A/N: Takes place after Phantom Planet.
"This isn't how I thought you would want to spend your first day as an official hero," Sam remarked. She looked up at the high school with distaste, and then glanced over at Danny. "Are you sure?"
Danny nodded. It would be weird to go to school without Tucker, but he was busy as mayor now. He had gotten an honorary degree and was taking college courses online while he juggled the responsibilities of being the youngest mayor in history. They still saw each other, of course, but high school sucked up so much time.
"I'm sure," he replied. His hold subconsciously tightened on his backpack straps. As much as he tried to ignore it, he could feel all the people staring at him, and hear the whispers that followed him everywhere now. "Just because I saved the world doesn't mean I shouldn't have a high school degree." The school had offered him one, and Sam, too, but Danny had declined.
Ever since getting ghost powers, going to school had been a struggle for him. He was plenty smart, but ghost fighting sucked away time to study and do homework, and his grades had crashed and burned as a result. Now, he felt like he could finally keep up with his work. His parents would be helping him fight ghosts, and Jazz could help him study. It made Danny wish that he had just told everyone sooner. This was so much better than sneaking around.
He glanced over at Sam, and hesitated, before sighing. "Thanks for coming back with me, Sam. I know that high school isn't as cool as saving the world."
Even though she wasn't exactly "happy" to be back at school, Sam smiled. "I know you wouldn't be able to make it without me," she joked. "I wasn't going to just leave you to the dogs."
Danny ran a hand through his hair, feeling cold anxiety settle in his gut. He was familiar with these hallways, the classrooms, the steps that led up to the front door. Everything was the same as he remembered, but it was all different now. He had saved the world — why was stepping into his high school so difficult by comparison?
He probably would have stood there all day, but Sam suddenly sighed. "You're hopeless, I swear." She grabbed his hand, pulling Danny forward and into the school after her. He stumbled for a moment but was quick to fall into pace with her. Quietly, Danny couldn't help but notice that she was still holding his hand. A smile found its way onto his face. Guess that was what happened when you were dating someone.
Wow. Sam and him. Dating. As in, together. He still couldn't quite believe it.
They walked in silence to their lockers, which was fine, because Danny wasn't in the mood for small talk. He had no idea what his fellow students were thinking, though everyone was whispering as he passed. He caught bits and pieces of conversation, but not a lot. He tried to block it out and instead focused on Sam's hand in his. She felt real and firm, and it kept him putting one foot in front of the other.
When they rounded the corner to Danny's locker, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. Sam scoffed, but she didn't slow down. If anything, she only walked faster. Danny wasn't surprised that she was angry.
As soon as they got within sight, the whispering broke off, and Paulina turned around to face them. She had been talking to Star, who made a point to look at anything besides Danny. Her face was pale, almost sickly, and she had her lips pursed tightly. Paulina didn't look nearly so conflicted, or unhappy. "Danny! Hi!" She waved at him cheerily, grinning. "Can we talk?"
It was an innocent question, but that didn't stop Sam from rolling her eyes. Before Danny could answer, Sam was already boiling over. "You want to talk to him? Now?" She snapped. "It's because of the ghost thing, right? Because you, for whatever reason, seem to think that you deserve to date him. Do you even know the last time he so much as glanced at you? I wouldn't think so. All boys are the same to you, and you never once cared about Danny until he became a hero." As Sam had ranted, Paulina had grown significantly paler. She didn't try to argue or defend herself or even insult Sam back. Danny frowned. "And I don't think you realize just how—!"
Danny placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, and she immediately snapped her mouth shut. She turned to look at him, confused, and Danny shook his head. "It's okay," he said quietly. Then, turning to Paulina, "Of course we can talk."
That made Paulina brighten some, but she still looked a touch upset as she followed Danny down the hall. Sam didn't look happy about it, but she wasn't going to tell Danny what he could and couldn't do. It was a really nice quality about her. After a silent moment of walking, Danny stopped by the janitor's closet.
"Here." He opened the door for Paulina. She looked taken aback for only a moment before stepping inside. It was a cramped space, and Danny knew that other students were going to be listening in, but this was their best bet as far as privacy went. Everyone more or less knew that Paulina was in love with the ghost boy, so Danny could hardly blame them for being curious. They were going to be disappointed if they were expecting this conversation to end positively, though.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Paulina sighed, leaning back against the far wall and wrapping her arms around herself. "You're going to say no, aren't you?" She mumbled. "Because you like your friend. Girlfriend now, it looks like."
Danny hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah," he said awkwardly. "I like her a lot, you know?" And he meant it. He was very happy with Sam, and he knew that he had made the right choice with her. Still, his childish crush on Paulina was… nostalgic, almost. She was still pretty, but it didn't feel the same way. She would never really love him. Not the way that Sam did. "Uh, here. I want to show you something I've been practicing."
That got her attention again. Paulina looked up at him, one eyebrow arched. Danny took a deep breath and pressed his hands together. He pulled them apart slowly, and cold, frosty air poured out from between his hands, like opening the bathroom after a hot shower and watching the steam pour out. He frowned in concentration and pushed ice out through his fingers. It molded to whatever shape he wanted, as flexible as clay.
When Danny finally finished, Paulina let out a small gasp. What was left in his palm was a small ghost, like a charm for a necklace. Which just so happened to be what it was. Green ectoplasm swirled inside of it, glowing faintly through the ice, and Danny smiled as he dropped it into Paulina's hand. "I know it's not much," he shrugged, "but I thought it looked nice. And, see, the green stuff in it is sort of like my energy, I guess. It keeps the ice from melting as long as I have power." He explained.
Paulina curled her fingers around it, looking at Danny with confusion. "So, if it were to suddenly melt…?"
Danny shrugged and managed an awkward chuckle. "Hey, it wouldn't be so bad. I've already been half-dead for a while now." It felt good to make jokes like this. He didn't have to hide anything from anyone, anymore, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
The joke got him a weird look, but then Paulina smiled. "Well, I had better go find a chain for it, then." She hummed. "Oh, and Danny? One last thing." Danny felt her hand on his shoulder, and then she leaned up, pressing her lips to his cheek with such softness that Danny was almost convinced that he had imagined it. "Thank you."
He wasn't sure what she was thanking him for, but he didn't get to ask. After a moment, she was gone, leaving the door open behind her. Danny wiped the stunned look off of his face and glared at the throng of kids surrounding the closet. Most of them looked away and awkwardly dispersed, which was good enough.
Walking back over to Sam, Danny felt an apology already on his lips. "Sam, I—" He started, but she cut him off.
"Save it," she sighed. "I'm not mad, Danny. You can talk to whoever you want. Speaking of which, this is for you." She held her hand up, and clasped between her middle and pointer finger was a plain white envelope. "It's from Dash," Sam answered his unasked question. "I haven't looked, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out how he must feel now that he knows he's been bullying the great Danny Phantom this whole time."
Danny took the letter gingerly and opened it. True to form, the message was written sloppily, and it was short but direct.
Danny
Writing isn't my strong suit, but I figured that I needed to try. It's not like I could face you after what happened. Mom said that writing a letter was the best way to go about this, but I just think it's stupid.
Anyway, I only wanted to say that I was sorry. I shouldn't have been picking on you, even if you weren't Phantom. Me and the other guys talked, and we're gonna stop. I mean it. We're gonna stop picking on everyone. And if I slip up, feel free to sock me in the jaw with all of that strength you've been holding back.
I still don't get why you let me pick on you for so long.
Dash
It wasn't the sweetest message that Danny had ever gotten, but he appreciated it nonetheless. It was about time that Dash started doing something with his time other than picking on other kids.
He stuffed the letter into his pocket and turned back to Sam. His mouth opened to say something, but then he realized that Sam wasn't looking at him. Her gaze was focused in the distance, on an approaching figure. Danny figured that she had learned her lesson from Paulina, because she merely glared, and didn't try to say anything as Valerie stopped in front of them.
"Hey," she sighed and shifted the book bag on her shoulders. "We need to talk. Here is fine. I don't need somewhere private."
Danny and Sam shared a look. Valerie had been there in Antarctica when he had revealed himself, so she had seen his secret revealed first hand. He wasn't worried about her attacking him, but… "What is it?" He asked.
"Take these." Valerie pressed her bag into his hands. "And before you look, don't try to return them to me. I still have plenty of weapons for fighting other ghosts, these are just… they're the ones I was going to use on you. You, specifically, courtesy of Vlad Masters." She rolled her eyes. "I also took apart that chamber I used to hold you a while back." Sam's eyes widened at that, and she shot Danny a look that made him wince. Yeah, they would definitely be talking about that later.
He flipped open the book bag, surprised by the sheer amount of weapons that she had managed to cram into it. "Valerie," he shook his head, and tried to hand the bag back, "I can't take these. You—"
"—Will manage without it," Valerie finished. The tone she used left no room for arguments. "Just take it, Fenton. I'll be in touch. But right now," her eyes subconsciously snapped over to the ring on Sam's finger — the one that Danny had given to her once they officially started their relationship, "I really need to go hurt something."
She turned and stalked away, leaving Danny with the bag of weapons held out awkwardly in front of him. After a moment, Sam reached up, taking the bag from him. "I'll put them in my locker," she sighed, slinging it over her shoulder. "Danny, are you okay? I know that you weren't really expecting a day back like this. We can always leave if you want to," Sam suggested, but Danny was already shaking his head.
"No," he insisted. "This is… good. It's good. Progress." Danny managed a smile, holding out his hand for her to take. "What do you think? Ready to see if this day can get any more awkward?"
Sam fought back a smile for a moment and then sighed. She took his hand gladly. "Always."
