Anyway, it's kinda the sequel to The Box Ghost is a Matchmaker?, so...enjoy!
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Tucker sighed. The prom was coming up in two days, and he still didn't have a date! He pulled out his PDA and started checking through the list of girls at his school. He'd gotten it in a rather…interesting…incident that involved Technus, the school's mainframe, and blackmail. Lots and lots of blackmail.
Veronica: No.
Star: No.
Paulina: …
He paused for a moment and reminisced in that particular meeting…
"Hey, Paulina!"
Paulina didn't even spare the poor techno-geek a glance. He ran up behind her and shoved a small screen into her hands. She glared at him and he backed off, hands up in a placating manner. Paulina sniffed and tossed the screen to one of her lackeys, who then threw it into a nearby trashcan.
"Wait! Just…hear me out." Tucker cried, and he rushed forward to dig out the screen. He handed it to Paulina again, who finally spoke.
"Give up, Loser. I'm not interested."
Tucker grinned. "Just wait a second, okay?" He pressed a button on the screen, and the school erupted in an explosion of light and sound. Pink and blue beacons traced Paulina's name on the wall, and Paulina's favorite song blared on all of the loudspeakers. He turned to Paulina to see her reaction. His face fell.
She sauntered away. Nonchalantly, she threw the screen over her shoulder at him, and it displayed in bold, bright colors, "Come to the dance with me!" He sighed.
"Another no, I guess…"
Tucker sighed. It wasn't like he wasn't used to it, he had just put a lot of work into that one.
…Okay, he'd blackmailed and begged Danny to put everything up, but he still had to calibrate it!
He turned back to his PDA.
Paulina: No.
Ashley: No.
Rebecca: No.
Valerie: No.
That one had been close—she'd wanted to go, but Nathan had blackmailed her into going with him. He shuddered at what Nathan must have had over her to get her to actually go to the prom with him. After all, this was the same Valerie that hid under the table he was playing cards on to keep away from Nathan, and now she was actually going to the prom with him!
Yikes.
Jessica: No.
Mia: No.
Trixi: No.
He stared at the next name in shock. He…actually hadn't asked her. But if he did, he'd probably get into huge trouble, as she was dating.
To make it worse, she was dating his best friend.
He groaned. Every other girl had turned him down. How was he supposed to get a date? And since there was no way he was going to ask her to go with him as she was dating Danny, he didn't have a date.
And there was NO WAY he would ask Dora. Not a chance.
He sighed. Then he grinned. Well, if he actually did get Sam to go with him, maybe Danny wouldn't kill him.
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Tucker leaned against the wall casually. His quick breathing belied his nervousness. 'Well, here goes,' he thought. He checked his watch. 3…2…1…
Sam walked around the corner.
Tucker took a deep breath, and stood straight. "H-Hey Sam! What's up?" He gulped. That was horrible! He stuttered! Tucker Foley didn't stutter when speaking to girls—that was Danny's job!
Sam cocked an eyebrow at him. "Not much. I'm about ready to murder the Home Ec. teacher, though." She growled. "Honestly, does she expect us to actually listen to her? I mean, the things she teaches us—it's so…so…"
"Conformist?" Tucker supplied.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, conformist. It's disgusting."
Tucker forced a grin on his face. It felt oddly strained. "So, where's Danny at? Isn't he supposed to meet us here?"
Sam grimaced. "He's got detention with Mr. Lancer. Something about changing his grades on the school mainframe…"
Tucker winced. He hadn't expected Danny to actually get detention, just be held up for a few minutes.
WHAT?! He had to keep Danny away somehow! He happened to know a good way to do it…he just hadn't thought the teachers would honestly think Danny capable of hacking into the mainframe.
"Earth to Tucker! Are you in there?" Sam waved a hand in front of his face. He snapped back to reality and grinned in what he hoped was an apologetic way. If Sam's expression was anything to go by, it wasn't.
"Tucker." She stared at him flatly. "What's going on."
'Shouldn't that be a question?' he thought. "Uh...heh…nothing's wrong. I-Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?" WHY WAS HE GETTING FLUSTERED?! Tucker did NOT get flustered around girls! He was always cool, smooth. Why couldn't he act like that now, when he desperately needed it?
Sam shook her head and grabbed him by the cuff of his sleeve. "Come on; we're going to the Nasty Burger. Maybe a Mega-Meaty burger will loosen your lips."
Even as Sam shuddered from the thought of so much meat, Tucker shivered. There was no way he'd be able to defy the meaty goodness that was a Mega-Meaty burger for long…curse Sam and her knowledge of his weaknesses!
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"Come on, Tuck, you know you're hungry…."
Tucker licked his lips. She was right. He was starving. The Mega-Meaty burger she was holding inches away from his face wasn't helping, either.
"Just tell me what you're fussing about…come on, Tuck, just say it, and the burger is yours…." Sam grinned as Tucker's resolve visibly cracked.
He hung his head. "I can't get a date to the prom."
Sam stared at him, and then burst out laughing. He snapped his head up and glared at her. "It's not funny."
Sam wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry, but that's it? I thought it was something really big, like Plasmius blackmailing you. Why are you making such a big fuss about it? It's not like it's anything new. You've been dateless for all of high school."
Tucker laid his head on his arms. "Yeah, but this is the prom. I can't just be dateless to the prom!"
Sam stared at him in shock as she connected the dots. "You…were going to ask me to the prom…weren't you." It was more of a statement than a question.
Tucker nodded, cheeks aflame. Slowly, he lifted his head. He expected fury, disgust, or maybe even pity. He was not expecting a mischievous grin. In fact, that grin was starting to scare him.
"S-Sam?" he asked, suddenly fearful of his friend's expression.
Her grin only widened. "Well, I suppose we can play a little prank on the popular population, now can't we?"
Tucker gulped. This was starting to look like a really bad idea….
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Danny stared at Sam and Tucker in shock. There was silence for several seconds. Then, "You want to WHAT?"
Tucker pointed an innocent finger at Sam. "It was all her idea."
Sam glared at him. "Thanks, Tuck. I knew I could count on you."
Tucker shrugged. "Hey, when it comes to your super-powered boyfriend, I figure you have a better chance of surviving."
Danny interjected. "But seriously…you're serious? 'Cause this sounds pretty insane right now…."
Sam nodded. "Tucker needs a date, and I need revenge on the popular group. Everyone's happy."
"Everyone except me!" Danny shouted. "Come on, you can't really expect me to do this…" He trailed off at the expression on Sam and Tucker's faces. "…Okay, maybe you can," he muttered.
Tucker jumped in. "Come on, Danny! We both know she's your girlfriend, and that's not going to change anytime soon! What difference does it make?"
Danny glared at him. "That's not the problem. The problem is you wanting me to appear in front of the entire school in my ghost form!"
Sam sighed. "Well, alright. I guess these pictures from our freshman year are going public." At Danny and Tucker's curious (yet wary) stares, she grinned and pulled out a picture of Danny and Tucker.
Asleep.
Hugging each other.
Tucker gaped at it. "HEY! I didn't do anything! Traitor!"
Danny, on the other hand, gaped at Sam. "…Why do you still have that?"
Sam grinned wider. "I figured it was a good idea to keep blackmail around, and this is gold. Turns out I was right!"
Tucker whined, "But I didn't do anything! That picture has me in it too, you know!"
Sam glared at him. "Oh, quit whining, Tuck. You've done plenty of things."
"Like what?" he challenged.
Sam smirked at him. "Like trying to hit on me while I'm Danny's girlfriend."
Tucker grimaced. "Oh."
Danny whirled to stare at him. "You did what?"
Tucker grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I was desperate, okay? Now come on, please do it? I really don't want that picture published…."
Danny sighed. "I don't know…."
Sam examined the picture. "Hmm…I'm sure the school website would love this…and the school newspaper…and the yearbook committee…."
"Alright! I get it…fine. I'll do it," Danny sighed. This was gonna cost him. Big time.
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"Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready to PARTY?" The young DJ was met with shouts and cheers from the crowd. Most obvious were Paulina Sanchez and her boyfriend, Dash Baxter. They wore flamboyant clothing, and danced in the center of the dance floor. Everyone else gave the couple a wise berth, for their spirals and spins reached far.
Valerie danced in the corner with a pained expression on her face. Nathan had defied any attempts she made on ditching him, so she was stuck with him for the rest of the evening. Maybe she could fake getting sick….
Slowly, the gym began to fill, and the line outside shortened to almost no one. Everyone was inside dancing with their partner.
Suddenly, a chorus of gasps sounded near the entrance, and everyone turned to gape. He DJ silenced the music. The sight was so unexpected that everyone froze in shock for several seconds.
Danny Phantom landed next to Tucker Foley. He carried Sam Manson in his arms.
Paulina jumped at her chance and rushed out to him. "Danny Phantom!" she shouted.
Danny glanced at her and then turned back to Sam and Tucker. Paulina slid to a stop in shock. The ghost boy had ignored her? Danny Phantom had ignored her, Paulina Sanchez?!
In the silence, everyone heard the exchange of words. Danny spoke first.
"Well, you two have a good time tonight, okay?"
Sam grinned. "Of course! Thanks for dropping me off. It's too bad Danny couldn't come."
Phantom nodded in agreement. "Yeah, colds stink. Lucky for you, though, huh, Tucker?" He directed the last part to Tucker, grinning.
Tucker grinned in response. "Yeah. Make sure to tell him I said thanks for letting me borrow his girlfriend, okay?"
Phantom nodded. "No problem! Have a good night!" He saluted them off playfully and launched himself into the night air, where he turned invisible and whispered in Sam's ear, "I'll be back around midnight for you guys. You owe me big time."
Sam nodded with an almost imperceptible witch of her head. Phantom slid away.
Tucker stared at the crowd nervously. The crowd stared back in shock. Sam took the initiative and stepped forward. "Jeez, what a bunch of boring people you are! I thought this was supposed to be a party!"
The DJ turned the music back on, and Sam grabbed Tucker and started dancing. Slowly, the rest of the student body came out of shock and danced too. No one dared venture too closely to Sam and Tucker, though.
No one, that is, except Paulina. As soon as she stepped out of her shock, she stormed over to Sam and ripped her away from Tucker. "Who do you think you are?" she hissed. "The ghost boy is mine! How could you possibly know him?"
Sam lifted her head. "I happen to be his best friend, along with Tucker…and Danny. I just asked him to escort me here."
Paulina glared at her. "You're lying. There's no way the ghost boy would be friends with some losers like you three. He's too cool for that."
By then the entire student body was watching. They were all startled by the rage that overcame Sam's expression.
Sam pressed her face up against Paulina's so she had to backpedal. "For your information," she growled, "Danny Phantom is an extremely nice person. And you know what? He's not interested in shallow personalities like you. So leave him alone."
With that, Sam grabbed Tucker's hand and dragged him back to dance again. Paulina simply stared at the spot Sam had occupied, slack-jawed. The assembled crowd nervously started to dance, again.
As they danced, Tucker hissed in Sam's ear, "Are you sure that was a good idea? Paulina's gonna want to kill you…"
Sam grinned. "No, but it sure felt good to say it."
Tucker shook his head in disbelief. How Danny put up with his girlfriend, he'd never know. He was content to just enjoy the moment.
He had a girl dancing with him at the prom, and that girl had just told off the most popular student in Casper High. It didn't get much better that that.
Above the couple, Danny floated invisibly. He chuckled. 'That's my girl…'
Read and review please! That's...all I really have to say. I've already said everything else at the top.
Sasia