A/N:

I lied, a lot. I said that this would only have two parts, but then it turned into three parts. Now part three is up and guess what? I'm extending this to five parts. I was finishing my edits for this chapter when I realized that adding what'll happen in the Ghost Zone would make me want to rush this. No, this is a slow burn. Not turbo slow, but more of a savory slow. Lots of fluff and cute moments all around until we hit that major moment in which Danny finally asks Sam out. It's going to happen, and you guys are going to love it. I hope.

Upon re-reading this, I realized three things:

-I had three-too-many spelling errors and typos in the previous chapter.
-I never included a disclaimer to this story yet.
-I have yet to properly respond to my reviews here.

So, without further ado:

I don't own Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom was created by Butch Hartman and is owned by Nickelodeon.

ShadowDragon357: Kind of... It's more like their feelings for one another has been in stuck in limbo; growing, but not really going in either direction until recently. They've both realized how much they mean to each other, they just need to admit it and make everything official. And, seriously, Danny? Whhhy?

Ssiminuf: The heck is right. Haha, thanks!

Crascutin Fanfiction: You're good, friend! Thank you so much for the kind words. Unfortunately, I was a little late in updating this, but I hope you enjoy this new chapter. The ending will come soon, and I promise that I will make it as sweet as can be.

Guest: Done! Chapter three is now up!

Guest: IT HAS BEEN UPDATED, AMIGO.

Haha, I hope you guys like this chapter just as much as the first two. I'm actually really pleased with how this turned out. And totally disappointed in myself for not posting this sooner. Don't worry, this will be finished before the end of October. And, if you read my other story (Mismatched Connections), you know that I have a one-shot coming out by Thursday morning/afternoon.

Lying to Sam and Tucker about his plans for the evening was harder than he expected it to be, Danny realized a little too late. Part of the halfa wanted nothing more than to hop in the Ghost Zone and plead for Clockwork to make it so he had just simply asked Sam to the Valentine's dance. That would have been just as good, right?

No, he decided, knowing full and well that the mysterious ghost would just smirk and say what Danny sometimes thought was the only phrase the ghost knew. Everything is as it should be. Ugh.

Besides, as much as the teen wanted to huff and puff about not going the easy route with his confession, he knew that in the end he was ultimately making the right decision. He wanted to make it special, memorable. Not just doing the generic and boring thing like what all his peers seemed to be doing. Even though he had a gut-feeling that Sam would be happy either way, he knew that neither of the two usually went for the norm. He wanted to tell her how he felt, and he wanted to do it the right way; his way.

And that's exactly what he was going to do.

Looking in the mirror as he finished getting ready, Danny couldn't help but chuckle at how much he had changed over the years. For starters, he actually had to bend his knees a little bit to properly see his own reflection. He seriously needed to move the mirror up a few inches. His deep blue eyes, though still playful, now had a sense of hardness to them as if they were re-telling the stories of his more difficult ghost fights. He blinked back such memories in the hopes of making tonight not just a memory in itself, but a happier memory.

Grinning, the halfa looked at the clock as he fished the phone from his pocket. 7:15. Perfect. It took barely a minute for the boy to unlock his phone and find Sam's photo in his contacts, and it took even less time for the girl in question to answer. His grin only widened as she answered immediately, knowing that she was probably just bored and browsing on her phone. He was once again thankful that the goth boycotted the holiday and wouldn't dare go to that pink-and-red filled dance unless he had asked her to.

"Danny? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is cool. I was just wondering if I could get your help with something tonight."

"Uh, sure, what's up—wait. Let me guess. You managed to get away from your parents and wanted to go to that stupid dance tonight, and now you need someone to go with your sorry butt?"

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Danny replied sarcastically. "Know any girls that would want to go with me?"

Sam snorted, and Danny could tell that she was going to retort with just as much sarcasm.

"I'm sure that if you begged enough, Jazz would go to keep you company."

"Gross, Sam!" He hissed playfully, causing the girl to laugh harder. It made his cold, ghostly core nearly melt as he listened. "And here I was hoping that a pretty goth girl would want to hang out with me and help me make fun of our mutual friend's tacky dancing." He wanted to sound whiny as he said it, but knew that his confident side was seeping out. The male could almost imagine the blush on Sam's face.

"Okay, fine. I'll go with you to that stupid dance, but don't think for one moment that I'm going to be dancing to any of those mushy songs.

"Aw, but Saaaam."

"Danny."

"Okay, fine," he chuckled. "I'll be there in 15."

The teen wanted to do a jig as he gave himself a one-over, making sure he looked okay, before turning to Phantom and flying through his window. He kept mentally checking off everything from what he had planned to what he wanted to say, knowing that he was going to make tonight be something neither teens would ever forget.

Danny was only half-aware of his surroundings until the large Manson mansion came into view, making the halfa smile brightly as he turned intangible and landed on Sam's large balcony. With a flash, Phantom became Fenton and the teen began knocking carefully on the girl's window, letting her know that he had arrived to pick her up. It took a lot not to smirk as he thought of his plan. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that silly little dance simply wouldn't do. Especially not when he had better plans for their evening.

He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as the windows opened, revealing Sam in what Danny thought was the most amazing dress he had ever seen her in. Actually, no, the dress itself wasn't amazing. It was more like Sam was the one that made the dress look amazing, considering just seeing the goth's face with her ebony locks curled a bit and sitting right at her shoulders was enough to tug on his heart. A single skull barrette adorned her hair, looking perfect against the black.

His eyes wondered down, noting the dark purple bodice of her dress and the black spiderweb-like lace that covered her arms. Danny was openly gaping at the girl, who had on a satisfied smirk and appeared to be fighting off a blush. It only made him that much more speechless, and suddenly he realized that Skulker's violent fighting could never knock the wind out of the teen as much as Sam could.

"Hey," she answered almost shyly, though her smirk remained intact. "You ready to go, or are you going to keep drooling all over my balcony?"

Danny frantically began wiping his mouth, only to find that he hadn't been drooling at all.

"Not funny," he growled and jokingly pouted, causing Sam to laugh once again.

"Sorry, not sorry. I just can't believe you actually had to check."

"Whatever. I blame you for it anyways."

"For you being a hormonal guy? I think you have to blame mother nature for that, Danny."

Rolling his eyes, Danny stepped forward and leaned forward against her windowsill.

"So, I know that we were about to head off to the dance, but there's been a slight change of plans…"

His heart ached as he watched her smile falter, a sad look in his friend's eyes as she seemed to unknowingly prod at her necklace; the same necklace he had given her for Christmas.

"Oh? What happened?"

"Nothing really… I was just thinking that the dance might be a little lame. Besides, I found something better for us to do."

If she was upset, Sam hid it well with curiosity taking over as she arched an eyebrow and leaned against the wall. "And that would be?"

"I was wondering if you'd help me with my New Year's Resolution. You promised you'd be there, remember?"

He watched her carefully, studying her face as she more than likely was thinking of their kiss that night. It had meant to be small and simple, but they both knew that there was much more behind it than that. The fireworks that had went off outside were nothing compared to the sparks that flew between the two as they had kissed. And then it became something neither of the two spoke about; a silent agreement between two best friends who didn't want to screw up their friendship.

Until now.

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember." Her voice seemed strained, as though it were hitched in her throat as Danny grabbed her hand. There was a brief moment when her confident demeanor seemed to falter, only for the goth to smile and give his hand a light squeeze. "I'll go change into something more comfortable then—" Danny shook his head, once again fighting his knowing smirk. "Why not?"

"Sam, when have you ever worn anything that you weren't comfortable in?" Danny joked as he was once again swatted by the shorter girl. "You hunt ghosts in a mini skirt, leggings, and a tank top that shows off your midriff. I doubt that this dress is more uncomfortable than that."

"It's not uncomfortable, you butt. It's just… Not as practical? You know what I mean."

"C'mon, you look fine. Just grab a jacket and you'll be golden. I'm still in this suit, after all."

"Just because you want to look like an idiot when we do… Well, whatever you're needing to do, doesn't mean I have to."

"But Saaaam, you look fine. Please?"

Giving his best pout that he knew she couldn't refuse, he watched as Sam let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her amethyst eyes. Inwardly, he did a victory dance as she shouted a "Fine!" and went to grab her jacket. He decided to hold off on the actual dancing part, smiling as she came back with an annoyed look.

"You're just lucky that I made that promise."

Even though she appeared to be upset, he knew Sam well enough that she was more curious than anything. He had been so reluctant on telling her his resolution that she probably thought it was something embarrassing. That, or maybe he just didn't plan on actually going through with it and didn't want her to talk him out of avoiding his goals. But she definitely knew the latter wasn't it, and he knew that she knew.

"Yeah, I am. You ready to go?" He echoed her question from earlier as he pulled her carefully to the balcony, once again switching to Phantom.

"I guess. Where are we going, anyways? Can you tell me what your resolution is now?"

"The Ghost Zone," he answered simply and chuckled at her confusion. "No, but I'll tell you when we get there, okay?"

"The Ghost Zone?" Sam repeated skeptically, "Danny…"

As they lifted off, he wrapped his arm tightly around her small waist. "It's not anything crazy, Sam. Trust me, you'll have fun."

"Fun? In the Ghost Zone? Where almost everyone there wants to kill you?"

"Yep," he replied, popping the 'p' as they roamed over their hometown at a slow, yet steady pace.

"Whatever," Sam replied, though Danny could tell that her curiosity and excitement were probably growing.

Oh yes, tonight was going to be great.