"Hi Danny, Sam, Tucker," Jazz said, as she walked down the stairs. "Do you guys need a lift to school?"
"No thanks, we're good. There's some ghosts to take care of." Danny replied. Jazz knew perfectly well that he just didn't want to be seen with his sister, or else it would kill his already low standings on the popularity food chain. Although, why that idiot Dash Baxter, who's only in grade 9, is the 'big man on campus', Jazz would never know.
"I'd like a ride Jazz," Sam said. "I don't feel like walking in the cold."
"But Sam," Tucker said, "It's boiling out there! Why do you need…" Of course, by then, Sam and Jazz were out the door. They got into the car Jazz got for her birthday, and drove for about five minutes, before Sam spoke up.
"Uh, Jazz?" she said. "Can I ask you something?" Sam looked rather shifty when she said this, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear.
"It's about Danny, isn't it?" Jazz replied. "I knew this would come sooner or later. Remind me to call Tucker. He owes me money."
"Money? For what? That I'd ask you about Danny? That seems odd. It's not like I like him or anything. We're just friends. That's all." Sam protested, even while a blush was coloring her cheeks red.
"Sam, you can see it from space! It's more obvious than my parent's wacko ghost obsession! I know you like Danny, and I also know you like him. If you want to ask him out, do it soon, or Valerie will again." Jazz said, with a knowing look.
Sam sat brooding in silence, while the car pulled up towards the school. As the girls got out, a tired looking Mr. Lancer came running down the front steps, almost as exhausted as he had when Ember made the students go crazy.
"Miss Fenton! Miss Mason! How good to see you! Can I ask you a small favour?" Lancer asked, with a look that you can't help but pity.
"Well, I'm gone!" Sam said, as she ran towards the door. "I'll talk to you later Jazz!" She turned into the school, heading to find Danny and Tucker. "Hopefully," Jazz thought, "to go and start the relationship that should've started ages ago." She looked to Mr. Lancer, and said "Alright, what do you need me to do this time? And no more tutoring, please. That Baxter kid wore me out for the next ten years."
"Well, there is a new student." Lancer, said, all hesitancy gone from his voice. "Could you show him around, help him to get to know Casper High?"
"Fuuunnn…" Jazz thought. "And now that he expects me to do it, I can't say no. Oh, drat!" She looked at Mr. Lancer, but only said "Sure. Bring him here."
Mr. Lancer looked as relieved as humanly possible. "Mr. Lucas, come out here please!" As the new student walked out, Jazz was struck by how tall he was, and how handsome, with dark brown hair… And he was quiet, too. Looking around, taking things in. "Wow," Jazz thought. "He's really cute… I wonder if he has any classes with me…" Then, Mr. Lancer made his introductions. "Rae Lucas, this is Jasmine Fenton. She'll be your guide for the rest of the day. I'll see you later." Lancer then ran off, off to do something to increase his pay. Rae looked at him, then at Jazz, and asked, "Has he always been an anti-social suck-up? Because from what I see, he'll do anything to up his salary, but seems to delegate most of the actual work to you."
"Well, yeah, I guess." Jazz said, giggling and being shy. "Why on Earth," she thought, "am I acting so ditzy? I've been around cute guys before. Why is he any different?" Rae just looked at her, then smiled and said "Let's go, shall we?" while holding out his hand. Jazz was nervous. Was this an invitation, or not? She decided to go for it, and took his hand. They stood there, looking stupid for a minute, when Rae asked "Um, aren't you leading me? I've only just moved here, so I don't know where my classes are yet." Jazz blushed, then said "Oh, sorry. I'm just, um, off today!" He smiled and said "That's okay, it happens to me too."
"Booring!" Danny thought. "Is math ever going to come in handy in later life? I mean, sure, a bit is, but the value of x to the y squared? Who needs it." Danny lounged back in his chair, thinking about how the weekend was coming up, and Tucker, Sam and him were going to go see 'Spectre Huntress', and go to the carnival in town.
"MR. FENTON!" Ms. Howard shouted. "You are in my class to learn, not fantasize about your girlfriend. Pay attention, or I will give you detention." Ms. Howard was a substitute teacher, filling in for Old Man Lancer, who, according to Sam, had given Danny's sister some boring job to do, and had not shown up before the bell. Sam had been acting weird that morning, not really paying attention to what Danny and Tuck had been talking about. She had told Danny she wanted talk after school, then told Tucker something about owing Jazz money. He'd gotten this look then, some look that had made Danny wonder why Tuck owed Jazz money… Ah well, no ghosts, and no detention! Life was good.
"BRIIIIIIIIING!" went the bell, heralding the end of the day. "FINALLY!" Danny shouted, not realising that everyone was still in the class. "What a loser." "Yeah, I know!" said Star and Paullina. Danny was over Paullina now, actually having had a real relationship, however small. Valerie and him were still friends.
"Earth to Danny!" Tucker said, rapping on Danny's head. "Come in Danny! Wake up! WAKE UP!"
"Tucker!" Sam admonished. 'Calm down, he's awake. Hey, Danny, what's up? Ready to see the coolest movie since Zombie Teacher 9? It's gonna be SWEET!" she said, yelling way too loudly. "Hey, I'm fine." Danny insisted. "Wanna go to Nastee Burger? I'm way hungry."
"Sure!" Sam and Tucker said at once. "But you're buying."
"I'll buy." said Jazz, coming up behind Danny. "And you can ride with us!"
"Who's us?" Danny asked turning around. His question was answered when he saw a tall teenage guy standing next to Jazz. This guy had dark brown hair, with a slight reddish tint, and he looked like the quiet type. Danny looked around at Sam and Tucker, and saw that Sam was staring wide-eyed at the tall guy, like she had at that Elliot jerk.
"Oh, yeah!" Jazz said, suddenly remembering her companion. "This is Rae Lucas, he's new. We have all our classes together!" The enthusiasm was obvious in her voice, but Danny didn't catch on. Sam and Tucker, however, exchanged knowing glances. Jazz, they thought, was completely crushing on him, and Rae, from the way he was smiling, felt the exact same way about her. "So," Jazz asked, "Are you up for a ride to Nastee Burger?"
"Sure" Danny said. This Rae guy would have to be watched closely.
"So, Rae," Tucker asked, "where are you from? Oh, and nice car! How did you afford a convertible?"
"Yeah!" Sam agreed. "It's got a way cool colour scheme! Black rocks!"
"Well," Rae said, taking his time. "The car was a gift, and I'm from North-Eastern Ontario, near Ottawa. I've only been here two days."
"Can you believe that we're both taking advanced Science, Psychology, Mathematics and Spanish?" Jazz asked, having the time of her life up front. "It's like, amazing!"
"Yeah Jazz," Danny replied, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "It's totally the coolest thing on, like, the Earth! Hee hee hee!"
"Danny," Jazz asked, "What's wrong?"
"Well, you haven't exactly been the greatest of choices when it comes to boyfriends before, have you?" Danny stated, vividly remembering Johnny 13.
"Danny!" Jazz spluttered. "He is not my, my, my…"
Rae spoke up, and everyone quieted down. "I'm not her boyfriend, and I'm not going to steal Sam from you, nor am I going to try. Of course, it is pretty cool of you to look out for your big sis this way. I'm sure she appreciates it."
"What do you mean, steal Sam? I'm not her boyfriend! I'm not!" Danny replied, embarrassment apparent on both his and Sam's faces. "Yeah," Sam said indignantly, "We aren't going out!"
"Yet." Rae said, a smirk obvious on his face, while Tucker and Jazz laughed.
"Oh yeah," Jazz remembered. "Tucker, I want my ten dollars, up front, and in cash." The car pulled to a stop in front of Nastee Burger, just as Tucker was saying "Give me a day, I'll have it ready for you then." Everyone got out, then walked in, and up to the cash. A familiar face was on shift.
"Hey guys!" Valerie said. "Who's the cutie with Jazz?"
"What cutie?" Jazz said jokingly, pushing Rae slightly. "If there was a cutie here, believe me, I'd know." Everyone laughed except Danny, and Rae said, smiling, "Very funny. I'll remember that."
"So," Valerie asked. "Regulars for everybody?" When everyone nodded, she pointed at Rae and said "And you?"
"Just a lemonade please," he said. "I can't eat anything from a place called Nastee Burger, no offence."
"None taken in the least." She replied, handing everyone their orders. Everyone had just sat down when a cold wisp came out of Danny's mouth. "Excuse me," he said. "I've gotta go to the washroom." Just then, a cackling noise, mixed in with guitar chords, sounded out of nowhere, and Danny Phantom came bursting out the bathroom door, and Valerie in her techno suit the employees only room.
"Hiya dipstick! Didjya miss me? Cause Ember's back baby!" Just then she caught sight of Rae, and sped over to his table. "Hiya cutie!" She said. "What's your name?" Then Jazz stood up and all but roared. "Back off sister! He's mine!" Then a double blast from Danny and Valerie sent Ember flying backwards. "HEY!" She shouted. "Go bug someone else!" She turned her guitar to 'Punch', and knocked Valerie and Danny flying. The place was now deserted, except for Jazz, Rae, Tucker and Sam. Rae stood up, and stuck out his hand, and instantly, Ember was frozen.
"Uh, nobody saw that, right?" He said, as they looked at him in astonishment.
Danny woke up groggily, in his human form. "Whaa.. What happened?" he thought. He was outside the Nastee Burger, lying in a garbage pile. Then it all came back to him. Ember! He stood up instantly, and shouted "I'm going ghost!", and rushed back in. Everyone was staring at that Rae guy, who was standing up next to an ice sculpture, which looked suspiciously like…
"Ember!" Danny shouted. "That's Ember frozen in ice! Who froze her? Was it Skulker?" Everyone was just silent, staring at Rae. It took Danny a few moments, then he got it. He looked at Rae, and said "You? You froze Ember? And you didn't freak out?"
"Well," Rae said, obviously uncomfortable, "I did freeze her… But why would I be freaked out?"
"Well, apart from the fact that she totally came on to you," Sam said, breaking the silence. "She was a ghost! An ectoplasmic, super-powered, ghost! Doesn't that strike you as odd?" She looked around at the others, and they nodded in agreement. "A ghost?" Rae said, puzzled. "Since when are ghosts real?" He looked over at Danny, and asked "Are you a ghost? You look familiar…" Just then, Danny's parents burst in, shouting "GHOSTS!" at the top of their lungs. Danny looked at Rae, then at them, and flew out the roof. He landed on the ground, and turned back human. As he came back in, his parents came out, and Jack said "Danny! Who made that ice sculpture? It looks just like a ghost!"
"I dunno," Danny said, although he would have to interrogate Rae soon. "Maybe it's just a residue left from a ghost who went to haunt the library?" Jack and Maddie looked at each other, then ran off to the Fenton RV. "Well," Danny thought, "that's one problem down." He walked back in, and went to the table, where everyone was sitting, still silent. He sat down, then turned to face Rae. Before he could say anything, Rae spoke up.
"How long have you been the ghost kid?" He asked, his voice low.
Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Danny all looked at him. They all couldn't believe he had figured it out! "How did you guess that Danny was the ghost-boy?" Tucker said. Then everyone but Rae looked at Tuck, and the glares shut him up. "Thanks Tucker!" Danny said. "What if he's an agent for the guys in white?"
Rae looked confused. "The guys in white?" he said. "Who are they? I just guessed it because he showed up when you disappeared, he's almost completely the opposite colour that you are, and everyone looked around for this 'ghost' when you disappeared, seeking to identify it. It's obvious to anyone who pays more than a little attention."
"Oh." Jazz said. "Well, when you look at it that way… Wait! Where did the ice come from? You haven't explained that! Please, explain Rae."
"Well," Rae said, smiling at Jazz. "For you, Miss Fenton, anything" Jazz blushed then, and Danny scowled. "Alright!" Danny said. "Out with it!" Sam gave him a withering look, so he clammed it.
"Let's just say I am friends with the lovely ladies Sapphire. Jade, Ruby and Diamond." Rae said. "AHA!" Danny shouted. "YOU'RE A PLAYER!"
"Quiet Danny! It's obviously a riddle!" Sam said, mulling it over. "Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond and Jade… What do they have in common…"
"Well," Jazz said, "Ruby is red, Sapphire is blue, Jade is green, and Diamond is crystal clear, no pun intended."
"What's so special about those?" Tucker said, bored already. "This guy just has a thing for gems that are really rare…" It dawned on him what it meant then. "Oh!" He exclaimed. "Now I get it!
"What? What's so special?" Danny asked, confused. "I don't get it!" Everyone just looked at him. Rae looked at Jazz for an explanation, and she said "C student." "Aaah." Rae replied
"What it means Danny," he said "is that I have some connection with the colors red, blue, green, and clear. What, in relation to ice, do those colours have in common?"
"Well, ice is water right? That's blue. Water is an element, like fire or red, and earth for green, and air for crystal, right? You can do something with the elements?"
"I have complete control over the elements. Everything related to them, is under my control." Rae said. "Now shouldn't we do something with the frozen ghost-sicle?"
Everyone looked at the slowly melting Ember. "Oh, right." They said.
The drive back was uneventful, everyone just mulled things over. When they arrived back at Jazz and Danny's house, Jazz stood by the doorway, and Sam, taking the hint, hooked her arms around Danny and Tucker's, and dragged them into the house.
"Sorry about my brother." Jazz said. "He's usually a really great guy! I mean, he has his off days, but we all have those, right?"
"Hey, you're the psychologist in training. I just do it for fun. This is your field of expertise, not mine. Although I must say, I'm the better one." Rae joked, teasing her.
"Cute," she replied, lightly punching him on the arm. "That's payback for that no cute guy remark earlier, isn't it?"
"Call it whatever you want to call it." He said. Looking upwards at something Jazz could not see, he frowned slightly and said "Well, I should go. You have three 14 year old teenagers watching your every move. I'll see you on Monday." He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Jazz shouted, grabbing his shoulder. She took out a piece of paper, and wrote something on it. "This is my phone number," Jazz said. "Maybe we'll see each other sooner than Monday?"
"Whatever you say." Rae replied, reaching over slightly, to place a kiss on her cheek. "Until tomorrow." He walked away, winking once at her.
Sam came out the door, looked at Jazz, who was holding her hand to her face at the spot where Rae had kissed her, and looking at him with the air of someone who just fell head over heels in love. "Well," Sam said, looking determined, "I have to ask Danny out now."
To Be Continued