"Are you – are you trying on my clothes?"
Tadashi stops at the top of the stairs that lead up into the loft he and his brother share, blinking in disbelief at the sight of Hiro tugging at the sleeves of one of Tadashi's blazers, in folded-up pants. They're some of his old clothes, so they fit Hiro reasonably well, but to see Hiro in anything outside of his hoodie and cut-offs are strange, to say the least.
"Yes," Hiro mutters, miserably, dragging off the blazer and backing away from the full-length mirror to throw himself onto the bed.
"And do I get to know why you're trying on my clothes?"
Tadashi walks further into the room, dropping his bag in his side of the room before plonking himself down onto Hiro's bed next to the fourteen-year-old.
He gets a muffled answer in response.
"C'mon, knucklehead!" Tadashi tugs him out from under his covers. "What's going on?"
Hiro shrugs, but then, as if without really thinking, glances over at his phone.
Tadashi catches on immediately.
"You asked Dani out on a date?"
"It's not a date!" Hiro protests hotly, sitting upright. "I just offered to take her around San Fransokyo. I told you that."
"I also thought you said you hadn't texted her," Tadashi grins, and the guilty look on Hiro's face says it all: "Wait, you haven't texted her?"
"I did!" Hiro says, his face now flushed red. "I asked her if Friday would be a good day. And I'm waiting for her reply."
"You do realise today is Tuesday. And she gave you her number on, like, Saturday."
Hiro scratches his head, buries his face in his hands. Oh god, this is embarrassing. He's put off texting Dani for days because he's been worried that he'll seem too eager. He's never really had friends before, much less friends who are girls, and he has no idea how to go about talking to them.
Although he'll admit that talking to Dani is really easy. And fun.
But still! Texting a girl? Much less asking her about a day to go out with him?
He runs through the words of his text to her in his mind again, worriedly:
Hey Dani, it's Hiro! The guy from the Lucky Cat Café, remember? Well, if you don't remember…well, this is gonna be really embarrassing for me. Anyway, I was wondering, are you free on Friday to go out for that tour of San Fransokyo we were talking about?
Oh, man. Has he made it sound too much like he's trying to ask her out on a date? Maybe he's sounded too friendly in his message? It's been at least half an hour since he texted her and he still hasn't gotten a reply. Oh, man. He doesn't want to freak her out, what if she thinks he's creepy or weird or –
"Hiro. Hello. Earth to Hiro?"
He blinks and raises his head to see Tadashi looking down at him, an amused smile on his face.
"Were you trying on my clothes to wear for your date with her?" he wants to know.
"It's not a date!"
"You're not answering the question."
Hiro opens his mouth and then shuts it again, his face turning red.
"I don't even know where to take her," Hiro groans. "What was I thinking when I offered that tour? Why didn't you stop me? I don't even know what she likes! I mean, there's all those famous landmarks and museums and stuff, and then there are all those weird cafes you sometimes bring me to, and there are the arcades and shops I go to, and – "
"Hiro!"
Hiro falls silent, then peeks up at his big brother from the corner of his eyes. Tadashi's still got that amused smile on his face, but his face is softer now.
"Relax," Tadashi says. "You'll be fine. I'll help you, all right?"
"You will?"
"Sure I will." Tadashi grins and ruffles his hair again, ignoring his protests: "But seriously, I don't think Dani's the kind that will be too concerned with looks. If she likes you, it better be for yourself. Let's go find something to wear that's more you and isn't something of mine, okay?"
For all her excitement and energy after leaving the Lucky Cat Café on Saturday, Dani can't help but glower when Hiro's message finally comes in on Tuesday.
Three days. Three days. Does it really take that long to text someone?
She checks the message timing. 14:07. Nearly forty-five minutes ago. She hasn't realised she's been flying above the city for so long.
She hoists herself up and through the window into an old disused warehouse she's been using as a temporary home. It's a great place, really. It's huge and big and she has it all to herself, and no one ever sees her climb in and out because it's in a more abandoned part of the city.
She considers the message, before typing out a reply of her own.
Hey Hiro! Don't worry, I remember. Friday sounds great! What time's good?
Sure, it sounds a little short and choppy, maybe, but to be fair, she doesn't really like texting or emoticons and all that nonsense very much.
She thinks of Hiro's goofy grin and his messy hair and their conversation, and something flips over in her stomach. Maybe she should try to sound nicer or more upbeat or happy or something. Hell, she's been in this place for a month practically all because of him, and, okay, he really is kind of cool and maybe kind of cute – maybe she should try sounding a bit more enthusiastic?
Urgh. She bets she gets this second-guessing herself straight from Danny's genes.
She considers her text.
Hey Hiro! Don't worry, I remember you. It'd be hard not to! And Friday sounds great. What time's good for you?
Okay, slightly better.
She sends it before she can overthink.
And then she realises another problem.
Back in Amity Park, Valerie frowns at the unknown number showing on her cell before picking it up, putting it to her ear cautiously: "Hello?"
"Valerie! It's Dani! You know, Dani with an i?"
Immediately a smile breaks out over Valerie's face, and she sinks onto a park bench, dropping her bag onto the seat next to her. "Dani? Hey! It's great to hear from you! It's been months since I last saw you."
"Two and a half," Dani supplies, cheerfully. "But, uh, this call isn't just to catch up. I kind of – I kind of have a problem."
"A problem?" Valerie's on the alert immediately. Half-ghost the kid might be, but Valerie likes her. She thinks immediately of Vlad Masters, despite what Dani's told her about how Vlad has finally agreed to let the halfa travel on her own and has promised not to chase her down, and instead is providing whatever financial assistance the girl needs. Valerie doesn't trust the guy, but Dani's said something about how Plasmius has finally gotten over wanting to clone Phantom and therefore doesn't need her, or whatever that means. "What kind of a problem?"
"I'm kind of going out with someone on Friday and I – I don't know what to wear."
There is a long pause.
"Valerie?"
"Oh my gosh!" Valerie is nearly squealing; she supposes she should be more embarrassed, but a huge smile is splitting her face: "You have a date!"
"What? No! I mean, yes it's a guy, but it's not a date! He's just showing me around the city – "
"Don't even think about covering this up, kid," says Valerie, grinning and leaning back on the park bench. "Who is this guy? How old is he? He'd better not be seventeen or something, because seriously – a seventeen-year-old asking out a fourteen-year-old? Okay, no, wait, actually seventeen isn't that bad, eighteen, on the other hand – "
"Val!"
"Okay, okay," she chuckles. "Where are you, anyway?"
"This city called San Fransokyo."
San Fransokyo. It rings a bell in Valerie's mind, though she can't remember where she's heard the city before, exactly – from her dad, maybe? She'll have to go and ask.
"Is this guy okay?" she wants to know.
Dani laughs: "You can do a search on him, if you want. His name's Hiro Hamada."
"Huh. Interesting name."
"Mm-hmm."
Valerie can't help the smile that's spreading across her face as she catches the tone in Dani's voice. The girl's got it bad.
"So what's that problem you needed help with again?"
"Oh. That." She sounds embarrassed now. "It's just – what should I wear? I mean, all I've got are my jeans and shirts and jackets, and – "
"Hang on a minute," Valerie says, still grinning: "Didn't you say this wasn't a date? Why are you getting all worried about your outfit?"
There's a long pause on the other end, and she can hear Dani clearing her throat nervously.
She chuckles again.
"My advice, kid?" she says. "Don't try too hard, don't get all dressed up. If he likes you, it should be for you, and your hoodies and your jeans and that stupid red hat of yours."
"Hey, I like my hat!"
"It's still stupid." Valerie chuckles again, and then she remembers something else: "Does Danny know about this? Danny Fenton, I mean."
Dani's never explained the relationship between her and the Fentons' youngest son, and Valerie gets that it's a touchy subject. She supposes that Danny must have found out about Dani somehow, and helped her out, just like how Phantom's helped Dani's ghost half out. And she guesses that Dani probably owes Danny Fenton a lot, too – being a half ghost and having the son of two of the ghost hunters in Amity Park with some of the best ghost equipment as a friend has to help the kid out. From what Valerie can see, though, whenever Dani drops into town, both Danny and Phantom are always ready to help her out.
And despite her problems with Phantom, she thinks it's kind of sweet.
And Danny – well, he's Danny. Valerie won't deny that she still may just like him a little. And seeing him treat Dani as a younger sister only just makes her smile.
"Are you kidding me?" Dani says, sounding slightly horrified. "He'll go all over protective!"
"He should," Valerie says.
"Aw, c'mon, Val! You know I can take care of myself!"
"Well, still be careful, kid. I'm gonna do some checking up on that guy. And remember – don't overdress, but don't be too casual, okay? Wear a nice shirt or a nicer pair of jeans or something! Didn't you say Vlad gave you a card or something?"
"He did," says Dani, cheerfully. Valerie wonders how the girl can seem so relaxed about technically being in the debt of a guy who's tried to kill her, and she supposes that there's probably more to the story than she knows – that, and despite all the things she's seen, the fact that Dani's really still a trusting kid at heart. "Maybe I should get some new clothes?"
"As long as you've got an excuse to shop, you should make use of it," says Valerie.
"I'll take your advice on that. Thanks, Valerie!"
"No problem, kid."
She hangs up and stares at her cell in her hand, an almost wistful smile on her face. Man, she really misses that kid.
Hmm. Hiro Hamada.
This boy better not be trouble, or the Red Huntress is going to make her way to San Fransokyo and test out the upgrades to her ghost-hunting equipment on humans.