This is for ghostly-penumbra on tumblr for the truce. Hope you enjoy!

Valerie Gray wasn't an idiot.

After she found out about Dani Phantom being half human and Mr. Masters being a vengeful, manipulative piece of trash, it took her all of three days to connect the dots. Really, she should have seen it sooner - it was so obvious now.

Danny Phantom was half human too.

The real question was who?

Green eyes looked over her classmates searching for the answer instead of paying attention to whatever Lancer was saying. Phantom was around her age (he knew who she was from the get go) so it was safe to assume he was in her grade.

She scoffed under her breath as Dash, Kwan and the rest of the athletes. They were all too idiotic to be her arch-enemy; while she hated to admit it, Phantom was pretty crafty. The most those boys could plan was how to stuff an unsuspecting nerd into tight places. Besides, they were way to bulky with their bro-ness. Phantom was twig-like on most days.

Her eyes drifted to the boys in her class that were on the leaner side; Mikey, Tucker and Wes. Wes Weston, the class crackpot, was definitely built like the spectre and had the mind to do it but… she shook her head as he turned another page of "Fenton is Phantom, change my mind" notebook, writing furiously. Probably not.

Tucker definitely wasn't Phantom - he was way too attached to his tech and she had seen them together a bunch of times. Mikey had the brains, but definitely not the stamina-

Wait.

Tucker had been seen with Phantom. So had Manson - the two of them were inseparable. Well… them and -

"Again Mr. Fenton?"

Valerie turned to doorway, eyes wide as Danny Fenton looked sheepishly at the teacher, stammering some excuse about getting lost from the restroom. He was covered in white dust, brushing it out of his hair as some of their classmates laughed.

The world drowned out around her as she considered the possibility: Danny Fenton, the son of renowned ghost hunters, the sole person who was never in the room when a ghost attacked, who ran in the face of danger - a ghost? And not just a ghost - the ghost.

Her eyes traced his steps as he got to his seat, fist-bumping Foley, a smile and nod of the head at Manson. She frowned, could it really be him?

Focus Valerie. This is Danny; you wouldn't have dated a ghost without knowing it. He's just a normal kid.

The pen slipped out of her hand at that thought. Comparedto the rest of the class, Danny was normal… too normal. Like he tried too hard to be normal, to not stand out in the crowd.

To not get caught.

She knew the risks of a secret identity better than anyone. If Danny was Phantom, he would know how to blend in. He'd also know why outing her to her Dad would stop her in her tracks. The mask came off and she had to merge.

It makes perfect sense now.

Valerie liked Danny for the sole reason that she didn't have to worry about her alter-ego. In all their dates, he never brought up ghosts. She had liked the distraction. She was hiding.

Turns out, so was he.

"Ms. Gray?"

She was brought out of her thoughts by Lancer's voice. "What as the question?"

Lancer sighed. "A term of misdirection or false clues is called what?"

Her brow furrowed. "Plot twist?"

"Kind of," he replied kindly. He walked back over to the chalkboard and wrote out two words. "A Red Herring, often used in detective fiction, has the author give readers hints and clues that has us suspect one thing, but in actuality it has no importance at all. Conan Doyle and Christie were particularly good at this."

Valerie stared at the term on the board, her thoughts once again back to the black haired, blue eyed teen at the back of the room with possible ghost powers.

Danny Fenton was a walking red herring. Phantom was a floating one. They were one person.

:-=-:

Valerie wasn't an idiot - but she was stubborn and a little aggressive. At least, that's what her Dad told her when she kicked through her punching bag.

Valerie sat with the knowledge that Phantom and Fenton were the same person for two weeks as she figured out how to deal with this new information. Masters was easy - she was keen to blast him into oblivion for using her the way he did. The girl Phantom was just a street kid, struggling to get by. But Danny?

Reluctantly, she had to admit (in her head) that Phantom was not a terrible ghost. He was useful in a fight, quick thinking, seemed to handle a lot of the big stuff - but he also made a lot of mistakes. There had to be some learning curve to being part ghost right? In the past two weeks, Phantom had been messing up quite a bit, but it looked like those Masters Bozos were trying to embarass him in some way. Seriously… how many clothing malfunctions can one guy have?

Then there was the whole secret identity thing. She got that more than anyone. If anyone found out about her ghost fighting exploits, she'd be arrested. Besides, her Dad already knows - it wouldn't be that big a deal. Danny? He'd have a target on his back forever and as much as the Fentons love their children… she couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't experiment on him. Masters probably did.

She stopped in the middle of the hallway, watching the trio of friends talking quickly under their breaths. Danny probably faced more things than she realized - so much for calling herself the best ghost hunter in Amity…

Today's the day. I'm going to confront him today.

She stalked over to them before realizing two things: 1) Sam and Tucker looked pissed and 2) Danny's hair was both black and white.

Something was up. Before Danny could muster up a greeting, a group consisting of Paulina, Star and a bunch of other A-List girls ran past them, a shadow ghost in hot pursuit. Not even a second later, Dash and Kwan ran past being chased by the ghost teen on his motorcycle.

And Danny just walked away.

Valerie frowned; watching Sam and Tucker's defeated and fed up look as he walked past. They must know then. She had been watching Danny for two weeks - he normally found any excuse to leave and a few seconds later, Phantom would be there to save the day. This week… come to think of it, when was the last time Phantom was spotted?

Her frown grew as Sam and Tucker followed him.

"Noticed it too, huh Red?"

Valerie bristled as Wes came up beside her.

"What do you want Weston," she bit back.

He continued as if she didn't interrupt. "Phantom's mysterious disappearance aligning with Fenton's makeover, right? Too much of a coincidence."

She scoffed. "Seriously? He's not a ghost."

"Says the secret ghost hunter."

She tensed slightly, an eyebrow rising at his accusation. "You really think I'm a ghost hunter? Me?"

Wes shrugged. "As sure as I am that Fenton's ghostly - so maybe 65%?"

She laughed, rounding on him. "Well then," her eyes narrowed and tone sickly sweet. "If you're so sure I'm a ghost hunter, do you really want to chance me ending your existence by shutting you up?"

Wes blinked before shaking his head. "Fine, you win. Do me a favour though? Do something about these ghosts - I have a hunch Phantom won't be here for a while."

She watched him walk away, inwardly cursing his intuitiveness. Though he's right… I think Phantom may be sitting out for a while.

:-=-:

Valerie, contrary to popular opinion, was pretty patient.

She had kept her distance - letting him figure out his life now that the world knew about half-ghosts. His parents accepted him (thank goodness), the world thanked him (instead of hunting him down) and he and Manson were now dating (finally!). She didn't have a part in that circus yet.

Until today it seemed. It took him three weeks after the Disasteroid to corner her.

"Valerie, you have to believe me," he said nervously. "I-I didn't mean for any of that stuff to happen! Heck Cujo's not even my dog… I don't even know if his name is Cujo!"

She blinked at him, watching the seemingly new confidence in him melt away as he stammered excuses at her. "Danny, it's fine," she said after a while.

He stopped, mid-rant as his blue eyes widened into saucers. "What?"

"It's fine." She turned to leave but he ran in front of her.

"What do you mean 'it's fine'?"

She rolled her eyes and gestured to him. "That I don't care about this conversation."

His eyes narrowed. "Valerie, I'm half-ghost and nothing's going to change that."

"Yes, I was there when you told the world. Doesn't matter to me."

He looked at her imploringly. "No seriously. This is me, this is who I am. I help people. Nothing that you think I've done is my fault."

"Okay." She turned to leave again.

"Valerie! Listen to me!"

For goodness sake! She started walking, hearing him follow. "Thought you'd be sneakier or something," she said, not looking back.

"Don't you get it!? Look I'm trying to apologize here!"

She stopped and turned. "For what exactly?" she asked curiously.

Danny's frustration disappeared as he stared at her. "Wait…You're not angry?"

"Nope."

"Upset?"

"No."

"Betrayed?"

"Not by you."

"Come at me guns blazing?"

"Do you see any weapons coming your way?" She sighed tiredly. "Did you really think I wouldn't get it? You didn't tell me because I didn't need to know; just like I didn't tell you about my hunting when we were dating. Your half-ghost, fine, whatever but you're still you right? Phantom isn't some ghost living inside your head." He shook his head violently. "Then what's the problem?" Danny's eyes widened in disbelief and she sighed again. "Does it help to know I've known for like…. A month and a half?"

She thought his jaw would hit the floor. "How…wha…when… seriously?"

"The whole half-human experimentation thing with Dani? Yeah, figured out Vlad was Plasmius too. Guess you were right about the jerk."

Danny waved his hands in front of his face. "Whoa, wait hang on. You figured it out?! And didn't say anything? Why!?"

Valerie shrugged. "None of my business." Danny's mouth hung open again. "Seriously? That hard to get that I understand? That it makes perfect sense if people were looking?"

He brought his hand to the back of his head. "I… thought you hated me," he said sheepishly.

Valerie huffed. "Only thing I hate was that I didn't see it sooner. I mean… don't get me wrong, I went through at least one punching bag when I found out and feel like an awful person for what I put you through," she held up her hand when he tried to interrupt. "But then realized you must have been feeling the same thing about lying to me. So… no more apologies 'kay? Friends?"

She held out her hand and he took it readily, relief washing over his entire being. "Friends."

They walked in silence for a little while before she chuckled.

"What?"

She shook her head. "We're a pair."

Danny's brow furrowed in confusion. "Of what?"

"Red Herrings."