Double Dating

Gray Ghost. "What do you MEAN Fenton and Phantom are the same person?"

—

Double Dating

When she figured it out, Valerie flipped.

"What do you mean, Danny and Phantom are the same person?!" she demanded her little freeloader, Dani. The younger girl just munched on Doritos calmly, unconcerned.

"Well I can see why he didn't tell you," she said finally. "You've got a temper to rival Mount St. Helens. And with your prowess? He'd be worried you'd rip him apart, molecule by molecule."

"I would NOT!" she snapped. "I just—how? How could he manage to hide it? I don't believe this!" Valerie yanked at her own hair, frustrated.

Dani paused. "Are you angry because he kept a secret? It's just a habit for him, now." she tried to explain, but Valerie shook her head.

"It's not that! They're just—so different!" Valerie exclaimed, starting to pace. "Danny is sweet, and kind, and dorkishly cute, and clumsy but genuine. And Phantom, he's not like that at all! He's witty, and bold, and confident, and brazen, and sexual, and—"

A pause.

"…I did not seriously just say that out loud."

Dani immediately leapt to her feet, jumping excitedly up and down. "You… oh my gosh, you like him! Like, like-like him! You like both of them! Omigosh!"

"…You're starting to sound like Star."

Dani ignored her, going into full tease mode. "This is great! Which one do you like better? Which one do you wanna date? Have you kissed either of them yet?" Valerie blushed, and Dani stopped, shocked. "…Have you kissed both of them?"

"That's none of your business."

"It's totally my business. Nosy cousin, here."

Valerie scowled, then snapped. "Fine! Yes, I've kissed both of them, yes, I've been flirting with both of them, Yes, I've been having a crisis about which guy I like better, only to find out that I've essentially been cheating on a guy with himself!" she halted, breathing heavily, before adding, "And which one of them is the real Danny, then? Which one is the act? And what if - what if I like the fake Danny more than the real one?"

Dani's teasing face fell away, replaced with concern. "Oh. You're serious about this, aren't you."

When Valerie didn't answer, Dani sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, thinking. She sat on the bed, looking up at her adopted big sister. "So what are you going to do, then?"

Val thought for a moment, arms crossed over her chest. At last, a smile started creeping up on her face.

"Nothing," she answered.

"Nothing?" Dani asked, looking a little disappointed.

Valerie wagged her finger teasingly. "Ah, ah, ah. I'm going to pretend I don't know Danny's secret. Because he hasn't told me, so, logically, how would I know?" Dani suspected this was partially Val's payback, too, since Danny kept secrets from her.

"They both have their pros and cons," Valerie went on. "I'll date them both to see which one I like better. And it's not really cheating, is it? It'll be like having two hot guys, but without the guilt." Because Danny was true sweetheart material, and Phantom - well, damn if the ghost didn't look smokin' in that skintight spandex suit.

Dani flopped on the bed. "So you get to see which one you like best… clever." she paused. "But what if Danny finds out? Or reveals his secret?"

"Well, then the fun is over." Valerie sat too. "And we can have a good laugh about it later. His fault for keeping secrets anyway." Yes, it was definitely payback. "Though I might get sad when that happens - no more 'best of both worlds' deal for me."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Dani countered. When Valerie raised an eyebrow, Dani answered with a grin and an answer that changed the playing field entirely.

"Danny can duplicate."