Author's note: Hi everyone! Thanks so much for checking out my story! So, this is supposed to take place sometime in the two weeks where everyone is back in their own time period (if you don't know what I'm talking about, read Back to the Past!). I hope you like it! Please click the "follow author" button so that you'll know when I publish the first chapter of Into the Future!
I do not own Danny Phantom; Butch Hartman does.
I only own this story. This is completely original work. Please do not steal it.
xxxxxx
The steam from Sam's quick, but hot shower still coated the bathroom mirror, even after she had left to put on her outfit for the night.
She came back in and stood in front of the mirror.
"Ugh, really?"
Sam grabbed a rag from underneath the sink and wiped the mirror clean.
She only had half an hour to get ready; she grabbed her eyeshadow.
Meanwhile, Danny walked towards the end of the hallway, where he could hear a guitar playing.
He smiled and knocked at the closed door.
"It's open," he could hear faintly.
Danny opened it to find his daughter sitting by the window with her blue acoustic guitar and a notebook open.
"Writing a new song?" he said.
"Just a short one," she said.
"Ah."
"You look nice, Dad."
He took another look at himself: dress shirt, gray tie, black pants with a belt.
"I'm not used to dressing like this."
"It's simple, yet elegant. You'll have the ladies falling all over you."
He chuckled.
"Pass. I've got the best of the best."
"Daddy!" Megan screeched.
She ran towards her father in her pink pajamas and latched onto his leg.
"Hey there, Megan."
"Daddy, stay here! Don't leave me alone with Tara!" she whined.
"Meg, let Mom and Dad go to their…thing. What exactly is it again? It's like a high school reunion, but not?"
"It's an unofficial high school reunion. Our old classmate Valerie is visiting from Scotland, so her friend Star is throwing a little get-together for her before she goes back."
"Oh, okay."
"Daddy, can I come too?" Megan asked. "Do I have to stay alone with Tara?"
"Trust me, hun, you wouldn't want to be there. It's full of old people. So boring. And you won't be alone. Vanessa will be coming over too," Danny said.
"She is? This is news to me," Tara said.
"It was last minute. Tucker texted me saying that when he comes over to carpool, he'll be bringing her too."
"Savvy."
"Can you play make-believe with me until Uncle Tuck gets here?" She looked up at her father with large, pleading eyes.
"Oh, alright. But just for a little bit; they should be here any minute."
"Yay!" she squealed.
Megan turned at her heel and ran back to her room.
"Hey, Dad, could you please close the door on your way out?"
"Sure, no problem," Danny said, and he closed it.
He headed towards his other daughter's room and found her by the bed, wearing a child-sized white lab coat and with a play medical kit.
"Sit down, patient," Megan said as she motioned to her bed.
Danny smiled, knowing exactly what his lines were.
He threw one hand up to his forehead while he leaned over and held his stomach with the other.
"Oww, Doctor Megan, it hurts! My stomach hurts!"
Danny trudged to her small bed and flopped on top of it.
Megan pulled her case up on the bed and opened it.
"Well, first, I need to check your heartbeat," she said as she pulled out the plastic stethoscope.
"But Doctor, the problem is with my stomach, not my heart."
"Shhh! I am the Doctor! I know everything!"
He laughed. "Okay, then."
Megan placed the resonator on his shirt.
"Oh, no!" she cried. "I can't hear a beat!"
She snatched her blood pressure gauge.
"Don't you think you should deal with the heartbeat first, before checking my blood pressure?"
"I'M THE DOCTOR!"
"Okay, okay, whatever you say, Doc."
As they continued playing pretend, Sam looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the bedroom.
She was satisfied with the way her strapped heels matched her short, black, semi-sheer dress, not to mention the way her light purple eye shadow made her eyes pop.
Ding dong!
"Barely made it," she said with a sigh.
"I'll get it!" Tara yelled.
"No, I've got it," Sam said.
She strode in front of Tara and made her way down the stairs, to the front door. She opened it.
"Hi!" Tucker and Vanessa said in unison.
"Hi, Tucker. Hi, Vanessa," Sam said. "Great to see you both."
"You look great, Sam!"
"Thanks, Tucker," Sam said. "You don't look so bad yourself. Had to dig up that suit from the back of your closet?"
"It's like you know what I've been doing for the past hour."
"What up Tarz!" Vanessa said.
Tara squinted her eyes. "Vanessy."
"Ew, don't call me that."
"Then don't call me Tarz."
"That's fair. Anyways, I brought my ukulele." She held up her small stringed instrument.
"Sweetness. I could use a jam session right about now."
They could hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Hey, Sam, do you have…" Danny started, but froze when he saw his wife looking back at him.
"Do I have what?"
"You look…amazing."
She smiled. "Thanks, Danny."
"Do you, um, have the money for the girls?"
"Yeah, it's right by the phone."
Sam then turned towards Tara and Vanessa.
"Now remember Tara: under absolutely no circumstances are you allowed in the basement. You girls can order Chinese food, if you want; just make sure somebody's watching the door for when the drone comes to deliver it."
"Okay, Mom."
"And make sure Megan doesn't stay up past her bedtime. Don't do anything stupid—"
"Okay, Mom."
"And don't throw any wild parties!"
"Mom! Seriously, do you really think we're that kind of people?"
Danny took his wife's hand.
"She's done this before, relax," he said.
"I'll relax once I know I can trust her again."
"Mommy's gorgeous!" Megan yelled from the top of the stairs.
Danny laughed.
"I already knew that," he said. "Alright, we'll be going now."
"Bye! You don't have to worry about a thing!" Vanessa said.
"Bye-bye, Mommy and Daddy," Megan said sadly.
"Have fun! Drive safe!" Tara said, and closed the door.
xxxxxxx
Danny parked the car in the apartment complex's outdoor parking lot. The clock in his car read 8:00 pm.
"There sure are a lot of cars here," he said.
"I bet they're all here for the party," Sam said as she rolled her eyes.
"You really don't want to be here, do you, Sam?" Tucker asked while unbuckling himself.
"I could think of a million other things I'd rather be doing right now than seeing a bunch of people who either bullied us or ignored us during high school." She slammed the car door.
"I'm with you," Danny said as he closed the car door. "At this point, paying the electricity bill sounds like more fun than being here. But we're here for Valerie. We've managed to patch things up with her; we should say hello."
"Fine," she said.
Danny looped his arm around her waist and the group started walking.
"But I don't want to stay for very long," she continued. "Just hello, a couple of drinks—except for you, Danny, since you're driving—and we're gone."
"Oh, totally. I always get a little nervous whenever I leave Vanessa home alone," Tucker said.
"Now, where's Star's apartment?" Danny said.
"Maybe it's the one with the blue balloons in front of it?" Tucker said as he pointed up towards a door with balloons tied to the mailbox.
They took the elevator closest to the apartment and walked to the front door, where they could hear the muffled sounds of laughter and music.
Danny rang the doorbell. No answer.
He frowned and rang the doorbell again.
Star at last opened the door. The three tried to not drop their jaws when they saw how dramatically she had changed from all the plastic surgery she had done over the years.
"Danny! Sam! Tucker!" she said, her face struggling to smile against her tight skin from the facelift. She motioned them in. "Come on in!"
The place was packed; chatty adults in fancy clothing, carrying either wine glasses or small plates of finger food, seemed to fill every corner of the room. On the dining table were various alcoholic beverages; bottles of soda; and large plates stocked with chips, fresh fruits and vegetables, and mini pizzas. The stereo played Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off".
"I stay out too late…Got nothing in my brain…"
Danny felt his shirt being yanked downwards.
"Kill me now," Sam whispered harshly into his ear.
"Hey, everyone!" Star yelled back. "Look who's here! It's Danny, Sam, and Tucker!" No one stirred.
She turned back to the trio.
"Make yourselves at home, guys!"
"Uh, thanks," Tucker said.
"So, where's Valerie?" Danny asked.
"She's not here yet," Star said. "This whole party's a surprise!"
Star then headed back towards the mob of people; her considerably large butt barely moved as she walked, due to her obvious buttock lift.
"I hope Valerie gets here soon, because I already want out," Sam said.
"You know what? I feel the same way," Tucker said.
"Can't we just give her a call later?" Sam said.
"No, we really should do this in person," Danny said.
Tucker sighed. "I guess I'll hit up the food table…"
He left, and Sam shook her head.
"Just like high school."
"Except we're different now. Look, most of our class isn't even here—they all left this town years ago. This shouldn't be so bad," Danny said.
"Well, let's not stand here awkwardly. I'm gonna go walk around."
"Okay. If you need anything, let me know."
"Like the car keys? Yeah, I'll let you know."
Sam walked towards the bar and sat on one of the stools.
"Hey, Sam! Remember me?"
Sam looked up at the woman on the other side of the bar table. She had brightly dyed red hair and a few wrinkles on her face.
"Sorry, can't say that I do…"
"Aw, come on. Remember? I had short hair? Highlighted it green? Wore band t-shirts? We were witches in the Macbeth play together?"
Sam's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Mr. Lancer's play! Virginia, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Wow! So, what are you doing these days?"
"I'm a bartender and on my third marriage."
"Oh…um…"
"Yeah, my life pretty much sucks. Not that high school was any better. Star invited me to this party not just as a guest, but to also make drinks for people."
"Ouch."
"So…anything I can make for you?"
At the other side of the room, Danny absentmindedly nodded along to everything Star was saying.
"I can't believe what an amazing turnout we've had for this party!" Star said. "You know, at first I was so worried that no one would show up, but then all these people RSVP'd and I got so worried that there would be way too many people to fit in my apartment…"
…Okay, I've got to pay the electric bill, the water bill…, Danny thought.
"…And I made, like, a cute little throwback playlist, hence the Taylor Swift…"
…I should give Jazz a call. See how she and her boyfriend are doing…
"…I don't know why she's still trying to sing after all these years! I mean, hello, this isn't 2015! It's like Madonna, you know? They have a golden age, and then there's a time when they've got to stop."
"Huh?" Danny said as he snapped back to reality.
Star didn't hear him; she was too busy drinking the last of her cocktail.
"Anyway, I think I'm the only person Valerie ever stayed in contact with," Star said.
"Well, she did want to get out of here. After all, she only applied to international colleges."
"Yeah. I'm glad we were able to rebuild our friendship after…you know, she went poor. But she's doing well now! Living the single life, focusing on her fancy-shmancy career, and now's she back to being rich!"
"Well, if she's happy, then I'm happy for her."
"We have a handful of successful people in our class! We've got Valerie, me…except my love life could improve. Being separated is…well, let's not get into that.
Tucker's also pretty successful! And then, of course, there's you and Sam! How's your paranormal investigation business going?"
"It's doing well! The newest employees just went through their first round of intensive training. I've met them all, and they seem like a great bunch of people.
I'm glad we're having all this help, especially because this gives Tara time for school, family and friends, and to just be a kid…things I couldn't balance when I was in high school because I was pretty much the only ghost fighter."
"Megan's not part-ghost, right?"
"Right, she got Sam's genes. She's 100% human."
"I see. So is Tara going to take over the business when she's older?"
"Only if she wants to. I don't want to push her into anything. She's gravitated towards music, though. She thinks she wants to start an all-girls rock band with Vanessa, Tucker's daughter," he said with a laugh.
"Uh-oh. Trouble coming up behind you," Star whispered.
"Daaaaannnnyyyy!"
Paulina was almost unrecognizable from her high school self.
As she walked towards Danny, the fat on her overweight body jiggled up and down. She hadn't grown in height since she was at Casper High, so she was now shorter than the rest of her ex-peers. She did not wear her wedding ring, even though everyone knew she was married to Dash.
"Ugh, I have to get out of here before she clings to me again. Good luck, Danny." Star practically speed-walked towards the bar.
There was a crash.
"Oopsie!" Paulina said as she tried to pick up the pieces of a broken vase from the floor.
"Are you alright, Paulina?" Danny asked.
She smiled. "Yeah, I'm just tipsy. Whoops!"
Danny took the vase fragments from her hands. "Here, why don't you sit down, and I'll take care of this?"
"You're soooo nice, Danny! Thank you!"
"Uh-huh."
Paulina slumped against the wall and watched Danny clean up. She started to giggle out of nowhere.
"I feel like doing a cartwheel now."
"How 'bout not."
"Oh, Danny, quite the gentleman. Always the voice of reason! Ha ha ha!"
He stood up. "Okay…I'm gonna go throw this away now."
Suddenly, Paulina pulled out from under her shirt a bright pink, pushup bra.
"Ahhh! I feel so much better now! I'm freeeeeee!"
"Okay, bye!"
Danny pushed his way through the squished bodies towards the bar.
"Excuse me…pardon me…coming through with broken vase pieces!"
He didn't need to reach the bar, however, for he quickly found Star sitting alone on a dining table chair.
"Star! Star, Paulina really needs some help. She drank too much, and I think if she's left alone for much longer, she'll try do something dumb. Also, she broke your vase." He opened his hands.
Star slammed her cup on the dining table. "Darn it! I swear, that girl…Here, I'll take it. Thanks."
Buzz! The doorbell rang.
"Wait, I think that's her! Let's go say hi, Danny!" Star said.
She threw the broken vase into an open trash can, then ran to the front door and opened it.
"Valerie!" Star reached in for a hug.
"Star!" Valerie said in her Scottish accent. "It's so good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too. My God, you haven't changed a bit! You're still just as curvy and stunning as you were in high school. Ugh, I wish I had your body; then I wouldn't have needed that boob job!"
"Are you high or something?"
"I may be a little intoxicated."
They started to laugh, which Danny took as an opportunity to greet Valerie.
"Hey, Val."
"Wow, Danny!" she said as she turned to hug him. "You're looking sharp!"
"Thanks. How's Scotland treating you? How's your dad?"
"Scotland's wonderful, as usual. My dad's back at my estate."
"What brings you back to Amity Park?"
"Work, but I go back home in a couple of days."
"Oh, nice. Hey, Tucker and Sam want to say hi to you too."
"Aw, I'd love to see them! I'll go look for them," Valerie said as she and Star entered the crowd.
Suddenly, Danny felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Danny? It's Virginia. You need to come with me."
She led him back to the bar, where an obese, blond-haired man sat in the stool next to Sam.
"Leave. Now," Sam said to the man.
"Naw, you leave," he said with a hiccup.
"You are drunk, Dash, and making me feel uncomfortable. I got here first, so you leave."
"Dang, you sure are shmexy in that little dress…"
Sam ground her teeth.
"THAT'S IT!"
With a flick of her wrist, she emptied her glass all over Dash's face.
"My eyes!" he screamed as he covered his face and toppled over.
"Sam!" Danny screamed.
"Danny!"
She stood up and marched right up to him.
"We're leaving. Now," she growled.
"Absolutely. Where's Tucker?"
"Guys!"
Tucker ran up to them.
"I just said hi to Valerie. Let's go."
They opened the door to the cold night air.
"Happy birthday, Valerie!" they could hear Paulina scream.
"Paulina! Come back here and put on your mini-skirt!" Star yelled.
They shut the door behind them.
xxxxxx
By midnight, Tucker and Vanessa left for home, and Tara and Megan went to bed. Danny and Sam finally had a moment of peace.
"That…was a party from hell," Sam said as she fell facedown onto her bed.
Danny took off his tie. "I agree. Let's never do that again."
"I never got to see Valerie. Maybe I'll see her before she leaves."
"Want me to unzip you?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Sam stood and held her hair up. He zipped down the dress with ease.
"I don't like the way Dash treated you at all."
She chuckled. "Neither do I."
"He doesn't respect women. God, I wanted to punch him."
"Me, too."
The dress pooled around her, leaving her in only her underwear and heels.
"You know, that dress is sexy on you…but nothing tops you being naked."
A smirk grew on Sam's face.
She walked towards him, her hips naturally swaying, and slid her arms onto his chest. Danny laced his hands on the small of her back.
"You're incredibly corny," she murmured.
"I'm just a romantic," he said, and he pulled her into a kiss.
xxxxxxx
Just another quick note, if you are interested in my inspiration for Sam's dress, I got it from here: bbg4ya DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH art SLASH DP-Id-Drink-To-That-428885057. Give credit where credit is due, you know? Also, let me know if there is actually a dress like that, because if so, I would buy it so fast! xD Additionally, there is a "Virginia" character. I have a copy of a hard-to-find Danny Phantom book, and the story is about Mr. Lancer putting on a Macbeth play. Sam was actually one of the witches, and there was another girl who played a witch alongside her, but she had no name. So, I gave her one :-) Thanks for reading!