Resolutions
Author: RoguesKnight
Rating: T…just to be on the safe side. Nothing too objectionable. Just a bit of fluff.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, the evil genius Butch Hartman and the even more evil ( damn those canceling bastards) at Nick do.
Author's note: Just a little one shot that popped into my head while I was at work and won't leave me alone 'til I get it down on paper. Dedicated to the love of my life, my beautiful, independently minded wife.
" So, how do we look?" Maddie Fenton asked, following the question up with a quick twirl to show off the beautiful light blue evening gown that perfectly matched her eyes and set off her hair. It flattered her trim figure without being scandalously tight and possessed just enough sequins to catch the light and draw the eye without turning her into a gaudy blue disco ball. Beside her, Jack was dressed in a simple black tux with a blue tie and vest that matched his wife's dress and the scowl on his face clearly indicated what he thought the answer to the question was.
In any other household, the question wouldn't have even earned a raised eyebrow, however; dense though fifteen year old Danny Fenton may be, he had a feeling that "normal" wasn't quite the answer his mother was hoping for. Fortunately Jazz was a little quicker on the uptake. " You guys look great," She gushed sincerely, " Mom, you're going to be the most beautiful woman at the party. And Dad, you look…"
" Like a penguin!" He interrupted, " I don't even see why we're going to this thing in the first place."
Three pairs of eyes rolled as one and Maddie gently placed a hand on her husband's arm, smiling patiently, " We're going because Mr. Lancer was nice enough to invite us to his New Year's Eve party. Besides, it'd be nice to get out of the house every now and then for something that doesn't involve ghosts." She ignored the fact that even when they tried for normal evenings the paranormal had a habit of intruding, in the hopes that tonight would be different. She stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on Jack's cheek, " and for the record, you don't look like a penguin."
" I do too," he argued, though it was clear to everyone that he knew he'd lost the fight, " Not only do I look like a penguin, I'm over heating in this thing."
" That's because most tuxes aren't supposed to be worn over jumpsuits Dad," Danny offered, barely suppressing a grin as his father glared at him. " Somehow I seriously doubt you're going to encounter any ghosts at Mr. Lancer's party…unless you count all the people who've died from boredom at previous ones, right Jazz?"
Jazz smirked, noting the way her father had perked up at the possibility of a ghost filled evening after all, " It's just an expression Dad," she said gently, " there aren't going to be any ghosts at all, which means that you're not going to need any ghost hunting weapons. Now…assume the position." Ignoring her father's grumbling, she pulled the Fenton Scanner from her back pocket; it resembled a handheld metal detector wand and was designed to pick up on the residual ecto-signatures of ghosts that had overshadowed people, though any object that had come into contact with a ghost, such as certain ghost weapons, could be picked up as well. Stepping well clear of Danny to keep the scanner from picking him up, Jazz slowly swept the device over her father's body, starting at his head and moving methodically downward. When she reached his left ankle, the scanner let out an unmistakable high pitched squeak and Jazz lifted his pant leg to reveal the Jack-of-nine tails tucked into his sock. " Nice try Dad," she said, removing the weapon and completing the scan. " Any other ghost weapons I might have missed?"
" None that are so easily removed," Jack replied defiantly. Noticing the looks of disgust on the faces of his children he quickly clarified his statement, " I meant my brain, the greatest anti-ghost weapon ever created. You can have that one when it's dead and no longer of any use to me. Like after this party."
Refusing to be drawn in by her husband's sour mood, Maddie turned her attention to her children, " Ok, we should get going, but there's a twenty on the counter in the kitchen so you two can order a pizza later and we've got some chips and salsa and some of those jalapeño bite things. So you two should be set…oh, and don't forget to activate the ghost shield after we're gone, better to be safe than sorry, right?" She smiled brightly and tugged the door open. " Oh, and happy new year," She called, attempting to pull Jack through the door with her despite his quite active resistance.
" And remember Jazz," Jack said darkly, clinging desperately to the door frame with his free hand, " No boys allowed." Before he could elaborate on the consequences of allowing boys into the house, he lost his grip on the door frame and was dragged away over his repeated protests that he looked like a penguin.
The moment their parents were gone, Jazz shut the door, leaning against it heavily and giving Danny an odd look. " You overshadowed Lancer to get them invited to his party, didn't you?" It was more of a statement than a question and she didn't even give him a chance to deny it before continuing, " Whatever happened to using your powers responsibly Danny?"
" What?" Danny asked, feigning innocence, his blue eyes widening in shock, " Jazz, how could you even think that I'd do something like that." Jazz simply folded her arms over her chest and fixed him with a glare. " Yeah, ok, so maybe I…helped to get Mom and Dad invited to Mr. Lancer's party, but I still say that's just as responsible an application of my powers as trying to get every ghost that rears its ugly head back into the ghost zone is." Jazz quirked an eyebrow, clearly disagreeing with his definition of responsibility; he sighed, " Ok, I just didn't want a repeat of last year's new year's eve here," he admitted, " Dad in the lab waiting for his chance to catch the spirit of the new year and Mom trying to drag us into every "family activity" she could think of until the ball dropped…I just couldn't go through that again Jazz…I just couldn't." Sure, it was overly dramatic, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Jazz smiled, dropping all pretense of being annoyed, " See, don't you feel better after getting all of that off your chest?" She pulled back the sleeve of her black turtleneck and glanced at her watch, it was almost eight in the evening, " Well…I'd better go get changed."
Danny stared blankly, " Jazz, I know it's New Year's Eve, but you don't have to get dressed up just to spend time with me. I'm certainly not." He gestured to the white t-shirt and blue jeans he was wearing, " You look fine," he added.
Clearly amused, she shook her head as she pushed away from the door and dropped the Fenton Scanner and Jack-of-nine tails into Danny's hand on her way to the stairs. " I'm not getting dressed up for you," She explained, starting up the stairs, " Dash invited me to his house for a parent's free New Year's Eve Party," she pulled the flier from the back pocket of her pants and dropped it over the railing, " Not that I'm at all interested in that self-absorbed twit," she hastened to add, " I just figure it would be an excellent chance to record some field observations for my thesis on teen development, specifically relating to group behavior in the absence of authority figures."
Danny set the Fenton Scanner and Jack-of-nine tails on the couch and walked over to where the flier had fallen. Sure enough it advertised the lack of parental presence in big, bold, red letters. Honestly, he had no clue as to how Dash got away with half the stuff he did, probably just another perk of being popular and athletic. " Jazz," Danny smirked, " You already know how teens act without parents around. They get into trouble, they break stuff, and I'm guessing considering who's throwing the party and why…they probably drink too. Do you really need to observe this for your thesis?" The truth of the matter was that he just didn't want to spend New Year's Eve by himself; Jazz could be annoying as hell at times, but she was still better company than being alone. Of course, he'd call Vlad "Dad" before he ever admitted it.
" Ok, so maybe I don't need to go," Jazz admitted, leaning over the railing and looking down at her little brother, " Maybe I just want to go. I mean Mom and Dad get to go to a party tonight, why shouldn't I?" With that, she turned and headed to her room to get changed, leaving Danny alone to ponder the weirdness of his sister actually wanting to do something like a "normal" teen for once in her life.
" Maybe she's learning to act her age," He muttered distractedly, dropping down onto the couch and flipping on the TV, " Nah." Surfing through the channels, he sought something, anything that didn't focus on the evening's upcoming festivities or the idea that if you weren't with someone, specifically someone you could kiss at the stroke of midnight, then you were a loser. After his fourth rotation through the channels, he decided that the gods were just against him and cut the TV off in disgust. It wouldn't be so bad to have the place to myself if Sam weren't… almost as quickly as the thought began, he shut it down. Sam was his best friend, just his best friend and that was fine with him. Certainly he didn't need to think about things the two of them could do together in an otherwise empty house. Nope, didn't need, or want for that matter, those kinds of thoughts at all. Fortunately the sound of Jazz's feet on the stairs interrupted thoughts of Sam, wanted or not, and Danny turned to peer over the back of the couch to look at her.
She was drop dead gorgeous, not that he'd ever, ever, admit such a thing and would promptly do his best to forget that he'd ever thought it as soon as she left, but the fact of the matter was that she could give Paulina a serious run for her money. Her flame red hair was piled intricately on top of her head, with a few strands hanging free to frame her face. She wore a dark green, spaghetti strap evening gown that set off her hair and eyes nicely, and matching green pumps. " So, how do I look?" She asked, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.
" You look nice Jazz," he replied sincerely, " Better watch out at the party though Paulina might consider you a threat." To his amazement, she actually blushed at the compliment. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen his sister blush, and still have four fingers left over.
" Thanks Danny," She smiled, walking over and leaning against the back of the couch, " You know, for an annoying little brother, sometimes you're a decent guy." Her smile only widened at the glare the remark earned, " But seriously, I'm not concerned about what Paulina thinks of me. I know you're infatuated with her, but I honestly don't know why, she's dimmer than a one watt light bulb that's burned out." She paused, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, " Now Sam on the other hand…"
It was Danny's turn to blush, though it happened so frequently when people tried to connect him and Sam that it honestly surprised him that he still could be embarrassed by it. " She's not my girlfriend!" He almost shouted, only belatedly realizing that the statement really didn't have any bearing on what his sister had said.
Jazz laughed, " I didn't say she was, now did I?" The question was answered by the deepening of Danny's blush, " Look, I'm going to be out, Mom and Dad are gone. Why don't you invite her over to watch the ball drop? Tucker too, of course" She added almost as an afterthought.
Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair, " I can't. Tucker's still out of town with his parents visiting relatives and won't be back 'til school starts on Monday. As for Sam," another sigh, this one accompanied by a slight frown, " She called me this morning to let me know she was being kidnapped by her parents and taken to Times Square to watch the ball drop tonight, something about them trying to get her into the holiday spirit. I think they just didn't want her anywhere near me if there was a chance we could end up kissing." His shoulders slumped in abject dejection.
Jazz bit her lower lip thoughtfully as she studied her brother's body language. Poor guy's got it bad she mused it's a shame Sam's parents can't see what a great guy he is . She glanced at her watch, it was almost nine and the party would really be getting underway by now, but as much as she wanted to go and just have a normal night, she couldn't leave Danny like this. " Tell you what," she offered, taking a seat on the arm of the couch, " I'll call Dash and tell him that I can't make it after all, then you and I can spend some quality time together that doesn't involve me helping you hunt ghosts."
Danny smiled at Jazz's obvious attempt to cheer him up, " Nah, I'll be ok Jazz. Besides, you went to all that trouble of getting dressed up. Go, have a good time and don't worry about me."
" Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly, " I mean, I'd take you with me but…"
" The ball wouldn't be the only thing dropping at midnight," he finished for her with a self-deprecating smile. Even though he'd bulked up a bit from the past year's ghost hunting, Dash still made it his personal goal to wail on him at least once a day, sometimes more if the jock was in a really good mood. " Just be careful Jazz," he said, " I'm not going to tell you not to drink, I know you're too smart to do that, but if someone spikes the punch or something, give me a call and I'll give you a lift home."
Jazz smiled, catching exactly what he'd meant by that, " You know Danny, I think ghost hunting agrees with you. You're really starting to mature." Leaning over she gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek, " Alright, I'm out of here and I promise I'll call if I need a lift." She headed for the door, opened it and turned with a smile, " Happy New Year Danny…and don't forget the ghost shield. You know Mom and Dad will have a fit if they come home and it's not on."
" I know, I know," he replied with a wave, " I'll take care of it and you have a Happy New Year too." Danny watched as Jazz headed out the door, shutting it firmly behind her and leaving him alone. Alone with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. " At least I know what to do with you," he said, whacking himself in the forehead as though it'd be enough to knock the thoughts from him. Sadly, it didn't work. " Fine," he growled, " I can't force you out, I'll drown you out." Choosing the lesser of two evils, he clicked the TV on and left it on MTV's New Year's Rocking Eve, turning up the volume. Sure, it'd make him think of Sam and wish she was there with him, but if he couldn't hear his thoughts did it really matter?
Two hours later, his plan had almost worked aside from the occasional commercial interruptions for the latest romantic comedy, he'd been able to keep his thoughts of Sam drowned out by loud music and overly perky VJs. And when the commercials came on, he'd just slip into the kitchen to grab some pizza bites, or chips, or a slice of pizza, after all it was hard to think of…well damn near anything on a stomach full of grease. It was just after eleven and he was making a trip to the fridge to retrieve a can of Coke when a pale blue mist escaped his lips. " Damn it," he muttered, setting the Coke on the counter, " I knew this night was going entirely too well. Oh well, guess I'm going ghost." Twin rings of energy encircled his body, traveling in opposite directions. In less than a second, Danny Phantom stood where Danny Fenton had once been. " And here I thought at least some ghosts would resolve not to get their asses kicked by me this year…" With a sigh he went intangible and sank through the floor towards the most likely source of the problem. Coming through the ceiling of the lab, he swept his eyes around the room, alert for trouble and it didn't take him long to spot it. Standing in front of the, unsurprisingly, active ghost portal was… " Ember?" he questioned, popping into view in shock.
" Shit," She muttered, rolling her eyes, " I'd have sworn that even you had enough of a life that you weren't at home on New Year's Eve Danny." Despite her words, she didn't make a move to try and attack him or escape.
" What're you doing here?" he asked, landing on the floor and running a critical eye over her. Gone was her usual alternative/ punk attire; in its place was a flowing black evening gown, cut low in the front and, as Danny couldn't help but notice, revealing quite a bit of cleavage. Her normally free flowing hair was actually hanging straight and pulling around her shoulders. She actually looks nice he thought only to chastise himself a second later for noticing Ok…for one thing, she's evil…for another, she's a ghost, and then there's that whole tried to take over the world on multiple occasions thing. Besides…if Tuck or Sam ever found out they'd never let you live that down. " Well? And since when do you use my name?" he asked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot expectantly.
Ember sighed, " Hey, if you want I can call you ghost-boy, whelp, or child just like Skulker and Technus do," she said irritably, " But I'm trying to be nice tonight. Besides, Danny's a nice name. As for what I'm doing here…" She gestured to her outfit, " I just wanted to find a place where I could watch the ball drop in peace and not have to put up with Technus ranting about how not only is Dick Clark a robot but his greatest invention, or catch Kitty and Johnny 13 making out every time I turn around. OK? I figured you'd be out with your girlfriend and I could just use your TV and then go back to the zone after midnight. I'm really not dressed for trouble."
Running his eyes over her outfit again, Danny wasn't sure he could agree with that last statement, but it wouldn't hurt to have some company, even if it was ghost company. " Well…" he said thoughtfully, walking towards a bank of controls, " fine, you can stay…but only until after the ball drops. And just to make sure you're not planning anything." He smiled and pressed a button, activating the ghost shield and then triggered the genetic lock, closing the ghost portal.
"Paranoid?" She teased, her pale green eyes flashing in amusement, " Want to get your thermos or maybe find some piece of junk to make sure I can't use my powers?"
It was a tempting proposition, but … " Nah," Danny said, reverting to his human form, his eyes briefly flickering to the specter deflector and back to his ghostly guest, " It's probably going to come back and bite me in the ass, but I trust you. Besides, it really wouldn't go with your dress." He held out an arm for her and was surprised when she actually crossed the room to him and linked it with one of hers. " Oh, and for the record…Sam's not my girlfriend."
Ember laughed, not in the evil, "I'm going to take over the world" way, but a warm, almost human laugh, " Right. You just keep telling yourself that. So if she's not your girlfriend, does that mean you're available?" The answering blush that spread across Danny's cheeks as he led her up the stairs to the kitchen just started her laughing harder.
Moments later, the unlikely pair found themselves sharing the couch, a bag of chips and a jar of salsa, as well as the pizza box, in front of them on the coffee table. " So, I told you why I'm not hanging with my "friends" tonight. Now it's your turn, what are you doing at home?" Ember asked casually, snagging a slice of pizza from the box.
Danny ran a hand through his hair and stole a glance at his unexpected companion. Just when I thought my life couldn't get any weirder he thought I'm spending New Year's Eve with an enemy. The Christmas truce was one thing, but this was something else entirely. Next thing you know, I'll be getting a Valentine's Day card from Desiree He shuddered at the thought and sighed, realizing she really expected him to share. " Tucker's out of state visiting relatives with his parents," he explained, " and Sam's…right there!" he exclaimed pointing to the screen. Sure enough, standing at the front of the crowd in Times Square beside her parents looking extra miserable. The camera panned slightly to the left, and the source of her extra misery became readily apparent; latched onto her hand, and smiling cheerfully, was a young man wearing an expensive looking dark blue jacket over a sweater-vest. No doubt an attempt by her parents to pair Sam with a "suitable" boyfriend.
"Gee," Ember managed around a mouthful of pizza, " I guess she really isn't your girlfriend." She stole a glance at the halfa beside her and noted that his eyes had flashed from blue to green at the comment. Talk about your green eyed monster she mused, swallowing and trying to figure out a safe topic that wouldn't push him over the edge and earn herself a one way trip back to the ghost zone. " So, your friends are out of town," she said, " I get that, but why not go to a party or something. I mean, it's New Year's Eve and I'm sure that there's some girl at your school who wouldn't mind spending the evening with you. You really aren't that bad looking, and you're a hell of a lot hotter than most of the "men" in the ghost zone…if you can really call them that." Realizing what she'd just said, Ember blushed and quickly reached for a chip.
Danny nearly choked on the sip of Coke he'd just taken. She wasn't just flirting with me, was she? he wondered, taking another drink and hoping that he didn't look like a total spaz. " Well," he hedged, " Believe it or not, I'm not exactly the most popular guy in the school…which pretty much rules out parties…and girls." His eyes flicked to the TV screen again, noting that it was only ten more minutes til midnight, and scanning the crowd for any sign of Sam again. Sam doesn't care how popular you are or aren't a little voice piped up at the back of his mind.
Ember smiled, her eyes drifting to some far away time and place for a moment, " You know, I kind of understand where you're coming from. When I was still alive that is, my parents had a decent amount of money and I went to a private school. Of course all any of the girls you could have called my "friends" were interested in were those damn Boy Bands…synthetic, prepackaged, bland and tasteless pop. I wasn't exactly invited places either…." She shook her head, pulling herself out of the past, " Which is why being a ghost is so much fun," she added more enthusiastically, " No one to tell me where to go or what to do. I can just be myself and not care what anyone else thinks…" She trailed off self-consciously. Great, just had to bring up our philosophical differences on ghost powers she thought.
To Danny's surprise, he found his hand seemingly moving of its own accord to give Ember's shoulder a soft squeeze, " Sorry people couldn't accept you for who you are, or were…whatever when you were alive. If you ask me, it's the independently minded girls who're the most interesting."
Ember smiled, " Thanks." An awkward silence fell over the living room and the two simply stared at the screen, managing to polish off the pizza and the chips in the process. At one minute until midnight, Ember decided that she couldn't take it anymore. " So, any resolutions this year?" She piped up cheerfully.
Danny ceased starring at the TV, willing it to give him another glimpse of Sam, and turned to face the ghost girl. " Ummm" He scratched the back of his head absently, " Not really. Keep my parents in the dark about my….ah…gift. Try not getting beaten up so much at school. The usual really."
So his parents, who pride themselves on their ghost hunting ability, don't know their own son is the Amity Park ghost boy Ember mused, fighting to keep a grin off her face Could be useful information for the future. " What kind of lame resolutions are those?" She challenged.
" You think you could come up with something better?" Danny challenged.
"Yes," Ember said quietly, did she really want to share so much with him? Thirty seconds left, " You could resolve to let the people you care about know just how much you care." She said, not quite meeting his eyes, fifteen seconds, " It was the last resolution I made before…" She let the rest hang in the air between them and simply gestured to herself.
" Oh," Danny said quietly. Somehow he knew that she didn't want to hear the words "I'm sorry" especially from him right now. Three seconds left until the New Year. " Hey Ember," he started, waiting for her to look at him, " Happy New Year." Before she could react, he leaned forward and captured her lips with his in a gentle kiss. He pulled away, blushing, and shrugged, " It's tradition." He said, noticing her shocked expression. Oh man, if she doesn't kill me for that, then Sam will if she ever finds out He thought, waiting for any sort of reaction from Ember. He wasn't sure what it was, but his being around other girls brought out something almost possessive in Sam.
Ember touched her lips experimentally in disbelief and smiled, " I guess you have a point there," she agreed, pushing herself up from the couch, " And we did have a deal, so I should get headed back to the ghost zone." This time it was she who offered the arm for escort. Standing, Danny took her arm and together they walked through the kitchen and down the stairs to the lab. " Hey Danny," she said as he released the genetic lock and opened the portal, " Thanks for a nice evening. Almost reminded me of what it was like to be alive. I haven't felt like that for a long time." She was not going to cry damn it.
" Yeah, well…," Danny smiled, " Thanks for keeping me company. I had a pretty nice time too." Who'd have thought that he'd ever be saying those words to someone who he had to fight on a semi-regular basis. I wonder if this will change anything he mused, watching as Ember walked towards the glowing portal Nah, probably not."
" And Danny," Ember started, turning to look at him over her shoulder, " I'm serious about the resolution. If you care about someone, you should let her know before it's too late. Life's too short for games…trust me on that one." Before he could reply, she leapt into the portal and was gone.
" Great, now I'm getting advice on my love life from ghosts," Danny muttered, and amused smirk crossing his lips as he re-engaged the genetic lock. Still, maybe she had a point. Shaking his head at just how surreal his night had been, even by his standards, he headed back upstairs just in time to catch the ringing of the phone. " Hello?"
" Happy New Year Danny," came Tucker's voice.
" Happy New Year to you too Tuck," Danny smiled, " How's everything?"
" Great…I can't talk really though…just wanted to wish you a happy new year and tell you to turn on CNN. Trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it." With that, the line went silent.
Curious, Danny headed into the living room and changed the channel to CNN's coverage of New Year's Eve celebrations around the world. " The new year came in with a bang for fifteen year old Thad Boneswell of the New York Boneswells," the perky blond reporter was saying as the screen switched to a view of Times Square. Danny immediately recognized the pompous bastard who'd been holding Sam's hand earlier. Only this time, he'd dipped Sam deeply and plastered his lips to hers, much to the sappy admiration of her preppie parents. Danny's blood began to boil, that is until he saw Sam's fist come up and solidly connect with the jerk's face, to the amusement of on lookers and the horror of her parents.
" That's my Sam," he smiled. Well, not "his" Sam. Not yet anyway, maybe it would be worth it to take Ember's advice and let Sam know just how he felt.