Family dinners were always a little bit of a minefield when you had secrets. Diana ran a hand through her hair, stressed about the task before her as she and Dani waited at the door to her own home.

"Di, it's gonna be fine. You got this," Dani encouraged.

Danny answered the door.

"Dani, glad you both could make it. Come on in."

Danny shepherded the pair in, a bit of a watchful eye on Diana.

"Does your family know where you are?" He asked casually, as he led the pair in, leading to the dining room.

"Of course they do. They know I'm the ghost girl, and how important your secret is, otherwise I'd let you meet them."

Danny nodded approvingly.

"Well, if you're Dani's protegé, that means you're part of the family," Danny replied, pulling her seat out like a gentleman, "The rest of the family should be here in any minute."

Diana took one of the guest seats at the family table, with a nervous grin while Dani sat beside her. She hoped she could pull this off.

Danny left the pair for the moment to one of the halls, "Diana! Wes! We have company for dinner!"

Wes was out of his room like a shot- any excuse to ditch homework was a good one.

Danny approached Diana's door, knocking. "That means now, sweetheart."

"Be out in a minute! Just touching up my face if we have company."

Danny gave a little chuckle, "Okay. But be quick, Di."

He headed back downstairs, where Wes had already started eagerly questioning his favorite aunt. "Have any cool fights lately, Aunt Dani?"

Dani laughed, "They're not all fights, Wes. Sometimes the problem isn't something you can just blast. Sometimes you talk to them and realize you can help give them peace."

"...and sometimes," Di Phantom adds, "You get to turn a flagpole into a buster sword and hack a cyber ghost."

Wes' eyes widened. "That's so cool…!"

Danny humored him with a nod as he sat down. "Very cool. But also very dangerous," he replies, "I'm surprised her family lets her do it."

Di chuckled, "well, they know I have these powers and… they think I have them for a reason. Having an experienced mentor to train me up also helps the confidence. And we have an agreement about my grades, too."

He nodded. "Respectable enough. How did you come into your powers?"

Di chuckled, "well, my mom was a ghost, she fancied a human, one and one is two…"

He laughed. "So you're a natural half ghost, huh?"

She nods. "I've only got the one form."

"Must be nice," the elder Fenton kid remarked as she entered the room, "wish I was ghostly all the time. Then maybe Dad would let me use my powers."

Antagonizing herself. She knew it was a bit risky if she slipped character, but it was a reliable way to sell that these two bodies were two different people- and not just one skilled half-ghost playing with duplication.

"Diana Fenton, you be polite while company's here," Danny scolded.

'Di Phantom' chuckled. "It's fine. I think with tighter control I wouldn't be much different. But it's understandable, Danny. You want to protect your family from the ghost side of your life and that's totally valid."

Diana Fenton glared across the table at 'Di Phantom.'

"Easy for you to say," she replies.

"Girls, girls, easy," Dani teases.

"Is there a teen girl fight happening here?" Valerie commented as she entered the room placed the main course in the center of the table. There was an uneasy pause as the group made their plates.
"Your daughter and my protege were just having a talk about ghost powers and how to use them," Dani volunteered
"I think it's way cool the way your husband looked at his family and made the choice to be there," Di Phantom added, with a little smile. Valerie couldn't look her in the eye.

"Yes, I guess when you look at it that way it is sweet," Valerie replied with a rueful smile.

Once food was there to fill the void the evening became a bit easier as they talked- about picture day as Diana, about the fight as Di Phantom, about what Phantom's plans were as she grew. Diana was grateful more often than not she didn't need to overlap herself. It took a bit of mental energy to do that.

"So, Di," her mother asked, "How long has your mother known Danielle?"

'Di Phantom' shrugged, "Not long. She's a quiet woman, she doesn't like being seen."

Valerie nodded. "I don't blame her. It's the ghost-hunter capital of the world here."

'Di Phantom' laughed. "I mean, most of the active ones she knows and trusts."

"It's so cool that they let you go out and do all that stuff, Di!" Wes gushed, "when do I get to do that, Dad? If aunt Dani can look after a girl she can look after me while I do that."

A disapproving look from his father got a nervous laugh from Danielle.

"Hey, Di, isn't it about time your mom expects you back?" Dani noted, "You should probably be heading out."

"Right. Thank you guys for not asking too far about my family. They really prefer to keep their lives out of my stuff," she replies.

Danny nodded understandingly. "That I understand. What you do makes powerful enemies. It's for the best you keep them protected from that."

Diana winced as she noticed her mom avert her gaze from Danny at that. She was getting old enough to notice the little things that came between her parents sometimes. As the duplicate 'Phantom' excused herself and left into the night sky- Diana found herself wondering. Why did her mom- her normal human mom- take affront to that? The thought would linger as she drifted to sleep.

Luna bounced a little in her step on the walk to school. She was in one of her nicer dresses. Diana shot Catalina a look as if to ask 'did you?', to which Catalina flushed and shook her head. Diana decided to take the chance.

"You seem happy this morning, Lu. What's the deal?"

Luna giggled, "Oh, it's nothing, I just. Well. I heard a boy in our class likes me."
"Oh really?" Catalina replied, a bit surprised, "Go on, spill!"

Luna grinned. "Davis."
"Really?" Diana replied, "Talk about jackpot. He's definitely a whole package. That perfect mid-strata popular that everyone likes but no one thinks is too stuck up, that nice jawline.. Yeah, I can dig it."
Catalina laughed, "Diana, come on, he's not that perfect."

Diana picked up on what Catalina was trying to do, but waved her off. "Hey, taste is subjective. The important thing is- what do you think, Luna?"

"I think he's pretty dreamy," she replied, grinning as she brought up the front going up the steps into the school. Catalina's brave face for her friend turned downward when Luna went through the doors and into Casper High.

"Hmmm… Davis. I'll need to dig everything I can…"

"My ears are burning," came a voice behind her.

Catalina jumped, giving a nervous laugh as she turned around to find the frustratingly perfect boy behind her, "Oh! How long were you there?"
He laughed, "Just a couple seconds. I heard my name?"

Catalina thought fast. His reaction to the truth should tell her a little about him.
"Yeah," she replied, with a nervous chuckle, "I. Uh. I hear you maybe like my best friend."

Davis flushed, "What, Diana?"

Catalina shook her head, "No, not that one. My other best friend. The one that used to run in your social circles before her big change."

Davis managed to look even more embarrassed, "W-wow, you got me. Is it that obvious?"

"Obvious enough she's on cloud nine fawning over it."
"Maybe I'll ask her, then," he mused, "Thanks, Catalina. You're a good friend to feel things out for her."

She winced as he walked ahead, disappearing through the doors into the school. "¡Tonto! Why are you such a bad liar? Couldn't you have done anything but just blab at him?"

Catalina took a moment to settle herself before finally heading in toward the homeroom. As a good friend, she couldn't be sad about this. But as someone who loved Luna, if there was something wrong with Davis, why, she'd just be protecting her…

"What, Davis?" Rebecca Stone stared at Catalina like she was crazy. "Why are you looking for dirt on him? Are you gonna blackmail him into dating you?"

Catalina didn't know what she had expected. She let out an exasperated sigh as she walked away, giving a hand gesture over her shoulder to tell Rebecca exactly how she felt about that. Her desperation had brought her this far. Catalina had been very talkative, that day, hitting up as many of her classmates for as much dirt on Davis as she could find. The jocks, the cheer squad, the nerds, anyone she had any cred or who owed her any favors. But the more she dug the more she found nothing. By all accounts she could turn up, Davis was a fairly decent guy who did some volunteer work on the side and had had a couple girlfriends before but they both were the ones to break it off, because he wouldn't go as far as they wanted. She groaned in aggravation as she sank against a locker between classes. She needed this not to work out. She knew this was a lot, but… she hadn't had her chance to get her courage up, her chance to say what she needed to say to Luna, because she'd been so eaten up asking if it was right. In the middle of her funk, an unfamiliar voice.

"I hear that someone is desperate for some hot goss," it said coyly. Catalina looked up and was shocked to see a ghost hovering on bat wings. It was a short grey bat ghost, with large ears, a mop of pink hair obscuring their eyes and fluffy white fur adorning their neck not unlike some kind of boa.
"What are you?" Catalina asked, sensible enough to be just a bit confused why a ghost would ask that.

"I'm the Gossip Ghost," they replied, with a little smirk, "And I might just have the words you want to hear… for a price, of course."

"Oh eww, you want money to lie to me?"

They held their chest. "Oh, you wound me! I do not lie. All of my gossip comes from very reliable sources. If I relay something and it's not true, that's on them. And I don't want your money either."

They lean in close. "All I want is a secret."

She bites her lip, weighing the cost and what the ghost might have for her. After a long pregnant silence Catalina nods. "Okay. I have one. It might not sound big, but it is to me."

They look amused, big bat ears twitching. "Go on…?"

"I… my best friend Luna is a trans girl," Catalina began, "But before she transitioned, I kind of had a major crush on her. I still do but I can't tell her. Because I don't know how much is residual for who I thought she was and how much is for who she is."

The Gossip Ghost leaned back, almost as though their ears had taken in a physical something. "Ohhh, that's juicy. I like it. I like it a lot. Okay. So you wanted dirt on Davis, right?"
Catalina nodded. "That's right."

"Well. You didn't hear this from me, but I heard someone saw him lay an underclassman out on the pavement in front of the guy's girlfriend."

"Oh, wow. For no reason?"
"Not that I heard," they replied, "How does that sound?"

"It sounds very hard to defend."

Catalina smirked. Now all she had to do was spring the 'bad' news on Luna.

Meanwhile in the halls, Davis lingered by the trophy case and tried to keep his own nerves in check. He was fine once he knew a girl but the first time was still nerve wracking. Sure, he'd known her in passing from athletics but that was before she was a girl. Between periods he found his cool as he walked up to the girl's locker.

"Hey, Luna."

"Davis. It's… been a while?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I get nervous around girls sometimes and I got hung up on a first impression. It's dumb but that's nerves sometimes, you know?"

Luna blushed a bit and giggled, "I get it. Don't worry, you're making a good one for being so thoughtful."

Davis's turn to flush. "That's good. So uh. I was thinking. Would you maybe… be interested in hanging out together? Maybe I can take you to the diner this afternoon?"

"Yeah!" Luna replied quickly, "I'd love to."

"Great! Meet me after school?"

"Perfect," she replies, "I can't wait."

She finished grabbing her books. "See you after classes!"

Luna almost skipped to class, humming under her breath.

Catalina grinned while she waited outside their last class.

"Cat!" Luna greeted enthusiastically, "I can't believe it, he asked me out! We're going to the diner after school!"

"Really?" She asked. Looking Luna in the eye, seeing how happy she was, Catalina hated the idea of ruining it. She weakly smiled, "That's great, Luna. I'm happy for you."

Luna beamed, hugging her. "I'd never have made it this far without a friend like you, Cat."

She hugged Catalina and Catalina hugged back, awkwardly. As Luna went into class, Catalina wondered what she would do about it now.

"...Really? You told me your secret to get that dirt and now you're just… letting her do it?" came a voice behind Catalina. The Gossip Ghost hung from the ceiling.

"She was so happy," she replied to Gossip, "I couldn't bear to break the news to her myself."

The bat ghost shook their head, "You people are weird, you know that?"

Diana walked to class from her locker and did a double-take as she saw the Gossip Ghost.

"Cat, what are you doing?"

Catalina smiled nervously, "Diana, hey. This is Gossip Ghost. They're pretty friendly and we just had some pretty interesting conversation."

"Huh. That's… interesting," Diana replied.

Gossip grinned, "Ooh, it's the girl with the big secret!"

Diana blanched. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied unconvincingly.

Gossip laughed. "Don't be afraid, I'll only tell if it's fun."

Diana winced."Is there anything I can do so you don't tell anyone?"

The ghost looks thoughtful."Well. If you tell me another secret, I might be convinced."

Diana looked thoughtful, approaching the bat ghost. "Okay. I think I have something."
Gossip waved Catalina away, and Catalina went on to class.

Diana leaned in, whispering into the bat ghost's oversized ear.

"Oh ho ho! That is a juicy one! Your other secret's safe with me, Diana."

"Thank you."

Diana continued on to class a bit relieved.

The autumn air was tense and Catalina fretted as she watched Luna walk off with Davis. She lingered on the steps of the school. Diana headed out but stopped as she noticed Catalina lingering. She looked over at Catalina. "Why do I get the feeling this was part of why you were trading rumors with the ghost?"

"Because you'd be right," Catalina replied, "And he gave me some info. I couldn't bring myself to tell Luna what I found out because she looked so happy to have someone interested in her like that."

"Well, I happen to know where they're going. If someone would. I don't know. Want to show up 'coincidentally' in the vicinity. Just in case."

Catalina smiled. "I think that sounds pretty good."

Thanks to Diana, they were able to duck off and continue following the pair invisibly down the streets of Amity Park. Davis and Luna walked close but without holding hands or anything so far.

"So," Davis asked Luna, "how're you settling into your transition?"
Luna rubbed the back of her neck. "Pretty good," she replied, "I mean, people are doing pretty good accepting me. Dad messes up sometimes but I get it, he's my dad, he's known me longest, it's hard getting used to it."

Davis nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I can understand that. It took some thinking for me to get here too, you know?"

Luna flushed, "it means a lot that I was the one you did the thinking for."

He smiled, warmly. "Well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for cute girls."

She beamed, rubbing the back of her head. They arrived at the diner near the mall with little incident, followed invisibly by Catalina and Diana- and unknown to the whole group, the Gossip Ghost. The Diner was a nice little place, the result of new management taking over town staple the Nasty Burger and attempting a rebrand. They leaned into some of the older fixtures to attempt a retro ambiance. The girls kept quiet as they kept tabs on what honestly, seemed like a very innocent, uneventful date- Luna and Davis shooting back and forth light conversation. They seemed to really be hitting it off well, which only twisted up Catalina inside even more. After about 20 minutes, she'd had enough. She took a step forward- and was immediately run into by a waitress, Diana and Cat flashing into visibility as the waitress' platter of food was sent flying into the air before landing on the prone girls. Gossip couldn't help it, they laughed, watching Catalina make a fool of herself. Luna and Davis turned toward the commotion and Luna looked shocked to see Catalina on the floor, doused in food and shake. Catalina knew how she looked like this, she fought back the tears. Gossip grinned.

Luna stood and looked at her, her face concerned, serious. "Cat, were you… spying on me?"

Catalina couldn't look her in the eyes. "...Yes."

"Why?"

"Oh, I know this one!" The Gossip Ghost dropped to the ground between the two, "Gimme a second, just a second." They clambered atop of Catalina and opened their mouth- out came her words.

"My best friend Luna is a trans girl. But before she transitioned, I kind of had a major crush on her. I still do but I can't tell her. Because I don't know how much is residual for who I thought she was and how much is for who she is."

They beamed, giving a little salute before flitting off. Diana watched in confusion, before turning back to Catalina, who Luna had approached to help up. "Is that true, Cat?" Luna asked, softly.

Catalina nodded, "So I asked around about Davis and that ghost told me something that helped me justify my nerves, so I followed you here."

Davis rose from the booth. "Go on. I'd like to hear it."

"They said you got in a fight and laid a boy out cold in front of his girlfriend."

Davis chuckled. "Did they tell you why I did that? Dude was yelling at her for not putting out, and it looked like he was gonna hit her. I decked him first."

Catalina looked down awkwardly. "...Oh."

"It looks like you two might have some talking to do," Davis continued, "I don't mind making myself scarce." He put some cash down on the table. "And it's on me."

Diana helped the waitress clean up while Luna dried off Catalina best she could with the napkins before leading her back to the booth Davis had vacated.

"I don't like what you did today, Cat," Luna began, "but I understand why you did it now."

Luna took Catalina's hand.

"This stuff is hard to navigate, but. If you're scared your feelings aren't valid because they started when I was a boy, think of it this way. Everyone grows and changes in life, Cat."

Catalina smiled weakly.

"I know. I just didn't want to risk hurting you if we tried and it didn't work out."

"You're my best friend, Catalina. You've been there for me every step of my way for this. I think even if you did, you'd still be my best friend, when it all settled."

Catalina looked up at Luna.

"Does that mean you want to give it a try?"

Luna smiled. "You could say that."

She leaned forward, kissing Cat on the cheek.

Catalina shivered, feeling like a weight had left her shoulders. "Oh, wow. Butterflies."

"I guess that answers the question of feelings for you even if the reasoning didn't," Luna replies, flushing a bit.

Cat leaned forward and pulled her into a full kiss on the lips.

"I have the best girlfriend."