Chapter 32: Welcome To Your Fate

"Don't say it like that, Sam." Danny scolded.

"You know that one of us will call you or webchat you and tell you every excruciating detail just like we do for Jazz. Even if you're far away, we can still make this work." Tucker was trying to help. "You can contribute by doing research for us when we need it."

Sam had nothing left to say.

Danny turned to go. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business I have to take care of." Danny flew off towards the setting sun.

"Where's he going?" Sam asked.

"Beats me."

Danny flew towards the poorer section of town. He came to Valerie's house and he knocked on her door. She answered. "I'm glad you're okay. My father told me you got kidnapped."

"I'm fine." He sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that you and I really aren't meant to be together?"

Valerie sighed, embarrassed and defeated. "I suppose you want your class ring back…"

"No. You can keep that."

"You think we should break up? Once and for all?"

"I just don't feel the passion anymore."

"Hmm. I suppose you're also here about my decision of joining team phantom or not."

"Well—"

"Please don't judge me Danny. My decision has nothing to do with my relationship with you. And I've determined it's best for me to not get involved with your team."

Danny frowned. "Then you won't help me save Garth?"

"What happened to him?" Valerie's face sparked a sudden peak of concern.

"He's in prison. And his sentence is 500 years. He doesn't belong there, so we're going to have to find a way of getting him out, whether you're with us or not."

"500 years?" Valerie was horrified. "All right, I'll help you save Garth. But after that I'm done."

"Thank you."

"Thank you for respecting my decision."

Danny looked at her and he wanted to confess everything he had been feeling for the past few months. He was very shy about it sometimes. But now just felt like the right time. "I think it's time we breakup. We'll still be friends, of course."

"Danny, I really care about you. And I really want you to know that, no matter what you think of me, I will always be here for you as a friend." Valerie looked like she was about to cry.

But she didn't even shed one tear. In truth, all of her emotions were bubbling up and they had been for quite a while. She knew it was only a short moment of time before it all came out.

"I really admire you." She said softly as she watched the beautifully glowing ghost boy fly away into the night sky. "I'm going to miss you, Danny."

Danny went back to his house. Sam and Tucker had left now, and all that remained was Danielle and Cecelia. The two girls were sitting on the couch fixing each other's' hair.

"Hi Danny." Danielle said as her brother phased through the front door of the house. "What was the big emergency?"

"I broke up with Valerie." He said casually, as if it was no big deal. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and sat next to the girls on the couch.

"I'm sorry." Danielle said comfortingly.

"Don't be—it went perfectly. Turns out both of us have lost our passion for each other. I think it all came from the secrecy thing—all that adrenaline. Now that the secrets are out, everything just seems too…calm. Too normal. Valerie almost seems like she wants to give up ghost fighting for good. And that's the total opposite of me." Danny shrugged as if it really wasn't a big deal to him now.

"Imagine that—a life without ghost hunting. Humph." Danielle chuckled as she brushed out a hair knot. "I've been hunting and fighting my whole life."

"I can't imagine my life without it either. We're a team for life." Cecelia said.

There was a bit of silence, until Danielle said, "Danny, you flew away before we got the chance to tell you how we saved you."

Danny took one last sip of orange juice and put the cup in the sink. "Talk to me while I'm washing these dishes."

"Cecelia, why don't you tell him?" Danielle winked to her best friend. "It's getting really late—I still need to do my evening studies if I want to go to high school next year." She walked upstairs. "Ta ta!" She smiled.

Cecelia approached Danny. "Well, Wenn captured you."

"I'm familiar with that part." Danny smiled as he began to scrub the plates.

"…And then he knocked you out with a serum."

"It didn't even take away my powers like he said it would. I'm glad he was bluffing."

"That's where Danielle comes in. She challenged Wenn and he injected her with something different. If made her weak, but it did not make her pass out. Then she came and got Tucker and I to challenge Wenn. Tucker, being the person we all know and love, was easily overcome by Wenn's Tossi mind persuasion. And then a strange thing occurred that none of us accounted for—Wenn's powers don't work on me because of my electric power."

Danny smiled confidently as he finished the dishes and put them into the dishwasher.

"So I threatened him. When he wouldn't back down, I zapped him and then I found you. I fried the shackles that were trapping you in and then I carried you to the Speeder. Tucker helped me carry you into the house."

"Thank you." Danny hugged her loosely. "I'm glad you guys teamed up to save me.

Cecelia blushed and turned away.

"So, did my sister invite you to spend the night?"

"Yeah. You know Danielle, always a socialite."

"Totally." Danny walked upstairs. "Should I show you where the guest bedroom is?"

Cecelia nodded.

It was the white door across from Danielle's bedroom.

"This used to be Jazz's room before she moved out." Danny flipped on the light switch. "I apologize for all the junk. The desk is still covered with papers, and the stuffed animals are still on the shelves."

"How homey." Cecelia said.

Danny nodded and walked into his own bedroom. Cecelia knocked at Danielle's door.

"Need to borrow some pajamas?" Danielle read Cecelia's mind. Cecelia nodded and opened the door. Danielle tossed her a nightgown. "Might be a little tight on you, though. I'm a teenager in the body of a pre-teen…"

Cecelia smiled. The nightgown was pink and Hello Kitty themed. She went into the bathroom and put it on. As she was walking out, she saw Danny on the other end of the hallway in his ghost form.

"Where are you going? It's almost eleven o'clock." Cecelia approached him.

"On days like these when I've had a big adventure, I always like to go for a flight before I fall asleep." Danny said.

For the first time, he really looked at her and he could see the longing in her purple eyes. He finally realized that Cecelia was no longer a toughie but had become a gentler, kinder person than she was before.

Now that the tomboy exterior had melted away, there was a beautiful girl inside—the kind of girl that would love to go on a midnight ride. "Want to come with me?"

Cecelia nodded and took his outstretched hand. He pulled her close to him. She jumped on his back and he phased them out of the house and into the mysterious night sky, laughing all the way.

Sam was packing for France. She really didn't want to go. She had stalled as long as possible. And now her mother had gotten after her for it. Sam reluctantly packed her essentials neatly into a small black suitcase.

Sam was about to pack in a very dark and gloomy outfit when her mother came into the room. Sam groaned.

"Samantha! Deary, surely you aren't thinking of packing that drab mess of fabric into your suitcase? No! You'll be buying a whole new wardrobe with Aunt Jackie!"

Sam rolled her eyes.

"You're going to be turned into a dainty little princess!"

"Never ever…" Sam said at a low volume her mother could not hear.

Sam's mother drove her to the airport on January third. Sam got in line for the plane and saw before her a tall, bodacious redhead with a perky attitude. "Hi Sammy!"

Sam moaned. "I'm going to regret this…" She said.

"You really don't have a choice. This is for the good of us all, especially you." Sam's mother had a way of making everything sound happy, even if it was Sam's worst nightmare.

When Sam arrived, she looked out at the city of Paris, France. It was all fancy and seemed fake like a horrible dream. It was just the kind of thing Sam hated. City of love, never. But a city of lies? That was more likely. Sam couldn't wait for her trip to be over.

What Sam dreaded most was the fact that she knew her aunt would make her wear all kinds of fluffy dresses and junk just to look pretty. Jackie would probably spend hundreds of dollars on clothes for Sam, if not thousands.

Jackie's mansion was all cute and girly. Jackie had a pink fiat and a pink garage door. There were two little rose shrubs outside the front door with a multitude of red roses on them. The inside of the house was all elegant and Sam felt like if she so much as breathed on something, it would fall apart. Sam's bedroom was a whole other subject.

It was huge. And the walls were all painted orange. Sam didn't like orange. It was such a purposeless color. The closet was one of those walk-in ones and it had several of Jackie's old dresses in it.

This was probably Jackie's way of trying to convince Sam to become girlier. But Sam refused to change.

Welcome to France.

Breakfast at the Fenton house was most unusual this morning because Cecelia was here. Maddie Fenton was fixing strawberry pancakes. "How many would you like, hon?" Maddie turned to Cecelia.

"Um, three." Cecelia said. She was sitting in between Danny and Danielle. Danielle found it absolutely hilarious that Cecelia and Danny could not take their eyes off each other.

Jack Fenton took half of the first batch of pancakes that came off the frying pan. He scooped them onto his plate and prepared to take a bite when, Maddie roared, "Jack! We have a guest over!"

Jack sighed and let the kids take one pancake each from his pile.

After everybody had finished their pancakes, Danielle pulled Danny aside. "What happened?" she asked him slyly. "I know something happened between you and Cecelia last night."

"I just took her out for a flight. No big deal."

"Oh yes it is!" Danielle squealed. "You two would be so—"

Danny put his hand over her mouth. "Don't even finish that sentence."

She giggled.

Cecelia was walking over, and she looked concerned. "Um, guys, there's only five minutes before school starts. How are we going to get there in time? Unless…"

Danny pulled Cecelia out of the house after they said goodbye to Jack and Maddie. "Okay, it goes like this. We walk for a block until we're out of their view, and then we fly the rest of the way."

Cecelia beamed. She very much enjoyed flying with him. They walked side by side and Danny told her about some of the ghosts he fought in the past. And he was sure to interject some exaggerated details of his heroics just so she'd laugh a little more and say, "Wow, you're so cool."

In first period, Danny caught up with Tucker and gave him a high-five.

"Catch you later, Danny." Cecelia said. She and Valerie sat together near the middle of the classroom while Danny and Tucker sat up front.

"Hey Valerie! Hey Cecelia!" Paulina and Star smiled at their fellow cheerleaders.

"You seem very peppy today. More so than usual." Cecelia noted to Paulina.

"I know!" She squeaked. "Everything's so much brighter and better without that goth geek Sam around to spoil it!"

"So true." Star agreed honestly.

Valerie smiled and relaxed in her seat. "I know, right?" She and her friends laughed.

Meanwhile, up front, Tucker was passing glances at the empty seat to his right that Sam used to sit in. "Danny, don't take this too hard. I'm sure Sam will be back soon." He said assuringly.

"I'm not the one who's taking it hard—you are."