Chapter 25

Danny rubbed at his forehead. When he woke up this morning, his brain was still running a mile a minute trying to figure out his current ghost problem. The ghost robbing the gas station gave them a clue: the money was to help save a woman's life. But what woman was the problem. Was she old or young? Was she in a hospital? If so, what hospital? If he thought about the locations where he encountered the ghosts, they were all within a small radius. The nearest hospital to that radius was the same one he went to on Halloween. Could the woman be there? Was she the one manipulating these ghosts somehow? Or was someone else behind it?

If his ghost problems weren't enough to keep his thoughts occupied, his morning just had to begin by running into Dash as he came right out of the shower. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. He could do without the image of Dash in only a towel with water still dripping down his bare chest. His quite muscular bare chest with the water sliding over smooth, lightly tanned flesh. Dash was an attractive man. Kwan was too. But the last thing Danny wanted to do was develop any sort of romantic feelings for his roommates.

A slap to his back jerked him out of his thoughts, and he gritted his teeth at the slight sting. Danny thought he hid his sore back well until Kwan questioned him about it. His ghost powers healed him faster than a normal person, but the large bruise on his back still needed a little more time for a full recovery. Hopefully, he could keep Kwan from questioning it again before then.

"What do you want?" Danny shot a glare at the man who now walked beside him. "And since when are you living here? I thought you decided to move to the east coast after college."

"I did, but I had a better job opportunity here." Will shrugged. "Which turned out to be a good thing since I met my wife here. She's pregnant." He grinned as he crossed his fingers. "Hoping for a boy."

"That's great!" Danny smiled then leaned closer to Will. "Does she know about, um," he lowered his gaze, "your scaly issue?"

Will rolled his dark brown eyes. "Yes, she knows I'm a merman. She happens to be a mermaid." He folded his arms. "But I was surprised to see you here. I didn't know you wanted to be a coach."

Danny shrugged. "It felt like the right career move. And I have a good team here. They're making good progress."

"Your best swimmer could use a little work on those turns."

"We're dealing with that." Danny stared flatly at Will. "We can't all be one with the water and sense exactly where the wall is for turns."

Will snorted. "You say that like you're a normal human. Do your friends know about your spirit issue?"

"Valerie does. But you better not say a word to my roommates." Danny pointed a finger threateningly.

Will held up his hands. "When have I ever let your secret slip? Besides, you're keeping mine." He hunched up his shoulders then leaned closer to Danny as a wicked smirk danced across his face. "So which one are you dating?"

"W-What?" Danny sputtered, heat rushing over his cheeks. "I'm not dating either of them!"

"Oh." Will blinked in surprise with a lift of his thick eyebrows. "Well, I just thought, because they're totally your type. And that blond one seemed awfully jealous when he saw me acting friendly with you."

"Now you're seeing things. Better get those eyes checked."

"Right." Will nodded but didn't look convinced. "I'm the blind one."

"Hey! I have a girlfriend. We're going on a date tonight."

Will backed up a step. "Hey, I'm just saying it seemed like there was a lot of sexual tension all around. But what do I know?"

"How old are you again?" Danny squinted. "You might be going senile."

"Har, har." Will shook his head. "Maybe when my little one is born, you could come round. My wife doesn't believe a half ghost could exist. I'd love to prove her wrong on that."

Danny rolled his eyes at the small smirk on Will's face. "Yeah, sure. But," he nodded toward the bus not too far away, "I should really get back to my team."

"Right." Will nodded. "Catch you later." He slapped a hand against Danny's shoulder before he left.

Danny released a sigh as he continued toward the bus. Sometimes he forgot how exhausting it was dealing with the merman. Going off to college helped open his eyes to the existence of more than just ghosts. He once had a vampire for a neighbor who would ask him to get prescriptions during the day because the pharmacy tended to close before she could get there to pick them up. There was a harpy that liked to roost on the roof of his dorm building freshmen year. And he definitely didn't want to get on the bad side of another witch. No matter where he lived, he seemed to run into someone that wasn't completely human.

Maybe I'm drawing them to me, Danny thought with a slight frown as he climbed onto the bus. He hoped that wasn't the case, though, because he didn't need them always coming to him, whether or not they stirred up trouble.

The bus ride back to their school was quiet, a cloud hanging over the team. They were excited about Hector getting third place in his race and the ones who managed to beat their previous best times. But the meet only showed them how much they needed to improve to compete against stronger schools. Danny knew they could do it though. They might be down about their failure to place now, but he would get them back on track during their next practice.

After a brief pep talk, not wanting to keep the team too long on a Saturday, Danny dismissed the team. Then he made his way back to the apartment. He checked his watch and winced when he saw it was much later than he thought. By the time he reached the apartment, he had enough time for a shower and get dressed for his date. On his way to the bathroom, he looked around the apartment, but the others weren't back yet. He hopped into the shower, taking his time to thoroughly scrub himself clean. Rubbing a hand over his chin and throat, he felt a little scruffiness. After getting out of the shower, he grabbed his razor from where it sat next to Kwan's.

"We're back," Kwan called out as Danny finished up in the bathroom.

Danny dried off then dressed before he left the bathroom. "That is a lot of snacks." His eyebrows lifted when he saw all the bags his roommates and Valerie carried with them.

"Well, this is a day to just kick back and relax." Dash set his bags down on the counter in the kitchen. "We can work it off tomorrow or something." He unpacked the various bags and boxes from within his bags. "And it's not all junk food. We got some stuff on the healthy side too."

"Are you going to be able to watch some movies with us before your date?" Valerie asked with maybe a hint of hope in her eyes.

"I can't stay long if I want to be on time for my date." Danny winced, feeling a little guilty. He would enjoy watching some movies with everyone, but he didn't want to show up late and make Hayley wait on him. He had that happen too many times in the past because of ghosts and other beings popping up to delay him. He thought Valerie probably understood as she nodded while helping Dash pull their snacks out of the bags.

"We'll try not to go through all the movies and eat all the snacks before you get back." Kwan's mouth curled in a small teasing smile.

"Right," Danny said too quickly. "I should go finish getting ready." He turned and headed into his bedroom, nearly banging into the doorframe. Closing the door behind him, he pinched at the bridge of his nose. He did not feel a little flutter of something just because of that smile. "Get yourself together," he muttered as he walked over to his closet. "You're already dating someone. You can't let yourself be distracted by fleeting thoughts just because your roommates are attractive."

Will was right. Dash and Kwan fit with the description of men he dated in the past. Danny never considered this problem coming up when he agreed to be their roommates. How could he? He originally thought things wouldn't work out because of their past. But in the end, anything he felt didn't matter if neither of his roommates liked him that way. Danny shoved those thoughts away. They were merely a distraction he didn't need at the moment. He had Hayley. Then there was the whole ghost problem to sort out. His plate was full enough already without more complications being piled onto it.

Danny got out the clothes for his date and changed into them, a nice dress shirt and dark slacks. He ran a brush through his still somewhat damp hair then checked his reflection in the mirror. Frowning, his gaze fixed on the locks of black hair that refused to obey and stuck out like sore thumbs. His hair never seemed to do what he wanted unless he used a ton of gel to slick it back, and he thought that style looked bad on him. Sighing in defeat, he left his room.

Valerie and Kwan were already getting cozy on the couch, draping a blanket over their laps. Dash crouched by the television, sorting through their collection of movies as he tried to decide on first pick of the night. Danny raked a hand through his hair, trying one last time to tame some of those wild locks as he walked over to the closet to grab his coat.

"Have fun on your date," Valerie said, twisting around to lean on the back of the couch.

"Enjoy movie night." Danny shrugged on his coat. "I'll see you when I get back. If you're not all asleep by then."

Valerie snorted in response. After a round of goodbyes, Danny stepped out of the apartment. Pulling out his phone, he checked the name of the restaurant where he was to meet Hayley. Capitani sounded like it might be an Italian place. He caught a cab and told the driver where to take him. Settling into the backseat of the cab, he watched the buildings pass by him. If he ignored the whole ghost problem right now, his life almost felt normal. He frowned at the strip of darkening sky he could see through the window. But normal never felt like a possibility for him, and he kept wondering when things were going to fall apart.

The cab parked outside Capitani, and Danny paid the fare before climbing out of the car. The restaurant was a quaint little place with cream colored stone walls and ivy vines crawling up the sides. Danny opened the polished wood door and was greeted by a waiter who smiled warmly.

"Table for one?" he asked, pulling out a menu. "Or are you waiting for someone?"

"Um," Danny glanced around the restaurant, "actually it looks like my date is already here." He spotted Hayley waiting at a small table toward the back. When she noticed him, she smiled and waved. Danny followed after the waiter to the table. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," he said as he sat down. He winced, realizing he was late the last time they met somewhere for a date.

Hayley shook her head. "I barely sat down."

"I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu," the waiter said before departing.

"This seems like a pretty nice place." Danny looked around as he opened his menu. He noticed a lot of other tables occupied by only two people, and his face warmed slightly when he realized this was probably a popular place for couples.

Hayley nodded, flicking her gaze briefly around the room. "I heard about this place ages ago but never had the occasion to come here. I thought it might be a good place for our date."

"It is," Danny agreed, and when he smiled, Hayley smiled back. They ordered as soon as the waiter stopped by again, dropping off glasses of water for each of them. "You seem happy?" Maybe he was reading things wrong, but Hayley had this energy about her that practically glowed with joy.

"Oh, well, today was-" Hayley said excitedly before her attention drifted, something catching her eye. "Is that Celeste?"

"Cele- Who?" Danny glanced around in confusion until he spotted the brunette sitting in the bar area of the restaurant. "Oh." Now he remembered Celeste was Dash's date for their Halloween party. He frowned as he stared at her. "Does she seem a little-"

"Oh, I hope she wasn't stood up!" Hayley frowned. "That would be terrible!"

"Well, she didn't have a date with Dash." Danny couldn't recall Dash saying anything about a date, but he doubted his roommate would stand up a date just to stay home and watch movies. His opinion of Dash may not have always been the best, but he simply couldn't see Dash being that kind of jerk who selfishly stood up his date without even a call of explanation.

"Let's go say hi." Hayley was up and out of her chair before he could respond.

Danny followed after her to the bar. Celeste stirred the straw in her drink. She jumped when Hayley tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Hayley greeted happily. "We saw over here and thought we should say hi."

"Oh, hey!" Celeste smiled. "I was just waiting on my order to be ready."

"Oh, well, um," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "maybe you could sit with us until then. Just so you don't have to sit here alone."

Celeste looked at him then to Hayley. "Oh no. No, no." She shook her head. "I don't want to barge in on your date."

"It's no problem!" Hayley grabbed Celeste's hand. "We'd be happy to have you join us."

"Um, well, if it's really okay." Celeste still looked uncertain but picked up her drink and followed them back to their table. "My food shouldn't take too much longer."

"It's fine," Hayley assured her, waving down a waiter to bring over an extra chair. "We wouldn't have offered if we didn't want you to join us." She took her seat again as the waiter set the chair down for Celeste. "Uh, so where were we?" She glanced to Danny.

After swallowing his sip of water, Danny set the glass back on the table. "You were going to tell me why you seem so happy."

"Oh, right!" Hayley grinned. "I had my audition for that play this morning."

"That's great!" Celeste said before Danny could get a word out.

"Nothing's for certain just yet. But," Hayley held up crossed fingers, "the director seemed to really like me."

"You have to tell me when it is so I can come see it. Oh, and I would love to know where you got that Halloween costume. It looked great."

"I'm sure you'll get the part," Danny jumped in. "It's really amazing that you're doing this."

Hayley flushed brightly. "It was pretty scary. I didn't think I'd ever get up the courage for it, but I just went out there and did it. It felt pretty amazing after I got off the stage after the audition." Her blush darkened as she looked to Celeste. "Actually, I made the costume."

Celeste's eyes widened. "I could never do something like that."

"It's not as hard as you might think. I could show you sometime."

"Really? Hm," Celeste thought for a moment, "I think I have some free time next weekend."

"Let me give you my number, and we can talk about a time to meet up." Hayley dug inside her purse to pull out her phone.

Danny watched the exchange, feeling like he was the third wheel at the table. "So, um-"

"Oh!" Hayley's eyes lit up excitedly. "I think there's a sale. We can go look at some patterns and fabrics."

Danny sipped his water as Hayley and Celeste made plans to hang out next weekend for a sewing lesson. He almost piped up a few times to join them, but his skills leaned more toward needlepoint, taking after his father, than sewing, which was more Tucker's department.

"So how is Dash?" Celeste asked, turning to Danny. "We haven't really spoken a lot since Halloween, and I was just wondering," she hunched up her shoulders, "if you knew anything."

"Oh, I don't know. Dash talks more about his relationship stuff with Kwan than with me."

Celeste nodded with a forced smile, clearly hoping for a different answer.

"Miss," a waiter said when he dropped by their table with a bag in his hands, "your dinner."

"Thanks." Celeste accepted the bag, and the waiter left them. "Well, I guess I should go." She stood. "Thanks for keeping me company. I'm sorry about imposing on your date though."

"Oh no!" Hayley shook her head as she stood too. "We were happy to have you join us." She pulled Celeste in for a brief hug.

"It was nice getting to talk to you again." Celeste turned to Danny, holding out her hand.

Danny stood with a nod. "It was nice seeing you again." He shook her hand. With a wave, Celeste headed for the front entrance of the restaurant. Danny and Hayley resumed their seats.

"Sorry." Hayley winced. "I guess we got a little carried away."

Danny shook his head. "It's fine." Their waiter dropped off their order then came back a few seconds later to refill their water glasses. "That's really great about the audition. I feel a little like a copycat saying it after Hayley, but I'm really happy for you, going out there and trying to achieve your dream."

"Thanks." Hayley blushed lightly. "So anything special going on with you?" She took a bite of her fettuccine.

"My team had a swim meet today." Danny paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Did I mention that before? I teach English, but I also coach the swim team. We only got one third place, but we'll work hard to be ready for the next meet."

"You should have told me! I would have come." Hayley winced. "Oh, but I had my audition. Maybe next time you have a swim meet, I could come?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Danny smiled. "So tell me more about yourself. What were you like when you were little? I don't think we really talked about siblings." They still didn't know a lot about each other yet. As he ate, Danny listened in captivated silence as Hayley talked about growing up with her parents but no siblings. Danny shared some stories about Jazz and him growing up, earning a few laughs from Hayley. From there, the date went smoothly, and Danny relaxed more, actually feeling comfortable talking with her. Maybe things could work out with Hayley.

Marsetta: Valerie's running out of time! She leaves Sunday night! D: I would like to bring Sam and Tucker into the story, yes. Why do they have to live so far away? orz

xXRainbowCleoXx: That might be too long a title. XD Jeremy's sister is doing all right. Financially, the family could probably use some help. =( Dash and Kwan keep things from each forever!

Kimera20: Thanks~ 8D Haha, who knows?

YumiStar: Maybe Valerie should have slipped "Bob" a little more money to keep silent. XD

Casper97: Things are definitely building up, huh?

Lexosaurus: Thanks~ Kwan has some info now. XD Maybe he can work on piecing things together?

Cabbit and the Weasel: Dun dun dun! Danny's gonna get busted one of these days!

Ethan Demas: Aw! Sorry to hear about that! D:

Tetractys: She's dated both of them! XD In the back of her mind, Valerie wonders why it took her so long to see how Danny and Kwan would be so good for each other. XD

Guest: Tune in next week to see just how well movie night is progressing! *shot* Will these boys ever admit their feels for each other? And just who is behind these ghostly capers?

LunaSkys: Thanks! =D

SilverAxe: Closer to Amity Park, they probably know ghosts are real and all that, but the farther away (and Danny's living kind of far away now), people still mostly think ghosts don't exist.

Summertime 3: Val is awesome~ 8D Someday, they're all going to be living happily in love with each other! I guess you can't trust random gas station attendants to keep a secret like that quiet for long. XD Can't blame her though. It would be hard not telling someone about such a strange event! At least she kept it out of the media? XD

FallingNarwhals: Dash and Kwan are totally interested in Danny. Even if they won't admit it. XD

Just Will: I guess Danny and Val should be happy "Bob" didn't catch the whole thing on her cell phone. XD It would have been posted all over the internet by now. Hm, yes. Thanksgiving should be seen. *strokes chin* Probably a chapter or two back at school first, maybe? Danny looks good in a lot of clothes. *winkwink* And the boys are starting to realize that. XD The meet may not have gone great, but Danny's not going to be too discouraged by it. He knows the team will get better, and now that he's seen what they're up against, he can put his focus on more of their weak points. Will felt like a good avenue of showcasing... other beings beyond just ghosts that Danny's had to deal with over time. Ghosts may have dominated Amity Park, but they're less a problem farther away from town.