This is my first prompt for the Phic Phight 2020! I chose this as a warm-up to get the juices flowing :P There will be lots of one-shots coming out throughout the month! Please R&R and let me know what you think Unbetaed so errors are inevitable, I never get them all! But if you see any glaring issues let me know!
Prompt by: Currentlylurking / Lurking AO3: Hollyflash
• Maddie and Jack have planned the perfect date night, and nothing will ruin it. Not even the Wisconsin Ghost, who seems to think they can't see him hiding behind a menu at the other table
Date Night
Maddie smiled at her husband as they enter the restaurant, The Spectral Spot, for their much-needed date night. Their kids had gotten them the reservation and a gift card to cover some of the amount they would need towards the meal for their anniversary, and Maddie was very much looking forward to it.
While the restaurant itself was a bit of a tourist trap, she couldn't deny that, but she was more than a little interested in the various ghost-themed meals, and the overall decor of the place.
Jack, of course, was over the moon when they reached their table and saw the ghost patterned table cloth, ghost folded napkins held together in shape with lime green ties, and of course, the bright green plates with little black ghosts etched into the rim. The whole restaurant was a wash of black, bright neon green and smokey purples.
Even the candle holder had a little pattern on it that spewed coloured ghosts flickering like flames across the surface of the table. Maddie couldn't help but grin at the childlike smile Jack was giving the room.
"Hi, there folks! My name is Ashley, I'll be your waiter this evening... Can I start you off with some drinks before you order?" The waiter asked as she approached the couple. She had on her forced and practiced smile, not that the Freaky Fentons noticed...
"A glass of red wine to start for me," Maddie responded after a quick glance to the back of the menu.
"I'll try this Ecto-green apple daiquiri," Jack said after his wife with a wide grin. "Is it made with real ectoplasm?" The man asked with a genuine curiosity that put the waiter off.
"Jack I doubt they have an actual supply of ectoplasm that's safe for human consumption, though I have to say, ecto doesn't taste like apples it's more like an overly bitter unripe lime, to be honest." Maddie mused hardly looking up from the menu as she glanced over the starters.
"I'll um, make a note of that..." Ashley responded shifting awkwardly unsure how to respond. with a shake of her head, her forced smile was back in place as she asked, "anything else for the moment?"
"Ghostly Garlic knots!" Jack exclaimed, loud voice booming about the rather quiet atmosphere of the restaurant, and echoing off the walls.
The waiter flinched but kept her forced smile in place. "Sure thing. I'll be right back with your drinks..." With that the waiter hurried off into the kitchen, leaving the elder Fentons alone once more.
"This is nice, we really should get out like this more often," Maddie said moving her hand across the table to take Jack's with a smile.
"Yeah Mads, though I wish Jazzy didn't make us go without our jumpsuits..." The man said forlornly. "What if a ghost shows up?!
"Well, we made a promise to our kids that we would use this to relax... I mean even Danny was saying we've been working too much, and for him to notice and us not too... well..." Maddie trailed off. Her son could be just as oblivious if not more so then her husband at times.
Though she had to admit it was comical to see her son's face when they had come down the stairs dressed in street clothing. She was happy Jack's suit jacket still fit him, though the garish orange colour was not flattering on the more formal wear
She herself, had donned a blue blouse and a pair of jeans that may or may not have been Jazz's...
"I know baby, but I can't help but feel off without all the weapons, and pockets... and well something with the name Fenton on the tag..." Jack admitted.
Maddie resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the waiter returned depositing their drinks before them. Jack's pout over his clothing instantly disappeared as he saw the bright lime green slush drink.
"You're starter's on its way, but do you know what you want for mains?" Ashley asks promptly pulling out her notepad in anticipation of their orders.
"I'll go with the Ecto-American beef steak, medium well please, with a Ghost of Ceaser's salad on the side," Maddie responded with a smile as she handed the menu to the waiter.
"The surf an' turf- er The Skulker Special for me! And Vengeful Veggies for the side." Jack said in turn. The majority of the mains seemed to be named after the typical ghosts one would see around the town.
Things like; Phantom's daily special, or Youngblood's kid's selection, were prevalent as well as others like; 'deep-fried ectopuss' and 'freaky fries' littered the menu with occasional drawings of the ghosts curling around the words. Considering how many ghost puns and jokes were in this thing she wouldn't be surprised if someone were to tell her Phantom himself made the menu.
But that fleeting thought was not what Maddie was here for. The waiter nodded and retreated once more.
"Jack... look there..." Maddie said interrupting her husband's rant about a vengeful vegetable ghost's possible vitality.
Jack stopped his rant to look to where his wife was directing her gaze. "Isn't that..."
"Yes... I believe so... But why is a ghost here? I know this is a ghost-themed restaurant but isn't letting an actual ghost in here taking it a little far?" Maddie said with a scowl.
"See Mads! I told you we needed to keep out jumpsuits and weapons on us! now we can't do anything about it!" Jack complained waving his arms around madly as if he were trying to take flight in his chair.
"Well... it's not doing anything yet so just try to ignore it... we promised the kids any way that we would take the night off, although... Wait, Jack... I think that's the Wisconsin ghost... Why is that stalker ghost here of all places?" Maddie narrowed her eyes as she sent a sneer at the ghost who was now trying, and failing, to hide behind its menu.
"I suppose..." the large man relents before the latter half of Maddie's words caught up to his brain. "Stalker?" Jack spun in his chair to glare at the ghost himself before turning back and frowning at his wife. "No, it's definitely the Wisconsin ghost, not that stalker ghost... um... hunter ghost Skulker not Stalker right?"
"No, I mean that stupid Wannabe vampire ghost has been stalking me all week! I've been seeing that one more and more when ever I go out on patrol! Worse still, whenever I attack it, the stupid thing always has a smug look about it, even worse than Phantom..." Maddie groused with an exasperated sigh. "When I stopped attacking it a couple days ago that stupid ghost has been making itself obnoxiously obvious, standing still and waiting for me, to try to goad me into attacking it."
"Why would a ghost want to be attacked?" Jack wondered aloud.
"I haven't the slightest but my working theory is it's absorbing the energy from the ecto-pistols somehow. So just don't look at it. It'll lose interest if you don't give it attention." Maddie said patting her husband's hand in an offering of comfort.
"Does that work? And why didn't you tell me about that pest sooner? I could have captured it and torn it apart molecule by molecule!" Jack asked back, lower lip jutting forward to quiver in dismay of possibly loosing out on a hunt.
"Don't worry hun, I think it's just like a toddler throwing a tantrum in a way if you don't feed it the attention they are looking for you don't have to worry."
"I guess..." Jack's disappointment didn't last long, however, as the garlic knots had arrived on their table.
The wait staff were all making a point to completely avoid the ghost though the ghost itself was looking more annoyed by the second. When it finally managed to lock eyes with a waiter the nervous man shivered.
"Do- Do you want a drink?" The waiter tried.
"... Actually, a drink sounds simply divine. do you have scotch?" The ghost asked offering a fanged grin that may have intended to seem friendly but just looked like a sneer with the fangs hanging out of his mouth.
"Do ... Do ghosts drink?" Jack asked blatantly staring at the interaction until Maddie pulled his attention back to her.
"I suppose they may have something that allows them to taste, but from the studies we've done we've not seen a ghost with a digestive system..." Maddie said though she couldn't find herself become curious as well.
She hardly noticed when Jack had made short work of the appetizer herself not having gotten any. She was too must watching the Wisconson ghost out of the corner of her eye.
Sure enough, though, the waiter came and deposited the drink on the ghost's table before practically fleeing the area. The ghost sipped its drink slowly all the while staring right at her.
Maddie turned to sneer back, and the ghost looked away casually as if it were playing coy. Maddie groaned before shaking her head. "Jazz and Danny are counting on us... Keep ghosts out of date night..."
Steeling her resolve, she spent the night purposefully snubbing the ghost, and encouraging her husband to do the same. It was a much harder feat then she cared to admit but it was working... Barely...
With the main course eaten and they (Jack) was ready to move on to dessert, The ghost was still there, staring them down, and had actually managed to consume the beverage given to it.
Still, it was frustrating, this ghost had hardly moved from its spot and was watching them like a hawk, but had yet to cause any serious chaos.
"Can we get the dessert in a to-go box?" Maddie asked the waitress when she came to clear the plates.
Ashley nodded, "I'll be right back with that and your bill," she chirped, before moving away to do just that.
Jack gave his wife a confused look. "I'm just getting tired of that ghost's smug face watching us." She responded before he could ask.
"We'll work on some sort of stealth weaponry to attack it later Mads," Jack offered.
Maddie smiled lovingly to her husband while the waitress returned with the fudge topped cheesecake in a plastic container, and the bill. They left the cash on the table along with the gift card before picking up their coats and began to make their way back to Fenton-works.
"You know what I don't get?" Jack asked suddenly as they neared the RV
"What's that hun?"
"Well, I know you said that the ghost wanted attention but why did it seem to only want your attention specifically?" Jack mused as he jumped into the driver's seat of the RV while Maddie took the passenger spot. "I mean, it would get a whole heck of a lot more attention if it was attacking things wouldn't you think?"
The huntress shrugged. "It's a ghost Jack, do they ever have logical thought?"
"I suppose you're right baby." Jack agreed easily before starting the RV and slowly pulling out of the lot only to hit the gas as soon as the tires touched the main road. Neither of the hunters bothered to look back at the restaurant as they zipped away at speeds that were hardly considered within the legal limits.
Had they bothered to look back in the restaurant, the sight that would have greeted them would have been a dejected Plasmius and a cackling Danny Phantom.
"Pay up fruit-loop" Phantom managed out between his gasping breaths.
"But how? I... What did you do brat?" Vlad sneered
"That's the best part! Absolutely nothing! I told you, ya couldn't' keep her attention even if you were a ghost! And you were right under her nose!" Phantom began cackling again.
"I never should have taken this stupid childish bet..."
"I'm oh so glad you did" Danny smirked before zipping away as a hot pink blast shot towards him.
Vlad sighed before turning his attention back to the wait staff. "Well? What are you looking at?" The scramble away instantly much to the elder halfa's satisfaction. He was not looking forward to the 'payment'...
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Complete
Total word count 2052