Watching Phantom float towards the portal, Danny felt himself surge forward and grab onto the ghost's wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Phantom, please don't leave!" Danny begged, attempting to tug him closer, but meeting resistance from Phantom, who was trying the back away with an uncomfortable expression.

"Danny, you know it's not safe for me here. Give me one good reason for me to stay." Phantom argued, pulling at the hand on his wrist that was trapping him. Using his free hand, Danny reached forward and cupped Phantom's cheek, turning the ghost's face towards his own and locking eyes with him. Danny started pulling Phantom's face towards his own, ignoring the expression of horrified realisation as their lips drew closer.

"Danny!"

At the interruption of Jazz's voice, Danny startled awake, jolting upright in bed. As he gained awareness, he noticed he was panting and drenched in sweat. He glanced over to the corner of the room to see Phantom struggling to wake up, blinking cutely as he fought back his drowsiness. Danny couldn't help but sigh with relief. Despite his own disappointment, it was a good thing that Phantom had turned down his offer to share the bed. If he'd been in the bed, Danny might have attempted to kiss him in his sleep again, if that dream was going in the direction he thought it was. He groaned at himself, flopping onto his back dramatically. Why did he keep dreaming about Phantom like that?

"Danny, you better wake up. You know if you sleep past noon, mom will come in here to check if you're sick, and we can all imagine how well that will go." Jazz warned through the closed door. This was enough to completely wake Danny up, and looking over at Phantom it seemed it had the same effect on the ghost, who was now scrambling to his feet. Now that Danny was fully awake, he was able to notice Phantom's change in wardrobe. He was wearing their comfiest hoodie, an oversized black one that made Phantom look extremely huggable. It was downright bizarre seeing Phantom in anything but the hazmat suit. But he had to admit, he liked this. Danny must have been staring too long, because Phantom began fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Sorry for taking your clothes. I needed to wash the suit and I didn't have anything else to wear." Phantom apologised meekly, snapping Danny out of his stupor.

"No, it's fine! You don't have to apologise for that. You can borrow anything of mine you like." Danny attempted to reassure, climbing awkwardly out of his twisted sheets. Noticing a wince from the ghost, it occurred to Danny that Phantom might prefer to have his own stuff.

"Actually, tell you what. Why don't we go shopping today and you can pick out stuff that you like?" Danny suggested. Phantom clearly liked the idea, judging by the way his eyes lit up, although he quickly withdrew.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a hassle." There was that shyness again. Danny couldn't understand why he made Phantom so nervous. It was beginning to feel like no matter how hard he tried to gentle with him, it was never enough. Not willing to give up trying just yet, he offered Phantom a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure, and it's definitely no hassle. You deserve to have your own stuff. Besides, I needed to go to the mall anyway to buy myself more clothes that actually fit me with my stupid late bloomer growth spurt." Danny replied, chuckling at the last part. As he spoke, a bright smile broke across Phantom's face, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. Suddenly Phantom swept towards Danny, wrapping his arms around Danny's shoulders and burying his face into the crook of Danny's neck. A shiver ran down Danny's spine as Phantom's refreshing coolness washed over him. Automatically, his hands wrapped around the ghost to return the embrace, relishing in the feeling of finally holding him again.

"Thank you." Phantom mumbled into Danny's neck, not pulling back at all to speak. The vibration of his voice combined with the brush of lips against his skin caused Danny to shudder and grip tighter onto Phantom as his hips surged forward in a reflex of pleasure. Realising he had essentially humped Phantom, Danny scrambled to let go of Phantom and back away awkwardly.

"D-Don't mention it. It's the least I could do, right?" He stammered, backing into his bed and falling into a sitting position. For a few seconds, Phantom just stared at Danny as if in a daze. Right when it seemed like he wasn't going to say anything, his lips parted.

"Danny, what you do for me, it's way more than the least you could do. Not everyone would do this much for someone else, let alone a ghost. When I say thank you, it means more than I could possibly say." Phantom explained, expression soft as he floated towards Danny. Looking up at the ghost from his position made him unusually nervous. Between the glowing eyes and the beautiful night sky skin, he looked so ethereal and downright hypnotic. It made Danny feel… inadequate.

"I should go take a shower." Danny commented, breaking the spell of Phantom's hypnotic stare as the ghost startled back in confusion.

"Again? You already showered twice yesterday." Phantom questioned, frowning. Danny laughed awkwardly as he crawled off the other side of the bed and began making his way to the door.

"Yeah, I know. But I appear to have sweat a lot in my sleep, and I don't want to stink up the clothes I'll be trying on at the mall, you know?" He rationalised, giving awkward finger guns as he left the room.

As Phantom followed invisibly behind Danny at the mall, he was determined to be on his best behaviour. He knew he'd done something to make Danny uncomfortable earlier in the human boy's bedroom, but wasn't sure what. When Danny hugged him tighter and accidentally bumped Phantom in just the right place, it was like Phantom's brain reset. The next thing he knew, Danny was scrambling to leave the room to go take yet another shower.

Was it because I touched him?

Phantom was sure he still had a stomach, because it was churning at the idea of Danny feeling dirty just from touching Phantom. He thought back to how Danny was behaving in his shower the night before, scrubbing furiously at his skin as if he couldn't stand the idea of having any trace of Phantom on him. The ghost frowned in confusion. If Danny was so disgusted by him, why did he hug him back so tightly? Even more baffling, why would he offer to share the bed last night? Was that all just to be polite?

A hand on his chest snapped him out of his thoughts. Refocusing on the world around him, he saw that the hand belonged to Danny, whose expression was shifting into a satisfied smile.

"There you are. Why don't we go in here?" Danny asked, tilting his head towards the store they were outside of. Phantom recalled it was one of Sam's favourite stores, as it tailored to gothic and punk rock styles, was ethically sourced and manufactured, and probably most importantly, hadn't gone mainstream like Hot Topic. He tried to remember if he liked any of the menswear, but funnily enough all he could seem to recall from inside the store was when Sam tried on this tight, low-cut Morticia Adams style dress that really showed off her figure and temporarily crashed his IQ through the floor as he got mesmerised by her cleavage.

"S-Sure." He managed to get out, beyond grateful that Danny couldn't see him at that moment. He had no idea if he could still blush, so finding out he could from being caught thinking about his friend's boobs might prove to be too embarrassing to deal with. The hand still on his chest shifted, sliding down and to the side until it found his own hand. With the most delicate grip, Danny tugged Phantom into the store. The second they made skin-to-skin contact, Phantom's core was racing. It felt so fucking good to be held by Danny, to feel the warmth that radiated from him. Did this mean that Danny wasn't repulsed by his touch? Why else would he willingly hold his hand? Inside the store, Danny suddenly stopped in his tracked and turned to face Phantom with a concerned expression. Only then did Phantom realise how loudly and quickly he'd been breathing. A look of realisation and panic flashed into Danny's eyes, and the hand rapidly retracted away from the ghost.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Danny apologised softly, probably not wanting to get the store clerk's attention.

"N-No! It was fine! I'm fine!" Phantom stammered out awkwardly. Danny winced, seemingly unconvinced about Phantom's "fineness".

"Let's just have a look around, okay?" The human boy suggested, before facing away and heading further into the menswear section. Phantom felt like kicking himself. If he had managed to just stay calm about holding hands of all things, he wouldn't have lost that contact and Danny wouldn't think he'd done something wrong. It's not like he could just explain to Danny that he was breathing heavily from excitement not fear, then Danny might have asked him what he got so excited about, or even worse figured it out on his own. But still, he couldn't leave Danny like this. He floated next to the human as he flicked through a rack with an unfocused expression. Phantom let himself lean into Danny's side, forcing himself to stay calm this time.

"You didn't make me uncomfortable. Please don't beat yourself up thinking you did. I actually… well, what really happened was, uh… I was just realising that if I buy something here, it will be the first thing I own. It was just a bit exciting and overwhelming." Phantom reassured on the outside, while mentally berating himself for chickening out of telling Danny the truth. He felt Danny's body relax beside him, allowing himself some relief that what he'd said had at least helped even a little bit.

While it was a relief that he hadn't scared Phantom or made him uncomfortable, Danny couldn't help but feel stupid. Once again, he'd made something all about himself again while Phantom had something way more important on his mind. Danny shook his head, willing himself to move forward. It was more important to make this occasion a happy memory for Phantom than to dwell on embarrassing thoughts.

"Of course. I should have realised. Point out whatever you're interested in, and I'll carry it to the change room for you so there's no floating clothes and –"

"Who are you talking to?" Danny jumped and turned to see that the store clerk was now standing behind them. Phantom, seeming to be just as startled, yelped and knocked several shirts off their hangers with what Danny could only assume was wild flailing. The store clerk's eyes went wide at the sound, gaze following the falling items before bouncing back up to Danny.

"Is it a ghost?" She asked, an excited shimmer flashing into her eyes. If his gut feeling had any accuracy, he'd say that if he told the truth, she wouldn't have a negative reaction and kick them out. The real issue would be if she got too excited and drew attention from others. A sigh from Phantom told him that the ghost was coming to a similar conclusion.

"I will become visible if you promise to not freak out, alright?" Phantom replied to the girl, who responded with a very enthusiastic nod. With that Phantom revealed himself, surprising Danny by having gone with his more "human" appearance. Instantly recognising him, the store clerk gasped and began jumping up and down on the spot, clapping with excitement.

"Oh my god! Phantom! I've always wanted to meet you, but I didn't want to get too close to the ghost fights in order to get the chance." She squealed, making a vague attempt at not being loud. Noticing that Phantom wasn't saying anything, Danny shifted his eyes back to see that the ghost was weirdly spaced out watching this girl jump. Not so subtly, Danny elbowed Phantom in the arm, which seemed to bring the ghost back to full attention.

"I appreciate your caution. If every citizen acted like you, it would make my job a lot easier." He responded with a warm charm. The girl beamed at his praise, not appearing to be put off at all by his delayed response.

"That's what I was thinking! My name's Heidi, if you or your boyfriend need any help with anything, don't be afraid to ask!" She announced as she fixed the dropped shirts, before skipping back to the table she'd been folding clothes on earlier. While it occurred to him that he maybe should have corrected her, he figured that it probably wouldn't have changed her mind about them.

"What is it with this place and hypnotic boobs?" Phantom mumbled, suddenly catching Danny's attention.

"What?"

"Whah? Nothing!" After that reaction, Danny glanced back over to Heidi. Now that he was specifically looking, he did notice that the under-bust corset she was wearing was very flattering to her…well, bust. The sinking feeling in his stomach was confusing.

"Huh. Anyway… looks like you've got free reign around the store. That should make this way easier." Danny commented, turning back to Phantom, who had buried his face in his hands in embarrassment since he'd looked away. Danny couldn't help but laugh at how cute it was as he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, man. We got up to some pretty shady hormonal bullshit when we were sharing a body and brain. Ogling some girl's chest hardly compares." He reassured with a teasing lilt.

"Shut up." Phantom groaned into his hands, causing Danny to laugh even harder. Not so hard though that he missed Phantom peaking out between his fingers at him, hands half concealing the ghost's growing shy smile.

"Whatever." Phantom mumbled, choosing to stomp past him rather than float. Once Phantom had left his line of sight, Danny felt his smile drop. He returned his gaze to Heidi, who was giggling quietly at Phantom. Danny tugged his shirt away from his neck, suddenly feeling way too warm. He wasn't sure what about the situation was giving him such an uneasy feeling. He had a gut feeling he could trust Heidi not to say anything to anyone about Phantom being here, so it wasn't that. Watching the girl giggle louder as she caught Phantom looking at her, Danny realised that he recognised the feeling. He was jealous. Danny furrowed his brow with confusion.

What could I possibly be jealous of?

He didn't feel attracted to Heidi, so it wasn't like he was jealous that she was giving attention to Phantom. He really couldn't blame her for being interested in the ghost, even though he was concealing how beautiful he really was. Just the hint of his natural features shining through and shifting his borrowed face was enough to make Phantom more attractive than Danny ever expected to be. Could it be he was jealous that Phantom was returning the attention? Danny shook his head at the idea.

It can't be that. Phantom's free to be interested in whoever he wants.

Danny winced as he suddenly felt his chest tighten and burn at the thought. He couldn't understand why it hurt so much to acknowledge that. Watching Phantom carefully flick through the rack of sweaters in front of him, Danny felt himself needing to close the distance between them. Steadying his breath and wiping the sweat from his forehead, he pushed the confusing thoughts out of his mind before pacing over to the ghost. The feeling mustn't have been jealousy, it must just be Danny getting used to Phantom having feelings that are separate from his own. He should be celebrating that with him, not standing in the corner overreacting over imagined problems.

"What do you think of these?" Phantom asked, holding up an oversized grey knitted sweater in one hand, and a light denim jacket with a woollen lining on the collar in the other. They weren't quite what Danny would have picked for himself, but he had to admit they'd look good on Phantom. He gave a smile and a nod of approval, which won a grin from the ghost before he turned towards a shirt rack and continued his search with much more enthusiasm than before. Danny liked the new feeling in his stomach a lot more than the last. Still feeling warm, he gravitated towards the tank tops with band logos on them. He picked up a dark grey Metallica one and considered it. Sam would probably roll her eyes at how basic he was being, but he liked the design and its loose fit meant he hopefully wouldn't overheat in it. As he draped it over his arm, something on the next rack underneath caught his eye. Inspecting closer, it was a faded black t-shirt with a Ouija board design on it. Danny picked it up, chuckling to himself.

Wait until Phantom gets a load of this!

Once the embarrassment of being a pervert wore off, Phantom began to enjoy browsing for clothes. In the past, shopping had always been so tiring and annoying, as he could never seem to figure out if he liked something enough to buy it. Now that he thought about it, that was probably because there were two people squished into one brain trying to make those decisions. Phantom smiled to himself, happy that he wasn't creating that burden for Danny any more. He was also pretty excited to have his own clothes. He didn't feel that bad that the money would be coming from Danny, considering it was a joint effort between them to earn the money. Being a secret superhero, they hadn't had a stable enough schedule to have a proper after school job, but doing odd jobs around town had made them enough money, especially when it was stuff that nobody else really wanted to do, like clean ectoplasm out of carpets after an attack, or clear ectoplasm out gutters. Most of the time they were just hired for helping with minor ghost problems that people didn't want to resort to involving his- no, Danny's dad with. Phantom let out a cold huff of air as he tried to refocus on the moment at hand. Picking up a dark pair of denim pants, he turned around to ask Danny if double denim would look stupid on him or not, but his train of thought was severely derailed when his gaze actually caught the human. As Danny flicked through the shirts he was looking at, he was absentmindedly grabbing onto the front of his shirt attempting to fan himself with it. That would have been innocent enough, if it weren't for the fact that by pulling the shirt up, Phantom could see a sliver of skin across his stomach. As Danny turned to hold up a grey shirt, the ghost was treated to a glimpse of the human's hip bone and Phantom struggled to hold a gasp back.

This is so stupid! I've seen him naked, why is this exciting me so much?

Unfortunately, thinking about Danny naked for even a second was all it took for Phantom to feel his ectoplasm rushing to his groin. Panicking, he bundled up everything he was holding and flew into the nearest changing room cubicle, ripping the curtain closed behind him.

"Hey Phantom, check this… wait, where are you?" Phantom heard Danny call out through the thick curtain of the changing room.

"I'm uh… just trying on some stuff." Phantom responded, mentally cheering himself for saying something that made complete contextual sense.

"Oh, okay. I'll wait then." With that reply from Danny, Phantom sighed with relief. Now he had time to calm himself down before he became completely hard. He cycled his thoughts through things that would turn him off.

Toast? No… Roadkill? Closer… Suriname toads giving birth? Ugh! Yep, okay there we go.

Phantom relaxed, glad he could calm down quickly this time. Hastily, he phased his top and pants off of him and shoved on the jeans and oversized sweater, before stepping out back into the store. Surprised to find it empty besides Heidi, he turned to see that the cubicle next to his was now closed.

"Danny?"

"Sorry, I thought I'd try on some clothes too, while I was waiting." Danny's voice came from behind the curtain. Before Phantom could give a sound of acknowledgement, the curtain ripped open to reveal Danny stepping out. The outfit wasn't one that he would have chosen for himself, but damn did it look good on Danny. Understated black boots, ripped black skinny jeans with a red and black flannel tied around the waist, and a shirt with a Ouija board design on it with the sleeves rolled up a little, really showing off how beautifully and unfairly toned his arms were. Phantom felt like he was going to have a heart attack, or rather, a core attack… if that was even a thing. Danny stared at Phantom with a stunned expression before his face shifted into a smile.

"Wow Phantom, you look great!" Danny complimented warmly, causing Phantom to feel ectoplasm rushing to his cheeks.

"M-Me? You're the one who is ho – I mean, I l-like what you picked out. It suits you." Phantom stammered awkwardly. Danny's smile brightened further, before turning toward the mirror up against the wall.'

"Really? I was worried it would look like I was trying to hard, but I really liked these clothes." Danny rambled, inspecting his appearance with new found confidence. Before Phantom could reply, he heard footsteps approach.

"Wow, you two are a surprising couple. I would have thought the ghost would be the edgy one and the human would be the soft, cuddly one." Heidi commented with a surprisingly earnest tone considering what she just said. Phantom gulped at the reminder that this girl was under the impression that he and Danny were dating. Catching Danny's eye in the mirror, the human had a thoughtful look in his eye, as if he were quickly trying to make a decision.

Danny had to make a decision, and quick. If he corrected Heidi, she would no doubt spread that information all over school and people would question what yesterday was all about. But if he went along with it, he had no idea if Phantom would be as comfortable with it as he was yesterday before they found out who he really was. As he glanced to the side subtly and made eye contact with Phantom, a feeling within himself told him to go along with it. He hoped that feeling was a gut instinct, and that it was right. Putting on a big smile, he turned to face Heidi and let out a small, casual laugh.

"Yeah, you wouldn't know it by all the fighting, but Phantom here is just the sweetest guy." Danny stated, putting an arm around Phantom's waist as gently as he could, hoping it wouldn't startle him. Judging by the way Phantom's body tensed and his core sped up, he had failed.

"Aww, you guys are the cutest!" Heidi cooed. Ignoring her, Danny turned his head to look at Phantom. Sure, the ghost was smiling, but it was clearly a forced smile, one that people made when they didn't want anyone else to know how much they were freaking out.

How can she not see what I'm doing to him?

Even as he heard the girl walk away, he didn't take his eyes off of Phantom. The smile instantly dropped, being replaced by an expression of barely concealed panic. Slowly, Phantom turned his face towards Danny, and when their eyes met he felt some panic surge within himself. Was Phantom about to tell him not to touch him? That he made the ghost uncomfortable, or worse, afraid?

A sudden buzzing from within Danny's change room startled both boys into flinging apart from each other. Danny darted into the cubicle and scrambled to get him phone out of his pants before he missed the call. Seeing that the call was coming from Tucker, he answered immediately.

"Hey, what's up, Tuck?" Danny greeted, forcing himself to calm down.

"What's up is you went to Vlad last night for answers and haven't given us a single update to let us know if you figured anything out, or to let us know you were still alive!" Crackled Sam's frustrated voice from the phone, causing Danny to wince and hold it further from his face.

"Hey, chill out Sam! He's fine, just like I said he'd be. Anyway… did Vlad tell you anything helpful?" Tucker chimed in, clearly not as rattled as Sam. Danny turned back towards Phantom, who was floating awkwardly outside Danny's change room cubicle, looking like he was trying to shrink in on himself.

"He did. But it would be better to say it in person. Where are you guys?" Danny asked.

"We're at the library, and you're not going to believe who tagged along with Sam." Tucker revealed with a teasing lilt.

"Shut the fuck up, Tuck. Danny, just get your ass over here, okay?" A flustered sounding Sam growled, before the call suddenly hung up. Despite not knowing what Sam was upset about, Danny knew it was better to not keep her waiting.

"Hey, would it be alright if we bought these clothes and left wearing them? We're suddenly in a bit of a rush to be somewhere." Danny called out to Heidi.

"No problem! Anything for the town hero!" She replied cheerfully.

To say that Phantom was nervous as they made their way to the library would be a massive understatement. Between that concerned and afraid look Danny was giving him when he had to hold him, and the fact that they were about to reveal to his best friends that he wasn't who they thought he was, Phantom was on the cusp of a complete mental breakdown. If it became any harder for Danny to be around Phantom, he had no doubt that everyone who was important to him would pick Danny over him. Knowing that hurt him deeply, but it was the idea of Danny not wanting him around what was causing the intense ache in his core. Mentally, he sent a wish out into the universe that his friends, and most importantly Danny, will still want him around even a little bit.

Realising that they had reached the town's public library before he was able to truly psych himself up for the conversation he was about to have, he felt his breathing speed up and his core whir uncontrollably. Feeling his temperature drop, he knew he was losing control again. Danny must have felt it too, as the boy stopped in his tracks and grabbed Phantom by the hand. The warmth of his touch sent waves of pleasure and comfort over him, and reflexively he returned the grip tightly.

"It will be okay, Phantom. They'll accept you. I know they will." Danny reassured gently. It took everything in Phantom's power to not melt into a puddle right there.

Why is he being so kind to me?

Phantom wanted to push down on the thought that told him he knew exactly why Danny was being so kind. The human had no idea how Phantom felt, what he had done, or the things he had thought about doing. If he knew, he'd be repulsed and ask to never see him again. It was only a matter of time before Danny figured it out, but Phantom wanted to make this last as long as he could. Giving a nod to Danny before going invisible, the pair entered the building.

It didn't take long to find the private study room that Tucker and Sam were in. Phantom wasn't surprised to see that there were Magic: The Gathering cards on the table, but he was surprised to see that Star was there with them, playing against Tucker with Sam grinning over her shoulder.

"How are you already so good at this?" Tucker whined with a furrowed brow and a pout.

"I'm not, you're just that bad at playing." Star quipped back, before turning to Sam and laughing with her. It was strange to see the two getting along so well, but he was just glad that Sam looked like she was in a better mood than before. He didn't think he'd be able to handle telling her the truth while she was already pissed at him. The floorboard under Danny's feet creaked, causing the three humans already in the room to look up at the doorway.

"Danny! Finally!" Sam exclaimed, darting towards Danny until she stood right in front of him.

"I'm sorry I snapped earlier, you just had me so worried." Phantom felt his eyebrows rise in shock at her apology. Usually it took Sam a lot longer to cool down enough to apologise for her anger.

Star must have Jedi powers if she got Sam to calm down this much so fast.

Turning away from Danny and Sam, he realised that Star's smile had completely dropped and was now replaced by a frustrated expression.

"I'm going to head off." She announced with a frown. Sam snapped around to face her again.

"What? But you're so close to winning!" She questioned with a confused expression. Phantom didn't miss the look she gave Danny, before returning her gaze to Sam.

"Not close enough." She mumbled, before grabbing her bag and pacing briskly out of the room. An awkward silence filled the room, until Tucker suddenly clapped and rubbed his hands together.

"Well, I'm going to count that as a win for Tucker." Sam rolled her eyes at Tucker's announcement.

"A forfeit is only a win on a technicality. I wouldn't be proud of it." She retorted dryly. It looked like neither of them were going to explain what had just happened, so Phantom decided it was time to get down to business and made himself visible.

"Whoa! I didn't realise you could take off the hazmat suit while you were in ghost form. I always assumed it was like, fused to your body or something." Tucker commented.

"Tuck, that's hardly important right now. What happened with Vlad? Did you find out why you've split in half? " Sam asked, looking half hopeful, half worried.

"Uh… guys, there's been a bit of an update to our situation. A pretty big one, actually. You see, when we went to Vlad we found out that Phantom – that we, uh…" Danny rambled nervously, finding it hard to get the words out.

"I'm not really Danny!" Phantom blurted out, not able to handle the anticipation any longer. Sam and Tucker stood there, both wearing confused expressions. Phantom sighed, realising he'd have to explain further.

"We found out that there's no such thing as a halfa as we think it is. When Danny had his accident, he never became half ghost, his mind and body were fused with a ghost that came through the portal as it opened. That was me. I was never actually Danny, I just thought I was." He revealed, nervously folding his arms and avoiding eye contact. He didn't want to see their reactions as it dawned on them that he'd been tricking them all along. The silence that followed was completely unbearable.

"If you're not Danny, then who are you really?" Sam questioned, tone turning suspicious. Phantom couldn't help but wince. He opened his mouth to admit he had no clue, but was interrupted by Danny putting a protective arm around him.

"Relax, he's not up to anything, I promise. Even though he barely had a form before going through the portal, I know that he was already a good ghost by then." Danny reassured seriously. For a moment Phantom could only stare at him in shock.

"H-How do you know that?" Phantom asked, snapping Danny out of his intense expression.

"What? What do you mean?" Danny responded with a confused expression.

"I can't remember anything from before the accident. How do you know what I was like before it?" Phantom didn't care how shaky his voice was at this point. He needed to know what Danny knew.

"Don't you remember that dream we had the night before any of this happened?" Danny queried, brow furrowed with concern. Phantom shook his head frantically. Danny never mentioned any – wait, didn't Jazz ask about a dream? Something about it feeling like memories that weren't his? Phantom pulled out of Danny's hold and backed away from him.

"Danny, have you had my memories this entire time?" Phantom demanded to know, voice rising in alarm. Why wouldn't Danny have brought it up by now? Especially after finding out Phantom was a separate person!

"I'm sorry, Phantom! I didn't realise it was your memories! It was confusing and everything has been so distracting. I swear I didn't keep this from you on purpose!" Danny explained, tears quickly forming in his eyes as he reached halfway towards the ghost before stopping himself when he saw Phantom flinch at the action. Phantom darted his eyes around the room, looking at anything but Danny's crying face. He didn't mean to upset him, he was just scared and confused. A feeling he could see Sam and Tucker were also going through as their gaze snapped between Danny and Phantom.

"I-I promise I will find a way to give your memories back to you! Maybe if we re-fuse? Now that we know we're not the same person, we'll be able to be active at the same time and transfer memories between each other." Phantom's eyes blew wide open at Danny's suggestion. If they shared memories, Danny would see everything that he'd done, maybe even everything he'd thought and felt. He couldn't let that happen.

"N-No, please." Phantom pleaded, fear rising and tightening around his core. He could tell by the panicked look in Danny's eyes that his words had gone unheard, and that the human had made up his mind.

"I'm going ghost!" Danny cried out, then suddenly Phantom felt an energy tugging at him, forcing him into Danny's body.

Phantom felt his head move without telling it to, and Danny looked down at his hands and watched them clench without him telling them to.

Whoa, it worked! We're both in control. Phantom, can you hear me?

Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see. Don't let him see.

What? Phantom, what do you mean? What don't you want me to see?

NO! DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! DON'T LET HIM SEE!

Unfortunately for Phantom, when you are focusing so much on not thinking about something, you inevitably think about it very intensely. Danny was hit with memory after memory coming to him from Phantom. He could feel how Phantom had felt as he watched Danny get dressed. He could remember what Phantom had done while Danny had been showering. He could see through the eyes of a fully awake Phantom as he leaned in to kiss a sleeping Danny. Phantom could feel the anger that was coming from Danny in that very moment.

"GET OUT!" Phantom felt and heard his mouth shout without him telling it to, before he was suddenly and violently pushed out of their body.