Hey dudes! Sorry I haven't updated in like, ever! Two of my cousins have been coming over every day for the past 3 weeks and I haven't had the time to write the next chapter. But do not fear! I have the next 5 days free from their wrath. Well, technically since I am older than them, and I am a whole lot more powerful than them they are free from MY wrath.
Alright, enough blathering on. Thanks to all who updated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. I only own the plot, and Star's family.


Chapter 7: Her Secret is Out

Star woke up late the next morning after dozing off after a long conversation with her parents of what had happened that night. Even though Star wasn't brave enough to try and get her brother free from the ghost, her parents didn't ground. Mostly because David was still safe, but also because she had paid back Danny Phantom for what he did for her.

The tired teen pulled the covers off of her, and slipped into her blue slippers. She yawned while lifting up her arms up and walked downstairs. As she approached the kitchen cabinet, where all of bowls for cereal where, her eyes widened. Yesterday wasn't all a dream was it?

"G 'morning Star." Her mom said cheerily while her daughter poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Hey mom." the young girl mumbled. "Sweetie, Valerie called this morning. She said to tell you she was sorry for leaving so suddenly when that ghost attacked at the Nasty Burger last night."

Nope. Yesterday wasn't a dream. "Thanks. I'll call her after I eat." She told her mother. Star began to shove the food in her mouth. She needed to call Valerie back as soon as possible. She was so confused that it was completely necessary to practically choke herself on an entire bowl of cereal.

She drank her milk and slammed her bowl in the sink with a loud "Thump" and walked- no ran - upstairs and down the hall to her room before shutting her door loudly and picking up the phone. She pressed the button that she had assigned as speed dial to Valerie's cell phone.

She lifted the phone up to her ear and listened to the faint ringing of the phone until she heard Valerie's voice come over the line."Hello?"

"Hey Val, it's Star." Star said quickly and shortly. "Oh hey, I'm not sure if your mom told you, but I'm sorry for leaving last night at --. "

"Valerie," Star cut her off ," I need to know. What is that job that takes up so much of your time? The one that keeps you from spending more time which your friends?"

"Uhm..." the other girl started. "It's ghost hunting isn't it? And your the red hunter aren't you?" Star cut her off again.

"What? How do you know?" Valerie spoke in a worried tone. "Last night at the Nasty Burger. Danny Phantom saved David from a ghost and we were having an interesting, harmless conversation until someone I can only assume to be you showed up, insisting that he was evil despite the kindness that he had shown to the citizens of Amity. You fought him, and would have destroyed him that very moment if I hadn't stepped in front to him.

"We argued until a voice came over ours saying that Valerie better not be out hunting again. And here's the thing, the red hunter called him dad, and I could have sworn that he sounded alot like your dad. Face it. I've figured out your secret."

Star heard Valerie curse under her breathe before speaking up. "Alright, that was me last night, and I do hunt ghosts. Just don't tell anyone please?" She answered desperately.

"I won't Val, I just want to know. Why do you still hunt him when almost every citizen no longer sees him as Public Enemy #1? Why did you still try to destroy him last night after you saw him save my brother's life? Why do you fire at him when he never fires back? Isn't that enough proof that he was never out to get you in the first place?"

Star could hear Valerie take a deep breath. "It was his fault that my Daddy lost his job. It is his fault that I am no longer popular." Valerie softly answered back.

"Valerie, what is so wrong about your dad losing his job? And is it so bad that your no longer popular? I mean, look at the friends you have now. Tucker, Danny, Sam, and me! Would you rather have us, or people who are shallow and treat others cruel? If I was to know any better, I would think that Danny Phantom helped you. And I personally think that he never did any of those bad things that people say he did. He helps us Valerie. More than you notice."

The other end was silent except for Valerie's soft breathing for a while. "I...I...I'm really sorry. I guess I never really looked at it that was before. I guess I'm just stubborn. I mean, he did save Amity Park from that ghost king. And he helped me get out of the ghost zone one time. But...he revealed my secret to my dad and destroyed my suit one time. I wasn't in it though, but when I watched him destroy it when there was this robot-like thing in it, it seemed like he had finally decided to kill me. As I was there I saw myself wanting to hurt him even more."

"I think that by revealing your secret to your dad he did something to help you. He kept you safe right?" Star asked her after Valerie finished.

"Well, yeah. He kept me from fighting the ghost king, which probably would have killed me. But all ghosts are evil. At least that's what I've heard."

"Maybe not Val. Have you ever noticed how he is different. I mean, with the amount of power he has he could have destroyed the city along time ago if he was evil. And why would he catch ghosts in that thermos thing of his if he wasn't trying to protect us? I highly doubt that he is just claiming Amity as his lair. Last night as I was trying to get to sleep I pieced everything together and I realized that he isn't evil at all. I suggest you do the same."

Valerie took another deep breathe before answering back again. "I guess your right. I... think I need to go. I need to try and think this over myself. Thanks. I guess I am too stubborn to listen to what others think sometimes. Bye."

"Okay, bye." Star hung up. She looked down at her feet as she thought her conversation over and over again. Valerie, her best friend, was the red hunter. The red hunter! Why was this such a surprise? It seemed that Valerie had always disappeared when a ghost attack, and then the red hunter would always show up. It seemed that the weirdness in her life wasn't over. It had just begun.

She smiled as she heard a soft noise come from her computer's speaker, signaling that she had just gotten an IM.

Authors Note: Wow. Not only did Star straighten out herself, but she straightened out Valerie too! Yay! Anyway, I believe everyone has a choice now. Who do you want the IM to be from? Tucker or Kwan? Choose carefully because one of these two is going to be who Star falls in love with in the future. I'll update as soon as the results give me an answer. So I'll need... I don't know, ten reviews before I update again. In the meantime, have a good summer!

-M.M