Note: this is based on the song "Half Crazy" by Musiq. I will post a link to the lyrics in my profile.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters, nor do I own any of Musiq's songs or lyrics.
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Danny Fenton slowly walked into Casper High, dragging his feet, wishing the day was over before it really even started. She would be there in homeroom, and he was dreading every moment he had to spend with her. Not that he didn't like her; she was one of his best friends. But what worried him was that things had changed significantly as of late, and, unfortunately, probably not for the better.
The cause for his concern was Samantha Manson, or Sam. She, Danny, and their other best friend, techno-geek Tucker Foley, had been close ever since they first met in elementary school. They didn't care that the only PDA Tucker could brag about was one of his electronic leashes, or that Sam's family was loaded. They didn't even care that Danny had to abandon them once in awhile to play town hero for Amity Park. For Tucker was a whiz with electronics, Sam didn't have a materialistic bone in her body, and Danny, despite his secret, was still pretty modest. Anytime he displayed even the slightest hint of vanity, one of his best friends was sure to serve him a big piece of humble pie.
But everything was different now.
Okay, perhaps "everything" is a bit of an embellishment, but Danny knew there was no turning back from last Friday, when he had saved Casper High from yet another computer virus infestation, courtesy of the sudden reappearance of Technus. Sam had the misfortune of being in the computer lab when Technus attacked. Naturally, the first thing the ghost did was erase the memory on Tucker's PDAs, and, for good measure, erased Sam's term paper on the ethical questions surrounding frog dissection. However, thanks to a short battle, a Fenton thermos, and a backup copy saved on Tucker's laptop (which he had actually left at home that day), Technus was back in the Ghost Zone, and Sam was able to submit her work on time.
But more than a ghost attack happened on that day. It happened. Danny and Sam kissed.
And now, both of them feel stuck between wanting to be together, but not wanting to 'fess up to their love for each other. And having three of their six classes together doesn't help any.
Danny arrived in class ten minutes before the first bell, early for the first, and probably last, time. He quickly walked to his desk, his head down the whole time in fear of making that awkward initial eye contact after the glory of the moment faded. Kissing was nothing new to either of them, yet having that intimacy with each other was something completely different.
Danny slid into his seat, took out his books, and actually began to study, another first for him. In his case, studying was typically reserved for tests or to appease his family. Although he tried to engross himself in his European History textbook, somehow the history of Latvia didn't hold his attention. He found himself watching the door for Sam's arrival; usually it was the other way around.
A moment later, Sam slinked into the room. Something seemed different about her. The front pieces of her raven hair, usually pinned back at the crown, had been cut into wispy, yet stylish bangs. Her violet eyes popped in contrast to soft green eye shadow, her cheeks bore a pinkish flush, and her usual purple lipstick was replaced by a cherry red. Even her outfit was different- her cropped black tank top and plaid miniskirt had been abandoned in favor of jeans and a black camisole. And her trademark combat books were not clunking heavily on the linoleum floor, having been replaced by purple flip-flops.
"Hey, Danny!" she greeted him, taking her seat a couple aisles over.
"Sam!" Danny breathed, wondering how this beautiful creature could possibly be the same Goth girl that he had rescued on Friday.
"What's the matter, Fenton? You look like you've seen a ghost," she quipped.
This reminded Danny of another dimension to their platonic-despite-knowing-they-love-one-another relationship. It was Sam that made him the way he was- half-boy, half-ghost.
Danny's parents had been hunting ghosts since college and had set up a lab in the family basement. On one particular afternoon, Danny decided to give Sam and Tucker a tour of the lab, on Tucker's insistence that he only wanted to look at it in hopes of some inspiration for a paper for his technology course. As usual, stupidity followed the trio, led by Sam, who had temporarily abandoned her role as the group's voice of reason. To make a long story short, Danny Fenton entered his parent's newest invention on a dare from Sam, went through some crazy genetic mutation, and emerged for the first time as his ghostly counterpart, Danny Phantom.
Danny Phantom, or Invisi-Bill, as the residents of Amity Park have come to call him, spends his time fighting escapees from the Ghost Zone. When he returns to his human form, Danny Fenton, he goes back to being a fourteen-year-old boy with raging hormones, crushing on the most popular girl in school while trying to move beyond his status as one of the most bullied students at Casper High.
As the second bell rings a moment later, Danny snaps out of his almost-hypnotic state. He turns his attention to the board, thankful that the teacher arranged the class in alphabetical order, allowing some distance between him and Sam, making it that much easier to ignore her for the time being. The trouble is, deep down, he doesn't want to ignore her, no matter how awkward the situation. He wants to turn the two of them intangible, and spirit her away to some secret place to profess his love for her.
However, as the day wore on, it seemed clear to Danny that Sam wanted anything but to become romantically involved with him. And he wasn't sure whether to be pleased or pissed off by that.