Under the moonlit sky

It was a cool, calm Saturday night for Danny Fenton. He was at home with nothing to do but sit on his couch with an empty potato chips bag on the table and stare at whatever the TV had to offer. Unlike most teens, who would most likely be wasting the night away at a party, Danny prefers a nice relaxing night like this. Given that he is the hero of Amity Park, Danny Phantom, he rarely found days like this where he didn't have to deal with a ghost attack. Besides, the fourteen year-old preferred to hang out with his two best friends, Sam and Tucker, than go to some party filled with people he barely knew or people who think he's a loser.

However, tonight, Danny found himself alone. His parents were invited to a party hosted by Vlad Masters (although the invitation was probably meant just for his mother) and his best friends had their own businesses to attend to: Sam was dragged out of town for a family weekend get away and Tucker has been gone since Friday visiting family in Florida. His sister, Jazz, was sleeping over at a friend's house. Even though the evening has been quiet and peaceful, boredom has finally caught up with Danny. Watching TV has lost its appeal and now he is looking for something else to do.

Danny sighed and turned off the TV. He placed the remote on the coffee table, then grabbed the empty bag of chips and threw it in the waste basket next to the couch.

"I guess I'll go out for a bit," he thought out loud. Turning off the living room lights, he fetched his light jacket that rested on the kitchen table. Danny then proceeded to turn off the remaining lights and left through the front door, locking it with his keys.

He looked up at the night sky and noticed that it was cloudy. He surveyed the houses around him and saw that there were still lights on. It was only seven-thirty after all. There was a warm breeze that swept through the neighborhood. It caressed his cheeks as it passed him, putting a small smile on his face. "I hope it doesn't rain," he said looking at the sky again. "It'd be such a waste of a wonderful night." With that, he started walking, following the path that the sidewalk has made.

After a few minutes of walking, the thought finally hit him: "Where am I going?" Danny looked around and noted, "Right now, I'm close to the park. Maybe I should just go there instead." He stood there reviewing the idea, and then he finally said, "Yeah, why not. It beats sitting at home all night." Continuing his walk to the park, the glistening of a lone star in the sky caught his eyes. "Guess the sky is starting to clear up," he said.

When he arrived at the park, the usual cheerful sound of people talking and laughter of kids playing was absent. Strangely enough, Danny found a particular sense of comfort in this silence. It may have served as a distraction and relief from the stress from school and his restless life as a ghost fighter. Even in this powerful silence, the fourteen year-old did not feel lonely at all.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, as if he was trying to dispel something from his body. "I knew coming here was a great idea," he said. "A well-deserved vacation from all the craziness," he added with a chuckle. He then headed towards the fountain at the center of the park, where Desiree resided for a short time granting wishes.

As he walked, Danny started hearing a faint sound - a sound similar to that of a guitar. The wind carried the notes through the trees, the grass, and the flowers. The guitar sounded like it was being tuned, each string being plucked and then adjusted to the desired tone. Danny focused his attention on the sound, but then it was soon followed by silence. He waited to hear the sound again, only for it to be replaced by the gentle whisper of the wind. Danny shrugged, saying, "It's probably over."

When he began to walk, the air was filled with the singing of the guitar once more. However, this time, the sound that it produced was in the form of whole chords being strummed. Danny followed the music and found himself facing the fountain. On the opposite side of the water display, he saw the person behind the music. "Hmm, I wonder who that could be," he thought to himself. "Well from here, I can tell it's a girl." As the melody progressed, the girl began to sing. Her voice was beautiful; it was soothing...and familiar. Danny stood there with a surprised look. His eyebrows furrowed. He squinted his eyes to get a better look. Then his eyes widened and said, "Ember?"

A white ring appeared around Danny's waist, emitting a bright light. "I'm going ghost!" he exclaimed while the ring split in two: one transforming his upper body while the other transforming his lower body. His raven hair became silver and his blue eyes changed to green, glowing with ghostly power. He was now dressed in his black and white hazmat suit with the D emblem on his chest. His face took on a more serious expression, complaining, "There goes my night."

He flew over the fountain and made his way to Ember. "Look at what the ghost zone puked out - it's Ember McLame," the ghost boy hissed, stopping in midair before the ghost rocker. "Here on another pointless tour?" Danny continued as he descended onto the ground and stood in front of Ember. "Look, Ember, whatever it is, I don't have time for this. Just go back to the ghost zone before I blast you back," Danny declared, folding his arms over his chest. The singing stopped and Ember opened her eyes, revealing an agitated expression. At this point, the sound of the guitar ceased. "Who do you think you are, huh? The ghost police?" she asked annoyed. Then Danny retorted, "Well, technically, I -" Ember interrupted him, "Oh, shut up, will ya?" She crossed her legs, her favorite guitar (purple, covered with blue flames) resting on her lap, and continued her playing. She closed her eyes, saying, "Will you just leave me alone?" Danny sighed and answered, "I can't do that." "And why not?" Ember shot back. Danny let out a sigh again. "Because," he started, "I am the hero and you are the villain," he gestured to himself then to the ghost diva in front of him. "The hero," Danny went on, "cannot go home until he saves the day, which in this case," he glares at Ember, "after I put you back in the ghost, then I can leave you alone." He walked over to the fountain and sat at the edge of the small brick wall encircling the water. "Like I said," Danny said placing an elbow on one knee and resting his chin on his palm, "either you go back willingly or by force. Your choice."

The guitar stopped once again. Ember smirked and challenged, "How about neither?" Danny stood up and said, "By force then." His hands started glowing with green, ghostly energy, the power getting more intense as the seconds raced by. Then Ember whined, "Ugh! Can't you just leave me alone?!" Despite her noticeable anger, she gently placed her guitar on the ground and leaned it against the bench's arm close to her. "Fine, dipstick," Ember growled as her hands started glowing as well, but this time it radiated pink energy instead of green. She raised her hands and pointed them at Danny. "You asked for it, kid!" A bolt of energy shot out of her hands. Unfortunately, it missed its target and hit the fountain instead. "Hey!" Danny yelled as he pointed at the damaged fountain, "you're going to pay for that!" "I don't care! Now hold still so I can destroy you!" Ember yelled back. "Sorry, Ember," Danny said, "but this is for your own good!" He shot back an obviously larger wave of energy at Ember. She gasped at the oncoming energy-of-pain and tried to maneuver her way out of danger. Although the attack missed (lucky for her), the shock wave from it's impact with the ground made Ember airborne for a moment, sending her about ten feet away. Danny laughed, managing to get out, "Take that! No evildoer is safe from justice when Danny Phantom is around!" His laughter continued, then stopped when he noticed something: it was too quiet. There was no response from Ember; no counterattacks, no insults, nothing - not a single recoil whatsoever.

When the smoke and dust cleared from his energy attack, he noticed Ember on the grass, lying on her back and her head resting on her hands. "What the?" said Danny confused. He flew towards her and landed near her skull boots, his shadow covering her body. "What's the matter with you?" Danny inquired. Ember look at him and said, "I did mean it when I said leave me alone." She drew her attention back from the ghost boy and focused on the sky. "I really didn't want to fight."

"Oh great," Danny thought. "Now I'm the bad guy." The white ring reappeared and he transformed back to Danny Fenton. He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked away. "Look," he began, "I'm sorry I just attacked you. Now that I think about it, you were just playing your guitar." He was still avoiding eye contact. Ember looked at him with an indifferent expression and said, "Gee, thanks for noticing, stupid."

Sighing, Danny said, "Yeah, stupid, stupid, stupid." He put his hands in his pockets, looked at the ground and then at Ember, who was still eyeing him. "Mind if I lay next to you?" he asked. "Get away, creep," Ember replied. Catching what he said, Danny quickly defended himself. "No, no, no," he said waving both hands in front of him. "That's not what I meant! I just..." He paused. "Can I, you know, join you in whatever you're doing?" he finished, his hands fidgeting, and his face getting red. Ember noticed his expression and thought, "Is he blushing? Nah, probably just embarrassed of what he said. 'Can I lay next to you?' Yeah, totally a creep." She looked up at the sky again and said, "Sure, whatever, Phantom, just keep it a few feet away." "What do you think I'm gonna do?" Danny asked, slightly offended. Ember was silent, so it was his queue to move.

He laid down on his back and looked up as well, hoping to find what Ember was staring at, but it was the same sky that he saw a while ago, and the same lone star that was glistening earlier. The breeze blew once again, the trees rustled. "It's such a wonderful night," Danny thought without realizing he said it out loud. Ember, upon hearing this, said "Why do think I was out here?" Danny turned his head towards her, but she kept her attention towards the clouds. "It was quiet, a perfect escape from trouble." Then she looked at Danny and frowned. "Then you showed up." She sighed, saying, "Trouble loves following me, doesn't he?" They both looked at the sky again. "It was the same for me," Danny contributed. "The night air felt great. Like you said, a perfect escape from it all. " Then he smiled and went on, "And just like you said, then you showed up." Ember then jerked her head at Danny and began to protest, "Hey, I was just minding my own business when-" "Easy, easy," Danny said trying to calm her down. "I was just saying we're in the same boat here. But look at us now, we found someone else to spend this peaceful night with." Danny then turned his head to meet Ember's stare. "I don't know about you," he started, grinning, "no matter how relaxing this night gets, it kinda gets lonely without another person."

Just as he finished, another cool gust of wind swept through the park, the leaves and grass dancing to its touch. The clouds started to move, and Danny noticed that, slowly, the stars were emerging, their lights contrasting the deep darkness of the night sky that blanketed Amity Park. Suddenly, it grew a bit brighter, where the features of the park were more perceivable. The moon has come out if it's shelter behind the clouds. It was a full moon, bathing everything with its light - golden in hue.

Danny looked at Ember again, and what he saw made his heart beat faster. The moonlight covered Ember, following her curves, emphasizing her great figure in the night. The light reflected perfectly off of her pale skin; she glowed under the stars and the moon. The light also shone on her face, making her smile vivid.

She looked at Danny, chuckled, then said, "You are such a dipstick, you know that?" Danny was awakened from his trance like state and said, "W-what?" Ember, still smiling, said, "You sounded so corny just then." She laughed then continued, "It was so sappy. It gets lonely without another person, huh?" Danny blushed and looked at the now clear sky. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It was kind of sappy."

Ember kept her eyes on Danny, then she stood up and made her way towards Danny's head. She sat down Japanese style, her shins against the ground, and picked up Danny's head and rested it on her lap. "H-hey! What are you doing?" Danny said being caught off guard. He looked up at Ember and saw that she was staring at the moon, and smiling.

"You're right," she said.

"What? About it being sappy?" asked Danny.

"Well that," Ember admitted. "But you were right when you said it does get lonely without another person with you." She looked down and met Danny's eyes. He smiled nervously, while she just looked at him. "You really are a dork," she teased. She leaned down and kissed Danny on his forehead. Both their hearts thumped loudly as both of them didn't know what was going on. Ember straightened herself and said with a nervous voice, "Oh crud, what did I just do?"

She quickly stood up, dropping Danny's head on the ground. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. He sat up massaging the back of his head. He saw Ember pacing up and down. "What's wrong?" he said as he winced from the pain. She stopped and said, "I just kissed you! Well, actually on the forehead, but still, a kiss! Don't you see what's wrong with that? You are my enemy. I'm the villain and you're the hero, get it? We hate each other's guts!...Don't we?" She looked away and sighed. Danny stood up. "Oh, right." He dusted his clothes and gazed at Ember.

"Hey, Ember," Danny called out. Ember directed her attention at Danny. "Thanks," he said and smiled.

"Huh?" Ember questioned.

"Well I don't know about you, but," he stepped closer to Ember, "I had a nice time. It is the perfect night for star-gazing. And we did just that."

Ember stared at him dumbfounded, then found her words. "You are such a dork!" she joked as she lightly punched his shoulder and then laughed. Danny smiled back and Ember wiped off the tear from her laughter. "Thanks," she said back. "Hey, look, I gotta go. I think this is enough fresh air for one night."

They walked back to the bench where it all started. She grabbed her guitar and strapped it over her shoulder. Ember then groaned from a pain in her arm. "Man, you really got me good back there," she said as she rubbed the pain.

"I really am sorry for that," Danny quickly added.

"Guess I'll just have to get you back some other time, right?" she said smirking.

Danny then challenged, "Let's see you try."

Ember laughed as she started floating upward. "Tomorrow may be that day, so watch out, dipstick!" she shouted.

"I'll be ready!" he shouted back.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled and said, "Nothing. I just wanted to try saying your name." After that, she flew away, followed by a calm breeze that hugged Danny's back. He watched as Ember disappeared into the night. "Thank you, Ember...McLain" he whispered.

He observed the stars and the moon once more. The park was quiet once again, but unlike before, Danny started feeling lonely.

He mused at the events of the night and thought out loud, touching his forehead, "A kiss... under the moonlit sky..."

He turned around, leaving the bench, leaving the fountain, and leaving the park, heading home, but not leaving the memories of this night. "The gang's not gonna believe this," he thought as he walked and laughed to himself.

The End