Chapter 07

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Danny muttered as he dialed Dash's phone number, glancing at the note to make sure he had it correct. He held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Hello, this is the Baxter resident," said a woman. "For whom are you calling?"

"D-Dash," Danny stuttered in a high voice. Pulling the phone away from his ear, he coughed to clear his throat. "Is Dash there?"

"Yes, he is. Please hold for a minute." The sound of the phone being placed on the counter followed then Danny heard the woman's footsteps walk away. He didn't have to wait long for the jock.

"Hello," Dash said upon picking up the phone.

"Hi, this is Dani-Danielle." Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Abner gave me the note from you."

Dash was silent for a moment, making Danny feel panicky about the whole situation. "So, um, did you want to go out?" His voice sounded almost shy, though he managed to hide it well. "I kind of have plans for tonight, but if you want to come along, you can. My friends and I are going bowling. You could even bring your cousin, if you wanted."

Danny's mouth worked up and down in shock of what he heard. Dash would willingly hang out with someone like Abner, a "loser" by the popular kids' definition, in order to go on a date with Danny, the jock's favorite punching bag? In some part of his mind, Danny almost found it funny. "That sounds like fun." He released a nervous giggle.

When the bathroom door creak open, Danny spun around to see Abner's head poke around the door. The shorter man mouthed something to him, but Danny waved him away as he attempted to shut the door again. He managed to shove Abner back out into the hallway before he realized Dash was speaking again.

"So, I could pick you up," Dash was saying, "Or we could meet at the bowling alley if you would rather do that."

"I'll meet you there," Danny said, not sure why he disliked the idea of being picked up by the jock. Maybe it was because then it would be more like a real date. He was pretty sure that Abner knew where the bowling alley was. After all, there was only one in Amity Park.

"Oh, okay," Dash said, though he sounded a little disappointed with Danny's answer. "I'll see there then. We're meeting at seven."

"Okay. See you then," Danny said, and they both hung up the phone. Afterward, he banged his head on the door to the bathroom, wanting the floor to open up and swallow him. A knock on the door drew Danny out of his wallowing and to the fact that Abner was still waiting for him on the other side. Danny opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Did you really have to lock yourself in the bathroom to make the phone call?" Abner folded his arms over his chest.

"It's embarrassing enough that I'm actually agreeing to go on a date with Dash." Danny handed the phone to the man. "I don't need you listening in on the conversation." He released another sigh, running a hand through his hair. "And this will be more embarrassing. But will you go with me? For, like, moral support or something. I don't want to be the only loser among a group of popular kids."

"Yeah, except you won't be seen as a loser." Abner smirked at the man. "You'll be popular because Dash wants you to be his girlfriend."

"I really hate you and Sam right now." Danny glared, wondering how his life came to this. "I guess I can be happy that Sam was too busy to help me dress up this time. So what will you dress me in this time?"

"Well, Sam gave me some outfits." Abner led the way down the hall to his bedroom. He dropped the phone onto his desk as he walked toward the bed, gesturing at the dresses laid out upon it. "See anything you like?"

"I am not going bowling in a frilly dress!" Danny wondered why Sam had an obsession with sticking him in frilly black dress and why Sam had such a wide selection of frilly dresses. "Can't I, you know, wear normal clothes? I mean, it's bowling! Can't I wear casual clothes?"

"Take all the fun out of this," Abner muttered, sounding rather disappointed. He walked over to his closet and threw the door open. The two men search through Abner's "drag" section. Abner pulled out a black mini-skirt and held it up to Danny's waist. "What do you think?"

"Can't I wear pants?" Danny asked in an almost pleading voice. He really didn't like the idea of wearing a skirt that short. Not that he liked the idea of wearing a skirt at all.

Abner threw the skirt back into the closet before retrieving a pair of jeans that he then handed over to the other man. "See any shirt you want to wear?"

"You can pick that out." Danny changed into the jeans only to realize how much tighter they were than his usual baggy jeans. "Do I have to wear such tight pants?"

"Sorry, but you do." Abner walked over to Danny. A shirt was thrown over his shoulder as he carried the bra and fake breasts in his hand. "Have you even looked at what girls in our school wear? If not skirts or shorts, it's tight pants." Abner stepped behind the man, and together they worked to put on the bra.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this." Danny poked at one of the fake breasts. His brow creased as he thought about how dressing in drag seemed stranger than having ghost powers.

"Well, this is only your second time. Once you start dressing like this on a regular basis, you'll get used to it." Abner gave Danny the shirt before walking over to his desk to get make-up supplies.

Danny pulled on the shirt over his head. It was a black shirt with a red butterfly. He frowned at the design, but he decided it was better than the pink shirts he saw in the closet. After he had the shirt on, Danny sat on the bed and patiently waited as Abner applied the proper amount of make-up; just enough to give him a more feminine look. Once that was finished, Abner tried to do something with Danny's hair, but the messy strands fell right back into their original place.

"I guess we could just use some hair clips," Abner said with a long, drawn out sigh of disappointment. "If your hair was longer, there are a lot of different things I could have done with it."

"Just put the clips in, and let's go," Danny said in exasperation. He gave the man a shove toward the desk where he could see a pack of clips lying amongst all of Abner's things.

Once the clips were in place, the two men left the house since it was nearing the time to meet up with Dash at the bowling alley. Abner drove his beat up, old Volkswagen Beatle with the light blue paint chipping off it. According to Abner, it was the only car that cost within the range of money his father would give him to buy one. They arrived safely at the bowling alley half an hour later despite Danny's doubts.

"I really hate these pants," Danny grumbled as they entered the building. He didn't like the bra that much either, but he felt too embarrassed to mention that.

Abner ignored the comment since there wasn't anything they could do about Danny's dislike of the pants. His gaze traveled over the lanes, looking for the popular kids that they would be hanging out with that evening. Danny, also, scanned the lanes. But his attention caught on something much different than what he sought.

"Is that Sam?" Danny's jaw dropped as he stared at his friend, who was smiling and laughing with some guy that he couldn't recall ever seeing. "Who the heck is she with?"

"Ah, that's not important," Abner said quickly as he tried to drag Danny in the opposite direction.

"Wait a minute!" Danny pulled his hand out of Abner's hold. "You knew that Sam was dating someone?"

"Look, Danny." Abner released a sigh before continuing. "Sam didn't tell you because she didn't know how to talk to you about it."

"But we're best friends! How can she tell you and not me?" Danny felt rather hurt by this new development.

"It's because she sees me more as a 'girl friend' that she can talk about guys with me while you're a 'boy friend,' which makes her feel uncomfortable discussing that topic." Abner gave a small squeak when he noticed the jock walking toward them. Danny turned around and felt his heart beat quicken in nervousness as the jock approached.

"I'm glad you could make it," Dash said, grinning at his date. His eyes glanced at the man standing next to Danny. "And your cousin's here. Well, I guess that's a good thing since it'll make the teams even." He took Danny's hand and led them toward the lanes the popular kids had reserved.

Danny stared at the hand holding his hand and tried to stop the blush threatening to color his cheeks. He doesn't even notice how manly my hands are? Danny wondered. When they arrived at the lanes on the opposite end of the alley, he noticed that it was a group of only a few of the popular kids.

"These are my friends," Dash announced. "That's Paulina, Kwan, and Valerie." He pointed to each person as he said their names. "Guys, this is Danielle." He grinned at his friends as he wrapped an arm around Danny's waist. "Oh, and her cousin, Abner," he added like an afterthought.

"It's nice to finally meet the mystery girl," Paulina said with a smirk directed toward Dash. "We usually play girls versus boys, but maybe we should divide the teams up differently this time. I mean, certainly, Dash wants to be on the same team as Danielle."

"That sounds like a good idea." Kwan agreed with the suggestion. "So Dash and Danielle will be together. How should we divide the rest of us?"

"To make the teams even, I think Kwan should be on the second team," Valerie said.

"In that case, I choose Valerie as the second member of my team," Kwan said.

"Then I'll take Paulina," Dash said, pulling his friend over to where he stood. "And you'll take Abner."

Valerie grumbled about getting the "loser" and told Abner that he better not drag down their score. Kwan set up the names on the scoring board while the others picked out their bowling balls. After picking out his usual size ball, Danny turned around to find Dash looming over him.

"Um," Danny mumbled, glancing around in uncertainty.

"Dash," Paulina said as she cut in, wrapping her arms over her teammates' shoulders, "you know how impatient Valerie can be if we keep her waiting too long. You can stare at Danielle all you want when it's not your turn." Danny blushed darkly at the last statement as Paulina guided the couple back to the lanes.

They started their game, and with each passing frame, Danny forgot about seeing Sam on her date. He found that he enjoyed hanging out with the popular kids, even though Dash was practically glued to his side at all times except when it was one of their turns to bowl. Ignoring the arm wrapped around his waist, Danny had fun talking to Dash, shocking him since he expected the jock to be his usual jerky self. But Dash was surprisingly nice, never even making a rude comment about Abner.

"So, Danielle," Paulina said as Danny sat down after one of his turns, "what sort of charms did you use to worm your way into Dash's heart?"

"Um, what?" Danny blinked at the woman, who was for a long while the object of his crush. He wondered if Paulina actually did like Dash.

"I'm just curious to know how you managed to snag my best friends heart," Paulina explained. "I mean, Dash is such a ladies man. He usually doesn't get all worked up about dating someone. Just look at him." She pointed toward the jock. "He's trying to impress you with his 'awesome' bowling skills." She giggled at that. "Isn't he adorable?"

Danny glanced toward the jock and noticed the look of concentration on the man's face. He is kind of cute when he's not being a big bully. Danny's eyes widened as he replayed his last thought. I did not just think Dash is cute! "I – I need to use the washroom," Danny announced as he stood.

"Oh, I'll go with you," Paulina said, reaching for her purse.

"No, no, you should stay. Your turn is next." Danny hurried up the two steps and toward the restrooms. Why do girls always go to the bathroom together? he wondered as he walked. A hand grabbed his upper arm, causing him to yelp as he was slammed against the wall.

"I was beginning to think you'd never leave them," said someone with a familiar voice.

"Skulker!" Danny growled as he glared at the ghost. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Do you really enjoy dressing like a girl?" Skulker smirked when the half ghost growled. "We need to talk," he said, falling into his serious mode.

"Don't you need to be back in the Ghost Zone? You know, protecting the order and all that crap you spewed out a year ago?" Danny tried twisting his wrists out of the ghost's hold, but that only caused Skulker to tighten his grip.

"This is important, Ghost Child! There's a ghost messing with you, and you don't even notice it!"

"What are you talking about?" Danny eyed the ghost suspiciously. Was he right about there being a ghost involved with Devon? That would explain the vibes he got around the man.

"That guy who dresses in black that you were with in the library." Skulker loosened his hold.

"You're spying on me?" So he was right!

"Just listen to me! I think there's a ghost possessing him to get to you."

"If he was possessed, I would have sensed it!" Danny kept silent about his own thoughts toward Devon. He didn't want to admit needing help from the hunter. But if Devon was involved with ghost, the question was why. What reason would Devon have to work with a ghost? Devon wasn't attacking him in anyway yet, at least.

"You didn't sense me approaching you, and I've been near you all night." Skulker finally released the half ghost's wrists when he noticed the color drain from Danny's face as fear set in. "When you were in the library, I saw that guy inject something into you."

"What?" Danny squeaked out as a slight tremble ran through him. What did all that mean? It was true that he never sensed Skulker lurking around, and he still didn't get the usual feeling of a ghost present even with Skulker right in front of him. "How could he have injected anything into me?"

"I don't know. When he did it, you looked really out of it, like you were in a trance or something. You need to avoid that guy as much as possible." Skulker sighed, dropping his gaze. "I know the truce between us ended after that whole big war against Warden Walker-"

"You don't need to explain yourself," Danny cut in, not wanting to be reminded of everything that happened during that war. He had a hard time keeping his ghost powers a secret while spending most of his time in the Ghost Zone for half a year. His grades suffered greatly as a result, which was part of the reason he needed Devon to tutor him in math.

"Hey!" Dash's shout made Danny jump. "Is this guy bothering you again, Danielle?"

"Oh, nice cover," Skulker muttered, smirking at the half ghost.

"Shut up!" Danny snapped as he shoved past the ghost. "Everything's fine, Dash." He turned the jock around and started pushing him back toward their lanes. "He just wanted to apologize for being such a pigheaded jerk last time." He wondered what Devon did to him and why Skulker seemed to be watching him all of the time. He shook the thoughts out of his mind, deciding to concentrate on pretending to have a good time.

When the night ended, Abner mysteriously disappeared, forcing Danny to get a ride back to the Faust's house with Dash. The whole time he was in the car with Dash, Danny felt anxiety and uncertainty. Would Dash try to make a move on him? Danny could only sit and wonder while he wiped sweaty palms on his pants. Dash parked the car in front of Abner's house. Danny said goodbye and tried to make a quick exit until he noticed Dash climb out of the car as well.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked when he saw Dash walking around the car to meet him.

"Walking you to the door," Dash replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Danny swallowed nervously and started walking toward the house. He almost jumped when Dash took his hand. Glancing toward the jock, Danny worried he would notice how sweaty his hands were, but it didn't show on the man's face if he did.

"Uh, so I had a really fun time," Danny said once they reached the door. He was surprised to find that he didn't have to lie about that. The date was actually a lot more fun than he thought it would be, if he ignored the encounter with Skulker.

"Really? That's good!" Dash looked relieved to know that. "So if you're free again before you have to go back home, would you like to go on a real date with me?"

"Uh, well, I don't know." Danny dropped his gaze to the floor. For some reason, he felt bad about turning Dash down. Maybe it was because Dash seemed like an okay guy at the bowling alley. "I might be busy with family."

"I can understand that." But Dash sounded disappointed. "Give me a call if you're able, and wanting, to go on a date." Dash lifted his date's head and leaned toward Danny, who gasped when he felt the chapped lips pressing gently against his painted lips. It lasted only seconds before the jock pulled back, standing up straight again. "Goodnight," he whispered before turning on his heel to walk back to his car.

Danny stood on the doorstep, staring wide eyed at the back of the jock as the kiss replayed over and over again in his head.