Hello all.
Yes, here is the next chapter to A Beautiful Lie. It's all coming together and the next chapter (s) will be up soon.
Disclaimer- I do not own Danny Phantom or any related characters. They are the sole property of Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon Studios. I also do not own 'A Beautiful Lie'. 30secondstomars does.
(General POV)
And think about your life
Danny Phantom panted in while in mid-air. "Geez, does this guy ever give up?!" he thought.
He flew over behind a large abandoned building to regain his strength and breath, hoping that the infamous Skulker did not see him. By the time Danny opened his eyes, he realized that it was getting light outside and school was to start in about two hours. A shadow formed behind him.
"You cannot hide from me, ghost child", came a sinister, deep voice. The sound of metal clanking and machine guns powering up made his ecto-blood run cold. He turned slowly.
The young ghost hunter opened his mouth to retaliate, but a chirpy beeping sound filled the air around them. He closed his mouth and grinned. "I thought you had some place to be, Skulker."
Said ghost's eyes darkened. His wings emerged from his back and he flew off relentlessly, staring down at Danny. "Soon, ghost child, soon."
The silver-haired teen shook his head and began to speed back home and get there before his alarm clock went off.
Chilly early-morning air whipped his face. The challenge he had accepted from Sam dawned on him. His eyes reverted towards the speeding ground.
"Why did Sam have to do that for? I'll never win, and my sensitive self will never stand up to what Sam will say to me if I don't win. Paulina hates all three of us, and now Sam's making it worse", he said aloud. He shook his head. "But I want to do it for some odd reason."
He seeped through his bedroom window, right when his clock struck seven and his alarm started beeping. Danny sighed and strode over to turn it off. "Another four hour sleep. I've got to think of another class to sleep in today other than Mr. Lancer's", he thought. He slapped his forehead. "Lancer! I have detention today! Dead gummit!"
He changed back into his alter ego-the non-ghost hunting, scrawny, gawky teenager Danny Fenton. He slipped out of his blue-striped pajamas and into his normal attire.
He fumbled down the stairs, ignoring Jazz's protests of no breakfast. "Danny, you've got to eat! Your brain won't function right unless you do!"
The raven-headed boy walked into the alley next to his small town home and changed, once again, into Phantom. He pushed off from the ground and began the trek to school.
It had warmed up some, and Danny liked that a lot.
He stopped behind a tree next to the school's property and, once again, changed into Fenton. He jogged over to his red-bereted friend. "Hey Tuck."
Said boy turned. He looked Danny up and down. "Hey."
Danny did the same but spun around. "What? Is there something on me?"
Tucker shook his head. "No." He slid his PDA back into the pocket of his green cargo pants. "I'm just a little confused. And upset."
Danny's face softened. "About what? The challenge?"
Tucker nodded. "Danny, why'd you do it?"
Danny looked at the ground. "I don't know. I guess I want to prove Sam wrong."
His bespectacled friend took off his glasses and cleaned them off with his shirt. "You do know this is destroying your friendship, right? Something you've worked on for about ten years. And now I'm stuck in the middle. This is going to be different. I'm not going to be you guys' message monkey in case you stop talking." He glanced over Danny's shoulder and past a few trees. "There's Paulina. And she's alone."
Danny turned. His puppy face took over his current expression. Tucker rolled his eyes. "You'd better go, Danny. Because here comes Sam."
Danny nodded and walked over to the Spanish beauty. "Hey Paulina."
Said girl cocked a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Can I help you?"
Danny blinked. His hands immediately went to his pants waist. "Err…yeah. I was wondering…would you like to meet the ghost boy?"
Her eyes brightened. "Meet the ghost boy? Of course, Danny! Where is he, is he here?" she said, looking around.
"No, he's out on patrol. But give me your phone number and I can promise you he will get back to you." The hybrid-teen leaned against a large oak tree.
Paulina's smile faded. "Um, ok I guess."
Danny beamed internally and stood normally again watching Paulina take a strip of paper and a pencil out of her book bag. She scribbled a number on it and handed it to Danny.
"Is this your number?"
Paulina nodded. "Si."
"Oh, well ok then. I'll see you later." Danny stuffed the number in his pocket and looked at Paulina's cerulean eyes. She stared back. A seductive grin appeared on her face.
"I'll talk to you later, Danny."
His hands went back to his pants waistline. "Sure. Later."
Paulina waved a dainty hand and swished her way into the school's front door.
Danny knew Tucker was watching the entire thing. The love-struck boy walked back over to him. "See, I told you I could do it."
Tucker's eyebrows raised and he pursed his lips. "I saw."
Danny grinned proudly. "So Sam's losing. That's good."
Tucker's eyes narrowed. "No Danny, that's not good. And do you know why?"
He shook his head.
"You are hurting each of you! You are doing something you don't want to do just to prove someone wrong. And it's Sam we're talking about. Look at her Danny!"
Danny turned his head to see Sam standing alone under another oak tree. He turned back to Tucker. "So? She shouldn't have challenged me."
The dark-skinned boy wanted to slap Danny right then and there. Instead he clenched his fists. "YOU IDIOT! Danny, Sam likes you! And you're going to stand there and seduce another girl who only likes half of you! Sam likes all of you! There, I said it!". He began rubbing his temples. "It would have been so much easier for all of us if you weren't so bent on doing this. I'll see you later, Danny. Don't bother talking to Sam-she saw you get Paulina's phone number."
Danny watched as Tucker weaved his way through the student body. He shrugged. "I know I'm going to win. And there's nothing she's going to be able to do about it."
But Tucker's words rang in his head. 'You are hurting each of you! Sam likes all of you!' Danny bit his lip and began walking towards the front door of his high school.
The day went by a little too quick for Danny's liking. Classes seemed short and ruthless. At lunch, he decided to try and talk to Tucker.
"Hey Tucker."
The boy turned. His look turned from surprised to disgust. "What's up Danny?" He sighed and continued getting his food.
"Um, I know you're mad at me. But this all Sam's fault. She's the one who challenged me."
"Always someone else's fault, isn't it? You know you can't do this. But hey, your friendship, not mine." He walked off from Danny and sat down at their designated table. Danny sighed and followed.
"Look Tucker…" he began.
"Look at what, Danny? I've already seen enough. Even if it is the first day. Excuse me, but I have some other nerds that want me to sit with them." He looked at Danny. "And you're not invited."
Danny walked out of the cafeteria and into the men's room. He changed into Phantom and flew through the roof.
He flew up quite high, to where no one could see him. He rolled over on his back and propped his head up with his hands.
"This is not going as planned. I didn't know Tucker would diss me", he whispered. "He's right. I am losing my friendship. But I want to do this."
He flew around Amity, the cool afternoon air whipping his face. The town hall clock told him that it was time he head back to school.
The remainder of the day went by without a hitch and before Danny knew it he was standing in his living room drinking a soda and sorting through the mail. Nothing in particular caught his eye so he decided to put his soda back in the fridge. A certain piece of paper fell out of his pocket.
His eyebrows raised and he picked it up, realizing it was Paulina's number. Checking to see if the coast was clear, he strode over to the wall phone and dialed the number.
He listened to it ring, his heart pounding faster than ever before. A voice on the other end said, "Hello, you've reached the rejection hotline!"
Yes, yes, it was a little short. But the next chappies will be longer, I promise. Now review.