paulina said you dropped these last night," Sam said.

Danny's frown twitched. "She did?" Danny plucked the bills out of Sam's hand. "But I didn't drop them. I was paying her back."

Smoothing the bills out on the corner of his desk, he inspected them, searching for any telltale sign they were his three dollars. After staring at the money for a fully ten seconds he realized how ridiculous that was. They were just dollar bills. Unless he somehow had the serial numbers for his money memorized, there was no way he could tell them apart. A second after that, he realized how even more ridiculous it was for him to check in the first place. It didn't matter if they were the same bills, what mattered was that Paulina had evidently decided to give them back.

"Anything you want to tell us about last night?" Sam said, leaning back against Tucker's desk and crossing her arms.

Danny tucked the money into his pocket before answering. "Not really? Paulina thanked me for helping her out at lunch. Sorry again that I kind of ditched you guys."

"Nah, man, you're good. You were being all heroic." Tucker's grin carried a knowing glint that Danny didn't think belonged there, because whatever Tucker thought he knew, he was definitely wrong. "I bet you could get a date out of that."

"No," Danny said.

"Yes," Sam hissed.

"What?"

"You were on a date with Paulina last night."

"You went on a date with Paulina?" Tucker's shout drew their classmates' eyes.

Stretching over the aisle, Danny slapped his hands against Tucker's mouth. "Dude, chill! I didn't go on a date with Paulina."

"That's not what she said," Sam interrupted. She pulled Danny and Tucker apart, and glared at their nearby classmates, who were still staring. "Don't you all have better stuff to do?"

"Excellent statement, Ms. Manson," Lancer droned from the front of the room. Sitting behind his desk, he gave Sam a stern look over the top of his book. "I'm sure I told all of you to use this time and work on your social movement essays. That includes you, Ms. Manson."

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer," Sam said, barely sounding sorry at all. She pointed at Danny, silently letting him know they would continue this conversation later, and returned to her seat to do her work. Around them, their classmates did the same. At least, they pretended to. Danny could hear them whispering.

"Okay, but really. Did you go on a date with Paulina? A real one? No ghosts?" Tucker asked.

Danny dropped his forehead to his desk with a thunk, wrapping his arms over his head, and groaned. "It wasn't a date."

—

Five hours later and three classrooms over, Paulina turned to Dash and said, "Yeah, it was totally a date." The art teacher shot her a dirty look for talking, but didn't make a move to stop her. Paulina rolled her eyes and tapped her pencil against her sketchbook.

"I bet he got Manson to do some voodoo shit with you to make it happen," Dash said. He hadn't even opened his sketchbook yet. Instead of starting their newest project, he was more determined to bug Paulina about the rumors he heard over lunch hour.

Apparently, Manson couldn't keep her mouth shut and had spilled the lie Paulina fed her. The rumour didn't bother her so much. Paulina was used to people whispering things about her; that happened when you were popular. She was content to brush it all off, until Dash started getting on her case.

"No voodoo. I asked him out," she said. Her plan, once she first heard the rumour, was to ignore it until it went away. Eventually people would come to their senses and realized there was no way someone as pretty and popular as her would ever go out with Danny, no matter how cute he was. Once they did, they would move on to other more interesting bits of gossip.

But then Dash opened his stupid mouth. "A loser like Fenton?" he had said. "Knew it was a lie the moment I heard it. You're one of us. We wouldn't let you go out with him. You wouldn’t let us down like that."

Who was Dash to say who Paulina could and couldn't date? That venomous jab, and every arrogant, poison word he'd spoken since made Paulina seethe. Dash wasn't better than her. He would hit on anything that moved. He hit on her sometimes, and he definitely wasn't one of the sweet, endearing boys Paulina liked to string along.

As soon as she heard those haughty, conceited words spilling out of Dash's mouth, Paulina was determined to let Dash down so far that he'd be six feet underground. Screw Dash Baxter, and screw anyone who tried to tell Paulina what she could and couldn't do.

Dash wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Why would you go out with him again?"

"Maybe I enjoyed myself at the dance, you don't know," Paulina said flippantly. Granted, not even she knew if she enjoyed herself, but chances were Dash wouldn't know either.

"Dance? What? I'm not talking about the dance."

Paulina only gave herself a second to be confused. She blinked at Dash, furrowing her brow, then shook her head and started inspecting her fingernails, the perfect image of disinterest. "Whatever. I'm done with this conversation."

She turned back to her drawing. So far, all she had was a vague skeleton of a figure, featureless and unidentifiable, but she knew exactly who it was. It annoyed her how much Danny lingered in her thoughts when she didn't want him to.

Thinking about Danny dragged Dash's offhand comment back to the forefront of her mind. She had no evidence, but she couldn't shake the idea that what he said was related to that Kitty ghost, something Paulina had completely forgot to ask Danny about last night.

She tried to push that aside for now and focus on her art, but her hand shook too much. She flipped to a fresh page and pressed her pencil down, hard, drawing a thick dark line. Over and over she wounded the page with ugly black scars until she finally managed to draw one without trembling. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

Danny owed her an explanation.

—

As soon as the bell rang, Paulina was out of her seat. She walked briskly, hurrying down the hall, stuffing her sketchbook into her backpack along the way. Danny's locker was her destination, in the hopes that she could catch him before he left school. She didn't know if he was one of those students who kept everything in his backpack or routinely stopped between classes to switch out his books. She hoped he was the former.

He wasn't there when she arrived, so she leaned against the locker next to his, arms crossed. If he didn't show up, it wouldn't matter that much. They had English first period tomorrow, and she could always talk to him then, but she preferred to have this conversation sooner rather than later.

Five minutes passed, long enough for the first round of buses to leave the school, and Danny didn't show up. Paulina felt jilted, which wasn't fair to Danny, because he didn't know she wanted to talk to him, but that didn't stop her from feeling it. Getting stood up sucked, whether it was intentional or not.

Paulina closed her eyes and grumbled under her breath. It looked like the conversation would have to wait until tomorrow. She pushed off Danny's locker, turning in the direction of her own, and opened her eyes. Danny stood right behind her. Paulina shrieked. She leapt back, heart racing, and glared at him. "Who does that?!"

"Uh, sorry." Danny scratched the back of his neck. "I was looking for you, but I thought you left already since you weren't by your locker."

Paulina huffed. "Well, it's about time you got here. Next time, don't make me wait so long?"

"Next time?" Danny shook his head. "Whatever, that's, I'll worry about that later. Listen–"

Paulina raised a hand to cut him off. "No, you listen. I don't wait around for people, okay?"

"Paulina–"

"I could have left whenever I wanted."

"If you just–"

"But I'm not letting you off that easy because–"

"We need to talk," they said at the same time. They stilled, staring at each other. Slowly, Danny's face turned red, but it wasn't the innocent blush Paulina found so endearing. His cheeks puffed and mirth danced in his eyes. He slapped a hand over his mouth, muffled giggles slipping between his fingers.

"Stop laughing," Paulina said.

Danny shook his head.

"It's not funny!" Paulina stomped her foot.

Danny lost it. Peals of laughter echoed down the slowly emptying hall. The sound was pure and unrestrained, a sweet laugh. Paulina refused to let herself be dragged into it, but she couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

"I mean, okay. It wasn't that funny. But you throwing a tantrum? That's hilarious," Danny said.

"I did not!" Paulina gasped, offended

"Sorry for laughing," Danny said, but he was still grinning. "But you're a lot nicer to be around when you're like that."

"When I'm throwing a tantrum? Which I wasn't."

"No, when you act your age," he explained.

Paulina thought that was rich coming from someone who liked to play juvenile pranks. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Danny sighed, shaking his head as if it was such a damn shame Paulina wouldn't stoop to his level of childish antics. "Paulina, we're fourteen. You shouldn't be acting like you're already in college or something. Being in high school doesn't mean being grown up. I know you probably think it's stupid, but once you get older, and you actually have to deal with... with all kinds of stuff. Bad stuff. You'll wish you hadn't grown up so fast."

Paulina didn't like the way Danny's voice grew quite. His eyes were distant, looking through her like she was nothing but a pane of glass, seeing something that was far beyond her comprehension. Her gaze fell to his chin and the ugly bruise painting his skin. Unable to help herself, she reached out, brushing her fingers along the thin scratches, wondering if they would scar.

Danny's hand shot up, catching her wrist in a crushing grip. Light returned to his eyes as he broke out of his reverie. A flicker of emotion, too fast for Paulina to decipher, flashed across his face when he saw his hand closed around her wrist. He hastily let her go, shuffling back a few steps, and averted his eyes.

"Sorry. I don't like being touched like that. Unexpectedly, I mean. Or at all, really." Danny rubbed his cheek. To Paulina, it looked like he was wiping away the feel of her hand on his skin. He continued, "We really do need to talk."

Remembering why she went looking for Danny in the first place, Paulina nodded. "Yeah, we do. You need to tell me about Kitty."

"Whoa, wait. First, you need to tell me why everyone thinks we went on a date," Danny said.

"No way, I asked first."

"Okay, fair. But I bet you want your answer a lot more than I want mine." Danny's cheerful tone had returned, an impish grin replacing his disappointed frown.

Paulina's eyebrow twitched. How could someone turn from jubilant to pensive to infuriatingly annoying in such a short span of time? It looked exhausting. Simply being around him was exhausting. Paulina's face was warm and her heart hadn't stopped pounding. She felt like she had just finished her post-cheerleading exercises.

No, that couldn't be right. Paulina felt refreshed and energized after working out. She liked that feeling. She didn't like this. Right?

"Does this mean I win?" Danny's words ragged her out of her thoughts.

"No! You don't get your answer until I get mine!" They were at a stalemate, but Paulina had complete confidence in her stubborn nature. She always got what she wanted. Danny, grin set, eyebrow arched, looked ready to fight her on this. Until he shivered. His hand flew to his mouth and his eyes widened.

"Okay, fine, but not here. I'll text you where to meet me," he said.

"Why not here?" Paulina glanced over her shoulder down the hall. It was empty now. She had probably missed her bus, but her house was only a forty minute walk away. More importantly, it meant they were alone. "You don't even have my nu–"

Paulina cut off mid-sentence when she looked forward again. Danny was already gone.

—

Danny's stitches itched. Flexing his fingers, he resisted the urge to scratch his arm. It was just a small cut on the inside of his elbow. Jazz fixed him up in six stitches. In a few days, she would take them out, leaving his arm good as new. Or almost as good. Too bad for Danny, accelerated healing did not equal regeneration and he would probably have a scar.

Damn Box Ghost. That fact hurt Danny more than the injury did, even if his stitches pulled and stung every time he bent his arm. He had no idea how the Box Ghost managed to get his grubby little hands on a box cutter, but it was a hell of a lot more effective than cardboard. Hopefully, Boxy wouldn't go bragging to every ghost in the Zone about his "victory" over Danny. Danny could heal his body a lot faster than he could heal his pride.

His phone, resting on the café table, buzzed. Checking the notification, he saw it was just a reminder about the health quiz tomorrow. Which he had completely forgotten about.

"Damn it." Danny dropped his head onto the table, making the cups and plate shake. The iced coffee he had bought for Paulina sloshed over the rim of the glass, splashing onto the table. It wasn't so iced now, more watered down. Paulina was supposed to meet him twenty minutes ago.

Lifting his head, he sipped despondently at his milkshake, gnawing on the straw. Maybe this was a bad idea. Paulina didn't need to know about Kitty, and she definitely didn't need to waste her time hanging around Danny.

He touched his cheek, thinking about how soft Paulina's fingers had been on his bruise. The unwanted touch had his skin crawling at the time. Even now, just the thought of it made him uncomfortable, but that wasn't Paulina's fault. When nearly everyone who touched you ended up hurting you, you started to hate physical contact all together. Even Sam and Tucker, who Danny trusted and loved, could set him on edge if he didn't see the contact coming.

A sharp knock on the window beside him drew his attention. His straw fell out of his mouth when he saw Paulina. She had braided her hair loosely over her shoulder and donned an unbuttoned shirt over her crop top. Instead of her regular flats, she wore scuffed sneakers. The most striking difference, however, was her lack of makeup. Even in gym class, when everyone was sweating from exertion, he had never seen Paulina in anything but pristine makeup.

She had freckles. Not the modest smattering across her nose and cheeks like Danny had, but all over. A galaxy of dots painting constellations across her face. She had a mole, too. A small brown spot on her lip. Danny hadn't realized you could have moles on your lips. If it weren't so dark, he might have thought it was another freckle.

Paulina waved. Danny waved back. His eyes trailed after her as she entered the café, the bell over the door jingling quietly. She took her seat across from him, sinking into the plush chair, the exact reason why Danny had chosen this cafe.

"Is this for me?" Paulina asked, pointing to the iced coffee.

Danny stopped staring at her long enough to nod. "And this." He pushed the small dessert plate in the middle of the table toward her. An apple fritter dusted in powdered sugar sat on it. The few crumbs scattered beside it were the only sign of the second fritter, which Danny had consumed in a nervous fit once Paulina was five minutes late.

"What for?" she asked.

"Paying you back for the burger." Danny grinned. "You can't give this back to me. And if you don't eat it, then I guess it's just wasted."

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Not bad, Fenton. Not bad." She took a bite of the fritter and surveyed the café.

It was an out of the way place, tucked behind a bookshop, and had to be entered around the back. Danny first found the place last month when he saved the owners, a retired couple, from one of Technus' schemes. It was small, cozy, had big armchairs and soft lighting, and served the best pastries in Amity Park.

"It took my dad a while to find this place, even with the address," Paulina said.

"Oh, your dad?" Danny remembered her dad. Big, burly, intimidating. He wasn't as tall as Danny's dad but, with arms as thick as his, was nothing to scoff at. Danny glanced around, half-expecting the man to leap out from one of the tables.

"He went to the bookstore," Paulina said.

"Good to know. Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why the change in appearance?" He gestured vaguely toward his face.

Paulina finished her fritter, dusting the sugar off her fingers, and played with her braid. "You think I wear makeup all the time?"

"No, but I've just never seen you without it."

"So what?"

"So, you, uh, I've just never seen you without any." Danny stared down at his milkshake, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I like your freckles."

Paulina didn't answer. Worried he'd made her mad, he glanced up. Danny's eyes widened when he found her blushing. Paulina got a lot of compliments from a lot of boys and she always reacted with a coy smile, unless the guy was bothering her. He'd never seen her blush.

"Just tell me about Kitty," she said, clutching her iced coffee.

Danny decided to just get it over with. "She overshadowed you during spring break, but I didn't know she was overshadowing you and I thought she was just you, and so did everyone else, and we kind of dated for a few weeks, until I realized you weren't yourself and I stopped Kitty and you didn't remember anything the next day, but you seemed fine and you went on without saying anything, so I didn't mention it."

He sucked in a deep, wheezing breath and downed the rest of his milkshake in one gulp, licking whipped cream off his upper lip after he set the glass down.

Paulina stared at him, frozen.

"Ah, wait, did I say I stopped her? I meant Danny Phantom did. Yeah. The ghost boy. Not me," Danny said.

Paulina still didn't respond. She looked... Danny didn't know how she looked. Confused? Upset? Mad? She didn't say anything, didn't even blink. The seconds dragged on and Danny's worry grew.

"Paulina?" She didn't answer. Danny grabbed his hair. "I can't believe I broke Paulina Sanchez."

Paulina started. "You didn't break me!" She reached out, poised to slap his hands, but stopped at the last second. Her hand hovered for a moment, then went back to holding her drink. "We dated—for a couple weeks—and I have no memory of it."

"It was almost three weeks, actually," Danny said.

"That's not helping!"

"Right! Sorry!"

Paulina hunched over, curling an arm over her head, her eyes wide. Her parted lips moved slightly. Danny wondered if she was mouthing along with the thoughts running through her head. If so, it was oddly cute. If not... still cute.

"I think," she said after a long silence. "I think I sort of remember. Those weeks didn't disappear, but I can barely remember anything with you from them."

"Ghosts can do that when they overshadow you for a long time. Usually, the memories will just be gone, or sort of hazy. But if they stay in one person long enough, they can manipulate what you remember," Danny explained. Kitty had assured him Paulina would only lose her memories of Danny. It was oddly considerate of her, but he chose not to question it.

"You didn't tell me."

Deciding honesty was best, Danny nodded. "No, I didn't."

"What is wrong with you!" Paulina slammed her hands on the table, rattling the dishes.

Danny recoiled. "I didn't think–"

"No, you didn't! A ghost... a ghost possessed me. For three weeks. You were the only one who knew, and you didn't tell me?" Tears glistened in Paulina's eyes. Her lips curled. The soft, sweet blush from before was long gone, replaced by a face red with anger.

"They call it overshadowing," Danny corrected. He didn't know what else to say.

"I don't care what it's called! She violated me, and you didn't think I had a right to know? She could have done anything to me!" Paulina hugged herself, going pale. Shaking her head, she stood up. "I can't be around you right now."

Danny reached out, but there was nothing he could do to stop her as she stormed out of the café. He sank low in his seat, but it was nowhere near as low as he felt.

"You really screwed up, Fenton," Danny whispered.

—

Paulina avoided Danny for the rest of the week. The rumour about her and Danny dating died out without too much fuss. Dash texted Paulina a smug grin and a self-satisfied "Knew you wouldn't do it!" and everything went back to the way it was supposed to be. She hung out with her friends, went to cheerleading practice, did her homework. On the weekend, she and Star went to an old film screening at the theatre.

This was her life, as it had always been, back to normal. So why did it feel like she was missing something?

Paulina went for a walk in the park, just before sunset. Tomorrow was Monday. It had been a lot easier to ignore Danny over the weekend, when they weren't forced into the same room for classes. But it still felt hard.

She picked her way across the wet grass, drops of water clinging to her sneakers. It had stopped raining over an our ago, but the grey sky and chill air remained. Finding a bench by the duck pond, she sat down, crossing her legs on the damp wood. Her dad didn't like her being out alone so close to dark, but she needed to think somewhere no one would disturb her.

Paulina had never had a crush before. In middle school, whenever any of the other girls asked if she had one, she always pointed to whichever boy showed the least interest in her, even though she felt nothing special around them. But Danny made her feel giddy. He pulled out a childish side of her that she hadn’t realized she missed. She wanted to spend time with him, play more immature  games with him, hold his hand. If that wasn't a crush, she didn't know what was.

But he had to go and ruin it by keeping something so personal from her.

"Boys are stupid," Paulina declared to the open air.

A sudden chill came over her and an echoing voice spoke. "Do dead boys count? Because I like to think I'm pretty smart."

Paulina managed not to shout in surprise, but she did flinch as Danny Phantom appeared in front of her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said. He floated on his stomach, chin propped on his hand, hovering a respectful distance away. "I saw you sitting alone and thought I'd let you know it's almost night. Ghosts get more active right around now. It'd be safer for you to head home."

Paulina pursed her lips. Danny had said Phantom helped free her from Kitty's clutches. "Why didn't you tell me I had been possessed?"

"It's called overshadowing, actually," Phantom said.

"Ugh, you Dannys are all alike." Standing up, she marched away.

Phantom rushed to catch up with her, flying around to block her path. "Hey, no, wait. I'm sorry. Let me fly you home."

Paulina lifted her chin and looked away. "No, thank you." She walked around him and started for the park entrance.

"Okay, that's fair. But at least let me fly with you? It really is dangerous."

Paulina stopped. Glancing back at Phantom, she gave him a critical look. Something about the way he said that was familiar, but she couldn't figure out what.

"Please?" he said.

"Fine." She kept walking, watching Phantom out of the corner of her eye. He floated a couple feet away, knees bent as if he was kneeling, and easily keeping pace. It was bizarre to watch, like a poorly edited video where a frozen character got dragged across the screen in lieu of actual movement.

"I'm sorry," Phantom said.

Paulina's eyes jumped forward, her shoulders stiffening as she tried to act casual. "For what?"

"The Kitty thing. Fenton's sorry, too. He talked to me about it."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah. It was... it was my idea not to tell you. Getting overshadowed isn't fun. And you were right, it is a violation. It's taking over someone's body. Taking control of them. It's not right. I only do it if I absolutely have to."

"But you still do it."

"Yeah..." Phantom at least had the mind to look ashamed of that fact. When they reached the street, he drifted closer. Paulina considered stepping away, putting that distance between them again, but he looked sincere, and she wanted to hear what he had to say. She nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"I just thought you would be happier not knowing. Kitty didn't do anything bad with you. Actually, she kind of had your personality down. No one else noticed there was something wrong."

That didn't make Paulina feel better.

"It was a dumb decision, and both Fenton and I were idiots for going along with it." Phantom's grin turned wry. "I guess you were right. Boys are stupid."

Paulina huffed, standing a little straighter. "Of course I was."

"Fenton wants to talk to you."

"Then he can tell me that himself." Paulina paused. "Wait." Reaching out, she touched Phantom's shoulder to stop him.

Phantom swerved away from her hand, turning upside-down to get out of reach. His eyes widened, a green blush rising in his cheeks. "Um. Instincts. From fighting and stuff. Sorry."

"It's fine," she said, taking her hand back. "Be honest with me. Did Danny put you up to this?"

"Uh..." Phantom laughed weakly. "Which one's better?"

Paulina didn't bother answering that question.

"He asked me to talk to you, yeah." Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "He wanted to give you your space, and he thought you might appreciate me talking to you more. You know, because of your crush."

"What makes you think I have a crush on you?"

Phantom drifted in front of her, legs and arms crossed, hair hanging down. "You don't?"

Paulina could see why Phantom, or anyone, would think that. She had never bothered hiding her infatuation before. But, long ago, she realized that what she felt was admiration, not love.

"You're cute, for a dead boy," she said.

"I'm gonna be honest; I can't decide if I should be offended or not," Phantom said. His grin was strikingly familiar.

Paulina stared at him, contemplative, and smirked when Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "It it's any consolation, I just realized you remind me a lot of the boy I like."

Phantom finally flipped back around, feet touching the ground, and leaned forward. "Really?"

"Yeah. Who knows, if you were still alive, you might have had a chance."

Phantom laughed. The echo in his voice made it deeper than Danny's, but it had the same charm. It was the kind of laugh that warmed the air and begged anyone within earshot to join in. Paulina indulged herself with a few soft giggles.

"Thanks for breaking my heart," Phantom said.

"Any time."

—

Monday morning, Danny arrived at school twenty minutes earlier than usual, which meant there were only ten minutes before the bell. He planted himself by the door and waited there, lurking in the shadow of the entryway.

"You look like a creep," Tucker said. He had his nose to his phone and hadn't looked up the whole time Danny had been there.

"Shut up, you don't know that," Danny said.

"No." Sam, seated on the cement wall, leaned forward and flicked Danny's bangs. "But I do. Stop being so edgy."

"I'm not being edgy! I'm waiting for a girl!"

"Okay, Mr. Brooding."

"I'm not," Danny said, brooding.

Paulina hadn't arrived at school yet. As soon as Danny got there, he flew all throughout the halls, invisible, searching for her. Anxious he might miss her, he refused to move from his spot by the door until either the bell rang, or Paulina showed up, whichever came first. He really hoped Paulina came first. If the bell rang before she arrived, if he missed his chance to talk to her now, all his confidence would wither away.

"You're being ridiculous," Sam said.

"You don't know what I'm thinking," Danny said.

"Your face is so easy to read."

"Why do you care, anyway?" Danny spun around and glared at her. "You hate Paulina, right? You looked pretty damn mad at me when you only thought we went out."

"Danny–"

"I don't want to hear it, Sam. Just go inside. I can wait on my own." Turning his back on her, he crossed his arms and went back to watching the sidewalk.

Sam clenched her jaw. "Fine," she ground out, hopping off the wall. Shoving past Danny, she headed inside.

"Dude. That was kind of harsh," Tucker said.

Danny pressed his lips together, refusing to budge. Sam didn't have any business getting annoyed at him for liking a Paulina. He could like whoever he wanted. If Sam didn't agree, that was her problem.

"Good luck, man. I hope it goes well." Tucker clapped Danny on the shoulder, exaggerating the gesture so there was lots of warning before he made contact.

"Thanks," Danny muttered. Once Tucker disappeared through the doors, Danny moved to the top step, sitting down with his arms draped over his knees. None of his peers spared him a single glance as they headed inside. For once, it was oddly calming, settling his nerves. No one would be around to see him make a fool of himself in front of the prettiest girl in school. Again.

Hopefully, this time, his pants will at least stay on.

Two minutes before the bell, Paulina finally appeared. A navy car pulled up to the curb outside the school, Paulina climbing out of the passenger door with her pink backpack over her shoulders. Danny stood and waved as the car pulled away, catching her eye. Paulina's steps faltered, and she didn't smile or wave back, but she kept walking forward, only stopping once she was on the step below him.

"I'm sorry," Danny said.

"I know." Paulina shuffled her feet, grip tightening around the straps of her backpack. "Phantom talked to me."

Danny bit his lip, trying to fight back the heat rising in his cheeks as he remembered yesterday's conversation. Learning that Paulina liked him was the last thing he expected to get out of that talk. At least he believed she liked him. Maybe he misunderstood. In fact, he probably did. Why would Paulina like him of all people? Fenton had nothing on Phantom. That was his main goal in human form, to differentiate himself from his ghost half as much as possible.

Oh, god, this was a horrible idea. He should just go inside and forget about his crush.

"The bell is gonna go in, like, less than a minute. Is there a reason you're making me stand out here?" Paulina asked. Thankfully, she sounded more amused than annoyed, but she had a point. Danny didn’t want to be late on the first day he got to school on time in months.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked. "Or at least on a date. I mean, everybody already thought we dated, so I might as well get one date out of it."

A second later, he realized how bad that sounded and rushed to correct himself. "I mean! That's not why I want to go out with you! I was trying to be funny. Sorry, that was stupid. I really like you, Paulina. You're pretty, and you're a lot smarter than people think, and I really like being around you."

He couldn't bear to look up, choosing instead to stare down at his sneakers while wringing his hands. Paulina's smaller, smoother hand edged into his vision. She didn't touch him—something he was thankful for—but flicked her finger up, silently asking him to raise his head. He did.

Paulina smiled, bittersweet, and said, "No."

Danny's heart cracked.

"I like you, Danny, but I don't really know you. It's not bad, it just means I'm not ready to date you right now," Paulina said.

"That hasn't stopped you from going out with guys before." Danny regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

Paulina's eyes widened, her lips falling open. She ground her teeth, face screwing up as she leaned away from him. For a moment, he thought she was going to hit him, but she did something much worse than that. Paulina burst into tears.

"I take it back. I hate you, Danny!" she shouted, shoving him aside. Danny stumbled into the concrete rail as she stormed past him. It was just like last time, but so much worse. Why did he keep screwing things up?

Danny shook his head, pushing off the wall. This time, he wouldn’t just let her go.

"Paulina, wait!" Lurching forward, he grabbed her wrist just as she opened the door, pulling her back before she could go through. The sharp call of the warning bell rang out, but it was soon silenced as the door swung shut, leaving Danny and Paulina in silence.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid. I don't know why I said it," Danny said. He squeezed her hand. "Please don't go."

Paulina's gaze dipped to their clasped hands. Could she see the growing panic in Danny's eyes? Already, a crawling sensation was spreading up his hand. He wanted to let go. He needed to let go. But he refused to do it until he knew Paulina would hear him out.

"Why should I listen to you?" she asked.

"Because I'm an idiot. I really don't know why I said that. Well, maybe I do." Danny let her hand go. When she didn't immediately leave, he kept going. " It just... it took a lot of guts for me to ask you out, and of course that doesn’t mean you have to say yes. But you said it yourself; you like me too. Isn't the whole point of dating to get to know the person?"

"How many dates do you think I've been on?"

"Uh..." Thrown by the questioned, Danny floundered, trying to come up with a number. "At least ten."

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess, one for homecoming, the others for when I was possessed? Or overshadowed, whatever it's called."

"Yeah."

"Well, that's nine more dates then I ever remember being on." Paulina crossed her arms, glaring down at Danny. Now that they were on even footing, she was taller than him by an inch. "It looks like you don't know me that well either. You judged me because of how much I'm flirted with. I don't want to date someone who would do something like that without hearing my side of things first. No matter how much I like them."

Ashamed, Danny lowered his head. Paulina was right. He took what he saw and made a snap judgement about her without even asking her about it. He thought he was better than that, better than those guys who trailed after her. But he wasn't. He was just bad in a different way.

"You're right," he said quietly, hugging himself. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. Do you at least... could we hang out as friends, then?"

Finally, she graced him with a genuine smile.

—

Danny slunk into history class three minutes after the bell, shooting Lancer a weak grin. All he got was a head shake and a resigned smile in return, which meant Lancer was in a good mood that day. Taking his seat, Danny stuffed his backpack under his seat and settled in as Lancer started talking about the essays they drafted last week.

"So," Tucker whispered. "How'd it go?"

Danny sank down in his seat, leaning toward Tucker without looking too obvious, and whispered back, "It went okay, I think. I kind of made her cry, but then I made it better?"

"Dude. That's not how to ask out a girl."

"Shut up, I know! She didn’t say yes, anyway."

"Oh. Bummer."

Lancer started down the aisles, handing everyone's essay drafts back, which they had submitted for editing. Danny and Tucker fell silent as he passed by. Lancer handed Danny his essay while smiling approvingly. Danny's eyes widened. He glanced down at his paper, excitement filling him, and had to hold back a cry of victory when he saw his tentative grade. A solid B! If he played this right, he could get his first A in months. Today may have had a rocky start, but it was turning out pretty good.

Lancer finished handing out the essays and went to stand at the front of the classroom. He clapped his hands together. "Please get together into groups for peer editing. Your final drafts are due in three days, so use your time wisely."

Desks screeched as everyone started moving, shoving their seats together to sit by their friends. Tucker, without getting out of his desk, shuffled toward Danny, turning so they were perpendicular. Sam, coming up from the front of the classroom, took the newly vacated desk in front of Danny and turned it around to face his. Slapping her essay down on the table, she dropped into the seat, crossing her arms and legs, and glared at Danny. He glared right back.

"We're gonna hang out as friends first," Danny said to Tucker.

Tucker grinned. "Less of a bummer."

"Not worried I'll get mad if you talk about her in front of me?" Sam asked, her voice cold.

"You can do whatever you want, Sam," Danny said.

Sam's eyes hardened. "Stop being so difficult, Danny! I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt. You've seen how Paulina is. She likes to toy with people, then toss them away. I told you what she said at homecoming. She was just using you to get back at me."

"Oh, come on, grow up. This isn’t about you. This has nothing to do with you. I like her, she likes me. Just let me be happy, will you?" Danny raised his hand, rising out of his seat. "Mr. Lancer, I'm going to the bathroom."

Without waiting for an answer, he left the room. Ducking into the closest bathroom, he transformed and shot out of the school. There had to be a ghost wreaking havoc somewhere for him to vent his frustration on. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get the Box Ghost back for injuring him last week. Just as Danny thought, the cut ended up scarring. Thankfully, the one on his face hadn't, healing with barely a trace a few days after he got it.

Danny circled the school thinking. Immediately rushing out of the room had been a little hasty, but he wanted one moment where Sam didn't rag on him for liking Paulina. If Sam was going to act like that any time he mentioned Paulina, he couldn't be around her right now.

The ridiculousness of the situation made him laugh bitterly. He never thought he would fight with Sam about a girl.

—

Sam and Tucker sat in strained silence after Danny left. Tucker, rightfully assuming Danny wouldn't come back any time soon, grabbed Danny's essay and backpack, pulling them over to his desk.

"So..." Tucker said.

Sam snatched up her own essay, busying herself by flipping through it. "I don't want to hear it."

"Are you jealous?"

"Did you not hear anything I said?" Sam asked without looking up.

Tucker rested his chin on his hand, staring at Sam. All three of them had known each other for a long time, although Tucker and Danny had been friends longer. Over the years, they'd had their spats, but that was usually just Tucker and Sam, who had a lot of conflicting opinions. Even then, they limited themselves to heated but still friendly debates. They had never really been mad at each other.

Tucker didn't think their friendship would end over something like this, but he also didn't like that they were fighting. He wanted to supported Danny, and he wanted to understand Sam, too.

"Yeah, I heard you," Tucker nodded, "and I don't actually think you're jealous."

Sam finally put her essay down. "Then why even ask?"

"To see your reaction." Tucker met Sam's glare with a bright smile. "I think whatever your problem is with Paulina, it's got nothing to do with Danny. And it's got nothing to do with principles. You're not the kind of person who would hate other girls just because they like to feel pretty. Especially not with how much you care about your own appearance."

Sam huffed but didn't argue.

"I also think that you and Paulina should work things out. Not for Danny, but for yourself."

Sam pressed her lips together in a firm line, eying Tucker blankly. After a brief pause, she shook her head and sighed. "It truly is a sad day when you're the most mature out of the three of us."

"Wow, rude."

"I'm not making any promises. I've got a right to be mad at Paulina for what she's done. But... I'll think about it. For me, not anybody else."

"That's all I ask. Now give me your essay, we're supposed to be doing group work. Danny can suffer for skipping class when he didn't need to. I'll look at his tonight."

Sam rolled her eyes. Passing her essay over, she grabbed Tucker's, then snatched Danny's off Tucker's desk. "Please. If you touch his essay, I bet his grade will go down."

"I take back all of the advice I just gave you. You don't deserve it. Give it back," Tucker said, holding his hand out and beckoning.

"Too late, I've been thoroughly advised."

"Rude."

—

Paulina prided herself in have a clean record. She got good grades, participated in school activities, and, for the most part, respected the teachers that actually deserved it. But she still ended up in detention with Wednesday afternoon. Paulina found herself alone with Danny in the library after school. Technically, there was a teacher watching over them, but Tetslaff had disappeared into the librarian's office some time ago and hadn't re-emerged. She was certainly the best teacher to get for detention.

Paulina used the chair beside her as a footrest and had her sketchbook balanced on her knees while she worked on her art project. Danny, sitting across from her, hunched over an essay. He sported a black eye and a cut lip, his hair more mussed than usual. The hoodie he wore was too long for him, but still slim.

"Is that your sister's sweater?" Paulina asked. The burgundy fabric paired with teal hoodie strings looked like something Jazz would wear.

Danny's cheeks coloured and he looked up. "Yeah. I borrowed it from her locker this morning."

Paulina giggled.

"Hey, does this count as us hanging out?" he asked, gesturing to the library at large. "I mean, it's detention, but..."

"I don't see why not."

"Cool." Danny lowered his voice, leaned forward, and gruffly asked. "What are you in for?"

"Indecent exposure. My shoulders are criminally offensive." Paulina tugged on the collar of her gym shirt, showing the spaghetti straps of her tank top underneath. "Did you get caught fighting behind the school or something?"

Danny laughed, throwing his head back. "Haven't you heard? I'm a truant, a nonattender. Ishiyama actually used those words."

"Everybody already knows that."

"First of all, ouch. Second of all, yeah. But I skipped English on Monday and I was late for school yesterday and today. Ishiyama's finally threatening me with suspension," Danny said. Essay forgotten, he folded his arms on the table and rested his cheek on the crook of his elbow. "Jazz convinced her not to go through with it, though. Something about how making me miss school won't fix my problem with missing school."

Paulina snorted. Danny burst out laughing, making her squawk with embarrassment. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "You didn't hear that!"

Danny smirked at her. "Pretty sure I did."

"No you didn't!"

"Nah, I think I did. Don't worry, it's cute."

"I swear, if you tell anyone that I snort laughed, I am going to end you, Fenton."

"You wouldn't dare. You like me too much."

"No talking!" Tetslaff's shout cut off their banter. She leaned out of the librarian's office, shooting them a stern glare, and made a zipping motion over her lips. She pointed at her eyes, pointed at them, then disappeared back through the door.

Paulina and Danny glanced at each other. The moment their eyes met, they broke down into muffled laughter, pressing their faces into their arms to try and stay quiet.

"What do you think she's doing in there?" Danny whispered.

"Push-ups. Or squats," Paulina said. "I've seen her doing them in her own office during gym class."

"I think she's got thicker arms than my dad. I'm honestly impressed. Good for her."

The sincerity in Danny's tone made Pauline smile. She always admired strong women. Even if she didn't like Tetslaff sometimes, it was hard not to be impressed by her physique. Buff and burly wasn't Paulina's thing, but anyone who could pull it off had her respect.

They spend the next few minutes working diligently on their homework. Paulina was nearly done with her sketch. If she finished today, she could submit it to her teacher for critique tomorrow. Hopefully getting feedback wouldn't take too long. She wanted to star painting it right away, already deciding to use watercolours.

Tapping her chin with her pencil, she looked away from her sketchbook and watched Danny. His black eye looked like it hurt. Red around his eye, fading to a dark, almost black purple. It was swollen, but not shut. Just enough that it looked like he was squinting.

Paulina hummed. She had a hard time picturing Danny completely free of injuries. Going back to her sketch, she made a slight adjustment.

"What are you drawing?" Danny asked. He pulled himself halfway onto the table, trying to see the sketchbook.

"Hey, no peeking before it's done!" Paulina said, holding the book to her chest.

"So you were gonna show me?"

Paulina bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Can I see it now?"

She glanced down at her sketch, then up at Danny, and down again. After a few seconds of internal debating—which was more for show than anything—she dropped her sketchbook on the table and pushed it across. Danny grabbed it and eagerly took in the drawing. Paulina wanted to hide her face as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

The project was to draw the future. Paulina knew Dash was going for some sci-fi world with tall, gleaming buildings and flying cars. Star chose an apocalyptic wasteland. Kwan, ever the optimist, wanted to draw a full, green world. They were great ideas, but the project had no set restrictions, so Paulina went a different route.

She drew Danny. At least, how she pictured Danny after high school, after college, when he was grown up. In space, wearing a sleek astronaut suit. She gave him a stronger chin and jawline, to age him, but kept the wondrous grin that radiated innocent delight.

Danny stared at the sketch for a long time, his smile stretching into the same grin, before passing it back. "It's really good."

Paulina, too embarrassed, to speak, nodded in thanks. She hoped he didn't notice the black eye she had added to the drawing moments prior. Eager to move the conversation along, she asked, "What are you working on?"

"History essay. It's due tomorrow, but Lancer let us hand in drafts first, so I'm just editing it now." Danny lifted his essay, showing off the red pen marks all over the page.

"Huh. He's been doing that a lot more," Paulina said. She couldn't pinpoint when it started, but Lancer let students submit drafts in almost all his courses now.

"Yeah. Would have been nice if he did that from the start, but I got lucky. I was really close to failing history before he started doing this. It's pretty great."

"You know what really helps you pass your classes? Stop skipping them and actually do your homework," Paulina deadpanned. She could never hand in an unfinished assignment, much less skip class. How Danny did it without breaking down in a nervous fit, she had no idea.

Danny offered her a strained smile. "Ha, if only." He held her gaze for a few seconds before letting his eyes fall. Ducking his head, he folded his hands over his face. He probably meant to appear occupied with his essay, but his shaky breaths ruined the façade.

Paulina frowned. Stretching across the table, she tapped his hand, a light touch to grab his attention. Danny raised his head slightly and peered at her from behind his intertwined fingers. It was hard to meet his eyes. Something pitiful lurked in his gaze, a shadow of resignation dragging him down. It startled Paulina with its frailty.

A week ago, she never would have imagined finding such a self-deprecating glint in Danny's eyes. Despite how much she watched him, she really didn't know a lot about him, not until he sent that senior, Keith, running. But even after that, she couldn't picture it. She had seen Danny angry, embarrassed, happy, nervous. Not once had it crossed her mind that Danny could be brought so low by such powerful self-doubt.

Even now, seeing it for herself, it felt so off. Like it didn't belong in his eyes, because it didn't. Danny was supposed to be the nervous, smiling boy kicking rocks down the sidewalk.

"Danny... why do you skip school so much?" she asked.

He tensed, nails digging into the back of his hands, and glanced away.

"Is it related to you getting hurt all the time?" Paulina wanted to reach out and touch his cheek, just below the bruise, but held herself back. She didn't want to make Danny uncomfortable.

"Maybe," he whispered. Leaning back, he pulled the hood of Jazz's sweater up, tugging on the strings. As the they tightened, the hood's opening cinched together, squishing Danny's hair flat. "It's not that I don't want to tell you," he continued. "It's just... personal. And I can guarantee it's not anything you think it is."

"Can you?"

"Pinky swear." Danny stretched out, extending his pinky toward her.

Paulina wasn't satisfied, but she'd take. "Pinky swear." Meeting Danny in the middle of the table, she hooked her pinky around his and they shook on it.

—

You | yesterday 4:04 pm hey

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:22 pm ... you still have my number?

You | yesterday 6:22 pm i've been meaning to delete it it took you two hours to say that

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:26 pm Sure. You've been meaning to for almost two years. And some of us aren't attached to our phones.

You | yesterday 6:27 pm that's hilarious coming from you

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:31 pm It's Thursday. Cheerleading practice, duh.

You | yesterday 6:31 pm because i'm gonna remember that

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:31 pm Whatever. What do you want?

You | yesterday 6:57 pm we need to talk

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:58 pm Now who's taking forever?

You | yesterday 6:58 pm shut up i've got better stuff to do but constantly being mad at you is exhausting

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:58 pm Oh, no. Poor you.

You | yesterday 6:59 pm you know what this was a stupid idea whatever i don't care

Delete This Number | yesterday 7:09 pm I'll meet you before school tomorrow.

Sam scowled at her messages, wondering if this really was a good idea. She had spent the rest of Wednesday and most of Thursday considering Tucker's words. In all that time, she couldn't think of a solid argument against his advice. She hated it. But she wasn't stubborn enough to ignore it regardless, so as soon as she got home on Thursday, she gave in and messaged Paulina.

Sam wanted to work it out through text, so they wouldn't have to talk in person. Of course Paulina, being Paulina, had to make it an awkward, horrible, definitely-going-to-go-wrong face-to-face conversation.

"'Before school.' When before school? You couldn't say a damn time?" Sam muttered. She wasn't stupid enough to think the conversation would be short and sweet, but pacing in front of the school a full hour before the first bell made her feel like an idiot. It wouldn't surprise her if Paulina didn't even show. She should have just stayed home.

"This is stupid," she said.

"And yet you're still here."

Sam—who was not startled, merely mildly surprised—whirled around, instinctively raising her arms in defence.

Paulina gave Sam's bony fists an unimpressed stare. "Oh, please."

"I could take you."

"You're not worth the time." Paulina made a show of checking her nails, humming in disinterest. "If all you wanted was to threaten me, then I'll be going now." She turned toward the school, walking up the sidewalk.

Sam squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists. Before she could lose her nerve, she shouted, "Why did you stand me up?"

The sound of Paulina's footsteps stopped. Opening one eye to peek out, Sam saw Paulina frozen a few steps away from her. She was curled inward, fingers clenched around the fabric of her skirt. She took a deep breath, shoulders rising. As she let it out, she straightened up, raising her head and pushing her shoulders back, hands relaxing at her sides. By the time Paulina turned around to face Sam, she was perfectly composed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Paulina said.

Sam gritted her teeth. Taking a step forward, she jabbed at Paulina. "You. Stood. Me. Up. In middle school."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells," Paulina said flippantly.

"The summer Danny and Tucker went to that stupid boys camp." Sam made a dismissive gesture.

"Nope."

"Damn it, Paulina! I'm trying to have a real conversation with you here! I'm tired. I'm tired of hating you. And I am so, so tired of being heartbroken when I don't even like you anymore!" Sam scrubbed her eyes. Stupid body crying without her permission. The last thing she wanted to do in front of Paulina now was cry. "I don't even know why I'm trying."

"Why are you always like this?" Paulina shouted. Her voice was thick and watery. Looking up, Sam saw she was crying, too. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, smudging her makeup. "Why couldn't you just pretend it never happened?"

"Because I liked you!"

Paulina marched forward and grabbed Sam's wrist. "You want me to say it? Fine! I tricked you. I mislead you. I got pretty and loved and suddenly I was obligated to love everybody back. But you were supposed to be different!"

Sam ripped her hand out of Paulina's grip. "I was different!"

"Why? Because you were a girl? Newsflash, you weren't the only girl who liked me."

"Oh, poor miss popular. Thirteen years old and already boys and girls were throwing themselves at your feet. What a sad, woeful existence for you, huh?"

Paulina screamed wordlessly. Her hands shook. She turned, stomping up the path, then pivoted and came right back. "You know that's not what it was like. I told you. I told you so much."

"You told me you liked me!"

"And I lied!" Paulina bellowed.

They stood almost nose to nose, shoulders heaving, red-faced as they panted. Sam was suddenly very annoyed that Paulina had screamed first. Right now, screaming was all she wanted to do, but doing it second felt cheap.

"You, Paulina Sanchez, are a bitch," Sam spat.

"And you're pathetic."

Sam's gaze jumped all over Paulina's face, taking in her streaked mascara, her blush that was thoroughly ruined, her smudged eyeshadow. Sam probably didn't look much different, in that moment.

"I liked you. I really liked you. And you made me think you liked me, too." Sam's voice fell, going quiet at the end. She couldn't stand seeing Paulina's face. Paulina wasn't allowed to look heartbroken, not after what she did.

"That whole summer, you made me feel special." Sam struggled to keep her voice steady. "And it's so stupid, right? We were thirteen. We're barely older than that now. All of this will probably seem so stupid when we're older. Hell, it already does, considering the kind of stuff I've been through. But that doesn't stop it from hurting."

"You never told Danny or Tucker." The fight had gone out of Paulina's voice.

"No, I didn't. I didn't want to be another Sanchez reject." Sam spat the words bitterly. "But it didn't matter if they knew or not. You and I, we knew." She hugged herself. Being exposed like this was her worst nightmare. She wanted to go back to being the strong, loud, and proud Manson girl she always was. Not this heartbroken shell of someone she used to be. "Do you remember what we were supposed to do?"

Paulina worried her lip and said nothing.

"The beach. I liked it best at night, when the sand was cold and the ocean was back, and you told me you wanted to see it. I had to beg my mom to let me go out on my own so late. I waited for you for three hours." It had been the coldest, loneliest three hours in Sam's life at that point. By now, that top spot belonged to the hours waiting for Danny as he fought Pariah Dark. It made being stood up seem so trivial, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Sam squeezed her phone. "Do you remember what your text said?"

Paulina's gaze dropped to the sidewalk. That was all the answer Sam needed.

"You said you were tired." Sam laughed. It sounded bitter and fragile, even to her ears. "You said you were tired of me following you around everywhere, and you said you didn't have time for a friend like me."

"Oh."

"Which brings me back to my original question. Why did you do it?"

Shame poured from Paulina, but it didn't fill Sam with the righteous vindication she always thought it would. It just made her sad. They could have been friends. If Paulina had just been honest with her from the start, Sam would have understood. Instead, they wasted two years hating each other, leaving their old wounds to fester and spoil, letting foolish mistakes ruin what could have been a great bond.

"I don't know," Paulina said.

"That's not a real answer."

"Like hell it isn't! I don't know, okay? I don't know why I did it. I wasn't sure how I felt about boys, I didn't even know I was allowed to like girls, and it was just too much. You were too much." Paulina toyed with her fingers, intertwining them and twisting them, an unusual display of nerves. "You were so certain about yourself, and I wasn't certain about anything. I just couldn't handle it, and the only solution I saw was to pretend it all never happened and move on."

"I want to call you a coward," Sam said. Paulina didn't protest, which was telling enough. It would be easy. Four simple words: you are a coward. But she couldn't do it. "You were a kid. And I was a kid. And we're still kids. I can't... I can't be mad at you for that. It still hurts, but I get it."

"You sound a lot like Danny, you know."

"Really?" Sam tipped her chin up. "How so?"

"He said something like that. Well, not really. But he said I was acting too grown up when I shouldn't be." Paulina wiped her face with the heel of her palm. It did nothing to improve her appearance, only smudging her makeup more.

"It's so annoying when he's right, isn't it?" Sam smiled.

Paulina smiled back. She laughed and nodded, the last few tears falling from her eyes. Hearing her laugh, Sam felt a weight lift off her. A great aching burden she had been carrying for two years suddenly disappeared, beaten back by that simple sound. She didn't like Paulina anymore, not like that, but Sam had always missed her.

She checked the time on her phone. "The first bus should get here in a couple minutes. Come on, you're a mess, and I've got some face wipes in my locker."

"Not like you look any better," Paulina pointed out.

"Maybe not. But I feel better," Sam said.

"Yeah. So do I."

They walked up the sidewalk, a yawning space between them, but it would close in time. Sam could feel it.

—

Paulina had only been to the Manson household a handful of times during the summer she and Sam almost dated. It was just as grand as she remembered. The Mansons were rich and extravagant and they liked to show it. Sam's understated style made it so easy to forget she came from money. Lots and lots of money.

"And she has a bowling alley!" Tucker said. For the past ten minutes, he had been regaling Paulina with the wonders of the house.

They sat in the plush armchairs of the Manson's basement theatre, the blank TV ahead of them. Sam and Danny were upstairs waiting for the pizza to arrive, leaving them alone. Paulina wasn't sure how she felt about that. Out of the trio of close-knit friends, Tucker was the only one she had never spent any one-on-one time with. He reminded her of Dash in too many ways, hitting on any girl within his sight.

Really, it was only the one similarity, but for Paulina, it was bad enough that she didn't like Tucker all that much. At least he had the brains to stop pursuing a girl the moment she said no. And, it seemed, he no longer had any interest in her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few secret passages in this place. It's just that big," Tucker said.

"There are," Paulina said.

"Really?" Tucker leapt up, bracing himself on the armrest, bouncing on his knees as he grinned at her. "Wait." His smile fell and his eyes narrowed. "How would you know?"

"Sam and I had a forbidden romance in middle school that ended up breaking her heart and ruining our potential friendship forever," Paulina said.

Tucker's eyes widened. He burst out laughing. "That's a good one!"

"Isn't it?" Paulina smiled.

"But really. You guys are square or whatever?" Tucker asked. "I was really surprised when Sam suggested we all hang out."

Paulina's first instinct was to snap that it wasn't any of his business. She resisted the urge, just barely, and instead said, "We're getting there."

It was shockingly easy to stop hating Sam, although maybe that shouldn't have been surprising. The only reason she hated Sam in the first place was because Sam hated her. And Sam didn't hate her anymore, never had. It was the strangest, most liberating feeling. She couldn't believe it had been that easy. Sort of easy. The crying hadn't been fun.

"Cool." Tucker's expression turned serious "Danny's my best friend, you know. He really likes you. If you do something that hurts him, and I mean really hurts him, I can mess you up."

"You have a D in gym class."

"But I've got an A in hacking."

"That's not a class."

"Stop ruining my threat! I'm trying to be intimidating, damn it!"

"I know, and I don't want to hurt Danny. But you should remember that sometimes people can hurt each other without meaning to. The only thing you can do then is make up or move on," Paulina said.

Tucker groaned. "Ugh, you're too mature, stop it."

Perhaps Tucker wasn't as bad as Paulina thought he was.

Loud, clunking steps echoed down the stairs. Sam emerged through the door, her heavy boots pounding on the carpet, holding four plates and four cups. Danny trailed after her, carrying three pizzas boxes in one hand and two large bottles of soda under his other arm.

"Pizza!" Danny announced, hoisting the boxes over his head.

"Do you need help with that?" Paulina asked, eyeing how he balanced the pizzas on the tips of his fingers.

"Nah, I'm good," he said. He set down the pizzas and soda on a nearby table without any hassle. "So, scale of ten, how intimidating was Tucker?"

Paulina glanced at Tucker, who was making an aggressive silencing motion toward Danny. "Oh my god. You totally told them both to go upstairs so you could give me the best friend talk, didn't you?"

"Dude! How could you betray me like that?" Tucker said.

Danny's grin held no remorse. "First, I opened my mouth. And then I said words. Scale of ten?"

"If ten's the best?" Paulina hummed as she thought about her answer. "I'm gonna say three."

"Oh, come on, it was a five at least," Tucker said.

"Hey, I gave you an extra two for the hacking thing. That's at least a valid threat."

"It was gonna be one?"

Paulina ignored Tucker's lamenting wail. Getting up, she joined Danny at the table, helping him set out the pizza boxes, flipping up the lid of each one. Meat lovers, ham and pineapple, and a veggie pizza with no cheese.

"What's with this one?" Paulina asked, pointing to the last pizza.

"It's vegan," Danny explained. "For Sam. Every Saturday we order our favourite pizzas and watch bad movies."

"And who's favourite is the pineapple?"

"I think you know."

"Gross."

"It's an underrated topping! Try it, maybe you'll like it." Danny grabbed a slice and held it out.

"Ew, no thank you," Paulina said.

"Come on." Danny leaned forward, slowly bringing the slice closer to her face.

Paulina laughed, shaking her head. "No, Danny, stop!"

"Hey, lovebirds!" Sam shouted.

"We're not– oh wait. Ha. Wrong person" Danny grinned sheepishly while everyone chuckled at his expense. "Yeah, Sam?"

"Help me with the chairs?"

"Sure." Danny stuffed the pizza slice in his mouth, leaving half of it dangling out as he jogged over to the chairs.

Hovering by the tables, she marvelled at Danny, wondering why on Earth she liked him in the first place. The pizza slices in his mouth slapped against his chin, grease dripping down the crust as he bounced around Sam and Tucker. It wasn't the most attractive image, but Paulina smiled at it anyway.

Danny, making slow progress, bumped the armchairs along with his hip, putting in the absolute minimal amount of effort.

"Danny, can you hurry up?" Sam huffed, hand on her hip.

Danny flopped onto the chair he had been pushing, legs draped over the armrest. "How about no?"

Sam reached out, fingers poised to flick Danny in the forehead. But, to Paulina's surprise, all she did was flick Danny's fringe. Danny responded by swatting in the general vicinity of her hand, missing by miles.

Paulina cocked her head and watched closer.

Tucker leaned over the back of the armchair, feet in the air, balancing on his gut. He wiggled his fingers over Danny, the universal threat for an impending tickle, but in the end, he just plucked at Danny's shirt in a mildly annoying manner.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Danny rolled off the armchair, landing on his hands with his face inches from the floor. He popped right back to his feet and started pushing the chair again, this time with exaggerated effort. He huffed and puffed, and made his arms tremble as his feet slipped on the carpet.

Sam and Tucker stood back and rolled their eyes.

"Wouldn't it go faster if we all helped?" Paulina asked.

Danny didn't respond, too busy pushing the second armchair closer to the first one, but Sam and Tucker shared a look. A thousand words passed between them in that second, at least that's what it looked like to Paulina. Their mouth's twitched, shoulders lifted, eyebrows quirked. Small, silent gestures that meant to little to Paulina but so much to them.

"The armchairs have built in speakers and a bunch of other stuff. It makes them really heavy," Tucker explained.

"Isn't that more of a reason for us to help?" Paulina asked.

"Uh..."

"Danny's really particular about where we put the chairs. He likes the setup to be just right. Right, Tuck?" Sam said, turning a sickly sweet smile on him.

Tucker nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Yeah. Danny knows exactly where to put the chairs for optimal viewing."

Paulina didn't believe it for a second, but she let it drop anyway. Once Danny finished with the chairs, he dragged a couch that had been leaning against the back wall forward. He lined it up beside the chairs then jumped over the back, landing in the middle. Finally, he finished devouring the pizza slice he held in his mouth. Quite a few of the pineapples had fallen off by that point, littering the floor.

Danny bounced in his seat. "Okay, let's go!"

"Pizza and soda," Sam said as she walked toward Paulina.

Danny scrambled up from the couch and bounded over. "Right."

Everyone grabbed their pizza—Paulina took a slice of each—and their soda and got settled in. Sam and Tucker took the armchairs while Danny and Paulina sat on the couch, close but not quite touching.

"Okay, let's go," Danny said with a grin.

"Yeah, let's go," Tucker echoed.

"This is gonna be so bad."

"So bad."

"I can't believe they made a live-action adaptation for Doomed."

"I'm going to die."

"Come on, Sam, press play!"

"Yeah, Sam. Come on!"

"Maybe if you shut up, I will!" Sam pounced on Tucker, lunging across the space between the two chairs, and shoved him over. Snatching up a pillow from the floor, she tossed it back over her shoulder, hitting Danny in the face. Paulina ducked as the pillow hit him and flipped away, soaring over her head and landing with a soft whump.

Sam was already back in her seat and reaching for the remote by the time Paulina rose up. Paulina scrutinized the small gap between the couch and Sam's armchair, and the more sizeable distance between Sam and Tucker's chairs.

"Huh," she said.

"What?" Danny asked, glancing her way.

"Nothing, it's just..." Paulina trailed off, gaze drifting to the pillow on the floor. "It's nothing. I hope this movie is as bad as you say it is."

Danny beamed. "I hope it's worse."

The opening credits hadn't even finished before Tucker went to grab more pizza. On his way back, he snuck up on Sam, slapping his hands over her eyes. She squawked and smacked his chest in response. The next time Tucker got up, to refill his soda minutes after he'd refilled his plate, he snuck up on Danny. Although Paulina could hardly call it sneaking.

"Danny," Tucker whispered ominously from behind them. He struck the couch right beside Danny's ear, although Danny didn't even flinch, and draped himself over the back.

"Hey, hey, hey. Danny. Hey, Danny," Tucker said.

Danny rolled his eyes and looked over.

Tucker brought his arm around, swinging it wide and slow, and poked Danny in the cheek. "Boop." He grinned like an idiot. Heaving himself off the couch, he quickly scampered back to his seat and went back to watching the movie.

Paulina, on the other hand, watched Danny. He rubbed his cheek where Tucker had touched him, a soft smile on his face. Her eyes dipped to the space between them on the couch, mere centimeters. When his bumped his knee against hers, her eyes snapped back up to his face.

"You sure it's nothing?" Danny asked.

Paulina blanked. It took her a moment to remember what he was referring to, but when she did, she smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, it really is."

Danny shrugged. "Okay." He turned his attention back to the movie.

Paulina tried to do the same, but for the first half, she found herself observing Danny and his friends more. Sam and Tucker were playful and physical with each other, hitting shoulders, poking and prodding, invading each other's personal space at every whim. How they interacted with Danny was completely different. There was hardly any contact, at least not skin to skin. They would throw pillows at him, ruffle his hair, and pluck at his clothes, but not much beyond that.

If they did touch him, they telegraphed their movements to be as visible as possible, as if they were warning him. Paulina, a physically affectionate person herself, silently took note of all this as the evening wore on.

—

Sunday afternoon, the sun beat down from a cloudy sky, a cool breeze raising goosebumps along Paulina's arms. It was her favourite kind of day, when the clouds were light and wispy, casting meagre shadows that made the heat bearable. She loved to paint in her backyard on days like this. She loved it even more when her friends joined her.

"So, are you dating him or not?" Kwan asked.

Sprawled out on his stomach, he picked a dandelion from the pile before him, weaving it into the crown he was making.

Paulina took a moment to finish her brush stroke, adding the famed Fenton Works insignia to the front of Danny's spacesuit in her drawing. "Not yet," she answered.

"Oh, okay."

Star, laying down beside Kwan, rolled onto her back and rested her head on Paulina's thigh. "I can't believe Tucker got to do the best friend speech first. He stole my thunder."

"Trust me, he didn't steal anyone's thunder," Paulina said.

Dash yawned. "I just don't get why you're wasting your time with him." He flicked through the book he was supposed to be reading for English, scanning the page but hardly taking in a single word.

Paulina dropped her watercolour brush into her jar of water and glared at Dash. "Because I like him. He's nice, and funny, and cute. And you need to stop being such an ass to him all the time."

"What? I'm not an ass!" Dash dropped his book. It landed facedown, pages folding against the grass.

Star made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat. Reaching out, she grabbed the book and smoothed the pages out. "You're totally an ass."

"Am not!"

"When was the last time you went a day without punching someone?"

"Shut up, that doesn't make me an ass!"

"It does," Star and Paulina chorused.

Dash grumbled under his breath. "Whatever. I don't care. You're the one who's wasting your time."

Paulina paused, giving Dash a considering look. They had been friends for a long time, just as long as Danny, Sam, and Tucker had been. Hanging out with Danny and his friends yesterday, Paulina realized something. Her friendship with Dash was severely lacking. Nowadays, they bickered more than they got along. Suddenly, Paulina understood the frustration Sam showed during their argument. She, too, was tired. Tired of Dash being, well, Dash.

"Maybe I am," she said. Kwan and Star gave her matching looks of surprise. "But if I'm wasting my time with anyone, it's you, Dash."

"Hey, whoa, wait. What?" Dash's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Paulina put her painting aside, gently setting it down on the wooden deck behind her, next to her watercolour set. "I think it's really obvious what I'm talking about." She crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees. "You're mean, Dash."

Dash sputtered. "So what? So are you."

"Yeah, you're right. But I don't want to be anymore."

"So you'd rather be a loser instead of popular?"

"Oh, come on. Are you really this dense, Dash?" Star interjected. She sat up, scooting closer to Paulina. "You think people like you? Sure, you're good at football, and so is Kwan. And Paulina and I are pretty. But no one actually likes us, because all we do is hurt the people who don't like us."

"I'm not ready for this kind of introspection," Kwan whispered.

Dash's face scrunched in confusion. "That doesn't even make sense. If we hurt the people who don't like us, then everyone has to like us. Or else we'll hurt them."

"Kwan," Paulina said.

"Please don't," he said.

"Do you really enjoy bullying people?"

Kwan pursed his lips. He focused on his dandelion crown, touching up a few flowers. Everyone watched him expectantly. After nearly a minute, he caved. "Okay fine, I don't."

Dash had the gall to look shocked, gaping at Kwan in disbelief.

"You're my best friend, Dash, and I didn't want you to stop being my best friend. I didn't want you to be mean either. It's not fun. I mean, sometimes I can get caught up in it, and it sort of feels like fun in the moment, but afterward I just feel awful." Kwan pushed himself up, toying with the crown in his lap. "I wanted to tell you. But I thought you might make fun of me."

"Kwan, I wouldn't–"

"You kicked me out when Paulina dated Danny before."

Dash fell silent.

And Paulina... she hadn't known that. She tried to think back to that week, but the only thing that came to mind were vague recollections of her classes. That memory must have been tied up in her time with Danny, and Kitty removed it. Paulina felt sick.

"That wasn't­– I didn't–" Dash floundered. He couldn't defend himself. Nothing he could say to that would turn him into the good guy. "You can't talk to me like I'm the only one who's ever hurt someone! You're not better than me."

"No, we're not," Star said. "But I think..." She looked to Paulina, then Kwan, who both nodded. "We want to be. And we'll leave you behind if we have to."

Paulina would never be more grateful for Star's bluntness. Her bubbly personality and cheerful voice made her hard to argue against. If Paulina had said those things, Dash would rail and brawl against her, but as it stood, he could only stare at Star, at a loss for words.

Star grabbed Kwan's dandelion crown from his hands and stood. She dropped the crown on Kwan's head, breaking him out of his daze. Blinking, he looked up at her, and rose to join her. As they headed inside, Paulina quickly packed up her watercolours, washing her brush and slipping it back into its plastic sleeve, screwing the cap on her jar of water. Careful not to touch the wet painting, she picked up her notebook.

"It's your choice, Dash." She went inside without looking back.

—

Despite everything Danny had been through since becoming a halfa, the strangest week of his life by far was the week Dash did not touch him. No slaps on the back of the head. No body slams in the middle of the hallway. No punches, no kicks, no being stuffed into the closest open locker. Monday to Friday, Dash didn't even look at Danny. It was incredibly disorienting.

"Maybe he's sick," Danny said at lunch.

"No. He doesn't style his hair when he's sick, because it takes too much effort," Star said.

That was another thing that made this week strange. Paulina, Kwan, and Star had joined Danny and his friends for lunch every day. Up until that point, Danny and Paulina hadn't hung out much at school, and they definitely hadn't hung out with all their friends together.

"How do you even know that?" Tucker asked.

Star grinned. "I know everything."

"Dash also complains nonstop about his hair not looking good because he's too tired to style it when he's sick," Kwan said.

"You're no fun, Kwan."

"I try."

"Try harder," Sam said.

Danny grinned at the banter. Of course he did, he loved banter. But more than that, he liked seeing everyone get along. Thinking it made him feel like a grade-schooler who wanted everyone to be friends, but no one could fault him for that. He did want it. At least, he wanted his and Paulina's friends to be friends, and there was nothing wrong with that. Star and Kwan were pretty cool when they weren't being mean.

A heavy finger prodded Danny's shoulder. He arched away from the touch, grimacing, and twisted to face the source. Dash stood behind him, shuffling from foot to foot, hand outstretched.

Danny waited for the impending beating, because surely that's why Dash was there, but nothing happened. After a long, uncomfortable moment, he hesitantly said, "Hi?"

"Hey," Dash's eyes jumped from person to person as he took in everyone seated at the table. Nervously licking his lips, he glanced away, then back at Danny. "I'm not gonna wail on your or anything anymore. Don't expect me to say sorry, though."

"Um." Danny sent Paulina a questioning stare. She looked right back, smiling innocently. Which meant this whole apology-not-apology reeked of her meddling. Not that Danny was going to complain. "Okay. Fine."

"Good." Dash shuffled his feet again. "Can I..." he trailed off.

On the other side of the table, Star and Kwan scooted apart, making room for him. Dash's shoulders slumped in relief. He hurried around the table, taking the open seat across from Danny. The next minute was spent in silence. Awkward, delicate silence.

Kwan nudged Dash, who quietly hissed "What?" under his breath. Kwan jerked his chin toward Danny. Dash shook his head. Star jabbed him in the side and pointed to Paulina, then Danny. It took all of Danny's will not to laugh at Dash's expense.

"Fine." Dash groaned. "Fenton."

"Yes, Dash?" Danny smiled pleasantly.

"You guys should. Come to the game. Tonight. Or whatever," Dash said haltingly.

Danny choked back a laugh.

"Hey, I'm trying to be sincere here!"

"I know. I know, sorry, it's just." He slapped a hand over his mouth, unable to contain his giggles. "I can't believe you're shy."

"Shut up!"

—

Paulina had gone to plenty of football games. She had to, being a cheerleader and all. All night, she and the other girls stood on the sidelines, cheering the boys on, pumping up the crowd. She loved it. However, tonight was the first time she would rather be up in the stands. With Star cheerleading next to her, and Kwan and Dash out on the field, she never had any friends looking down on the game. They were all right in the action with her. But this time, Danny and his friends were here.

They had never bothered to come to games before. She understood that it didn't interest them that much, but now that they were here, she wanted to be with them. She wanted to make sure they enjoyed it as much as she always did.

Excitement fizzled through the air. Classmates and family buzzing with energy, ready to show their spirit. Drinking it all in was one of the best feelings in the world. She wanted Danny to feel the same spark.

Paulina stood on her toes, peering into the stands, trying to find Danny. There were a lot of people at the game tonight, but he said he'd be easy to find. Once, twice, three times she scanned the seats and couldn't find him.

"He's here," Star said, placing a reassuring hand on Paulina's shoulder.

"I don't see him."

Star leaned around Paulina. Her face lit up. "I do," she said. Pushing Paulina's shoulder, she turned her around.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam stood in the shadows just beyond the floodlights. Tucker had an arm around Danny's shoulder. It was the most physical contact Paulina had seen between them over these past few weeks. Sam stood opposite the boys, gesturing wildly, face red. Her hair was falling out of her ponytail, dirt smudged her cheeks, and there was a tear in her sweater.

"Damn, she looks mad," Star said.

"Yeah." Paulina frowned.

Danny threw his arm out, pointing in the general direction of the cheerleaders. Despite being so far away, she could hear his raised voice. It wasn't clear enough to make out the words, but it was loud. The argument came to an end when Sam shook her head, jabbed Danny's shoulder hard enough to make him stumble, and stomped toward the bleachers.

On her way up the steps, Sam looked down and caught Paulina's eye. Paulina didn't bother hiding that she'd been watching. To her surprise, Sam didn't turn her anger toward Paulina. She just sighed and rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulder in a what can you do gesture.

Paulina raised an eyebrow, tilting her head toward the boys, who still stood in the shadows.

Sam mouthed, "Being idiots."

Paulina couldn't help but laugh. She waved Sam on, turning her focus back to Danny and Tucker. In the time she looked away, Tucker had taken his arm from Danny's shoulder and stepped back. He said a few quiet words, grinned, then followed Sam.

Danny searched the throng of cheerleaders, easily spotting Paulina, and started over.

Paulina's smile quickly fell when she noticed him favouring his right leg. She ran toward him, meeting him halfway. "Danny, what happened?"

"Ah, it's nothing, really," he said, rubbing his leg. "Got caught in a ghost attack on the way here. Sorry we're late."

"Danny, that's not nothing! That could be serious. You're limping."

"Jammed my leg on something. It hurts now, but it'll be fine later."

"You needed Tucker to help you with a jammed leg?" Paulina asked.

"Uh. Yes?"

"Honestly." Paulina shook her head. "I'm glad you're here. But if you do anything stupid, or if I find out you're more hurt than you say you are, I'm gonna drag you back home myself, got it?"

Danny saluted her. "Got it! Have fun cheering. Good luck." Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek before she could react. He scampered up the bleachers, crowing with delight. "See you at half-time!"

Paulina touched her cheek, watching him.

"Do you think he knows he just stole your first kiss?" Star asked.

"It was just a cheek kiss, it doesn't count," Paulina said.

"Spoken like someone who hasn't had her first kiss." Star patted her shoulder and walked away.

Paulina trailed after her, calling out protests as they made their way onto the field for their opening cheer. It didn't count. Not as a whole kiss, at least. Half of one. A third. One quarter!

—

As the whistle went for half-time, Paulina hopped to her feet, waving her pom-poms in the air, screaming and cheering. Casper High was winning, eighteen to six. The team was having a good game so far. She high-fived the players as they came off the field, telling each of them "Great work!" When Kwan and Dash approached, she jumped up to give each of them a hug.

Paulina peered over her shoulder, surveying the bleachers. Danny had been sitting near the top of the bleachers last she saw, but he wasn't there now. "You guys are doing great," she said to Kwan and Dash. Turning back, she found them looking at her in amusement. "What?"

"Hurry up and find your boyfriend," Dash said.

"We're not dating yet. I was very particular about that," Paulina said. "But yes. I will go find him." Her friends giggled. She flipped them off as she walked away, skipping toward the bleacher steps. Chances were, Danny had gone to the bathroom and would be right back. She could stand out of the way until then. She only had to wait a minute before a hand closed around her wrist.

"Danny, did you–" Before she could finish turning, she was yanked back. She cried out. A hand slapped over her mouth, silencing her. Something cold touched her neck, sending shivers up her spine. She struggled and kicked as she was pulled behind the bleachers.

"Hey, stop. Don't scream, okay? I just want to talk. Okay? That's it. Just a talk." Paulina recognized the voice. The hands touching her disappeared and she was shoved forward into the chain-link fence. She spun around, pressing her back against the fence, fingers curling around the metal, and stared at Keith. He held a beer bottle loosely in one hand. His face was flushed, eyes glazed, and he swayed in place.

"I've just got one question. Just one, that's it. That's all I want." He took a step forward and stumbled. Paulina flinched away from him as he careened into the fence. "Hold on, wait. Don't go. 'M sorry."

Grabbing Paulina's shoulder, he pulled her back, bracing his other arm above her head so he had her caged in.

"You said... you said you were goin' out with that scrawny kid, right? Short guy, messy hair." He stuck his hand out, trying to mime Danny's height. He went half a foot too short. "That little dude. Little guy. Tiny guy. Kinda freakishly strong though."

"What about him?" Paulina asked.

"I heard some funny things. Very funny. Very... interesting. I heard you're not dating him."

"Don't believe everything you hear." She pushed off the fence, determined to slip around him, but Keith grabbed her shoulder and shoved her back again.

"See, but the thing is, I didn't just hear it from anybody. I heard it from you. Just now."

Paulina swallowed nervously but refused to be cowed. "So what?"

"I'm just kinda heartbroken, you know? I can't believe you'd lie to me. I think you owe me a chance, don't you?" He hunched over her, rank breath warming her face. Paulina tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed her chin and forced her head up. "Just one," he whispered.

A cry of rage snatched Keith's attention away from Paulina. A small body slammed into him, ripping him away. Wind whipped past Paulina's face, throwing hair in her eyes. She scrambled to brush it aside, staring wide-eyed at Danny crouching over Keith.

"Get the hell away from her you fucking creep!" He grabbed Keith's collar, lifting him, and slammed him down into the ground.

Keith coughed and groaned. "Dude, what the hell. It was a damn kiss."

Danny was nearly half Keith's size, and he was definitely half his weight. He had thin arms, messy clothes, bags under his eyes, and youthful fat in his cheeks. But he loomed over Keith, fists curled in Keith's shirt, feet planted on either side of his waist. Danny snarled, animalistic. A strange inhuman rumbling filled the air, one Paulina didn't hear so much as she felt it in her bones. It filled her head and pressed against her skull.

Fear struck Paulina's heart. Not fear of Danny, but fear for Keith and what Danny was going to do to him. A rather vocal part of her cried out that Keith deserved it, and he absolutely would. But Danny didn't deserve whatever hell there would be to pay once all was said and done.

"Danny, let's just go," Paulina pleaded. The rumbling stopped. It made her head feel empty and disoriented, as if the whole world had suddenly gone quiet, even though she could still hear. the revelry beyond the bleachers.

Danny turned his head, inspecting her over his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Opening his fists, he dropped Keith back to the ground, abandoning him in favour of Paulina. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." Paulina shook her head. "I'm fine." Mostly. A little shaken up. She just wanted to get out of there.

Behind them, Keith groaned. "What the hell." He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Head lolling, he searched the ground, locating his beer bottle, which had gone flying from his hand when Danny tackled him. It was smashed, shards of glass littering the grass, beer turning the dirt to mud. "Hey, you." Keith's voice was oddly calm, but his eyes were still dazed, a jarring combination. His gaze settled on Danny. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Run!" Danny shouted. He grabbed Paulina's hand and charged forward. Keith's arm shot out into their path. With the narrow space between the fence and bleachers, there was no way they could dodge around him without ducking into the maze of beams supporting the benches overhead. But Danny didn't stop. And Paulina didn't try to stop him. She trusted him.

"Close your eyes!" Danny called.

She did. A cool sensation washed over her, just for a moment. Unlike the cold beer bottle against her neck, which unsettled her, this feeling calmed her. Liked the chilled arms of a gentle ghost were wrapped around her. It was gone all to soon, accompanied by Danny's shout that she could open her eyes. When she did, they were clear of the bleachers and heading straight for the school.

Eyes widening in surprise, she glanced over her shoulder. Keith was behind them, swerving across the grass as he gave chase. His steps were uneven, but they were also much longer, and he was quickly gaining on them.

Turning back around, she noticed Danny was taking them toward the front doors.

"No, they're locked!" Paulina shouted, tugging Danny back. He faltered, and she took the lead instead, pulling him along the side of the building. "The gym doors!"

Danny squeezed her hand to show he heard.

"Get back here!" Keith bellowed, right behind them now. Reaching out, he grabbed Paulina's long hair.

She screamed in surprise and pain as her head snapped back and she was yanked to a stop.

"Shit, sorry," Keith mumbled. Before he could say anything else, Danny leapt at him, fist cocked, and punched him in the face. Keith went down hard, crying out and clutching his nose.

Danny shook out his fist, rubbing Keith's blood on his blue shorts, and took Paulina's hand again, helping her to her feet. They charged at the gym doors, throwing them open.

"Girls' locker room," Paulina whispered as loudly as she dared. She didn't think Keith would give chase any time soon, but she didn't want to risk it.

"But that's, that's the girl's locker room!" Danny protested.

"And I'm a girl and I'm saying it's fine!" Paulina shoved him toward the entrance, pushing him down the narrow hall until the changeroom opened up on their right. They finally stopped, panting and leaning against each other.

Paulina panted, clutching a stitch in her side. She ran often, but fleeing from a drunk, rabid senior wasn't quite the same as jogging around the football field for a light warmup. Beside her, Danny grimaced and kneaded his right thigh with his knuckles. Paulina opened her mouth to ask about it, then stopped when she realized something important. With Danny's shoulder pressed against hers, this was the most they had ever touched. She tensed, but said nothing, not wanting to break the moment.

To her disappointment, Danny broke it for her. He stepped away, putting some distance between them, and sat down on the closest bench, fingers digging into his thigh as he gripped it tight.

"Let me just check if we're alone," Paulina said.

Danny nodded.

She walked deeper into the room, peering down the rows. A few lockers were open, and some of her fellow cheerleaders' things littered the benches, but there were no girls inside. Stopping at the last row, by her own locker, she softly called out, "It's clear."

"'Kay. Give me a second."

Paulina raised her eyes brows but didn't question it. Danny wasn't as active as her, so he probably had a worse cramp. Although, now that Paulina thought about it, he hadn't seemed too winded. Rather, he had focused more on his leg. Now worried, she started forward, but Danny chose that moment to come around the corner.

He looked bad. Face pale, a sheen of sweat on his forehead, eyes turned down. He braced himself against the side of the lockers and hobbled forward, his limp far more pronounced than before.

Red spots stood out starkly against the pale colour of his shorts. Paulina thought it was Keith's blood for a moment, until she noticed the red streak on his other leg, in line with Danny's knuckles. That was Keith's blood. The rest wasn't. Paulina's breath caught in her throat.

Danny's head jerked up. He froze when he saw her staring. "Oh. You aren't. Sitting down."

"No, I'm not."

"Huh." Danny stood up straighter and took a step forward. The moment he put too much weight on his injured leg, he crumpled to the floor, hunching over.

"Danny!" Paulina darted forward, reaching out to him.

Danny's hand shot out, stopping her. "Don't touch me!" His fingers twitched. Grabbing his hand, he rubbed his palm and looked away. "Sorry. That was rude. It's just... it was too much. Give me a moment."

Lifting himself off the floor, he folded his good leg underneath him and stretched the other out. He gritted his teeth in pain.

Paulina hovered. She wanted to help, but anything she could think of meant touching him. With her limited options, she decided to give Danny his requested moment, sitting down opposite him. Extending her own legs, she bumped her shoes against his, touching without touching.

Danny shot her a weak, thankful grin and tapped her back.

Guilt curled in her gut. She should have sent him home the second she learned he was injured. No doubt that's what Sam was trying to do at the start of the game. But Sam let Danny stay, and she wasn't the kind of person to back down when it really mattered. Tucker hadn't looked worried, either. Did Danny hide how injured he was from them? It seemed to unlike him.

Her thoughts must have been written across her face, because Danny cracked a grin and said, "Note to self: don't run when you have a bad leg."

"Note to self: don't let Danny be an idiot and abstain from medical assistance," Paulina countered.

"Touché. Would you believe me if I said I really am fine? Or I will be. I would have been if it weren't for all the running. Give me a week and I'll be right back to normal."

"Danny, there's blood on your clothes. Not only do I not believe you, but I should probably be calling an ambulance or something." But she didn't reach for her phone. She didn't move to get up. Despite her words, she did believe him. It made no sense. But for the past three weeks, she had seen Danny sporting fresh bruises and cuts that all disappeared in days. For the past year, she had seen him beaten down and battered, and he always bounced back.

"I can't stop you. Literally." Danny tapped his finger against his injured leg. "But I hope you'll trust me."

Paulina rolled her eyes. Crawling forward, she moved to sit beside him, careful to keep some space between them. "Don't be stupid, of course I trust you. I probably shouldn't, but I do."

"It's my wonderful charm. You just can't help it."

"I highly doubt that's it."

"Okay, ouch. That hurts so much worse than my leg."

Paulina flicked Danny's hair. "You're tougher than that." Bringing one leg up, she rested her chin on her knee and grinned. "That was some tackle. It's going to be much harder to convince me you don't waste your time fighting behind the school."

"Well–" Danny scratched his cheek nervously "–not behind the school."

Paulina's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"You know that secret I wasn't telling you? I kind of fight ghosts," Danny said. He curled his fingers in his pant legs, knuckles going white. "So, yeah. That's what it is."

Paulina had to wait for her brain to catch up to her ears. Danny fought ghosts. Danny fought ghosts. Danny fought. "You really are a Fenton."

"Huh?" Danny reared away, giving her the most comical look, lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed, nose scrunched.

She laughed, throwing her head back. Remembering a second later they were trying to be quiet, she pressed her mouth against her knee, cheeks puffing out. It took a minute to gather herself together, getting enough breath so she could speak without bursting into a fresh round of giggles. "You wouldn't be much of a Fenton if you didn't fight ghosts. I bet your parents are proud."

"Yeah, about that. They don't know, so you can't tell them."

"You haven't told them?"

"Have you seen my parents? They can be a bit overbearing." Paulina opened her mouth to retort, but Danny raised a finger, silencing her. He continued, "Trust me. I know you've seen them around town and everything—they're kind of hard to miss—but you haven't seen how they are when you're really face-to-face."

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," Paulina said.

"They're not bad. And they mean well. But they're really into the whole 'family ghost hunting' thing. I bet they have a matching jumpsuit stored away for me somewhere." Danny's voice strained at the end. A nervous laugh followed the statement, and Paulina was struck with the realization that Danny was a terrible liar. She was about to call him on it when Danny kept going.

"There's a little more to it. Not the parent thing, the fighting ghosts. I don't think I'm ready to tell you that yet, but I didn't want to lie, either. I hope that's okay." Danny ran a hand through his hair, looking up at Paulina with worried eyes.

"Of course it's fine," Paulina said.

He must have been more anxious than Paulina thought, because the moment she spoke, he slumped, relief washing over him. The crease in his brow smoothed out and the slight frown on his lips disappeared.

"You don't have any equipment," Paulina said, switching topics. "How do you fight?"

The grin Danny gave her was the smuggest thing she had ever seen. "I fistfight them."

Paulina gaped. "You do not!"

"I do! I swear! What, you don't think these fists–" he raised his hands into a boxing pose and jabbed the air "–could take out a full-grown ghost?"

"I don't think they could take out a butterfly."

"What about a butterfly ghost?"

"Now that's just sad."

Danny sniggered. Pain still lingered in his eyes, giving them a glassy sheen, but the colour had returned to his cheeks. His smile was wide and infectious.

Paulina knew there was a secret hidden behind that grin, but she didn't mind as much anymore. The meagre time they had spent together over the last three weeks was hardly enough to know each other deeply. But, sitting there together, long after half-time had ended, Paulina decided she didn't need to know every little thing about him.

She knew she liked him, and he liked her. That was enough for now.

—

Danny's weekend plans were simple. Wake up in bed. Stay there. Running from Keith on Friday had torn the hasty stitches Sam patched his thigh with after Skulker's attack. He knew going to the game when he needed to rest was a dumb idea, but he wanted to see Paulina cheer. Besides, none of them could have predicted Keith cornering Paulina behind the bleachers. Danny had completely forgotten about the guy after their first encounter. He wouldn't forget him again any time soon.

Thinking about last night had him gritting his teeth. Finding Paulina had been pure luck. His ghost sense had gone off before the end of the second quarter and he had to check for threats. Thankfully, it was just a couple mindless animal ghosts, but finding them took so long that the quarter was over by the time he got back. He saw Paulina and Keith when he was flying back to Sam and Tucker.

Danny rubbed his thigh. Skulker managed to cut him deep. The wound throbbed and ached, and he itched to scratch at his bandages. It would be a good few days before he could walk without a limp.

Not for the first time, Danny's stomach rumbled. He only woke up a few hours ago and hadn't bothered to go down for breakfast, or lunch. Yesterday, Jazz had been home to bring him snacks throughout the day, but today she was out with friends. It was a tossup between filling his stomach or resting his leg, and he chose to rest.

Until his phone went off with a text notification.

Stretching out of bed, Danny reached for his phone, quickly unlocking it and checking his messages. He had one from Paulina.

Parrot Potassium | today 2:33 pm If you're okay, meet me at NB at four. Let me know!

"That's just not fair," Danny muttered. He and Paulina had plans Monday after school, but he could hardly pass up the opportunity to spend more time with her. Sitting up slowly, he grimaced at the twinge in his leg. It was bearable but still unpleasant. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Slowly, he took a few steps across his room. His leg trembled if he put too much weight on it, but short, quick steps were okay.

Turning back to his phone, he sent Paulina a quick message.

You | today 2:35 pm I'll see you there

—

When Danny arrived at the Nasty Burger, he found Paulina waiting for him with their food already in front of her. She had claimed the same booth they sat in during their first visit. The food was the same, too. He slid onto the bench opposite her, tapping his foot against hers under the table.

She tapped back.

"Look what I found outside." Danny dug into his pocket and pulled out a pebble, dropping it onto the table.

Paulina snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's just a random rock."

"Nah, it's clearly ours. Look, it has my eyes." Danny flicked the pebble toward her.

Paulina scrambled to catch it but missed. It tumbled over the edge of the table and landed in her lap. "I wasn't ready," she protested, tossing the pebble back to Danny.

He caught it against his chest. "Sounds like someone's a sore loser."

"I can't believe you'd say that to a girl."

"I'm an equal opportunity taunter." Danny returned the pebble to his and grabbed his soda, taking a drink. "So, what's the occasion?"

"Occasion?"

"Yeah. We were gonna see each other tomorrow anyway."

Paulina pouted. "I needed a reason?"

"Ah, no, I mean. You– um... you're joking, aren't you?" Danny wilted as Paulina's pout morphed into a satisfied smirk.

"Only by half. I actually didn't think you'd come. How's your leg?"

"A lot better today."

Drumming her fingers on the table, Paulina raised an eyebrow. "Liar." She stole Danny's soda out of his hand and sipped it. "Next time, don't strain yourself for me. And I mean it. That doesn't just mean if you're injured, either. If you're tired, if you have homework, if you're just having a bad day." She folded her hands, brushing her thumb over her knuckles.

Danny curled his fingers, digging his nails into his palms. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. It was so frustrating, hating being touched. His family was rather physical with their affection and he used to be the same, but ever since the accident, ever since he started fighting, he just couldn't stand it. One year was all it took to break the boy who loved to hug his friends and family. He had a feeling it would take much longer to fix.

"Hey," Paulina said softly.

Danny blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and met her eyes.

"You know it's okay, right?"

"It's stupid," Danny said.

"No, it's not."

"You don't even know why I'm like this.

"Do I have to?"

Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought about their interacts over the past week, ever since movie night at Sam's house. As Danny's hate for contact grew, Sam and Tucker's behaviour around him changed. Both were slow processes that happened at the same time. Sam and Tucker learned about his aversion to touch at the same pace as him. They had time to adjust to it. Paulina didn't. But she had made accommodations for him anyway. Just like that, without knowing the reason, without asking for it, she changed. For him.

Under the table, Paulina knocked her foot against his. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Danny smiled.

"Good. Because there are no pity parties allowed at the Nasty Burger. This is a horrible place to have a part of any kind. Have you seen how greasy everything is?" Paulina took her phone from her pocket and started swiping through it. "And I wanted to show you this. You can see the real thing on Monday, because I have to hand it in, but I couldn't wait."

She slid her phone across the table.

Danny picked it up, taking in the picture on the screen. It was her painting of him, completed. "Hey, you changed it." He couldn't remember exactly what the original sketch looked like, but he was certain he wasn't fighting anyone in the first one. In the drawing, he held his fists up, ready to punch or defend. Across from him floated a strange green creature with too many limbs to be human.

"I had to redo it all yesterday, since I had already started painting it. But I really wanted to add that in," Paulina said.

"Am I fighting a ghost or an alien?"

"An alien ghost."

"Cool." Danny took in the rest of the painting. The watercolours were beautiful, galaxies swirling behind him and the ghost alien. Much to his amusement, Paulina had added Jazz's hoodie over his spacesuit.

"I didn't know sweaters were suitable for the vacuum of space," he said.

"It's the fashion of the future. Burgundy is very in, especially in space," Paulina explain.

Danny's grin stretched wider.

The spacesuit itself resembled a Fenton jumpsuit, at least what little he could see of it did, and his helmet was sleek, with a wide visor. Danny thought he could stare at it forever. Paulina, however, had other plans, and soon snatched her phone back.

Danny made a noise of disappointment, reaching out after her.

"I'll text you the picture," she said.

"Good." Danny paused. "You know, you could have done that from the beginning."

"Maybe, but I wanted to see your face when you saw it." Paulina, eyes on her phone, missed Danny's brilliant smile. He was okay with that, taking a moment to watch her. She didn't have much makeup on today, her freckles on full display. She had forgone her usual purple eyeshadow and move lipstick for more natural tones.

Danny didn't know much about makeup, but he thought Paulina looked beautiful no matter what. In his pocket, his phone buzzed.

"Sent!" Paulina said. She looked up and caught him staring. "What? What is it?"

Danny gave her a lopsided grin. "You're pretty."

Paulina turned crimson. "Shut up, I know."

"Good."

"Eat your burger! It's gonna go cold. And don't even think about paying my back this time."

Danny took a massive bite out of the burger, so big his cheeks puffed out as he chewed, and gave Paulina a tight-lipped smile. After swallowing, he asked, "What if I want to pay you back?"

"You can't." Paulina shook her head. "That's not how dates work."

Danny, on his way in for his second bite, froze. He stared at Paulina, who took another long swig of his soda and smiled back. A glob of sauce fell out of the bottom of his burger and landed on his jeans.

"Damn it." Danny hissed, putting his burger aside, and grabbed a napkin, patting at the stain. As he dabbed, he looked back up. "If this is a date," he smiled widely when he said date, "then shouldn't the guy be paying?"

"We can take turns." Paulina passed Danny her own napkins.

He took them, mumbling a quick thanks, and finished wiping up the stain. Crumpling the napkins, he put them aside and turned all his focus on Paulina. "What about the... thing. You know, the secret I'm still hiding?"

"You don't have to tell me, not if you don't want to. Not right now. You were right before. We're not grown up. Maybe we'll keep dating all through high school. Maybe we'll break up in a month. We don't know." Paulina's words didn't fill Danny with confidence, but he didn't interrupt. "We're barely high schoolers and we like each other. That means we're allowed to have fun. It also means we don't have to tell each other absolutely everything."

"I want to," Danny said in a rush. "I really want to." He meant it. Paulina knowing his secret wouldn't be bad. It would probably be great, actually. But not now."

"Not yet," Paulina said, finishing Danny's thought for him.

He nodded.

Swinging her legs onto her bench, Paulina twisted to lean her back against the window. She rested her elbow on the table, chin balanced on her knuckles, and met his stare. For the first time, Paulina really did look her age, wrapped in a comfortable sweater, smiling like nothing else mattered but right now. Danny wanted to stay in that moment forever.

"We're kids," Paulina said. "We've got all the time in the world."

#phic phight #phic phight 2020 #danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #phic #danny fenton/paulina sanchez #pink astronaut #friendship #fluff #romance #lesbian sam #bi paulina #the a-listers are self-aware #tumblroneshots

[merryfortune]

Get Well Soon

Ship: Chiyu/Shindoine

Fandom: Healin’ Good PreCure

Word Count: 2.4k

Tags: Canon Divergence, Enemies to Lovers, Redemption Arc, Minor or Implied Relationships

Synopsis: Unrequited feelings are a disease and it sure is going around a lot lately.

   She wasn’t sure when reality had slapped her in the face, but it had and it had hard.

   It had even left its mark. Again, she wasn’t really sure when it had. Or maybe it had every time and she had been so quick with the blush of denial; she never noticed the pink in her cheeks that wasn’t rouge.

   But, at long last and overdue, Shindoine was finally ready to face the facts. King Byougen was not in love with her.

   She was madly in love with him, but he did not feel the same way. She was nothing but a nuisance to him. Nothing at all to him. Just another replaceable soldier but he was the one to have named her. To have first called her by Shindoine and when he had spoken that name, she had swooned. To be given meaning and identity and purpose but for what? To be just another token in a losing war?

   It was awful. Made Shindoine’s heart twist and turn and knot.

   She had listened to that wretched thing for so long in the place of advice more down to Earth, stemming from the likes of Guwaiwaru and Daruizen. Shindoine sighed and suddenly nothing mattered to her. Not the shimmer on her eyelids nor the lipstick that she used; her nails seemed blunt despite having been treated this morning.

   Even with all the gloom and misery around her, the bubbling and magmic world of one so thoroughly and endlessly undermined, wasn’t quite good enough for the heavy feelings that Shindoine wallowed in. If she was going to feel sorry for herself, she needed somewhere which wasn’t here because here had nothing but pebbles to kick and no one at all to bully.

   Somehow being hit with the I told you so from either of her fellow Generals hurt more than the actual revelation that her feelings towards King Byougen were useless.

   So, to the Human World it was.

   But it wasn’t the same.

   When she was on the rampage before, it had been done in the name of love and there was nothing more invigorating than that. And no, the irony wasn’t lost on Shindoine. She was at her peak, physically, mentally, and emotionally, when she was in love. Doing it all for her precious King Byougen. All healthy and refreshed. Disgusting. Now she only had pity and other pathetic feelings for that Shindoine she had been before she had accepted the reality rather than making herself up with make-up and denial.

   It was so much rosier back then. Even if back then was mere hours ago, really.

   Shindoine looked around. She hardly knew where she was, just walking around in a daze. Sulky and depressed. Worst still, she was ignored. Or at least she thought she was ignored. She was certainly doing a lot of ignoring as she heavied herself with all the different ways that she could negatively self-talk about herself and her stupid, unrequited love.

   But looking up, blinking, getting dazzled by the sunlight, she had to squint but Shindoine was almost certain she knew this place. That she had been here before. The stony steps; the wooden building, and a very, very subtle and well-hidden smell of sulfur.

   She growled to herself as she let another terrible realisation dawn on her. This was where the blue, water-themed Pretty Cure hailed from. Cure Fontaine. Shindoine could feel her skin crawl but for some reason, it didn’t repel her. Rather, it further attracted her to this building.

   It could be fun to wreck. To rend it with all her angst and loathing. Slipping inside undetected wasn’t too hard, either. Shindoine looked around. It was different to a lot of the other human dwellings that she had been inside of. That a vastly different style, to it. The bamboo on the flooring, the layout that had a natural flow to it. It seemed older. She didn’t necessarily dislike it as she explored it for an idea of something to infect with a Nano Byougen.

   Only, she didn’t end up doing that. She ended up in its backyard with nothing speaking to her with inspiration. Not in a destructive way at least. Shindoine found herself mildly intrigued by the hot springs. It had been a long day and the warmth was pleasing to her skin. It was gentle; not like the harsh, raking warmth of her home world.

   So, she indulged herself. She deserved it, after all. It had been a horrible past few hours and walking around aimlessly in her high heels had done a number on the soles of her feet so she sat down at the rocks. She took off her shoes, took off her pantyhose too and she tried dipping her toes in the water.

   Shindoine could have melted when she broke the tranquil meniscus of the water. She shivered and she sighed. It was wonderful as she let herself go deeper; her toes grazing the scrubbed down bottom of the hot springs. It was soft but still had a rocky feel; it was fun texture. For the first time in hours, Shindoine smiled to herself and she drank in her surrounds. How quiet it was; that hidden smell of sulfur. Oh, it was perfect.

   It could have been perfect.

   It was perfect, very much so, right up until the moment when she heard a clatter behind her. Something dropped in surprise, buckets and brooms and that sort of thing.

   Shindoine turned her head with a scowl. She saw a familiar face that she couldn’t quite place but she knew her luck, even if she didn’t know this girl as that girl was undoubtedly Cure Fontaine, even if she wasn’t in her big, plucky dress and the like. She smiled awkwardly.

   “My apologies,” she began and Shindoine was almost about to tell her to save it before she continued, “I didn’t realise that we had a guest.”

   She then bent down to pick up what she had dropped - and it had been exactly what Shindoine had thought, a bucket and a mop. Shindoine glared. Pouted, too, chewing the inside of her cheek.

   “I can leave, too, if you would prefer privacy. I don’t want to disturb someone whilst they are soaking.” she said.

   “If its you, I don’t mind.” Shindoine said. “We can call a truce for today, Fontaine, I’m not bothered enough to go on a rampage today.”

   “Oh, dear…” she murmured, and she set aside her cleaning supplies.

   Shindoine groaned to herself. Now she had gone and done it. She had a feeling that this was about to be more bothersome than conjuring a Megabyougen and trying to destroy the place. And yet, she didn’t try to do that. To throw dirt in the face of that truce and instead let the Pretty Cure sit down next to her. Her feet dipping into the water and all as she held onto her apron, a look of concern on her face.

   It made Shindoine sick to her stomach. The way this girl could just give her a break like this. If it was the other way around, Shindoine knew that she would be merciless. One of the Pretty Cure having a bad day? There wouldn’t be another opportunity like it but the moment she, the villainess and arch-nemesis of this very girl has a bad day?

   She sits down with her and makes the most soft-eyed expressions. It revolted Shindoine as she tried to look away from said soft-eyed expressions. She was too pretty, that girl. It irked Shindoine.

   She sat down next to her and straightened up her apron that she wore and looked up to Shindoine and said, “You can call me Chiyu, if you like.”

  Shindoine very much did not like that but she did anyway.

  “What’s got you so down, hm? Do you want to talk about it?” Chiyu asked.

  Shindoine very much did not want to talk about it with Chiyu but she did anyway. In a small, uncertain voice, she admitted to this Pretty Cure what the troubles with her bubbles were, making ripples in the water with her foot, Shindoine very simply explained herself, “He’s not in love with me.”

  Chiyu’s expression all but shattered. That soft look in her blue eyes hardened, turned almost icy and if Shindoine didn’t know any better, she would say that Chiyu empathesied very much with her crisis.

  And sure enough, she did, she mumbled back, “I know the feeling.”

  “Oh please,” Shindoine huffed, flicking water about, “as if. Who in the world would turn down you? Me? I can understand. Who would want a no-good villainess around, only useful as cannon fodder, no different to the other two dweebs I hang out with but you? Beautiful, brilliant Pretty Cure who always saves the day? Yeah right, girlie, you are yanking my chain so knock it off.”

  “No, really,” Chiyu insisted, “I know the feeling and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You are beautiful and brilliant in your own right, Shindoine, you always give your all. Its admirable, even if, er, yes you are trying to destroy the planet but, um, perhaps if you are intruding on a party of two… Then yes, you would get turned down.”

  Shindoine gasped. “No way.” she exclaimed.

  Chiyu nodded and she twiddled her thumbs, “Yes way.” She mumbled.

  “Pinkie and Yellow, huh?” Shindoine teased.

  “Yes, it seems they have coupled up but knowing they are exclusive does little to quell the crush I have on Nodoka regardless.” Chiyu murmured.

  “Here’s to us then.” Shindoine murmured.

  “Here’s to us.” Chiyu echoed back.

  They were both quiet for a moment. Letting on the hot springs make almost imperceptible noises for them until, eventually, they both had to do something. To move, to make a sound. They both turned their heads at just the right time to catch the other doing the same and there was a genuine understanding of pity and grief of being unrequited between them.

  Chiyu smiled, sympathetic. “You’re not too bad when you’re not trying to destroy the world.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Shindoine sarcastically replied. “You’re not too bad either, when you’re not trying to save the world.”

  Chiyu laughed.

  “That makes you laugh?” Shindoine asked.

  “Well, um, not really. I prefer puns, actually.” Chiyu admitted.

  Now Shindoine was laughing and quite raucously at that. She closed her eyes to it and she tried to imagine Chiyu having a real belly ache over something as stupid as that. Stupider still, she couldn’t think of one to test and when she opened her eyes, Shindoine was caught off guard by how beautiful Chiyu looked in the sunglitter bouncing off the still waters, sitting prim and proper. All whilst emanating this sincerity that almost made Shindoine want to switch sides.

  She was just so lost. She couldn’t bring herself to destroy the world for someone who would just destroy her, so she looked longingly onto this girl and she felt almost refreshed. There was a wondering, it lived within the glint of the sunlight and the water of the hot springs, and she took that chance.

  Shindoine kissed Chiyu on the lips. Surprising her.

  Chiyu was too stunned to kiss back but she couldn’t deny there wasn’t a fizzle to it either. She could feel the skin on her lips literally burn off the longer that Shindoine kissed her. The taste was rancid, but she could feel the kind passion behind it.

  Shindoine, meanwhile, sighed into the kiss. Where it was hurting Chiyu, it was healing her. Chiyu’s lips were soft and wet; vaguely tasting of cleanly mint and once upon a time, Shindoine would have been disgusted by that. Right now, in this mid-afternoon moment, it intrigued her. It was all part of the experience as she took this foray into the light and when she broke back, she moaned.

  There were burns and blisters on Chiyu’s lips. She instinctively tried to cover up her mouth, now wounded but it just made her seem cuter. Shindoine smiled to herself. She thought they were just the right shade of red tinged with pus; she tilted her head to the side and Chiyu felt flustered by her stare and just how fond it was.

  “I’m still not sure what to do with myself but… I like you at the very least.” Shindoine said. She then got up abruptly, she flipped her long hair off her back and generally fussed. “I best be going.”

  “Okay then,” Chiyu replied, feeling a little stood up, being kissed and ghosted in one fell swoop, “but will I see you soon?”

  “I hope so. If I don’t try and destroy this world, the others will and those two are losers so.” Shindoine murmured.

  “I see…” Chiyu murmured, downhearted.

  Beginning to walk away from Chiyu, scared of leaving what she was literally created to do despite her apprehensions of her usefulness unto it, Shindoine added, “Healin’ goodbye… That’s what you guys say, yes? Well, I’m feelin’ it, at least a little bit, and its strangely not that bothersome or tiresome.”

  Shindoine had no idea if she was giving Chiyu false hope of some redemption in those words. All she wanted was love. Love to infect her and to infect others with love and with those marks on Chiyu’s lips, Shindoine had certainly accomplished something like that.

  “I’m glad so, um, get well soon.” Chiyu said, chipper despite her hesitance which dipped into over-confidence because she was making a joke. Her laughter was proof of that even if it made Shindoine roll her eyes.

  Chiyu’s demeanour was so bright that Shindoine was glad she had her back turned but she could feel how bright they were. It unsettled her; it made her skin crackle and blister no different to her kiss unto Chiyu because even thoigh bleach was cleansing, it was still a poison.

  Shindoine smiled. She disappeared soon after, but she did take Chiyu’s bidding her farewell in good, amused heart. She wanted to get well soon as well as unrequited love was a disease. Though, having said that, she wasn’t too sure what that made her kindling with Chiyu because it didn’t feel like sickness, but it wasn’t a cure either but it was a middle ground that maybe Shindoine could get used to.

#femslash #precure #healin good precure #healin good #shindoine #shindoine (precure) #chiyu sawaizumi #sawaizumi chiyu #cure fontaine #chiyu x shindoine #shindoine x chiyu #shindochiyu #i wasn't gonna post this tongiht but someone booted me up the arse on the precure server im on #because i am a sensitive little baby who is also incredibly vindictive #age gap cw #enemies to lovers cw

[buck-nialled]

Empty Pages - R. Mendes (4)

NOTE: thank you to everybody who is liking and supporting this series so far! I know this next chapter took a bit to post and some of you were curious but I’m happy to say it’s here and I hope you like it!

PROLOGUE // PART ONE // PART TWO // PART THREE

Isabella Núñez, while loquacious in school gossip, voiced little about herself compared to the character Lily had made the girl out to be in her mind. In actuality, Lily does not recall ever participating in a conversation with her. But what Lily is aware of, is that she was a major reason as to why Connor and Raul avoid one another’s eyes in the hall to this day, and also why Raul is—somehow—still infatuated with the girl. The guilt began rising inside of Lily midway to her waltz towards the lunch table, but she pushed it down for the sake of saving her grade, and possibly her entire school year. It still caught her off guard to mull over in her head—how Raul Mendes would replace the shadowed figure she dreamt spilling gossip over a table of colleagues with a wine glass in her hand, and labeling him the one who made showing up to school a “living hell”. But if he distorted his morals as quickly as his fashion over the summer break and felt so little care to play the dishonesty card, Lily would be damned to let the opportunity of reciprocation slip by her.

“Hey, Isabella.” She began, sliding into the empty seat across from the girl and setting the tray of food down onto the table with a reasonable THUMP. The headband which held the girl’s dark strands back allowed Lily to observe the perk of her ears. The hairpin curve of Isabella’s lips tightened as she turned away from Connor, who was seated to her left and looked less than delighted at their conversation being interrupted.

“Hi…” The girl turns, greeting Lily slowly. She does not miss the flick of Isabella’s eyes as they gaze her figure up and down as if deducing the price of her outfit with a few blinks. “Do I know you?”

Lily’s lips parted, slightly appalled by the response. “Lily…Lily Mirray? We’ve been in the same classes for, like, eight years now.” She is met with a slow nod and squinting eyes from Isabella.

“Right…well, did you need help with something?” Her classmate quirks a brow at her from across the table and Lily could already feel her lips peeling open to present a malicious grin.

“Actually…” Lily chuckles, before Isabella’s nonchalant voice cuts in. “Don’t worry,” she waves one of her manicured hand and flicks her eyes to the side momentarily, “I already know what it is.”

“You-you do?” The girl inquires, her self-confidence dwindling by the second as Isabella’s focused gaze scans her up and down. Her heartbeat quickened rapidly to a stuttering tempo and she felt flush beneath the stern watch.

“Of course!” She cheers with a smile and further adds to Lily’s perplexity. “And I’m so glad you could come to me for a second opinion on your fashion.”

Lily blinks momentarily stunned by the conclusion. “I’m sorry…my w-what?” She is left unanswered as Isabella’s form begins leaning over the table to tower her. A hand grabs at the scarf draped around Lily’s neck and gently tugs the cloth to leave the skin bare to the frigid temperatures both inside and outside of the school building.

“Alright, first things first: this has got to go. It’s so last year.” Isabella announces in a tone more condescending than Lily would prefer. Her comment earns a few chuckles from Connor and the girls sitting nearby.

“But I like that scarf.” Lily murmurs with a pout when it is snatched off her body. Isabella lays a hand against her chest and mimics Lily’s pout.

“Oh honey, we’ve all been there. I mean, I liked the Prada sandals my parents got me last summer. Does that mean I’m going to wear them until I just ‘grow out of them’?” The girl replies with a small scoff towards the end of her extremely rhetoric question. Lily’s eyes flick back and forth, unsure of how often she wore the scarf was something worth admitting.

“Alright, next!” Isabella claps her hands together and sticks out her two pointer fingers, aiming them directly at Lily’s torso. It was cloaked with one of her many graphic tee-shirts today and would most likely be donned in a different one tomorrow. The last time she wore something otherwise was a dress her mother practically forced her body into because her middle school was throwing a cotillion. Nothing from that night was particularly noteworthy other than the constant thoughts of how uncomfortable she felt being scolded for picking up the wrong sized fork or placing her elbows onto the table. She remembers being seated with a few others but never really spoke to any of them—save for when she had to reply to the courteous icebreakers her school required the tables to discuss. “That top…”

Lily glances down to the shirt upon its mention. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s too loose…” Isabella’s features curled down and her nose scrunched in a visible distaste for the top. “It doesn’t show off your body shape or anything. Do you own any bodysuits?” Her voice rises in hopes that maybe, just maybe, she could morph Lily’s wardrobe into something worth wearing.

“A what?” Lily asks, visibly shattering Isabella’s visions for a much-needed change. She brings a hand to the middle of her forehead and begins rubbing soothing circles into the tight skin.

“Oh boy…okay. Um, how about a crop top?” Her hand motions to the top she was currently wearing, which revealed a scant brick of skin in between the shirt’s ending and her mini skirt’s beginning. The hand then proceeds to lay on her hip as she cocks it to the side with a gleeful smile. It falls when Lily’s eyes meet hers, looking less than impressed by the option.

“Considering we live in a city that reaches temperatures below freezing, I think I’ll pass.” She takes notice of Isabella’s lack of jacket or tights beneath the skirt and recalls the weatherman’s prediction of the low temperatures that day. “How are you not cold, right now?”

“Please,” Isabella rolls her eyes and waves her hand about, “fashion is about trading comfort for cuteness.” Not wanting to proceed further into this conversation, Lily shakes her head in objection to Isabella’s statement and tries focusing on her initial reason for joining the girl for lunch.

“Look, I need to talk to you about Raul Mendes.” Isabella sucks in a short breath at the mention of the triplet’s name and furrows her brows.

“Raul Mendes?” She questions, before leaning closer to Lily across the table and quietly murmuring, “why would you want to dress like him?” She inquires in a hushed voice, as though it were a secret, but Connor was close enough to listen in. His ears seem to perk up at the familiar name and his head snaps over to Lily and Isabella.

“Mendes is a dweeb. What do you want with him?” His expression now matches Isabella’s, who leans back comfortably in her seat and Connor’s arm around her naked middle.

“Lily, trust me, I’m happy to hear that you at least know black goes with anything,” Lily’s eyes must anchor themselves on Isabella’s relieved figure to keep from rolling impossibly high, “but you are not the leather jacket, lip piercing type.” She shrugs, unabashedly giving Lily’s appearance a once-over yet again.

This was not the path Lily anticipated their conversation to go, but now, she was more concerned about what Isabella thought of her more than Raul.

“Well, neither was Raul, but—”

“It’s for attention.” Connor intercepts, sending a harsh narrowing of his eyes to what must have been the topic of conversation across the cafeteria. “He wants people to think differently of him like he’s changed. But once he sees he is the same nerd he was last year, and the year before that…” Connor trails off with a slow shake of his head and delivers continuous pierces to his food with the plastic fork tight in his grip, “he’ll stop.” Lily turns her attention back to Isabella, who was nodding in support of her boyfriend’s statement. It cues Lily to twist her body in her seat and catch sight of Raul laughing obnoxiously and spewing the occasional swear word to his brothers and other friends seated at the table with him.

She turns back to face the couple, raising her brows in suspicion. “You think?” And though she asked, the two affirming nods Lily received as an answer did little to quell her nerves.

“Okay, thanks…I guess.” She picks up her tray of untouched food and sends a nod to the girl. “I’ll see you in Anatomy.” Isabella tilts her head to the side and squints at Lily in inquisitiveness.

“We have anatomy together?”

“Um…yeah. We literally sit right besi—” Lily releases a large breath of irritation and sticks with a small, “never mind.” Before retreating to her usual seat away from her other classmates. Upon taking her seat and delving into the “mystery meat” splattered onto the lunch tray, her eyes flick up towards the figure introducing itself across from her.

“Hey,” Peter greets with a wave and sheepish smile. Furrowing her brows, Lily scans her surroundings, ensuring that the triplet was indeed, speaking to her. She catches Raul’s gaze from the table both him and Shawn were inhabiting with a few other boys from their grade. There was an empty seat near Shawn’s, which was most likely Peter’s. When Lily’s stare is caught by Raul’s, she feels her stomach turn in discomfort at the wink he shoots her.

“Hi, Peter…” she responds slowly. “What’s up?” She does not return the congenial smile or polite act. The boy brings his elbows up onto the table and begins wringing his hands, avoiding Lily’s interrogative gaze for as long as possible.

“Um…Raul just wanted me to come over and let you know he’s sorry…and that he hopes there are no hard feelings.” Peter breathes out, clearing his throat. It takes seconds for Lily to process the words of Raul’s brother before she was clenching her jaw impossibly agitated. “Well, I should—”

“I’m sorry…he said what?” Lily snaps, making the younger flinch from across the table.

“He’s s-sorry. And says no hard feelings.” Peter repeats, fidgeting with his hands more aggressively than before. In pure disbelief, Lily releases a scoff.

“Huh…did he say what he was sorry for?” Her eyes narrow in a challenging manner, and Peter swears he could feel the sweat building up on his hairline.

“N-not really. He just said it’d be better if I sent the message.” Lily huffs, chest bouncing up and down with heavy breaths of fury. No hard feelings, the words echo in her head and ignores the tight feeling her jaw was beginning to emanate.

“Well, you tell Raul this,” she hisses, the fire in her eyes never sizzling out as they bore into Peter’s threatened pupils, “I don’t accept his apology. And he is going to need to give me an explanation himself or else he’s going to regret it.” The hunger building in her stomach that day had dissipated and left her to pick up her tray and stomp to the nearest garbage can to rid of all that was put on the tray. When she pivoted to pass her table once more, Peter’s curious eyes followed her fuming body as it exited the cafeteria and called out.

“Are the hard feelings still there, then?”

TAGLIST; @lonelyreputation​ @fanficshawn​ @shawnmendez​ @fan-of-many-bands​ @now-that-i-saw-u​

#Shawn mendes #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes smut #Shawn Mendes blurb #shawn mendes angst #Shawn Mendes oneshot #shawn mendes au #shawn mendes x oc #raul mendes #raul mendes imagine #peter mendes #Peter Mendes imagine #mendes triplets #mendes triplet au #mendes triplets au

[loserslibrary]

pairing: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier [Reddie], Stanley Uris/Patricia Blum Uris [Stanpat], Mike Hanlon/Bill Denbrough [Hanbrough] & Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh [Benverly]  written by: Ashley rating: Teen word count:  2,905 prompt: from @ticomat​ “Ok, so, for a prompt, how about the Losers having a Dinner night in which all pairings have big news they planned to tell the others, and end up collectively stealing each others thunder?”

Eddie knew that he and Richie were the boring friends. They had been for years, and Eddie supposed that was normal. When you’ve been in a serious, committed relationship since… well, forever, it seemed only natural that they wouldn’t have as many crazy stories as their friends. Especially since Richie had been banned from telling sex stories. Eddie didn’t mind, he was never bored with Richie, and he much preferred the most adventurous part of his month being he and Richie trying a new brand of pasta sauce that gave Richie stomach cramps over failed Tinder dates or coworkers setting him up on blind dates with horrible, poorly smelling people. 

Eddie and Richie have been together officially since he turned sixteen, but they’d practically been together for years before that. They’d had their rough spots like any other couple; choosing colleges had been one of the lowest points that Eddie could remember and he still sometimes felt sick when thinking about how close he and Richie had come to ending things when it came down to New York City vs Los Angeles. Richie had crawled through his bedroom window, crying and swearing to go to with him to New York City- or “wherever the fuck in the world he wants to go”- and Eddie couldn’t imagine them ever living anywhere else.

So, no. Eddie didn’t feel any lack luster in his life and he didn’t envy his friends’ wild stories whenever they got together the past couple of years. As they rapidly approached their thirties, Eddie was more than content with being settled down and married. Job he liked, financial stability, a loving husband in a surprisingly spacious New York apartment. It was more than Eddie had ever thought he’d be able to have growing up, and he wouldn’t trade it up for all the dating scene moments in the world. He wasn’t sure why anybody would. 

There was, admittedly, one thing in his life that he and Richie had been discussing. Something that could only make things even more perfect. And tonight, Eddie was sure that he and Richie would finally have the most exciting news at the reunion table. 

“You sure you want to tell them?” Richie asked, rubbing his hands between Eddie’s shoulder blades as Eddie used the mirror to do up his tie. Dressing up to Richie was a button up shirt with jeans that didn’t have rips in the knees or thighs, but Eddie always tried to go that extra mile when they were going out for a meal. Especially one that felt as important as this one.

“Yeah, of course.” Eddie said, finishing up the tie and pressing a quick kiss to his husband’s cheek. “I know that maybe we should wait until we have more news but- the Losers are as much family as your mom and dad, Rich. I want them to know.”

Richie smiled and pulled Eddie in for a quick kiss, and rubbed their noses together as he pulled back. “Alright, then I guess we better get going then. Bev is going to talk our ears off the second she sees us. Since the dweeb skipped Christmas.”

“I’m sure that her finishing the designs for her first leading collection  was more important than our Boxing Day dinner.” 

“You sound just like her.” Richie swung his car keys around his fingers as Eddie slipped into his jacket. “You’re such a sham, Edward Spaghetti Kaspbrak. You don’t need a jacket from here to the freakin’ car. You just wanna show off your nice threads to our friends when we get there.”

Eddie buttoned up the jacket up and beamed at Richie. “So what if I do? My husband has a big fancy Saturday Night Live job now, so I can spend my salary on whatever I want. Jackets included.”

Richie rolled his eyes and guided Eddie out of their apartment door. “Yeah.” He said in a soft voice. “For now.” Eddie never thought he’d be so happy to have financial restrictions.

Bill and Mike were already sitting around the table when Eddie and RIchie were shown to the Losers’ usual table. “Hey guys!” Richie half-jogged over to them as Eddie thanked their hostess. He tossed an arm around Bill’s shoulders and tugged him into his side. “Mikey, I swear you get hotter every time I see you. How do you do it?” 

Bill yanked away from Richie and punched him in the side. Richie made a loud, wounded noise and Eddie came over to give him a patronizing pat on the cheek. “Hush.” He said softly, before smiling at their friends. “How was Florida?”

Bill and Mike exchanged small looks that made alarm bells start ringing in the back of Eddie’s mind, but they both quickly replaced the looks with smiles. “It was amazing!” Mike said happily, waving towards the entry of their private room as Stan came in with Patty on his arm. 

Stan had started dating Patricia Blum about three years earlier, and she had been an instant click with their tight knit group. It was rare for anybody to connect with the other Losers so quickly, more often than not the Losers’ partners found their little group hard to fit into. Patty hadn’t been like that, thankfully. She and Richie had been practically best friends by the end of their first meeting. 

This was made apparent again, as Richie launched himself from Bill’s side and rushed through the little room to scoop Patty up in his arms and spin her around. 

“I swear, Richard.” Stan rolled his eyes but there was smile spreading across his face. “We saw you not even two months ago.”

“Awwe.” Richie cooed, putting Patty back on the ground and moved to kiss Stan hard on the head. “You know me, Manly Stanny. I’m like a dog, waiting for you to get back from work. Very over excited when you come back inside because you forgot your keys.” 

Stan chuckled at Richie’s awkward analogy and flicked him in the face. “Yeah, you’re a big oversized lap dog. I don’t know how Eddie puts up with you.”

Eddie walked over and wrapped his arms around Richie’s mid section and stuck his tongue out at Stan. 

“I told you we’d be the last ones here.” Ben said, quickly undoing his scarf and giving everybody a forced smile. “Sorry, sorry! Somebody claimed the traffic wouldn’t be that bad.”

“Don’t blame me!” Beverly said, swooping into the room in all her usual beauty. She pressed a kiss to Mike and Bill’s cheeks before turning to look at Ben with her arms on her hips. “I live in New York! I don’t drive. I take the subway like any self respecting New Yorker.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Richie cheered, despite none of them having ordered any drinks yet. The group all started moving towards the big round table, chattering amongst themselves. Richie bumped his hip against Patty’s and grinned at her.

“Take your hand out of your pocket, baby doll.” Richie whispered in her ear. Patty turned him, cheeks turning a little pink even under the red tinge of the dining room. She just shook her head and Richie leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Well, congratulations. Even though I’m not supposed to know.” 

Patty smiled to herself, and reached out to grasp Stan’s hand under the table with her own. Richie couldn’t hide his own grin as Eddie took the empty seat next to him. Never one to disguise his affections, Richie leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Eddie’s cheek. 

Beverly made overly loud gagging noises and Richie rolled his eyes lovingly at her. “Cram it, Marsh. Let me love on my husband!” 

“Oh I’m sure that you smother Eddie enough in the privacy of your own home.” Bill said with a chuckle. 

“It’s not smothering!” Eddie shot to him, before pressing an almost rough kiss to Richie’s stubbly cheek. He immediately pulled away and wiped his hand across his mouth. “Oh god, Richard, you need to shave. I’m not going to keep kissing you if it feels like rubbing my face against sandpaper.”

Richie tossed his head back and cackled, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulders and pulling him against him. Eddie whacked at his chest lightly, and Richie kissed him on top of the head.

“Truly disgusting.” Bill said with a roll of his eyes. “But enough of Dad and Dad’s domestic crap. How have you guys been. Some of us haven’t seen each other since the summer.”

“How targeted.” Beverly laughed, pouring a glass of water from the pitcher in the middle of the table. “But I’ll admit, I actually do have some news since the last time I saw you guys. And before you ask, no, it’s not about my new line so you don’t have to pretend to understand what I’m talking about.”

There was a moment of relief around the table, as they all smiled at their childhood female friend. Even after they’d started having more women in their group, Patty, or Bev’s roommate from college Kay, or Bill’s ex-girlfriend Audra whom he was still friendly with, they’d never really joined forces with anybody who was on Beverly’s level with clothes or trends. The closest was probably Richie- and only because with his career, he has to at least attempt to keep up.

Beverly reached out and tangled her hands with Ben’s on the top. Eddie looked at Richie from the corner of his eye, getting a raised eyebrow in return. Ben and Beverly had been having the ultimate will they or won’t they story in the history of the world, tracing back all the way to the eighth grade. They’d dated off and on all throughout high school, somehow always finding some sort of reason to break up, and then another to get back together. Two years earlier, they had rekindled the high school relationship and the Losers had been sure that they were going to be in it for the long haul this time. Then Ben’s job had promoted him six months into the relationship, sending him to live in Chicago, and they had broken it off once again. Not feeling as though the long distance could work for them. Though the two years had passed since then, the Losers could all tell that the feelings still lingered. Would possibly always linger between them. It was one of the few things that they all knew better than to interfere with. 

Ben smiled sheepishly, rubbing his thumb along the back of Beverly’s hand. “My company are starting a new project to create affordable living in New York City. They want me to head up the project.” His sheepish smile broke into a full blown grin. “I’m moving back. For good.”

The table erupted into cheers, which were quickly and embarrassingly quieted when the waitress came to take their drink orders. As she left, the gang all turned their attention back to Ben and Beverly, whose hands were still clasped together on the table. 

“So…” Richie sang, wagging his eyebrows. “Somebody’s gotta address the elephant in the room-”

“Jesus, Rich.” Bill groaned, though his voice hinted at laughter.

“Are you guys gonna be New York’s Next Hottest Couple or what?” Richie barrelled over top of Bill as though he hadn’t spoken. 

Ben and Beverly glanced at each other, stars in their eyes, before Beverly looked back at Richie and nodded. “That was my news. Ben and I are back together- and we’re moving in together.”

Softer, but no less enthusiast, cheers broke out then. Mike reached over and clasped Ben on the shoulder. The other man’s face had turned a bright red under the attention, always a shy boy deep in his heart, and started waving the others off. “Thank you guys! Really! But Mike and Bill! How was Florida?”

“Yeah!” Beverly jumped onto Ben’s attempts to deflect. “We want to hear all about it!” 

Bill cleared his throat. “It was great. You know, it’s always nice to go somewhere warm and know that your friends are all somewhere else freezing their asses off.”  

The group all grumbled and complained, while Eddie narrowed his eyes at his oldest friend. His hand was clenched around his glass and he used it to gesture towards Bill. “You’re holding back. Something happened. What is it?”

Bill and Mike glanced at each other. “Welll…” Mike said slowly. “I sort of feel like we’re stepping on Ben and Bev’s toes here but… Yeah, something did happen.”

“Oh shit, did you guys fuck?” Richie blurted out. Stan let out an exasperated “Richie” while Eddie swatted at his arm. “What!?! We were all thinking it!” 

“That’s not exactly the tactful way the rest of us would have put it.” Eddie said before knocking back the rest of his drink. 

Richie just rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat, pouting until Eddie reached over and rested his hand on Richie’s knee. Richie dropped his hand on top of Eddie’s and squeezed. 

“Okay, so that’s not exactly how we wanted to say it either.” Mike said with a small smile. Bill was watching him from the corner of his eye, leaving all eyes on Mike. “But yes. We’re dating now. We’ve taking it slowly because we weren’t sure what this was, so please don’t be upset that we didn’t tell you right away-”

Eddie burst out laughing. “Billy. Richie and I were together for like two years before you we told you guys. We’re the last people be mad about that.”

“We weren’t talking to you.” Bill said happily with a toothy grin. “We were talking to all our normal friends.”

“Well, that’s fucking rude.” Richie muttered under his breath. A small rumble of laughter moved through the group, even Eddie chuckling. “Whatever. I haven’t decided if I saw this coming or not, and my gaydar is definitely a little off, but I’m so happy for you guys!”

“There’s no such thing as a gaydar.” Ben said with confidence.  Eddie, Mike and Richie all exchanged looks and Beverly kissed Ben gently on the cheek. 

“Well…” Patty spoke up then, her face looking like her cheeks were about to burst with joy. Richie nudged Eddie and wiggled his eyebrows, while Eddie frowned at him. 

Patty lifted her hand up away from Stan’s and held it out towards the table. The light coming from above them reflected off the rather large diamond on her left hand.

“Oh my God…” Beverly whispered. A hush fell over the table following Beverly’s words, everybody silently awaiting the confirmation of what they’d already pieced together. 

“We’re engaged.” Patty said softly. Stan’s ears and the back of his neck were both a deep red under the attention. The group remained quiet for a moment, then broke into cheers so loud that Richie was surprised they weren’t kicked out of the restaurant altogether. 

Everybody jumped to their feet, quick to hug the happy couple. Richie scooped Patty up in his arms and spun her around slightly, nearly sending their table flying. Both laughing, Richie sent Patty off into a teary Ben’s awaiting arms and turned to find himself facing Stanley. Stan’s cupped the back of Richie’s head as he pulled him into a hug. 

“You’ll be my best man, right?” Stan whispered directly into Richie’s ear. Though his friends would often say he had none, it took every inch of Richie’s self control not to immediately burst into tears as he nodded into Stanley’s shoulder. 

It took a couple minutes to get everybody calmed down and back into their seats, and their poor waitress came in to take their food orders. Richie was sure that once they sat back down all the couples were holding hands under the table. They all gave small chit chat until their meals showed up, and Richie dug in excitedly. 

“Oh, wait!” Beverly lowered her spoonful of pasta and blinked dramatically. “We totally forgot! Eddie, Rich, what’s new with you guys? Anything big happening in your lives since the last time we all hung out?”

Without even needed to look at his husband, Richie knew exactly what to say.

“Nope. You guys know us.” Richie draped his arm around the back of Eddie’s seat. “28 going on 88. Watch the news, in bed by 7.” 

The table all laughed, and dinner carried on without anymore cheering. The meal was peaceful and comfortable, Richie feeling almost blissful with Eddie’s heat pressing into his side while surrounded by their closest and most beloved friends. 

After saying their goodbyes, Eddie and Richie walked hand in hand to their car. “So,” Eddie started, with a smile in his voice. “Not ready to tell them after all?”

Richie laughed. “Nah, we’re ready.” He said. “But I didn’t wanna steal anybody’s thunder. We got enough news tonight. Ours can wait.” Richie pushed Eddie up against the car and kissed his jaw lightly. “What do you say? Let’s keep it our own little surprise. Just show them all by posting it on Instagram. Show up at the next get together with a baby.”

Eddie grinned. “We wouldn’t be the boring friends anymore.”

“Hell the fuck no.”

#reddie #reddie fic #hanbrough #stanpat #benverly #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #stanley uris #patty blum #mike hanlon #bill denbrough #beverly marsh #ben hanscom #ours #by ashley #ours: reddie #ours: stanpat #ours: hanbrough #ours: benverly #domestic

[burning-clutch]

King Of Spades Or King of Spuds

Pairings: None Trigger Warnings: mild cussing Author: @burning-clutch (Team Ghost)  Total word count 3020 Prompt by: Lexiepiper / LexiePiper  AO3: Alexa_Piper, FFN: Alexa Piper

Stupid humor, Wes is trying, Danny is a troll, summoning

When they tried to summon the King of All Ghosts, the last thing they expected was the sudden appearance of a very familiar, very human boy wearing spaceship pajamas and with a toothbrush halfway to his mouth... -.-.-.-

 "You know this probably isn't going to work how you think it is right?"

 "Shut up and just do your job nerd."

 "If we get killed-"

 "That's why I stole this thingy from Fenton, duh." The raygun was waved casually around like it wasn’t an actual weapon.

 "Just do your thing and we see if you're being real with us or not. If you can't even be truthful about this how are we supposed to believe anything else you say? You said you tried this before and it worked right?"

 The wirey teen runs a hand through his orange-red hair and sighs deeply. "The summoning works you just have to make it clear who you're trying to get… I've ended up with the wrong ghost before…"

         “Then you’ve already got experience, more than us anyway” The dark haired jock called over his shoulder from where he had been fussing with a candle.

 "Come on Wes you should just feel lucky we're talking to you after everything."  The blonde A-lister huffed with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

 "Star's right you know. Now if what the book from that goth creep said was true then if we summon the king we can make a deal with him."A Latino beauty with an accent said, hardly looking up from her nail file. “Anything we want so long as the king accepts the payment.”

 “Yeah, and we got the nerd here to film it, cuz ya need proof of contract or whatever..”  A large beefy blonde jock piped up with his two cents.

 Wes sighed and gave Mikey a sympathetic look as he shakily set up a tripod and a small digital camcorder, While Kwan continued to set up the candles around the vacant basement room.

 “I just really think summoning the ghost king is a bad idea, I mean you remember that invasion last year? Wasn't that the ghost king?" Wes urged only to get punched in the arm by the blonde jock.

 "Not the real king, you saw how all the ghosts fought him, idiot," Dash commented with a huff. “Kings are loved by all, Being the king of Casper High I should know!”

 "Ghosts just fight each other regardless! It's what they do!" Wes shot back glaring at the larger teen.

 "Regardless I want to make it so Phantom Falls madly in love with me and I can have my fairytale ending with him." Paulina waved off the ginger's worries. "A deal with the devil, so to speak, is hardly of any concern."

 “A de- Are you hearing yourself?” Wes called out waving his arm frantically towards Paulina. When the girl only looked up from her nail file to glare at Wes the basketball player deflated. “Fine whatever. If we call become ghosts my obsession will be kicking your asses for all eternity I hope you know.”

 “Ha! You’ll be lamer than the crate creep when you keel over” Dash spat poking the end of the ecto-weapon into Wes’s chest to accentuate his point.

 Wes swatted the gun away, while Kwan stood back up to admire his handy work with the candles. “Right now we light them right?” The Asian asked. “Who’s got the lighter?”

 Star tosses a small pink plastic thing to her boyfriend, who caught it easily. Kwan gives his girlfriend a finger gun with a quick ‘Thanks babe” Before he began lighting up the candles.

 Mikey, seemingly satisfied with the camera, scrunched up his face as he watched the small pillars of wax ignite. “What’s that smell? I hope that those aren’t made with Benzaldehyde…. I’m allergic to-”

 “Can it ugh, no one cares.” Star snapped to the other boy.

 “They’re vanilla scented! I thought it would be nice.” Kwan answers in turn.

 “Yes, I know that I’m not nose blind.” The nerd snorted out a laugh. “Benzaldehyde is a chemical used in the making of fake vanilla scents an-”

 “How much longer until we can summon this king guy? The humidity down here is making my hands all clammy” Palina interrupted callously “You” She pointed her file to Mikey, “Hit record and you,” She pointed the file to Wes next. “Say the stuff that makes this happen.”

 Wes muttered something under his breath causing Dash to punch his arm again. “Fine!” He hollered before beginning the summoning. Latin words warbled out from the teen’s lips, echoing around the room before suddenly, the candles started flickering as if being disturbed by the wind. The teens all watched with wide eyes as the candles suddenly flicked green and blue rapidly before going out. A wash of smoke came up from each one to condense in the centre.

 With bated breath, they watch as the smoke forms a shape in the ring of candles. Paulina had a fleeting thought that they should have done this outside in case the ghost king was far bigger than the room could hold.

 Though once the shape stopped glowing, and became clear to see, it was obvious they needn’t have worried. A quiet splash is heard, as if someone had dropped a glass of water on the ground, followed by a yelp from a new voice, before Dash’s shout of “Fenton?!”

 Danny pulled the toothbrush from his jaws and turned around blinking at the people surrounding him before making a nervous face as he took notice of the candles surrounding him.

 Star frowns and makes a disgusted snort noticing where the water spilling noise had come from. “Did you spit on the floor?” She asks angrily. “You are cleaning that” She points to the bewildered Danny.

 “Um…. Hi?” Danny tried, wiping a bit of foamy toothpaste from his lips onto the sleeve of his rocketship patterned pyjamas.

 “Of course it’s Fenton. Why wouldn’t it be Fenton.” Wes grumbled pinching the bridge of his nose.

 “Love you too Wes, but seriously what happened?” Danny asks, taking a step forward only to yelp as his foot touched the circle line drawn by the candles. “Jeez, what the heck?!”

 Wes perked up at that. “You’re stuck? You can’t cross the barrier!” He called out excitedly.

 Paulina assessed the dark haired teen a moment before humming. “I didn’t think this thing could summon humans as well as ghosts.” She mused taping a perfectly shaped nail to her lips in thought. “I wonder if we can summon celebs?” her eyes went wide at the possibility

 “What? No! This thing is only to summon ghosts! And Fenton showed up, and can’t cross the barrier so-” Wes prompts eagerly waving his arms at the sleepy teen in the circle.

 “It means you either screwed up the spell and brought us a nerd or that dweeb is somehow the ghost king!” Dash spat back angrily.

 Danny blinked out of his sleepy stupor as those words filtered into his brain. “Wait why were you trying to summon the ghost king?”

 “Because you can make a deal to get anything you want duh,” Star answered in first.

 “Shouldn’t you know that Danny? Your parents are ghost hunters after all…” Mikey piped up from the camera shutting off the device, figuring the whole thing was a flop and didn’t want to waste any more of the mini DV tape.

 “What? No that…” He trailed off a moment as he became lost in thought. “Actually that might make sense… It would explain why Plasmius would try to free Pariah Dark…” he muttered to himself more than to the others in the room.

 “Who and what now?” Kwan asked Danny while simultaneously Dash snorted.

 “‘Ey. The nerd made a funny!” The blonde said acting bewildered.

 “Seriously?” Wes groaned burying his hands in his face.

 “Though as much as I hate to say it the ginger whiner is right. He definitely said it right to summon the ghost king. ‘Animum quoque regis’, or the royal spirt, or spirit of royalty was who he called out to not you.” Paulina said with a huff.

 When she was given a few raised brows she shrugged it off and simply said. “I’m good with Latin. What? Can’t a girl be beautiful and intelligent?” she huffed as if she had been insulted.

 “Can I go home? I was kind of hoping to actually get some decent sleep tonight…” Danny said stopping an argument from breaking out.

 “What? No! You’re stuck there until you admit to being a ghost.” Wes shot back to him.

 Danny sighed deeply and rolls his eyes. “Fine,” Danny cleared his throat before raising his hands to wiggle his fingers in a ‘spooky’ fashion, thumb holding the toothbrush. “I’m a ghost~,” he warbled out sarcastically “There, happy? Can I leave now?”

 Wes scoffed at the display before getting as close to Danny as he could without crossing the barrier and loomed over him threateningly. “That’s not what I meant and you know it!” He hissed.

 “Maybe he’s like a ghostly secretary?” Kwan asks after a moment. “I mean his parents have the ghost portal right? So maybe that’s why we got Fenton?”

 “That’s the stupid-” Wes started but was cut off by Star’s affirmative.

 “Hey yeah! Fenton’s the ghost’s go between!”

 “I’m a what now?” Danny asked stifling a yawn.

 “Ohhh! That makes sense! I knew you were connected to my ghost boy somehow!” Paulina chirped out.

 “Yea! That’s true the ghost boy always shows up around you” Mikey added with a slightly bewildered gaze.

 “Yes! That’s what I’ve been saying for so long now!” Wes called out excitedly.

 “Yeah, and actually… I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of you in the same place,” Kwan said with a hum, placing a hand on his chin in thought. Danny blinked at him trying to push down the nervousness rising in his chest.

 “Yes! Yes!” Wes cheered.

 “And Fent-toenail did get summoned by a ghost spell thing…” Dash mused glaring down his favourite punching bag with a frown.

 “Exactly what I was saying!” Danny glared at Wes with a murderous look.

 “So... What? The Fenton Dweeb’s a ghost?” Star scoffed looking to Wes with an exasperated face. “I doubt it.”

 “What? He clearly is!” Wes complained flailing about like mad towards a now snickering Danny.

 “I’ve seen shapeshifting shots before… How do we know you’re the real Danny?” Mikey asked eyes wide.

 Danny blinked at his classmates in wonderment. They had just handed him an out, and who was he to not take advantage? Threatening up his stance and puffing out his chest and using a bit of his ghostly body control he makes himself appear smokey. “Alright ya got me,” Danny said with a shrug

 “What?!”          “Wait, what?”

 “You’re dead?!”

 Danny used his abilities to stretch his smile a little wider then what should be normal on a human. “I was hoping if I took an unassuming form you all looked down on I could throw you off but you win, you got me.”

 “Fenton I swear…,” Wes growled, while Danny did his best to stick in that uncanny valley zone.

 “So you are the ghost king?” Paulina asked excitedly.

 “What? Oh ancients no, I’m one of the contenders for the throne though,” Danny said, pulling his hand across his hips before falling into a deep bow channelling his inner medieval prince, he introduced himself. “I am…. Barrybum Roblix.” Danny stayed in his bow much longer than necessary to hide the smirk on his face. Once he got his features under control he stood straight once again, tilting his head too far to the side, “Just Barry is fine.”

 Wes was flabbergasted. Was this really happening? He finally gets Fenton right where he wants him and the half ghost has the gall to try and weasel his way out!? “No one’s buying this Fenton! So save your breath!”

 “What are you talking about? I speak the truth,” Danny chides crossing his arms and lifting a little off the ground to float within the confines of the circle.

 “Fenton can’t float.” Dash scoffs.

 “So, if you’re not the ghost king then this whole thing was a flop! How will I ever be able to get even a kiss from my ghostly prince charming now? You were supposed to be the king…” Palina pouted.

 “Well I’m able to shapeshift, If you release me from here I can imitate the one your thinking of.” Danny offered. “I’ll even give you that kiss”

 “Ew no, I don’t care how good you are at imitation I’m not kissing some random ghost.” Paulina shot back with a disgusted look on her face.

 “I think it’d be cool to have a pretend Phantom hanging out with us, imagine how much our popularity would skyrocket!” Star offers. “Think if we got him to imitate phantom and took a group photo-”

 “Oh~! I looove~ that idea Star! Then yes! We’ll release you if you can imitate Phantom.” Palina nodded eagerly.

 “Then ya got yourself a deal, we just gotta shake on it. Well, the one who read the spell does” Danny practically sing songed out as he stared down to Wes with a shit eating grin.

 “Go on! Shake the ghost’s hand” Dash said cracking his knuckles threateningly.

 “Wait, what!? He was brushing his teeth when he came here! This is clearly Fenton trying to trick you! How do you not see it!? There’s toothpaste spit on the floor…” he trailed off as he noticed the puddle of slop was no longer on the floor, and the toothbrush had disappeared. “Turning it invisible doesn’t mean it no longer exists.” Wes huffed.

 Danny shrugged in response to the redhead’s ranting.

 “Come on Wes just shake his hand so we can take some cool pictures!” Star says shoving the taller teen forward in annoyance.

 With a sneer, Wes approached Danny who’s grin hadn’t faltered the entire time. “I hate you” He growled out as Danny took the ginger’s hand in his cold one.

 “I know buddy” Danny chastized before letting his transformation rings wash over him.

 Wes glared at Danny, Now turned Phantom with renewed vigour, before the halfa flew upwards knocking Wes down as he does. The ginger made a disgusted face as he realized he’d landed his arm directly on the toothpaste slop Danny had spat out.

 The A-listers (plus Mikey) were over the moon seeing ‘Phantom’. “Huh, I’ve seen the real one and he’s definitely taller, but the face is almost spot on so no one will know if you float,” Dash says astutely.

 “Oh, I love it!” Paullina cooed. Hold still I want to get a full body shot! Throw a thumbs up and- Yes like that! Perfect! Okay now, Star! Take one with me in his arms!”

 And so it went, for a good twenty minutes with all the people in the room excitedly snapping pictures, Someone even stole Wes’s phone and took one of him behind Danny as the ghost lay on the ground with a wide grin.

 Once all the teens were satisfied with their snap happy adventure, and couldn’t think of any other pictures to pose with ‘Phantom’ the group prepared to bid ‘Barry’ goodbye.

 “This was fun but now that I’m in the human world I have people to meet and places to haunt. Etcetera and so forth…” Phantom said with a wave, smacking Wes on the back knocking him over once again, before disappearing from view.

 The only person who really noticed phantom’s departure, however, was Wes the others were too engrossed in the photos they had taken. “Oh my gosh look at this one! Oh, that one is so cute!” Star cooed over the camera roll Paulina had on her phone.

 Not that Dash and Kwan were any better, “No way man this one is sooo much cooler! Look at you here that one is bomb!”

 And even Mikey was furiously typing away on his phone as he blasted his ‘phantom photos’ all over his social media accounts.

 All the while Wes just sulked. He was so close! Everyone was heading towards the right conclusion only to have Fenton rip his victory like so many times before! It was infuriating! And just… “UGH!” Wes groaned and laid on his back in the circle where Danny had once been.

 “Oh! Let’s go upstairs and print off the best ones and make a college!” Star exclaimed excitedly jumping about like a rabbit that was given caffeine. “And you, nerd, can leave my house,” Star said shooing Mikey away.

 The nerdy teen simply nodded and began to gather up his camera and tripod. Once he was finished that task he left without another word. His voice echoed from upstairs as he began talking on the phone to someone nattering on about how he got photos with a Phantom, not Phantom.

 “Wes when you’re done wallowing you should leave too, you’re bringing down the whole vibe, man,” Kwan said to the dejected redhead on the ground.

 “Yeah, yeah, I got it…” he groaned out.

 Wes watched the group of A-listers go with a deep forlorn sigh. He laid on his back for a good solid ten minutes before he felt he had sufficiently wallowed enough. He rolls to his side and pushes himself into a standing position before letting his shoulders droop.

 With a final annoyed sigh, he began to walk forward. He got two steps before he was zapped. The redhead let out a yelp of surprise from the electric zap he had received. It wasn’t painful but it was a surprise.

 With a frown, he reaches out with a hand and rests it on the semi translucent barrier. It tingled through his skin and he couldn’t break past it. Wes couldn’t help but blink in confusion. “Wait… He didn’t…”

 He pounded on the barrier a few times with his fist and kicks at it a few times before groaning out in exasperation. “Damn it, Fenton, I have to pee!” He yells up to the ceiling, well aware the other teen was long gone by now.

 It didn’t stop him from glaring blankly ahead as if he could hear his nemesis’s chuckling and see that ever present shit eating grin.

 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 Complete

 Total word count 3020

#Phic Phight 2020 #Danny phantom #Danny #Mikey #Wes Weston #Paulina #Dash #Kwan #Star #A-List tries to summon a ghost

[sargeantwoof]

Bring Me Some Hope

Ned and MJ meet Peter's guardians - formally. Like now everyone knows they're dating.

******************************************

"So," MJ said as they slid into the back of Happy's car, each of them offering him a wave before gripping each other's hands again. "We're invited to dinner?"

Peter flushed lightly, his hands noticeably flexing in both their grips. "Yeah," he said, a small frown making its way onto his face. "But, you guys don't have to come," he said, the words dropping from his mouth faster than he was planning. "It's no biggie, really! I can tell Mr. Stark-"

"Of course we're coming over," Ned said, squeezing his hand. Peter blinked at him, swinging his head around to look at MJ who nodded at him, a smirk set on her face. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Peter blushed even more darkly, dipping his head and peeking up through his eyelashes. Ned and MJ exchanged a look, both holding back from rolling their eyes. If it had been anyone else, the nervous, unsure act would have felt fake but since it was Peter, they knew exactly how overwhelmed he could get with emotions.

MJ unlocked his hand from hers, gently looping her hand around his wrist and pushing her fingertips into the steady thrum of his heartbeat, anchoring herself to his veins. "C'mon, dork, whose going to be there tonight?" Peter's pulse picked up, but his face didn't change as he looked between the two of them.

"Uh, Pep wanted to meet you two?"

"Pep?" Ned said blankly before freezing. "Do you- do you mean Pepper Potts?"

Peter dropped his head again, groaning lightly. "Yeah Ned, I mean Pepper Potts."

"Holy shit," Ned said, a grin breaking out over his face. "She's the best!"

"I know," Peter said, smiling at him. "She's apparently excited to meet you too."

"Me?" Ned squeaked, swallowing hard. "She's- she's excited to meet-" He cut himself off, slumping back against the red leather car cushions, waving his free hand at the two of them. "Give me a minute."

Peter laughed softly, looking back to MJ. "You excited to meet her too?"

MJ nodded a quick flash of her teeth the only sign of the excitement. "Moreso because of who she is to you," she admitted after a minute. "Less so because she's Miss Potts."

"Dawww," Ned said, laughing at the glare she sent him. "That's so cah-uyte."

"Okay, fangirl," MJ replied dryly, the quirk of her lips belying her tone. "Like that's not a big reason you're excited and nervous too."

Ned shrugged, leaning further into Peter, who glanced up at MJ to double-check that she was good with him leaning onto her. She reached up, scratching through his hair gently before letting him fall slowly onto her. "I mean, I'm still nervous about seeing Mr. Stark tonight," he said. "And- Aunt May."

"What?" Peter said, his tone indignant. "Aunt May loves you!"

MJ rolled her eyes, reaching down to grip Ned's free hand, the three of them as entangled as they could be in the backseat. "It's because now they know we're dating, dweeb." She squeezed Ned's hand, a quick pulse to let him know that he wasn't alone in his nerves. "I don't think any of us have ever had to do the whole 'meet the parents' thing."

For a moment the car was silent, the only noise the thrum of the engine and faints honks from the street, the three of them absorbing that in before Peter snorted. "Well," he said, a sly tinge to his words. "Technically you still aren't."

MJ's mouth dropped open, Ned yanking his hand from hers and sitting up as quickly as he could, Peter sliding further down the seat as he began laughing, pulling his hands from theirs to try to prop himself back up. "Guys," he said, pausing to keep laughing for a beat before attempting to continue. "You- you should've seen your faces."

Ned glared at him, the fierceness of the look destroyed by the laughter in his eyes. "Peter! You can't just say that!"

Peter laughed again, pulling himself up from the sprawl he was in. "I'm sorry!" He said, biting his lip, the gesture doing nothing to hide his grin. "Forgive me?" He blinked at the two of them innocently.

"Ugh," Ned said, looking to MJ. "I can't be the one to decide this, I'm too weak."

MJ sniffed, a scowl set on her face. "I can," she said, nudging Peter with her knee. "No."

Peter turned to her, his eyes wide and his mouth trembling with the effort to keep from laughing again. "Please? I'll do whatever you want!"

MJ grinned, the sudden smile blooming across her face a surprise. "Then perish," she said. Peter blinked at her, his mouth dropping open. Ned chuckled, leaning over and slapping his hand against hers when she held hers out as Happy pulled into the Stark Industries garage and his subsequent door opening a perfect ending. She hopped out, smirking at Happy who rolled his eyes but obliged her fist bump, shooing them out of the car, Peter following a moment later.

"You're coming up for dinner right?" Peter hollered over his shoulder as he gently pushed them towards the elevator Friday was holding open.

Happy sighed. "Yeah kid," he said. "I'm about to go pick up your Aunt."

"Great!" Peter chirped. "You should let her sit upfront with you," he said, a teasing look on his face. "She likes it a lot."

"Okay, Romeo," Ned said, snagging his hand and yanking Peter into the elevator before Happy could yell back. "One day you're going to push him too far." The door shut behind them, MJ shaking her head at the two of them.

Peter shook his head, a grin playing around his lips. "He and May don't know that I know that they're kinda dating." Ned mock-gasped, his hand flying up to his face before Peter paled, glancing up at the ceiling. "Don't tell Mr. Stark, Fri," he said. "At least not tonight."

"Welcome back Peter," Friday said. "I can hold off on that until tomorrow afternoon if that is okay?"

"Perfect," Peter said, relaxing into Ned's shoulder. "Thanks, Fri, you're the best."

"Why do you have to tell Mr. Stark?" MJ asked a frown beginning to etch itself across her face.

Friday waited a beat, the elevator slowing as they neared the labs' floor. "Mr. Stark asks to be alerted any time Mr. Happy Hogan has a change in his relationship," she said. "The same protocol is in place for Colonel James Rhodes."

"Uh-huh," MJ said, as the doors opened, Peter grabbing her hand and tugging her down the hall. "Does he do that for Peter?"

"Hey!"

"No," Friday answered. "He is a minor and, quote, 'a spiderling'."

Ned nodded sagely. "That's fair."

'Hey!" Peter said again, swinging the lab door open. "Spiderman! I'm Spider-Man!"

"Sure thing, kid," Tony answered, wiping his hands on a towel. "If you say so." Peter groaned as Tony ignored him. "Ned, MJ, nice to see you again."

"Thanks- thank you, Mr. Stark, sir," Ned said, squeezing Peter's hand and flushing at the look he shot him. "What," he hissed, flicking his eyes between Tony and Peter. "I still get nervous and this- it's a big deal."

MJ said nothing for a moment before setting her bookbag down and crossing her arms, Peter's hand still clasped in hers. "Stop bugging my classrooms."

"Oh?" Tony said, delight spreading across his face, as he caught onto what she wasn't saying. "Only your classrooms?"

MJ shrugged, her face impassive. "Big brother is always watching in some way and, well, someone needs to look out for the spiderling." Tony snorted, nodding.

"This is a betrayal," Peter muttered darkly, dropping their hands and heading back to his desk. "See if I ever invite you over again."

Tony shot him a fond look over his shoulder before turning back to Ned and MJ. "So," he said, "what do you kids want to do in Candyland? Ned, you code, right?"

"Right!" Ned squeaked, his eyes wide. "I, uh, broke into the suit-" he cut himself off, paling rapidly. "Coding, yes, I like to code."

Tony narrowed his eyes at him for a beat before grinning. "I already know about the 'break-in'," he said, using air quotes around break-in. "You really thought that Karen wouldn't tell me?" Or, he added in his mind, that you could really break into Stark tech? Ned blinked at him, that panic fading only slightly from his face. Tony suppressed the smile that threatened to break out over his face, resigned, as always, to the burgeoning relationships Peter was dragging him into. He clapped Ned on his shoulder, leading him over to the desk across from Peter. "This is yours now," he said, smirking at the noise Ned made. "When you come with Pete next time, this can be your space." He narrowed his eyes, ignoring Peter's sigh and rolling eyes. "I can't promise I won't look over your stuff," he said. "But I won't tinker too much."

"Mr. Stark," Peter huffed, scrunching up his nose at him. "Leave Ned alone." Ned turned wide eyes on him, shaking his head at the teen.

Tony rolled his eyes, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Sometimes you're nothing but a brat, Parker."

"Learned from the best," Peter shot back cheekily, grinning at the mock-offended look Tony gave him.

He shook his head, turning around to look at MJ. "And you?"

"Me," MJ said, her tone dry.

"She likes to draw people in distress," Peter said, smiling at her. She heaved a sigh, looking back at Tony who was watching the two of them with soft eyes. Peter held out a hand, coaxing her forward. "If you don't want to draw, want to point out all the mistakes I make?"

She stepped forward, snagging a chair, a slow smile on her face. "You know I live for pointing out flaws," she said, dropping into the chair beside Peter, their hands sliding together.

Tony took a step back, not bothering to hide his smile. The three of them were something else, their ease and joy to simply be together a sight to behold. Ned ducked his head, already working hard on something, but as Tony watched, he extended his legs, hooking each of his ankles with MJ and Peter. Tony took another step back, glancing over at one of Friday's eyes and mouthing send that picture to May, Pepper, and I, before he wandered back to his desk, deadset on finally finishing the nanobot tech for Peter's new suit.

The hour passed quickly, each of them rapidly becoming absorbed in their work. At 6:30, a soft chime filled the air, causing all of them to jolt, Tony having remembered set an alarm for once. He didn't want to have to deal with Pepper and May at the same time, especially on such an important occasion.

Peter glanced up, watching fondly as MJ discarded an entire line of chemical equations, Ned grinning across the table at him. "Thanks for the help," Peter said, as Tony walked over to them. "I love it when you destroy months of hard work."

MJ shrugged. "It's why you keep me around," she said, stretching, her back popping. Peter said nothing, his eyes slipping down her body before he realized what he was doing, and flushed, yanking his eyes away from her, accidentally making eye contact with Tony. He blushed even harder when all Tony did was arch an eyebrow at him.

Tony hid his eye roll, instead clapping. "C'mon minions," he said. "Pep is home and I think she and May have broken out the wine."

"Great," Peter muttered, standing. "Tipsy Aunt May."

"I happen to love tipsy May," Ned said, grinning, MJ pulling him up from the chair and towards the elevator. "She always brings out your baby pictures." At Tony's interested look, Ned elaborated, the tension that he had been carrying since the doors first swung open fully sliding from his shoulders. "Peter liked to dress up as Iron Man-"

"Ned! C'mon man-"

MJ smirked at Ned, her hand clasped over Peter's mouth, as the four of them were brought up eight floors. "I don't think I've seen these yet."

"They're a delight," Ned said, as the doors whooshed open, so focused on embarrassing Peter that he hadn't realized the room they were heading into had Pepper. "He's all tiny with messy curly hair and a homemade Iron Man gauntlet."

A laugh broke the four of them from their focus, May and Pepper sitting at the table. "I love those pictures," May said, smiling at the way Peter flushed. "He wanted to be Iron Man when he grew up so badly."

Peter peeled MJ's fingers from his mouth, keeping her hand clasped in hers even. "And the one time I went to an event-"

May nodded, her face briefly pained before she shook it off. "It's always you, isn't it baby," she said, smoothing his hair back as he came to stand next to her, MJ tense at his side. Peter shrugged, leaning in to brush a kiss over her cheek before, pulling MJ closer. May turned her attention to her. "So, you must be the brilliant and mysterious Michelle."

"You can call me MJ, Ms. Parker," MJ said, blushing lightly.

"What!" Ned and Peter said together, glancing at each other before Peter continued. "We had to wait like a month to call you MJ."

MJ shrugged, the embarrassed look fading as Peter's gentle teasing steadied her. "Powerful women get more rights than teen boys."

May laughed, exchanging a look with Pepper. "You'll fit right in here," May said. "And please, call me May." MJ nodded, letting Peter tug her around the table to Pepper, Ned stepping forward to give May a cheek kiss and get swept into a bracing hug, May cupping her hands under his chin. "You, Mr. Leeds, need to come to visit, even when Peter is out." She said, before dropping her hands to point at MJ. "And bring your girlfriend too."

"Mayyyyyyy," Peter said, shifting on his feet, unable to hide his fondness for her under his embarrassment. "Stopppp."

May rolled her eyes, turning back the entrance of the kitchen where Tony stood, She gestured him forward, patting the seat on the bench next to her, leaning into him when he looped an arm around her. Tony brushed a kiss over her head, smirking at the pained look Peter sent him.

Peter held back from rolling his eyes, but only out of respect for Pepper, who caught the instinctive motion and shook her head. "I can't control him," she said, tossing a fond look over her shoulder. "A little attitude won't hurt."

"I'll keep that in line, Pep," Peter said, smiling at her. He reached out, grabbing Ned's hand, ignoring the way both he and MJ tightened their grips on his. "This is MJ," he said, giving her a soft smile. "My girlfriend. And Ned," he said, squeezing his hand tightly. "My boyfriend."

Pepper smiled, her face open and welcoming. "Peter's mentioned you two so much it feels like I'm meeting my own personal celebrities," she said, ignoring his quiet moan of embarrassment. "I hope Tony's made you feel welcome."

"Hey," Tony began, only to be cut off by May's elbow to his ribs.

"We were, Miss Potts," Ned said, his eyes shining with happiness. "Mr. Stark has been super welcoming."

Pepper raised an eyebrow at Ned and glanced at MJ to confirm. MJ nodded, a small smile on her face. Pepper outright grinned, twisting slightly to look back at Tony. "So you can be welcoming," she said. "I'll remember that."

"I'm always welcoming," Tony snarked back, mock-offended. "But I was especially welcoming for the kid."

Peter sighed, having given up on attempting to control any of the embarrassing moments between them. "Where's Happy?" He asked, glancing around suddenly. "He's coming to dinner, right?"

Tony nodded. "He'll be up in a moment," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at May who rolled her eyes. "He's bringing up the food."

"Stop teasing them, Tony," Pepper said, her smile growing as Tony immediately stopped wiggling his eyebrows. "Set the table if you're going to start causing problems."

"Yes, ma'am," Tony said, sliding out from the bench and brushing a kiss on Pepper's head as he walked further into the kitchen, disappearing from view.

"So," Pepper said, gently nudging the bench next to her out with her foot and gesturing for them to sit. "How were all of your days today?"

Peter let go of Ned and MJ's hands, letting them slide onto the bench first before sliding in between MJ and Pepper, May getting up from her spot across from them and sitting kitty-corner to Ned. "It was good," Peter said, hooking his ankle with MJs in an unconscious move. "Pretty boring."

"Boring?" Pepper said, her brow furrowing. "I thought-"

"Where do you want the plates?" Tony said, interrupting Pepper, and offering Peter a sly wink before focusing back on her.

She frowned, things clicking into place before she wiped the emotion from her face. "I figured we could eat here," she said, scooching back a little bit to let him set the plates down. Tony nodded, slinging his legs over the bench and sliding in next to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before glancing down to May.

"You okay down there?"

May blinked at him, her steely-eyed look fading as everyone looked. "I'm fine, Tony," she said, fond exasperation in her tone. She opened her mouth, turning to MJ but the elevator sliding open cut her off.

"Traffic was awful," Happy said, as he entered, peering over a stack of five large pizza boxes. "Some jackass almost gridlocked Midtown." He placed the boxes down, sighing, before looking over at the three teens sandwiched in-between every important adult in Peter's life. "I see you haven't started grilling them too harshly yet."

"Happy," Peter groaned, as May laughed. "I thought you were on my side."

Happy snorted, opening a box up and sliding it to Tony. "Not after what you pulled today, kid," he said, slipping in neatly next to May.

"What does that mean?" Tony asked, handing a piece off to Pepper.

Happy looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry boss, classified."

Tony's mouth dropped open, shock clear in his eyes. Pepper rolled her eyes, patting him on the chest. "Leave it alone," she advised before turning back to face them. "How was your day, Ned? MJ?"

"Oh, it was good, Miss Potts," Ned said, glancing at Peter and relaxing slightly at the smile he got in return. "We just had a mini-decathlon practice, which MJ is the captain of, but, it was really a normal boring day at school."

"Please," Pepper said, taking a sip of wine. "Call me Pepper or Pep, I get enough of Miss Potts at work." Ned smiled at her, delight clear on his face. Pepper continued, "And can I just say that I think it's fantastic that you're the captain, MJ?" She gave Peter a fond look. "It's hard enough corralling one brilliant teen, but trying to make a whole group of them work together? That must be even harder."

MJ shrugged, setting her piece of pizza down on her plate and wiping her fingers on her napkin before looking at Pepper. "Thanks," she said, a light blush dusting its way across her cheeks. "I enjoy it though, and so-" she shrugged again, before knocking her shoulders into Ned's and Peter's. "When they're smart, they're smart, you know?"

Pepper nodded, giving Tony a fond look. "I know."

Tony glanced at her, blinking. "Were you talking to me?" He asked, gesturing wildly with his pizza. "I wasn't paying attention." He glared down the table at Happy. "I was trying to get him to tell me what Pete said."

"I'm sure it was going to work eventually," Pepper said, patting his hand, winking at Peter when he snorted.

Peter grinned at her, his smile almost overtaking his face. He leaned into MJ, taking a bite of his pizza, watching as Ned leaned into her too. As Tony gave up on intimidating Happy and began to tell a ridiculous story about the last time he was in Prague, Ned extended his free arm, sliding it onto MJ's lap. She glanced down and rolled her eyes but freed one of her arms too, snagging Peter's open hand and bringing it to her lap, letting the two of them link pinkies.

May leaned into Happy, watching her nephew settle against his girlfriend and hold hands with his boyfriend and sighed, her heart full of love. She looked across the table, meeting both Pepper and Tony's eyes, all of them in complete agreement about the adorableness of the three. Tony kept talking, the fondness in his eyes unmistakable as he watched them. May sighed again, drowsy and comfortable in the kitchen of Stark Tower, completely and absolutely content.

#peter/ned/mj #peter & tony #Peter & pepper #peter & may #aunt may #tony stark #pepper potts #an equilateral triangle #sargeantwoof #ao3 #ao3 fic #fanfic #marvel cinematic universe #spider-man: homecoming #au #tony stark acting as peter parkers parental figure #pepper potts acting as pet3er parkers parental figure #meeting the parents #may parker #happy hogan #ned leeds #peter parker #michelle jones

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 13

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 13 - 11 Years

~29 August 2005~

“Hum de dum…” Rex could not contain his happiness as Ptera drove Weevil and him to his first day of college. He had spent a good deal of that morning preening himself, and even wore his hair in a low ponytail for the occasion.

“I don’t know why you’re so proud of yourself,” Weevil thought aloud. Unlike his boyfriend, Weevil had been sleeping until about ten minutes ago. He was never the type to spend any significant time getting ready for something. He ate the breakfast that Ptera had cooked for everyone, hoping that his groggy head would go away soon. “Getting accepted via the waitlist isn’t exactly a great honour.”

“Ah, shaddap. I’m a student of Domino City University, and nothing’s gonna change that.”

Weevil yawned. “But did we have to get up so early? Our first class isn’t even until noon.”

“Yeah, but I heard there is a morning club fair going on. I wanted to check it out before class.”

Ptera parked the car into a spot; she had just barely beaten someone else, who flicked her off before driving for another spot. “Look at my little man, being such a proactive student already! Have a good first day, Rex! Don’t forget to call me if you need anything!”

Rex felt embarrassed as his mother kissed his cheek, and a few passing older students giggled watching them. “Mom, I’m not little anymore - in fact, I’m far from it. May I remind you I’m now so heavily pregnant that I’m wearing maternity clothes?” Rex gestured towards his baggy beige pants. He wore a black maternity shirt that said “Mamasaurus,” with a dinosaur on it that vaguely resembled Two-Headed King Rex.

Tears of joy formed at the corners of Ptera’s eyes. “You’re growing up too fast.”

“Okay, Mom, love you.” After a few more hugs and kisses, Rex and Weevil entered the grand courtyard, complete with a reflecting pond. As it was the first day of school - and on the day of a club fair, at that - the university had well over 20000 students this day. In the sea of wildly varying hair and skin colours, Rex recognized a few faces from his senior class. Naturally, they acted like the buffoons they were when they were still in high school. One even tried to take a dip in the reflecting pond before being chased out by a dean.

But other than that, most of the student body seemed dignified. He was pleasantly surprised to see that there weren’t just young adults in the student body, there were a few middle-aged and senior citizens too. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Amber suddenly coming at him with, “Hi, guys! So, you made it into university, Rex. Congratulations.”

“I’m not surprised that you made it too,” spoke Rex.

“Wiiiiith a full ride,” Amber practically sang.

“No need to rub it in. Again.”

“Plus, going to university is now free,” Weevil remarked. “Or have you not been watching the news lately?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. If you’re here for the club fair, it’s just past the student union, which is pretty far from here. Come.” Amber didn’t like how both boys seemed hesitant to talk to her. Then again, she expected it, since they hadn’t contacted each other since their café visit almost a month ago, and the tiring battle that soon followed it. “So, how are things?”

“I’ve finally said goodbye to that sack of shit I once called ‘Father,’” Weevil replied. “And the best part is, I never have to see him again! Adelaide and I live with Rex now. Oh, yeah, Adelaide is my friend who taught me how to duel.”

“I see. I suppose some congratulations are in order.”

“It makes me happy not only to get away from that toxic man, but also to see the growth of my child.”

“Ah…” For the first time, Amber had noticed Rex’s baby bump, and stopped to touch it. “How fortunate for you.”

“Amber?” Rex looked at the raven-haired girl quizzically. Her face had taken on a longing expression he had never seen before. “You’re acting weird.”

“S-Sorry!” Amber quickly retracted her hand and continued the walk to the student union. “It’s so rude to touch a pregnant person’s belly without permission. I… That was wrong of me.”

“Dude, it’s fine,” Rex laughed.

The trio enjoyed a few more seconds of silence before arriving at the bustling student union. The first thing Rex noticed a giant mobile with a mosaic-like pattern hanging from the ceiling. There were so many different restaurants that he feared he would get nauseous again - so he was surprised to find out he still felt fine.

 Amber pointed to a group that approached her. “I’ll tell you what’s not fine… These guys.”

“Hey, would you like to join Domino’s Finest Society?” spoke a red-haired man, who appeared to be the club’s president. He had a gaggle of other officers behind him in colourful, goofy garb.

“You sure sound full of yourselves,” Rex guffawed.

“Who asked you, ignoramus?” spoke the orange-haired vice president of the club, who put her hands at her hips. “We don’t need the opinion of the one who graduated at the bottom of Domino High School’s class.”

“Huh! Ignore him,” a green-haired young woman snorted. “Just his presence is befouling the room.”

“But you, on the other hand…” The purple-haired secretary placed his hand on Weevil’s shoulder. “We could use you. To think that the top two students of Domino High School would attend this esteemed university… How fortunate we are!”

“Beat it, ya freaks!” Amber snorted as she beckoned for Rex and Weevil to follow her. “Come on, you two, let’s not give them the time of day.”

“Uh… Okay.” As Rex turned to leave, he made sure to give the president a good grimace. “Amber, who are they? Besides people I would certainly like to smack upside the head right now.”

“They’re apparently a society of only the highest I.Q. individuals. Apparently, the founding president had an I.Q. of 300. A load of hogwash, that is. Even with my good grades, mine is only 150.”

“‘Only…’” Rex’s eyebrow twitched.

“So why didn’t you join them, then?” Weevil questioned.

“Because there’s this other club I’d much rather join instead. Let me show you!” With that, Amber led her friends past the Legalize Recreational Marijuana Club (Rex had to admit he was mildly interested in it) to a booth with various types of playing cards.

“Ta-dah! This is what I’ve been wanting to show you!”

Rex looked at the sign. “‘Domino Tabletop Gaming?’”

“If you like tabletop games, you’ve come to the right place!” The president lit up when he saw Rex. “We have traditional games, we have more modern ones… And you bet your bottom dollar we have Duel Monsters.”

“All right, I know which one I’m joining!” Amber picked up a pamphlet. 

“What is this? The Amber of Domino High School has chosen us over Domino’s Finest Society?” 

The president got so excited that he took Amber’s hands into his own, which she was quick to snatch away. “Don’t get any funky ideas, man.”

“Hehehe…” An approaching student temporarily distracted the president. “Well, hello there. Would you like to join Domino Tabletop Gaming?”

Rex wasn’t expecting to see Mako there. Unlike most of the members of the “Dweeb Patrol,” he found his presence to be just fine.“Oh! Mako Tsunami, I didn’ t know you were a student here. I thought you’d be off fishing in a new boat or something.”

“I decided to start taking classes here, hoping to be a marine biologist. While fishing as a side hustle, of course.”

“Then we’ll be schoolmates, then.” Weevil’s eyebrow twitched as he recalled his not-so-friendly, very brief encounter with Mako at Battle City. “Charmed. And we’ll be even more charmed to see you at the Tabletop Gaming Club.”

“Y-Yeah…” Mako scanned his surroundings, as if he were looking for someone. “Bummer. I thought that Espa was going to be here, but… I guess he won’t be joining the club after all.”

“It’s not like today’s a deadline to join a club,” the club president chuckled. “You can still tell your friend about it, and he can join if he’s interested.”

“Phew, thank goodness.”

“Why, did you have something you wanted to say to him?” Rex asked.

“I… um…” Mako began to act coy, very much unlike his usual proud demeanour. “I just wanted to apologize to him. I guess I’ll… um… just wait until the club meeting, then.”

“Hmm…” Rex raised an eyebrow as he watched Mako walk off. “I wonder if there’s something interesting going on between those two.”

“Even if there was, it’s really none of our business.” Weevil decided to change the subject. “Anyway, Mr. President… Sir, as a president of a tabletop gaming club, you should know something. I saw some really awry real visions a few weeks ago. They attacked me, but there didn’t seem to be any duelists nearby.”

“Real visions gone bad, you say?” The president scratched his chin. “I can’t say that any of my club members have anything to do with it. That sounds like something you’d need to bring up with KaibaCorp. But if it makes you feel any better, we can talk about it at the meeting.”

“Would you really? Thank you; that means a lot.”

“Anyway, nice seeing you!” The president waved at the three as they left for the nearby dining hall to get brunch. “Our first meeting is tomorrow at 7pm! We hope to see you there.”

“Hmm…” Rex took a look at the pamphlet while he let Weevil pay for their food. “The second day of school is a bit soon for a club meeting, don’t you think?”

“Maybe so.” Amber saved a table for her and Rex; before either of them knew it, the bug duelist was already out to get their food. “Weevil’s a kind young man, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know about that… We still get into quarrels about dueling strategies and such. And if you ask Yugi and his friends, he’s what you would call a ‘duelin’ disgrace.’”

“I wouldn’t have thought that with the way he treats you like a princess.”

As they conversed, the trio learned that they shared the exact same class at noon - freshman composition with Professor Dick Hwad. But that was the only class they had together at the same time. For obvious reasons, Rex had a much lighter schedule; he only had one other class that day - ancient history at 3pm. Weevil’s and Amber’s schedules were nearly identical, with calculus classes, anatomy classes, and a few other classes with such specific subjects that Rex didn’t want to try to understand.

After brunch, Rex, Weevil, and Amber took a seat at a small table in their freshman comp classroom.

“For this being a required class for all freshmen, it sure is a small one,” Amber noticed. “I’d say this room can’t fit more than 20 people.”

After about 15 minutes, the teacher had not yet arrived, even though it was the start of class. “Say, isn’t there a college rule that if the teacher is more than 15 minutes late, then class is unofficially cancelled?” Rex asked Amber.

“Keyword, ‘unofficially.’ And you’ll find out that’s just one of the many unwritten rules college students have made.”

Just then, the door barged open, and a man with goofy glasses ran to the podium. “Hello, everyone, sorry I’m late!”

Amber had already turned to leave the classroom, and the arrival of her professor prompted her to sit back down. As soon as he got himself settled, he returned to his dignified composure.

As Professor Hwad set up his PowerPoint presentation, Weevil whispered, “He sure seems like a scatterbrain, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, well it’s better than being a dino brain.” Rex made finger guns at Weevil.

Ignoring what Rex just said, Amber replied, “He may seem like a scatterbrain, but he’s actually pretty smart. I heard he graduated this university when he was only 20.”

“Huh.” Rex looked at the first slide of the PowerPoint presentation; it appeared to be the class syllabus. He squinted at the materials list and raised his hand. When Professor Hwad called on him, he said, “I didn’t know ‘Internet’ counted as a class material.”

“You’ll find that unlike high school, college is technologically-oriented,” answered Professor Hwad. “Your assignments, as well as copies of my PowerPoint presentations, will be found on our class website.”

“Oh? Then why come to class?”

“Young man, if everyone in college could get by on just reading PowerPoint presentations, then everyone would pass. Plus, you will have in-class presentations as part of your grade.”

Rex sat back down, and didn’t like how Weevil and his classmates snickered at him. He never thought he’d hear that signature laugh of his again. “Haha! It’s only the first 20 minutes of class, and you’ve already made a fool of yourself. Good going, dino brain.”

Rex watched the rest of this presentation with a pouting face. Though that pouting face soon faded as Professor Hwad cracked a few funny jokes throughout - something that his high school teachers dared not to do. He never thought that a teacher could be strict and goofy at the same time, yet here he was. College can’t be this fun… can it?

Luckily, class was over 15 minutes before class was set to end, which gave Professor Hwad an idea. “Since you will be spending the next four months or so together, and since this class will involve a lot of group work, the last 15 minutes of class will be for an icebreaker. When it’s your turn, state your name, your major if you’ve declared it, and a few facts about yourself.”

A few of the introverts - Weevil included - squirmed at this idea yet didn’t feel brave enough to just up and leave. Rex, however, was as outgoing as they come. Even before it was his turn, he shot up and spoke, “Yup, I’m the one and only Rex Raptor, runner-up in the regionals! I love dinosaurs more than anything else in the world! And… uh… I actually haven’t the faintest clue what I want my major to be. Truth be told, I’m only here because Weevil is.”

“Yes, we know,” spoke a young male student from the table behind Rex. “We all saw you get your ass handed to you at that match.”

“Naw, I let Weevil win that one.”

Professor Hwad interrupted this quarrel. “Well, I’m glad we already have some sense of camaraderie. Speaking of Weevil, I believe it’s your turn.”

“Yes, well.” Weevil got up and cleared his throat. “I am the salutatorian of Domino High School’s graduating class, Weevil Underwood. And unlike certain dino brains which shall remain nameless, I have come to college to show the world how smart I am.”

“Hmm, maybe teaching would be a good profession for you, then.” Professor Hwad smiled. “We’re down to our last two people. And you, young lady?”

Amber stood up. “My name is Amber, and I graduated at the top of the class from Domino High School. I love Duel Monsters! By the way, if anyone wants to duel me, you know where to find me.”

Professor Hwad spoke through the men’s whistling, “And your major?”

“I already have declared mine to be Education - Life Sciences. I want to be a biology professor.”

“And at the tender age of 16!” Professor Hwad was clearly impressed. “The world needs more teachers, especially potential ones of your caliber. Thank you, Ms. Amber, you may take a seat.”

“Wow, Amber, I didn’t know that,” Rex also sounded impressed. “You should have told us.”

“I didn’t know you were only 16, either,” spoke Weevil. “I can see why you took the valedictorian spot from me.”

“Hehehe… Thanks, guys.” Amber stopped talking when she noticed the last person about to speak her piece. She was a middle-aged woman with mint green hair, tied up in a traditional Japanese bun, with traditional Japanese clothes to match. “Wow, what an unusual hair colour. The only people I’ve seen with hair like that are Espa Roba, and of course you, Weevil.”

“Speaking of Espa, we just might see him in one of our other classes,” Rex whispered to Weevil.

“Um… Hello.” This woman was clearly shy around her new classmates - embarrassed, even, for being the oldest student there. “My major is Biomedical Sciences. I want to be a doctor, even though I don’t know what kind yet. Some of you may be wondering why I’m so late into my college career. Well, I had an abusive husband, who kicked me out of the house 11 years ago.”

“‘Kicked me out of the house 11 years ago…’” Weevil pondered this woman’s words for a while, and his eyes opened wide. “That’s about when Mother was kicked out of the house!”

“My husband didn’t let me study when I lived in that house. All he saw me for was a housewife. The only thing I had in that house was my then-8-year-old son. I’m here today because I want to make a better career for myself, one that my son can be proud of.”

“What a story!” This woman’s speech moved everyone in the room - some even to tears - not the least was Professor Hwad. “Except it’s missing one thing. Your name.”

“My name is Camellia Kaiba, sister of the late Gozaburo Kaiba. My brother practically gave me as a ‘gift,’ if you will, to my husband to symbolize their new business partnership. But their one-upmanship got so out of hand that eventually, my husband left KaibaCorp to start his own company.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re here. We’re about five minutes early, but I’ll dismiss class anyway. Be sure to read the syllabus and check the class website! If you have questions, you may contact me through there.”

“Well, time to move onto the next enchilada, as they say.” Rex motioned to take a short break before his next class, but stopped when he noticed Weevil approach Camellia, and followed him. “Weeves?”

“Wait!” Weevil stopped Camellia just before she could leave.

“Hey…” Camellia stared into Weevil’s eyes. “Can… Can it be?”

Weevil knelt to the ground and immediately began to cry. “I… I… I never thought… that after 11 years, we would meet like this…”

“You’re…” Camellia knelt down, still not believing the sight of the person before her.

“Mother!” Weevil threw himself at Camellia, burying his face into her chest. “Oh, Mother!”

“Weevil, my son…” Camellia patted her son’s hair and cried too. “I’ve missed you… My sweet son, I’ve missed you so much. You’ve grown into such a handsome young man.”

After Weevil stopped crying, he let his mother wipe away his remaining tears. “Mother, there’s so much I want to tell you, so much I want to talk to you about. I’ve finally cut ties with Fa- with Roach. So has Adelaide.”

“Adelaide is with you?”

“Yeah, we moved in with Rex and his family.”

“Rex?”

Rex revealed himself. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”

“I didn’t know that this young man was a friend of yours.”

Weevil hadn’t prepared to meet his mother, let alone come out to her. But after all they had been through, he didn’t need to prepare himself. “Mother, there’s something I have to tell you. I’m a bit scared to do this, since Roach disowned me for it, but… I’m gay, and Rex is my boyfriend.”

“Ooh, you make a cute couple!” Camellia grinned. “In fact, I kind of thought that way after I saw you two hug after regionals.”

“You actually saw that?!” Weevil hid his face in his hands. 

“Actually, I’m more impressed by the fact she started shipping us long before we became an item.” Rex winked, eliciting a flick on the nose from Weevil.

“You’re okay with it, then?” Weevil asked, still a bit nervous.

“That you had the courage to tell me just makes me all the more proud of you, son. I love you no matter what.” Camellia let Weevil cry on her shoulder again.

“Sooo…” Rex still tried to process the fact that he had just met his boyfriend’s mother in the strangest of circumstances. “If you’re Weevil’s mom, and you’re the sister of Gozaburo, then… that makes Weeves…”

“...the nephew of Gozaburo, and therefore the rightful heir to KaibaCorp,” Weevil finished.

“Whoa.” Rex blinked. “That’s wild. There’s still so much I haven’t learned about you, baby.”

“Ah! Thank you for reminding me. Mother, you’ll be glad to know that you’re going to be a grandmother. Rex is not only intersex, but he’s also 22 weeks pregnant.”

“Is that so?” Camellia curiously reached for Rex’s baby bump. “M-May I?”

“Of course.”

“Are you… Do you feel all right?” Camellia asked as Weevil put his hand on the baby bump too.

“Eh. My back hurts, and I have to go to the bathroom, like, every hour. But other than that, I can manage.” Rex stopped talking when he felt the baby move. “Oh! What was that?”

Camellia and Weevil felt it too. “Rex… I think… that these are our baby’s first kicks!”

“Oh, Weeves…” As if there hadn’t been enough crying that day, Rex shed his own tears of joy as he talked to his unborn child. He couldn’t be happier to experience yet another pregnancy milestone, especially with Weevil there to experience it with him. “I know, I know, you want out. Don’t worry, we’ll all get to meet you in another four months. And when we do, you’ll get the best party ever!”

Amber watch this scene from near the classroom door. The next class already started to file into the room. “So are you guys going to go to your next class, or what?”

“I’m right behind you.” Weevil started walking to the door, but not without asking Camellia, “What about you?”

“This actually is my next class. But here’s my phone number…” Camellia exchanged phone numbers with Weevil. “We can catch up later.”

“And I should totally invite her over, hehe.” Rex sat on a nearby bench after they left. “Amber, you’re more than welcome to join us, too.”

“...I have a class to get to, so I’ll catch you later.” And with that, Amber was suddenly gone.

“She doesn’t seem all too excited about the baby, does she?” Rex wondered out loud. “But whatever. I think, Weeves, that this is going to be a fun college career.”

#yugioh #shrimpshipping #mpreg #fanfiction #ygo #ryuhaga #rex raptor #weevil underwood #dinosaur ryuzaki #insector haga #I love love LOVE every single little cute thing about this pregnancy uwu