Dude! I'm no damsel!
Danny was a victim. Dash was a bully. And one night, there was a typical damsel and hero incident. But what will come of Danny being a hero and Dash being a victim? And how can Danny cope with Dash hating one side of him and loving the other? It's just gotten complicated for Danny Fenton.
Well looks like I'm doing Swagger Bishie...
I don't do anything remotely normal do I? Rated for safety. It won't be updated as often as you or I would like.
I don't own Danny Phantom and if I did, it would be continued. Obviously. Not that I'd do a great job with it. :) No flames please.
Chapter one: Slip ups
The darkness of the night was lit up only by the shining lights of both the stars and the town lights that Sunday roads were empty of any transport and Amity Park as a whole, was fairly quiet. All apart from one particular house. Paulina Sanchez: A-lister, Hispanic and the desire of many boys at Casper High School was having one of her famous parties. The drum and bass pumped out of the building, shaking the walls of both houses either side. Everyone had come to her party that she wanted. I mean, who could deny Paulina? But one person had not shown up. The great Danny Phantom. Not that it was his choice not to go. If it were, he'd be there quicker than his dad to fudge.
At around 12.30 am on that night, the mahogany door opened and a tall, blonde haired jock stepped out, hugging his letterman jacket tightly around his well-built frame. Dash Baxter was also an A-lister, but was quarterback for the Casper High Ravens and a bully too many there also. Dash looked up at the sky and a puff of cold air drifted from his mouth with a shiver. He hugged his thin layer closer around him and jogged down the steps as he left for home. Dash had gotten fed up of Paulina. In his opinion, dancing that close to him in that way should be illegal. There was no doubt that Dash used to find her attractive, but now she was just a friend and not even a very good one at that. He was also bored, as Kwan had left around half an hour beforehand, breaking his curfew in the process. Not that he cared about that. All that were left were those who had got completely drunk and stupidly flirty. Dash was not one of them. He didn't care for vodka, beer or any other kind of alcoholic drink. It didn't tickle his fancy.
His sneakered feet tread along the cracked pavement carelessly and he looked down at the leaf littered floor below him. He knew he would return home to an angry mother, claiming that he had missed his curfew by an hour. He would claim that he hadn't meant it, which was true and he would end up grounded for a month. It was the same old routine. Dash'd gotten used to it by now. He sighed and looked up to wear a look of confusion. He didn't recognise his current location.
The streets had turned dark, rough and broken. Shattered windows and abandoned houses were prominent here and this set Dash on edge. Where the heck was he? Dash's eyes widened and he hugged himself tighter, looking at the floor and avoiding all eye contact with any possible ruffians or lawbreakers. Unfortunately, a blonde boy sporting a bright red jacket isn't extremely inconspicuous and he had caught the eye of a group of shady men hanging around a ropy looking car. As soon as Dash realised that he was being followed, his pace quickened and his breaths became more jagged, the air freezing his lungs and slowing him down. In blind confusion, Dash stumbled into a shadowed alleyway, which unfortunately was a dead end. He skidded to a halt, looking around frantically and then spinning around to see the six older men with grins on their worn faces. Dash backed up into the crumbling brick wall and his eyes darted back and forth between everyone of them.
The one, which Dash assumed to be the leader, stepped forward throwing dagger skilfully up and down in his hand, "We don't wan' no trouble. Just empty your pockets an' we'll leave you be." He said in a slightly slurred way. The smell of human waste, sweat and beer was strong on this man and Dash wrinkled his nose in distaste. Dash wasn't one to back down, and he certainly wasn't one to back down to a bunch of drunken weirdos. He squared his shoulders and shook his head, unable to speak from fear. The moustached leader scowled and gestured to the men behind him, who came forward, looking equally as offended by Dash.
The leader gripped Dash's neck and held the sharp blade to his throat. "We gave you a choice man an' you denied it. Looks like we have't do it the hard way." He pressed the knife into his jugular, drawing a trickle of blood and making Dash's eyes produce tears. Dash thought of school. His life there. His popularity, his friends, his admirers. His victims. In particular, Danny Fenton The one who set Dash's teeth on edge and basically begged him to bully him. His clumsiness and weak stature was felt in Dash now. Dash felt clumsy. Dash felt weak. Dash thought he was going to die. Dash took a sharp intake of breath as the rabble of drinkers closed in on him and his impending doom with it.
But that's when he came. A flash of black and white zoomed down behind them and caused the men to jump and the knife to fall from the leaders hand. His Snow White hair and glowing green eyes were well known throughout the town. His monochrome jumpsuit was iconic and the strange insignia even more so. The tan male had a spooky glowing aura about him and a stance that showed he was prepared for a fight. Dash smiled at the sight of Danny Phantom, the Ghost Boy, Inviso-bill, Whelp etcetera. All in all, Dash knew he would be saved by the town hero.
"Get away from Dash you repugnant ruffians!" Phantom ordered as he stood up to his less than impressive full height and let his hands glow with spectral energy. The group turned around and prepared themselves for a fight.
"Wha' makes you think you can bea' us Ghos' boy? There are six of us, an' only one of you." The leader chuckled darkly and lead his group towards the ghostly hero. Dash was crumpled on the floor, looking at the goings on in interest when one of the men grabbed him and brought him forward too. "An' we have Dash. Your frien' is he?" The man grabbed Dash away from his counterpart and gripped him tighter. For a moment, Dash could have sworn Phantom had a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.
"I said let him go! I am warning you citizen!" He raised his fists in front of his face, looking to Dash with quick, sharp movements. Dash was confused. For some reason, he heard an unfamiliar shake in Phantoms voice. Why would Phantom be worried? Phantom was brave, witty and not afraid of anything. What did he have to lose? He was already dead.
The leader did not listen to Inviso-bill and gripped Dash's neck tighter, causing him to grapple at the mans arm helplessly. "He DOES mea' something to you? Well that's a surprise. The ghos' kid thinks somethin' of this loser." The leader laughed as Dash's vision became blurry and his head began to spin. His eyes nearly fluttered closed and his scrabbling became loose and hopeless.
Danny Phantom growled a low, menacing purr before hitting the leader across the face with one, smooth glowing punch of his hand. The man was knocked back into the wall and slid down as he fell unconscious. At the sight of this, his 'friends' fled as fast as they could, leaving both their leader and their victim behind. Without a second glance to the unconscious man, the ghost boy went to Dash's side and lifted his head up onto his knee. Dash's eyes flickered open erratically to see the spirits face near his.
The ghosts toxic green eyes were magical and entrancing while his long, messy white locks drooped over his soft lined face teasingly. Dash wondered how soft his hair was; he wished to touch a piece and run it through his fingers. It was only up close that Dash could see how skinny the dead teen really was. The tight material of the spandex hung close to his flat body and did not cover the fact that he felt sort of cold to Dash.
It was only then that Dash discovered his head lay in the boys lap and the face of the spectre was literally an inch from his. "Are you okay Dash?" The Ghost Boy asked in pure concern and his eyes bore into Dash's, making his heart thrum heavily in his chest uncontrollably. Dash nodded mechanically and shifted his weight to try and lift himself up, only to moan in pain and collapse again, with the ghost boy supporting his back. "You aren't okay. I'm so sorry Dash." The boys brow furrowed and he rubbed Dash's arm to remove some of the dust that was there.
"Why are... Are you sorry?" Dash mumbled woozily and tried to stand up again, this time with the help of the town Heroine. His knees felt extremely weak as the white-haired teen supported his back comfortingly.
"Because you got hurt." The boy said quietly and helped Dash stand to his full height. "Okay?" Danny asked and looked Dash up and down warily as Dash nodded. Phantom stepped back and let go of Dash's arms slowly to let Dash acclimatise to standing again.
Unfortunately he wasn't ready. Dash stumbled forward again and was caught by the ghost, falling into his chest sleepily. Dash looked up at him and blushed faintly. Dash wasn't all there. The lack of oxygen supplied to his brain after being strangled was limited and therefore, he wasn't in a sound state of mind. That's what he thought afterwards anyway. Heaving himself up, Dash slipped forward and his lips collided with the hero's. Dash looked at him with half-lidded eyes and a giddy smirk while the Phantom looked at him wide eyed and disturbed. Yet they didn't pull away. The Ghost Boy's eyes fluttered closed slightly and he helped Dash get up to his full height. Dash moved his hand to support the smaller boys back and bring him closer to him. The Ghost Boy complied.
To Dash's surprise, the Ghost Kid let out a satisfactory moan and jumped away from the Jock in a startled way. "I-I'm sorry." The spirit's confidence was heavily knocked and his neon eyes burned in the dark with confusion.
Dash blinked away his dizziness and touched his lips lightly. His heart produced a flutter from the touch. He looked up to the ghost boy and said apologetically, "I am sorry too." He looked down and his muscled arms fell down too. The Ghost known as Danny Phantom looked pained at the awkwardness of the situation but decided on one thing to do. He stepped forward and took Dash's hand firmly.
"Let's get you home. Yeah?" Danny said carefully and Dash looked to the white-haired boys height. Dash squeezed Inviso-bill's hand and he smiled softly. "Cool." Dash noticed that the ghost who had just saved him sounded a lot different than to when he was talking to the gang. He seemed more like a teenager, unlike his usual heroic manner. It was nice to see him this way. It was calming to Dash. "Hold on tight." Danny ordered and Dash was more than willing when the small boy rose into the air, his hair flowing back out of his young face.
Dash clung to his arm tightly as he watched them ascend away from the alleyway and the leader who still remained unconscious. The jock watched wide eyed as the buildings and cars below became smaller and smaller and the air started to grow colder. Soon, they flew through the clouds; the damp moisture hitting their faces softly as they passed through the dark sky. Dash saw the lights of the large town sparkle brightly but the brightest light of all was coming from Phantom. He shone like a star and his glow was brighter than usual. The truth was that Phantom was very happy, meaning his aura glowed brighter. He was flying with someone other than Sam or Tucker for a change and it felt good. He enjoyed seeing Dash give him a look other than hatred and admiration. But the kiss? That would haunt his mind for a while to come. Danny was sure about that.
After a short gentle flight, they soon arrived at the Baxter household and the ghost boy let the Jock down gently at his doorstep. "You're home now. Next time, watch where you're going okay?" Danny smiled sweetly and Dash's smile matched his.
"Sure man. Thanks." Dash nodded and the ghost turned to leave when Dash caught his arm, "um, can I ask you something? How do you know my name?" Danny turned around and looked a little lost for a moment, with his mouth gaping in a goldfish like manner while he tried to think of something to say. Dash laughed internally at the Ghost Boys reaction.
"Well, you're a jock at Casper High and a lot of people know about you...?" The Phantom answered, but it almost sounded like a question as the teen looked sheepish. He did not pull away from Dash's warm grasp. Unlike other times that Dash had touched him, this was soft, careful and friendly. It couldn't be compared to the usual rough punching of the shoulder into your locker. Danny much preferred this.
"I'll accept that." Dash replied cooly and let go of the ghosts cold arm, of which he felt a slight twinge of disappointment from. Danny sighed and smiled almost in regret as he stepped down the steps up to Dash's house.
There was no denying that Danny had forgotten his hate for Dash Baxter. Instead, he found himself fascinated by the great oaf and yearned for his attention greatly. There was something about the pure strength Dash had that Danny could not ignore. It was intoxicating. At this moment, Danny had Dash right behind him, with a conversation hanging in the air meaninglessly. Danny could speak to Dash without Dash wailing on him. His core swelled up in merriment at the thought and suddenly his feet refused to walk any further. He wanted Dash's company more than anyone's at that time. Even more than Tucker or Sams.
"Um, Dash?" A wobble was clear in the ghost boys voice as he turned around to realise that the jock had not left his previous standing position. The truth was that Dash wanted to speak to Phantom more. After all, since when do you actually get to speak to the great Danny Phantom? Dash smiled and straightened his back out as Danny looked in his direction. "I was wondering..." The Ghost Kid sounded so nervous it made Dash smile. With the rubbing of the back of his neck too, Dash was trying to contain the hysterical giggle that could escape from his lips at any moment. "Would you like to meet up again? Like on Friday? After you finish school? Under the stands in the Football pitch?" The pale ghost looked up from under his thick bangs with a wary smile, with his neon eyes sparkling. Dash felt himself relax and a beaming grin spread across his face.
"Yeah! Sure! Friday after school under the stands, got it!" He replied enthusiastically and found himself sporting a huge boost in hyperactive energy. What made him smile wider was the fact that it looked like Dash'd just made the hero of Amity Park's year.
"GREAT! Um, I'll see you then yeah?" Danny made sure and turned around again to leave, but was stopped by a pair of strong arms wrapping around the Ghost Boy and restricting his movements. Danny blushed at the hug that came from behind and the sudden warmth that encased him. A realisation of something made him feel a little on edge. Dash nuzzled his face into Danny's neck slightly and smiled. Danny wasn't as cold as Dash was lead to believe. The contact was pleasurable and for some reason... Dash felt pained when he let go.
"Thank you again for saving me." Dash thanked with a warm smile and shook the Ghost kids hand before walking away slowly and heading through his front door, shutting it with a quiet slump.
The teen hero stood slightly stunned on the pavement on this quiet, empty street and recalled what had just happened in his head over and over again. Dash had hugged him. Dash; the jock, bully and torturer of Danny Fenton had given him a hug. Not just any hug at that. Dash had pulled Danny right up close to him from behind no less and wrapped his arms around his chest. Danny swore Dash was stroking his t-shirt once or twice. And then there was... That. That was completely unexpected. Danny doubted Dash even knew he did it. Finally, the kiss. Why did he enjoy it? Why did Dash enforce it? It didn't feel right. But it happened and now Danny was seriously confused. With a shake of his head, Danny rose up into the air and headed to Fenton Works after a long day of Ghost fighting, confusion and possible bonds being formed.
How'd you like it? Review please as always and NO FLAMES I REPEAT NO FLAMES!
I am but a sensitive soul.