A.N. AU. In this story, Tucker, Sam, and Danny are eighteen, while Danielle (which in this particular story is fifteen), is the godchild of Jazz, because 'uncle' Vlad adopted Danielle when she was twelve and she often visits Fenton Works. She's completely human in this. Jazz is probably about twenty. *gasps* Onto the story!

With a backpack slung over his shoulder and a PDA typing furiously at his fingertips, Tucker Foley walked up the steps to his best friend's house. Danny opened the door with a wide grin on his face.

"Tucker! Nice to see you again!" he greeted enthusiastically. Another familiar face peeked out from behind him.

"Hey Tucker," greeted Sam, a bit less enthusiastic, but still excited none the less. Tucker shot a grin at his two best buddies, but his eyes widened a bit more when Danielle causally walked to the entry as well.

She was... beautiful. Not a speck of makeup on her, but her hair was in a fish tail braid and her casual clothes seemed nothing but beautiful in Tucker's eyes. Dani looked up, suddenly meeting his gaze.

"Oh, hey Tucker!" she greeted more enthusiastically then the other two put together. "Do you like the braid Aunt Jazz made for me?"

He forgot to breathe for a moment at Jazz's name. He had gone out with her for three months, only to have it end with her gently saying that she never felt anything in the first place. To make matters worse, she had a small crush on a guy who attended her psychology class the entire time. It had broke his heart, and he tried to stay friends with her. He had too. She was his best friend's sister, and he saw her often. So he plastered on a plastic grin, like he often did, and ruffled her hair lightly, causing her to squeak in dismay.

"It's beautiful," he said in all honestly. He could've sworn there was a light blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you," she said, before walking back up the stairs. She passed Jazz on the way up, and Jazz walked down to the entry way. Dani stopped at the top of the stairs and hid herself, just to see his reaction.

"Oh! Hey Tucky-" Her face twisted, and fell. "Er... Tucker," she finished off weakly. Tucker did show his cringe on his face this time. Tucky was what she used to call him.

"Hello," he greeted flatly. Danny and Sam cast glances at each other, and then back at Tucker.

"So, Tucker! You ready to play CoD?" he asked grabbing his arm and dragging him down the hall before Tucker could even respond.

Dani's heart fell a bit at his disheartened facial expression, but she shook her head. Vlad said she wasn't allowed to date until she was sixteen, and besides, she had Leo. An amazing, caring guy who actually agreed to wait until her sixteenth birthday to date her officially. Unofficially, they texted and just hung out whenever they could.

Tucker had been like an older brother to her for years.

So why did she suddenly feel attracted to this eighteen year old?

Tucker barely thought as he mindlessly swiped his thumbs as he played Call of Duty. Seeing Jazz caused his heart to break just a tad more, but playing video games helped distract him.

Kind of. He played CoD so many times that he didn't even need to concentrate what he was doing, leaving him plenty of time to think.

Why did he think Dani looked so beautiful? He had seen her so many times. Why was this one different?

Because maybe it's time you moved on from Jazz and onto another, whispered a voice inside his head. He let out a silent groan. But maybe.. Maybe that voice was right.

"Tucker? Earth to Tucker!"

Tucker suddenly snapped out of it to see Danny looking at him with a very concerned look on his face. He had long since paused the game, and Tucker hadn't even noticed.

"Dude, if seeing Jazz makes you this depressed... Hey, there's a fair today. We can take Dani along. Fireworks are at dusk at the beach. It will be fun!"

Danny's worried grin made him nod in agreement. A fair would be fun, it honestly would. And... Maybe he would explore the possibility of liking Dani. It wasn't that insane of an idea. She was only a few years younger then himself, three to be exact, and he had gotten to know her very well over the years.

Dani had been like a younger sister to him for years.

So why did he suddenly feel attracted to this fifteen year old?

Danny and Sam with hands locked exited the house first, with Dani and Tucker to follow. The two lovebirds didn't mean to exclude the two following behind, but they began to walk faster and tease each other, wrapping hands around waists and nuzzling. Dani watched the sight in front of them with a heaved sigh. Tucker looked down at her with an eyebrow cocked.

"You okay?" he asked her softly. She blinked and looked up, her eyes glistening just a tad.

"Y-yea! I'm fine! Why do you ask that?" she said. Tucker gave her 'the look' and set a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Because I've known you long enough to know that you're not okay. What's wrong?" he questioned.

Her fake smile dropped, and she shoved her hands into her jean pockets as she stared onto the ground.

"It's just that they're so happy and that... I've told you about Leo before, haven't I?"

Tucker nodded, and his heart stung a bit at the mention of his name. Many times before had he heard that name, and Dani often had this... smile.. that came to her face every time she mentioned him. It started at the corner of her mouth and twitched until her grin split across her face. She would show her teeth, which is something she did when it was truly happy.

"Mhm. You can't date until you're sixteen, and this Leo-" For some reason, the name Leo rolled off his tongue like a hated disease, but he shook the feeling off. "-dude is willing to wait until your birthday to date you. What about it?"

Dani's hand clenched onto the fabric in her pocket, and she looked ahead to Danny and Sam, who were giggling and laughing like a couple.

"I know Leo is the one for me. I can't wait to freely do that with him, in and out of school. But... There's a weird feeling that I'm getting in the pit of my stomac-"

He cut her off.

"Yea, there's this thing called young love," he almost spat. "Enjoy it while you can."

Her eyes began to glisten again, and she bit her lip. She suddenly wrapped her hand around his and squeezed it. Her head screamed no, you have Leo, but her heart screamed yes.

"No. It's not that," she said. Her grip tightened, and he gave her a slightly shocked smile.

"Well, madam," he said, suddenly smothering on a British accent. "Shall we enjoy this fair?"

She glanced up at him with a smile, a real smile.

"Of course my dear sir," she said, responding back with an even thicker British accent. She squeezed his hand tighter and a light blush fluttered across her cheeks.

"This is just pretend," said Tucker under his voice. "We can pretend to be madly in love to screw with Danny and Sam, and we can both have fun and forget about others. Just for two days. What do you say?"

Dani's baby blue eyes shimmered. Just pretend? But she gave him a soft smile instead and swallowed.

"Sure."

Again, her head screamed at her, but she silenced that with the beating of her own heart as she walked down the street hand in hand with Tucker Foley.

The fair was amazing, and Danny and Sam soon went one way while Tucker and Dani went the other. Dani practically dragged him from one booth to another, and Tucker enjoyed watching his 'pretend girlfriend' get so excited over jewelry. He himself had paused and examined some of the jewelry. An aqua teal cross pendant caught his eye, and he fingered it gently.

She was standing in the room, in a simple black dress. It was plain, but when she wore it she looked beautiful. Her red orange hair was in a French braid, wrapped around to create a bun. and earrings dangled from her ears. A teal blue flower was pinned to her hair as well.

"Jazzy," whispered a voice from behind her. Her ears perked and she turned around to find Tucker with a bouquet of roses and a box in his hand. He handed her the roses and opened the box, revealing a beautiful teal blue cross pendant.

"It matches your eyes perfectly," he said in a hushed tone. "Should I help put it on?"

Jazz nodded, a light smile playing across her lips. Tucker took it out of the box and placed it around her neck, enjoying the feel of her warm skin.

"You're beautiful," he whispered hotly into her ear. Jazz's face heated up a bit, but she stepped away and admired her new necklace in the mirror.

"Tucker? You okay?"

Dani's voice brought him back to the present. She had a worried look on her face, just like Danny's was earlier. Tucker realized he had been zoning out on that almost exact necklace he had given Jazz that night for a good couple minutes. He swallowed and gave her a fake grin.

"Never been better," he lied through clenched teeth. She simply gave him a look of doubt and shook her head.

"Liar. I know that look. Come on," she said, slipping back into a British accent, "We shall get drinks and we shall have a tea party to cheer this ol' chap up!"

Tucker let out a small smile, a real smile, and nodded.

The rest of the fair went by fairly smoothly. Tucker had found himself grinning more than he had for the last few months, and Dani kept seeming more and more adorable. He had already admitted to himself that from within the last few hours he had developed a small crush on her, and he didn't mind.

Whenever he and Dani felt like pretending to be a couple, they would slip into ridiculous British accents and over dramatize everything. Holding hands, yawning and holding a hand around the shoulder, everything that made it seem like they were a couple. They eventually ended up finding Danny and Sam snuggling underneath a shady tree, and enjoyed their shocked reactions to them holding hands. The sun was slowly setting, and fireworks would be starting soon.

"Tu-Tucker? Are you and my niece going out?" questioned Danny a bit over protectively. Tucker dramatically flung his arms around Dani and stroked her hair possessively.

"Oh Daniel," he said, smothering his voice once again with a British accent. "You've caught us in the act. I'm sorry I couldn't hold it in any longer Danielle, but... I have feelings for you. From the first time I saw your beautiful eyes, I have harbored these feelings deep within my heart. My dearest Danielle, will you be mine?"

He thought to himself how true those words actually were, and how ironic that he was basically blurting them out. But it was all pretend, he had said so himself.

Wasn't it?

Danielle fluttered her eyelashes as she dramatically flung her hand across her forehead before draping herself into her 'lover's' arms.

"As do I, my dearest Tucker," she crooned. The two real lovebirds gasped, and Sam was taken aback by this sight.

"Well... Tucker, I'm impressed. You actually managed to snag a decent girl," she quipped. Danny glared at Sam.

"Are you saying Jazz wasn't decent?" he argued. That name stung, and Tucker gently pushed Dani away.

"No, Jazz was decent. She just happened to use him as a hobby, that's all. Dani, on the other ha-"

Tucker had began to walk away at this point. He wanted to breathe and not be plagued by memories of the past. He began to walk faster, not caring where he was going.

He didn't hear what Dani had to say after that.

"Danny! Sam! Did you seriously just bring up obviously traumatic memories about Tucker and not even notice him walk away? We were just having fun, nothing serious, and then you ruin that by bringing up the one thing that's making him sad? You lovebirds have fun. I'm going to find him," she spat as she glared at the two.

Danny opened and closed his mouth like a fish, and then promptly shut it. He looked at Sam and squeezed her hand tightly.

"..we should go apologize," he said softly. Sam nodded, but held him down as he tried to stand up.

"Let Dani talk to him first. Give them until after the fireworks, then we'll go apologize. Females tend to have a way with words," she said sternly. Danny could only nod and watch his niece run after him.

"Tucker! Tucker!" she shouted. She ran towards him at a surprisingly fast speed. Tucker turned around to see who was shouting his name, only to watch as she tripped over her untied shoelace and crash directly above him. Her concerned blue eyes glanced down onto him, and for a moment she lay there admiring him. But she quickly got up and brushed off the dust from her pants.

"The fireworks are going to be starting soon," she said, this time without an accent. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. "Come on, the beach is going to be the perfect view." Tucker could only give her a soft smile and nod once more.

"Alright," he agreed. "Sounds fun."

She giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

"And cheer up... Please? For me?"

Now how could he say no to that face?

They walked down to the beach hand in hand. The sun was rapidly setting, and the fireworks would be starting at any moment. Dani and Tucker leaned against a wooden fence at the edge of the beach. She nervously inched closer to him, actually nervous to touch him. He was hurt, vulnerable... She shouldn't be toying with his emotions like this. She already had someone waiting for her. But for now.. It didn't seem to matter. She scooted close enough to be touching arms, and snuggled into his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in closer, breathing in her scent. The fireworks began, reflecting over the midnight blue lake. It was perfect.

Sam and Danny walked towards them, and Danny was going to open his mouth and apologize when Sam dragged him away from them.

"They're having a moment. Afterwards," she whispered in his ear.

Dani watched the sky for her favorite firework. To her dismay, it didn't seem to be coming.

"Aww... Come on, just one," she pleaded almost silently out loud. Tucker just gave her a bemused look and rubbed her arm.

"One what?" he asked. She blushed slightly and pointed at the sky.

"One particular firewor- OH MY GOSH THERE'S ONE!" Her favorite firework filled the sky, and she had a childish grin as she yelped for joy. Tucker simply laughed and scooted her a bit closer.

The pair walked down the sidewalk chatting after the fireworks, not even noticing Danny and Sam walk up behind them. Danny poked Tucker's shoulder, and he glanced over his shoulder. He and Dani stopped and looked at the pair.

"Tucker... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up when clearly you were having a great time with Dani. Forgive me?" asked Danny quietly. Sam spoke up next.

"And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said that..."

Tucker embraced both of them in a tight hug.

"It's okay. Now, can we just go back to your house and enjoy the rest of the night?"

The two nodded, and Dani gripped Tucker's hand again. He smiled, a real smile, and they walked back to Fenton Works.

It was nearly one AM when they walked back in the door. Jazz's bedroom light was on, and Danny's parents were asleep. They wearily stumbled back inside. They began to walk up the stairs, when Danny suddenly froze.

"Crud. There's only two beds," he said in sudden realization. The other three looked at him in horror, and Danny sheepishly shrunk down a few inches.

"Ones usually for Dani when she stays over, and then there's my bed. Tucker..." His eyes clouded up with an unknown feeling. "Do you mind if Sam and I share a bed and you and Dani share another? I trust you enough with my niece not to do anything but sleep."

Tucker's face grew warm, but as he stared at the couple before him he could tell Danny really wanted to spend the night in bed with Sam. He shook perverted thoughts out of his head and nodded.

"Sure. Dani, you okay with this?" he asked the girl holding his hand. She shook her head, and tried not to blush too hard.

"I'm fine. So... Night Danny!" she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She then hugged Sam, who flinched slightly at the 'human contact', but Sam still smiled anyways. "Night Sam. You two better not do much of anything. Jazz's room has paper thin walls, and your room is next to hers," Dani warned with a smirk on her face. She left the two lovebirds blushing like crazy, and Tucker followed after grabbing his backpack and closed their bedroom door.

Tucker slid down the door with a tired sigh. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath.

"You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor," he said, completely ready to crash on the ground. Dani shook her head.

"N-no, we can share a bed. I don't mind," she whispered. Tucker raised an eyebrow.

"Dani?" He asked quietly. "How much did you actually believe my antics today were pretend?"

Dani felt her cheeks turning rosy red. She adverted her eyes and glanced at the ground.

"It felt real. And... I really liked that... And..." Dani took a deep breath and forced herself to look Tucker in the eye. "And you."

The world seemed to stop moving as Tucker swallowed slowly. Here was this beautiful, attractive girl that actually liked him.

"I didn't feel like any of that was pretend. And I like you. But you have Leo, and you two will be happy. Besides, dating a legal adult is illegal I believe," he said sadly. Dani walked slowly over to him and gave him a big hug.

"Then this will be just a two day romance. After this we can pretend this never happened and you can find a girl that fits you like a glove. Okay? Just for tonight, sleep with me in bed. And just sleep. Nothing else," she said into his ear. She pulled back and looked up at him. Tucker smiled widely and kissed her forehead.

"Alright. I'll agree to that," he said. "Should I get out of the room while you change?"

Dani blushed a bit, but nodded regardless.

"Yea. I shouldn't be long." she hesitantly said. Tucker simply nodded and rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a rare pair of pajama pants and his toothbrush. He usually just slept in his boxers, but he didn't want to make Dani uncomfortable. Tucker waltzed into the bathroom and changed, and then brushed his teeth. He gave himself a reassuring smile before heading back to Dani's bedroom. He heard interesting noises coming from Danny's bedroom however. Shuddering, Tucker was about to knock on Dani's door when a familiar figure tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Tucker."

That voice sent chills down his spine, and he didn't bother to turn around.

"Hello Jasmine," he said flatly. Jazz's grip on the teddy bear she was holding tightened, and she rubbed her neck nervously.

"I'm sorry."

Those two words hurt. She had said that so many times that it didn't mean anything anymore. He resisted the urge to yell at her. Slowly, he turned around.

"You don't mean that," he said in a low tone. "But you're Danny's sister, so I have to be your friend. No matter how much it hurts. So how's that relationship with whoever that guy was?"

Jazz's eyes widened a bit, and she glanced down.

"His name is Peter, and we've been going out ever since... Well..." Her voice trailed off. "Tucker, I know you don't believe me when I say I'm sorry, but maybe this will." Her voice was shaky as she handed him a box and a note. His breath caught in his throat as he recognized that particular box.

"Goodnight Tucker," she said, and she kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry."

And she left him without another word as she retired to her room for the night. Curiosity gnawed at him as he glanced at the box and the note, so he opened the box. It was the teal blue necklace that he had given her. The memory stung. But the note was what he both wanted to read or throw it into a fire.

He decided to read it.

Tucker, it read.

I'm deeply sorry for all the pain I caused. I gave you back the necklace because... I'm not worthy of the love that you had bestowed upon me. You had pure, innocent love, and I sadly declined it for my own selfish reasons. I'm not perfect, and I know there's someone out there for you. Someone better than me that will love you and treat you right. Not like me. I didn't mean it when I said I felt nothing for you, I just was too scared to admit it. I had loved you, but it was a selfish, selfish love. Nothing in it for you.

I loved, I lived, I lost.

Love, Jazz

P.S. Invite me to your wedding someday, okay? With the rightful girl of your dreams.

Tucker's hand shook as he finished reading the note. Not wanting to think about it right now, he hid the note in his hand and knocked on the door.

"Dani? You done yet?" He asked.

"Yea, you can come in," she said. He opened up the door, and stashed both the box and the note in his backpack along with his toothbrush before looking up at Dani. Her hair was down now. Her hair was absolutely breathtaking when it was like this.

"You look pretty," he complimented. She blushed and patted the bed next to her.

"Come on, bedtime," she teased. Tucker walked over and sat down next to her. He suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her down as he laid down on the bed. He sniffed her soft raven black hair and let out a sigh of content.

"Mmm..." he whispered. "Your hair smells good." Without thinking he began to run his hand through her hair. She let out a small moan of happiness.

"Mmm, don't stop that. I could almost fall asleep to that," she said drowsily. Tucker smiled and kissed her cheek this time.

"Then I'll do that for a while," he said. He let out a loud yawn and continued to mess with her hair. His eyes began to close as he breathed in her scent. Her body fit perfectly into his own.

"I wish I was fifteen again," he whispered. Dani glanced at him.

"Why?" she asked quietly. He smiled and continued to pet her hair.

"I'm petting the reason," he stated simply. A smile wound it's way around her face, and she nuzzled into Tucker.

"I wanted to kiss you tonight," he admitted. Her eyes widened, but Tucker continued before she could respond. "But you kept talking about Leo, so I decided against it."

She only let out a small "Mhm" before snuggling in closer to him.

What Tucker wasn't aware of was that she was making sure he was the first to fall asleep, and not her. Tucker kept chatting away, and she would mutter sleepy responses, and pretty soon Tucker was out cold.

As soon as she was one hundred percent sure he was asleep, she pulled out her cellphone. One message was from Leo, and a guilty surge flowed through her. But she knew what she had to do.

A new message to Valerie she typed with a slight grin on her face. Dani remembered Tucker had liked her at one point, and she was single last time Dani checked.

Tucker and Valerie would be perfect together.

Tucker and Dani would not.

Dani sighed. She had Leo, and she shouldn't be enjoying this so much. It was a two day romance, and it would only be that. Nothing more, nothing less.

She gave him a kiss on the forehead before sending the message to Valerie. With a single tap it sent, and Dani closed her eyes wearily.

On the opposite side of town sat an African American young adult, on her stomach and reading a book. Just out of high school, she had snagged her own apartment and was pretty proud of herself. Her cellphone began to buzz, and she picked it up.

A new text message? At this time of night?

She read in with earnest.

'Hey Val, it's Dani. Tucker... He really needs someone to care for him in his life. Maybe you could invite him for a cup of coffee or something? I think he might still like you deep inside. Besides, last time I checked you were single ;)'

Her eyes widened as she stared at the text, and then a whimsical smirk filled her face. Masters' daughter was playing matchmaker, eh?

She pondered on the thought for a moment. Seeing Tucker again in a personal setting wouldn't be so bad. He had grown rather handsome over the years...

Her face grew red just thinking about it. She slammed her book shut and rolled over onto her back and groaned.

...now that she thought about it, there was a new cafe that opened down the road...

The End!

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