WoM- Uuurg… as those of you who visited DA might already know, my computer crashed a while back and took all my stories with it. It took me a while to sit down and rewrite this from scratch… Sorry all. ; Anywho, the reaction to this story was pretty much just as predicted (Well, other then the fact that I got over twice as many reviews as I was expecting, anyways.) Group A, who liked the storyline but not the pairing and didn't want to read into it any further because of it. Group B, who liked the storyline enough to give the pairing a chance and Group C, who thanked me a thousand times over for writing a story with this pairing. :D So, with a fond farewell to the first group, I welcome the rest of you back and present you with chapter 2!
Paulina: A gentleman usually tips his hat, but I'll give you points for originality.
Lesson 2
It's funny the way life works out sometimes.
If, let's say for example, you'd told Paulina that morning that before the day was out, she'd be sitting at Danny Fenton's dining room table sipping a glass of milk while trying to convince his mother to teach her the finer points of ghost hunting, she'd probably call the nearest insane asylum to drag you away in a straight jacket.
Which is really saying something, considering how horribly unfashionable those things are…
"I don't think you understand what you're asking me to teach you, sweetie." Mrs. Fenton said as she set her over glass down to absently scratch Cerberus behind his ear. The puppy had gone to her for attention after it was made clear that he wasn't gonna get any from their strange new guest. (Who was not about to get dog fur all over her new skirt.) "Ghost hunting is much more dangerous then it looks."
"Oh, I understand, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina said confidently, flashing the brunette across from her a million watt smile. "But it's a risk I'm willing to take for the sake of Amity Park! After all, you and your husband have helped us all so much, and watching you fight has been such an inspiration to me! That's why I want to do my part and help you fight ghosts."
Instead of looking flattered at the not-so-subtle praise Paulina was pouring on her, Maddie Fenton merely hummed thoughtfully with a deep frown. The cheerleader forced herself to stay smiling to hide her growing irritation. Most people would be eating out of the palm of her hands by now…
"Do you know anything about ghost hunting already?" Mrs. Fenton asked lightly. Paulina balked slightly at the question.
"Well… not really…" She admitted. "But that's why I came to you! I mean, who better to teach me then the woman who was voted one of Spookmag's Top Ghost Hunters in the World for the last three years running? And I read that you're nominated again for this year!" Paulina took another sip of milk to hide her smirk as Mrs. Fenton flushed at the praise.
"You read Spookmag?" Mrs. Fenton asked, apparently trying to compose herself.
"All the time, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina gushed. "In fact, I have a subscription!" Granted, the only reason she really subscribed to the ghost hunting magazine was for their frequent articles on the ghost boy, but it was nice to know it had other uses.
Paulina watched closely as the older woman drummed her gloved fingers absently against the surface of the table. Her resolve was clearly starting to crack, meaning it wouldn't be much longer until she broke down and gave the girl what she wanted…
"Paulina, right?" Mrs. Fenton said, though it didn't sound quite like a question. "How are you doing in school?"
…Well that was an unexpected question.
"School?" Paulina repeated, her eyebrows drawing together at Mrs. Fenton's confirming nod. A little confused, Paulina decided to humor the woman and answered the question. "Okay, I guess… I'm getting As, except for a B- in History." Paulina made a face to express her distaste over that particular subject matter. She never was that good with history… Why should the past matter when the present had so much more to offer her?
"Do you have any extracurricular activities?" Mrs. Fenton pressed on.
"I'm Co-Captain of the Cheer Squad and Treasurer of the Student Council." Paulina responded, unable to keep her smug tone fully at by as she announced this. "I'm also a member of the Dance Committee." And the President of The Danny Phantom Fan Club, but Paulina felt it'd be best if she kept that little tidbit to herself…
"What about your family?" Mrs. Fenton continued. "Will they be alright with you hunting ghosts?"
"Of course, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina answered immediately. One look around at the living room walls, lined with picture after picture of both of the Fenton children and their assorted accomplishments told her that and other answer would be met with an instant rejection.
"You're sure?" Mrs. Fenton pressed, not looking entirely convinced as she studied the younger girl for signs of falsehood. Before Paulina could assure her any further though, Cerberus shot up from his place at Mrs. Fenton's side, heading for the door at a sprint with an excited bark that scared the cheerleader half out of her wits.
"Aaack! Cerberus! Down, boy! Down! Come on Cerberus, behave!" Ducking her head to hide her smile, Mrs. Fenton rose to her feet to follow the path the dog had taken at a much calmer pace, leaving a slightly embarrassed Paulina alone in the living room.
It's a good thing none of my friends are here to make fun of me for freaking out like that… She thought dryly, trying to compose herself before the ghost hunter returned.
"Well you're home early for once." The Latina heard Mrs. Fenton tease her son. "And I see Jack didn't work all the kinks out of the Fenton Door Detector after all…"
"Haha, mom." Danny griped, passing his mother to head up the stairs and finally entering Paulina's line of sight. The cheerleader rose an eyebrow when she took in the boy's mussed appearance, especially when she noticed he was coated in some strange green slime. "We still have the Anti-Ecto Shampoo and Conditioners, right? This stuff's gonna be murder to get out of my hair if we don't…"
Paulina frowned, mildly surprised (And slightly insulted) that Danny had yet to notice her presence. Before she could correct this though, the object in the Fenton boy's hand caught her eye, and the cheerleader froze in shock.
"Check the hall closet, dear." Mrs. Fenton advised as her son started up to the second level of the house with the German Shepard at his heels, oblivious to Paulina's observation. "And don't forget that you still need to walk Cerberus later!"
Danny grunted in acknowledgement of his mother's command, which appeared to be good enough for Mrs. Fenton. The ghost hunter finally turned back to her younger guest, taking no heed in the girl's baffled expression.
"Now, where were we…?"
That question snapped Paulina back to the task at hand, and the aqua-eyed girl suppressed the urge to march up stairs and question her classmate as she flashed Mrs. Fenton another one of the brilliant smiles that won her the title of Miss Teen Amity Park.
"My family, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina reminded her automatically. "Mama and Papa have always supported everything I do, so I'm sure that they won't mind if you teach me how to ghost hunt."
"You've spoken with them about it, then?" Mrs. Fenton asked with an even look at the girl, as if she already knew what the answer would be. Paulina flinched.
"Well…" Sighing, Mrs. Fenton took a pad of paper and a pen from the coffee table that sat between them, jotting down a number.
"Talk to your parents first, honey." Mrs. Fenton advised, tearing the paper free and handing it to the cheerleader, which appeared to have a phone number written on it. "If they really don't mind you hunting ghosts, then have them call me and we can work out all the details."
"Yes, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina said obediently, already considering the potential angles she could use to convince her parents to go along with this scheme without letting her father know that a boy was involved. "I'll talk to them tonight. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about this."
"It was no problem at all, dear." Mrs. Fenton said dismissively as she walked the girl to the door. "Actually, it was nice to talk to a sweet girl like you. Feel free to visit even if your parents say no to the ghost hunting thing, Paulina, I'm sure we can find more to discuss. Like that article in Spookmag about altering a ghost's atoms to reduce or eliminate their powers…"
Paulina applauded herself for being able to suppress her wince at the thought of having that particular conversation.
"Thanks again, Mrs. Fenton." She said instead, smiling at the ghost hunter. "I'll be back with my parent's permission." And, after the women exchanged goodbyes, Paulina began her trek back home. It wasn't until she was halfway there that remembered the question she'd wanted to ask Danny before she'd left…
Why would Fenton have a Thermos like the Ghost Boy's?
"Absolutely not!"
"But Papa…." Paulina whined, openly pouting. "I really want to do this!"
"I'm sorry Paulina, but your father's right. Ghost hunting is just too dangerous for you." Mrs. Sanchez frowned at her daughter curiously, obviously confused about what her daughter was asking to do. "I know you've seen how that ghost boy flies around, getting rammed into buildings and such. If you get involved with that, you could really get hurt."
"It's not like Mrs. Fenton's going to give me a ecto-gun and send me on my way, Mama!" Paulina said, exasperated. "She'll teach me how to defend myself! I won't get hurt Mama, honest!"
"It's still too dangerous!" Mr. Sanchez snapped, glaring at Paulina sternly. "There's not way I'm going to send my little girl off to be killed fighting ghosts!"
"Why don't you leave the ghost hunting to the experts, sweetie?" Mrs. Sanchez suggested mildly.
"Because they might not be enough!" Paulina said, planting her hands on her hips. "I want to be able to help if anything goes wrong!" This statement was met with a mocking snort from her cousin.
"Since when do you care about the common good?" Diego said skeptically.
"No one asked you!" Paulina snapped back before turning to her parents. "Please Papa? You're always worried about me not being able to look after myself, and this could really help me!" His resolve wavering, Mr. Sanchez glanced at his wife, who sighed softly.
"Alright." Mrs. Sanchez relented. "I'll talk to Mrs. Fenton tomorrow when you're out with Dash, and we'll get everything set up." Squealing in delight, Paulina immediately ran to her father, hugging him tightly and pecking him on the cheek before repeating the gesture on her mother.
"Gracias!" Paulina giggled as she bounced away from her parents. "You won't regret this, I promise!" Raising an eyebrow, Diego watched as his cousin bounded up the stairs before turning to his aunt and uncle.
"You're really going to let her go through with this?" He asked incredulously.
"For now." Mrs. Sanchez nodded. "It's probably just another one of her silly fads. She'll get tired of it soon enough, when she realizes that it's too hard or boring."
"And even if she doesn't, it shouldn't be too hard to redirect her interest in a safer direction." Mr. Sanchez added. "Don't worry, this ghost hunting nonsense will be over soon enough…"
"You're going to WHAT?"
"Not so loud!" Paulina said, making a face. Star didn't seem to hear her though, and kept staring at her friend like she's grown another head.
The Blonde had been pestering her fellow cheerleader all day in school to tell her exactly what she planned to do now that the Ghost Boy loved the Red Hunter, much to Paulina's irritation. She'd finally managed to get some peace from the matter when she promised to fill Star in at their favorite café while she waited for Dash to come puck her up for their date.
Clearly though, Star had not been expecting what she'd just heard.
"Why on earth would you want to learn to hunt ghosts?" Star asked, clearly baffled. "Is this about Phantom? I mean, I know you don't take rejection well"
"Phantom didn't reject me." Paulina said, glaring at the blonde for even suggesting such a thing. "And it's like you said last night, the only ones who really catch Phantom's attention are ghosts and ghost hunters. So if I become a ghost hunter…"
"Phantom will fall in love with you!" Star realized with a gasp. "Just like he did with the Red Hunt!"
"Shhhhh!" Paulina said urgently, looking around for potential eavesdroppers as she clamped her hand over the other girl's mouth. They may have snagged an outside table for privacy, but there were still plenty of people around… "That's a secret, remember?"
"What's a secret?" The Hispanic girl sighed and brushed stray hairs behind her ear as she turned to face her date.
"Nothing." She told Dash as she stood up, adjusting her purse's strap as the jock wrapped an arm around her waist. "Just girl stuff. You don't wanna know… I'll call you tonight when I get back, Star. Later!"
Paulina and Dash turned to leave then, when an excited cry caught the girls attention. Curious, Paulina turned to see a crowd formed around the window of an Electronics Shop, where all of the TV screens were flashing with images of the Ghost Boy. Brightening, Paulina pulled away from her date to find out what was going on, not at all surprised when Dash followed.
"As you can see, you fight doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon." Lance Thunder said, struggling against the updrafts caused by the warring spirits. "From what I can see, there's no way for Danny Phantom to beat this ghost without possibly harming the hostages." Paulina blinked at that.
"Hostages?" She repeated. A nearby stranger nodded and grunted in confirmation.
"Some ghost came outta nowhere and attacked a family. He took their two kids with him when Phantom showed up and now he won't let them go." Paulina winced before turning her attention back to the screen, wondering how her love was going to her out of this predicament…
Laughing wickedly, the ghost Phantom was chasing dipped low to the ground, making the children scream in terror as the Ghost Boy's scowl darkened. Before either could do anything else though, the ground next to the new ghost exploded, and the camera's focus shifted to land on Mrs. Fenton, who was standing with a smoking ecto-gun aimed at the ghost and some monstrosity of a weapon strapped to her back.
The camera zoomed out here, and Paulina watched breathlessly as the ghost looked between Phantom and Mrs. Fenton before shooting back into the air. Circling around their target, Phantom landed next to Mrs. Fenton and said something to her the camera couldn't catch. The ghost hunter seemed to consider something for a moment before the two took off after their common enemy.
Phantom shot ahead to herd the ghost around to until Mrs. Fenton had a clear shot, which she took full advantage of. Surprised, The ghost dropped his hostages, who were almost immediately caught by Phantom. After making sure that his hold on the children was secure, Phantom turned attention back to the ghost, shooting him an icy glare.
Literally Paulina added in her head as she watched the now frozen ghost fall to the earth, the ice shattering upon hitting the cement.
The ghost, which had obviously been dazed by the Ghost Boy's attack, never noticed when Mrs. Fenton took the enormous weapon that'd been strapped to her back and took aim above the ghost, opening some kind of swirling green vortex that sucked the ghost up before disappearing.
Paulina giggled and clapped vigorously as the crowd around her cheered, beaming as Phantom landed to set the shaken children on their feet. Then, after directing a two-fingered salute in Mrs. Fenton's direction, the ghost took to the air, turning invisible as he left.
"Man…" Dash chuckled. "That was awesome! Phantom's so cool, ain't he?"
"Definitely!" Paulina agreed brightly, daydreaming about the ghost boy yet again.
And I was right about the ghost hunter thing, too. Paulina thought smugly. Why else would he act so familiarly with Mrs. Fenton?
"Anyways, we'd better go. It's almost time for our reservations." Dash said, leading Paulina away from the crowd. The girl gave the TV a longing gaze, but followed without protest.
It doesn't matter, I guess. She mused to herself. If I play my cards right, then the Ghost Boy will be all mine soon enough…
WoM- Huzzah! Another chapter complete:D And those of you on DA should keep your eyes peeled, since nightviper16 has offered to put out a comic of this story… This was just a set up chapter mostly, so the fun stuff comes next. And don't worry, now that I have my flash drive back, I'm super-gluing the blasted thing to my hand so I don't lose it again!
Thanks To;
Sunshine Silverjojo, Sanne-chan, BadCatGirl, PotterPhan21, Epona Harper, dx/dt, Anomaly25, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Arabic Blessing, ellie, Butterfly.Kissses, ghostanimal, animegurl088, angel4u185, Invader Johnny, Soulcat56, Twinkle Phantom, Artsy Resuri, Writer's-BlockDP, katiesparks, Hiei's Cute Girl, rmedinap24192, acosta perez jose ramiro, BarnOwl93, Phantom of a Rose, BugzAttack, BJA Fan, b4k4 ch4n, Tippi, Linariel, Kinomoto-san, Boxghost228, MrRigger, Skye-chan, The Poisoned Doughnut Of DOOM, avearia, Jimmy the Gothic Egg, Firefury, Zuzanny, phantomshadowdragon, December'sRose, Celestial Moonshine, WolfDaughter, iloveJesusJohnnyandDanny, Twilight Destroyer, ghostgirl14027, Chenwell, conan98002, hammy ham ham, epobbp, Clark Cradic, Grumbles, xheartkreuzx, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Lumias, SilverstarsEbonyskies, egyptianqueen777, Morrigan's Wings, Stare up at the starry sky, starshinesoldier
Next Update- Father of My Son Ch 4 (Which will be out momentarily.)
